Seduced by the Fae

by Laxmi Hariharan

  46

  Alice

  "The fuck?" Doc freezes mid-motion. The energy between his palms ebbs and flows. He angles his body to shoot me a glance over his shoulder. Anger thrums from him in a dense cloud and I swallow.

  He's every inch the alpha male Fae I fell for, my mate.

  I take a step forward and another. The tips of my ears tingle, my scalp itches, my skin tightens.

  What is happening to me? I push aside all thoughts and focus on the seething male in front of me.

  The planes of his back flex.

  More tension spools off of him. The strength of his dominance is so thick, it's an almost visible force, layering a cocoon around me. He wants to hide me from the world. And his possessiveness should anger me, but it doesn't. It's his way of protecting me and keeping me safe.

  Warmth flushes my chest.

  The ball of energy between his palms glows, and the gold of his eyes picks up the glint. His biceps bulge.

  Reaching him, I touch his shoulder and he blinks.

  I reach for him through the mating bond, Please?

  His muscles go rigid, his triceps ripple. I can sense the struggle inside of him. I drag my fingers down his arm to circle his wrist. His pulse thuds against my fingers, so fast, so hard. My heartbeat picks it up and thuds along. Mirroring him. Needing him. Wanting him. The glow of energy switches off.

  He lowers his arms to his side.

  "For you, Red." He swivels around and I gasp. Those eyes snap vertically, his ears pull back, he peels back his lips and snarls.

  I heave out a breath and the orb of heat in my chest throbs.

  A burst of need surges down the bond and my ribcage constricts. I shudder, then step closer, until my breasts brush his chest.

  He swallows and his gaze holds mine. His breathing calms, his iris’ revert to their human shape. He wheezes out a breath.

  "Seems you needed a little push there to accept her as your own."

  Doc stiffens.

  I peer around his massive body to frown at Gabe, "You baited him into this fight?"

  Gabriel props his hands on his hips, "You are too good for him, but clearly you have your heart set on him. He makes you happy, Alice." One side of his lips curves, "He knew you were the one for him, he just needed a nudge to accept what was staring him in the face."

  The tension in the air ratchets up.

  The planes of Doc's chest twitch; I sense the anger drum in his veins as surely as it is my own. We are joined. We are one. Can he sense just how connected we are?

  Rising up on my toes, I brush his lips. He stays unresponsive, his mouth hard. My throat closes.

  I made a mistake.

  He's mad at me for leaving the room, he's angry with me for stepping in and asking him to stop before he hurt Gabriel. I hurt his ego, he'll never forgive me, I—he closes his big palm around my nape and hauls me close enough my breasts flatten against his chest.

  He tilts his lips, thrusts his tongue into my mouth and he takes.

  My gums tingle, my canines ache.

  He closes his mouth over mine and sucks from my essence. The mating bond twangs, and heat floods my chest.

  He swipes his tongue over my teeth, and a hum rolls up my throat.

  His breath scorches my cheek. "You've been a bad girl, Red."

  I gulp.

  He glares at me and my pussy clenches.

  "You disobeyed me by coming here." He whispers in that hushed voice that sends goosebumps crawling over my skin. "You saved my life again. Showed me that my energy is incomplete without you. I need your essence in me, pulsing through my blood, I need your spirit to fill in the missing pieces of my body so I can fight again. I am nothing without you, nothing."

  I hold his gaze and his intensity sears me.

  His big palm squeezes my nape and pinpricks of lust sizzle down my spine.

  "I love you, I can't live without you, but I still have to punish you."

  His lips thin.

  Omigod, this man, he can reduce my insides to mush with that cruel demeanor.

  I nod. Not daring to trust myself to speak. How can I tell him that I can't wait for whatever he has in store for me. His touch. His bites. The rugged calloused skin of his fingers dragging over the sensitive skin of my butt. Emotions coil in my chest, my heart begins to pound. Sweat beads my forehead and my vision wavers.

  "What's wrong?" He frowns.

  "N....nothing." My ribcage seems to tighten. The tips of my ears tingle and my gums stretch. "There's nothing wrong with me." My toenails prick against my skin.

  His gaze roams over my features and he starts, "Your ears."

  He raises his arm and traces the tips of my earlobes. Sparks of feeling pierce my skin and I gasp.

  "So fucking beautiful." He licks his lips and another tingling sensation runs down my spine.

  He lets go of my nape and cups my cheek. "It's the effect of the mating bond. You're transforming, Red."

  My teeth chatter and his eyebrows knit.

  "You're cold?" His arms come around me, and he holds me closer. Heat from his chest rolls over me and I sigh.

  "I am fine now." My knees give way and he swoops down and hauls me up into his arms.

  "You should have told me. I knew this would happen. I knew mating you was—"

  "The only thing I have ever wanted."

  "I knew your body couldn't take the strain."

  "You're mistaken." I cuddle closer. "I am not going anywhere, Doc. I trust you to keep me safe."

  "I don't deserve you, Alice, after everything I did to you."

  "I wanted it too, Doc. You taught me how to live, to feel. You showed me I wasn't just another weak human."

  "You're the strongest person I know." His eyes glitter and a teardrop runs down his cheek. I raise my finger to scoop it up and lick it, then frown. "Your tears...they are.."

  "Sweet?" A smile curves his lips.

  "How?" I raise my gaze to his.

  "I have enough dragon shifter blood in me to exhibit characteristics of mated shifter pairs."

  "I want to experience it all, Doc." Pain squeezes my chest and I gasp.

  "What's wrong Alice?"

  His face ebbs and flows, a coldness grips me. "I am scared, Doc."

  "Don't be. I'll be your strength. Lean on me Alice."

  I sense his muscles shift, hear the sounds of people talking, and realize he is striding away from the beach.

  "Gabe," I cough, try to turn my head to look in my half-brother's direction.

  "He's not leaving." Doc shoots a glance over my head signaling to someone. Dante probably. "Gabe will wait until we are ready to speak with him."

  "Don't let them hurt him."

  His jaw tics and he continues stalking forward.

  "Promise me, Doc. You can't refuse me this." Drama much? But I am not above using emotional coercion. I learned from Doc, after all, how to manipulate someone into giving you what you want.

  "I am not going to let you die." His bites out the words. His features are hard but a nerve throbs at his temple giving away just how scared he is.

  "I know." I chuckle and the sound comes out broken. "And I am still waiting for your promise."

  "Stubborn woman." He glances down at me, and there's a softness in his gaze.

  Something I hadn't seen before.

  It's as if in the last few seconds he's dropped all pretense. No more barriers. No more walls between us. The ball of heat in my chest surges, and waves of blue and gray sweep over me. He's sharing his energy with me. A warm pink laces it all. Am I imagining it?

  "That's why you love me."

  His throat moves as he swallows. "I do. I have loved you from the moment I set eyes on you."

  The warmth grows and envelops me, folding me in a caress that is so sweet. So soft. I want to roll around in it and never let go. I want that and so much more. Darkness tugs at the edge of my consciousness. I try to push it away, but it's too strong. Too overwhelming. It swoops up and over me and my eye
s flutter close. "I need you, Doc."

  47

  Doc

  Her body goes still and my heart fucking stops. I yank her close to me and break into a sprint. I am not going to let her die, no way. Hawke falls into a jog next to me, "What's wrong with her?"

  "Nothing." Everything. It's my mistake that she is unconscious and struggling for her life. My mistake that she not only consolidated the bond, but also reached out to me through the mating bond and shared her energy with me.

  She reactivated my telekinetic energy so I could draw on it and hold my own against Gabriel.

  She used up the last remaining strength she had for that, even as her body was transforming. She was becoming Fae right in front of my eyes and I hadn't even noticed. That's how caught up I had been in my own head. I had wanted to protect her. I had thought I'd done my bit by getting her back to Singapore. I had been so intent on walking away from her that I hadn't noticed that the damage had already been done.

  "Talk to me Doc." Hawke's voice follows me.

  I increase my speed and the fucker simply keeps pace.

  "She's not well."

  "I can see that."

  "She's transforming."

  "You mated her. You're Fae. She's human. What else did you expect?"

  I’m gripped by cold; sweat breaks out on my brow, "Her body is not taking it and she's fucking dying." And it's my fault. If something happens to her I'll never forgive myself. Never.

  Silence follows. We jog side by side for a few minutes. We reach the turn off for the infirmary and I go the other way.

  It takes him a few seconds to realize that he's going in the other direction. I hear him turn around and charge back at me.

  "You are going the wrong way." He mutters, then turns around to catch up with me.

  I am going in the right direction, but I am not going to tell him that. I am not answerable to anyone.

  Least of all him.

  I increase the pace of my steps, breaking into a sprint as we approach the row of bungalows within the compound where Fae, shifters and humans live.

  When Dante had mated Gia, he'd picked up a bungalow in the Compound built in the heart of the city and along the beach. Each of the eight Fae Corps members had been allocated a place. I've never used my place, preferring to stay in the barracks. But it feels right to bring Alice here.

  "Not speaking are we?" Hawke growls.

  I come to a halt in front of my bungalow, then turn to face him. "I mated her. Only I can save her." I meet his gaze.

  His forehead is furrowed, the wrinkles between his eyebrows show he is worried about me. "What are you going to do?"

  I draw in a breath then my gaze drops to the woman in my arms, "Whatever it takes." I shoulder the door open and he calls after me.

  "There's only one thing you need to do to make sure she survives, and I am not sure if you have the guts for it."

  I shoot him a glance over my shoulder, "Don't second guess me."

  "You think she deserves better than you, and you're right."

  "Fuck off."

  "Either accept the mating bond and everything that comes with it or let her go."

  I cradle her closer and shake my head. My heart begins to thud harder.

  "All you have to do is break the bond and release her."

  Anger builds behind my eyes and the blood pounds at my temples. Funny, he's echoing my words, but hearing it from him brings home the fact that I can't let her go, I can't.

  "Hanging in between the two decisions, you see what happens." He nods toward her. "You will only end up hurting her."

  I snap my head forward and catch him in the chin. The bastard stumbles back. "Good to see you have some balls left."

  "Get the hell off my property."

  "Gladly." He chuckles then raises his hands as he backs off.

  The door shuts in his face.

  Bastard's right, though. Can't blame him for laying out what I knew all along. I need to own up to my responsibility. Face this and do what is best... for her. Her body quivers and I race up the stairs, down the corridor, past the two empty bedrooms to the one at the end. My room. My bed. My mate. A fierce possessiveness grips me and I lay her down on the bed. Her eyelids flutter open. "Nolan?"

  48

  Alice

  "I am sorry for everything I put you through, Red."

  He drops to his knees next to the bed, then takes my hand.

  His touch sends shivers of longing shooting over my skin. It shouldn't be possible for him to arouse me with just a touch, but where he is concerned, all rational thought goes out of the window.

  His blue eyes are stormy, and in their depths, I see an emotion I can't quite understand... Regret? Does he regret everything that happened between us? Is he not happy that I disobeyed his orders and came to him? Once more I had reached out to him through the bond and..."I couldn't stay away. I had to come to you."

  He swallows and his eyes blaze, "I know."

  "I didn't mean to go against you, but you shouldn't have left me locked up in the infirmary."

  "You're right." His shoulder muscles tense.

  I wriggle under his scrutiny. His gaze sears my features, touches on my breasts, before lowering to my waist. Every square inch of my skin prickles with awareness. He doesn't need to touch me. I can sense him, know when he is angry, upset... when he is sad. "I am gonna be fine, Doc."

  His lips curve, creases fan out from the edges of his eyes.

  I search his features but there is no anger. Huh? I totally expected him to be furious with me, to make me pay, by spanking me... then fucking me, and maybe I secretly hoped for it. I reach out my other arm hand, fully expecting him to grab my wrist and tell me not to take the lead, but he simply leans forward and allows me to run my fingers over his jaw line.

  His whiskers scratch at my skin, sending pulse-points of heat flaring in my belly. My nipples tighten.

  His nostrils flare, but he doesn't comment.

  "You need to rest, Red." He leans forward and places a finger on my lips.

  He rises to his feet and turns to leave. "Where are you going, Doc?"

  "Giving you time to recover, something I should have done earlier, rather than getting all in your face." He shoots me a smile over his shoulder and my heart skitters.

  I want to believe him, I do.

  That he is a doting boyfriend or a mate who is devoted to me. And he is both, in a way.

  He'll take care of me, protect me, even subdue me to his needs.

  He'll make me weep, make my body his...but he'll never agree to everything I say. He'd never just go along with my suggestions without trying to get his way unless..."You are going to walk away from me?" I breathe out the words. "After everything that happened, knowing I am transformed, that I am becoming Fae, sensing the intensity of my emotions for you, you are still going to leave?"

  He halts. "I am going to ensure that you never lack for anything. That I'll always be there to watch over you and be your friend when you need someone. But I can't...put you through what happened. I can't risk your life again. And if I sleep with you, if I make you subjugate yourself to me, I risk hurting you to the point of no return. Don't you see I can't let that happen."

  "Wait." My throat is dry and I swallow, then pull myself up to sitting. "So you are suggesting that we stay mated but that you will not fuck me again. You will not be my master and I am not your slave?"

  "You are free of that relationship, you can choose another."

  "You don't mean it."

  He stiffens, then draws himself up to his full height. "Don't doubt my words."

  "I bloody well will." I draw my legs up. "If you absolve me of the relationship, it means I can question you."

  His nostrils flare.

  "It means I can sleep with another."

  His jaw tics. A vein throbs at his temple.

  "It means I can take another master."

  He moves so fast that he blurs. The next second he's hunched over me and his p
alm is over my lips. "Don't you dare."

  A breath rushes out of me. I don't speak, just look at him, trying to understand what's running through that complex brain of his. He straightens and drops his hand to his side then begins to pace.

  "I tried, I fucking tried, but it's difficult. It's going to kill me." He walks to the window and grabs the sill. The skin across his knuckles is white.

  "What are you afraid of?"

  "Myself. I am afraid of losing control and going too far. When I saw your body slump out there... I thought... I thought I'd lost you all over again." He lowers his forehead to the window pane. "I need pain to feel anything. What if I forget myself, what if I push it too far, and not only mark you but do something irreversible?"

  "Not possible." My belly constricts and I push myself up to stand on my feet. My shoulders scream, my muscles ache, but already, my flesh is knitting back together. The heat in my chest throbs and begins to spread out to my extremities. My fingers tingle. My toes flatten. I move around the bed and approach him.

  "You are forgetting something, are you not?"

  His shoulders bunch but he doesn't look around. "Every time I am with you, I forget who I am and want to simply rut you." He chuckles and the rough sound curls around my waist.

  "Look at me, Nolan."

  He jerks. "Don't come close, Red. I am trying to do the right thing here."

  "You mean you are trying to assuage your conscience?"

  His head jerks up, but he still doesn't turn. "The fuck you mean by that?"

  "Clearly, you are being selfish. You are only thinking of yourself. Making sure that you don't have to take responsibility for what happens next. Not caring that you have already changed me. Not only have you left me with a hankering for the slap of your hand on my flesh— His shoulder blades draw back. "—but you've also changed the very anatomy of my existence. Thanks to the mating bond, I am as much Fae as human, I can withstand anything you can do to me, and more."

  His shoulders go solid. He grips the sill with such force that cracks form across the wall.

  "Fine, if you don't want me then there will be any number of Faes or Shifters or hell... even those at the auction who will be more than happy to—"