by A. S. Green
But all of a sudden the stranger’s presence was ripped away. Cool air hit the backs of Ainsley’s thighs, and a strong hand clasped her wrist.
What the heck? She jerked at her arm, but whoever had it was ridiculously strong. This time her girls weren’t smiling.
A solid arm slid around her waist and hauled her backwards. She looked up and saw…Knox?
“Hey!” she cried, struggling to get out of his grip. “I was dancing.”
“Not anymore you’re not.”
He jerked his chin toward the bar, his clubbed hair swinging stiffly. Ainsley turned to see Alex, wearing charcoal suit pants and a cobalt blue shirt. The sight of him was like a balm to her heart, even though his expression was one notch shy of furious.
He tossed back his drink then slammed his empty glass down on the bar. How long had he been there?
“Hey!” Harper yelled, yanking on Knox’s shoulder as he continued to drag Ainsley off the floor. “What’s going on here?”
“It’s okay,” Ainsley said, not wanting her friends to worry. “He’s a co-worker.”
Apparently that explanation wasn’t going to cut it for Harper. She ran around to get in front of them, blocking Knox’s path. “You look like someone from Sons of Anarchy, not Thorn Enterprises.”
Knox glared at her, then continued on his path, dragging Ainsley with him.
Ainsley turned over her shoulder to hopefully put Harper at ease. “He’s from the Ren fair. Sword swallower.”
Then, as they got close to the back door, Ainsley spotted Callum and Finn closing in from the other side of the bar. What the heck was going on? Were they all here?
Knox dragged her out the exit and onto the sidewalk, and the answer to that question was a big fat “yes.”
Alex had beaten them outside and was standing by a black BMW with his arms crossed. Alastair and Rory were standing against the exterior wall of the club.
“What gives, Alex? I was dancing!”
He uncrossed his arms, and his eyes were pure menace. “Is that what you call it?”
At that point Harper and the girls busted out onto the sidewalk, followed by Finn and Callum. Whatever the girls had planned to do or say, it dissolved on their tongues as soon as they got a look at the gathering.
“What’s going on?” Harper asked warily.
“No idea,” Ainsley responded with an accusatory tone directed at Alex. Harper didn’t seem to recognize him, but then Ainsley barely recognized him right now either.
“You’re going home,” Alex said.
“I am not.”
“She’s with us,” Harper said.
“Go back inside,” Alex told them.
“Like hell we—” Chelsea began to say, but Knox held up a hand, palm out, and she went mute. Ainsley didn’t blame her; the dude was scary.
“Ainsley?” Harper asked, her eyes scanning the six brothers. “Should I call the police?”
“No. I really do know these guys.”
“From the Renaissance fair?” Clearly Harper was having a hard time imagining Alex in a costume.
“Harper, please. Don’t worry. I’m going to tell my mom I’m at your place tonight though, okay? Back me up.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. I’m good,” Ainsley said. “Don’t worry.”
Alex raised his eyebrows at Callum and Finn, then he turned toward Harper. “My brothers will explain everything. Go with them.”
Callum gestured at Finn, Knox, and Alastair. A silent understanding passed between them, and the four ba’vonn-shees headed for Ainsley’s friends.
Harper shot Ainsley another questioning look, but Alex had sounded so authoritarian that neither she nor the other girls protested when Callum led them back into the club with the other three trailing closely behind.
Ainsley took a step to follow them, but Alex hauled her back. She wobbled on her heels. “They’re not going to hurt them, are they?”
“Of course not.” Alex’s chest was pressed against Ainsley’s back with his arm wrapped around her waist, his lips close to her ear. “But your friends aren’t going to remember this evening very well.”
Ainsley stiffened, understanding his implication, then thrashed in his arms. “No!”
“Those four are solid with their control. No one will get hurt, and they’ll barely leave a mark.”
“You gotta be fricking kidding me,” Ainsley snapped, pushing at the iron bar around her waist.
Alex reached back to open the passenger door. “Get in.”
“Why should I?”
“It’s not safe out here.” He forced her inside, then slammed the door shut. When Ainsley looked to the driver’s seat, she was surprised to see Callum was already back and sliding in behind the wheel.
A second later he was peeling away from the curb, and Ainsley was watching Alex in the side mirror, growing smaller and smaller until she couldn’t see him anymore.
“Call your mom,” Callum said. “Tell her you won’t be home.”
Ainsley sent a quick text: Sleeping at Harper’s see you tomorrow.
Then she slipped her phone into her purse with a petulant, if not inebriated flourish.
“Good,” Callum said. “You can relax now.”
“I was relaxed,” Ainsley said. “You all kinda ruined that.”
Callum's body tensed, but he said nothing more.
“Why isn’t Alex driving me?” She leaned her forehead against the cool glass, feeling headachy.
“McKee will explain later.”
“If he wanted to keep his distance from me, he shouldn’t have come to the bar.”
“He’s not ‘keeping his distance,’ he’s…” His eyes slid to her for a second before returning to the road. “You’re our queen. That man shouldn’t have touched you like that.”
“Wh—?” Oh my god. She jerked her body around to look out the back window. “Alex isn’t going to kill him is he?”
“Probably not.”
“Probably not?”
“Knowing McKee, he’ll just impress upon him the need to treat women with more respect. Especially his female.”
Oh, so that’s what this was? Some kind of male, territorial pissing contest? But then Callum’s comment sunk in.
“If he wanted to teach someone how to respect women, he should start with himself. And news flash. I’m not his female. You’re the one who told me Alex didn’t commit.”
The truth of that hurt like a punch to the gut. For the first time in her life, she wanted to belong to a man, a man who also belonged to her. And not just any man. Alex.
Callum chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Listen. I’m going to stop talking now before I do any more damage to this situation.”
She could feel the tension rolling off his shoulders, and she didn’t like the way he kept obsessively checking the rearview mirror. “What’s got you all so uptight?”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “McKee will explain when he sees you.”
Ainsley tried to put off calming vibes, but the alcohol was getting in the way. It reminded her of her earlier doubts about herself. She’d thought this queen business was a ridiculous proposition right from the start. She should have trusted her gut.
“What are you thinking?” Callum asked. “Whatever it is, I don’t like it.”
“I’m not really doing your clan any good.”
Callum jerked his head to look at her, his eyes wild. Then he slammed on the brakes and cranked the wheel. Ainsley went flying forward, her seatbelt catching her between her breasts as Callum pulled the car to the curb. Three cars whizzed past, one of them laying on the horn.
“Jesus, Callum! Take it easy!”
“I will not. Now you listen to me. Don’t you ever doubt how important you are to us. No matter what happens with McKee.”
Ainsley’s pulse pounded in her ears, and she looked up. Callum’s gaze dropped to her neck, then he ripped his eyes away. He checked the mirror and put the BMW in drive.
; Twenty minutes later, they were pulling onto the grounds of the Campbell Estate and parking in what must have once been a carriage house. Callum hustled her out of the car and into the house as if he expected bombs to be dropped on their heads at any moment.
When they got inside, she found everyone except Alex already there, the four others apparently having tilted home. No one looked guilty, so she took that as a good sign for her friends.
“They’re fine,” Finn said. “They won’t remember anything, and they’ll just chalk up the black spaces to tequila.”
“You’re sure?” she asked.
“Positive.”
She let out a breath. “Is someone going to tell me what’s going on now?”
“I told you,” Callum said. “McKee will explain.”
“If that’s true, then where is he?”
“Here.” Alex said, suddenly appearing at the mouth of the hall.
At the sight of his stormy expression, a pounding sensation spread into Ainsley’s fingers, the tips of her ears, and even her lips. She got the distinct impression she was still in trouble.
He strode forward. “Get upstairs, Ainsley.”
Callum smiled and Knox raised his eyebrows. Finn ducked his head, but all five of them headed down the hall toward the kitchen, leaving Ainsley alone with a furious ba’vonn-shee chieftain. “Alex.”
“Upstairs. Then we’ll talk.”
“Alex, I—”
“NOW!” he roared, his expression dark.
“FINE!” she shouted back, then she turned and ran up the stairs. At the top, she paused; Alex hadn’t said where to go.
“My room.”
Ainsley didn’t know if she should be excited or terrified. She ran into the room and retreated to the windows. She put her back to the wall and glanced toward the bedside table. The framed picture of the dark-haired woman was gone.
Alex stalked in, the perfect specimen of male beauty. He closed the door, and stayed by the door, the width of the room separating them. His gaze descended her body, down over her sequined dress, stopping on her shoes.
The alcohol had completely worn off by that point. Ainsley could tell his back teeth were grinding together as his eyes slowly rose to meet hers. “I hate that dress.”
She felt his disgust like it was a weighty thing. “I don’t care. I like it.”
“And I hated seeing that guy’s hands all over you.”
“That wasn’t my fault, and they weren’t all over me.”
Alex’s expression darkened. “I hate that I can still smell him on you.”
“Nothing happened. I was perfectly safe.”
“Perfectly safe,” he scoffed, as if it was the most ridiculous statement ever uttered.
“Aren’t you overreacting?”
His green eyes flashed. “You went out in public without protection.”
She stepped forward, away from the windows.
Alex held up a hand. “Stop!”
Ainsley stopped, her breath catching. She was suddenly conscious of the rapid rise and fall of her diaphragm, and she pressed her hand flat against her stomach, forcing herself to breathe normally. “What’s really going on here?”
“I don’t want to make a bad situation worse.”
Ainsley snorted. “I don’t think that’s possible. You had Knox haul me off the dance floor. You pushed me into your car, had your brothers bite my friends into amnesia, then commanded me up to your room only to condemn my fashion choices and blame me for some drunk guys roving hands.”
“You’re our queen,” he snapped. “We’re happy to submit to you, but you can’t put us in jeopardy. Tonight, you took an unnecessary risk and put us all in a dangerous spot.”
“It was just dancing.”
“In a crowd of people.”
“It would be a little weird, dancing in a club all by myself.”
“Our last queen was murdered. They took her, tortured her, then finally killed her.”
All the blood left Ainsley’s face.“You said she died. No one ever said anything about murder.”
“It didn’t matter, because we weren’t going to let that happen to you. We won’t let it.”
“Who would want to kill me?”
“There are people,” he said, stepping closer. “People who don’t want the fae to exist—not any of us. The other races, they must be killed one individual at a time. But for us…all the enemy has to do is wipe out our queen and the rest of the ba’vonn-shees will die on the vine. Killing a queen is a very economical approach to meeting their goal.”
“What…people? No one even knows you exist.”
His eyebrows lowered. “Fae hunters, an ancient society started by St. Patrick to wipe out the old ways. Thousands of us escaped Ireland and Scotland and resettled here. But the BCB followed and…”
“BCB?” she whispered.
His neck recoiled. “The Black Castle Brethren. You’ve heard of them?”
“Oh my god.” Her hand rose shakily to her mouth.
Alex crossed the room toward her, moving so fast he was nothing more than a blur. He grabbed her shoulders and she took a step back, hitting the wall.
“Has someone approached you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Not me. My mom.”
“Your mother? When? Was it a man? A woman?”
“His name was Jerry Mosley, but Alex…” Ainsley’s initial shock dissipated as her rational mind kicked in. “It was a long time ago. Back when Mom was in college. There’s no reason to worry about him now.”
“The Black Castle was only defeated a year ago, and some holdover has been watching you for quite some time.”
Ainsley shook her head. She’d know if someone had been watching her, just like she’d known Alex was watching her at the Renaissance fair.
“I got a message at the office…when I left you with Rory. It could have been from this— What did you say his name was?”
“Jerry Mosley. But Mom showed me his picture, and I’ve never seen him before.”
“You’d never seen me before I approached you at Douggie’s bar, and I’d been watching you all day.”
A chill ran over Ainsley’s arms at what he was suggesting.
“No one will hurt you.” The set of Alex’s jaw told her he meant it. “You can trust me.”
“You left me. You said you wouldn’t, but you did.”
“I went to the north shore, then to Michigan, to meet with other fae races—allies who will help me keep you safe.”
Ainsley’s body trembled at the implication. He was serious about this.
Alex tipped his head to the side and scrutinized her, his face deathly sober. “Do you believe me? What can I do to help? Is there something you want?”
Ainsley’s sinuses tingled, then burned, as she kept herself pressed against the wall, his body inches from hers. “Yes.”
“What is it? Tell me.”
“You. I’ve never wanted anyone in my whole life. I know love is dangerous. I know that putting your heart in someone else’s hands is the epitome of stupidity. But I want you, Alex.”
His body tensed.
“I want you in ways I’ve never wanted anyone before. It scares me. You scare me.”
“Then we’re even. Because tonight, you terrified me.” He held her face gently in his hands and kissed one cheek, then the other.
When he pulled back to look at her, Ainsley couldn’t help but lick her lips, and a warm rush of lust settled between her thighs, making her want to whimper out loud.
Alex inhaled, and a fierce look crossed his face. “Take off the dress, Ainsley. I’d say, ‘panties too,’ but it’s clear you’re not wearing any.”
With a shaking hand, she reached across her body to the small tab under her arm, then pulled the zipper down to her waist. Alex reached behind her to undo the halter ties behind her neck, and the whole thing slithered off her body like a black sequined snake.
28
Alex allowed his eyes to rake over Ainsley�
��s naked body, memorizing the line of her slender neck, the rapid pulse of her throat, the scattering of freckles on her shoulders, the peachy mounds of her breasts, then the soft swell of her abdomen. He took a step back, his gaze settling on her high heels. Ridiculous things, especially if she had to run.
Ainsley kicked off her shoes and stepped forward, closing the gap and making Alex’s blood pump so hard he could have sworn he was in the midst of battle. His erection thickened, extending.
“I want you to touch me again,” she said. “And this time I want to touch you, too.” She reached for him and undid his belt, then she stroked the outline of his cock which was now angled up to his hip.
He bowed his head, watching her hand as it moved.
“Make love to me, Alex.”
His eyes snapped up to hers.
“Your queen demands it.”
Alex groaned as his teeth sharpened and his throat drew tight. The scent of her blood and the throb of her power filled the room with an intoxicating perfume.
She reached for his shoulder, pulling him closer.
A shudder of surrender rippled through Alex’s body, and he walked her backwards, steering her toward his bed. When the backs of her thighs hit the mattress, she sat down, pulling him down over her.
Alex’s eyes locked on the delicate skin of her throat. It had been nearly two decades since he’d felt a woman under him. And this wasn’t just any woman.
Raising his eyes from her neck to her lips, he kissed her once.
Ainsley responded by yanking his shirttails out of his pants and working at the buttons.
Fuck it. This was on. He got off the bed and tore off his shirt. He was out of his trousers just as fast and stretched out on top of her, kissing along her jawline, then nipping her bottom lip and moving to her shoulder, her breasts…
God, she was luscious. He cupped them, molding them in his hands. He lapped at her nipples, sucking them into hard needy buds.
Ainsley’s scent filled the room; it was as if a thousand gardenias were blooming. Alex dragged his fingers down the center of her, then laid his palm flat over the soft swell of her belly, spreading his fingers to claim it.
She grabbed his wrist and pushed his hand lower. “I want you to touch me again.”
