by Kailin Gow
Fae and Fangs
Society of Supernatural Sleuths
Book Three
kailin gow
Fae and Fangs
Society of Supernatural Sleuths Book 3
Published by Romance On the Go
An imprint of Sparklesoup Inc.
Copyright © 2019 Kailin Gow
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DEDICATION
True love transpires time…
Prologue
Scarlet
London, England
1895
After solving the mystery of Cupid’s bow, Scarlet and the rest of the Society of Supernatural Sleuths could not rest easy. Gordon was still missing, and Cecilia was somewhere in the lands of the fae. The Order still clearly wanted the Devices, and Scarlet was in personal danger now. They had marked her along with the other supernatural marks she had from Cruces, the mysterious vampire lord and his brother Rothschild, the notoriously rake of a vampire were like night and day, the two vampire lords were different yet the same. They both claimed her as their own. They both wanted her physically and for the supernatural gifts that she had, although she was clearly human.
As the Seeker, she was priceless. Being a Seeker was recently revealed to her when Rothschild glamour her into believing she was in love with him, and had taken her to seek out supernatural devices. Up until then, she spent her entire 18 years, unaware that she had the gift to seek the supernatural devices like a metal detector.
A fact she realized her parents may have known, having her accompany them on their expeditions and digs to seek out priceless artifacts, including her dagger -- which could kill immortals. Ever since she was a child, her parents had asked her to help lead the way or to provide some direction where she thought a hidden treasure would be found.
Now she knew why. It only took her meeting Cruces, Rothschild, and Tavian to discover she was not a typical Victorian young lady at all. That, and her ability to see the supernatural all around her.
Scarlet was about to take a bite of her toast when the front door of her stylish London townhouse swung open and a very handsome and stylish young man with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes walked in with an air of an aristocrat.
“Cruces!” Scarlet exclaimed. “How did you just walk into my home without the use of a key or someone opening the door for you? You can’t just walk in like that.”
Cruces smiled. “Scarlet, have you forgotten already, after all the adventures we’ve had? I am a vampire, and I am a very powerful one.” He moved up close to Scarlet so quickly, like a blink of the eye, captured her neck with his hand, and bent it close to his lips.
Scarlet froze. Cruces had never tried to drink blood from her before, since she had known him. He usually drank an alternative substance, like wine. Or was it wine? Whatever he drank, it was always in a wine glass. A vampire concoction. But not directly from a human.
As Cruces’ fangs appeared, Scarlet felt a shiver of fear at the thought that she would be bitten and drank from a vampire, yet she also felt the heat of Cruces’ sensuality, which made her heat up at her core, the blood rushing to her lower half, making her clench.
“I do believe,” Cruces smiled, “you’re inviting my mouth towards a certain part of your body to bite and suck.” He licked his lips. “I can smell where most of your blood is flowing, my dear. Should I follow my meal to your core?”
If Scarlet were a typical Victorian girl, she would be blushing and hiding behind a chaperone. She wouldn’t be alone with a young gentleman in her own parlor. She would be coy and dignified.
Instead, she smiled and said, “Cruces, are you simply making this a mystery in itself, or are you waiting for an invite before you ravish me?”
Cruces leaned closer to Scarlet until his fangs were touching the creamy white skin of Scarlet’s. She could feel its sharpness. She could feel his hunger. One movement from either Cruces or Scarlet would cause a penetration of her skin.
Cruces groaned from his hunger for her. Scarlet felt his pull. Felt how he wanted to drink from her yet was holding back. Like the way he first made love to her.
He was always holding back, as though he was afraid she would not be able to take all of him.
Yet, she knew he could be the most sensual lover. Her body heated up in places she had felt great pleasure remembering how Cruces could awaken every cell in her body with his hands, tongue, lips, and body. Then with his fangs, and his bite, which sent her into ecstasy to the point she wanted much much more of him.
As if Cruces could read her mind and her body, his fangs scraped across her smooth creamy skin, releasing the tiniest amount of blood for his taste.
He closed his eyes and savored her taste. Scarlet heated from seeing the hunger in his eyes. Then as quickly as he had scraped her flesh, sending shudders of pleasure through her entire body, his wet tongue licked her scratch dry, immediately healing the skin.
“So you’ve succumbed to being a base vampire after all, Brother,” a familiar aristocratic voice said, sending a flood of conflicting feelings within Scarlet.
He had died right in front of her, trying to save her, although he was the one she had believed to be the villain.
Rothschild.
Immediately, Cruces was at Rothschild’s throat with one hand pushing him back against the wall, while his other held a stake straight at his heart.
“Don’t, Cruces!” Scarlet plead.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Cruces asked. “We saw him die at the hands of our own twisted sister Lydia. We’ve seen how Lydia could bring back the immortal dead in a form that was mindless and monstrous…”
Rothschild smirked. “Do I look mindless and monstrous?” he looked at Scarlet.
Scarlet took that opportunity to look over the flawlessly perfect vampire whose ethereal beauty was only enhanced by his rakishness. Long white hair and blue eyes, high cheekbones and full lips gave him almost a fae prince appearance, but he was truly all vampire, having been one of the firstborns turned by the original vampire himself, along with Cruces and their sister, Lydia. He was dressed in a pale silver silk frock and a grey velvet top hat like a proper, well-dressed gentleman.
Only his muscular physique filling out his trousers, exhibiting a telltale sign he was aroused as he took in Scarlet’s disheveled blonde hair, her wide blue eyes, and her pink sensuous lips; gave way to his mindless and monstrous side.
She knew where his mind was. It wasn’t mindless. It was filled with the memories of their last encounter -- most likely when Rothschild appeared before Scarlet after she thought he was gone forever…right when he confessed to loving her before he even placed a spell on her. They made passionate love afterwards, unable to hold back what they both wanted for so long.
Cruces saw the look that was exchanged between them and looked from Scarlet to Rothschild, then back to Scarlet.
“I believe it is the same Rothschild,” Scarlet finally said.
“But he turned to dust, Scarlet,” Cruces said. “Vampires do not simply come back to life and then return the same way after they’ve turned to dust or ashes.”
Rothschild gave Scarlet a pointed look before he turned to his older brother, Cruces. “I did not want to share this with you, but it appears I have to in order to convince your skeptical mind that I am not on
e of those mindless vampire ghosts who Lydia conjured up to try to destroy us.” He pointed to his gold lapel pin. “I grabbed it from her before she struck me with the stake. This Device protects the wearer from dying. Another immortality Device. I was fortunate to spot it on her before she could strike me dead.”
Cruces looked at the device. “Clever. Disguising this as common everyday jewelry.” He fingered the pin before Rothschild could move away. “I wondered where Lydia picked up this device? The design is one I have not seen before. Sleek, straight lines.”
Rothschild grinned. “I was just about to ask Scarlet that when I saw you about to either feast on her blood or something much more pleasurable…”
Cruces looked at Scarlet, his eyes betraying his desire for her, still strong despite Rothschild’s untimely visit. “I will never put Scarlet in a position of just a meal, Rothschild. She means far more than that to me. As you could attest yourself. You love her, don’t you, Rothschild?”
Rothschild gazed lovingly at Scarlet. “I came back from the dead for her, didn’t I?”
Scarlet walked over to Rothschild and Cruces, looking at them both. “Now that Rothschild had chosen his side,” she reached out to touch his elbow, “The Order would pin him as an enemy as much as they had you, Cruces. Should we accept him into the Society?”
Cruces hesitated. “I wouldn’t exactly call Rothschild a sleuth, however, he does love you, and that is another supernatural who could help watch over you and protect you from The Order and, of course, from Lydia, who is hell bent on destroying you.”
“Who else is in this Society?” Rothschild asked, looking around.
“Me,” a deep gruff voice said from the doorway.
Tavian, the warrior fae, who grew up as a human gypsy stood with his muscular arms crossed. His kohl lined green eyes staring intently at Scarlet, as his long, jet black hair left unbound, fell across his lightly tanned skin on his insanely muscular body.
Before anyone could say anything, Tavian stepped forward, grabbed Scarlet by the waist, and pulled her to him before crushing his mouth to hers. She stared into Tavian’s handsome face before succumbing to the pleasure of his kiss.
Before she knew how he felt about her, his kiss was more than a kiss, but a sensory response beyond the human senses. The kiss was necessary to help her see into Tavian’s memories, and to connect to his fae insight. Kissing him for information was not a difficult task, but one she thoroughly enjoyed especially since he was the most mouth-watering delicious male being she had ever seen. Unlike the other two males in her harem of supernatural sleuths, confined to wearing proper gentlemen frocks, Tavian wore only a leather vest over his bare muscular broad chest. Though he filled out his baggy trousers well with toned thick thighs, his pants fell low along his waist, offering the stimulating view of his v-shaped muscles and flat muscular stomach.
At first it was a passionate kiss where Tavian’s tongue delved into Scarlet’s mouth to play with hers, kissing as though they were starving. She couldn’t see what Tavian wanted her to see, so she intensified her kiss, leaning into him, begging for more.
His full mouth took hold of her lower lips to suck and devour them before claiming the rest of her mouth. She was lost in his kiss, as he picked her up by the waist to have her wrap her legs around his while his mouth devoured hers.
She finally moaned as she felt something hard rub against her undergarments where they were crushed together. She was pounding her lower self against his hard length, feeling her build within.
Behind her, she could hear Rothschild groaned. “Must he kiss her like that in front of us?”
“It’s simply not fair how that fae brute must kiss her for her to gain those visions,” Cruces said.
“I wonder what kind of kiss she would prefer,” Rothschild said to Cruces. “The fae kind or the fangs kind.”
“For Scarlet, being the Seeker, the fae kind grants her visions. The fangs kind, grants you immense pleasure,” Cruces said.
Rothschild said, “Depending on who you’re kissing, the fae kind seems to grant you both visions and pleasure.”
After Tavian groaned, Scarlet finally saw a vision. That of a beautiful dark-haired girl who was a feminine version of the sexy fae gypsy man. Cecilia was in a world Scarlet had never seen before. There were glowing objects in the air. Horseless carriages with people in them. Tall buildings that reached the sky.
Cecilia was no longer dressed in her colorful gypsy dress, but blue pants which hugged her form tightly and a snug white top with some kind of metal along it. She was talking, but it was into an object which appeared to be a device.
Was this the land of the Fae?
Wasn’t Cecilia sent there as punishment for stealing Cruces’ ring?
Where was she?
Cecilia was walking, holding the flat shiny rectangular object to her ear, past a large sign blinking. There was an explosion of colors behind her.
Then words.
New York. Central Park. A Christmas Carol. Theater in the Park. Be there or be square. November 21, 2020.
Scarlet’s eyes flew opened, and she exclaimed. “I know where Cecilia is!”
“Where?” All three men asked at once.
“New York, Central Park. November 21,” Scarlet said. “In the future. The year 2020.”
Chapter 1
“Must we find Cecilia?” Rothschild asked.
Tavian glared at him. “You were the one who took her away. Do you not recall?”
Scarlet looked quizzically at Tavian. He was right. Though the memory was hazy since she now saw Rothschild in a different way….as a lover, as a friend, and an ally, she had nearly forgotten how he hated Cecilia.
In a kiss shared with Tavian, the vision she saw was that of Cecilia fighting Rothschild.
Cecilia was talking as she attacked. “You’re going to regret using me,” she promised, in tones that made Scarlet almost glad that the girl had no reason to hate her too. “First, my brother is going to freeze you, and we’ll kill you like the vermin you are. Then, I’m going to make sure that your Order doesn’t achieve anything, because I’m going to tell Miss Seely exactly how to find her friend, Gordon.”
Gordon. Scarlet’s longtime friend and fencing teacher, who she had believed had been helping with the case. It had turned out, however, that Cecilia had been impersonating him using the magic of the Fae. The real Gordon had been moved to another world by Rothschild, using one of the magical rings created for the first vampire’s “children.” The idea had been to force Scarlet into tracking down the magical Devices for him as part of the search for her friend. If Cecilia knew of an easier way to find Gordon…
It was clear though that things were not going to be that simple. Even as Scarlet watched, Rothschild reached out to grab Cecilia, ignoring a thrust of the knife she held and then twisting it from her grip.
“I cannot let you tell her that, Cecilia.”
“What are you going to do?” the fae girl demanded. “Strangle me again?”
Rothschild laughed. Even though it was just a memory, and even though she knew what he was now, Scarlet could not help being caught up in the beauty of that sound. “I was thinking of something a bit more permanent, this time,” the vampire said.
He lifted his left hand, on which his ring glinted golden even in the moonlight. The air next to him and Cecilia seemed almost to split, tearing apart like a seam on a badly sewn garment. Light spilled so bright from beyond the split that Scarlet was blinded for a second. She saw Tavian start forward towards it, knowing already that he did not have the time.
He did not. Rothschild held Cecilia, lifted her, and stepped through the gap he had created as though it were nothing unusual. The gap sealed behind him almost instantly, healing up so that just a second later, it looked like the ragged opening in the air had never been there. Tavian was left simply staring at the empty space where his sister had been.
Scarlet and Tavian turned to Rothschild. “You should know where Cecilia is,”
Tavian said, his eyes narrowing.
“Scarlet just said she knew where she is,” Rothschild said, raising his eyebrows. “Must I kiss you to see if her vision will be the same as mine?”
Tavian lunged at the haughty vampire, but Rothschild just launched into the air, flying backwards.
“You were the one who took Cecilia away. Now you must tell us how to find her!”
Rothschild landed on the ground with barely a sound, a testimony to the vampire’s true age and power. “I did,” he smiled smugly. “But remember, someone else sent her to the future. Not I. I merely sent her to where she had been begging me to send her, using my ring. To your land…The Land of the Fae. She made a bargain with me to send her there if she returned a few of my belongings.”
“She stole from you, too?” Cruces asked. “She stole my ring and became angry with me for not returning her love.”
“She stole a few devices I’ve collected, and even a few of my favorite scarves…lady’s scarves,” Rothschild said. “Apparently she was jealous I had them.”