by Jo Penn
Collecting their belongings from the Kombi, Rico strode over to a clump of trees and waved a hand. The shields he’d placed here months ago fell away to reveal a modified SUV.
“What are you doing with the car?”
“We have to change vehicles, love. Your Kombi will be on their radar.” He loaded the SUV and checked his watch. “We need to keep moving.”
“I am not leaving my Kombi in the middle of nowhere.” Freddie’s sherry eyes narrowed.
“We don’t have time—”
“I’m not leaving my car here. Anyone could steal it.”
Rico didn’t want to argue. Tensions between them were high at the moment, and though he doubted anyone would try and steal the Kombi, he didn’t want to upset Freddie. He already felt guilty over possibly placing Freddie and the other sprites in danger.
“Okay. How about I cover the Kombi in a shield, like the SUV had over it.”
Freddie nodded after a moment. “Fine.”
Knowing he wasn’t making his mate happy but unable to do more about that right now, Rico covered the Kombi.
“Bare with me, my mate.”
“I am not your mate.” Freddie’s nose twitched, making Rico want to press a kiss there. “I’m helping find the globe to stop the crāwan getting it, that is all.”
As much as he wished to dispute the fact, now wasn’t the time with the fragile relationship between them.
“Let’s get moving.”
“I drive this time.” Freddie snatched the keys and strode off, feet bouncing off the ground at each step, like springs were embedded in the sneakers he wore.
Smiling, finding his sprite intriguing and sexy as hell, Rico jumped into the passenger seat of the SUV and quickly put on his seatbelt as they sped off across the uneven farmland. He may be immortal, but that wouldn’t stop him getting whiplash from being thrown around.
He wondered if his mate knew the brakes worked in this vehicle, unlike the Kombi, which he’d learned the hard way.
His fangs tingled at the thought of joining him and Freddie, wanting to extend and do the deed immediately. His body tightened, becoming incredibly hard and full of needs. A little more time was needed. Their souls had been joined from first sighting, and he could feel the link between them.
Rico released a deep breath, using his essence to soothe himself. At dawn they would be in the safe house and could rest briefly. The hunt for the soul globe would soon be over, and then, he could concentrate fully on Freddie. In the meantime, he needed to get his mate somewhere safe.
* * * *
The safe house was a dive.
Freddie stopped the SUV in front of a tiny little shack across the Norway border in the middle of nowhere after witnessing Rico use his magic to move them swiftly through the border patrols.
Most of the time Rico behaved as a mortal, very calm and reasonable, and he didn’t display other creature characteristics. Sure, Freddie got that as supernaturals they had to blend. You couldn’t be sporting your fangs or leaping over trees. That’d get you caught, and humans would figure out there really were other species living amongst them.
Freddie and Clem had often talked about how humans would react. Some wouldn’t care. Maybe they’d even be fascinated or become a little obsessed. Then there were humans that might not like the idea of supernaturals. They’d be called all sorts of names like “monster” and “unnatural.” It would be dangerous. So supernaturals blended into society.
The thing was, with Rico, Freddie never would have guessed he was a supernatural. He blended so damn well that without those few times of witnessing super speed, fast healing, fangs, and the magic that got them across the border without passports, Freddie wouldn’t have believed the man was anything but human.
It was confusing. And a bit disturbing to be honest.
Still, the longer they were together, the more supernatural traits Freddie was picking up on, and it was possible that being with Freddie, Rico was allowing himself to relax and find his pouvoir side again, enjoying it.
Waiting in the car as Rico scouted and checked that the perimeters had not been breached, Freddie yawned while scanning the horizon. He checked his phone for the third time. Still no signal bars. He’d find a town and call Clem or the leader to make contact. He wouldn’t betray Rico’s trust, but Freddie should let his group know he was fine and to be careful.
Flicking open the glove compartment to retrieve the map, Freddie whistled at finding something else in a little satchel. Potions. Now they were handy.
The driver’s door opened. “We should be able to rest here a few hours.”
“Good. Once rested I need to call my group and check in.”
“Freddie, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Your phone can be tracked.”
“I wasn’t asking.” Freddie slipped from the driver’s seat and stretched. “I was going to find a payphone. The inside of this cabin is better than the outside, right?”
Rico winced. “Not much.”
Walking around the SUV to collect his backpack from the trunk, Freddie was taken by surprise as a man rushed toward them. The satchel with the potions was knocked from his hand as the man kicked out.
“Rico! Behind you,” Freddie called out.
“Stay down.” Rico had collected their bags and was walking toward the cabin. He spun around, dropped the bags, and raced back to Freddie.
The attacker had a small axe as a weapon and swung it. Stumbling back, Freddie tripped over a plant root and landed on his ass.
Leaping up, he saw Rico crouch when the man swung the axe and, with an expert move, kicked out at his attacker’s legs. This threw off the man’s balance, and Rico moved with amazing speed and slammed his fist into the man’s face.
Rico moved with the grace and skill of a born fighter. Every movement was calculated, fast, efficient, and highly skilled.
How had Freddie ever thought Rico didn’t fight? He was enthralled, captivated by the way Rico moved, how he countered and adapted on his feet. Had the Gods ever made a creature any more perfect than Rico? He didn’t think so. Freddie couldn’t stop staring, not even to join the fight!
When the man hit the ground from the impact of Rico’s fist exploding in his face, Freddie was jolted from staring and looked about to see what had happened to the potions. He spotted them lying in a puddle of mud and sinking slowly.
Freddie raced to the potions before they were lost or ruined, scooping the bag out with one hand while reaching for his gun with the other. Damn! He didn’t have a weapon. This irritated him a little bit but did not slow him down. He could adapt.
The attacker, a troll Freddie thought, had an obviously broken nose that was bleeding and he looked disorientated, but shaking it off. He got to his feet as another creature joined the fight against Rico. This one was definitely a vampire by the way he was hissing and showing off fangs. Looking around for something to use, Freddie pounced on a thick branch, snapped it in half, and leapt toward Rico, who wrestled the axe off the troll and slammed it into the creature’s chest.
“Get back!” Rico growled at Freddie.
“Don’t be annoying. Deal with the troll.” He smiled at the vamp and wriggled a finger at him. “Come show me your fangs, arsle.”
Vampires were fast and agile like most creatures, just not as quick as sprites. The vampire snarled through its fangs as it came at him in a blur, Freddie standing his ground and aiming for the vampire’s heart, the branch held like a sword ready for the exact moment to be used. A thunderous roar shook the ground and uprooted trees, knocking Freddie off balance, the vampire stumbling in mid stride.
Lifted up by a thick arm around the waist and held half behind Rico, Freddie was startled and thrilled as Rico met the vampire head-on. Power came off him in immense waves that filled the air and shook the ground, Freddie’s body trembling as the waves flooded through every inch of him and overtook his mind, disorientating his senses.
“No one attacks my mate!” Rico bellowed, an
d with one snap of his fangs and a flick of his finger, the vamp crashed to the ground, bones breaking.
Rico snatched the branch from Freddie and tossed it away as he placed Freddie on his unsteady feet and sniffed him over.
Wow, the man was ready to explode!
“Never place yourself in danger again!” Rico growled and walked away, big body trembling.
“Don’t ever underestimate me again! You don’t think I’ve taken on a vampire before? Or a troll? I have, and I know what I’m doing!” Freddie snapped back.
He was angry that Rico hadn’t trusted him to be able to defend himself. It was insulting after all the years Freddie had learned self-defense and to fight. Sure, he didn’t go out every night and fight bad guys, but when a supernatural was causing problems in their area, they were called in to sort it out before humans were alerted.
But before he could yell at Rico some more for stepping in, he noticed the way Rico paced away, his fists clenched, jaw tight, and his body vibrated.
Crap. He’d just been thinking about why Rico didn’t behave more like a pouvoir and here he was, behaving like a pouvoir and pissing Freddie off!
“You okay?” he asked cautiously.
As he watched, Rico crouched. Tiny green and black lights appeared around him, beginning as small specks hardly able to be seen. It was like fairy lights flashing. But quickly the green and black lights grew until intense and vibrating in the air around Rico. Suddenly, Rico slammed his fists on the ground. The impact caused the ground to crack and tremors lifted the SUV, jostling it. What the hell did Freddie do? He had his phone in hand ready, but Rico’s strong aversion to letting anyone know about the soul globe made Freddie pause.
“Fuck it.”
Freddie raced to Rico. He knelt and cupped the man’s gorgeous face between his hands.
“Are you hurt?”
Green eyes, so dark and stormy, glided over Freddie. “My mate.”
Rico’s voice dropped low to a rumbling purr that tickled and thrilled Freddie’s senses. He nuzzled Freddie’s throat, his lips warm, big body still trembling and vibrating, and the waves poured from him again.
It wasn’t like an electric charge, more like feelings and sensations flooding every cell of your body. It felt pretty damn amazing and startling.
“We have to go, Rico. The safe house is compromised…”
“Yes, my love, we must go.” Rico pulled Freddie close. “The block has come off my full strength and magic… You shake, Fredrik.” He sniffed and felt him over. “Injured?”
“Nah. The waves disorientate me.”
Taking a deep breath, Rico sucked in, and the waves stopped. “Shh, my fighting mate, let me soothe you.”
Freddie let himself relax on Rico’s lap. The way their bodies were pressed together, the feel of hard muscles and the musky smell of Rico, turned the embrace from comfort to sexually charged quickly. He wanted more from Rico than a hug. He wanted to strip their clothes off and ride the large cock he felt pressed against his stomach.
But something was going on, and they’d just been in a fight. So, disappointingly, now wasn’t the time. Maybe when they got to Oslo they could explore this out-of-the-world chemistry between them.
“Why were you upset with me?” Freddie asked, distracting himself.
“Not you, never you, my Freddie.” Rico’s fingertips glided sensually over his cheek. “I cannot have you harmed in any way…but you are skilled. I overreacted. I’m sorry. It is the pouvoir way to remove their mate from harm.”
This he understood. “Why be sorry if it is your natural way? Just don’t undermine me again and we’ll be fine.”
An unbelievably divine smile curled his lips, lips Freddie wanted with a hunger he’d never had before. It was a craving that was growing, and he worried might never be satisfied.
“For so long I’ve had to hide what I am, what I’m doing. I guess I do need re-educating like my brother Darkness has said.” Rico sighed, looking troubled. “It isn’t safe. We have to keep moving.”
“Yes, but your way is wrong. Think as a pouvoir, Rico, and tell me what the plan is. And it must include teleporting.”
Definitely must include teleporting. No more of this cross-country driving and crāwan sneaking out of the bushes to ambush them. It made no sense to Freddie. Regardless of whether Rico believed the crāwan and his kind could track them through the use of this ability, the quicker they got to this globe, the less chance crāwan had to get it.
Still shaking, Rico sniffed Freddie deeply. “Thinking like a pouvoir means getting you beneath me and mating, love.” His tongue flicked out and swirled around.
Damn, the tongue swirling and sniffing was awesome.
“While that sounds great, and we need to discuss mating, I do know the waves you were giving off will bring supernaturals from hundreds of miles away. So, if you don’t come up with a plan, we may be fighting more than two creatures. Were they crāwan?”
“I believe so. I saw a crow tattoo on the troll.” He sighed. “Hades, I should be doing a better job of explaining everything to you. Stuff it.” He stood, lifting Freddie to his feet. “My mate, we need some rest.”
“Yep. We rest. You tell me more about your kind, and then we go get this globe. But we’re teleporting.”
“Okay. Keep hold of those potions. We’re going to need them to cover ourselves. Let’s get out of here and enjoy some five-star accommodations, love.”
Chapter Five
Teleporting was a rush! Sure, he was dizzy and a bit disorientated for a few moments, but it was so worth these minor discomforts, as they arrived at their destination in a blink of an eye. The entire experience was an adrenaline rush. Freddie couldn’t wait to get on Instagram and tell everyone in his sprite only group!
They transported directly to Oslo with their backpacks and nothing else. Before anyone else could ambush them, they grabbed what they could, dumped the unconscious troll and vampire in the cabin, and got out of there. Freddie would call his leader tonight to organize someone to clean up the mess they’d left behind.
They arrived at a safe house in Oslo, which was little more than an empty studio apartment that was shielded in magic. Apparently, it was an old pouvoir safe house. To Freddie, it looked like a disused apartment. They didn’t linger, leaving immediately and finding a five-star hotel, Rico choosing it because of the security and room service. Freddie wished to be prepared so they stayed only long enough to put down their luggage.
Only having a tree branch against a vampire was adequate, but a good dagger or gun would be so much better. So, they went to source weapons.
They still must retrieve the globe, and who knew how many crāwan they would come across in the meantime? Rico said magic surrounded the priceless item and they would need to be cautious, which told Freddie nothing much at all. He only knew that scattered around the world were clues, like a giant treasure map or pieces of a puzzle. Each piece had to be unraveled and always had a magical trap protecting it.
Entering a weapon shop still covered in mud and grime, Freddie and Rico surveyed the weapons on display. With an expert eye, Freddie went straight to the firearms. Guns did not necessarily kill supernaturals, but it would slow them down, especially with tranquilizer bullets.
Such a shame he did not have the sprite tranquilizers. They were the best. They knocked a creature out in less than a second and kept them that way. It’d even worked on Rico, who was a pouvoir.
“Preference, love?”
Freddie tapped the glass above three guns, one of which was a tranquilizer, then pointed across the room to the knives and swords.
“We’ll take whatever he wants.”
With Rico’s special kind of magic of projecting his wants and thoughts into others, there was no red tape with the purchases and they were able to leave quickly. They caught a cab back to the hotel, where Rico immediately went to the room service menu and got on the telephone.
Freddie paused a moment to choose from the menu th
en collected clothes to change into and left a loaded gun beside Rico while he went to have a shower. The mud was beginning to move into crevices that were uncomfortable. A long shower would help make him feel a bit more alive and functioning. The planned shower took a nosedive as soon as he entered the bathroom and spotted a gigantic spa bath.
Holy shit! He’d never seen a tub that big! And who could resist a spa?
Studying each of the bottles beside the bath, he selected one and poured it into the tub then turned on the water and set the spa. The bathroom was filled with the smell of strawberries.
A thick arm wrapped around his waist as he straightened, and fangs scraped along his throat. Shivering with pleasure, Freddie leaned back into Rico’s big solid body.
“Any chance I can join you in the tub?”
Joining in the tub meant they would be naked, and that led to sex in his experience. Freddie was all for that! He wanted to explore every inch of his big pouvoir and discover how high their chemistry could burn.
“Think we can both fit?”
Rico stepped back and grinned, his thick fangs not alarming Freddie at all. “Perfect fit.”
Yeah, Freddie got the feeling Rico wasn’t talking about the tub. He loved this sexy side Rico was showing.
“Show me who you truly are, Rico Arkman Tarok.” Freddie pulled off his shirt and tossed it onto the floor.
“This is me. So is who I’ve been the entire time. We’re all more than one part. We can be strong, yet sensitive. Weak, but tough. Depends on what we need to get through. I can be a supernatural, yet a professor who fits into the human world.” Rico smiled a little sadly. “I think people sometimes forget that and expect others to fit into neat little boxes. No one fits into neat little boxes. Sometimes the box has to change into different shapes to fit us, depending on situations and feelings.”
Freddie nodded slowly. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. I’ve been wondering how you can be so human, yet are a pouvoir. But I guess we’re all people and we all fit in somewhere at some time. And sometimes we don’t fit in at all.”
