Guardians of Hellfire (Guardians of the Fae Book 2)

by Elizabeth Hartwell

  “And what about . . . children?” Eve suddenly asks, biting her lip. “Would that be on the agenda at all?”

  Noah nods. “I’m sure when it happens, all of us will have fun debating over who the baby looks like most. Unless they come out with black hair, of course. That’s too easy. But in my heart, I know it won’t matter. They will be my son or daughter, even if they end up a short runt like Jacob.”

  Eve laughs. “Jacob’s almost six feet tall!”

  “Like I said, a runt,” Noah teases, picking up his book again. “If you want my advice, for help with the darker parts of your power, look in the legends and histories. The rest you can learn from Lorelai after she completes the ceremony. They are apocryphal, but you can get an idea of what the ancient dark arts used to do.”

  Eve nods, taking her books back before returning with a tome nearly as big as her upper body, using one of the books stands to help her as she keeps reading.

  Noah is nearly finished with the story of Cole’s bloodline up to his grandfather when Eve gasps, turning to him again.

  “Noah, what are the Five Gates?”

  “The Five Gates?” Noah asks, thinking back. “According to legend, they’re the five points that connected not just the Fae realm with the human realm, but were like highways through which one could go to all three realms. There were even stories I remember of Fae visiting more realms, ones that defy description.”

  “I read about one that sounds like good ol’ Lovecraft might have stumbled onto a Gate on Earth,” Eve says, shivering. “But I’m thinking about Hell. Noah, listen to this. The Gate was submerged in the northern lake, rising only when Gwynnifir approached, her magic lifting the platform into the air. Walking across the air, she stepped into the center, spreading her arms and turning back to the land she knew would one day protect the Gate. “I cannot destroy this Gate, that power rests with another,” she says. “I can only lock it temporarily. When the Light and the Dark converge, it will be a time of great danger and suffering. The fate of the realms will be in the balance. Noah . . . the lake, the convergence . . . is this legend talking about The Vale? About us?”

  Eve’s lips trembles, and Noah curses himself for a fool. While the old legends might contain hints of truth, they also were mostly scary tales. Monsters and demons, valiant heroes dying gloriously in order to protect the Fae from the day that all would fall and that would be the end of their kind. Fae legends don’t have victory, just a glorious death with the hope of ‘one more day in the moonlight.’ Exciting, but hardly comforting to a scared young woman struggling with powers far beyond her experience.

  Noah reaches across, gathering Eve into his arms. “Eve, the legends are just that, legends. Besides, it says a northern lake. There are plenty of northern lakes. It’s not like The Vale sits at the only lake in the entire northern regions. Also, the Gates have never been proven to exist.”

  “Yet it makes sense,” Eve says, shivering even as Noah holds her. “The Dark Rider, he’s been leading us on this path. What . . . what if he wants me here? What if my presence means that he wants to open the Gate, that I’m the key to the ending of the realms? That I’m the one that will make Light and Dark converge?”

  Eve’s chest hitches and she lowers her head. Noah holds her closer, kissing her forehead as she starts to cry softly, misery in every droplet from her eyes.

  “Even if that is, I will stand in the way and hold the Gate closed,” Noah promises her. “I shall give every drop of effort, every beat of my heart and every fiber of my soul to protect you and to not let that happen.”

  Eve clings to Noah’s arms. “But . . . what if it’s not enough?”

  “It will be,” Noah promises her. “We have a magic stronger than all the powers of Hell, Princess. We have a bond. We have . . . love.”

  It warms Eve’s heart, but it doesn’t completely relieve his beloved of her worries. Noah holds and comforts her, realizing there are times when words are not enough, and as he feels her body shake, he knows what needs to be done. He may be strong, but this is a strength needed of him and all of his brothers in arms.

  Chapter 31

  Eve

  I look around the room at the four men, and realize that whatever happens from this moment on, it doesn’t change how I feel. What comes next isn’t about assuring me, it’s about creating magic. Not the magic of spells, but the magic of something even deeper, something inside that will bond us forever.

  “I know Noah told you about my breakdown in the library,” I tell them, swallowing the nervousness in my voice. “And I know what Noah told me, that my feeling about The Vale being the city that guards the Northern Gate might just be my own fears talking. And I pray that after Lorelai’s ceremony, that I can be free of these fears to focus on you. All of you. But . . . thank you. I need this.”

  Tyler’s sitting against the wall, looking at me with total devotion. “Since you’ve met us, you’ve been shot at, cursed, blasted, dropped into horseshit . . . and that’s just the beginning. You deserve whatever you need.”

  “And maybe, maybe we need this too,” Jacob says, looking down. “I know I’m supposed to be the free-spirit, the devil may care one who laughs at danger, but not being able to tell you the bald truth about my feelings has been very difficult for me.”

  I smile, reaching behind my neck and undoing the tie on my simple dress, letting it fall to my feet. “Normally, we just sort of . . . let what happens, happen, right? And that’s good, and honest, and pure, and I want that too. But tonight’s about something I need more than just the physical side of things. I need to focus. So please, this time, it’ll be one at a time, and we’ll say the important things that maybe we haven’t said.”

  Jacob grins. “What’s the hard part?”

  “While I’m with one, the other three have to watch . . . and you can’t touch yourselves,” I command.

  I know my body is going to be taken to the limit again, but we need this. I need this.

  They all seem to understand, and Cole nods, getting up and helping me off the rest of the way with my dress, his fingers trailing over my skin as he kisses me softly.

  “Eve, I love you, and I will forever be yours and yours alone.”

  “Then you must wait,” I reply. “We’ve had our one on one time, said what needed to be said, and I will forever cherish it . . . now I must complete the circle.”

  I kiss him softly, nodding as Cole goes back over to his chair and strips off his clothes before sitting down, his cock starting to stand up but not fully yet. I look at Tyler, Noah, and Jacob, who are arrayed around me, and they nod.

  “Tyler.”

  Tyler stands and strips, coming over and taking my hands. “I’ve been called a hopeless romantic. I’ve been called a lot of things. I don’t care. My proudest moment of my life is the moment that I saved your life that first time, and seeing your eyes from there, I somehow knew you’d change my life forever. Eve . . . I love you. Forever and always, I love you.”

  “And I love you, my sweet, tender Tyler,” I whisper back, cupping his face. “I love that you want to ease my fears, to comfort me when the world is dark and cold. You are the innocence, the beautiful intellect of my life, and I never want you to change. I love you.”

  I lay back, pulling Tyler close as our lips meet, kissing him deeply as he uses his mouth and tongue to set my heart fluttering. I gasp as he licks along my neck, working his way down to my collarbones and slides his hand up the outside of my thigh.

  “So soft, so sweet,” he whispers as he strokes, kissing to my breasts before sucking on my nipples and leaving me trembling.

  “Make love to me, Tyler.”

  “Always,” Tyler says, kissing down to my inner thigh. He pauses, looking at my pussy, licking his lips. “It’s like a wet flower, pink and open for me.”

  Tyler seems to read my mind, twisting and laying on his side so that his cock stands out proud in front of me. I reach out, fondling his balls as Tyler licks the inside of my thigh,
teasing me as I tease him back, tracing his balls and up his cock, wrapping my hand around it as I lean in.

  Tyler’s tongue touches my pussy lips as I touch the velvet head of his cock with my tongue, our mouths in perfect unison. His licks mirror mine, and as I take his head between my lips, he circles my clit, electricity sparking between us.

  I swallow him, letting Tyler use his hips to pump in and out of my mouth as his tongue writes its magic on my pussy and clit. He’s amazing, never repeating a stroke twice as he sucks, going deep, teasing the edges, thrilling my clit and wiggling so deep inside me I wonder if he’s literally stretching his tongue longer than physically possible.

  “Mmph,” I moan around his cock as Tyler reaches around, cupping my ass as I mirror him, burying him all the way in my throat as he speeds up. My eyes are rolling, the air being cut off as he starts hammering my mouth, his balls hitting me between the eyes as I bob on him, wanting to please him as much as he’s pleasing me.

  “Eve . . . I love you,” Tyler gasps as his cock swells and he buries his mouth to suck on my clit, sending me crashing over into an orgasm. I feel myself bathe his mouth in my juices and he moans into my clit, his cock exploding and filling my mouth. I hold him deep, sucking every precious drop out of him as he licks and cleans me, savoring every droplet until he deflates, falling back and gasping. “Perfect.”

  “No . . . just a woman. But you make me feel beautiful and perfect,” I whisper, turning around to kiss him softly.

  As Tyler climbs off the bed, I expect the giggles to start any moment. But while this is different than the norm, they can all sense the seriousness. For me and for all of us.

  Instead, as Noah approaches me, his hard cock standing straight and huge in front of him, I get up, placing my hands on his chest.

  “Noah . . . the mountain upon which I will build the rest of my life. Coming from such a background, I know it would have been so easy to hate me. Instead, we found each other, and I swear, right here and now, that I love you. Forever and always, I will lean on you, will turn to you in times of need, and will forever find shelter in your arms, even as I give all I have to you. I love you.”

  Noah places his hands on my waist, looking in my eyes. “Eve, when we set out on our journey, I never expected to find the woman I would want to spend my life with. You are kind, and you are even stronger than I am. Your heart makes the strength of my body look like a whisper in the wind. The strength of your heart will give me the strength to be the man you need me to be. I love you.”

  Noah turns, lying back on the bed as I swing my leg over, taking his cock in my hand and positioning him. Noah reaches up, cupping my breasts and pinching my nipples lightly. I hum, smiling happily as I rub the head of his cock between my pussy lips, looking in those luminous eyes of his.

  Noah moans as I sink down onto his cock. He’s so big I can’t take it all in one stroke even after Tyler’s tongue, but instead I lean down, letting Noah bend his head forward to capture my left breast in his mouth as I roll my hips back and forth, working him inside me. My pussy is clenching, my body trembling as I settle back further and further, whimpering as his teeth catch my nipple and pull it tight. I’m caught, desperate to feel him deeper inside me but I don’t want to let go of the feeling from his mouth.

  Finally, Noah takes control, grabbing my hips and letting go with his mouth as he pushes me back, driving the rest of his cock into me. It’s white heat piercing through me and I throw my head back, arching as I cry out and a small mini-orgasm ripples through me.

  “Fuck!”

  “That’s it, Princess . . . ride me,” Noah encourages, patting my ass. I spring into motion, my body taking over as I roll my body, my pussy squeezing him tightly. A strength fills me, and I feel a manic grin fill my face as I look down at him, digging my fingernails into his chest. “Mmm . . . yeah.”

  “Like that, do you?” I purr, scratching his chest as I begin bouncing my hips up and down on his cock. “All this is mine now. These big muscles, that big brain of yours, and this huge cock. All mine.”

  “All yours,” Noah repeats, meeting my ass with small thrusts that shake my spine, my breasts bouncing up and down with our combined movement. Noah’s always going to be that way, huge and powerful, so overwhelming that I can’t last long . . . but that’s okay, because I’m so tight to him that he won’t last long either. Instead, we let our passion overtake us, our bodies moving together faster and faster. Each stroke of his cock sends pulses of pure pleasure that make my eyes lose focus, and another orgasm fills me, huge like Noah and as deep as his emotional reserve.

  My hips give out on me, I can’t take any more and Noah takes over, lifting me up until just the tip of his cock is inside me before thrusting up, hard and deep and long until I clench my teeth, my scream locked behind my jaw as I’m sent hurtling again into the abyss of climax. This time Noah’s with me, holding me safe and secure as I claw at his chest blindly, his cock spasming and filling me until I can feel him seeping out around our seal. He relaxes, still strong as he lowers me to his heaving chest, stroking my hair as I rest on his massive torso.

  “Are you okay?” he asks me.

  “Always,” I whisper, smiling as I turn and lick the scratch on his chest, tasting the coppery tang of his blood. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “I’ll heal by the time you’re asleep,” Noah assures me. “I wish I could scar though. I want your marks all over me.”

  I stay where I am until his cock softens and slips out before sliding up and kiss him deeply. “I love you, Noah. And if you want my mark on you, I’ll figure out a way.”

  Noah lays back, panting as he recovers before kissing me one more time and climbing off the bed. “Thank you, my love,” he whispers. “Forever.”

  “Forever,” I promise him, turning to my last Guardian. Jacob’s almost shaking, his cock pulsing as he watches me with eyes that burn with desire, and I feel for him. He’s been tortured, watching me come twice and not able to even touch me, but now is his reward.

  Jacob sees me eyeing him and he springs from his chair, taking two steps before stopping and composing himself, surprising me by dropping to his knees.

  “Eve . . .”

  “Stand, my noble scoundrel,” I tease him, waving him forward as I find the strength to sit up. “Jacob, I saved you for last because I know you are strong enough to have resisted. Always with the joke, always with the attempt to bring me cheer even in the darkest of times, you speak true to my heart even as you tease. You have claimed more than my ass, Jacob. You’ve claimed my heart, my soul. I love you.”

  He lowers his head to the ground and bows to me before standing, his eyes coursing tears of joy.

  “Eve . . . I’ve hidden my heart behind the veil of humor. Bad humor, most of the time, I’ll admit. Lonely, unable to know where I fit in. Too human for the Fae, but not human either. Then I met you, and I found the one being who never judged me for being too human or too Fae. You accepted me as me, you took me inside you and you showed me that I don’t have to always joke. I vow I will steal the night for you, I will steal the fear and take it away, doing everything I can to bring you nothing but smiles and happiness. I love you.”

  I kiss him tenderly, reaching down to wrap my hand around his cock and tugging it slightly as I scoot back, turning around and bending over. I can feel the cool air of my chambers on the soaked lips of my already twice fucked pussy, but still a thrill goes through me as Jacob takes my waist in his hands, pausing at my entrance.

  “Ready, love?”

  I nod, looking back and smiling. “Hard and rough, we’ve done gentle.”

  Jacob smiles, teasing my pussy with his cock. Before I can say anything, his hand lifts and smacks my ass, massaging the warm flesh while thrusting slowly, grinding and swirling his cock as he rubs the sting of the smack into a warm, delicious heat.

  “You still want it?”

  “Harder,” I rasp as he pulls back, smacking my ass again and slamming his cock home. I
yelp, it feels like a freight train rolling up my backbone to crash into the primal part of my brain right at the base, where pleasure and pain and instinct all roll into one.

  I don’t know what I’m doing, I just push back into him, my body taking over and demanding that Jacob give me all of him. No more jokes, no more hiding behind a devil may care mask and a ‘fuck the world’ grin.

  No.

  Pound me.

  Take me, Jacob. Fuck me as you love me with all your heart.

  He does exactly that, my cries echoing through the room and I’m sure across the castle grounds, our bodies slamming together. He reaches up, grabbing my neck and I grunt, driven to my basest animal instincts.

  “Yes!” I cry out.

  Jacob’s fingers tighten on my neck, not cutting off my air but still paralyzing me, sending me helplessly face first into the bed, Jacob’s hips not stopping. He hammers me until I can’t take any more, my body spasming as another orgasm explodes. It doesn’t stop though, Jacob’s cock packing more power into the supernova inside me with each hard thrust, my ass burning and my heart swelling.

  This is magic. This is what I need, knowing that no matter how weak, how out of it I ever feel, they’re going to be there, Jacob stealing my fear, Noah supporting me, Tyler sending darts of vengeance and love, and Cole cleaving my fears in half. I could be powerful, powerless, Princess or peasant. It doesn’t matter. I love them, and they love me.

  “I love you!” I scream harshly as the last of my breath is driven from my body. Jacob howls, his cock spasming deep inside me. The world hazes out, and I feel total release, total satisfaction . . . complete love.

  When I come to, Jacob collapses and I turn, snuggling against him. “Thank you. You always know how to please me.”

  “Mmm, and you have started to make a gentleman out of me,” he says, kissing the tip of my nose. “Which is why I know one other thing.”

  “What’s that?” I ask, and Jacob grins, looking over at my other men, who are all watching me with lustful eyes, their cocks stiff and standing in front of them. “Oh my.”