Tempted By Fae

by Midnight Coven

  There was no doubt.

  Now I had to tell Calla. About me, about Fae, about everything. I had no idea where to start. Shit. How was I going to tell her?

  It wasn’t going to be tonight. I closed my eyes, content with the woman in my arms. My mate.

  Over the next three days, Calla and I spent every day—and night—together. She was so much fun to be with, and the times we were alone were the best of my life. Every moment with her convinced me that the blood was accurate. She was my mate.

  I still hadn’t told her.

  I was a coward. I was afraid that if I told her, she’d reject everything, including me, out of hand. And if she did—there was no way out for me. Fae who found their fated mates only ever found one. If the mating didn’t work out—there wouldn’t be another. I would have to marry. There was no question of anything else. But now that I knew Calla, knew what she was to me, what we were to each other, I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

  Every night after we’d spent hours exploring each other, I’d lain in bed, trying to figure out how to tell her. Every night, I had no answers by the time I forced myself to seek sleep.

  Our time together was running out. I needed to tell her before she left. I sighed. I needed to tell her. Procrastinating wasn’t going to make this easier.

  Tomorrow, we were going to Versailles. I’d volunteered to drive, so that after the tour, we’d have time to walk around the gardens and not be pressed for time. I’d tell her then. When it was just the two of us.

  No more cowardice. It was time to face the truth, face the future. I hoped it would be with Calla.

  Versailles was beautiful. I came here every time I came to Paris. It was one of those things that needed to be seen more than once to appreciate. The king who’d created it had been a visionary. He had also been a less than pleasant man, in my estimation. Regardless, the palace was enjoyable, more so because Calla was with me. She’d never seen it before. Watching her take it in for the first time was like the first time I’d come to Versailles. Only seeing it through her eyes was even better.

  “One day is not enough,” Calla said, sighing as she looked around.

  “No, it’s not,” I agreed. “Are you hungry?” I’d planned for us to eat at La Table du 11 tonight, but I’d brought a picnic lunch for us this afternoon.

  “I could be,” Calla grinned at me. “I’m not sure food is what I’m hungry for.”

  I laughed. To be with someone who delighted in being with you was a gift. “I can probably accommodate that,” I said, my voice lowering. I tucked an arm around her waist and leaned down to nibble at her ear. “I didn’t realize you had a streak of exhibitionism,” I whispered.

  She shivered as she snuggled into me. “I don’t. But maybe later?” Her eyebrows went up.

  “Perhaps. There are a lot of gardens here,” I smiled at her.

  “There are indeed,” Calla said. “And we’re never going to see them all if we keep lollygagging around.”

  I took her hand as we walked. Our next destination was the Hameau de la Reine, the farmhouse where a queen had once pretended to be something she wasn’t. I could understand her desire, after a fashion. I was pretending to be human.

  Calla stumbled, and I reached for her, pulling her back up before she could fall.

  “Holy hell!” she exclaimed. “How are you so fast?”

  I cursed myself. She was noticing my small slips. I’d love to blame it on her keen sense of observation, but the truth was, I was not being careful as I ought to be.

  “I pay close attention to you,” I said, knowing it wasn’t a good excuse.

  But Calla only nodded. “It’s nice,” she said. “I’m glad I didn’t face plant.”

  I laughed, not only at the expression, but out of relief. “So am I.”

  The Queen’s house was lovely, and I watched Calla as she exclaimed over the rooms. If she loved this sort of architecture, she’d love Fae.

  But could she live there? Didn’t I need to find that out before I told her? I stopped my thoughts. I was attempting to procrastinate again.

  We left the house and wandered through the back gardens. Finding a small bench tucked in an alcove of vined plants that wove up a trellis, I pulled Calla into my lap, kissing her deeply. She wound her arms around my neck, returning my kisses with vigor.

  When I pulled back from her, she was looking at me. “What is it?” she asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “There’s something different about you.” She studied me for a moment. “Are you about to tell me you’re married, or something like that?”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “You’ve been antsy all day. I can feel it rolling off of you,” she said, brushing her fingers along my lips. “Just tell me whatever it is.”

  A sense of relief and gratitude washed over me. This was why Calla was my mate. She knew me, even as we’d only just met. She could tell what I was feeling. She knew something was not right, and she hadn’t said a word.

  I could love this woman. I blinked at the realization.

  “Well?” Calla asked. “Tell me before I have to kill you for making me wait.”

  I sighed. “Will you just listen, and I’ll answer all the questions you have?”

  “That doesn’t really inspire confidence, Sen.”

  “I know,” I said. “But just listen, okay?”

  She nodded.

  “I’m not human,” I said.

  “I’m sorry, what?” Calla shook her head.

  “I’m not human,” I said again. “I’m fae.”

  “What does that mean?” She leaned back to look at me.

  Chapter Nine

  Calla

  I was trying not to act shocked or freak out. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what the hell to say.

  “It means I’m not from around here,” Sen said.

  He was normally so confident. To see him nervous was interesting, to say the least. Such a large man, and one who was so at ease with himself—the nervousness didn’t sit well on him. I’d noticed it this morning, and it hadn’t dissipated during the day. If anything, he was jumpier. Like he was waiting for something bad to happen. Whatever it was, I wanted it out in the open. I hadn’t expected this, whatever this was.

  “Fae is another realm, another world. We’re…” he stopped, looking frustrated. “We’re a parallel world to yours, separated by a veil. It keeps the two worlds safe from one another.”

  “Why do they need to be separate? Why aren’t they safe for each other?” I asked.

  “Fae are what you’d call creatures of magic. Our worlds are different,” he said.

  I still didn’t understand. Was he saying he was not French? Or what? I wasn’t sure. So I tried again. “Why are you here?” I asked.

  “When I said I was part of the family business?”

  I nodded, wanting him to continue. This sounded normal, not like the stuff he’d thrown out there.

  “My family is part of the Fae Court. We aren’t royalty, but we are—”

  I held up a hand, forcing myself off his lap. This was not what I wanted to hear.

  “Calla, what is it?” His voice was calm, deep, but I could hear the thread of worry in it.

  “This is too much, Sen.”

  “What do you mean?” Now he looked worried.

  As he should be.

  “A week ago, I was ready to be married. And then he left me, standing there, in front of everyone we knew, and people I didn’t know, and the whole town,” I said. I could feel the hitch in my voice as the lump in my throat grew larger and painful. “I came here to spend some time with me. I met you, and it’s been fun, but I have no business getting wrapped up in whatever crazy you have going on,” I said, backing away.

  Sen got up. “Wait a minute, Calla. Please. You don’t understand.”

  “I know all I need to know, Sen. I don’t want to hear anymore. No!” I held up my hand, taking a few more steps back.

  Sen closed
his mouth, stopping whatever he’d been about to say.

  “Please leave me alone,” I said. “I’ll get myself back to my hotel. And I mean it. Please leave me alone.” Tears blurred my vision, and I had to stop speaking. The ache in my throat, in my chest, was overwhelming.

  I turned away, walking quickly from the garden. I couldn’t get the image of Sen out of my mind. He’d watched me walk away, the pain evident on his face.

  But he was crazy. Insane. Talking about fairies, or whatever. I didn’t need that. I’d barely dodged a bullet with my insane fiancé. I didn’t need to walk into another insane relationship.

  No. I’d done the right thing.

  Shaking my head as I walked away, I had to wonder about me. “What the hell, C?” I muttered. It’s like I was drinking the Paris Kool-Aid. Come to Paris, the City of Love! No, C, not for you. Not now.

  I managed to make my way outside of Versailles and get a taxi that brought me back to my hotel. I staggered up to my room and tossed myself onto the bed, letting the tears fall. How long I laid there crying, I didn’t know.

  But I couldn’t be in here anymore. Not where we’d spent so much time. It smelled like Sen in here.

  My face in the bathroom mirror told the story. Blotchy and red, with red-rimmed eyes. I splashed water on my face until the skin around my eyes felt less puffy and tight. Then I gathered up my scarf and went out to walk.

  I always was better when I walked. It helped me to clear my head, to think better. I walked as it got darker, ignoring the people around me. I could smell food as I passed cafes, but my stomach recoiled at the thought of eating anything.

  And I cried. The whole thing was so crazy, but what was worse was that I allowed myself to be caught up in it.

  “I’m going to have to go home,” I said out loud.

  A man passed me, his eyes meeting mine. He mumbled something in French as he moved past me.

  Great. I was going crazy. Next thing I knew, a couple of cats would start following me around. Not that I minded cats. I was considering getting one, now that Trevor was out of the picture. He didn’t care for cats. But since it was just me, I could do whatever I wanted.

  I just didn’t want cats at this moment.

  Walking on, I noticed that there were fewer shops and cafes, and a lot fewer people. I stopped, looking around. I didn’t know where I was. Pulling out my phone, I turned on the GPS. I’d need to get back to my hotel, and I’d been so caught up in my own thoughts that I hadn’t paid attention to where I was going.

  Great.

  All that was needed now was a couple of cats.

  A bright flash exploded behind me.

  Chapter Ten

  Sen

  I watched Calla as she walked. Her head was down, and I could feel the tangle of her thoughts. She was sad, and angry—although she seemed angrier at herself than me—and distracted. I wished that I could go to her, take her in my arms, and get her out of here.

  This wasn’t the greatest neighborhood.

  She walked on, her head down. Occasionally, she talked to herself. I followed her, because I didn’t know what else to do.

  Calla passed an alley, and then I heard them.

  There were three men in the alley. One came out quickly and set a pace to follow Calla. Watching him, I wondered where the other two had gone.

  I discovered their whereabouts when I felt hands on both of my arms.

  “What are you, a cop?” the man on my left asked.

  My mind registered that he was speaking French, but being Fae allowed me to understand them. It also allowed me to reply in whatever language I heard.

  “What I am is none of your business, friend,” I said, hoping to avoid an outright confrontation.

  “Listen to him,” the one on my left said to the second man. “None of our business? Everything that goes on in this neighborhood is our business.”

  “Leave the woman alone,” I said. I couldn’t see Calla or the man who’d slipped out of the alley any longer.

  “Why are you following the woman?” the man on the right asked.

  “If there’s any following to be done, that’s our job,” the man on the left added.

  “You really need to let go of me,” I said. The rage built in me, and I could feel the magic moving through my body.

  “Why are you here?” The third man, the one who’d slipped out of the alley to follow Calla, appeared in front of me.

  “What I’m doing is none of your business,” I repeated.

  “Anyone following marks in our territory is absolutely our business,” the third man said. “The American is ours.” He flicked open a knife, and came closer to me, smiling. “You really want to go up against us, my friend?” The last word was drawn out, and decidedly not friendly.

  A sharp blow hit the back of my head, making my vision go black for a few seconds.

  The magic burst from me, sending all three flying away in different directions. The men on either side of me landed to the left and right. The one on the left hit a small parked car. The one on the right hit the building closest to us with a sharp crack, sliding down the wall. There was a dark trail along the wall as he came to a stop face first on the sidewalk. It looked to be blood. I didn’t care.

  The man who’d hit the car didn’t move. And the third man, the one who’d pulled out the knife and grinned evilly at me, was nowhere to be seen.

  My magic had forced me to my knees, and I let myself fall back, resting. I’d need a minute. Maybe two. I didn’t often allow my magic to let go in such a fashion.

  The block was eerily quiet. Then I heard footsteps, the sound of someone running. The steps came closer, and then hands were scrabbling at my face.

  It was Calla.

  “Sen! Oh, my god! What the hell was that? What did I just see? Why did—what happened?” She looked around and then back at me. “Oh, my god, Sen! You’re bleeding!” She touched my face and then lifted my head to cradle it in her lap. “I need to call you an ambulance.”

  “Calla,” I reached up to touch her face. Even now, even with all the uncertainty around her and us, I felt better being near her. “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not. Oh, my god!” Her vocabulary seemed stuck. She lifted up the hand that had been cradling my head. “You’re really bleeding!” Her voice caught.

  She was crying.

  Over me.

  She wasn’t recoiling in disgust.

  “Before you do that, Calla, give me a minute, please?” I pushed myself up, even as I’d rather have my head in her lap.

  She nodded, her mouth partly open in a way that was so decidedly sexy, so innocent, and so delicious all at the same time, I nearly lost my focus. I wanted this woman so badly. My entire being ached for her.

  I closed my eyes and held my hand to the back of my head. With a thought, I could feel the healing begin. When I opened my eyes, Calla was holding her hand over her mouth.

  Then she jerked her fingers away from her mouth, looking first at her hand, and then at me.

  “I tried to tell you,” I said.

  Chapter Eleven

  Calla

  A soft golden glow burst from the back of Sen’s head, sort of like the pictures you saw of saints. Only he didn’t look like a saint. With his hair half out of the hair tie he wore, and the frown on his face, he looked like a marauding pirate.

  This was the second glow I’d seen from him in as many minutes. The first one was when I’d turned around to see a bright blue flash just before bodies went flying. I wasn’t concerned for them—I’d seen Sen, and then he’d dropped down.

  I hadn’t even thought. I’d run to him.

  “I tried to tell you,” he said.

  Small things came to me then, in pictures in my memory. Him moving us around the column at Mont St. Michel. Catching me while we were walking in the streets. The glow when I’d touched him the first night, we were intimate.

  All pointed to him being something other than human. Fae, he’d said.

/>   “I thought you’d have wings,” I said. Shit. I hadn’t meant for that to come out. I had no idea what I’d meant to say, but that wasn’t it.

  Sen looked at me, and then he burst out laughing. “No wings. Those are fairies. Not fae.” He looked around, and then stood up, bringing me with him. “We should leave here, Calla.” He looked down now, not meeting my eyes. “I will leave you, if that’s what you wish.”

  He still held my hand.

  I brushed my hair from my face and swiped at the tears that had streamed down without me realizing. God, they were everywhere! I wiped my mouth and then I tasted it.

  Tangy, coppery, and floral all at once. It was as though fireworks went off in my soul. I could feel him, feel his worry, his pain, his desire. All three of those things were mashed together in Sen as he looked at me. I felt him at my core, and desire for him right now swept all the way to my toes. There was something else, something within him that tied us together, something that was not me, or him—what was it?

  Magic. That’s what the blue flash was. That’s what the golden glow was that healed his head. My eyes widened as I looked at him. He was mine. I was his. I could feel it, as though it were its own physical presence, this bond between us. I looked up to see Sen smiling at me.

  “It’s real,” he said softly. “All of it. It’s real. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

  I just stared. I was so overwhelmed with everything I felt that I didn’t have words. Sen reached out his other hand and put it on my shoulder. “Please let me hold you,” Sen said. “Please. And can we please leave this place? It’s not the greatest place for either of us,” he said, glancing around.

  The men on the ground were stirring.

  I nodded, and Sen turned back the way I’d initially come from, leading me away.