Her mouth dried like she’d eaten raw cranberries. She wanted to look to Neeman for help, but she didn’t dare.
“We have plenty of humans here,” said Danika. “But they’ve been given the option to pick their new masters. We just had a meeting night a couple of nights ago. It could take hours to go through everyone and find one willing to go with you.”
“What about you?” Sherman asked Selene. “You don’t belong to someone, I take it. Would you be willing to go? It would be a great favor.”
“No.” Neeman stepped forward.
A wave of relief washed through her.
Sherman looked up and locked eyes on Neeman.
“You wanted a way to keep him safe? Distance yourself from him.”
“I’ll go,” she blurted before she could think too hard.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mason inch forward. Danika’s gaze was even on her.
She cleared her throat and smiled. “I’ll go, if you’ll just give me a minute to collect my things.”
“Of course,” said Sherman.
“But I must make something clear first,” she said. “There will be no sex and no drinking of my blood.”
“I understand. However, you may change your mind about that.” Sherman winked at her.
Neeman stepped forward and at the same moment Danika stood.
“Neeman, why don’t you help Selene collect her things while Mason and I finish up.”
Selene caught Neeman’s face clearly for the first time since she announced she’d go with Sherman. His body was rigid as an iron pole. His eyes sparkled with a bright iciness. He said nothing but moved to the door to hold it for her.
Selene kept her head high as she strode from the room.
“Can you give me a moment, please?” Mason said. “I need to use the bathroom.”
“Of course,” Sherman replied.
Selene kept walking into the foyer and then up the stairs. Neeman’s aura swarmed her and her brother’s ever looming presence hung just behind Neeman.
They all reached her bedroom and she turned to face them. She wouldn’t back down.
“What?” she said.
Mason crossed to her, his face a mixture of emotions. “This is a dangerous game you’re playing.”
“He’s your friend and he needs our help.”
Mason’s face darkened. “Don’t lie to me. I know you’re lying. Maelstrom even knows you’re lying.”
“Look, it’s not a big deal. He needed someone and I’m not doing anything here. All I’ve done since I got back to this realm is hang out and wait for my fate. I can’t do anything. No one knows what I am. I’m not allowed to go out by myself.” She looked to Neeman. “I’m not allowed to talk to anyone. Not even the humans here in this house who think I’m one of them. I have more degrees than any human left on this earth and I’ve been reduced to toilet duty so far and teaching toddlers. So I might as well be useful. Besides, he’s going to be meeting with the other kings, so maybe I can find out something that will help.”
“He won’t take you with him to the meeting,” said Mason.
“He will because he needs me as an alibi. I may only be there for show, but I know how to stay hidden and get around on my own. You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be just fine. If I have any problems, I’ll send a signal. Or call Neeman on my cellphone. I can do that now.”
Mason stared at her for a long time and then turned to Neeman. “I don’t like it.”
Neeman’s jaw worked but his eyes held something different. Pain.
“Neither do I. But what choice do we have? She’s made up her mind.”
Mason stepped up to her and pulled her into a tight embrace. “You keep your eyes open and your mouth shut. Do you hear me?”
“Easy peasy.”
He pushed her to arm’s length and gave her a dubious look. “I would die if anything happened to you baby sister,” he said in the old language.
“And I for you,” she replied.
Mason kissed her on the head and then strode to the door. “I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
She nodded and he closed the door behind himself.
“Oh.” She snapped her fingers and moved to the table where Neeman’s box sat. She placed her palm on it. “Dilato.”
The wooden box grew until it was the right size again.
“Didn’t want to forget to do that, in case...” She trailed off. She didn’t want to say, in case they didn’t see each other again. But she was leaving with a Vampire. There would be no one to protect her from what was to come, except for herself.
Neeman stepped up until their bodies were almost touching. “Why did you tell him yes?”
She licked her lips. The cool feel of his skin near hers made her blood pump. His hard chest was so close. His solid arms, near enough to crush her. She wanted to feel him. To touch him. To taste him.
“Because he asked,” she replied.
Neeman raised his finger and stroked her cheek. “Why do you do this to me? You’ve gotten in my head and all you keep doing is spinning me around and around like a vinyl record. Have you been playing me this whole time? Manipulating me? Using me?”
She wanted to shout to him that she hadn’t. That she wasn’t using him. That she felt the same way and wanted to stay with him.
“I never used you, Neeman. You’ve known who I was from the beginning. I never hid myself from you.”
He grabbed her by the hair at the base of her neck and yanked her to him. Her body pulsed with excitement and her breathing hitched. He bent in close so that his cool breath tickled her neck.
“You’re lying again. I hear the pounding of your heart and the rush of blood through your veins. I smell your arousal at this very moment.” He looked up and locked eyes with her. “What I don’t understand is why you are lying.”
“I’m not.” Her voice came out strangled.
“Then look me in the eye and tell me. Tell me you have no feelings for me and that you aren’t pushing me away on purpose.”
She swallowed hard. “Neeman, I don’t have feelings for you and I’m not pushing you away.”
He pursed his lips and nodded. “Okay then. Go.” He backed up and bowed. “Your Vampire king awaits you.”
She located her purse and sweater, grabbed them both, and headed for the door.
“Don’t look back. Don’t look back. If you look back, you’ll blow it.”
She kept her shoulder square and her eyes ahead, refusing to look back.
* * * *
“Is that all you have, my dear?” Sherman stood at the front door.
She nodded but said nothing. She had to admit Sherman wasn’t unattractive. But she preferred Neeman’s hard body and brooding scowl for some reason.
A man walked forward, took her purse, and carried it outside for her. Sherman smiled and ushered her out the door. She looked over her shoulder at Mason, who held hands with Danika. Neeman was nowhere to be seen.
The man who’d taken her purse held the door to a sedan open. Sherman slid inside and she followed. Anxiety swirled in her stomach like a vortex as the door to the vehicle closed. She peered out the window, praying to see Neeman just once before they pulled away.
She reminded herself that she’d volunteered for this.
“And besides, I’m the most powerful being on this planet next to Maelstrom, so if anything goes south, you can always let me free.”
Selene hoped that wouldn’t be necessary.
“How long have you been out of your enclave?”
She turned. “I’m sorry.”
“Your enclave. How long have you been gone from it?”
“Uh...” She scratched her head and tried to come up with a lie. What was the point? “A couple of weeks. Not that long.”
Sherman nodded. He gave her a gentle smile. “Were you looking for supplies?”
She returned his smile and then turned back to the
window. “Something like that.”
They pulled away and her heart sank as the front door to Coven House shut without Neeman showing up.
He chuckled. “You aren’t much of a talker are you?”
“Sorry.” She rubbed her brow. “I’m kind of used to keeping to myself.”
“Pretty girl like you? That’s hard to believe.”
She peered at him again. His expression was playful, but she wasn’t sure how to answer. She was in his domain now. With no Mason, no Neeman to keep her in line, she was sure to blow it.
“You have beautiful eyes,” he said. “I haven’t seen green eyes in years.”
“Thanks.”
She turned to the window. “Where are we going?”
“I’m staying in a hotel downtown. My counterparts will assume that I’ve bought you as a blood slave so I’m sorry to say that we will need to stay in the same room.”
“In the same bed?”
“If you wish it.” He smiled broadly.
She sighed. The only way this was going to work was if she was honest with him. Funny that she was able to be honest with this man and not with Neeman, or even her brother.
“Look, your highness—”
“Sherman.”
“Sherman. I’m not sure what to say here. You hold the fate of several people I care about in your hands. You were kind enough to invite me to come with you instead of ordering me and I was smart enough to comply, though I find I did not have to. You seem to be a rather decent man and though I did go through a daddy phase, you really aren’t my type. So please know, while I’m flattered by your flirting, I’m not interested. I’m sorry.”
He inclined his head. “I understand. But know that if you ever change your mind you would be most welcome in my home and in my bed. You scent is most enticing.”
“You do me a great honor.”
“Well,” he said, with a glint in his eye. “Now that we have that out of the way what do you want to do tonight? I have to go to the hotel for dinner and a meeting but after that we have the rest of the time to do anything you wish.”
He was offering to take her out?
“When was the last time you had a gourmet meal?”
“I...I don’t remember.”
“Wonderful. Then we’ll get you a dress and some shoes and go to eat at The Marciano. You do like French cuisine don’t you?”
She hadn’t had French food in so long, she didn’t remember what it even was. “Anything but snails.”
“Wonderful.”
She chewed the inside of her cheek. “Why do I feel like you’re buttering me up for something?”
He laughed. “Because I am. I have a final favor to ask.”
Chapter 21
Good to his word, Sherman had taken her to an expensive dress shop and bought her whatever she wanted. For the first time in her life, she hadn’t been extravagant. Her melancholy about Neeman left her not even wanting to shop. But she’d promised Sherman to help him out and so she’d gotten dressed up and gone with him to dinner, accompanied by the two other kings, Melton and Vinton. It was apparent by Sherman’s temperament that he hadn’t wanted to eat with the other kings.
She’d done what he’d asked. She’d played the game her mother had taught her and had been the perfect escort. She’d laughed at his jokes. Smiled and been pleasant and had even touched his arm on two occasions, everything to convince the other kings that she was a human blood minion. She’d even convinced them of her sincerity by telling them what it was like being at Coven House and how she’d decided to choose Sherman as her master.
Toward dawn they headed to Sherman’s hotel. Her body sagged with fatigue. She rubbed her temples and let the tingling sensation run through her body.
“Did you enjoy yourself tonight?” Sherman asked.
“The food was lovely but the company was stuffy.”
He chuckled.
“Present company excluded of course.” She smiled.
“Of course.”
Sherman’s easy air made her comfortable. She could see how being his minion would definitely have its perks. He was handsome, sophisticated, rich...
Selene removed one of her heels and rubbed her foot.
They reached the brightly lit hotel and Sherman ushered her inside. They walked arm in arm through the beautifully crafted lobby, every eye on Sherman. She imagined this was how a movie star would feel as everyone bowed to Sherman or moved out of his way and gawked.
It surprised her that so many vampyr and Vampires still travelled and stayed in hotels, but she supposed when you lived indefinitely you had time to do those kinds of things.
Back upstairs, Sherman opened the door and she marched to the bedroom and plopped on the bed, kicking off her shoes. She sighed and flexed her toes. It had been a long time since she’d worn heels for more than a couple of hours.
“I’m going to shower and prepare for dawn.”
“Sounds good. I’ll just get ready out here. I don’t really have much to sleep in.”
“I could send down for something if you want.”
“Don’t bother.” She waved him off. “I usually sleep with very little on.”
A sly smile crept over his face.
“Don’t even think about it.”
He raised his hands. “My dear, I wouldn’t dare.” He walked into the bathroom and closed the door. When the water began to run in the shower, she stood and stripped off her dress, draping it over the arm of a chair. She pulled off her hose and laid them on top. Then she rummaged in her bag for her cami, slipped it on, and put her hair up in a ponytail.
She slid under the cool sheets of the bed and was flooded with memories of lying in Neeman’s arms. She’d been able to push him from her thoughts for part of the evening. But now alone, she ached to be near him, and her conspicuously silent inner demon mewled to be near him as well.
The tenderness of his touch. The feel of his cool hard body on hers. The look in his eyes as she’d told him she didn’t care. It made her gut clench.
“Remember why we’re doing this,” said her demon.
“I am. Every second. I am.”
* * * *
“Selene? Selene?”
“Neeman!” She jolted awake and scanned the dimly lit room trying to remember where she was. Sherman sat on the edge of the bed in a pair of dark blue silk pajamas.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She rubbed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the horrible nightmare. The scent of the stone altar still filled her nose.
“You were screaming in your sleep.”
“I apologize.” She pushed her bangs from her face. “I do that a lot I’m afraid.”
Sherman looked her over. She reached for the sheets and clutched them tight in her hands.
“You called for Neeman.”
“Did I?” She chuckled. “That’s strange.”
It wasn’t though. She’d dreamed Lorcan had Neeman tied to the altar and was torturing him.
Sherman’s gaze lit on her neck and he reached out and turned her head to the side.
His brows knit and his lips drew into a grim line. “He’s marked you.”
She jerked her head away and removed her hair from its ponytail.
“Why didn’t you say something?” Sherman pressed.
She shrugged. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
Sherman raised an eyebrow. “You’re wrong about that. Marking is reserved for only those that share the most intimate bond of mates. Were I or any Vampire or vampyr to touch you now, he could call for retribution.”
“But Vampires and vampyr bite blood slaves all the time without any repercussions.”
“True, but we don’t leave a mark. We lick the wound so it leaves no trace.”
Neeman hadn’t told her that. “Well, I wouldn’t worry about it. It was left accidentally in the heat of passion, that’s all.”
The dubious express
ion Sherman gave her made her shiver.
“We had some fun is all. I mean you’ve met him right? He isn’t one to let people in. I’m sure it was just an oversight on his part.”
“Neeman isn’t known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, that’s true.”
“See. And I’m not the only one he pushed away. I hear Lord Danika had a hard time with it as well.”
Sherman raised an eyebrow. “Did you now?”
“What?”
He patted her leg. “Thou doth protest too much.”
Busted. “Do you really think if there was anything between us he would’ve let me leave?”
“He obviously didn’t want you to. I saw his reaction when you said you’d go with me.”
“But in the end he let me. Does that sound like someone who intentionally marked me?”
“What it sounds like and what it looks like are two different things. Either way, you should be careful. There are those in my society who would rather kill you and dispose of the body than have Neeman find out what they did. Even if he didn’t mean to mark you.”
“But he’s a vampyr. Why would Vampires care what he thinks?”
“Because Neeman and his squad have saved more Vampires than anyone else in our society. Just because he’s a vampyr doesn’t mean he’s considered a lesser.”
“Isn’t that rare?”
“Extremely rare. But he’s owed favors by most of the Vampires in this society, including myself. He’s a good man. If you were looking for one, you couldn’t do much better.”
She nodded but said nothing.
“Now,” said Sherman. “Do you want to tell me what you’re doing here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Please, Selene. I’m four hundred years old. Your eyes took on a purple tinge tonight at times and your scent is so strong that I’m surprised the other kings didn’t mention it. But they are much younger than I am. I’ve seen your kind before. You aren’t human.”
* * * *
Neeman lay in the bed that smelled like Selene and tried to keep himself from exploding with thoughts of what she and Sherman might be doing. He’d watched from the window, the night before, as Sherman had escorted her like a queen, from Coven House. Neeman held no ill will toward Sherman. He’d been through a lot.
Rise of the Fae Page 21
