Blood Thorn
Page 22
“I didn’t stop you, for one,” Knox said, answering her question.
“You know, you’re very handsome.” It was the alcohol talking, but the alcohol wasn’t wrong.
He gave her the side-eye, and a tendon jumped in his jaw.
“What?” she asked defensively. “I bet there are a lot of ladies interested in you.”
“Shut it, Ainsley.”
“Not my fault if I want you to be happy.”
He didn’t say anything to that, which was fine. Her head felt swimmy and a little disconnected, kinda like she’d lost hold of the string to her balloon. She didn’t immediately notice when he pulled the SUV into the carriage house, and she tripped over the hem of her Renaissance costume as he helped her toward the house.
His hand flexed in hers, and she lifted her eyes toward the front door. It was open, and Alex was standing on the step. He was dressed in dark jeans and an untucked Twins jersey—the thick, expensive kind. His weekend attire was always a startling contrast to his Monday through Friday look, but Ainsley decided in that moment that he looked even better tonight than he did in a suit and tie, and that was saying something.
“Hi, honey. I’m home!” she called out, lifting her hand to wave.
Alex’s eyes cut to her bare forearm, then sliced to Knox. “What happened?”
“It was her idea,” Knox said.
“Christ,” Alex muttered. “It was just supposed to be a safe, uneventful day at the fair.”
And he was absolutely right, though Ainsley, Harper, and the girls had done it up big time with Ainsley’s access to costumes. She’d worn her blue and green apothecary dresses, and she’d let Melody wear her red one. Ainsley’s friend Julia had loaned out some of her things, so as a group they looked awesome.
Ainsley had never gone to the fair as a patron before, so she made sure they didn’t miss a thing, not even the turkey legs and flower crowns.
“It was safe,” she said. “It was also the best day ever at the fair.”
Alex stepped out of her way as she walked into the house and began the slow climb up the grand staircase. Were there always so many steps?
When she got to their bedroom, she twisted left, then right over each shoulder, trying to reach the laces on her back so she could get out of her costume and into something less heavy and layered.
Alex entered and closed the door behind him. “How did you hurt yourself?”
“What?” Where had she tucked in the ties? She couldn’t find them.
“The bandage,” he said.
She stopped what she was doing and looked down at herself. Her eyes caught on the white gauze taped to her left forearm.
“Oh, yeah!” She didn’t have to yell; he was right there. And even if he wasn’t, the ba’vonn-shees had good hearing. Knox and the others had probably heard her, as well.
She dropped her voice to a whisper, as if it were a matter of national security. “I got a tattoo.”
Alex’s forehead furrowed, and she waved her hand dismissively. “It didn’t hurt that much.”
Alex came closer. “Probably because you’re completely trashed.”
She pursed her lips and considered his theory, ending with a conclusory nod. “Probably.”
“I didn’t know they did tattoos at the Renaissance fair.”
“Oh, they don’t,” she said, twisting again to try and find the end of her laces. “That happened later.”
“And Knox didn’t stop you?”
She snorted. “I’m his queen. What’s he gonna say?”
Alex pressed his lips together in silent acknowledgment.
“Besides, I think he liked it,” she added, giving up completely on the dress. She was going to wear it for the rest of her life.
“Let me see.” Alex stepped in close and slowly peeled the bandage away. Her skin glistened with Vaseline, but the image was clear.
“It’s like yours,” she informed him unnecessarily. “You don’t have the Campbell necklace to give me anymore, so…”
Alex held her wrist and elbow in his hands. His body was perfectly still. His eyes were locked on the newly inked purple thistle.
“I wanted you to know,” she said, her buzz lessening as self-doubt trickled in. Maybe it had been a bad idea after all.
“You wanted me to know what?” Alex asked, his voice tight.
“That you’re my family. All of you.”
Alex looked up and those brilliant green eyes of his burned with intensity. Electricity crackled between them, and he released her arm, taking her hands in his and squeezing them tight. “How drunk are you?”
“That’s what Knox asked me.”
“Answer the question,” he growled.
She swallowed hard, not sure where this was going, but she could feel his hunger rising. “I’m getting less so.”
“Then brace,” he said, and his strong fingers tightened around hers.
“What?”
“Brace, Ainsley.”
She braced. Then her stomach lurched. She let out a yelp, as her joints strained and her insides twisted. When she opened her eyes—the unexpected tilt completed—she was alone on a wind-swept hillside.
This wasn’t Minneapolis. The grass grew in short tufts and longer patches. There were dark rocky peaks to her right and lush green valleys to her left. The air was perfumed with wild mountain thyme and heather.
Scotland. These were the highlands. She was sure of it. She turned quickly, her tartan dress billowing in the wind. “Alex?”
She found him standing by a small outcropping twenty feet away. “What are you doing?”
He didn’t come any closer. “Working out a little fantasy.”
She was still confused, but watching him watch her with those burning green eyes was turning her way the heck on.
“Aren’t you going to run?” he asked.
“You want me to run?” she asked, her lungs seizing.
A small smile touched his lips. “It makes the hunt more exciting.”
Lust bloomed in her gut. She drew in a breath. Then she bolted like a rabbit, running across the hill rather than up or down. Up, and he’d catch her in no time. Down, and she’d probably trip and brain herself on a stone.
But even running on a horizontal plane gave her no real advantage. She’d gone fifty yards before she heard his first footfalls, and he was on her in no time. She let out a whoosh of air when his weight hit her from behind, but he rolled their bodies through the air, taking the brunt of their fall.
She closed her eyes, and her teeth clashed together with the impact.
“You all right?” he asked, kissing the side of her neck.
The heat of his breath on her skin was all it took for her to be more than all right. Much more. She arched her neck, exposing her vein, and he inhaled deeply.
“I marked you as mine when I claimed you,” he said, pressing his lips to her pulse. “But you marked me as yours when you inked your arm.”
“Actually I marked myself, didn’t I?”
“Technically yes, but you know what I mean.”
“You like it.”
He grazed his teeth along her skin. “I like it a lot.”
“How much?” she whispered, the wind carrying her words away.
“Let me show you.” He quickly and skillfully untied the laces behind her back, loosening the bodice and letting her breasts fall free. “The first time I saw you in this thing, it reminded me of home. I was already fantasizing about having you here, on this hilltop.” He pushed the fabric off her shoulders and reached down for the skirts, bunching them up toward her waist.
Ainsley thought he looked better naked too, so she worked two-handed at the buttons on his shirt. “Is this how it’s always going to be?”
Ever since he’d claimed her, there’d been an urgency to their love making, like they couldn’t get enough of each other, and they couldn’t get their clothes off fast enough.
“I can’t get you out of my head,” he said. “Even whe
n you go to school, or to your mother’s house, you’re with me. I feel…unsettled…only half.”
“You’re seriously that bad off when I'm not around?” she panted, yanking his shirt out of his pants and pushing it off his shoulders.
His eyes blazed. “I ache for you. All the time. I can’t focus on my work. It’s maddening.”
“Well, I can’t deny that I like the sound of that.” She unbuckled his pants.
“Because you’re a sadist,” he said, cupping her breast and licking her nipple. The wind had it instantly hard as a rock.
“And you’re a blood-drinking fae,” she said, rolling to her back.
Alex rolled on top of her and nipped at her neck, breaking the skin only a little, then licking it sealed again.
Ainsley’s mind drifted to the first time she’d seen a ba’vonn-shee feeding, how repulsed she’d been. She’d had it all wrong. When they were controlled, it was the most beautifully intimate experience imaginable, and she was so glad she was able to give her brothers the balance they needed to resume their natural lives.
Alex raised his eyes to look at her, and she took in all the beautiful perfection of his face. “You’re mine,” she said.
His lips curved up. “Always.”
“And so is your family,” she pressed. “Your family is mine.”
“Yes.”
Ainsley inhaled deeply. “Then I have everything I've ever wanted.”
Alex tipped his head down, his green eyes burning into her own. Ainsley rose up to meet him, her heart swelling to the point of bursting. And their kiss… It bloomed.
Author’s Note
I hope you enjoyed Blood Thorn, my flip-the-script take on the classic Scottish legend of the Baobhan Sith, which I anglicized to ba’vonn-shee.
If you’d like to read more of my north shore fae novels, each novel has its own HEA—no cliff hangers—and each trilogy stands on its own. You can jump in wherever you want, or read them in the following chronological order for the full adventure!
Hell Hounds Fated Mates Trilogy
Hounded (the story of Cormac and Meghan)
Guarded (the story of Declan and Rowan)
Cursed (the story of Aiden and Branna)
Fae Academy. Trilogy
Primal (the story of Raine and Aoife)
Captive (the story of Eilish and CJ)
Fated (the story of Kane and Devan)
Highland Blood Fae Trilogy
Blood Thorn (the story of Alex and Ainsley)
Blood Rush (the story of Knox and Blaire) - COMING SOON!
Blood Lessons (the story of Callum and Zahra) - COMING SOON!
Also by A.S. Green
NORTH SHORE FAE ACADEMY
Primal
Captive
Fated
FAE HELL HOUNDS OF THE NORTH SHORE
Hounded
Guarded
Cursed
Fae Hell Hound’s Fated Mates Boxset
ROMANTIC BEACH READS
Summer Girl
Wild Child
QUICK & DIRTY READS
Real Man
Rough Ride
COLLABORATIONS
Theirs to Wed (with Stasia Black)
About A.S. Green
A.S. GREEN is the author of erotic novellas (Real Man, Rough Ride) and new-adult novellas and full-length romances (Making Waves, Summer Girl, Wild Child). She lives in the cold, upper-Midwest with her husband and three mostly grown children, usually hunkered down with a good book. You can find her on the interwebs at asgreenbooks.com and @asgreenbooks. Say hello and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Book Bub, Goodreads, etc.