by Kimbra Swain
Waiting on Dylan, I paused to think. He came bounding in the door. The muscles in his face tensed. An action that rippled down his body as he stared at Malcolm who started whimpering like a baby. He mumbled helplessly as Dylan’s anger recoiled. He looked at me, questioning with his eyes. I shrugged. “I like him like that,” he laughed.
“Me too,” I replied. “Mr. Joiner confirmed your suspicions.”
“About Stephanie?”
“Yep,” I replied. “It seems she tried to enlist both of them knowing they were solid allies on my side. Malcolm, the incubus, seems to have fallen prey to a bigger fish. And by fish, I mean twat.”
Troy snorted. “Why is she doing this? To tear you and Dylan apart?”
“I think that’s just the flower on a long-rooted dandelion,” I replied.
“If she can come between us, it’s one thing. However, driving doubt into the fairies, because I chose Dylan instead of a fairy. Or that I can’t control the craziness that ensues like these two yokels fighting. She’s digging deep,” I replied. “What did she want you to do, Caleb?”
Caleb turned green like a granny smith apple. “Answer her,” Dylan prompted.
“She wanted me to go after Kady Rayburn, but Kady and Levi were already broken up. I didn’t have to bother,” he said, as the mute started pitching a mumbling fit. I waved my hand and released his bond.
“You fucking liar!” Malcolm yelled at him. “She’s in his bedroom now!”
“What?!” Dylan and I said at the same time.
“Kadence Rayburn! Get in here right now!” I yelled.
She walked into the room with us wearing a man’s button-up flannel shirt. I glared at her, but she held her chin high. “Levi and I were done. You know it.”
“You most definitely are now,” I replied. Levi said he was done with her, but Levi’s heart was big. He would have welcomed her back. Not now. “You stay away from him. Do you understand me?”
“You can’t have both of them,” she spouted at me.
“Looks like I do,” I countered.
“It’s true. I couldn’t get to her because Levi interrupted. She’s actually the whore fucking two different men,” Malcolm offered. I waved my hand to mute him again. He moaned.
Sucking in a deep breath to keep from blasting all three of them for being pawns to the snake, I looked to Dylan for guidance. He motioned to the door. He didn’t want to burn them both to the ground, so he opted for escape. I followed him outside to the lawn. Despite the warmth of the day, the night was chilly as a breeze blew through the tall pines around the house. They swayed in the darkness, swishing branches together.
“I’m done in there,” he said.
“What do I do with this mess?” I asked.
“I think you leave this one alone. Let them fight it out. Tell Levi about Kady and be done with it. No need to play her game,” he said.
“I like that,” I replied. “I just hate I had to get out of bed with you to do nothing.”
“Beyond that, you need to quit sleeping with your bard,” he teased.
“I mean, I knew people thought that, but damn, I didn’t expect to hear it,” I replied. “As long as you know that I’m not.”
He put his hands on his hips. “You do swap gravy with him,” he grinned.
“It’s been a while,” I replied.
“Keep it that way,” he teased, but the tone of his voice meant it in a small way. “Go tell them your verdict and let’s go home.”
Going back in the house, everyone seemed calm. “Troy, I believe we are done here. Thank you for keeping them from beating the hell out of each other. Kady, I never want to see you in either of my homes again. Do you understand?”
“Not that I would ever want to be in either one of them. By the way, I’m voting for her,” she stomped off back to wherever she came from in the first place.
“Caleb, thank you for trying to defend my honor. I consider both of you friends. I don’t care if you fuck Kady. Do it because you want to do it. Not because Stephanie said to do it,” I replied.
“She’s good in bed,” he laughed.
“La, la, la, la, la,” I said putting my fingers in my ears. “I don’t care to know. Git.” I pointed in the direction that she stalked off.
“I’ll get her to vote for you,” he said.
“Good luck,” I said to his back, as he ran down the hall after Kady.
Looking back to Dylan who stood in the doorway, I released the power I held back tied to the Unseelie realm. My eyes flickered to turquoise. Dylan smiled, knowing that I was about to give Malcolm a lesson in seduction. Letting go of the restraints holding back my power, the entire room iced over instantly. Snow fell inside. I opted for the short silver dress that barely covered my bits. I winked at Dylan who mouthed, “Wow!”
Stalking over to the mute incubus, I leaned down over him as I ran a frosty nail down his cheek. “Dear Malcolm, we need to have a discussion. Seductress to seducer,” I said, as he shuddered. I traced my finger down his t-shirt over tight chest muscles. He shivered, but I didn’t think it was from the cold. I stopped just above the waistband of his pants. He bucked his hips forward begging for me to continue. “Sweetheart, I play this game much better than you do. I suggest you keep your little talent buttoned up in those tight jeans. Or I will freeze that hard-on in place for the rest of your life. You’ve seen those commercials about the damage that can happen if you keep it up too long. I’d hate for you to have an accident.”
A long, painful groan vibrated out of his closed mouth. With a simple flick of my finger, the magic released him as he gasped for breath. “Grace, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. I swear.”
“Dylan tells me they ran the last incubus out of Shady Grove. I won’t be so kind,” I replied. “I’d really like us to be friends again. What do you say?”
“Yes, of course. I was voting for you, anyway. Stephanie is bad. Super bad,” he stumbled over his words.
“She has nothing on me,” I said narrowing my eyes on him. He winced, closing his eyes tightly. I snapped my finger. The snow and ice disappeared, and I stood before him in as my regular old self. “Glad we had this talk. Leave Caleb alone.”
I turned to walk out the door with Dylan who couldn’t suppress his laughter. Marching to the truck, he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. “You are so damn hot,” he said.
“Um, I think you have me mixed up. I’m the cold one,” I said.
“Please wear that dress for me,” he said. Troy and Amanda stood at their cruiser, but the other cops had gone. Just for Dylan, I released the power again. “Shit, you can see all the way down that thing!”
“It’s identical to the black one, Dylan,” I replied, reminding him of the dress I wore to the bar the night we played pool. The first time.
“I like them both,” he sighed. He looked over to Troy who was laughing at us. “I’m the luckiest son of a bitch in the whole world.”
“No, you ain’t,” Troy said as he dipped Amanda down for a kiss. She swatted him on the arm.
I eyed Dylan. “Don’t you dare!” My warning didn’t stop him.
“She’s such a whore,” Levi said after we told him about Kady. He was sitting at Dylan’s house on the couch. He’d built a fire saying that he couldn’t sleep.
Dylan sipped coffee in the kitchen as I sat next to Levi on the couch. It was almost daylight, and no real reason to try to sleep. Although I was sure Dylan had plans other than sitting to have a chat with Levi.
“Now. Move on from her. There are plenty of fairy girls out there that will make you feel much better than her,” I replied.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for a fairy relationship,” he said.
“Huh? You dated her because she was a human?” I asked.
“I am half human, Grace,” he said.
“Trust me. I know that, Dublin,” I replied, knowing that had he been full-blooded I’d have already banged him by now. My resistance on that matter would have been more than I
could take. He didn’t understand what I meant by it. Probably best that way. “You need a fairy girl or boy, whichever.”
“Girl. Woman,” he smirked. “I’m going to bed.” He reached over to squeeze my hand sending a ripple through me.
“Good night, Levi,” Dylan said.
“Night,” Levi groaned as he climbed the stairs to the bedroom he’d claimed in Dylan’s house. When Winnie got up, I’d let her go in there to wake him up. It would make him feel better.
“There goes my brooding bard,” I said.
“There would be something wrong if he weren’t upset about something,” Dylan said. “He will figure it all out, eventually. All of this is still new to him. He’s actually adapted pretty well.”
“I suppose,” I said.
“Now, where is that dress?” Dylan asked.
“We have church today,” I said.
“So?”
“So, I can’t wear that,” I replied.
“I don’t want you to wear it to church. I want you to wear it to bed,” he said.
“Do you ever stop?” I asked.
“Hell, no. The way I see it, I’m about five years behind on lovin’,” he smiled.
I couldn’t argue with him there. After Stephanie being in town for just a few days, I already considered her one of the most heartless beings I’d ever met. It still blew me away that Dylan even took the time with her.
“You want just the dress, or the whole queen?” I asked.
“Hmm, since we are playing dress up, why not go all the way,” he said.
“As you wish, Darlin’,” I purred.
“Tell me,” I said.
“Why? I don’t want to talk about it,” Dylan whined. I knew we had to get up soon to go to church. Asking him to tell me more about Stephanie started off the day wrong. Forbid it that I might want to try to get the upper hand. The day got worse from there.
We dropped Winnie off at the Church of God because she continued to insist that Jesus would be disappointed if she didn’t go to her church. It prolonged the talk about fairies because she hadn’t seen the wonders inside our church. Dylan was quiet the whole ride to the Shady Grove Baptist Church. As we approached the front doors, he stopped, putting his hands on his hips. I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure what crawled up his ass. Best not dig an additional hole. He reached out to grab my hand. My impulse was to pull it away, but I didn’t. We needed to walk in there united.
As the portal opened, we stepped into the grove of tall trees. The place where we held services didn’t exist on this earth. It was another realm filled with beauty. The tall trees circled the wide expanse where we all gathered. Fairy lights hung from poles covered with vines. The place existed in a constant state of twilight. Some fairies attending wore their true faces, instead of their human glamours. Sprites, sylphs and other pixies never got to be themselves in the real world for fear of discovery, but here, in the Grove, they could be as they were meant to be.
It made me sad to watch them sometimes, knowing they could not return to the Otherworld. Shady Grove was my home, and I never intended to leave it. However, there were some here who might want to return to the Otherworld, but their banishment prohibited it. This place, The Grove, was like their Garden of Eden. Standing right in the center of it, Stephanie Davis talked to a group of fairies with Sergio Krykos, silently at her side. I wasn’t sure about him, but I was positive she was Satan, especially if Satan wore a navy suit dress with tall heels. Even the long, shimmering black hair was demonic.
She hugged and talked to them as if she were deeply interested in what they were saying to her. I knew better. Nestor and Mable stood off to one side talking to Matthew Rayburn, the head druid. Dylan started walking that way, but I pulled back on his arm.
“What is it, Grace?”
“My anxiety goes nuts when its like this between us. I can’t stand it,” I said.
“We will talk about it later,” Dylan replied.
I didn’t bother to respond. He put on a fake smile, speaking to Matthew. I didn’t see Kady anywhere or Levi for that matter. I closed my eyes for a moment to reach out to my bard. He was on the way. Running late. The chill of power ran through me after reaching out to him. I opened my eyes to find Dylan staring at me.
“What was that?” he asked.
“We will talk about it later,” I countered.
He ground his teeth together. “Fine,” he said.
“Don’t blame me. You started this. I’m not sure why you want to fight today,” I replied.
“Grace, enough. Do you see this place? She has sucked them all in. None of them see her for what she truly is,” he growled.
Coming today was a mistake. Believe it or not, I think I could keep my calm when he couldn’t. “Maybe we should go,” I suggested.
“It’s too late now,” he said, releasing my hand. So much for the united front. The entire service I was distracted. Speaking to as many people as possible afterward, I avoided any contact with Stephanie Davis. Levi, who finally showed up, and I talked with Nestor and Mable about what happened at Caleb Joiner’s place, when I saw Nestor’s eyes flare. I turned to look and Stephanie had hooked her arm through Dylan’s as he talked to Matthew Rayburn.
“Please tell me not to lose my shit right now,” I muttered.
“Grace, calm down. You know she laid the sneak attack on him. He probably didn’t see her coming,” Levi said. Who knew that my bard would be the voice of reason?
Nestor watched them without saying a word.
“He’s not moving away from her,” Mable said.
“She’s trying to provoke me. I am not falling for it,” I said as every bone in my body shook with anxiety. “Y’all. I can’t do this.” I breathed heavily. Levi touched my elbow. The skin to skin contact released a wave of calm through me.
“Calm down,” he said lightly. Mable’s gaze turned to Levi. She must have felt the power move.
“What did you just do to her?” Mable asked.
“It’s okay. He’s trying to help,” I replied.
“How is he able to do that to you?” she pried.
“I allow him to do it, because I trust him,” I said, daring to peek behind me. I saw Dylan shift his weight, but it wasn’t to move away from her. He leaned into her ear, speaking quietly. Only seeing her profile, her eyes lit up. A smile crossed her face as she reached up to touch his cheek. “Okay, that’s it. I can’t handle it.”
“Grace, don’t,” Levi said, but it was too late.
“Hey Stud,” I yelled over to Dylan. He looked up to me with fire in his eyes. “I’m heading out. Levi’s taking me to the trailer.”
His nostrils flared. I’d pissed him off. Good.
“Damn it, Grace,” Levi muttered.
“Let’s go,” I said.
“I’m on the bike,” he replied.
“I don’t fucking care,” I said, grabbing his hand to drag him out of the Grove. It was all falling apart. I knew she would make more moves. That she wasn’t done yet. When we got to the motorcycle, I looked up at Levi, “He could have walked away from her, right?”
“He should have,” Levi said.
I motioned toward the bike. He put his helmet on me, then climbed on. As I got on the bike behind him, I wrapped my arms around his waist. Dylan ran out of the church.
“Go!” I urged Levi. He fired up the hog, and we sped away.
I hated motorcycles. Up until this point, I’d refused to ride it with Levi, so I held on for dear life. The wind blew in his hair as he concentrated on the road. The ride to the trailer was uneventful. When we got there, we hurried inside.
“You know he will come here,” he said.
“That’s fine. I’d rather fight here than at his house or in public,” I said. My breaths were quick, and my heart ached. Levi looked pained.
“Honey, this isn’t your fault. Everything will be fine. We always work it out,” I said.
“I just hate seeing you so upset. This election is
bad. Bad enough to quit. I know everyone keeps telling you to push through it. I know you don’t want to give up on it because you are determined. You hate to lose, but Grace, if it keeps tearing you up like this, it’s not worth it. If it tears you and Dylan apart, is it worth it?”
“It shouldn’t tear us apart. We should be together on it. I’m not sure what happened today. I said something about them this morning, trying to get information about her. He told me just a few days ago that he had plenty of dirt on her, but when I asked, he clammed up. He’s been acting weird ever since,” I admitted to Levi. The brooding young changeling became the one person on this earth that I could bear my soul to without worrying about his loyalty. Dylan should be that person.
Levi sank into the couch. It was then that I realized that the furniture that Dylan bought had arrived. I opened the door to my bedroom to find a tasteful king size bed. It already had linens on it and a ton of pillows. Looking back at Levi, he smiled. “It’s nice stuff.”
“Yes, it is,” I said. “It came with bedding and stuff?”
“No, Tabitha brought it all over yesterday. She said that Dylan called her, asking her to pick out some things that she thought you might like and buy them,” he said.
Refusing to hold back any more, my eyes poured like a summer gully washer. How did we go from buying nice things for my trailer to surprise me to whispering in his ex-girlfriend’s ear? I fought back the naughty things that he might have said to her and tried to focus on possibilities like maybe he threatened her. Her smile and flirt were diffusers. I leaned against the door to my bedroom. Levi’s denim blue eyes watched me. I realized then that he was holding back.
“What are you holding back?” I asked.
“Grace, I want nothing more than to wrap you up and just let you cry on my shoulder, but I know that the moment that I do, he will bust through that door. It would make things worse. So, I’ll sit over here and just hug you with my eyes,” he said.
I laughed and cried at the same time. “I should call Jeremiah and thank him for dropping you off in my lap.”