by Eve Newton
“I know you do. I like that you have given me a nickname.”
I looked up into his eyes. “You do?” I asked in surprise.
“Yes, it makes me feel special to you,” he said so softly that I had to lean forward to catch it. “I want you to call me that, always, from now on.”
“Really?” I asked, my eyes wide. “You don’t mind if I call you that? Even in front of other people?”
He laughed. “I especially want you to call me that in front of other people. It will show them what we mean to each other and that they are not a part of it.” He cast a quick glance down the corridor where Devon had disappeared, and I sighed. I did so wish they didn’t hate each other so much. “But only you,” he said then as he tapped my chin with his index finger. “Only you.” He pulled me to him then to give me the kiss I had been waiting for. “Do you want me, my sweet?”
I smiled, slowly and playfully. “Yes, CK,” I said before he whisked me up in his arms and Teleported us giggling to my bedroom.
Chapter 1
Tuscany, Italy, 2013 (Other) – Liv
“I’m always here,” he says as I rush into his arms. Well, that is kind of the wrong way to describe it. I rush towards him, expecting him to pick me up in his arms, but it is more like running into a brick wall as he keeps his arms firmly by his sides. He grunts, as I slam into him, and then brings his hands up to steady me.
“Are you feeling okay, Your Majesty?” he asks me, his beautiful eyes now concerned but not in a loving way.
Your Majesty? Why is he calling me that?
“Linc?” I say to him cautiously.
“Ma’am?” he queries back just as cautiously.
CK, err, Constantine is at my side then. “What did you just call him?”
I frown at him and then at Lincoln, who is frowning back at me. I can’t say I have ever seen him look quite so serious. And menacing. Okay, clearly this relationship is not a personal one. He is suited and looks more like security than my sweet, gentle Wolf-lover.
“Mr. Anderson, I suggest you take a step back. Clearly the Empress is not feeling herself today,” Constantine says as he grips my arm.
Empress? Oh, yikes.
“Where is the Queen?” he barks at Marguerite.
“I am here, Father.” A beautiful girl comes down the stairs to join us all standing here in the Entrance Hall. And she doesn’t say “father” in that creepy Lance way; she says it like he is her…dad. “Is Mother all right? There is quite the commotion going on.” She kisses him on the cheek, and he gazes at her lovingly. Her long blonde hair is the same color as mine, but her eyes are her father’s, no doubt. She is my daughter. Mine and Constantine’s. Well, other, other me, obviously, I think, clearing my throat.
“I think she is under the weather. I want her back in bed. Now,” he snaps, and Ramon picks me up in his arms and carries me back up the stairs towards the bedroom.
“Wait,” I call. I want to know her name, but we have rounded the corner and disappeared from their sight.
“You need to feed,” Ramon says to me. “It is past time.” He shuts the bedroom door and places me gently on the bed.
Well, I am not arguing with that. I am famished and as he strips off his t-shirt, I get a bit hungrier, but not for blood.
I drop my fangs and feed deeply from him as he holds me close. He has always been a bit flirty, but this is something else. I pull back and retract my fangs. He kisses me passionately, pushing one of his hands into my hair and the other going inside my robe.
Hey! Hang on a minute! I push him away and he whispers, “He won’t be back up for a few more minutes. He knows you are feeding.”
What? I think blindly as he pushes me back and lowers his mouth to my naked self.
Oh! I jolt as his tongue licks my nipple. She clearly has a sexual relationship with her Feeder, but it doesn’t seem that Constantine knows about it. Interesting. And awkward. I push him away again and he frowns at me. “Is everything okay? Are you not happy with me anymore?”
Err, how do I answer that? Should I mention that I am not their…gulp…Empress? What if they believe me but don’t believe who I am, and they try to kill me or something? I have no idea what they would do here. Everything seems so formal and antiquated. Beheading might just be their thing. It’s all wrong. Maybe best to keep quiet about it while I try to figure a way to get back home. I am going to have to assume that the “me” from here is inhabiting my body back at home. Oh, crap. All of my boys will think she is me, unless she tells them, just like everyone here will think I am her. Oh, what to do, what to do? Ramon is still staring at me, waiting for an answer, so I make a decision to lie and say, “I am not feeling very well. Please leave me.” I pull my robe back together and with the dignity of an Empress (I hope) climb back into bed to rest my aching head. This is so bad. Ramon leaves me and Constantine finds me shortly thereafter.
“My love,” he says sitting on the bed next to me. “How can I help?”
I shrug, as I have no idea.
He pulls my face towards his. “Are you pining for him? I know he has been gone awhile this time,” he says very softly with a look I can’t quite place.
Pining? Do Empresses pine? Apparently, they do.
I just stare at him, not knowing what he is talking about.
“You can tell me, Aefre. I know how you feel about each other. That it is expected. I know you love me and will always be my wife. Just tell me so I know that you aren’t still upset with me or that I have failed you again.”
I nod. What else am I supposed to do? Might as well go with the cover story he has thrown at me, although it might be useful at some point if said pinecone would turn up and announce their return soon.
He nods then sadly and says, “He is returning today. I am leaving for a short while so you can be with him.”
Come again?
“Where are you going?” I ask him.
“To the city. I have some things I need to take care of anyway.”
“Where is our daughter? I want to see her,” I ask suddenly.
He looks at me warily. “Cassis? She is downstairs handling the, uh, fallout from your episode earlier.”
Cassie? We named our daughter Cassie. No, wait: he pronounced it “Cassis” as in the Château? Huh, I wonder why we named her after a castle?
“I want to see her,” I say again.
“I don’t think that is a good idea, my love, after your recent argument. She is as stubborn as her mother,” he says with a soft smile to take the sting out of his words.
Oh. What did we argue about? Don’t suppose I can ask that without sounding like a complete head case.
“I need to go and get ready. Serena will be up shortly to rearrange your schedule. Today you will stay here and make sure that you spend some proper time with him. He will no doubt be feeling the same as you,” he says in a way that is so matter-of-factly that I actually blink at him. Whoever this “he” is, he is clearly accepted by my sire. Her sire. Whatever. The strange thing is, I feel my bond with him. It is strong. Stronger than the one with the other Constantine, not as strong as my CK, but strong enough that he obviously doesn’t feel a change. Or too much of one to be suspicious about it. I find that slightly disconcerting. I always thought it was the two souls, or essences, that connected, but it doesn’t seem that way. It seems to be more fundamental than that. The blood. Our blood. Seems kind of obvious though, now that I think about it. And then the horror thought strikes me: if I can feel this with him, then she can feel it with my own and my two boys.
“Next time it may be in your best interests to insist on a shorter period. Or better yet to just go with him,” he says as he goes into the bathroom to shower.
Okay fine, whatever. But you will be having this conversation again with your actual wife when I figure out a way to get her back to you, I think.
A soft knock draws my attention away from my predicament. “Yes,” I call out.
It’s Serena. The same Serena
I met, well obviously, not the exact same one.
“How do you feel, ma’am?” she asks me too politely.
Really not loving this whole ‘ma’am’ business.
“Fine. Thank you,” I say.
She looks relieved that I am not about to go hysterical on her and she sits in the chair at, I assume, my desk. Her desk. Oh, fuck this…our desk.
She launches into her schedule changes and I zone out. Really nothing to do with me. I will be out of here as quickly as possible. If I could only get myself to switch back. Maybe I will have to wait until I am asleep again as that is when it first happened? It’s a working theory.
Constantine strolls out of the bathroom all freshly showered. His damp hair sticking up somewhat, and a towel slung low over his hips.
Serena clears her throat and flushes as she looks away while I just start to drool. My actual sire or not, he is still the sexiest man alive. A girl can most definitely get used to staring at that every day. Lucky bitch. I am so stupid for not having mine as a permanent fixture in my home.
It strikes me as odd, though, that he doesn’t seem too bothered to be wandering around practically naked in front of the help, but there again I don’t know what their set-up is. Maybe they are sleeping together. I narrow my eyes at her. She cringes and flushes an even deeper red.
Oh, really? I wonder if other me knows about this.
He disappears back into the bathroom to get dressed, at least he has the tact for that, and reappears moments later suited up for his business whatever.
He smiles softly at Serena then and she smiles softly back. Then he leans down to kiss me goodbye. A quick peck on the lips. Oh, no buddy. If other me doesn’t know about this, I sure as hell am going to give this Serena something to think about, and I pull his head back to mine plunging my tongue into his mouth to his surprise. But then he kisses me back with a longing I find, again, odd. I am hoping that other me isn’t going around kissing my sire, or my husband or any other of my boys (yeah, yeah…we have already established that I am a big, fat hypocrite that lives in a glass house) as I let him go with a big slurp to his bottom lip that lights a fire in his eyes. He reluctantly straightens himself up and adjusts his cuffs. Seems to be a CK thing to do that.
“I will see you later,” he murmurs.
“I love you,” I say to him as he turns away, wondering why he didn’t say it to me first.
He turns back to me with a curious look. “I love you,” he says lightly and leaves.
I glare Serena out of the room shortly after that and she hastily beats it, only to let someone else in on the way out. I thought I was supposed to resting and pining up in here? The more time I spend on my own the better. Less chance to fuck this up, and more time to figure out a way to get back home.
I am mildly surprised to see Sebastian rush in and drop to his knees at the bedside.
“My Princess,” he says grabbing my hand, causing a jolt to go through me. “I have missed you.”
Princess? I thought I, err, “we,” were Empress?
“I have been gone too long this time. I will never leave you for this long again. I feel like I am dying not being close to you.”
Erm, say what? Sebastian is the pinecone?
He stands and leans down to kiss me, shuffling me up the bed as he does so, and Oh. Holy. Crap. An electric current shoots through me, causing me to tingle and fizz all over every inch of my body, inside and out.
“Uuhh,” he mutters as he deepens the kiss and I cling to him not wanting this feeling to end. Her body is responding to him and I just go with it. It’s not like I haven’t kissed my Sebastian before.
He pulls away. “I love you. I have missed you so much,” he says with his hands on my face and he kisses me again, practically causing me to orgasm right there on the spot, just from a few kisses. Bloody hell fire. This is some connection they have got going. I wonder what is the cause of it? He pulls away again and looks down into my eyes as I bring my own hands up to his face. I see then that the swirly patterns on my arms and hands are now swirling away in twirly, hypnotizing circles. Wait, I am remembering something…I think. That weird ass dream I had of CK and Sebastian in the hotel suite in Toronto. Sebastian got off the sofa and his back was covered in markings. Just like these ones on her arms. Only I thought I remembered his were connected by leaves and these are connected by thorns. He sighs and lets go of my face and sits down, pulling me back to his chest as he kicks his shoes off. That is a bit overly familiar for my liking.
“You have caused quite the stir this morning,” he says with a chuckle. “Are you feeling okay, Princess?”
“Yes, fine,” I say, turning my head away from him. I don’t particularly want to be snuggled up to him in this way. “Are you?” I ask politely and he laughs.
“I am better now, my love. I told Aelfric that next time I go, he doesn’t get to keep me as long. A month is too much to bear.”
Aelfric?
“Good,” I say as it is clearly something I am supposed to say.
“Drake was at Court,” he carries on conversationally, like I am supposed to know who that is.
“Oh?” I murmur. Drake…? Oh! As in King of the Dark Fae Drake, as in my supposed father?
“Yes, he was there to ensure I got back here before noon. He is not keen on waiting much longer,” he says. “Your father is the most impatient man I think I have ever met. Next to my own, of course.”
So, he is my father. Well. This is turning out to be quite interesting. At least educational if a little unnerving.
“Hm,” I say noncommittally.
Sebastian pulls me up and turns me to face him. “You don’t seem to be very happy that I have returned this day. I thought you wanted this as much as I do?” he asks, worried.
“I do,” I say as he clearly thinks that she does. “I’m sorry, I am just tired.” This always works where I come from. Not so much here though as he frowns at me.
“Aefre, we need to make love now, today. We cannot miss this opportunity and then have to wait another six months. Our Kingdoms are waiting. They are expecting this baby. It is of the utmost importance. You know that.”
Baby? Oh, motherfucker…
Chapter 2
“Baby?” I croak and get a worried look in return.
“Aefre. You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” he asks desperately.
‘Baby’ keeps rattling around in my head and is bouncing off ‘Aefre’. How come he calls me that here? Oh, this is bad, so bad.
I shake my head as he looks terrified. “I am just a bit disconcerted this morning,” I say by way of an explanation.
“Disconcerted?” he asks, relieved. “I don’t think I have ever seen you anything but strong.” He tenderly brushes my hair away from my face. “I like you this way,” he whispers before he kisses me again.
Oh, crap. I can’t be changing the way people look at her. This is no good. I either have to come clean or act this out as she would. This is still her body so any baby making will be her problem, not mine, after I get back to my world. Besides, she is probably having it off with any one of my boys right now in my body. Tit for tat, I think irrationally as I obviously don’t know for sure what she is doing or if she is even there. I am just trying to justify having sex with Sebastian, as holy cow he is doing things to me that I have never felt before. His hands are leaving blazing trails all over me and that cold, dark space in my soul that is being ripped at by this Thirteen monster is finally getting warm and light again.
“Oh, Sebastian,” I murmur as he pulls away to take his clothes off. Wait, we are still on the bed she shares with her husband. This is kind of weird, but I forget all that when he kisses me again and pushes my robe apart. He sucks on my nipples and I feel myself get wet in response to him. Shit, I need to stop this. Right now. It is going to be hard to resist him when I get home at this rate. He wasn’t kidding when he said how he could make me feel. Oh, no…what if she goes off and has sex with him in my body? What if
I get up the duff with the future Empress because of her? Shit, shit, shit. I hope she stays away from him. But I know that she won’t because, how can she? Not when she has this with him.
Oh, just stop thinking for five minutes and enjoy this, I scold myself.
So, I do. Oh, but I do enjoy it immensely. This fizzy, fiery Fae connection thing aside, (as that has to be what it is) he is incredibly skilled. His bite is sharp and sweet and makes me come as soon as his fangs pierce my flesh and when I bite him as I move over him it sends him over the edge and the taste of him is pure and delicious. His hands splayed on my back are burning and I feel alive, perfect, and complete.
Fuck.
I push us back to the bed and kiss his chest and rest my head there as our breathing slows.
“Oh, Aefre,” he whispers. “You are amazing. I love you so much. I wish that we could be together properly. I wish I could take you from him. I would never hurt you like he does.”
Hm, interesting. Constantine said something before about her being upset with him. I wonder what he did? It can’t be the Serena thing, not when he knows about and approves of this thing she has with Sebastian. She can’t be that petty, surely.
I have no response for him because I daren’t say the wrong thing, and well, now that we have just done that, I can’t really tell him I am not who he thinks I am. This is a disaster, so I just smile at him serenely and kiss him to distract him. It works like a charm and soon he has me on my back, pounding into me as if there is no tomorrow. He flops forward and kisses me and then settles back into the pillows, pulling me to him, my back to his chest. We lie in silence for a while and then he kisses me and makes love to me again and I know that I should stop him, but I just can’t. It is too late now anyway. I must fall asleep eventually as I wake to the sound of voices. I stay where I am though, pretending to still be sleeping as I may learn some things while they talk. They being Constantine and Sebastian. Sebastian is still in the bed with me, which I find unbelievably awkward and I surreptitiously pull the sheet a bit higher over me to cover my naked breasts.