by Terina Adams
“Great. A few minutes in my pocket would’ve done the same job.”
“But not nearly as fun.”
She was losing control of this guy. Time to move into phase two.
Deciding not to risk more contact, she headed for the front door knowing he would follow. Although she knew every inch of this place, navigating the stone steps in the dark was tricky, so she slowed, feeling with her feet.
His hands came around her waist. “You’ve promised too much for me to allow you to fall.”
Christ. Perhaps she’d over done the lewd imagery and salacious emotions back at the club. She needed him bound before things got out of hand.
Once over the last step, she fumbled for the porch light switch just left of the door about chest height. She turned her back to the light and rummaged in her purse for the keys, refusing to look in his direction, no need to be reminded of how much she’d bitten off.
Inside, she flipped the switch for the interior light and headed over to the kitchen, flinging her purse across the work surface. The place was small enough to accommodate one person in cozy comfort, with two rooms, the main living area, which included the bedroom, dining, and kitchen, and the bathroom coming off the side.
Selene turned to watch him enter into her quiet little nook of the world. His eyes roamed everywhere, taking in all the detail. She tried to guess his reaction, but he kept his face blank. The place would be too girlie for his liking. What did that matter? She’d never decorated with him in mind.
She took a deep breath and walked toward him. He stopped approaching and watched her come. When she was within a foot of him she pushed him gently on the chest hoping to encourage him backward. He complied, and she breathed out another nervous breath. When his legs hit the bed, the Fae sat, looking up at her.
“You never told me your name.” She added what she hoped was a seductive smile.
“Locke.”
She raised her eyebrows, and her smile broadened.
She stepped between his legs and continued to push him in the chest. He read everything right, shuffling himself up the bed and lowering at the same time. She followed, crawling up and then on top, straddling him. Lowering, she grabbed his arms and raised them above his head then leaned down and gave him a feather kiss, her hands resting on his wrists.
She lifted her head. “Thank you for giving me your name.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Locke of the Fae, I bind you. For now until one day forth you are mine.”
9
Locke went to rise but his arms remained where they were. He looked over to find nothing holding them down. How the hell was she doing that? She still straddled him, a pleasant enough feeling, a few inches down and she would be sitting in the right spot, which would make this all worth while. As it was he doubted he would receive his reward for following her like a dog on a leash, certainly nothing she’d promised in all those luscious visions she’d thrown at his mind, most notably, the ones involving him. She had quite an imagination. He looked forward to discovering whether any of those positions were possible. But the pretty little witch didn’t realize you couldn’t influence a Fae. They were the masters of mind-fuck games. Her erotica gave him a hard-on and nothing else.
“Now, Fae.” She leaned down again, placing her hands on his chest. “I have important questions and I'm looking for answers. You’re going to give me everything I ask.”
Unlikely, unless we're naked and being dirty.
Of course, it would to be about the kidnapping, else why would she risk so much coming to the club. How the witches knew so soon, Locke couldn’t guess. The moment he sensed her power he knew she’d come with an agenda. He followed the carrot on the end of her line because he wanted to discover the reason the owner dangled it, and because she had spunk turning up at Hells Gate by herself. The mental imagery didn’t help, and the kiss, well, let's just say that slipped the noose around his neck. The reward at the end would’ve hung him, but he was yet to reach that part, and it could be some time before he did.
“So tell me what the woman means to you.”
“Woman?” He didn’t know what the face of an innocent felt like, so he tried for confusion.
“The one your King stole.”
“She means nothing to me.”
She sighed. “All right. To your King. Why did he have her kidnapped?”
“You’ll have to ask him. I’m not privy to his plan.”
She reared back at his comment. Shock suited her. Most expressions probably would.
“He didn’t share his reasons with any of you.”
“Perhaps his son.”
“Who’s his son?”
“The one his partner birthed.”
She frowned. Yep, he was right. That suited her as well, but now he knew her party trick he was not about to give her Slade’s name.
She placed her hands over his lower arms and looked into his eyes. A myriad of images and emotions rocked through him, from a dog obeying a command, to a mother scolding her child, followed by emotions like compliance and fear.
Locke smiled up at her, and the creases in her brow deepened. Next she threw a real distraction, an image of him being whipped by her. Did she really want to go there? She was sinking herself into deep trouble with him. Once he got out of this bind nothing would save her. Locke was a damn good hunter. It was one of the reasons the King sent him on all the retrievals. Looking through his scope now, she stood in the middle of the t-bar. Once there, only his choice would remove her.
“Let’s try again. Why did the King have her kidnapped?”
“Maybe he wanted her as decoration on his sofa.”
She heaved a heavy sigh and climbed off him. Now that wasn’t good. “She’s our next sacrifice.”
Her head jerked around to face him. “Why her? What’s so special about her that he would kidnap her now?”
“I’ll answer if you climb back on top.”
Again the brow crease. Her visually vocal face was an enticing incentive to keep her talking. The idea of witnessing her emotional turmoil walking across her expressive face was worth the trap he found himself in. She was a delicious paradox, temperamental, courageous, yet at the club she’d been unsure of her actions. She’d used sexy guile to lure him here, but he would’ve come without her trying so hard. That was the truth. He couldn’t deny it. She’d staged everything in her erotic repertoire, but you could never imagine such carnal games if you didn’t already fantasize about them, or never been a part of them.
“What sort of enticement are you willing to give for me to spill?”
Her eyebrows raised, then she shook her head. “You’re one hard shell to crack.”
“You’re avoiding my question.”
“That depends on what you have to reveal, Fae. I’m not wasting my time if you have nothing of worth for me, and it sounds like you’re not high enough up the ladder to be of worth. Perhaps I need the King’s son.”
“You’ll have to go through me first.”
“Looks like I’ve already done that.”
“Not according to me. If we finish what you started in the club with the mental porn, now I think that would count as you going through me.”
She stared down at him. “Why did you follow me?”
“I didn’t. I brought you here.”
“But why? I haven’t influenced you at all, have I?”
“Oh, you have, baby, just not the way you expected.”
She got off the bed with a frustrated sound, which moved the situation from not good to fucked. “If you come back over here, I promise to fall under your spell.”
She began to pace the rug at the side of the bed, one hand resting on her forehead. “Christ, I’ve really stuffed everything up. I shouldn’t have done this.”
“You did the right thing. Trust me.”
She stopped and looked over at him. He probably wasn’t such a great sight, pinned down on the mattress. If any of the boys saw this he would never l
ive it down.
“Am I going to get anything out of you?”
“Depends on the sorts of things you want coming out. You need the right sort of questions.”
She came and stood at the edge of the bed, looking down at him. That’s the way, gorgeous. Just come and sit back over here.
“What sort of questions do I need to ask, Locke?”
“That’s not another trick of yours is it?”
“What?” She chuckled. Only for a second, but it was enough to make him feel he was getting somewhere.
“The last time you used my name I ended up bound to this bed. You only had to ask if you preferred to do it that way.”
She smiled. “You’re not what I expected.”
“Better I hope.”
“I haven’t made my mind up about that yet.”
“Look. None of us knows what the King has in mind for the girl. True, I wouldn’t be telling you if I did know, but I think you can appreciate that otherwise you wouldn’t have risked so much for answers.”
“I can’t abide your sacrifices. They’re innocents.”
“It’s why we need them. That’s all he will take. We don’t get a choice in the matter. We’re as bound as the bastards who serve him below.”
“Fae and witches will be forever at war if you continue your practice.”
“All the more reason for us to finish what we started tonight. Besides the conflict doesn’t have to extend to all its members.”
“You’d be willing to deny the command of your King for sex.”
“I was kind of hoping it would be you that came to our side.”
Her eyes widened and then narrowed. “You’re arrogant.”
“I’ll make sure you enjoy every minute of it.”
“You’re not that strong Fae, if you can be led by your…um—”
“Dick.”
The word silenced her for only a second before the smile crept across her face. “And what happens to me when you tire. You don’t strike me as the sort to hold on for too long.”
“True, but the transient experiences are the best. When you have a limited time to enjoy something, you put more effort into enjoying it.”
“Sorry, I don’t do transient.”
He gazed up at her standing over him with her hands on her hips. Her somber mood fed his determination. Locke thrived on challenges. He viewed a women’s refusal as a partially closed door. His skill extended beyond the hunt to end when he’d squeezed enough enjoyment out of the shared time he spent with his prey. No woman left his side wanting, at least not with sexual fulfillment. Okay, he ran into commitment troubles, but he was also good at handling those.
“So, I suppose you climbing back on is not going to happen.”
She laughed, and the sound shot straight to his groin. She had no idea how much trouble she was in.
“You’re incorrigible.” She shook her head and smiled as she said it.
“I think you may be able to tame me.”
“For a while.”
“Yeah, see, there’s you issue with transience again. You and me are what we are. I say we accept that and stop it from getting in our way. Tomorrow belongs there, don’t try and drag it into tonight. It will only leave us frustrated.”
“You'll be frustrated. I’ll be comfortable.”
“You would be so much more comfortable if you let me go.”
“Nice try, Fae—”
“No. Say my name.”
She cocked her head and frowned. “Not so long ago, you didn’t want me using your name.”
“Everything about me, babe, is a contradiction. And the biggest contradiction is me wanting you—a witch. That’s the truth, and I can’t explain it. If the guys found out, they’ll make me a eunuch. So humor a helpless Fae and say my name. It sounds good rolling off your tongue, and since it’s going to be the only part of me on your tongue tonight, I’d appreciate if you obliged.”
She stared at him for a couple of heartbeats. Perhaps she wasn’t going to play.
“Locke.”
Oh, yes. He was so going to enjoy teaching her a lesson.
10
Selene woke on her side with one leg and arm slung over the top of something warm and comfortable. In seconds she went from drowsy to alert, pushing herself up on her elbow and looked into green eyes.
“I hoped you would sleep for a little longer. I was warm with you wrapped around me, and I figured I need some compensation for what you’ve put me through.”
Selene jerked her hand off his chest and her leg off his—hard bits, which she refused to look at. Too late. Her eyes betrayed her, sweeping down in an effort to convince herself it had not been that long—okay maybe it had. She sprung off the bed and stood embarrassed at having peeked, then doubly embarrassed at her reaction, like a teenager, as if she’d been caught doing something wrong.
Locke looked at her with a wicked-slash-cocky smirk. “I tend to have the opposite reaction on women. But then you’ve been an exception all the way.”
“Make no mistake, I’ve never been your exception.”
“You didn’t clarify it with and neither will I be, so I’d say it’s a step forward from last night. And you did sleep with me.”
“Shared the bed with you.”
“Semantics. I’m not that detailed.”
Selene was about to fling a retort, when a car pulled up outside. She ran to the window. “Shit.”
“Sounds like expected company.”
“It’s Jet.”
“I don’t like the sound of him.”
“Her. She’s my sister, kind of.”
“Is she into threesomes?”
Selene didn’t even bother to qualify his remark with attention. She strode over and pulled open the front door, moving out onto the porch before Jet could come inside.
“What are you doing here?” Selene tried not to sound accusatory, but given the circumstances, a Fae inside, tied to her bed, things looked bad.
“Back at you. You skipped out of drumming circle last night before our meditation. You weren’t home when I phoned. I’m curious to know why you came all the way out here in the middle of the night.” Jet’s shrewd eyes gazed over her. “And why are you in my boots, at nine in the morning? You look like you’ve just woken up.”
She began climbing the stairs. Selene came down to block her at the bottom. Jet met her on the second last step, staring up at her with her hands on her hips. “Selene, you’re acting really weird.”
“I could say the same about you. Are you checking up on me?”
“Come on Selene, honey, my balls are aching.”
Jet’s eyes couldn’t widen any further. She raced around Selene, mounting the stairs two at a time, bursting into the room. Selene skidded in behind. Jet stood motionless, scanning the sight in front, her jaw sagging like the clown games at a fun-fare. “He’s Fae.”
“Yep.”
“Selene are you out of your fricking mind. You’ve bound a Fae.”
Selene nodded her head. Jet swung back to look at him then back at Selene, before flashing one of her award winning, mischievous smiles. “Way to go sis. How the hell did you mange to do it? I didn’t think a Fae would be so easily manipulated.”
“I wasn’t.”
“He wasn’t,” both Selene and Locke spoke as one.
Jet raised her eyebrows and smirked. It seems everyone wanted to share a smirk with her today. “You didn’t trick him and yet he’s here, bound with a spell no less. Selene, you’ve been a naughty witch.”
Jet prowled toward the bed. “You’ve caught yourself a beauty.”
Locke smiled back. “Thank you. Now, if you could convince your sister of that, you could leave us alone to get on with things.”
Jet turned back to Selene, whose mortification at how things unfolded increased with every breath she took.
“You haven’t indulged. And he’s in such a vulnerable position.” She shook her head. “Shame on you.”
Selene foun
d her voice and her feet, moving forward while rolling her eyes. “He’s here to answer questions, nothing more.”
“Yeah, that’s right, you never allow work and play to mix.”
“Jet—”
Jet held up her palms. “Honestly, it’s none of my business, but really honey, you’ve got to learn to let loose a little. It’s not good for you to assume the burden all the time without allowing for some fun. You need to break the rules sometimes.”
Selene looked at Locke, whom shrugged as much as he could. “I’m with her.”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “I’ve really made a mess, Jet. He’s got nothing to share.”
“Yeah, and now you’ve made him mad. So unless you plan on keeping him here, I think we’re in a spot of trouble with the Fae.”
“No you won’t be. At least not you.” They both looked at the Fae, whom was looking at Jet. He shifted his eyes to Selene. “But she is, with me.”
Another engine approached, silencing any comments. Selene glanced at Jet. “Does that sound like a motorbike to you?”
“I’d say a Harley.” Jet went over to the window. “Shit.” She spun back. “He’s Hells Gate.”
“Release me, Witch.”
“I can’t undo it. The spell must play out until the end.”
“I’m the only one who can help you now.”
Jet looked at him. “Don’t be so sure about that, Fae.”
“Jet, what are you doing.”
“You stay here and mind the baby.” Jet didn’t wait for an answer, disappearing out the front door.
“Jet, wait.”
“Stay here.” Selene turned to Locke. “If I’m stuck here, I can’t protect you.”
“I don’t need your protection.” She was gone, flinging herself out the door in pursuit of Jet.
The Fae swung his leg over his bike, removed his helmet, placed it on his seat and turned to face them. He was perhaps as big as Locke and looking just as mean.
“I wasn’t expecting such a pretty welcome.”
“What makes you think we’re here to welcome you, Fae?”
Selene placed a hand on Jet’s shoulder, hoping Jet got the idea. Best not to rile him.