a ferociously crackling fire, luscious figure outlined in a golden glow. Facing the two
most important males in her life, she offered the deference of loved one to Drusal and
the deference of equals to Phillipe.
“I came here alone to make certain you were honest in your intentions Prince Regent.
In truth, I expected you to have flown, to be long gone…” A wide smile brought dimples
to smooth cheeks. A sly dig at Drusal never went amiss.
“I’m really, really pleased that you made the decision to stay. I think my mate’s incensed
wolfish persona would have finished off what he started if it meant I would be tied hand
and foot to this dimension.” Lifting an eyebrow in enquiry, she waited for Drusal to admit
dark thoughts of rampaging decimation.
“Aye my mate, I would…” He could tell nothing but the truth. It mattered not. A plague
of vampires now lived under the protection of a Sister of the Fates.
Cat chuckled softly. He was an open book to her. It also helped to have access to chaotic
thoughts of retribution. “We will help in any way we can. I’ll get Alex to make the funds
available to instigate a renewal. Our subjects need to be nourished in body and soul.
This I leave in your capable hands, my Regent. Use the house or Alex’s apartment to
access the internet. Do whatever you have to, to control what’s left of Teyrnons children.
They may not leave this realm, but you are free to go where you wish. In fact it’s an
absolute necessity, or your wardrobes going to go out of date…”
Phillipe grinned, a delightful lazy smile of thanks. To be confined to a mouldy castle and
eternal twilight, would be unallayed torture for a free spirit.
“Right gentlemen, that’s it for today. I for one want a long bath and weeks of sleep.”
The glow in opalescent eyes promised otherwise. Shimmering gold and green, Cat and
her mate left the Dark dimension in the capable hands of its Prince Regent.
Materialising in her bedroom a heartbeat later, Cat strode to the window, to lean on the
wide sill. Troubled eyes soaked up the night time beauty of the earth, woodlands cloaked
in the pale yellow swathe of a harvest moon. The thought of living out eternity in the Dark
dimension shook her shoulders in a cold shiver of revulsion. The depleted souls of a life-
less realm had a long way to go before she dare allow them egress to the bounty of the
human world or Edanholme. It was a cruel but necessary decision, until the full extent of
the changes in a voracious plague became apparent.
Drusal came to stand behind her on silent feet, his solid warmth and earthiness, a soothing
blessing to a battered psyche. Inhaling deeply of sidhe perfume, muscles unlocked, teeth
unclenched as a more sensuous shiver rippled over Cat’s skin.
“You were right, and I was wrong…” It was an admission of guilt she didn’t want to admit.
Drusal as a marked mate, a bonded lover for all eternity, deserved no less than complete
honesty. Forehead resting on cool glass, the heat of anger and reprisal dispersed from
skin and aura, to leave behind a female more at peace with a divided soul. She may be
a Queen of two realms, but first and foremost she owed allegiance to the father of her
children, a male who would risk his own life to save hers.
“We both needed to hear Phillipe’s version of events. I refused your aid, your company
because I’m not used to consciously depending on any other being making my decisions
for me. I’m sorry for telling you to grow up… It was rude and uncalled for.” A mirthless
laugh escaped compressed lips to mist the window, clouding the image of a strained face.
A whisper of true regret, for the indignities they had all suffered, to bring about the downfall
of a malignant monarch, and the promise of a more peaceful existence for three disparate
nations.
“Otherwise, it would have taken me forever to convince you that Phillipe was no threat to
our union, to the future of Edanholme… Seeing and hearing it for yourself saved me an
endless round of arguing, and a sodding headache.”
Drusal didn’t make a move to touch her, much as he wished to. In no way did he want his
mate to beg for attention. A glimmer of prudence held him still, a much learned, fiercely
dominant male waited patiently for Cat to make the first overture, to accept his love with
no hint of coercion. “I believe it is safe to say, we were both wrong…”
Skin glowing softly green and gold, he offered an apology. Something he would never have
considered doing in a previous lifetime.
“I failed to put my trust in you, deemed it necessary to protect all that is mine. An extremely
foolish decision considering you have proved more than once, you need no protection.”
A mellow voice washed her skin with the soft warmth of a summer’s day, the lush aroma of
wild flowers and the sweet smell of maiden grasses.
“We’ve been here before Fur ball, I mean in this exact position. Only I had less clothes on,
and you had a towel…” A trill of musical laughter lightened the atmosphere, relieved the
tension in a couple on the verge of finally accepting the flaws in stubborn hearts.
“Do I need a towel now…?” Drusal growled, a low sound of seduction as Cat turned to plant
her butt on the windowsill. Emerald eyes raking a muscled physique, generous lips twitched
at the reveal of an uninhibited male, fully aroused and screamingly erect.
“Absolutely not….” Unzipping her jeans, Cat wriggled free of tight denim, indicating with
a wide bewitching smile for Drusal to help drag the offending article free of her ankles.
On bended knee, achingly aware of every delicious line of golden skin and ripe curves, a
Warrior of the Sidhe aided his Queen, by divesting her of every last shred of clothing.
Sinking into waiting arms, the weight of burning passion pushing against her stomach, Cat
grinned, lips millimetres from a tempting mouth. Arguments may be an emotional bitch,
but make-up sex more than made up the gut-wrenching torment of facing off with a
menacing wolf.
“I really, really want…” Nibbling at his mouth, running her palms over rippling abs, she
teased a sensual male with the promise of her body, of wanton desires and decadent
treats. “I really want a long, hot bath… Will you join me?”
Small fingers stroking satin skin drove Drusal to the edge of madness, tensed muscle
under green hued skin twitching as he controlled the urge to drop her to the floor in an
ignoble display of ravening wolf.
“Will it prove to be entertaining…?” Opalescent irises swirled with amber and copper
coloured flares, caught between unbridled lust and desperate love.
“Oh yes…” Cat gurgled happily as the Lord Vardon swung his mate into meaty arms.
“Then I believe… I can do that…” The world shimmered green and gold.
Burn for Me (Edanholme Book 1) Page 28