by Quinn Loftis
“And have you experienced more in life?”
Oakley grinned. “Is that your polite way of asking if I’ve tapped…”
“Oakley!” Lisa interrupted sharply.
“What? He asked,” he said pointing to Tony.
Tony rolled his eyes. “If Oakley has, uh what’s the word I’m looking for? If he has…”
“Oh, good grief. I’m seventeen, not a freaking child. Are you saying that because Oakley has had sex and probably done other things we really don’t want the details on, that for some reason it’s easier for him being here? And since I have not…”
“You’re a virgin?” she heard Cush’s voice rumble in her mind pulling her up short. She turned and looked at him. Her forehead scrunched up as she asked, “Do you really want to have that conversation right now?” She motioned to the room full of people.
“Later then,” he told her sternly.
She turned back to Tony, not wanting to even think about the conversation that would be happening between her and Cush. “So it’s harder for me because…”
“Because you haven’t given into that part of yourself,” he finished for her.
“But shouldn’t that make it easier?” she asked. “I mean if you’ve never had chocolate it wouldn’t be hard to turn it down because you wouldn’t know what you are missing, right? So why is this different?”
“Because it’s not a matter of you knowing you are missing out on something,” Tony explained. “It’s in your very nature. It’s a part of who you are and you will fight that part of you for the rest of your life, or you will give into it.”
Elora shivered under the ominous sound of his words. “Well, that’s a bummer.”
“Not exactly,” he responded.
“What do you mean?” She narrowed her eyes at him.
“You are a dark elf, yet you are the Chosen to a light-elf warrior,” Tony told her. “I know a lot of dark elves, and none of them have a light-elf Chosen. Something is going on in the Elfin realm. Whether that something is indeed a bummer remains to be seen.”
“What do you know?” Cush spoke up as he pulled Elora back to his side.
Tony’s eyes narrowed at the warrior. “Can I ask first what your intentions are?”
“Dude, you are employed by the freaking dark elves,” Elora huffed. “I think we should be the ones worried about intentions.”
“Just as you were born into what you are, I was born into what I am. I did not choose this life. It was given to me and I made the best of it.”
“And now?” Cush asked.
“Now I find that there are things that I just can’t turn a blind eye to any longer.”
Cush watched the human male closely, trying to determine if there was any deceit in his words. But all he could see in the man was a weary resolve. It would have to be enough to trust him, because they didn’t really have any other options.
“We need to find the source of the Rapture,” he finally voiced the plan he had been quietly working out in his head, “so that we can destroy it. It’s not enough to just get it out of the casinos,” he continued. “We need to stop production at the source.”
Tony nodded. “Like killing the queen in a hive.”
“What about the portals?” Rin asked.
“It might be beneficial to leave them closed for now,” Cush explained. “Right now Lorsan has no way to send more of his own through, unless he opens them back up. But that would allow our people through as well. So if we leave them closed, all we have to contend with are the ones already here.”
“How many are there?” Lisa asked.
“There’s no way to know that,” Tony answered. “But I do know where the Rapture is being made.”
When he didn’t continue Elora rolled her eyes. “Do we have to beg?”
Tony’s eyes narrowed on her. “You don’t have to, but I’m not saying it wouldn’t be nice to watch.”
Cush let out a low growl at the human. “Remember who she is?” He warned him.
Tony held up his hands. “Sorry, hazard of the job and sort of a habit.”
“What?” Elora asked, obviously confused by the exchange between the two males.
“In my line of work, flirting is just part of it. I mean nothing by it,” Tony explained to her but directed his last comment to Cush.
“Regardless,” Cush grumbled, “save your flirting for other females.”
Elora looked over her shoulder at Cush, and she felt the familiar rush of desire as her purple eyes met his. “Jealous?”
Cush leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear. “And what does the thought of another woman smiling at me, flirting with me, do to you, Little Raven?”
He could practically hear her gritting her teeth. “Point taken.”
Just because he could, he pressed his lips to the skin just beneath her ear, a subtle reminder that she was his Chosen—he had that right.
“Where is the Rapture being made, Tony?” Rin asked as he pushed away from the wall where he had taken up his post.
“San Joaquin Valley, located in Southern California. Lorsan bought 500 acres there because it has some of the richest soil in the world and would support the growth of the plant needed from the elfin realm.”
Cush looked at Rin. “You up for a raid?”
Rin’s lips twitched. “It will be like old times.”
Elora stepped back and turned to look up at him with a frown. “You might as well just share with the entire group, Cush. You two aren’t going to do this alone.”
“You aren’t coming,” he told her in a voice that invited no argument. He expected her to argue, but instead she just grinned at him. His eyes narrowed and he reached for her, wanting to see what little wheels were turning in that mind of hers. But she stepped back, staying just out of his reach. “Elora,” he warned.
“No, it’s totally cool. You and Rin go and do your raid thing. And I’ll stay here in Vegas and Oakley can show me around and introduce me to all those more experienced things he has partaken of.” She smiled as she put her arms in the air and started shaking her hips to a beat only she could hear. “I think it’s time this Little Raven spread her wings and let her dark side out just a tad.
Cush felt his blood begin to boil as he saw Tony’s eyes widen as his Chosen turned in a circle, gyrating with way too much skill. He grabbed her arm and tugged her to him, effectively putting an end to her little dance. “Do you have rooms we could stay in for the night?” he asked the casino operator.
Tony’s eyes were still frozen to the spot Elora had just occupied, but he quickly composed himself and became the host that he usually showed his customers. “Yes, I can accommodate you. Your food and rooms will be on the house. Also, I would like to discuss your plan more.”
Cush nodded. “Can we meet later tonight?”
“That will work. I’ll have one of the conference rooms reserved. One of my men will come and retrieve you at ten.” Tony made a call and then before Cush knew it they were being ushered into some of the nicest suites in all of Vegas.
“You’re feeling your oats,” Elora teased the frowning light-elf warrior, who looked very much out of place in the opulent hotel room. His arms were folded across his broad chest and his handsome face was rigid with frustration. “Not many people could get away with informing my mom that her daughter would be staying in a room with a guy while she has to sleep across the hall.”
“You’re mother understands what we are.” His voice was tight with anger. “She knows that it will be painful for us to be separated.”
“True,” Elora conceded, “but you could have been a tad bit more polite than the whole Elora stays with me bit. And then closing the door in all of their faces, well that was just classic.” She sat down on the large, over stuffed sofa. Smoothing out her short black skirt she noticed that the black fishnet tights she wore had begun to fade and now looked closer to a dark shade of grey. She crossed one leg over the other and grimaced as the heavy combat boots on
her feet weighed down her leg uncomfortably. When she looked back up to where he stood her breath caught as the intensity of his stare pierced her soul. “Cush?” she asked cautiously.
It was several seconds before he finally answered her. “You can’t come with us, Elora.”
“Didn’t you just say that it would be painful for us to be separated?” she countered.
“It is merely uncomfortable as long as we are in agreement to be a part. But it is painful when we are forced a part.”
“Believe me, you don’t have to explain. I saw what it did to Cassie when she was separated from Trik. But what makes you think that I will agree to stay here while you go to take on the dark elves?” She pushed herself up from the couch, suddenly very agitated at his calm demeanor. “I understand that you don’t want me to get hurt. I get that because I don’t want you to get hurt. But why do guys always think it’s fair to ask the chicks to stay behind where they will have to sit around and wonder if the man they care about is alright?”
“You aren’t a warrior, Elora,” he said in exasperation as his arms fell to his side and he took a step towards her. “I have been fighting for a very long time. I am very good at what I do.”
“Oh, I bet you are,” she muttered under her breath and then blushed when his eyes widened at her. “What? Sorry, I tend to get a little snarky when I’m frustrated.”
“The point is…the reason males ask their females to stay behind is because it is in our genetic makeup to protect what is ours. You are my Chosen and I will protect you from everything, even yourself.”
Elora snorted. “Yeah, good luck with that. What are you going to tie me up or something?”
An eyebrow rose on his gorgeous face. “Bloody hell, you would, wouldn’t you?” she asked.
“There isn’t much I wouldn’t do to keep you safe,” he admitted shamelessly.
“At the risk of sounding utterly cliché, you can’t protect me from everything,” she pointed out.
His lips twitched and she could tell that he was amused with her. “Maybe not, but I can protect you from this.”
“And you aren’t the least bit worried about leaving me and my dark nature in Sin City?”
His eyes narrowed on her and she felt a shiver of awareness crawl down her spine. “About that,” he started and her attention was caught on his mouth as he licked his lips. She didn’t think he was trying to be seductive, but man alive if he wasn’t just naturally so. His eyes grazed over her, leisurely starting at her feet and slowly climbing. “You mentioned that you thought it was time for the Little Raven to spread her wings,” his voice caressed her suddenly overly sensitized skin.
“I might have said something along those lines,” she admitted with a shaky voice.
“If you really feel that is necessary, or if there is some,” he paused and his eyes latched onto hers, “urge that you need to act on because we are in Vegas and your dark-elf nature is demanding it, there’s no need for you to wait until I leave.”
“Really?” she nearly squeaked out. She cleared her throat and forced herself to pull it together, though she was slowly becoming a puddle at his feet. “Why is that exactly?”
“Because I am more than happy to accommodate my Chosen in any way that she needs. It is my privilege to meet your needs. And honestly,” his voice dropped an octave, “the darker the better.”
Elora’s palms had begun to sweat, isn’t that sexy, she thought as she wiped them on her thighs. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she was certain that at any moment it was going to beat its way straight out of her body. She refused to back up when Cush began taking steps towards her. When he was finally standing directly in front of her, she had to grit her teeth to keep from begging him to get on with the accommodating already.
“Do you need me?”
“Yes,” she breathed out quickly before her brain had a chance to tell her hormones to shut the hell up.
He chuckled and before she had a chance to consider just how freaking hot his laugh was, his hands were in her hair pulling her to him and then his lips were on hers. Elora felt something inside of her awaken, as though being pulled from a deep slumber for the first time. Her soul reached for his, but this time she felt the darkness rise with it. She pressed closer to him and felt his fingers tighten in her hair in response, which only spurred her on. Her mouth opened as she gasped and as their tongues met. She heard him groan and it vibrated against her chest, stirring the passion, igniting a flame that she didn’t know if she would be able to put out.
Cush felt her response and the force behind it had him rocking on his feet as he clutched her to him. He hadn’t planned to kiss her; he hadn’t planned to touch her. He had actually been hoping to have her backtracking on her threat to feed her dark nature, but this idea had completely backfired. His Little Raven had taken the bait and run with it.
He felt her small hands wrap around his neck and pull him closer. The heat from their bodies scorched him clear to his bones. He needed to stop this while he still could. Despite what she might think she wanted, he knew this wasn’t the time or the place.
“What better time or place than in a freaking hotel room, Cush?” He heard her sultry voice in his mind and was shocked that she was able to concentrate enough to pick up on his thoughts. He let his hands run down her neck, shoulders, and arms until he was holding her hands and then he pulled back from the kiss. As his lips left hers, he knew that miracles really did happen because it was a miracle that he was the one stopping them from going further.
“Under different circumstances, it would be perfect,” he murmured as he ran a thumb across her swollen lips. “You are quite the vixen, Elora.” He smiled as she blushed. “I want you, but not like this, not under these circumstances.”
She blew out a deep breath and turned away from him, needing to get herself under control. “I know,” she groaned. “I don’t want it like this either. Well, I mean I do, but I don’t.” She shook her head and laughed. “Crap, I don’t know what I mean.”
“You’re a virgin,” he said, gently hoping she could hear how pleased that information made him.
“Yes, contrary to my current behavior, I’m not usually a floosy.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” he teased. “Is it because the right male has not come along?” he asked, truly wanting to know why in a world that he knew to be so free with their sexuality, she had remained pure.
Elora turned and looked at him, her brow furrowed as she studied him. “Cassie and I talked about it.” She shook her head with a small grin. “I mean we both came to the conclusion that there was no reason to rush giving away something that there was no return policy on. You know? I mean once that dam is breached, so to speak, there’s no going back. Once it’s given away, it’s a level of innocence that you can never get back. I didn’t want to give that to just anybody. Not to mention all the liabilities that come when you open that door. I mean do you know all the diseases a person can get from bumping uglies?”
Cush choked on a laugh. “Bumping uglies?”
She shrugged. “Just calling it like it is. Anyways, Cassie and I both decided that our first time would be with the one person who deserved to have it. And religious reasons aside, because I’m not really religious, for me that would be my husband. The way I see it, if he really wants me then he’ll commit to me for life.”
He felt his chest tighten and his fists clenched at his sides as she talked about having a husband and the possessive feeling that he was growing accustomed to rushed through him. “What about a soul mate?” he questioned. The growl in his voice had her eyes snapping up to his face and widening slightly.
She stared at him silently for a few seconds. He watched her face carefully, trying to get a read on what it was she was thinking and feeling. They were still so new to each other, and he still had so much to learn about her.
“I suppose a soul mate would do,” she said nonchalantly.
He growled as he lifted her chin up so he c
ould fully see her face. “I will marry you if that is what you need of me. I will do whatever human ritual you need in order for you to feel I’ve bound myself to you, but you need to know this, Little Raven, the moment our souls connected I was yours. And if there were no such things as Chosens, or soul mates, you would have captivated me still.”
Elora’s lips parted as the breath rushed out of her as if she had been punched in the gut. “Wow,” she rasped, “that was totally book worthy.”
He titled his head to the side. “What?”
She grinned. “You’re little speech. It was worthy of being in one of those romance novels where the hero is so swoon worthy that even other males drool over him.”
“I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not,” he admitted.
She cleared her throat and brushed her hair back from her face. “Oh, believe me, it is.” She let out a deep sigh and rubbed her face wearily. “So what now?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean what do we do now? We’re obviously not going to act on my darker impulses, despite your big talk,” she teased. “So what are we going to do between now and the meeting thing, which I am going to by the way.” She held up her hand as he started to argue. “Unless you really are going to tie me to the damn bed, I’m going, so save your breath, you won’t win this one elf boy.”
Cush crossed his arms across his chest as he looked down at her. “Are you always this dramatic?”
Elora chuckled as she sat back down on the couch and wiggled around until she was comfortable. “Can I blame it on my dark side?”
He sat down next to her and pulled her legs up onto his lap. “Might as well, I have a feeling you’ll be blaming as much as you can on it.” His head jerked to the side as he felt something wet in his ear. His eyes narrowed on her as she held up the finger she had just licked and then stuck in his ear.
She shrugged and grinned wickedly. “My dark side made me do it.”
Chapter 10
“Where there is civilization, there is war. The very idea of civilization is a contradiction. When beings, whether human, elfin, or other gather in one place to set up a society, there will always be conflict. There will always be those more intent on seeing their own will imposed on others rather than sacrificing themselves for what is best for the whole. Though this might cause some to become hopeless, there are those who will be spurred on to seek peace. These are the remnant, the ones who refuse to let evil prevail.” ~Forest Lords