by Lynn Hagen
“Oh, that’s good. I’m going to have to use that.”
“Feel free.” Cecil frowned. “Just as long as you tell me who this is.”
“You’ll find out soon enough if Ruttford’s brother doesn’t come through. If he doesn’t pay, we are going to start with that fey your daughter is mated to and then work our way through your entire family.”
“Try it and see how fucking far you get!”
Blair was at his side, scowling as the caller hung up. “What the hell is going on?” he asked.
Cecil tucked his phone back in, tossing the pool stick onto the table. “Grab Oliver and Carter. We have some business to take care of.” No one fucked with his family. Just as soon as he found out what was going on, Cecil was going to kill the bastard who had threatened the people who meant the most to him.
As soon as Blair left the room, Cecil called out for Ahm. He tried to be as quiet as possible. The last thing he wanted was for Maverick to find out there was some kind of bullshit going on with Ruttford. Maverick wouldn’t listen to reason when it came to Melonee, and knowing everyone they loved had just been threatened because of Ruttford’s brother would only send his mate over the edge.
The used-to-be-blue elf shimmered in, looking as irritated as ever. “Should I roll over and lick my balls?”
Cecil would have laughed at the dog reference, but after the phone call he just received, all he wanted was answers. “What do you know about Ruttford’s brother?”
“Santa’s elf?” Ahm asked as he stood there looking at Cecil like he really didn’t want to be there.
“Yeah, that’s the guy.”
Ahm shrugged as he leaned a hip into the pool table. “They are a different breed of elves. I really don’t know much except that Ruttford’s brother, Fire, has a gambling addiction.”
Crap. That wasn’t what Cecil wanted to hear. “Who would be hunting him down if he owed a debt?”
“What’s with the sudden interest?” Ahm asked.
“I got a phone call telling me that my family is in danger if Fire doesn’t come through.”
Ahm stood up straight, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. “They are Shadow elves, but I can’t interfere, Cecil. If it’s a legitimate debt, there isn’t anything I can do about it. It’s our law.”
Cecil pierced Ahm with a hard glare. “Fine, but at least tell me who is after the man. I need to know who I’m dealing with.”
The man’s upper lip curled. “Trust me. You don’t want to mess with Myne and Yanyte. They aren’t Shadow elves to be trifled with.”
“And I’m not a human to be threatened, Ahm. We’re talking about my family. What do you think Maverick will do when he finds out some of your people have called me and told me my family is going to be wiped out? Do you think he is going to sit by and let it happen?”
“Point taken,” Ahm said with irritation. “But if I interfere, my strength as their leader will come into question. This isn’t the first time Fire has gotten into trouble with them. If you ask me, he needs to be dealt with.”
Oh, Cecil planned on dealing with this Fire guy. He could give a shit less if the man gambled his life away, but now he was involving this household and Cecil wasn’t going to stand by and let that happen. “Give me a loophole.”
“For the simple fact that I don’t want to go to war with Maverick, I’ll tell you,” Ahm said. “But if you get Fire out of this, mark my words, he will only turn around and go into debt again.”
“No,” Cecil said, “he won’t. I can guarantee his ills will be cured.” Unfortunately, Fire would become family as soon as Ruttford mated Melonee. There was no way in hell Cecil was going to allow the man to do this again.
“Unless they kill Fire first, they are not allowed to work their way down the familial tree. They will threaten you, try and scare you into paying his debt, but they can’t touch you. Keep him safe and no harm will come to you or yours.”
“Gee, gangsters with rules. How fucking nice.”
Ahm moved closer, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. “Don’t joke about this, Cecil. Myne and Yanyte have wiped out entire family lines before. They aren’t playing around here. Keep that troublemaker here, where they can’t get to him until you work out a solution.”
Cecil eyed Ahm and then smiled. “How are things going with Bryce? Get the balls yet to go near his family or are you still acting like a five-year-old too scared to claim what is yours?”
“Fuck you, Cecil,” Ahm snarled as he shimmered out.
Nero walked into the den, glancing around. “I silenced the alarms because I thought it was Melonee sneaking back in.”
Cecil cursed again. “Do you know where she went?”
Nero shook his head. “No, but she went to meet Ruttford.”
God, this was getting better and better. Even though Ahm had told him the Shadow elves couldn’t touch anyone until Fire was dead, Cecil was not trusting his daughter’s safety to gangster rules. He needed to find Fire before Myne and Yanyte did.
“Kill the alarms. I’m heading out and I don’t want Maverick to find out.”
Nero wrung his gloved hands in front of him. “I’m going to get a lecture for this. Yes I am. I hate when Maverick lectures me.” Nero leaned closer. “He’s scary when he’s mad.”
“I’ll handle my mate. Just don’t let him know we’ve left.”
“We?” Nero asked. “Wait, don’t tell me. The less I know the better.” He hurried from the den just as Blair, Oliver, and Carter walked in.
“Let’s go, gentlemen. We have a gambling addict to hunt down before he dies.”
“Do we get to kick someone’s ass?” Oliver asked.
“We just might.”
“Come again?” Ruttford said as he pulled away.
Melonee hadn’t meant to blurt it out, but she couldn’t think of any easy way to break the news to him. “A stranger came by the house to see Lewis. As soon as I answered the door, I knew.”
She felt her heart clench when Ruttford rolled to his feet and walked a few steps away. He tucked his hands behind his back, staring at the gorgeous water, deep in thought. She wasn’t sure if she should ask what he was thinking or leave him to work things out in his head.
“I’ve never heard of fey having more than one mate, Melonee.” He turned, his eyes filled with something close to despair. “I won’t give you up. You’re mine.”
Melonee pushed to her feet, pulling her pants back into place, and then shoved her camisole down. “I’m not asking you to give me up. All I’m saying is that I felt the pull with him. How do you know you two aren’t mates?”
Ruttford scowled at her. It wasn’t a look Melonee wanted to see. She was hoping he would be reasonable about this. Her life was already shrouded in madness between her dad refusing to let her go and finding out she had another mate.
“Talk to me, Ruttford.”
“I’m being paid back for what I did to your family, aren’t I?” he asked acerbically. “Fate is having the last laugh at my expense. It’s bad enough I have to get through your father in order to see you. Now I have another man to deal with?” He paced a little further away, the anger rolling off of him. “Where is he?”
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “We’re supposed to meet tomorrow morning for breakfast at the diner.”
Ruttford spun around, his green eyes narrowing. “Making dates behind my back, beautiful?”
Melonee felt her anger kick into high gear. “I didn’t ask for this! I came to you hoping you could help me, but instead, you want to get pissy. Screw you, Ruttford.” Melonee shimmered out, dropping onto her bed as she balled up and covered her face with her hands. How had things gone so wrong? Yesterday, she had planned on telling Ruttford that she was ready to be with him.
Now she lay in her bed a damn mess. Her emotions felt raw as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Maybe she wouldn’t wait for breakfast. Maybe she needed to go find Adam and have a long talk with him. There was no way she w
as going to let Ruttford close the subject when she knew in her heart she had felt the pull. If the two men couldn’t work things out, she was going to hand them both over to Maverick and be done with it. Melonee shimmered back out, praying Nero would continue to keep the alarms silent for her. She needed answers, and she needed them now.
The man had said he would be in town for a few weeks when he was talking in the kitchen with Lewis. Everyone knew the apartments by the police station were where renters usually lived when renting short-term leases.
Taking a chance, Melonee shimmered on the side of the building and then walked around front. Damn it, she should have remembered to grab her sweater before she left in such a funk. She was cold as hell now, but she wasn’t going back home to get a jacket.
Opening the door to the building, she walked in and scanned the mailboxes. She found only one without a name on it and prayed it was Adam’s apartment.
She really wasn’t sure what she was going to say once she knocked on the door. Would he think her a stalker? Would he close the door in her face?
There was only one way to find out. Climbing the three flights of steps, Melonee stood outside the door and hesitated. Was she really that brave? She hadn’t thought of a good enough reason to tell him why she was there. Oh, she planned on letting him know what he was to her, but thought it best to keep that to herself until she was allowed in.
Steeling her nerves, Melonee knocked. It was late, and she wasn’t sure if he would—the door swung open and Melonee lost the ability to breathe. Adam stood there with a towel wrapped around his waist, looking good enough to eat. She licked her dry lips as she gazed at the thin piece of material around his body.
“Melonee, I wasn’t expecting you.”
That was obvious by his half-naked state. An overwhelming urge to make the towel shimmer away had Melonee clearing her throat.
“I’m sorry to stop by unexpected, Adam.” She was starting to lose her nerve until she thought about Ruttford’s fear that Adam would replace the fey man. It was ridiculous in her mind and she was determined to prove that Adam and Ruttford were mates as well. “May I come in?”
Adam stepped back, but left her at the door as he hurried inside and began to gather some files, quickly tucking them away in a briefcase. “Make yourself at home.” He waved toward the couch. “I apologize, but I thought we were meeting tomorrow morning.”
She stared at his well-rounded bottom in the towel, and her fingers itched to run them over the two mounds. Biting her bottom lip, she took a seat, forcing herself to stop gawking at him. “It was supposed to be tomorrow morning,” she answered. She knew what she needed to tell him. Melonee just wasn’t sure how to tell him.
“Can you give me a second to throw some clothes on?”
She didn’t want him to put clothes on. She wanted him to take that towel off. But did she say that out loud? No. Did she want to? Yes. Nodding, Melonee sat back on the sofa, clasping her hands in her lap, glancing around.
She sat there flipping through different ways to tell him she was fey and he was her second mate. Nothing sounded sane in her head. Adam was human. He needed to be eased into this. There was no sense scaring the crap out of the man.
Maybe she needed to start off by asking him if he believed in ghosts to see if he was open to the idea of the supernatural. Melonee never had to explain the world she lived in to anyone and found that it wasn’t as easy as one would think. She had no idea whatsoever where to begin.
How had the shifters in her house who had human mates told them about this stuff? Maybe she should have found out before coming here.
Melonee sat up straight when Adam came back into the room. God, he looked good in his slacks and cashmere sweater. She wasn’t sure how she ended up with two gorgeous mates, but hell if she wasn’t thankful.
“Would you like something to drink?” Adam asked as he stood in the doorway between the living room and kitchen, smiling at her.
“Sure.”
She had expected him to get her a hot tea or something along those lines, but he walked over to a stand with a bottle of whiskey and glass tumblers. Melonee had never drank before and wasn’t sure this was a good time to start, but took the offered glass when he walked over and handed it to her.
“So, Melonee, tell me why you are here.” Adam took a seat next to her, placing his arm on the back of the couch as he took a sip of the amber liquid.
Melonee stared into her glass, wondering where to begin when she felt the hairs on her arm stand. Her head snapped up in time to see Ruttford shimmer in, glaring at the two of them.
“What the hell?” Adam jumped up from the couch, backing away, staring at Ruttford like he had seen a ghost and then…he fainted.
Ruttford quickly caught Adam before he hit the floor as Melonee threw back the shot, swallowing down the burn and praying Ruttford hadn’t just given the man a heart attack.
Chapter Eight
Adam came to feeling a cold compress on his head…and a hard body underneath his. He blinked his eyes open to see the man who had justappearedin his apartment staring down at him, and Adam was lying on the man’s lap.
“Feel better?”
Shit!Adam pushed from the man’s lap, hitting the floor. He scooted away as he looked between the stranger and Melonee. Both were staring at him as ifhewere the one who had just appeared out of thin air.
Maybe the man didn’t just poof in. It could be possible that he walked in and Adam hadn’t noticed until the guy was standing in front of him. People didn’t just magically appear. No, they didn’t. Adam had to go with that thought, because if he didn’t, he was going to faint again.
“So, you’re Adam,” the man said, leaning forward and peering down at him. He had a mischievous grin on his face, as if this was funny as hell to him. His green eyes were sparkling as he raked them over Adam.
God, did the guy just openly check him out? He must have hit his head when he fell. “Who are you?”
“My name is Ruttford.”
Adam felt his throat dry out when he noticed the point on the end of the man’s ear. Maybe it was a birth defect or something. There was no way—god, he needed to get a grip on himself.
Pushing to his feet, Adam took in a deep breath and centered himself. He was a very powerful man, highly sought after by many companies. He was worth millions, and here he stood in front of these two feeling shaky as hell.
No, he had to take control of the situation. “How did you get in here, Mr…” Adam trailed off, waiting for the guy to fill in the blank.
“Just Ruttford.” He stood, walking toward Adam, making the knots in his stomach tighten harder. “You’re not a bad third,” he said as he walked around Adam, who stupidly stood there letting him. “Not bad at all.”
Okay, Adam knew for damn sure the man had just blatantly come on to him. As powerful as Adam was, he felt like he was on some sort of auction block and Ruttford was checking out his purchase.
This pissed him off. “Get out.”
Melonee jumped up from the couch, her hands held up in front of her. “I told you we needed to talk when I first arrived here.”
Adam glanced at the gorgeous woman, and he felt red-hot anger begin to sizzle inside of him. “What sort of game are you two playing here?”
Ruttford slid behind Adam, cupping his ass and squeezing both cheeks in his hands, making Adam jump. “This isn’t a game, Adam. Trust me.” His fingers dug harder into Adam’s backside. “God, I can’t believe how nicely rounded you are.”
Adam shoved Ruttford away and glared at the man. “Don’t fucking touch me again.”
“You’re our mate,” Melonee blurted out.
Ruttford brushed her hair from her shoulder and kissed her temple. “You really do have to work on your subtlety, beautiful.”
“Knock it off, Ruttford,” Melonee said as she swatted at him. “He needs to know.”
Adam was at a loss for words. These two were nuts. They had to be. He hadn’t a clue what they
were talking about, and hell if they didn’t look dead serious. “I’m going to say it one last time,” he said as he strode over to Ruttford, who was a few inches taller than him. “Get out.”
Adam froze when the man disappeared from in front of him, only to appear right behind him. Okay, he was going mad. There was no other explanation. No human being could just pop in and out at will.
“Calm down, handsome,” Ruttford whispered into his ear.
Adam didn’t move a muscle. He was barely breathing as he stood there. A man had just disappeared from in front of him and then reappeared. How on earth was that possible?
“Breathe, Adam,” Ruttford said as he slid his arm around Adam’s waist, pulling his back to the man’s chest. “Just breathe.”
Adam glanced at Melonee, who just shrugged. “We’re fey.”
Oh, god.Adam felt his knees shaking. He wasn’t even sure what a fey was, but it couldn’t be good. Gathering his thoughts, Adam shoved Ruttford away from him once more. “I don’t care who or what you are. Get out.”
Ruttford narrowed his eyes. “Stubborn little man, aren’t you?”
Adam walked over to the couch in a daze, taking a seat and wondering if maybe he wasn’t dreaming all of this. This had to be the strangest moment in his life.
“Are you going to pass out again?” Melonee asked as she moved closer and then stopped, her eyes telling Adam she wasn’t sure if he would welcome her. His mind struggled to come to grips with what he had seen and what they had told him. This had to be some weird dream.
“He looks like he’s going to be sick,” Ruttford commented to Melonee. “Should I get him a paper bag or something?”
“You just”—Adam waved his hand around—“popped in. This can’t be real. It can’t be possible.”
“I think he’s going into shock,” Melonee said as she moved closer, kneeling in front of him. “Adam, you have to listen to me.”
Adam gazed down at her. Was she even real? God, had he dreamt up this gorgeous woman while he slept? If he did, kudos to his excellent imagination. But why would he conjure up Ruttford? The man was handsome as hell, but why two people? “I’ll be okay,” he said, “just as soon as I wake from this bizarre dream.”
