Very true. “You want to be rid of it. Of him.”
“More than anything.”
“Then we’ll find a way to make it happen.” She pressed her lips against his, feeding him a soft, sweet kiss. “Together, we can do anything. Now, grip the headboard.”
“Tink...” he said.
“I won’t do anything you don’t like. I promise.”
“Whatever you do, trust me, I’ll like.”
Trembling, he stretched out his arms and did as she’d commanded, and when she next kissed him, he accepted her without reservation, meeting her thrust for gentle thrust, before pressing more firmly, taking more deeply, changing the tone of the kiss. There was passion, yes. There was always passion between them. But he also kissed her with something more heady than reverence, as if she were the most important part of his life. As if he would want and need her always. As if he couldn’t bear the thought of ever being without her.
Josephina took her time tasting and laving every inch of his body, learning how to please him as he offered instructions, telling her what he liked, and she obeyed, worshipping him, watching his face for any sign of uncertainty or distress. He never flinched or paled. He appeared undone. He appeared on edge with the force of his desire.
“I’m about to...Tink, you have to stop. I want to touch you, do things to you,” he croaked. “Want to have you.”
Not just want but needed, she realized. Before, he’d been bound, had lost all sense of control. He might never be able to fully relinquish power to her, and that was okay. She loved the way he mastered her body.
“I’m yours,” she said, “to do with as you please.”
He had a condom on in the next instant, and her waist gripped in the one after that. He lifted her, and filled her, and all she could do was dig her nails into his chest and hang on for the wildest ride of her life.
He was untamed, undisciplined. He was savage. He was also brutally sweet. Because, as much as he took, he gave back even more, touching her in all the right places, driving her need higher and higher. And when the pleasure hit its peak, she could only throw back her head, the tips of her hair brushing against his groin. He roared, arching his hips, surging that much deeper, propelling her to a whole new level of satisfaction.
Panting, she collapsed on his chest. His arms wrapped around her and held tightly.
“Don’t ever leave me,” he said, kissing her sweat-damp temple.
“Never,” she vowed.
“It’s wrong of me, I know it is, but I need you to stay with me.”
“Wrong of you how?”
He cleared his throat. “I...know a way.”
It took her a moment to realize he’d returned to their earlier conversation. “The starving thing?”
He nodded. “Things might get rocky for a while, and you’d probably be better off without me, but—”
Ah. That’s what he’d meant about asking her to stay being wrong of him. “I’m not going anywhere without you,” she said.
He closed his eyes, as if savoring her words. “No, you’re not going anywhere without me.”
* * *
KANE LEANED AGAINST the door frame and grinned as he watched Tink interact with the other women in the fortress. He’d introduced her to everyone just this morning, and she was already a part of the family.
She’d only asked for three autographs.
Everyone had been so busy hunting details about the Paring Rod, and what could have happened to Cameo and Viola, they’d forgotten to rest or eat. They’d needed a break, a distraction, and Tink was now providing both.
The women loved Tink and fawned over her, and sure, that could be because he’d threatened to murder anyone who hurt her feelings, but he didn’t think so. There was something so welcoming about her. She smiled, and amusement lit her entire face. She spoke, and the wisdom of multiple lifetimes poured from her lips. She included everyone in her conversation, and showed no partiality. They were all special to her.
“Tell us more about life in the Fae palace,” Ashlyn said while rocking her daughter to sleep.
He should leave. He had to talk to his friends about his deal with Taliyah—and they would probably want to wipe the floor with his face for offering up their fortress. It would be best to get that out of the way while Tink was distracted. He turned to walk away.
“Well,” Tink said. “I’m now the most envied woman in the land. I married the famed keeper of Disaster.”
He heard the pride in her voice, and couldn’t help but turn back to her. He saw it in her eyes, too, and his heart soared. His friends could wait.
Anya bounced Urban up and down and patted him on the back, struggling to get him to burp. “I want to hear more about Kane beating up your lecherous half brother. I bet that rocked your panties off! It would have mine, if I ever wore any.”
Haidee, Amun’s wife, shook her head; a mix of blond and pink hair danced over her shoulders. “You have to forgive her. She’s just a little crazy in the head.”
“Uh, try a lot crazy in the head,” Anya retorted, as if she were complimenting herself. In her mind, she probably was. “I should have been committed centuries ago. Oh, wait. I was!”
“Stop talking, Anarchy. Josephina was just about to tell us if Kane’s as much of an animal in bed as I think.” Gwen, Sabin’s wife, waved to Tink, a silent command to continue.
“I’m pretty sure I wasn’t going to talk about that,” Tink said, taken aback.
“Oh, yes, you totally were. And while you’re at it,” said Kaia, Strider’s consort, “I’m going to give you one of my galaxies’ famous makeovers. Strider told me your family treated you like a servant and I firmly believe the best way to get revenge—besides killing the stupid jerks with a blade...or a hammer...or a saw—is to kill the stupid jerks with jealousy.”
Sienna, Paris’s wife, snapped her fingers and a rack of dresses and a vanity piled high with makeup appeared. “Ta da! Let the makeover begin.”
“Neat trick,” Tink said, clapping.
Gilly, William’s teenage charge, leaned toward Tink, her expression earnest. “I hear you spent some time with William. Did you happen to notice the kind of women he...you know?”
“My poor ears,” Anya said. “They do not need to hear about Willy you-knowing.”
“You guys are weird,” Scarlet said. “I should kill you all in your sleep. That way, I’d stop stressing about missing friends—because I wouldn’t have any friends. It would be win/win.” She was the keeper of Nightmares, the wife of Gideon, and there was no one scarier. Most people ran from her at the first opportunity.
But not Tink. Tink patted her on top of the head. “Don’t go near Kane, or I’ll have to hurt you.”
“What about William?” Gilly prompted.
“She can go near him if she wants,” Tink said with a nod.
“No.” Gilly twisted the fabric of her T-shirt. “His women.”
“Can I go to my room now?” Legion, Aeron’s adopted daughter, interrupted. She was pale and withdrawn, and Kane hated the reason why. Like him, she’d spent a little time in hell.
Earlier today, he’d gone to her room to talk with her. She hadn’t responded when he’d knocked, so he’d gone in thinking to leave her a note. He’d found her huddled in the far corner, her knees drawn to her chest as she etched pictures on the wall. Pictures of Galen, once the second in command of the Hunters, now under Sienna’s control.
Galen, who’d once thought to enslave the girl.
“Legion,” he’d said, and she’d stiffened. She had the body of a porn star, and yet, at that moment, she appeared to be nothing more than a child.
With her back to him, she’d said, “I hate that name. I won’t answer to it.”
“What would you like me to call you?” He’d kept his tone gentle.
“Anything but that.”
“All right, then. I’ll call you Honey.”
“Whatever. I want to be left alone.”
His heart broke
for her. “I’ll go. I just wanted you to know I’ve been where you are, and I’ve been through what you’ve been through, and if you ever want to talk about it with someone who understands, come find me. It doesn’t make you better, but...it helps.”
Now, in the present, Olivia, Aeron’s wife, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Stay with us a little longer. Please.”
Legion—Honey—flinched at the contact, but nodded reluctantly.
“Well...” Tink scanned each expectant face, a gleam of awe dawning in those baby blues, as if she couldn’t quite believe they were talking to her—and actually liked her. So wise in so many ways, yet so innocent in so many others. “Let me tackle this one at a time. First, the Fae palace is huge and luxurious and filled with treasures, but the people kind of suck.”
Gwen and Kaia smiled and nodded.
“I think a treasure hunt is in our future,” Kaia said.
“Agreed,” Gwen replied.
“Second,” Tink continued, “I won’t divulge a single detail about what Kane and I do in the bedroom. Except to say that it’s awesome. I’m probably the most satisfied woman in the fortress, if not the world.”
“No way. I am!” Anya said.
“No, me!” Kaia replied.
“Third, a makeover would be nice. Thank you. Fourth, William...yes. He spent time with a beautiful but very cruel blonde. The queen, who is kind of like my stepmother. I’m sorry.”
Gilly nodded, the twinkle fading from her eyes. “A married woman,” she said. “He’s not the man I thought he was.”
Tink reached over and squeezed her hand, a gesture of comfort and understanding. When she realized she wasn’t wearing her gloves, she jerked her arm away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched—no, wait. I can. Kane made sure.”
He grinned—the pride was back.
Hate her! Hate them! Disaster banged against his skull, roaring, growling, threatening.
Beside him, a light bulb shorted out. At his feet, a crack formed in the marble.
Here we go, he thought, fighting a spear of dread. The hunger pains had begun.
Every eye darted to him. He ground his molars and nodded in acknowledgment.
A hard hand on his shoulder drew his attention to the male behind him. “You ready?”
Surprised, he said, “William. What are you doing here?”
“That’s the welcome I get after everything I’ve done for you? Thanks a lot, dude.”
Kane drew back a fist and let it fly, nailing the warrior in the nose. Blood instantly spurted. “No, that’s the thanks you get.”
William grinned, his warped sense of humor obviously coming out to play. “Better.”
“Next time you try and trick me, I won’t stop with one punch.”
“I’m sure.”
And now that that was settled... “Last I saw you, you were headed into a fight with the minions. What happened?”
“A slaughter, that’s what. Those females got what was coming to them, I assure you. And now, you owe me, like, big time.” He blew the ladies a kiss and started toward the library. He only looked back at Gilly once.
Kane followed him, and, taking a page from his playbook, threw one last glance at Tink. She smiled at him, so sweet and pretty, and he smiled back.
“I owe you nothing,” he said to William. He wasn’t sure whether to feel elated his enemy was dead, or ticked that vengeance would never be his.
He’d go with ticked.
“So, where’d you get my ring?” he asked, just to taunt the warrior.
Those electric blues narrowed to tiny slits. “You mean my ring.”
“That’s what I said. My ring.”
A pause. A stiff shrug. “Fine. Keep it. I stole it from a woman I bedded and killed. What? Why are you looking at me like that? Anyway. The ring’s probably cursed, luring you into a false sense of calm.”
Another light bulb shorted out, a spray of flames seeking Kane as if he wore a bull’s eye. He remained silent as he entered the room. William shut and locked the door, just in case the women decided to come looking for them. Kane swept his gaze over the men scattered throughout the room. Lucien, Sabin, Strider, Amun, Paris, Gideon, Aeron, Reyes, Maddox and Torin, who stood in the far corner. Weeks had passed since they’d all been together like this.
Together, they were a force to be reckoned with.
“So your girl’s in trouble, huh?” Strider said. “William told us about her father’s plans.”
“What can we do to help?” Sabin asked.
Help, he’d said. He wasn’t trying to take over, and didn’t plan to leave Kane behind. He understood Kane’s need to participate in his woman’s liberation. Some of the tension left him—
Until another light bulb shorted out.
“First, I have to be straight with you,” he said. “I need you out of the fortress, no questions asked, in a little less than three months.”
“What?”
“Why?”
“What’s going on?”
Yeah. No questions asked, he thought with a roll of his eyes. Whatever. “To find Tink, I made a bargain with someone. That person gets the fortress.”
“Who?” Sabin demanded.
“None of your business. Just do it.”
There was grumbling. Of course there was grumbling. But the warriors would have done the same thing for their women, and they knew it. There was no debate in the end—they would leave.
Next, Kane outlined his plan for the Fae king, and all of his friends nodded encouragingly. It was dangerous, and it required a huge sacrifice from every person in the fortress, but it was the fastest way to prove Tink’s worth to her father—and all of the Fae.
Then, and only then, would Tiberius understand Kane would never let her go. Hunting her would do no good. She would never again be a blood slave.
When he finished, Sabin stroked his chin and pondered. “Will it hurt?” the warrior asked.
“No,” Kane replied.
“Cause any lasting damage?” Reyes demanded.
“No.”
“You’re sure?” Lucien asked.
“I am.”
“Well, you have my agreement,” Strider said with a shrug. “Now, you just have to get Kaia’s.”
Kane nodded. He’d expected that. “I will.” He wouldn’t fail.
William placed his hand over his heart. “This plan is so devious, it’s almost as if I thought of it. I’m quite impressed.”
Kane flipped him off, just because. And even as the wall beside him rumbled and shook, as if preparing to collapse on him, he felt lighter than he had in weeks. He felt...free. Free of the past and the pain, the memories and the hate.
Last night, Tink had done something to him. She had soothed the beast inside, perhaps. Or maybe she had cauterized what remained of his wounds.
Now, he would do the same for her.
“We leave in the morning,” he said.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
KANE LEFT TINK sleeping in their room, and knocked on Reyes and Danika’s door.
“Go away,” Reyes shouted, sounding out of breath.
No need to wonder what was going on in there. “I need to speak with Danika. I’m staying put until I do.”
Pounding footsteps. The hard twist of a knob. A scowling Reyes appeared. He was shirtless, his pants undone, his hair askew. “You’re flirting with death.”
“And I’m sure Lucien finds me adorable. The painting,” he said, looking past his friend to the beautiful girl strolling toward him, tying a terrycloth robe around her waist. “What can you tell me about it?”
She nodded, saying, “I struggled with the appearance of the female. One second I saw a brunette that could have been Josephina, but I’m not one hundred percent certain about that, and the next I saw the pale-haired female I ended up painting.”
When he’d first met her, Tink had changed facades, but the ability of the Phoenix had left her, so she wasn’t the pale-haired one in disguise. “The Moirai
told me I had two possible mates. William thought one was his daughter White, and I thought one was Tink’s half sister, Synda. Both are blondes.”
She thought for a moment, sighed. “You should show the artwork to Josephina. If that’s her body—”
“It’s not.”
“—she would recognize herself.”
“She won’t.” He’d seen and kissed and touched every inch of her. “I know her body better than she does.”
Danika gave another sigh. “I can believe it. Anyway, there’s something strange about that painting. I’ve never had trouble locking onto an identity, and I’ve never been wrong.”
“Tink’s safe.” The assurance was for him, not Danika. “I’m not going to let anything happen to her.” Even though his plan involved throwing her straight to the wolves. “There’s nothing more you can tell me?”
“No, I’m sorry.”
“This meeting is over, then.” Reyes shut the door in his face.
* * *
PANTING AND SWEATING, Josephina peered up at Kane. He hovered over her, panting just as hard, sweating just as badly. She watched a bead trickle from his forehead to his temple and catch in his hair, mesmerized.
“How was that?” she asked.
“Absolutely terrible.” His lashes fused, hiding the brilliance of those angry hazel eyes. “The worst.”
Brutal honesty sucked sometimes. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be.”
“I’ll do better.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Hey! “You’re seconds away from being slapped!”
“That would be a welcome change.”
She shoved him off, and he rolled to a stand. They’d been training for hours, and she was tired. She hadn’t slept last night—even after Kane had made love to her and exhausted her—her mind too busy outlining every possible flaw to his crazy plan. The only real fight she’d ever been in had happened in hell, but at the time she’d had the abilities of the Phoenix and had simply burned everything that had approached her. She didn’t have that luxury now.
He helped her stand, his calluses tickling her skin. “You have to use every weapon at your disposal. A rock on the ground. Your knees. Whatever. Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty, and inflict major damage. If your attacker’s face is within striking distance, like mine just was, poke out his eyes. Break his nose with the heel of your hand, sending cartilage into his brain.”
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