by Alisha Basso
“That’s your guilt talking,” he said, brushing his fingers over my bare shoulder. “This is just the beginning. My hunger…it’s only going to grow, and you don’t have the skill, can’t summon sufficient energy.”
I stiffened and pushed at his arms, angry. “You have no idea what skills I have, what kind of energy I can summon.” I pulled away from him, looked into eyes which were tricolor green again, but now seemed a bit ordinary.
“I have guilt, too, Lily. Dropping my glamour was unforgivable. And I can’t promise it won’t happen again.”
His look of fulfilled tenderness fragmented my anger. “I want it again. I want to see you that way again.”
“Dropping my glamour for an intimate takes months, and must happen gradually. You can’t acclimate this quickly. I’ll lose you,” he whispered, pulling me close.
“No you won’t. I’ll be more careful.” I snuggled into the hollow of his throat.
“You could press charges if you want, Lily. I’ll answer for them.” There was the serious Talon again.
I shook my head against his neck, making a soothing sound, his heartbeat pulsing against my mouth. “Don’t be ridiculous. It was an accident, I know that. You’ve been bitten and you’re losing control of your magic. You didn’t do it deliberately, so it’s not actionable.”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, you could have lost your mind and been nothing but a beautiful, living shell. Lost in me forever.”
“Lost in you forever?” It sounded lovely. “I’m not giving up on you. Besides, you should never have followed me.”
He pushed me back and loomed over me. “Then you’d be dead.”
He was right. The undead vamp would have had me for dinner, sucked me dry, and I would not be here now. “How did you know it was me?”
He smiled and the rogue was back, but the sparkle in his eyes was for me and my audacity. “Something in those dog eyes. Defiance and amusement. I just knew. I’ve seen your spell book. I know how talented you are. Your mirror spell was genius. So a dog shapeshift would have been easy for you.”
“And your lackeys?” I smirked.
He frowned, the amusement disappearing. “Don’t let them hear you call them that. Laric and Storm are superb warriors in their own right. Insulting a fae has consequences. To answer your question, I dismissed them. Sent them home.”
“Why?”
Again he shrugged. “Because I hadn’t made up my mind about you.”
“Oh,” I said as he collapsed against the mattress.
Even as we spoke the pressure was building again. I reached down and cupped him, to find him already hard. The pressure dropped slightly when I touched him. He thrust into my hand as I slid my palm up and down. I wanted more, but I couldn’t seem to stop staring at him as he closed his eyes and pushed his head back on the pillow. I pressed up on my elbow and covered his mouth, and took the sound of his enticing, musical voice into me as he moaned. I wanted his honeyed tongue and sucked it into my mouth, drawing on him hungrily.
He shifted me on top of him. With my free hand, I brushed along the hair across his forehead, reveling in the silk against my palm. As I worked him harder, the scent of roses filled the air.
Something brushed my breast, but his hands were on my back, rubbing up and over my buttocks. I broke the kiss and looked down.
Roses were growing, blossoming out of his skin, the same exquisite color as his hair. He slipped his hand under my thigh and lifted my leg, fitting himself against me, and he entered me at the same time as he pulled me against him. As I pressed against his chest, I crushed the velvet flowers and their fragrance intensified until the heavenly smells filled me up, settled heavily in my nipples and into my core, whispered over my skin, and sang in my blood. I ached and longed for his touch, craved it like I couldn’t live without it.
I arched my back as he thrust hard into me, his mouth on my neck, then covering my nipple, and this time his wild magic penetrated deep into my core, igniting an orgasm which left me breathless and dizzy.
The pressure released again when he came, the crimson flowers exploding into tiny butterflies which skipped and danced lovingly over my skin and his.
We sank against the mattress. I was so sensitized, the tiny butterflies’ teasing made my skin tingle.
“Don’t stop touching me,” he said.
I lifted up and pressed a kiss over his mouth while his hands slid up my back and into my hair, cradling my head, his hands so big and gentle.
He sighed and shifted so I was beneath him, and his mouth was once again hard and demanding, his big body heavy and delicious on mine. He broke the kiss and gazed down into my face. “I think after this you’re going to have to give me a discount on your coffee, yes?”
I grinned. “I don’t think so, dust hound. Nothing will have changed. This is just a mercy fuck.”
He laughed, and the flash of his smile made me cup his strong jaw, the joy of his amusement almost as potent as his kiss.
“I like kissing you, witch.”
I rubbed my hands over his back, up and down, keeping the pressure at bay, giving him time to get control of his magic. But the speed with which it built again made me dizzy.
When I lightly scored his skin, he twisted his head, displacing his hair. His ear caught my attention and I reached up and traced the outer edge of the shell, shaping it all the way to its point, and around and back down to his lobe.
Compelled, I lifted my head and took his lobe into my mouth, shoving my fingers into his hair to hold him still, rubbing my thumb along his hairline. I noticed he’d lost a stud. It had been a diamond, if I remembered correctly. He groaned as I drew on him, then traced the shell again, this time with my tongue, then breathed heavily into his ear.
He pressed his hips into mine, sucking in a heavy, aroused breath.
“Lily, you wicked witch.”
I kissed up the side of his face to his temple, breathing deep of his loamy scent, burying my nose into his hair.
Giving us both a moment to catch our breaths, I decided to indulge my curiosity about him. I’d never been out of St. Paul/Minneapolis. He’d traveled the Torrent. It was the only way to get to the Earth realm. “Tell me about the Fae realm.”
He shifted against me, his body warm and alive, and his voice was hushed and proud. “It’s beautiful, double blue moons, the grass is so green. I’m Crystal Fae. My people live in a shining city carved out of living crystal. I’m distantly related to the royal family, but very far from the throne. I grew up in the shadow of that great city in a small village outside the castle. ”
The longing to know where I came from kicked me hard and I felt a deep, familiar ache.
“Aww, Lily,” he said, his compassion so deep and understanding, I couldn’t handle it. I was already way over the threshold with my feelings for Talon. Pushing back my yearning, I gave him another uncomplicated grin. “You’re a prince?” I rolled my eyes. “That explains the charm. Forget it. I’m not bowing or calling you your majesty or your grace or whatever.”
“Hah!” He laughed, dropping his head for an instant before bringing his sly gaze back to mine. “Far from it, and I think I’m much more of a rogue than a prince.”
I grabbed one of his loose braids and tugged. “Bad boy.”
He looked at me. “Very bad boy, especially right now. Melding with a female witch whom I’m hunting is thoroughly crossing the line. But you’ve effectively trapped me. I can’t say anything about Haven’s End or I’ll be subject to disciplinary action.”
With his soft hair in my hands, I unraveled a vibrant plait. “You do that, don’t you? Cross the line.” My eyes flicked to his.
“To get the job done, sometimes.” He sighed when my hands went into his hair and removed one of the silver clasps. The workmanship in the silver was exquisite. Tiny little dragonflies.
I reached for another loop of hair, thicker, but just as soft. This time there were tiny stars etched in the silver. Separating the strands, I tried
to mask the pleasure his skin gave me as he eased his naked hips and groin against me. “Do you….execute the people you catch?”
He closed his eyes as if he was weary. “No, I’m just a retriever. Besides, I don’t like killing humans. It disturbs me.”
“No problem with vamps?”
His eyes went a lethal green, the warrior he was so vivid in the clear, violent depths and I remembered he’d said he would tack Styx’s hide to his wall. I had no doubt. “No, but then undead vamps don’t have a soul, do they?”
“Why not evil humans then?” I said tartly. “They commit unspeakable acts against your people for gain. Pure dust is so dangerous. The dusthollows…”
“Yes, the dusthollows are an abomination. An unnatural transformation from the buildup of dust in their blood, but dust is highly addictive. When we felt the disturbance and the opening of the Torrent, we were astonished to discover it was the work of humans. Magically challenged humans. We thought in our arrogance that we had to step in. Our leaders back then didn’t get it, but I did. We’re heralded as the heroes who saved the Earth realm. It was the result, and it was the intent.”
“Then what…”
Talon’s lips thinned from some past anger. “It’s their belief in their own superiority, Lily. That’s what I detest. Humans may be many things…” he broke off and rose on his elbow as I reached for another clasp and released his twined hair. He caressed my face, his eyes glowing, “Resourceful, stubborn, stupid, unmanageable, courageous, but they are bursting with life. With energy. With a drive to do as they will. They are complex and…beautifully intricately necessary. I only discovered recently they are the biggest creators of magic. It’s compels me.”
“I can see why it would attract you. Your magic. It’s tied to the earth, that’s why. You smell like spring.” I buried my nose in his now loose hair, which was way longer than I had expected.
He chuckled when I burrowed my nose in further, and gently slid his hands through my hair. “It arouses you. I knew it the moment we met. Earth witches are usually a little harder for me to resist. You smell like sin, little witch.”
I snorted, giving him a cheeky smile. “You resisted just fine.”
He reclined, pulling me against his chest, absently stroking his hand over my hair. “You’ve seen me pretty disassembled, Lily. There’s no need for subterfuge anymore. Right now, I need you.”
“There’s no shame in that,” I murmured.
“No shame, just…it clashes with my duty, and because of this…this…” He stumbled to a halt and I raised my head to look at him. He looked lost.
“Intimacy?” I supplied softly.
He sighed and shook his head. It wasn’t just a word they bandied about. I was aware they could have sex. Aware it could be a purely physical act for the fae, just as it was for us humans—one night stands and casual sex. But to meld, as we had done. That was something…more.
He exhaled wearily. “Yes, we will forever be tied together.”
I nudged him. “You’re not going to do the whole withering thing, are you?”
His eyes opened in a half-lidded, sexy way that made all my hormones jump up and down and my body come alive. Damn.
He smiled. “No. But you tempt me, Lily.”
Hoping he couldn’t see my heartache, I said, “Talon…it’s not possible…for us—”
He looked away, slipping his hand around to the back of my neck and massaging. “I know. But until my blood is cleansed, we’ll have to endure.”
I tried to huff, but I had caught the hint of humor in his voice and it came out more like a laugh, diffusing the heaviness of the reality we faced. “Oh,” I rolled my eyes. “It’s such a hardship. Such a chore.”
Without warning, his mouth took mine, and there was no pressure in him, but I kissed him back just as ardently as he kissed me, hoping the vamp saliva took just a bit longer to get out of his system.
“I especially like kissing your sarcastic mouth,” he said, his voice raspy and gruff.
We kissed for a few more minutes. “It must be hard for you?” he asked, “not knowing where you’re from?”
I was silent and my hand slowed on his back.
Sadness filled me. Talon was in tune with me now and it was unnerving. Could he see my misery? “I don’t remember where I’m from. I woke up three years ago, and my memory was just gone.”
He tightened his arms. “Surely a healer…”
I shook my head sadly, and curled up against him when he opened his arms. Settling against his chest, I sighed. “No, not even a healer has been able to help me. I don’t know who I am.”
“Sure you do,” he scoffed. “I’ve seen who you are.”
I shrugged. “Maybe that’s the person I made myself, but I have no past, except for the three years I lived with Olivia.”
His voice softened. “You were very close to her?”
My voice was broken. “Yes, I loved her.”
Comfort took many forms, and I realized this was something I had been missing. The touching, the needing, the support.
He shifted to look at me, his expression dead serious. “That’s why you were at Haven’s End. You were trying to get information. Why not leave it up to the OS?”
“There are problems with the OS. They keep losing their memories and files about the case, and Olivia’s body has disappeared. Now I’m worried that, since I’ve told you, pretty soon you won’t remember who I am, either.”
Disbelief in his voice, he said, “Someone is tampering with wardens?”
I snuggled up closer, recalling the blank look on the OS witch’s face. “Yes, even one of their witches.”
His tone full of outrage, he said, “That’s serious. I could speak—”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “No. I don’t want you to lose your memory.”
His tricolor eyes brightened and his arms tightened, but this time I felt the pressure building again. “I would never forget about you, Lily.”
We continued with the sex and caressing, and occasionally talking, all night and into the morning. We were exhausted by then, and when it seemed as if most of the vamp saliva had been neutralized, we slept.
His inhuman scream of agony brought me out of a sound sleep. His was rigid beside me, his eyes wide and fixed, his body taut with unspeakable pain.
“Talon,” I said, trying to stay calm. I shook him, but there was no response. He drew a ragged breath and screamed again, and some of his pain seeped into me, and it was mixed with his magic. I could feel it sting as it crawled over me. His magic was imploding. He couldn’t stop it. I straddled him and cupped his face, but he was still unresponsive.
His living tattoo was black, the tree withered.
It was dying.
He was dying.
Oh goddess, no.
His harsh breathing whistled in and out of his lungs. “Go! Lily. Get out of here!”
But I ignored him. I couldn’t forget how he’d looked when he’d taken on Styx for me. How he had fought. How he had taken those bites. For me. After Olivia’s betrayal, after my bitterness and my pain, his courage and generosity had blindsided me.
No one could stand up to an undead vamp except a Blood Hunter. No one. Not even a powerfully built, dominant fae like Talon. He had to have known the risks when he attacked the vamp.
My barriers were down. I’d dropped them because he needed me, and now I was compromised and vulnerable. And I couldn’t let him die, even if it meant my own death. The thing I cherished most in this world was life. I had been given a second chance. I wouldn’t give up. I couldn’t.
More of his pain-laced magic shot through me, and I cried out as the agony ripped at me like white hot knives. He was suffering even more than I was, and I could scarcely draw breath.
My body on fire with the dark pain, I leaned down and kissed his mouth. I thought he was probably beyond sex, but I had to try.
He responded finally, his mouth pressing against mine. I slid my hips over him and h
e groaned low and needy in his throat, gravelly with the pain twisting him up. With a growl that spoke of his snapping control, he flipped me onto my back and reared over me.
The moment he slid into me, I knew we were in trouble. The pressure wasn’t releasing with the act, it was building. I was frantic. I rose up to meet him, and his rhythm was harsh as he pumped in and out of me. I reached up to him. I opened to his aura, his magic, and found myself in a maelstrom of excruciating pain and intense, unrelenting desire, clashing and twisting like something alive.
And I found myself drawn to it, sinking into his body, not tangibly, but the sensation was almost the same. “No, Lily. Don’t!”
But I didn’t hear him, not in a way I understood, and I wasn’t about to stop anyway. He faltered with his body sheathed within mine, burning and hard and so alive. I could feel his pulse speeding, speeding, not from physical exertion but from fear. He pulled himself all the way out of me, and for one heartrending moment I thought he was going to stop, that it would all stop. And I would die in his arms. Then he entered me again, and it was as if he surrendered himself to me completely, to us, to the joining.
I think he knew I was going to stay until the end, whatever it was. And he wanted me. He wanted me with a desperation which had nothing to do with the vamp saliva or the pain or anything. I didn’t know why. I just knew it was true.
I wanted him, too, the life of what we were together, not the unstoppable death rushing towards us.
An emerald glow from his skin expanded until we moved in a suffusion of light, of pain, of power. Every thrust of his body intensified the power. Every writhe of my body underneath him attracted the magic like a constricting shield around us, tight and smothering.
And a power built in me. Something alive and so much a part of me it scared me, yet I did not recognize or know the source.
Our bodies melded, and I could feel him sinking into me until our hearts touched, fluttering together in a dance more intimate than anything we’d experienced till now.
Our hearts began to beat together, closer and closer, until the rhythm was indistinguishable, and it became one heart, one body, one being, and I no longer knew where I stopped and Talon began. It was in the moment of near perfect union that we breathed with the rushing movement of the Earth, a formless and green-hued place filled with light, the depths spinning and turning around us, the rush of the Torrent a constant and soothing sound. It was in that floating state when I first heard the whisper of the forest, ancient and sentient, its words like poetry on the soft and gentle wind. Here the pain couldn’t touch us, we were cocooned. Shadows moved outside our brightly lighted bubble.