“I will wait here,” he said. I grabbed a gown and such. Throwing it on and toweling my hair, I was back out in a minute and ten, but who’s rushing? His face greeted me with a tinge of a smile. Not the Ian smile I needed, but it would do. I crossed the room and sat beside him on my bed where he sat. I lay back dangling my feet off the side and he followed. He folded over and pulled me to him placing our faces nose to nose. Our bodies tangled.
“I don’t want to scare you. I just...Grace, promise me that you’re mine. Promise me.” Desperate words.
I didn’t know what happen to my strong, unfettered prince. Something broke him to the point he thought he might lose me from that confrontation with Kin. I tried retracing what Kin said to him. Kin had said he and I together would be more powerful. The prophecy was exclusively him and Ian believed him. “I don’t know what happened to you Ian or if you’re going to tell me, but I hope I’m correct in saying that I hope you are mine. I would cage you and keep you inside with me twenty-four hours if it meant you’d not be hurt like you are right now.”
“Just say that you are mine. I don’t want to lose you, Grace.”
“Not happening big boy. Not in this lifetime you extended to me. Not any power or prophecy can steal me away. I’m yours.” He did flinch with the statement, but he didn’t say anything about it. If he had a notion to think I knew a peep of what he’d been through, he’d be angry.
I am so ready to be married and done with the heartache. I think I’ve decided marriage tames a man’s control over himself. This pulling me closer and pressing against me was too much like a make out session in the back seat of a car. Like he heard me, his mouth planted against mine.
Slow at first and then warmer. He felt like he had a fever, he was so hot. But just as I was setting in for my lovefest, he pulled his lips away and moved to my ear. He nibbled it once gaining a gasp from me. He obviously liked that because it gained me several more. Then he whispered so soft like he didn’t really want to say aloud, “I won’t let him take you.”
Chapter Forty Three
stalemate- n. a position counting as a draw, in which a player is not in check but cannot move except into check v. bring to or cause to reach stalemate
Confronting Pike was needed. Pike needed this like he needed...no, not going there. He was on the range doing exactly what Ian would have done when that much frustration was built up. It’s just how these guys deal with strong emotions. Hitting. Throwing. Punching. Violent stuff.
I told Ian I was leaving the range, but I did as always and hid just behind the wall. A spot I’d used for several escapades.
With me out of sight, his emotions relaxed watching me safe in the Seelie boundaries. Ian thought about all they’d been through. He and Pike were natural enemies forced to be allies. The irony with knowing they were once friends was hard for me to get past. He thought it was funny how much he sounded like me and my years of undetected thoughts. My twist on words of wisdom wiggled into his brain, stirred around sometimes, and would spit back out making him laugh at his own thoughts of me. To hear this stuff made me love him all the more.
Pike nodded in acknowledgement that he was aware that he was no longer alone. Ian let him finish plugging the arrows left in his quiver.
Drying off with a towel, he grabbed a bow and moved north of where Pike stood. Aimed. Fired. Dead on. “I expect nothing from you. You can choose.”
“I will tell you when to boss me around. Your queen may think you have that hold over me, but I was loyal to her first and will remain so. I have her back, not yours.”
“Truth hurts doesn’t it?” Ian sent an arrow forward himself. He sat the bow back down.
Pike raised a where-are-you-going-with-this eyebrow. “Philosophy wasn’t offered in the human school man, so what’s dealing?”
Heck if they sounded more human all the time. Riding the bikes with the Kin cronies was playing on their crude language long ago. Ian thought that he better stop the amount of it for fear of dishonoring me causing me to laugh to myself. I could hear him more and more. “I will save her. Nothing will happen to her. Whether it was my back or hers you saved back there today, I thank you.”
Pike nodded wiping sweat from his dripping hair. It was running all down his front and back. The heat of a new summer was bearing down with a hint of fall looming in small doses. “Like I said, for her. I will not see her in that court. I don’t have her now, I haven’t had her, I won’t have her. BUT Kinsler will not have her.” He pressed his finger into Ian’s bicep. Was Pike giving up?
“No, I will not give up.”
I gasped and covered my mouth. With a peek, I saw that his eyes were looking straight at me. As if to me he said, “I will not give up till the day I no longer can hear her thoughts. I will savor every second I have left with her until she is taken from me. You can’t have that. After that, I will leave. I will not remain here to see her. I can’t.”
Ian narrowed his eyes at Pike insinuating that he would leave the court without consent, but thought better of his judgment and said, “Understood.”
***
I had yet to remind Ian about the supposed gift being made for me. It had been forever and a day since he’d said anything about it so I resulted to snooping..and crossing my fingers. Danella was putty in my hands.
“Danella, Ian said the gift he was having made for me wasn’t ready yet. Do you know when it will be?”
She eyed me recognizing my detective work, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Miss Grace.”
“Well, then you won’t know if it is small or large.”
She laughed. Nothing.
“And you don’t even know if it’s something to have on me or take with me.”
Danella huffed, “If Ian wants you to wear it before you head to Pike’s he’ll have it. Quit pestering me.”
Ha! She didn’t even know what she just gave away. I gave a whiney okay and bounced out of the bath to put clothes on. I had what I wanted.
Next stop, Ian. “Why are we going to Pike’s?”
Ian looked surprised I knew. I ignored that.
“We need to visit with the Nym liaison for an exchange of permission to cross their land.”
And no one told me, why? “For what?” I said this nicely.
He sighed, “For the ability to find Kinsler’s other camp.”
“And do what?”
He was being short with me.
“To assure him we know he’s there.”
“And that’s all?”
“You defend him, Grace. That’s why I haven’t told you this. He has a bigger agenda than you know.”
“Ian, I know his agenda and he knows how I feel about it. He may try something, but I don’t believe he will hurt me.”
He couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Grace, he may not hurt you. But I cannot and will not sit by while he possibly destroys this court in the process. You have a wall up defending him and you can’t see past the fact that he can and will obliterate everything to get to you.”
Kin promised he wouldn't hurt others, but not to Ian he didn't. Just the opposite.
I am so dang selfish. I haven’t thought of everyone else. Kin admitted he would kill Ian to get me. I would kill him first. And his father. I looked down hiding the tears. “You are right.”
He reached for me and I stopped him.
“I am thinking too much for myself and not enough of the rest. I told you I would not make a great queen. I can’t even put others before a piece of crap like Kin. He is still the manipulator. His undeniable proclivity to masterminding my existence is at an end. I know this. I did what I did for this court to keep him away from it. I just didn’t want him to die because of me or some jealous rage on yours and Pike’s part.”
He smiled. “I wish that Grace, but I wouldn’t kill him just for the fun of it. If he attacks my people, I will defend it. And at the moment, he is attacking me by taking what he knows is my most prized possession. He knows what I will do to keep you s
afe. I can’t sit by. Pike and I are going after the source.” I opened my mouth to protest. “If we can rattle his chains, he will know that we are not going to be bullied into anything.”
I thought on this. “So what is the ultimate goal here? For all of us?”
“My ultimate goal is to marry you Grace, have children, and rule this court.”
I gasped at being reminded of my wonderful future with Ian. “And theirs? Pike and Kin?”
“Pike will have to make his own future, I’m afraid. He is where he is.” He looked like he was sad for him. “And Kinsler will have to find his own bride and rule his own d—court. Once he sees this, backs off of this stupidity caused by the prophecy, he will make a great Unseelie King.”
Whoa! “You think he will make a great king?”
He stilled his eyes to a glaze, “Yes, Grace. He will. When he backs off of my girl he will be better than his father and a well remembered Unseelie king.”
This was all new information to process. I don’t think that Ian completely hates Kin. And he doesn't believe Kin is right about the prophecy. Wow! “Okay.”
“Okay what?” Ian asked.
“Okay. I will shut up about Kin and follow what you think is best. You are right about his intentions and our court. I have been stupid and will make amends knowing I should have put my people first and you know exactly how to defend them.”
I saw his shoulders relax. I wanted to rub them.
“Grace....”
“Shh!” I moved behind him and started to massage his neck first. He was tight. “Did I cause most of this tension?”
He was silent.
“Honesty?”
“Yes, Grace you cause me a great deal of tension.”
“I’ll try to remedy that.” I kissed his neck and let the moment seep into enjoying my hands on his neck and shoulders and no one else around.
Chapter Forty Four
oxygen- n. chemical element and the life-supporting component of the air.
Meeting on the trampoline after all we’d been through was still our favorite place with the exception of the last week’s sleeping arrangements. I took in his stronger still scent. Pike’s wasn’t.
“What?”
“You smell...stronger.”
“I’m not going to want to know if that is a bad thing,” he playfully said with unsure tenses in his voice.
“No, it’s so, well, it’s torture. What it does.” Oops! Probably should have kept that to myself.
“Good torture?” he questioned.
“Oh, yes!” a dreamy smile broke out across my face.
“I’ve slept better than I ever have in my life this past week. Except when Kinsl—“
“Me too.” I wanted no mention of his name tonight if I could help it.
“I am okay with you learning to spar. If you’d let me, I will have something made for you. You have your bow of course. But if you’d like some other personal weapons, I would love to do this for you.” This was him taking Altheon’s advice. He was still lying away from me and I think we both felt the pain of being too far.
At mentioning the idea of supporting me in sparring, I wanted to throw myself at him and kiss him all over. I didn't really want to fight just not look weak. “What caused the change of heart?”
“In truth, Altheon told me it was the right thing to do and that you should be able to defend yourself in case I am not able to.” He bent his neck side to side as if it was hard to admit this. “That was the final decision maker. But I had already decided on my own that I will not hold you back. If this is what you think you need, then I will support you.”
I didn’t hold back. I rolled over to him and planted kisses everywhere starting with his eyes, then his nose, cheeks, ears, neck…
He chuckled that great throaty sound he makes at first, then it turned into something more. He stiffened all over when I moved to his mouth and smoothed my hand the length of his arm and pinned his left hand above his head and then the right as I straddled him staying in the air. My long hair hung down on either side of my face framing his in front of me. Holding his hands knowing he had the strength to break free with a single pinch gave me the quick reasoning ability that I contained that much power over him. He was mine.
And the fact that he was giving me this power and giving me the sparring and opening up to me more than he ever had in the past few days made me want to scream with the love I was feeling for him right now. So instead, I growled, hissed, and purred.
His eyes widened and I resisted no more. I purred aloud with my teeth and meowed in his face. I licked his cheek and lifted back up above him. His eyes were silver now. I was just being silly, but apparently, meowing wasn't his idea is “silly”.
He parted his lips just a little and he stammered, “Grace, be careful what you ask for here. I told you before my resistance is short lived near you like this.” The glow was emerging into a full blown fire.
He was warning me. Oh! This was classic. “Yes, Ian I am very aware of what every part of you is telling me right now. And however much I am so ready to torture you and myself more I will remove myself and force myself away from you. But know this. I’ve been building as much as you have. Meow!”
“Grace, you will have to sleep in your room tonight.”
“Understood.” He flinched at my quick response. “It’s just…I understand completely.”
“You have become so bold and not like the quiet hidden thoughts Grace I once knew.”
“I don’t have to hide my thoughts from you anymore. I didn’t know you loved me then.”
He didn’t like the reminder. He liked the here, the right now, and the future. “I don’t know how I’m going to get any kind of court duties done after were married.”
“We’ll manage. That’s why you’re still training new recruits. They can work overtime on occasion.”
“Can they? Is that your plan? Make everyone work while we play.”
My eyes popped open fast at the sound of him saying the word play. I smiled and shook my head. Pure thoughts only, missy. That’s what Danella would say. “Ian, I think we better find a new topic to discuss before I roll over there and have my way with you.”
“Small threats.” He was challenging me.
I covered my eyes with my arm folded over them pretending it covered my thoughts. In theory! I took a long, deep breath. “I’m just going to jump right in and ask you something I’ve wanted to ask you.” Really, it was two thoughts.
He waited, far away from me again.
“When we...consummate our marriage, will I be marked somehow?” I felt stupid. Like I knew he’d laugh at me for comparing our other worldly life to that of real fantasies out there. He made fun of my books, but Kin hinted this one to be true. But, he didn’t laugh. And boy was I glad I asked with the answer I got!
“Yes, others will know you are mine.”
“How?” I so did not want to know, but I had to know now.
He paused as if searching for how to say it. “I understand that with the increased powers comes a magic that identifies you as mine. I hear the guards speak of this about their mates. I can identify that another woman is taken by her mate.”
Like he goes around smelling them. Talk about my hackles being raised. “What, you know they are. You go around smelling them?”
He smiled at my jealousy. “No, Grace. The Fey men only just know. We consider it a high honor to mark your mate because we feel whole and at peace. You do the honor of being marked by your mate.”
“It will honor you to have me parade around and let other men know I am yours.” Odd to say! Loved it still.
He raised his chest to the air, “Yes, I will be truly a whole man when that day arrives. As unmated, I am restless and—“
“Tense!” I finished not really wanting to know what he might say.
He smiled. “Yes, that is one way to phrase it.” I’d think on this later. I had something else I just had to ask. “Have there been other girls be
fore me?”
He rubbed his jaw, “You want to know this why?”
“Just do. Want to know everything about you. Besides, you know all about me. And it’s not like it changes us.”
“Fair enough. Yes.”
Uh, oh! Why did I ask this? “Yes, to what. Girlfriends, or more than that?”
“No girlfriends.”
God, he was going to make me ask. “Did you kiss them?”
“Yes,” his teeth clenched.
“Anything else.”
He rubbed his chin and didn’t answer.
God, I was so stupid. “I’m not judging you Ian. Just asking.”
“I’ve made out with Fey girls my age before you were born, but nothing more.”
Oh, yeah! I let out a breath I’d held tight in my chest. “But the Fey are not like you.”
I didn’t ask why he said this and wasn’t going to. “Do I know them?” I had to know this.
He rubbed that chin again. “Yes.”
Oh, wow. I stole their man. “Well, at least they know you’re mine now.” I’d ask my friends later. No need to further torture him. And he knew about only one other date of mine and that didn’t really count. And lord knows he is dealing with Pike and Kin right now.
For now, question number three.
“Is my father really a human?”
He seemed relieved to move on. “Why did you ever come to that conclusion?” He was really calm. Too calm.
“Didn’t. That’s why I’m asking.” I wanted to see if he knew anything. This was a small test. Did his reaching out only include what he wanted to freely give?
“Did Kinsler tell you something?”
“Should he have?”
With a great pause he added, “I know that others know the truth to what you ask, but I am not sure I know the real answer.”
That was more than I expected and a little too practiced. Wow! He was telling. I would rest it for now. He’d already come so far in the give and take just in this hour alone. We were both changing in great ways for each other and the court.
Tainted Page 34
