by Ford, Lizzy
When she felt somewhat relieved, she lowered the pillow. “I’m going back. I won’t tell anyone you’re here, and you don’t kidnap me the next time you want to talk to me.”
“You can’t leave. We have matters to discuss!”
She stood and accidentally knocked the pillow to the ground. “I’ve had it up to here with Immortals!” She lifted her hand to the level of her chin before bending over to snatch the pillow from the ground.
Kris caught her arm with lightning reflexes and whirled her to face the window. He pulled up her shirt with the other to see the tattoo at her back.
“Fate,” he said, surprise in his voice for the first time. “How does a half-breed rate a deity?”
“I have a feeling we aren’t going to get along,” she snapped and yanked away. She shoved her shirt down.
This time, his long look was less dismissive. “I learned this lesson before. I’m not going to repeat my mistake.” His eyes turned from orange to green once more. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have underestimated you. But it’s highly unusual for purebred deities to take on a half-breed or half-human mate.”
Surprised, she faced him fully.
“Hear me out,” he added. “Please.” He poured another shot of whiskey and held it out to her.
Stephanie stepped forward and accepted the peace offering. She sat when he did, unable to shake the disappointment at standing up Fate, even if she’d been secretly panicking at what might happen between them if they went on a date.
“Tell me about you,” Kris said. “And your family. Mother. Any siblings.”
It was the first time she’d been asked about herself since stumbling into the Immortal society. So she gave him a brief rundown of her life. He appeared to listen to the relatively boring account of a normal human, and she sipped whiskey as she spoke, growing more relaxed with the second eldest brother in the family she’d never known existed.
When she was done, they both sat in quiet.
“So Fate has no power,” he mused.
She gazed into her glass, unable to recall how many shots she’d drunk but starting to think it was too many. “None,” she replied.
“This must all be a shock to you.”
“Definitely. Learning my father is an Immortal monster, my brothers are half dead, and I’m supposed to be okay with being assigned a husband?” She shook her head.
“You’re handling it well.”
“Doesn’t feel like it.”
“What kind of man is Fate?”
She looked up, hearing his tone change. A stirring of wariness fluttered through her. What had she heard about Kris? Something about him being power hungry at one point? Her thoughts were too fuzzy for her to recall. “I think I’ve had enough to drink.” She set her glass beside the half empty bottle of whiskey.
“Simple question,” Kris said with a shrug. “I’ve never met him. Wouldn’t you be curious?”
She was having trouble refuting his logic when her thoughts weren’t able to stick in her mind for more than a few seconds. “He’s hard to describe. Harder to understand,” she said finally.
Kris waited for more. “The mating bond is … complicated,” he said when she said nothing else. “No one, not even a bond, can tell you who to love, who to trust.”
She gazed at him, sensing his sadness. “But it’s a mandatory … thing, right?”
“It is. Unbreakable.”
Her thoughts went to the small shock she received whenever Fate touched her and how he’d subtly guided her into knowing what petitioners were trying to trick her.
“Do you have a mate?” she asked.
“I do. I haven’t told her I’m back from the dead-dead yet,” he replied. “It’s difficult to drag someone into this world, and she’s been through so much already …” He drifted off.
Stephanie nodded, understanding his concern completely. She blinked – and her eyes stayed closed long enough she started to doze.
“Blankets.”
She opened, realizing she’d been totally lost in her drunken thoughts. Kris held out an armful of blankets and a pillow. Stephanie accepted them and stretched out on the couch. He returned to the seat beside the fire.
“What about you?” she asked sleepily. “What’s your story?”
“I guess we have time,” he said with a glance at the clock over the hearth.
She cuddled up in a blanket and shifted to face him. Not soon after he began talking, she dropped into a deep slumber.
She awoke with a splitting headache the next morning to find a bottle of water and three painkillers on the table beside the couch. Staggering into a sit, she held her head until the worst of the pounding subsided. It took her a moment to recall where she was before she started to recount the discussions she’d had with Kris. He was nowhere in the cabin. Only when the painkillers began to work did she stand and double check.
In fact, there was no sign anyone else had been there. No whiskey bottle or dirty glasses, no fire in the hearth, no clothing or bedding in the tiny bedroom.
After a hot shower, Stephanie sat on the couch once more and downed another bottle of water. Kris hadn’t returned, and she went through the cottage once more, puzzled as to how everything she’d seen the night before was gone.
The alcohol had certainly been real. She hadn’t had a hangover like this one in some time. But why had he disappeared after insisting she stay if he planned on being gone when she awoke?
Stephanie left the cabin and paused beside the lake. The trail she’d walked the day before was present, but there was no boat or car or any sign either had been there recently.
“Weirder and weirder,” she muttered and turned away. At least she knew how to summon a portal to get back to the castle.
“What the fuck are you doing out here?”
She turned at Kiki’s irritated voice and saw him approaching from the direction of the forest, accompanied by Fate.
“I don’t even know,” she said, gazing around.
Fate studied her. Kiki appeared frustrated. “I covered for you with Wynn, but he’s not gonna be happy if you aren’t where you’re supposed to be.”
The sound of a falling tree crashed in the forest.
“We need to go,” Fate said quietly. “Now.”
Her eyes went to him then Kiki, who didn’t appear as concerned. “I want to know how you got here first,” her brother said.
“I was drinking. Maybe I wandered into a portal.”
Another crash sounded, this one closer.
“Summon a portal, Kiki,” Fate said.
“I will,” she said, sensing his urgency. Stephanie calmed herself and focused on creating a hole in the world. One yawned open near her.
A familiar figure darted above the tops of the trees and ducked beneath the canopy of leaves once more. “Oh, no,” she whispered. “Demons.”
Fate took her hand and raced into the portal, Kiki at their heels. Warm energy tingled and energized her, and she gripped his hand tightly as they raced across the place-between-places towards a glowing portal.
They emerged into the foyer of the castle. The portal closed behind them, and Kiki muttered a few curses. “You’re late,” he snapped. “Go do the petitioners. We’ll talk about where you went later.” He strode away.
Fate waited until he was out of earshot to face her. “You went to great lengths to avoid our date,” he said casually. “Kiki and I chased you across the world.”
“Yeah, sorry,” she murmured.
He tilted her chin up. “Considering you left with one shoe, I’m thinking something else happened.”
Stephanie found herself starting to topple into his gaze as she often did. “Petitions,” she said and withdrew. “Kiki’s right.” She started down the hallway.
“No,” Fate said and caught her wrist. “Tell me.”
She glanced down the hallway. “Not here.”
He stepped aside to let her lead them elsewhere. Needing a change of clothing, she went back to
her room. He closed the door behind them. She flung herself across her bed.
“My head!” she groaned and clutched it.
Fate stretched out beside her on his side, waiting for her to begin her tale. He didn’t appear angry at being stood up or particularly concerned about what happened. She released her head and gazed up at the ceiling, suddenly aware of how close he was.
He rested a hand on her forehead. The warm shock eased some of her pain, and she sighed, closing her eyes.
“You’re not upset?” she asked.
“That you stood me up? It’s a first.” He sounded amused.
“Didn’t see it coming?” She couldn’t help the barb.
“I figured you’d run.”
Startled, she met his gaze. “What do you mean, run?”
“You’re clearly in denial.”
Stephanie propped herself up on one elbow to glare at him. His hand fell away from her forehead.
“Start talking, gorgeous,” he said softly, the edge back in his features.
Her stomach fluttered with desire. A thrill worked through her system at the thought he’d actually missed her. “You are upset.”
“I lost a bet.” He shrugged.
“Can you be serious? Ever?” she snapped, uncertain why he couldn’t just say what he felt.
His response was swift. Before she could fire off another round of angry questions, his hand cupped the back of her head, and he was kissing her. Unlike their first kiss, which had been a little awkward, this one was sure, deep and heated. If his touch enthralled her, his flavor turned her into a puddle. Surprised by her own surge of passion, Stephanie returned the kiss and felt herself beginning to slide at first then plummet into the primal lust demanding more and more from the man the universe chose for her.
As before, he lifted his head, breaking off the experience before she was ready, leaving her breathless and confused. Lying on her back, she was tucked against his side. He gazed down at her, eyes laughing, and traced a forefinger down the side of her features. The hot sparks left in its wake made her shiver.
“I don’t think you’re ready for me to be serious,” he said huskily.
She silently warred with herself, afraid and curious to know where this led and certain she’d never quite be ready for a man like this. The idea sent a thrill through her.
“I met another brother,” she said, gazing up at him. Her heart was racing. “One who’s supposed to be dead.”
His gaze sharpened. “Which one?”
“Kris.”
Fate’s eyes turned colors at a mesmerizing pace.
“I mean, I think I did,” she added. “When I woke up, everything was gone and so was he.”
“Then you probably did. Kris was widely respected if a little controversial. Wynn’s leadership skills and control issues with none of the madness. He didn’t like deities and wouldn’t humor them.”
“Not sure I blame him,” she said beneath her breath. “Sorry I just disappeared. I didn’t really have a choice.”
“What did you discuss?”
She hesitated a moment too long, debating whether she should reveal her gift to anyone let alone someone she knew would use it.
Fate smiled. “Knew there was more.” She didn’t trust the gleam in his eyes. Wynn had spent his lifetime as an Immortal not revealing the skill. She had the sudden urge to hide it as well. “Start talking.”
Rather than answer him, she took Fate’s face in her hands and pulled him down for another deep kiss. His response was more demanding than before, and she understood the danger in trying to distract him too late. The draw between them was too strong, the strange, Immortal bond compelling strangers together a slippery slide she didn’t think she alone could fight her way back to the top of.
“How far are you willing to go to distract me?” he whispered and pressed his lips to her jaw. He spread hot kisses along her jaw and down the sensitive skin of her neck.
“As far as I have to,” she said.
“That’s quite a sacrifice.”
She laughed breathlessly, fevered and aching for him to the point she was nearly giddy. The second his hand slid beneath her shirt to rest on her abdomen, she bit back a moan. The idea of skin-on-skin contact with him, of his lean frame pressed to hers, crippled her reason and rendered her a hot mess of anticipation.
He pressed his mouth to hers once more, and she tasted him hungrily, her control turned to ash in the heat of her desire. Firmly and always in control, Fate guided her mouth and body.
A resounding knock jarred her. “Stephanie?” Wynn called.
Fate stiffened and lifted his head. Her rough breathing filled the air between them. Stephanie couldn’t look away from him, from his striking beauty and the rare intensity in his gaze that seemed to be reserved solely for her.
He’s mine. She’d never been so awed by any thought before.
“Never thought I’d worry about someone’s daddy walking in,” he said, gaze lingering on her lips.
Whether or not it should’ve been funny, she laughed.
“To be continued on our date tonight,” he told her.
Exhilaration, mixed with some fear, flew through her. “Tonight,” Stephanie breathed. Already images of the two of them naked in bed were in her head. She was going to need several cold showers before they met up later for their date.
He eased away from her. She sat and took a deep breath to steady the furnace raging inside her then crossed on wobbly legs to the door. Irritated at being interrupted, she wrenched the door open.
“What?” she snapped at Wynn.
He gave her a disapproving look. “You’re late to start with the petitioners.”
“Fine. I’ll be down.” She closed the door without waiting for him to say more.
“Careful,” Fate said quietly. “Wynn is dangerous.”
But I know his secret. Her eyes strayed to him and where he sat on the edge of the bed, the perfect specimen of male. Athletic, gorgeous, fun … He had an erection whose size left her blushing and aching even more to experience every part of him.
It was hard to think of him as a deity capable of changing the Future at his whim when all she wanted to do was leap into bed with him. Whenever she started to recall what he was beyond the person he pretended to be, her fear returned, and she had the urge to flee. If Kris could stay hidden by bouncing around through different portals, couldn’t she? Run away from the madman Wynn, flee the deity she wanted desperately to strip her down and make love to her, escape from the Immortal world …
… and return to a world where she’d never been normal or comfortable to start off with.
“You’ve got that look again,” Fate said, studying her. The wariness she glimpsed occasionally returned, a reminder he wasn’t the laid back person he presented himself to be. He was a man accustomed to knowing, if not controlling, the Future, to predicting the actions of everyone around him and renegotiating future actions for a purpose he alone understood.
He was more dangerous than Wynn, or would be, once he regained his power.
“Just freaked out,” she replied honestly.
Fate stood and approached her. “You’re the one person anywhere who has no reason to fear me,” he said.
“Are you sure?”
“Mostly.”
How he did this, made her blood heat and then terrified her seconds later … “I’m serious,” she said and licked her lips nervously. “Are you gonna fuck me over when this is over? Should I be worried about what happens when my soul is returned and I do have a future and you decide you’re done with this mate business, or I’m a liability to you, or I make a deal with the wrong person?”
“What are you asking?”
“I’m asking …” She compiled her rambling thoughts into one. “I’m asking if I can trust you. Really trust you.”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
She gazed at him, mystified as to why she wanted to sink into his arms and believe him. “That’s i
t.”
“That’s what you asked.” He zapped her.
She swiped his hand away.
Fate’s eyes twinkled, and he zapped her several more times, until she was laughing, and his arms were around her. “Now that I know you’re ticklish …” he murmured. He stilled his movement.
She rested against him to catch her breath, her back pressed to his chest, uncertain why she accepted the touch of a stranger so easily.
“You can trust me,” he said, warm lips grazing her temple. “But you’re the only one who can.”
Her heart did a somersault, and she was momentarily awed by the quiet promise from a powerful deity. She rested her hands over his and breathed in his brown sugar scent. The sense of him being her home radiated through her, warmed her. Baffled her.
“But you stole my soul and hid it in Hell,” she murmured. “That’s not a great way to start a relationship. Definitely not a foundation for trust.”
“Believe it or not, I actually understand your concern.” He sounded somewhat proud of himself. “I wouldn’t have before Karma made me human-ish.”
She waited for more and then prompted him when he was quiet. “When a woman gives you a leading statement like that, you’re supposed to reassure her.”
“You’re too strong to need coddling. What you need and respect is the truth. The truth is you can trust me. I may not always explain the game to you, but you are exempt from it and from … well, me. This is as confusing for me as it is to you, but I believe you are better left on the sidelines of routine political maneuvering.”
It wasn’t the reassurance she sought. If anything, his attempt at being supportive was downright terrifying. “I guess that’s good.”
Fate shifted forward to rest his cheek against hers. “Don’t piss off Wynn,” he advised. He squeezed her closer before releasing her. “And don’t tell him you left the premises.”
“Why?”
“Just trust me on that one.” He winked.
Stephanie pursed her lips but didn’t challenge him. Her skin was tingling from his touch, her lower belly blazing. She didn’t think they’d make it the normal multiple dates before she was willing to whip off her clothes. But to trust him?
