by ERIN BEDFORD
She had large breasts and a curvy figure, and while Mags wore less clothing than the female twin, Gab’s clothing was far more obscene. Her voluptuous figure was incased in a skin-tight sheer golden dress that skimmed her mid-thigh. While I had opted to wear a bra under my sheer top, Gab had no inclination. When my eyes scanned her completely, and I realized she had also decided to go commando, I took a large burning drink of my glass and hurried to grab another one as the tray walked by.
“So…”Gab’s eyed Mags and then back to me.
“Lady.” Mags provided, not at all bothered by the other woman’s public nudity. Their bar for inappropriate had to be very, very low.
“Lady?” The blonde female’s brows crinkled. “I don’t believe we have met before. I thought I knew everyone who is anyone in the Seelie Court, especially one of Chess’.”
She flipped her long shimmering hair over her shoulder, skimming a hand down her figure and smirked. “Our cat is very fond of me. And he’s usually more particular about his playmates.” She picked up a piece of my hair with a grimace before dropping it and giving me a condescending smile. “Usually.”
Great. Meaning I didn’t fit the bill. What was her problem? Based on her need to downgrade someone she had just met, I’d have said she was threatened by me. Not that I could compete with them on any level. I didn’t even have the energy to try. Was it just me or was the room getting a little warm?
“Jewels and Gab were with Chess just last month if you want any tips.” Mags frowned at Gab’s jabs as I almost choked on my drink.
“Are you all right, love?” Jewels patted me on the back, pressing himself against my side as I coughed the burning liquid back up.
Waving him off, I swallowed. “I’m fine.” He moved his hand to my lower back and pulled me close to his side. I glanced between the twins. “Together? You mean, like at the same time?”
The blondes nodded, an identical smirk splayed across their faces at my reaction, Gab’s more delighted than her brother’s. I wasn’t naïve. I knew people had ménage à trioses, but I had never met anyone that was in one, let alone siblings. It made me think less of Chess in some way.
“Chess has quite an appetite.” Jewels drew out the words to match the rhythm of his fingers stroking my waist.
“He’s very talented with his hands and his…” Gab paused for emphasis. “…tail.” She smirked, delighting in making me uncomfortable. “For a half-breed that is, but you would know that as his lover, wouldn’t you?”
I didn’t like the way she asked that. I didn’t like any of it to be honest. My stomach rolled at the thought of Chess with any of them. So much for thinking I was special. I was just one of many. He was probably laughing at me right now.
“You know, it’s awfully warm in here.” Jewels fanned himself with a hand before turning his heated gaze to me. “Maybe you’d like to get some air with me.”
As he said the words, my face became warmer, and I felt myself wanting to go with him. I didn’t know if it was all the alcohol or if it was my insecurity about Chess, or if Jewels was working some pheromone mojo on me, but I barely heard myself say, “Okay” before I let him usher me toward the balcony.
“Lady!” Gab and Mags gaped at me.
“You can’t.” Mags pulled me away from Jewels. “You’re Chess’ until your time is up.”
“That means you can’t get involved with other Fae.” Gab shook her head frowning at her brother. “Honestly, did you forget the rule?” She lifted a brow at me. “When is your time up?”
“Yes, when?” Jewels’ eyes flashed in anticipation.
Instead of answering their question, I chugged the rest of the drink in my hand. I could hardly feel the burn of it as it went down. They were tasty once you had a few. I could drink them all night.
As I stared down into my empty glass, a dark shadow fell over me. A warm hand slid around my waist, pulling me close. I knew it was the prince before I rolled my head up to see his pale blue eyes gazing down at me. His presence wasn’t one to be forgotten quickly, even as fluid as I felt.
The circling vultures turned their attention from me to the royal, bowing in unison. “Your highness.”
“Come now.” He waved a pale hand at them to get up. “This is a party. There is no need to be so formal.”
“What are you doing here?” I blurted out without thinking. The feel of his warm chest on my back caused tingles in my stomach that had nothing to do with the alcohol I had downed.
“Lady!” Gab gasped. “You can’t speak to his highness that way. He may be UnSeelie…” she glanced up at the prince. “Pardon me, your highness.” Then glared at me. “But he is still royalty.”
“Of course.” His understanding voice didn’t match his hard eyes and the grip that tightened at my waist. The swirls that decorated the side of his face glowed briefly before his demeanor became playful.
“Please excuse Lady. She does not hold faerie wine well.” He plucked the empty glass from my hand and shoved it into Jewels’ hands. The blonde male pouted at the possessive hold the prince had on my waist. Not that I was particularly upset with the fact, but I was happy for an excuse to be away from the leering twin. The prince was right on time for once, and I found myself wondering what was in it for him.
A sense of relief passed over the group at my apparent inebriation. They were quick to accept my lack of knowledge was due to my drunken state and moved on to reminisce about their time with Chess. I opened my mouth to protest my ability to drink just as well as the rest when a large hand covered my mouth.
“I better get this spit fire some air before….” He trailed off as they all nodded in unspoken understanding.
Before what? Before I embarrassed him more? Before I made a fool of myself? Or before I lost my head to their ice bitch queen?
I let him usher me away from the group, my eyes taking in his clothes in an effort to keep the room from spinning. I was happy to find he was completely clothed, but a little out of place compared to the others. Gone was his previous dark clothing, and in their place was a blood red poet shirt that had billowing long sleeves and was opened at the neck. Being as sheer as my own, it allowed me to finally confirm that the symbols did indeed run down his chest and into the top of the dark brown pants tucked into his knee-high boots.
“Hey, you don’t match!” I laughed aloud at the discovery. Not a cute laugh, but a barking ‘HA’ that even in my inebriated state made me wince.
“Would you be quiet?” His voice was harsh in my ear as he led me to a balcony near the dais. His markings pulsated in an angry beat before leaving him with a teasing smirk on his face. “What could a silly thing like you be doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” What was I doing here? Wasn’t I supposed to be looking for someone? I could really do with another one of those fruity drinks.
“What are you doing here?” I pointed a finger into his chest, falling over at the effort. “Oops.” I giggled.
“I was invited. You, on the other hand, were not.” The prince held onto my arms dragging me out the balcony doors.
My head was spinning so much I didn’t know what was what. All I could think about was how good the prince smelled and how warm his arms were. I wondered what shampoo he used. Giggling at my own thoughts, I didn’t know he had asked me a question until his fingers tightened on my arms.
“Ow! What was that for?” The pain helped clear my head as anger set in.
“Did you hear a word I said?” He growled, his eyes flashing dark blue.
I stared up at those ever-changing eyes. Those dark blue eyes reminded me of my time in the past. The way he had pressed against me as we kissed. My face heated at the thought. Did he remember that? Of course he did, but not with me. He thought I was that Lynne person. Had my trip there caused any damage to his timeline? There were too many unanswered questions and they were making my head foggy again.
“Um, no.” My eyes struggled to focus on his lips as they moved again.
My brow furrowed as I tried to think of what could have happened, but all I could come up with was how thin his lips were. They were pressed together so tight they were almost nonexistent.
He gave a rough sigh when I didn’t answer. “How did you even get in the Seelie Court in the first place?”
That answer I knew.
“Chess!” My voice echoed out into the darkness beyond the edge of the balcony. My voice shouldn’t have echoed like that. I had the urge to yell out again to be sure it had, but I was more afraid someone would answer back than I was tempted.
For some reason my declaration caused the prince to pull me close and bury his face in my hair. My body tensed as his nose trailed along my skin. Inhaling deep, he cursed and shoved me away from him.
“Why does everyone keep sniffing me? Do I smell that bad?” My giggle caught in my throat as he brought his face close to mine again.
The blue of his eyes were so light they were almost translucent. He sniffed around my mouth. His eyes seemed to cloud over as his markings on his face gave an angry flash.
“You smell like that damn cat!” The dark prince growled deep in his throat. “I told you to stay away from him.”
“You also said no Seelie Court.” I reminded him, giving a girly giggle much to my horror.
“Obviously that was disobeyed as well, because here you are.” He stared at me as if trying to see inside my brain. “Do you have a habit of causing trouble in your world as well, or is it just here?”
“Oh no, I’m chock full of trouble. Enough to go around.” I swung my arms wide to emphasize but stumbled when I became dizzy.
“Well, it is no wonder his harem thought you were one of them.” The jovial tone in his voice barely covered up the fury hiding in his eyes. The glyphs may have been able to change how the prince acted, but it couldn’t stifle all of his personality. “What were you doing with that naughty cat to make you smell so?”
“What do you care?” Baffled by his sudden interest, I gripped his forearms in an effort to stay upright. All of the wine had caught up with me in a bad way. My whole world was spinning out of control and the only way out was down. “Oh God, I’m going to be sick.”
“Oh dear, oh dear.” His dark hair fell over his face as he shook his head. “How much faerie wine did you drink?”
“Uh...” How much did I drink? At least two. Maybe three? I didn’t drink often, but it shouldn’t make me this drunk. “I don’t know.” I took deep breaths as I tried not to vomit all over the golden floor. “I lost count.”
“Dammit, Kat.” He rubbed a hand over his face and pulled me deeper into the balcony.
“Not so fast.” My feet stumbled as I tried to keep up with him.
My eyes widened as his large hands were suddenly holding my face between them, his lips hovering over mine. Was he going to kiss me? It would be my second kiss from him in less than an hour. My mother would have been so proud.
I fought the snorting laugh that threatened to spill out of my mouth as I let my eyes flutter close. I’m not the kind of girl, who would get involved with more than one guy, but the sting of finding out that Chess had a harem was still fresh and my befuddled mind only wanted to soothe it.
I waited for his lips to descend onto mine, but they never did. I peeked open my eyes when his thumb pressed down on my chin to open my mouth. Barely a sliver of space existed between our lips as he inhaled. As I exhaled, a glittery blue substance came floating out of my mouth and into his.
What the hell?
Then all of a sudden the fog in my head lightened. The more he pulled out of me the clearer my head became, and thankfully my stomach settled with it as if I had never drank any of the faerie wine to begin with.
“What did you do?” I was grateful to be my sober self again but cautious as to why he was helping me. Mop had warned me about receiving help without expecting to pay for it later. The prince was the kind of Fae I really didn’t want to owe.
“You, my dear Kat.” His voice had gone soft, and his hand was still on my face as his thumb stroked my bottom lip. “Are human. Faerie wine is full of magic, which makes it far too strong for your little human body to handle. I simply took the magic away.” He eyed me for a moment. “It is actually surprising you did not pass out after the first glass. Tell me, do you drink so heavily in your world?”
“Of course not!” I flinched as my voice came out louder than I meant. I glanced down at my feet, feeling foolish. “I got nervous. They were asking too many questions. Then they started talking about how everyone does it with Chess at one point or another and I don’t know.” I shrugged. “It freaked me out.”
“Why?” The prince chuckled. “Did you think you were special?”
“Well, no. I just thought–”
“What? The cat kissed you because he wanted you? Maybe even liked you?” I didn’t like his condescending tone. He spoke to me as if I were a child that was thinking silly thoughts.
“I don’t know, maybe.” I wrapped my arms around myself to ward off his questions. I had thought I was special. That Chess had found something in me that he desired. Was that so wrong?
“Why else would he kiss me or stay behind to face the shadows while I got away if he didn’t care for me?” I winced. I sounded desperate.
“Poor. Sweet. Kat.” He punctuated each word while his hand trailed down the length of my hair, twirling a strand in between his fingers.
What was with the touching?
“He only kissed you to cover up your stench. Your human odor would have given you away the moment you stepped into the ballroom.” He brought the strand up to his nose, gazing up at me beneath long thick lashes as he inhaled my scent.
It made sense, even as it made my chest hurt. Why Mop had sniffed the air before I entered the ballroom. Why Mags had decided I was one of Chess’ play things after smelling me. Mop was right. Chess did always have another plan, even if that plan was to help me. But would I have to pay in return? I hoped not.
“Even if it’s true, he didn’t have to stay behind to let me get away.” I jerked my hair from his grasp.
“Shadows don’t care about him. He’s nothing but a half-breed. Besides,” he moved toward the balcony doors. “Chess can pass between worlds without a mirror.”
“How’s that possible?”
“He’s a half-breed.” He gave an impatient sigh when my face showed confusion. “He is half-Seelie and half-UnSeelie. He does not belong to either court.” His eyes watched the crowd as he talked, his shoulders tight as if he’d rather be anywhere but there. “He is not bound by the same rules.”
“Is that why he has a full name and you don’t?” I had wondered, but I hadn’t had a chance to ask with all that was going on. Now that someone was offering up information, I wasn’t going to waste the chance.
“I have a name.” The glyphs flashed his irritation. “And it is quite rude to ask for a Fae’s name. Only someone the Fae trusts completely would know it – like a parent or a spouse.”
“But you know my name.” I knew it was a stupid statement as soon as I said it. Of course he knew my name. I’d all but shouted it since I arrived.
“That is because you give it out too freely. Though I have wished for the shadows to take you, it does not seem to have any effect. Another curiosity I have yet to figure out.” His lips turned down into a tight frown, and I followed his eyes to where Gab was whispering to the White Queen. When the ice beauty locked her gaze on where we stood, the prince turned to me, his hand outstretched. “Dance with me.”
11
Dancing & Queens
IT WAS MORE of a command than a question. Usually I would have responded with a snarky remark or even a question, but I could feel the push of his Fae mojo pressing down on me. It wasn’t as strong as it had been when I’d first met him. I didn’t have the urge to throw myself at his feet and be
g for mercy, but I couldn’t stop it when the “Why?” on my lips morphed into a breathy, “Okay.”
My hand slid into his, and before I knew it, I was on the dance floor with his arms wrapped around me. The press of his pheromones lessened and my anger flared to life, overpowering any nervousness I would have felt from dancing in public. Smart ass I was; dancer I was not.
“That’s cheating. You could have asked.” I fixed him with a scorching glare as the room spun around us. The many faces of the golden Fae blurred into one as he led me around the room. I focused my eyes on his left shoulder so I wouldn’t become dizzy from the spinning.
“Would you have said yes?” He pressed me closer, his breath hot on my face.
“Well, no. Probably not, but it’s still polite to ask.” The anger in my voice lessened as I tried to ignore the feel of his body pressed against mine.
It was a formidable task. I’d have focused on making sure I didn’t trip over my own feet, but since he was an accomplished dancer I couldn’t use that as a distraction. Any other time I would have marveled at the feat, but I was neck deep in Seelie Fae and the only Fae I could worry about was the one before me making me feel weird emotions that were more terrifying than anything else in the room.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to take things without permission? We didn’t make a deal.” I grumbled into his shoulder, trying to hide the way my heart pounded against my ribs.
The pressure of his magic slid across my skin as the dark-haired prince shifted his stance so he could look at me. The intensity in his gaze caused me to swallow hard. “For once in your mortal life, do not think, feel.”
Oh, I felt it all right. It sizzled down my spine, along my heated skin, and settled deep in my stomach where it curled up and purred like a cat in a warm sun spot.
