by Viola Grace
Tremble came back in, and he was scowling at the phone in his hand. “We have been recalled to duty as of tomorrow.”
“Did they say why?”
He shook his head. “I warned the captain that we are all going to pop positive for demon blood, but he didn’t care. He said we needed to get back on the roster. The team with Tearago suffered an accident last night. They showed up at a scene and a group of beta wolves decided to attack. They are all in hospital.”
Benny wrinkled her nose. “Ouch. So what—” Her phone went off.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Ms. Ganger. This is Captain Matheson of the Redbird City XIA.”
“Uh, hello, Captain.”
“You are being put onto active duty beginning tomorrow. Your team takes to the streets at dusk, and you will be pulling overtime until just before dawn. Are you prepared to act as an Agent of the XIA?”
“Yes, Captain. Um, Captain?”
“Yes, Ms. Ganger?”
“What about the security scanner? My demon side has been a little frisky lately.”
He cleared his throat, and Tremble covered his eyes as he listened, peeping in between.
“Um, right. Well, you will be issued a special dispensation, given your particular circumstances. Simply report to the officer on the scanner if you set it off.”
“Yes, Captain. Thank you.”
“Arrive and gear up for your first day with your team. Welcome to the XIA, Agent Ganger.”
The phone call ended, and she fought to keep the blissful expression off her face.
“What did he say?”
She sashayed up to him and put her phone on the counter. “You may address me as Agent Ganger.”
He put his hands on her waist and pulled her up for a kiss that got wild and ended up with her seated on the countertop, her robe open.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and growled lightly as she rocked against him. When he reached between them to stroke her, she moaned and bit at his lip.
He joined them quickly, and she held tight as he jerked against her with a strong rhythm. Pleasure spiralled inside her until it broke, and she groaned into his mouth a moment before he shook and held himself against her.
Panting, he pressed his forehead to her shoulder. “I did not mean to do that.”
She blinked. “Were you reaching for the salad spinner and slipped?”
He laughed softly and bit at her shoulder. “That wasn’t what I meant and you know it. I had meant to have a quiet day without sexual tension.”
“I feel nice and relaxed.” She nuzzled his neck with her lips.
“You feel wonderful.” He slowly straightened and slipped out of her.
She patted the backs of his thighs with the soles of her feet. “You feel good, too.”
He glanced down and behind him. “And you are far more limber than I would have given you credit for.”
She grinned. “Cheerleader. It wasn’t a proud moment in my life, but it taught me some necessary skills.”
“I can’t imagine you as a cheerleader. It seems off personality.”
Benny adjusted her robe and winked at him. “Says the elf who hasn’t even seen the pics of me in my Mage Guides uniform.”
He backed away and adjusted himself, resuming the appearance of sexy respectability. “If I were interested in that, it would be pervy.”
She snorted. “Not really. I go in as a guest speaker every now and then. I have an outfit that fits.”
His eyes lit with delight. “You still have a costume?”
“It is called a uniform. And, yes, I have one. It is at the big house.”
She wrinkled her nose at him, and she smiled as Smith came in.
“You two were having sex?”
Benny became aware that she was still sitting on the counter and Tremble was very close.
Smith looked hurt that he had missed it. His tousled hair stuck out at strange angles and his golden eyes were still sleepy.
She beckoned to him. “Good morning, Smith.”
He covered his mouth as he yawned and stumbled toward her. “Call me Andrew.”
He tumbled into her arms, and she caught him with an oof of air escaping. He was solid muscle, all warm and hard.
He nuzzled her neck and licked her, dragging the rough expanse of his tongue up to her earlobe.
She shivered wildly. “And good morning to you, again.”
“I missed you when you weren’t next to me.”
Benny grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged at him until he was facing her. “You knew I was in the house, and there was nothing to worry about. We all belong to each other; I don’t belong to all of you.”
Tremble poured Andrew a cup of coffee. “That said, she knows you need sex more than the rest of us.”
Andrew smiled slowly. “You do?”
She kept a blank expression on her face. “I do. I am just making the point that I am a person first and something to screw, second.”
The lion in her grasp showed his understanding. “Of course, Benny. Sorry. I wake up after my cock does.”
She stared at him for a while before her stern look cracked. “Right. I should have noticed. Everybody now gets three asinine statements before I take them seriously, every day. Beware when the three are over though, because I bite.”
Tremble chuckled. “Tell him the news.”
She blinked and then realised what he meant. “Oh, right. You can address me tomorrow night as Agent Ganger. We have all been recalled to duty.”
“You get to come with us and work?”
She grinned. “And draw a paycheque.”
Tremble leaned against the counter next to them. “How do you support yourself? Your job as a food writer couldn’t have paid much?”
She smirked. “Trust fund. Very large trust fund. It began with the introduction of vampire blood, and Beneficia put money in it the moment I was born, as I was her namesake.”
Tremble nodded.
Benny sighed and ran her hands through Andrew’s hair. “The funny thing is that I don’t need the money. My food and lodgings are taken care of, as is my transportation. All I buy is clothing and junk food.”
It was fun to stroke the mane of gold and brown into thick waves.
“Have some breakfast, Andrew. I need to grab a shower.”
Tremble chuckled.
Andrew perked up. “Shower?”
She laughed. “Come on.”
He didn’t let her get on her feet; he held her against him and bolted for the stairs.
Tremble called out, “I am going exploring.”
Held like a dolly, Benny simply hoped that Andrew didn’t drop her.
It was a relief to stand in the shower and have him take her against the wall. At least she wasn’t being dangled over the stairs anymore.
Pleasure rushed in on her a moment before she heard his deep groan. She was on the edge, but she didn’t have a chance to reach down to stroke her clit; his hand beat her to it.
He was careful and precise, finding the motion that made her clench around him and then repeating it. She cried out in high moans faster and faster until she gasped and her body gripped him, milking him into another spasm.
When they had finished the physical exertion and were both limp and lazy with satiation, they rinsed off and returned to the outside world.
Argyle was leaning up on one elbow. “You know, I haven’t been woken from sleep by folks having sex in centuries. Benny, you have quite the set of lungs.”
She blushed and shrugged. “I figured there was freedom to let go in our home.”
He grinned. “I am not objecting. I am just surprised to be awake while the sun is still out.”
Damp and tired, Benny kissed Smith and crawled over to Argyle, lying with her head at a right angle to him, on his belly, while she looked up toward his face.
“You are all wet, Benny.”
She grinned. “Not right now. Give me a few minutes.”
L
aughing, he stroked her head.
Smith tweaked her toes and found his wardrobe. “I am going to go and find the gym.”
Benny didn’t ask how he knew about the gym; she could hear Tremble on the machines downstairs.
Argyle stroked her hair and smiled. “How are you enjoying your first lazy day with us?”
She wrinkled her nose. “It is a lot more acrobatic than I planned on. How are you feeling?”
He grinned. “I feel like I could take a walk in the sunlight.”
She snorted. “Give it a few weeks. Do you need to eat?”
His eyes grew heavy-lidded. “You are offering?”
“I am. As I told the other two, you belong to me and I belong to you. It goes around.”
He grinned and his teeth were extended. She lifted a hand toward him, and he stroked the smooth skin of her wrist.
She chuckled as he licked her slowly. “This is also because we are all back on duty tomorrow night. We might not have time for a few days.”
“Then, I had better make this count.” He pressed his lips to her wrist and worked his way down her forearm.
When he slid his teeth into her, she bit back a moan. Her blood leaped, and he sucked lightly at her, drinking as she slid her thighs together with the restlessness of a cricket.
One would think she had had enough, but the prickly pain and the slow throbbing suction of his mouth were really working for her. It served her right for being only partially human.
The moment he finished, she was left hot and bothered.
After he made sure her wound was closed, he shifted under her and lifted her, draping her on him, face up with her groin inches from his mouth.
She was worried about slipping away, but he held her tight as his lips closed around her clit before he lapped at her. Wet heat resumed, and she was panting as another release crept up on her. She groaned and shuddered as her body jerked in Argyle’s grasp.
When he pulled his mouth away from her, he moved her until she was curled against him, her head next to his.
“I still love the taste of you.”
Benny sighed. “I am glad. You are going to be with me for a very long time.”
“I certainly hope so.”
She sighed and relaxed with him until the moment Tremble and Smith came back in, demanding to try out the hot tub.
A day of nothing was a lot of activity.
Chapter Three
Getting the tattoo had the same feeling as touching a chunk of dry ice. It was so cold that it burned.
Benny’s ribs throbbed from the point where she had gotten her tattoo, and she held Tremble’s hand as he got his.
Argyle had gotten his without any visible reaction, Andrew had passed out, and Benny had gritted her teeth with her demon eyes flaring into life as she kept her breathing even.
The artist, Sokor Tomlin, was a gargoyle who had an appreciation of skin that was evident with every stroke of his needle. Minerva had only given him their first names, but he had gotten suspicious as they approached the Ganger property.
When he was introduced to Benny, his eyes went wide, but he kept himself professional, arranging his tools and inks on the kitchen table while Benny arranged a chair to get her at the right angle for the application.
Sokor finished the final details on Tremble’s ribs, and he finally asked, “So, Minerva said you were a bonded group?”
Minerva stood nearby with a stressed look on her face that faded when Benny made eye contact.
“Yes, we are. Minny, did you get the inks set?”
Minerva nodded and fished out another vial. “Yes, the inks are primed. This is the activator.”
Sokor leaned back, and Tremble exhaled while the new design was wiped and cleaned. “What activator?”
Benny released her hand from Tremble’s grip, and she collected all of the gloves and gauze, putting them in a copper bowl that she set on a trivet. With a few muttered words, she washed the blood off with cool fire.
Sokor nodded and collected his tools. “Minerva, I will be in the foyer.”
Minerva nodded. “I will be with you in a moment. All right, you four, line up.”
Minerva arranged them in a wide circle; each of them had the liquid on their fingers that were over the mark on the next member of their group. “All right. Go ahead and put the activator on.”
Benny closed her eyes at the moment of impact on her ribs and with the fingers of her right hand she touched Argyle’s mark. Their group dropped to their knees as power ran through their hands and connected the circle. It wasn’t fire, it wasn’t pain, but it was a bonding that went deeper than the blood she had used the previous week. Their power bound and blended.
When it was over, Minerva was gone, as was Sokor. Benny knew that something was up in her friend’s life, but right now, she was too exhausted to force her to answer questions she obviously didn’t want to answer.
Benny pulled her fingers away from Argyle’s ribs and flexed her hands. “Is everyone all right?”
Tremble glanced at her with a tired smile, paused and leaned forward. “Your eyes changed.”
“What?” She looked at him in confusion. “Am I demoning out?”
“No. Fey. Your eyes are definitely fey.”
Benny looked over at the live herbs on the kitchen counter. They were growing and sprouting wildly. She sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes, willing their normal colour back into place.
She opened one eye and looked at all three of the men staring at her. “Better?”
Smith nodded. “Nice and normal. What happened?”
Benny rubbed her ribs where the small icon was now sealed into her skin. “All the power zipping around in here sifted through me, and the last energy to touch me was Tremble’s.”
Tremble smiled weakly. “And you have fey blood, so the eye shift was in there the whole time.”
“Probably, though my relatives tend to end up on the gold and green end of the spectrum and it is usually nearly human.” She trailed her fingers over the tattoo again. Her sports bra left her midriff exposed, but she couldn’t stop touching it.
She looked at Argyle and blinked. “It’s gone.”
He shook his head and put his fingers over it. “It is still there. I can feel it.”
Everyone got to their feet and started checking. While they could feel their tattoos, they could not see them.
Andrew scowled. “Why did we get the markings?”
Tremble smiled. “A friend of Benny’s said that we would need them, and I am pretty sure that we will.”
Argyle tilted his head. “What friend?”
Benny blinked and started walking toward the door to the deck. “My godmother. We had a conversation during my song.”
That sentence got her two curious men following her and one who already knew what she was going to say.
Smith wanted to know the mechanics how she had spoken to someone while singing.
She sat in a chair on the deck and watched the rising moon. “Once upon a time, a little girl was born and her name was Benny. Now, Benny had issues and her mother knew she would need help one day, so she cast about for the best possible godmother for little Benny, and she came across something that scared her.”
The guys gathered around and listened to the story.
“With spells and summoning, not to mention begging, Benny’s mother managed to get the godmother to agree.”
She flattened her hands on the table. “Now, this godmother was gracious and generous with her gifts. But she was fearsome and no one was comfortable around her, for who really invites death to a baby shower?”
“She did.”
The vampire was the only one who was completely at ease with the situation. Tremble looked nervous and Andrew looked queasy.
“So, Argyle, why are you so relaxed with this?”
He grinned. “We live with death. It is something that is at our side day in and day out. Death is nothing to fear, only respect.”
; Tremble shrugged. “I already knew, but it is still enough to shake me a little. Elves have very little exposure with death.”
Andrew shuddered. “Shifters have a close association with death. We don’t really like it.”
Benny chuckled. “I take the vampire method of thinking. It is all around us so accept and embrace it. It will not take us before our time.”
Silence wrapped around them, and she ran her fingers over her tattoo once again. With it hidden under her skin, she was free to soak it as long as she wanted. “Well, as much as I love this silence, I am going to test out the hot tub.”
Benny got to her feet and wandered over to the wide pool of gently churning water. She peeled off her jeans and wrestled out of her sports bra. Her panties were flicked off and set aside.
With a relaxed groan, she slid into the hot tub and settled onto one of the formed seats. It felt wonderful just to let the water suspend her for a minute. She didn’t have any mermaid in her, but she still loved the water.
Bodies entered the water with her, and everyone leaned back for a nice, long soak.
Heavy sighs and low groans filled the air as they all settled. It was a nice family moment.
It was a nice family moment right up until Harcourt and Lenora wandered onto the deck and pulled chairs up so they could sit near the quartet.
Benny waved at her parents. “Hello, Mom. Hello, Dad.”
Her father was looking more human by the day. He smiled and said, “Good evening, Benny. Thank you for helping with the party last night.”
“It was fun.”
Lenora sighed. “What he is getting at is that we are the ones who now want to plan a party. Namely, your wedding.”
Benny wanted to sink below the bubbling surface, but she had nowhere to go. “Nice timing.”
Lenora grinned. “Jessamine tipped us off that you were all in one place and trapped by good manners.”
Tremble cleared his throat. “When would you like the event to take place?”
Andrew nodded. “How many folk from our prides or clans can we invite?”
“Well, our side of the family tends to run around three hundred or so, so one hundred from each of you should be a suitable number?” Lenora materialized a notebook and started to make out details.