Beneath the Dust (Force of Nature Book 4)

by Amber Lynn Natusch

  “It would not,” Liam said with no hesitation.

  “Truth…”

  We all stared at one another, realizing just how high the stakes now were. The queen could never have Kingston, and the king could never find the ‘lock’; it was imperative that we secured both and did what was necessary to undo the magic keeping me from killing the fey queen. Maybe killing her would leave a void of sorts in Faerie, but I was confident that we could fill it temporarily while we dealt with the king. With his dying lands, he would be no match against us, and I knew he wasn’t willing to attack her side of Faerie. That would mean certain death, and he knew it. But if he was able to not only find the lock but fuel his lands with his unsuccessful attempts, we would be forced to bargain with him or face the wrath of the fey queen. I knew she hadn’t been bluffing when she’d said she’d find ways to make me pay. She was old and powerful and sadistic as fuck. There was no way my little ‘skirting the deal’ stunt would go unpunished. I was surprised it had for that long.

  No, letting either of those crazed fairies have Kingston or the lock was just not an option.

  “We should take this conversation elsewhere,” Merc said, leading the way out of the basement prison. Once we were well out of earshot, I let my frustration with our conundrum out.

  “I don’t understand how this magic can work if we don’t know who the other person is. I mean, what good is that?”

  “Perhaps they are like divining rods,” Merc suggested. “Their connection in this regard might draw them together.”

  “Maybe, but we can’t exactly parade Kingston around New York City. God only knows what the fey queen might do,” I said.

  “Or where she’d do it.” Knox’s sobering statement had the intended effect.

  “Drake could shield him, couldn’t he?” Kat asked. “He did it for the wolves when we went after Mack…”

  “Right, but you’re forgetting the tiny detail about Kingston killing his brother. I’m not sure anything could make him swallow that rage long enough to hide Kingston from the fey queen.”

  Kat quirked a brow. “Not even to help his favorite niece?”

  I didn’t want to answer her—mainly because I wasn’t sure I wanted to speak the truth aloud.

  “There might be another way,” Knox mused. He stormed down the hall, headed for the stairs.

  “What?” I asked, chasing after him. Everyone else followed.

  “I need to go see a witch about a talisman.”

  Oh shit…

  “Not the same witch from last time?” I asked, remembering how awful he’d looked upon his return.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “Better play nice, Knox,” Kat teased. “Sherry wasn’t too pleased to see you last time. You must not have made it worth her while…” I shot her a nasty look, and she shrugged. “She deals in money, power, and dick. Don’t get mad at me for pointing out the facts.”

  “Well she’s not getting any dick from me.” Knox stopped and turned to face the group. “Maybe I can bring Foust or Jagger along for that, if they’re into it.” He stared Kat down for a moment before a smile tugged at his lips. “Or maybe Brunton. He could use a good lay.”

  “What is it you think she can make?” I asked, desperate to derail the current conversation.

  “I’m hoping she can create a talisman that will shield Kingston’s identity so we can take him around the city and find this lock person before it’s too late.”

  “And you think she can do this?” Merc asked, clearly on board with the plan.

  “If anyone can, it’s Sherry.”

  Merc gave the alpha a tight nod. “Do whatever you can to convince her to help. Take Jase and Dean along if you think they could be…advantageous to your negotiation.”

  Knox shook his head and laughed. “Whoring out your brothers for the greater good? Glad to see you acting like a real king now.”

  “I think Piper would prefer I used them rather than you.”

  Any hint of amusement died in Knox’s cold stare. “I would, too.” It warmed slightly when it turned to me. “I’ll be back soon. And don’t worry—I’ll keep my dick to myself.”

  A sly smile was the last I saw of Knox before he disappeared up the stairs to round up the boys and head out to get what we weren’t even sure was possible. Until he returned, we had no choice but to keep Kingston locked away and wait. And I really hated waiting.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The wait I hated dragged on for hours, and worry settled in. Knox wasn’t answering his phone, and neither were the boys. I started to wonder if it was karma for me not returning any of Drake’s messages, so to try TO cleanse my juju, I sent him a quick note saying we were okay and I’d call soon. My phone rang seconds later, but I didn’t answer. I just didn’t have the energy for that call yet. Merc told me not to fret and to get some rest, but that was about as fucking useful as telling Kat not to bait Brunton—it just wasn’t going to happen. Period.

  Instead, I paced the halls, visited the kitchen (even though I couldn’t bear the thought of eating), and tried to watch a movie with the pack. None of those things helped ease my growing anxiety. It wasn’t long before I found myself in Merc’s room, hoping he’d agree to go after the alpha he tolerated only for my benefit.

  Talk about a long shot.

  “Have they returned?” Merc asked. It was clear from his expression that he knew they hadn’t, but I shook my head anyway. “Whatever it is Knox thinks Sherry can make for him, it surely would take time to craft.”

  “Yeah…”

  “You’re worried something has gone wrong.”

  “Aren’t you? I mean, your brothers are there.”

  “My brothers are capable of escaping in the blink of an eye—and bringing the wolf with them.”

  “Knox,” I said, correcting him. “Not ‘the wolf’.”

  He let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Piper. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  I let out a breath of my own. “I know. You’re right—if they were in trouble, the boys would get them out of there. And with the truce in play, Sherry couldn’t do anything without fear of repercussions…”

  “Precisely.”

  My eyes narrowed. “Must be nice to be so calm and rational about things all the time. I’d kill to have a taste of that.”

  “I can assure you, Piper, when it comes to you, I am neither of those things,” he said, inching closer. “And I’ll gladly let you have a taste of whatever you want.”

  The mischief in his growing smile made my heart stop.

  He continued toward me with the grace of a predator. I stepped back until I hit the wall. He leaned his body into mine, pressing me against it. “Is there something else you want, Piper?”

  “Ummm…”

  He cocked his head to the side and stared. “That’s not an answer.”

  His pelvis shifted against mine, and answering his question grew harder still.

  I swallowed down my racing heart and tried again. “Maybe?”

  “Maybe?” he asked, the playful undertone in his voice taunting me. I could feel my cheeks flush under the weight of his gaze and his body. It was impossible to think.

  “Possibly…?”

  He placed his hands on either side of my head and dropped his to meet mine.

  “Do you need more time to consider the question?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “It’s very simple, Piper. Do you want something from me?”

  I gulped down a breath. “Everyone does…”

  His finger trailed along my jaw, lighting my senses on fire. “Do they?”

  “Well you’re kind of a big deal, in case you haven’t noticed,” I replied, my voice low and husky.

  He laughed, and the vibration it shot through my body nearly sent me right out of my skin. Being near Merc—his body touching mine—was so intense. It always had been. The night I met him, when he’d saved me in that alcove from Kingston’s tornado of death, we’d stood just as we were now,
our bodies interlocked in such an intimate way. Back then, I’d been told to fear him, but I never had. The only terrifying thing about Merc was how he made me feel.

  “Because I’m the vampire king?”

  “Yes—I mean no—”

  “Which is it?” he asked, that finger sliding down my throat to the center of my chest.

  “I don’t—”

  “You seem flustered, Piper,” he teased, stopping at the fabric of my V-neck shirt. “Do you want me to stop?”

  “Stop asking me questions?” I said, my breath hitching as he ran his finger along my neckline.

  “Stop doing this,” he clarified. He pulled his hand away. I had to press myself against the wall to keep from following it.

  “No!” The word came out far too breathless for my liking. Merc, however, seemed entirely pleased with my response.

  “No?” he countered. I shook my head. “Very well, then. Should I put it back?”

  “Yes…”

  His hand nestled between my breasts, and I silently cursed the cotton barrier separating us.

  “Shall I remove this?” He tugged on the shirt and awaited my response.

  I nodded, but the wicked smile he gave me in return told me that wouldn’t do.

  “I need to hear you say it,” he whispered in my ear. Every hair on my body stood on end at the feel of his breath on my skin. I was damn near ready to tear my shirt off myself.

  “Yes…”

  In a slow, fluid motion, he pulled it up over my head and let it fall to the floor beside us. His eyes slid down to my bare chest, then back up to meet my gaze. I could feel his control slipping a bit, but he showed nothing but calm amusement.

  “Should I tell you what I want to do next?” he asked, putting his hand back where it’d been. His cool skin against mine made me shiver.

  “Yes.”

  “I want to slide my hand down your stomach, into your pants. I want to touch you until you beg me to be inside you. I want to tease you until your body goes weak and I have to pin you against this wall just to keep you upright. Then I want to take you right here and work you over until your voice is hoarse from screaming my name.” His hand started drifting toward the waist of my pants, and all I could think about was him doing what he’d just said. His hands on my body. The length of him inside me, the two of us moving as one. I’d never wanted anything more in my life. “Would you like that?”

  My lips parted and I exhaled my answer. “Yes.”

  The wait was excruciating as he took his time to get to his destination, toying with my waistband before slowly working his way beyond. I tilted my pelvis toward his hand, and he laughed at my impatience. Then his fingers met my core, and fire shot through my veins.

  I let loose a moan that he captured with his lips. He kissed me with an assuredness that I’d wondered if he would ever have with me again. We’d been through so much in the short time we’d known one another—things that could have shattered the love we shared—but nothing had changed. It felt like the first time we were together—the night we’d been bound.

  My hands locked in his hair and I pulled him closer, my desire burning brighter by the second. He obliged for a moment before leaning away, taking those glorious lips of his with him.

  “Do you want me inside you now?” he asked, flicking his thumb over my core.

  “Yes…”

  “Yes?”He slid my pants off, then held me up with one hand while he maneuvered out of his. Once he was as naked as I was, he hooked his hand under my thighs and pressed me into the wall. I could feel the tip of him hovering and I bit my lip, silently begging him to plunge inside me. As if he’d heard my plea, he quirked a brow at me. “Yes what?” he said, his tone commanding.

  “Please…”

  As soon as the word left my mouth, he eased himself inside me, delighting in how I squirmed until I was full of him. I gasped and clutched his shoulders, my body fighting the pressure before giving into it. My head lolled back against the wall, and he nipped my neck with his fangs.

  “Merc,” I keened as he slowly withdrew.

  He paused. “Say it again.”

  “Merc—”

  “My full name.”

  I opened my eyes to find him staring at me expectantly, a sense of need in his gaze.

  “Mercenary—”

  The word cut short as he thrust inside me, slamming me against the wall.

  “Again,” he said as he pulled out.

  “Mercenary…”

  He slid back inside, the motion gentle and deliberate and enough to make my body explode. As though he knew I was already close to the edge, he gripped my legs harder and ground himself against me until my nails carved down his back and his lips crashed against mine, catching the cry that escaped when we came together.

  “I forgot to call you my king,” I whispered in his ear between ragged breaths.

  His body went tense in an instant. “I am not your king,” he said. His pointed stare helped drive his message home. “You are my equal, Piper. You bow to no one.”

  I let out a sigh and rested my head in the crook of his neck. “I love you,” I whispered.

  “As I love you.”

  He carried me into the bathroom and started the shower without ever letting me go. I wondered if he was going to hold me up in there, too, until he finally placed me inside alone once he deemed the water a suitable temperature.

  “Are you coming in?” I asked, attempting to give him a sexy smile that would make Kat proud. The amusement in his expression told me I’d fallen a wee bit short.

  “In a moment.”

  Without explanation, he disappeared back into his bedroom.

  I showered without him, drawing it out in the hope that he’d return. Eventually, I admitted defeat and climbed out. Wrapped in a towel, I stepped into his room to find Jase and Dean standing there with him, the three of them having a silent conversation.

  “Where’s Knox?” I asked, heart pounding in my chest.

  “He’s fine, P,” Dean said. “Everything’s cool.”

  “Then why are you three in here having a creepy no-words chat? It seems a lot like you don’t want me to overhear something.” I stormed toward them, ready to beat answers out of them (as if that were even possible), but Merc’s door opened just before I reached Dean. In walked Knox, looking no worse for the wear.

  “You’re okay!” I ran over and threw my arms around his neck, nearly losing my towel in the process. He might have found that sexy under other circumstances, but given how rigid he went when I pulled away, I could tell he didn’t at this moment. Guilt washed over me in a flash, and I took a step back. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

  “Sherry didn’t make it easy, but yeah, we’re good.” He shot Dean a sideward look. “Your boy had to take one for the team to get her to do what we wanted.”

  “Happy to help,” Dean said with a laugh.

  “So she did it?”

  Knox shook his head. “We have to go back to get it when she’s done.”

  “And she’ll want the rest of her payment in full then,” Jase added, looking none too thrilled. If Dean had been the retainer, apparently Jase was the balance owed.

  “Well that’s good…I guess.”

  “The takeaway here is that she is capable of doing what we need,” Merc said.

  “I hope we don’t actually have to use Kingston at all, but…yeah. If we do, we need that talisman.”

  “And we’ll have it soon,” Knox said, edging toward the door. “I’ll let you know when I hear from her.”

  He opened it wide and started to leave.

  “Knox—”

  “It’s cool, Piper. We’ve been over this already.”

  And we had. More than once. So why didn’t it feel ‘cool’?

  “We should go, too,” Jase said, hauling Dean out with him.

  The door clicked shut, leaving me alone with Merc and the guilt I couldn’t shake.

  “Perhaps you should get some rest now
that you know they’re home and safe.”

  “Yeah. Maybe I should.”

  I grabbed my clothes off the floor and held them to my chest as I headed for the door.

  “You have no need to feel badly about what happened tonight,” he said, stepping up behind me.

  “My head knows that. Just trying to make my heart feel the same.”

  “It will eventually, Piper. Your sense of loyalty struggles with the construct of this relationship, but it will adapt. Be patient with yourself. Knox and I have had centuries to evolve. You most certainly have not.” He turned me in his arms and kissed my forehead before releasing me into the hallway. “Rest well, my love.”

  And I hoped to.

  I needed a break from my spiraling thoughts.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I awoke to an angry buzzing sound and an even angrier bear snorting in my face.

  “All right, all right, I’m awake,” I said, shoving his wet muzzle away so I could sit up. I snagged my phone in time for the vibrating to end, the screen showing a litany of shouty texts from my uncle. Exactly what I wanted to wake up to. The final message was a demand to see me outside. “Well this should end well for me.”

  The bear huffed in response.

  I threw on some clothes and tied my hair back before sneaking out of the house in search of the surly warlock lord. I’d barely made it to the tree line when he came storming out of the shadows that seemed to be a part of him.

  “Where have you been?” Drake asked. “I came to the mansion yesterday to see you. All they would tell me was that you were ‘out’.”

  “I was.”

  His gaze narrowed, and I knew I was in for it. How I was going to hide the fact that we were housing the being that had killed his brother—my father—was beyond me. And when I cracked, there would be no containing his wrath.

  “Why are you being so evasive?”

  “I’m not! I just confirmed what you were told!”

  “Where were you?”