Tempting Ballad

by Katherine McIntyre

  “I suppose you’ll be wanting to know what I planned on discussing earlier,” Leo said, driving through the silence between them. He strode over to sit down on the bed beside him, the mattress sinking beneath. As he began unbuttoning his shirt, Renn’s hungry eyes pressed on him. However, if they tumbled down that path, they’d never manage to have this conversation.

  Renn shrugged, though he did push up from his slouch on the bed to sit. Their legs brushed together, and Leo had to resist the urge to reach over and cup the length between the man’s legs which would be ready and eager.

  “I mean, I’ll take any excuse to avoid driving down Depression Highway, but if it’s involving the task ahead, I don’t have much choice, do I?”

  Leo heaved a sigh, drawing his gaze away from Renn. He didn’t move his leg away from the other man’s though, the connection point giving him the strength to deliver this news. “I got the analysis back on the drugs that the Harrods are distributing. They’re not your garden variety hallucinogenic.” His insides twisted tight, his loathing for the Courts and for the corruption between the noble families scorching like lava. “There’s fae DNA threaded through the drugs. The specimen I got tested had asrai DNA inside it.”

  He stopped there, not wanting to voice the conclusion out loud. He wasn’t sure if Renn would place the pieces together like he had, but he didn’t want to look over and see the devastation in the man’s eyes. If his own sister had been subjected to that sort of torture and exploited in that way … well, he’d seen the depths his plan for revenge took him after the way he’d lost both his father and mother.

  “For drugs,” Renn said beside him, his voice coming out wooden and fragmented. “You think they’re getting used for these drugs.”

  The numbness in Renn’s voice had him shifting toward the man before he could help himself. His hand slipped overtop Renn’s, and he gripped tight. The satyr sat hunched forward on the bed, his dark eyes haunted as he stared at the ground. His tangled black hair drifted in front of his face with the hang of his head, and his mouth dropped, slightly ajar as he processed the true horror of what they’d uncovered.

  “Belle always had a way of making the sun shine when you were around her,” Renn murmured, as if he wasn’t aware he spoke. “The rest of the Cantrells were cold, mocking, and made it clear from the moment I was born that I’d been a disappointment. Yet she’d just smile at me, slip her hand in mine, and we’d get into some sort of new adventure.”

  Renn sucked in a sharp breath. “I’d never understood it—not then, and not now, how they could just ignore her disappearance. How could they sit idly by while those monsters…” His eyes widened, and he ducked his head, as if realizing he’d said all of that aloud.

  The reason for the kidnappings would’ve never been a good one—whether fight rings or slaving, but of course the Courts would come up with the pettiest, most mundane reason to ruin lives.

  Immortality led to boredom, and they’d long ago proved their capacity for cruelty.

  “We’ll infiltrate the Harrods’ mansion,” Leo reassured him, since he was helpless to do more. “If your sister is alive, we’ll get her out of there.”

  “Why Belle?” Renn asked, his voice cracking.

  Fuck. He hated seeing Renn broken like this, the man who clung to superficiality like a shield, because the truth was, Renn’s past had shattered him far too badly to begin picking up those pieces. Leo reached his arm around Renn’s shoulders and dragged him close to his chest, resting his chin on the man’s head. He could feel how he crumpled against him, and a ragged breath shuddered from his throat.

  “I wish I had an answer,” Leo said. Something about the choices didn’t feel random, but he hadn’t pieced together a solid reason as to why each of the kidnapped was stolen. After all, if they wanted satyrs or asrai DNA, plenty of sources outside of the upper-class families existed. No point in bringing his conjectures up to Renn now though, to drive the knife into the jugular with no resolution.

  Renn pulled out of his embrace, clutching his hands on his knees. In that moment, Leo watched the transformation firsthand, how the grief and horror ebbed from his features, how the exquisite pain in his eyes deadened, and he pasted a half-smile on his face. The man had perfected his mask through the years, simply to survive in the Courts he’d been born into.

  Leo could understand that far too well.

  Renn clutched the edge of the bed as if he were going to push himself up. “I think news like that requires I drink myself into oblivion. If the rest of our kind are indulging in their vices, I may as well join the fray.” His tone came off carefree, unconcerned. No wonder he’d blended among the others for so long without anyone seeing a hint of the pain he hid so well.

  Leo swallowed hard. He could see the path the man headed, the normal shut down and shut out he seemed to have operated on all these years. Yet he didn’t want Renn to remain alone with this. Maybe a bit of selfishness on his part, because he so badly wanted to mean something more to this man. He wanted Renn to understand the slightest bit of the depth he felt toward him.

  Leo reached out, but not with tenderness. That wouldn’t be welcome here. He slipped his fingers through Renn’s hair and gripped tight, bringing the satyr’s gaze his way. Renn’s eyes widened with an understanding that fast simmered. Leo didn’t need any more prompting as he closed the distance between them and crushed his mouth to Renn’s.

  The taste of this man was a drug of its own, spicy, potent, and consuming. He shoved his tongue in Renn’s mouth, gripping his hair tight as he devoured him. Renn clutched at his open shirt with a tight grip, climbing toward him until he straddled his lap. Leo had begun stiffening the moment he and Renn collided, but the brush of Renn’s hardness through his jeans caused his erection to jut in his slacks.

  Kincaid guided him onto his lap, wide enough to fit the slender man, but he didn’t stop kissing him for a moment. If he couldn’t bring him comfort through talking about this or holding him, he’d distract him until the pain ebbed away, even if only for a few stolen moments.

  As Renn kissed him back with a whole-body eagerness, their sensitized lips brushing together again and again, Leo’s heart lurched. The satyr’s passion and his solitary strength would be his undoing every time.

  Temporary. He needed to remind himself.

  Yet the more he had this man in his bed and in his life, the more difficult the reminder became.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Faneuil Hall bustled with people on any given day, one of the landmarks of Boston both tourists and locals flocked to. Part of it was the dozens of assorted vendors, but a lot of fae took advantage of the steady foot traffic, setting up the sorts of arcane businesses humans glossed over. The brick building with the dozens of arched windows looming down beckoned everyone in the square, the white cupola making a distinctive mark against the bright blue sky.

  While Liz and Ky seemed to be one thousand percent in on Natalia’s plan and Jett had the ‘I want to fuck’ glint in his eye every time he looked her way, Renn, Danica, and Trev held some reservations. This could just as easily be a trap.

  Thankfully, Leo Kincaid put their paranoia to shame. The man packed away a whole suitcase of alternate plans waiting to be used.

  The sight of the building made Renn’s shoulders tighten on reflex. Good memories held far more power to gut him than the bad ones ever did.

  He shouldn’t be able to think after the way Leo fucked him into the bed last night. Their tango in the sheets had been the sort of sweaty, filthy arrangement he’d needed after learning the potential origin of the designer drugs.

  Every time his mind drifted that way, he teetered toward oblivion, a yawning void that would swallow him whole. He couldn’t. Even the imagining of Belle strapped away, her gentle features contorted in pain as they used her for years to make petty drugs made his body clench and his stomach turn.

  Leo strode beside him, brimming with a steadiness he’d come to appreciate. Not everyone would’ve u
nderstood what he needed last night. He’d been ready to bolt, his usual modus operandi when shit got too hard and he revealed too much of himself. If Leo had pushed for him to open more, for anything less than the raw, hard, and unforgiving distraction he’d offered, Renn would’ve ditched and downed a bottle of Jack by his lonesome.

  “Care to explain why splitting the pack’s a good idea?” Renn asked, needing to get out of his head before his mind traveled to dangerous places.

  Claude strode behind them, brimming with irritation Renn seemed to summon every time he entered the room. “Because we’ll never get the fae and humans out of Faneuil Hall in time if we go in a wide pack.”

  “Besides,” Leo cut in, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m simply enjoying a stroll through the marketplace with my lover and my business associate. The King’s warning of the hunter’s attack came from an alternate source. With all the King’s fighters crowded in there and ready to rip heads off, I can’t afford to be tied to anything.”

  Renn shot him the side-eye. “Like you’d ever be willing to get tied to anything.”

  “That’s your kink, not mine, sweetheart,” Leo purred, his gravel voice coursing right through him.

  Claude let out a disgusted grunt behind them. “Save the PDA for the bedroom. I ate a nice breakfast, and I’d prefer to not lose it.”

  Renn lifted his middle finger. As much as he didn’t normally do this with anyone, he had to admit he enjoyed the back and forth insinuations with Leo. Having someone who spent time to know him not just sexually but in as much depth as he’d allow was new. “This is part of the charade, business associate.”

  He didn’t need to look back to feel the press of Claude’s venomous stare. Leo glanced back and offered a half-smile, acknowledging the man. Renn wanted to believe he’d attracted Claude’s ire all on his own, but chances were, he just stepped in the way of the object of his attention.

  Not like this arrangement was a permanent thing. Nothing in his life could be.

  “Where’s your sister at?” Renn asked as they continued to stroll around the outside of Faneuil Hall. Already, humans and fae alike strode out from the exits and entrances at a higher traffic than normal. The rest of the band must have started parading around inside and stirring up trouble. His chest jerked hard at the thought of the brand of Discord’s Desire chaos he specialized in. However, he’d chosen to join Leo’s patrol, their large entourage split up into three separate crews. They’d soon be entering on the other side and kicking up mass hysteria.

  “Ah that,” Leo said, a smirk rolling to his lips. “Marisa and some friends are taking a stroll to survey what remains of the King’s personal guard while the majority are out defending against this imminent hunter attack.”

  Based on the glint in Leo’s eye, the man held some other card up his sleeve.

  “How do we know the hunter who gave us the intelligence isn’t setting a trap?” Claude asked, his voice sharpening. They veered closer to the entrance, the buzz of voices echoing from the busy hall midday. Already, the rich scents of lobster rolls, steaming hot bowls of chowder, and roasted meat drifted their way from the constantly revolving doors.

  He used to grab bowls of chowder with Belle here from the undine vendor who sprinkled hers with herbs from the Otherworld. They’d spend the afternoon by the benches, snacking on everything from lobster rolls to fried sarnian pygmies.

  This entire city was covered in landmines for him.

  Renn cast Leo a glance. The man’s shoulders were back, his carved chin aloft, and the sweep of his dark strands perfectly coiffed. In his soft charcoal suit with firm lines that clung to his dynamite physique, Leo looked like an inveterate businessman, the outfits he wore like Kevlar as he waged his continual battles against fae-kind. Renn hadn’t been oblivious to the tender glances Leo swung his way, even if he made a point not to acknowledge them.

  Truth be told, he didn’t understand the first thing of why someone like Leo Kincaid would even associate with an emotionally avoidant outcast who spent his days drumming and running from his past. Renn was impulsive at the best of times and so damaged he refused to open up even to his closest. The bigwig CEO who radiated immeasurable strength and purpose could do so much better than him.

  They strode through the entrance and the sights, sounds, and scents all washed over him.

  “Ready to stir up trouble, Renn?” Leo asked, dragging him out of his thoughts.

  Renn flashed a grin. “You just said my favorite phrase.”

  He needed to draw attention off of Kincaid all while bringing it to himself, which he specialized in. As they entered, he caught a few familiar faces strolling through the hallways filled with food vendors. Their dour expressions marked them off as the King’s men before he caught the family resemblances. The satyrs and centaurs in the King’s retinue marched through this place on patrol, waiting for the oncoming hunter attack.

  Of course, they weren’t bothering to get the innocent humans and fae out of here. Renn marched up to his cousin who tried to turn his head to the left and pretend he hadn’t spotted him.

  “Liam,” he called out, waving wildly. Kincaid and Claude slowed their stroll as he made his way over. “What’s going on to have the lot of you trotting about?”

  Liam Cantrell’s nose wrinkled in distaste. Clearly, he didn’t want to have any conversation, let alone reveal their reason for being here.

  “Come on, for the King’s best soldiers to be stomping through this joint, something funky has to be going on,” Renn continued, projecting as loud as possible.

  Liam jerked his hand, gesturing him closer as he glared. “Keep your voice down,” he said, his voice a low rasp. “You and your…”

  “Lovers,” Renn supplied with a toothy grin.

  Liam shook his head. “The lot of you should leave. The hunters are planning to attack the hall.”

  Renn scanned around the place. “What about everyone still crammed inside?” His question held all the heat he barely contained, a pointedness his cousin picked up on fast.

  Liam crossed his arms over his chest. “They’re collateral damage if they don’t evacuate fast enough. The important thing is getting ahead of the hunters.” Renn’s chest flared with irritation at the cold comment, but he didn’t expect better. Kincaid had given him the go-ahead for chaos, so that’s what he’d stir up. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Liz, Ky, and Jett striding in from the opposite end of the hall. Trev, Danica, and Natalia must’ve tackled another section.

  Show time.

  “Come on, cousin,” Renn flashed a grin. “You know how easy it is to get folks to storm out of a building.”

  Before Liam could open his mouth or reach out for him, Renn burst past him at top speed, his hooves clopping on the ground. The second he passed the first vendor, he sucked in at the diaphragm and let loose a single word.

  The moment ‘FIRE’ hit the public sphere, panic ensued.

  Renn loped along, screaming at the top of his lungs as he crossed the hall in the direction of his bandmates. The word ignited as fast as a flame to dry wood, people around him bursting into a sprint, eyes widening, and panic buzzing through the air. If his band could do one thing right, it was inciting a crowd to frenzy, every time.

  Seconds after he began his keening cry, he caught Ky’s eye from the opposite end of the hall. The incubus’s grin widened, fangs protruding and his eyes gleaming. Liz heaved her shoulders down in the classic resignation that came along with their crew. Jett shook his head in mock dismay, but a moment later, the siren’s voice carried with his inherent power. Renn didn’t bother looking back to Kincaid and Claude. The big strapping yaksha would want to be distancing himself from the attention.

  Renn clopped through the marketplace filled with old scents and memories. As he picked up speed, he shook off the heaviness he’d felt from first entering. Every scream of ‘fire’ ripped from his lungs in an exultant, freeing ring. He’d scream until he went hoarse if it meant sparing a few
innocents from the carnage about to descend.

  Though truthfully, he’d scream until he went hoarse just to piss his family off too.

  Screams shook the rafters of this old building, and footsteps pounded as the humans and fae searched for an exit. The vendors began packing up fast, grabbing what they needed and finishing their tasks. Anyone stuck behind a counter sent a lot of nervous glances their way. Renn breezed by the vendor stalls, continuing to bellow ‘fire’ to everyone in his vicinity, riling things up the best way he knew how. The aluminum screens rattled as they cascaded down from stand to stand, vendors trying to close up and escape with the others.

  Ky and Jett screamed fire on the opposite side of the corridor while Liz strolled beside them, not wasting her breath. Above all the panic, the shouts, and the clatter of footsteps, their voices projected, a sound he’d grown achingly familiar with. Whether they were playing a show, picking fights in bars, or bickering in the RV, they’d been calling to each other in loud voices for years now.

  Renn’s heart thumped hard as he skipped ahead. He whipped out his pipes. Time for the extra touch to amp up this frenzy. The moment his lips hit the holes to the pipes, he experienced a release. Every time he used them, he summoned emotion from the depths of his being, from a core part of him he’d tried for years to shove aside.

  Lust was easy.

  Panic on the other hand? Cracking that emotion open meant one memory would always come sneaking to the fore. The morning he walked into Belle’s room and saw an empty bed. The day where the world crumbled around him, and he screamed and screamed and screamed, yet no one listened.

  The bile rose in Renn’s throat as all the surrounding chaos shuttered out around him. To this day, diving too deep into those memories caused his mind to reel and his muscles to freeze. Yet he pushed those first notes through, and the memory traveled onward as the rest of the melody poured from him.

  Adding a satyr’s song on top of this powder keg caused the crowd to explode. Shouts elevated to screams, clatters to slams, and the buzzing in the air burst out with undeniable force.