His heart went out to Cora, but that didn't stop the uncomfortable truth that she didn't want to admit. "You're not my mate, Cora. I'm sorry, but I've met her. I know it's going to be hard, but you're going to have to let this go. We can..."
Before he could suggest anything that might help Cora find someone of her own, she huffed and stormed from the room. The door slammed shut behind her. Wendell sighed, unsure whether or not he'd won that one. Somehow, he doubted he had.
Chapter Twelve
Effie
* * *
She set down her knife and fork, and looked across the table at Wendell. He was studying her intently, probably in an attempt to work out what she was going to do next. He was right to be wary, she hadn't actually worked it out herself. A small part of her couldn't even believe she was here. It hadn't been until she'd been half way to his flat that she'd even realised she was coming to see him.
"Dinner was lovely, thank you," she said, remembering her manners.
"You're welcome," he said. "I'm sorry it wasn't anything fancier. I didn't really plan to invite you around earlier. It just slipped out."
A small laugh bubbled up within her and escaped. "I didn't even know I was coming until I was here either. But I'm glad I did."
"I don't have anything in for dessert, but we could order some if you want. A new takeaway place has just opened up."
Was he trying to keep her here longer? She supposed it didn't matter what his intentions were, she wanted to stay regardless. She was enjoying his company, and wanted to get closer to him.
"I think I'm okay for now. But we could do something else?" she suggested, feeling somewhat emboldened by simply being here.
"We could queue up a film, or something?" he suggested.
Her heart swelled until it was at least double the size it should be. He was trying to ensure she was as comfortable as possible, and didn't feel like he wanted to take advantage of her. At least, that was her guess about what was going on. He had nothing to worry about, though. When she'd knocked on his front door, she'd done it with the full knowledge that she'd probably end up staying the night, and what that would mean. Both for her, and for their relationship.
After all, she wasn't fighting their mating bond. She accepted it was very real. The problem was simply a logistical one. There was a risk her people wouldn't accept them. And she had to decide how to break it to them while losing the least. That was all.
But for now, she was already away from the faery village, she may as well make the most of it.
"I was thinking that maybe you could take me on a tour of your flat..."
His eyes widened as he took in her meaning. "If you're sure."
"I am." She smiled at him, then rose to her feet slowly.
His gaze followed her every move, but she wasn't sure how to describe the emotion lurking in them. It wasn't lust, that was far too primitive of a word. It was like a combination of admiration, affection, and desire.
"Show me your room," she said. Nerves fluttered in her stomach, but they were good ones.
"Effie, we don't have to do this..."
"I want to," she assured him.
When he didn't respond quickly enough, she held out her hand. He took it, causing magic to zip up and down under her skin, as if it knew what was about to happen, and that it would be needed to seal the mating bond for good.
"We don't have to do this if you don't want to," Wendell said, his voice low and hoarse. Despite his words, he got to his feet. and came closer to her.
"I know, you don't have to keep saying that," she whispered. "I know what I want. I know what this will do. But I don't want to resist this any longer."
She closed the small gap between them and pressed her lips against his. He returned her kiss instantly, and pulled her closer with an arm around her waist. Their entwined hands let go of one another. Wendell tangled his now free hand in her hair, while she pressed hers against his chest.
Would he freak out if she started unbuttoning his shirt? He seemed a little wary about the whole thing, though she suspected he was simply nervous like she was.
"This will seal the bond, Effie," he whispered against her lips.
"I know."
"There's no going back."
A small laugh escaped her. "Because there's a chance of that if we don't?" she pointed out between kisses.
"You have a point there."
"So we might as well enjoy what we can of the ride." She began to tug at his shirt, though it didn't do anything to actually remove it from him.
"You're incorrigible."
"I try," she joked.
Wendell pulled back and cupped her cheek in his hand as he studied her with an intense gaze.
A blush rose to her cheeks. "What are you looking at?"
"How beautiful you are."
Her wings trilled beneath her back at the compliment. "That's one of your better pick up lines," she joked.
"Oh, then you're in for a treat when I reveal the next pick up..."
She was about to ask why he hadn't finished the phrase when he scooped her up into his arms. A giggle-like sound that she was reasonably certain she'd never made before in her life escaped from her. But she didn't care. Not only was this fun, but it made her feel more wanted than anything else in her entire life had.
"You're right, that is a good one." She reached out and booped his nose on a whim, causing a huge grin to break across his face.
"You wanted to see my room, right?" Wendell asked.
She nodded eagerly. "I suppose the rest of the tour can wait for the morning,." She sighed with fake exasperation, knowing he'd understand that she was joking.
He strode out of the kitchen and down a corridor. With every step he took, her anticipation grew. She'd dreamed about sealing her mating bond for a long time, and wondered how it would differ from the quick tumbles she'd experienced before. And now, she was going to find out.
"Are you going to bite me?" she asked suddenly.
Wendell paused with his back to the door of what she assumed was his bedroom.
"I can try not to, if you want. But I believe it sort of just happens the first time..."
She nodded. "That's okay then, just so I know what to expect."
"What do faeries do?" he asked, pushing through the door and revealing a surprisingly neat black and grey room.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But I look forward to finding out."
He chuckled. "Me too."
Chapter Thirteen
Wendell
* * *
Wendell has never felt so content before in his very long life. Effie lay with her head on his chest, her hand stroking lazily up and down. He didn't even think she was aware of doing it.
"I'm surprised the dust isn't everywhere," he observed.
Effie laughed throatily, a reminder of what they'd been doing. "It's faerie dust, not sand," she pointed out.
"You're saying that like I'm supposed to know what it means."
"It's pure magic." She held up her hand and more of the sparkling dust that had covered her entire body at the same time as he'd bitten into her poured from it and onto his chest. It disappeared almost instantly, but not without leaving a pleasant tingling sensation on his skin.
"Handy."
"Very. It has healing properties too."
"It must be nice to be a faerie."
She snorted. "I wouldn't go that far," she muttered under her breath.
Wendell frowned, certain he was missing something. Being able to heal with her magic, and the other things she seemed to be able to do were all great as far as he was concerned, so why didn't she like it?
She sighed. "You know I said I wasn't supposed to leave the faery realm?"
"I think technically, you said you weren't supposed to come to the human one as much. But yes, I recall it." He didn't like where this was going.
"It is true, promise. We're encouraged not to leave unless we have to. A lot of faeries my age have jobs in t
he human realm because otherwise we get super bored."
"Ah, yes. Most vampires go through that phase. Some grow out of it, others carry on working. I think it depends on personality types."
She nodded, the movement only reminding him of how closely they were lying, and how naked they were.
"Well, my parents are particularly fond of the old ways. The only reason they let me have my job is because they can't actually stop me as an adult. If I was under eighteen, then they would." She grimaced, but then carried on. "Well, part of the problem is that the Faerie Council encourages thinking like that. They go a lot further too."
An ominous emotion followed her words. Whatever else she had to say wasn't going to be good. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what you're going to tell me?"
"Oh, you won't like it in the slightest. It could make things difficult for us, and that's an understatement."
"Uh-oh." He shifted on the bed, but didn't pull away from her. He didn't want to.
"Technically, we're forbidden from searching for non-faerie mates."
He understood her words in theory, but it took a little longer than he wanted to admit for the meaning of them to break through. "So, you're trying to tell me that our mating is against the rules?"
"Yes and no." She bit her lip, clearly having no idea how attractive the motion was. "It's not forbidden for me to mate with you, it’s forbidden for me to go looking for you. It's a nuance, and one we're going to have to play on."
"But you must have swiped me first on MatchMater..."
"Actually, I never swiped you at all." She laughed despite the seriousness of the conversation. "One of the old ladies did it for me. She's some kind of paranormal who has been meddling in mate lives. The fact that you were the one she swiped was pure coincidence."
"Do you really believe that?" he asked.
"That it's a coincidence?"
"Mmhmm."
"I suppose not, no. Mating is about fate, which means we were brought together. The way that happened is almost inconsequential when it comes down to it. We happened to be on at the same time."
"Is that what you're telling yourself in order to get around the Council saying no?" he teased.
Her expression grew serious. "It's not something we should joke about," she warned him. "The Council will take action if we go about it wrong. No one even knows what the punishment is for breaking the rules, no one in living memory has done it. But if we go about it carefully enough, then we might be able to get them to accept our mating without me losing my status as a faerie."
"I'm sorry you have to go through this." He kissed the top of her head.
She snuggled into him and let out a soft hum. "It's not your fault," she murmured. "Neither of us had a choice in this."
"That's true. And it's definitely too late to do anything to stop it now."
Effie looked up at him, something like desire in her eyes. "Then how about we do something that'll make it even later?"
"You're insatiable." But he loved it. And it would take her mind off the thoughts he could tell were still swirling around.
He'd never even realised the faeries existed, let alone that they were strict. When he thought about the way humans depicted them in paintings, they were so small and dainty, generally friendly too. But none of that matched up with what Effie was telling him.
Though it did match up with her. She was friendly and sweet and kind....
His thoughts were cut off the moment her lips met his again. He wrapped her up in his arms, determined to make them both forget about all the things they had to worry about. For now, they could simply enjoy being together, and learning how one another's bodies reacted to being touched. He'd thought about what having a mate would be like so many times, and yet this surpassed all of his wildest fantasies.
Effie was perfect. And she was his.
Just like he was hers. And he intended to spend the rest of their lives proving it to her, no matter what the Faerie Council had to say about it. There had to be a way to convince them Effie had done nothing wrong, he just had to find it.
Chapter Fourteen
Effie
* * *
The sun streaming through the window woke Effie. She stretched, enjoying the warmth against her bare skin, and the feel of Wendell's bedsheets below her. She'd certainly be spending more time at his. The bed was bigger than the one in her room for a start. Though the main factor would still be that it would be a disaster bringing a vampire back to the faery village. There could be a mob on their hands if they weren't careful.
The faint sounds of clattering came from the direction of the kitchen. Was he cooking again? She wasn't about to say no if he was, the food the night before had been delicious, as had other things.
It was better if she waited here until he came back, though. That way she could stay naked, and maybe entice him to come back to bed. On the other hand, she'd always wanted to walk around wearing nothing more than a man's shirt, perhaps this was the time to start.
She rolled onto her side and opened her eyes, searching the clothes strewn by the side of the bed.
"Aha." She snatched up the shirt Wendell had been wearing the night before, and slipped it on, carefully doing up enough of the buttons so it was closed, but not enough that it would cover her from him.
She sat up in bed, then froze as she noticed she wasn't alone. A woman sat on the end of the bed, wearing a tight dress that accentuated everything, in the right way. The woman crossed and uncrossed her legs.
"Can I help you?" Effie asked, confused and a little worried about what was going on. Who was this woman? And why was she in Wendell's bedroom?
The woman twisted and sighed, revealing an even more perfect face. A wave of self-consciousness swept over her. What business did she have in Wendell's bed when there was a woman like this around?
No. That wasn't fair. She was his mate. She had every right to be here.
The woman sighed again. "You had to ruin my fun, didn't you?"
"Your fun?" Effie's brows knitted together as she tried to work out what the woman could possibly mean. She hadn't done anything except spend the night with Wendell.
"You're stopping my mate from realising who he should be with," the woman said without a hint of malice. Instead, there was something akin to resignation in her voice.
"Your mate?" Did someone else live here? It seemed unlikely, there'd been no hints of anyone else in the other room she'd been in, though she supposed that didn't mean much when she'd spent most of her time fixated on the handsome vampire she'd come to see.
"Wendell. You know, tall, blond, likes to wear suits."
Effie's heart sank. "He's your mate?" Her heart sank. Why couldn't the floor open up and swallow her whole.
"Of course. Ever since we met twenty years ago."
"What?" The word slipped out before Effie could think about it.
"Which part are you struggling with?"
Shame seeped into every part of her body. What had she done? She'd been so convinced by the way she'd felt that she hadn't stopped to think if it was real, or if he'd been using her. She'd been too distracted by the stupid Faerie Council laws.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realise." She jumped out of bed and pulled on her clothes, the desire to get out of the flat and leave the whole evening far behind stronger than anything else.
The woman merely shrugged. "Don't be. If he didn't tell you about me, then you weren't to know. But you'd better be going now."
"I'm on my way out." Her shoes were by the front door, so she'd have to grab them as she passed, but she had everything else she'd come with, which was the main thing. "I'm sorry," she said again.
Without waiting for the other woman, she started to make her way through the flat and to the exit. To safety, even. Where no one would know what she'd done or who she'd come between.
"Effie?" Wendell asked.
She glanced over her shoulder to find him standing in the kitchen doorway, wearing an apron and
holding a bowl of half whisked eggs.
"Is everything all right?"
"You know it isn't," she snapped.
He frowned, seeming genuinely confused. Did he seriously think it was acceptable to tell her they were mates and not actually mean it? How dare he.
"No, I do...." he trailed off at the sound of door clicking further down the corridor. "Is someone else here?"
"You know who else is here," she hissed, feeling a lot braver than she'd expected.
Understanding and recognition dawned on his face. "Cora," he growled. "I'm going to..."
"Stop, there. I don't want to hear any more," she said, warring to keep the tears out of her voice. She shouldn't have been this foolish. She knew that.
"I can explain," Wendell promised.
But she didn't let him finish what he was saying. The risk of crying had become too much. She slipped through the front door and back out into the city so she could go home. Only once she was there would she be able to relax and let her emotions out. All of them.
"Effie! Please!" Wendell's voice called out behind her, but it could have been nothing more than her imagination playing tricks. Why would he run after her when he had a beautiful mate sat waiting for him.
Except, that wasn't necessarily the case, was it? Why had she taken the woman's word over his? If the woman, Cora, and Wendell were mates, then surely he wouldn't have been able to even look at her, never mind go any further?
She pushed the thought aside. It was a silly one. He'd known who the woman was without even seeing her. And what reason did this Cora have to lie anyway? There was none that Effie could find. Certainly none that had her walking in and out of Wendell's flat whenever she pleased.
No matter what Effie's gut instincts were telling her, she had to remember that she'd been had. Wendell was not the man she thought he was.
Chapter Fifteen
Forbidden Vampire Mate Page 5