He grinned. “Just Blue. Gods. I’m three thousand years old, give a take a few decades.”
I gasped, eyes going wide. “But I thought only full-blooded fae could live that long.”
“There’s much more to me than meets the eye, little one.”
“Jeez, when you call me that, I think you really mean it now. What the hell do you find so interesting about me? I’m a baby compared to you.”
He snorted. “You’ve made my life interesting. Hard to do when you’ve basically seen it all. But you’re the daughter of two Horsemen.” He clucked his tongue. “Never met one of you before.”
“Have you always known that? Did you keep it from me all along just like everyone else?”
Tipping his long neck back, he laughed, causing his Adam’s apple to bob hypnotically. I touched my hand to it, knowing I shouldn’t touch him quite so much. It wasn’t right, wasn’t fair to him, not if what he’d told me before was true. I could never feel a tenth for Blue of what I felt for Mercer.
His eyes were heated when he turned to stare back down at me. “I know you don’t love me like I do you, Scar,” he said as though he’d read my mind. I snatched my hand back, but he refused to let me and gripped it tightly in his. “But I don’t need reciprocity. You know what I am, how my powers grow strongest.”
As he spoke, I felt the air thicken with the dew of sexual magnetism, the reckless and wild lust that only his kind—the sex fae—could elicit. It wasn’t driven by feelings and emotions. It was instinct, wild, raw, and dirty.
I wet my lips.
Blue shook his head, clamping down on the magnetism until there was nothing left but a slight tingle.
I gasped, heaving for breath against his body, wishing I could beg him to give me the release I so desperately needed even as I warred with my own traitorous need to remain loyal to a man who’d not been loyal to me.
“But I would never take anything from you that you weren’t willing to give. So let’s get dressed already, shall we?” he asked, voice cracking, which I politely ignored.
I nodded, and let him dry me off.
Blue seemed to enjoy pampering me, and right now, I didn’t mind. I let him do whatever he wanted to me.
“I am clay in your hands. Mold me, Master.”
He laughed as he worked on my blow out. “Now, now, little flower. Don’t say things you don’t really mean.”
He worked in silence after that, conjuring piles of makeup and all sorts of other junk. He was a master of his craft, and I felt honored that a man like him had ever bothered to notice me.
I remembered the first time we’d met at the honky-tonk, the way his eyes had followed me, all hot and full of interest.
I’d known he was trouble then. The very best kind of trouble.
I smiled softly to myself. “Have you made up with Gareth, yet?”
“I invited him to my room tonight, if you must know, nosy.”
I snorted and patted my chest. “Not nosy. Just curious.”
“Pretty sure it’s the same thing, sweetheart.” He sighed deeply, staring down at me. “And you will come to my room tonight too.”
There was no sexual banter or teasing in his words, just something that sounded like quiet resignation.
I frowned. “I don’t really think that’s how a hook-up works. I mean, unless you’re into threesomes, which whatever, but I’m really not up for that right now.”
“Oh, my sweet little friend, you are ridiculous sometimes.” He joked and shook his head slightly. “I do not generally share my pets, but that is not what I’ll be needing you for tonight. Unless you want to, of course.”
He winked.
I chuckled but shook my head.
He resumed working for a few minutes, brushing highlighter on my cheeks before saying, “Oh, by the way, I had Gareth bring over some supplies of blood while you were asleep earlier.”
I lifted my brows, stomach swiftly flipping over itself as the craving for blood suddenly stirred inside me.
I moaned. “I think I could drink ten baggies of the stuff. Too bad it’s not shifter, but the way I feel right now, even human blood would taste like ambrosia.”
Grinning, he nodded with his chin toward a cup I’d not seen sitting on the mirrorless vanity earlier. “There. It’s supposed to be better than shifter blood, whatever the hell that stuff is, or so I was told.”
“Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it,” I said, but leaned forward and greedily snatched up the cup.
The first sip knocked me for a loop, and I sucked in a sharp, intoxicating breath as my insides raged with frost and fire. “Oh dear goddess above,” I said, voice going sex-kitten breathy, “what the hell did he say this stuff was?”
It was embarrassing, but I was pretty sure I would orgasm from this stuff. My nipples were stiff, my thighs were trembling, and I was drenched with need.
He smirked, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “He didn’t. Now, drink up like a good girl while Daddy finishes your makeup.”
I shuddered. “Don’t ever call me a good girl while you refer to yourself as Daddy again. Yeck, that was gross.”
He laughed, and this time, the sound was full of delight.
I drank and drank, not stopping for breath, coming at least ten times in the process, shuddering and moaning like a harlot, cheeks flaming every time Blue winked back at me.
When it was gone, and I’d pretty much licked the inside of the cup dry, I mournfully sat the cup back down.
“Hmm,” he said just a second later.
“Don’t say it,” I warned him with a raised finger.
He shrugged. “What?”
His eyes were innocent, but that pouty, pretty face didn’t fool me for a second. “Yeah, I thought so.”
“I mean, it’s not my fault that your bastard clearly didn’t know how to handle the snake in his pants. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you come so hard. Ugh. Ugh. UGH!” he pantomimed, and I smacked him.
“You’re a pig!” But I did laugh. Couldn’t help it.
After a second, he fanned his hand over my face. “Stop crying like a little bitch. You’re ruining my masterpiece.”
“Well, stop being so damn funny! Your fault.” I glowered.
His movements were rough as he fixed the mess I’d probably made, before finally stepping back and smirking. “Truce?”
I shrugged. “Truce.”
“You know,” he said softly, “you’re going to win, right?”
I thinned my lips, clutching my fluttering stomach. Gods, whatever had been in that blood, in addition to the fabulous orgasms it’d given me, made me feel good. Like, really good.
Like, I could fly good.
I really needed to find out what kind of blood that’d been. I was like a junkie looking for a fix, now. I wet my lips, wishing I still had more.
“You can’t know that.”
He gripped my chin in his strong, long fingers. “Oh, I can, love. I really can. You made us all love you.”
I sniffed. “While that’s very sweet, I’m pretty sure I’ll be late if we don’t hurry this up here.”
I had to say it, because I couldn’t afford to feel weak or emotional when meeting the Campbell. I had to be at my strongest. And as much as I liked this softer side of Blue, sentimentality was an emotion I could not afford right now.
“Ah, of course. Then all there is left to do is the dress. I hope you like it.”
Helping me stand, he walked me out of the bathroom area and into the living area, where a gown of black mesh and silk cutouts lay on the couch.
It was gorgeous, threaded through with bits of gold and looking like something straight out of a fairy tale.
Resting on the cushion beside it was a crown of leaves dipped in gold. I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands.
“Blue... I...”
“Just say thank you, flower.”
“Thank you.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed. “A million times, thank you.”
“
I have my moments.” He grinned. “And so you know, the boy is safe with Helen. She was only too keen to watch your brother.”
“Gods above.” I rolled my eyes. “I can only imagine the mischief those two will get into.”
He chuckled. “Likely so. But you should know there is no better guardian for him in faery than her. No shifter can get to him now.”
Leaning on tiptoe, I kissed his warm cheek softly, and he held me tight, body pinging like a wound up spring before he gently let me go.
“You’re a good man, Blue. I’ll never forget this.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and pursed his lips. “Not sure I like being a good man. Much rather be a bad one, I think. Too many messy feelings involved in all of this.”
I laughed and then dressed quickly.
The Campbell awaited.
Chapter 15
Scarlett
I hadn’t taken the time to check myself out in a mirror before I’d left. I’d been too nervous to think about anything other than what the Campbell wanted and whether I’d see Mercer there. I thought maybe there would be a chance to get him alone, get him to tell me what was really happening to him, prove to him somehow that I was an asset, even if at the moment it didn’t exactly feel like it.
Judging by the heated looks—both friendly and very, very unfriendly—tossed my way, I was pretty sure that Blue had rocked it. Again. But I was too nervous to revel in that fact, so I smoothed my skirt down again.
The dress was a masterpiece. On the one hand, I showed a ton of skin beneath the gauzy black mesh. On the other, the cutouts revealed just enough to display only a teasing glimpse of me. Dita Von Teese would have been jealous.
James reached for my hand, holding it tight, and leaned in. “Ye look fine, lass. Just breathe. We’ll be there soon.”
I swallowed, glancing at him. Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one who’d required a guard of stormtroopers to flank his way there. I was surrounded by a bevy of nearly naked shifter flesh, some as pale as the driven snow, others as dark as the deepest shadows of midnight, and everything in between. And to a man, they’d been weighed down with a cache of weapons. Guns. Knives. And I was sure I’d seen the unmistakable outline of a mace hidden behind the vest of one of them.
They were letting me know, in no uncertain terms, just where I stood in the pecking order. Not a one had smiled at me or even greeted me. All their questions had been directed to James. Gareth had been conspicuously absent, and I couldn’t help but wonder why. He’d been my guard since I’d gotten here, not that I liked having one, but better the devil you knew than the one you didn’t.
Boo’s charm radiated a warm glow against my chest. He rarely showed himself to me anymore. There was a sense of peace about my one-time lover that told me I might not have him with me for much longer. I had felt his need to move on lately and knew the only reason he held himself back was for me.
Maybe once we left this prison, I’d release him for good. It would make me sad, but he’d more than earned his rest. We all had.
Realizing that Blue would flay me alive if he saw me fidgeting this way, I dropped my hands and raised my eyes, looking straight ahead and wearing a blank mask as I felt the hard, cruel gazes of those around me watching, waiting for me to screw up.
Unlike the Infantes castle, which had been high on glam and all things posh, this place felt completely different. It was Old World, like I’d stepped back in time to another era entirely, when men had painted their bodies with war paint and raped and pillaged whatever they wanted, and women were nothing more than another means of commerce for them.
By the time we walked inside the large chamber and I saw the man himself seated on a utilitarian throne of polished wood, I was so wound up that my gums were starting to itch.
He was dressed in a pair of simple jeans, barefoot, and wearing an unbuttoned black shirt that showcased the melted ruin of his face and chest—the damage traveled down the side of his body as well. But there was no mistaking the power of his figure. He might be long in the tooth, but the man kept himself in peak physical condition.
I licked my fangs as the blood Blue had fed me pumped like a tsunami through my veins, heightening all my senses.
I could literally see the steady beat of the vein in his neck, letting me know the Campbell was far more at ease right now than I was. His eyes held mine steadily, letting me take in my fill of him.
“Have you seen enough?” he asked, grit-filled voice echoing through the vast room. “Or would you care to see more?” His fingers played idly with the buttons of his shirt, teasing me. But if he meant to throw me off, it didn’t work. I’d lived around shifters all my undead life.
“I’ve seen more than enough, Majesty.”
“Ah.” He cocked his head, appearing pleased by my use of the title. “A vampire with pack knowledge. You are as extraordinary as I was told.”
His intelligent gaze dropped to my collarbone, right where my mark used to be. My dress covered the wound, but that look flayed me to the bone. Fucking prick. I knew he knew. I could see the hubris glittering in his eyes.
His accent was as lyrical as I recalled it being the night before. Scottish, just like James’s, but with that lowland lilt that made it seem more highborn English. Everything about this Alpha was mesmerizing, meant to draw the unwary in, so that they failed to spot the danger before it was too late. The Campbell had an air of trustworthiness, but it was more of a weapon that he employed with deadly accuracy than a true character trait.
It would be to my detriment to trust a word that came out of this man’s mouth. If I’d been shifter, maybe I could have. But as vampire, I was in just as deep as I’d been with Cole.
“Is the vampire afraid of me? Is that why she refuses to approach my throne?” His voice was deadly silk.
I raised a brow and grinned pleasantly, forcing a steadiness to my tone I was far from feeling. “I would approach the Alpha, were it not for the guards you’ve set upon me. They make it most impossible to side step, I fear.”
His grin curved into a sickle shape, and he sat up straighter on his seat. With a flick of his fingers, the guards melted away. Like, literally just faded off into the corners of the room and hid in shadows. I felt their hard eyes on me, but I could no longer see them.
My skin tingled with goosebumps. James, who hadn’t left my side, gave a slight cough.
My cue, I supposed, that it was time to stare into the face of the big bad wolf.
Thank the gods I knew how to strut in heels. I walked toward him like a diva on a fashion runway. His eyes were hot, hard, and contemplative.
James kept pace with me. We stopped at the bottom of the three steps. As far as placing himself on a pedestal, the Campbell hadn’t really done it. Yes, he was elevated, but anyone taller than me would stand above him.
But that was show, and the Campbell was wise enough to know it. His power wasn’t dependent on smoke and mirrors. His power radiated off him in smothering waves.
I curled my fingers into my skirt.
His eyes immediately zeroed in on my momentary flicker of unease.
Tenebris, who I could really use as my ally right now, was unnaturally quiet. And by that, I meant, there wasn’t even a trace of her in me right now. It was like she was just gone.
Which didn’t worry me at all.
Nope.
Not one bit.
Note the sarcasm.
“I make you nervous, don’t I, vampire?”
I chuckled, the sound deep and throaty. I could lie, but a shifter—especially this shifter—would see right through it. I was good at pretending, but there was no way in hell I could fool him. So I shrugged and spread my palms.
“I would be a fool to say otherwise. I am the only vampire on this estate, or even your massive grounds. I would say my position here is precarious at best. Though I thank the Campbell—”
He held up his scarred hand. “In this informal setting, you may call me by my Christian name, Declan
.”
I tipped my head in acknowledgement of his generosity. This was a hard man, no doubt, but I had no problem understanding his appeal to his people, either. Tough but fair, a trait only the best leaders shared.
“Declan,” I corrected myself, “I wanted to thank you for the use of my... sleeping chamber,” I said, aware of the dozens of other ears around.
I doubted any of them would be stupid enough to move against the Campbell’s wishes, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
He lowered his lashes. “Think nothing of it. I’ve no use for it anymore. I hope it’s been a suitable arrangement for you all.”
He said this not to me, but to James.
James, who I’d always believed to be a kind of romantic lone wolf creature who’d bow to no man, gave a sweeping and honorific bow. “It has. Ye’ve been a most gracious host.”
“Well, myself and the other Alphas, certainly,” Declan said without an ounce of humility for his outright lie.
I’d seen the rest of the Alpha council, and neither of them held the kind of sway or power the Campbell did. It was obvious who the true leader of the shifter nation was.
As if sensing my thoughts, Declan raised a brow and turned to me, that ghost of a smirk still firmly on his face as he tapped his fingers rhythmically on his armrest. Each tap set my nerves jangling, making me want to grind my teeth in frustration.
Why the fuck had he brought me here? To gloat over me? To watch me like one would a circus freak, wondering what the strange vampire might do next?
Smirk never waivering, he said, “I’m sure you’d like to know why I called you here.”
It wouldn’t do to babble on like an idiot, like I really, really wanted to do right now. So I forced myself to nod. “I’ve wondered.”
Those bold, intelligent eyes raked over me again, assessing me, studying me. If he liked what he saw, that was second only to his reasons for bringing me here in the dead of night while most of the shifters were long abed.
“I can see why Mercer risked it all for you. Vampires,” he scoffed, scratching at his chin as though amused by something he’d said.
The Vampire Went Down to Georgia (Southern Vampire Detective Book 3) Page 19