“I’m not certain but it’s highly unlikely. Dragons are difficult to kill, even in human form. Lucky for us though you were there and we didn’t have to find out. Obviously they weren’t expecting that.”
“Which means either Ricky didn’t have time to get a message out, or these people weren’t associated with whomever he was working for. Did anyone escape?” I wanted to know.
Gareth shook his head. “Apparently whatever Mi did to Owen has… awakened his powers, which seem to be considerable. He was certain no one got off the roof alive. And he was fairly handy in cleaning up the bodies.”
I frowned and wondered if I wanted to know. “Which isn’t to say someone wasn’t watching from the next building over,” I muttered crossly. Jace nodded grimly then reached down and placed his hand over mine stilling my fingers as I realized my gentle caress had turned just a little savage. “So who do you know that employs human hit squads?”
Behind me I felt Gareth shrug.
“Too many to hazard a guess?”
Jace nodded and grinned at me. “We aren’t usually this popular. Two tries in three days is something of a record for us.”
“Think it has something to do with your upcoming meeting?”
Both of them nodded and I wondered if I should feel relieved or more worried about that. “So Owen and Kit were back early, where were you two? Was there a problem in the club?” Aside that is, from the earlier orgy I’d created.
Gareth went dead still and Jace dropped his eyes refusing to look at me. I thought about their reaction for a second then sat straight up and turned to look at Gareth wondering at how dense I could be. I wasn’t sure if I should smack them or hug them. In the end anger won out and I pushed off Gareth’s lap intending to get out of the tub. It’s difficult to make an indignant exit from water, especially when you’ve got two shamefaced men hanging on you. “Let me go you… you, I’m so angry at you two I can’t believe you expected me to jump into bed with them the minute your backs were turned!”
“Now Lexi,” Jace started.
“Don’t you dare ‘now Lexi’ me! How could you think that?” I demanded and couldn’t help the catch in my voice.
“I told you this was a mistake!” Gareth growled and pulled me into his arms nearly cracking my ribs with the pressure of his hug.
“I agree it was too soon. But we both know it will happen, it’s merely a matter of time.”
“You expected me to sleep with them on their first night here?” I demanded, my voice muffled against Gareth’s chest. And then thought about it and realized that’s exactly what I’d done with them so why wouldn’t they? The thought didn’t make me any happier.
“We considered it might happen,” Gareth admitted gruffly.
“So you just… absented yourselves? Left me to fend for myself? You threw me to the wolves!” And I couldn’t stop the hysterical laugh that turned into a sob as I buried my face even deeper against Gareth’s chest.
“Two wolves, a dog and a very large cat,” Jace agreed. “I don’t think you’ll ever know just how happy I was to find that menagerie on top of your bed this morning. Especially since Gareth made me go get you alone.”
When I leaned back and looked at him he replied, “It was his idea not mine. I’d prefer to kick the lot of them to the curb and be rid of them. Yet for your sake I’m trying to see the bigger picture here and be gracious. It is damned difficult! Meanwhile feel free to keep them celibate. You’ll live a very long time, and there is no need to rush into anything.”
Jace snorted and lifted an eyebrow. “There are four immortals upstairs whose main goal is sitting naked in your lap. I think we’re fooling ourselves if we believe something isn’t going to happen probably sooner rather than later.”
“But I don’t want them,” I whispered.
“You will,” Jace informed me flatly. “Just remember we aren’t going anywhere. Nothing will change the way we feel, and we will always be here for you. No matter what.”
“No matter what,” Gareth promised.
Chapter 23
We piled into the car after several minutes of heated discussion. Cursed refused to be left behind but wasn’t at all comfortable with our mode of transportation. I settled the argument by simply going behind Gareth and Jace opening the door and climbing in. I think even that wouldn’t have prevented them from continuing on, but when I realized they weren’t getting the hint, I reached out and closed the door behind me. Leaning over, I lowered the partition window and asked the driver to pull forward about ten feet. At first he hesitated, then looked out of the window and gave me a wink through the rearview mirror. In no time everyone was inside and we were pulling into traffic. Amras looking around in wonder. Cursed was sitting ramrod straight and clenching his hands in his lap.
Our first stop was the bank and a huge gilded affair it was. While Gareth and Jace conducted business, I tried to keep Amras and Cursed out of trouble. It was obvious to me that Elves had been too long stuck in Faerie. Comically, Cursed nearly taped his hands together and Amras put several staple holes in one of the desk blotters. I soon realized they were experimenting and moved to get the desk accessories out of their nimble fingers. The two of them looked like tourists on holiday. Jace finally wandered over after seeing my frustration and wrapped his arm around me, then lifted an eyebrow at them. I think they got the message because they stopped gawking and poking at everything and started paying attention to their guard duties.
Next stop was the court house and it appeared my flute playing had not only resulted in an orgy, but also a subsequent ticket and a five thousand dollar fine. Not because orgies were illegal in San Francisco, but because the club hadn’t been licensed for sex. Since I was staying for a while my Dragons felt it a good idea to apply for a license while they were paying the fine. I had started to offer to pay it, and Jace had glared at me so I took Amras and Cursed over to the opposite side of the room and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible.
Because it was daylight outside, nearly all of the people working were human. The sight of three Elves in broad daylight nearly caused a small riot as folks found one reason or another to be in our vicinity. Or maybe it was just that I was wandering around with four drop dead gorgeous men and most of the workers were female.
After Gareth and Jace were passed to the sixth window, each previous one missing the appropriate forms, or needing pictures, or whatever the case might be, Jace sighed, stroked his day old growth and actually frowned at me. At that point I began to understand why they had dragged me along, nothing like a little in-your-face repercussion session to make me think twice about my actions.
I believe the situation amused Amras and Cursed and I swear they actually played to the crowd as they stood behind me with hands on hips, chests puffed out and haughty looks on their faces. Snick must have provided their clothing, and I must say they both looked good in black... black leather, that is. They both had on their tight leather pants tucked into tall leather boots, turtlenecks and calf length leather jackets. And both still had their hair tied up and were wearing their blades at their sides. It was enough to give half the old biddies in the place palpitations. Add in Jace’s sophisticated bad boy good looks, and Gareth’s rugged handsomeness, and I started wondering if I was going to need a license to take the four of them out in public! One thing was for certain, the club managed to get some free publicity and I was pretty sure we’d be seeing several of these faces again.
About forty five minutes into the process one of the male guards who’d been eying us since we got there, wandered over to me and demanded to know if my friends had a license to carry weapons in public. Amras gave him a dismissive look and informed him they had diplomatic immunity. The guard looked us over and remarked that diplomatic immunity only applied to dignitaries and royalty. And since he didn’t recognize any of us, maybe he’d better see some identification. Cursed stepped forward and advised the guard that it was not our concern that he was unable to recognize royalty. Th
e guard looked at me and asked point blank if I was some kind of Princess or something, to which both Amras and Cursed gave a curt nod.
It all happened so fast that I didn’t have the chance to stop either of them. I broadcast my sudden distress at how quickly things had gotten out of control by lifting my upper shield, which then caused Gareth and Jace to glace at us sharply. The guard nearly fell over himself bowing, before he scampered back to his position by the red velvet rope at the door. But not before he stopped and shared his news with at least two other people, who took one look at me and literally ran to spread the news. Amras was wearing a very satisfied smile until he noticed the look on my face and realized they’d just made a major faux pas.
I stood there watching the news spread like wildfire throughout the room and had visions of us splashed across the headlines in the afternoon newspaper. Wondering if we could get out before some photographer showed up to start snapping pictures, I glanced around the room noting the cameras already there and realized it wasn’t really going to matter either way.
“Smile for the camera,” I growled at Amras and Cursed. Amras had gone all stiff and his face looked like it was carved from marble.
“What is a camera?” he hissed back at me. Cursed had a confused look in his eyes but knew something was wrong, and his body language said he was ready for anything.
I looked at Gareth and tried not to yell for him to hurry. He must have understood my urgency because he turned back to the woman and gave her his best smile. I might have been angry with her fawning had I not been so worried about getting out of there. Of all the places to have let that little tidbit of knowledge slip, the courthouse was undoubtedly one of the worst.
I put my back to the nearest camera and stepped in front of Cursed so he was blocking the one on the other side of the room. “What possessed you to declare diplomatic immunity?” I asked Amras in a low voice.
“Your cat.”
“Mi?” I asked glancing around quickly. “Is she here?”
He blew out a breath and moved his hand to the hilt of his sword. “No,” he growled. “She told me it would allow me to move freely amongst the humans and that I was to use it if challenged. Apparently it was a mistake.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and mentally counted to ten. “We need to get out of here, now,” I told them, opening my eyes and glancing at Jace who was already on his way to me. He didn’t even stop, just placed his hand at my back and swept me toward the doors. I barely managed to stop myself from glaring at the guard as we went through the doorway and into the hall. It looked as if the two floors above us had emptied into the main hall and there were people everywhere. Gareth caught up with us and moved in on my other side. Cursed cleared a path through the throng and I could tell he was struggling not to react as sly hands brushed to pet him as he passed.
There was a lot of oohing and ahhing going on. And people whispering, “Who is she?” Gareth and Jace looked grim and I can’t say I felt much better. We nearly made it to the doors when a flash went off and I felt Goldy’s tail whip back and forth in irritation. Gareth’s fingers tightened on my arm and I looked up at him with a horrified expression. His eyes said, hold it together please. On the other side of me Jace leaned in and blew his hot breath across my ear, distracting me slightly. Sex or confusion filled terror. Hmmm… all we needed now was a little comic relief and we’d be all set.
Two things happened at once; Cursed reached the outside door and pushed it open only to find the crowd had spilled out onto the steps ahead of us, and there were several more cameras all busy snapping pictures as we made the doorway. Owen appeared from a pale yellow haze standing beside Cursed to hold the other door. On my shoulder Kit materialized as a little black and silver Dragon. Draping his barbed tail around my neck and rubbing his body against my cheek, he spoke in a voice that carried out through the crowd. “Little Johnny asked his teacher, ‘Do heart’s have legs?’ and the teacher replied ‘Why do you ask?’ Johnny replied ‘Yesterday I heard my dad tell my mom, sweetheart open your legs’!”
I choked and just managed to smother a hysterical laugh. Gareth groaned while Kit’s evil laugh rolled out across the shocked crowd. The seven of us stood there, framed in the doorway at the top of the steps of the courthouse with cameras going off everywhere.
It was a disaster of media proportions, or at least that’s what Kit whispered in between tracing his little raspy tongue over my ear and ogling my breasts. Obviously he’d heard my mental yell for help which was why he and Owen had showed up.
Below us people were shouting and calling for answers, or a speech, and I was struggling to hold it all together. I was grateful that Areth had dressed me in a classy shirtdress, with matching short jacket and heels, in a lovely shade of red that matched the highlights in my hair. I would look wonderful in print. Or at least I hoped so!
‘No comment’ became our favorite comment as we pushed our way down the stairs toward the curb. Jace spoke into his communicator and a few minutes later our long black car rolled up to the sidewalk and we had another body assisting us in getting a path cleared to the vehicle. There was no argument this time as we all piled in. Our driver slammed the door shut, hopped in front, and we were pulling away from the curb. Seated against the driver’s side wall, I dropped my face into my hands and started shaking, violently. Jace was cursing, a steady stream of foul words that would normally have impressed me if I hadn’t been perilously close to slipping into shock.
“What just happened? Why is Lexi so distraught?” Owen demanded.
On my shoulder Kit was making tsk tsking noises while he pressed his little body against my neck. When his tail slipped down my chest and came to rest in my cleavage, I growled and swatted at him. He left me with a chuckle, materializing on the seat between Owen and Amras, who was now looking rather distraught himself.
Gareth draped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in tight. “My Mother’s going to kill me,” I muttered against his chest.
“I take it someone said something they shouldn’t have?” Gareth asked, his voice sounding…resigned but calm.
I nodded but added, “It wasn’t their fault. I should have told them before any of us went out in public.”
“Told us what?” Cursed demanded. He looked angry and confused as he leaned around Jace on the other side of Gareth.
“That I’ve spent my entire life hiding who I am and that it wasn’t just the Elves my Mother was hiding me from!”
Amras sucked in a breath and sat forward, then demanded, “You mean you’ve spent your entire life without being… acknowledged?”
“Hmmm mmm mmm,” Kit responded, shaking his head. “Now why would that be? Estranged Princess has illegitimate child… or not?” Turning his head to the side, his black eyes boring into mine, he added, “Just who is dear old Dad?”
I pressed my cheek harder against Gareth and bit my lip. Amras and Cursed both flinched and sat back slightly. A blank expression slid over Amras’ face as he glanced down at his lap and pursed his lips. “Cursed tells me you shift to Dragon,” he remarked casually. “That’s not an Elfin talent I’m familiar with.”
Kit glanced between them, his face screwed up as he concentrated. “So what you’re implying is Mom’s an Elf and Dad’s a Dragon. But that doesn’t really work for me because I know Demon when I smell it,” Kit offered as he slumped back on the seat and spread his black clad legs. His dark red shirt gaped at the chest and I could see that he’d toned down considerably on the chest hair. He flashed me a smile and in spite of the gravity of the situation I nearly rolled my eyes.
Owen leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands while he considered me with his dark brown eyes. “You are much more than simply Dragon or Demon or Elfin… you were uniquely crafted. A blending of the immortals.”
“And who would know that better than the mighty Ve?” Kit replied with a sardonic lift to his eyebrow. He crossed his arms over his chest and glanced back at me.
Owen’s hands clenched slightly and his shoulders tensed. “I haven’t been called that in a very long time,” he muttered.
Kit didn’t bother looking at him; he simply shrugged one shoulder and replied, “Maybe you shouldn’t have seduced your brother’s wife, assuming that’s who arranged to put the whammy on your memory.”
Red hot anger blazed in Owen’s eyes for half a heartbeat before it was replaced with what appeared to be regret. One side of his mouth lifted and he nodded once. “As I said, it was a long time ago.”
Interesting. I definitely wanted to hear that story, but later, hopefully when things weren’t falling down around my pointed ears.
“I don’t understand the problem,” Cursed said and he looked even more confused than he had before.
“The problem is we’ve just announced to the media that I’m a Princess of Faerie.”
“As it is the truth, how can it be a problem?” he responded, his forehead creased in a frown.
Taking a deep breath I glanced around the interior of the car at the lot of them and replied, “First of all there are only so many Elves living among the humans and every one of them is tracked closely. In all these long years no other Elves have left the Sidhee. Second, there is only one Queen and she only has one daughter… only one Princess.”
Amras sat forward again. “So either the Queen had another daughter or Princess Shaylee wasn’t as closely watched as the humans believed.”
“But everyone knows there has been no other Elf child born in more than a century!” Cursed added.
“It has been a long time since anyone heard news of the Sidhee, and no one really knows what has been happening there. Besides it wasn’t just me. Suddenly there are three of us that are unaccounted for. Which will raise the question, has Faerie unlocked their doors?” I replied.
“The reporters will be camped on our doorstep,” Owen remarked to no one in particular. “And with the upcoming meeting…”
Dragon Lust Page 28
