by Honor James
“Could be.” Katherine leaned back against the bleachers and sighed. “Have you mentioned anything to Talon about this yet? I know that he’s stressed to the max right now. Poor guy needs to get laid,” she muttered, “I think it would go a long way in helping to relieve his stress.”
Snorting at that, Quincy nodded. “You don’t have to say that twice,” he said. “Seriously, don’t say it twice.” He grinned at her. “But you’re right, he’s always got so much on his plate he worries me. How he keeps any of it straight is beyond me,” he honestly told her quietly. “I haven’t said anything because I haven’t been on the Council long and I’m still trying to get a read on everyone there.”
“Maybe we should push him to take a vacation?” Katherine asked as she watched the men training, Talon seemingly battling his own inner demons as he trained with his guards. “And not have it be a suggestion but rather an ultimatum? Perhaps get one of the doctors on our side and tell him that if he doesn’t take vacation we will sedate him?” Yeah right.
“Good luck with that,” he told her honestly as he shook his head slightly. “No, I’ll talk to him after the next meeting. See if I can cajole him into it. If all else fails, I’ll tell him that he’s about to have a full-out mutiny on his hands if he doesn’t take a few days just for himself.”
“Which would more or less be the truth. His guards are even becoming leery of him,” she said and nodded to a couple of the newer guards that had been put into place since Aiden and Allister found their bond-mates. “Poor guys need to toughen up a little I think.” Thankfully there had been a calm after the attack on the base. In the months since that horrible day, they had rebuilt. Part of that was a steady reinforcing and beefing up of the Guards for all those who were associated with the Unit. There had been silence, a waiting almost, in those months, but no one was ready to drop their guard just yet. No, the danger was still out there just waiting to strike again. When that would be no one could say.
“Definitely, they’ve had life too easy, and now that they have stepped into big shoes, so to speak, they are not holding up well.” Quincy flinched as Talon flipped one and flattened him to the mat. The sound of the Dragon’s back hitting the mat reverberated around the space. “Damn he’s in a foul mood again,” he muttered with a sigh. “Something is eating at him and I don’t think this one’s going away.”
That had Katherine frowning, and she tilted her head. Holding out her hand for more candy, she said, “I think that you should have that chat with Talon sooner rather than later.” She then snapped her fingers. “More candy please.”
“Patience is a virtue,” he said, tugging the bag out, and passed it over to her. “I will talk to him as soon as I’m sure my will is up to date. If he’s doing that to one of his own, imagine what he’ll do to me if I tell him anything he may not like to hear.”
Katherine snorted. “Yeah, but he loves you like a brother. Those are his guards that he’s trying to whip into shape because one day, Gaia willing, Talon will have a bond-mate, and eventually he will propagate, and he needs to ensure that his guards are the best of the best. Tell me that you don’t test your guards? I know the boys sure enough test mine, often.” She motioned her head to where her three men were facing off against Lee.
“Ten bucks on Laighean,” Quincy said without moving his gaze from where Talon was beating the snot out of his newbies. “If you haven’t noticed, darling, Talon has a wee bit of a temper, and he’s a Dragon. Naturally he’s a creature of magic, and not all Mage or Sorcerer magic actually works on them. So if he felt the need to pulverize me, I might not have any recourse except to feebly wave my puny fists in an effort to maybe annoy him enough to release me.”
Katherine shot Quincy a look and laughed. “Puny?” Lord, did he really see himself as puny? “You are anything but puny. Compared to Talon perhaps you are normal sized, but compared to most men you are anything but puny.” She looked at her guys and Lee. “I won’t take that bet. Laighean has been around for a very long time, and even though he was sleeping for hundreds of years he’s had hundreds of years before that as practice and had all of the fighting skills of all the Masters downloaded in his brain when they woke.”
Chuckling, he shot the foursome a look. “You ready to see your guys getting their asses handed to them?” he asked curiously with a grin to her. Turning his attention back, he shook his head. Trey, Mac, and Sully all looked super cocky. Laighean looked relaxed and as if he was out for a stroll around the block, but the other Fae Guards looked a little nervous. “You’d think the rest of them would know that someone doesn’t reach a Royal Guard position by not being able to beat down even that cocky threesome. Or taking on a whole brigade all by themselves.”
“Exactly.” Katherine held her hand out again. “More candy please.” Quincy had gotten her hooked on the candies. “Oh, the boys are a little perturbed with you for getting me hooked on these. I made Mac go out last night to find me some of these,” she said with a grin. “Poor Bear was seriously upset, but he did it ‘cause he loves me.”
“He did it because you are his pregnant mate and their inner animals demand you being happy at all times. They are afraid for their lives should they upset you,” he said, passing her the bag again. “You do realize that they occasionally forget you’re not a Bear or Wolf, right?” He shot her a grin taking the bag back. Scooping a couple out, Quincy winced at the large thud and looked to see Trey on his ass and Laighean looking like the man had tripped over his own two feet.
Katherine snickered and nodded. “Yeah, I know that. Sometimes they also think that I’m made of spun glass instead of a living and breathing woman, the same woman they all bedded to bond with,” she grumbled. “And that’s what’s the most irritating,” she muttered as she ate candies and then winced when she watched Sully go flying over Lee’s back as well.
Wincing at Sully’s thud, Quincy held the bag out to her for more. “You’re going to have to pet those boys some I’m thinking with the beating Lee’s handing out.” Again the man looked like he was anywhere but surrounded by three damned deadly men. Trey was easing up onto his hands and knees and Mac was trying to figure out how to take the Fae down. “I’m thinking they’re likely going to need ice packs, too.”
“I think you are right.” She popped more of the candy into her mouth. “How did you know I was pregnant? We haven’t said a word yet to anyone about it, but everyone seems to know.” Which was frustrating. Her guards had been doubled now and were driving her nuts at times.
“Besides the extra guards?” He looked at her. “Or maybe I should say besides the puking at the same time every day? Or maybe I should point out the fact you are gorging on meat when you normally only have a couple servings a week? Oh, wait, maybe I should point out the fact that your bond-mates nearly eviscerated the last person that dared to shake your hand for more than the standard single pump and grip to release point?” Quincy shot up a brow. “Should I continue?”
Katherine laughed and shook her head. “No. Point made, oh observant one.” She watched her men and winced when both Mac and Sully ran for Lee and were put on their rumps. “That’s going to be hard on their ego as well as their rumps,” she muttered. “But I will make sure to give them some extra loving.”
“And ice for their asses,” he said as he watched Laighean do some weird move on Trey that looked sort of like a cross between punches and chops. Whatever it was put him on his stomach moaning in pain as he began to drool. “Oh now that was cool,” Quincy said, leaning forward. He’d have to get the Fae to show him that one.
“Don’t cuss,” Katherine grumbled and rose. “Enough,” she called to her men, and her Royal Guard. “Laighean, I think that you have more than proven yourself today. Please let my guys go so that I can get a little pampering tonight as well,” she teased.
Turning toward her, Laighean bowed. “As you wish, my Queen,” he said softly and moved to collect his water and towel. “Though I should point out they were most insistent and
were not taking no for an answer,” he told her as he settled on the bleachers just below her.
Reaching down, Katherine squeezed his shoulder softly and smiled. “They don’t take no well,” she teased as she watched her men all helping each other up and moving with limps. Shaking her head, she then added, “Have you figured out which of the Fae would be best to move into a higher position in the guard rotation?” She knew that Lee had been challenging and testing them for that position.
“I believe I have three for consideration, but I will need to give them a final test with your permission. If you have time tomorrow I would like to discuss what it will involve,” Laighean said to her as he stared at the bag Quincy held out to him. Taking the tiny red thing that was passed to him, he sniffed at it. “What is this?”
“Sure. Just let me know when and I will be there.” Katherine grinned. “That is a red Skittle. It’s candy. It’s delicious.” She held out her hand expectantly to Quincy. “These are what I’ve been making the boys go get for me at all hours of the night.”
“Ah.” He nodded slightly and settled it on his tongue carefully. Rolling it around his mouth, he made a face but swallowed it. “Definitely not something you will need to fear I will be stealing from you, my Queen. They are too sweet and gooey for me,” Laighean told her honestly.
“Good,” Kat teased and leaned back. “I would also like to suggest that you talk to Pflingren. The man is entirely too enamored of today’s world. I think that poor man has been locked in his rooms playing video games for three days straight. Nothing wrong with gaming, just not days at a time. Not an order, but I worry for his health.”
“I cut his power before we left,” Laighean said softly in a calm and relaxed tone. “He will have to use a candle to light his way for a few days until he remembers that he has a purpose here beyond trying to absorb all this new world has to offer us.”
“How can you be already a step ahead of me?” Katherine teased with a smile. “Thank you, Laighean. For all that you do, thank you.” He truly did care for his brethren and would do all that he could in order to ensure that they blended in seamlessly. “He’s young though, even by your standards.” Katherine knew that he was several hundred years older than her, but when he went into stasis he was barely a man, maybe twenty years old, if that.
“He will learn in time, and it’s my job to always be at least two to five steps ahead of you,” Laighean said with a faint smile to her. “It’s part of the Royal Guards’ duties to always ensure that they know what their Queen, or King if that is the case, knows before even they realize that they need something. Anticipation is key,” he told her honestly as he looked to her mates. “They will require hot pads, hot showers, and, if you are able, likely a bit of a massage.”
Katherine grinned at Lee and shook her head. “I will help them out.” She looked to Laighean again and asked, “And can you anticipate those things with Rimi as well? Know what she needs before she speaks it aloud?”
“In most cases,” he said softly. “In others she surprises me.” Laighean smiled a little as he looked at her. “It’s amusing,” he murmured with a faint chuckle. “She tries to pull things over me, but she also forgets that she projects fairly loudly.” And since he was tuned into her frequency, he heard her loud and clear every time she had a thought.
“Which will be good and bad in your relationship,” Katherine murmured and watched her men as they helped each other up. “Just remember that she is human and will have human insecurities and thoughts, Lee. Be patient with her please.”
“She is my bond-mate. I’ve also known her her entire life. We have no secrets, and I will gladly be there for her through anything she feels uncertain about.” Turning slightly, he looked to Katherine. “In stasis there isn’t supposed to be awareness, there isn’t supposed to be dreams, but I had them. She and I shared a bond from the first moment of her full awareness of the world.”
Katherine knew that she seemed confused for a moment and she saw Quincy’s mouth open in an O of surprise. “Oh right,” she blurted out and then, “that.” Words were failing her. “Gaia did that because she wanted the bond to form between the two of you.” The Goddess would have known that Katherine was alive and that she was the Fae Queen, and since Rimi was younger than she was, it only stood to reason that the Goddess had chosen Lee for Rimi for a reason.
“I would assume so,” he told her quietly. He knew more than that, but that was all he was saying for the moment on the subject. “At first it was dreams, and then it was more,” he murmured with a slight frown, unsure how to describe it. “Once she was an adult it was more of an awareness of one another, a…” He paused and sighed. “I don’t know how to describe it accurately.”
“A need,” Katherine supplied. “Desire and eventually love for her. She’s an easy woman to love,” Kat told him with a smile. “She’s special and doesn’t even realize it.” Rising to her feet, she watched her men limping toward them. “Lee, I would suggest that you go and find your bond-mate and take her to dinner. I have a feeling my husbands won’t appreciate the lesson you taught them too much right now,” she teased.
“They were the ones that insisted I prove I could protect you if they were not there,” he pointed out softly as he stood up. Looking down at her, he smiled. “And I didn’t even have to work up a sweat to do it either.” He said that part a little louder so the men would hear it and the underlying warning in the words. He may have been in stasis for a long time, but the knowledge he’d gained before his involuntary slumber was quite vast. Not complete, it never would be, but he knew a hell of a lot more than they did. Bowing slightly to Katherine, he flashed her a faint smile. “Until later, my Queen.” Moving off at a slow and easy pace, a direct contradiction to the other men’s limping, he nodded to them as he left the training room.
Chapter Ten
Smiling faintly as he walked toward her, Laighean stopped and watched his mate. It had been an amazing four months of hard work. But now, now it was time to show her just what he’d been up to and why he’d fallen into bed exhausted more nights than not.
She turned toward him. She must have sensed him. He hadn’t made any noise. Holding out a hand, he smiled wider. “Come on, darling, I have a surprise for you,” he told her honestly.
Sliding her hand into his, Rimi grinned. “I love surprises.” Shutting the door behind her so that her kittens couldn’t get out, she looked up at him and squeezed his hand lightly. “Are you going to give me a small hint as to what this surprise is?”
“No,” he told her honestly, shaking his head, and tugged her in close to him. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Laighean held her close. Guiding her outside, he took her through the forest toward a spot he’d found and begun to work on a few months prior. While he loved being close to his Queen, it was starting to feel a little crowded. He had cleared it with her and her bond-mates first though. He hadn’t wanted to offend. Not all that surprisingly, though, they’d been supportive and had even helped here and there. Pausing, he pulled out a silk scarf. “For this to actually work, you need to be blindfolded,” he told her, holding up the scarf.
“Oh a blindfold, kinky,” she teased. Trusting him completely, Rimi moved to place her back to him and then touched the silk as it was placed over her eyes. “All right, honey. I’m ready.” She held out her hand to him, trusting him completely and fully. Grinning, she added, “I do love you so very much, Laighean.”
Tying it snugly but not too tightly, he pressed a kiss to her neck lightly. “I love you, too, sweet mate,” he said. Taking her hands in his, he guided her carefully, occasionally telling her to lift a foot to step over something or to shift one way or another to avoid something else. Finally he had her in place and moved behind her. “Whenever you’re ready,” he told her honestly and waited, his hands on her hips. Hopefully she’d like the house he’d built her in the woods. It was a part of the forest, built in a clearing that gave them quite a bit of space and, from the upper room—th
eir bedroom—a view of the crystalline lake a few meters south of the house.
Rimi could smell the water in the air. She felt the nature as it pressed in around them before she even removed the blindfold. Finally she reached up and, thinking that he had a picnic lunch for them in the woods, she was shocked to see a beautiful home instead. “Lee?” she whispered as she took in the obviously handcrafted home, the windows that ran from floor to ceiling, and the logs of the siding. It was, perfect. It was beautiful. “What is this?” she whispered in uncertainty.
“This is our new home,” he said softly to her as he rubbed a hand over her hip. “I built it for you and me to live in, with a lot of help from the others. Katherine let me purchase this tract of land from her just for us. It’s right on the edge of what she owns, a corner actually. The lake is part of her land, but we’re apparently more than welcome to use it anytime we like. Except on Tuesday evenings and Friday afternoons, the whys of which I’m sure you can ascertain on your own.”
That had her giggling and she shook her head. “So Tuesday evenings and Friday afternoons you and I need to have date time so that we don’t see or hear something we shouldn’t.” Happiness bubbled up inside of her, absolute joy from the knowledge that this was their home! “Take me in,” she whispered. “Show me our new home?” she asked softly.
Nodding, he took her hand and helped her cross the last couple of feet. On the little porch, he opened the door and then scooped her up, stepping inside with her in his arms. Smiling, he dropped a kiss to her lips and let her down. “Go and explore. If you hate any of the decorating, it’s all Katherine, and anything else I’m blaming on my helpers.”