Kiss of Fate

by Heather Long

  The weird things that just seemed normal. Pushing the wandering lust aside, I turned my hand over in his. He wasn’t crushing it anymore, but the movement seemed to pull Tarus from his musing. “I am failing to entertain you.”

  “I asked you about your grace,” I reminded him. While I still didn’t understand it wholly, I wanted to. “You said you couldn’t just walk away…”

  Tarus sighed, then frowned. “I think we should talk about this with Zhan and with—as much as it pains me to say it—with Seth.”

  “You don’t hate Seth as much as you pretend.”

  “Shows what you know,” he told me with a shrug, but he didn’t deny it. “Can I ask you a question, Beauty?”

  “Are you really asking me for permission?” Surprise rippled through me. He and Zhan had been very pushy in their demands.

  “You refused to answer it before, and I want to understand as you seem to want to understand us.”

  “Fair enough.” I pushed some of the tendrils out of my face as the breeze kept pressing against me. The flight had dried all the sweat, but it had left my hair curlier—and probably frizzier—because while Domum wasn’t a humid hell like Dallas in August, windblown would definitely tease the drying strands. A giggle popped up, and I could just imagine my hair standing up two inches high at the moment. Course, Tarus wasn’t fleeing me. So that was good, right? The little giggles turned into chuckles, and try as I might, I couldn’t quite contain the laughter.

  I had to wipe my eyes at the end as the fit eased and leaned against his shoulder for support. I half-expected him to tease me, but he just stroked his thumb along the side of my hand. “I savor the sound of your laughter,” he admitted. “It’s musical and addicting.”

  “Well, I’ve never been accused of musical talent before. In fact, I usually get booed at the karaoke bars.”

  “I highly doubt it.” Then, as if incensed, he added, “But I will take you to one, and you may sing whatever you like. No one will boo.”

  I giggle-snorted all over again. “You don’t have to beat anyone up on my behalf. My mom used to tell me it was a good thing I was pretty because I can’t carry a tune in a bucket with the lid welded on. Still, I like to sing, even if no one likes to listen.”

  “I’ll listen,” he murmured, then pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

  “You’re sweet.”

  It was his turn to snort.

  “Yeah, yeah. Save your arguments about how you’re the big bad Punishment and all fierce and ferocious and not possibly sweet, and I’ll still call you sweet.”

  “Somehow, I don’t doubt that.” Amusement licked every word.

  “Good. Now ask your question.”

  “Who is Bish to you?”

  This again? Course, his reaction to finding me petting Bish’s wings had been pretty violent. “If I tell you, will you tell me who he is to you? I already figured out he’s one of you, figured that out when you kept asking me before. And I’ve seen his wings…”

  “And touched them,” came his gritted response.

  “I asked him,” I pointed out. “And you don’t get to complain about what I was doing then.”

  He slanted a look at me. “Yes, I do.”

  “That’s your opinion.”

  When his lashes dipped and his eyes darkened, I had the distinct impression I tread a very fine line, and a part of me was seriously tempted to push it. “My opinion counts.”

  I grinned. “I’ll give you that one.” While he continued to give me that narrow-eyed look, my smile grew. The edge of ferocious danger was probably not the safest precipice to dance along, but it was also a little fun.

  “Gracious,” he retorted.

  “I can be,” I said, and then blew out a breath. “Bish was…is…was…a friend.”

  “Was,” he said firmly, and this time, I squeezed his hand.

  “You don’t get to decide my friends. None of you do.” No, I wasn’t playing. “Alex was like that. He wanted to make those kinds of decisions for whatever reason.”

  Tarus’ expression tightened.

  “Do you understand?” I wasn’t going to let this go.

  He sighed. “I understand you want him to be your friend and you do not want us telling you otherwise. However, there are things you don’t know.”

  “Then tell me, or you don’t get to use that as an argument.” Instead of pressing the point, I raised my free hand. “As for my friendship with Bish, we met at the dog park. I used to take Alex’s dog there, and Bish started showing up…a year ago? Maybe a little longer.”

  His eyes went almost pitch black, even the faint ring of gray and brown vanished. “A year? Bish has known you for a year?”

  Uncertain of what answer he wanted to hear, I shrugged. “A year, like I said, we met at the dog park. At first it was once or twice a week that I saw him, but last winter, it was most weekdays, and I’d run into him at Sinner’s now and then. I like him. He’s fun, and he looked like he wanted to help that night with Alex, but I told him no.”

  I owed him an apology for that. I’d kind of lumped him in with the others, but he had looked like he wanted to intervene.

  “You won’t…” Tarus seemed to physically restrain himself before he said, “I would prefer if you didn’t talk to him.”

  “Ever?”

  “Yes.”

  My ‘ever’ wasn’t that long, and I didn’t want to commit to more than I already had, so I said, “Tell me why.”

  “Fine,” he said, then shifted his grip on my hand. “Hold on.” It was the only warning I got before he hauled me forward as he launched us off the cliff. The dizzying fall followed by the steep climb, with the jagged edges so close I swore his wings brushed them, galvanized the adrenaline in my system.

  My scream echoed off the walls, but then we were higher, and he hurtled us back toward the city. We covered the ground far faster than our earlier flight. Pressed up against him, I locked my arms around his neck. The thrum of his pulse pounded beneath my fingertips. Every flap of his wings sent muscles along his back and shoulders rippling.

  The sun bouncing off the walls of the rapidly approaching city dazzled my eyes, and I could just imagine two Keepers—cause Karmen was totally one, too, right? And Kindle?—with their wings outstretched, tumbling across the sky. Thoughts of airborne sex sent a bolt of lust and curiosity right through me.

  Fuck, I had a one-track mind at times, but that was a really good image.

  Almost made me wish I had wings.

  Two stern figures waited like stone statues on the balcony. I barely got a glimpse of them before Tarus switched the beat of his wings to slow us abruptly, and then he landed as light as a bird. That was really awesome.

  Grinning, I pressed a quick kiss to his bristly jaw. “Thank you.” For flying. For the spanking and the pleasure. Who knew I’d be thanking someone for that? And most of all, I wanted to thank him for talking to me. When I tilted my head up to meet his gaze, his eyes were still black as midnight, but they softened, revealing just the barest hint of an amber ring.

  “You’re welcome,” he murmured, then dipped his head and brushed a real kiss to my lips. Seth’s growl intruded, and Tarus sighed, curling his arm around my waist as he kept me still. “I brought her back early because we were discussing Bish. Do not make me regret it, Seth.”

  The rumble of his displeasure cut off, and I gave Tarus a light slap against his chest before I wiggled around. Probably not my wisest idea because his erection suddenly pressed against my back, but I focused on Seth.

  Sit, libido, sit. Good dog.

  Fuck. I burst out laughing all over again, and Seth’s dark expression shifted to a reluctant smile as did Zhan’s, though he seemed to try and hide it by pulling against his lower lip. “Sorry,” I said in between breathless giggles. “Really. Sorry. I’ve got this.”

  Eyes gentling, Seth held out a hand, and I patted Tarus’ arm, and he finally let me go. Two steps, and I was swept into a hug against Seth. Hiding my face ag
ainst his throat, I tried to contain the giggles.

  “It is hard to stay angry with that sound around,” Zhan admitted, and I grinned. Stealing a look at him, I smiled wider.

  “Good.” Catching my breath, I gave Seth a squeeze, then kissed his throat. “We left you a note.”

  “Hmm,” was his only response. “Why did you have to go flying to discuss Bish?”

  Arms folded, Tarus drawled, “We went flying because Beauty was unhappy and I wanted to make her smile. As for Bish, we were just talking. But she finally told me who he was to her.”

  At the vaguely smug note, I rolled my eyes, but Zhan pinned me with a look. “Who is he?”

  “A friend.” I stressed the last word.

  “Not anymore,” Zhan and Seth said in the same breath with almost the exact same vehemence.

  “Oh no,” I said, squirming until Seth put me down. “I’ll tell you what I told buddy boy over there. You three do not get to decide who my friends are.” Oddly enough, once I was on my feet, I looked from one to the other, and all three wore the exact same expression.

  It was eerie—only the brothers were actually in total agreement on something, so yay. Except the thing they were in agreement about had to do with making a choice for me, so boo. Hands on my hips, I said, “Explain. Why can’t I be Bish’s friend? Why can’t he be mine? And if the words I belong to you come out of your mouth,” I pointed at Zhan abruptly, “or you counter with ours,” I continued, pointing to Tarus before finally settling on Seth again and finishing with a, “or you say because I said so, you will not like my response.”

  I let those words sink in. Some of their recalcitrance gave way, but not by much.

  “Fine,” Zhan agreed, almost testily.

  Tarus shrugged, but nodded.

  Seth, once again, was the lone holdout. “While I rather doubt there is any response of yours I wouldn’t find a way to enjoy at some point, I will give you that concession.”

  “Thank you.” Now I could be reasonable. Arms folded, I swung my gaze to follow the semi-circle of them. “I’m listening.”

  The three of them exchanged looks, and I didn’t feel good about it. The calculation in Zhan’s eyes was too sharp to miss, as was the heavy disdain in Seth’s. Tarus was the only one that seemed mildly interested in giving me any real answers.

  I could see where this was about to go. Oh, they wouldn’t forbid me from doing anything, but that didn’t mean they would explain everything. Lucky for them, I didn’t need to know everything, but when it came to why they were so weird about Bish or their own brittle relationship, I was determined.

  “I’m just going to toss out there, I’ll be extremely disappointed if you try to hold information back because you think I’m not good enough, or too human to be trusted. And please for the love of Pete, don’t say I won’t understand.”

  “Who is Pete?” Seth rumbled, crossing his arms.

  Damn, sometimes I loved how literal he was, then other times, it was counterproductive to our conversation. “It’s a saying, Pete isn’t a real person.”

  Zhan covered his mouth to hide his smile, and Tarus grinned at his feet.

  Tossing my hands up, I walked past them to the living room. “Those grins better be off your faces by the time we get there. And no, Seth, I’m not talking to you. I know you weren’t grinning.”

  Okay, so there were two couches and one chair in the living room. The chair it was. Their touches had a tendency to scramble my head, and I was smart enough not to place temptation in my way.

  With pouts that looked out of place on such large men, they settled on the couches. Seth on the one closest to me, and Tarus and Zhan on the other one. My Viking Angel took any opportunity to slide in between me and his brothers, so he probably considered this a small win.

  “Beauty,” Tarus started. “If we’re going to talk about Bish, you should have the three of us together. There are things about our world that I shouldn’t reveal without all of us being on the same page.”

  Seth lifted his wings so they fell over the back of the couch, and cupped his knees with his hands. “Is he really what you want to spend your time on, my sweet? There are so many things we should be doing. A million wonders in the world to show you.”

  “I love that you want that for me. But the more you dance around the subject of Bish, the more I’m going to be curious about him. So out with it. If there’s all these things we should be doing, you’re delaying that by not answering my questions.” I met each of their gazes so they'd understand I wouldn’t budge from my spot until I was satisfied with their answers.

  “All right. To put this topic to rest once and for all, we will answer your questions.” Seth’s ice blue eyes were piercing in their intensity. He stood and walked over to me, plucking me from the chair and settling me sideways in his lap as he took my place. “But you cannot distance yourself from me. I won’t allow it.”

  My spine shot straight at the audacity in that comment, but my heart melted into a tiny puddle of glee. It was hard to give him a proper glare when my body was at such odds. My freaking libido was stuck in one mode. Go. And this little display of possession had my core pulsing. So I settled for a pinch to his side, because I couldn’t be trusted not to eye fuck him.

  He shrugged, not at all concerned with my small sign of rebellion. “You are my first priority, and I know as well as you do that you didn’t want to be sitting here alone.”

  Damn, if he kept talking like this, I was going to fuck him into next week. I had gone long enough without a good dicking, no matter how Tarus played my body earlier.

  “That wasn’t the point, Angel boy,” I huffed.

  Across the room, Zhan got up to move closer. He paused next to the couch where Seth had sat originally, then kept coming until he knelt at Seth’s feet.

  Oh hell, this was going to turn sexual really fast if they didn’t start talking.

  “It’s not what you’re thinking. Bish was never a great friend, and he never betrayed us or anything like that.” Zhan placed one olive-tanned hand on my thigh, then smoothed it up toward the edge of my shorts. Tingles spread out from where his skin touched mine.

  What was I supposed to have been thinking?

  Oh, yeah. Bish. Think about Bish.

  “What was it like then? Why would you care about him so much?” My voice was so husky, I had to clear my throat.

  Zhan leaned deeper into me, his dark brown eyes tugging at everything inside of me to lean forward and meet him halfway. “It’s not about him. This is about you, and the fact that his grace could take you away from us. He could take you to a place where we have no power to visit you, speak with you, touch you. If he gets too close, if he has a chance to use his grace, then we’ll lose you forever. I can’t speak for Seth or Tarus, but I’m not willing to lose you. I will hold onto you for as long as I can.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath. So much. There was so much there, but in my mind, I kept replaying the end in my head.

  I’m not willing to lose you. I will hold onto you as long as I can.

  Why had they never appeared in my early twenties? Before I met Alex, or even when we had been together. All I had ever wanted was to be loved the way I loved others. Then the reminder that they hadn’t saved me when they had a chance splashed cold water on everything, tangling me up in knots.

  “I love that you feel that way,” I gentled my voice, “but Bish is my friend. He was there when no one else was. Like I told Tarus, he even tried to step in that night Alex killed me, but I shook my head no. I had no way of knowing Alex would go too far in his anger.” Shaking my head, I combed my fingers through Zhan’s pitch-black hair, and he closed his eyes, turning his face into my palm. “If I don’t want Bish to take me, then he won’t. I know that much. He respects my wishes, and as my friend, he won’t go against them.”

  Seth tightened his hold on my hips, melding me to his body as Zhan grimaced.

  “My sweet, it doesn’t work like that.” Strong fingers flitt
ed around my jaw before Seth turned my face to his. “If he had followed you that night instead of me, this would have all ended very differently. He would not have extended your life like I did. He would have taken you to a place that we could not follow. And he would not have asked your permission.”

  “Then what is he? Or what is his grace?” Frustration started to beat at me with their non answers. “Who is he, Hades or something?”

  Tarus scoffed, but when I looked at him, he gave nothing away.

  “Look, Beauty, we cannot share his grace, but you’re not far off. What I can tell you with certainty is, he’s not Hades.”

  Fine. They wanted to be that way, fine. I got more than I had. I knew why they were so worried about Bish, and honestly, after hearing this last tidbit about what he could do, I was kind of afraid to see him too.

  What he told me the day he took me to his island made more sense. He said I wouldn’t be alone, and alluded to the fact that he could make my life better by a thousand-fold. So he was either the angel of Heaven, or the angel of Hell. I wanted to ask them, but now wasn’t the time because they wouldn’t answer me anyway. Wait, he said my existence would be better, so he was definitely the angel of Heaven.

  Yeah, yeah. They weren’t angels. Whatever.

  Then I had another thought. If Bish didn’t take me to an afterlife, would I just evaporate into the ether as nothing? Wasn’t that a scary thought. Now I really would be calling on Bish when the time was right.

  My head started to pound from the whiplash in my thoughts and the tension of the conversation. Did I want to tackle their issues now, or wait until I had a clear head about me? Maybe wait.

  The vision in my left eye started to darken around the edges as the headache grew. It was one of those nasty tension headaches, hitting the spots behind my eyes and the back of my skull. I swallowed and refocused on Seth.

  “What were you all like before Zhan and Tarus fell? What did you do together?”

  “Are you feeling okay?” Seth dipped his head closer.

  “Yes, I’m good. Stop trying to avoid the questions.” I poked him in the chest.