Shift of Fate

by Elisa Adams

  She tasted the tip of his cock with her tongue, licking off the drop of precum that had formed there, just before she took his entire length into her mouth. Royce’s strokes grew faster, harder, and she had trouble keeping a rhythm with the strokes of her mouth and tongue. Royce’s fingers found her clit and pinched down on the sensitive nerves. She felt him tighten behind her just as Wil withdrew from her mouth—and then she came again, and everything ceased to exist except her convulsing body and pounding pulse. Moans filled the room, but she didn’t know whose mouths they came from. She didn’t care.

  She collapsed to the bed, flat on her stomach. Royce came down on top of her, his body half-covering hers, his breathing just as erratic. Wil lay on his back, his eyes narrowed to slits, his gaze focused on the ceiling. Up until she saw his flaccid cock, she didn’t even know if he’d come.

  She smiled to herself, her eyelids drooping in sated sleepiness. In the morning, she’d probably wonder why she’d let it go that far, but for now she just wanted to savor the hum in her blood.

  Royce kissed the back of her shoulder, mumbling something incoherent, and Wil glanced her way and smiled. Regrets? Nah. She might not be willing to let it happen again, but it had definitely been worth it.

  * * * * *

  Wil woke up a few hours later, tangled in the sheets and the warm woman next to him. He gave her a last look before sliding out of bed. Would she forgive them for what happened a few hours ago?

  He hoped so. Royce cared about the woman, more than he obviously wanted to admit, and Wil would hate to see something like their playtime come between them. Merida cared for Royce, too, but Wil didn’t know who he’d call more stubborn. He laughed softly. A match made in heaven if he’d ever seen one. Now if they could both stop being so mulish for a few seconds, they might actually see how perfect they were for each other.

  If he didn’t screw it all up by staying last night, when he’d known he should have walked away.

  He glanced back toward the bed. Royce snuggled closer to Merida, pulling her into his arms. A pang of emptiness hit Wil hard as he remembered all that had happened. Michelle was dead. Last night, Merida had offered him comfort, and he’d greedily taken all he could get. Royce, of course, hadn’t minded. They’d shared many times over the years—more than the once or twice they’d told her. Wil had no problems with it, and Royce never had before—but they’d never shared a woman one of them cared about. Tonight they’d moved into new territory.

  This would probably be the last time he’d share a woman with Royce. The man was so lost he had no hope of finding his way out. Wil had his standards, low as they might be, and he refused to get in the way of a lasting commitment.

  He felt a hand on his shoulder just before he heard Merida speak. “Are you okay?”

  He smiled down at her. “Yeah. Fine. Are you?”

  She nodded, coming to stand next to him by the railing, her gaze drifting to the backyard. “About last night…”

  He had to laugh at the anxiety in her tone. “Listen, if you’re uncomfortable, I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

  “I’m not uncomfortable with it. It’s just something new.” She sighed softly, and it made him smile. “Are you going to come back to bed?”

  He cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her head up. “Last night was incredible. But it can’t happen again.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m not going to interfere with what you and Royce have.”

  “We don’t—”

  He shook his head to stop her false protests. “Yes, you do. Just make sure you notice it before it’s too late.”

  “Are you talking about Michelle?”

  He shook his head. The woman his thoughts turned to had died hundreds of years ago. “I’m talking about you and Royce. I’ve known him forever, and I’ve never seen him like this. But he’s been so closed off for so long reaching out to him isn’t going to be easy.”

  “Who says I want to?”

  “You do. With your eyes and with your actions.”

  He almost laughed at the idea of giving relationship advice to a woman he’d had sex with less than three hours ago.

  “I do not,” she scoffed, her nose wrinkled. “Do I really?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, but it’s not just you. He does it, too. I’ve never seen him act this way over a woman, so you must be pretty special to him.”

  She snorted. “Yeah. Right. I’m just a warm body—food and sex. That’s all.”

  “You and I both know how untrue that is.”

  She seemed to mull over his words for a while before she nodded. “Okay. I suppose that’s a possibility.”

  He saw so much more than that in their relationship, but he wasn’t in the mood to argue. But if he didn’t leave the house for a while, he might end up climbing back into bed with her. Once, Royce would probably forgive. Twice…it seemed doubtful. “Go back to bed with your man. I’m going to go out for a run before the sun comes up.”

  He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips before she walked back to bed and snuggled up against Royce. Wil went into his own bedroom and threw on a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt, getting ready to burn off a little more steam. Tonight had helped, but it would be a long time before he’d be able to relax again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Merida burrowed under the covers and rested her head on Royce’s chest. He was warm, his skin firm and soft, and she loved it. She loved him. She’d be glad, though, if he didn’t hate her for acting like such a…well, a slut, for lack of a better term. She’d been a wanton hussy, and they’d both gone along with it, provoking her and stroking her, giving her the best orgasms of her life.

  She wrinkled her nose. She’d thought she knew everything there was to know about herself, until Royce had come along. He’d shown her things she loved that she’d always thought to be turnoffs. Spanking, tying her up—an evening interlude with his big, hunky friend…she rolled her eyes and began to wonder if she was developing psychological problems.

  Aggravated, she poked Royce in the side. He grumbled and blinked his eyes open. “What was that for?” he asked, his voice sleep-husky.

  “Nothing special.” For making me fall in love with you, you big jerk. For showing me things you can do to me that ruined all other men for me.

  He smiled slowly, his eyes sharpening a little as he lifted his head from the pillow. “Where’s Wil?”

  “He went for a run.”

  Royce’s expression grew serious. He rolled to his side, his intense gaze locking with hers. “Are you angry with me about last night?”

  “No. It was great.”

  “It’s not going to happen again,” he told her, his voice nearing a growl.

  She blinked, shocked at his vehemence. “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t want either of you getting any ideas.”

  He kissed her, hard and fast, rolling her to her back on the mattress before she could utter a protest.

  “I won’t. Believe me,” she assured him, trying to contain the laughter at his attitude.

  He looked down at her, his smile tentative. “Really?”

  “Of course. What are you, dumb or something? I only want you. That’s the way it’s always been.” She pinched his hip when he leaned down and nipped her jaw. “Last night took me by surprise. Do me a favor, though. No more surprises like that, okay?”

  “Is this that silly childhood crush talking?” he asked, his expression humored.

  “Nope. Sorry. This isn’t a crush.”

  “Damned straight.” He slid his hands under her naked ass and pulled her closer. When he thrust inside her, it felt right. So right, she almost couldn’t help the tear that tried to slip down the side of her cheek.

  Royce stopped what he was doing. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

  “You scare the hell out of me.”

  He laughed. “Believe me, the feeling is very, very mutual.” He stroked inside her, his strokes lengthening and
slowing. For the first time, it felt like they made love. It wasn’t about just the sex anymore. Now neither of them could deny it. She closed her eyes and grasped his shoulders, her fingers digging into his firm muscle. It was all too much, too soon, and she felt like she might burst from the emotions. She arched her hips, pumping to meet him thrust for thrust, digging her nails into his back as a slow, shimmering orgasm rolled through her body. Royce came soon after, a low groan escaping his lips as he brushed a kiss over her forehead.

  He collapsed on top of her, burying his head against the side of her neck. “Wil is going to be back soon.”

  She let out a long, deep sigh. “Yes, I suppose he is.”

  “We have some work to do today. I suppose we should get up and get dressed.”

  “You’re right. Give me five minutes.”

  “I’ll get in the shower first.”

  She watched Royce collect a set of clean clothes and head out of the room. He gave her a smile over his shoulder before he walked out of sight. She didn’t move until she heard the shower start a little while later. Then she pulled herself out of bed and dragged her tired body to her room to get her own clothes ready. She pushed a hand through her tangled curls and shook her head. The sun hadn’t even come up yet, and already the day seemed ruined. Playtime was over. Now the real work began. Calusius wouldn’t even know what hit him.

  Her cell phone rang as she pulled a pair of socks from her bag. She snatched it up from the dresser where she’d left it earlier and answered it, relieved when she heard Sam’s voice on the line.

  “What’s up?” he asked. “Your message sounded troubled.”

  “There’s an Aparasei here.”

  Sam whistled long and low. “Shit. You okay?”

  She took a deep breath, praying her courage held out. “I don’t think so. I don’t know what to do to get rid of it.”

  “Fire, honey. Fire kills them.”

  Okay, she could do that. No problem. Maybe. “Fire with matches?”

  “No. The psychic kind.” He paused, his silence conveying a lot more than words would have. “Is there some reason you aren’t able to create fire with magic?”

  Here we go. “Well, I’m not exactly sure. He marked me. Twice. But that whole thing about being marked and not being able to defeat them is just a legend, right?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Sam answered in a quiet voice. “It’s true. You’re going to need somebody else to help you with this.”

  “Sam? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “I’m leaving in a few minutes. It shouldn’t take me more than a couple hours to get there. Give me the address so I can go online and get directions.”

  “Sam? What’s going on?”

  His sigh echoed over the phone lines. “Being marked by an Aparasei isn’t a good thing. We’ll talk about it when I get there.”

  She gave him Wil’s address and pressed the end button, sinking down on the mattress. What the hell had he meant by all that? She’d have to wait hours to find out.

  * * * * *

  She didn’t dare tell Royce about her conversation with Sam. Some things were better left a surprise. After his shower he’d gone to bed for a nap—something he’d need since he’d have to face Sam later. After what had happened this week, she didn’t imagine it would be a pleasant situation.

  An hour had passed since her conversation with Sam, and she’d been on edge the whole time. She needed to find out what Sam had been talking about. And she knew where to go for her information. Wil had come back from his run a little while ago and gone right upstairs to shower. She waited outside the bathroom door.

  “We need to talk,” she said to him when he swung the door open and stepped into the hall.

  He glanced at her nervously before glancing down the hall to the closed door of Royce’s room. “I thought we already had that talk.”

  “Not that talk. I’m talking about the Aparasei.”

  He sighed, some of the tension draining from his shoulders. “Oh, that. Okay. Fine. Come talk to me while I get dressed.”

  She gulped. Did she really want to do that? Would it upset Royce? Probably. She quickly followed Wil into his bedroom.

  He dropped the towel and she didn’t look—really—at his toned ass while he pulled on a pair of boxers. What she did see was something she’d missed last night—the long, thin scars that peppered his back. “Where did you get those scars? Someone really did a number on you.”

  He stiffened. “Oh, those. I’d forgotten all about them.”

  “Yeah, sure you did.” She looked closer at the scars, which resembled the one on her arm. “Those are from an Aparasei, aren’t they?”

  He sighed as he stepped into a pair of black jeans. Once he zipped them, he sat on the edge of the bed to put on his socks. “I had a little run-in with one a few years back. It’s nothing.”

  “What do you mean nothing? He hit me once and knocked me out cold. You look like you took at least twelve blows with whatever magic they use.” She couldn’t keep the suspicion out of her tone. What was he hiding from her?

  “Fifteen,” he said softly, his gaze drifting to anything but her. He stood up and pulled a red t-shirt over his head, tucking it into the waistband of his jeans.

  She winced at just the thought. “What happened?” she asked quietly.

  “My epiphany.” He laughed bitterly as he ran a hand through his hair. “I was a little…um, wild quite a few years ago. I got tangled up in some things better left alone, and got attacked by an Aparasei. I probably should have been dead—wished I was for a couple of days—but I survived. They only kill when they want to, but they’re able to inflict a good deal of pain.”

  She ran the tip of her finger down his shirt over one of the scars she remembered seeing. It started just below his right shoulder and trailed all the way down to his left hip. “Ouch.”

  He flinched away from her touch. “Yeah.”

  “Wil?”

  He turned to her, his eyebrow raised, as he threaded a black leather belt through his belt loops.

  “Have you ever been married?”

  “A long time ago. Another lifetime.”

  “That’s pretty much what Royce said when I asked him about Sarah.”

  He finally smiled. “Yeah, this life bites sometimes. You can never hold on to anything long enough.”

  “What happened to your wife?”

  “Elizabeth died. In childbirth, of all things.” He shook his head. “She wasn’t ready to turn for me. She told me to give it a few years, she still had some living she wanted to do. Turns out she would have been safer as a vampire than she was as a human.”

  Merida blinked, almost afraid to ask her next question. “What happened to the baby?”

  “Stillborn.” Wil shook his head, his expression pained. “I should have realized that would happen.”

  “Wait a second. You mean she was human, and you…you got her pregnant?”

  He nodded. “An accident. I wanted to wait until she’d turned vampire and could carry the baby safely.”

  “I didn’t think that was possible.”

  “Believe me, Merida, it’s entirely possible.” He sat down once again on the side of the bed, his eyes bleak and tired. “As I said, though, that was another lifetime ago. I’ve done my best to forget it, okay?”

  She took that as her cue to leave the room or change the subject. “I called Sam Kincaid, my former boss.”

  “You did?” Wil looked surprised. “From what Royce has told me, I thought the two of you didn’t get along.”

  “We’ll have to. He’s coming to help.” She shook her head. “He confirmed what you said about being marked. I can’t do anything to get rid of him, and Royce doesn’t have the capability. So, I think Sam is our only option at this point.”

  “You’re probably right. When will he be here?”

  “In an hour or two.”

  Wil walked to his closet and pulled out a huge, navy blue suitcase. He set
it on the bed, unzipped it, and started emptying his dresser drawers into it.

  “What are you doing?” Merida asked as he scooped a stack of t-shirts from a drawer and stuffed them into the suitcase.

  “Getting ready.” He paused what he was doing long enough to frown at her. “Maybe you should pack your own things while you wait for your boss. I don’t think it’s such a good idea to come back here after Sam gets rid of this thing.”

  “Okay.” She started to walk out of the room, but turned back to him. “If you ever want to talk, I’m willing to listen.”

  He glanced at her and smiled before returning to his packing. “Thanks.”

  “You’ll keep in touch, right? Let me know how you’re doing?”

  His gaze locked with hers and she saw the sincerity in his eyes. “Of course. I never forget my friends. I don’t keep many of them, so I make sure to stay in touch with the ones important to me.”

  She left the room to pack her things, a genuine smile on her face for the first time in what seemed like ages.

  * * * * *

  When Sam pulled his car into Wil’s driveway, Merida let out a breath of relief. She stood on the front porch, her arms crossed over each other to ward off the chill of the dreary day. Her relief lasted until the second Sam got out of the car and slammed the door, fixing her with an icy glare.

  “What the hell have you been doing?” he asked as he climbed the porch steps. “Why can’t you just stay out of trouble? The whole ride here, I’ve been worried sick.”

  “Bullshit. You never worry about me.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her, his gaze furious. “Wanna bet? I do worry about you. I always have. You’re like a daughter to me. I worry about you even when you take off for months at a time without even bothering to call me and let me know you’re okay. I don’t want to see anything happen to you.”

  Taken aback by his emotional confession, she shook her head. “Then why did you let me work for you, doing such dangerous work?”

  “I know you. If I didn’t let you, you would do it on your own. At least if you work for me, I can keep an eye on you.” He shook his head and laughed. “Your brother wants you to call him—in his words, so he can verbally kick your ass for getting close enough to an Aparasei to let it touch you.”