If Miles was to ever discover what I was about to do, the least of the things that would happen would be me being removed from the Order. The worst? They would treat me as if I’d committed treason, and there’d be no lawyers or a court to hand down punishment. The Order acted as judge and jury, and the penalty for betraying the Order was death.
And I was definitely walking a fine line when it came to acts of treason as I crossed the lobby of the building Caden lived in and hit the button for his floor Saturday afternoon.
I could’ve gone to Miles with the information I’d discovered, but I wasn’t sure he would do anything since it involved missing younglings. If there was something crazy going on with the fae, with them Changing, it wouldn’t be a problem the Order needed to deal with.
Yet.
But it could be a huge problem. Because if there was something out there that could strip a fae of their free will, and if that was what had happened to Elliot and the other missing younglings, that meant it could happen to any of the Summer fae. Hell, all of them.
And that would be bad. Very bad.
So I was going to Caden, because this concerned him and his court now.
As I rode the elevator up, I had no idea if Caden was home or not, but I had no way of getting in contact with him. If he wasn’t home then I could either camp out here or go to Tanner or Faye to see if they had a way to contact him.
I wasn’t acknowledging that I could’ve had Tink contact Fabian to get that information. I wasn’t acknowledging that, because if I did, then I’d also have to acknowledge that I’d chosen to come to Caden’s place, because… because I wanted to see him. And acknowledging that meant also acknowledging that I had taken the time to get changed before I came here. I also brushed my hair and left it down, which was more than I did on most Saturday afternoons, and I was wearing a sweater dress with sensible boots. Obviously, the stretchy royal blue dress was not nearly the sexiest thing I owned, but I always felt good in it.
And I also, also wasn’t acknowledging why I needed to feel good going to Caden’s place.
Heart thumping like I’d run up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, I walked down the hall toward his place, my hand twitching around the strap of my purse. Hand trembling a little, I knocked on his door and then took a step back.
He shared that with you. That means something.
I shoved Tink’s words out of my head, and God, this was stupid. I should’ve just tried to get the number from Fabian. There was no reason for me to come here, especially after what had happened last night. He’d fed and I’d had a full body orgasm, which was freaking lovely, but things would be awkward now. And that was something I should’ve thought of before I came—
The door opened and there he was, standing before me, looking utterly surprised to see me, but looking really good while being surprised.
Caden was wearing a gray Henley that showed off his well-defined shoulders and chest, and he was actually wearing dark jeans and barefoot.
The man had sexy feet and that was something I never thought I’d think.
I’d never seen him so… normal.
Well, not that he could ever truly look normal, not when his features were so unbelievably pieced together perfectly.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice low.
“Hi.” My heart flopped around in my chest. “Sorry to, um, just stop by unannounced, but I’ve discovered something that…” I trailed off as Caden started to step out in the hallway, about to close the door behind him.
“Who’s at the door?” came a voice—a vaguely familiar female voice.
My gaze shifted beyond Caden as I thought I heard him curse. His doorway opened right up into the kitchen and living room, so I saw her immediately.
At first, I didn’t recognize her, because I’d only seen her briefly, and I wasn’t expecting to see her again.
Because I was pretty confident that she was dead.
It was the female fae from Flux—the one who had led me to Tobias.
Alyssa.
She was wearing some sort of black sheath dress, one that clung to her lean, graceful figure and showed off the luminous silvery skin and cleavage and legs for days.
Her head tilted to the side as her brows rose. She looked just as surprised to see me as Caden had.
My gaze dropped to her hand. She was holding… a glass of nightshade and she was also barefoot.
Stomach twisting, I took a step back as my gaze swung back to Caden’s. He said… he had said that he’d killed the fae who’d been outside the room I’d been in with Tobias, and Alyssa most definitely had been outside.
And now she was here with Caden, dressed in a sexy sheath of a dress, drinking nightshade with an equally barefoot Caden.
The intimacy of what I was so obviously interrupting was just as shocking as seeing Alyssa alive—a Winter fae with the Summer Prince, in his apartment, drinking nightshade.
Shock thundered through me as the pieces were trying to fit themselves together and the stupidest thing entered my head at that moment. I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you.
God.
I was so dumb it should be illegal.
“Who is this?” Alyssa asked, drawing closer, her red lips curling up in a curious smile.
Caden’s gaze flickered over my face as he arched a brow. “No one.”
My entire body jolted as my eyes locked with his. He stared at me like… like he honestly couldn’t believe I was standing in front of him.
“That’s disappointing.” Alyssa was standing behind Caden now, and he tensed when she placed a hand on his upper arm and rubbed. “I thought it was delivery.”
Delivery.
As in I was delivering myself as food to them. Dear God. My mind raced through the possibilities. Either everything Caden had told me from the get-go was a lie, including who he’d killed outside Tobias’ room and the whole not feeding thing, or I was missing something very important here.
But at the moment, none of that mattered. I needed to get out of here. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice hoarse. “I have the wrong place.”
“Obviously.” Alyssa smirked as she curled her hand around his arm. “I don’t do plain and old.”
“Neither do I,” Caden added.
I flinched. Wow. That was… that was freaking harsh. I started to turn, because I was this close to attempting to stab both of them.
“Wait.” Alyssa stepped around Caden. “Wait a second. Do I know you?”
Shit.
“You look familiar,” she said.
Caden turned into the female fae, circling his arm around her slender waist as he laughed. “You don’t know her. Come on, there are things we need to get back to.”
She was still staring at me. “But—”
Then Caden’s mouth was on her neck, and he was saying something too low for me to hear as he guided her back into the apartment. A soft series of giggles erupted from her as he kicked the door closed in my face, without even looking back at me.
* * * *
I stood inside Thieves, nursing a rum and Coke as I scanned the crowded floor. I had no idea what I was looking for, but I was hanging out near the bar, hoping I would see something suspicious. So far, I hadn’t even seen a single fae. However, I’d gotten two guys’ phone numbers. Two guys who didn’t think I was plain and old.
I took another drink, but it did nothing to ease the burn in my chest. Hours later, I still had no idea what I had really been seeing at Caden’s place, but whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
And that had nothing to do with the stupid, stupid ache in the center of my chest.
He’d lied about who he’d killed at Flux, but there was a tiny logical part of my brain that told me he could be using Alyssa to get to Aric. It was a tiny part, though, because at this point, I could be wrong about that.
Caden obviously lied about killing Alyssa and she would’ve had to have seen him that night. He could’ve lied about a lot of things. Like what he was doing looking for Aric. The whole not feeding thing… or having sex, because it sure looked like something was going on there between them.
I flinched. Again. I took another drink. Again.
Scanning the bar, I brushed a strand of long, dark hair over my shoulder. I’d gone home before I came here. Slipping on a long, brown wig, and a sexier, tighter black dress that was shoulder-less.
Ren and Ivy would be back in the next day or so, and I was going to tell them everything—well, I was going to leave out the whole me feeding Caden thing and the full-bodied orgasm, but I had to tell someone about the Prince, because if he was somehow playing for the other team while playing me for shits and giggles, we were screwed.
But that didn’t make sense either, whispered that logical voice in my head. He’d killed fae. He’d saved my life. He couldn’t be working with the Winter—
A steely, warm arm circled around my waist from behind, drawing me back against a hard chest and stomach. I tensed, preparing to slam my elbow into the stomach of a very inappropriately forward dude.
“What are you doing here?”
Recognizing Caden’s voice, I froze sans shoving my elbow into his midsection even though I really wanted to even more now. “Let me go.”
His arm tightened. “You didn’t answer my question, sunshine.”
“Don’t call me that,” I snapped as I tried to pull free and failed. “And you really need to let me go.”
His sigh shuddered through me as he reached around me with his other hand and plucked the drink out of my fingers.
“Hey!”
He placed that on a table beside us and then his hand landed on my sternum, just below my breasts, stopping me before I twisted around to him. “You don’t understand what you saw at my place.”
“Gee. Really?” I looked around the packed floor, quickly realizing that no one was going to come to my aid. To the casual observer, it looked like he was embracing me. “And how did you find me here?”
The hand below my breasts flattened.
“What in the hell does that mean?” I demanded.
“A byproduct of saving your life. I can easily find you anywhere.”
My mouth dropped open. “Are you freaking serious?”
Caden didn’t respond, and he didn’t need to, because it made sense, how he popped up where I was and how he said he’d know if I went back to The Court.
“Jesus,” I muttered. “That’s creepy.”
He chuckled, and that annoyed me even more.
“It’s not funny. And it’s something you should’ve probably given me a heads up on.”
“I didn’t because I figured you’d have this response.”
I placed my hand on the arm that circled my waist. “You need to let go of me.”
“And you need to explain to me why you’re here.”
“Yeah, like that’s going to happen now.”
“You need to understand what you saw at my place. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“That much was obvious.”
He made a noise that sounded an awful lot like a growl. “I was using her for information on Aric.”
“Really? Because I’m pretty sure she’s supposed to be dead.”
“What?” He pressed his head to the side of mine, and his warm breath danced along my cheek, sending a shiver down my spine. “You need to elaborate on that statement.”
“Do I really need to?”
“Yes.” His thumb moved along my ribs and then the underswell of my breast. “You do.”
My throat dried as my idiotic, lonely body reacted to the slight touch. A different kind of ache settled in my chest. “She was at Flux. She was Tobias’s scout.”
“I didn’t see her when I showed up,” he was quick to say. “She didn’t even know I was there, but she was seconds from recognizing you, and that would have been bad, sunshine.”
“Don’t change the subject.” My breath hitched as I felt my nipples harden.
“She wasn’t there, but I knew she had ties to Aric.”
“Am I supposed to believe you?” I demanded. “Really?”
The arm around my waist flexed as his head shifted ever so slightly. His mouth was against my ear. “Have I ever given you reason to not believe me?”
I opened my mouth, but snapped it shut. He hadn’t given me reason to think he’d lie. At least as far as I knew.
“I was using her to find out where Aric is laying low at,” he continued, and with each word he spoke, his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “She was about as useful as the bullet holes drilled into me yesterday.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. Seems like she was pretty useful to you.”
“No.” His lips touched the spot below my ear. “She was not. Not a damn thing happened between us.”
I stared straight ahead, finding myself watching a young man kiss a girl standing next to him.
“Our bodies are closer right now than she and I were,” he went on as the couple clutched at one another. “I’m not going to lie to you. She wanted this.” The arm at my waist jerked tighter. “She didn’t get it.”
Closing my eyes, I drew in a shallow breath. “It doesn’t matter if she did.”
“Yes, it does.”
“I don’t care.”
“That’s a lie.”
“No, it’s not.” I turned my head toward his. The edges of his hair tickled my cheek. “I don’t care if you did whatever with her. I just care that you’re not working with her—working with them.”
“If I was working with them then I’m doing a really bad job at it.”
“Or a really good job.”
He tilted his head down and those damn lips grazed my cheek. “The one person I am working with, or at least trying to, is you.”
“The old and plain one?” I shot back before I could stop myself.
“You are neither of those two things.” He rested his forehead against my cheek. “And you know that.”
My heart launched itself into my throat. “I’m not old.”
“No, you’re not.” It felt like he smiled against my cheek. “And you’re not plain. You’re the furthest from that.”
I didn’t respond as I closed my eyes. I could admit to myself in that moment that perhaps I had jumped to some pretty wild conclusions when it came to him working with the Winter fae or doing something shady in that aspect and my… personal issues needed to stay personal.
“I remembered something this morning. I’d seen a reference to those type of eyes before—the all-black eyes that Elliot had.” The grip around my waist loosened enough that I was able to pull free and put much-needed space between us. I faced him and saw that he was dressed the way he was when I’d been to his place. “It was referenced in one of the Order journals.”
Everything about his expression was alert and focused. “What did you find out?”
He listened intently as I quickly gave him the breakdown, everything from a substance similar to Devil’s Breath to who I suspected might own this place.
When I was finished, the line of his jaw had hardened. “I don’t know what substance could be used, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist and I know who owns this place. It’s not—” His gaze flicked over my shoulder and a sudden glint filled his eyes. “We’ve got company.”
Caden gripped my hand, hauling me against him. I opened my mouth, but he all but shoved my face in his chest.
“Hi there.” Caden’s deep voice rumbled through me. “Is this a welcoming party?”
I placed my hands on his waist, listening.
“We want no trouble,” someone said.
Caden’s large hand dug into my hair, holding my head in place. “I would assume not.”
“Neal wants to speak with you.”
“Is that so?” There wasn’t a response, but Caden then said, “She stays with me.”
“He just wants to speak with you.”
“And I don’t care what he wants,” Caden replied. “She stays with me.”
There was a pause and then, “Follow us.”
Caden shifted so his arm was around my shoulder, but his hand was still at the back of my head, keeping my face hidden. I caught a glimpse of two big males wearing dark shirts. I couldn’t see enough of them to figure out if they were fae or not.
We were led to the back of the bar, through a narrow hall and then a door was opened.
“He’ll be with you momentarily,” one of the males said and then the door closed behind us.
Caden’s hand slipped off the back of my head, and I got my first good look at the room. There was a booth and several unopened boxes along the other side of the wall.
“Should we be worried?” I asked, running my hand along the iron cuff.
He turned, eyeing the booth. “Not we. You.”
“What?”
“The owner? He’s not exactly a friend of mine nor is he a fan of your kind.” He knocked back a strand of hair that had fallen forward, grazing his cheek. “And I’m not talking about you being with the Order. He’s not a huge fan of humans.”
“That’s kind of offensive.” I glanced at the door.
“Yeah, well, it’s too late to get you out of here. If he gets a real good look at you, he’ll know you’re with the Order.”
I started to frown. “How will he know?”
“He just will.”
Who was the guy that was coming?
“You’re going to have to pretend like you like me.”
“I don’t know if I can do that.” I turned to him.
“Do you think all the fae are as stupid as the three you managed to kill?” He glared at me, and surprised flickered through me. “They will figure it out. This one will definitely figure it out.”
I waved him off and started to turn, but the sound of voices on the other side of the door grew close.
“Damn it,” he muttered, and then his arm snaked out. Without warning, he slid into the booth, hauling me into his lap. Like legit into his lap, one leg tossed over his, the other curled against the cushion of the chair. The skirt of my dress rucked up, exposing most of my thighs. One wrong move, and my behind would definitely be on display.
Gasping, I immediately planted my hands on his chest and pushed back as I tried to scramble off his lap. We’d been closer than this last night, but this was different, because for some inane, annoying reason, I kept seeing her—Alyssa—with her hand on his arm and his face buried in her neck.
“Stop,” he seethed. His arm was like steel around my waist as he tugged me back so I was flush with his chest. His eyes burned with irritation. “You better be really good at acting.”
My fingers dug into his shirt. We were way too close. My senses were firing off in every direction, causing my head to spin. His hand slid up my back, sending a wave of acute shivers down my spine.
“Because when the door opens, and he figures out who and what you are, I’m going to have to kill him and then I’m going to be really, irrevocably pissed, because apparently there may be some shit going down here,” he continued, curling his hand around the nape of my neck and holding my head in place. “So, sunshine, you better fake it till you make it.”