The scent of sweat, of rosewood and bourbon, and of clean linens filled the room until nothing existed but the man above him. Leo pounded into him with a slow dedication he’d recognized from the start, something he displayed in every aspect of his life. His hands drifted back on the bed, but surprise jolted through him when Leo’s fingers intertwined with his. Renn kissed him even harder, clutching his hand back.
For once, he didn’t want to let go.
He surrendered to the sensation of Leo’s hard length inside him, the bliss every time he drove in, and the mounting pressure in his own cock. Leo picked up the pace, sweat gleaming on his forehead, and yet he kept their hands intertwined, kissing him all the while. Renn’s heart roared, but he was too swept away by the smooth glide and the ecstasy just out of reach to dwell on those feelings.
Leo let out a low groan, and his cock pulsed. Warmth flooded inside Renn as Leo came. When the man pressed down between them, the final brush against his own length sent him careening over. Renn’s mind blanked, and his release spurted between their stomachs, sticky and hot. His entire body quaked in the wake of the orgasm ripping through him, but with Leo’s massive body overtop him, those arms and legs on either side, he surrendered.
Renn’s mind dizzied, his limbs feeling loose and lazy, but he blinked to meet Leo’s gaze. The man had pulled away an inch, watching him with a tenderness that made him swallow hard and avert his eyes. Leo leaned in again, his lips brushing against Renn’s ear.
“Thank you.”
Chapter Eighteen
Leo didn’t plan rebellions on an empty stomach, which meant breakfast was a necessity.
He strode down the hall to the private room he’d requested for the morning and sent the memo to the rest of their crew. Though with the band’s late night-late morning schedule, this breakfast would be more of a brunch.
Leo had woken up tangled in bed with Renn after the intense way they’d come together last night. He didn’t have the words to express how he felt through all of it, the highs intertwining with the intense lows of the day, creating a deeper connection than he’d experienced with any partner before. The satyr listened when he needed an ear, and he’d comforted him in the way he knew how.
Every other time they’d come together, it’d been a vigorous, desperate fuck, but last night they’d made love. The difference was palpable, and a memory he’d carry with him for the rest of his life. If he hadn’t been careening for the satyr before, last night he’d willingly tripped off the edge.
Leo slid a hand along the side of his neck, a flush of heat crawling up to his cheeks. He’d prided himself on control, on keeping most people at an acceptable distance, yet somehow he melted in Renn’s presence. He recognized the superficial game Renn played—Leo excelled at it in social circles too. However, in their time together, he’d gotten the glimpses of something real.
And last night, Renn Cantrell had been with him the entire time. Not the rock star, not the horny satyr looking for a good time, not the black sheep of the family—this had been the man beneath all of his masks, and he was breathtaking.
Leo ran a hand through his hair as he rounded another corner, closer to the private room. Already, the scents from the kitchen and the dining hall wafted his way—cheesy eggs, salty bacon, and rich, black coffee.
He’d grown attached, even though this would only ever be a temporary thing. Once they achieved their goal, Renn would go on his merry way with the rest of the band while he continued his lonely mission. Besides, he’d never met a man more opposed to commitment before, whereas he was the opposite. He might be careful and selective, but the few he brought into his life were for keeps.
The glass doors opposite the dining hall stood out, the private room he’d requested for their breakfast buffet. Chances were, either he or Claude would be the first to arrive. The selkie tended to be ten minutes early for everything, and half of the time it turned into a competition between them.
He stepped inside to a long table set for ten and a full buffet table spread out in the back. Only one person arrived before him, and she stood on the opposite end of the room, staring out the window.
Natalia turned around to face him. At the sight of her, a white-hot streak of anger flared through him. The hunters had been the ones who killed his mother, who destroyed all of those fae families in bombing so many innocent facilities. Except hating her was like hating Liz for being born under shitty leadership. That, he could understand far too well.
She winced as their eyes met. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, staring at her fingers which were covered in a dozen chunky rings. “The others told me what happened to your mother’s home. I didn’t know he planned to go to those extremes, though I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Leo shook his head as he strode up beside her. “We’re not responsible for the choices of our corrupt leadership. What we can do is work together to oust them from those positions.”
Natalia nodded, a grim look in her eyes.
“How many other dissatisfied hunters are out there?” Leo asked. He had a lot to discuss with their group after the email he’d received this morning.
“Overall? I guarantee if went public, plenty would rally,” Natalia said, tapping her fingernail on the windowpane. “There’s been murmurings of dissent ever since we started the ‘take no prisoners’ approach. In my personal circle though, there’s about fifteen of us.”
“Are those fifteen willing to fight?” he asked, his mind churning through countless possibilities. With hunters on his side, plans that were once pennies in the fountain might become something real.
Natalia nodded. “We want to overthrow Andrews, and we’re willing to put the work in.”
“Funny you say that, because I want to do this same with the Courts, and I’m so damn close. I’ve got important players in the Seelie Courts on my side, and we’ve almost secured the same in the Unseelie Courts.” He’d been planning this for countless years, but ever since he’d broken the Accords, events rushed forward faster than a high-speed train.
“It’s a relief to talk to some reasonable fae for once.” Natalia grinned. “I’m used to the ‘humans are garbage and deserve to be food’ schlock from the Courts. Do you know how many times we’ve attempted a treatise with them to fight for human protections?”
Leo wandered over to the brewer filled with coffee and poured himself a cup. The piping hot steam wafted to his face, the rich scent bringing him to life. He caught Natalia’s gaze and offered a half-smile. “When we overthrow our regimes, that can be the first thing we discuss.”
She offered a genuine grin back, her sharp features softening. “That’s a promise.”
The door creaked open and both Claude and Marisa entered. The sight of his sister sent a stroke of sadness through him, a reminder of the loss they’d experienced the day before. He’d expected the grief to rock through him with a hurricane force. However, he’d experienced enough to know it would sneak in during the quiet moments, when he passed Trinity Church, or when the loneliness chilled his bones and he had nowhere to go.
“So what’s this meeting about, brother?” Marisa asked, broaching the subject as she grabbed a plate and piled on food from the buffet.
He opened his mouth, about to speak when rising chatter came from the hallway. He didn’t question for a second who approached. “I’ll wait for the chaos to arrive before I launch into the explanation. Short version—we’ve got a plan.”
“Don’t you always?” Claude smirked as he scooped some eggs onto his plate.
Leo didn’t miss his annoyed look when the door swung open.
“You sound like you gargled dick for the last hour,” Jett argued as they stepped inside.
“He’s got a point—what use is a lead singer without a voice?” Liz joined in, pushing Ky through the door whose brows furrowed and mouth opened mid-argument.
“As a vet of gargling dick, I can confirm it doesn’t make you nearly as raspy as that motherfucker,” Renn called from b
ehind them as he and Trevor squeezed their way through the door.
Leo’s pulse quickened at the sound of Renn’s voice, and he couldn’t help the grin that rose to his lips. He’d enjoyed the man’s blunt provocativeness from the day he met him.
Renn’s gaze swung toward him for a heartbeat, and he swallowed hard at the flash of softness there before the man looked away. Last night hadn’t just affected him.
Danica walked in last, the most put together of the ragged bunch, as expected. Her chestnut hair was pulled back in a neat bun, and she wore an electric green skirt and black blouse with her black heels today. She flashed Leo a grin and headed his way.
“I already spoke to Marisa,” she murmured, keeping her voice low. Unlike the rest of the band she traveled with, she remained a master of tact. They’d been working together as business partners for longer than he could remember. “I’m sorry to hear about your mother.”
Leo nodded, his lips forming a line. He still didn’t have much of a good answer to the statement, though he should’ve been a pro by now. “All the more reason to ensure we stop Darren Andrews and the Courts.”
Danica shook her head. “Ever the pragmatist, Kincaid. I assume you’ve called us together to share choice bits of your master plan while keeping each party elusively in the dark about key facets?”
He snorted. “Almost like you’ve worked with me before. Let’s get this started.” He strode over to the door and locked it. Certain types of fae might be able to hear through walls, but he’d requested this room for a reason. It was tucked in the corner of the hotel, not surrounded by too many other rooms. Still, they’d need to take precautions.
“How the fuck do you sound normal?” Ky asked Renn, his voice a bit raspy.
Renn winked at Ky. “Don’t think Lizzy would approve of you trying my methods.” His glance snuck to Leo again, those dark, probing eyes fast becoming an addiction.
“Have the two of you spent a single second not fucking the daylight out of each other?” Jett interjected. “One second.” He rubbed at his forehead as he headed straight for the coffee.
“Please spare me the details,” Marisa groaned, taking a seat at the table beside the one end nearest to the window. Leave it to his sister to know where he’d be sitting.
“That would require detaching at the hip,” Trevor jumped in. “Almost like they’re dating.”
Renn lifted his middle finger in the air and headed over to grab a plate.
Leo shrugged off the way his stomach flipped at the instant avoidance from the satyr. Intellectually, he knew no promises lay between them beyond this mission they worked together, but his heart hadn’t taken the memo.
Leo brought his mug of coffee to the table and took his seat at the head with Marisa on his right side. Claude settled to his left, like he always did. One by one, the members of the band and Natalia found seats, and as they scarfed down bacon and eggs, they began to quiet a little.
“I’ve been searching for an in with the Harrods, some way to get an invite to the manor, and it arrived today.” At that, every gaze zeroed in on him. The lingering murmurs of conversation silenced. “The connection with Hollins paid off. The Harrods are having an exclusive party in a few nights, and he said there’d be some choice offerings there if I wanted to try some different strains.”
“That’s fucking disgusting,” Ky said, his voice a low scrape. Not like anything from here to the Otherworld could silence the lead singer of Discord’s Desire.
“Also useful,” Jett interjected. “If he’s offering more variety, it confirms the Harrods are the source.”
“Exactly,” Leo confirmed. “They’ll be throwing a masquerade ball, and I’ve managed to get us all invites. You’re all ‘interested partners’ I mentioned to Hollins.”
“Somehow, I don’t think hunters are going to be welcomed in through the door,” Natalia mentioned. “Not after what Andrews pulled.”
“I’ve got other plans for your group, and Liz, if interested.” He took a sip from his coffee, waiting for the promised arguing to follow.
“No fucking way is she getting dangled into whatever mystery danger you’ve concocted,” Ky jumped in. Predictable, as always.
“I get to decide that, darling,” Liz responded through gritted teeth.
“That’s up to the two of you to figure out,” Leo responded. If he let them debate it here, they’d be at the table for the next century. “The fae in the group will be attending and separating into groups. Claude, Marisa, and I will be distracting Hollins. The rest of you will be searching the lower rooms for any sign of the missing fae. I trust you’ll do your best to find Renn’s sister.”
“This is how he outmaneuvered us last time, you know,” Danica commented, offering a pert grin his way. “Excellent tactics, my friend.”
He shook his head. She wasn’t wrong. He chose them for the task they had connection to and also the one that required them to separate from the herd. While the boys could put on an on-stage performance, they’d raise suspicion in a heartbeat if they tried to blend into high society for long.
“I’m presuming the lot of you have formal attire?” Leo asked, his brow wrinkling as he glanced to the band members. Ky and Renn subsisted on ripped jeans and leather jackets, while Trevor wore casual button-downs but weathered clothing. Jett seemed to be the only one of the pack who knew how to dress sharp.
“That’s a large presumption with this crew,” Jett said, offering a weary sigh as he glanced over the band. “Lizzie and Danica excluded.”
Liz blew him a kiss before she turned her focus on Leo. “I can make sure they’re prepared.”
“Thank you,” he murmured, trying to restrain his wry smile. Opinions might fly about the crew of Discord’s Desire, but if he were honest, he hadn’t grinned this much in a long, long while. His grim, cutthroat business filled to the brim with fake smiles and false sincerity, but the honest, ridiculous antics of this band had amused him from the outset.
“If we do find the missing fae, what’s the plan on getting them out?” Renn asked, his voice deeper than usual with a gravity Leo couldn’t miss. They were closing in on the opportunity to find his sister, and now that they knew she was being used for drugs—if she had even survived after all these years—they couldn’t back down now.
“You leave that to me,” Leo said, tapping a finger to the tabletop. “I’ve got an idea, but the less you know, the better.” He didn’t trust voicing this information unless behind protected doors.
Renn’s brow wrinkled.
Trevor shook his head. “No, man. We operated in the dark last time and ended up getting tied to this fae rebellion of yours. We need the information up front.”
“Information up front might jeopardize the entire operation,” Leo responded, his voice cool and level. “If the most important task is freeing those fae, I need you to listen to me on this.” He switched his focus to Renn, meeting his eyes. “Do you trust me?”
Renn stared at the table. His silence froze Leo’s insides—after all they shared, he’d hoped it meant something to the man, anything.
Finally, Renn looked at him. “Yeah, I do.” The scrape of his voice, the seriousness in his eyes at the statement filled Leo with a yearning hope he hadn’t felt since he was far, far younger. Before his trajectory changed. Renn met Ky’s eyes and tilted his head.
Ky let out a huff of a sigh and placed his palms on the surface of the table. “You’ve already tied us to you for better or for worse, so we’re in,” he said, offering a glance to the others as he dared them to challenge him. Trevor shrugged and Liz nodded. Ky continued. “Besides, I think all of us are sick of the status quo. The Courts blow, the hunter leadership’s a nightmare—if chaos is what you need to shake things up a little, we’d be happy to oblige.”
Leo’s grin widened as he met Ky’s steady gaze. While the incubus hadn’t been a fan of his from the outset, he could see why the man tended to make the calls in the group. What he lacked in logic or subtlety, he
made up for in a loyal heart. Ky didn’t do this for him—he did it for Renn.
“When’s the ball?” Marisa asked, scrolling through her phone. His sister would be seven steps ahead of everyone else in planning—it was what she did best.
“In three days,” Leo said. “Meaning we have plenty of time to set the other plans into motion.” She glanced up from her phone to exchange a meaningful look with him. They had a lot to discuss if they wanted this to go off without a hitch.
“Three days means I can squeeze in a gig for you guys if you’re needing the energy boost,” Liz offered.
“Fuck yeah,” Renn piped up. “I’ve gotta get some of this out on the drums.”
Leo couldn’t help but linger on the man, soaking in the wild tangle of his dark hair, the wide grin that couldn’t be faked, and the genuine excitement that flicker-flashed in his eyes. After their first encounter, all he could recall were those enthusiastic moans and the sheer joy Renn brought into everything he did. However, now, he’d remember soft mornings waking up in the same bed with the satyr curled around him, the deepening in Renn’s tone on those rare serious moments, and the tenderness that slipped out unwittingly.
In three days’ time, they’d be heading to the Harrods and busting this case wide open. Unseelie allies for his rebellion, kidnapped fae freed—everything on his list checked off.
Yet in three days’ time, the brief glimpse of something real he’d latched onto would be over. Renn would leave, and Leo would return to the smothering loneliness.
Chapter Nineteen
After a vigorous night with Leo and waking up to an empty bed—after all, it was past noon—Renn headed to the RV. The others were probably still in their hotel rooms, enjoying the privacy while they had it, but he needed a slice of home.
This entire trip from the beginning had been an awakening. For someone who’d spent years avoiding this shit, the amount of feelings rushing through him were downright nauseating. After years of telling himself—no connections, no connections, no connections—he found he had them all around him. Renn hiked through the fancy foyer, his beat-up sneakers squeaking on the polished floors. He’d tried to keep himself distant from his bandmates for years, and yet, somehow even without telling his deep darks, they’d learned and loved him regardless.
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