by Vella Day
Derrick was slouched in his chair with his throat cut, too. Only Derrick was still alive—barely. Bevon was conflicted. Part of him wanted answers, yet the good half said to teleport him to Feyrion where his mother could heal him.
Zulema rushed across the room into what he assumed was a bathroom. She returned with a towel and placed it on Derrick’s throat, and applied pressure.
“Who did this?” she asked.
“Rusty…Gerard.”
“Why?” she demanded.
“I don’t know.”
“Who does Rusty work for?” Bevon asked.
Valoric was having a lot of trouble breathing. Even if Bevon did teleport him to Feyrion, the man probably wouldn’t live long enough for his mother to treat him. “Peter Delaport.”
“Is he Zon?” Zulema asked.
His admiration for his mate grew. It was what he should have asked. Derrick nodded. “Head.”
Bevon had never heard of him. “Where can I find him?”
Derrick’s body went limp. He was dead. Not good.
Zulema let go of the cloth. “I’m washing my hands.”
He had to guess she wasn’t used to seeing a lot of death. When she came out of the bathroom, Zulema appeared to be more in control. “You okay?” he asked.
“Yes. I know I should be happy that he’s dead, but I can’t help but think he was a pawn.”
“I have to agree. He loved my cousin. That much was clear.”
She blew out a breath and then straightened her shoulders. “I want to save my sister and Aislin now that he can’t hurt them anymore.” She clasped his arm. “What about Rusty Gerard? Do you think he’ll harm them?”
“He may not even know about them. I say we forget about him for now. We have more important things to do. We need to save your family. I’ll ask Meena to escort us.”
“Thank you,” Zulema said.
After he contacted them, Meena appeared. “What happened? Did you do this?”
“If I had been responsible, I wouldn’t have used a knife.”
She spun around to Zulema who held up her hands. “Don’t look at me. I would have shot the bastard in the heart with my crossbow.”
Meena smiled. “If you want to free the women, follow me.”
They held hands and left. He figured it wouldn’t be long before the police found the two dead bodies, and he didn’t want to be anywhere near the place.
They arrived in the room where the girls were being held. “Where’s the guard?” he asked.
“Don’t worry about him. Fay’s making sure he doesn’t disturb us.”
Both women had gags in their mouths and were tied up, but they didn’t look abused. With a flick of a hand, Bevon freed them. Joy abound seeing Zulema so happy to be reunited with her sister and friend.
“How did you find us?” Maylora asked.
“Bevon’s sisters found you.” She nodded to Meena.
A moment later, Fay appeared. “The guard won’t be bothering us or anyone else. I put a shield around the house to keep us from being surprised by any Zon.”
“Thank you,” he telepathed back.
Since he and Zulema still had some business to take care of, he figured she’d be more at ease if the women were safe in Feyrion. Most likely he’d have to erase Aislin’s memory when she left his realm, but he’d worry about that later.
“Ready to escort the ladies to my place?” he asked.
“Yes,” Zulema said with a smile.
They held hands and teleported to his cabin. From there, he created a portal to his home world. He figured if Maylora could see how well her mom was doing, she could relax.
The time of day on Feyrion was different from that on Tarradon. When they arrived, the family was at the dining room table enjoying a meal. The reunion between Zulema’s mom and Maylora was worth everything he’d gone through.
“Where is this place?” Aislin asked, her eyes wide with wonder.
“My parents’ home.” There was no need to mention Feyrion at the moment. “My mother will see you are settled in. Zulema and I will return as soon as we can.”
“Thank you so much,” Aislin said. She then hugged him.
Maylora spun around. “Did I hear you say that you’re both leaving again?”
“I’m afraid so. We have to tie up some loose ends. I promise we’ll explain everything the next time we see you.”
Zulema and Maylora hugged and said a tearful goodbye.
He tapped his bracelet. “It’s time, Zulema.”
As much as he would have liked to stay, they needed to find either Rusty Gerard or Peter Delaport—preferably the latter—and end this mess once and for all.
Once they were outside, Bevon created a portal and arrived in his backyard in the forest where they teleported inside.
He grabbed Zulema and swung her around. “We did it! Your family is safe.”
“Yes and thank you.”
He set her down. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be ecstatic.”
“I am, but I don’t like that someone is still out to get you.”
“That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Bevon stroked her cheek. “Don’t worry. I can take care of myself.”
“I know, but you shouldn’t have to.”
He kissed her quickly. They couldn’t afford to dawdle. “How about we take care of Mr. Delaport and then get down to the business of some serious loving?”
Zulema pressed against him. “How serious?”
“The I love you kind of serious.”
He swore her knees buckled. “I love you back.”
“Does that mean what I think it does?” he asked, his eyebrows wiggling.
She stood on her toes and lightly gnawed on his neck. “Yes,” she whispered.
Before he succumbed to his needs, he motioned they sit at the kitchen table. “Where do you think we should start?”
“I suppose we could return to Derrick’s house and wait for Peter to find you, but that seems a bit reckless.”
He chuckled. “Yes. I’d rather surprise him.”
“Then why don’t we try Logan again? We have the man’s name. He can’t live too far from Derrick’s house.”
“It’s worth a try. If that fails, if we find Rusty, we’ll extract the information out of him.”
“Can you make people talk?” she asked.
“That’s a loaded question. Let’s say, I’m good at convincing people. I find magic to be more effective than force.”
“I see.” She smiled.
It was late, meaning Logan would most likely be at home—enjoying his mate—but as a Guardian, being disturbed at all hours was standard fare. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t roused Logan out of bed before.
They teleported to his home. “Wait here for a second,” Bevon said. “It wouldn’t be good to teleport into his house in case Logan and Wendy are doing something personal. I know it bothers me when my sisters do that to me.”
Zulema smiled. “It would be a bit embarrassing if we were doing the nasty in the kitchen, and they showed up.”
“Exactly.”
Bevon cloaked himself and reappeared in the living room. The sound of a television filtered out from the bedroom, implying they were up—or so he hoped. Bevon returned outside. “I’ll ring the bell.”
A minute later, Logan opened the door. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Why did people always assume the worst? “The man who hired Zulema to kill me is dead.”
“Come in. It’s a little late to be celebrating though.”
Bevon laughed. “The man who commissioned the kill is Peter Delaport. He’s the head of the Zon, according to a dying Derrick Valoric.”
“And you want me to try to locate him?”
“Yes. I think he’s the one who wants me dead. I’m not sure why he killed one of his own, though—or what he has against me, for that matter—but I aim to find out.”
“Perhaps you wouldn’t let him into Feyrion.”
�
��If that’s the case, he’s gone to quite a lot of effort to end my life, assuming it is personal.”
“Is it possible that Delaport was testing Valoric to see how well he handled a Fey?”
Bevon shrugged. “Anything is possible.”
“Follow me into my office. I’ll see what I can find.”
Bevon and Zulema waited in Logan’s office. When Logan returned, he went straight to work. “A man by the name of Rusty Gerard works for him,” Bevon said. “I imagine he has a criminal record. They should live relatively close to each other, unless they both can teleport.”
Zulema placed a hand on his. “Most of the witches and warlocks I’ve met can’t. My father was an exception.”
“Let’s hope neither of these men can.”
He didn’t think now was the time to ask how her father died. He suspected someone had taken away his powers right before his death. The problem with that notion was that it took some fancy spells to block a person’s powers. Bevon had done it, but it had only lasted a few minutes. In that case, it had allowed him to defeat his enemy quickly.
“Got something,” Logan said.
He and Zulema rushed over. “Is this him?” Logan asked.
The face staring back at him made his blood run cold.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bevon’s demeanor scared her. Zulema had never seen that look before. “Bevon, what is it?”
“He’s the man who tried to kill my father. And I stopped him.” Bevon visibly shivered.
“Why did he try to kill your dad?” she asked. And wasn’t the King powerful enough to stop a warlock? The thought he might not be terrified her.
Bevon stabbed a hand through his hair. “It’s not like death threats were foreign to my family, but no one had attacked a family member in hundreds or maybe even thousands of years. This man was a member of the Amalden tribe. They lived on Feyrion and were known for their disruptive behavior—thugs, criminals, thieves. The usual.”
“Were they Fey?” It was the only thing that made sense.
“Some were pure Fey, but most—like in the case of this man—were a mix of Fey and Warlock or Witch. His clan believed they should have been the royal ones.”
“I didn’t think it was something you decided, but rather what the gods decreed,” she said.
“Exactly, but the Amalden didn’t seem to understand that. They wanted power, and they didn’t care who got hurt in their achievement of it.”
“They planned to kill your father and take over running the realm?”
“Yes, though if they had succeeded—which would have been slim—it would have moved up the timeline for when Kenton became king.”
“They probably assumed that a young man wouldn’t be as big a threat as his father. When did this happen?”
He blew out a breath. “Maybe twenty years ago.”
“Twenty years? Why wait so long to exact his revenge on you?” she asked.
“Why indeed? Perhaps he didn’t know where I was, though I find that hard to believe.” Bevon pressed his lips together. “It could have been that he needed to amass his own army of warriors on Tarradon before he tried. When he was expelled from Feyrion, I don’t think many went with him.”
“Being banned from his home world would have pissed him off.” She looked over at Logan. “Were the Guardians aware of the Zon?”
“Their name, yes, but they were never in this part of the province. We aren’t the only protectors of the realm, so we never interfered.”
“I see.” Sort of. “What are you planning to do now?” she asked Bevon.
He stood taller. “I want to confront him, but as my old self.”
She could understand that need, even though she didn’t like it. Zulema faced Logan. “I trust you have the man’s address?”
“I do.” He jotted it down and handed it to her.
Bevon seemed to be having some internal battle, and she needed him to focus. “What’s next, boss?” she asked Bevon.
He faced her. “Sorry. I need to return to Feyrion and have my mother remove this mask. I plan to show both realms that Bevon Forrester is alive and well.”
“You don’t think confronting him as Brock Rickart, ordinary human, would be safer? You could surprise him with your magic. I bet he wouldn’t see it coming.”
He turned to her and cupped her face. “Would you still respect me if I took the cowardly route?”
Her first instinct was to say no, but if this powerful man harmed Bevon in any way, it would kill her. Instead of answering out loud, she placed her wristband to her chest. “If we mate first, I’ll feel a lot better. You might even receive some of my powers.”
“The idea of mating with the woman I love and adore would soothe the beast inside me.”
She didn’t suggest it might cause him to change his mind. “Then what are we waiting for?”
Bevon grinned, and her heart soared.
He faced Logan and held out his hand. “Thank you, my friend. If you ever need anything, let me know.”
“I will.”
Bevon grabbed her hand and left Logan’s home. He then teleported them back to his cabin in the woods. It was late, so spending the night before going into battle made sense.
Zulema expected Bevon to offer her a beer so that they could discuss a plan, but instead he pressed her against the front door and kissed her. No words. No preamble. Just hard core lust oozing out of every inch of his body. The intensity and passion caused her eyes to shut. As much as she loved watching the gold swirls in his eyes, the bright light coming off his body tended to overwhelm her at times.
Any second, Zulema expected him to mentally remove their clothes and teleport them to the bed even though she was perfectly fine right where they were.
The combined pressure on her back and front created both a total calm and a swirling maelstrom of emotions inside of her. Being surrounded by Bevon and everything he represented was where she wanted to be. Forever.
He broke the kiss, and then slid his hands under her shirt. “I love touching you.”
“You should be in my body. It’s like you’re sending pulses of energy through me,” she panted.
“That’s your trick, my electric babe.”
Zulema hadn’t meant to bark out a laugh, but that name was too tacky. To show him who he was up against, she reached between them and sent a short burst of power into him.
He jumped back. “I see you found my switch.”
She couldn’t be more pleased that the Bevon of old had returned. Given their circumstances, that was no small feat. “Is that so? Did I turn you on?”
“You have. And now, it’s my turn to do the same to you.”
He lifted off her shirt, thrilling her with the way his eyes glazed over. His hands fumbled with unhooking her bra though. So much for being the touted ladies’ man.
“To hell with it.” In a flash, her bra was nowhere to be seen. “I was never any good with those fancy clasps.”
She doubted that, but his magic made things easier. “Works for me.”
He drew in a breath as he ran his palms over the tips of her breasts. Bevon certainly seemed to enjoy touching her, but Zulema was definitely the biggest beneficiary.
While she was tempted to run her hands through his hair, she didn’t want the distraction, nor did she want to miss one second of this monumental lovemaking. Mating for the first time could only happen once.
Pulses of desire kept exploding inside of her. “Suck on them,” she telepathed.
Without using the bracelet, he wouldn’t receive the message, but soon…
Bevon swiped a hand and poof, her shoes were gone but not her pants. He must like the seduction part of taking off her clothes one piece at a time. Bevon leaned over and licked one nipple and then the other while he unbuttoned her jeans, and the anticipation caused tingles to pulse between her legs. “Hurry,” she begged.
“Let me enjoy this, princess.”
“But I need you.”
&nbs
p; He looked up and grinned. “There are two players here.”
From the way his eyes were almost completely gold, he was working hard for control. Wait until it was her turn. She wouldn’t play nice until she’d broken him.
Bevon lowered her pants to the ground, leaving on her panties. Seriously? The man was so frustrating. He tapped her leg to indicate she needed to step out of her jeans. First one leg and then the next. At least now, she was almost naked. When it was her turn, she bet he wouldn’t be able to resist her for long.
Zulema wiggled her hips, hoping to tempt him further. He grabbed a hold of her to keep her steady, and then planted his face between her legs. Bevon drew in a large inhale, reached up, and palmed both breasts. When he pressed them together, he growled. “You are so amazing.”
His desperation ratcheted her desire even more. “Show me.”
In one quick move, he tore off her panties, widened her legs, and licked her, causing fire to burst inside of her. Her dragon sure had awoken now.
I’m working hard not to show myself, her inner animal warned her.
Then no mating for you if you don’t behave.
Never had her dragon been this excited.
Each lick drove Zulema closer and closer to the brink. Needing to touch him, she reached down and clamped onto his head, careful not to break the skin. She then grabbed his hair and tugged as love and desire swamped her.
When he strummed both of his thumbs over her nipples at the same time he sucked on her clit, she came. Hard. And her yell didn’t even sound human.
Bevon sat back on his haunches and smiled.
“See what you did,” she said. “I’m done. You lose.”
He was on his feet so fast, her head spun. Bevon tickled her until she doubled over with laughter. “Take that back.”
She held up a hand. “Okay, okay.”
He stopped, pulled her close, and kissed her. His yearning and passion overwhelmed her, but now Zulema needed to return the favor. Instead of teleporting them to the bedroom, she moved them to the sofa. Once he was seated, she immediately straddled him.
“I like the way you think,” he said.