by Lauren Dane
“What?” He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She waved her hand toward the women in the restaurant, who were all staring at him, and the bimbo waitress who’d rubbed her tits all over his arm. “When you’re with one woman, you’ve got three more lining up to take her place.” Suddenly she put her hand over her mouth, appalled.
He saw it and laughed, the sound tugged at her. She realized then how quiet it was. She usually had to deal with the rush of feelings from people, especially people who were in very close proximity, but she got nothing at all from Con. She couldn’t read him at all. It felt peaceful but also slightly frightening, she rarely had to deal with other people without knowing their intentions. It was slightly puzzling though, there were only rare circumstances when she was unable to read other people—those people with certain levels of magical powers, like her sister, some people she was related to and a few people over her lifetime that she’d never quite known why.
“I hadn’t noticed any other women, only you.”
A shock of déjà vu hit her. He seemed so familiar—that moment, that phrase—as if she’d heard it before from his lips. She was very still and he homed in on it and moved so that his chair was touching hers.
“Em?” he purred.
“Y-yes?” she answered, his closeness making her clothes feel too tight. She warmed all over, skin tingling, nipples stabbing at the front of her sweater, begging for his attention. Cream flowed from her desire-softened pussy. She crossed her legs and squeezed her thighs together. The feeling was delicious. So this is desire.
Con reached out and traced the pad of a finger down the line of her cheek and along the fullness of her lips. A Cupid’s bow bottom lip. His heart stuttered at how she felt beneath his finger. Satiny, sweet, full.
He leaned in to kiss her but the waitress all but slammed the drinks on the table. She leaned in between the two of them. “Anything else? Anything at all?” she breathed out.
Em snorted. “Oh god, could you be any more obvious? We get it, you want to sleep with him, but right now he’s with me. If he’s interested he’ll let you know. Now, be on your way and don’t think you’ll be getting any tip.”
The waitress looked at her, furious, and then back at Con, who shrugged and looked to Em again. She stomped off angrily.
Em blushed. She had no idea where her new assertiveness or her sense of possessiveness regarding Con was coming from but she liked them. She’d never felt possessive about a man before. Hell, except for the dream man, she’d never even felt desire before.
Em wanted to change her life, she wanted to do something different and take charge. She’d come all the way across the world to escape the shadow of her sister and the rest of her family and here she was, in a bar with an incredibly sexy man. She smiled at the thought that she just might let him talk her into sleeping with him.
“Thank you for defending my honor, Em,” he said, grinning. He picked up her hand and kissed the tip of each one of her fingers, lightly biting each. He delighted in her shiver.
“What are you doing in London? Clearly you’re an American. Southern perhaps?” he asked as he drew circles on the back of her hand with a thumb.
“Research,” she said in a slightly broken voice. The stroke of his thumb on her hand was hypnotic. “Mrs. Belton has a private library. I’m here to do some research in it.”
“What kind of research?”
Em felt the tickle up her spine and realized what he’d done. She might not be as powerful as Lee but she knew when someone was using magic on her. She snapped out of her erotic stupor and eyed him with hostility. “Back off!” she hissed and stood.
“What?” He cursed himself for attempting to use his magic to weave a truth spell on her. He tried to grab her arm but she pulled out of reach and headed toward the door. “Wait! Em, wait. What’s wrong?” he called as she stormed outside.
She was tall and long-legged but he was, after all, taller and he caught up to her easily. He grabbed her arm and she tried to slap him with her free hand but he caught her easily and fended off the blow.
“Don’t you think you owe me an explanation? One minute it looks like we’re going to end up in bed and the next you’re walking out on me!” The idea of her leaving made him feel panicky and he didn’t like it. He’d never felt so vulnerable with a woman before.
“You’re the most arrogant man! I owe you an explanation? Oh please! You tried a compulsion spell on me, you bastard. You’re the one who owes an explanation, Con. Who are you? Is your name even Con? What’s your game? Why are you trying to use magic on me?” she said, fury in her face.
And goddess if she weren’t stunning at that moment. Her eyes flashing, lips parted, face flushed, hair in disarray. Even the way she stood was sexy, proud and erect, challenging him.
“Honestly, Em, there is no game. My name really is Con, or rather Conchobar. Con is what I’ve been called all of my life, like I’d guess you’ve been called Em for Emily your whole life.” He paused. “As to the rest, please, let me explain. My hotel isn’t far from here, we can go to my suite and speak privately.”
“As if!” She laughed then and it flowed over him. Well. His sweet Em had the laugh of a siren, deep and velvety. Combining that with her anger found him even more deeply enmeshed in her spell.
“I promise that nothing will happen that you don’t want to happen. What we need to talk about isn’t for public consumption and you know it. The Belleville is a reputable hotel, you’ll be safe.”
“You’re staying at the Belleville?” She eyed him narrowly.
“Yes, I just said so, didn’t I? We can go to your hotel if you wish.”
She couldn’t explain it but she trusted him not to harm her and she didn’t want to leave his presence just then. Clearly he had some kind of magic, she couldn’t read him and the spell he used was subtle, more subtle than any she’d ever experienced. If she hadn’t been so hyperaware of him at that moment, she probably wouldn’t have felt it at all. He was right, they couldn’t talk about it in public and she didn’t have the ability to do a privacy spell like the one Adelade had conjured.
“All right. But my brother-in-law owns the Belleville and I’ll have you removed and call the cops if you try anything funny, buster.”
He let out the breath he’d been holding and then it hit him. “Aidan Bell is your brother-in-law?”
“You know Aidan?”
“Yes, I haven’t seen him in…a while, but yes, we’re acquainted. Come, let’s go, it’s obvious we have a lot to talk about.”
She eyed him narrowly and fell into step beside him.
At the Belleville they all rushed to help her and Con wanted to slap them all away. She was his woman and watching the way the bellman touched her arm as he opened the door for her made Con sick with jealousy.
She smiled at the concierge and informed him that she would be in Mr. MacNessa’s room and to ring her there if any calls came in for her. Con wanted to laugh, none of these mortals could stop him should he desire to harm her, he could transport them to any spot in this world or his own in the blink of an eye. But it made her feel safe and so he merely smiled and held the elevator for her.
* * * * *
Em sat on the couch in the sitting area of the suite, watching Con as he moved about the room.
“Can I get you something from the bar? A sparkling water? A beer? Another vodka tonic?” he asked her casually.
“You can get to the point. What are you and why did you use a compulsion spell on me?” She would have been appalled by her lack of manners if she hadn’t been so angry with him.
He sat on the low table in front of the couch. “I’m merely curious about your research. I could sense you were a witch, I just wanted to know what you were up to. Nothing nefarious, just basic nosiness.”
“How could you sense that? What are you that you not only have your own magic but you could sense mine?”
He spun the possible responses through his mind. “I’m
a wizard,” he said at last.
“Is that so? What family are you from?”
Damn! He’d underestimated her. “The MacNessa family. We’re Irish.”
She rolled her eyes and made that incorrect game show buzzer sound. “Wrong. No such family. I’ve just completed an exhaustive wizarding family tree, the fruit of a year of research and a brother-in-law who belongs to one of the most powerful wizarding families in the world. Try again.” She crossed her arms over her chest, distracting him further as the action thrust her breasts up higher.
Before he could say anything else his phone rang and he picked it up, relieved to be given a momentary reprieve.
The call was for Em and he handed the phone over.
“Hello?”
“Em? Are you all right? I’ve been trying to call you on your cell phone but you weren’t answering and you weren’t in your room. I’ve been frantic!” her sister babbled out in a jumbled rush of words.
“Whoa! What’s going on? Is everything all right?”
“Why didn’t you answer your phone, why aren’t you in the penthouse, just who is this man?” Lee demanded.
“I left my phone here at the hotel. I was at dinner and I had an interesting conversation that I came back here to continue in private. Why are you calling, Lee?” Em was over her worry and had now moved to annoyed that her sister would call her across the world simply to lecture her.
“I had a waking dream. I saw you, you were sitting and you met an older woman and then you bumped into a man on the street. He struck a chord in you. I woke up and I’ve been trying to call you ever since!”
“Ah. Well, that’s pretty much what has happened. In fact, put Aidan on, will you?”
“What? NO! Tell me what the hell is going on! You can’t just not tell me, for god’s sake. You’re in some guy’s room and you’re in a foreign country. First, hello is he cute? And second, I know he’s not an ax murderer or you’d have felt it, but he’s still a stranger. What does he want from you?”
She sighed. She knew Lee was just concerned about her and she softened her tone. “Listen, I’m trying to figure that out myself. I promise to tell you everything once I work it out. Now please just put Aidan on.”
Con was eyeing her suspiciously.
“Hello, darlin’, is something wrong with the hotel? Can I help?” Aidan asked as he came on the line.
“No, it’s wonderful here, thank you for letting me use the penthouse, it’s amazing. I have a question. Do you know a Conchobar MacNessa?”
“Con? You know him? Where is he?” Aidan demanded.
“He’s right here, he’s been dodging my questions. He tried to use magic on me and I caught him. At this moment he looks like he swallowed his tongue because he told me he knew you and now you’re going to tell me what the hell is going on.”
Aidan smiled despite himself. He’d never heard Em like this and he liked it. “Con is a Faerie, a very old one. He’s favored by their queen. He’s tricky, but generally trustworthy. A revered and fearsome warrior. But, Em, he likes women, a lot. Be careful of him.”
Em eyed Con and he knew instantly that she’d just found out he was Fae.
“Thank you for telling me, Aidan. Please inform my sister of what was said so I don’t have to repeat it.”
Aidan laughed, Lee had been dancing around him, trying to hear what was going on. He knew she’d be drilling him for information once he hung up. “Put Con on for a moment please, sweet.”
She handed the phone to Con who took it suspiciously. “Aidan, how are you?”
“I’m good, never better in fact. I’ve got a wife, I’m living in New Orleans and I’ve got a really special sister-in-law. Con, if you fuck her over I’ll hunt you down,” Aidan said, his voice going low and dangerous.
“I respect that. It won’t be necessary, Aidan. I want the opposite—like I’ve never wanted anything before.” And it scared the pants off him.
“She’s the one?”
“Capital T, capital O. Ten thousand years have passed and nothing prepared me for this.”
Aidan began to laugh. “Is that so? Have you told Em this yet?”
“No. I just met her a few hours ago. It’s a bit much at this stage.”
“Have you dealt with human women before, Con? They are, uh, less than malleable, not like vampire females, that’s for sure. I found that out,” he said the last quietly, not wanting to raise Lee’s ire. “You can’t just keep her in the dark, she won’t appreciate it.”
“I know, I’ll explain when it’s time,” Con assured him.
“And why were you using a compulsion spell on her? You’d better not be trying to force your way with her.” Menace crept back into his tone.
Con was insulted. He’d never, not once in ten thousand years, taken a woman with magic or by force. “You should know better than that, Aidan. As for why I did it, it’s complicated but trust me, it wasn’t to hurt her.”
“Remember what I said. Hurt her and I drink every ounce of that ten-thousand-year-old blood in your veins,” Aidan warned.
Con reassured him again of his intentions, and unable to postpone the inevitable, Aidan said goodbye and hung up.
Em watched him with one elegantly arched brow raised. “So, let’s go back to the beginning, shall we? Who and what are you and why did you use magic on me?”
He sat next to her on the couch, as close as he could without causing her to move away from him. “I really am Con MacNessa and I really am curious about your research. I’m also a Faerie, that’s where my magic comes from.”
“I’ve never met a Faerie. For some reason, I’d always imagined them to be small and have wings.”
He scowled, obviously she’d hit a sore point and she struggled not to laugh. “Do I look small to you?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen all of you,” she teased and then gasped at herself. “God, an hour with you and I’m suddenly not in control of my tongue.”
“Well, I know how we can combine you seeing just how big I am and some tongue control,” he leaned in and said in a sexy growl. Her eyes slid halfway closed and she moaned softly.
She put her hand, palm flat, against his chest and pushed him back. “You haven’t answered the question. If you were just curious, why not ask more pointed questions? It seems a bit of overkill to use a compulsion spell for ordinary inquisitiveness. Thing is, Con, given the smooth way you’ve been talking me up tonight and the way you seized the moment when you bumped into me, I don’t take you for a very overkill kind of man. No, you seem to be all about subtlety.”
“Look, why don’t you tell me about your research and I can tell you more after that?” he suggested.
She backed up from him and he watched her shields come up. “Why are you so interested?”
He saw something in her eyes, fear? He reached out to touch her but she stood up and moved away. His heart felt squeezed by that, by her holding herself away from him. “Are you afraid of me? Em, I may not be being totally honest with you right now, but you never have reason to fear me. I would never hurt you.”
She heard the hurt in his voice and nearly relented until she remembered that a demon lord wanted to destroy her family. For all she knew this Faerie was working with the bad guys. Why else would a total stranger be so interested in her work? It was clear he had some idea of what she was doing, but how could he? She hadn’t told anyone other than Adelade earlier that evening and that happened after he bumped into her. A sickening realization that had been tickling the back of her mind came to her then.
“Your bumping into me tonight wasn’t an accident.” It wasn’t a question. She knew the answer. “You set me up.”
“No. I mean, no it wasn’t an accident, but I didn’t set you up. I wanted to meet you to talk with you about your research.”
Her heart fell then. Whatever he was after, it wasn’t her. She felt like a fool for believing that a man who looked like Con would be interested in her. She started toward the door. “Fuck y
ou, Con MacNessa,” she said as she grabbed the knob.
He was behind her, his hands flat on the door, holding it closed, body caging her in. “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t just walk out.”
“I can and I will. I’m not interested in what you’re selling. Now get the hell out of my way. I’ll let you stay here tonight but I’m calling Aidan to have him boot your ass out tomorrow morning.” She kept facing the door, the heat radiating off his body was making her dizzy.
He placed his lips at her ear and ground his cock into her ass. “Oh I do think you want it, I can smell how wet you are.”
She closed her eyes against the potency of his words, of his presence. “I want you to move out of my way or I’ll scream,” she ground out, face red with humiliation. He knew his game had worked on her and now he was taunting her.
He sighed and took a step back. She pulled the door open and stalked out without looking back at him.
* * * * *
Em slammed back into the penthouse and ran herself a very hot bath in the giant bathtub. The nerve of that jerk to use her that way! She tossed her clothes in a heap and slowly stepped into the steaming water, sinking with a sigh of satisfaction.
To think she’d actually liked the way she had been unable to read him. She’d felt confident of her allure as a woman, that she didn’t need the failsafe of her gift with this man. Now she felt like a fool.
For a short time that night she’d felt desire, had felt desired, but it was all a lie to manipulate her. Lee probably wouldn’t have been taken in by such flamboyant tactics, although he probably wouldn’t have had to fake it with Lee.
The tears came then until her body was racked with sobs.
Downstairs in his suite, Con couldn’t stand it another second. He had to make her talk to him. Sure, he’d arranged to meet her but that didn’t mean she had to get all huffy about it. He shimmered into the penthouse and the sound of her sobs slammed into him, staggering him.
He ran toward her, wanting to stop the terrible pain he was hearing. He wanted to kill whoever made her cry like that. He burst into the bathroom and she jumped up with her hands out in defense, a look of fear on her face.
