“Hello, sweet boy,” I muttered, pressing my cheek against his long nose that narrowed much like a canine’s. A brief idea popped into my head before I pushed it away. Stealing Warrior away to try to get across the border was an idiotic idea. But maybe I could bring the idea back to Olezka.
“I am glad you two got to see each other again, but Sixx, you shouldn’t linger too long.”
“I know. Has he been hanging around here?” I asked as I patted Warrior’s neck.
“Yes. I think he will remain here as long as you do,” Tess said as she tended to some uneven plants; courtesy of Warrior, no doubt.
“Good. I don’t want to keep him trapped here, but… I have an idea.”
“Just so you know, I do not want any part of it. I will happily tend to my gardens in ignorance,” Tess griped.
I laughed lightly and pressed a kiss to Warrior’s forehead. “I’ll be back soon,” I whispered. I turned to Tess, who waited for me at the entrance of the small clearing. “Thanks for bringing me out to see him.”
“Thank you for visiting me, little one. A friend in this place is rare. I treasure our friendship.”
We headed out of her garden hastily, and I managed to make it back to Olezka’s room without incident. Feeling a bit guilty for disappearing, even after promising Olezka I would stay, I headed into the closet. Dressing sexy doesn’t have to lead to anything, I reminded myself. I wanted Olezka, but it didn’t feel like the right time. That didn’t mean we couldn’t fool around. I grabbed the least scandalous set of lingerie I could find, which wasn’t even on the spectrum of tame.
I heard the bedroom door open and shut. Crap, he’s back sooner than I thought.
“Olezka? Hey, um, don’t question me, just do it. Okay?”
He didn’t respond, but I imagined him walking closer to the closet.
“Sit down! I’ll be out in a second.”
I heard the squeak of the bed under his added weight and breathed a little easier.
You can do this. You can. Okay.
Glancing down, I tried to remind myself that Olezka never shied away from grabbing onto my extra fluff. He’d made it very clear that he liked it, even preferred it. The deep red color of the lingerie reflected the colors of his house, which I knew would please him. I hadn’t worn his colors since the ball. A ball I had gladly pushed to the back of my mind.
I marched forward, then slowed because I didn’t want to scare him. Sensual. I could do that.
No, I absolutely couldn’t. But men were easy enough to please after all. I breathed in deeply before stepping out of the closet. My eyes were lowered because I didn’t think I could bear to see his yet.
“Damn, Seis, I wasn’t expecting this. But if you’re offering…”
My gaze shot up to clash with the infamous incubus with whom I’d once shared a cell in the Light Fae’s dungeon, and who was currently the subject of a realm-wide manhunt. He was lounging on the bed with his long legs crossed at the ankles, leaning against the headboard. With his hands clasped behind his head, he looked ridiculously comfortable and at ease.
“Fudge.” I crossed my arms over my chest when his gaze dipped down then traveled lower. “Stop looking!” I snapped.
“Seis, you’re the one giving me a free show! How am I supposed to refuse?”
“You do realize that Olezka is going to kill you, don’t you?”
“Si, but I got a favor to cash in first,” he answered with a wicked glint in his eyes.
Just then, the door opened.
“Fuck,” I whispered as Olezka stepped into the room.
Taking one glance in the room, his face began to mottle, and his roar could be heard from miles around.
Chapter 4
“Olezka!” I screamed at the same time Cyril moved. The incubus stood behind me in the blink of an eye, wrapping an arm around my neck and watching as my mate burst into flames. His long canines were revealed as he peeled back his lips in a ferocious display of power.
“Oh, crap. Get off me, you idiot! His flames don’t hurt me, but they will destroy you.”
Cyril ignored me, focusing on my mate. “She owes me a favor, and I have come to collect.” Olezka’s body expanded as his shift threatened to take over.
Wrong, wrong thing to say. So wrong.
“Get your hands off my mate,” Olezka’s voice was barely recognizable. A shiver of fear skittered down my spine as he moved a step closer. His heat brushed against my skin, reminding me that I was safe.
Even in Cyril’s hold, I didn’t feel any danger from the incubus. He could have harmed me so many times over and chose not to, so I didn’t see any point in it now. He wanted something and was using me as leverage.
“You know as well as I do that in this realm, favors are not to be trifled with. She owes me, which means she’s mine until the favor is fulfilled,” Cyril said haughtily.
“She is not yours.”
“We are tethered. You hurt me, you hurt her,” Cyril said, reaching up and pressing a blade against the forearm he had pressed around my neck.
My eyes widened as I squeaked, pushing closer into Cyril and trying to escape his switchblade. After slicing his arm, blood dripped down his skin and fell onto the top of my exposed breasts. I regretted my spontaneity and ill-fated attempt at being sexy. What was I thinking?
But my thoughts were interrupted when sudden pain sliced through my forearm. I hissed in a sharp breath and tried to grab my arm to soothe away the sting. I didn’t think he’d sliced me, but I couldn’t see the skin. In any event, the pain remained. I glanced up at Olezka, who growled deep in his throat.
“You hurt her.”
“I told you she offered a favor in return for my help. We are bound until that favor has been fulfilled.”
Olezka turned his impenetrable gaze to mine. “Sixx?”
Olezka blurred as pain-filled tears welled in my eyes.
“Release her.”
Surprisingly, Cyril did. He dropped his arm and took a couple of steps back. His blood was still on my skin as Olezka rushed forward and wrapped his arms around me. His flames burned, covering me like a cocoon and offering comfort.
“моя жизнь.”
“Aren’t you two precious?”
“You may be tethered to Sixx for now, but you won’t be forever. Remember that, incubus.”
“I won’t forget, hellhound,” Cyril said suggestively.
“Stop looking at my mate!” Olezka snapped, tucking me behind him. My cheeks flamed as I realized my very full ass was on display for Cyril to ogle.
“You are one lucky dude.”
“Cyril!” I yelled, poking out from around Olezka’s back. He kept his hand on my hip, keeping me firmly behind him.
“Seis.” His voice took on a deep, velvety tone, and his eyes began to glow a luminescent green.
“No, stop that!” I snapped this time, annoyed he was using his magic.
“Leave.” Olezka’s voice took on that icy, scary tone that made me want to run out of the room.
Cyril raised his chin and looked Olezka directly in the eyes. “I’m not leaving until our terms are in place.”
“You will leave; the guard will escort you to another room, and we’ll sort this out in the morning, Olezka seethed. “The only thing keeping you safe from me ripping out your eyes for looking at my mate is your tether to her.”
“I’ll be seeing you real soon, Seis,” Cyril taunted as he gave Olezka a wide berth on his way to the bedroom door. As soon as the door shut behind him, Olezka sighed then grabbed my hand and led me into the bathroom.
“Olezka?”
He didn’t speak as he pulled me next to the tub and turned on the faucet, his gaze focused on the blood splattered on the top of my breasts. I had to admit I was scared. The wound that Cyril inflicted on himself affected me as well. What have I gotten myself into this time?
“You’re not talking, and that’s kinda freaking me out.”
“Clothes or nyet?”
&n
bsp; “Um, well… not really what I meant. Like sure, I’d planned on seducing you a little bit. But I don’t feel like either one of us is in the…”
“Sixx.”
“…in the mood right now,” I continued. “You know, ‘cause…”
“Sixx.”
“What?”
Olezka gripped my hips and tugged me closer to him. He pressed his forehead against mine. Breathing in slowly, I felt the heat in his hands and knew how close he was to losing control again.
“Do you want to bathe with your clothes on or off? Choose quickly, or I will choose for you.”
“Clothes. Definitely clothes. I mean, there’s not much there anyway, but… eep!”
Olezka didn’t let me finish before lifting me and placing me gently in the heated tub. The water brushed over my skin, and the silky fabric of the lingerie tightened over my body. Maybe I should have picked no clothes instead. Olezka cupped his hand in the water before pouring it over my breasts. I shivered as desire heated my blood. He reached over me, grabbing the scrubbing stone. I realized early on, once wet, it became spongier and filled with soap. He dipped it into the water before rubbing it onto my shoulders. The water lapped at the tops of my breasts. I swallowed as I reached behind me to unhook my bra.
Olezka reached for my hand to stop me.
“Nyet, not that.”
“I don’t expect that from you tonight. I honestly don’t think I’m in the mood for it anymore. But bathing with this thing on is making my skin itch.”
“I will leave until you are done.”
“I’d prefer it if you stayed,” I said boldly. “I have questions about what just happened, and I was hoping you’d listen to an idea I have.”
Olezka’s gaze dropped as I slipped the bra off one shoulder. He cleared his throat and purposefully looked me in the eye as I pulled off the other strap. I chucked the sodden material across the bathroom where it landed with a loud plop. Olezka’s lips turned upward, and my heart lifted.
“So, do you want to explain what kind of trouble I’ve gotten myself into now?”
Olezka leaned forward and kissed me chastely. My eyelids fluttered shut, and as he pulled away, a dreamy smile remained on my face.
“What was that for?”
“Admitting that you have gotten yourself into trouble. I thought you would try to deny it.”
“What?” I mock-growled, slapping his shoulder with a wet hand. He grabbed it and pulled me closer to the edge of the tub.
“A favor in the Veil, once invoked, binds the two parties together. Until the favor is fulfilled, your lives are entangled. Any pain inflicted on you, he will feel, and vice versa. It is Old magic to ensure the safety of both parties until the favor is repaid.” Olezka trailed his fingers over my arm.
“You didn’t think that was sufficiently important to explain to me?”
“Why would I think you would offer such a foolish thing to another being?” he admonished.
Huffing, I pulled back and sank under the water. Foolish was too kind of a word. Moronic felt more appropriate. Breaching the surface of the water, I felt it slide down my face and drop off my chin.
“We will have to find out what he desires and break you from this favor quickly.”
“If it lasts a long time, would it be dangerous?” I asked, my anxiety sprouting, itching at the back of my mind with all of the worst-case scenarios.
“Nyet, not in the sense you are probably thinking. He should be more afraid for his life.”
“Why?” I asked, my brows pinching together.
“For seeing my mate in such a delicious state,” Olezka growled before indicating for me to stand. My cheeks burned. I stood in the tub and covered my breasts with my arms. Olezka never took his eyes off mine as he reached out to tuck a wet strand of hair away from my face.
“Such a gift you have given me, and now it is wasted.”
“I don’t know about being wasted.” I smiled and stepped over the lip of the tub, bravely dropping my arms. Olezka didn’t take the bait.
“I think you might break if you don’t take even a peek,” I teased.
“Nyet, Sixx. If I look, I will break. Nothing will stop me from wanting more, wanting all of you.”
****
That night, Olezka slept curled around me with one arm draped possessively over my waist and one leg draped over both of mine. I couldn’t say I hated it because I didn’t. Having him close made me feel safe again. In this realm, it was a rare commodity that I wanted to hold onto.
By morning, things weren’t much better. Olezka woke up irritated and ornery. I missed his sweeter side, the one that liked to laugh and smiled easily. This one grumbled around the room as he got dressed. He made quick work of that, prodding me along as he went. After we left his room and passed the door to the small meeting room where Olezka had been disappearing too often, my frown increased. Without acknowledging my questioning glance, he ushered me into a new room.
Apparently, we were the last to arrive. I recognized Erebus and Timur but gasped when I saw Cyril sitting at a long table with a thin silver chain wrapped around his wrists, connected to a chain bolted to the table.
“Olezka, is this really necessary?” I turned to face my mate, more than a little peeved.
He raised his brow at me, the muscle above his right eyebrow twitching furiously. “Da. He broke into our room. He could have made off with you, Sixx. I am not taking any chances,” he insisted stubbornly.
“I don’t think he’s super interested in me that way, you know?”
“Any male with eyes is super interested in you, Sixx,” Olezka said, heat blasting from his gaze.
“Stop,” I whispered. His words warmed me, and a fierce blush stole across my cheeks. This wasn’t the time or place for my mate to have a jealous rage, especially since Cyril most definitely didn’t want me like that.
“Don’t,” Olezka cautioned. “You are a desirable woman even if you do not see it.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I sighed. “The only reason he’s here is because he bargained with me for a favor after finding out that you and I were together. He was only using me to get to you. Trust me. I know how this works.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed it then nodded my head in the direction of the two vacant seats.
He pressed his lips together, obviously not happy but willing to move on. Erebus watched us carefully from his place at the head of the table. Timur sat to Erebus’s right while two High Fae sat to his left. I recognized them from other meetings but didn’t know their names. One had raven black hair with eyes to match; his soulless gaze curled my stomach. The other fae had crimson hair and bright gray eyes.
“Cyril has been silent, insisting he would only speak with you, Sixx,” Erebus said, obviously annoyed. I pulled out the chair closest to Cyril, but Olezka nudged me to the next seat down, placing his immovable body between us.
“Well, I’m here now.”
“I need her to return to the human world with me. Trust me when I tell you it’ll be best if we get moving sooner rather than later, so if you don’t mind…” Cyril offered snarkily, lifting his wrists to show off the chains.
“Not until you tell us everything you know about Key and his plans,” Erebus snapped.
“I’m sure what little Seis over there told you is all that I know. Now, if you please…”
“Why Sixx?” Erebus asked. “She is just a human.”
I cringed. Yeah, that was me—just a pesky little human. Ana never made me feel less than because of my human lineage. Then again, I supposed I had a bit more to offer in the human world. But it still stung.
“Don’t underestimate your best player,” Cyril chided. “Seis was the one who busted us out of that Light Fae dungeon. She kept her cool when others would have lost their minds. She was smart and played the game well. You High Fae think no one can do better than you, but I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. Now, per the laws of this world, I’ll be cashing in my favor, and Seis and I will
be leaving for the human realm. Today.”
At first, I felt a bit of warmth at hearing the sincerity in his words. Very kind, sweet words. Then, he had to go and say he was going to basically kidnap me to get his way. I swung my glance at Timur, who offered an encouraging nod.
We hadn’t yet received confirmation from Erebus’s multiple spies but had heard unsubstantiated rumors that the Light Fae King had announced a date for Ana’s “coming out” celebration – or whatever the fae called a party to introduce someone important to the Kingdom. There was no doubt in my mind that Key would be waiting in the wings to announce his engagement to her.
The memories he repressed kept coming back to me at random moments. Olezka explained to me that when fae hid memories like that, each person reacted differently. I hoped I had regained all of them already and there would be no more panic attacks, but I lived in constant fear that a trigger would bring forth another terrifying moment I’d long since forgotten.
Olezka slammed his hands down on the table, bringing me back to the present.
“Nyet! She will not leave with you, Incubus. As her mate, I refuse.”
I didn’t want to leave, either. Well, not right now, at least. Not with Ana’s safety still hanging in the balance.
Cyril leaned forward and peered around Olezka’s heaving chest at me. “She does not yet bear your mark, hellhound. Don’t your kind get real bitey during climax?”
I made a choking noise in the back of my throat. “What?”
“That is none of your business.” Olezka bared his teeth and growled, his muscles quivering from the force of keeping his fires in check.
“Enough!” Erebus snapped. Olezka reluctantly leaned back in his chair.
“We didn’t bring you here just so you could disappear on us, Cyril. Tell me what information you have on Key. Then we can begin to discuss the parameters of your favor.”
Cyril shook his head and gave a soft chuckle, looking totally calm and at ease. “She didn’t set any. So, free game. Time to go.”
“No!” Erebus and Olezka yelled at the same time.
I leaned back in my chair to see around Olezka. “Why are you so reluctant to answer their questions about Key?”
Sixx and the Incubus: The Sidekick Chronicles Page 3