by Celeste Raye
“Now, Jillian, don't start.”
“You know damn well that's why you're here, Franklin. You're going to tell me what the hell is going on and why you are surrounding the house that our daughter is in.”
“She left with him. And you know that we can't stand for that. You know what will happen if we do.”
“So, what do you suppose we do?”
“We will wait them out until they get hungry and give up. It is better than going in with force and possibly killing her in the crossfire.”
Jillian shook her head and tried to collect herself.
“This is our only daughter that you’re talking about. I will not have my daughter hungry or have something happen to her.”
“I will not have her with a Rand. I don’t care how you feel. You know that I love you both, but this is pushing past even my limits. This isn’t a forgiveness that will be given. I would rather see her dead than with him. You know that they would be better off, we all would be.”
Jillian shot a look at her husband that was meant to cut him to the core. He did feel it and looked away to dodge her clear green eyes, much like his daughter’s.
“You take that back, Franklin. That will never happen. I will never let anything happen to her. You’re taking this too far. Maybe it is time to come up with some truths. That would be better than this.”
It was Franklin’s turn to be aghast as his partner’s suggestion. There was no way that he was ever going to be able to go that route. He had given his word, and that was as good as it was going to get.
“We swore that we would keep it with us forever. I meant it, Jillian. We can’t.”
“We have to do something.”
“I am doing the only thing that I know how to do.”
“Even if it brings war?”
“We’ve been at war for over a century. This will bring conflict. It will be better this way.”
Jillian almost always deferred to her husband, and she did again. The only difference was this time, she attached a threat along with it. She was going to let him do things his way, but if anything happened to their daughter, there was going to be hell to pay. He didn’t need the specifics.
When Franklin got back to the house, he was worried about how it was all going to go down. His wife was not just an ordinary woman. He loved her immensely, but at the same time, knew that it was better to keep on her good side. She was a very powerful witch, and when she was angry, bad things could happen. It was the same with his daughter, though most of her powers were held back when she was home. There was a large stone that leeched power from her. He didn’t want the women in his life upset with him. It always ended badly.
So, he sought out his son to make sure that Lachlan knew that he was not to start anything. Lachlan was always quick to get into physical altercations. It was in his blood. Franklin had been the same way the first few hundred years, but time and wisdom taught him that nothing good ever came from it, not for long. If one pack was beaten, they would just make enemies for life, and with long lives, things always changed. Nothing was ever over when it came to violence.
On the other hand, Franklin knew that he had to stop what was going on with the two of them. The families were apart and warring for a reason.
“Lachlan! I was looking for you. I see that you’re taking liberties from the fight.”
“There are many village women around here that are more than happy to try something new. What am I to do but oblige them?”
He pulled out of the woman that he had bent over the dresser. When Franklin had come in, the whole piece of furniture was rocking back and forth. There was nothing he could do but wait until she got dressed and finally left.
“You know that you’re in charge. You have to keep your wits about you.”
“Yes, well, that is easier said than done. It’s been over a week now. This is going on far too long. I don’t know why we don’t bring some witches in.”
“They have their own.”
“Yes, but they don’t have Mother.”
“Your mother is not going to help in this undertaking. She has made it clear that she doesn’t want anything to happen to your sister.”
“We can’t just wait this out. They are prepared and have witches. How is this ever going to work?”
Franklin and Jillian had lamented about the same thing, but they all knew that it was going to come down to them helping Freya see that she needed to get away from the Rands and come home
“I don’t know.”
“What happens if they call in their army and we’re out here like sitting ducks?”
“We worry about that when we get there. I know that we will be fine, one way or another. We can’t back down. If we do, it will be like a domino effect and we will lose respect. I won’t let that happen.”
“So, either Mom is pissed or we finally end this damn feud, once and for all?”
“It looks that way. Although I am still hoping for another option. Hopefully Freya realizes what it is that she is doing and she comes home with us.”
“Then what?”
“What do you mean?”
“We can’t just let it go, now can we? How are we going to take care of Nik?”
Franklin wasn’t sure about that. At the moment, it was impossible to guess what was supposed to happen.
“That we will worry about after we have Freya back home. Right now, that’s all I am worried about: getting the two of them the hell away from each other.”
“Why?”
“Because they are our enemies, son. There is no telling what is going on in there.”
“She looked fine from the balcony Dad. I don’t think that Nik is going to hurt her.”
He told his son that he didn’t know anything. While he had started the conversation because he wanted Lachlan to keep his cool, something happened halfway through it, and Franklin knew that he had to break it up.
“I hope you’re right, son. I just want her home. I don’t like her out and with those people. It just isn’t right, and I want her back with us. Your mother wants the same thing.”
“Are you sure you can’t talk her into coming and ending this for us?”
“It will lead to a fight if the barrier goes down by force. You know that, and so does your mother. She isn’t going to let it happen. We have to convince Freya to come with us. We have to talk sense into her.”
Lachlan said something about that not being possible with Freya. He knew how stubborn she was. Franklin was of the same mindset, but he didn’t have a choice, not with Jillian putting her foot down. What was he supposed to do?
Chapter Sixteen
“I don’t think they are going to leave, Nik.”
“Then come to bed and stop worrying about what is going on out there. I thought we were going to play.”
“I can’t believe you talked me into this.”
“I can’t either.”
Freya walked back in and sighed out loud. “It’s hard to do things in here with you, knowing that my family is out there, ready and willing to rip your head off.”
“Well, close the blinds and get in here. I am not going to let it ruin our evening.”
Freya smiled back at him and told him that there was no way that anything was going to ruin another perfect day with him. She’d fallen for him hard, and each day she was in a little bit deeper. Now they were flirting with disaster.
He had a deck of cards on the bed, and he was dealing them out. She had agreed to some strip poker, but that wasn’t really what Freya had on her mind. It had been almost a month that they had been cooped up together. It was time, and the game was merely a prelude. A way for them to lose some inhibitions without putting it all out there. Freya was terrified.
She sat cross-legged across from him on the bed and tried not to meet his gaze too much. She knew if she did, he was going to see how nervous she was and that wouldn’t do any good. Freya had played it tough and tried to ignore how lightheaded and fluttery she was in h
is presence. As much as she wanted to deny what was between them, she no longer could, and certainly didn’t want to.
“So, who goes first?”
“You go first, Freya.”
They ignored the noise that was coming from the tents of people outside of the barrier. It was rather strange to see. This was not how people did things. But to those involved, it seemed the only way. What was a little siege between sworn enemies?
She got a crap hand and claimed he cheated. She quickly lost her shirt and then several more articles of clothing. It was down to her skivvies, and Freya wanted to know how he was cheating. There was no way that he was getting hands that were that good consecutively.
“How are you doing this?”
“Do you really want to know? It’s not cheating or anything.”
“Then what is it, because I have never lost this much. I am usually pretty good at poker.”
“It’s because you have a tell.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, your nose crinkles just a bit when you have a good hand. I don’t know why, but it’s the cutest thing ever, and it gives you away every time.”
She was not happy with his response, especially because Freya didn’t even know that she had a tell. Of course, he would know and be so eager and willing to tell her about it.
“That isn’t fair. You don’t have one. I should be worried about you because you could lie to my face and I would never even know it.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, Freya. Never.”
She liked his response and leaned over to give him a kiss before she had really thought about it. His lips were nice and luscious, and before long, all she wanted was them on her.
He pushed back gently after a moment, telling her that they hadn’t finished the game.
“What is the use if you know when I’m fibbing?”
“Besides the fact that I never get to see you, all of you, with lights on and I kind of want to? You tease me with those little panties and bra.”
“You know what’s underneath it. You’ve touched and tasted every inch.”
“Well, I haven’t touched and tasted all of it in the way that I want to, but I am talking about seeing you. I want to see all of you, Freya.”
Her body shivered in response to his needs. She knew that there was something more that was going to happen, and Freya didn’t want to prolong it anymore. She figured that the two of them had put it off long enough.
“How about we keep on kissing and see how else you can get my clothes off?”
He grinned at her. “That sounds like enough of a plan for me.”
“Yeah?”
Nik moved to kiss her and pull her in against his chest. The only part of him that was bare, and even then, she felt like he had given her the win.
His lips moved to her neck and then down the other side of her. Freya shivered in response and moved her arms so that he could get her bra unhooked. She helped pull it off of herself while he pulled her onto his lap. “I don’t think you know how badly I want you, Freya.”
“I think I know, Nik.”
“If you did, you would know that you’re torturing me.”
That made her snicker. “It’s not so bad, is it?”
She knew what he was saying. Freya had been thrilled a thousand times since they’d been together, but never in the way that she wanted. While each one felt amazing, at the same time, each one made the hole inside of her a little bit bigger.
“Yes, I do. You have wonderful skill with your mouth, Freya, and other parts of you, I might add, but you know what I want the most. I want to feel you inside.”
That made her shake.
“Then why don’t you?”
“I thought that we agreed…”
She silenced the question with a finger to his lips. She didn’t want to talk about that right now. All she wanted was to feel his mouth on hers. Nothing else was going to do. That is all she knew for certain; the rest would work itself out.
Chapter Seventeen
Nik had been waiting a long time for Freya to say those words. He’d wanted to slide inside of her when they first met at the Dynasty Club, but he’d known that he would have to take his time. And he had. Far too much time, if he was going to be perfectly honest. Just when he thought that he might truly lose his mind with everything that was going on with her, he told himself that he wasn’t going to let it affect him now. The wait was over.
“Are you sure?”
Please, be sure…
“Yes, Nik. I want to feel all of you inside of me too. I have been thinking about it just as long as you have. I think maybe even before you.”
He smiled at her response and kissed her again. The only thing that was hotter than Freya herself was the need that she brought to the table. Nik didn’t feel like he was talking her out of her panties. It wasn’t a one-time fling that was going to be all wasted effort in the morning. What was happening with Freya was different.
When Freya pulled back, she stood up on the bed and slipped the panties off of her before she settled back down on his lap. He was still wearing some shorts, but it was rather clear that he was at attention.
“You seem ready to move this game to the next level.”
He groaned in response. “Yes, I believe so.”
“Then why are your pants still on?”
She growled the question into his ear, and he pulled her off of him and pushed her down in response. Nik’s shorts got yanked off, and she was no longer the one on top. He covered her body with his and pressed into her hard enough that she whimpered. Nothing but the tip was in, and he stopped, waiting for her eyes to open and adjust, just like the rest of her was going to have to do.
“Look at me, Freya.”
Freya was reluctant, but she finally did as he requested. She was doing her best to hold it all in, but there was desire and need pouring out of her.
He was easy in movement, and she whimpered as he filled her at a steady but excruciatingly slow pace. She tried to rush him along, but there was nothing that she could say or do to make him change. He’d waited far too long to rush now, especially when Nik had his own demons to slay. The very feel of his need being suffocated by hers was far more than he would have bargained for at the time.
She was urging him on, but he had to stop her with a stern voice.
“Well, if you’re going to be like this, roll me over and let me ride you. I am sure that I will be able to hold it together a little bit better than you.”
That got her a growl, and she squealed in response when he did just that. Now she was all the way down on him, and she could stroke him with her inner muscles.
“You feel so good, Nik. It’s like we were made for each other. We just fit. I know that you can feel it too.”
Nik wasn’t able to say much of anything because he was far more worried about how everything was going to turn out. He was gritting his teeth as she started to move around. Her movement was jerky, and her response to him inside of her was exactly what he wanted it to be.
“Does that feel good?”
“You know that it does, Nik.”
It was hard for her to talk while she was moving around on top of him. Nik had a strained look on his face, and he was doing his best to try and keep himself together. This was not usually a problem of his, but the long wait and the unbelievable feel of Freya made it hard for it to be any other way. He had to actually lift her off of him so that he could catch his breath.
Freya didn’t know why he was doing it, so she kept making little whining sounds to let him know that she wasn't happy about it. Her body, and her hips especially, sought him out to reclaim what she already saw as her own.
“Come on, Nik. What are you doing? I was almost there.”
That just made it even harder on him and he had to hold her by her waist so that she was unable to sink back down on him. It was embarrassing on one side of things, but in the other instance, it just told Nik that he was never going to get enough of he
r. Every moment that he thought it was going to be ruined, it just became stronger than ever.
Finally, he dropped her on top of him and listened to the gasping sounds that she made, like he was choking her. It was music to his ears. He felt that overwhelming feeling as well when she clinched every inch of him with every inch of her. She was rather talented that way.
It wasn't long before neither one of them could hold back. Freya lost the battle long before Nik did, several times, but even when Nik could finally hold out no longer, he was still remiss that it was over. In his opinion, it could have gone on forever and never be long enough. He wanted to stay inside of her forever.
They laid next to each other for a time, catching their breath before Freya leaned in for a kiss and slid onto her side. She had a happy look on her face, a satisfied one that made him feel better about his lack of control. It wasn’t something he was used to, but with Freya, things were going to be different.
She fell asleep not long after they finished, and she was able to watch her sleep for a while. He loved how serene she looked, and his feelings of protection of her seemed to double, if that was possible. He wanted to pull her towards him, but at the same time, he liked having her at arms-length so that he could watch her for a while.
When she turned around in her sleep, he was given a wide expanse of her back and hips to check out. It was a side of her that he hadn’t really been able to see. There was so much that he still had to see of her, do to her, but there was nothing that he could do at the moment. If he touched her, then she would wake up.
His musing got the best of him, and he moved some of her long hair out of his way so that he could see the skin it was hiding. It was then that he saw something that threw him off a bit. It wasn’t something that he’d expected to see and Nik was lost for a moment about what to do. What it meant.
He saw a mark on her shoulder blade that he hadn’t noticed before, but it was one that he knew well.
Nik unconsciously touched the spot on his own shoulder, where the same mark was present. It looked like a brand, just like his did, though it was hard to distinguish what it was. It looked like it had almost been burned twice, and the second time had been solely to cover up the first.
