Falling Into Faerie After

by Mercedes Jade

  “Orin told me to give you time and space,” Dain said, slowly biting out the words as if each tasted bitter. “He said you would come around, then I find out you were never planning to accept our protection and used that time to plot a foolish adventure.”

  “So Orin can lie?” I said. “Wait until you find out what other tricks he has up his sleeve.”

  “No, he cannot lie,” Dain retorted.

  I shouldn’t have to tell him about their talk-around truths. “Fae lies are the only thing I’ll believe,” I muttered

  He grabbed my shoulders and hauled me up the tree to eye level, which meant I wasn’t touching the ground any longer. My claws gouged a trail up the trunk.

  If Orin didn’t lie, I had one big problem facing me right now.

  “Then, you really can kill me?” I squeaked out.

  Dain needed to give me some breathing space. I felt my old sense of panic squeeze my chest as I looked at those deadly, yellow eyes.

  “You think your life is in danger from your Marks?” Dain asked, incredulous tone actually a relief to me.

  Breathe. I had to breathe.

  I had thought Dain threatening my life more ridiculous now after my conversation with Kheelan and Loren, but still, Dain was huffing and puffing against me like the big, bad wolf.

  “Not now,” I said, sounding a little unsure.

  “I thought Orin misunderstood,” Dain said. He didn’t seem relieved at all. In fact, the admission only seemed to anger him, his grip on my shoulders tightening.

  “You are dangerous. There was a battle. I was kind of the reason you even had to fight it and then Kheelan left you to babysit Aeric, who Orin told me is like your greatest enemy. I figured you were in a mood,” I said. Dain frowned at me. “If you killed me, wouldn’t that-”

  “I don’t want to kill you. I’m going to fuck you, Eve,” Dain interrupted. “Then, you’ll accept Aeric once to break the g-”

  He broke off, grabbing his head over one eye and clenching his jaw even harder.

  “Are you okay?” I stupidly asked. He was clearly in agony. I knew what caused it as well as how punishing it would be to try mention the geas from my experience with Kheelan. It was really taboo.

  “The cost for trying to-” he started to explain and stopped again.

  I let go of the tree and let him keep holding me up while I grabbed his shoulders, fingers brushing against his soft, warm wings as I kissed his mouth. My dangling legs I wrapped around his hips. He didn’t see me coming, face scrunched up in pain, but he felt me. His lips softened under mine and he moaned. I think it was partly still pain but his tongue entered my mouth and I decided it didn’t matter as long as he kept kissing me.

  The lust I had around all my Marks was starving for his touch. There had to be magic involved. I couldn’t be this crazy for Dain, my hands clawing his shoulders to get him naked, even the thin cotton of his undershirt too much for my frenzied desire. What had happened to my fear?

  “Waited too long for this,” Dain muttered against my mouth, tearing himself off my lips.

  I had bitten his tongue, the tiny wound bleeding as he lisped his words slightly. I could taste the blood on my lips and licked them, uncaring of what he wanted to say. His body was here and I was willing.

  “Should have stolen you away and made you mine,” Dain said, more than capable of carrying out the threat.

  Fear wasn't for living, he had told me. I wanted him.

  “Less talking, more fucking,” I said, pulling back to kiss him again.

  He leaned out of reach, using his grip on my shoulders to press my upper half firmly against the tree truck. My legs around his hips kept him from getting too far away.

  “Eve, I didn’t bring you out here for this.”

  I blushed, panting with the need to fight his hold. I wanted to be wrapped back around his body.

  “For what reason did you loose your arrows at me?” Dain asked. It cooled my lust, forced me to think.

  “I didn’t trust you,” I said, squirming against his grip. Weren’t we done talking about this?

  “You should have feared me. Another Fae in your place would have begged for my mercy, pleaded with me to reinforce her Mark instead of using a weapon to keep me in my place,” Dain said.

  I glared at him. Apparently, we weren’t done talking yet. “Grass stains on my knees?” I reminded him. “You flew off and blew that opportunity. Is this another case of cold feet again?”

  One of Dain’s eyebrows rose up. “I was a bit distracted with the battle you mentioned. If I had known you were going to commit attempted murder and hide away for a month, I would have reconsidered my priorities.”

  “Reconsider now,” I advised him.

  “Do you want me to finish this?” Dain asked, thumb rising to my lips and brushing against one corner.

  “Don’t run away,” I said.

  “Stop fighting me,” he said.

  “I’m all but throwing myself at you. What more do you want?” I asked him, frustration making me snappish.

  He smirked at me. “Your surrender and agreement to my terms, minx. I mentioned that earlier.”

  “Fine, what are the terms?” I said. I let go of his shoulders to cross my arms against my chest and glower, still pinned to the tree by his hips. “I’m not calling you Prince of Darkness or licking your boots.”

  He laughed, the other eyebrow shooting up. “You accept punishment and agree to-”

  “No way,” I interrupted. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Eloden feels differently,” Dain smoothly continued over my interruption. “You lied and ran away before the agreed upon meeting time. It was a planned escape because you were packed and left a letter for your brothers that I wasn’t supposed to read. You didn’t even think to bring your brothers for protection, but thankfully, they’re quick witted and as stubborn as you and got to the portal in time to ensure you didn’t head off on your foolhardy trip alone.”

  Dain didn’t say anything about the kidnapping once we entered Faerie. Maybe he didn’t know. I really hoped so for the sake of my butt.

  “I had a plan that didn’t include you and now I’m being punished?” I said, ignoring the implication that Eloden might want to punish me, too. One pissed off Dark Fae at a time was enough for me.

  “You are under our protection. Weeks ago you were stolen and abused by the Light King himself. Your magic attracts all the wrong kind of attention,” Dain said.

  He paused and I mumbled an annoyed sound of agreement. He wasn’t wrong. I could see they were all upset that I had struck out on my own but it wasn’t as if the Claim actually joined us at the hips.

  “What do you mean wrong kind of attention?” I asked to clarify. Selvyth hadn’t kidnapped me for being a Dark Elf. It had been about Aeric.

  “You have been dropping your glamour around your family home,” Dain answered.

  Well, yeah. I remembered that Falin admitted they had been watching over me, so I guess they had noticed and they probably had also seen me practicing my archery skills. Bet it had smarted that none of them figured out why I was training so diligently.

  “I like to dress up in my Faerie side in the woods where nobody human can see me. Big deal. I like the strength and it’s easier to sense the tree magic for my aim,” I said.

  “You kept Falin well fed with curious intruders onto your privacy.”

  Holy shit. “He ate people-”

  “Fae, minx. He chased off the more harmless and inconsequential and nibbled on a few others, but you brought dark things to your doorstep with such untutored magic,” Dain said, letting out a sigh of frustration.

  “Is that why Falin came after me? I thought he was there because of Loren.”

  “You had a Fae outside of your Claim enter your home. Falin wasn’t watching carefully enough,” Dain growled out.

  “Loren wasn’t going to hurt me. I think he was surprised to see me all alone, too.”

  I knew that Loren had dra
gged Falin to Dain, which I guess meant my apartment. Didn’t they talk about it and sort out who was who?

  “It was a challenge to your Claim’s protection and one that Falin was unprepared to meet with you distracting him and the unfulfilled g-”

  Dain cut off his explanation with a pained grimace.

  “Why wasn’t it you?” I asked once he relaxed his grip again.

  Dain finally let me go so I slid down the tree and back onto my own feet. With a heated blink, he had his wings tucked back away by his glamour and sat on the ground, grabbing my hand to tug me down on his lap. “Let me hold you,” he said.

  It was unexpectedly comforting being cradled and I sighed, tucking my head onto his chest.

  “I did come to watch over you, Eve. All those restless nights where your nightmares made you sweat and toss and cry.”

  I shouldn’t have asked. Stiffening up, I shifted and looked up at him. My cheeks felt warmed, but I wasn’t sure if it was merely embarrassment.

  “You only witnessed my weakness. I’ve grown stronger,” I said, a bit chastened. He hadn’t abandoned me so easily as I had thought.

  Dain scoffed, not letting me get off easy because he had caught me crying. “You do not even have basic protections around your room.”

  “Because my room is supposed to be private. Falin was spying on me. It wasn’t my fault,” I said. “And he still spanked me for it,” I added, remembering the loud smack I got when I was fighting his hold. Now, I could see he meant to stop me from getting closer to Loren until he was identified as my missing Mark.

  “He never mentioned any spanking, minx. Tell me about it.”

  “On the bare bum,” I exaggerated with some indignity. No need to tell Dain what I had been wearing.

  “You were naked? Why don’t you tell me what you did to deserve this spanking” Dain said. I looked up, surprised he asked. I thought Falin had tattled about everything.

  Dain’s lips twitched.

  Oh, it was like that. I fought back a blush and decided to play his game.

  “He has such big, strong hands,” I said.

  Falin actually had more slender, long fingers like Aeric, a bit more what I would expect of an artist than a warrior. The lie was only the first I planned to tell Dain until he admitted he already knew what had happened in the bathroom. I wasn’t going to let him trick me into telling him I did something wrong.

  “Anyone’s hands would be bigger than your dainty fingers,” Dain said. He brought the hand he had held onto after tugging me onto his lap and held it out to examine, fingers brushing against my sensitive tips. “You really need to build up more calluses if you want to continue your archery.”

  “My fingers are quite talented already,” I said, feeling the heat of my double meaning flush my face more. “Didn’t Falin mention anything about the wonderful scarf I was crocheting when he found me sitting by the fireplace?”

  Dain’s golden eyes went from my hand and focused on my lips as I licked them. “Falin said you whispered my name when you were using those talented fingers, minx.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut and wondered why I didn’t just sink into the ground. “While knitting?” I absurdly misdirected.

  “I thought you said crocheting and there was a bathtub of steamy bubbles,” Dain retorted. “And my name on your lips while you thought yourself all alone to your pleasure.”

  Dain was better at this game then me. It figured with the Fae talk around I usually got from their talented tongues. All I could do was keep denying.

  “Falin has quite the imagination. I would have only said your name in a curse,” I lied.

  “He also tormented me with great detail on your teasing underclothes that left nothing to the imagination for your voyeuristic new Mark. How you squirmed over Falin’s lap while he played with your breasts. The way you squeezed his cockhead until he was going to spill between your sweet thighs without even getting fully sheathed.”

  Geezus, I popped my eyes open and saw Dain’s heated stare. I was getting wet just hearing him recount the sexual interlude, squeezing my legs together and wiggling in his lap. Yeah, he knew everything. I had been very naughty and enjoyed every minute of it.

  “I thought you wanted me to fuck my Marks,” I complained, feeling the vulgar word roll off my tongue with a sense of freedom.

  “Falin should have waited, although Eloden tells me it was impossible to hold out once you got your cute claws into him,” Dain said. “You’re not being punished for having sex, minx. It is your body and our intentions were clear. If you accept some of your Marks ahead of the rest, then those that are left need to work harder to earn your favour.”

  “Then, I can fuck whoever I want?” I challenged, purposely being vulgar again. Kheelan wouldn’t tolerate the deliberate provocation but Dain might be pushed further.

  “It’s only a matter of time until you fuck all of us,” Dain said with confidence. When he said ‘fuck’ it was rough and deep. He probably was right. I only had Dain and Aeric left, without anything to hold me back. My scruples were easier when I didn’t have sexy Marks seducing me. “Seven Marks should be enough to keep you busy, but if someone else catches your eye, I won’t stop you, or Falin’s response.”

  Falin was possessive. He had barely tolerated Loren even when he found out he was one of my unintended Marks. Dain may as well say that I wasn’t allowed to fuck anyone but them.

  “I’m not a treasure for Falin to horde,” I reminded Dain.

  “Protect,” Dain corrected. “You need protection from the dangers you don’t understand yet.”

  I wanted to retort that I didn’t need protecting but then I thought about my brothers. Right now, Falin was saving them from those very dangers Dain referred. Of course, all the danger wasn’t only my fault.

  “Okay, protect,” I agreed. “Until we get back home and then I would prefer to be shown how to protect myself. Kheelan and Loren already offered to help.”

  “Part of that protection is teaching,” Dain said. “Some lessons can only be given to you by hand.”

  “Are you talking about the lessons in weapons or magic?”

  “No, I’m talking about your punishment,” Dain said.

  And we were back to this again.

  “Warming my tush is not protecting me,” I protested.

  “This is not a negotiation,” Dain said. “We explained Fae culture around punishment to you once before and let you off with a warning.”

  I had been spanked by Falin and it had hurt, even if it was only three smacks to my ass. I hardly thought that was fair warning.

  “If I’m going to be spanked for bad behaviour, then what kind of punishment do you get for manipulating me? Do you have any toys for me to take away? What about if I pat your butt?”

  Dain chuckled, not taking my threat to punish him in return too seriously. “Your behavior and attitude isn’t the reason. It was your choices. Running into danger and deliberately away from your protection is how you earned punishment,” Dain explained.

  “Should still go both ways,” I muttered.

  “So, you want to punish us? You don’t do anything the way I expect,” he added, kissing the top of my head. “I blame it on your ignorance of Fae ways, but your Marks and I will teach you. We’ve almost compl-”

  I looked up to see Dain grimacing in pain again. “Maybe you guys need to think about new ways if using a marshmallow stick to spank my butt is your way of dealing consequences,” I said.

  He laughed and that only seemed to hurt him more.

  “Hairbrush,” he gritted out.

  I rolled my eyes. The threat was less when he wasn’t capable of delivering it right now.

  “Kheelan said my hairbrush wasn’t strong enough. Let’s just say you did it but don’t and I’ll pretend to have a sore bottom,” I suggested.

  “Lying is what got you into this trouble,” Dain replied.

  I touched his chest gently over where I had purposely injured him. Seeing him in pain was
n’t satisfying at all. If I didn’t mention the geas, perhaps I could find out something, because I couldn’t stop myself from asking when he was suffering right in front of me.

  “Why does it hurt you and Kheelan to talk about certain things?” I asked.

  “You’ll understand soon enough,” Dain said, cupping over my hand on his chest with his own again. “Just like you’ll regret comparing a hairbrush paddling for punishment to a playful switching. When you’re ready to learn different, you’ll come to me, Eve.”

  I dry swallowed the lump in my throat. It sounded a bit ominous but I knew there was mistrust and mistakes between us that had to be dealt with eventually. All of my other spankings had been sexual and consensual except for Falin’s demonstration of the Fae idea of punishment. What Dain planned scared me not because it would hurt but because he wanted me to willingly accept his punishment, submitting to his judgement.

  It would be a big step in our relationship.

  He wanted me to trust him.

  “You’ll wait for when I’m ready?” I whispered.

  “Yes, minx,” he replied. “Although you really should be over my lap right now, receiving your due punishment. I meant to get it out of the way and let you release the guilt and worry you’ve been letting pressure your actions. Your other Marks expect me to take care of it. We were going to talk to you together afterwards about everything else.”

  A release? Was it really a way to assuage guilt and start over with a clean slate? I shouldn’t be curious about what it would be like to let Dain punish me. Unlike Falin, he really did have big, strong hands and I knew he also had the determination to carry through a punishment until I was sorry. Dain was a rock and I was the one that would have to give.

  “Can’t we skip to telling me everything? I promise to behave,” I said.

  Dain kissed me. It was a quick, hard press of his lips and then he was pulling back, shushing me softly. “I need you to listen carefully to me.”

  “Okay, I’m listening,” I said, serious as he had turned.

  “You’re smart, Eve. I’m sure you have figured some things out. Your Marks and I have not been the most forthcoming, but that is a choice we have little control over. Unfortunately, we have waited too long to take the actions necessary to fully free our tongues.”