by Quinn Loftis
“You look well-loved, Little Raven,” he whispered.
She ran a finger across his lips and he nipped it with his teeth causing a giggle to erupt from her.
“You just giggled.”
“I don’t giggle,” Elora told him sternly, though a smile danced on her beautiful lips.
“I think I could find ways to make you giggle,” he teased her as his hands ran down her back.
Elora’s eyes narrowed. “Are you bipolar? Because a second ago you were lining up reasons as to why we couldn’t do this.”
Cush leaned his forehead against hers. “You gave a compelling argument and I’m a fast learner.”
Elora closed her eyes and took a deep breath. His scent enveloped her and she knew that if she told him she didn’t want this, didn’t want him, she would be lying through her ever loving teeth. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He was gorgeous, rugged, breathtakingly handsome and she wanted him, she did.
“I want this,” she said boldly. “I want you.”
Cush stared into the eyes of his Chosen and saw her resolve.
“I want you,” he told her. “I want you with a fierceness that I don’t know if you can begin to understand. You’re mine, Elora, my Chosen, made for me and I know that if I give into it, if I accept this, I won’t let you go, ever. That’s the price.” He took her face in his hands and tilted her head so that she was looking directly into his eyes. “Do you hear me, Little Raven? If you let me have you, if I make you mine, I will never let you go. I will want to possess you in every way possible. I will want to be the air you breathe; I will want to be as close to you as your own skin. I will need you and you will need me to the extent that separation will be painful. Are you willing to pay that price?”
Elora shuddered at the possessiveness she saw in his eyes and the desire she felt in his hands. She felt his soul then, for the first time, he was letting her in.
“Show me,” she whispered and closed her eyes, waiting.
Cush leaned down and pressed his lips to hers again, but this time he didn’t hold back. This time he let his soul free and it lunged for her. Elora’s soul rose up to meet his and he growled low as he felt her cling to him. Her arms came up around his neck and she pulled him down tight against her as if she couldn’t get close enough and he understood the feeling. He let his hands roam freely as his mouth explored hers and their souls danced for the first time. He didn’t know how long he stood their ravishing his Chosen, but he knew if they didn’t stop, he might just make her his right there on the floor.
“I’m not complaining.” He heard her thoughts in his mind and grinned.
“Little Raven,” he nipped her bottom lip and pulled back from their kiss.
“Are you done running?” she asked him as he smoothed her hair back from her face and let his hands slide down to rest on her hips.
“I won’t let you go, Elora. There is no breaking up, or divorces, or whatever other silly things you humans do when you tire of your mate.”
“No worries, love. I kill my men when I’m done with them,” she told him with a wicked smile and a wink. This brought out a bark of laughter from him.
“Okay, okay,” he chuckled, “then I’m done running and you are mine.” His eyes darkened and his voice lowered, “For eternity, Elora, you are mine.”
She pressed a tender kiss to his lips and then pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. “So no more wishy-washy stuff? No more of this, I don’t know what I want, I’m a warrior, I kill things and don’t have room for you, blah-blah-blah?”
Cush chuckled as he shook his head and took a step back. “No more wishy-washy stuff,” he agreed. “I am yours and you are mine.”
“Good to know,” she told him as she looked back at her closet and tried very hard not to do some ludicrous girly dance or some other embarrassing stunt that would earn her a place in the dork hall of fame.
He glanced at her bed and noticed the full suitcase. “I would feel more comfortable if you didn’t do this. You know Rin and I could handle this on our own and then come back for you.”
Elora nearly laughed out loud but somehow mustered the small smidgen of maturity she had decided to foster. “Do you really believe I would just leave all the fun to you two Navy Seal wannabes?”
Cush rolled his eyes and seeing the tall, masculine tough guy do such a teenage motion only made her smile wider.
“Have you ever met a Navy Seal?” he asked dryly.
“Not the point.”
“Kind of is,” he disagreed.
“I’m going. Just because we have decided to jump on this whole Chosen bandwagon does not mean you are going to tuck me away in a bubble to try and keep me safe. Danger is my middle name.”
“I never took you for the dramatic type.”
Elora snorted as she began grabbing dresses from her closet and tossing them on her bed. “I wasn’t this way until I met you, so I’m totally laying the blame at your feet. Feel free to pick it up and strut that stuff like you’re proud of it, Babe.”
Cush stopped her from putting yet another dress on the bed. He started to hang it back in the closet but noticed that it was red instead of black and skimpy. He looked from the dress to her and then back to the dress.
“You can take this one,” he told her matter-of-fact like.
Elora shook her head. “What is with men and red?” she muttered under her breath. “Red does not make a woman’s butt look smaller.”
“Who said we wanted it to look smaller?” Cush’s voice dropped lower and wrapped around her like her like velvet.
She shivered but refused to look at him. She stuffed everything into her suitcase and zipped it close then turned to look at him. She nearly groaned at the look in his eyes. “Okay, I get it. You’re a dude; you like big butts painted in red.”
“I don’t even know what to say to that,” he admitted, his stony demeanor back in place.
“Speechless.” Elora grinned. “It’s a good look for you.”
Cush tugged her pony tail playfully and growled. “Try to behave and not get yourself killed, please.”
“Watch it with the hair pulling, elf boy. My brother has already pointed out my pension for playing rough. Keep that up and we won’t ever make it to Vegas.”
“Bloody hell, woman,” Cush growled low as he led her to the van where everyone was waiting while she grinned unrepentantly.
Chapter 7
“Only those with no ambition and the inability to truly understand power are happy without it. They live in their little bubbles, never suspecting that there is more in the world. They are content to just exist. I want to do more than exist; I want to create, to destroy, to evolve.” ~Lorsan
“Do you believe he won’t come for you?” Ilyrana asked as Lorsan stood staring out into the dark garden. The soft glow of the moon shone through trees giving the forest beyond an eerie radiance.
“Oh, he will come,” he answered eagerly. “That’s what I’m counting on. He will grow bloated on his own power and believe that he can defeat me. It will be his usual pride and cockiness that will be his downfall.”
“You seem very confident yourself, my love.”
Lorsan turned to look at his Chosen. “I have spent millennia building this kingdom. I have infiltrated the human realm and I’m singlehandedly bringing the human race to their knees because of their own gluttonous behavior. So forgive me, my love, if I am a little sure of myself.”
Ilyrana stepped up to him and placed a cool hand on his cheek. “Shh,” she cooed to him, “I am not your enemy. You forget that it is my job to make sure that you see any weakness or flaw in your plan. I do this because I love you. Please don’t push me away in your hasten to gain the world.”
He let out a deep breath and then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “You’re right, as usual. Forgive me, lover.”
“Promise me one thing and I will forgive you,” she told him.
His eyes narrowed as his head tilted
to the side. “What thing?”
“Kill him. You loved him like a son and he repays you by betraying you. Promise me you will kill him, but not before he watches me rip the heart out of his Chosen.”
A sly smile stretched across Lorsan’s lips. “You always have been a blood thirsty little thing. And that, my dear, is why I love you so. Consider it done.”
“So you’re together now?”
Elora bit her tongue to keep from snapping, he’s sitting right next to me, and instead smiled at her mother. “Uh-huh.”
“She belongs by my side,” Cush spoke up from the other side of her where they sat squished into a row of seats on the plane they had barely caught.
“Um-hmm,” Lisa murmured slowly, “and pray tell, what exactly does belongs by your side mean?”
“Ugh, Lisa,” Elora groaned. “Do we really have to get into this while we’re taking off in a freaking plane?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lisa said innocently as she placed a hand on her chest. “Would you prefer I wait until we get to cruising altitude and the seat belt light goes off to discuss the fact that you have decided to tie yourself to an elf warrior for all of eternity?”
Elora licked her lips and blinked several times as she stared at her mom. “Funny lady,” she said sarcastically. “What I would prefer is to not discuss my love life on an airplane where everyone is shoved in like sardines and can listen to every nitty-gritty, yummy detail.”
“What!” Lisa snapped not unloudly, “there are yummy details? You were only in your room for fifteen minutes. How many freaking yummy details can there possibly be?”
“When you’re just that good, time is of no consequence,” Cush murmured.
Elora elbowed him hard as Lisa’s mouth dropped open and her eyes widened.
“You are not helping,” Elora snapped at him.
Cush’s face was as sober as always as he shrugged. “Just stating the facts, Love.”
Elora felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned to see Oakley leaning in from the seats behind them. “He’s a dead elf,” he growled.
Elora threw her hands in the air. “Good grief,” she growled. She turned as best she could from her belted position and glared at her brother. “First of all, I love you, Oak, but Cush could kick your ass with all of his appendages tied and blindfolded, so no, he is not a dead elf. Second, once again, my love life is NOT up for discussion because it is just that—MINE.” She turned back around in her seat, now huffing from her rant, and folded her arms across her chest.
Cush leaned over and his lips brushed her ear as he spoke, causing a shiver to run through her.
“Feel better, Little Raven?” His voice was laced with humor even as his eyes danced with desire.
She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes to his sexiness. “Bloody hell,” she moaned. “No, I do not feel better. I got my mom all up in my business, my brother wants to kill you, and you keep looking at me like you might try to eat me.”
“Take out the might try and replace it with definitely going to and then you would be correct,” Cush told her softly.
“You have GOT to stop saying stuff like that.” Her eyes snapped open as she turned to glare at him.
“Seriously dude, I’m sitting right here,” Lisa piped up. “Probably not in your best interest to try and seduce my daughter while I’m sitting next to her.”
“I haven’t forgotten, Lisa. Sword wielding is to be done outside of your home and I’m assuming now you also mean out of your presence.”
“I’m going to sleep,” Elora interjected before her mom could respond to his comment. “Please wake me when we land.”
She heard Cush chuckle next to her but when she looked at him his face was as serious as ever. Weird, hot elf she thought to herself as she closed her eyes again and tried to keep from climbing into his lap.
Cush watched as Elora and her mom exited the restroom, and he fought the urge to grab his Chosen and force her back onto a plane bound for her home. Now that he had embraced the fact that she was his, the thought of not being able to protect her was nauseating. It was a feeling he wasn’t used to and wasn’t enjoying in the least. As soon as they had landed in the dark-elf territory, his senses had been on full alert as the dark energy swirled around him. Elora seemed to come alive as she exited the plane and a soft flush had overtaken her skin. It was as if just being in Vegas was invigorating her. The thought troubled him as he considered it and then it struck him. She was half dark elf. Of course the darkness of the city would be appealing to her. She probably wasn’t even aware of it because it was a part of her, in her make up essentially to be drawn to darkness.
His Little Raven wasn’t a goth chick by chance, she was literally living out what she was in a human fashion, but without all the evil. Her head snapped up and their eyes locked as if she had heard him. She gave him a sexy smile and a wink. Yes, his Chosen definitely had a dark side, and he had a feeling he was going to have to keep a close eye on her while they were in Sin City. That shouldn’t be too hard since he didn’t plan to let her out of his sight.
“Hey.” She smiled at him as she stopped in front of him. She had taken her ponytail down and her dark hair with red streaks was partially covering her alabaster face. He reached up and pushed the black curtain of hair away from her face and leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, needing the intimate contact if just for a minute. “Hey yourself,” he said keeping his voice low, for her ears only. “You’re beautiful.”
He loved the way her eyes widened and her lush lips parted as she looked up at him.
“Um, okay,” she said obviously taken off guard. “So where to?”
Cush heard someone clearing their throat and looked up from his Chosen to see the others standing just past her. Oakley’s eyes narrowed on his hand which was currently buried in Elora’s hair. Cush bared his teeth at her brother in a wolfish smile as he tugged her closer until she fell against his chest. Her brother was going to have to get a clue. Elora was his. He had been stupid to not grab her up the moment he had realized it, but the decision had now been made and nothing was going to take her from him. Not even her own flesh and blood.
“Possessive much,” she said and her words came out muffled because her face was pressed into his chest.
“Little Raven, you have no idea. Your brother is going to have to lose the death glare. He’s challenging me and I don’t take kindly to being challenged,” he told her quietly.
She laughed and tilted her head back so she could look up at him. “What? Are you a wolf?”
Cush smiled his best wolfish smile. “Want to find out if I bite?”
“Oh, dear,” Elora breathed out.
“Could we please get moving before you two rip each other’s clothes off in the middle of the damn airport,” Oakley’s voice interrupted their private conversation.
Cush fought the urge to reach out and clock him.
“He’s my brother,” Elora reminded him, having picked up on his thoughts.
“You are my Chosen.”
“Want to tattoo it to my forehead so I don’t forget?”
Cush smirked. “I can think of a better place to tattoo it.”
“Ass,” she growled.
“Exactly.”
“Crap, I totally walked into that one.”
“Hello!” Oakley said again. “People are beginning to stare.”
Elora pulled back, but Cush wrapped an arm around her waist before she could get too far. Cush looked at her brother again and reached for all the self-control he could muster. “I would only remove your sister’s clothes in public if she asked nicely and since Elora doesn’t seem to ask nicely for anything, you have nothing to worry about.”
Elora nearly choked as she caught the laugh that bubbled up at Cush’s words. Her brother’s face glowed bright red with a mix of embarrassment and anger and she should be outraged at her, her what? Boyfriend? But she was too shocked to be outraged. And frankly, it was pretty freaking
funny. She glanced at her mom who was chuckling as she looked at Cush, all the while shaking her head and attempting to look disapproving but failing miserably. Rin was watching in amusement and for a second she thought he was going to say something to Oakley but then seem to think better of it. He caught her looking at him and must have seen the question in her eyes.
“It’s too entertaining to say something,” he explained with a smile.
Elora snorted. “You are easily entertained.”
“True enough.”
“I think a good place to start would be at the casino, Iniquity,” Cush interrupted them. “There is a contact there who is human, but he has deep connections among the dark elves.”
“What makes you think he’s going to help us and how do you know this?” Elora asked.
“Everybody has a price,” he repeated her sentiment. “Trik wasn’t the only spy in our world, Love; he was simply the best.” Cush left it at that. It wasn’t the time to give her a history lesson of his life and he preferred that they be alone once they finally did have that conversation. He wasn’t about to share his skeletons with her family.
“Lead the way,” Oakley said.
The constant ringing of the slot machines, the soft fanning of the cards, and the steady rumble of the voices at the card tables were the constant background music to Tony’s life. As he walked the floor of the casino, nodding to regulars, greeting new customers, and reminding employees of rules that were never to be broken, he felt the fire in his blood begin to ease. This was something that was familiar to him, something that he knew and enjoyed. For the moment there wasn’t someone trying to kill someone else over that blasted drink, and there was no one crying desperately at the bar for an extension on their tab. For now, things were as they should be. Money was being put in the machines, chips were being exchanged with the dealers, and regular drinks were being consumed thanks to his executive decision to have a Rapture free happy hour. If that wasn’t ironic, he didn’t know what was.
