Fate's Fools Box Set

by Bell, Ophelia

  “What I am is of no consequence. What I can do for you is. I am an opportunist, and I think a creature as independent as Ms. Rainsong could do more for me than simply save me money.”

  “Deva is not a fucking bargaining chip,” I snapped, earning me a surprised look from her.

  “You misunderstand me. I see exactly how powerful she can be, if she can find her way through the thicket of secrets and lies you two surround her with. I don’t want her—I want her skills once she’s succeeded in putting Fate in its place.”

  “What business do you have with Fate?” I asked.

  “Just . . . business. The terms of my arrangement with it are not open for discussion. But there is nothing stopping me from making a similar deal with you that would be mutually beneficial. I want something Fate can’t offer, but I believe you can, Ms. Rainsong, so I propose a partnership of sorts. You perform to my satisfaction tomorrow night, and I’ll ensure Fate impedes no further on your search for your friend. You’ll have my support after your task for Fate is complete, if I can ask just one additional favor.”

  “What makes you think you have any control over what Fate does?” I asked. “Why the hell should we believe anything you say?”

  “Have I given you any reason to distrust me?” he asked, settling into the enormous leather chair behind his desk. The man wasn’t particularly large in stature—he was my size and build, and on the surface, I imagined I could take him in a fight. Yet the power he exuded gave me the urge to retreat.

  Nothing felt right in this room. The desk was slightly out of alignment with the wall, and the carpet’s pattern was a dissonant maelstrom of shapes in a variety of dark colors interspersed with brighter ones. The only thing remotely sane was a Jackson Pollock painting occupying the wall behind his desk. I forced myself to focus on it as if it could ground me the way staring at the horizon would for someone suffering from seasickness.

  “Simply not knowing you is enough reason for caution,” Llyr said in a strained voice.

  “I want to hear what he’s asking for,” Deva said. “If it gets us what we want and gets Fate off our backs, isn’t it worth hearing him out? If we don’t like his proposal, we can say no.”

  “At what cost?” Llyr said. “If this creature can control Fate the way he suggests, what’s to stop him from controlling us?”

  “You presume control is what I’m after,” Chase said. “That’s Fate’s deal, not mine. I prefer the opposite—the randomness of life is what I seek to perpetuate. The beautiful patterns that emerge when we simply let go and allow the universe to do its own thing. Surrender to that power, and you’ll be happier for it.

  “No, I can’t control Fate, so much as I can remove some of the control Fate wields. Let the universe off its leash, if you will.” He gave us all a wide grin, then pushed a bowl on his desk toward us. “Chocolate?”

  “Chaos,” Llyr whispered, then swallowed audibly.

  “No, I said chocolate. They’re delicious,” Chase said. He plucked a foil-wrapped candy from the bowl and settled back, peeling the wrapper from it in fragments that scattered across the surface of his desk like snowflakes. I squinted as the shining pieces gathered and realized after a moment that they actually were snowflakes, transforming as they fell into a tiny crystalline pile in front of him.

  “What is it you think I can do for you?” Deva asked, moving to sit in one of the uncomfortable-looking chairs resting cockeyed before his desk. She eyed the bowl of candies, temptation plain on her face. Her restraint surprised me. For a woman so given to succumbing to physical urges, she’d shown more self-discipline lately than I’d have expected, her headstrong nature notwithstanding.

  “You command four rogue fate hounds. I saw them when I came into the restaurant earlier. I imagine they led you to me because performing on my stage is the only way for your music to reach the man Fate took from you. I know what creatures like those hounds are capable of, and the fact that you can control them is evidence enough of your ability to bypass Fate entirely in matters of the heart.”

  He paused and focused on peeling the last few fragments of foil off his treat before popping it into his mouth. His face awash in decadent pleasure, he emitted a sensuous moan. As he sucked on the candy, the tiny pile of snow on his desk began to melt.

  Beside me, Llyr inhaled sharply. His cheeks were flushed as though he was aroused. The tips of his horns began to protrude from the skin at the edge of his hairline.

  Deva took the opportunity to unwrap her own sweet and popped it into her mouth. She paused and her eyes widened for a brief second. “Oh, Gaia this is so good!” she slurred around the mouthful of chocolate, then emitted a moan every bit as sensual as the ones she made during sex. By the Winds, I didn’t need to hear that sound.

  “I know! I adore this chocolatier. I will get you her info. Take as many as you like.” He pushed the bowl a little closer.

  “Better than sex,” she said and shot Llyr a suggestive glance. “Want one?”

  He snatched the proffered treat, hurriedly unwrapped it, and stuck it in his mouth. Surprisingly, it seemed to calm him. His horns receded, and he visibly relaxed for the first time since arriving in Chase’s office.

  “Get to the point,” he said when he’d finished chewing.

  “I desire a partner,” Chase said. “But Fate refuses to match me with someone. Claims it’s impossible, that there’s no creature in existence who could survive being my mate. But I don’t give up so easily. I am older than most gods. I’ve seen enough of the world to know how things can change, what new and exciting creatures come into existence when we least expect it.”

  He flashed a suggestive smile at Deva and I bristled, taking a step forward and bracing my hands on the back of her chair.

  “Deva is not an option.”

  Chase waved his hand. “Oh, I know she’s yours . . . or you’re hers, at any rate . . . and I’m not the right creature to complete her soul. But I wish for one who can complete my soul. I’m sure you understand, don’t you, Deva?”

  “I do. You wish to be made whole in the way only a lover—or lovers—can accomplish.”

  “I refuse to believe no one exists who can be that to me. I’m aware of the challenge, but apparently Fate isn’t up to the task, hence my offer to you. After you’ve completed this task of Fate’s, if you agree to find me a partner using the powers at your disposal, I will offer my protection against any backlash Fate happens to send your way.”

  I straightened up in shock and stared at the man. “You want her to play matchmaker for you? Of all the things she’s capable of, or can be, once she completes her soul and discovers her full power, you want her to find you a girlfriend?”

  “You underestimate the power of love, Mr. West. Yes, I want a girlfriend, or a boyfriend, or whatever partner Deva’s skills manage to seek out for me. I realize my nature doesn’t afford me the luxury of being choosy, but it does exhaust my options for rewarding interaction with other creatures. As much as I thrive on variety, I find I crave some small bit of constancy in my life. I just pray that it is interesting.”

  “What exactly is your nature?” Deva asked. Her boundless curiosity and need to learn about her world was one of the many things I loved about her, but I tensed at the question, suddenly not sure I wanted to know what Chase was.

  He darted a look at me and winked, then gestured to Llyr. “Your satyr already called me by my name, my dear. I am Chaos.”

  34

  Deva

  “He’s supposed to just be an abstract concept. I didn’t believe he was real,” I said under my breath as we made our way back to our suite. Ozzie and Llyr were both silent as we stepped into the elevator, and I glanced back at them as the car began to ascend. “Did you?”

  “Yes, but I never expected he’d have spent time manifested as a human,” Llyr said. “I don’t think you should have made that agreement with him. He’s too unpredictable.”

  “I don’t see how he’s any worse than Fate.”


  “He’s fucking with Fate for some reason—probably because Fate wouldn’t get him laid—and we are about to be stuck in the middle of their little stand-off.” Llyr’s aura flashed a pale yellow with apprehension.

  “Is there anyone Fate hasn’t pissed off?” I asked with an exasperated huff. Staring up at the changing numbers, I gritted my teeth, contemplating the other question that had been eating at me since the beginning of our meeting with Chase—or Chaos, or whoever he was. I dreaded even bringing it up with these two, because something told me I’d be more likely to get an answer from Fate. But I had to ask; not knowing would kill me.

  “What did he mean by your secrets and lies?” I said, my voice shaky, not sure if I could bear the truth. Of all the men I was attached to, these two always succeeded in hurting me somehow. I kept my eyes glued to the numbers above the doors, but the three of us were so close that I sensed a shift in both their auras nonetheless.

  When neither man ventured a reply, I smacked the “STOP” button and spun around to face them. “Do either of you have an answer? Are you keeping secrets? Lying to me?”

  Llyr’s gaze was a tumultuous swirl reminiscent of a hurricane. I was learning to decipher his moods by those eddies in his irises when his aura wasn’t enough of a clue. He darted a quick look at Ozzie.

  “We can’t answer that question,” Ozzie said.

  “You mean you can’t answer the question without lying to me. That’s it, isn’t it? Why? What did I do to deserve your distrust?”

  “It isn’t a matter of trust, Deva. It’s a matter of life and death.”

  “Whose life? I’m immortal and so are my mates. Do you even know me anymore? I’m so close to being whole. I just need the two of you to want that for me.”

  “You know I do,” Llyr said softly.

  A fresh ache bloomed in my chest. I knew he wasn’t lying about that. Llyr would have given me everything if I allowed him to. Deep down, I knew he really hadn’t betrayed me, despite my memory telling me otherwise. I just didn’t understand why what I knew didn’t match what he claimed was the truth, and now I was almost positive the answer to that question was the very thing the two of them were keeping from me.

  “But how much? If you’re in on this with him, then you must not care as much as you claim to. If I were to offer myself to you in exchange for the truth, would you tell me? If I gave you the forgiveness I know you want, claimed you, and accepted your soul gift, would you share whatever it is you’re keeping from me? Because I will. I will give you all of me, Llyr, if you just tell me what I want to know.”

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as though the answer he was about to give pained him somehow. I glanced at Ozzie, whose jaw was clenched tight, his own eyes sparking with as much conflict as Llyr’s.

  He pre-empted Llyr’s answer by taking a step toward me, and I wanted to retreat; he hadn’t earned my closeness if he was keeping something from me. But there was nowhere to go. I’d locked us in.

  He paused close enough for me to feel his breath on my cheek. I swallowed hard, my eyes locked with his in challenge and my heart pounding so hard I thought my chest might explode.

  He lifted a hand and reached behind me, setting the elevator in motion once more. Then he brushed his knuckles over my cheek and dipped his head. His lips brushed lightly over mine, the barest wisp of breath tickling my tongue before he pulled back again.

  “Please wait a little longer, szívem. If we manage to break the turul curse, I promise to tell you everything.”

  The door opened behind me, but I was too stunned to exit. Ozzie slipped out and was gone before I regained my bearings. Llyr remained, lodging his hand against the door to hold it open, his big body crowding me in, flooding me in his fresh, crisp scent.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “But I can promise you I’ll make sure he keeps his word. If he doesn’t tell you everything, I will.”

  “Why can’t you just tell me?” I asked.

  “Because I made a promise to him, and I truly believe you’re safer not knowing. Just give him space until tomorrow night. And maybe don’t offer your breath to him, either. You know what that kind of exchange means to a turul.”

  “Just tell me one thing. You’re linked to him, so I hope you can answer honestly.”

  “I can try,” he said.

  “Once we’re through this, will he share his soul with me?” I exhaled a deliberate breath of blue dragon smoke with my question, imbuing it with the compulsion to make him speak the truth no matter what. It was my first time attempting such magic on a member of the higher races, so I wasn’t sure how much power to infuse it with, but I needed to hear the truth more than anything.

  When Llyr inhaled, he blanched. “Deva, you shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Just tell me, will he share his soul with me or not?”

  “Dion fucking save me,” Llyr said, shaking his head. “No, Deva. He won’t.”

  35

  Deva

  Numb didn’t begin to describe my state of mind when I entered the suite again. Ozzie was nowhere in sight, probably having retreated into one of the many bedrooms this suite offered.

  I glanced around, only half-aware through my haze of hurt. Rohan, Keagan, and Bodhi stood from where they’d been waiting, all giving me expectant looks. Llyr caught up to me a moment later and grabbed my arm.

  “Deva, you need to understand. What you asked wasn’t the right question.”

  “No,” I snapped, spinning and glaring at him. “It was the perfect question. It told me everything. You’re blood-melded with him. You would know.”

  “I also made a promise to him that I can’t break, thanks to that link. He and I are bound too closely for me to tell you anything he holds too dear. Don’t let what I could tell you influence how you feel. He loves you.”

  My eyes burned, and I cursed as the tears began to flow. “Not enough, apparently.”

  I turned back to the room and to my three mates—the ones who actually did love me enough to give me pieces of their souls. “Take me to bed. Now, please.”

  Keagan’s troubled expression shifted to bare, determined need. “You got it, princess.” He vaulted the sofa and reached me in a few quick strides, hauled me into his arms, and kissed me. He swept me up and held me against his broad, strong chest, his hungry mouth the perfect distraction.

  With my eyes shut, I mentally reached for the other two, sensing them easily beyond the sensation of Keagan’s lips on min and his stubble abrading my chin and cheeks. I tangled my fingers into the thick hair curling around his nape and held him close, only half-aware of a door opening, then closing behind us as we entered a darker room lit by the city’s lights.

  It took only the barest thought and wave of my hand and all our conjured clothing faded away. Keagan’s hot skin was all I felt, shifting beneath me as he settled onto the bed, still cradling me against his chest. Rohan slipped in beside him, running a hand up my thigh, his golden gaze flaring as brightly as his aura and the dragon mark etched into his chest.

  I leaned over to tug Rohan into a kiss, humming with pleasure into his mouth as his fingertips teased higher between my thighs, stroking at my folds and begging entrance. I needed to be filled by them now more than ever to counteract the emptiness left by Llyr’s confirmation of my fear that Ozzie would never share himself with me the way the others would.

  Bodhi’s sage scent drifted in from behind me and I pulled away from Rohan, leaning back against my human mate’s sturdy chest. He cupped my breasts with both hands and rolled my nipples between his talented thumbs and forefingers, his lips grazing the side of my neck.

  “Open up for us, princess,” Keagan rumbled.

  His stiff cock brushed my hip, and I dropped my hand and wrapped my fingers around it. “I’m the one who tells you what to do, remember?”

  Keagan grunted and let his head fall back against the cushioned headboard. “Fuck, do whatever you want to me. You know I’m yours.”

  I stro
ked him with one hand and reached back for Bodhi’s cock where it brushed hotly against my spine. He cursed into my ear, squeezing my breasts as he lightly bit down on my shoulder. Then he slid his hands lower, caressing down my torso and splaying his fingers across the tops of my thighs. His grip urged me open and I spread my legs, allowing Keagan to hook one arm beneath the knee closest to him as Rohan gripped my other knee and dipped his head between.

  “It’s my turn to watch you destroy her pussy with your tongue,” Bodhi said.

  My dragon chuckled and peered up at me from between my thighs, his forked tongue flicking out just far enough to tease.

  Keagan pushed his hips into my hand, his cock hot and hard. The velvet sensation in my palm caused a spasm of longing deep within and I looked up into his eyes. His hunger reflected my own, and he dipped his head to take my mouth once again in a quick, searing kiss.

  “We’re all yours tonight, princess. Whatever you need.”

  “This,” I breathed, tangling my fingers through Rohan’s silken curls and pulling his face down until he groaned against my core.

  He pushed his tongue into me slowly, its agile length twisting and expanding, stretching me little by little before sliding back out again.

  “Oh, please, yes!” I cried, pushing my hips up against his mouth and allowing Bodhi to support me from behind. My entire body quivered when Rohan tilted his head and proceeded to swiftly flick his tongue over my clit until I squirmed.

  “Let me taste your Nirvana, baby. Come on my tongue,” he said. He braced both palms on my inner thighs, thumbs parting my swollen folds as he tongued my clit, alternating between swift flicks, swirls, and light sucks.

  Within moments, ecstasy blasted through me and I cried out, arching in Bodhi’s hold and twisting. I grasped him by the hair and pulled him into a kiss, riding out the waves of my orgasm with my tongue tangling with his.

  “I want more,” I said when I released Bodhi’s mouth. I wasn’t ready to return to the present yet. I needed to stay lost in pleasure with my three beloved mates for as long as possible, to forget the one I couldn’t have and the bright tether to the one I wasn’t ready to let myself fully accept.