Mark of Truth (Wicked Kingdoms Book 1)

by Graceley Knox

  He slips just the tip inside of the dampness between my thighs, teasing me. Languidly, he drives his hips forward, his thickness parting my swollen folds. Mostly inside of me, he moves his hands to just below my knees. Pushing at my knees, he applies pressure until they’re almost touching the counter beneath me and I’m spread open before him, impaled on his cock. He grips the tops of my shoulders and glides in those final few inches.

  “My gods.” I bite my lip as I try to contain my moans of delight, so I don’t wake the house.

  He stills deep inside me. “The way the walls of your pussy ripple around me… Fuck!” He begins his slow retreat, and every rigid inch of his length sends surges of pleasure through me.

  “Dare. So thick inside me. Gods.”

  He thrusts hard and fast, bottoming out as he slams into me. Writhing beneath him, I demand more from him. I wrap my fingers around his strong forearms and dig my nails in as he holds me at his mercy.

  “Play with your little clit for me, my tine.”

  I reach inside my tank top and pinch my nipple.

  The shock of pleasure pain makes my pussy tighten around him. I remove my hand from his other arm and trail it down my thigh. He slowly pulls out of my depths. I wiggle my hips with anticipation for his hard returning thrust, but his thrusts are no longer as measured and precise.

  Dipping my finger into my own wetness, I bring it up to my clit. I circle the hood of my clit, teasing myself as the pace of his thrusts increase. I loop around my clit faster and faster, my gaze locked with his.

  Breathing fast and hard now, I’m so close to the edge. I swirl my finger directly over my swollen nub, and I gasp aloud, jerking from the spark of pleasure.

  “You like the feel of your fingers on that swollen clit, my little tine?”

  “Yes.” I draw out the word, trying to arch my hips up to meet his harsh thrusts.

  “You’re going to come for me, Ever. Me.”

  His strokes are hard as he pounds into me, the sound of flesh meeting flesh echoing in my ears.

  Unable to form actual words as my entire body pulses with desire, I’m no longer able to control my cries of delight each time he slams into me. Muttering in the goblin language, he grasps my jaw, keeping my focus locked on his face.

  “Yes. More. Don’t stop!” I scream as the passion burns through me like an inferno.

  “Every time you tighten around me…”

  “Yes, Dare, yes.” I soared high as ecstasy grabs hold of me.

  Dare bends forward and bites my hardened nipple through my shirt.

  “Fuuck.” The pain sends shockwaves through my core once again and my needy cunt clamps around shaft as his thrusts become erratic.

  Thrusting once, twice, three times, he growls through his own pleasure, coming down over me and covering my body with his. He spends himself inside me, and he bites the tender skin between my throat and my shoulder, latching on and biting down hard. I wince at the pain before it blends in with my pleasure. I kiss my way up his neck, letting my tongue swirl in different patterns as I go.

  We catch our breath and he braces himself on one forearm. Gently, he kisses the spot he just bit so roughly.

  “I can’t feel my legs,” I mutter under my breath, stupefied that the sex between us is so mind-blowing. Fate is a mean bitch. Dare is arrogant and rude as hell most of the time, but I wouldn’t mind coming home to him after a long day of chasing down crazies. The thought makes me pause. I’ve never thought about having a permanent partner in my life. Not a romantic one, anyway.

  He rises above me and gives me a wide smile before peppering kisses across my cheek to my lips. Running his free hand down my leg, he softly caresses me. “Can you feel your legs now?”

  “Yeah, I can feel them now.” I smile back at him and try to shut off my brain so reality can stay at bay a little longer. I kiss his cheek and push my tank top down my stomach from where it had ridden up.

  He’s still semi-hard as he slides out of me.

  I look around for my panties and don’t see them. It takes me a minute to remember that he ripped them off of me in the heat of the moment and threw them only Gods know where.

  I frown at him. “You ripped one of my favorite pairs of panties.”

  “I will get you another pair, little álainn.” He kisses the side of my head and avoids my gaze as he pulls his sweats up over his hips.

  Dread pools in my stomach but I try to ignore it.

  I nod and I hop down from the counter. We didn’t knock the container of ice cream over. Thank the gods. Placing the lid on it, I walk to the freezer bare-assed and shove it inside as quickly as possible so my girly bits don’t freeze.

  Following close behind me, he places a hand at my lower back as we walk toward the stairs. The guest room he’s staying in is down here. My room is upstairs. Turning as I take the first step, I meet his lips with my own. The kiss is bittersweet, because it has to be our last. He can never be with me, and I won’t allow myself to be second best once he finds his mate. My heart couldn’t take that.

  “Goodnight, Dare,” I whisper softly, hoping my voice doesn’t crack.

  “Just this one night, Ever,” he challenges, his flame-colored eyes sparkling with determination as they narrow on my face.

  “No. We can’t. Please, don’t make it harder than it has to be.” Saying the words almost brings me to my knees. Sorrow strangles my windpipe as I take another step up the stairs.

  Shaking his head, he steps back but not before he gives me a warning. “We will be together, Ever. Even if you can’t see it now. I won’t let you go.” He opens his mouth once more and then shakes his head. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He turns and walks away.

  I let him go as my heart cracks at the edges. I let him go because it’s what is best for both of us. I can’t be with him without my heart getting shattered into millions of sharp little pieces. We live in two separate worlds that are too different to try to mesh together. I open my door and throw on a pair of panties before face-planting into my mattress.

  If it’s the right thing to do, why do I feel like I just lied to myself and let the best man I’ve ever met walk out of my life?

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-TWO

  I wake up the next morning with a game plan, the flesh between my legs still tender from Dare. Forcibly pushing him out of my thoughts, I quickly shower and dress as though I’m going to war. Really I’m just battling my own desires and my own wants. If I want everyone else to believe I’m fine with everything, I have to dress the part, including the figurative armor I’ve placed around my fragile heart.

  As I reach the bottom step, I screw a chipper smile on my face, determined to get shit done and handled today. Armed with sarcasm and more knives than probably necessary, I waltz into our kitchen. I open the fridge and grab an apple, shoving it in my mouth before I turn and meet the eyes of my crew.

  “Yo, yo, yo. How’d everyone sleep?” I ask as soon as I swallow my mouthful of apple. I look everyone over.

  Grunts of good and meh’s meet my ears, but there’s no response from Eryn. The guys are currently focused on shoving their mouths full of as much food as possible, not paying attention to either of us. The amount of food they fit into their mouths at once is terrifying. And for that reason I avoid watching them eat.

  I meet Eryn’s concerned stare and wince. She’s the only one who can feel the riot of emotions I’m trying desperately to keep hidden. The pain at my decisions, the regret. I subtly shake my head and mouth the word “sorry”. I hope she’ll take the shake of my head as my unwillingness to talk about it. Not now, not ever.

  I clap my hands together to grab everyone’s attention. “First and foremost, we need to decide what we are going to do with Arela. I won’t leave her in Goblin to be passed from one shitty family to the next. I propose we talk to the goblins and see if she can continue schooling there, as I think she would benefit from it. I don’t think MECA would let her live with us and go to classes there. I
won’t leave her with strangers again, so that option is pretty much out.”

  “We can talk to them. I’m sure we could pick her up and drop her off each day,” Axel suggests.

  I crack a real smile at his suggestion. “Look at all of us, all domestic and shit.” I chuckle, amused that a bunch of hardened warriors are talking about carpool options and pick up schedules for a teenager.

  No matter what it takes, we’ll make sure Arela is taken care of. Even if we have to home school her ourselves if the goblins won’t agree to our proposal, we’ll do it. We’ll find a way, even if it kills me. Either way, I’m not in the business of breaking promises made, and I’m not going to start now.

  “Second, we’re going to have to talk with MECA about everything since we’ve been MIA for a while. Anyone talk to them lately?”

  Kirin pipes up. “I’ve got it covered, Ev. I’ve kept them updated, and they think we all took a vacation.” His smile widens and he laughs. “I told them we were on an R and R bonding retreat.”

  I laugh at his twisted sense of humor. I’m happy to be home and surrounded by my chosen family.

  My peace is shattered as I feel his presence behind me. Turning around, I try but fail to pick my jaw up off the floor at their presence in our house. My crew and I all slept in. I was hoping they left for their next whatever it is they do. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  “I didn’t realize you guys were still here…”

  “Told you we would be, babe.” Dax winks at me as he grabs a banana from the fruit bowl on the counter.

  My cheeks heat.

  Dax points a finger in my direction. “I knew that was you last night!”

  I want to crawl into a hole and die. Growls echo through the room as Dare steps toward Dax. Dagan is watching me with a smirk painted across his lips. The tips of my ears feel hot, and I refuse to look at Dare out of fear for screaming, “yes we fucked on the counter last night” just to be done with the incredibly uncomfortable situation.

  “Ice cream, right?” Dax asks.

  I blink at him while my brain processes what he said. I must have heard him wrong.

  “I’m sorry, what?” I rub at my forehead.

  “Ice cream. You were eating ice cream last night. I swear I heard the sound of the top of a Ben & Jerry’s container hitting the counter last night. That’s my guilty pleasure. What’s your favorite flavor?”

  Breathing a deep sigh of relief and thanking any deity up there that Eryn is the only one who can feel what I’m feeling, I nod my head stupidly, giving Dax a small smile.

  “Phish Food.” I take another bite of my apple just to be doing anything other than having this awkward conversation.

  “Nice.” Dax grins, holding his hand out for a high five.

  I reach over to slap his hand and hit only air as Dare hits his arm out of the way before we can make contact.

  What the fuck was that? Shaking off my confusion at Dare’s actions, I focus on the here and now. As I finish off my apple, Eryn lays out our plans, talking with the three goblins about what would be best for Arela. Lining up to toss my apple core in the trash across the kitchen, I miss by a mile when I jerk in shock at Dare’s suggestion.

  “Why don’t you all just live in Goblin?” His tone is calm but his motives are questionable, in my opinion.

  While I open and closed my mouth like a fish, Axel picks up my apple core, which had soared dangerously close to his head when I missed. He tosses it in the trash.

  “I don’t think MECA will allow that,” Axel says it slowly, looking at all of us as he speaks to back him up.

  “Yeah, no. MECA would disband us. And we would probably be hunted for suddenly going over to the dark side.” A wicked smile stretches across my face. There’s no way in fucking hell I’m living in Goblin where I have to see Dare’s face every day and watch him gallivanting around with some perfect goblin whore.

  Nope. Ain’t gonna happen. You can’t pay me enough to do it. We’d all do horribly with nothing to do.

  “If the money is an issue, we can always use more Royal Guards,” Dax offers. “We have plenty of special assignments that need teams such as yours to hunt down rogue goblins and various members of the Goblin Kingdom.”

  Rubbing my forehead in sheer frustration, I feel a migraine coming on. “Listen, thanks for the offer, but I think we’re all good here. What we’re concerned about is Arela.”

  I look around, trying to convey an appreciative vibe when really I want to scream at them and just tell them to stop poking holes in my plans. Even if they’re logical, and I know they are, I’m not mentally ready to abandon MECA and take a chance that the Goblin Kingdom won’t turn ugly on us.

  “Do you think we can get in to talk with King Teag? See if we can work something out that will benefit all of us?”

  Dagan nods. “Can’t hurt to ask.” His tone is about as cheerful as a punch to the face, his ever present frown only adding to his displeased vibe.

  We all get to our feet and start clearing up breakfast.

  “Let’s do it then.”

  *

  Our trip into Goblin is quicker this time and far less eventful, and for that I think we’re all thankful. We walk into the main hall and find Arela sitting at one of the tables drawing, Anarchy and Chaos chasing her pencil across the paper and making her laugh at their antics.

  King Teag approaches, and I focus my attention on him.

  “King Teag… I mean…your Majesty?” I scrunch up my nose, flustered and not quite sure how to address him.

  Chuckling at my bumbling ineptitude, he smiles and shakes my hand. “Just Teag will do, Ever.” He waves us to follow him back the way he had come. We all file into the same room they used when my uncle was here.

  Taking seats, we get right to it. I lay out our plans for Arela and our proposal before looking to the Goblin King.

  “You are determined to care for the girl?” Teag’s hands are folded on the table, his posture relaxed.

  “I promised her she wouldn’t deal with that type of situation again,” I huff in frustration. I already explained this once, and I don’t want to be here any longer than necessary. I’m due for some normal right about now, and hanging out with the King of Goblin isn’t anything close to my normal.

  He stands and paces a few steps, stroking his beard.

  “I’ve a counter offer for you. I am more than happy to allow Arela to continue her schooling here, as I think it is important she know her goblin heritage. But I request that you all spend a bit of time in Goblin yourselves, too.”

  My crew and I eye each other. This isn’t a conversation any of us want to have here.

  “We’ll have to discuss that a bit more before we can say yes or no.” I take a breath. “With all due respect, trust isn’t going to come easy for us. It was ingrained early on that both Kingdoms wanted nothing to do with us, and you saying that you do doesn’t change that. Not right away, anyway.” Hoping that my honesty hasn’t offended him, I wring my hands in my lap under the table.

  “How about this then? You do a mission for us?” His eyes are bright, and his smile wide.

  I don’t like that he jumped from “come visit sometimes” to “come work for us.” He has something up his sleeve he thinks we won’t say no to.

  “Oh, yeah? And what’s the mission?” I asked cautiously, watching Dare’s and his brothers’ reactions.

  They are leaning forward in their seats watching their father, which means they’re either fantastic actors or they truly don’t know what Teag is going to say next. Either option is scary to think about.

  Standing, I gear up to say “thanks but no thanks” and head for the door. I’ll grab Arela, my little gargoyles, and head back to the human realm where we know we can figure it all out eventually.

  “I believe we have a traitor in our ranks,” the King says, his gaze following my movements as I walk around the table toward the door.

  “Sounds like a goblin problem, and none of us are full goblin,” I retor
t.

  “Ah, but that’s where you’re thinking differs from mine, Ever. You are half goblin.”

  I shake my head in denial. “We still haven’t confirmed that.”

  “And even if you are only a quarter goblin or not goblin at all, you are all still welcome here. We welcome anyone who is in need of a place to call home.”

  “I have no solid proof of that,” I say stubbornly.

  With everything going on, I pushed this dangerous revelation out of my head. And now it has come back to bite me in the ass. I clench my hands as I try to keep it together until I can get out of this room to sort this all out in a safe space without a King pressuring me.

  “Ah, but we have a way to give you that proof.”

  My chest constricts. I knew he had something up his sleeve. Son of a bitch.

  “And let me guess? For me to get answers, I’ve got to agree to help you find your mole?” There’s always a catch with the Fae, especially Goblins and Elves as they don’t fall under Seelie or Unseelie Court’s rule.

  “That I will give to you out of the kindness of my heart,” Teag says. “But that will take time. We can either find your mother to see if she will own up to her actions, or we can find a Druid to help with that. But again, it will take time to find a Druid.” He shrugs. “I would like to know that you are invested in being a part of our community, if not our Kingdom. Our children are our future, and I would like to see that Arela reaches her potential.”

  “For a price.” I scoff, crossing my arms and tapping my foot in an agitated rhythm. Bluff, bluff, bluff. Think, Ever, think. Is it worth the risk? Can I make this decision with a clear conscience? How will I keep it from MECA? How will this all work? I rub at my temples as my head starts to throb.

  I strike where I can in a last ditch effort. “MECA will never allow for us to help you and remain Guards there.” We all worked so hard for our entire lives to be where we are within the MECA Guard hierarchy. My breathing speeds and my vision narrows until I can only see what’s directly in front of me. I can’t lose everything I’ve worked so hard to get.

  “Join my Royal Guard then.” Teag shrugs, as if anything pertaining to the Fae is ever that simple.