by S. A. Parker
I get that he’s trying to own his shit, and that’s admirable, but I’m still fucked off.
“So, it was yours?”
He nods.
“Lovely. Just fucking lovely. How could you do that?” I plead scream because I can’t make up my mind if I’m pleading or screaming. And the fucker has the gall to roll his fucking eyes at me!
I thought more of this man. I really did. I’m so disappointed in myself right now. I’m so disappointed in him.
“I’ll say it again, it’s just a fucking brothel. It was only a small fire, fucking hell. It was the only shot we had, we were running out of options, Dell! You were fucking dying!”
I’m still dying, I’m a fucking mortal, but I don’t think now’s the right time to bring that up. I draw a couple of deep, uneven breaths, filling my lungs as I prepare myself to ask the question I’m dreading the answer to. “How many people died in the blaze? How many of my girls?”
“Died?”
“Yes! How fucking many?”
“None! Kroe had it smothered within about three minutes.”
Ahh.
Right.
Well then … I mull over that for a second, replaying the conversation in my head and concluding that I acted like a total fucking crazy bitch. Awkward.
“So, in other words, I …”
“Overreacted? I think that’s the word you’re looking for.” He throws me a half smile that my vagina would’ve gobbled right up, had she been present and accounted for. Bastard shouldn’t have acted so fucking guilty at the start.
“Sorry. I thought you fried my friends.”
“And why the fuck would we do that? We needed to get you out, yes, but we would never let anyone underserving die in the fucking process.” He frowns, studying me far too intently at such a close proximity. “Is that what you really think of me?”
Oh dear, communication is hard work. Maybe I was better off without permission to speak? In my defence, I haven’t had a great deal of practise at this shit.
I sigh. “No Drake, it’s not … granted I used to think that of you all, but my opinions have changed significantly since then.”
“Good. Fucking hell.”
I rub my face with the palm of my hand. “Relationships are hard work.”
He cocks a brow at me. “I couldn’t agree more.”
I ignore that rude little comment and clear my throat. “How much … how much did you guys see in there?”
Drake shuffles uncomfortably, rubbing at his face, calluses scratching against golden stubble. “Ahh … you’re probably not going to like this, but we always had someone watching you, looking for an opportunity to get you on your own.”
Fuck.
“Always?” I choke on the word.
“Yeah ...”
Good god. So they definitely saw me chew that guys penis off. I’m surprised Aero was able to get an erection around me. Not to mention all the fuckery they saw …
“Aero relayed the parts of your plan he knew, which fucked me right off. Well, all of us. I’m not sure what you thought you had to fucking prove to them. We kept looking for opportunities to get you out.”
“It wasn’t about ‘proving’ anything, Drake. It was more than that.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to hear it, and I don’t want to talk about that right now. It’ll just make me break something and I’m not in the fucking mood. And you’re not in the right condition for me to lay into you about the importance of self-preservation.” He pins me with a glare. “Even though I’d fucking love to lay into you right now.”
I feel like there’s a greater meaning to that comment that my vagina would’ve fucking bathed in.
He breaks our eye contact and shakes his head. “We considered paying Kroe for a private show just to get you out of there, even though you would’ve grumbled loud enough to make a fucking scene.”
“I definitely would’ve.”
He growls under his breath and mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like ‘I need to fuck some sense into you,’ though I can’t be certain …
“Kroe would’ve realised it was us who took you anyway, and the wards would’ve kicked in.” He swipes a droplet of blood from my arm, frowning at it, then wipes it on a towel.
Should’ve checked myself over for backlash, whoops.
“And then he chained you to that girl, making it even more difficult because we can’t touch iron; and it meant you were never alone, not even on the fucking pisser.”
“Leila.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I think about the girl who helped me in more ways than she will ever know. If I ever see her again, I swear I’m going to praise her on how ruthlessly she plunged that guys arsehole with her arm. Fucking brilliant. I’ll take that vision to my grave, treasuring it fondly.
Perhaps not so much the vision of Aero’s penis plunging deep inside her vagina, though it was a turn on at the time. It probably would’ve been sexier if I wasn’t getting banged to a pulp by a crazy fucker who bit me.
Aero growls from the next room.
‘Calm your sausage!’
Clearing my throat, I say out loud, “Aero fucked her.”
That growl turns into a choking sound.
Drake’s brow crinkles. “He did … but he should’ve sent me to do that. I have more control than he does.”
Meaning he wanted to fuck Leila. Just lovely. Not going to lie though, if I batted for the other team, I’d totally be all up in that twat myself. I huff out a humourless laugh. “Seemed like he did just fine to me.”
Drake shakes his head. “No, Dell. He should have taken her to another room. You didn’t need to see that.”
At the time, I kind of did. It was like a dab of Sun God porn, but I don’t think I should say that.
“So, you would’ve what … taken her to another room and fucked her there instead?”
Drake smiles, though it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I wouldn’t have fucked her at all babe, not with my cock. I would’ve taken her to a room, plastered her face first over the side of one of those sex couches, hoisted her arse in the air and I would’ve gone to town on her clit. Perhaps even fucked her with my tongue a bit while I slipped a finger in her arse and given her the best orgasm of her entire shitty existence.”
Holy Dusk babies.
I just need a moment.
His attention dips to the bandage on my neck. “Fucking wanker, that guy needs to be castrated. Aero almost tore his throat out, but Sol compelled him to stand the fuck still.”
Ahh…
“What?”
Drake shrugs. “Told you it should’ve been me. Big dose of wasted energy right there.”
Fucking hell. These Sun Gods, they’re a full-time gig. Not to mention I seem to be costing them significantly … at this rate, they’ll be lucky to break even once they finally use their fucking wishes on me.
I give the wound a little prod and wince at the resonating pain. “It should’ve healed by now.”
“It won’t for a while. It’s a mating bite.”
“A … what?” My body goes limp and I feel myself drifting to the side … Drake grasps my shoulders, stopping me from falling head the fuck first onto the pretty rose rock ground that probably gives harder than it takes.
“You okay?”
No, I’m not fucking okay. “Explain!”
“Ahh … the practice has begun to fade out over the years, particularly for Lesser Fae. Subsequently, the venom is gradually weakening in your new generations, though the biology’s still the same. If you had bitten the fucker back while his venom was still in your system, you would’ve been mated for life to that toad.”
No.
Fucking.
Way.
“Holy shit balls.”
Drake nods. “Yeah ...”
Thank fuck I didn’t retaliate. I probably would’ve bitten his cock had he put it in my mouth after the way he treated me, and then I would’ve been mated to his rank fucking penis
for the rest of my goddamn life. Dodged a self-induced lobotomy, there!
Come to think of it, I’ll never bite someone’s penis again. If Ballsack Two had survived somehow with his half penis, and bitten me back, I could’ve been mated to that fucker too. Wow, what a shitty existence that would’ve been. No g-spot orgasms for me!
“Ok, enough bathroom talk. This shit’s heavy.” He helps me stand, then I give him a little nudge to tell my overbearing Dusk God I need to do this on my own, wincing as I shuffle forward a few steps before stubbing my toe on the corner of the ornate fucking vanity. Bastard, I swear it moved mid-step.
I swallow my pride and stop trying to walk, mainly because I’m doing a shit job of it anyway. “Can you carry me?”
Drake eyes my outstretched arms, probably waiting for me to change my mind, complicated bitch that I am, before he lifts me into his arms. I breathe in his smell, warm and dusky at once, like a rainbow at golden hour. I take another whiff and he laughs as we cross the room back to the bed. I notice Kal and Aero still chatting quietly by the fire, but still no sign of my Day God.
“Where’s Sol gone?”
“Fucked off.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, no shit. Where too?”
Drake shrugs. “He’s got business to attend, fields to plough, that sort of thing.”
Fucking hell, Drake’s let his inner teenager come out to play again. My vagina would’ve had a field day with that if she were still with us. Rest in peace.
“Aero! Where’s Sol gone?”
“You don’t have to yell at me, Dell. I have direct access to your thoughts.” He saunters towards the bed, leaving Kal mulling over the flames like he’s got the world on his shoulders.
“I know, but I haven’t had many chances to talk over the past week and I missed the sound of my voice.”
“Ploughing fields, little mortal. He’s got business to attend.”
“Exactly what I fucking said!” Drake’s looking at me like he’s offended I didn’t trust him in the first place.
Great. Lovely. Sol and I have unspoken ground to cover and he’s off relieving his blue balls.
Fucking swell.
Good thing I’m patient … most of the time. I have a God to apologise to.
Chapter Ten
Red feathers. So many red fucking feathers.
I try to move, to get away, but I’m pinned to the spot. I scream but it comes out a strangled gurgle. There’s a hand around my throat, squeezing, squeezing … I can’t breathe.
I claw at him, battling for release, but he’s thrusting into me at the same time, every impalement crushing my windpipe, bringing me closer to death’s fucking doorway.
I’m useless.
Powerless …
Bile stains my throat and that sadistic gleam only engorges my fear. “What’s in your box, little mortal?”
Panic. Pure undiluted panic. I can’t breathe, can’t breathe!
“Dell!”
Aero’s voice drags me back to the now, to my bed which is soaked through with sweat, tears, and blood.
I’m panting, hot, too fucking hot.
Aero’s pulling me into a seating position, but I can’t get enough air.
We flash into the Bright then out again, and suddenly we’re waist deep in an indoor pool. Aero has no shirt on, not bloody helping me cool down.
Needing the weightlessness of the water and not the close confines of all this man meat, I push away from him.
“Are you okay?”
I shake my head and wade in a wide circle, trying to focus on the feel of the water against my skin. “Bad dream. Is my box safe?” My other box, not the one I’m in the process of building a pyre for.
“Yes. I hid it well.”
“You didn’t look in it?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.
He looks offended, but I need to know.
“A wish is a wish.”
“Good.”
He starts to speak, but I dunk beneath the surface, scrubbing at my face with the palms of my hands before surfacing to find Aero standing in front of me, his eyes shadowed, the air thickening with tension.
“I’m sorry …”
“For what?”
He straightens his shoulders. “I should have taken Leila into a different room.”
Fucking hell. I’m not sure I want to go there. “Can we just … not do this right now?”
He shakes his head. “No. We’re doing it.”
“Why?”
“Because I know you fucking care.”
I take a step back, then another. He follows, reaching forward and fisting my shift, halting me in place.
“Stop running.”
I frown, meeting the determination in his gaze. “Fine, fuck. If you want to go there, then we’ll go there. Why did you do it, Aero? There were plenty of private rooms you could have used.”
Features softening, he releases a deep breath that almost looks like … relief?
Why the fuck is he relieved?
A deep rumble emanates from his chest. “I couldn’t leave you. Not with that man fantasising about sinking his fucking teeth into your neck.”
“You knew he wanted to do that?”
“I could hear him thinking about it, yes.”
“Were you worried I’d bite him back and mate with the bastard?”
Aero reels me in further, coaxing me with the hand still clutched to my shift. I try to ignore the fact that he smells so fucking good.
“It was more than that. I can’t lie though, that was certainly part of it.”
I growl at him—It isn’t pretty. “I would never have bitten that fucker … like that.”
Aero shrugs, looking entirely unperturbed by my little show of aggression. “Even Lesser venom can be compelling. It gets into your system and floods you with a haze of lust. Besides, those teeth of yours seem to have a mind of their own ...”
Fucking hell. Is he talking about my penis biting experience?
I pull away, but he tugs me closer, until we’re chest to fucking chest and I’m heaving angry air all over his glistening, honey skin.
“Stop trying to fucking run from me. I told you, I’m not letting you go.” He lifts his free hand, running wet knuckles along the base of my jaw. “My point is, I lost control. You didn’t need to see that.”
Studying the beads of water littering his chest, I almost smile. “At the time, I kind of did.” I lift my gaze to his, recognising the heat in his eyes as that smile finally tugs at the corner of my mouth. “But you knew that already.”
He blinks, and that heat is gone—replaced with a steel resolve that dissolves my smile instantly. “Still—I’m sorry, Adeline.”
I take a step back, my features melting at the sound of my full name coming from his lips. “You know it?”
“I heard it. I like it …”
“I don’t.” It’s a lie. I do, it just hurts to hear it.
“I won’t use it then.”
Turning away, I almost start to cry, fuck it. I distract myself from my errant emotions by looking around the place.
This tower is hewn from red-stone, most of the wall space made up of wide opened windows.
“Your tower?” I look over my shoulder at Aero, who’s eyeing me like I’m some feeble animal that might try to flap off with half a wing and a broken spine. Do I really look that pathetic?
“It is and no, you don’t.” He wades closer. “I’m just … I’m feeling things I’ve never felt before.”
I submerge fully, because I’m not sure how to respond to that, but I obviously take too long to come back up because he’s suddenly right next to me, easing me back to the surface by my underarms, wiping my face with smooth, gentle strokes of his hands. He dips his head to meet my gaze, his hair flopping forward and casting a shadow over his eyes. “This is my personal tower. I’ve never brought anyone here before …”
I try to dunk again but he’s holding me up, looking at me … into me.
Shit.
“These conversations are making me uncomfortable.”
“I can tell.”
“Where are the others?” I ask, subtly changing the subject. I’m sure it came off that way, too.
“Ploughing fields with Sol.”
Fucking hell. Kinky fucking Sun Gods. I don’t know who the women are, but I’ll cut the bitches.
Yikes. Calm down, crazy cucumber. You’re a Lesser Fae whore with a dead vagina. They’re Sun Gods, with … needs. I try to swallow the tang of … jealousy? Good god, what’s happening to me?
Pushing myself away, I make for the deeper part of the pool that should hopefully go over my head.
“Dell …”
“Calm down, I’m not going to drown myself.”
But he follows me, diving beneath the water and coming up in front of me, glistening and disgustingly perfect.
He lets out the breath he was holding and wipes the excess water from his face. “You’re not strong enough yet, you need to take it slowly.”
I roll my eyes, try to move past him, but he catches me in his arms, pulling me close again, mixing breath, branding me with his gaze.
“You don’t have to do that with me.”
“Do what?” I try to push away, he only holds me tighter.
“Pretend like you don’t give a fuck.”
“I’m programmed not to give a fuck.”
He shakes his head and his hand grasps my shift, keeping me at bay like the rogue bitch I am. My vagina would’ve loved this. Though he’s frowning at me now … rumbling a little.
“No, you’re not. You’re programmed to repress your baser urges because you think they make you a monster; someone just as bad as the men who’ve fucked you, the man who fucked you daily since you were far too young to understand what the fuck was going on.”
Fucking hell.
I push at his chest, trying to get away, but he won’t let me go. “You’ve been listening this whole time …”
“I miss nothing.” He pushes the words through his teeth and his face inches closer. “Nothing”
“You’ve got something on your mind, spit it out, Aero! You think you know me so well then surely you know I hate it when people pussyfoot around shit.”
He shakes his head and I can feel his muscles bunching beneath his skin, can see his pupils expanding, suffocating the molten amber. “No, you hate it when people show they care because in your mind, Dell, if someone cares they’re going to hurt you. So you isolate yourself; thinking you can take on your demons by yourself, but below the surface we’re all the same, craving a familiar touch that gives us validation. You’re right where he wants you. That man has had you on a string this entire … fucking … time.”
