Rise of the Fae

by Rebekah R. Ganiere

  She moved faster, pressing her body down on his to gain more friction. Her need intensified and she grabbed his shoulders for support. His arms worked feverishly, pushing and pulling her hips to gain even more traction. The need built inside to the point of boiling over.

  Neeman slipped one of his hands away and cupped her breast, pinching it. Her body exploded. Every muscle tightened as her neck whipped back and her mouth dropped in a silent scream. Quicker and more intense than she could ever imagine, waves of ecstasy pulsed through her.

  Neeman hung on to her hips and continued to rock her through her climax, when she could no longer move. She sucked in a huge breath. The sensations began to fade and she dropped onto his chest panting. There were no words for the experience. Looking up, she saw a genuine smile on Neeman’s face.

  “Bet you feel like a Viking now, don’t you?”

  “Not yet.” He kissed her and pushed her into sitting position.

  Again he rocked her. He hadn’t even gotten there. He’d been so consumed with helping her.

  “Sit up,” she said.

  He backed against the headboard. She leaned in and kissed him then shifted her hips back as far as she was able and slammed forward again.

  He banged his head into the headboard and his fingers dug deep into her hips. He moaned into her mouth. She broke the kiss and licked down his neck.

  “When you get close,” she whispered in his ear. “Bite me.”

  He stopped.

  She nodded and then thrust her hips forward again. “Bite me.”

  Their gazes locked as she increased in speed and friction. His face changed from fear to desire. His fingers dug deep into her skin and his breathing came shallow and fast. She swept her hair over her shoulder and cocked her head to one side. Their bodies continued to move as his arms pumped faster.

  She saw the chi energy building tight in his chest. The desire to consume his chi and strengthen her magick coiled inside her. The light of his chi grew brighter and hotter. She placed her hand on his chest, waiting for the right moment.

  She grabbed Neeman’s face in her hand. “Bite me!” she demanded. “Bite me now.”

  He didn’t hesitate. His fangs sunk deep into her throat and he cried out, the sound muffled against her skin. The pull on her vein and the friction of their bodies made her claw at him as everything around her dissolved and she climaxed again.

  Her rapid breathing matched Neeman’s. They sat, joined, holding, and kissing for several minutes. His bright blue eyes held a slightly purple tinge at the edges. She shivered at the sight.

  He kissed across her collarbone and stopped.

  “What’s that?” He ran his finger over her collarbone. “I never noticed that before.”

  Selene looked down to find glowing runes flowing across her chest like a fiery tattoo. She swallowed hard as she stared at it.

  Holy crap!

  Those hadn’t been there before. Her head pounded as panic settled in. It wasn’t possible. She’d never had the runes before.

  Blood dribbled down her throat over the runes to her breast. She used the sheet to wipe off the blood and pressed it to the puncture wounds at her throat.

  “Are you cold?”

  “What?” She looked up at Neeman’s soft smile.

  “You’re shivering.”

  “No, I’m okay.” Her hand shook and she dropped the sheet from her neck, her eyes transfixed on the golden symbols.

  “The hell you are. You know exactly what those runes are and what they mean.”

  “Let’s get under the covers.” He moved her to the side and they both slid under the covers.

  He wrapped her in his arms and she put her still-reeling head on his chest.

  Her heart pounded. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be the one. Her mother had told her that she would never find someone she was meant to be with. Being divided between herself and her inner demon meant there would never be one who could satisfy them both.

  “Mother was wrong about so many things.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah.” She cleared her throat and tried again. “Yeah, I’m great.” She drew lazy circles around his right nipple, her brain working a million miles an hour. “What did Danika mean about ‘marking’ me?”

  He ran a finger over her neck where he’d bitten her.

  “She meant you needed to bite me?”

  “That’s part of it, yes. And you should probably call her Lord Danika.”

  She looked up at him. “What’s the other part?” She needed to know. Did this marking have anything to do with her new runes?

  His gaze lingered on her neck. “You need to ingest some of my blood as well.”

  “But isn’t that how you bond a slave to you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m not a slave. That won’t work with me.”

  “True, but if you ingest my blood, every other Vampire and vampyr will smell it and know you belong to me and leave you alone.”

  “Is that what Danika did with Mason?”

  Neeman’s face darkened and he worked his jaw as he stroked her throat. “He’s had her blood, yes. But not many would dare mess with the slave of a coven lord, whether or not they are bonded. Even so, no one would dare have messed with your brother.”

  The hard edge to his voice told her she’d hit a nerve about something. “What’s the deal with you and Danika?”

  His gaze met hers. “There is no deal between me and Lord Danika.”

  “Oh please, I see it in the way you act when her name gets mentioned. And the way you act around Mason.”

  He was silent for a long time. “Lord Danika and I used to be lovers.”

  Her eye twitched and she rubbed at it. It was unrealistic for her to be jealous. Neeman was good looking and smart, of course he had been with other women. How many men had she been with?

  “For how long?” Her throat constricted.

  “About five years.”

  Five years?

  “You should shut up now. Stop being so nosy.” For once her demon’s advice was sound.

  “How come you didn’t marry?” she asked despite herself.

  He stared at her, his fingers stopping. “She said no.”

  The answer chilled her to the core. She’d never opened herself up to a man. Never let one get close enough to have a third date, let alone close enough to ask her to marry.

  “I told you to stop asking.”

  She coughed and tried to keep her tone light, though her heart felt like molten lead.

  “Do you still love her?” She willed him to say no.

  He stayed silent too long.

  “So much for the stupid new runes.”

  “No,” he said.

  She nodded and set her head on his chest. She shouldn’t have asked if she hadn’t wanted to hear the answer.

  Chapter 17

  An hour later, they were summoned downstairs. Jealousy still coursed through Selene, and every time she reminded herself she was being stupid, her demon half would set her off again.

  Neeman cared for her, that was obvious, but the torch he held for Danika was nothing she could compare to. They’d been together for years and he’d wanted to marry her. That wasn’t going to change just because he’d claimed Selene as his property and they’d had a wonderful hour of passion.

  They crossed the landing toward the hallway where Douglas had cornered her and a chill ran through her. Below, the remaining Vampires were heading out the door, stopping to speak to the beautiful pregnant Vampire and her mate before leaving. Humans cleaned up the mess from the party and Selene wondered if they’d been freed by Danika.

  Neeman turned down a dim hallway. Three lone doors stood on the left side. He got to the second to last and knocked. William beckoned them in. The scent of fresh paint and new drywall filled the air. The wall separating the sitting room from the bathroom was newer than the rest. She wonde
red what the room had been before becoming a sitting room.

  “Please sit.” Danika pointed to the chairs in front of a large wooden desk.

  Neeman pulled one out for Selene. She looked up at him; his expression gave nothing away. Once again, they were back to him being in his head and her feeling like a school girl sent to the headmistress’s office. Selene tried to look into the bathroom to see if Mason was in there, but she couldn’t spot him.

  “I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday,” said Danika. Her golden gaze stayed planted on Selene. “I’m afraid I wasn’t much liked by other females growing up and so I have very little tact when it comes to them. Even so, I am a coven lord and should try to act with some semblance of decorum.”

  “I accept your apology,” said Selene. “I would have felt quite as you did, if I had come to find my husband holding another woman.”

  Danika smiled and it lightened her face. “Yes. I can only imagine how that would go over.”

  “Don’t trust her. She wants something.”

  “So, Mason explained to me what’s been going on with the demons,” Danika said. “I wasn’t aware that they’d arrived. Can you tell us what happened last night at the compound?”

  How much did she say? What should she say? Should she tell the truth? “Where is Mason?”

  “Mason’s attending to some other business.”

  So he was deliberately staying away. A gnawing sensation settled in her gut and she bit the inside of her cheek. “Why?”

  Danika sat forward and smiled. “Can I be blunt?”

  Selene returned her smile. “Please do.”

  “Listen. Soon, I hope we can be the best of sisters. Maybe go shopping, have lunch and text each other. But this isn’t that day. I don’t know you. I don’t know how you got here, or why you’re here suddenly. All I know is that Mason hid you from me. And he never hides things from me. So that leaves me to believe that there’s something about you that he doesn’t want me to know. But that isn’t my concern at the moment. Right now my concern is the demons and what is going on in my city. Now, if you could start by telling me what happened at the compound when Neeman was gone it would be most helpful.”

  Selene wracked her mind to find a place to start. “What’s texting?”

  Danika growled in frustration and her gaze travelled to Neeman.

  “Selene,” he said. “Tell Lord Danika what happened.”

  His respect of Danika and his taking her side galled Selene. She gripped the arm of her chair as her inner demon gnashed her teeth.

  “How dare she disrespect us! Where is Maelstrom, why does he let her treat us like this?”

  “Shut up,” Selene whispered, rubbing her head.

  “Excuse me?” asked Danika.

  Selene looked up. “Look, I don’t know what happened. One minute I was lying down, the next minute there were ash demons in my hallway and a hellian chasing me into the arena.”

  “How did they find you?”

  “I assume Rex sent up a signal letting the other demons know where he’d been taken. Just like Mason accidentally did when he used his magick to take down the spell on the blood club.”

  “And how did the compound happen to collapse?” Danika sat forward and leaned her elbows on her desk.

  Okay, so this was the tricky part.

  “A hellian started to bring down the observation room and the ceiling. He charged me. I took him to the ground and he misfired. The firebreath hit the ceiling and the place started to fall.”

  Danika’s eyes glittered with interest. “Did they say who sent them?”

  “I—” She wasn’t positive but the Russians had phoned to put something in motion and the attack had happened shortly after. She wasn’t supposed to have heard them, but she couldn’t let the coincidence go unsaid. “The Russians may be behind it.”

  “What?” Neeman turned to look at her.

  “How do you know about them?” asked Danika.

  She blew out a breath. This was about to get sticky. So much for the shopping and texting with Danika.

  “I followed Neeman here and hid outside that night. I heard them. They said something about putting a plan in motion and Chase—”

  “Chase?” Danika was out of her chair in a flash. Neeman was on his feet as well. Even William moved from his stoic position in the corner.

  “Yeah. They said they shouldn’t have helped him—”

  Danika smacked her desk and swore. “I knew it! I knew those bastards were up to no good.” Her intense gaze raked Selene. “Did they say where Chase was?”

  Okay, so they were overlooking the fact that she’d snuck on the grounds of Coven House, nice.

  “No. They said they needed to contact Garon—”

  “So he’s back in the game,” said William.

  “I don’t think he was ever out of the game to begin with,” said Danika. Her gaze shifted to Selene. “This is something we should talk about in private. I’m sorry but it’s family business.”

  Neeman’s gaze landed on Selene as well and she determined not to squirm under the weight of their stares.

  She shrugged. “I can see where I’m not wanted. So I’ll just go.” She stood and turned toward the door, happy to be let go without a fight.

  She stepped into the hall and a cool hand fell on her arm. Neeman loomed close to her. Her eyes flicked to Danika, who watched the scene with interest.

  “What?” Selene asked.

  “You can’t leave Coven House,” Neeman said in a low voice.

  She folded her arms. “Oh, really?”

  His brows furrowed and he removed his hand. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing, what’s wrong with you?” she asked in her most childish voice.

  “Why are you being like this?” His eyes darted to Danika and then back to Selene, making her blood heat with anger.

  “What’s the matter, am I embarrassing you by not being the compliant little slave?”

  His mouth opened and closed several times as a mixture of anger and confusion played across his features.

  She dropped her arms. Why was she being like this? He’d made no commitment to her. They’d made love, that’s all.

  “I won’t leave, okay?”

  His dubious expression told her he wasn’t convinced.

  “What, you want me to pinky swear?”

  “I’ll be done here soon. And Selene?”

  She rolled her eyes. “What?”

  “We are going to talk about how you followed me here to find out that information.”

  She gave him a fake smile. “Can’t wait.”

  She closed the door in his face.

  Selene’s panties were in a wad but she was irritated beyond measure and her inner demon wasn’t making those feelings any easier.

  * * * *

  Selene stomped down the stairs and into the kitchen. There she made herself a huge plate full of party leftovers, from chicken tenders to mini eggrolls. Anything she could think of was packed into Tupperware and neatly lined up in the enormous refrigerator underneath an entire shelf of bottles of Savor.

  “I don’t think you’re supposed to be eating that,” said a female.

  Selene looked up as she put the lid on one of the Tupperware containers. “Why not? It’s food. It’s meant to be eaten.”

  “Not by us.”

  Selene stared at the blond with large, defiant sapphire eyes. “Oh,” she nodded. “You mean, by slaves. I’m not a slave.” She shoved the Tupperware into the fridge and closed it.

  “Oh no? Those marks on your neck say otherwise.” The girl pointed.

  Selene fought the urge to touch her neck. “Trust me. There’s not a Vampire on Earth who could enslave me.”

  The blond reached over and took one of Selene’s eggrolls. “Oh really? And why’s that?”

  Selene shrugged. “Because I don’t want them to.”

  The female snor
ted. “If that was true, I’d not have been sold a dozen times.”

  “A dozen?” Intriguing. Selene studied the female as she chewed. “So what makes you so special? I mean, I suppose you are pretty enough.”

  “It’s the challenge, I think,” said the girl. “They all think they can break me and make me submit to their will.”

  “But humans can choose their own mentors now, right? Why do you keep going with them?”

  The girl picked out another eggroll and crunched it. “Because I want to talk to the other slaves. To get them to see the truth.”

  “What truth?”

  “That we don’t have to live like this.” She gestured around. “We can fight.”

  Selene bit into a chicken tender. “And who’s going to help them fight? Where will you go?”

  The girl looked around and then leaned across the counter and lowered her voice. “There’s an enclave. The one I came from. It’s large, huge even. They’ll take us all in. They want to defeat the Vampires. Take back the world. They’re working on a cure.”

  “A cure for what?”

  “For vamps, of course. They’ve been working on it for years. And they have weapons. Some even rumored they have a couple nukes hidden away.”

  Humans. Thought they owned everything. The last thing the world needed now was human rebels with nuclear weapons. “And what makes you think that’s a good thing.”

  The girl shook her head. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “Well, from what I see, this world is in the crapper and the only thing holding it together are the Vampires. Without them, things would go back to the way they were after the Awakening. Chaos, wars, death.”

  The girl’s eyes narrowed on Selene like a laser beam. “Better to have those things and be free than to die in comfort as a slave.”

  Selene shook her head. “And how many slaves agreed with you? In all those households you went to, how many said they’d return to the enclave?”

  The girl frowned.

  “Didn’t think many would,” Selene said. “No offense, but people don’t want freedom, they want comfort. Everyone does. Given the choice between being a comfortable slave with safety and food and hot water, and going back to living in the mountains barely surviving, people are going to choose comfort every time.”