by Kiki Howell
Where had that thought come from? She was no longer the frightened, lonely ten-year-old girl who’d been desperate to win the love of somebody – anybody – within the castle walls. For a brief time, she’d thought she’d found companionship with her half-sibling, Bettina. The girl had been five years younger than Lori, and had routinely snuck into her bed at night to cuddle. Even as a pureblooded daughter of the count, she’d been starved of affection. To the count, children were tools to be used, not people to be loved. Lori had happily filled that gap.
Betty had even taken to calling her Thorn. The others, they’d taken it as an insult, but Lori had known it was an endearment.
“You’re a thorn in everyone’s side, except for mine,” Betty had told her. “You’re the thorn that defends the rose from harm.”
They had been pretty deep statements from a five-year-old.
But when Lori had turned seventeen and Betty was twelve, their relationship had changed. Her younger sister had become colder, harder. More like their father. And so Lori’s small family had crumbled.
Did she blame the girl? Yes.
Did she hate her for it? No.
Lori liked to think she was stronger than that, but if she’d been raised by the count her entire life? Who knows what kind of monster she would have become. After all, her father was proud of his children and their callousness. And that brought her back to her earlier thought.
Who cares if he learns I have magic anyway? She was still the bastard he hadn’t intended to sire. Unlike his precious Jayden.
The problem with being a halfbreed orphan, however, was that Lori hadn’t known what her maternal heritage had been, not until she’d turned twenty-one. Boy, had her life changed that day. She now had certain...dietary requirements that she couldn’t really ignore, although she had tried really hard.
In spite of – or perhaps because of – her half-Sídhe nature, her natural ability had morphed into something different. It made picking her meals a rather challenging experience.
“Hey, you just gonna sit there and stare morosely at the wall?”
Glancing up, Lori fought back a rare smile. “What are you doing in a rival establishment?”
Carol raised an eyebrow and slid into the opposite booth. “What are you doing drinking shitty gin in someone else’s bar?”
“The gin isn’t shitty.”
Sure, it wasn’t Hendrick’s, but she had a budget.
Carol snorted. “Uh-huh.” She ran a bar in the Lander town of New Vegas. Yes, the place was a total rip-off of the Human World town, but it was wonderful for all the same reasons. It didn’t have the whole desert feel, instead having the wacky and crazy atmosphere of the Borderlands, which meant that the buildings were capped at four or five stories in height. Any taller, and they’d just crumble overnight, overrun by flesh-eating plants and toxic climbers.
It was the Borderlands’ way of saying, ‘You can have this much, but no more’.
Carol’s bar, The Ocelot, was a few hundred yards down the road, and was in a two-story wooden structure that looked like something straight out of a western movie. How the bar’s name had come about, Lori still didn’t know, and Carol wouldn’t say.
Lori’s best friend was human, but not entirely. Lori could detect a person’s species just by looking at them, but she couldn’t work out what type of fae ancestry was in Carol’s DNA. Just that she was a human, and she didn’t age. Oh, and she had hair that looked it had been dyed by a hairdresser on acid.
“So, why were you drinking alone here?” Carol asked. The last word was spat, as if the casino’s bar was a cesspool.
It wasn’t that bad. And it didn’t look like a movie set, not that Lori would ever say that out loud. Carol might be human, but she had a mean right hook.
“That time of the month.”
Carol’s mouth thinned. “Oh.”
Yeah.
It was the one thing that they didn’t see eye-to-eye on. Well, that and the amazingness of gin; Carol was a bourbon drinker. She also thought that Lori shouldn’t leave her feedings quite so far apart, and that she should go into the Human World, and feed there. The only problem: Lori might – would, almost certainly – kill any human she used that way.
And she wasn’t really into murder, although she’d make an exception for her horrible family.
“The portal just opened up again,” Carol said. “And it’s in New York at the moment. You could go there...have a snack, and then pop back to the Borderlands.”
Lori took a sip of gin. “No.”
“But—”
“The Human World hurts.” It was all the iron there. It didn’t affect all fae like that, but Lori might be more pureblooded than she’d given herself credit for. Back in the day, the metal had burned fae, but now it wasn’t so bad, not if you had some human in you. Although, you wouldn’t see the queens of the courts going into the Human World; they wouldn’t even travel to the Borderlands, the country between the fae and Human World, which was generally open to all.
Despite that, the Borderlands were mostly populated by people with magic. The bizarre mesh of twisted landscapes was hard to survive if you were powerless, especially as the border country was fluid; it changed with the whimsy of its magic.
Controlling the Borderlands was important to both human and fae rulers. Every few centuries or so, a leader would get it in their head that they needed to govern part of the border, and another war would brew. And that was why her father’s county was so important. Controlled by a fae from one of the courts, it held its allegiance there, rather than to the Human World.
If Lori had been better at blending in, she would have run to the Hills, rather than staying in the Borderlands, where her father had eyes everywhere. But in the fae courts they would have pegged her as someone different, and then word would have spread. It would have been like painting a target on her back.
The Human World would have been the smartest option, and she’d tried it for a while, but it had made her sick. And somewhere like New York? With all those high rises and train networks...she shuddered. It would burn.
Carol sighed. “Then why are you here?”
“The casino has a quicker turnover of patrons. And I don’t come here often, so I have a better chance of meeting someone new.”
Because Lori never fed from the same person twice. She was a lover, not a killer: plus, the side-effects were sometimes rather...unpleasant. For her.
Carol sighed, and flicked her long, butter-yellow hair over her shoulder. The blush of pink on the ends caught the dim lighting, turning a deep mauve color. “See any prospects?”
Lori turned in her chair slightly and surveyed the crowd. It was still mostly populated by lower fae, but there, over in the corner, was a new arrival. He was tall, broad shouldered and muscled as hell. She couldn’t see his face, but he screamed pure Sídhe. What is someone like that doing here?
He looked like he belonged to a fae court.
Then he moved slightly, and she caught a glimpse of his face.
Dear lord. Handsome didn’t begin to cut it. Snow-white hair, blood-red lips, firm jaw and pale eyes. Lori wondered what color they were. Her lips started to tingle, and her breasts grew heavy, changing shape just slightly. Her body could instinctively shift to become as alluring as possible for her prey.
“Hello? Earth to Lori.” Carol waved a hand in front of her face.
She dragged her eyes away from the gorgeous fae specimen. She didn’t normally go for purebloods, mostly because of the risk, and because they sometimes seemed...breakable: fine-boned, willowy, gentle. And she didn’t want to feel like she was taking advantage, despite the fact that she actually was. This one looked like a fighter, though. Maybe he was a fae knight? She’d never had one of those before.
“What?”
“You just zoned out.”
“I found my dinner, that’s all.”
Carol followed her stare over to the tall Sídhe. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, t
he guy is hawt. But he’s a fae noble, or something like that.”
“I’m not looking for marriage.”
“But with your...issue...what if his power is something bad?”
Lori arranged her hair over her shoulder and straightened her black lace dress. “You’re right, he looks like he’s a courtier, and considering we’re close to the Day Court, he’s no doubt seelie. So his magic is probably benign. That will be easy enough to deal with.”
“Call me when you’re done.”
Carol didn’t like how Lori fed, but she didn’t normally act so concerned. “Why are you worried?”
“There’s just a vibe I get off him. Be careful.”
“I will.” It wasn’t a false promise. Lori deliberately picked targets that she thought could physically withstand her needs, and that probably wouldn’t be adversely affected by her twisted ability. And this guy, he looked like he could take anything she had to give. This time, her feeding would be an absolute pleasure. Of that, she didn’t doubt.
Lori stood and strode through the bar, skillfully darting out of the way of groping hands, a secretive smile teasing her lips. Pheromones were no doubt streaming from her, and by the looks on the faces near her, they were working. She couldn’t help that. Once she’d decided to feed – or when she was starving – they came out in force.
As she neared the fae, he turned to look at her. Gods, she almost stumbled. He was even better-looking up close, his pale eyes mesmerizing under shocking black eyebrows. Was his hair dyed? Would the carpet match the drapes?
She couldn’t remember a time when she’d actually been excited about feeding. In fact, her barely-there panties were already growing damp, and her skin was aching to be touched. Her body was hungry for more than just sustenance.
“Hey.” Her voice a purr, she allowed her smile to bloom.
Someone nearby breathed in sharply. Not her mystery man; he just stared down at her, his expression inscrutable. For a moment, panic strummed through her. What if he didn’t want her?
Sure, she was attractive – she had to be – but he might be gay.
Once upon a time, according to rumor, her kind had been able to take the shape of their prey’s most desired form: male, female, and anything in between. Fae, human, animal – although the latter was a bit gross. But Lori? Her hair might go a little more blonde or red, but it stayed brown. And her breasts might get slightly larger, but didn’t change that much. She was her. And that might not actually be good enough, especially if he was into guys.
Just when she was about to turn away, he reached out and gently clasped her hand, raising it to his lips. At the first contact, need slammed through her, making her pulse race, and her skin tingle.
He gave her a sharp look, then ran a thumb over her fingers. “Hello.”
Oh, that voice. Deep, almost guttural, and with a courtly accent that had her ready to jump his bones in the middle of the bar.
“What brings you here?” she asked, reluctantly pulling her hand away.
“Just looking around. But I think I’ve found what I was searching for.” With that, his eyes locked on her mouth. She licked her lips, watching as his stare followed the movement.
“Want to go for a drink?”
He smirked. “We’re in a bar.”
“Want to go for a private drink?”
He grabbed her hand. “Now you’re talking.”
Chapter Three
“I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER the sound of how fan-fucking-tastic I am.”
– Conrad Death
They’d barely made it back to his hotel room.
As the door clicked shut behind them, she had him pinned against it, her body undulating against his, her mouth hot and firm, her tongue wickedly darting into his mouth.
Fuck. She tasted like cinnamon. His absolute favorite flavor. He groaned, greedily seeking more of her.
He didn’t even know her name.
Does it matter?
Her fingers were clenched on his shoulders, and he wrapped one of his fists in her long, silky russet hair, tilting her head to the side. He lowered his mouth to her neck, sucking hard against the golden skin there. She moaned and hooked her legs around his waist. He had to let go, but his hands were then filled with her plump ass as he held her up. She was all perfect curves, yet it was like she barely weighed anything.
“Fuck.”
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so aroused.
“We can do that soon.”
Oh gods, yes.
Her tongue swirled over his earlobe, and his cock went harder than concrete. She ground herself against his length, the friction making his erection throb. Forcing himself to walk, he carried her over to the bed, then dropped her on the mattress, eyes riveted to her breasts as they bounced with the movement.
“Get naked.” He didn’t recognize his own voice, it was so deep.
She arched an eyebrow at him. “No ‘please’?”
“You have three seconds, or I will rip it off.” He hoped she didn’t comply. He’d love to do that.
With a small smile, she undid the zipper on the side of the dress, slowly. So slowly. Then with an elegant shimmy, she was out of it.
Good gods. She wasn’t wearing a bra.
And he’d bet money that those breasts were one hundred per cent silicone-free. His palms itched to touch them. Then she spread her legs, displaying almost non-existent panties. Which were fucking soaked.
He ran a hand over his mouth. Oh, he was going to enjoy this.
You're meant to be hunting that halfbreed. Well, looking for his Tylwyth Teg contact, who would open a portal to the County of Tears.
Why was his sense of responsibility kicking in now?
While he stared like an idiot, she ran her palms over her hard nipples, then down lower, teasing the edges of her panties. One finger disappeared underneath the silky material, rubbing gently, then emerged, glistening.
“Want to taste?”
He was kneeling on the bed before he’d even registered the thought, and was sucking her finger deep into his mouth. Cinnamon and honey. How the fuck did she taste like that there?
He had to get more of it. With a growl, he grabbed her under the ass and tugged her in one swift move to the edge of the bed. He shoved her panties to the side with impatient fingers and there she was: glistening, pink, and swollen. She was fucking perfect.
He knelt down, undoing his fly, allowing his aching cock to spring free. She rolled her hips, and then he swiped a tongue along her slit. She moaned, low and long. His eyes rolled back in his head at her taste, and then he was covering her lips with his mouth, licking and sucking like his life depended on it.
Without thinking, he took his cock in his hand and began stroking, sending a rush of pleasure through his balls and into his spine.
As he latched onto her clit and sucked, she arched wildly against the bed, bucking against his mouth. “I’m coming!”
He quickly slid a finger deep into her, and she clamped down on it as she came wildly against his mouth. He kept licking until she pulled away and sat up, those glorious breasts at face height. She tugged his shoulders, pulling him up until he stood before her, cock thrusting through the opening in his jeans.
“Oh, hello.”
And then she was licking the slick crown, drawing it deep into her mouth, moaning around his shaft. She couldn’t seem to suck it all the way in – he was gifted in the downstairs department – and so she wrapped a warm hand around the base. She lapped and sucked at his cock like she was a starving woman, and it didn’t take long for his shaft to start pulsing. He didn’t think he’d ever been given a better blowjob.
“Mmm.” Placing a hand on her head, he began thrusting into her mouth, fucking it. “I’m gonna come.”
Just as the tingles spread from his lower back into his balls, she gripped down hard on his cock, jolting him out of his haze.
Looking down, he took in her scarlet lips, those glowing apricot-colored eyes. �
�What the fuck?”
“You aren’t coming like that. This time.”
And then he was on the bed, flat on his back – he didn’t even remember moving. She climbed up over him, not bothering to remove his jeans, and placed both hands on his chest. He felt burned where her palms touched him. Marked.
She thrust down, taking his entire length in one hot, glorious slide.
For a moment his mind went completely blank. Then it kick-started again and he didn’t think he’d ever experienced anything hotter, wetter, better. Her body consuming his felt... right. Gods, it was like he’d never had sex before. Each slide along his length had him holding his breath, fighting a need to come so bad he thought he’d see stars.
Have to wait until she does again.
He wanted to feel her orgasm around his shaft, to take him deep inside, until he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began.
Leaning down, she kissed him again, her tongue thrusting and parrying, like she was fucking his mouth. He rolled his hips, faster and faster, grinding upwards to catch her clit as he did so. Ecstasy was roiling up from his balls, threatening to blind him. “I need to come.”
“Do it.” She was panting, her heart thundering in time with his.
“But—”
“Come for me!”
And then pleasure exploded through him. It went on and on, his body shuddering as his cock shot deep within her, her sheath hungrily milking him as she came as well. It seemed like it lasted hours; the most intense orgasm of his life.
Then, after it was over, she slid off him, to lie against his side. His heart thundering in his chest, he struggled to catch his breath, while the aftershocks still made his cock twitch.
He turned his head to the side, taking in her tangled hair, swollen lips and slight smile. She was utterly beautiful. He couldn’t have imagined someone more perfect. “That was fucking amazing.”
She licked her lips. “I know.”
She had to have some kind of distant Succubus heritage. If the species weren’t extinct, he’d think she was one. He felt wrung out, emptied. Even his ability, which had made him such a prize to the White Queen, was dormant.
