Compounding Traumas (Artemis University Book 6)

by Erin R Flynn

  I sighed, having heard this lecture several times. “Yeah, they all fought for their own, and pissed in enough cereal, that it was a delicate balance of not doing much of anything and keeping hands off. But they see me as a free agent with not declaring, and are not acting rationally then, as they assume I’m lying and not talking to my council, but they can’t risk being wrong on that bluff.”

  “They’re not wrong, simply they aren’t adding in the option your council is stuck in Faerie, which makes you the Queen’s advisor here and thus, your own voice at the moment. But yes, that is where we are.” She tapped her fingers on the desk. “The Kincaids will be trickier. They want to become elite and be council lapdogs if needed. They were willing to sell their daughter already.”

  “And sell me out,” I drawled. “Excited to. The one brother still idiotically boasts I sobbed in the corner and cried for the guards, which even the dumbest doesn’t believe after the Power Playoffs. It makes them look like idiots, so really, they’ve done a lot to themselves.”

  “Of course, but they won’t protect Izzy as the Higgins, and others, will their daughters. They will hand her over and do anything they can to get you and what they want.”

  I nodded. “Her phone is changed and bounced around like all of ours. We’ve scanned everything she got out of there with Claudia’s help for runes and human electronics. I can’t see how they can get an in without abducting her off and trying to crack her mind like they did Calloway. She’s got the tat too, but she would be easier than Katrina.”

  “Undoubtedly,” she agreed.

  “What would you suggest? No matter how much I wouldn’t like it—where is your head?”

  “Make a better alliance with the wolves. It will take the Kincaids a bit to realize they will truly have to resort to having their daughter dragged into the council to use her. That gives Geiger time to set up what he needs to. You might not be with a wolf, but you are mated to a bear.”

  Horror filled me when she said that so easily. “You—no one else can know that!”

  She did a double take and pity filled his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’ve had a few drinks, and for a moment, I forgot what a monster the head of our school board is. Yes, no one can learn of that. Well, there are other ways.”

  “There are, yes.” I agreed, chilling out and letting her advice settle. “If you have someone in particular we would want to befriend, and maybe has some dirt on their hands, but isn’t dirty, I’d love to hear it.”

  “I’ll speak with Alpha Geoff. He’ll know best. You have the best in with the hobgoblins and I suggest you use it. Everyone loves to be around them, and they could use some more security now that you’re rescuing them all. People will react to them being ‘stolen,’ and soon.”

  It was my turn to smirk. “Fuck, I hope they do. My dogs need to be fed after all.”

  My good deed for the day was making her laugh when she was so heartbroken.

  22

  “What’s going on, agra?” Darby asked me as I led him through the portal to home.

  “A secret.” It was, but honestly we needed a break. It had been another week of too much drama and shit, and I wasn’t sure which of our heads were going to pop first.

  We had called it right with Izzy’s parents, and they had shown up at school, demanding Izzy stop throwing fits and tearing into her right in the middle of everyone who would love the show. My heart had hurt when I saw my friend want to die of embarrassment right there and then.

  I had stormed right over and called them an embarrassment of parents before wrapping them in a barrier and calling security. Everyone was appalled by my behavior—especially Instructor McGrath, from his thoughts—but I reminded them that they didn’t pay for Izzy’s education. She had cut ties with them. They weren’t alums of the school.

  So in what world were they just allowed on campus to verbally accost a student? They had to come to campus because she’d changed her number and moved to where they couldn’t get her. Yeah, that screamed she wanted to see them. Artemis wasn’t an open campus.

  I was doing my civic duty by tossing out the trash, and I said that loudly for the Kincaids to hear.

  The supe news had gotten a “tip” that the council had raided Calloway’s houses in retaliation for her going against their orders and telling everyone what they did. So they were handling that mess for the moment.

  And there was still the mess of the hobgoblins being stolen.

  Basically, there were a fuck ton of issues, and I was at the center of most of them—my fault or not—I was.

  So my boyfriend was as well. We needed a night off, and I’d asked Irma for some help with that. The hobgoblins were back at campus now, and we had the whole house to ourselves, a fully stocked fridge… And plans for a weekend I hoped we’d never forget.

  “I like secrets when you’re involved, but I’m also worried about you,” he muttered, watching as I locked the portal. “Your guards aren’t here.”

  “I know. I talked to them. Two packs of fae dogs are here, and Zack can unlock the portal in an emergency, but this is our time.”

  He opened his mouth but then closed it. “I don’t even know how to lock a portal and give someone a specific key to unlock it.”

  “It’s a fairy thing.” I shrugged. It was, and I honestly didn’t understand how I did it. I simply did. I moved my fingers over his lips when he went to say more. “Darby, I’m about to show you the secret. Do you want to see it or keep grilling me?”

  He rolled his eyes at me. Of course he wanted to see it.

  It was as if fate also knew we needed the night off because we were having unseasonably warm weather… Which meant we could use the pool.

  And I planned to.

  Naked.

  Darby got clued in pretty fast when I started stripping at the kitchen and left a trail of clothes for him to follow.

  I turned to face him when I was without anything left to take off and at the edge of the pool. “The secret is your girlfriend wants you inside of her all weekend. I’m aching for my boyfriend. You game?”

  I didn’t wait for his answer, jumping backwards into the pool. I opened my eyes when I touched the bottom and looked up as I had months ago when he’d brought me to one of my resorts for a time out when I’d needed it. Moments later, he dove into the pool after me, snagging me around the waist and pulling me up to the surface.

  He barely gave me enough time to gasp for air before his mouth was on mine. Pressing me up against the wall of the pool, he ground his naked body against me. I wrapped my leg around him and even moved his hand lower as if telling him to hurry up.

  “I am not rushing this,” he growled against my lips.

  “Please?” I whimpered. “Please fuck me, Darby. We can go slow and foreplay and make love and whatever later, but I so, so want you.”

  “I want you too, agra, but we said slow and our pace. I need to know what changed,” he muttered. “Are you okay? I—we just got back together. I didn’t know you were even thinking of—”

  “I was,” I promised. I had been thinking of this already. I truly had.

  And then he had kicked the shit out of some students from the exchange program that were in our Power Training I class who were taking shots at me behind my back. He didn’t think I knew about it, and I hadn’t wanted to start problems for Mel, but my prickly pear had laid the smack down. It had been making me vibrate with need for my already plotted plans since it had happened this morning.

  “This was already the plan for a romantic weekend,” I explained when I realized he wasn’t going to budge. “And then I heard something in some exchange students minds that got me fucking hot.”

  He groaned, totally busted and burying his face against my neck. “I didn’t want you to find out.”

  “Which I find ridiculously hot. You know I can fight my own battles, but you’re still my hero who would fight for me.” I ducked my head and kissed him. “Fuck me, Darby. Claim your prize for being the hero, my knight in sh
ining armor, and make me scream your name.”

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, agra,” he groaned, letting me hear his Irish accent deeper and saying that, as supes didn’t believe in the Christian god. He caved, shoving his fingers inside of me as he attacked my mouth. “Glad you’re not pissed at what I said.”

  “No, be possessive like that,” I moaned as he kissed down my neck to my breasts. “Tell those assholes I’m yours and you’ll fucking gut them if they touch your woman. You scared them, and it was hot how much you cared they might hurt me. You—I got so fucking turned on seeing it in their heads. And gods, were they jealous. They wanted your agra like you have me, Darby.”

  “Fuck they did. The fuckers wanted you more than they wanted to know what you are for their councils,” he growled as his fingers moved faster. “But you’re my agra. Aren’t ya? Ya bloody fucking mine, aren’t ya, Tamsin?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m yours,” I mewled before orgasming, digging my nails into his skin. I could only have imagined his back if he didn’t have the rapid healing of a vampire.

  “I cannot believe how hot this got you,” he murmured when I finished. “I was so fucking possessive and—I was a dick. It’s just…”

  “We’ve had a rough time,” I panted, knowing exactly what had been going on with him. Those guys hadn’t been able to read the facial expressions of my prickly pear, but I had. I knew what had been going on with him, so this wasn’t only my being turned on.

  Darby needed this. He was all… This wasn’t only my issues and problems. We needed this.

  I pressed my lips to his ear and bit the lobe hard. “Fuck me, Darby. Fuck me like they’re here and show them I’m yours. Fuck me, and then fuck me again. Fuck me as many times as you can because your agra wants you that much.” I swallowed a yelp as he lifted me out of the pool faster than I could jump out and then was hopping out and picking me up again.

  A moment later, we were on one of the daybeds, and he was checking I was stretched enough. Mostly. Enough for when we were this wound up and we had healing runes, no matter how big he was.

  Which he seemed to remember as he hurried to thrust in me. I arched my back, feeling completely full and aching with it at the same time. He loved that, groaning as one of his hands came off my hips to play with my breast.

  “Yeah, ya fucked now, and mine, agra,” he warned.

  I did not have a problem with that. Darby put his hand back on my hip and absolutely drilled me while standing, taking me on a ride with his strength and speed that drove me insane. I came twice, to the point I thought my head might pop off, before he finished as well.

  “That was not the gentle and loving first time I should have given you,” he panted when we were done.

  I tried to burst out laughing, but couldn’t get enough air. I simply shook my head. “We’ve had as much normal as we could. We tried, we really did. That was amazing, and please just do it again and again.”

  He smirked down at me. “That good?” He groaned when I tightened my body around him. “Yeah, for me too. Best sex I’ve ever had. By far.” He leaned over and kissed me. “It must be because I’m in love with you.”

  “Me too,” I murmured, my face flushing. “Thanks for fighting for me, and that we reconciled.”

  “Thanks for working past your trauma enough to hear me, loving me enough to listen,” he whispered, tears filling his eyes. “Thank you for fighting so hard that night so I didn’t lose you.”

  I raised my head so our foreheads touched as tears filled my eyes as well. “Thanks for wanting to be my knight and save me that time as well. I know it was already over, but I never thanked you for coming there to take on your own family to rescue me.”

  “You’re my family now, Tamsin. You, Mel, Izzy—this whole group is my family. Those people were just how I was born and not my people anymore. You are.”

  I kissed him with all I had, hoping he knew how much that meant to me.

  We had his slow and loving time next before actually lounging in the pool. Then we hopped out and found towels, heading to the kitchen for grub. Darby let out one of his rare, full laughs when he saw the fridge and freezers completely stocked with prepped everything for us.

  “They really know your appetite,” he teased me.

  I simply rolled my eyes and brought him to the basement to see all the other industrial freezers everyone had wanted. He couldn’t even try to curb it after that.

  “That should last you a week?”

  My response was less than flattering, and he started laughing all over again. Jerk.

  “Fine, but I asked Irma to make sure your favorite pie with fae fruit was here and got the ice cream you like.” I turned on my heel and headed for the kitchen… Because I was hungry, but I wasn’t going to mention that part.

  “You’re the best girlfriend ever,” he muttered when he caught up to me, wrapping his arms around me. “And I love your appetite. I love watching you eat and how adorable you are when you like something. You always appreciate the food and who makes it, and I think you are perfect.”

  Nice save, but I also knew he meant it.

  Which was why I picked one of the dinners I had asked for as well. I preheated the oven and put in the large catering-tray size of baked pasta. I set the timer and smiled at him. “We have forty minutes until dinner. Wanna make salad and sides or…” I dropped my towel and hopped on the counter.

  Yeah, his answer was another round of me.

  “I can’t move,” I panted when we finished and the timer was going off. “Best way to wait for dinner ever.”

  “Best fucking sex and body ever,” he muttered under his breath as he hurried over to handle the oven. I was pretty sure he hadn’t meant for me to hear it, so I didn’t respond, but my cheeks flushed for sure.

  Good thing I was already flushed from the sex and he wouldn’t see.

  I knew from his thoughts he wanted me to eat naked so he could stare his fill, still shocked he was able to get me back. I wasn’t comfortable with it though. I was getting better and more confident with myself and my body, but after so many years of being abused and torn down, it would take more time.

  And Izzy helped me see that was okay. At first, she thought I hid because she was a lesbian, and it hurt her. A lot. But after we talked more, she was patient, and now I could change in front of her and not be so… Uptight? I wasn’t sure that was the right term, but she teased me with it. Mel had been the only person I’d ever trusted, so I thought adding more in a year was great progress.

  Even if some of them had betrayed me and completely broken my heart.

  “What are you thinking about so hard, agra?” he whispered as he served me another helping.

  “My progress.” I shrugged when he gave me a confused look, telling him where my head had been. “More than that; I laugh more. I smile more. I’m not a huge ball of aggression and pain. I still have a lot of that, and I will maybe never lose it all, but I feel better balanced.”

  He swallowed loudly and tapped his fork to his plate, clearly wanting to say or ask something he didn’t think he should. “I’m glad. I want you happy.”

  “Go ahead,” I whispered, but then heard his question in his thoughts. “Yes, Faerie takes power from fairies to sustain itself. It cleanses us of our overages in a way, and I think that’s why fairies don’t go off the rails like other supes. It’s…”

  “What?” he asked, his eyes full of concern.

  “Like jumping into a freezing cold shower and waking up, or when you’re super cold getting into a hot shower. It’s jarring, but also a rush and comforting? Yeah, comforting.”

  He reached over and rubbed his hand over my arm. “You’ll find your people. I know you will.”

  “How?”

  He smiled at me. “Because you’re Tamsin fucking Vale, and you don’t let anyone or anything get in your way when you’ve got a mission or goal. You won’t stop, and I cannot see fate being so cruel as to leave you the last, allow you to get into Faerie, and not
get answers and help the others. This is your fate, and you never fail.”

  It was my turn to swallow loudly. I decided to tell him something I didn’t ever tell the others. “I feel like I’ve failed making them wait an extra year and not having answers already. I feel like—I’m losing hope.” I pulled my arm away and covered my face. “I’m losing hope and it’s hard. I don’t want to be the last.”

  “Oh, agra, you won’t be,” he whispered. He came over and picked me up, sitting in my seat with me on his lap and hugging me tightly. “You won’t be. This is far from over, okay? Just hang in there. Let’s just get through the next round of shit, and we’ll keep going forward.”

  I snuggled up against him and accepted the comfort. “Fine, you be the boss.”

  He puffed out his chest and cupped my breast with a grunt. “Of course I am. I’m the man. Woman, do as I say, and I will—ouch.”

  I pulled back my fork I had just jabbed in his arm. “You’re lucky that’s all I gave you.”

  “You always be the boss, Tamsin,” he chuckled, nuzzling my neck. “But there is something I want to poke you with. I want to poke you with it all weekend, and I still will be pent up and dying for you.”

  I flinched. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”

  “That is not what I meant,” he replied, turning me around so I was straddling him. He cupped my face, and I saw the love for me in his eyes. “I meant I want you so much. You were worth the wait after all that happened, and I am blessed you took me back. I was simply saying I didn’t even look at another woman while we were apart because no one measured up. I needed you.”

  “Prickly pear,” I sighed, getting what he was trying to tell me. He wasn’t trying to make me feel bad he was pent up, but letting me know he was really pent up with longing for me. It was flattering in his weird Darby way.

  I thought after dinner he would immediately jump me again, but he ended up leading me to the library and scanning what he’d known I’d worked hard to collect. He’d helped me look for books on runes and journals from deceased witches and warlocks with tons of knowledge.