Luna's Lovers [Beyond the Veil 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Honor James

  She took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you.” She liked this, touching skin to skin, and told him so. “It’s been so very, very long since I’ve touched skin to skin that I’m just sitting here and I’m bathing in how amazing it feels to have you touching me, to be touching you and not even thinking that you might have things to do.” She rubbed her cheek to his much like a kitten, the stubble of his skin only increasing the sensations all the more. “Do you? Have anything you need to do that is?”

  “Not really, our only priority is keeping you safe and happy. I should finish up the reports that I have to do but they’ll wait, they are really not the top priority right now. You are,” he said softly. Sliding his hand over her hair he rested his cheek to her forehead. “I’ll do them later, maybe.”

  That had her smiling and she admitted, “I don’t think that anyone has ever, ever put me first, in anything.” Which was the truth. “At least not that I can recall,” she added quietly. “I don’t know if people before the blast would have placed me above anyone or anything else. I like to think that I might have meant something to someone. Right?”

  “I’m very sure you did and do,” he said softly. “There is right now, right here. Believe in that, if you never believe anything else we tell you, you mean something to us. A very important something I should mention. But you’re getting yourself worked up again, Luna. So, just relax, focus on your breathing and let it all go. Enjoy the moment, all right?”

  Taking in deep and calming breaths she nodded. “Thank you.” She had needed to have him there and holding her. “I’m glad that I mean something to the two of you because the two of you mean something to me. You mean a big something. I don’t know what the big something is, but I’m sure that with time I will learn, right?”

  “Absolutely,” he said softly. Pressing a kiss to her forehead he hugged her in closer. “Now, seriously, stop thinking about it, sweetheart. Let’s do something, just you and I. We have some games if you are interested. Or we could watch a movie maybe, a TV show perhaps.” He shrugged.

  “I think a movie would be good. I haven’t been able to watch television or a movie in a seriously long time. So yeah, can we?” she asked hopefully. “Hopefully one day they will be able to figure out what kind of tech that I will be able to use so that I have the ID as everyone else does instead of having to carry around the old-fashioned type of identification.” She thought of weird things at weird times and knew it.

  “What? And not be the unique and amazing Luna you are now?” He made a noise in his throat that was sort of a cross between a scoff and a snort with a bit of a gurgle. Really, it shouldn’t have been possible. “Please. Why the hell would you want to go and be like everyone else, doll?”

  “Because do you know what a pain in the rump that it is to have to ensure people that the identification that I carry is real? Do you know how many times The Council has been contacted about my ID? Or the local police force? Or the AEDA? Believe me, it’s more of a pain in the rear than not.” Besides the Council was downright terrifying and she never, ever wanted to have to see them again.

  “Well, okay, I’ll give you that one,” he said, frowning. “That would be a definite detriment, especially when in need of things like alcohol, for example. And getting a replacement probably wouldn’t be a joy either. But, on the other hand, you’re not stuck with the same dopey assed image for the entirety of your life burned into a chip either, you can get yours updated. Mine looks like I was on a fucking month-long drunk fest and pulled on the nearest possibly clean item to wear. My hair looks like I had fucking birds nesting, I shit you not,” he said with a groan of agony.

  “Exactly. You have to go through all kinds of weird channels to get one. Thankfully I had help from the Captain of our AEDA branch, but it’s a pain, like whoa. And I don’t drink so I wouldn’t need it for that. But anytime that I might have wanted to maybe travel I would have needed ID to pass the borders into other states.”

  “Very true.” He nodded. Sighing, he squeezed her closer to him. “Hopefully we can help you to determine just what the charge is. More than likely it will be something Gavriel can help us figure out.” Shifting in his seat he grabbed the TV remote and brought up the movie listings.

  “What looks good to you?” he asked, going into a pocket for a cell phone. Thumbing it on, he pursed his lips as he navigated through to his contacts and then hit the send button, sticking it to his ear. “Horror, mystery, kissy shit, explosions, car chases and explosions. Oh, hey, look at that. Zombies with car chases and explosions.” He grinned at her.

  “Gav, Kris here,” he said into the phone suddenly. “Listen, I need you to pop by our location when you have a second. I have myself an adorable little Spiryte mate who has a bit of a problem that likely only another Spiryte could help solve. What? Dude, seriously?” he said, his tone dry. Rolling his eyes he groaned. “Anytime. We’re here all week or longer, so no, you don’t need to make a fucking appointment. Remind me again why Artaxias hasn’t killed you yet?”

  Shaking his head he snorted. “That is not a good enough reason. I’m pretty sure Lilly would get over the fucking disappointment of your demise quick enough. So watch your mouth when you get here. We clear? Good, see you then.” He hung up and tossed the phone. “Smart ass shit’s going to say that crap to the wrong person one of these days. So, movie, which one, sweetheart?”

  Luna just laughed. “I take it that you don’t like him? Or do you like him and he’s just a bit of a poop?” She rubbed her cheek on his shoulder again however and then added, “The zombie movie if you would please? I’ve never seen one and I would like to see one if you don’t mind?”

  “I don’t in the least,” he said, giving her a little squeeze. Cuing up the movie he set the remote aside and wrapped her back in his arms. “I happen to like Gavriel a lot, he’s a great guy and smart as a whip. But the boy has a mouth on him that will get him killed one day. And most likely by his mating partner, Artaxias. Ax was his bodyguard for his entire childhood and into adulthood. Ax knows him the best, obviously, but even he has days where you can see him curling his hands like he’s ready to strangle the little shit. And Gav pushes it always, right to the edge, but never over.”

  Luna smirked. “I tend to do that sometimes. Not often. Mostly I hide in the shadows and hope like hell no one ever sees me. Really sees me. Then again when I am with you and Volker I seem to just let my mouth run like mad and that’s seriously not something that I’ve ever done.”

  “It’s actually pretty endearing,” he said, shrugging slightly. “I like the fact that you speak your mind and don’t hold anything back. You are honest, as you should be,” he smiled. Then the movie started up and he shushed her softly, pressing a finger to her lips with a chuckle.

  She nipped at his finger and shook her head. Silly man. She liked him a great deal but seriously? Leaning more into him she adjusted herself on his lap and began to watch the movie with him.

  Chapter Seven

  After their movie Kristjan got on the phone while she test drove the laptop they had there. Or the one they currently had out, with backups in the other room apparently. She wasn’t sure who he was talking to but he didn’t sound too upset or concerned, just general chit-chat kind of.

  “Sorry about that,” he said, once he’d hung up and pocketed the phone. Moving to her side he drew one of the dining room chairs around so he could sit next to her. “So, how’s it handling you so far?”

  “Surprisingly well. I don’t know if it’s because I’m calmer around you or what but so far it’s not fritzed out on me once.” Which made her smile. “I can’t believe it, a laptop that hasn’t frazzled because of me and my magnetic and shocking personality.”

  Shaking his head with a groan he smacked his own forehead. “Oh the quips, they hurt,” he muttered, peeking at her with a grin. “All right, so you’ve been puttering around, let’s get to the next stage and see if you can stay calm doing your everyday stuff. We have a secure link to the o
ffice so you should be able to access everything at AEDA. Give it a whirl while I clean up the kitchen and get lunch cooking.”

  Luna looked up at him with wide eyes. “Kris, I’m not so sure that is such a good idea,” she whispered. “I don’t think that leaving me alone is good. I really and truly don’t. I would rather have you with me if you wouldn’t mind, please?”

  “You sure? I won’t be far and you can see me from here.” He stared at her for a time but finally nodded and settled into his seat. “We’re going to have to test this eventually with more than a couple of feet between us in the same room you know.”

  “I know but I would like to have a small bit of time with it before I fry it.” Her tone and her worry were clear. She was afraid she was going to destroy the laptop before they truly had time to work with it. “And I will try it, eventually. Right now I just want to have you close, please?”

  “Mm-hmm,” he hummed at her. Reaching out he stroked a finger over her cheek. “You shouldn’t worry so much. We have several others if you’ll remember. Besides, the techie’s all think that they have figured out the issue and plan to lord it over you. So, really, if you cook every single one of them we can then go, with popcorn, to watch as their self-centered little universe crumbles.”

  “Did they figure it out before or after you realized what I was?” She asked quietly. “I need to know what I will be going back to. All of this time working with the AEDA I had been human, now I’m suddenly something else. I am just worried about how that will affect everything.”

  “No one but you and I know you are Spiryte. Gavriel doesn’t even know your name, I never gave it to him,” he said. “And this protection detail is so far off the books no one could find it, not even the techies and their toys. The Captain doesn’t know, hell not even Volker knows that you are Spiryte, Luna.”

  “Good.” She took in a deep breath. “Volker will know when he wakes, right?” she whispered. “We won’t keep him in the dark about what’s going on, right?” She didn’t think that they would, it wouldn’t bode well for their threesome should they hold anything back, even by omission.

  “You are kidding right? Fuck woman, nobody can keep a secret from a Vhampire. They, and I mean this literally, can read minds. It’s best just to share right away and keep everything nice and open. So yes, as soon as he’s awake we will tell him everything.”

  “That sounds like a very good idea to me. I don’t want to keep anything from either of you. I want to go into this with eyes wide open,” she said with a nod. “And by the way.” She looked up at him and frowned. “This is something we need to look into. How can the AEDA have me listed as a human when they take blood work to ensure that there are no half breeds or whatever in the agency?”

  His mouth opened but nothing came out and he shut it again with a frown. A frown that only grew darker and darker the longer he was silent. Cutting her a look she noticed his lips pressed into a tight, thin line. “I don’t know, that shouldn’t have happened unless,” he trailed off. At her prompting hand gesture he sighed. “Unless it was an on the job injury and they were protecting you or unless it’s a cover-up. Those are the only two options I see.”

  “None of those sound good to me. At all. Should I at least know who I was? And I didn’t come work for the AEDA until after I got out of the hospital and realized just how good I was with cryptology.” So that was even stranger still.

  “How do you know that for sure?” he asked. And, the really scary part, he did have a point. Without memories prior to the accident, not including the little flashes she’d gotten, she really couldn’t know one way or another.

  “Luna, I don’t mean to upset you, ever. But something is going on here and I’m not talking about the shit that Byrne is stirring up on Lilly’s case. I’m talking about you, babe. We need to figure out who you are and I think the first stop should be the dedicated servers at the AEDA warehouse.”

  “Okay. Do I get to come with or will one of you go or will you send someone you trust instead? I’ve never been there, everyone freaks out because of how I fry stuff so I don’t even know where that place is.” She had known of it, of course, but they never let her close because it housed, well, everything.

  “Oh, you’re coming with and one of us will be in skin-to-skin contact with you at all times. You’re the only one that could get into those servers and find anything this millennium. And we know where the warehouse is and can get in there, so, it’s a win-win.” He smiled a little.

  “Me?” She squeaked. “How could I? Oh heavens. You do recall that I’ve not worked with computers, right? Yes I see patterns that others can’t and am like whoa crazy good with code breaking but aren’t computers something completely different?”

  “What? You get in, break the codes and then we start to search around. It shouldn’t be that hard, right?” he asked, his grin saying he was yanking her chain and enjoying it. “We’ll be bringing in an expert so quit sweating it. Gods, woman, you’d think I just handed you a grenade without the pin in place.”

  Luna let out a breath she was holding and then smacked Kristjan’s shoulder lightly. “Oh you are so bad. Very bad.” With a saucy grin however she looked up and then added, “Have I mentioned I think that I kinda like bad? A lot.”

  “You did, one of the many delightful things you’ve blurted out,” he said with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, we’re going to need to get in and out as quickly as possible so having someone that knows the system intimately is key. Plus we need someone that wouldn’t raise any flags by accessing the system, or the building for that matter. So we will just have to ask someone we know that is in and out of there all the time. She’ll do it, for a price, but she’ll do it. Now all we really have to do is find the one and only place in this city where her brand of candy is sold and get her a damn huge supply.”

  “Okay, so I’m more than a little confused. Candy? Who in heaven’s name are you going to have trip into the systems for us? And please don’t tell me that it’s a secret, I might have to bite you. I’m sick of secrets.” Like crazy sick of them now that she realized she had been living a lie since she woke up from her coma.

  He shot her a look but then was distracted by the movie for a moment. “Her names Charlene and she’s addicted to these things call jaw breakers. They are hard little candies that you suck on for hours to get to the center. Which is a compressed powdered sugar of some sort. Nasty.” He wrinkled up his nose briefly. “There is only one place in the city that still sells them but they move every couple of years to tease the junkies of their goods. And yes, I know that for a fact, the owner told me that the last time I was there to clean out his stash of jawbreakers.”

  Luna wrinkled her nose and said, “Isn’t sugar terribly bad for you? I thought that they had banned sugar production?” There was much that the Earth had changed and even banned with the arrival of those from behind the Veil, but maybe she was completely wrong on that fact as well. “But she’s good with computers, right?”

  “It is bad for you, except in small and controlled quantities. The production has been taken over by government corporations and regulated strictly. But, like many things bad for humans, there is a black market for it. He has a license to sell his products so there’s nothing illegal in his business. And if you slip him a few extra bucks he doesn’t look too closely at the amount you purchase. That is a little shady but, it works for our purpose,” he said.

  “Ah, okay. Well that’s very good then.” She wrinkled her nose and then said, “I don’t care for sugars too much. I know, I’m weird. However now that you have introduced me to the fruit from the other side of the Veil I totally love that stuff. I could have that for sweet treats morning, noon and night.”

  “I knew you liked it,” he smiled. “We’ll ensure that Byrne keeps us stocked up with all sorts of fruits. There are many over there from the various worlds. I’m sure we can find you a few dozen that you’ll be able to claim never wanting to live without.”

  “
I think that’s going to be good. I look forward to learning these new foods with you. I look forward to seeing what I might like and might not like.” She sighed and then asked, “Do you think that one day I will be able to go to that side of the Veil? I know that they limit humans going to that side, do you think they will let me?”

  “You are Spiryte, Luna. Besides, as our mate, you have automatic free passage to and from,” he told her. Pressing a kiss to her forehead he hugged her closer. “Now, shush, the zombies are about to attack so we really should be watching this.”

  Luna snickered and shook her head. “Right, back to the zombies.” She could just smile. Even with all the hell that was going on around them she just grinned. It was because of these men. She knew that was the only reason she hadn’t fallen apart was because she had the love of these two men.

  Squeezing her lightly he held her as they watched the zombies trying to get to the humans who were desperately seeking safety. Amongst the humans was a soldier who knew how to blow shit up so they were setting all sorts of traps to eradicate the zombies in numbers. Then one of their own was taken, the lead actress of course, but not bitten from what anyone could tell. The zombies had a plan apparently and weren’t nearly as mindless as everyone believed. “Wonder what they have planned for her,” Kristjan whispered softly.

  “Don’t know but it’s very clear that they have a plan. I had thought that zombies were supposed to be mindless and brainless but they are acting as if they have a plan. They are acting as if they are far more than the mindless beings that we have assumed that they were before now.” Zombies, she snorted. There was no such thing. Wait, right? “Zombies are fake, right?”