by Runaway Fae
Vaguely, he was aware of the man screaming, but he didn’t let up. His prize was nearly in hand. And then the information slid up like a notebook on a pedestal in Joe’s mind. Liam scoured the pages, noting hundreds of memories that Joe had lost. The book was tethered to a chain that led into darkness. He wondered if he could destroy the chain so that the man could be free once and for all.
Before he tried his idea, he scanned the page with the information on the whereabouts of the jewel. The page included a drawing, and Liam gasped with shock. He had seen that particular gem before. The Faerie’s Stone. It was purported to hold great power. What had Darcy been doing with it? He didn’t know, but it was for sure, he wasn’t allowing the goblin to gain possession of it.
Noting the world where the gem was hidden, Liam concentrated on the chain. The thick steel link, which he trained his vision on became hot and red, smoke curling in to the air. Briefly, he wondered if Joe felt the heat. In another few moments, the link snapped. Liam moved back, left the book on the stand, assuming Joe would now be able to pull the book to the forefront of his mind whenever he chose. And with a mental release, Liam was back in Joe’s office. Joe was slumped unconscious on the floor.
With little emotion clouding his mind, Liam bent over the restaurateur and checked his pulse. He seemed fine. “You can sleep it off, while I retrieve what rightfully belongs to the Fae,” he whispered. “And rescue my princess.”
* * * *
Liam crouched in the trees spying on the group of goblins around a campfire. Goblins enjoyed the outdoors and only took to living in houses, or rather grassy shacks, when weather was severe. Female goblins, ugly faces with freakishly thick noses and eyes as saggy as their counterparts, danced around the fire as others played music. It was obviously a celebration. A celebration of the goblin that visited the diner’s lucky find—the Fae princess. He would soon relieve the creature of his treasure, and keep the one he had already retrieved, the Faerie Stone.
He inched around the outside parameter of the sight trying to spot Shauna. So far, there were only goblins and one other strange creature that was held captive. And then he spotted the same beast practically dragging her from the side into the middle. Her head was bowed, and rage filled him when he realized she was crying. The itch started in his eyes, and this time he didn’t fight it.
* * * *
Shauna kept her head down, allowing her hair to flow into her face, so that it appeared that she was crying. She was almost free from the cuffs. One more spell and the hold would shatter. Then she would set a whirlwind in this camp that the goblins would never forget. The mud-colored ring had just snapped when something caught the attention of the goblins. The music stopped. Shauna swung around in time to see Liam stomping toward the camp. She couldn’t help the leap of joy in her heart at seeing him. Sure, she had run away from him, but her love was still strong, still wouldn’t let her go. She’d missed him.
But something was wrong. She knew immediately in seeing that same phenomenon she’d witnessed in the shed outside of Joe’s restaurant. Liam was at the most powerful she’d seen him—and his most deadly.
Before she could produce the whirlwind she had planned, Liam snuffed the fire, plunging the group into darkness. Shauna crawled around on her hands and knees trying to get out of the midst of the fray. Soon goblins were howling in fear and pain. She heard the slap of their bodies and they crashed into each other, and could only guess at what Liam was doing. But before he could kill them all, she moved as quickly as possible to try to snap him out of it. That was a big task considering she couldn’t see a hand in front of her face. Yet, she knew from experience that Liam could see as if it was daylight.
“Liam,” she called through the darkness. “Liam, stop. Please. Don’t kill them.”
“Yes, please don’t kill me,” a goblin whined. A second later and he was crying out.
Something warm and sticky splashed against her cheek, making her cringe, imagining it was blood. In desperation, she stood and hurried forward, hoping it was toward Liam. Her fingers brushed against a contoured chest and from his masculine scent—so unlike the goblin’s—she knew it was Liam.
Shauna tugged on his arm. “Liam, snap out of it. I’m here. Please don’t kill them. Liam!”
He couldn’t hear her. She could feel the hatred, the evil as if seeping from his pores. But for the first time, she sensed something else too. Fae! Shauna moved in front of him to press herself close to him. She stood on tiptoe to put her lips next to his ear. “Liam, I love you. Come back to me.”
The words of love tumbled from her lips again and again. And just when it seemed he would never stop until his enemies lay dead, he flinched. His arms moved to pull her tighter against his chest. Shauna lay her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. When the air was sweeter, the sounds of weeping goblins receded, she knew Liam had instantly taken them to another world. But she didn’t move from his hold or open her eyes.
Her arms crept up around his neck. “I’ll never run away from you again. You needed me, and I wasn’t there,” she whispered.
“You’re here now.”
Liam’s mouth closed over hers, but a moment later he pulled back. Shame clouded his eyes when he wiped blood from her face. “I’m sorry, Shauna. I should see that you’re safe and get as far away from you and everybody else.”
She shook her head. “No, we tried separating. Now let’s try truly being together.”
“What do you mean?”
Hearing water in the close distance, through a copse of trees, she led him by the hand. “I think it’s time for us to go back to the old ways.” She smiled, stopping by the water’s edge and beginning to unbutton her blouse.
His eyes darkened, but this time with desire and not anger. “You’re not suggesting ...?”
“No.” She laughed. “Not exactly. I am going to go skinny dipping in this water, and you can watch me if you like.” Her face became troubled. “But what happened just now can’t be ignored. We have to deal with it. After I wash this stuff off me.”
Liam dropped his head. His brows lowered and his forehead creased. “That’s exactly why I feel I should just leave. And I—” His words caught, then trailed away when she stood completely naked in front of him.
She took his hand and kissed his palm. “Liam, for the first time since this happened to you, I sensed Fae in you. I know it’s there now. I just know it. And it’s getting stronger. We will learn together how to conquer the evil in you.”
He tilted his head to the side, his black eyes almost caressing her bare skin, lingering on her taut nipples. Shauna trembled, wondering if conversation would truly be possible at this point. On impulse, she turned and headed into the water. When the cool liquid covered her skin, she began to scrub away the evidence of what just happened. At least she could be thankful that all was in darkness, except for the fact that her mind filled in the blanks with not too comfortable images. But there was strong hope inside her now. Not only had she helped Liam come out of his trance of darkness, she had also sensed good deep inside. Now, all they needed to do was help it to emerge. And she would give her life to be sure it did.
She dove beneath the clear blue-green water and swam a short way away from the shore. When she stopped to tread water, Liam’s arms came around her. A gasp escaped her lips when she felt his erect shaft press lightly against her back. Tingles of sexual arousal coursed over her, heating her skin despite the coolness of the water. She twisted in his arms, put her hands on his shoulders and lifted herself high enough to wrap her legs around his waist. Immediately, his shaft pierced her moist center and Shauna growled with need.
Liam grinned but pulled back so he wouldn’t enter her. “Slow down, princess. I need to ask you a couple questions.”
She tossed him a saucy look, eyes narrowed, lips pouting. Shauna almost burst out laughing at what was not her normal behavior. It was just that wanting Liam was doing things to her thought processes. All she could think about was having him fill her
over and over. It came of finally accepting that they belonged together, and that friends was not a part of the equation.
“What questions?”
He hesitated. “Like what you were doing while I was gone, namely were you intimate with any other Fae?”
Shauna considered teasing him, letting him think she’d had a string of relationships, but in truth, there had been no one. Her guilt at losing him had made her turn into herself. And frankly, a Fae princess was taught to keep herself until she was married. Not that she had intentions of following that dictum. Not with Liam’s stiff length pressing against her cookie.
She dropped her gaze to his bare chest, enjoying the exploration her fingertips were making over the hard plains. The cool water had also stiffened his nipples, and she played with them, making him gasp. Sexual power over a Fae as gifted as Liam. She could get used to that. “No, I have not. I’m still a dreaded virgin. Will you hold it against me?”
“Never.” Liam wrapped an arm about her waist and turned to head back to shore.
“Where are you going?”
“To shore. When I make love to you, it will be where you are most comfortable during your first time.”
She warmed even more to his gentle treatment. After their recent experiences, it had seemed impossible for him to treat her with kid gloves. Thinking of his spanking her when she first saw him again, and what had happened earlier, she trembled. Liam lay her on a patch of grass and stroked her face.
“Don’t be afraid, Shauna. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
A smile spread across her face, a look of invitation in her eyes. “Then what are you waiting for, lover? I’ve got an itch and you’re the one to scratch it for me.”
Chapter Twelve
Liam placed himself down between Shauna’s legs, almost licking his lips at her sexy sweet body, ripe and ready for him. Already he felt the desire and dark magic stirring together inside him. Should not do this? If he hurt Shauna, he would never forgive himself. But she was so beautiful. He slid a hand along her thigh, marveling in the softness and thrilling at her tremor. There was no denying she wanted him.
“Shauna, there’s nothing I want more than to feast between your thighs.” He paused to run his tongue over his lips again. “But if I hurt you ....”
“You won’t, baby. Take me, Liam.” She reached out to him.
Liam hesitated a moment longer, then he couldn’t resist her anymore. The hand resting on her inner thigh slid higher, the heat growing the closer he came to her hot center. With intense effort to control himself, he teased her wet opening, easing a finger in and out. When Shauna moaned, bucking against his finger, he gave her another, slow and easy.
Liam slid back and followed his finger work with his tongue, tasting Shauna’s sweet juices. He pushed his tongue deeper inside her, sucking her button until she whined. After waiting for years for her, he couldn’t get enough. Liam slid his hands beneath her buttocks to lift her closer to his hungry mouth. He devoured for long minutes, and when he felt her thighs vibrate and her body twitch, he knew she was about to climax for him.
The delicious reward flowed into his mouth, and Liam greedily licked up every drop. Shauna cried out his name, grasping his hair as she came in his mouth. When the tidal wave of sensation subsided, Liam was ready for much more. He positioned his thick erection at her opening, then pressed into the slick hot walls. He grunted as pleasure he’d never known washed down over him. Her tunnel was so tight, he found it difficult to get all of himself inside, but he fought for control.
“Don’t be afraid baby.” He leaned back, watching her face and stroking her flat belly as he buried himself inside. “Shauna, I love you.”
“Liam ....” Her whisper was a cry of pain. Liam nearly died when he saw the tear slip down her cheek. He lay forward, cuddling her, kissing her trembling mouth and stroking her hair.
“I’ll stop,” he begged.
She shook her head. “Don’t. Love me, Liam.”
“I do, so much.”
He lay flat against her, his cheek to hers and lifted one of her thighs higher, stroking her soft backside. Slowly, he eased in and out of her hot tunnel until it became easier. And when it did, Shauna’s cry of pain became a moan of delight. Encouraged by her relaxed muscles, Liam stroked harder, faster. He gasped for breath, as the sensations rolled over him, making him want to release right then, inside her. She was so sweet, so perfect. He couldn’t get enough.
With a hand slammed down on the grass beside her head, he leaned up and away from her body again, lifting both her thighs in the process, to hook his hands behind her knees. Jerking upward on her thighs, so that her rear left the ground, Liam pounded deeper. The slap of his groin against her ass drove him wild. He felt the darkness increase, but was powerless to stop it.
Two hands at Shauna’s waist, Liam reared back and at the same time lifted her up on his lap without slipping out of her. He lifted her up and brought her down roughly. Her hair blew about her head in the sudden increase in wind around them. She tangled fingers in her hair, screaming out her pleasure, begging him not to stop.
Never! He’d never stop until he came. Until he filled her with all the pent up lust that had built in him over the years of wanting her, needing her. She was finally his, and he’d take all she had to give and more.
Shauna writhed and came hard against his shaft, but still he didn’t find his release. He needed more. Feeling the itch around his eyes, he slipped himself out of her and flipped her around so that her back was to him. With eager fingers, he pushed two inside her wetness and trailed her delicious cream back to her ass.
“Liam, what are you doing?” she gasped.
“Taking what belongs to me,” he growled.
She turned frightened eyes back to him, and he paused for a second, but then he saw the fear turn to lust. Shauna might be afraid of what he was about to do, but she wanted it almost as much. He grinned, then slapped one ass cheek hard. She cried out, and he slapped it again. She was panting, whimpering and her juices were flowing again.
Liam placed the tip of his swollen rod against her rear opening and shoved against the narrow hole. Mentally, he pleaded with her that it wouldn’t be too much that he needed it so desperately, not realizing he was actually speaking inside her mind.
“Yes,” she gasped out. “It’s good, Liam. It’s not too much. Faster, baby.”
Encouraged, he grasped each hip before ramming deep inside her. The tight fit, Shauna calling out his name, sent him over the top. He exploded, emptying himself—his hot seed and his heart inside Shauna.
Afterward, he lay behind her, cuddling her close to him in his arms. Liam never wanted to let Shauna go again. He would follow her from world to world to be near the woman he loved with everything inside him.
When Shauna trembled with a chill, Liam waved a hand over them and a comforter appeared. He tugged the soft material up and tucked it beneath her chin. “I’ve been thinking,” he began.
“About how sore I’ll be in the morning?” She chuckled.
He smiled, teased her earlobe with the tip of his tongue and whispered. “I can’t say I’m sorry about that.”
She slapped his hand.
“No, I felt something different. I mean I’ve been trying for what seems like forever to gain control, to somehow dredge up the latent Fae magic that I hoped was still in me. But tonight, and during our lovemaking, I know it was there, tempering the darkness. Does that make any sense?”
She nodded, then covered her mouth briefly with a yawn. “Yes, I think they are both a part of you now. And maybe they’ll continue to push against each other.” Shauna twisted to her back to look at him. “You’ll never be completely good or completely bad.”
“Interesting.”
“What I don’t get is, how you even got this way.” She chewed her lip. “You said Darcy healed you, but even that wouldn’t cause her magic to become a part of you. I don’t get it.”
Liam considered whether to sh
are all he knew. If they were going to make a life together, whether it was short-lived or long, in Faeland or some foreign world, they needed to trust each other. He would make the effort.
“I learned that Darcy had in her possession a gem, The Faerie’s Stone. Have you heard of it?”
She nodded, suppressing another yawn. “Yes, I have. Who hasn’t? The Faerie Stone was thought to be a myth, but it was said to hold great power, mag—”
“Magic-stealing power,” he finished for her. He watched her eyes widen. “Exactly. For whatever reason, Darcy allowed the stone to take her dark magic and transfer it into me. And what I’m also coming to suspect is that Shamus had the same thing happen to him.”
Shauna thought about it, “Yes, I remember hearing you tell her she could barely produce a spark of magic. Why would she give you all her magic?”
“Not all of it. Half.”
She gasped. “And the other half?”
“To Shamus.”
* * * *
Shauna tossed and turned in her sleep. She was aware of Liam’s arm resting heavy over her middle, but still she felt trapped, as if caught in a steel net. And someone was coming for her, to kill her. She peered through the holes in the net and saw her mother. Shauna pleaded, “Mother, help me. Please.” Her mother looked back over her shoulder, but there was nothing to see. All around them was blurred. Nothing could be distinguished, no room, no furnishings. Nothing. As the evil force came closer, Shauna screamed and fought harder. The next instant she sat up, gasping for air and soaked in sweat.
She glanced down at Liam, still sleeping peacefully. Easing out from under his hold and slipping from the comforter, Shauna stood to stroll down to the water’s edge. This world was a haven of nature, trees and grass, a clear lake and birds gracing a clear sky. The daylight, though not bright from the sun had, darkened only slightly. She could still see everything, and there was no darkness.
A check on her lover over her shoulder found him still sleeping. Shauna sank down in the thick grass, marveling that it wasn’t wet so near the water. She searched for a pebble to skip, but found none. When something did disturb the still surface, she turned back to have a look.
