by Erin R Flynn
“We’ve got runs to make to Houston where we’ve got corrupted congregating, waiting for us to show,” James explained, tossing over a helmet over to Cerdic. “You’re riding with me; Kristof, you’re with Tyson.”
“Doing what?” Henry asked, glancing between us. “What runs?”
“You’re a bit behind,” Jacob muttered. “Fighter jets. They use the military fighter jets Inez fixed as they were Navy fighter pilots, and bomb major cities after they lure corrupted in with her blood.”
“I did know that,” he sighed. “I heard Matilda say it. I’ve been dealing more with local issues, and on the ground by us, so I’ve not kept up best.” He gave Jacob a look. “The humans are getting pesky now that we’ve killed so many corrupted. We’re trying to handle that, along with rebuilding as well.”
“I understand,” Jacob accepted. “It wasn’t a slight. I know we all work hard.”
Okay, so something was going on there, but I wasn’t touching it, and I was pretty sure everyone there had the same mindset.
Especially because Kristof looked like he might argue going up in the jet. I found that hysterical given he was so ruthless, and never had I seen him even slightly afraid before besides when Vitor had hurt Inez.
“I won’t fuck with you like James will Cerdic,” Tyson promised. “It’s terrifying but fun, I swear. Plus, I don’t like cleaning up puke.”
“That’s why you give them the barf bags,” James drawled.
“I honestly don’t know if I’m jealous they get to ride in those or relieved I’m not one of them,” Vitor said once they were in the right gear and heading to the fueled up jets.
“A bit of both is the right answer,” Simon told us. “It’s awesome, totally trippy in a way I’m sure it is for you guys to blur so fast. But you’re the passenger this time and getting to see it all from that high. It shouldn’t be as much of a shock since you can move that fast. But James is a bit of a sadist. It’s why I ride with Tyson.”
Fair enough.
We spent the time catching up on this and that, Simon telling us what was in store with Inez’s party. I noted a few of the nobles visiting just for the festivities had unflattering opinions of the fact Inez would enjoy a party like that. Or maybe their princesses were being subjected to that, but Inez hadn’t really even invited them, so they chose to do it.
Which also made me realize something important.
“Henry doesn’t like Inez,” Vitor said at a level only a few of us could hear. “It’s clear he doesn’t like Kristof, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like Inez or approve of the match.”
“It explains why Jacob is always the one helping and involved,” Tian agreed. “Fine, Sebastian is Jaxon’s father and not Nora’s Night, while Henry is Matilda’s, but still, that seemed telling he never came until it would be expected he would.”
“I’m surprised Nora’s Night isn’t here as this isn’t Jaxon’s oath,” I muttered.
“Jaxon’s sister, who is next in line, bleeds the same time Inez does,” he explained. “After the girl lost nobles, her father refuses to have the whole court leave when things are tumultuous. Henry is right, and the humans are getting feisty over there. They’re expecting the remaining government or self appointed leaders to show up and demand they turn over all they have.”
“That will end well for them,” Vitor replied, sounding amused. He nodded towards Henry where Ceawlin was next to him, both looking very alike, even if not physically. “I think it clear where Olivia and Ceawlin got their influence from, whereas Cerdic seems more like Matilda besides the Zen part.”
“I heard Sebastian say that Henry had a sadistic streak a mile long, but I thought it more jovial. Now I think not,” I agreed. “Do you think Cerdic knows?”
“I don’t think Cerdic cares,” Vitor answered. “He seemed shocked Henry came, but not surprised he was still close with Ceawlin. Also, I don’t think Inez has been officially introduced to him yet. I doubt that’s a coincidence.”
“That will probably end well,” Tian sighed. But Tian was always sighing. I didn’t even know if he knew he did it or remotely as often as he did. It was excessive, but while it seemed to always be his annoyance, I got the feeling it wasn’t and there were more layers to it. If a sigh could have layers like that.
They landed and both of them looked a bit green around the gills and amazed.
“Speaking as someone who’s met his share of sadists, you’re a fucking sadist, James,” Cerdic bitched, rubbing his stomach.
“You still liked it,” James about sang. “Plus, there was a point.”
“Be careful how we hold Inez when we carry her to travel,” Sebastian surmised. “Yes, I made that mistake the first time and she… I felt horribly for a while.”
“That was an experience,” Kristof praised Tyson. “I promise to always be as gentle with you.”
“Oh fuck,” James groaned, giving Cerdic a worried look.
“Yeah, revenge is a bitch,” Cerdic warned.
I wasn’t the only one who laughed, but I made sure to grab James for where we went next. I wanted to go up in the jets one day and I wanted him to not fuck with me. I followed after Vitor who Simon had shown where we were going, stopping at a very large warehouse. I set James on his feet and he waited until everyone gathered.
“Some of you know that every time we check a place out or put a city back online, Inez always grabs visitors’ guides or any information she can at the government offices. While most of you thought it frivolous or a spoiled princess planning vacations and focused on fun—”
“She’s picked out some amazing finds as many tourist attractions have astounding resources or what areas boast as having bounty in,” Jacob cut in. “She found several rough diamonds that way in Seattle whereas we would have overlooked them.” He glanced from James to the warehouse. “What did she find this time?”
“The sexy sponge of information that soaks up all she can found out that seventeen states controlled wholesale alcohol purchasing,” he answered with a smirk. “Meaning all alcohol had to go through one large government facility instead of direct purchases. Thirteen also regulated retail purchases and Mississippi was one of them.
“This three hundred thousand square foot facility behind us was the distribution center for all the alcohol in the state.” He smiled and handed over a pamphlet to Cerdic. “And this is your prize. Your fiancée found it amusing how often you both were snagging booze for her as you’re both clearly connoisseurs, and while you might want her castle and coven to have the best, you also enjoy it most.”
“That’s not inaccurate,” Cerdic agreed, heading for the door. “This should be good.”
It was. We walked inside and there was just everything. The place was enormous and completely stocked full of booze. And I mean stocked. The place was a few stories tall and had shelving that allowed pallets to be stacked to the ceiling.
“How much of this is bad now though?” Ceawlin grumbled.
“The beer for sure is—” Henry agreed.
“No beer,” James cut in. “Beer didn’t count and is its own beverage. This is spirits and wine, so only the hard stuff.” He gave them an annoyed look. “But even if it was only half because of the beer, I think a hundred and fifty thousand square feet is still a nice prize and gift from a fiancée given she already gave them both presents. This was just for fun.”
“Ignore their jealousy,” Moon said as he moved in further. “I would be as well as I’m sure neither of their princesses would think to set all this up for them.”
“Spoken like a noble without a court,” Ceawlin drawled.
He raised an eyebrow as he looked back to Ceawlin. “I have a court I’m loyal to and have taken an oath for. I’m simply not her noble. Yet. I can wait as long as she wants. She’s worth that.”
“I’d be very careful on what you say next as Inez made it clear if you were to upset Cerdic or annoy us when she wasn’t around to handle it, we were allowed to stab you,” Sisay
warned him as he went over to the business desk. “This is the full list of all approved retail places, so every address in the state of Mississippi.” He gave Cerdic an annoyed look. “She gifted you all the booze in a damn state.”
“Of course she did,” he chuckled. “Alright, well, I’ll share with my team for sure. James, you get a bottle only since you brought us here, but you tried to make me puke.”
“That’s fair, but I also promised the guys who were driving the trucks for your fun we’d save them something nice,” James added.
Cerdic nodded. “I’m fine with that. Apparently, I have a whole state of booze to share. Nice.”
“Oh right, Inez had something else, but she made sure I knew these were for outside and not in a warehouse of alcohol,” Simon said as he pulled boxes of cigars out of his bag. “We didn’t know if they were still good, or the good ones, and she said to make it clear this doesn’t mean you’re knocking her up since it’s a thing to smoke cigars about babies.”
“That’s to celebrate when they were born,” Jaxon drawled. He chuckled when Simon simply shrugged and handed them over.
They were in good shape and excellent ones. Nice. We browsed around and enjoyed several bottles of spirits to share with the large group once we were outside in the summer night, smoking cigars. It was funny to see what was surprisingly good or what we maybe hadn’t had in a while.
“Anything with a high sugar content is long dead, even if not opened, right?” Simon asked as he came out with a bottle of coffee liqueur.
“Yes, but it degrades, so it’s still drinkable as long as it’s not a cream one, even if it doesn’t need to be refrigerated,” I answered, taking it from him. I opened it up and sniffed it. “It’s fine. Might taste stale or blander than if it hadn’t expired, but it’s fine.”
He nodded, taking it back and sniffing it. “I was thinking this might be fun for Irish coffees for guests.” He waggled his eyebrows at Jaxon. “Get it?”
“Yeah, we got it, goof,” he chuckled.
Simon just shrugged. “I became of age to drink in the fucking apocalypse. I’m like Inez, I want to try it all and see what I like now that we’ve got it.”
We spent a bit there, most ready to take the bottles back to where they were staying and add some food or fun with their drinks. Cerdic let everyone take whatever they could carry, making it clear it was only an offer for that night and if he found anyone raiding his gift, he would be pissed.
Looking at the sky, I realized Inez’s party was probably winding down as well, thinking I should head to Montana and check in she was safe. That seemed to be the consensus, Kristof thanking everyone for coming, but the rest of the night would be the wedding party only.
Fine, I could include myself in that as her guard and noble who wanted to be in her court. We blurred over there to see how the women were doing, careful since there were other princesses there, and it was a faux paus to see them undressed unless in their court and part of the festivities.
“Girls only!” Inez announced as we arrived, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glazed over as she beamed at us. Oh boy, she was sauced for sure.
“Yes, love, but our party wrapped up and everyone was heading back,” Cerdic said.
“I want my bed,” Lara slurred. “That was good shit.”
“Yeah it was,” Maggie agreed, pushing to stand and not caring that the water had hid their nakedness from us. I quickly turned around with the others as everyone got out and wrapped towels around themselves.
“Fine, the strippers are only for me anyways,” Inez giggled.
“She’s not half in the bag, but all the way,” Matilda warned Cerdic. “But we had fun and she needed it. Did you have fun?”
“We did. Lots.”
“Good.” She kissed his cheek and moments later, she was gone, along with the others, some able to carry the shifters.
I turned back in time to see Inez walking out of the pool completely naked, water dripping off every inch of her. She started to trip but I caught her, swallowing loudly as she smiled up at me.
“Are you my stripper?”
“Yes,” I blurted. “I can’t dance but whatever you want, Inez.”
She gave an excited squeak and tottered over to the patio furniture the place now had, plopping on the sofa with her moonshine. She waved at me when I just stood there. “Let’s go. I’ve never seen a stripper.”
“We’ve stripped for you lots, love,” Cerdic chuckled.
“Shhh, you’re not here. Fiancés aren’t allowed. I’ve got three strippers.” She toasted him with the jar of moonshine and focused back on me.
“Three?” I asked as I started getting undressed.
She nodded. “Three. No fiancés or husband so they’re invisible.” She waved towards where Darius was. “He’s—I don’t know, but whatever.” Ouch. “Vitor and Tian are guards and that leaves my three—Branko, Moon, and you.”
“You forgot Sisay,” Moon said, sounding amused.
She waved off the idea. “Sisay and I are buddies, like Eddie. He’s like a super old, Eddie and my friend.”
“Sisay got friend-zoned,” Tian snickered, shaking his head.
“Shut up, guard,” Sisay drawled. “Well, as your friend, can I get you some water and maybe something to eat?”
She nodded. “Okay. And bills. I need like, dollar bills, right?” She frowned. “They’re worth nothing now. That’s not nice. I’ve seen you guys in swim shorts. I wouldn’t not tip for that hotness.” She bounced her head around as if trying to figure out if all the negatives of that sentence worked out, but then she was over it. “Can I touch? You have to ask with strippers, right?”
“You can touch me all you want,” I promised, undressing faster for her hungry eye.
“Anywhere I want?” she asked, licking her lips as I got to my pants. I was dying just to get it all off at a faster speed, but she was enjoying the show. “Anyone object if I touch the strippers? The three invisible ones I mean.”
Oh ouch, excluding Darius again, but really, he deserved it, and from the pain in his expression, he knew it. He went over to the corner with the bottle he’d brought and sat down to quietly drink and watch the show.
“Love, touch them all you want. Have a fling before your wedding even,” Cerdic offered. “We don’t mind.”
“Hmm, maybe,” she agreed, blinking at me when I was naked and in front of her. Fuck yes I wanted her to have a fling or anything with me. She drank more of her moonshine and then handed it to me.
“That is good,” I agreed after I had some.
She nodded, almost falling off as she reached over to the table for something. “We went to two distilleries that had loads of booze. It was a good find.” She sat back up and patted the seat next to her. I sat and put down the jar, wondering what she was up to. She leaned in and squirted oil on me, which was the bottle she’d grabbed. Then she moved to straddle my lap and started rubbing the oil in.
“Um, you don’t normally massage the strippers,” I confessed.
She gave me a cute look of amusement. “I know, but you said you can’t dance and I can touch. I want to touch. A lot.” She giggled as she ran her hands over my shoulders. “So many muscles. It’s hot. Not too many.” She licked her lips and met my gaze. “You’re just right.”
Oh fuck, I was going to blow before she even touched my dick.
“Can I kiss you?” she whispered as she moved her hands over my pecs.
“Inez, you can do whatever you want to me.”
“Anything?”
“Anything,” I promised.
She hummed happily as she leaned in and kissed my neck. “You won’t change your mind later?”
“No.”
She sat up straight and gave me a heated look. “Can I hire you as a hooker?”
I hadn’t seen that one coming but I nodded. “Sure.”
“Really? Can I tie you up?”
“Yes, please.”
She moaned as she ran her hands over my
abs. “What if I want to make you a mess?”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged as she leaned back so my cock moved from under her and she could grab it. She put more oil on her hands and then did. “So fucking big. All of you ancients have huge dicks.” She slowly pumped it and leaned in. “I mean, I want to make you a mess like everyone makes me. I want to not let you touch and make you beg. I want to make you a mess for me.”
“I already am, Inez,” I whimpered. “Do whatever you want to me.”
“Even if I never take your oath?” she asked, ignoring when I flinched. “People change their minds then. Will you let me just have fun and do whatever I want? Maybe that’s the answer.”
“Inez, that sounds like you don’t want this weekend to happen,” Branko worried.
She leaned back, sitting on my thighs, and glanced at him with scrunched eyebrows. “Of course not.”
“Wait, what?” Cerdic whispered. “You don’t want to have the weddings?”
She gave him a look like he was dense. “No, not at all.” Ouch. She blinked around at them. “I’ve said it from the beginning it’s stupid to do it so fast. How is the youngest here, the baby vampire, the one who gets how dumb it is to rush so fast to give an oath that’s forever when we’re immortal? Who has that really worked out for?”
“Then why are we doing this?” Kristof bit out.
“Because I love you,” she answered, letting me go and wobbling a bit. She thanked me when I grabbed her waist to balance her. “You both want it and I love you. I want you. That wasn’t the question. He asked if I wanted to do the oaths and weddings. I don’t. But I’m princess and I said I would, and it gives everyone what they want. Who cares what I want?” She shrugged like it was no big deal.
“We do, love,” Cerdic whispered.
She gave him a sad smile. “You say that now, but you’ll change your mind after I’m yours. You’ll still be mine and forever, but it won’t be like it was, right? I mean, you promise forever at my side, but that just means in the coven, not loving me, not staying with me no matter what. Well, maybe you’ll be like Jaxon since your family coven needs me, but Kristof will probably be just like Darius and toss me aside.”