by Amy Sumida
“I think—” I cleared my throat and tried again. “I think I felt the Call of Danu.”
“The call of... oh, fuck no,” Killian growled. “Are you telling me you have the hots for this nightmare fucker?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
It felt good to get it off my chest, but the hurt in Killian's eyes became a new weight, much deeper inside.
“I'm so sorry, Killian.” I took his hand. “It's not love. I can't control an attraction the Goddess makes me feel.”
“No, but you can control what you do about it,” he growled.
“Yes, I know,” I said calmly. It was easier to think now that I was away from Daxon. “I was trying to be honest with you so that you could help me.”
“Help you resist the Call of Danu?” He asked, his shoulders dropping.
Killian knew how hard that call was to resist; it was how we were brought together, though we didn't know it at the time. In fact, it was how all of my men came to me. Normally, the Call united two people who would not have otherwise become lovers. It was how most of the twilight fey had been born. The Call was revered as something holy—a sacrifice made to the Goddess—and the children born from the unions were just as sacred. But that's all the Call was for: procreation. A married woman might hear Danu's Call, and her husband would allow her to have an affair, but it was with the understanding that the affair would be temporary, just until conception occurred. On rare occasions, the Call resulted in the partners falling in love, but that wasn't it's purpose—until I came along. Then Danu had changed it up a bit; she used the Call to bring my lovers and me together so that we could unite all of Fairy. I got that. What I didn't understand was why Danu would use it to draw me to an underworld crime boss.
“Yeah; I know,” I said to Killian. “It's a losing battle, but I'm still going to fight it. Are you with me?”
“Of course, I'm with you,” Killian said in his serious tone. “I'm always and forever with you, Seren. If it means helping you resist some new guy; I'm all for it. If it means accepting this new guy; I'm less happy, but it changes nothing. I told you when this started; I'll take you any way I can get you.”
“I love you.” I reached over and hugged him tightly. “Thank you for supporting me instead of making this harder on me.”
“I got you, Twilight.” He squeezed me tighter for a moment and then eased back to stare at me. “I don't know how Tiernan and Raza will take this, though.”
“We're not telling them yet.”
Killian chuckled. “Not that I'm against hiding shit from the Disdainful Duo, but if you lose this battle, they'll find out.”
“Only if I lose.”
“All right, we can do this,” he said. “It's just an irresistible urge to have sex with someone. Hell, I fought that all through puberty.”
“Very funny.” I rolled my eyes.
“It wasn't funny then,” Killian murmured as he started the car. “Hey, you never told me what you bargained in exchange for this guy's name.”
“Right.” I grimaced. “Maybe you should turn the car off again.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Killian made love to me as if he could imprint himself onto my body and stop this new romance with his will alone. I had every faith in him; Killian's determination was relentless. He didn't give up until dawn was painting the sky with pale lavender streaks, and the twilight magic was rushing over my skin.
The twilight surge was reviving, but not enough to keep me awake after such a wild night. We fell asleep twined about each other; one of Killian's hands still shifted into the body of a snake and coiled about my waist like a manacle. I know how it sounds, and I'm sure a few women would cringe at the idea of their lover's limbs turning into snake bodies. But I had adjusted to this latest development quickly, and the shifting limbs were just another part of Killian for me. It wasn't like having real snakes in our bed; there were no hissing heads attached. Moreover; they were flexible, slick, and strong. Let's just say that I had a new appreciation for snake-shifters.
The coil about my waist made me feel safe, and I drifted into dreams easily. That's where Killian's protection disappeared.
“Does he bend you over the ramparts and fuck you hard enough to make your screams echo across Unseelie?” Daxon's voice shivered across my skin.
I jerked around to find him inches away from me. The ramparts were now at my back; a solid support that I suddenly needed.
“Go away, Dax,” I whispered. “I can't be with you.”
“Then why are you trembling?” He asked as he slid closer. “Why does your gaze drop to my lips?”
His hands slipped around my hips and pulled me against him. Thick lashes fell slowly over his cerulean stare as he looked me over and sighed.
“I'm afraid of hurting my husbands,” I admitted.
“I know all about fear.” Daxon's hand slipped into the hair at the nape of my neck and tightened. “I can make it sweet, turn it into pleasure.”
“I don't want that kind of pleasure.”
“I think you do,” he whispered into my ear and then yanked on my hair, pulling my head back. “I think you crave it.” He bit at my throat and then licked the abused flesh. “You're strung tight with anticipation, eager to see what I'll do to you next.”
I grabbed his hair and pulled back on it hard. Daxon flinched in surprise, letting me go in the process. I continued to pull, forcing him down until he was kneeling before me. Then I lowered my face to his.
“You're not the only one who can work with fear.” I let go of his hair and kicked him onto his back with a foot to his chest.
Daxon sprawled across the dazzling, white, marble floor, staring up at me in shock and amazed adoration. His hand trailed to his chest to rub absently at the spot I'd kicked, then he smiled slowly. Dax shifted to his knees and crawled over the few inches that separated us. I scowled at him as he reached me, but I refused to move away. I wasn't about to lose the advantage I'd just gained.
Daxon rubbed his cheek over my bare calf, then turned his lips to my skin and kissed his way up my leg. I inhaled sharply as he began to lick me with a flicking movement. Daxon's hands slid up my body; one between my thighs and the other over my ass. He kneaded my backside as he parted my thighs and then pushed my skirt up. Then Daxon set his mouth to me. I didn't even think to stop him.
I moaned and went liquid under his assault, leaning back against the low stone wall behind me. I angled my elbows on the ramparts to support my weight since my legs had given out. Daxon moved my thigh to his shoulder, helping to hold me up as he worked me expertly. My fingers went to his inky-blue hair, the silk of it like heaven in my hands. I pressed him closer and let him bring me the ecstasy I'd been craving since the moment I'd met him.
After I had screamed out my pleasure, Daxon lifted his face and looked up at me with a satisfied smile.
“Control isn't about forcing someone to their knees,” he purred. “It's making them want to be there.”
“Are you saying that I just controlled you?”
“I'm saying that we're playing the same game... in the same roles.” He stood up and leaned into me, letting me feel how into the game he was. “We'll need to work on that; find our balance. Compromise a little.”
“You mean we need to figure out who's in charge?” I smirked. “The only reason I'm playing this game, Daxon, is that you dealt me in. This isn't what I'm into.”
“Isn't it?” He eased his hand between us and slid a finger into me. “I think you're very into this.”
“Sure; for a night, maybe a couple of hours, but what then?” I grabbed his hand and pulled it away from me. “What happens after the screaming is over? Because I already have this with three other men, Daxon.”
“Not this,” he insisted, “and I think you know that.”
“What I know is that this isn't as important as you think it is.” I went serious. “I may be Queen of Seelie and Unseelie, but I was born twilight, and it's what happens in between moments like this that ma
tters to me. If this is a game for you, you had better up it, Tromlaighe, because as it stands, you're gonna lose.”
“If it's in between that you're looking for, Princess, I have the best game in town,” Daxon purred. “You just need to bend a little for me; let me show you how good it can be to kneel.”
“You still don't get it.”
“Oh, I do,” he whispered, “and I will.”
I couldn't look away from the jewels of his eyes. They were harsh with challenge, but beneath that sharpness laid something else—something softer that wasn't quite strong enough to be named, but it was getting there quickly.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Maybe I should go in with you,” Killian said again.
“You can't,” I repeated what I'd been saying in response. “The bargain was that I would be alone.”
“For two hours,” Killian growled. “You sure you're up for this, Twilight?”
“No,” I answered honestly, “but what choice do I have?”
“We can walk away, right now.” He gestured to the car, idling beside us. “Fuck him. I mean, obviously, don't fuck him, but fuck him.”
The nightclub was down the street about twenty feet, and it looked locked-up tight. But I knew Daxon was in there, waiting for me. It was five till eight.
“This is still an investigation,” I said to Killian. “He's the bomb maker, I'm certain of it, and we need to find the rest of those missing people. Daxon is our best lead.”
“I know.” Killian sighed deeply. “You got your scry phone, right?”
“Yeah.” I tapped my leather utility bag; a slim pouch that hung from my belt and was strapped around my right thigh so that it wouldn't flap about if I had to run. “I'll scry you if I get into trouble. Otherwise, meet me back here in two hours.”
The hip pouch allowed for my hands to be free and kept my necessities secure. It also looked kinda bad ass, strapped around my thigh like that. I felt very Lara Croft. It went with the jeans, tank top, and light leather jacket I was wearing. I had learned a lesson from my dream and covered up. Daxon wasn't getting any easy access tonight.
“I'm not leaving, Twilight.” Killian crossed his arms over his chest. “I'll be right here if you need me.”
“I love you,” I said as I hugged him. “Thank you, Killian.”
“I love you too,” he whispered in my ear before he kissed me.
It was a scorching kiss, one that started an ache in me that Killian probably shouldn't have inspired. I pulled away and gave him a look.
“We have a few minutes if you'd like me to take care of that for you.” Killian smirked.
“You've never been a minute man,” I said. “I gotta go, lover.”
“Remember the mission, Seren,” Killian said as I began to head to the club. “Focus on that, and you'll be fine.”
I nodded and strode purposefully to the front door of the club. The building stretched down the block, and I suspected that Daxon owned all of it. But it looked lifeless in the early dusk; the pale cement walls were bland without a line of people stretching before them, and the heavy door, painted red, seemed like a wound in pallid flesh. I looked up at the sign above the door; even that appeared dreary without electricity fueling its neon lights. Like Cinderella without her fairy godmother, Enchantments didn't seem so enchanting.
Before I could knock, the door swung open to reveal an apsara. She looked like she'd been pulled out of a Bollywood movie, she was that beautiful. Perfect acorn skin, flushed with berry pink, stretched over a luscious body that was shown off in a midriff-baring, skin-tight top, and a miniskirt. The apsara glared at me with huge, dark eyes, then looked me over like she was trying to figure out what the big deal was.
“I'm here to see Daxon,” I said crisply.
“Yeah, I know who you are, Princess,” she huffed. “This way.” She turned on her stiletto heels and strutted back into the club. “Shut the door.”
I went in and closed the door behind me, ignoring her rudeness for the time being. The front room was harshly lit by overhead lights. It was clean and polished, waiting for the night to begin, but just like Enchantment's exterior, it wasn't half as pretty as it was in some soft lighting. Wait staff bustled around, wiping down already-gleaming tables and putting out vases of fresh flowers. A burly redcap polished glasses behind the bar, his glamour discarded for the moment. He smiled wickedly at me as a drop of blood dripped down his cheek from his soaked cap.
“You got a little something, right there,” I motioned to my cheek with a finger.
His eyes went wide in surprise, and then he gave a little laugh. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” the redcap said as he wiped the blood away. “Enjoy your evening with the boss.”
“He won't be that lucky,” I drawled.
The redcap laughed harder.
“Just charming them all, aren't you?” The apsara muttered as she led toward the same door I'd gone through the night before.
“You got a problem with me, little girl?” I growled and pushed her into the door just as she was about to open it.
The woman's face smacked into the wood, and the redcap chuckled. I was done playing nice. I may have agreed to spend two hours with her boss, but I never said anything about letting his staff insult me. The apsara jerked around in shock, but before she could say anything that might get her killed, I let her have it.
“I'm your queen.” I pointed imperiously into her face. “If you don't want to acknowledge it, that's fine with me, but I'll be damned if I let you disrespect me. You think Iseabal was bad? Well, I killed the woman who murdered her, and that was my fucking aunt, so don't think for one second that I'd have any qualms about maiming you seriously. I happen to also be Ambassador, so I can get away with it, even in HR. It's called a diplomatic immunity.”
It's called bullshit, but she wouldn't know that.
“Your Majesty,” the apsara said respectfully as she gave me a deep curtsy. “I beg your forgiveness.”
“Granted.” I waved her up. “Now, take me to your leader.”
She nodded and quickly opened the door for me. I glanced back at the bartender and winked. He bent over double to hide his laughter. Then I followed the apsara through the corridors. She took me to a different room than Daxon had shown me into the night before. I stepped inside, and she closed the door behind me with a quiet click, keeping her eyes on the floor the entire time. Daxon was sitting behind a grand, ebony desk, looking over some paperwork. He seemed intent on it, but as I strode forward, I saw that his hands were shaking, and when he lifted his eyes to me they were filled with an intensity reserved for long-lost lovers.
“There you are,” he whispered, “the real Seren. Sweet goddess; those eyes are beautiful.”
I looked away from his heat and cleared my throat. I thought I was prepared to see him again, but I wasn't. I needed a break already. I focused instead on the row of monitors, set on the built-in behind him like a line of soldiers awaiting Daxon's command. The screens showed different rooms in the club, the front and back doors, and the hallways. There was no way he hadn't noticed my entrance. I narrowed my eyes and looked back at him. He was smiling.
“I've never been so damn turned on by a catfight.” He chuckled.
“That was hardly a fight,” I huffed as I took a seat in front of his desk. “She hissed, and I shredded her.”
Honestly, I was relieved that he was meeting with me there, in a nice, mundane office. It was easier to deal with my attraction to him with a desk between us.
“Nonetheless, I apologize for Amara,” he said. “She's a little jealous at the moment.”
“Why is that?”
“Because up until last night, I was fucking her.”
“Brutally honest,” I noted. “I like that. But watch the language, asshole; I'm your queen.”
Daxon burst out laughing, then leaned back in his chair and considered me.
“You're truly nothing at all like I imagined you to be,” he murmured with a marveling tone
.
“You imagined me?” I lifted a taunting brow.
“Of course.” He shrugged. “First an extinguisher, then a princess, then an ambassador, and finally, a queen of two kingdoms. You haven't exactly been quietly enjoying your royal status. Everyone knows of you, and we've all imagined what type of woman you are. It's fairy nature.”
“Is it?” I mulled it over a moment. “You know what else is fairy nature?”
“What's that?”
“Messing with humans,” I said. “I'm looking for seventy-two missing people, and I think you're involved with their disappearances, Daxon Tromlaighe.”
He sighed deeply. “Right off the bat, eh? You can't even ease into the accusations?”
I just stared at him.
“You surprised me when you mentioned the missing people last night,” he admitted. “Here's some more brutal honesty, Your Majesty; I don't know anything about them.”
I stared harder at him, but he didn't even flinch.
“The men who came to bid on another group of fairy-struck humans were using bombs equipped with your magic, Tromlaighe.”
His brows lifted and a flicker passed over his face.
“But then that, you knew about.” I deduced from his reaction. “You wouldn't have been so reluctant to tell me what your mór is if you hadn't.”
