by Lucy Auburn
“Arms up.” He pushed at my shoulders and pulled my shirt off, throwing it onto the ground. “See now, little wolf? Dark calls to dark.”
I didn’t even have an answer; my voice felt gone, lost in the pleasure that had overtaken me. Vincent’s deep amber eyes stared down at me as he settled between my open thighs, one arm braced on the cushions beneath us, the other reaching up to push the hair from my face.
For a moment there was nothing between us but air, and I stared up at him with no artificial barriers or hidden motives left to separate us. His eyes, this close, were gold and red as well as amber, rich like precious metal. Though I knew his age, he looked younger than ever without cocky words on his lips or clothing to cover him. I was surprised by the brief second of vulnerability I saw hiding in his eyes, and felt trembling in his fingers on my face.
Then he reached down to position his cock between my lips, and pushed inside me with a grunt. I gasped, and he covered my mouth with his own, moving in and out of me until he was buried inside to the base. I brought my legs up around his waist and trembled, tasting his energy on my mouth and feeling it inside me as well—deep in my belly, where all the hunger lived.
Grabbing onto my waist, he worked himself in and out of me in a fluid motion, his length filling me. I cried out with each deep thrust, staring up at the distant ceiling and gasping as I felt another wave of pleasure coming. Vincent adjusted our angle until he was in just right, then pushed himself to up the pace, seeking his own pleasure inside me. He kept his eyes closed, face buried in the corner of my uninjured neck, hips snapping with each driven thrust.
It almost felt like he was holding back from me, closing himself off. Even as his bare length buried itself in my body and I gasped, even as he pressed his open mouth against mine, I felt him move further away. That feeling only intensified when he grabbed me and positioned us so my feet were on the floor, hands on the back of the settee leaning forward, fucking in me so deep I felt him in my belly button.
His hand came around in front, and he began to work my clit with his fingers. I gasped and squealed again, thighs shaking as his clever fingers drove me towards the peak once more. All thoughts of distance were driven from my head. I felt it as he curved his chest down against my back and thrust in me faster and faster, reaching for his own release. When I cried out, body clenching on his bare cock, he made a soft sound behind me and froze.
As we climaxed together, bodies bare and hearts beating fast, I felt something completely new: a burst of power deep inside, all-consuming. I gasped at the feeling of it, Vincent’s mouth kissing the back of my neck, his hips thrusting shallowly as he spilled himself inside me. His power, his energy, drained into me until I was full of it.
Hands on my breasts, he murmured, “That was just a taste, little wolf.” His voice was low and cocky again, nothing vulnerable about it. “We can do this until you’ve forgotten your own name.”
Despite myself, I smiled at the sound of his voice, able to imagine myself riding that handsome, cocky face of his until I came more times than I could count. But I knew it was a bad idea—whatever we’d just done, it couldn’t last.
So I said, “Thanks, but I’ve got somewhere to be.” He fell out of me completely as I pulled away and turned in his arms, staring up into his face. “This was nice, though. A good introduction to using my powers during sex.”
“Introduction?” His eyebrows rose impossibly high. Then, “Wait, you haven’t—not yet? Little wolf, it’s been months!”
“What can I say, I’ve been busy.” I slipped out of his arms, grabbing my gym shorts and T-shirt, pausing to sweep the book up off the ground where it’d fallen. “Also, I was a little scared I’d kill someone, y’know? So thanks for the practice.” Leaning forward, I kissed him closed-mouth on the lips and tried not to giggle at the shocked look in his eyes. “You’re not dead, so I’m sure it’s safe for me to do this with—well, y’know, it’s not like you’re the only one who wants me.”
I headed towards the front door, mind whirling as I tried to figure out how I’d get out of here.
“Little wolf.” Vincent’s eyebrows came together sharply, and he didn’t bother to get dressed as he followed me out of his house. “You can’t honestly call that practice?”
I opened my mouth to tell him I’d had better, then shut it. I hadn’t, actually—though Elah had come close, even if he hadn’t gone all the way. Instead I just stood there, looking into his eyes, surprised by the slight flicker of hurt I saw there before it vanished into cockiness.
“It was nice,” I repeated, softer this time—and more honestly. “But I can’t stay here, Vincent. My life is elsewhere.”
His shoulders rounded, softened. He crossed his arms, somehow not looking exposed despite the softening penis between his legs. “I know you have a life, Selena.” Moving towards me, he looked down into my eyes and turned on all his charm. “I just thought you might want to know a few more things about your family. Where you came from. I have eyes and ears, after all—there are many things I know, despite being trapped here.”
It was tempting.
Everything about him was tempting.
But I’d made a choice, and if I stuck around much longer I might accidentally un-make it. Opening the book, I flipped it to the page with the symbol and set my palm against it. I was relieved by the pulsing of energy I felt, just like last time.
Vincent opened his mouth, no doubt to ask me what I was doing, but I didn’t give him a chance. “Goodbye. I’m sorry I couldn’t stick around for longer.”
Then I closed my eyes, and thought of home.
19
Selena
At the last moment, I realized I’d been thinking of the wrong thing, and focused on the medical room in the Collective instead. I felt a jolt as my path moved, turning slightly in the right direction.
Taking a single step forward, I opened my eyes and found myself standing by my empty bed, hair still slightly damp from the shower, body lax and full of pleasure from Vincent. There was also a distinctive wetness between my thighs. Reddening slightly, I rushed to the bathroom to clean up. As soon as I was done I jumped into bed and pulled the sheets up to my neck, hopeful that my disappearance hadn’t been discovered. There was no one in the room, and I couldn’t have been gone for long, thankfully.
It turned out I’d gotten back just in time. I’d barely even settled back into the bed and turned on the TV before the door was opening. I glanced up, surprised to see that it wasn’t Sarah or Tae Min walking in, but Elah, freshly returned from whatever mission he’d been out on with Leon.
“What happened?” I sat up as he closed the door behind him, already worried. “Is the detective okay?”
“He’s fine,” Elah reassured me. “Our mission was... unsuccessful. I came here to talk to you.”
“Oh.” I chewed on my lower lip, nervous. “I’m still not sure if I’m ready to restart our engagement,” I admitted, even though the core of me longed to settle into his strong arms and give myself over to him.
“That’s not what this is about.” Walking over to my bed, he settled down onto the chair, bringing with him a whiff of a smoky scent and aged leather. “I wanted to talk to you about something. Actually—given how the mission went, I have a few questions for you now, too. Do you want to start with that?”
Thinking of the time I’d spent in Hell, and how Maggie had cautioned me not to be too loose with certain facts, I nodded reluctantly. “What does that have to do with your mission, though?”
“Everything.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Elah leaned back in the chair. There was a troubled look on his face. “Leon and I went back to the mausoleum where the hell gate was to look into something. Apparently when the coroner arrived to pick up the dead dark hunter’s body, it’d been moved slightly since Naomi left the building. Selena...” He stared at me, brows furrowed. “Is it possible something followed you out of there? Something besides that demigod we have locked up in here?”
> “It’s possible,” I said, heart skipping a beat at the thought of Persephone reaching out of the Underworld to yank me back down again. But then I thought of Damen, and wondered why he wouldn’t have come to me if he somehow escaped Hell. “Did you find any traces of who it might be?”
“Not much. There were footsteps—human enough. And we found a hole in the back wall, forged by strong magic. It’s possible something escaped through it. But there was no sign of them anywhere by the time we got there.” A strange look passed over Elah’s face. “Selena, you seem—worried.”
I stared down at my hands in my lap, nodding a little. “There was someone with me, while I was down there.” It hurt to talk about Damen, not least because I hadn’t truly believed in the good I saw in him until it was too late. “He helped me escape, but—I thought maybe he died in the process. It could be him.”
Elah reached out to take my hand, his warmth comforting. “If there’s someone out there who helped you escape, I promise to all the skies I’ll do whatever it takes to find them and thank them for their sacrifice and bravery.”
My heart softened at his words, fingers curling around his strong grip. “Thank you. But I can’t be sure it’s someone friendly—for all we know it’s another demon, or something... worse.”
I couldn’t tell him about my mother, even though the words were just at the tip of my tongue, begging to be spilled. There was hope for us now, fragile but real, and I worried that finding out who my mother was would destroy all that.
Maybe I was breaking my vow to be less selfish.
Or maybe I was afraid of who I would become if I told my friends and allies the truth, and they turned their backs on me because of it.
Elah must’ve sensed the struggle I was going through, because he reached back to smooth my hair from my face, fingers gentle and calloused. “I still can’t believe you came back to us,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “I never would have forgiven myself if we lost you forever. I would never stop looking, knowing you might be out there somewhere, alone and afraid.”
“I know.” I felt his words settle inside me like something heavy and comforting—and also more than a little intimidating. “The universe must know something about us, that it put us together. Because I never would’ve found you on my own.”
“You wouldn’t need to find me.” He leaned forward until I could feel his heat, a spark of fire igniting in the depths of his eyes. “I would find you. In every universe, every possibility—I’m sure that we would be together, Selena. As friends or allies, or something more, if you wanted it.”
That did it. I couldn’t resist any longer, and more than that I didn’t want to. I’d gotten my darkness out, pressed myself against someone who couldn’t be hurt, and now I felt brave enough to try something real. Something honest.
So I leaned forward until Elah caught my lips in his own, the kiss a breathtaking spark of living flame. His hand cupped the side of my head, mouth parting to me and softly laying me open. I tasted his fire and ash, felt the strength of him like a dormant volcano, and remembered how that strength saved me while I was in the Underworld. He kissed me like I was precious and desirable all at once.
I didn’t know if I deserved Elah, but I knew that I wanted to deserve him. And maybe that was enough.
As I sank into the kiss, I felt the energy of him draw into my body and simmer inside me like a living thing. We parted briefly, lips teasing against each other, and he moved his mouth on mine at a new angle. He nipped and tugged at my lower lip, explored my mouth with his tongue, and all the while held my hand between us on the bed.
Reaching up, I put my free hand on his shoulder and marveled in the dense muscles beneath my touch. This was the strong shoulder that raised the sword and let it fall across all things evil.
This time, when our lips parted, I knew that I wanted more. But I forced myself to wait, to lean back in the bed and stare into his flame-colored eyes, alive with the magic of our connection.
Elah’s lips twitched upwards at the edges, and he pulled his hand away from my cheek, leaving me wanting. “I don’t suppose that you’ve made up your mind about our engagement yet. Or should I remind you how the deal is traditionally sealed between fae?”
I laughed at the suggestion in his words. “And what will happen if someone walks in on us while we’re consummating our engagement here?”
“Oh, I suppose I can ask them to join,” he joked, an undercurrent of lustful tension in his voice. “Though I might recommend that they prepare themselves, because a moment with you is enough to make a man yearn for more every day of his life.”
Licking my lips, I smiled and shook my head. “A skilled tongue, and open to sharing? I got lucky when they made you my intended.”
“Not as lucky as I am,” he said softly. He played with my hand, lacing his fingers between mine. “I should probably tell you what I came here to talk about.”
I leaned back, trepidation gathering in my chest. “Should I be worried?”
“I don’t think so,” he said, thumb making circles on the back of my hand. “It’s about the detective.”
“What about him?”
“He’s been pining for you ever since you disappeared.” His words made my heart flip for an entirely different reason, and I chewed my lower lip at the thought of those shocking blue eyes and the kiss we shared. “I’ve told him I approve—not that it’s my place to decide for you, just that we’re friends. We’ve fought side-by-side. We have an understanding now.”
I raised my eyebrows at this. “You did seem rather, uh, friendly earlier.”
Elah’s eyes were warm, the fire in them fading somewhat now. “When two men pine for the same woman, they either become mortal enemies or brothers-in-arms. We chose the latter.” In a rough voice, he added, “And if you don’t take me as your fiancé—or have both of us, if you so choose—I think you should at least consider having the detective. He’s a brave fighter. And he cares more for you than I think even he knows.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said, bowled over by the unconventional way my ex-fiancé, possible-fiancé-again was setting me up with another man. “You’d really be okay with it?”
“I meant what I said when we discussed our engagement before all of... this.” His hand in the air encompassed all of it: my time in the Underworld, and the abrupt way I broke things off before I left. “I know that I can have all of you and still share you. And I know it’s the way of things—what you are isn’t for any one man to own. There are worse men to share with than the detective. In fact, I can think of some benefits that come when more than two are involved in the bedroom.”
“Okay. I’ll think about it. About—him, and the engagement,” I said, trying to beat back the blush running up my cheeks at the ideas Elah’s words were giving me.
“Good. That’s all I ask.”
Warmth sparking in his eyes, he leaned forward and kissed me, softly working his lips against mine. His touch ignited something inside me, a yearning to fully consummate what we had together.
But I knew that I should wait. It was all so much to consider—and I’d only just managed to break things off with Vincent, who I didn’t think Elah would appreciate sharing me with. Elah and Leon were more than enough to consider at once. There was my burgeoning, barely-possible thing with Tae Min to consider too, as well as Naomi’s sharp eyes and sharper knives. When I thought of giving any one of them up, or seeing them fight over me, it twisted my heart in a new way.
I was beginning to understand how the incubus I’d seen months ago found himself with so many lovers at his side.
It was coming close to the time when Maggie would pick me up to take me home, and there was one more fighter from the battle in the graveyard who I had to check up on. After letting Sarah put me through one last battery of tests, I asked her where I could find Fira and followed her instructions into the Collective’s indoor stables.
Elah, it seemed, wasn’t the only fae here in Baton Rouge
with a mount who required food and safe lodging. The stables were kept in the belly of the building, on the first two floors, the second devoted to things with wings. Walking into the open-air, high-ceiling front hall where staff members were loading fresh hay in their wheelbarrows and mucking out mysterious stalls, I wondered how I’d find a normal horse in all this.
Well, mostly normal. Elah had made it clear more than once that Fira was her own warrior on the battlefield. From what I’d seen of her vicious kicks and fast hooves, he was right. I wanted to check in and see how she was doing after Beelzebub slashed her with his wings, but the stables were labyrinthine.
“Sorry, could you help me?” I got the attention of a man cleaning various bits of leather equipment near the front doors. “I’m looking for a blackfyre horse named Fira. Do you know where I could find her?”
He motioned towards the row of stalls to the right. “Fifth on the left. Only actual horse in here.”
“Thanks,” I said, wondering what the not-actual horses were. He didn’t warn me to keep my hands and feet to myself, though, so I hoped there was nothing terribly dangerous.
The stalls I walked past had lower doors, while some of the stalls I’d seen when I first walked in stretched all the way towards the ceiling and were reinforced with iron bars. That made this one of the parts of the stables where the less dangerous creatures were kept, though I still stayed in the very middle of the open row, too nervous to get close to any of the curious faces I saw on either side of me.
One was something almost like a giant toad mixed with an iguana. It burped as it put its head over the gate to its stall, yellow eyes staring at me. Another was a horse, mostly, but with tiny leathery wings folded on its back that looked too small to take it anywhere; it was gnawing on the wood of its stable door with teeth that looked far too sharp to be normal.
It was like that all the way down until the fifth stall, when I saw Fira’s familiar warm eyes. I sighed at the sight of her, reaching out to pet her soft, fuzzy nose when she nickered at me. “You better be careful in here, girl. Some of these other not-horses look like they eat meat.”