Lord of the Hunt

by Shona Husk

  He took another kiss before answering. It was easier to kiss than think; his body knew what it wanted. “It’s too nice to be indoors.”

  “Then we’d better get moving. We can catch a cab to the field. You still got leaves in your pocket?”

  “What?” She was jumping ahead too fast for him to keep up.

  “Never mind. I can use my ring. Next time I’m bringing my purse—it’s got real money in it.”

  Before he had time to catch up, she’d hailed a cab and given directions. He closed his eyes as the cab darted through the town and out toward the farms. When they drew close to a house, Taryn called a stop and paid with the leaves from his pocket—her fingers brushing against him for a moment before handing them over. The dark-skinned driver accepted them without question and drove away. If he’d been Irish, he’d have been more careful about picking up fairies. Still it was good to be out of the vehicle. He preferred horses—although no one rode them around anymore, and carriages were gone too.

  He’d spent more time in the mortal world when he’d been a farmer’s son than he had in the whole time since he’d been at Court. What a waste. He should have kept up with the changes better. He should’ve learned to read—Felan could read and write, not that he made it common knowledge. It was deemed a useless skill. Yet after tonight, Verden could see the need.

  “I need to learn to read. Is it hard?”

  “I don’t think so. But if you intend to spend more time here, it would be advisable.”

  They walked further up the lane before clambering over the fence and into the field, the cluster of trees little more than a blot against the night. It had been easier climbing over on the way into town. He stumbled and blamed the whiskey even as he grinned and laughed at himself.

  Taryn was smiling too, that full smile that revealed her teeth and lit up her eyes as if they were amber catching the sun. Why was she interested him? He was as corrupt as the next fairy—maybe more because he was the Hunter. The things he’d done to get here…the things he’d do to get free.

  “You’d like me to spend more time here.”

  She slowed her pace, and he could see the pinch of her eyebrows even in the starlight. “What’s going to happen when Felan takes the throne?”

  “I don’t know.” He didn’t care right now. “Leave it for another day. We came here to forget about that for one night.”

  Taryn nodded. “I know, but it’s always there, at the back of my mind.”

  “It’s at the front of mine most days.” The best he could hope for was a loss of rank, the worst banishment. It all depended on how Felan felt on the day. He’d have to spend some more time with the Prince—without betraying Gwyn. Right now he couldn’t see a way out of the web without tearing everything down in the process, and if he did that, he’d take Taryn with him. He couldn’t do that. Not when she was still dependent on the King’s good will to save her father.

  He tripped and let himself fall to the grass, then rolled onto his back. The stars turned, as if dancing to the tune of the earth. He flexed his fingers and let the grass tickle his palms. He just wanted to sink into the ground and be absorbed by the magic everyone had forgotten.

  “You aren’t getting up, are you?”

  “No.” He reached up and snagged her calf and pulled her down on top of him. “I think we should stay right here.” Her weight grounded him further; he could feel his head clearing. They should’ve taken a bottle from the pub and kept drinking. Drowned out the night and everyone else in existence, on both sides of the veil.

  She wriggled, making herself comfortable, her hips moving against his. He groaned and threaded his fingers into her hair, pulling her closer as he tried to block out the rest of the world. His hand slid under her shirt.

  Then he was pulling it off as she tried to pull his off. Hands glided over skin. His fingers brushed her breast but didn’t stop as he got her jeans open. She got there first, pushing his down. They rolled, fighting to be free of the denim, kicking it clear. He ended up on top of her, her hips cradling his, both of them naked beneath the night.

  “Better.” He kissed her again. He was aching to have her. It felt like it had been too long. A couple of days at Court, maybe weeks here.

  “Better,” she agreed, her legs easing apart so he could rest between them.

  Her eyes glittered in the soft light; her skin glowed like she was lit with magic. No one could look at her and think she was mortal no matter how clever the glamour. She was too pretty, too special.

  Too nice to be playing with the likes of him.

  He’d plotted and schemed his way as high as he could go. What a web he’d built himself—so well made he hadn’t realized he’d been setting his own trap. He couldn’t drag her into it. He needed to be the one to walk away so only one of them went down with the power shift.

  He rolled off her and lay on his back. His blood thrummed with unspent desire. He wished he could blame it on the mortal world or the whiskey, but it wasn’t. The rush and burn of lust happened whenever he looked at Taryn, whether here or in Annwyn. She did this to him. Made him want to roll the dice and bet it all.

  “What’s wrong?” She propped herself up and peered at him, her dark hair tickling his chest. He caught a stray curl and brought it to his lips.

  He’d forgotten the ease of lying in the grass surrounded by his parents’ cattle. What he’d once seen as dull farming life at the fringes of Annwyn had actually been living—not dancing around and playing games with others’ lives.

  “I was wrong.” And it was too late for him to go back and undo it all.

  “Wrong about what?”

  “Everything.” He’d mistaken Court and status for living, used sex as a bargaining chip and a way to seal deals. He’d thought gambling with his heart was the worst thing he could ever do. The worst thing would be if he ignored it and pretended as though it didn’t matter. A man without a heart wasn’t living. He caressed her cheek. “I love you.”

  Chapter 14

  Taryn drew in a sharp breath. That had been the last thing she’d been expecting Verden to say. He loved her? No. He liked her maybe. He liked sneaking off with her. But love, that was impossible. Fairy men didn’t gamble their hearts on love.

  “That’s the whiskey talking,” she murmured, even though she wished it could be true.

  He used a tendril of hair to draw her closer. “It’s not. When I’m with you, I don’t care about Court politics. You make me live again. I don’t want this to end, yet I should be turning away. I should never have started it.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “If I hadn’t offered to take you across the veil, would you have sought me out?”

  She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, Verden was looking at her, his usually pale eyes were dark and unreadable in the shadows. “Yes. My mother gave me a list of people to talk to, to try and secure the pardon. You were on the list.”

  He laughed, cold and bitter. “So you played along, thinking I could help you. I am a fool.” He tried to sit up, but she placed a hand on his chest and he lay back down.

  “No. At first, I used you to cross the veil, to escape Court, but then it became something more. I longed for each visit and I never wanted them to end. We are both fools for letting it get this far, knowing we had no chance.” She swallowed down the lump in her throat. It wasn’t fair. “I never planned to fall for anyone. I just wanted to help my parents and go home.”

  His fingers moved over her skin, as if he couldn’t stop touching her. Her thoughts tumbled around and tangled. The warm summer air clung to her skin and made her ache for something more. She needed to do something; there was an edge in her blood that he sharpened with every touch.

  His hand stopped. “We should break up.”

  “What?”

  “Until Felan is King.” He looked her in the eye and she saw the cold glint of a fairy plotting. “Until then, we play it safe, no risks.”

  “No crossing the veil.�
� There would be nothing to look forward to.

  His fingers traced the curve of her breast. “No stolen kisses.”

  “No secret liaisons.” She moved her thigh over his, her hand trailed down his chest, over smooth bands of muscle.

  “Definitely none of them.” But he made no effort to stop her fingers as they traced the length of his erection. “After tonight.”

  “Once more for old times’ sake, then we break up to save our relationship.” And ourselves.

  “Yes.”

  She laughed. “Only a fairy would think that was a good idea.”

  “But it is, because if we aren’t together, we won’t be thinking about being together when we aren’t together, which means we won’t accidentally get caught.”

  It took her a moment to process what he was saying. She may not be drunk, but the edges were fuzzy. She could see why no one drank at Court. One too many wines and all the clever plans would come unraveled. But here they were making plans—not great ones, but the best they could do.

  “This is why humans like alcohol. After a couple drinks, you can solve all your problems.” She leaned in and ran her tongue over his lower lip. He opened his mouth to her.

  They were going to regret this in the morning, she was sure of it. But right now they were breaking up so they had to break up really good. She eased her leg over his hip to straddle him, then pinned his hands beneath hers.

  “I’ve caught the Hunter,” she said with a smile as she rolled her hips against his, feeling his hardened flesh pressing close, teasing.

  He closed his eyes and groaned, but made no effort to pull his hands free. “No one has ever tried to catch me before.”

  “You like?”

  “I like everything you do.” Then he arched his back as if attempting to throw her off, but he wasn’t trying hard and she remained seated. “Looks like you have me trapped.”

  She leaned forward so the tips of her nipples brushed his chest; then she nipped his lip. “And what do I get?”

  “What do you want?” His hips lifted suggestively.

  This was going to be a problem. She couldn’t hold him and angle his shaft to be able to have her way with him. She broke eye contact, tried not to laugh, and failed. She should have had an extra glass or two to drink.

  He joined her laughter, the dusting of hair on his chest tickling her breasts. “You didn’t think that through very well did you?”

  She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She’d been joking about catching him, but she could see the appeal of holding down one of the most powerful men in Annwyn. He was hers. For tonight. What if they never got back together? She couldn’t think like that.

  She shifted her grip. “You want me to hold you?”

  “And never let go.” He was smiling, his teeth gleaming in the moonlight, but she felt the weight of his words. He was giving himself to her.

  She leaned down and kissed him as if the world was ending. He slid one hand free, his fingers grazing the side of her breast, then skimming lower, over her butt, between their bodies. His hand slid up her inner thigh and then over her sex, his fingers dipping into the slick heat of her core. His gaze was on her, watching as he played and stroked her clit. Tension tightened in her belly, but before she got close, his hand eased away and was replaced by the heat of his shaft nudging at her sex. She rocked back, ready to take him. Then stopped. She wasn’t ready to end this.

  “Ride me.”

  “Not yet.” She released his hand and sat up. In the soft light, his muscles dipped and curved; dark hair trailed down his stomach. She flicked her tongue over one flat brown nipple. Then she moved lower, kissing and licking her way down. He drew in a breath and his body tensed.

  Her tongue touched the tip of his shaft and he flinched. A breeze traced across her skin, but instead of cooling her, it made her hotter as she realized how sticky her skin was becoming and how hard her blood was pumping. She could feel the lust coiling in her body, waiting to be released.

  She took him in her mouth. Satiny, hot, hard flesh against her tongue. When she sucked, he tasted like tart berries. Her hand glided down the length of him as she watched his every reaction. The tightening of his stomach, the hiss of his breath as he clamped his teeth together, but his eyes remained open, watching. She circled the crown with her tongue, her lips caressing the smooth skin one last time before she eased back up his body, aware of the tension in her belly and the need slicking her sex. She positioned his shaft and took him into her core slowly, enjoying every inch until she was fully seated.

  Their gazes locked as she began to move. He shifted beneath her to thrust deeper, one hand on her hip. With his eyes on her, she let one of her hands slide over her thigh, to the junction of her legs. Her fingers pushed through the dark, damp curls to her clit. His gaze dropped to watch her hand.

  He was all hers. His body was tense and spread before her, waiting for her to come. His gaze tracked every movement. He dragged her down for a kiss, his hand in her hair, his touch rough and needy. He moved, and in her next breath she was on her back looking up at him as his sank back into her.

  She moaned and arched toward him, each thrust becoming more urgent. Her core clenched around him as she came, her hips moving faster as she tried to drag every drop of pleasure from the moment. He shuddered and stilled, his head resting on her shoulder. His breath on her skin. Above her the stars glittered. They were so far away here, shiny dots of far-off suns. In Annwyn they hung heavy and close in a purple sky.

  He lifted his head and looked at her before placing a soft kiss on her lips and easing away to lie on the grass next to her.

  Her breathing returned to normal, but she could still feel a tingle in her blood and a warmth on her skin, something more than just the afterglow. “You know, I think I can feel the midsummer magic.”

  “Seasons turn. We’ll have our day in the sun, just not now.” He linked his fingers with hers and they watched the sky, both knowing that they were over and that they had to go back, but neither wanting to be the first to move.

  ***

  A deep lowing nearby made Taryn open her eyes. For a moment she didn’t know where she was. Then it all spun back in a rush. She was still in the field. The noise was from a cow that was eyeing her and it was no longer night.

  “Ah shit.” She gave Verden a shove. “It’s almost morning.” Dawn had arrived and was nearly over. What time was it back in Annwyn?

  Time moved differently there. It had probably only been a few hours, not a whole night—but she wasn’t willing to gamble on that. She grabbed up her dress and started pulling it on.

  Verden sat up, his head in his hands. “What is that awful pounding?”

  “Hangover, which will be worse if we don’t move it.” She tossed his clothes at him and tried to ignore the pressure on her temples. That was the reason she didn’t drink very often; it didn’t take much to get her tipsy but she always had a killer headache afterward. She’d thought it was just her, but apparently it was a fairy thing.

  “You didn’t warn me about that.”

  “Sorry. I don’t have aspirin either so you’ll just have to tough it out.” The way she would, until she got back to her room in Annwyn and rummaged through her purse. She should offer him one…nah, they’d broken up and he needed something to remember her by.

  He tugged on his pants and boots, and for the first time since she’d known him, he looked like he’d had a rough night. His hair had come loose and was curling on his shoulders with the occasional piece of grass poking out. What did she look like?

  “You’ve got grass in your hair.”

  Verden stopped doing up his shirt and looked at her. “So do you.”

  She hastily combed her hair with her fingers and twisted it in a loose knot, hoping that she looked presentable. “We’ve stayed too long.”

  “We’ll be fine. I have been out cavorting and…well, people will assume you’ve been in someone’s bed, just not mine.” There was an edge to his voice, bu
t where he once would have touched her or helped pull the grass out of her hair, he kept his distance. It was better that way. Easier.

  “Right, of course.” She glanced at the trees that marked the doorway, anxious to get back, yet not wanting to leave. “Shall we go?”

  Verden gathered up the mortal clothing and led the way. She followed, unable to walk beside him in case she accidentally took his hand. What would the Court say if she walked in wearing jeans?

  “Remind me again why mortals drink?” He stopped by the doorway.

  “To relax, to forget their troubles for a while.”

  “They don’t care that the troubles will be waiting?” He reached out to touch her cheek, then pulled his hand back at the last moment.

  Taryn turned her head away. “We have to do this properly.”

  “I know. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to touch you.”

  “Isn’t that what Court is about? Doing things you don’t want to with a smile on your face?”

  “No. Court is for the power hungry and those that love the game. The rest live at the edges of Annwyn or in the mortal world. I’m tired of the game.”

  “Last roll of the dice?”

  He nodded.

  “And the King?”

  Pain flickered in his eyes before being masked. He was preparing himself to go back, constructing the lie as she watched all emotion leave his face. “I’m still his.” He paused. “Loyal subject as are you.”

  She knew they’d been friends once. Now Verden couldn’t stand to see the King with her, and if the King knew what they were doing he’d be pissed. But she loved Verden, not the King, and while there were many things she’d do to get her parents back, going to his bed wasn’t one of them. She couldn’t pretend sex was just a business transaction or part of a deal. It meant something to her. And it meant something to Verden now.

  “You’re my first fairy ex.” She forced a smile.

  “Ex what?”

  “Ex-lover.” Boyfriend didn’t seem quite right.

  He placed a kiss on her lips before she could pull back. “Only fairy lover. This is temporary.”