By Fairy Means or Foul: A Starfig Investigations Novel

by Meghan Maslow

  “What happened?” I asked.

  Quinn’s gaze was lust-struck, his lips swollen. He swallowed and squeezed his eyes closed. When he opened them, he seemed to have regained some semblance of control.

  “Wow, sorry. I didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand.” He ran trembling fingers through his hair. “Okay, I think I’ve figured it out. While I can’t exactly compel you to do anything, you respond to my emotions. When I was disappointed you didn’t do as I asked, you quickly followed through. So, technically, you can reject my commands, but your dragon-side will have a very hard time resisting the pull of my emotions. Does that make sense?”

  Did it? I considered the two commands he’d given, and the ache in my chest both times after I refused to do as he’d ordered. So, not exactly compelled, but if he got upset, my dragon would rush in to make him feel better.

  Well, that sucked. The big traitor.

  In fact, it pissed me off. I fought every day to live my life on my own terms. I didn’t conform enough to dragon society so I was cast out. I survived it. Most wouldn’t.

  My dad tried to force me to live up to his expectations. I resisted. Rainbowpebbles had me chained to a wall to try to control me. I escaped. I carved my own path only to find out I was basically at the command of a human? A wizard, true. But it didn’t really matter what Quinn was or how great of guy.

  And the worst part? Discovering my dragon, only to have it betray me by this link to Quinn. I didn’t want to be leashed by anyone. Bad enough I agreed to abide by the terms of the Alphae Guild. Now, I was to be the pet of a wizard? And my dragon was just okay with this? Fuck no.

  “Twig, are you all right?” Quinn touched my arm and I jumped.

  “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” If my voice sounded bitter, well, what could he expect? He’d tied me to him in a way I didn’t ask for, didn’t want.

  “Smoke is pouring from your mouth.”

  I smiled, my fangs dropping.

  “Do you know why I didn’t give you the mating bite, Quinn?” I clenched my fists so I wouldn’t do something I’d regret.

  I could tell I took him off guard with the change in subject.

  “Uh, because you didn’t think it was real, right? Brandsome’s magic interacting in some weird way with yours.” He sidled away from me, his back coming up against the armrest. I slid closer, crowding him. Bending, I pressed my nose where his shoulder and neck met. The spot I’d put a mating bite. He shivered, but didn’t try to push me away.

  “There’s that,” I acknowledged. “If I had bitten you, you would be under my control.” I licked his neck, enjoyed his gasp. “Much like our bond now. Only the other way around.”

  “So why didn’t you?” His hands gripped my shoulders as I took another nice long lick at his neck. Mmm, no one tasted like Quinn. So sweet. The urge to sink my fangs in grew strong, but I didn’t pull away. I wanted him to sweat it. Wonder what I’d do. He trembled and it washed over me like a soothing balm to my soul.

  “I didn’t want to cage you. Didn’t seem right.” Another long lick. Another shudder. Nice. “It would also mean I must take care of you. You’d be my responsibility. An unwanted one.”

  Quinn flinched, turned his face away from me. I was being a bastard and I knew it. Didn’t change things. Rage threatened to choke me. Part of me wanted to pummel him, though I could never hurt my mate. Unwanted or not.

  “I’m sorry,” he all but whispered. “I didn’t know what else to do. We wouldn’t have survived the zombies if I hadn’t.”

  “You mean, you wouldn’t.” I might as well have punched him with the injured look he threw me. He shoved at my shoulders. I didn’t budge.

  “I-I couldn’t know that for sure. I did what I thought was right—”

  “For you. Don’t pretend otherwise, wizard.” I growled against his throat, and only barely kept myself from shifting. My dragon was unhappy with me. Wanted to comfort our mate. Well, fuck that. Our mate had royally screwed us.

  “Twig—”

  “Don’t.” I released him, and jumped up. Paced. “I’m not gonna be your sweet little pet. Once we get the horn, I’ll hand it back to Brandsome and you’ll be on your way.”

  Quinn shook his head. “It doesn’t work like that. We’ll need to be together—”

  “Screw that. You don’t get to decide what my life looks like. Nobody does.”

  “I told you, you can’t leave—”

  I roared. Quinn drew back, his eyes round with terror.

  “You don’t get to tell me what to do! You can break the bond, right?”

  “What? No!” Quinn cleared his throat, lowered his voice. “I mean, no. I can’t. What’s done is done.”

  Fuck. My. Life.

  “Okay, you said you can block our thoughts.” I pointed at his chest. “You’ll do so. And we’ll go our separate ways.”

  Quinn’s nostrils flared and his jaw ticked. Even afraid, the guy knew how to stand his ground.

  “Try it.”

  “What?” I snarled.

  “Go on, try it.” He pointed toward the door. “Leave for a bit. See what happens.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Stop ordering me around.”

  He scowled. “I’m not ordering you around, you stubborn dragon! I’m just telling you that you won’t be able to be away from me for any length of time. At least not if you react the way most familiars do.”

  “We’ve already established I’m not like most familiars.”

  “Then let’s test it.”

  “Fine.” I needed a walk anyway. Not only was I ragingly pissed off, but Quinn’s attitude stoked my arousal like he was stroking my dick. Infuriating.

  Storming out of the room, I ignored his voice calling me back. Screw him. I’d show him I didn’t need him.

  19

  Fuck, I needed him. I banged my head on the saloon’s bar top. I was so screwed.

  Several hours ticked past since I left Quinn in our room. I’d debated about leaving him there and returning to Lighthelm on my own. If I hadn’t signed that damn contract making him my responsibility, I would have walked away. At least that’s what I told myself.

  While I managed to stay away, it wasn’t easy. Copious amounts of alcohol would have helped. Teetotaling bastards. Tea just didn’t pack the same numbing effect.

  Even though I couldn’t sense his thoughts, I felt his emotions, heavy and dark. He was worried. And upset. I didn’t want to care. I wasn’t anyone’s fucking pet. The more I said it, the angrier I became.

  I hope he felt my anger, knew how much I hated what he’d done to me. Betrayal sang in my veins. I’d protected him and he’d stabbed me in the fucking back. Yeah, I got that he’d been in a desperate spot. I did. I just didn’t care at the moment. I wanted him to hurt the way I hurt. To feel the tearing desperation to be free.

  I envisioned our link as a living chain, imagined myself tearing it to shreds. A burst of pain and anguish punched me in the chest; Quinn’s response to my feelings. Damn it. I couldn’t even hurt him without hurting myself.

  “Don’t you stock any craft nectars or anything?” I groused to a giant behind the bar. His mouth dropped open and he eyed the empty teacup next to me. I wanted to roll my eyes. Giants looked so effing dumb, even when I knew they weren’t.

  “Think you better stick to tea, dragon. Ain’t like to see you fall off your stool.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” I growled, glaring at him. Disrespectful, to say the least.

  The bartender didn’t react to my insult. Surprisingly. Giants might not be stupid like everyone assumed, but they were touchy when it came to matters of respect.

  “Go back to your wizard.” The giant scooped up the cup and turned his back. “Krofom said you is itching for a fight. Better to do it with yours.”

  “Where is that fucking cyclops anyway? I’ve got a bone to pick with him.”

  “He ain’t here.” The giant tapped his head. “Too smart, that one.”

  In other words, h
e saw what I’d do to him if I found him. That bastard probably knew all along we’d survive and I’d become Quinn’s familiar. Cyclopes weren’t able to tell the future to others—not directly. Hence the effing riddles. One I would never have figured out. But Quinn did.

  And as grateful as I was that he had figured it out at the time, it didn’t make my sense of panic lessen now. Maybe that’s what Krofom meant by ‘a flame’s rebirth scorches both those it attacks, and those who wield it.’ We took care of the zombies, but at the cost of our freedom. I could almost feel the invisible bars caging me in. And wasn’t that ironic? Just a few short hours ago, I felt more free in my dragon form than I ever imagined possible. An illusion. I could shift, but I might as well step into a cage and lock myself inside.

  The kicker? The more angry and resentful I became, the more I felt Quinn's pain and anxiety in my chest as if it were my own. Over time, would I even know the difference?

  Perhaps I should have mated him. At least then I would hold some of the power. Quinn could be my little pet too. At least in theory. There weren’t all that many mated pairs in recent history. Not sure why. There’d been none in my clan and only one in another clan that I knew about.

  The more I thought, the more convinced I became I should have mated Quinn when I’d had the chance. My dragon rumbled in agreement.

  Was there any reason I couldn’t still do so?

  It would definitely even out the shift in power between us. Might even give me the upper hand.

  It would also tie us together irrevocably. No possibility of breaking that bond, except through death. Something I didn’t want.

  Right?

  My dragon huffed. I could envision it turning its back on me.

  Well, I wasn’t just dragon, and instinct or no, I was also fairy. And this fairy definitely didn’t want to be saddled with a mate. Or anyone for that matter. I didn’t even like having Quinn’s contract temporarily. Could I imagine being his lord and master for the next several centuries?

  An image of him naked and squirming in my bed flashed through my head. I groaned. So unfair. My dragon fought dirty. I could almost hear the bastard chuckle.

  So there’d be some perks. Big deal. No, this was too complicated. Too effed up. I didn’t want a mate.

  Another image shoved its way into my consciousness. This one not so pleasant. Brandsome holding Quinn down as he . . . whoa, I didn’t need that visual. It enraged both my dragon and fairy side. Quinn was mine.

  I must have bared my teeth because the bartender’s round face split into a big, goofy grin, his three teeth visible.

  “Should go talk to that wizard of yours. Will make you feel better, I knows it.” He wiped a sopping cloth over the countertop. “Love ain’t easy.”

  I snorted. I didn’t love Quinn. Not exactly. Lust, of course. Wanted to own him, sure. As long as he didn’t cramp my independence. And yeah, I knew how screwed up it sounded. I scrubbed at my face.

  Quinn’s pull wrapped around me like a siren’s song. I could resist it, sure. Made me unhappy and miserable, but I could do it. At least so far. I didn’t know if it would get worse the farther away from him I moved. Between the images of naked Quinn my dragon seemed content to torture me with, and the sadness and longing I sensed in Quinn, I was going crazy.

  Maybe I should make him pay for all he’d done. Show him what it was like to belong to me. Renegotiate how things were going to be between us. My dragon and fairy sides both approved of that plan. I wouldn’t even need to mate him. I held his contract, after all. He technically belonged to me and I could do just about anything I wanted with him. If I invoked the anti-resistor clause, he’d be compelled to do my bidding. The rage coursing through my veins made taking Quinn in hand—before he got ideas of his own—seem like a fantastic option.

  Leaving some coin on the counter, I hopped off the stool and strode up the stairs to our room. I paused outside the door when I heard Quinn’s telltale humming. My dragon wanted to join his song. Well, fuck that. I wasn’t feeling sorry for him.

  Instead of knocking, I threw the door open and it crashed against the wall.

  Quinn uttered a muffled curse and hopped up from the sofa where I’d left him. He’d automatically assumed a fighter’s stance and though impressed with his fearlessness, the position served a direct challenge to my dragon. I slammed the door behind me, then threw the deadbolt.

  Quinn watched me, his gaze wary, his posture frozen.

  I licked my lips. His eyes followed the movement. Gotcha.

  I swaggered toward him, letting my anger lead. He didn’t run. More fool him. Closing in, I yanked him to my chest. He crashed into me, unresisting.

  “You’re drunk,” he muttered, his words muffled against my chest.

  “Hardly. Can’t get anything stronger than a breakfast blend.”

  He sighed. “So you’re just pissed off at me then. Great.”

  “It is great, Quinn. Really great. Because I chose it. Not you.” I moved us back toward the bed, but he didn’t even put up any resistance.

  “Twig, I’m not trying to control you—”

  “Sure. For now. But how long? You can’t tell me it’s not tempting. All that leashed power at your fingertips.” We bumped into the bed and I hoisted him up onto it. He still didn’t resist, though his frame went rigid. He scooted back on the mattress making room for me.

  “Do you really think I’d do that to you? After being at Brandsome’s mercy? You think I ever want that kind of control over another?” He crossed his arms over his chest, waited for me to launch myself on the bed. I felt his outrage through our link.

  If I wasn’t so panicked I might have felt sorry for comparing him to Brandsome. Except I was. And there was no guarantee he wouldn’t become like the unicorn once he got used to the idea.

  After pulling myself up next to him, I shoved him to his back and rolled on top of him before he could react. Though his eyes widened, he didn’t look scared.

  “It doesn’t matter if you want the power or not, Quinn. You have it.” I pushed up on my forearms so I wouldn’t squish him with my weight. “It makes me so angry that I want to hurt you, put you under me, make you feel what I’m feeling. Own you right back.”

  He sucked in a sharp breath, his skin flushing. His hand trembled as he brought it to my cheek. “Please, Twig, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to trap you, I swear. And if it makes you feel better, it goes both ways. Just as my emotions influence you, yours influence me. When you’re unhappy, I’m unhappy too.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. Was he speaking the truth?

  “It doesn’t need to be like a traditional wizard-familiar bond,” he continued, his palm now stroking my cheek. “You aren’t simply an animal, so it makes sense we’d change things. I-I can’t give you your freedom, but I can not take advantage of the link. You don’t want me in your thoughts? Done. You don’t want me to order you around? Okay, I won’t. I-I don’t know if I can shield our emotions from one another, but when we get back to Lighthelm, I can look in one of my books and see if there’s a way.”

  His words were heartfelt and I sensed his sincerity through our link. That wasn’t what doused my anger, though. After saying his piece, he turned his face away, tipping his chin back and baring his neck. The sign of submission sent molten heat shooting throughout my nerve endings. My dragon surged forward, canines dropping, the desire to mate Quinn almost unbearable. His gesture was his acquiescence and my dragon couldn’t be happier.

  I needed to pull back. I wasn’t ready to mate him, even though my dragon disagreed. And his submission wasn’t freely given. Not really. As he’d said, he’d been under Brandsome’s hoof for three long years. That he was offering to give over his control to me doused my anger in a way that nothing else could. I shook with the desire to bite him and used all of my strength to shove my dragon down. I panted with desire, and throughout it all, Quinn just lay quietly under me, waiting for my decision.

  After several minutes of deep breathi
ng, I leaned in and licked his neck above his collar, then latched on and sucked up a large mark. I needed to give my dragon something or he wouldn’t quit until I’d buried my fangs deep into Quinn’s flesh. Quinn moaned as I left mark after mark along his beautiful skin.

  He was perfect. His skin mottled with the nips, his eyes closed as he panted. When his legs parted farther, I wedged my hips in between. We both groaned from the pressure of our hard cocks rubbing against each other.

  I reached between us, made short work of my clothes, then went to work on his. In moments I stripped us both naked, pressed skin to skin. Though he was short in comparison to me, he was a nice size for a human, with long graceful limbs and well-developed muscles. I ran a hand along his side, then gripped his hip, pulling us even more snug.

  His hands still remained on the mattress, his knuckles turning white from gripping the sheets, and his head still turned away from me with his neck bared. I’d never seen a more gorgeous sight. His lashes fluttered as I leaned in and licked a stripe down his neck.

  His heart beat rapidly, his breathing shallow. He wanted this as much as I did.

  “Damn, you’re magnificent,” I muttered between kisses and licks.

  “Me? You’re the one who’s too good to believe.”

  I stilled. “Quinn, are you sure you want to do this? You have the right to say no. You’ll always have that right with me.”

  “Shut up and fuck me. We can swap tender words later.” Quinn’s voice ended on a laugh.

  I smiled against his skin. “Demanding human. I’m going to go slow, but I need to be inside you. Now.”

  He nodded, his thighs suddenly clutching me tight. It killed me to break his grip on my hips, but I needed to grab some lubricant. I was large enough to hurt him if he wasn’t ready. I had a feeling he was definitely up for the challenge.

  Rummaging around in the bedside drawer, I pulled out a pot of Slick Dick’s Enchanted Snail Lubricant—guaranteed to give any creature a slick ride. I set the lubricant pot on top of a new stack of bedside books. I noticed a distinct theme. Sex with Humans for Dummies. So, You Want to Screw a Human. And Human Bed Slaves: Yay or Nay? Nice. Giants had some sense of humor.