“What the…?” he muttered, and then he seemed to look down at his feet. He bent over, picked something up from the floor, then walked back into the room. In his hands was a bouquet of flowers. “Someone left this. The card is addressed to you. Any idea what any of this means?”
“I think I do,” Evie replied, her eyes taking in the bright red and white of the roses Kellen handed to her. She knew exactly what those roses meant, and after reading the card, her heart swelled inside her chest.
“They’re from the High Priestess,” she explained, her grin belying the tears stinging her eyes. “The red and white roses symbolize togetherness and unity.”
“Does that mean—?”
“Yes,” Evie said with a happy laugh. “This is Regina’s way of saying there are no hard feelings. She has given us the coven’s blessing.”
She fell into Kellen’s arms, relieved in the knowledge that even though she had found a new family, she hadn’t lost her old one. Love didn’t require a sacrifice, after all. And so, the puzzle that was Evie’s happiness was finally complete.
* * *
Thank you so much for reading Kellen and Evie’s story—I hope you enjoyed it! You can tell me what you thought with a review on Amazon. Reviews also help other readers find books they might like, so if you can spare five minutes, please click HERE to review Fae Lord Seduced.
Eldan Oberon is up next in Fae Lord Redeemed. Keep reading for an excerpt, and don’t miss the rest of the books in the Real Men of Othercross series!
REAL MEN OF OTHERCROSS
Vampire Seduction
Vampire Claim
Vampire Temptation
Vampire Reunion
Fae Lord Avenged
Fae Lord Seduced
Fae Lord Redeemed
Fae Lord Bewitched
* * *
EXCERPT FROM FAE LORD REDEEMED
“Good afternoon, and welcome…”
Eldan’s easy start crumbled beneath him as the door to the room slammed open, unleashing a redheaded hurricane into the room. In a flurry of papers and books, some of which cascaded to the floor, Eldan caught sight of a pair of electric eyes the color of lapis lazuli.
“Oh, shit, you haven’t started already have you?”
“I was just about…”
“Damnit! My bad.” This tall, maelstrom of a woman crouched low to scoop up her scattered notes into a disordered armful. “Sorry, everybody!”
She offered a kind of genteel wave, then turned to hiss a whispered, “Sorry,” to Eldan.
“Just find a seat.”
He was trying not to be curt, but if one more curve ball came his way, he felt in danger of actually losing the thread of his day.
“You got it.”
Manhandling her clutch of possessions, she shot him a finger gun, complete with wink and teeth click. As Eldan watched, she clambered up the steps toward the handful of empty seats near the back. To his own surprise, his focus kept drawing him to her shapely backside as she scaled each stair.
Finding himself doing that was almost as unsettling as anything else that had happened. What had gotten into him? He’d never blatantly scoped out a woman’s ass before.
With a quick scan of the room, he was relieved to find that everyone was too distracted by their interloper to notice his wandering eye. At last, she scrambled into a chair and thumped down. Shooting him a thumbs up, she settled herself with a gentle rustling.
Free to get back to the task at hand, Eldan cleared his throat. He even gave a slight what-can-you-do shrug to the first few rows, drawing a low laugh. Not least of all from the flirtatious department head who had escorted him in.
“Good afternoon and welcome,” he began again, already gaining ground. “As many of you know, my name is Lord Eldan Oberon of the Frostfire clan. It’s been my pleasure to join you at OCU for several years now, to offer demonstrations in the art of the Fae, and encourage you…”
His focus faltered. A hand was stretched high in the back row, flapping and waving for attention. Even before it commanded the center of his attention, Eldan knew exactly who was beneath the wriggling fingers. For the briefest moment, he thought to ignore it, but something told him that would only lead to a bigger disruption.
“Yes, miss?”
He pointed her out, letting his ‘miss’ hang, inviting her name. She clearly didn’t take the hint, only leaning forward in her chair to call out.
“It’s a big hall, Mr. Oberon.”
“Lord Oberon,” he whispered to himself.
“We’re gonna need you to speak up. It’s hard to hear up here in the back.”
“Thank you.” If he had been trying to be polite before, his patience was wearing fast. “There are aspects of our magic that are practicable, even among those who are not of our race. Given a room this size, I imagine some of you have seen some of these demonstrations before, but bear with me while I get into today’s…”
“Speak up!”
Gone was the waving arm. Instead, the interruption was cried out through a pair of cupped hands. That was enough to break what little thread of endurance he had left.
“Since you’re having so much trouble hearing in the back, why don’t you join me down here on the floor? Clearly you’re used to the attention.”
“Perfect,” she called back, oblivious to his insult.
While she stepped over those between her and the end of the row, Eldan collected a chair and readied it for his victim. Under normal circumstances, he would have thought of his assistant in these demonstrations as a subject, but victim was beginning to feel far more applicable.
Watching her stride down to join him, he was able to appraise this woman with clearer eyes. Far from a fresh-faced co-ed, she had to be over forty. She was lithe, attractive, and most likely a shifter of some kind. Judging by the lithe way she carved a path down to him, Eldan suspected some kind of big cat.
“What’s the plan?” she asked when she reached him, blue eyes lit with anticipation.
“A simple demonstration of telekinetic skill,” he said, offering her the chair.
Forty or not, now that she was close, he was slightly taken aback by her beauty. Not only that, but a waft of scent caught him as she sat down and he wondered where she had gotten it. Which was strange, because he’d never wondered over perfume before.
“Now, I’m going to need you to close your eyes,” Eldan instructed her. “This is an exercise in touching someone without physical contact. It’s possible you’ll feel a small nudge, but it’s more likely to feel like a light breeze blowing over your skin.”
He had reached slightly for the word “skin,” having been distracted by the glow of it across her chest. Her low cut top—and the view it offered—found him at a loss as to where exactly to look.
“I’m going to talk you through this so that you can repeat the process back to me when we’re through, sound good?”
Another thumbs up.
“Alright. Pay close attention, sometimes shifters have unique difficulties with this kind of work. Ultimately, it all comes down to a particular focus of attention.”
Eldan placed his hands near her shoulder, beginning close, then growing in distance until the air between them was charged with elemental power. The waves radiating off her were particularly strong and he had to gauge his distance appropriately to keep the pulses from coming on too strong.
“Once you’ve selected a focal point, concentrate the power into your palms. Then, reaching across with your core power…”
When Eldan released a micron of his own power, a sensation like a spark of electricity jolted between them. It buzzed up the bones of his arms, flinging him violently against the wall behind him. With a shattering thump, he slumped to the floor and began to judder and writhe as a paroxysm snapped every fiber of his body. If he had been using his energy to touch her, some insane force had somehow snapped back from her into him.
As shocking as it was, the ecstasy he was experiencing made it hard
to complain—despite the indignity of a guest lecturer bucking around in the throes of passion on the floor of a jammed lecture hall.
* * *
Find Fae Lord Redeemed on Amazon!
About the Author
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Marina Maddix is a romantic at heart, but hates closing the bedroom door on her readers. Her stories are sweet, with just enough spice to make your mother blush. She lives with her husband and two cats near the Rocky Mountains, and loves to hear from her fans.
Marina’s Amazon Author Page
Connect with her at:
www.MarinaMaddix.com
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Fae Lord Seduced: Real Fae of Othercross 2 Page 6