It hurt. Ah, inside he was dying and he didn’t know why. Deceiving her was wrong, so wrong, but he’d been doing nothing but deceiving for so long—he wasn’t sure he even knew how to tell someone the truth.
He deepened the kiss, taking her mouth with a desperation he knew was because this was the last time. He had to give her up. But first he’d steal this last moment.
CASSIE SURRENDERED herself to Bosco’s need. She didn’t know what had caused the almost violent urgency under his kiss, but she could feel it coming off of him in waves. She might not know what had caused it, but she did understand it. She’d felt this way too many times in the last three months—like the world had left her here and given up on her. Like she’d been lost and would never be found.
And now, she found herself in his kiss, discovering a fervent passion and something heart-wrenching. They were both naked, nothing but the blanket and his towel separating their bodies, but they stayed connected, their mouths touching.
He shuddered and she wrapped her arms around him and clung to him, sweet, hot emotion pouring back and forth between them. He ended the kiss. Burying his face in the crook of her neck he hung on to her, breathing hard.
“I want...” His words were smothered in her neck.
“Shh.” She held tightly to him, rocking to and fro. “It’s okay.”
He pulled away. His eyes were dark and haunted. “No, it’s not. But I want you anyway.”
She rubbed the base of her thumb along his mouth, tracing the damp track of their kiss. Then she opened the blanket up and invited him inside.
And he came. Bringing with him a desperation that caught her heart on fire. His kisses grew fast and flurried down her neck, spreading heat and desire through her body. He settled between her thighs and she opened for him, the weight of his erection pressing against her hip. He was everywhere at once. Kissing her neck and her breasts, down her belly, across her thighs.
“I want to give this to you. I want to give you everything, so when I’m gone, you’ll remember me.” He found her center and she arched hard into his mouth.
“Yes,” she said. “Oh, yes. I’ll remember you.” She couldn’t think, and didn’t want to. He tongued her, using his mouth and his fingers, until she forgot everything but him and her desire. Everything but her need as she arched up and came writhing on the bed.
When she thought she couldn’t take anymore he climbed up and moved on top of her.
“Look at me.”
She did, examining him as if it were the first time. He was exotic and fine, paler than snow with eyes blacker than the deepest black. This was the face no one else in the castle had seen, the real man under the glamour.
“Bosco,” she whispered, touching his face. Memorizing the fine hairs that formed the arch of his brow. The small scar at the side of his mouth. The sadness and loss he hid from the world.
She took him into her body, feeling the rise of his emotion washing into her. Taking her to a place she wasn’t sure anyone ever recovered from. A place of loss, and loneliness. And longing.
He would go. She could see it in his eyes. And she’d never forget him. How could she? She couldn’t remember any other lover and she didn’t think she’d ever have another one who drew on her heart like this, pulling out heartbreak with the pleasure so that as they rocked their hips together she nearly cried.
The movement of his cock increased and she closed her eyes. Head thrown back she rocked into her orgasm, digging her fingers into his back. He shuddered with her and came, the sound and intensity of his orgasm pulling her in, drowning her in desire. A door inside her heart opened—a door she hadn’t even known she’d locked shut. As his thrusts slowed the second orgasm swept through her, followed by a golden haze so bright she thought the sun had swept the curtains aside and glared into the room. Every nerve tingled with the light singing through her. Magic chased along her skin.
Her magic.
Her aura, clean and bright and the color of a fresh new day. She opened her eyes and stared straight into Bosco’s. “I remember.”
Chapter Nineteen
Haddon woke up bright and early. Well, early afternoon. He stretched out in his empty oversize bed and thought he really should take another, more permanent lover. Here he was awake and horny and there was no one to service his needs. He rolled out of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. He pissed into the toilet and realized he was humming. A slow smile crossed his face.
What a turn-around from where he’d thought he was last night. He couldn’t believe he’d managed to talk the queen around to seeing his point of view, not after her throwing half the breakables in that room at him. No, everything was going according to plan. He finished up and washed his hands, staring at his own face in the mirror. Really, he should smile more often. It gave his face such a dashing air. He lifted a brow at his reflection and his smile grew. Yes, what lover could resist that? He lost the smile. There were a few, but no bother. He had other inducements besides his pretty face.
He started the shower then rang for his manservant. Where was he? He should be here the moment Haddon woke up. He shook off the irritation. He wasn’t going to let anything ruin this day. The queen was back under his control. He’d put her to bed with a sedative and today he’d make sure she took the drugs. All of them. With Kian nearly on the run he wanted to be sure he could tip her over the edge into a final bout of madness and finally take over the court, without interference.
The water in the shower was the perfect temperature when he got in, but his stupid manservant had yet to arrive. The water coursed over his body, easing the stress over the man’s late arrival. No matter. He wasn’t king—yet.
He had an appointment with Cassandra in an hour. That was going well. The chit hadn’t given him any trouble since Bosco had taken over. Getting her laid was one of his best ideas yet. And Bosco was the perfect choice. He had no worrisome relatives at court. No one to intercede on his behalf. If he screwed up, no one would care if Haddon had him executed.
No one at all.
Haddon’s grin grew larger. Queen under control. Cassandra under control. And Bosco was there to take the fall, should there be any issues. Really, this was a phenomenal day. Now where was that idiot who was supposed to help him dress?
Chapter Twenty
Cassie gripped Bosco’s shoulders. She remembered! Joy flooded her system, leaving her skin and blood tingling.
The glow of her magic faded away but, unlike the last few months, it still swirled, bright gold, under the surface of her consciousness. Having it there, where she knew she could draw on it if she needed to, was overwhelming. She almost couldn’t think, with all the memories flooding her brain.
“I remember,” she said again.
His face shuttered closed and he rolled off of her. Rearranging the pillows so he could sit up.
“What do you remember?” His tone was guarded.
“I remember I love daffodils and the smell of fresh rain. I remember kissing Billy Thompson behind the auditorium in fifth grade. I remember when I chopped off all my hair and cried for a week.” She slid off of him onto the mattress. “I’m me! I’m Cassie MacElvy. I have a sister and a cousin and a mom.” A lump formed in her throat. “Oh, my mom must be so scared.”
Everything was wrong, and everything was right. She knew who she was! She loved the crisp snap when you bit into a green apple. She hated eggplant and Brussels sprouts. And suddenly she missed her family with an ache that felt like having Thor’s hammer shoved into her chest.
Bosco reached for her, his dark eyes sympathetic, but she stayed on her side of the bed. Even he seemed wrong and right. Just minutes ago they’d shared something deep. She’d felt her heart open up to the possibilities between them. But now, even as he was the same man she’d just had sex with, he was also an elf.
A word that felt distasteful in her Princess Cassandra mouth. But one that was as familiar to her as breathing to her Cassie self.
“Cassie?”
“I don’t know who I am.” She looked at him. Her lover. A stranger. An enemy.
Now that she knew who she was, she also knew that the queen’s elves had killed her father, her aunts, her uncles. Killed countless cousins and relatives until the entire tribe of MacElvy gypsies was down to just four. Maybe now it was just one. Just her.
“I thought your memories had returned?”
“Yes, but I’m two people. It’s like I’m me, the princess, and I’m also the girl who grew up in the real world.” She stretched out her hands, staring at her foreign fingers.
Her hands were longer and thinner than she thought they should be. Her fingernails were tipped in silver sparkles. A curving silver bracelet spiraled up her forearm. She’d never seen it before and yet she knew she’d woken up with it as Cassandra.
She ran to the full length mirror across the room and stared at the woman inside. Tall, elegant. Her eyes were the same emerald green, but the irises were fractured into crystals. Just like all the other Tuathan lords and ladies in the castle. Just like the queen and Haddon and even Bosco.
“I think I’m taller and thinner.” She touched her cheek. Her skin had the same redhead’s paleness, but her freckles were gone, leaving a creamy, even complexion. “And my skin. Wow. It’s gorgeous.” She stared at the stranger in the mirror who she’d been for the last three months and tried to wrap her brain around it.
It was like having a plastic surgeon take her and decide for her what she should look like and she’d ended up with something gorgeous and exotic. And it was so not her that she wanted to cry.
She turned back to Bosco. “They super-modeled me.” Anger surged through her.
Bosco stared at her, his eyes black with sympathy.
“How did they do this?” She touched the face in the mirror. Hot tears built up behind her eyes. “Is it permanent?”
“I don’t know.”
“You saw the spell. Can I get rid of it?”
“I saw a spell, but I don’t think this is it. That spell was holding your Gift back. This, this is something else.”
“But it’s a spell, right? Can’t it be undone?”
His voice was gentle. “Something like this takes more power than I’ve ever seen. They’ve changed you physically, inside and out. I don’t think it can be reversed.”
Confusion, anger, fear all raged through her like a tornado meeting a hurricane and ripping through town.
“She did this to me. She and that slimy weasel of an advisor.” She remembered now. She remembered the months of torture down in the dungeons. Resisting until she was nearly dead. “She turned me into an elf, a princess no less! Just so I would work for her willingly. I’ve been doing it for months, using my Gift to wage her war.” She remembered it all. The sessions with Haddon. The way he’d hypnotize her and steal her Goddess-given information.
Sudden black spots danced in front of her eyes. Her knees buckled and she sagged onto the bed. “Oh Danu, no.”
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s been using me to spy on the prince.” Her stomach twisted. “And my sister—Bryanna. I’ve been giving information to the enemy all this time.” The world whirled.
He pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry.”
She huddled in his embrace. “My sister. My mother. The last time I saw them they were fighting to get away from the queen.”
“Shh, just let it go for now.” He held her close and stroked her hair and it felt good. When she was in his arms she forgot he was elvatian. He was just Bosco. He smelled the same. He felt the same. Snuggled up in his arms she realized he hadn’t changed, she had. And she still felt safe in his arms while her world crashed down.
Hot tears coursed down her cheeks. She cried for her mother, Bryanna and Trina, relieved that she finally remembered them, but oh so afraid. Scared to death about what had happened to them since she’d last seen them fighting for their lives.
She snuffled and swiped a tear off of her face. “I’m sorry. I’m a mess.”
“Here, take this.”
He handed her a clean handkerchief from the dispenser on her bedside table and she had a moment of double vision. At home, they would be tissues. Here, they were clean pressed cloths the army of servants made sure were ready for her to use.
“The queens of Underhill are stone cold bitches. Every single one of them, Black, White, Red. They have no remorse. They steal everything that is good and kind and leave you with nothing but ashes.” His eyes were hard and flat.
What the hell had happened to him in the past? She had no idea and she wasn’t sure he’d ever tell her. It looked devastating. Enough to make a man change into someone, or something, else.
“So, what do you want to do now?”
She thought about it. She’d cried. That was done. She had her Gift, but it was a human witch’s Gift. It was nothing compared to any of the fae in the castle. She had even less active magic than a flower fairy or a sylph. She was worse off than before when she’d been the pathetic lost princess. But she knew who she was now. She was Cassie MacElvy, one of the last of a proud gypsy tribe. A fighter. And she wasn’t going down easy.
She wiped her eyes, and blew her nose, and turned back to face Bosco.
“This woman has killed nearly every person on Earth I’m related to. She hounded us. Persecuted us. She stole my childhood from me and now she’s used me to try to take out what’s left of my family.”
She was within arms length of the Black Queen. There was no doubt in her mind what she needed to do.
“Kill the bitch.”
Bosco pulled Cassie back over to his side of the bed. “Let’s take a minute.”
She was in danger. So much danger that she’d be safer anywhere else, even in the depths of the Dark Forest, or handed over to his employer. Even frozen on display in the halls of the White Queen.
He wrapped her in his arms. She felt right there, like he could keep her safe forever. “I can’t believe you’re not dead already. Why did she keep you alive?” He stroked her hair, marveling at the transformation he still couldn’t believe had happened. “You’re a MacElvy witch. She’s spent nearly two decades systematically hunting all the MacElvy’s down, killing them one-by-one.” He squeezed her tight, never wanting to let go and knowing he had to. “We have to get you out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She pulled away and got out of bed, flinging the curtains wide and letting the afternoon sun stream in. “I’m not running. This is the perfect opportunity. We’ll never have another chance like this. I’m here, in her castle, and she doesn’t suspect a thing. I have to stay.” She turned away from the beauty of the afternoon. “You can help me or not, but I’m going to take the queen down.”
Heat boiled inside his belly, but he choked it down. He wanted to yell at her. To gather her up and stuff her in his bag with all his clothes. To hide her from everyone and everything who meant her harm. Especially the queen.
“What do you mean you’re not going anywhere?” He kept his voice calm, despite his inner turmoil. “We have to get you out. Now. Before they know that you have your memories.”
“No. I have an appointment with Haddon this afternoon, and I’m keeping it.”
“No you’re not!” He couldn’t stay in the bed any longer. He got up and paced, back and forth, the large bedroom suddenly too small for his frustration. “You’re a MacElvy. I don’t know why she didn’t kill you on sight.”
“I’m going.”
“What the hell do you do at these appointments?”
“Haddon helps me to use my Gift.” She shook her head. “Ironic, isn’t it.”
“I don’t understand. I thought you didn’t have access to your Gift before today.”
“Don’t you get it? Haddon’s been helping me,” she said again. “I haven
’t been able to access my magic unless he puts me under with hypnosis. Now I know my Gift’s been there the whole time and he’s been triggering the spell to release it.” She hugged herself. “I thought my magic was gone. Now I know it’s not gone, it just isn’t fae.”
“What do you mean, it’s not fae? You have magic, I can feel it.”
“But it’s weak, witch’s magic.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Call fire.”
He frowned. “I don’t see what difference that will make.”
“Just call it.”
He snapped his fingers. Fire appeared, shooting between his finger and his thumb.
“See how easy it is for you? The fae have easy access to magic, to their Gifts. It’s literally at your fingertips. Humans—witches, like me—have to use spells. We have to center and ask the Goddess for help. It’s never easy and my Gift is at the whim of the Goddess, more than most.” Her face clouded over. “I thought I was broken. That my magic was gone, but it turns out it’s fine.” She gave a humorless laugh. “I had it all the time and that bastard let me think I was screwed up, a lost little girl who needed help and protection.”
“He helped you by disengaging the spell that’s in your aura and letting you access your Gift, but you can access it now. What if he tries to trigger the spell and it’s gone? He’ll kill you. Or reinstate the spell. How do you know your magic is there? Have you tried it?”
“I can feel it, like a rush of golden light, but I’m not sure if I can access it or not. My Gift usually manifests at the will of the Goddess. She sends me visions, whether I like it or not. Anything other than my visions takes a lot of effort.” She pursed her lips. “If the spell is still there I don’t want to disturb it and alert Haddon. Can you look?” She must have seen his reluctance. “Please? You didn’t bother it before. I know you’ll be more careful than me.”
He wanted to tell her no. That it didn’t matter if the spell was there or not, she shouldn’t keep the appointment with Haddon. She should run like the devil himself was after her. But he set a quick circle and delved into her aura.
Enchanted: A Fae Fantasy Romance (Fae Magic Book 3) Page 15