“Where are you?” the female called.
The words echoed and he followed. Wick could hardly contain his joy as he fumbled forward and finally caught sight of her. It was most definitely a woman, a sexy brunette with a lithe body made for riding all night long. He landed quietly but the woman quickly turned around. Her beautiful wide eyes went wide.
“You’re...” Her mouth fumbled open and then closed. “You’re a...well, fuck me. She isn’t crazy!”
He grinned like a bad boy with naughty images on his mind and then frowned. “Who isn’t crazy?” Was this her? Was this his mate? The woman he’d been searching all his life to find.
“Annalise,” the woman whispered and pulled a weapon from her waist.
Wick ignored the weapon, as it didn’t have the sharp point of a sword. How dangerous could the small thing be? The name resonated though. Annalise. Why did that sound so familiar? The memory came screaming at him. She was the girl that was drowning in the water years ago. Wasn’t her name? Annalise? The girl with the haunting green eyes.
“What did you do with her?” The brunette pointed the weapon at him.
“She’s here? In these woods?” Suddenly those dreams made sense, that sweet smile, those green piercing eyes. Was this Annalise his mate? Was that why they met so many years ago?
“Listen, asshole, where is she?”
His heart skipped a beat. “She’s lost in these woods? Why would she go walking alone?” He spread his wings. “Head back that way to the willow tree and wait for me. I will find her.” He would not stop searching.
“For all I know you took her,” she spit out, taking a few steps back.
“You’re very mistrusting.”
“Says the man with wings!” She kept the weapon pointed.
Frankly, he’d done nothing to get this kind of reception. “Fine, do what you will, but I will find the girl.” Wick spread his wings and took to the sky. He was searching for a female he met long ago but his heart yearned for her to be the one. Could this be the moment he’d meet his soul mate?
****
Jayn watched a fucking fairy fly into the sky. Once he was out of range, she lowered her gun and took a giant breath. Did that really just happen? “Annalise!” she screamed again. Where was her girlfriend? She was two hours late and now Jayn found out that fairies were real. Wings, loincloths and muscles, all real and damn did he get her juices flowing. The last time a man got her hot was in high school and she was pretty sure it was just because he looked girlish.
“Where the hell are you?” she called again. Jayn shook her head. Thoughts of this fairy would have to wait, even though he did have the green hair that Annalise always talked about. Hell, this had just taken a turn for the bizarre.
Jayn glanced down at the footprints in the thawing ground. They were the same tread and size as Annalise’s. What she would give to call in backup. Too bad good reception here was as likely as seeing an angel, or should she say, a fairy. She followed the tracks quietly. With all the technology nowadays, how come no one knew they existed? A grown man with wings!
“Annalise, damn it, answer me!” Maybe Jayn had stumbled into some funky mushrooms that were giving her hallucinations. There could be all sorts of hallucinogens in this forest. That fairy looked too much like the one Annalise described. Where was she? Jayn was starting to get really worried about her girlfriend. “Annalise!” she screamed again.
Chapter Two
Annalise closed her eyes. She tried to ignore the fear that raced down her spine. Would her obsession with the green fairy finally get her killed? She thought of Jayn and shuddered. Annalise was not ready to leave this world. She wasn’t ready to leave Jayn. The terror was still there but so was strength. She opened her eyes and shuffled further back, though there was nowhere to go. Annalise sat scrunched on a small ledge below the jagged cliffs and above the raging waves that crashed against the rocks. The sound was stunningly loud. She could barely hear her ragged breath and slamming heart beat. Jayn wasn’t exactly afraid of heights but that sure as hell didn’t help when she looked down. There was no way to swim with that current and the rocks looked rough and would surely cut into her skin. So, here she waited. After yelling for an hour her voice was hoarse and her throat scratchy. The sun was still up and the breeze was warm. Jayn would find her.
It would just take time.
No crazy ideas. All she had to do was wait for rescue. Annalise took another deep breath. She berated herself. The first rule of hiking was watching her step. One little misstep and she tumbled down a hill, hit her head on a tree, and slid down an embankment. Terror had seized her thoughts as the edge of the cliff came right at her. It was sheer luck and the grace of God that her backpack strap caught. She was jerked back toward the rocks and managed to land in this carved out space. It wasn’t really a cave but an indentation made by years of wind erosion. It held her weight and it kept her from falling into that turbulent sea.
She was alive. Now Annalise just had to wait for rescue. She listened closely but couldn’t hear much with the sound of the waves crashing. The sun was bright but a gentle covering of clouds protected her eyes. She glanced out. The horizon was water. The surface shimmered like silk sheets and below her the clear liquid splashed upward. She dug her fingers into the ground, the dirt still cold from winter’s attention.
“Help!” she yelled again, calling out as loud as she could. “Anyone? Please help!” For once, she wished she had Jayn’s big mouth. That woman could wake the dead. Annalise grinned thinking about her, that beautiful smile, the tough attitude and heart of gold. A tear slipped down her cheek and she brushed it away. It was just nerves and fear. She would make it out of this and she sure as hell had learned her lesson. “Please, God, let me get out of this.” Praying wouldn’t hurt. Annalise opened her lips to yell again. She’d scream until her voice was gone.
Her thoughts stopped, her attempt at being rescued silenced by a single sound. Annalise gasped. The noise, the one she played in her head since she was a little girl, was so familiar. The sound of wings, fairy wings, beating. “Help!” she screamed, loud and shrill. Annalise froze as a single tear slid from her eye and crawled down her cheek. She watched, mesmerized as she had been all those years ago.
It was him.
Her lips parted. She forgot how to breathe as the man she had searched so hard and long for arrived. He fluttered down over the cliff, his green hair mussed in the wind, those piercing green eyes on her and a smile on his lips. After all these years...
Annalise had finally found her green-haired fairy.
She leaned forward, amazed and awed. He was even more beautiful than she remembered. She reached out, unable to stop her reaction to him. The dirt beneath her gave way and the alcove began to crumble. She grabbed at the dirt, reaching above to hold on. No, she couldn’t die now, not when she just found him.
His warm, muscular arms wrapped around her. Annalise didn’t even hesitate. She let go of the tree roots and trusted him with her life. He held her tight, staring into her eyes with such blatant intensity. They hovered. The place that saved her life was now just a crumbled speck on the cliff and the waves covered the fallen dirt, sweeping it away to the sea. Annalise held tight, her body shaking, and not entirely from fright. She wrapped her legs around one of his.
Her green-haired fairy flew them toward the cliff, toward the hill that she scowled at, but the moment her feet touched the ground, she held him closer still. “I finally found you.” Her voice was a whisper. She wasn’t even sure he heard.
He reached out and fingered the small strip of hair she dyed green. He rubbed it between his fingers and smiled.
“My fairy.” The words were said on a single shaky breath. He was leaning closer. He smelled like fresh rain. She could hardly contain her emotions as his breath fanned her lips. He was so close she could kiss him. She would kiss him. Annalise closed the small gap between them and pressed her lips to his. The green fairy stilled and then truly astounded her. T
he kiss was magical. Their lips met perfectly, and their tongues danced to a wild song filled with smooth notes. His hands were on her back, pressing her into his hard body. Lust and desire filled her entire being.
A single sound broke through her paradise. Jayn’s voice.
Annalise pulled away, turning sharply to see the woman she loved. The hurt on Jayn’s face was indescribable. “Jayn...” What could she possibly say to explain? She kissed...her fairy man. Annalise glanced back. He was still there, watching them with his head tilted. “He’s real,” she finally said before glancing at the woman that always had her back.
Jayn straightened, and emotion faded from her face. “I see that. A real man with wings. I’m glad you finally found him and that...you’re all right.” Jayn placed her gun back in its holster.
“He is real! I wasn’t crazy.” Annalise turned toward him. “Do you remember me? The little girl you saved?”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “I’m Wick.”
What a name. “I’m Annalise. I don’t know if you remember that.” He nodded. “This is...” Annalise glanced back. “This is my girlfriend, Jayn.”
Jayn grunted. Her lips pinched at the reference.
Guilt weighed heavy against the joy at finally finding her fairy. All these years and he showed up just when she needed him the most. Now what was she going to do? She loved Jayn but she had just kissed a fairy. Probably the only one in existence. “Thank you for saving me, again.”
“You are welcome.” Wick smiled. “Annalise.”
The way he said her name was like a low purr. It sent shivers down her spine.
“It’s not safe here. Please come with me. Both of you.”
Jayn finally spoke. “You two can go...catch up. I’ll get back to the boat.”
“Jayn!” Annalise watched horrified as Jayn turned on her heels and headed back into the dense forest. “Jayn, please.” She was torn. There was no way she could let her fairy get away after all this time but she refused to lose the woman she loved. “I can’t let her go.”
Wick glanced around. “Then we will follow her together. Walking this forest alone is dangerous.”
Annalise finally noticed the sword on his hip. Narrow hips with thick thighs and abs she could bounce a quarter off. Damn, he was so fine she felt her womanhood come to life. She’d never felt such desire for another man. They walked off together, slowly, giving Jayn the space she needed.
“She’s mad,” he said with a raised brow. “Why else would she not join us in safety?”
Annalise nodded, “She’s mad at me.”
“Why?”
“Because I...we kissed.” She swallowed hard, feeling awkward. This was a mythical creature turned real and she had walked up to him and kissed him. Talk about being forward.
“It was very pleasing,” Wick said with a grin. “I would love to kiss you again.”
Annalise blushed. She felt her cheeks go warm. “Yes, I liked it too but...” They walked into a clearing, one she hadn’t been before, and she tried to explain that she and Jayn were a couple. It was more than sex and companionship. Annalise loved Jayn but her heart still had a dark, empty corner and she knew it was reserved for this man, this green haired fairy.
****
Jayn couldn’t hold in her anger as she trudged through the thick undergrowth. The soles of her boots smashed twigs and whatever bugs failed to escape in time. The woman she loved had just kissed some guy. A man with wings, for fuck’s sake. Her world was suddenly spinning upside down. She hopped over a log, roaming toward the sound of waves crashing ashore. Jayn refused to let the tears fall but her heart felt torn asunder. Annalise just kissed him as if she’d been waiting all her life for him. Like this winged thing was her soul mate. Had their years together meant nothing?
The trees thinned out and the brown grass turned to specks of green and dunes. The low heels of her boots sank into the sand and she paused a moment to stare up and down the coast. There. The boat they shared was rocking gently in the waves. Their boat. Jayn kicked at the sand and kept walking. Maybe she was overreacting. After all, he could have kissed her. Maybe Annalise was pulling away when Jayn showed up.
The boat was only a few feet away now. She glanced at the smooth, shiny exterior. This floating contraption had been a hassle at first, but now, it was a home. Their home. Annalise had thrown all that away with a fucking kiss. Maybe it was meant to be. Annalise had been searching for him since she was a child. Jayn stepped closer and was shocked when something solid wrapped around her arm. She was so focused on sorting out unwanted emotions that she hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings. That was a fatal mistake for any cop. Jayn flung her elbow back, connecting with something hard. She spun on her heel and pulled her gun free. Jayn was momentarily stunned by what she saw. Was that a...
This creature hissed at her and knocked the gun right from her hand.
“So not only do fairies exist but whatever the fuck you are.” She slammed her fist into its face and cringed in revulsion as black liquid sprayed onto her hand. “That’s just disgusting.” Another thing came from behind. It was short, so when it grabbed her waist, she used another elbow shot and kicked back with her heel. “Stupid fucking idiot.” Jayn spun, used her solid palm against its chin. Then her training kicked in. In seconds flat, she kicked and punched her way free of both creatures. She leaped and then crawled to her gun, spinning to her back while clicking the safety off.
Gun aimed, target approaching, she fired two quick shots to take them both down. The sound echoed. The creatures fell to the sand where black blood pooled around them. Well, at least she knew they weren’t immune to bullets.
“Jayn!” Annalise’s high-pitched voice rang out. She was running franticly from the tree line. Her breasts bounced and her hair was mussed by the wind. It gave Jayn all sorts of naughty, delicious ideas. Then the fairy showed up. He landed before her and extended a hand. Jayn glanced at it and then struggled to her feet alone.
“Well done,” he said with a nod at the creature.
“And those are...what exactly?” Jayn brushed sand off her clothes. Annalise came flying toward her to hug her close, breathing heavily. “I’m fine.” Jayn didn’t want to soften but the fear and worry in Annalise’s eyes got through to her hurting heart.
“They are trolls,” Wick said with a frown.
“Wonderful.” She took a breath, clicked the safety back on her gun, and placed it in the holder at her hip.
Annalise took Jayn’s face in her hands. “I’m so sorry.” A tear slipped free.
Jayn reached out to wipe it away. “Don’t cry. You always look like a raccoon when you cry.”
Annalise smiled. “I love you, Jayn.”
That did something to her heart, a funny little flip that made that kiss fade away in her memory. “Yeah, ditto.”
“It’s not safe here. We should return to my kingdom.”
Jayn raised a brow, untrusting and hardened to him. Sure, he was a mythological creature but this bastard had kissed Annalise. He was a piece of shit in Jayn’s book. “And I think we should sail away.”
“Oh, please, Jayn. I’ve finally found my fairy.” Annalise looked at her with pleading eyes.
Fuck. That sad face always undid her most stubborn will. After a brief silence, she gave in. “Fine.” Though her mind screamed it was bad idea, Jayn, for once in her life, went with her heart.
Chapter Three
Wick didn’t know if he should jump for joy and thank the Goddess with everything or curse her. He had two females here and he felt stirring for both. However, Jayn didn’t seem to enjoy his company like Annalise did. They could both see him. Perhaps Jayn was meant to mate another fairy? He walked before them, keeping a close eye as they made their way back to the kingdom. Wick was rather confused by their interaction. They were not related yet they talked of love. What could that possibly mean?
That thought was overrun by the memory of kissing Annalise. That girl he saved had turned into a
strikingly beautiful woman. More than that, she was smiling at him in a way that sent his cock poking the loincloth. His heart did a little quiver but he pushed that aside. This was his mate. He knew it the moment their lips met. Annalise was his woman. After all these years, he’d finally get to find true happiness with her. However, what was he to do with Jayn? Was she his mate as well? Was it possible to have two mates? If not, whose was she? So many questions and the clearing was not that far away.
They came through the forest to the grassy clearing and the willow tree in sight. “That is a marker,” he said as he pointed. “All Fairy domains are signaled with a single willow tree placed solitary from everything.”
“I don’t see any magical kingdom,” Jayn said.
Annalise gave her a look before glancing at him. Her features were soft and petite. He longed to reach out and brush his hands through her brown hair. “It’s there. Hidden from human sight to keep us safe.” His wings fluttered and he held out both hands. “I will be able to carry you both. It would be faster.”
Annalise nodded enthusiastically. “I’d love to fly!”
Jayn crossed her arms over her chest. “I have two feet for that pesky thing you call walking.”
Well, she was just a ray of sunshine. “Very well.” He gathered Annalise in his arms and the moment she wrapped her arms around his neck he flew into the sky. Even with Jayn scowling, he flew high. Just enough so Annalise would get a thrill but so that Jayn was still in view. Wick smiled as Annalise held him tighter. They swirled and dove. The wind rushed by their bodies as they made their way in style toward the edge of the kingdom. It was half-sunken into the ground, covered by an invisible dome that kept them from most humans. The space would look like a hill, random and obscure though no one would ever be able to climb it. He landed close to the edge and glanced down into Annalise’s eyes. “Did you enjoy flying?”
Menage a Fairy (A Fairy Novel) Page 2