"Mm," she murmured. "Even staying in doesn't sound bad either. I'm just very tired of this one room. Although I really shouldn't complain about a room this nice."
"Complain all you want. There's a big world out there. I'll be right back with something to take you out in."
I walked down several long halls and marble staircases, almost losing my way despite having a good sense of direction, before I found my way to the heart of the court. I felt like I had time travelled as I walked into the main hall and saw a balladeer playing the harp for a small crowd of courtiers to the left, and faery ladies dressed in fur and velvet chatting to my right. Another man was supervising what I guessed were yule decorations of pine, holly and mistletoe. The queen didn't seem to be in attendance. I wondered where to even begin. I didn't see any familiar faces.
"Is it all well with your lass?" Suddenly the burly fae who was often with Daisy came up behind me and cuffed a hand around my neck.
"Yeah, quite well, actually--she wants to go out and get a walk, but she needs some warm clothes."
"Aye, winter's coming on," he nodded. "I know who will be more than happy to clothe your girl."
"Is it Daisy?" I asked, a little more skeptically.
"Aye, Daisy was just fussing over the dress your lass was wearing when she showed up. Said it looked like American Girl Samantha. D'ye know what that is?"
"I can hazard a guess."
"I take it it isn't good," he said. "Have I properly introduced myself? Lord Orson of the gruagach. I'm the first husband of Lady Daisy. Or maybe I ought to say that she's my first wife..."
"You have more than one?"
“No. But even with just one, she’s still the first, and more than enough, I suppose, lusty lass that she is. Daisy girl!" he bellowed across the room. "I have a job for you and leave your chattering ladies behind, too many cooks spoil the stew indeed. I'll take the baby. I need to go to market in any case, and children shouldn't be indoors."
Daisy walked over with the distinct look of someone who had been interrupted almost too many times, but was also eager enough to hand over her baby, who seemed fussy.
"We're not chattering ladies. I'm trying to plan this extra party the queen wants to have when I was already busy planning yule parties. I'm not really sure what kind of party to throw for...punishing a demon? Is that what we're doing? But you can certainly take Maybelle. She's colicky. Cyrus always knows what to do! How is your patient, Bevan?" She smiled at me and I thought the faery world seemed good for her. I remembered Daisy as being pretty self-absorbed, but now there was definitely maturity under her very frilly outfit and fancy hair ornament. Although she was also, most certainly, living life to the max.
"She needs warm clothes," Orson said. "So have at it, and I'm off." He easily swept the baby into one massive arm and patted Daisy's ass.
"Is that all I get? No kiss?"
He kissed her, patted her ass again, and headed for the doors.
"Well." She straightened out her dress, looking like she enjoyed making me watch that, for reasons I did not understand, but that was how I remembered Daisy. "If I take Jenny's measurements, I can figure out just whose clothes to borrow. And then, we should get her a gown for the party!"
"Are you with bond mates?" I asked her. "I thought Lord Cyrus was your husband."
"Oh, yes. I have three mates. I didn't mean for it to work out that way, but it just did. Doesn't your witch have three mates, too?"
"She has four..."
"Oh, really. That seems like too many," Daisy said, and I suppressed a laugh. Of course Daisy would think the exact right amount was what she had.
"From the male perspective, two is too many," I said.
"Well, they don't think so. They can hardly keep up with me."
"I don't mean...in the bedroom--" Although that, too. But I wouldn't give her more reasons to brag. "--but it's hard to get along with one person, much less three."
"I'm sure that's what Cyrus thought," Daisy said. "But he'd never had a family before. It really brought him and his cousin together like brothers, and it's actually very sweet. They do things without me now. In fact, they're fishing today!"
I was wishing I never asked. I wasn't sure I wanted to think about that sort of family. Helena seemed happy, but I had no idea how her life was going. That part of her life wasn't my business. Why else should I think about it?
I felt a deep urge to get Jenny all to myself as soon as possible.
"Girl, you've got a rack under there!" Daisy proclaimed without even introducing herself. "I can't wait to let those horses out of the barn. Oh god, why did I use a farm metaphor? Orson is rubbing off on me..."
Jenny looked at me helplessly at Daisy started sizing her up.
"This is Daisy," I said. "She's a witch but now she's married to faeries, so she's part of their court."
"Oh--nice--nice to meet you," Jenny stammered, blushing deeply as Daisy tried to measure her.
"Oops," Daisy said. "I forgot that we hadn't actually met. Like, in my mind, you were conscious when you showed up. I have baby brain right now."
"You have a baby? Boy or girl?"
"Girl." Daisy looked very excited for fresh blood to brag about her baby to.
"Is she cute?"
"No baby in the history of the world will be cuter than Maybelle," Daisy said. "Until I have another baby. You can meet her later. Our court is about to explode with babies because we had so many marriages recently! Well, your measurements are...woo, I'm almost jealous. You could pull off a Nikki Minaj outfit better than I could."
"Daisy. Do not put my Jenny in a Nikki Minaj outfit," I said.
"I won't. I mean, for starters, this hair," Daisy said. "It's...it's a vibe."
"I don't know anything about hair!" Jenny said, trying to hide behind it now. "It's not like I was trying to be fashionable! I don’t even know half of what you’re talking about.”
"Oh, babe, I'm here to help."
"Daisy, get your busybody hands off of my girl," I said, slowly getting more angry at her than amused. "I like her hair, and everything else about her, and I'm starting to think you're dreaming of ruining her. She's not you. Find her a nice, warm, comfortable outfit for walking in the cold and nothing fucking else, okay?"
I took a deep breath. I really didn't usually curse casually. It was that old-fashioned way I grew up, maybe, but I realized I didn't feel quite like myself. As I watched Daisy laying a finger on Jenny, I started feeling almost uncontrollably possessive, and wished I hadn't even offered to take her out of the room.
You let too much demon in, part of me whispered.
But I'm stronger for her because of it. Why stop now? I need to protect her from the others.
"That's no fun," Daisy said. "But...I'll be good...today. When it comes to the ball, I can't just put her in a brown turtleneck, okay? Not that I'm putting her in a brown turtleneck today either. That would be an abomination. But she's gotta let the assets shine! A body like that isn't going to last once she has your baby, Bevan, so enjoy it now."
I glared her right out the door. "Sorry about that," I said to Jenny. "I guess she hasn't entirely changed. No filter on that one. I didn't bring her in because I thought you needed fixing."
"Is she right?" Jenny whispered.
"I'm sure your body will be perfect to me forever."
"I mean...well, I hope so. Toad shifters aren't usually known for their eternal hotness."
I laughed. "Don't start comparing yourself to others now that you're out of the house for the first time."
"Is it true that I have a good figure now?" she whispered.
I finally couldn't stand it anymore. I put a knee on the bed and crawled over her. "Your figure is driving me to absolute distraction," I said, kissing her cheek, and then her neck, and then tugging down the collar of her nightgown to drop a kiss on her breastbone. "And I can't stop thinking about everything I could do to it.”
“Mrs. Franch kept telling me I’d gotten chubby,” she said.
“Mrs. Franch can kiss my ass.”
Her eyes widened and then she started laughing in a bubbly, joyful way that made me want to kiss her absolutely everywhere. ”I want to wear a sexy dress to the ball," she said. "I've never felt sexy in my life. I've felt like a little girl and housemaid...ohh..."
I was letting my lips trail down her body and I started to stroke my hand up her thigh with teasing fingertips. “If you’ve never felt sexy, I must not be doing my job.”
"Mm...do we have time before Daisy comes back with the dress?"
"It's worth finding out.”
Chapter Nine
Jenny
Bevan didn't need any more encouragement to get under the covers with me and spread my legs. We didn't have much time to act on our desires, and I wasn't short on desires. I was able to meet his first thrust with an arched back, a gasp, a clenching of my inner walls to hold him tight inside me.
Still, I was surprised by how forcefully he was fucking me, even more than last time. His jaw was clenched, his hands pinning mine down, his cock driving into me so fast that I wasn't sure he was fully paying attention to me anymore.
Whatever spell he was under, it certainly felt good. "I need you, toadlet."
"I can tell."
"Your face is so flushed...," he murmured. "And you're so wet. I know we'll both feel better."
The speed of his driving movement was impossible to ignore, and sparks were building up inside me so quickly that I could hardly speak. I succumbed to it, biting my lip furiously as I started coming so hard that I bucked under him, unable to hold back a moan. I hadn't even realized it could all happen that fast.
He let out his own groan of delicious agony as he filled me with his hot seed. He sat up, one arm still crossing my body, and he threw the covers back over me.
"Are you sure you feel okay?" I asked.
"You didn't enjoy it?"
"I definitely enjoyed it, but you seem a little different and I just wondered if it had anything to do with taking Variel's strength."
"I feel on top of the world," he said. "As if I truly have the strength to protect someone I love...and I also have that someone. I was blind before. I was content to be a familiar when I could have been making more of myself." He took my hands in his. "I'm going to use this power the way it should be used."
I hope so, I thought. But I didn't want to doubt him. I couldn't say I disliked the way he pounced on me and seemed so excited to be with me, and he could do that to me twice a day as far as I was concerned. And yet…
Daisy walked in, very luckily none the wiser, with a dress and cloak. "Well, you're lucky that this was the best I could do on short notice. Most of the faeries have more of a willowy build. You're short like my friend Polly and her whole wardrobe are these...frocks."
"It's perfect, Daisy, thank you," Bevan said, taking the hangers. "You can leave it to me."
"But I want to dress her! That's the fun part!"
"Tough luck. She's not your American Girl doll.”
“Don’t insult my hometown doll,” Daisy said as he steered her out the door with a hand and held out the clothes to me. "These aren't bad at all."
"They look like Jane Austen clothing," I said, and although they might not have Daisy's style, I thought they were much more grown up than the dresses I usually wore. Very elegant. The dress was forest green with a high waist and long sleeves with a small ruffle of lace and a row of delicate black buttons, while the cloak was dark blue wool with a hood and slits for the hands. I climbed out of bed, realizing I still felt shaky on my legs after how long I'd been in bed.
"You'll get stronger with some movement and a heartier lunch than chicken soup in you," Bevan said. He helped me out of my nightgown and into the dress, and he was so gentle and good with his hands now that I almost felt like I'd imagined how forceful he was just moments before.
Not a bad contrast, I thought, so naughty one moment and then so nice...
When he buttoned the dress it quickly became clear that I had a bigger bust than Polly. The dress was somewhat low cut and my breasts were like cupcakes rising out of the pan. I'd been trying to pretend they weren't there my entire life and now I wondered if anyone would notice anything else.
"It's a little snug," Bevan said. "But all the buttons fasten. I guess you're just a little bigger in the bust line."
"No kidding!" I put my hands over them. "Isn't it cold outside?"
"Not that cold. You have the cloak." He lifted it over my shoulders, tied the ribbon, and settled it over my chest. "There you are. You're shy, huh? A lot of women would be very proud to show those off."
"Well, it's not like I did anything special to get them. They just showed up."
He grinned. "I see. You'd rather people appreciate you for your accomplishments than your physical assets?"
"Well, yes! Especially...certainly people! I don't want Lord Variel to see any more of me!"
"On that, we're agreed," Bevan said. "Just keep your cloak on. Still, I think you'll notice that the fae realms have plenty of show-offs and you won't stand out as much as you think."
Of course, he was right. As we headed downstairs and passed through the halls of the palace, I quickly noticed that many of the dress styles were low cut and rising cupcakes were in abundance. I even saw one woman wearing a semi-sheer bodice that left almost nothing to the imagination. Other young faeries wore dresses with slits cut high to display their legs instead, or low cut backs to show athletic, graceful shoulders and backs down to the curve of their bottom.
I'm definitely not in St. Augustine anymore, I thought. Those old witches would faint!
The palace seemed like a merry place, bustling with people, and besides a few smiles to greet us, no one really paid any attention. If I had stepped out the door in St. Augustine I would have been in immediate trouble. Although I was feeling claustrophobic.
"You're not used to so many people, are you?" Bevan said.
"Not at all!"
"So maybe you're not ready for New York City quite yet..." He showed me out the doors, which were heavy and wooden, manned by guards in leather doublets.
Outside, the air was crisp and salty. We faced a harbor with sailing ships docked to bring their cargo to the capital just a little ways from the palace.
"Wow! Real sailing ships? St. Augustine used to be like this a long time ago. I always wished I could travel back and see it!"
"The faery kingdom seems to be embracing their position now that they've rejoined the other realms for trade," Bevan said. "I wonder what you'd find if you sailed out there."
"I'd love to see."
"We'd probably both get seasick," Bevan said. "Bats and toads are not sea creatures..."
"That would take the romance out of a situation..."
"I guess it's one way to find out if we're ready to be husband and wife and not just smitten. For now, let’s visit the patisserie and see if they'll let us take a peek at the kitchens."
I was enchanted by the faery city. It reminded me, just a little, of home. St. Augustine had a lot of Spanish and Moorish inspired architecture that wasn't so different from Venice. Only this was much bigger, and more of a fantasy, sometimes too beautiful to be real, as we strolled by canals and arched bridges, shops selling colored glass and sumptuous fabrics.
"This really is a wild place," Bevan said. "My neck of the woods in Etherium is pretty humble. This is like stepping into time."
Many of the shops were advertising pieces for wedding gifts and trousseaus. The windows showed off beautiful lace and silverware, and a woman setting up a new window display at a flower shop said, "Oh, aye, we've had a rash of weddin's of late with all the hoo-min witches comin' 'ere. See summat ye fancy? Mayhap a flower for your girl’s hair?”
Her accent was so thick it took me way too long just to piece it together, and Bevan grinned and shook his head.
"Maybe later," he said.
When he opened the door of the patisserie, my eyes widened, hardly k
nowing which way to look. It was obviously a popular gathering place, with many couples sharing cakes and creamy confections, and children looking as excited as I did. I even saw a trio of tall, rugged fae men in kilts eating cherry tarts, being very loud and grunty about their enjoyment.
A long row of ovens and tables of cakes were behind the sales counters, and I could see that the bakery extended out of sight, as if it never ended. The pastries themselves were works of art, and I could tell by all the happy murmuring and sighing in the large dining area that they tasted as pretty as they appeared. I saw familiar desserts for the autumn season: chestnut cream pie, pumpkin cream cake, rum balls and fruit cakes that smelled like alcohol from a few feet away.
Enchanted Menu: By Request
I pointed to the small sign as a waitress in a light blue dress, white apron and cap came up to me at the counter. "Do you have any questrions?"
"I'm curious about the Enchanted Menu."
She reached under the counter and took out a piece of parchment, gilded at the edges, mounted on a board covered in leather. "The head chef is a baking mage, and these are her greatest specialties, made by request."
"Can I take a moment to look it over?"
"Of course."
I motioned Bevan to sit down with me. "I've never heard of a baking mage..."
"I suppose baking could be similar to making potions or tonics or anything else," Bevan said. "But the fact that no prices are listed on the menu means we're probably not ordering any of these."
Lavender Cloud--An ice drop infused with lavender and sugar, floating on a cloud of whipped cream, in a boat of chocolate. For dream clairvoyance.
Juniper Forest Cake--A dense yet moist cake with essence of juniper and laced with veins of crisp butter brown sugar crackle, topped with evergreen icing. An acquired taste that will allow you to commune with the forest.
Honeycomb Snowflake--The purest honey made only from flowers that grow in the snow, frozen into the most delicate of all desserts. For purification and healing of sadness.
Bat Out of Hell (Promised to the Demons Book 2) Page 5
