He kissed her then, thrusting like mad inside her. The tickling sensation began again at her clit where his pubic hair rubbed against the little bundle of nerves. She spread her legs wide, giving him all the room he needed to pound her as hard as he wanted. His tongue danced with hers, and she reveled in the frenzied way he fought to get closer to her. His arms held her to him so tightly she could barely draw breath.
Just as her pleasure crested and she dug her fingers into his ass cheeks, Devlin raised his head and bellowed his release. Warm seed spilled into Ellie. If they created a child, so much the better. Even if Devlin left her after this one night, she knew she’d never love another. If his child was all she had, she’d be grateful. But she didn’t think that would happen. Her gut told her so.
Devlin rolled them to their sides and pulled the covers over them. He held her tightly against him and murmured softly to her. “My life is forfeit, but I give it gladly. Being in your arms for however brief a time is worth any punishment your grandfather chooses to mete out.” His next breath was a soft snore in her ear.
That stunned Ellie. Grandfather?
She had a grandfather. Which meant she had a family somewhere. Until her mother had died, it had been only the two of them. She’d never known her father, and her mother had never spoken of him, or any other family for that matter.
Would her grandfather be glad to see her? He’d sent someone to bring her home, but what did she really mean to him? If he was a king, as Devlin said, he might have his own agenda and her wishes would cease to matter. And what if Devlin was right and this king tried to harm him? What then?
Maybe it would be better if they just stayed here. It was secluded. Devlin need not have contact with people here. Would he be happy outside his Magical Forest?
Her eyes drooped. After a long day’s work and a vigorous round of lovemaking, Ellie knew she simply didn’t have the energy to think clearly about this right now like she should. In the morning, she’d talk to Devlin about it.
If he was still there, anyway.
Chapter Two
Ellie awoke to a screaming orgasm. Devlin had entered her from behind, his arms still holding her securely to him. His hand manipulated her clit expertly and he chuckled.
“Good morning, my little fae.”
“Omigod! What are you doing to me?”
“Making you mine,” he whispered in her ear. “Making you never want to leave me.”
She wanted to tell him he’d already done that, but she was half afraid he’d stop this delicious torment of her body. Ellie reached around with her arm to encircle his neck and bring his face to her for a wet, open-mouthed kiss. He continued to surge into her with as much force as the position allowed until he finally cried out in his own pleasure.
They both lay there, breathing hard and clinging to one another. Ellie needed to talk to him so they could figure out exactly what they wanted to do from here.
“I suppose it’s time to go, little Ellsinore. I am bound by my word to bring you back to the Magical Forest. I’ve delayed too long already.” He sounded sad, tense.
Resigned.
“Do you really think we’ll be in trouble?”
Devlin smiled at her. “Not you, love. Just me. I can live with it, though. As I said, it was worth it.”
“What if we stayed here? I don’t want to go back if it means bad things for you. I’m happy here. I think you can be too.”
“As much as that proposition appeals to me, Ellsinore, I can’t. Not only did I give my word, but the magic keeping me will only last three days. I spent two finding you. My third is almost up. After that, I’m going back whether I want to or not. If you don’t want to go, I’ll respect your wishes, but I’ll never be able to return.”
“I don’t suppose I have a choice, then.” She rose and held out a hand to him. “Let’s go. I’ll need to dress, but it shouldn’t take me long. We’ll go together.”
“There’s no need for clothing. It will just vanish upon entering our realm.” He took her offered hand and held it. “Besides, you’ll assume your fae form when you first enter the forest, and I want to see all of you. If you decide you need covering after that, I’ll gladly supply it.”
Heat crept up Ellie’s face. After all they had shared, she was still shy. He made the simplest thing sound so intimate, so important to him.
“Will I change a lot? I mean, will it hurt?”
“No.” He stood and enfolded her in a lingering hug before continuing. “You’re skin will tingle a bit, but otherwise, you won’t feel much. Your appearance will depend on the type of faery you are. You grandfather is a tree faery, but your grandmother and mother were flower faeries. Your father was human. That’s why you were able to live in this realm. Your mother, as your protector, was given sacred magic of the Realm in order to live here with you and your father. The only reason she was granted this was because they weren’t sure if your infant form could survive in our world. Now that you’re grown, there’s no danger to you. I don’t fully understand it, but human infants are more sensitive to faery dust and the residue from ongoing magic.”
“I admit I’m a bit nervous.”
He gripped her hand and let her out of her bedroom. “Don’t be, Ellsinore. All will be well.”
“Will it?”
“It will. You may even find you like the Forest and wish to stay.”
He led them to the edge of the wood surrounding her little house. Ellie looked back once, then fixed her gaze on Devlin.
“Are you ready?” He caressed her cheek with his hand. He looked like he was memorizing every line of her face, as if afraid he’d never see her again.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Ellie grasped his hand, trembling inside. “Don’t let go of me, Devlin.”
“As you command, my lady.”
Her skin tingled and itched slightly. The world around her spun and blurred. Ellie closed her eyes against the vertigo and gripped Devlin’s hand as tightly as she could. Her ears rang and though she knew she screamed, she couldn’t hear herself.
Relax, my little fae. Don’t fight the transference; it will be over quickly.
Devlin’s words floated inside her head. She tried to do as he said, concentrating on his hand in hers. She felt his skin and the strength of his fingers laced through hers. She thought about how good he felt when he held her to him. She swamped herself with images of him from her house: of her hitting him in the face with that frying pan, of his eyes as he warred with himself about giving in to his desires. She recalled how he’d looked when he’d first entered her and wondered if it had been his first time making love, too. All these things grounded her, steadied the spinning and dizziness that had overwhelmed her.
When she opened her eyes, she was standing in the middle of a garden paradise. Trees and multicolored flowers abounded. A thick bed of sweet-smelling clover covered the ground, and birds chirped in the air. Ellie saw little sparks of light flit from tree to tree and flower to flower, leaving trails of gold and silver dust in their wake. She supposed this was the faery dust Devlin had mentioned.
It was the most beautiful place Ellie had ever imagined. Like a dream.
“I thought the two of you would never get here!” The jolly-sounding voice boomed from just off to the right. Ellie jumped, and Devlin placed himself between her and the man to whom the voice belonged, dropping to one knee almost immediately.
“Your Majesty.”
Ellie gaped at the faery. His face was lined with age and his hair and beard were white, but his body was fit and muscular. He stood straight and tall, wearing only a tan-colored loincloth around his waist. He should have looked ridiculous, but instead he seemed like a great warlord.
“I was beginning to think even you couldn’t find her, Devlin. That would have been sorrowful indeed.” He turned to Ellie and walked toward her. Pride and love shone in his eyes and when he reached her, he simply took her in his arms and hugged her tightly. “I’m glad he found you, girl. I’ve miss
ed too much of your life, and I refuse to miss another second.” He pushed her back to arm’s length and looked at her with adoring eyes. “You look just like your mother. Your skin is the same shade of lavender, and your hair a lovely goldenrod yellow like your grandmother’s.”
It was true. Ellie looked down at her arms. Though she couldn’t see the hair on her head, the fine hairs on her arms were the faintest yellow. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what the rest of her looked like.
Ellie didn’t really know what to say. Where she felt a bit awkward, her grandfather didn’t seem to be the least bit uncomfortable. When he pulled back and smiled at her with tears in his eyes, Ellie couldn’t help but return his smile.
“I’m Ellsinore, but you can call me Ellie.” It seemed a trifle late for proper introductions, but it was the only thing she could think of to say.
“So you are.” Glendon’s booming laugh lightened her heart somewhat, but there was still the matter of Devlin to discuss. Before she could broach the subject, however, Glendon spoke again. “Is there anything you wish to tell me before we venture into the forest? Your grandmother is so looking forward to meeting you.”
Ellie had never let go of Devlin’s hand and she felt the tension in him.
She cleared her throat. “Yes, I do have something to tell you.” Her grandfather merely raised an eyebrow. “I came here because Devlin told me he couldn’t stay in my world. I have to tell you, I won’t stay here without him.”
All business now, Glendon turned to Devlin. “And how do you feel about this, young man?” It seemed a male parent asking about the intentions of his daughter’s suitor was universal across worlds.
Devlin raised his chin a notch and clung to Ellie’s hand, but she had a feeling he would release it to defend himself if necessary.
“The deed is done, your majesty. I have claimed Ellsinore as my mate. There will never be another for me.”
There was dead silence in the forest. Even the birds had stopped their twittering. Glendon moved slowly toward Devlin until they stood almost nose to nose. Then Glendon cuffed Devlin on the shoulder and laughed until tears streamed down his face.
Ellie felt as perplexed as Devlin looked, but then he scowled.
“I don’t see anything so damned funny,” Devlin muttered.
“You wouldn’t.” Glendon wiped the tears from his face and collapsed on a nearby rock, his body still shaking with laughter. “Then again, you’ve not tried to find a mate for you for the last hundred years, either.”
Devlin blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You, boy! This was all about you. I could have collected my lovely Ellie any time I wanted, but I knew she was the one for you. No one else in the forest thought I was right. The bets were highly stacked against me, but, as I tried to tell everyone, I know my people.” He pointed at both of them. “You two were made for each other.”
“Then why did you make me promise—on pain of death—to protect her virtue at all costs?”
The king grinned then, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Because I know how you are. You follow orders, no matter how painful, to the letter. If you went against that order, if you mated yourself to her even knowing it would mean your certain doom, it proved your love was true beyond any doubt.”
Devlin looked at Ellie, his smile full of his love for her. Even despite the painfully short time she’d known him, Ellie loved Devlin just as much. “It is. Without a doubt.”
All was well. Love did conquer all, and Ellie knew she’d never be alone again. She didn’t want it to be. She had people who loved her, and a man to share her life with. Not only that, but she was an honest-to-goodness faery princess!
What more could a girl want?
As if on cue, she heard an annoyed “meow!” and felt something rub her ankle.
Clover!
“How’d you get here?” She scooped up the yellow cat and cuddled her fiercely. “I forgot about you, Clover. I’m so sorry!”
“Given the fact you’d just mated with an Earth Elemental, I’d say she forgives you.” Glendon chuckled. “Just don’t let it happen again!”
Life was good, indeed.
The End
The Faery Princess Page 2
