by Holley Trent
The angle didn’t matter. There was so much of him that he was going to stimulate every single nerve within her, no matter what he did.
“Kiss me,” he growled.
She obeyed, and had to close her eyes to shut down some of the sensations.
The blunt end of him tapped the end of her and his fingers dug possessively into her ass, pulling her close and pushing her back with each powerful thrust.
Already, too much blood rushed south and she was far too full, far too stimulated. Each pass of his cock head through her channel pulled a yip from her, and made her clench even tighter around him.
“That’s right, milk me,” he said. “Can you feel that? Fuck. Can you feel what you do to me?”
She couldn’t nod, couldn’t grunt, couldn’t even moan. She was holding her breath and hoping that she was simply about to have an orgasm and not give birth to a star. He’d come, and the fucking was wetter—slicker—and he was even harder.
Her muscles refused to grip him anymore. They’d given up.
She was giving up.
He tapped the heel of his palm against her clit and bit down hard on her shoulder, and she screamed.
“Fuck! Yes! Fuck!”
And then she shook. Her toes curled, feet cramped, body tightened, and nonsense words fell out of her mouth.
She pressed her forehead against his shoulder and tried to catch her breath.
She smiled at his enthusiastic thrusts, his soft, encouraging murmurs that he was almost done.
And then she heard the applause.
She opened her eyes and looked over Ethan’s shoulder.
Colin, smirking, leaned in the doorway putting his hands together.
Ethan grunted and kept thrusting.
Dasha swatted ineffectually at his chest. “Um, baby?”
“Ignore him. Fairies get used to interruptions. Gods, you feel so fucking good. I could keep going all day.”
“Um…”
“Mmm.”
“Gotta stop at some point,” Colin said brightly. “You’ll get jizz everywhere. Messy, messy.”
“Why are you here?” Dasha gave Ethan’s cock a feeble squeeze inside her and he hissed.
Colin put a hand to his chest and gasped. “I would have thought you wanted to see me.”
“Actually, I was perfectly content to have my husband fuck me without an audience.”
Her husband came, growling in one of those sexy, guttural languages she couldn’t quite peg, but had high on her to-do list to learn.
Dasha waved Colin over and he skipped to them merrily wearing a shit-eating grin.
“Give me your shirt,” she said.
“Ooh.” Colin wriggled his eyebrows and pulled his shirt over his head. He handed the garment to Dasha. “Do I get to go next? You smell like a woman should smell. God, your tits are fantastic. Can I touch them?”
She narrowed her eyes at him and cleaned Ethan’s cock with the shirt.
“Oh, that’s cruel. You sure you don’t have a little fairy in you?”
“A minute ago, I had a lot of fairy in me, but you ruined that.”
Ethan stepped back, grinning, and tucked his cock into his pants.
She closed her legs, hopped down, and turned her back to start buttoning her dress.
She couldn’t even bring herself to feel ashamed about Colin’s interruption.
Maybe I’m getting too used to this shit.
Glancing over her shoulder at the smirking jackass, she decided, no. She just wanted to make the asshole jealous. Judging by the bulge in his pants—mission accomplished.
“Did you deal with our little problem?” Ethan asked him.
Colin sighed and pulled his gaze away from Dasha. She was going to need to grab that shirt from Ethan to clean up, or else go have a dip in the stream. If she had to go adventuring, she didn’t want to be tromping around with sticky thighs.
“Well, yes and no,” Colin said.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Ethan asked.
“It means that I caught up to her family. Charming bunch they are, let me tell you.” Colin rolled his dark-as-night eyes and gave his limp wet hair a swat. “Made me wonder if perhaps someone should forget to tell them the realm is collapsing.”
“Colin,” Ethan warned. “Get to the point.”
Colin sighed dramatically. “No one appreciates a good, rousing story anymore, but fine. I swam across the channel to them. Took me a while to get a read on them. I hung back about a week to familiarize myself with who they are and what they and the others like them in this realm are like. I don’t like going into scenarios half-cocked.”
Ethan raised a brow.
“What? I’m not just pretty, you know. I do have a brain in my head.”
“Go on.”
“They’re nutters. The whole bloody lot of them.”
“Inbreeding.”
“Yes, I suspected that. I imagine that what makes you so attractive as a potential mate is that you could shift into something resembling a merman if you wanted to, so they likely don’t see the genetics as completely disparate. Anyhow, I informed them that the shop was closed, and that Laurel wouldn’t be…” He made a noncommittal gesture. “You know. Fertilizing her fields with your help. I made them understand that you already have a mate and that Laurel’s not her.”
“How much effort did that take?”
Colin scoffed and pinned his gaze at a suspicious point below Dasha’s neck.
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her cleavage.
He groaned. “A lot of effort. A good comparison would be having to paint a house, you know? I had to clean up all the old, chipping paint first and then go in with a fresh coat.” He batted his eyelashes at Dasha. “That’s figurative language, dearie.”
She ground her teeth. If she weren’t in a post-orgasmic haze with slow reflexes and little desire to do much of anything except roll onto her belly and sleep, she might have popped him already. “I’m familiar with the concept.”
“But they understand now?” Ethan asked.
“Yes, they understand. They feel awful about Laurel and her brother what’s-his-face. They’d like to have him back.”
“Nah.”
“I figured you’d say that.”
“You said yes and no, so I assume that means that you didn’t catch up to the lady herself.”
“That would be a correct assumption.”
“Fuck.”
“Maybe she’s not a big deal on her own.” Colin shrugged. “She’s just one woman who doesn’t have much magic to her credit beyond the ability to turn half-fish when she steps into water.”
“Right. A woman who’s recently spoken directly to the queen about me and who’s probably feeding Rhiannon all sorts of information about The Hearth and the people residing there.”
“For all you know,” Dasha said, “she’s with Rhiannon right now.”
Colin cringed. “Well, that’d be unfortunate.” He hooked his thumbs into the belt loops of his borrowed jeans and cocked his head. “I guess we could just wait and see.”
“I’m not going to wait around here like a sitting duck. Lure her out—wherever she is—and deal with her. She’d be one less problem to worry about when we need to be devoting our efforts to getting the hell out of this place.” She rubbed her unsettled belly. The conversation was making her nausea flare up.
“Sounds like a brilliant idea,” Colin said brightly. “How do you suggest we go about doing that? Set a mermaid trap? Sprinkle a little bit of tuna fish on a plate and hope she takes the bait?”
Slow reflexes or not, Dasha’s slap hand was starting to tingle, and Colin was so asking for a bruise. She didn’t care whose mate he was. If he was going to be a dick, she was going to put him in his place and worry about Daryn’s feelings on the matter later. If Dasha had to make a guess, though, she’d say that Daryn would want her to check the demigod on his foolishness. Dasha would be saving her some work.
“I know sta
lkers,” she said through clenched teeth. “I had one. I understand what’s motivating her, and I can probably guess what would trigger her to move.”
Ethan furrowed his brow. “I hope you’re not suggesting that—”
She pressed her hand gently over his lips and shook her head. “Right now, her impulses will be to either get you on your own so she can try to ingratiate herself to you again, perhaps even escalating her tactics, or to eliminate what she perceives to be as obstacles keeping you from giving her what he wants.”
She leaned against the sideboard and let out a breath.
“Ben thought trying to get me fired was a good way of going about that.”
“What purpose would that have served?” Colin asked.
“Think. If I were unemployed and without resources, I would have been looking for support. He thought I’d have to rely on him financially and that he’d be able to keep me under his thumb.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Ethan muttered.
Dasha dropped her hand. “Don’t waste your energy. He’s not worth the hassle, and I’d prefer that he have to live with all his regrets. Certainly by now, he realizes he has some and has plenty of time to ponder them…since he’s in prison.”
“Why is he in prison?”
She ran a hand over the back of her neck and ground her teeth to keep from spitting out the unnecessary and angry words she held in her heart. “Because I helped to put him there, okay? He kept violating his restraining order, and a FBI agent who’d been investigating him for some other thing wanted me to help her ensnare him. The ordeal was stressful, and I’m not ready to rehash what happened. I’ll just say that the agent and I both got what we wanted in the end. He’ll probably be out in a couple of years, but I doubt he’ll be able to get close to me by then, anyway.”
“Since you’re moving back to North Carolina.”
“Really? Who told you that?” She’d never mentioned her return plans to Ethan, or even to Simone, for that matter.
Ethan narrowed his eyes. “Your husband.”
She stuffed her hands into her dress pockets and gave him a lazy smile. “I…guess that would make sense. All things considered.”
“Perfect sense.”
“I haven’t lived with anyone in ages, though. You might find me entirely unsuitable for cohabitation.”
He grunted. “I doubt that. Princess Simone seemed to think you made a fine enough roommate in college. I trust her judgment.”
“I like that you like my friend.” Her tentative smile fell away. “Had an issue…with that.”
He let out a long, ragged breath, then pulled one of her hands from her pockets and squeezed it. She didn’t need him to say anything. Him just holding her hand was enough.
“I’m not sharing a motel suite with you and Sully indefinitely, though,” she said quietly.
He grinned. “We’ll get a house. Or maybe your parents can take us in for a while.”
“No way. You’re too big for my mother’s furniture. We’ll figure something out.” She rubbed her chin and pondered logistics. They’d need a garage. She’d lived without one for too long, and covered car storage was on her list of must-haves. “I’d like something with a big porch.”
“A porch would be good. And a basement. Somewhere for me to store weapons.”
Colin sighed with apparent exasperation and rolled his eyes. “So, you were saying about a plan?”
“No need to get your panties in a wad,” Dasha muttered. “Anyway, the plan is to bait Laurel. And I mean with me, of course. I’m her obstacle right now.”
“No,” Ethan said.
“What do you mean no? I am her obstacle.”
“I’m not refuting that you’re not a hindrance to her. I’m refuting that you should be setting yourself up as bait.”
“You’ll be nearby.”
“You’re damn right I’ll be nearby, but that’s neither here nor there. You’re not doing it.”
“Oh?” Dasha stiffened her spine and raised her chin. “You know, I have a habit of finding ways to do things in spite of me being told not to. You should be careful, because trust me, you’d prefer me to do things out in the open rather than behind your back.”
“I’m only trying to protect you.”
“I get that, but right now, I’m not asking for you to. Let me do my part so we can go home. Okay?”
He didn’t respond, but she knew she’d wear him down sooner than later. He’d agree.
He didn’t exactly have a choice.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Ethan was counting his bullets when Ari flew into through the cottage’s front window in the pretty purple hawk form she usually took when she had to travel by air.
She bounded into the bedroom and, after having shifted into her two-legged form, apparently, called out, “Am I late?”
“No,” Mother responded. “Mielikki is due back any minute.”
Fastening the ties of her robe, Ari strode out of the room and looked around. Her curly blond hair was a mass of tangles, as always, and her violet eyes twinkled with their usual warmth. “Greetings, brother. Been a while.”
“Aye, it has.”
“Any news?”
He canted his head toward Dasha. “Say hello to your new sister. That’s Dasha.”
“Dasha, is it?” Ari grinned sweetly and walked over to Dasha, who was looking a bit green around the gills—an impressive trick considering her usual brown coloring.
“Well, hello,” Ari said. “Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you. I’ve heard so much about you,” Dasha said.
“Good things, I hope.”
“Nothing but good things.”
“I’m glad. Ethan takes pleasure in exaggerating my failures.” Ari plopped her hands onto her hips and canted her head. “So, when are you due?”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Your due date. What is it?”
“Huh?”
Shit.
The ammo slipped from Ethan’s fingers and scattered onto the floor, and he couldn’t make his body move to pick up the bullets. To say he was stunned would have been like saying arsenic was just an irritant.
Ari was never wrong. Knowing when women were with child was one of her lesser-used gifts. Some goddess, and Ethan couldn’t remember which anymore, had granted her the gift after some good deed Ari had done for a young mother.
The high coloring in Ari’s cheeks drained. “Oh, dear. You didn’t know, did you?”
Dasha blinked at her. “I… Know? What are you telling me?”
Ari turned to Ethan. “I’m sorry, brother. Usually by the time I can give confirmation, most women already know.”
Dasha looked even greener than before.
He grabbed one of the rungs of her chair back and pulled her over to him. “Dasha. Say something.”
“I thought that…you couldn’t…”
“Not that I couldn’t, just that success would probably take some time.”
“She’s not of the Sídhe.” Mother settled into the chair across from her at the table, her lips pulled into an enlivened grin—the kind of grin that could send Dasha running for the hills.
Sídhe grandparents weren’t any less protective of their grandchildren than the children’s parents. Dasha wouldn’t be able to move three feet without some fairy looking over her shoulder at the baby.
“I’m sorry,” Ari repeated and cringed. “Would it make things better or worse if I said there’s more than one?”
Mother’s grin went even bigger, Dasha went even greener, and he stood there like a jackass, not quite sure if he was allowed to be excited.
Then he got a hold of himself.
“Dasha, do you need some tea or something?” He squeezed her hand. Please want this.
He damn sure did. The event was unexpected, for sure, but much-wanted. If she weren’t happy, he didn’t know a thing he could do to make her feel any better. They hadn’t discussed having children…or rather, they
hadn’t decided when they would consider trying.
“I… I think I’m off-schedule.”
“Aren’t you happy, dear?” Mother asked.
Ethan shot her a look. Mother might not have spent time around humans, but she should have known that certain subjects needed to be handled with delicacy. While Sídhe may have been very outspoken about their infertility, humans didn’t generally discuss sex and the potential products of it with people they’d known only a short time.
“I…” Dasha gave her head the slightest shake and pulled in a breath. “I’m stunned, is all. That’s a huge piece of news, and I don’t know how to digest it all at once. I’m…going to have a kid?”
“Kids,” Ari amended softly. “Two.”
“What kind?” Mother asked.
Ari fixed a soft gaze on Dasha. “Do you want to know?”
“You can tell?” Her voice was strained and her expression one of comical stupor.
Ari nodded.
“No. I…I don’t want to know. Not unless they’re going to stick. It’s too early, and I don’t want to…” Dasha pushed her chair back suddenly and ran for the front door. She tugged it open, and hurried through the opening, but she must not have gotten so far away because Ethan could hear her heaving.
He pushed back from the table, too, and followed her out. He found her just off the path, retching beside a tree.
He held the ties of her scarf away from her face and rubbed her back. “They’re going to stick, sweeting. They always do.”
“You can’t…” Her body convulsed, but nothing came out. “You can’t know that.”
“I know a little something about Sídhe pregnancies. Of course, I haven’t been pregnant myself, but I’ve picked up a few nuggets of information here and there.”
“As your mother reminded you, I’m not of the Sídhe. Dasha straightened up only to lean against the tree trunk. “Oh, Lord, I feel even worse now. My head is killing me.”
“You wouldn’t be sick if they weren’t going to stick.”
“Cute rhyme, babe, but that’s not the way these things work.”
“For Sídhe women, they do.”
“I’m not—”
“No, you’re not,” he interjected and placed a hand over her belly. “But they are. Ari wouldn’t know if they weren’t going to stay. Viability isn’t a problem for us. Getting sperm to meet egg is.”
