Mystic Realms: A Limited Edition Collection

by Nicole Morgan

  “You want to work together?” he asked.

  “Yes.” A shiver of desire slid down her back, and she ground her teeth, praying he wouldn’t notice. Just the memory of how his pheromones made her feel threatened her concentration. God. She had to stay in control long enough to win her freedom, and never forget this was all a game to him. Get the Seal, be released from the Golden King’s service, then have a few combustive nights with Mr. Sexy to get him out of her system. If she only let herself have fun and not get emotionally involved, everything would be fine.

  Really.

  “Fine.” He didn’t sound happy but the heat still smoldering in his eyes, grew stronger.

  “The Seal is mine. I’m sure you’re smart enough to agree the treaty between the courts can’t be put in jeopardy.”

  “Fine.”

  “You can have the thief and his employer, especially if his employer is Golden Court.” A shiver threatened to sweep through her again. “That would be a real feather in the Shadow King’s cap.”

  “Fine.”

  “Fine.” She held out her hand. “Riley of the Golden Court.”

  He glanced at her hand then raised his attention back to her eyes, his glare growing harder. “I know.”

  “And?” She dipped her gaze to her hand unable to help herself even though it was clear she wanted him to introduce himself.

  He continued to glare, making heat simmer within her.

  Lord and Lady, if he kept looking at her like that, she was going to light on fire.

  “And you are?” she forced out. She couldn’t very well keep calling him Mr. Sexy. No way in hell was she letting him know that’s what she thought of him. It was bad enough she’d succumbed to his pheromones, kissed him, and ground against him. Which she was in no way letting happen again… no matter how much she wanted it.

  “Couper.”

  “Of the Shadow Court?” she asked.

  “Well, have you seen me around the Golden Court?”

  Fine. So much for being nice. How about in charge? In the very least, she had to stop looking at him before she lost her mind. God, he was even suppressing his pheromones right now. Except she remembered what he smelled like. There was no forgetting that… or the feel of him anytime soon.

  “I’m going back to the apartment.” She strode past him to the door and yanked it open — also not locked like the front door.

  Concentrate on the job. Just the job. Only the job. But she could sense him following behind her and knew the next however-many-hours were going to test every ounce of her willpower.

  Chapter Eight

  Couper pulled Riley’s relocation spell sticker from his cheek and followed her up the stairs back to the thief’s apartment. The movement of her hips swayed her black duster back and forth, mesmerizing him with every step and hinting at the seductive curves of her body underneath. His lips still burned from their kiss, and he couldn’t get his heart to slow down. Agreeing to work with her was a bad idea. The worst. Ever.

  But he couldn’t deny the logic in her proposition—

  And not the kind of proposition he was hoping she’d make.

  The thief was clearly more than he seemed. He’d vanished from that alley as if he’d known a court bounty hunter was going to find him. In Couper’s experience, most thieves didn’t think that far ahead. But then, this thief had broken into the Golden King’s vault. Perhaps he was smart enough to have an escape plan, or whoever had hired him to steal the Seal of Morrowen had prepared him for the inevitable chase.

  Regardless, it didn’t matter if the thief was more than his scraggly appearance suggested or if his employer was someone important within the Golden King’s court. He’d be a fool to ignore even the hint of suspicion that something else was going on. Which meant working with Riley and not fighting her was his best bet at catching the thief and learning the truth.

  And if he didn’t end up with the Seal, his king would just have to live with it. Every instinct he had said learning the truth was more important — especially if the thief’s employer was Golden Court and Riley kept her word and let Couper have him.

  Except, Lord and Lady, that meant he was actually going to work with her.

  He couldn’t believe he’d agreed to that, and a part of him feared it was his fae compulsion to charm her, the need to stay close to his prey, that had made him say yes.

  “Did you search the place already?” She opened the apartment door and strode inside.

  It had to be his charm, and she was clearly already under his influence. He’d tried desperately to hold it back and could have sworn he hadn’t let his hold on his aura slip, but she hadn’t fought back when he kissed her.

  She should have fought back.

  The moment he’d locked lips with her in a crazy attempt to distract her from casting her relocation spell on him, she should have shoved him away, punched him, or kneed him in the groin. There were dozens of things she could have done. She’d already proven they were a match in a fight — not that he’d ever admit that to her or anyone else. But instead, she’d melted into him, her aura flaring and sending a shock of magic blazing across his skin. He’d been so surprised he’d almost lost his hold on his aura.

  Except he had to have already lost his hold and hadn’t noticed. It was the only explanation for her reaction.

  The memory of her body pressed against his, her breath fast, and her lips hungry for his sent another snap of electric magic over him. Even just thinking about her set his nerves on fire. He wanted more. Had to have more. He wasn’t going to be able to think straight.

  No.

  He clenched his jaw sending pain spiking through his face, only proving how much he wasn’t thinking straight. He’d been so distracted by her he hadn’t even thought to fix his nose… that she’d broken.

  Jeez. He drew on the small thread of magic within the empty part of his soul, and fed it into his nose, knitting cartilage and cells back together.

  She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, radiating strength — outer and inner — and wrenched his thoughts back to craving her. Lord and Lady! He had to have more control than this. He thought he had more control—

  His pulse stuttered. Perhaps it was more than just his charm at work here. Maybe she had the gift to charm him. It was difficult for fae to charm fae, but not impossible. He’d never heard of a half-human possessing the ability but—

  “Well?”

  Shit. She’d asked a question, and he’d been too busy thinking about her instead of the problem at hand.

  That was dangerous, and as much as Kane thought Couper was the best man for this job, he clearly wasn’t.

  The muscles in her jaw twitched, and her eye contact felt forced as if she was desperately trying to maintain it.

  This wasn’t going to work at all. He could barely concentrate and it looked like she was struggling as well. Except he couldn’t return to Kane empty-handed… and damn it, if the thief knew more about what was going on than he should, Riley would be at a disadvantage.

  The thought shocked him. Who cared what happened to the Golden King’s half-human bounty hunter?

  Apparently he did.

  “What?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

  “Nothing.”

  “No, you thought of something. You looked surprised for a second.” She crossed her arms drawing his gaze to her breasts — fully covered by her T-shirt and still…

  He yanked his attention back to her eyes. “I ah—”

  “You agreed to the truce. That means we should at least try to work together.”

  “Just surprised—” Shit, he had to say something. “Surprised that a half-human who’d spent so long in the Golden Court would be so susceptible to fae charm.”

  “You think I’m so easily influenced?”

  “I think my charm is that powerful.” Which is why he shouldn’t even be talking with her. He should lose her and deal with the thief himself. But as much as that idea made sense, he didn’t wan
t to abandon her. If he got to the thief first, she’ll have failed her mission. If the thief and his boss got to her, she could end up dead.

  She barked a harsh laugh. “You’re so powerful. What makes you think I’m not playing you and trying to seduce you for information?”

  “If you were, you wouldn’t have just told me your plan.” Except, was she?

  “Maybe I’m trying to piss off my king.” She strode to the closest broken window and looked out, the streetlight outside bathing her in its pale glow.

  “That I might believe. But that’s a dangerous game.” Rian was volatile at the best of times. One of the reasons Couper had left.

  Her shoulders squared, and she turned to face him. “Maybe you should actually try to charm me and see how easy I am?”

  “That’s not a good idea.”

  “Because I’ll learn you’re lying about your charm?” She leaned against the window frame and crossed her arms again. “You know I’ve never heard of you. Clearly the Shadow King didn’t send his top man.”

  “I’m not so easily baited.” But he released a hint of his aura anyway.

  She rolled her eyes at him. “You showed me stronger on the subway.”

  He had, when he’d been trying to scare her. Now he didn’t want to scare her, and he certainly didn’t want her worshiping him, either. “There’s no point to this. The thief is getting farther away and we’re wasting time.”

  “This isn’t a waste.” Sadness crept into her gaze, and he sensed there was more to her need to prove her resistance than what she was saying. “You and I both need to know that when I agree with you, it’s not because of your charm.”

  There was a strange logic to that, but it spoke of a trust he didn’t deserve. They didn’t know each other. If he fully charmed her, he could make her do anything. “If I charm you, you won’t be able to protect yourself from me.”

  “Do I need to be protected from you? If you wanted to charm me, you would have tried already. You’ve had more than enough opportunity.” She huffed. “And believe me, every other fae with bad intentions would have tried at least once by now.”

  “So you’re assuming I don’t have bad intentions because I haven’t tried to charm you yet?” It was certainly a sound argument that made his heart ache for her. He could only imagine what her life in the Golden Court had been like if fae were constantly trying to manipulate her. Some of those fae might not even be able to help themselves. “I could be playing a long game.”

  “To what end?” She jerked a step forward. “I agree that we’re wasting time. Let’s find out how in control of your charm you need to be around me.”

  “This is a terrible idea.” But she had a point, and a part of him wanted to know if he had to be wary of his charm around her or not.

  He released his aura in full and her eyelids slid to half-mast. She took a long, deep breath, wrapped her arms around herself, and release a long groan.

  “God, you smell really good?”

  “Smell?”

  “Yeah. Fae think of their charm in terms of your aura because that’s what other fae see or sense, but you also release pheromones that humans can smell.” A shudder swept through her and the urge to grab her and kiss her, make her scream his name, shot through him.

  He ground his teeth and held his ground.

  “Most fae don’t know they can fully suppress their aura.” She gasped then squared her shoulders and opened her eyes, locking her gaze on him and making him thrum with need. “You’re always giving off scents, more so when you get pissed off or are trying to vie for political power.”

  He knew she wasn’t talking about him, but he still wanted to correct her. She didn’t know what he was like pissed off and he’d never fought for political power in his life. That was a game he wanted nothing to do with. He opened his mouth to argue when realization flashed through him. “That’s why you’re so good at hunting fae down. You can smell them.”

  “Like a bloodhound.”

  “The Warlord must have found that hilarious.” Couper doubted the Warlord’s sense of humor had changed since he’d left, and having a human dog in his employ would have brought him no end of dark amusement.

  “Everyone did. The queen’s pet was a real human puppy. But it gave me more value in court than just being the queen’s entertainment.” Riley shifted, widening her stance and sinking into it as if she was preparing for a fight. “Now tell me to do something, shadow fae.”

  He didn’t want to, didn’t want to see this strong woman succumb to his will, but that was the point of this whole exercise. To see if he could influence her. Maybe if she failed, he could use that as a way of protecting her against the Golden King’s wrath.

  And now he was back to being worried for her.

  This was not a good sign.

  She sighed. “Does your charm work without words?”

  “No.”

  “Then—”

  “Come here.” He shot the force of his will behind the command and his aura flared.

  Riley gasped, and her body trembled. “Wow, that’s strong.”

  “I said, come here.” The blaze from his aura flared again, brighter, like a miniature sun. He’d never put this much force into it before, but he had to know if she could actually resist him. If she could—

  Lord and Lady, he didn’t want to think about if she could. She was still a member of the Golden Court, and that didn’t explain his sudden irrational attraction to her.

  “Come here and kneel,” he growled.

  The muscles in her legs twitched again, and she wrapped her arms around herself as if she could physically hold herself together. “No.”

  “Riley.”

  “No.” Her hands dropped to her sides, and she drew in a long breath, a hint of a smile pulling at her lips. “No,” she repeated, her tone back to normal, no hint of strain in her voice.

  Holy shit. She’d resisted him.

  “How did you do that?”

  “I don’t know. You have the most powerful charm I’ve ever come across.” A shudder swept through her, but he couldn’t tell if it was because his charm terrified her or turned her on — and a part of him really wanted it to have turned her on, like she turned him on.

  “Everyone at court only sees my human half, but I’m also half fae. Guess I’m enough fae for fae charm not to work.”

  “Some fae can charm other fae.”

  She rolled her shoulders and glanced down the hall toward the bedroom. “I’ve yet to run into anyone who can.”

  “And you?”

  Her gaze jumped back to him, sending heat swelling within him. God, he wanted to kiss her again. “And I what?”

  “Can you charm fae?” It was the only explanation for his thoughts. He couldn’t just be attracted to her. He had more control over his emotions than that. Besides, he barely knew her. If it wasn’t her charm, it had to be lust. That was it. Lust. Pure and simple.

  “If I could charm other fae do you think I’d still be the Warlord’s dog?”

  “Maybe you don’t know you can.”

  “I can cast a relocation spell to the Warlord’s dungeon and smell fae pheromones. I wouldn’t risk teaming up with you if I was more powerful.”

  “Gee, thanks.” But he could hear the frustration in her voice. She wanted to be more powerful, and if the Golden Court was as it had been when he’d left, he fully understood why. All fae liked to play games, but the Golden Court games were secretive and insidious and manipulative. At least in the Shadow Court the game would be more overt, perhaps more violent, but at least a person could see it coming.

  “You’re Shadow Court. I’m pretty sure you’ve already figured out by now that I wouldn’t have suggested the truce if I was more powerful.”

  “I was hoping it was my magnetic charm?”

  “And we just proved it isn’t.” She shrugged and glanced toward the empty bedroom, which made him think of his bedroom at home and taking her—

  Jeez. She had to posses
s some form of charm and just didn’t know about it… or she was lying, which was a possibility. Was this how the humans felt when he lost control of his magic? Frustrated and aching and—

  “So, did you search the place or not,” she asked.

  “I did,” he ground out. “But I’m going to search the bathroom again.” Perhaps if they weren’t in the same room, he’d be able to concentrate.

  “I’ll check the kitchen.”

  What he should do was call Warren and get him to find the thief again. Maybe the techno-fae had figured out the thief’s identity or been able to track his movement prior to stealing the Seal. If Couper knew more about the thief, maybe he’d be able to figure out who’d hired him.

  Man, Couper was going to owe Warren when this job was done. Hacking a city’s entire surveillance system at lightning speed took more wild magic than most fae were willing to use, not to mention that using that same wild magic to determine a fae’s identity was even more dangerous. The only other fae who could channel that much wild magic safely was the Golden Court’s Sibyl, and the magic had made her half insane. But Warren had a special skill with wild magic that Couper hadn’t seen in any other fae and was the best at what he did. Not that Couper was going to tell him that. It would go straight to the other fae’s already inflated ego.

  Couper started down the hall when a flicker of magic rippled through him, stopping him and sending cold fear churning in his gut. Someone had cast a spell or activated one.

  It had to be a trap.

  The amount of magic used wasn’t big enough for a deadly trap, but enough to maim, and it had come from the kitchen.

  “Riley.” He bolted back into the living room.

  Riley stood in the archway to the kitchen. Her long dagger in her hand, her posture ready for a fight. “I think you missed something.”

  “I checked the kitchen and didn’t sense any traps.”