by Layla Nash
"We would have smelled them in the gym or on the bag," Ruby said. She absently twined her fingers in Carter's short hair, while he purred and didn't even seem embarrassed that he did so. It made me smile. The dark-haired woman shrugged. "There weren't any strange scents in the room or the gym, and Kaiser's security system didn't catch anything."
Eloise fumed. "I didn't fucking do it."
Benedict just shook his head, staring up at the ceiling, and periodically batted away the curls and braids that reached for his cheeks and ears.
Sophia rubbed her nose and leaned against Atticus. Luckily she didn't panic around me anymore, but she remained wary. I wondered if we would ever be truly friends, or if I would only be a reminder of bad times. Sophia frowned at the other girl. "If they end up blaming you for it, what happens? You're not a shifter, so it's not like the Council would be responsible for punishing you."
Eloise perked up. "That's right. None of you have authority over gorgons."
"Hold on." Logan's frown deepened into a scowl. "You're still part of my pride, so your behavior comes back on me regardless. But no, I don't know who's responsible for administering justice to gorgons."
"Probably the Erl King," I said under my breath, then froze as all eyes landed on me. I cleared my throat and put down the wine glass. "I mean, I would assume gorgons are related to fae."
"What the hell is an Erl King?" Atticus asked, brow furrowed.
"The Erl King. There's only one." I fiddled with a loose thread on my jeans but stopped when Edgar caught my fingers under the table. "He leads the Wild Hunt. I don't know if you've got the fae courts around here, but if you don't, the Erl King would be the one."
"How the hell do we find the Erl King?" Benedict's arm draped along the back of Eloise's chair, and he squeezed her arm when she started to look the smallest bit tense.
"You don't." I leaned back in my chair, raising my eyebrows. "He finds you."
Shocked silence covered the dining room, and for once I didn't mind. I couldn't suppress my grin very long at all, and a hint of a laugh snuck out. My poker face needed a lot of work. Benedict stared at me. "You're joking? Are you joking? What the hell?"
I laughed, couldn't stop as Edgar chuckled, and even Logan cracked a smile. I tried to compose my expression into seriousness as Eloise scowled, clearly not entertained. "I'm sorry. It's true except for that last bit. I have no idea how the Erl King does his work. I'm sure it will be fine."
Benedict lifted his wine glass in salute. "Well played, Ivy. Well. Played."
Natalia smiled. "How do you know so much about fae and the Wild Hunt?"
"My mother was a professor. She studied comparative religion and early mythologies. She used to tell us bedtime stories about the Erl King and tricksters and all kinds of things." I smiled at the memory of us all snuggled up in bed, getting lost in the rich worlds and intricate stories. I cleared my throat as regret surged up. "Sometimes it just pops out. Sorry. For what it's worth, I don't think they've ever recorded the Erl King in North America, but when the magic started dying in Europe, Mom guessed he might have come here."
Edgar smiled into his wine glass. "Perfect. If we ever find him, he might be a hell of an addition to the Council."
"I'm not sure we need a Wild Hunt in the city," Atticus said under his breath. "The coyotes would find a way to take bets on it, or sacrifice humans to it, or something awful. The less temptation, the better."
I breathed a little easier as discussion turned instead to what would have to be done about the coyotes. Even Logan seemed almost gleeful at the idea of the other wolf alpha, Miles Evershaw, having to deal with a pack of overgrown children. Apparently he deserved it, although Ruby seemed to think any major punishment for the coyotes would push them to align with the third pack, outside the city, and only make their fight more difficult. My head spun, trying to keep up with the political shenanigans and alliances and machinations of the Council, so I was relieved when things petered out early. Natalia claimed she was too tired for dessert, which pushed Logan into an over-protective tailspin. Apparently she never missed dessert. Ever.
Edgar walked me back to my room. Once we were out of sight of the others, he caught my hand and held it. "Want to watch a movie?"
I laughed, though my heart leapt and every part of me felt flushed and hot. "That sounds like a good plan. Or at least stage one."
He chuckled, then grabbed me and pressed me up against the wall with a fiery kiss. The heat of his body burned through me, ignited something deep in me that ached for more contact. More of him, deeper. I went boneless as Edgar broke the kiss and pressed his cheek to mine, inhaling from my hair as he murmured, "Maybe we should go through the whole plan."
My pulse thrummed and I linked my arms around his neck. I wanted to say something funny or sweet or sexy, anything to make him laugh or make that lion grumbly noise that made my toes curl, but all that I could come up with was, "Yes."
It was apparently the right thing to say, because he spun me away from the wall and fast-marched the last hall to his suite without another word. Struggling for breath had nothing to do with the pace he set. The anticipation of finally sleeping with him made my knees weak and my hands shake as he kicked the door shut behind us and kissed me again. I held on to him in desperation, terrified we would be interrupted before we finally got naked, and when Edgar tried to guide me to the couch, I shook my head. I kept kissing him, pausing only to say, "The bed."
He fumbled with my t-shirt, dragging it over my head. "Are you sure?"
"Very." I tugged on his belt but couldn't work the damn buckle and slid my hands under his shirt instead. A fever overtook me, overtook us both, until the fire consumed everything but the feel of his skin and the slide of muscles as he picked me up and carried me into his bedroom.
"Tell me if you need to stop," he said, mostly groaned, as he wrenched at my jeans and dragged them away. "I don't want to rush you."
"Rush me," I said. I tore at his shirt, the wolf just as desperate for contact as I was, and raked my nails down his sides. We wanted to mark him, to make it clear he was ours. I fell back against the bed, holding my breath as he stripped off the rest of his clothes and then shredded what was left of mine. Laid me bare and stood back, admiring.
I held my breath, gnawing my lower lip, and couldn't take it. Couldn't take the anticipation and the heat in his gaze. I touched my stomach, watching as he mirrored my movement and touched the rippled abs near his belly button. A rumble started, almost a growl, as his cock swelled. I watched as it grew and the muscles in his thighs and stomach and arms tightened. My hand slid lower on my stomach, grazing the top of my slit, and his hand followed, touched himself in a long slow stroke that made me squirm. Made heat flush through me. My legs eased open, for him or me I didn't know.
A long, grumbly moan escaped him, and his voice came out rusty. "Show me."
My cheeks caught fire and for a split second, I thought about rolling up in the sheets and hiding away from the gold gaze locked on my thighs. But there was power in this, more power than I'd felt over my own body for as long as I could remember. He wanted me, despite my scars. Maybe because of my scars. Because I knew what pain was and I'd survived. I licked my lips and watched as he stroked himself once more. And knew that I did that to him. Looking at me made his cock strain, made the muscles in his abs twitch, made him flex to maintain control. I did that. I held the power over my own body, and maybe even over his.
Whatever shyness remained fled. I stretched on his bed, owned the space, and squeezed my breasts. Ran my hands down my sides until he growled louder, loud enough that the wolverine started paying attention, and I teased my center. Rubbed my clit until pleasure sparked through me in lightning flashes and my hips rolled and I moaned. And I watched him watch me, his fist moving faster, and my fingers dipped lower. Slid into the wetness of my sex and he made a savage noise.
Edgar's teeth glinted in the half-light of his bedroom. "You're killing me."
The wolf
's voice answered him. "So do something about it."
The mattress dipped as he knelt on the sheets between my feet, his hands moving from my ankles up my legs and over my hips, up my sides and shoulders until he held my face. Stretched out over me until his body pressed against mine, the hard heavy heat of his cock against my stomach. He kissed me fiercely, almost desperately, and I could only hold on to his shoulders as sensation cascaded through me. He murmured, "Are you ready?"
"Very," I said, keeping my hold on him. Needing him close. Reveling in the feel of his weight, bearing me down into the mattress and pinning me in the real world. He felt real, more real than anything I'd ever known.
He eased away just enough to reach between us until the blunt head of his cock pressed against my slippery flesh. Panic surged at the feel of it, the size and pressure, but he'd been so careful with me. So gentle. I sighed, moved my knees up to urge him closer as the uneasiness passed. Edgar's breath came hard and fast and then he slid forward. Into me. Pressed through me until I arched and my breath caught. It didn't hurt but burned with an unfamiliar sting, a strange heat in the intrusion. He groaned and his forehead dropped against my shoulder. Sweat fell onto my breasts as he struggled to move slowly, in gentle, short thrusts that tore me apart.
I moaned and pulled at him, desperate for more. I tried to meet his movements to drive him deeper, to feel the friction of his stomach against mine even if his massive cock split me completely in two. I leaned up to kiss him and instead, the wolverine took exception to the gentle deflowering and we bit his lip. Growled as we tasted blood and wanted more.
Edgar growled in surprise at the bite and his hips slammed into me in a sudden punch. I cried out as every muscle in my body seized up, clenched down on him, and ecstasy rolled through me in waves. Dragged me away in ripples until I could hardly breathe and dark spots flitted across my vision. He gripped my thighs, spreading me open underneath him, and grumbled against my throat. "Naughty wolf. Don't rush the lion."
"The lion wasn't moving fast enough," I breathed, still only half conscious. I squirmed against him, desperate for more. "And that was the wolverine, not the wolf."
"Naughty both of you," he said. He moved onto his elbows over me, eyes glinting gold through the darkness. "Maybe we should bite you back."
The thought sent shivers through me and I clenched around him, trying to drag him closer still. Edgar chuckled and squeezed my thigh, brought my knees up higher, and kissed the hollow of my throat. "Sounds like a plan."
I laughed but it turned into a moan as he started moving.
Chapter 19
Edgar almost lost all control when Ivy touched herself. And again when she watched him and licked her lips. And then when he moved over her, slid against her, slid into her. Thrust into her sex for the first time and knew it was the very first time for her. The need to make it perfect for her, to make it amazing, was the only thing giving him enough control to hold the lion back from mounting her and fucking her into the headboard. He groaned as she squirmed under him, her hips rolling in a sensual if unpracticed invitation, and he retreated a little more. The wet heat of her body dragged at him.
Ivy sighed through another gentle thrust, her fingers working into his hair. He loved the sounds she made, the needy soft noises as he moved faster and the short gasps as her face flushed and another orgasm approached. She cried out again, stiffening under him in a sudden convulsion, and her muscles clutched his cock hard enough to nearly finish him as well. He closed his eyes, trying to think of non-sexy things so he could last long enough to drive through her climax and give her another. Make her come until she was a sweaty mess on his bed. Until she smelled like him and no one would ever mistake her as someone else's. The lion grumbled his approval, and thought more about biting her. Putting her on her knees so they could really mount her, then bite her shoulder. The damn wolverine would know who was in charge then.
Edgar thrust hard without meaning to, the visual nearly driving him over the edge, and Ivy moaned and tightened around him. He worried about hurting her, she felt so small underneath him. But when her heels dug into the small of his back, urging him closer, he moved faster. Harder. Fighting the pressure driving him forward until she cried out and her nails left gouges across his back as she came. He couldn't hold back any longer, thrusting through her spasming channel in short, sharp punches until his own climax rolled through him and nearly knocked him out. He filled her in a rush, a hot surge, and Ivy moaned. Edgar collapsed on top of her, sparks dotting the insides of his eyelids, and tried to piece the world back together.
Her breasts pressed against his chest in a soft invitation, almost enough to get him going again, but he slid to the side so he didn't crush her. Ivy lay boneless among the tangled sheets, her eyes closed as she panted, and he felt it like a punch in the chest — he loved her. Absolutely loved her. Wanted her with a desperate need that scared him.
He watched the flush fade from her cheeks and her breathing slow, and traced a slow path through the sweat cooling between her breasts. Observed the goosebumps that rose on her arms in response. She smiled, the barest curving of her lips, and batted away his hand. "Quit it."
"Can't help myself." Edgar sighed in almost resignation, lowering his head to breathe against her skin. Wanting to breathe her in, taste her, memorize everything about her.
Ivy sighed and stretched, wincing a little, and he eased up on his elbow, studying the rest of her nakedness. "Everything okay?"
"Just a little sore." She reached for him, her eyes still closed, and wiggled closer against his side. "And cold."
Edgar drew her against his chest and pulled the sheets and blankets over them. She fell asleep quickly but he didn't follow for a long time, his thoughts uneasy. Loving again meant vulnerability. Meant opening himself up for another devastating loss. Edgar closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the uninhibited way the lion loved her, wanted her. For the first time in a long time, it was easier to live in the animal's mind than his own.
* * *
Edgar never heard her leave, just woke to find the bed empty beside him. It bothered him that she left, and more that he didn't understand why. He replayed the night in his head, looking for clues, but even a hot shower didn't bring enlightenment. So he counted on coffee to fill the gaps and headed for the kitchen. Almost nothing stirred in the mansion as he walked to the back porch. Edgar paused as he sipped his coffee and counted the people doing yoga with Carter. Ivy stood there among them, stretching, and for a wild moment, Edgar was tempted to join them as well.
Before he could move, the floor creaked behind him and Edgar turned to see Logan in the doorway. They had not had much time to talk about the meeting with Smith from the previous day, so Edgar started talking as Logan made toast. When Edgar raised his eyebrows at the simplest breakfast he'd seen Logan eat since he met Natalia, Logan rolled his eyes. "Shut up. Nat still feels sick in the morning. Toast is all she can eat."
Edgar just refilled his coffee and leaned against the counter near the toaster. Logan collected butter and jam from the fridge and started to load up a tray. He didn't look up as he asked, "When did Smith say he would get back to you?"
"Today," Edgar said. "By close of business."
"Good." Logan checked the jam and returned to the fridge to retrieve strawberry as well as blackberry. He eyed Edgar. "Everything going okay with you?"
Edgar shrugged. "Of course. I just want to get this all over with."
"Right. And the girl?"
"What about the girl?"
"Come on, man." Logan frowned as he fished the bread out of the toaster and put four more slices in, resetting it. "You know what I'm talking about."
"And I don't want to talk about it. Or her."
"Why not?"
Edgar started to make more coffee, not looking at his brother. "That's part of what I don't want to talk about."
"You've got to give me something, Ed. Nat won't leave me alone."
Edgar snorted. "So that's
why you care so much. Because Natalia does."
"It's more than that and you know it." Logan scowled, tossing bananas and other fruit onto the tray. "This might be the first morning in ten years that you don't look like you're praying for death. If that's the girl's doing..." His eyes narrowed as he looked at Edgar, then leaned forward to take a deep breath near his shoulder. The alpha straightened, eyebrows climbing toward his hairline. "You slept with her."
"Mind your business." Edgar wanted to curse. He'd planned to keep it secret a little longer, to revel in the easiness of it. No doubt Logan would tell Natalia and then the entire family. Edgar trusted Nat to keep her mouth shut, but Logan kept quiet about as well as Eloise did. He even opened his mouth to beg Logan not to say anything, but stopped short as one of the other women walked into the kitchen.
She was one of the refugees from the Auction, with long blonde hair and worried eyes. He remembered that from the night he rescued them at the resort. But she looked even more worried as she came in from the porch. She looked between them and finally focused on Edgar. "The woman with dark hair out there? The one they call Ivy. Do you know her?"
"Yes." Edgar sipped the last of his coffee and prayed the pot brewed faster. He couldn't take much more of difficult conversations in the morning.
"Well. I knew her too, sort of. Except her name was Isobel. I heard about her and a pack down in Texas." The woman wrung her hands in front of her and looked between them again. She shook her head. "I just wanted to tell you... Because you've been so kind to me. She's trouble."
"Trouble?" Logan managed to sound diplomatic as he speared the toast and completed an impressive stack on the tray. Edgar figured Natalia would not send her husband down to fetch breakfast ever again. "What kind of trouble?"
She took a deep breath. "I heard she broke up a pack. She was mated to the alpha but ended up leaving him and destroying the pack."