“I’m hungry.” Mai rubbed her arms. “You want to hit one of the fast-food joints?”
“That would be unwise,” a fourth voice entered our conversation. “Your admirer just left.”
“We don’t want to risk bumping into him on the sidewalk.” I nodded. “Gotcha.”
Beside me, Mai shivered. “Delivery?”
“That sounds perfect.” I hooked my arm through hers. “We’ll eat and rent movies to watch until we fall asleep.”
After collecting our belongings from the storage locker, we headed up to our room. There we found Diode in a compromising position on the carpet in the living room. He didn’t pause his grooming session to acknowledge us, but he did swivel his eyes to watch our grim procession.
He hacked once. “What happened?”
We told him, and he began pacing. The more I watched, the more certain I was he was growing before my eyes.
Like sands through a flip-flop thong, our perfect vacation was slipping through our fingers—toes?
“Beaches are a favorite hunting ground for predatory fae,” I said to anyone listening. “They prey on the drunk and drugged-up humans who wash ashore every summer.” I bent to rub Diode. “It’s not like this guy, whoever he is, set out to find us in particular. It was probably a wrong-place, wrong-time deal.” I raked a hand through my damp, stringy hair. “That doesn’t mean I agree with what he’s doing, I don’t.” The conclave accepted fae had to feed and that humans were on the menu, but I didn’t have to like it. “I’ll see if I can get him removed through official channels.” Shaw could coordinate a fae removal with the Florida conclave outpost without dropping my name. “He’ll come back when he gets hungry, though. They always do. Hopefully we’ll be gone before that happens.”
A month ago, this wouldn’t have been an issue. I would have spotted the guy working his mojo in a condo filled with humans and kids, labeled him as high risk, and then gotten rid of him. I would have done it alone, or if I was desperate, I might have called for backup. Now? Forget about it.
Being a princess meant examining all things dangerous and then determining what threat, if any, was posed to me. I hated feeling targeted. I hated having my work taken from me. But I knew the fae were unsettled, and I was an obvious target. Kill me and they got the war so many clamored for.
Before someone lowered the doom-and-gloom hammer on my evening, I addressed the room a second time, hoping for better results. “Food and a movie.” I raised my hand. “Who’s with me?”
Mai lifted a timid hand.
“Good enough.” I headed for my room. “I’ll grab my laptop, and we’ll check out delivery possibilities on the strip.” The rumble in my stomach convinced me dishing out for fast food was a great idea. I would shop for groceries to stock the pantry tomorrow. Tonight, there was a plate of curry chicken calling my name.
Chapter 12
Rook was waiting for me when my eyes closed. He greeted me wearing extravagant black-and-white regalia, some fae cross between a tux and a suit of armor. His pitch-black hair hung in a single braid down his spine. His pale skin luminesced, and his sharp eyes mocked my slack-jawed reaction.
We stood on black-and-white checkered tiles made from polished marble. There were no walls or ceiling. Beyond the floor lurked an abyss. Over our heads, stars twinkled in unfamiliar constellations. I awarded bonus points for the enormous moon hanging overhead, so round and bright it lit the room.
I stood before him in a T-shirt, panties and fuzzy yellow socks. “I was wearing pajama shorts when I went to sleep.”
His tone was all kinds of innocent. “Were you?”
I concentrated very hard on wearing jeans, and they appeared. “Why so formal?”
Rook scowled at my wardrobe choice. “To be treated as a royal, one must look the part.”
“Okay.” I gestured around us. “What’s all this?”
He snapped his fingers, and classical music filled the air. Narrow white bars snapped into place, creating four walls that boxed us into a square-shaped room. As the song—a waltz, I think—played, each note popped into existence on the corresponding line. Music was being written before our eyes.
“Your coronation ball will be the likes of which Faerie has never beheld,” he promised.
“That’s not necessary, really.” I spun in a slow circle, watching the progression of the song. “I’m not much of a dancer.”
“That’s what all this is for.” He held out his hand. “I want you to shine, Thierry.”
I walked up to him and slapped my hand into his. “By shine, you mean not embarrass you.”
“You could never do that.” He delivered the line with such sincerity, I almost believed him.
Up close Rook’s wood-smoke-and-embers scent enfolded me, and my belly tightened pleasantly.
He reeled me closer, until six inches separated our chests, and beamed at me with such pride, I let myself imagine what our life might be like as a couple. Though his political aspirations had brought us together, Rook was not unaffected by me. And, if I were honest, I wasn’t immune to his appeal. He was a beautiful man. I also suspected he had a decent heart hidden underneath his ambition, but being railroaded into marriage and the whole kidnapping-my-mom thing meant I spent more time dreaming of strangling him than making out with him.
Of course, that could be said about most men in my life.
“What were you thinking about just now?” He peered down at me. “You were smiling.”
“I was thinking of how often I daydream about strangling you.”
“You’re passionate.” He decided, “There are worse attributes in a wife.”
He slid his arm around my waist. His fingers grazed higher, leaving trails of warmth in their wake, until his broad palm rested confidently between my shoulder blades.
“Follow my lead,” he said.
After a few false starts, he taught me a basic box step. Putting those new moves to the music left me muttering counts under my breath and curling my toes out of fear his quick steps would crush my feet through my socks.
“You’re overthinking it.” His grip on my hand tightened. “Focus on the music.” His voice turned persuasive. “On me.”
Against my better judgment, I did as he asked, falling into his dark eyes, following his lead as he hummed along with the music. The longer we danced, the easier we moved, until my legs were sore and my breathing labored. Color splashed his cheeks, and his devilish grin widened.
“It can be like this every night once we’re together.” He sounded wistful.
I misstepped, almost tripping us both, and spun out of his arms. “Is that what this is?”
He stood there, chest heaving, eyes shining, saying nothing. It was answer enough for me.
I shook my head. “I thought you were supposed to be teaching me how to survive Faerie.”
“You will learn, but until then, you have me.”
“That’s been your plan all along.” I felt like an idiot for not seeing it sooner. “The consuls think you’re here, teaching me how to rule Faerie while you’re really here trying to seduce me through my dreams.” When would I learn that trusting Rook never ended well for me? “You want to keep me dependent on you, even if my glaring ignorance gets me killed.”
Muscles leapt in his jaw. “I would never let you be harmed.”
Bitter laughter spilled over my lips. “Oh, that’s right. If I die, so do your dreams.”
“Thierry…”
“No.” I backed away from him. “I’m out of here.”
I woke in my bed, fists clenched in the covers and heart racing with anger. Then, to compound a frustrating situation, I did the one thing even dumber than falling for Rook’s shenanigans. Yet again.
I called Shaw.
Shaw picked up just as I was getting nervous he might not. I should have taken the cosmic out I had been given, but no. I hung on the line, counting the rings until they almost put me to sleep.
“Hey.”
His gra
veled voice jolted me as I drifted halfway between sleep and wakefulness.
“Thierry?”
“Sorry.” I shifted onto my side. “I’m here.”
“You’re up late. Are you keeping night hours?”
I worked dusk until dawn most times because the hunting was easier, but there was no point now.
“Not so much.” I rubbed my eyes. “How about you?”
“If I hadn’t forgotten to turn off my ringer, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“I shouldn’t have called so early.” A guilty twinge hit me. “I’ll let you get back to sleep.”
“You called for a reason.” He sounded more alert. “What’s up?”
I reflected on the details of the dream and decided to make this about him. “How’s your case?”
Maybe too alert. “That’s not why you called.”
Damn him for knowing me so well. “It’s complicated.”
“You should print that on business cards.” Amusement saturated his voice. “Do you really want details?”
“Spill.” As I said it, I realized I meant it. I hoped his trip wasn’t a bust like mine had been so far.
“I exhausted my best lead.” He exhaled. “One grainy security feed placed Jenna in the area, but now I don’t know if I can trust myself to be objective. It looked like her, but not like her. She was rail thin for one thing. Jenna was always curvy, especially after she had the kids. Her walk was all wrong, her motions jerky and uncoordinated. Things change in ten years, but that much? I’m not convinced it was her.”
I sensed he wanted to say more and gave him time to force out the words.
“All this time I figured she was gone,” he said softly. “That was the only thing that made sense. She wouldn’t have left my brother. She loved him, and Ian worshipped her.” He paused. “Being with an incubus is hard long term, but she made it look easy. He was her Ian, and that was that. Even if things got rough between them, she never would have left her kids. Not in a million years.”
A familiar pang rocked me. A wife and kids. Some scrap of hope that should have been stamped out last year lit up at the possibility. Longing in Shaw’s voice tightened my chest. Had his attempt to date me been proof he wanted what his brother once had? Maybe. It hardly mattered now.
I cleared my throat. “Anything I can do?”
He mulled it over a moment. “Not from an hour away.”
I smiled at his dejected tone. “Is that an invitation?”
“It is if it gets you here.”
I sounded skeptical when I asked, “You’re that desperate for help?”
“I’m that desperate to see you.”
I held the phone out at arm’s length, stared at the screen, then placed it back against my ear. “Are you flirting with me?”
He laughed, and heat twined through me. “After all this time, do you really have to ask?”
I bit my lip to keep from blurting yes. Even if Rook wasn’t a factor, our relationship was one hot mess. Shaw might like the idea of fidelity, but he had already struck out once with me. Did he covet the idea of a Happily Ever After: Incubus Edition enough to retry committing to me now that he had no choice but to be faithful? Did I want that kind of relationship? One born from necessity instead of love?
No. I didn’t. I couldn’t do that to either of us. I deserved to find a guy who was genuinely crazy about me, and Shaw deserved the chance to find a woman who could drive him crazy. In a good way.
I kept my tone light. “I can’t exactly sneak over there and back without Mai noticing.”
Another sigh from him punctuated the frustration we shared. “I know.”
We lapsed into a tense quiet filled with things both of us knew better than to say.
He broke the silence first. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me why you called?”
Admit to him how conflicted I felt about my husband? That I had been having tender feelings for Rook before he smashed them? Another, safer option surfaced. “We had some excitement tonight. A fae—I’m not sure what kind—manhandled Mai at the pool. I broke up the altercation, but I got a bad vibe off him.”
“Where were your guards?” He bit off the words.
“They were with me,” I said primly, “but they trusted me to handle it.”
“In other words, they were afraid revealing themselves would mark you as a person of interest.”
I growled in response.
“You couldn’t scent him?” Shaw pressed. “What about the guards? What did they sense?”
I explained my glamour-compulsion combo theory. “All we know for sure is he’s Unseelie.”
Some of the tension bled from his voice. “That gives you a wild card to play if you meet him again. It ought to keep you safe enough.”
Unless he was a member of the Anti-Princess League who would be happy to dispatch me, but I didn’t say that. The guy knew my name. I was betting he knew my title too. So was our new friend a half-blood hater? A Raven loyalist? By engaging with me, was he thumbing his nose at the conclave? Or Faerie? Or both?
I didn’t know, but Shaw was right about one thing. If there was a next time, playing the princess card would accomplish one of two goals. Put the guy in his place or green light the guards to use deadly force in his removal. Either outcome was a win as far as I was concerned.
I tried not to think about the various factions eager to see my crown put back in play. They could keep the thing. They could keep Faerie, too, but first I needed a workaround that didn’t involve loyal subjects lopping off my head to retrieve the aforementioned crown.
I was happy to hand it over, no guillotine required.
Shaw asked no less than what I expected. “What do you want me to do?”
“I was hoping you could mention the guy’s choice of feeding grounds to the marshals at the Florida outpost.”
“I see.”
“They know you’re in the area.” Marshals with threat-level-four designations, like us, had to announce themselves when traveling across state lines. I hadn’t for obvious reasons, but Shaw would have. “It makes sense someone would mention it to you.”
He drew out his response. “Someone who isn’t you.”
Damn he caught on fast.
“Exactly,” I agreed.
He continued, “Because they don’t know where you are.”
Maybe too fast.
I debated fudging the truth, but lies had a way of biting me on the ass. “Not exactly.”
He groaned my name.
I shot into defensive mode. “I’m being careful.”
“You say that, and yet here you are, calling me in the middle of the night.”
“Hey,” I snapped, “you didn’t have to answer.”
“Yes, I did.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“What if you had been in danger?” he demanded.
“I would have figured something out.”
He grunted, unconvinced. “What if something had happened to you?”
I struck a low blow. “Then you wouldn’t be able to feed?”
His anger was a palpable force. “You know a food source isn’t all you are to me.”
I wasn’t sure who I was reminding when I said, “It’s all I can be.”
“And yet…” he pointed out again, “…you made this phone call.”
Damn incubus. His brain must run on moonbeams, because mine was out of gas. I had to end this before I said something I really regretted. “If you’re going to be an ass, forget about it.”
I hung up on Shaw and tossed my phone across the bed. Then it hit me. Crap. No wonder he was pissed. I was supposed to call him earlier to finish our conversation about his adventures in menswear and forgot. I bet he sat there, staring at his display, debating whether to pick up before a sense of duty won out and he finally answered.
Guess this was a night for making bad decisions all around.
Chapter 13
“Rise and shine.”
“No.” I groaned and pulled the covers over my head.
“I made coffee.” Mai hummed. “It smells so good and fresh and delicious and—”
I lowered the cover in increments. “You’re the spawn of Satan.”
“Aww.” She mimed wiping tears. “I’ll tell Daddy you said so. He’ll be so flattered.”
A snort escaped me as I pushed upright and squinted at the sun. “What time is it?”
“Noon.” She passed me the warm mug. “You were out cold. How late did you stay up?”
I covered a yawn. “I don’t know.”
After visiting with Rook and calling Shaw, there hadn’t been much time left for rest.
“I would have let you sleep, but Diode got a burr in his fur about making sure you were alive.”
I fashioned an excuse from Shaw’s assumption. “Switching from third shift to first is always tough.”
“Tell me about it.” She covered her mouth. “I’ve been on first for what—a week? I hate it.”
“Foxes are nocturnal.” I laughed. “You should tell your boss working first shift goes against your nature.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” She plucked at her bottom lip. “I wonder if I could get away with it.”
“Check with Dr. Row in the med ward. If she writes you an excuse, it might work.”
She gave me an appreciative nod. “You’re kind of an evil genius when you first wake up.”
I blew on the coffee in the hopes of not blistering my tongue. “Thanks, I think.”
She flopped onto the mattress. “Now that you’re awake, what do you want to do today?”
I held the mug away from me so the scalding liquid wouldn’t splash down my chest. “Swim? Sunbathe? Play beach volleyball?”
Her voice took on a mischievous quality. “There are gray men in the shallows.”
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