"That's impossible. You're wasting my time." He turned to leave.
Damn it. She'd counted on him being desperate to get rid of his problem. There were other ways to get what she needed. Shedding her human skin, Verity jumped and landed behind him. His start of surprise pleased her, almost as much as the feel of his neck under her knife.
"Perhaps you are not familiar with dealing with a Dziva?" She pressed the knife into his skin. She looked around the parking lot to be sure she hadn't been seen.
"I have gold in my pockets, take it and leave." The noble showed no fear.
"Must you continue to insult me?" Verity shook her hair.
The noble's eyes widened, his pulse skittered. Whispering a quick binding spell, she circled him, her scales glinting in the dim streetlights. His fear was a fine wine on the back of her tongue.
She smacked her lips. "Now, here I've come all this way to exchange business with you and you insult me. You now owe me for the inconvenience."
He swallowed, his eyes blinking, darting around the parking lot. "I don't owe you shit. We've come to no agreement."
She smacked her lips. "Not for the information I provided, no. However, you do owe me for information I've not yet disclosed. What do you think will happen when your secret comes out? I mean, we’re talking about getting rid of a soon to be princess. Do you imagine your position in society would hold if this got out?"
His body, frozen in her spell, twitched. A noble with secrets was always useful. Verity slid her blade down his lips.
"You’re as culpable as I in this matter. We’re both fucked if you go to the Amanda.” His eyes gave away his uncertainty.
He could have a point.
Putting pressure on the knife she watched a sliver of blood well on his bottom lip. "I’m only asking for your contact in the Ajo council. Surely your lifestyle is worth that much."
He struggled against her bonds. His panic burned through her senses. “If I give up my contact, I give up my leverage in the guild.”
She smiled. Gods she loved secrets. The noble couldn't afford for anyone to know about the games he played. About the blood he spilled every week for the sake of pleasure. Nor about his attempt to kill a fellow nobleman’s daughter. She licked his bottom lip, tasting his. "I'll keep your secret, and get rid of your female, all you have to do is introduce me to your contact."
Calculation replaced his fear. "Just an introduction?"
"That's it." For now. She backed away and released him from her spell.
He grabbed his jacket lapels and shook his shoulders. "And you'll kill her?'
"Right after you introduce me."
He nodded and walked away.
"You have forty eight hours." She called after him. His shoulders stiffened but he didn't turn back. She smiled. One more to add to her bunch.
Verity's network of spies and informants was vast, once a contact was made, she never gave them back. She would use him for as long as he was useful, and dispose of him when she was done. Freeing the master was the ultimate goal, the casualties did not matter. What was one merchant’s daughter in the grand scheme of things?
She turned, her change back to a human skin fluid. Pleased with tonight's outcome she dismissed the noble. The introduction to the Ajo was a big step. One that despite other tries had failed. It was how the noble had ingratiated his way into their group and convinced them to help him with his first ‘problem’. His usefulness had run its course though. He’d promised that the Ajo council would come to heel, and he had yet to fulfill that promise. The guild bade her to find her own way into the Ajo’s world. They needed them for their plan to work. All she needed was an introduction.
She was a Dziva, it would take her nothing to bring the Ajos to their knees.
***
UNABLE TO SLEEP, Liliana sat outside on her balcony hours later, mulling over her problems. A cool night breeze played with her hair and cooled her over heated skin. With her mate two doors down, arousal sensitized her body to the point of madness. She supposed had she no memories of his touch, it wouldn't be so bad. But, every time she closed her eyes, the sight of his dark marbled skin flashed before her. The very moment the di êjê finished, she intended to wrap herself in his black hair and wallow in the soft strands.
It was disconcerting how much she wanted him. She couldn't fathom how some were able to cheat on their mates. How did one ignore the attraction between each other? The thought of anyone other than Leo soothing the heat turned her stomach. She knew once the mating frenzy left, that feeling would go away. But she still couldn’t imagine. Her mind drifted back to the confrontation with the royal family.
An unpleasant bit of business.
Two families destroyed by unfaithfulness.
Her body warmed, her only warning that Leo had stepped onto the balcony. His scent wafted to her next and she closed her eyes and drew it in.
"You couldn't sleep either?" She kept her eyes on the stars. Maybe if she didn't look at him, she could get her body under control.
"Legba makes me restless." He sat in the lounger next to her.
"There is something quite stifling about it." She'd certainly felt strangled since she'd stepped through the portal. It had nothing to do with Legba, more her family.
A short mirthless chuckle was his only answer.
"I know my issue with Legba, but what's yours?"
A beat of silence passed. "My mother brought me here when I turned seventeen. Rather, I should say she dragged me kicking and screaming through the portal."
"That's terrible."
"She and my father were arguing again. Always arguing, those two. Anyway, she said she was leaving and my father told her she couldn't leave with his kids. She said 'fine, but Leo's not yours.'" He laid his head on the back of his lounger, eyes closed, his mouth pinched. "She snatched my arm and marched me to Haven's portal room."
She laid her hand gently on his. The pain in his eyes when he opened them clutched her heart.
"See, up until that point I'd had no idea Ranolph wasn’t my father. My mother was almost always gone, and so I spent the majority of my time with my father or with the Amanda."
She hurt for the kid he'd been. Finding out something like that had to be painful.
He shook his head, and the pain in his eyes disappeared under anger. "She dragged me before the royal court and demanded King Leander give her a place to stay to escape her abusive mate."
"Oh no."
"My father never laid a hand on her and King Leander called her on it. He and my father were best friends, so of course he wouldn’t believe her. He told her if she had a grievance to go to the Eminzu. My mother refused and told him he had to provide for his son. Queen Kaylin exploded. She told my mother she’d rather kill me herself than allow my mother to use me against the king. The Queen still had not been able to conceive at that point. Over two hundred years into their mating and she hadn’t provided the king with an heir. I'm surprised I wasn’t killed on the spot." He smiled. There was no humor in the upturn of his lips. "That's not to say she didn't try. I had 'accidents' for years after that visit. Three hundred years later and I still avoided Legba for fear she would make good on her promise."
Liliana's closed her eyes to trap the tears.
"Long story short, my father came to pick us up. He told me that to him, I was his son and that was all that mattered. My mother and I don’t speak, and I quite frankly prefer it.”
"I'm sorry, Leo." The useless platitude her only offering, she stood and paced the balcony.
"What's on your mind, Liliana?"
Her search for Kita, her constant fights with her mother, him. Everything. She shook her head. "How did you get the name 'Death's messenger'?" she asked instead.
"I'm half Eshu. The messenger part sort of stuck."
"And death? Do you kill Demis?"
Their eyes met, his narrowed, but he shook his head. "I hunt those sentenced to death and deliver them to Azreal. In essence, I brought the messag
e of death."
She nodded, relieved. Would it have made him a different person? Maybe not, but she was grateful just the same that he didn't kill for a living.
"Don't get it twisted though, Liliana. No one can enter Azreal alive. You understand that."
Her heart lurched. She gave a sharp nod.
"They are executed at the portal to Azreal, by Azra's servants." He met her gaze, his look needing her to understand the difference.
Her body slumped in relief. What he did was important. She couldn't, wouldn't judge him for it. Besides, it was not as though she moved about in society. She certainly didn't plan to stay here after their ceremony. It didn't matter what others thought.
Silence stretched between them until it became a heavy weight. Her body tuned itself to him, her heartbeat thumping to match the rhythm of his. She straightened her nightgown, doing anything not to look at him. A languid heat moved through her limbs, making them heavy.
"Come here, Liliana.” His face was patient, no evidence of the heat sapping her strength.
"How can you sit there so unaffected?" She growled.
Leo laughed. "Unaffected? Liliana were it not for the fact that your parents were right down the hall, I would have you pinned to the nearest surface, making love to you until neither of us could walk."
Oh Gods. She gripped the banisters to keep from melting into a puddle on the ground. Lightning arced through her, firing her blood, her womb clenched in need.
LEO WATCHED THE HEAT playing across Liliana’s face and adjusted in his chair, pushing his erection to the side. In her innocent nightgown, with her hair flowing to her back, she was irresistible. Her teeth worried her bottom lip. His attention was riveted, her lush mouth moved in a sensual pout and fire pooled in his gut. He'd tensed when she asked about his job, unsure of what she would think. He was used to getting two reactions from the women he ran into, fear and disgust, or lust.
Never anything in between.
A part of him had not wanted to see either on the face of his mate. Her relief at hearing he didn’t kill soothed him.
His smile, a mere baring of teeth, showed a hint of his growing fangs. "Come, baby, I’m only asking you to sit in my lap. I’ll behave."
Gods she was beautiful. Her dark lashes lowered and hid her eyes. When they lifted, the need reflected caught his breath. Moonlight filtered through her gown painting her curves in erotic shadows. She straddled his lap, the material of her gown bunching around her waist. Her scent wrapped around him and he buried his face in her neck.
“Do you have any idea what your scent does to me?” He kissed her neck, pulling her fragrant skin into his mouth.
She moaned. "I thought you were behaving."
He drew small circles in slow motion along her thighs taking delight in the shudders that shook her shoulders. He traced the lace at the bottom of her gown debating how far he could go. "I am behaving. You have no idea how hard it is for me to keep myself from sliding your panties aside," he bit her lip. "and sliding into the sweetest-"
“Leo,” she whispered, cutting him off.
He chuckled, trailing kisses across her collarbone. Her skin warmed under his lips.
She moaned. Fire raced through his blood straight to his hard on. Her hips wiggled, his control strained.
“How quiet can you be, Lily?” Leo fondled her breast, weighed it. His thumb brushed the taut peak pushing through the fabric of her gown.
A moan was her answer. She swallowed. Her neck working as she fought for air.
He pushed up her gown higher, trailing his fingers across the smooth skin of her stomach. The scrap of lace she called panties did nothing to hide the moisture gathering between her thighs. He slipped a finger underneath.
She moaned again.
“One more moan, Liliana and you’re as good as fucked.” He barely recognized the guttural tone of his voice. His finger lightly played in the soft curls covering her mound before he pushed into the warmth.
“Promise?” Her hoarse whisper traveled down his spine.
His dick throbbed, pushed against his pants. "I promise." He pushed two fingers into her warmth. "You'll find that I keep my promises, iná."
He hissed as her inner muscles gripped his fingers. He captured her lips in a hot kiss, swallowing her next moan. He tangled his other hand in the braids of her hair and pulled. Her back arched, displaying her breast in offering to him. An offering he gladly took. He licked her through the gown, teasing the silk covered pebble. Her mouth opened on a sigh of pleasure and he groaned. Magic flowed between them, her skin blushing, a dim light starting to build. Her light rivaled the glow from the bright moon.
He pulled her head down and shoved his tongue in her mouth, his grip on her hair tightening as she drew on it, sucking on it. He pushed the strap on her gown down her shoulder with his chin, exposing more of her body to the cool air.
"Mi iná." She was his light. He watched as that light played across her face as her magic flared. Her caramel skin glowed, the warmth encompassed him and tightened his chest.
He separated their bodies, stopping his kiss only long enough to lift her and slide his pants down.
"Leo, I need you." Her whispered words were desperate, her eyes liquid pools of emerald flames.
"You'll have me, baby." He positioned her over his straining shaft.
He pushed in slow, tortuously slow, biting down to contain his shout of pleasure. Her sex was tight, wet, and clenching around his shaft. Liliana arched her back, driving him deeper, her heat surrounding him. He pulled her head down for a kiss.
His hips lifted as she rode him, his strokes deep and her walls dragging him further out of control. Her neck called to him, instinct drove him as his fangs dropped, crowding his mouth. He scraped his teeth along her neck, so tempted to taste the blood flowing there, to seal them so no one could take his light. He closed his eyes and threw his head back, away from the temptation.
Liliana rolled her hips. She tightened on him, flexing and gripping the head of his erection. Finding his control, Leo pushed his hips in time with hers relishing every stroke. Edging closer to release, their passions consumed them. His hands released her only to take purchase down her back finding a place on her tight ass. He used his strength to lift her up as she drove herself down over and over again. Her hands gripped his strong shoulders balancing over his lap to drive her tightness home. The heat of her thighs burned his skin as their magic combined. Leo’s hands squeezed tight as her wetness slid him effortlessly inside with each stroke.
He was a goner. He tried everything he knew to slow his climax but to no avail. His orgasm was a fire that raged down his spine and tightened his balls in pleasure. Her eyes locked on his as she rocked her body, grinding on him. Her orgasm rolled through her as her hands dug deep into his back nearly breaking the skin. She came, pulling at his throbbing erection and his control. He followed her over the edge, his hips lifting as he drove into her body. He was flying. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. A haze of pleasure fogged his mind, and he collapsed back into the lounger, dragging her down on his chest. Liliana burrowed into his neck her mouth on his pulse.
"No, baby" He pulled her from his neck. He couldn't allow her bite. Couldn’t allow the blood exchange before the di êjê.
She whimpered and wiggled and he hardened again. The mating frenzy would ride them until they completed their bond, and he planned to enjoy every moment on her beautiful body.
He stood up still joined with her body. He dragged the cushion from the lounger and tossed it on the balcony floor and laid her down, her hair spread out. He positioned himself at her entrance and drove in. She was beyond wet, her orgasms still sending tremors through her sated body. Leo closed his eyes and growled. Her nails raked further down his back and she lifted her hips, meeting him thrust for thrust. Yeah, he could do this all night.
Chapter 10
LILIANA DIPPED HER HEAD to hide the yawn threatening to crack her jaw. She'd been sitting in her mother's living
room for the past two hours learning etiquette and history from the royal archivist. The woman was in charge of passing down history to future generations. It was required since she would be marrying into the royal family.
“Lady Marcolev!” The slap of the silver pointer against the table snapped her to attention.
The historian stared at her, her narrow lips pursed. The petite woman was Eshu. Her family had served the royal house since before recorded time. Metalie Yoru was dressed in the traditional gown of a beautiful and sedate silver, marking her station as a royal employee. Her purple and blue hair was faded with age, but shinier than a polished diamond. A large, single braid trailed her shoulder reaching her stomach.
'Lady Marcolev, you need to pay better attention. Not only are you marrying into the royal family, but into the Amanda as well. The protocol I am attempting to teach will keep you out of more situations like the very one you’re in now.”
Liliana suppressed a sigh and the urge to jump across the table at the smug lady . “Why didn’t I have to go through this when I was betrothed to the prince?”
The archivist eyebrows lifted. “If you’d successfully mated with the prince, these lessons would’ve been conducted once you took up residence in the palace. That will not be the case with this mating. If we make it to the ceremony that is.”
The barb hit its mark, pissed, Lily crossed her arms over her chest. “We've been at this for two hours Mistress Yoru, and quite frankly you've just regurgitated history we learned in finishing school.”
Metalie narrowed her eyes. “Very well. What do you know of the history of the Demi, and the start of the Amanda?”
“The Amanda started after our war with the humans. They were started as a way control and monitor traffic to and from Adro.”
A smug smile tipped Metalie's lips. “Wrong, that is the type of misinformation little girls fresh out of finishing school regurgitate to others. If you're to be the mate of Death's messenger, then you'll do well to pay attention and keep your bad attitude to yourself.”
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