by Lila Dubois
Aed came, moaning her name while his hips pumped his cock into her mouth.
His breath was ragged when he staggered back a step and dropped into a seat, his semi-erect cock glistening.
Isabel made sure he was watching when she swallowed. He shuddered.
Isabel crawled over to him, running her hands up his thigh and licking the pink head of his cock.
He grabbed her by the hair, forcing her head up. “Strip.”
This time when Isabel’s fangs descended she couldn’t will them back. She was past the point of being able to control her reaction.
Springing to her feet, she pulled off her sweater and sports bra, then turned her back and slowly peeled off her leggings and underwear, bending as she did to display her ass and a hint of her sex.
Aed got to his feet, stripping off his shirt. He pulled his belt from his pants before kicking off his shoes, jeans and underwear. Isabel looked from his hand, where the strip of leather dangled, to his face. He’d never seemed more dangerous…
…she’d never wanted him more.
“Come here, Isabel.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You will.”
“Why?”
“Because you can’t help yourself.” Holding the buckle in one hand and the end in the other, he flipped the belt over her head where it settled at the back of her neck. “Because I’m not going to give you a choice.” He tugged, forcing her forward a step.
She didn’t make it easy, resisting just enough that he had to fight for each step she took. When she was close enough, he slid the end of the belt through the buckle. The leather closed into a loop around her neck, becoming both collar and leash.
With a jerk Aed pulled her off balance until she stumbled against him. Their naked bodies touched from chest to knee, and Isabel felt his cock hardening against her belly.
He skimmed his palm down her back and ass, then reached between her legs and roughly pressed two fingers into her.
Isabel came—the combination of feeding, Aed’s confession of love and the deliciously rough treatment had her teetering on the edge, the edge of something she hadn’t been ready to give in to. But Aed gave her no choice. He demanded all that she had, all that she was, and she could give him nothing less.
Her fangs pressed against his neck, but he jerked her head back, curling his fingers inside her, which stimulated her G-spot and prolonged her orgasm. Her nails raked him, hard enough to draw blood, the scent of which only increased her arousal. Isabel thrashed in his arms, needing, wanting more.
Aed lifted her by the waist, then turned and lowered her not onto one of the benches, but onto the floor. Isabel spread her legs.
“Aed, I need you in me.” She could barely get the words out through the thick desire that filled her. As sweet as the orgasm had been, that wasn’t what she wanted. Physical pleasure wasn’t enough, not with him.
“I need to be in you.”
Aed pulled the belt from around her neck and braced his elbows on either side of her. Isabel raised her head and kissed him as he positioned his hips between her spread legs. The kiss was soft, gentle as his cock slid between the wet folds of her sex to the entrance of her body. Aed broke the kiss and raised his head. “Look at me, Isabel.”
She brushed his hair behind his ear so she had an unobstructed view of his blue, blue eyes. “I see you, Aed.”
“You’re the only one who ever has.”
His thrust into her, his thick cock opening her orgasm-tight body. Sparks of pleasure rippled through her legs and belly. Isabel wrapped her legs around his hips, holding him as he began to thrust.
They’d made love dozens of times while in Tara, but it had never been like this. Never been so slow and sweet, so powerful. Isabel came again, and that triggered a second orgasm for Aed, whose arms were trembling by the time they were done.
They lay side-by-side, fingers laced together.
“Isabel, I will love you forever.” Aed’s head was tipped toward her, one lock of hair lying on his cheek. It wasn’t a promise or a pledge. It was a statement of fact, one as true and timeless as saying that the sun would rise in the east.
Turning her head, Isabel met his gaze and took a deep breath. She let her defenses drop, let herself admit what was in her heart. “I love you too.”
Aed’s eyes filled with joy, but he frowned. “You don’t have to say that.”
“I don’t want to say it. I don’t want to feel it, because I’ve spent so long keeping my heart safe that it’s terrifying to admit I’ve lost that battle. I do love you. You are my knight.”
A single tear spilled down her cheek. It was a stupid waste, but she couldn’t stop it. Aed wiped the tear away with broad, powerful fingers. Isabel rolled onto her side and tucked her head under his chin. He was so warm, so strong and powerful.
Aed wrapped his arms around her and simply held her.
Chapter Fourteen
“We have work to do.” Isabel laced her fingers with Aed’s. She hated to bring the intimacy to an end, but the real world would not wait just because they’d declared their love. They’d taken turns in the bathroom getting cleaned up. While Aed was in there she’d gotten dressed, and she hadn’t missed the disappointment in his eyes when he’d emerged to see her wearing clothes.
“I agree, but first I have a question.” He tugged his shirt on, hiding his delectable chest, and it was her turn to sigh.
“What’s that?”
“Where are we going?”
Isabel threw back her head and laughed. It had never occurred to her that poor Aed didn’t even know where the plane was taking them. “Let me tell you what I’ve discovered, and then you’ll understand exactly where we’re going.”
Isabel swiveled one of the chairs around so they were able to face each other. The flight attendant knocked once on the door that separated the cabin and cockpit, then entered when Isabel said it was okay.
“Is there anything I can get either of you? A drink or some…food?” She was looking at Aed, clearly trying to figure out what he was and whether he ate.
“Food?” Aed’s eyebrows twitched up.
“It’s human food,” the flight attendant said uncertainly.
“He eats human food. I’ll have red wine.” Isabel tucked one leg under the other and got comfortable.
Once a small table had been popped out of the floor between them and a spread that included cured meats, fruit, cheese, bread and some small saravina cakes was set up, the flight attendant went to check on the donor. Once that was done, she nodded to both of them and returned to the cockpit.
Isabel took a sip of wine and watched Aed eat. “I forget that you need to sleep and eat.”
“I am trained to go for long periods without either.”
“But you shouldn’t have to. From now on I’m going to make sure you eat and sleep.”
He paused, piece of cheese halfway to his mouth. “You’re going to be ‘wifey’?”
Isabel laughed, remembering his reaction when she convinced him they’d secretly gotten married. “I am.”
He smiled as if he liked that idea. Isabel forced herself to focus on the bigger issues. “We need to talk about what’s going on in Fae.”
He frowned. “There’s nothing going on in Fae.”
“Yes, there is. Cairbe risked war between the Tuatha de Danaan and the Vampire when he let Fionnin accused me of murder, yet it’s clear he wasn’t trying to sabotage the treaty. He made a point of saying that the dead servant wasn’t Tuath, and therefore my supposed draining of her didn’t violate the Wraith Accords.”
“I admit that I don’t understand Cairbe’s actions.”
“Clearly it was Fionnin who wanted me punished or hurt.”
Aed grimaced. “He is known for spoiling Deocha. She gets away with more than most because of her father’s po
sition.”
Isabel leaned forward. “What is her father’s position? Why is he so important that Cairbe would risk the treaty with the Vampire to appease his petty need for revenge against me?”
“The House of Munster was once the right hand of the royal family. These past centuries we have not had war in Fae, and so there has been no need for their support.”
“But in the past they were the people who did the royal family’s dirty work?”
“Dirty work? The royal family of the Tuatha de Danaan does not have dirty work.” Aed seemed very prim when he said it.
Isabel patted his hand. “No one stays in power without dirty work. Clearly the Fianna aren’t the ones doing it, so someone must be.”
“I would not follow an order if I thought it might hurt the Tuatha de Danaan. The Hill of Allen exists to guard against any threat.”
“A checks and balances system. As noble as that is, it means that someone in the royal family must have gone to Fionnin for help. And now, in order to make sure that he doesn’t spill whatever secrets he knows, they have to appease him.”
“But if Fionnin really had such power, he would have used it.”
“To do what?”
Aed snorted. “To marry his daughter to Cairbe. He would love nothing more than to be the father of the future queen.”
“So that means something has changed. For some reason Fionnin’s secret, or secrets, are worth more now.”
Aed was nodding. “That makes sense. I am impressed that you gleaned so much information in so short a time. I doubt I would have seen what you did.”
“I’m excellent at politics, especially the sneaky kind.” Isabel wiggled her eyebrows to make him laugh.
Aed grinned and wiped his hands on a cloth napkin. “We face an unknown but dangerous secret and the leader of one of the High Houses who now wields tremendous influence.” By the time he was done speaking he wasn’t smiling anymore.
“Exactly, and I have an idea what the secret is.”
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“How? What is it?”
Isabel considered Aed—so noble and good. “I don’t think I should tell you.”
“Why not?”
“As you said, your duty is to the Tuatha de Danaan.”
“Yes.”
“And what would you do if I told you something that made you suspect the king or queen did not have the best interests of your race at heart?”
Aed’s face froze, his cheekbones standing out like blades. “I would do my duty.”
“And that’s the problem. If you go storming off to do your duty, it might tip the balance of power in a way that risks the safety of the Vampire.”
They stared at each other, the space that separated them seeming to grow. They hadn’t talked about it, but this conversation made it all too clear that though they loved each other they each had duties and responsibilities to their people that might keep them apart.
Aed cleared his throat. “I cannot ignore a threat to the Tuatha de Danaan.”
“And I can’t risk the Vampire by starting a civil war in Fae.”
“Civil war.” Aed rubbed the back of his neck. His hair was still loose and swung forward.
She reached over and tucked it behind his ear, needing the physical contact. “Maybe the secret is not as bad as I think.”
“If I promise to tell you before I act, would that be enough? You would have time to prepare the Vampire.” He captured her hand and kissed her palm.
“If you also promise not to act until we know something for sure.” It felt good to say “we”, though making him promise that was a little devious, since in Isabel’s experience surety was a rare thing in situations like this.
Aed took both her hands in his. “I promise I will not act on my duty to the Tuatha de Danaan until I am sure of the threat, and I will tell you before I do, so that you can protect yourself and the Vampire. I swear it as a Fenian.”
“Thank you.”
He held her hands a moment longer, then took a bite out of a savarina cake and motioned for her to continue.
“There are two things I saw in Fae that could be related to this secret. The first is the High King’s health.”
“His health?”
“You don’t see it?” Isabel pulled her other leg up, hugging her knee.
“See what?”
“The High King is ill. I suspect he’s dying.”
Aed looked at the half-eaten pastry in his hand and slowly put it down. “Cormac has been High King of the Tuatha de Danaan for nearly a thousand years.”
“How long do your people live?”
Aed frowned. “I don’t really know. I’ve never known any who died of old age. Many passed on when we retreated to Fae, but it was not age that killed them.”
“So it’s possible that Cormac is dying. When he left the banquet I saw something on the face of both the High Queen and Prince Cairbe that caused me to wonder about his health, yet the other princes and the princess did not have the same reaction. If Fionnin knew the king was ill, and if the High Queen and crown prince wanted that information kept secret, that would explain why Cairbe was so anxious not to upset or anger Fionnin.”
Aed nodded. “If word got out that the High King was dying there would be unrest. Cairbe is not strong enough to take his father’s place as High King.”
“What would happen if Cormac died?”
“Cairbe would become King of Tara, but the High Houses would most likely place their allegiance with Lir, Aran or even the Hill of Allen.” Aed’s face was grim. “Another would become High King.”
“The Wraith Accords were negotiated and signed with Cormac.”
“The other kings were there.”
“And did they all support it?”
“I do not know.”
“And that’s my fear—what if the new High King did not want the treaty with the Vampire?”
They were silent as they considered that grim possibility.
“You said there were two possibilities,” Aed said.
“The other is the human servant I met in Tara.”
“You mentioned a human servant before you turned into a bird.” Aed shook his head. “No human can survive in Fae.”
“There must be a way, because I know what I saw and smelled. And there’s more—the human woman wore the same clothing as the murdered servant.”
“She wore the servant uniform of the House of Munster?”
Isabel nodded, Aed’s grim expression matching her feelings.
He shook his head. “But there can’t be a human in Fae.” He seemed to be stuck on that.
Isabel opened her mouth to once again tell him that she knew a human by the smell of their blood, but before she could speak Aed jumped out of his chair, pacing the small aisle.
“What is it?” Isabel asked.
“There cannot be a human in Fae, except…”
“Except what?”
“No, I shouldn’t have mentioned it. The practice was given up long ago.”
“Aed, don’t make me shake it out of you. What are you talking about?”
“Changelings.”
“Changelings? I remember reading something about them in the human myths about you.”
Aed dropped into his chair and put his head in his hands, speaking slowly. “The Tuatha de Danaan do not easily have children, and sickly babes are common. As are babes that do not have a strong magic in them.” He sighed heavily. “It used to be that if such a child was born the parents would find a human babe that had the spark of magic—it occurs naturally and randomly among humans—and trade one child for the other, taking a healthy human baby, leaving their own babe in its place. Once brought into Fae, there were ceremonies that would give the once human child the beauty, grace and lifes
pan of the Tuatha de Danaan child that had been left with the humans—allowing them to survive in Fae. The trade kept the balance between the realms. A life for a life. The human parents could sometimes tell that babies were switched and called them changelings.”
“That is…horrifying. You stole healthy, blessed children and abandoned your own babies if they were sick or not powerful enough.” Isabel had seen terrible things, but this was a special kind of horrible.
“That was the opinion of many, and the practice was outlawed.”
“So the only way a human could be in Fae was if they were a changeling.” Isabel frowned. “Well, that wouldn’t work, because the human woman I saw asked about the war—she meant the first human World War, which was over one hundred years ago in the human calendar.”
“If she were taken as a baby, she wouldn’t remember that.”
“And only babies could be exchanged?”
“What do you mean?”
“What if a grown Tuath were sent into the human world and a human of the same age brought to Fae in their place? Would the magic still work? Would the Tuath person’s life span be transferred to the human?”
“No, it’s not possible.” Aed cursed and scrubbed his hands through his hair. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
Isabel tapped her fingers on the table, thinking it through. “Let’s say it’s possible. That would be a very good way to get rid of someone. You banish them to the human world, bringing a human in to take their place. They die out in the human world, with no way to get home or communicate with anyone in Fae.”
Aed stood, turned and slammed his fist into the wall of the plane. Plastic cracked.
Isabel jumped. “Aed, don’t do that. We’ll crash.”
His eyes widened and he sat. “My apologies.”
“I’m sorry—this must be hard to hear.” She hated to see the pain in his eyes.
“I want to tell you it’s not possible, that no one would do something so horrible, but the history of my people is not so easy as that.” His jaw clenched. “I cannot imagine the suffering of the changeling. If they were an adult when they were switched, they would remember Fae. They would know their family betrayed and abandoned them.”
