King Cave

by Scarlett Dawn

  Truth.

  “Did you have anything to do with your Prodigy being held by Coms?”

  He put the shirt on over his head. “No.”

  Truth.

  I glanced to Elder Merrick, thinking it would be best to come from him.

  He sighed and stopped long enough in his discussion to glance around the room at the occupants, and state, “He’s telling the truth.” Then he went back to arguing with Elder Jacobs.

  “Questioning done,” I muttered, shaking my head. Duh. But irritation aside, I still glanced at Antonio, holding his gaze, wanting him to hear me. “I love you.”

  His lips lifted into a sad smile. “I love you, too, Lil.”

  Ezra’s arm wrapped around me from behind, his duffle hooked over his shoulder, catching at my leg. “I love you, too, Dad.”

  “I know.” His dad met his gaze evenly. “And I love you.”

  The goodbyes were done.

  Ezra and I didn’t speak as we quickly made our way back to our room. All Vampires stopped and stared at him, but he wore an expression that didn’t bode well if any were to stop our progress. I appeared the same as my husband, since every Shifter I passed quickly sidestepped. I was almost positive Ezra was on the same wavelength as me, but I wanted to get into our room so we could hash it out. Not to mention, we needed to speak with Jack and Pearl before anything more happened.

  I sighed in relief as we turned the corner to our room, my bones only faintly aching. Rubbing a hand over my face, I glanced at Ezra. His features were still set in quiet fierceness. But he did peer at me when he unzipped his bag’s front pocket, pulling his key from its depths. Honestly, I had no clue where my duffle was — maybe it was in the infirmary, since I hadn’t seen it in our room earlier — which meant my key was missing, too. Bonnie and Clyde waited patiently while Ezra bent and kissed my lips gently, his eyes never closing, before he stuck the key in the door.

  We stepped inside.

  And froze.

  This, I had not expected.

  My eyes opened wide, my jaw flapping as I stared at…

  I shrieked, covering my eyes. “Best friends having sex! Best friends having sex!” I inhaled sharply and amended my screeching chant. “Best friends having freaky magical sex!” I dropped my hands and pointed at them, yelling, “On our goddamn bed!”

  Pearl howled like a banshee, hiding her face. As if that helped.

  Ezra muttered, “How the fuck…” His head tilted.

  I waggled my finger at them, shouting, “On our goddamn bed! Freaky…freaky shit.”

  Jack’s eyes glowed in our direction. “Get the fuck out!”

  Ezra coughed. “Right.” He lifted me straight off my feet, my back against his chest as I continued waggling my finger, and he murmured, “Sorry to interrupt.”

  “On our goddamn bed!” I shouted, pointing hard with each word, right before Ezra blurred backward with me in his arms and slammed the door in our faces.

  My chest was heaving as I stared at the golden door, my finger still pointed. After an extended, silent moment, I whined, “On our bed, Ezra. On our damn bed.”

  Again, he coughed, and his voice trembled. “Actually, they weren’t technically on our bed.”

  My finger dropped, still staring at the door. “They were kind of…hovering.”

  Ezra made an odd noise in his throat.

  My hand mimicked a wave in front of my face, going right to left. “What was the water doing?”

  Ezra choked. “Don’t know.” He gurgled. “Don’t really want to know.”

  Using both hands, I made an explosion motion. “What about the golden sparkles?”

  Ezra snorted. “No clue.” Snorted again.

  I lifted a leg, a little hindered because of Ezra’s hold on me, but I pointed at it. “How was she doing that with her leg?”

  Ezra laughed outright. “Honestly, I’m more shocked by Jack’s flexibility.”

  I nodded in large motions, letting my leg drop. “Yes.” I kept nodding. “Who knew?”

  We stared at the door.

  I drummed my fingers on his arm. “What now?”

  Ezra grunted. “Now, we wait like they’ve been doing for us.”

  I grunted.

  We stared at the door.

  “Think they were about done?”

  “We’d better give them an hour, so we don’t have to…” He left it unsaid.

  I didn’t. “Walk in again on our best friends having freak-ity magical sex?”

  Ezra’s chest vibrated against my back. “Exactly.”

  I nodded once. “Good plan.”

  Ezra’s chest still vibrated. “Yes, good plan.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “So,” I drummed my fingers on my arm where I was sitting outside our door, almost an hour later, staring up at Jack and Pearl who had just exited our room, “I have to ask…what were the water and the sparkles doing?” I had been thinking about that as if it were burned into my mind ever since I had sat down.

  “Sweetheart,” Ezra reprimanded, shaking his head and letting it drop on his arm that was over his leg.

  “What?” I asked innocently. He tilted his head, giving me a look only a husband could. I sighed. “Fine. Never mind.” My eyes went back to Jack, who was standing a smidge protectively in front of Pearl, and Pearl, who had a pretty blush on her cheeks, peeking around Jack’s shoulder. “So, I’ll ask the other question. You two were fucking while Ezra was supposedly on his deathbed?” That one I was a bit pissed about, and I wasn’t going to take it back even though Ezra sighed heavily next to me.

  Pearl bit her lip, but Jack stated calmly, “We were having sex to help take our minds off it.”

  I snorted, but sadly I couldn’t really disagree with that way of thinking.

  Jack raised his eyebrows at me when I stayed mute, then moved to help Ezra up, giving him a huge hug, pounding on his back. “How the hell are you alive?”

  “Lily healed me.”

  Pearl had tears instantly tracking down her cheeks, and she threw herself into Ezra’s arms when he and Jack broke apart. “I’m so happy you’re alive. And I’m so sorry about your mom.”

  Ezra rubbed her back. “I’m fine, so don’t cry. And thank you.”

  Didn’t really help because she kept bawling.

  Still sitting, I asked Jack, pointing between him and Pearl, “When did this happen?” Ezra and I knew from our phone conversations with them that they had also gone against tradition and met up like Ezra and I, to find their Prodigies together, but Jack had never once mentioned this.

  Jack grinned slowly. “I finally manned up a few days ago and made my move.” He shrugged a muscled shoulder, his grin growing, and he whispered, “She couldn’t resist me.” I chuckled at his cockiness, and he held out a hand to help me up, also giving me a hug and holding me close to whisper at my ear, “Just saying goodbye, huh?”

  I shrugged inside his hold. “It was a little more bumpy than that, but we’re both fine now.”

  He leaned back, tilting his head so his blue hair wasn’t dangling over his eye. “I have a feeling I would probably be pissed if I knew the whole story.”

  Ezra grunted, still rubbing Pearl’s trembling back, and glanced at him. “You have no clue how pissed you would be.”

  Pearl’s head jerked back. “What are you talking about?”

  Ezra softly patted her blotchy cheek. “Nothing to worry about.”

  Silently, I sighed in relief that Ezra wasn’t going to completely rat me out, but Jack felt it since he was still holding me, and he glanced at me sharply, eyes roaming my face. I smiled at him sheepishly and patted his chest, stating studiously, “We’re both fine.” I felt his power surge, aimed directly at me, and he stilled, eyes narrowing when he probably felt that my Core power was still a bit off. Calmly, I reiterated, “We are both fine, Jack.”

  His eyebrows slowly rose, and he bent, whispering at my ear, “We’re going to have a talk later.”

  I growled a bit
at his tone, but I didn’t argue. I had lied to them. Used them. It had been for a good cause, but there would still be repercussions for my actions.

  Jack released me, giving me one last glance before gently pulling Pearl away from Ezra. “We’re going to get some dinner. Want to come?”

  Both Ezra and I shook our heads, and Ezra stated, “She and I need to talk, but I’m starving, so maybe you guys could bring us back something?”

  Jack sighed, glancing at his watch. “How long should we be gone for?”

  Ezra chuckled softly, putting his key in the door. “Maybe an hour.”

  I held up two fingers. “Or two.”

  Ezra blinked, opening the door. “You’re not too sore?”

  Pearl popped her fingers into her ears. “Too much info. Too much info.” She turned, getting the completely wrong impression from his comment, and started walking in the other direction. “Let’s go, Jack.”

  And…Jack followed…staring at her ass the entire way until they turned the corner.

  I pointed where they had disappeared. “He’s whipped already.”

  Ezra chuckled, pulling me into our bedroom, and locked the door behind us. “Yes, he is.” He hugged me tight against his chest, staring down at me. “You really aren’t too sore?”

  I shook my head, fingering his shirt. “Nope, I’m really not that bad. And I want to make love in this room, where we first came together, one last time.” My eyes met his green ones.

  And his gaze expressed complete understanding. He was on the same wavelength as me, thank God. Slowly, he nodded, bending to softly kiss my lips. “Okay, our talk can wait.”

  Lying on top of Ezra, my head resting on his smooth chest, which was slick from our lovemaking, I listened to his heart beat strong, slowly calming from our time together. He ran the tips of his fingers up and down my bare back, lifting his head to gently kiss my forehead. I sighed. “I’m so happy we waited to talk.”

  Ezra hummed, sounding half growl. “Unquestionably the right move.”

  Tilting my head, I kissed his hard pec. “You know, you’re just as flexible as Jack.”

  He chuckled quietly, the sound pulsating against my skin. “And you pulled a few maneuvers that there’s no way in hell Pearl could do.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “I have no clue how you can even move right now.”

  I snorted. “I can’t.” I faked a groan. “I’m pretty sure I dislodged a few things.”

  “Ah, poor little wolf,” Ezra purred softly, rolling us so he rested over me. Gently, he started kissing my neck. “Tell me where it hurts, and I’ll kiss it all better.”

  A damn giggle, which was completely girly and which I couldn’t contain, bubbled up, but it didn’t stop me from pointing to the other side of my neck. “Right here.”

  Ezra’s Vampire purred quietly as he tilted his head, softly touching his tongue right where I pointed before sucking gently, creating a wonderful new spark that sizzled through my body.

  My eyes closed on a soft moan as I ran my fingers through his damp hair, our slick bodies gliding together as I arched under him. “The talk can wait a little longer.”

  Ezra nodded, nibbling at my collarbone, his hands sliding up my sides. “Later.”

  Half hanging off the bed with the dead weight of my Vampire husband on top of me, I blinked at the spelled ceiling, gasping for air. “Holy shit, baby.” My body was still shaking in aftershocks, but I chuckled when Ezra groaned on top of me in answer. I patted his ass, which was where my hand that wasn’t hanging off the bed currently rested. “If I wasn’t sore before, I’m gonna be now.”

  Again, Ezra groaned against the side of my head, but when his breathing calmed, he muttered, “Jack and Pearl had better bring a shitload of food because I don’t even know how many calories we just burned,” his stomach growled against mine, “and I’m famished.”

  I laughed outright, curling my foot around his on the ground. “Wanna go again?”

  He stilled, and then muttered, “You’re killing me here, sweetheart. That was some of my finest work and it didn’t satisfy you?” When I teased him by only chuckling quietly, he growled low, his Vampire taking voice. “Well, we probably have time for a little more.”

  Arms hanging over the edge of the bed, my head dangling so that my hair brushed the ground, I mumbled, breathless, “I must have done something damn fantastic in another life.”

  Ezra chuckled quietly, his panting breaths fanning my shoulder where he lay across my back.

  “Really, really, fucking fantastic things,” I muttered, waving a hand. “That was…unbelievable.”

  “Why, thank you,” Ezra drawled lazily, his hands barely squeezing my hips, where they rested. His stomach growled again. “But I get half of your food since I made you come two more times after you said you couldn’t anymore.”

  I grunted, my own stomach growling now. “Not gonna happen.”

  “Where’s the justice in that?”

  I waved my hand, my eyes still closed. “When I caught your ass from falling off the bed when you came so hard you damn near passed out.”

  Ezra grunted. “I could claim it was lack of nutrition.”

  “And I can already smell the lie.”

  A pause. “Fucking Shifter nose.”

  “You know, I’ve often thought the same thing about your Vampire nose.”

  Ezra sighed, biting my shoulder gently. “Are we done procrastinating the inevitable?”

  I sighed myself. “Guess so.”

  We re-positioned so we were lying on our sides, staring at each other.

  I touched his nose mildly, running my finger up and down it. “Are you really prepared to run?”

  He bit my finger lightly, growling softly as he moved closer, and placed a heated palm possessively on my hip. “If it means you won’t be hurt and we’re together, then yes.”

  I nodded slowly, staring him in the eyes, seeing his resolve. “Same for me.” My gaze darted between his eyes. “I couldn’t take you being hurt again,” my chin trembled from my near loss, “and if Antonio says he can’t stop what’s coming because he’s not powerful enough…well, I say we go into hiding.”

  Ezra smiled gently, running his thumb back and forth over my hip, his wedding ring cool against my skin. “And you’ve definitely got enough places for us to hide.”

  I nodded. “Antonio doesn’t even know about one of them, so we should go there.”

  Ezra stared. “Jack and Pearl?”

  I bit my lip. “They deserve to know we’re leaving.”

  “Agreed,” Ezra murmured, and tilted his head forward, biting my bottom lip and tugging. “But I don’t want to tell them about our marriage. I want to keep something just between you and me. Plus, for their own safety, they probably shouldn’t know.”

  “Agreed.” I rubbed my nose against his. “We should probably start packing so we can leave before the sun comes up, when there aren’t so many awake yet.”

  Ezra’s eyes roamed my face, his expression quickly setting with determination. “Then let’s get it done.” He helped me up, tossing me a t-shirt from his dresser. “That’s my favorite old shirt, so don’t forget it tomorrow.”

  I put it on and stared down at the worn grey t-shirt, which read: Live Hard Or Die Bored.

  I snickered. It was perfect. “Can I also borrow a duffle? Mine’s lost somewhere.”

  He entered his closet and brought me an empty duplicate of his full one. “You’re already stealing my shit.” A cocky eyebrow rose as he pulled on a pair of pajama pants.

  My eyebrows rose. “Need I remind you about my Hummer?”

  He snorted. “Our Hummer.” Grinning at my cross expression, he grabbed his full duffle off the floor. “And besides, you may be rich…but I’m filthy rich. So quit complaining.”

  I blinked as I watched him saunter into his closet. “What are you talking about?” I hadn’t thought he was poor, most Mysticals weren’t — even I had a decent amount for someone my age.

  His lau
ghter boomed from his closet. “Let’s just say, when I turned twenty-two I came into enough money to buy a small country.” A pause. “A few of them.”

  My jaw dropped in shock. “You’re a trust fund baby?” I just couldn’t see it.

  “Yes,” he stated factually. “And none of those forms you signed when we got married were a prenup, even though Judge waved it at me and told me I was nuts when I tore it up while you were talking to Jury about our wedding DVD. So when I said before what’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours, I meant it.”

  My heart kinda melted. I peeked around his door, grinning like a fool. “I love you.” He gave me a crooked grin over his shoulder before digging through his massive amount of clothes again. My lips twitched. “But the Hummer’s still mine.” I barely dodged the shoe that was thrown at me.

  The sheets were changed, our bags were in our closets behind their respective closed golden doors, and Ezra and I were now stuffed on a portion of the enormous amount of grub Pearl and Jack had brought back with them. We sat on the love seat together while Pearl and Jack sat warily on the couch next to each other, staring at us after we had asked them to have a seat so we could talk. It was remarkable the shift that had occurred in them since we had first arrived here, when the news of their mates had literally crushed them, but together they had found an aspect of peace, even if it was new, telling by the way Pearl tentatively scooted closer to Jack, and by the way he carefully placed his arm over her shoulders, bringing her closer.

  I watched how Pearl physically relaxed inside Jack’s gentle embrace, and I smiled softly. “I almost don’t want to tell them now.”

  Ezra nodded, eyes just as quick as mine. “They’re damn sweet together.”

  Jack scowled. “Quit analyzing us.” He pointed between Ezra and me. “You two don’t know how alike you are. You sit the same way,” huh, guess we were, “You watch people the same way,” I already knew that, “Hell, you even tilt your heads the same way,” I had noticed that a few times, “and it’s like you two have telepathy the way your brains work the same way, finishing each other’s sentences and automatically knowing what the other’s going to do.”