A Forever Series Box Set: A Paranormal Reverse Harem : Books 1-5

by Eve Newton

  “Thank fuck,” he says.

  “I want to swim,” Devon declares to which everyone else agrees is a good idea. I think it is especially a good idea to get Jess outside, but first, I click my fingers and give her a glass of blood. She takes it gratefully and I mutter to Devon that he needs to go check our reserve supply in the kitchens, where I have been magickly pulling on for her to drink. It is probably running fairly low at this point.

  Scott overhears me and says, “I will do it and will also get someone for you.”

  I smile gratefully at him, but as ever CK has to barge into the conversation with his over protectiveness, “I will sort out someone for you.”

  “Fine. Thank you,” I say.

  “Pool, then?” Sebastian says and saunters off in the direction of the den and outside. “Fuck, this place is awesome,” he says in wonder. Which makes me wonder, does he not have his own mansion to call home? I don’t really know anything about his personal life except that he can apparently drop everything to follow CK across the country.

  “I will be out in a minute. I want to see the new window,” I say, making my way to the office.

  “It’s awesome, Lizzie,” Devon says. “I love it.”

  I push open the door to my office and see it. “It is beautiful,” Cole says.

  “Wow,” Xane adds. “Your office is like mine! That though, is something else. It’s you?”

  I nod at him. “As best I know. I only have eyewitness accounts to go on.”

  After CK smashed the previous stained-glass window with a chair, that incidentally got recovered near the front wall, a good quarter mile from the house, I knew what I wanted but wanted to wait until I was sure it would be accurate. They did a fantastic job of capturing me in my Dragon form against the backdrop of the skyline from the Dragon Realms. Turns out, I am a smaller version of Tiamat. A black crystal Dragon. The highest-ranking Dragon of the Realms. Which makes sense, seeing as I am Her daughter. Between my description of the skyline and Cole, Devon, and Lincoln’s description of me in the few moments they saw me before I flew off, the window is perfect.

  I look shyly at CK. He is staring at it with a faraway look in his eye. “You like?” I murmur.

  He brings his eyes back to mine. “I do. A definite improvement over the last one,” he says, to which Cole and Devon wholeheartedly agree.

  “What was here before?” Xane asks.

  “Something that should have been smashed to pieces long before it was,” CK says and leaves it at that.

  “Pool time, then,” I say and change into a teeny black bikini before pulling Cole from the room and outside, leaving everyone else to follow.

  Everyone goes and gets themselves sorted and we all meet at the pool, free for a time of worry and problems and issues to deal with. I still have this dark shadow lurking over me, but I push it aside and join in the fun. I find it most amusing that Lincoln in his gorgeous, wet state has caught the attention of Jess, who is staring open-mouthed at him as he climbs out of the pool, the water dripping down his eight-pack abs. I know that I’m practically drooling at the sight of him, so I don’t blame the girl for looking. What I do find interesting, though, is that it hasn’t gone unnoticed by Devon and in a fit of…something, he stalks over to her and pulls her into a kiss. Albeit a light, chaste one on her forehead, but it has the desired effect and she only has eyes for him for the rest of the night. She relaxes a tiny bit which eases her nerves and her bloodlust. I sigh; as much as I dislike this, I am at least relieved that Devon heard what CK said on the jet and is trying harder. Things would be so much worse if he didn’t.

  CK catches my eye and I smile at him. “I was of half a mind not to bother changing,” he says quietly, sidling over to me.

  “Why is that then?” I ask.

  “I was kind of hoping you would throw me fully clothed into the pool and have your wicked way with me. So much bigger than the bathtub.”

  I chuckle with delight. “That can be arranged,” I say seductively and his eyes light up.

  “Just tell me when,” he murmurs and turns away.

  “Wait.” I hold him back. He looks at me inquisitively. “I really want to thank you for what you did. It means the world to me. I will show you the proper appreciation when the time is right,” I say quietly.

  “I know,” he says just as quietly. “I look forward to going back there with you when the paperwork is finalized.”

  “I would like that. Very much,” I say seriously. “But why? What made you decide to drop that much money on it?”

  “You wanted it. I told you that I’m done waiting for you, Aefre. I am now going to fight for you, and I will give you everything your heart desires. I don’t care if it costs nothing or cleans me out of my fortune completely. If you want it, it is yours. You will see that I will do anything for you, that I will do anything to be with you.” He touches my cheek as Cole strides over with a low growl.

  “You know,” he says conversationally, “now that Constantine has broken the terms of our agreement it means you don’t have to go to him for two days anymore.” A cruel sneer, if I ever saw one, crosses his handsome face and I gape at him.

  Is he trying to get himself killed?

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE

  C K turns his head slowly to issue Cole with a dark look that makes me shiver. I can see his whole body is coiled, ready to pounce, and I carefully place myself in front of Cole, hoping I won’t end up on the business end of his claws again.

  Everyone else, while having a working knowledge of the agreement but doesn’t know the exact terms (except Sebastian), nor the reason for this threat level that just shot into the red zone, all stop talking and turn towards the three of us.

  “What did you just say?” CK asks Cole, ignoring me and gazing at him straight over the top of my head. Bloody short shit that I am.

  “You heard me,” Cole says boldly, and I inwardly cringe.

  “You are pushing it, boy. I won’t tolerate any more of your disrespect. And don’t look to your sire for protection this time. I will get to you around her.” In a flash, he has Teleported behind Cole and with a hand around his throat, slams him into the ground, smashing the brickwork into bits in the process.

  “Constantine, no!” I bark at him, but he ignores me as I grab his wrist to pull him off. He is strong but I discover I am stronger, probably only in defense of my charge. He growls aggressively at Cole as I remove his hand. “You should ask her the real reasons she comes to me. It has nothing to do with the agreement,” CK snarls.

  Oh, crap. Clearly what I said to CK in the Veyron and at the hotel when we got to Vegas is not about to stay in Vegas. If he spills the beans on the baby thing, I will kill him myself.

  I glower at him. He just looks mildly at me. He will keep the bit about the baby making to himself, but the rest is about to come out. “She confirmed that she comes to me because she is in love with me and will be my wife, not because I force her to with our arrangement. That is strictly for your benefit, to keep you in line.”

  He lets that sink in and several sets of eyes land on me, although I am unsure as to why everyone finds this such a surprise. I mean it is clear that I’m in love with my sire and have been for a thousand years, but I suppose now that everyone is putting two and two together and coming up with my ring, the facts are becoming a bit clearer.

  I chew my lip, cursing my sire for blurting that out to everybody. It’s one thing having Cole know, or least suspect it as I have never outright said it to him, but it’s another thing entirely to have it announced so casually in front of everyone.

  “Constantine,” I berate him quietly, “you are telling secrets, my love. This is our business, not for everyone to know about.”

  He shrugs, unconcerned. Cole look like he wants to die, or possibly kill.

  “You set this in motion by taking it off. By disrespecting the arrangement,” CK continues.

  “It wasn’t part of the arrangement,” Cole snarls at him. ‘I
t’ being my ring, obviously. “At least not the part I agreed to. You two came up with that all on your own. You think you tell me anything I don’t already know? You think that Liv and I don’t talk?” Emphasis on the Liv there. “Do you think that we have no relationship? That this is just some fling that means nothing to her?” He is firing these questions out but apparently not expecting any answers, so Constantine doesn’t give him any. “We are married. She is my wife and whatever delusions you might have to the contrary, we are staying that way. I told you before, I am not going anywhere.” He sends a scathing look at Constantine which he follows up with the same to me, most definitely unhappy with me and my role in all of this.

  There is a very awkward silence where no one even moves. Everyone, except the three of us, are trying to act like they aren’t even there, hardly daring to breathe as this is very, very personal and very, very something they would love not to know. I realize that Sebastian knows about this and even Lincoln has some clue but Devon is floored and furious for being that way, Jess is appalled and Scott has that look where he wants the ground to swallow him up and Xane…well, Xane is looking so furious, I’m almost certain he is going to add to this drama with secrets of our own.

  I step forward to try and diffuse this situation before it gets any worse.

  “Cole, baby. Please go and wait for me in our bedroom. I need a word with my sire. I will be up shortly.”

  He nods at me briefly, still stony-faced, but a glimmer of smug underneath at the use of my words ‘our bedroom.’

  “I will go and wait for you in our bedroom,” he says. He steps closer to me and whispers low enough for everyone else not to hear, with the exception of Constantine who is standing close enough, “And I will make love to you all night, in that way that you love, that leaves you breathless and wanting more.” He kisses me as I inhale sharply and part my lips. He pulls away and with a last baleful glare at CK, strides back into the house.

  I round on CK, who gives me in that mildly infuriating look of his.

  “I warned you that I wasn’t putting up with any more shit from him,” he says. “Get him in line or it will get worse than this.”

  “How dare you?” I hiss at him quietly as I drag him a little way away. “You had no right to blurt that out in front of everybody.”

  “At least everyone is fully in the know now about what to expect in the future. You will be mine and there isn’t anything anyone can do to stop it,” he says blandly. I just stare at him for a moment.

  “Is this just a game to you?” I ask him suddenly.

  He looks taken aback but I carry on. “You seemed quite happy to leave me be until I had someone. Someone that I loved enough to turn and marry and then all of a sudden you wanted me again. It’s all just very coincidental,” I sneer at him.

  “Is that what you really think? That I am doing this to amuse myself? I can assure you, Aefre, that I am less than amused by this situation. I thought we had discussed this, and that you understood?” he says sadly.

  “I thought I did,” I say, just as sadly. “You said you would wait for me. That you would respect my marriage.”

  “I changed my mind.”

  “Well, I haven’t. We go back to the original terms, or I take back what I said about trying.” It’s a low blow. A very low blow and he takes the hit of it badly.

  “Is that blackmail, my sweet?” he says menacingly to cover up the pain I have just inflicted on him.

  “An ultimatum,” I say, not backing down.

  “You would take that away from me after it was you who brought it up? Your vicious side lives on, my love. Be careful, you wouldn’t want it to get you into trouble again.” And with that said, he Teleports out, presumably back to his house. Or probably more likely to Ponte.

  I breathe in deeply, trying to steady my shaking nerves. I didn’t want to hurt him, I didn’t want to have to do that, but he left me no choice. I have to protect Cole. He cannot do it himself against Constantine. He will be dead in a second if CK pushes him into doing or saying something suicidal and my sire decides that enough is enough.

  “What did you say to him?” Sebastian asks.

  “Something he didn’t want to hear.” I sigh, “But I had to say it. I need him to back off and stick to the plan. He is pushing Cole’s limit and I just don’t want to see what he will do if Cole pushes back.”

  “I think you will find that backing off isn’t going to happen now. I’m glad all of this is out in the open, maybe now you will see reason,” he states, and he Teleports out as well, presumably to wherever our sire has gone to plot his next move.

  “Fuck!” I yell at no one in particular and the remaining members of our group flinch. I turn to face them, and everybody avoids my gaze. “Look at me,” I snarl at them. And they do. “What you have witnessed here is personal and sensitive and I don’t want to hear a word of it discussed either between yourselves or to me. Got it?”

  They all nod in unison, even Xane, to my surprise, agrees to my request. Well, my demand.

  “I will talk to all of you tomorrow. I have to go and deal with the fall out,” I sigh, suddenly weary.

  “Erm, Liz,” Devon starts, and I glare at him. “I don’t mean to add to your shit, but I have my own shit and, well, I must point out that it is Friday.”

  What? “Are you serious right now?” I hiss at him.

  “Very,” he says with the most grave look I’ve ever seen on him. “We had a deal.”

  “Yes, before you created a newbie and my husband turned up and provoked my sire into being a dick. I was under the assumption we would start next week.”

  “You would be wrong,” he says, standing his ground.

  “Devon,” I warn him in my best sire tone.

  “Elizabeth,” he says back to me.

  “Come here,” I order him, and he strolls forward. I drag him a bit further away. “You need to be with Jess,” I say to him. “You don’t have to fuck her, but you at least need to stay with her until she falls asleep.”

  “No, what I need is the time you promised me.”

  “Dev. I need to sort this crap out with Cole. He is going to get himself killed if I don’t get him line. Go and do your sire duty by Jess and I will come and find you later. That’s the best I can do for now.”

  “No, I told you that I won’t be a quick fuck before you move on.”

  “I never said it would be,” I say, affronted.

  “It was implied.”

  “What would you have me do? Cole needs to understand that Constantine isn’t fucking about, especially after this shitstorm. Please, Dev. Can I make it up to you next week?”

  “How so?” he asks.

  “I don’t know. I am sure you will think of something suitable to your needs,” I say, not in the mood for a negotiation.

  “Oh, of that I have no doubt,” he says with just a hint of menace. He wouldn’t dare to outright defy me, though.

  “Very well. Let me off the hook for tonight and you get to thinking,” I wheedle with my most charming smile and a trailing hand to his arm that makes him glow.

  “Fine,” he says gruffly. “But I expect nothing less than your undivided attention and everything that I ask you to do.”

  I raise my eyebrow at him and he back tracks. “I mean everything I ask to do to you,” he says quickly.

  “Done,” I say. He leans down to kiss me to seal the deal. “Now I must go. Just sit with her.”

  I watch him as he walks back to her and takes her arm again. She beams at him and they walk back to the house, leaving me with Scott, who very quickly excuses himself, and Lincoln and Xane.

  “Well, Liv. I have to say, you don’t half get yourself into some fucking awkward situations. Does trouble just follow you around or do you seek it out?” Lincoln asks me with a small chuckle.

  I roll my eyes at him. “Both, probably. Never a dull moment and all that.” He comes to hug me and says, “Go and sort out your charge, but I do still need to talk to you, soon
.” I nod, grateful that he is just being perfect, understanding, no-drama Lincoln.

  I, however, am probably not getting away with anything so easily with Xane. He has thus far been remarkably silent since we left Vegas. Probably trying to see what everyone’s roles are here and taking it all in.

  “I, too, need to talk to you soon,” he says, his piercing blue eyes on mine. “We have much to discuss and even more so in light of this…evening,” he says, heeding my warning of not bringing the subject up. “I have watched the group. I see the dynamics of your relationships and it is interesting. However…” he trails off, leaving his next words to my imagination.

  “I will come and find you, I promise. Just go with Lincoln now, please.”

  He nods slowly. “Fine. But don’t leave it too long.”

  My turn to nod. They both go and I Astral to my bedroom where I find Cole waiting on the balcony with his arms crossed and his face grim.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SIXTY

  “Before you say anything, I have told him off for what he did and have given him an ultimatum to go and think about,” I say.

  “What kind of ultimatum?”

  “Nothing of relevance to you but it is to him. He will back off, I assure you.”

  Cole turns to me with an incredulous look. “Really? You are still keeping secrets? Fuck, Liv. I really don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

  “Not a secret. Just something for him to go and think about,” I reassert. “Cole, I’m going to tell you this once. Do not let him provoke you into doing something rash. He has played this game for over two thousand years. He knows what he’s doing. He is waiting for you to strike but you cannot do that. I’m stressing this because he will annihilate you and that is the last thing I want. You need to let it go, please. I love you, I love him but you’re both making this very difficult for me. I’ve warned him and now I’m warning you. Back the fuck off from him,”