He sucked her juices from his middle finger with a hum of approval. “Never get enough of your taste on my lips.”
Biting back the words dancing on the tip of her tongue, she closed her eyes and breathed slowly. He’d let her go twice. Would this time be any different? Would a two-way bond form now that he was free of Saressa? Did she want him bound to her with their track record? Not that she had any hope of resisting him if he chose to make a move. As much as she wanted to be angry and push him away, she wanted to pull him to her and never let go.
Too many questions and no one to ask. Not anyone she trusted completely. She wanted to, but her heart was a mess.
Scotty captured her hand again and brought it to his lips for a kiss. “Talk to me. Why are you doubting me already?”
She drew a breath. “We need to talk.”
“We do. You can tell me anything, Jayde. I won’t judge you. You can critique me as harshly as you need. I’m the one who made the mistakes. Not you.”
“Damn it, Endiscott. It’s not about that. I’m worried my expectations are too high. That maybe I’m being stupid for thinking we can mend things.”
“I can honestly say there is no other woman I want. You’re it, you’re everything. Give me a chance to show you.”
“And what if it’s me who wants someone else?” She winced, the implied lie hurt to voice.
He swallowed hard and looked back at the road. “I’ll still try my damnedest to convince you otherwise, Jayde. If I have to compete with other men to win your heart, so be it.” He released her hand and wrapped both of his on the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white. “I’m sure you felt that way regarding my many years with Saressa. I can endure anything to prove myself worthy.”
“Don’t want to force you to endure me. You’ve had enough of that with the bitch.”
“It wouldn’t be enduring your company. Maybe enduring your affection for another man. Even if it were Kellan.” He shuddered. “Whatever you need me to do to prove my love never died, I’ll do it.”
She looked out the passenger window, trying to blink back tears. “I don’t want Kellan. I haven’t in quite some time. I’ve been trying to convince him there’s someone out there for him. I’m just his first love.”
“Was I not yours?” he asked sadly, twisting her heart up.
“You were. Still are, but I’m scared. Can you blame me? I spent more than a century searching for a way to get you back. Then you walked out and left me, without so much as a goodbye.”
“I had to leave you. For your own safety. Saressa would have made me ruin you. That or tortured me when I couldn’t, then she would have done even worse to you.”
“My head gets it, my heart doesn’t. I can’t help it. I have to wonder if it means we weren’t meant to be.”
She was met with silence as he turned off a street and drove down a gravel driveway. The cabin appeared simple, and hidden in the trees. A place she could easily see Scotty living.
“You sure you don’t want to go back for your bike? I mean it when I say I’ll do anything to gain your trust.”
A soft smile pulled at her lips. “This is fine. If I have to leave, there are other options.”
Chapter 26
Kellan paced through his apartment. He needed to scream but didn’t want to annoy his neighbors. He’d already been yelled at by the elderly lady next door when he punched a hole in his wall and busted his knuckles.
Jayde had never been in love with him. Time would change her mind. Or so he thought. Now? He saw the way she looked at Endiscott. The way she gravitated his direction. She probably didn’t even realize she naturally moved toward him.
Bound to a bastard who didn’t choose her. And yeah, Kellan’s mother was the cause, but it tore out his heart when he realized he had no chance of Jayde ever choosing him.
His mother’s voice jolted him back to reality. The enchanted mirror hung in the guest room. He refused to keep it in a space he used. Didn’t want her to learn what he was up to since he’d realized he couldn’t do what she wanted.
“Kellan, I know you’re there. We need to speak.”
Probably wondering where Eiren was. Sighing, he walked into the room but kept his eyes from the mirror. If he wasn’t careful, she could entrance him, which was why he came to Earth in the first place. He’d planned to deal with Jayde and stay away. Then he fell in love, and well, that went sideways.
“Yes, Mother?”
“You haven’t done your job very well. I had a vision of the two of them together in a very compromising position.”
His heart raced, he hadn’t thought about her visions. How much had she seen? “Nothing I could really do about that,” he replied bluntly.
“Jayde’s worthless, and you fell for her.” She tsked. “Love is such a useless emotion. Only man I ever loved is still in love with another woman.”
“Excuse me, Mother, but he was in love with her before you got your claws into him. You trampled all over their destiny.”
“She’ll kill me with Endiscott’s help. That’s why I took him. As an added benefit, the power of manipulation I gained through him has proved useful. I’ve turned many into my willing slaves through sex. One compulsion and they’re ready to do anything.”
“I heard your bond to him is broken now.”
“Hmm, seems that way. Though I don’t need him bound to me, as long as I keep him in a cell and use him for my entertainment. I will enjoy breaking him. Jayde can watch before I destroy her.”
“I love her!” he shouted. “I won’t help you.” He lifted his hand, a boulder filling the space above before he threw it at the mirror, damn the consequences.
He left the room and pulled out his phone. He hoped he wasn’t about to make a giant mistake. He dialed the Silver Council Enforcer who dealt with Eiren.
After a couple rings, “This is Preston.”
“Hey, this is Kellan. I need to ask something strange.”
“What’s that?”
“The wards at the Silver Council, can they block a clairvoyant from seeing what’s going on there?”
“No. Though I had you checked by a trusted clairvoyant. He can’t see shit about you. You’re naturally blocking. I think maybe some fae have that ability where others don’t. Whatever is said around you is likely safe.”
He relaxed some, but headed outside, as far from the mirror as possible. As he jogged down the stairs he said, “Saressa knows Endiscott is with Jayde.”
“How?”
“Visions.”
“And how do you know this?”
“An enchanted mirror, which is now shattered, though to fully dispel its powers, I need to melt it. I left my apartment. Don’t want her overhearing anything.”
“Got it. Look, I need to ask you something too. Are you going to be able to get past Jayde choosing another man?”
“Yeah. I’m not stupid. I can’t force her to feel something. Doesn’t mean I won’t make an ass out of myself from time-to-time, but I won’t stop them.”
“Are you really on our side?”
“I am. My mother wants to destroy Jayde, and torture Endiscott. I’ll do anything to stop her.”
“Did you know you have a half-sister? One from your father’s side?”
He stopped mid-stride on the sidewalk. “I do?”
“Yeah, you do. She’s my… woman. That’s what Isa and Toryn were talking about keeping from you. I thought maybe if you had family here, besides a cousin you royally pissed off, you might better settle in.”
“A sister. Aeremaius had a daughter?”
“He did. As with you, she’s nothing like him. Trust me. In fact, she had a hand in his death because she couldn’t stand how sick the fucker was.”
“Never met Aeremaius, but my mother wasn’t disappointed when he died.”
“Want to do dinner with us? I’ll bring Dacia back to Seattle and you two can get to know each other.”
“Thank you.”
“She kn
ows what you’re going through, to some degree. I’ll text you with details in a bit. Need to talk to my girl.”
“See you then.”
* * * *
Scotty climbed out of his Escalade and turned to Jayde. “My humble home. I could do more with the place, but it’s just me.”
“You’ve never brought women here?”
He shrugged, before looking over the hood of the car at her. “I haven’t tried being with a woman more than a night or two since I left Faerie. About six months ago, when Toryn and Isa bonded, I gave up on ever breaking free of Saressa’s hold. The women I’ve been with over the years haven’t stepped inside my home. Isa’s been here, but platonically only. The solution involving her and Toryn happened elsewhere.”
She nodded. “There were a lot of women, weren’t there?”
“To survive I need to feel something—be it love, intimacy, desire. I stopped taking in anything for six months, with the intention of letting myself fade away. Bound to another, every time I was with a woman, I walked away feeling dirty. I fought the urge to run back to Saressa. She was like an addiction I’d quit cold turkey and I couldn’t get over withdrawals. In my more lucid states, I’d think of you, and how badly I’d betrayed you with every woman I took to bed. I wanted the torment to end.”
He looked away, wiping at his face. “I can’t blame you if I’m beyond forgiving. It may be too late for us.”
She pulled his gaze back. “Not too late, Scotty.” The soft smile on her lips gave him hope. “I wish I’d known how bad it got for you. I would have come.”
He couldn’t reply without pointing out that it might have made the predicament worse. He was still terrified he would be her downfall, but at least now he knew he wouldn’t be the one to harm her, and he’d go down trying to protect her.
She started for the cabin, smiling over her shoulder. “I think it’s finally time you let me give you something. Something I’ve always wanted to do, but you manage to distract me.”
“Jayde, if you’re planning to go where I think you are, I’m not sure that’s a wise idea. Want you so damn badly, I’m not sure how long I can resist sinking deep inside your body.”
“Promise I’ll have my chance to do everything I’ve always wanted to you?”
More than two centuries of betrayal came back, the guilt slicing through him. “Is killing me on that list?”
“No, never that.”
Forgetting about the front door, he closed the distance and caught her face, threading his fingers into her hair as he bent to kiss her the way he’d wanted to the moment she walked into the room at the Silver Council.
Jayde pressed against him as he backed her against the rail. “Shit, Jayde. Really don’t think I can wait.”
“Don’t, please don’t. Never, ever, ever again.”
“You don’t mind being outside?”
“Not at all,” she panted, opening her blouse to display the body he’d craved from the moment he laid eyes on her.
He stripped off his shirt before opening his pants. Fully nude in seconds as her shirt fell to the wooden boards. Scotty opened her pants, while he hungrily devoured her with his gaze.
Gorgeous, as always. He caressed her silken, sun-kissed skin, then dipped his head to run his tongue around her nipple. He groaned. “Love the way you taste.”
“You wouldn’t let me taste you, so make love to me before I die.”
He sucked her pebbled tip before taking her mouth in a kiss as he lifted her to sit on the rail. Her legs went around his hips when he slid his length through her heat.
Her eyes closed as her arms wound around his neck, her mouth taking his. Their tongues twisted, caressing, pushing him past resistance. Pressing into her, his magic flared with hers. The ivy winding up the columns grew rapidly, stretching from one to the other, giving her something to lean back into. Flowers blossomed across the vines.
His heart thundered in his chest. The discussion about their bond was coming sooner than he’d planned, but repressing the magic wasn’t an option at this point.
Ice crystals traipsed across his skin, chased by flickering flames, sending a burning shiver down his spine. Her hands tangled in the vines above, lifting herself to rock her hips against him.
One arm banded around her waist, while the other hand caressed her firm ass. His finger played over her rear passage. She broke their kiss as a cry of passion echoed through the woods.
“Jayde,” he whispered. Her walls rippled around him, her climax dragging him into his own.
Relaxing her hold, she sank to the rail and leaned back against the vines.
Her eyes widened as she turned her head, finding the vines made purely of his magic. “You… I… oh shit… no!”
His heart sank as he stepped away and pulled his pants on. “I wanted to tell you but wasn’t sure how.”
“When?” she demanded, yanking clothes on while he scooped up the rest of his and unlocked the door.
“When you healed me this afternoon. That leads me to believe we were always meant to be.” He pushed open the door and looked back at her.
“When I healed you?” she asked in confusion.
“Yes, when you healed me. I woke up bound to you.”
“And you didn’t mention that sooner?” she spat, her arms crossing under her breasts.
“Are you hungry?”
She glared at him. “Why?”
“I want to feed you. Figured we could talk while I cook.”
Her anger dissipated slightly. “That’s why you wanted to talk?”
“Yes. But then I touched you and I haven’t needed someone this bad since the last time I was with you.”
Her shoulders slumped as she followed him inside.
His heart threatened to rip in half. “I hoped you would be happy we finally bonded properly. Damn it, Jayde. I wish you had told me you were bound to me.”
“Would it have changed your decision?” she asked, dumping her bag on a chair.
“Maybe. I don’t honestly know. I was still bound to Saressa and terrified what she would compel me to do.”
She nodded as she moved to a stool at the kitchen island and took a seat. “Why not mention the bond earlier?”
Scotty sighed. “I didn’t exactly have time to tell you. I was trying to find the right words, but they weren’t coming.”
She shook her head, her brow drawn tight. “In all these years, I’m the only one you ever wanted?”
“Yes. Without you, I was forced to turn to others.” He went to the fridge, hating the truth of the matter.
“I never told you I bound to you because I didn’t think you would change your mind. Back then, your reasons made more sense. As the years went on, hope faded.”
“Where does that leave us?”
“At the beginning.”
He turned back and found her smile. “The beginning?”
“This time, we won’t resist each other. Take what you want from me. I’ll do the same. We spent too long catering to my mother’s notion that you needed to prove you could do without sex. I think it’s safe to say you proved that well enough.”
“Then let’s see what we can learn about the new us,” he offered with a shy smile.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Chapter 27
Saressa paced through her chambers. She’d expected Eiren back long ago. Kellan had smashed the mirror, and after some time, destroyed the remains.
Finding Eiren and Alenathos was her only hope of obtaining information. She loathed the idea of stepping foot on Earth. Her home was always, and would always be, Faerie. Her self-prescribed destiny was to rule all of the realms, even those foolish enough to consider themselves neutral.
She strode to the balcony and laid her hands on the railing. Focusing on the clouds above, she sought Eiren.
He sat on a cot in a glass cell, rocking back and forth. Blood dribbled from his lips. Incoherent sounds jarred her nerves as his lips moved. Looking closer, she made
out the words, It wasn’t my fault. I tried to bring him back. Forgive me, Saressa, I tried.
His tongue was gone. She laughed softly, searching back to find the answer to why he was tongueless.
She found Eiren hiding on the top of a building, aiming a crossbow at Endiscott’s chest while he spoke with Toryn outside some establishment.
Loaded with a manticore bolt, she nearly lost it when he sent the projectile flying at Endiscott. Her heart twisted as the spike impaled the man she loved. Even now, she wanted to go to him, to fix what she’d ruined. Had she realized sooner how much she needed him, perhaps she could have made him happy after stealing him from Jayde.
As Eiren tried to escape, Kellan came into view. He cut out her pet’s tongue.
Smart move, my boy. Too bad it won’t save you from my wrath. Had you simply done as told, you could have had your place with me.
Sighing she made her way to the ritual room and brought up a portal to Eiren. She phased into smoke and wisped through the portal.
“You’ve outlived your usefulness, my faithful servant,” she whispered, before morphing into living flames and crawling up his body. His wordless screams were music to her ears.
Heavy footfalls charging down the corridor ended her fun. She slipped back through the portal that closed as the mage burst through the door.
* * * *
Isa pushed Toryn’s hands aside as she sat up to grab her phone. “Why is Mike calling?” she asked, her face twisted in a frown.
“No clue, Princess, but I’m sure it can wait.” He attempted to pull her back.
“I ignored the first two attempts in favor of your attention. This is the third time. He wouldn’t keep calling if it wasn’t urgent.”
Toryn sighed, sitting up with her. “Well, answer it then.”
She swallowed hard as she pressed talk. “Hey, Mike. Everything okay?”
“No. I saw you down at headquarters earlier. You were in with Preston discussing information the siren had.”
“Yes, we were.”
Changing Destiny Page 14
