“Bending the rules doesn’t make you a black sheep. You’ve never hurt anyone intentionally, and your heart was always in the right place.”
“I suppose.” She paused, cocking her head to glance at him from the side. “How come you didn’t seem quite as stunned when Caitlan let my parentage out of the proverbial bag?”
He slid an arm forward, holding her against his chest. “Because I already knew.”
His breath tickled the back of her ear, and she turned in his embrace to look at him eye to eye. “You knew?”
He nodded, cupping her cheek. “When word of Leith’s attempt to bring about a coup reached the Summer Kingdom, the Seelie Court was a buzz. To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention until I heard one name mentioned.”
“Mine.”
“Yes. At that point, I used every connection I had to find out whatever I could. The queen was the one who finally told me. Apparently, she knew about you from the beginning, including where you were all this time.” He hesitated, letting go of her cheek. “She was the one who helped Aislinn get away from Leith. I guess she felt sorry for her in some small way, which is saying a lot because the Fae aren’t exactly compassion incarnate. Just the opposite.”
She pulled out of Gareth’s grip. “Great. This just gets better and better.”
“Laney, don’t.” He let her slip past but held onto her hand. “Which do you think holds more sway over who we become? Nature or nurture? You’re still the same amazing woman you were twenty-four hours ago, right? Who cares if you’ve got Sidhe blood? I don’t, and I’m in the same halfling boat as you.
“I told you before all this came to light. Before Caitlan even mentioned the possibility of us claiming each other. I want you. I’ve always wanted you. It’s what should have been from the beginning and can be now.” He paused, pulling her closer again. “Are you trying to tell me you don’t want this? Don’t want to be with me?”
His eyes searched hers, and the heat coming from his body and his gaze seared her soul and made her flesh ache for his touch.
“Uhm, I think I’m going to take that shower.”
“Good. It’ll help you relax. Maybe even help you sleep.”
Lane shook her head. “A shower isn’t going to do it for me, Gareth. I need something hard to work out these knots.” She reached up and undid one tie at the top of her blouse, letting the soft fabric slip past one shoulder. “Something really hard.”
She undid the second tie, letting her shirt slip to her waist in a silken fall. “How did you put it earlier? Hard enough to cut diamonds?” Reaching for the front of his pants, she hooked her fingers into his waistband. “Any ideas?”
“Plenty.” Gareth slid his hands to her waist, letting his lips hover just above her mouth. “First off, you have too many clothes on,” he tsked. “What are we going to do about that?” He reached for her blouse and tugged it over her head, letting the fabric fall to the floor. Unhooking her bra, he dipped his head to her jutting nipples, nipping them each through the lace until she moaned, arching her back.
He walked her backwards into the bathroom, leaving her bra on the floor with her blouse. There was enough ambient light from Lane’s bedroom to set everything in warm, luscious shadow. His mouth crushed hers, devouring her lips and her tongue as he reached behind her back to turn on the spray. Steam rose almost immediately, bathing her exposed flesh in a gorgeous sheen.
Dragging his fingers over her full breasts, he circled her nipples with the wet condensation. “I want more than just your tits wet and on display, Laney. I want your pussy dripping. Spread wide for me to take and taste. There’s something primal about fucking in water. Primitive. Ravaging. And I want it all. I want you wild with desire, your pussy so wet it slicks your thighs and drips over my chin and then later my balls.”
Lane gasped and her nipples and clit throbbed from just his words. A single touch and she’d come like a rocket. Gareth’s lips pushed into a smirk. “Strip, Lane. Leave on nothing but your panties.”
She did as he asked, and he kissed her again but stepped back instead of escalating to the next level. Her mouth dropped to complain but stopped when she saw he went to the sideboard across from her bed.
“Lots of interesting things you’ve got hidden in the cupboard, little girl,” he teased, resting a half-empty bottle of wine and a small, drawstring bag on the shower’s tile floor. “Plus, I never let a good merlot go to waste.”
He stepped back, untying the drawstring to his pants before slipping them past his hips. He did so slowly, teasing Lane completely as his fingers pushed the soft cotton past the sexy vee and tease of dark hair toward the hard length waiting below.
“You’re killing me, Smalls.” She flashed a smirk, quoting their movie as he did earlier.
His cock sprang free of the restrictive waistband, the hard bar thick and corded.
Lane licked her lips. Smalls was definitely not a word to describe Gareth. It never was.
His grin faded to an urgent slash and he scooped her into his arms and stepped over the edge and into the spacious open shower.
The water beaded on her skin, cascading in rivulets drenching her hair. He leaned down, taking one nipple between his teeth. He sucked the stiffening peak between his lips, letting one hand dip between her thighs.
Stroking her wet slit, he slipped two fingers into her cleft and curled them deep. He leaned in, taking her mouth as he circled her inner spot. “I want you on your knees, Lane. Your ass in the air. You’re mine. Every inch of you.”
He broke their kiss and pulled back his hand, licking each one before kissing her again. “The taste of you makes my cock want to burst. For years, I imagined how you smelled, your taste. Alone I worked my length to just your memory and every sense I could conjure. Now I have you here, in the flesh, and I want every inch of you.”
Her heart pounded in her chest, but a secret smile stole across her lips as she kissed Gareth’s neck, feathering tiny bites and kisses down his chest as she sank to her knees in front of him.
“Not so fast, love.” He stopped her, pulling her to her feet again. “Me first.”
His voice was commanding. Earlier it was just urgent, but now it was clear the sexy boy she loved, lusted for, and lost had grown into a man’s man, with scars inside and out to match. Power rippled beneath her fingers as she explored his muscled torso and chest. She got to her feet, and the heat of his gaze locked her breath in her throat, nearly scorching her flesh. His eyes took in her full length, lingering at the way the spray glistened on her body, wet and bidding.
With one fluid motion, he swept her up again, sitting her on the marble bench at the back of the shower stall. He knelt and pushed her thighs apart. Dipping his face to her slick folds, he licked her slit to her hard nub. “You take my breath away, Lane. I could bury myself in you forever and never have enough.”
She sucked in a breath, his words and the rough feel of his beard on her tender flesh pushing her higher toward climax. Closing her eyes, she let her head drop back as he slid his thumb between her folds. “So fucking wet,” he whispered, letting his fingers slide further to circle her clit. “But we can do better.”
He took the wine bottle from the floor of the shower and pull the cork with his teeth, spitting it to the floor. Pouring the wine over her breasts, it trickled to her pussy in purple rivulets.
Gareth sucked her tits, licking and nibbling his way to her slippery, wine-soaked mound. “Sweet musk and sweet wine. You intoxicate me, Lane. In all ways.”
She arched back, moaning as his fingers and mouth drove her pussy. Gareth slid his free hand over her belly to cup her breast, and she dug her fingers into her dark hair, grinding herself farther into his mouth. She came hard as he sucked her clit deep, gasping as spasms shook.
He pulled back, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand with a satisfied grin. “So damn good, but now it’s my turn.” Pushing her knees wide, he got to his feet and wrapped his hand around his corded shaft.
Stepping between her thighs, he pressed the tip of his cock to her lips and Lane took his full length, no waiting. She wrapped her hands around his ass, working him with the flat of her tongue and her throat. Milking his corded length, she slid him even deeper before releasing him inch by inch until the ridged edge of his head bulged between her lips ready to blow.
A muffled gasp left Gareth’s throat. “Woman, unless you want to swallow everything I give, you’d better spread yourself now!”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He pulled his cock free and yanked her to her feet, crushing his mouth to hers, fierce and exacting. The salty taste of his essence was on her lips and it mixed with her nuance still on his tongue.
Breaking their kiss, he turned her so her back molded against his chest. “I want you on your knees, Lane. Your ass grinding my cock.”
Nipping the back of her neck, he urged her to the tile. With a single thrust, he drove his member between her folds, his hips pumping hard and fast.
Gareth filled every inch of her core. Lane’s breath locked in her throat as she came again, her hips meeting his thrust for thrust. Pleasure flooded her body as it quaked and squeezed.
He reached for the drawstring bag on the floor. “Feel like a walk on the wild side, little witch?” He drew a large dildo from inside the bag, curved with tiny nubs along the synthetic skin shaft. “You had quite a selection, but I thought this one looked like the most fun.”
He pulled his cock back, taking a moment to spread her slick wetness back toward her tight hole.
Teasing her, he worked her ass with his thumb as he worked her pussy with the tip of the dildo. She moaned at the invasive feel as his fingers stretched her tight ring, readying her for his thick dick. He drew the fleshy plastic back from her sex and then helped her to all fours on the bench. Pressing the tip of his cock to her hole, he slid inside, inch by straining inch. She took him, sucking sharp breaths as her body hovered between pleasure and pain.
“So fucking tight,” he whispered behind her ear as he teased her clit before slipping the dildo between her folds again.
With a deep thrust, he buried his length in her tight sheath, riding her ring as he worked her pussy. She moaned at the combined feel of his cock and the sexy toy, both filling beyond measure.
Every muscle tensed, suspended, until pleasure tore through her, radiating hot and fierce. Waves spread through her lower belly and down her thighs, penetrating her core as Gareth impaled her body over and over.
The tiled shower shimmered gold and white as power sizzled in and around them. It spiraled, sizzling on their skin. Gareth held tight. Every muscle coiled as her climax rocked through him. He let go with a cry, hot jets pulsing deep within her.
With a gasp, he let the dildo slide free. It splashed to the shower floor as he tightened one arm around Lane’s waist. Cupping her pussy with the other, they rode the final waves together until they both slumped forward in the warm spray.
The two lay panting, their bodies entwined and sweaty as water cascaded around them. Gareth released her waist, slowly slipping his member from her tight ring. He reached for the bodywash on the shelf and lathered his hands, sliding the whip cream bubbles over Lane’s breasts and between her legs.
She did the same, washing him as well. His lips found hers, and he kissed her soft and warm. “I love you, Lane Alden. I always have and I always will, and I am never letting you go.”
Tucking herself beneath his arm, she wrapped soapy hands around his back, holding him tight. “Good, or I’ll make Caitlan turn you into a frog for good.”
He smiled against her hair, kissing the wet mass. “You’d kiss me into a prince again. I know you. You could never resist having the last word.”
Lane slid her slippery hands around to his still thick member. “That’s not the only last I couldn’t resist.”
Kissing her again, Gareth lifted her with a quick spin, pressing her back to the warm tile wall and his cock to her waiting pussy. He fucked her slow and languorous, teasing her with every stroke until neither could take anymore. They climaxed again, power surging between them, sending glittering light circling like constellations as they came.
He buried his head in her neck, a smile stretching across her wet skin. “I don’t think we’re going to need Caitlan’s blood rite to waken your Sidhe side.”
She laughed. “Why? You afraid of a little blood?”
“No. But it might be an overstatement at this point. Your skin is glowing gold, love. I think we accomplished the deed all by ourselves.”
Lifting her arm, Lane grinned, watching her skin shimmer and sparkle. “Oh man, Caitlan’s going to be so mad.”
He laughed. “I don’t think she’ll care. She might even make us go through the motions just to be sure it’s not a one off.”
Cupping his wet face, she kissed him again, biting his bottom lip. “I am not a one off. You are not a one off. We are not a one off. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am. Now let’s get out of this water. It’s going cold and my bits are starting to shrivel…and that’s an off neither of us want.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lane lay on her pillow, propped against the headboard. Gareth snored gently beside her, but she couldn’t sleep. Too much had happened too quickly for rest to come.
She flipped through the channels on the television, but nothing interested her. Too preoccupied to give late night programming more than a cursory glance, her eyes swept to the desk across the bedroom, and the book and the letter sitting on top of Gareth’s pile of clothes.
With a tentative breath, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and padded over to carry them back to the bed with her.
The letter had her name scrawled in big, looping script across the front, with a small heart drawn into the cursive letter E at the end of her name. She ran her fingers over the ink, wondering what her mother’s thoughts were at the time. From what Caitlan said, she already knew her fears.
The generous handwriting and the drawn heart reminded her of commercials where moms hid tiny love notes inside their children’s lunchboxes. Her heart squeezed at how she never knew what it felt like to have that kind of unconditional love. To have a mom.
Staring at the cursive heart, she knew now she had that all along, albeit from afar. Her throat tightened at the realization, and she didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or kill something. She’d been robbed, and it was Leith who was responsible.
Caitlan didn’t say much more after her initial revelation. In fact, she didn’t explain what happened to Aislinn after she and Caitlan bound her Sidhe powers. Maybe it was too painful. Or perhaps Caitlan didn’t know. Maybe she thought the weight of the disclosure was enough for one night.
Either way, Leith was responsible no matter what happened. If Aislinn hadn’t felt trapped and threatened, she’d never have been compelled to run.
“Like ripping off a Band-Aid,” she murmured under her breath, and tore the envelope open across the top.
She pulled the thin cream-colored sheet from the inside and unfolded it to the same looping script.
My darling daughter,
If Caitlan revealed this letter, then your father has found you and I failed. Your safety and happiness are my only concerns, even if it means exchanging my life for yours.
You are my heart, my life and my hope, and the only reason I have to hold tether to this world. The choices I have made have been foolish and vain. I’m paying a heavy price for my mistakes by leaving you with the Ravens. It is the only way I know to guarantee your safety. By sacrificing my own weakness, I pray it gives you the courage and strength you’ll need to make your life a success. My wish for you, my baby girl, is to find your true self and cherish who you are, and that in doing so you find love deserving of you. Never forget who you are, even when tempted. Know from this moment you were cherished above my own life. Loved and wanted.
Your father wasn’t always a cruel being, but his Fae nature was corrupted and eventually his machinations and
manipulations consumed him. He thought to make me a slave, and if he had an inkling of your existence, he would do the same with you. Me to do his bidding, and you to use as a pawn where he saw fit. I couldn’t allow that. I sealed my own fate when I succumbed to him, but you, my darling, are an innocent. Fae blood may course through your veins, but you are a Raven, and that will give you the strength you need to overcome whatever poison Leith brings to your doorstep.
It is why I made the decision to bind your Sidhe side. Caitlan wasn’t happy about the choice, but in the end, she knew it was the only way to protect you. Binding your Sidhe powers will buy you the time to develop as a Raven, and to find and cherish your inner strength and self-worth.
My only regret is I won’t be with you to share in your accomplishments, to hug away your fears and worries, and to give you the mother’s love you so deserve. I’ve made the choice to go back to Faerie. It’s the second half of the sacrifice necessary to keep you safe. In my gut I know I’m not long for either plane, but if the fates smile on us and we meet again, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
Your loving mother,
Aislinn.
An ache washed through her along with grief so deep, the only thing large enough to fill the hole was anger. Lane folded the letter, slipping it into the envelope. Dropping it on the nightstand, she stared impotent at the ceiling.
“Fuck this,” she muttered, and got up from the bed.
Pulling on a pair of leggings, she then pulled a sweatshirt over her head and shoved her feet into her sneakers. She took the book of swords from the bed and left the bedroom, careful not to wake Gareth.
Her mind swirled. Her mother gave her up to protect her because she wasn’t strong enough to fight. Wasn’t strong enough or maybe she simply didn’t know how. That was about to change.
Bewitch Me: The Red Veil Diaries: A Witchy/Fae Romance Page 10
