by T. S. Ryder
Both of them collapsed, panting for breath when he finished drinking. Belinda’s whole body molded against his and a sleepy smile crossed her face.
“Mmm,” she sighed. “That’s that good stuff. I don’t know why so many people are against sleeping with the fae. You guys know what to do even if you don’t do much at all.”
Carlos chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should.” She yawned. “It is. That was amazing. That biting thing you did . . . ”
Carlos propped himself on his elbow. “You mean when I drank from you?”
Her eyes rounded. “You drank from me?”
“Is that okay?”
“Is that what made it so explosive?”
“Yes . . . ”
She grinned. “Then it’s okay.”
He laughed as he combed his fingers through her hair. Gazing at her now, he couldn’t help but have a renewed determination. There was nothing to keep him from protecting her. That meant taking out Daye. And in order to do that, he had to find her first. He tried to stifle a sigh as he laid back but didn’t quite make it. Everything was happening so fast. Too fast, in fact. Things had never moved so quickly in his whole life, and all of sudden, everything had changed in the course of a day?
One thing was for sure. He’d die for the woman in his arms. It made no sense. It was certainly too quick for love. Real love, at least. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she was carrying his child. Perhaps it was just because in his thousands of years he’d never really met anybody like her before.
Belinda curled into his chest. “I know what you mean.”
“Hmm?”
She glanced up at him through her lashes. “That big sigh you just gave. I understand. Everything’s just changed like that.” She snapped her fingers. “And I have no idea what it means now. Or what this is even between us.”
Carlos wasn’t certain of what to say to that. Certainly, it was something that needed to be resolved – and the sooner the better. He cleared his throat. “Well, for starters, it means you are no longer my prisoner. If you were going to kill me, you would have already.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m not plotting anything else.” She tweaked one of his nipples and raised a brow with a crooked smile.
He touched her lips. “You’re not. If you were, I’d taste it in your blood.”
“Really?”
“No,” Carlos admitted. “But I’m a pretty good judge of character.”
“Hmmm.” Belinda rested her chin on his chest. “So, if I’m not your prisoner, what does it mean that I am?”
Carlos rolled his eyes. “My lover, of course.”
“Lover.”
“And I will not allow any harm to come to you.”
She rolled her eyes but still smiled at him. Her smile was bright enough to light the whole room and he wasn’t sure that he had seen anything quite as beautiful. He kissed her again, lifting her chin as her eyes fluttered closed.
As she rolled him onto his back, he smiled up at her. He had to be careful with this one. Caring was one thing – falling in love with a human was an entirely different landmine he wished to avoid altogether.
***
Even though she knew it was necessary for her to be free from The Guild forever, it was difficult to overcome the years of brainwashing and fear to tell people about it. She sadly reflected that if Carlos had asked her, she’d have had a much easier time spilling all of her guts. What had he done to her? She’d never loved anybody in her life. And she wasn’t ready to say that she was in love with Carlos either, but for the first time, she found herself thinking about possibilities outside of The Guild. Possibilities of a life where she could choose who she wanted to be . . .
Pan cleared his throat, bringing her attention back to him. “Where are your headquarters located?”
“Washington. That’s where all the calls come through. We have this big hotel complex where all the members live and there’s a large gym nearby that serves as our training grounds. When we’re given an assignment, we’re taken to the penthouse and given all the relevant details.”
Pan nodded. “We’ve arranged for your partner to escape so we could follow him back to your headquarters. I think we’ll still follow through with that. Can you tell me how experienced he is?”
Belinda shook her head. “I never heard his name until this assignment. We’re kept separate from the other divisions. Up until now, I was only on retrieval missions. This was my first assassination. An assignment I didn’t want,” she added.
“Given what I’ve observed, not one that you’d be able to fulfill unless you were sent to kill a truly awful being.” Pan shifted at his desk, then gave her a wry smile. “I have heard your name whispered in awe, and yet, we were able to catch you as though you were a bumbling rookie. You screwed up on purpose.”
Belinda ducked her head. “As much as I appreciate the sentiment, it’s not true. I had every intention of killing him. Despite all the good he has done. I was too afraid of losing my own life to save his.” She spoke with true regret. If she had been braver, a better person, then perhaps what Pan was saying would be true. She wished that was the case. “I failed because you recognized me.”
“I recognized you because you froze. And really, the best you could come up with was poisoned tea?”
Belinda glanced back up. She licked her lips as she considered what he was saying. It was true that even with everything that had gone wrong, she hadn’t played the bounty with her normal finesse. Her shoulders sagged slightly as a well of relief rose in her. Maybe he was right. Maybe she had flubbed on purpose, at least subconsciously.
She managed a smile at him. “Well . . . I’d rather think that I’m a good person deep down than just incompetent. Thank you.”
Pan nodded at her. “I’m glad I could help.”
“You’re quite smart yourself, you know. How is a brilliant man like you still a servant rather than a king or general?”
“I would do anything for Carlos. This is the position through which I can serve him best.”
She frowned, remembering what Carlos had told her about his past, of sharing a lover with Pan. For a moment, jealousy flared in her heart. “Are you in love with him?”
Pan rose a brow and she flushed.
“I mean,” she said. “You were in love with him, right? Are you gay? Or bi?”
“No.”
“Then . . . you’re straight?”
“None of the above. The fae doesn’t think of sexuality the same way humans do. You have all these rules and regulations. Among us, we ask two questions. Do I want it? Does my partner want it? If there is any uncertainty in either of those things, we don’t proceed. It’s as simple as that.” Pan smiled softly, his violet eyes taking on a far-off look. “To answer your question . . . Yes. I love Carlos. I have always and I will always love him.”
Belinda glanced away.
“Not the way you’re thinking of, though. I hesitate to use the phrase ‘just friends’ because being a friend can be just as if not more intimate than being a lover. But you don’t have to be jealous of me. We were never lovers, and he has never desired me in that way.”
Her blush deepened and she ducked her head.
Pan laughed. “I will be back soon, Miss Greene. In the meantime, rest. You will be safe here.”
Belinda nodded. As she watched him walk away, her hands drifted to her stomach. It was still flat, with no outward sign of the small life that was inside of her. Her brief jealousy faded away, but it was replaced by stabs of nerves. Carlos would protect her, she knew that. But there was still that voice at the back of her mind, wondering what had she gotten herself into.
Chapter Six
Carlos toyed with the tight curls of Belinda’s hair, marveling at the beauty in his arms. Her head rested in the crook of his shoulder, a soft smile on her face as she slept. Her body was like a furnace pressed up against his. Fae were able to regulate their own temperatures,
to be able to adapt to any situation they found themselves in. He could have adjusted himself right now so that she didn’t feel so warm next to him – he tended to run a bit cool.
But he didn’t want to. He wanted to stay here, sweating with her skin stuck to him, listening to the soft, even sounds of her breath.
Oh, gods. He was in deep. So very, very deep. There was no way this could end well. For starters, she was human. Humans died. It wouldn’t take long. How old would she live?
With his blood to sustain her, her life could be extended. It would take longer, but in three hundred, four hundred years? He’d lose her. With the child being conceived so readily between them, she had to have some fae blood in her, blood that would be awakened if she drank enough of his. If she had a close enough genealogy to the fae, then she would become fae herself. If she had a close enough genealogy. Even then, it would be difficult to determine what she would become.
And there only was a chance for her to become fae if she wanted to be with him in the first place. Was willing to drink his blood on a regular basis. If she would be okay with watching the world change around her while she was stuck like a stick in a stream.
Carlos slipped out of bed, eyes darkening. She was pregnant. Would his child be human or fae? A vampire like him, or perhaps another sort of fae entirely? These things weren’t an exact science. The baby would appear to be a normal human until it hit puberty and its heritage would be revealed.
A knock on the door broke him from his thoughts. Carlos frowned, then left the bedroom to go to the main part of his apartment. Pan nodded a greeting to him, violet eyes tense with worry.
“A demon horde has opened up Mount Glenmore.”
The old volcano was extinct. Carlos had had plenty of his fae mages make sure of that. Glenmore was harmless now, but if demons were there, then Daye was there. Carlos’ nerves were instantly on edge, and he stiffened.
“Stay here and protect Belinda,” he ordered, then strode to the fireplace to snatch up his old iron ax. It had been centuries since it had seen the battle. “Daye will not see her quest fulfilled.”
Pan nodded and Carlos swept from the room. He quickly gathered his warriors and they started their hummers and bikes and tore through the streets to get to the mountain. He pushed all thoughts of Belinda away. His focus had to be on Daye and driving her back to the darkness she had been formed from.
Carlos hefted the ax in his hands when they came to the mountain. The spells ensuring its extinction had stripped it of all life, leaving it brown and black. It was crawling with demons in a variety of twisted, ugly shapes. White skin gleamed like pearls in the sunlight. As the vampires emerged from their vehicles and charged the horde, they screeched and rushed down the mountainside toward him.
“Where is she?” Carlos murmured, gaze tracing the top of the mountain, looking for his quarry.
There! At the very peak, arms lifted over her head. Carlos grinned as he charged forward. When the first demons met him, he swung his ax in a wide circle. It cleaved their bodies as though they were wet tissue paper. After all these years, it hadn’t lost its edge. The coppery scent that filled the air invigorated him, filled him with determination. He hacked through the demons as they rushed at him.
His muscles strained as the rest of his vampires fought around him. Carlos steadily moved upwards, the ground steep, rocks and loose dirt moving around under his feet. He didn’t slow. His gaze flickered to where Daye stood. She hadn’t moved from her perch, watching with her red eyes. Carlos’ lips curled back over his teeth as he chopped a demon in half, then retrieved its sword to give his ax a rest.
A demon leaped at his back and Carlos ducked, letting it fly over him. As it landed, he skewered it. A blow slapped him across the back and he stumbled. He whirled and sunk his ax into his attacker. It was only then that he realized that his guards had fallen behind him. He saw panic on their faces as they hewed at the demons that poured between them. More of the creatures came at him, wicked teeth bared.
Above him, Daye laughed.
Carlos ignored any sense of fear. He focused on the demons around him. Though they came at him from all sides, he was not going to give one inch of ground to them.
The blast of a trumpet filled the air. Carlos twisted as he blocked the sword of one demon and stabbed another. A troop of horses, with the winged fae mounted on their backs, flooded over the mountain. Golden armor gleamed as they raced through the ranks of demons, shooting them with arrows or cleaving them with spathas.
Carlos let out a furious shout and redoubled his efforts to fight to the top of the mountain.
But it was too late. Even as the fae rushed through the demon ranks, crushing them, Daye disappeared. Carlos killed the last few demons who were fighting him rather than running with the rest of them, then threw down the sword he’d taken and begun cursing fluently.
The leader of the winged fae trotted her horse up next to him and smiled down. “Well hello there, your majesty. Found yourself in a spot of trouble?”
Finley was one of the most beautiful faes to ever live. Skin the color of midnight, sparkling eyes, delicious lips and a figure unmatched. Her golden armor gleamed in scales over her body, the spatha in her hand splattered with demon blood. She was mounted upon an eight-legged horse that snorted and pawed the ground. She swung from the horse and swept a bow toward him.
Carlos glared at her. “If I wanted them frightened away, I would have done that. They were being led by Daye. Now you’ve frightened her off.”
Finley shrugged, brushing her hair back from her face. “This is my territory, not yours.”
It was true enough. Carlos scowled for a moment longer before nodding. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, my dove.” Finley patted his cheek and sighed. “Anything for you.”
Finley’s palace was well-protected. Carlos’ frown deepened as he considered her. “Anything, huh? Well, then I must reluctantly ask for your assistance in a matter of great concern to me.”
***
The beautiful fae queen opened a door and gestured Belinda in. “This will be your home for the foreseeable future. Or at least until Carlos defeats the demon. Just so you know, it’s an honor to reside in my palace.”
Belinda didn’t reply. Her eyes were huge as she gazed around the lavish room. It was far from what she had expected. Instead of the Victorian English décor in Carlos’ palace, Finley’s was something out of a fantasy story. Instead of a bed, there was a huge hexagonal mattress sunken into the floor with mounds of pillows atop it. Gauzy curtains streamed from the ceiling around the mattress. The floor itself was carpeted in silk and the plentiful windows were all stained glass.
“Thank you,” Belinda managed to stutter. “It’s beautiful.”
Finley shrugged. “It’s a room. It used to be Carlos’ room when he loved me.”
She didn’t think her eyes could get any bigger but she was wrong. Belinda’s eyes bugged her head. “What do you mean?”
“We used to be lovers. He was never happy with me, though. Or perhaps he didn’t like having to share me. Which is ridiculous, since I shared him with many others as well.”
The cool, casual way she spoke shouldn’t have had Belinda’s blood starting to boil, but it did. She bit her lips tightly together, turning away from the fae queen. When it had just been Pan, Belinda could accept it just fine. It was clear that there was an emotional connection there but that neither of them were going to go there again. Finley, however . . . She was so beautiful and sensuous. She made Belinda feel like a potato.
Or maybe it was just sinking in how much Carlos actually had. He was thousands of years old. He must have had thousands of lovers.
Besides, it was completely ridiculous, considering that what she had with him wasn’t any sort of staked claim or . . . or any reason to be jealous. Still, she huffed as she walked further into the room. “Thank you.”
Finley giggled a high, girlish sound. “Humans. Your people are so small and pet
ty. And pretty.” The queen ran a hand down Belinda’s arm. “I already said that Carlos didn’t love me. You have no reason to be jealous, little one. No reason at all. I do suggest you tell him that you love him sooner rather than later.”
“I don’t love him.” Belinda fought to keep her voice cool.
“You don’t?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then why are you still here?”
“Because that demon is out there wanting to kill me and my unborn child.” Belinda sucked in a deep breath. Her hands were trembling. Seriously? If there was one thing she knew, it was how to control her emotions. Even with the pregnancy hormones, she shouldn’t be having these difficulties. “That’s all.”
Finley’s eyes lit up. “Well, then. Perhaps you’ll stay with me. I can give you anything you want. Mounds of gold. Beautiful dresses . . . or designer pantsuits if that’s what you’re into. Your dream car. A beautiful horse, purebred cats and dogs and chickens.”
“Chickens?”
Finley shrugged. “I don’t know you yet. For all I know, your dream is to have a little farm with half a dozen laying hens and a donkey. The point is, I can give you everything you want. If you want to be a queen, I’ll marry you and give you a crown.”
Belinda eyed her warily. What was she driving at?
“All you have to do,” Finley whispered, moving in closer to her, “is swear me your fealty and body. You’ll be given everything you desire. Just sleep in my bed and fantasize about no one else.”
Carlos flashed through her mind. Even if that was a promise she wanted to make, she wouldn’t be able to. “Hell no!”
She realized too late that it was a bad idea to insult the person whose protection she was under. Fae could be very temperamental. Finley, however, only laughed as she stepped away and clapped her hands lightly.
“See? I told you.”
Belinda frowned at her. “Just because I don’t want you doesn’t mean that I’m in love with Carlos. I’m just not into girls is all.”
“You put your hands on your belly as I was talking and as soon as I told you not to fantasize about anybody else, you thought of Carlos.”