VEE

Syv’s chat to the Collector goes well, which surprises us. The reclusive fae must be worried if he’s stepping in to help out. Or is his concern for Syv? The decision is made; Syv and the Collector head to Paris to follow her lead—he can protect her, and we can keep our fingers crossed the Louvre is the correct place. I could tell the guys were split between wanting to go with her and staying here. The decision we stick together as much as possible, and as closely as possible, is made. They toyed with the idea half our group could go, but Paris is too far apart for us all right now.

We’re counting on a couple of days at the most. Syv and the Collector left straightaway the next morning, and both want to be there and back as quickly as possible.

I walk into the lounge where Xander and Heath stand together, jackets on, and halt. "Where are you going?"

"A night away from crazy shit. We can't do anything else until Syv and the Collector find what we need. Seth is quiet, probably watching them, so I've persuaded Xander to take a night off." Heath pokes his brother.

"Let me guess. Pub?"

"Not a total night off," he says gruffly. "We can check out the local area in case any supes are taking advantage of our distraction and are up to no good."

Heath chuckles. "Check out the bars, more like."

"Warehouse, La Fee Verte, or the King's Arms?"

"Why not just have a pub crawl?" I ask and snicker. "Enjoy."

I make to walk past to the kitchen and Heath stops me with a hand. "Aren't you coming?"

"Do I translate that as 'you're coming with us'?"

"Vee might not want to go. We can go somewhere more interesting if you want, Vee?" Joss walks into the room. "‘We’ as in me and you."

"We stick—"

"—together." I finish Xander's sentence for him. "I know."

"Aww, so no date with Vee?" Joss pouts.

I pat his cheek. "No special treatment for you today. Maybe another time."

"What are you talking about?" Ewan appears and flops down in his chair, feet on the table.

"We're going out, apparently," I tell him.

"Oh? I'm not."

"Yes, you are," Xander replies.

"No. I'm not. I'm going for a ride later, now the snow has melted. I want to clear my head a bit." Ewan leans forward and switches on the TV.

"You know? You’re right," I say. "I’d like to forget about some of this for a few hours. Is that okay? How about The King’s Arms? I haven't been there since the day Heath took me to meet his smoking hot friends and a guy called Fay tried to kill me."

Stony expressions look back at me.

"Come on, guys! I'm trying to do what you're saying. Switch off. Down time."

Pretend to be human.

"It's quieter than the Warehouse or fae joint," suggests Joss. "Ewan, you can ride there if you want. Do both."

"Yeah. Maybe." He flicks through to a music channel.

"We're leaving." Xander picks Heath's car keys up from the table and throws them at Heath. "You're driving."

"Huh? Isn't it your turn?" Heath throws them back at him.

"Nope." The keys pass between them again and Heath scowls.

With a sigh, Joss grabs his keys. "I'll drive. Vee? Are you coming?"

I glance at Ewan. We need to talk. "Maybe I'll persuade Ewan to join you. He can take me on his bike again."

Ewan tips his head upwards and back onto the sofa. "You don't like my bike."

"You said that last time. Maybe I want to try again."

Joss chuckles. "We'll expect you in a couple of hours, then."

"I'm not going for that long a ride."

"Yeah, but we all know what happens when you two are left alone in the house."

Ewan looks around to the TV again, and I pull a face at Joss. "I'm going to change. See you there," I tell him.

With everything happening, a night out feels weird, but I understand why. There's little we can do until Syv appears with the other half of the stone. All we can do is monitor events in the world and hope Seth's leaving his plans until he has the information we’re seeking too. A few hours won't hurt; besides, Ewan’s bound to spend time on his phone watching for anything suspicious.

I return downstairs dressed in jeans and a shirt. Ewan flicks a look the length of me before pointing. "Are you stealing my shirt again?"

I'm wearing the oversized black shirt over a tight black tank top. The material slips down my arm as I lift the sleeve to my face and smile. "I like this shirt. It smells of you."

He doesn't respond, so I cross to sit next to him on the sofa. Ewan shuffles along but I move closer to him and he keeps his attention on the TV.

I pick up the remote and switch off the music. "You're avoiding me again, aren't you, Ewan?"

He turns wary eyes to mine. "Are you surprised after what happened last time we uh... had sex?"

"I don't think that will happen again. You know that was linked to you being the last guy I had sex with." He blinks at my bluntness and continues to watch me doubtfully. "Didn't you enjoy it, Ewan?"

"What do you think? Of course I bloody did, but it's difficult to cope with the girl I love freaking out and running away afterwards, possessed by an unknown force."

He frowns when I laugh. "Sorry, but that sounds very dramatic."

"It’s true, Vee." His face hardens. "And you’re different. We can all feel it."

I run my fingers down his cheek. "But the human Vee is containing the power still. It’s stronger, but I’m in control of myself." Or I hope I am. Whatever triggered the darker magic yesterday wasn’t under my control. Please let that only happen when I’m around demons—but please not Ripley.

"The change is making all our feelings stronger." He catches my hand and kisses my fingers. "I'm damn sure we're all trying hard to keep our hands off you. Most of us are succeeding, but it's not easy."

I sigh. "Ewan, you overthink everything. So what if you all don’t keep your hands off me? I’m happy and everybody accepts it. It’s just part of...this."

He chews on his lip and stares at his hands.

Oh.

"Are you saying you don't accept it?" I ask.

"No. Yes. I mean, I feel like with me, sex must be different, and I screwed this up."

"No." I hold his face in both hands and look back into his eyes. His confusion matches what I've seen before, when I want to see the love and desire. "You didn't."

"Yeah, well, I never had a girl react to me like that before." He half smiles and I push down the jealous twinge. What do other girls matter now?

"I’m sorry. I promise I won’t next time." I kiss his cheek and he turns away. "Ewan! Honestly, you’re pissing me off. Are you still angry with me about Seth?"

"Angry? I was never angry. Frustrated, maybe."

"I'm annoyed with myself for trusting Seth and not listening to you all. I felt a strong need to defend him and keep him close, and now he's gone I don't know why I did. I honestly can't figure why I trusted him so fully." I pause. "Do you think Seth had the ability to influence my thoughts?"

Ewan eyes me warily. "You won't want to hear this, Vee, but I think you contain part of his power too."

Ewan's words hit me in the gut. I've denied this thought whenever it crossed my mind. But the darkness. The void I conjured. "What do you mean?"

"I’m convinced part of what he is, is inside you. And if you’re linked to him, that's why you reacted the way you did."

I shift away. "That isn’t true! He’s barely touched me."

"You had part of us inside before we touched you. We just made it stronger when we did"

My stomach turns. "Do you think he’d try to..." Omigod. "He wouldn’t. I’d fucking kill him first."

"Which is why I think you’re here: to kill him. He’s scared of you, I’m sure."

"Good. Maybe this mysterious book has a spell or something—anything—to help us. Do you think?"

Ewan shrugs. "But I'm fucking terrified. Okay, you never disappeared afterwards the way I thought you might, but I almost don't want to know what's in that book."

I take a deep breath. "Me either. But we need to."

"Yeah." He runs his fingers across my cheeks and lips, his mouth turned down. "I don't care what happens to me, but you...it would kill me if something happened to you."

'Something happened'? The words aren’t spoken but I know what he's saying. If I die.

"Remember the time we sat together before, alone in the house? You said we can only live in the present. We should do that."

Ewan rubs his lips together, and his shining eyes show he’s having the memory of our time on the sofa when we were interrupted. "What we did together that night, or what I said?"

"Both." I move my face closer and brush my lips against his cheek. This time he doesn’t move away. Our faces touch and his stubble prickles me, sending a wave of memories through. He's right about the intensity. If I'm alone with any of the guys, the heart racing starts. If I’m physically close, the need to connect swamps my thoughts.

And I know Ewan’s the same right now. His breathing picks up and he digs his fingers into the back of my hair. "I can't stay away however hard I try."

"You always told me that."

We stay in the moment, cheeks against each other, and I know if I slide my mouth to meet his, we'll take the extra time to leave that Joss predicted.

"We don't have to stay away from each other. I want us to be together, Ewan. I need to show you how much you mean to me, and that this time things will end differently."

We press closer together and his heart thumps against my chest. The grip on my hair tightens and I wait for him to make the move, because I refuse to. I need to know this is what he wants.

But disappointment replaces the lust running through my body as he releases my hair and sinks back.

"We should join the others." He runs a trembling hand through his hair as he looks ahead.

Rejecting me.

I swallow and stare at the side of his face. "You're hurting me, Ewan."

Dark eyes meet mine. "I hurt you last time. Can you understand how that makes me feel? Please? What if this time something worse happens?"

My frustration bubbles over and I stand, stomach in knots. "For fuck's sake, Ewan. This is stupid. If you don’t want to be around me, fine. I’ll call Joss and he can pick me up."

Heart hurting, I move away to find my phone, fighting the tears pricking my eyes after his rejection.

"Vee." Ewan's low voice comes from behind, and he wraps his arms around my waist, mouth touching the back of my neck.

EWAN

The moment I saw the hurt in Vee's eyes, my resolve dropped away and the need to show her how she makes me feel takes over from my fear. I’m telling the truth—I am scared. I’m terrified what I might do to her.

This woman tears me apart. Vee has no clue about the power she holds over me. Every time her soft lips meet mine, each time the taste and scent of her surges through with a kiss, Vee destroys me further. I crave her, I need the rush she gave me before, and I’m prepared to chase the high at any cost.

The lust pushes away the fear, and her hurt prevents me dwelling on the past. She’s right. We know nothing of the future and can only be part of now.

Fuck it.

I spin Vee around and seize her face in both hands. She stumbles as I claim her mouth. Vee immediately responds, gripping my head in return and not holding back. We don't pause as the desire and understanding pours between us, each touch and kiss pulling us back to the place we want to be. Together, away from all the insanity surrounding us.

I grip Vee's hair and pull her head back, and her pulse races against my lips as I move them across her neck. Vee's body is soft and yielding, her scent intoxicating, and I can't keep the control I promised myself.

I don't want that control anymore.

I move my mouth back to Vee's and roughly part her lips with my tongue, my fingers moving to unbutton her shirt. There's no protest from Vee, instead she helps with trembling fingers and drops the shirt to the floor.

The lust takes over again and I press Vee against the wall. "I want you so fucking much. I lied when I said I didn't."

She looks back, eyes dark and cheeks flushed. "I know."

I’m desperate to touch and inhale the scent of Vee’s skin, and to be back in the time and place we were lost before, to bring that from the past to now. Unbuttoning her jeans, I yank at the material and she wriggles until they slide downwards. She smiles back at me, cheeks flushed.

In response, she drags my T-shirt over my head and runs featherlight fingers across my pecs to my hard abs and downwards to my waistband. Vee moves her hand between us and brushes her fingers against my bulging cock as our mouths meet again. She deftly undoes my fly, her hand curling around my length as I shuffle my jeans and briefs to the floor.

Fuck. I wanted the next time with Vee to be slow and loving, but there’s no chance of that.

I lift Vee and slide my hands across her smooth skin as she tightens her legs around my waist. I push myself close, my cock hardening against her thin panties. Vee grasps me around the neck and my mouth closes over hers, our kiss fevered as we tangle tongues.

I taste and relish Vee’s sweetness, the first step towards showing her everything she means—and does—to me.

Vee moans into my mouth and I press harder against her. She arches towards me and I slide my hands up her sides, pulling her bra downwards to slide my tongue against her breast's soft mound. As I close my mouth over her peaked nipple and swirl my tongue, a sound escapes Vee’s lips, one which wipes the last civilized part of me away.

Roughly, I yank her panties to one side, cock straining as my focus shifts to one thing: being inside Vee. Slipping my hand between her legs, I push a finger inside her and place my lips next to her ear, enjoying the slight hitch in her breath. Her hands slide into my hair, and the hold tightens as I hold my palm against her, moving my fingers and listening to the short, sharp breaths she takes. Her soft hand against my cock drives me further away from any chance I'll be gentle.

I hitch her higher, my length pressing against her soft centre, and her breath rushes out. I hold the tip of myself against her, ready.

Vee drags her mouth away, eyes dark and lips swollen, the pink creeping along her neck to her chest. "Don't stop."

"No chance." She kills me. This woman drives me insane. I don’t hold back, can’t. I grip Vee's ass and push hard into her. She’s tight and hot surrounding my cock, so fucking wet, and I drive into her again and again, seeking the rush and release only Vee can give me.

Her fingers grip my shoulders, nails painful against my skin, and her lips meet mine. I part Vee’s legs wider; she could be weightless in my arms, because all I’m aware of is the scent of Vee and sex, the way our skin slides against each other. The space between us disappears in the moment. We're part of each other, the way we both want, and not just physically. I urge her on as she matches my movements with hers, and enjoy how she grips my shoulders tighter, as if she never wants to let go.

The fear something bad will happen disappeared the moment we exploded into this hard, intense, and fucking amazing sex. The last few days have been an eternity, wanting her again.

Vee pushes a hand between us and I move back as she touches herself, chasing her own pleasure too. I watch her eyes closed and teeth grazing across her lips. Vee's breaths turn to soft moans as I pick up my urgency. She spurs me on with her movement, murmuring words I can't hear, and she swears and tightens her legs as her body clenches around me. I’m shocked by the rush taking over as I come hard, holding myself inside her as she continues to pulse around me. Vee’s legs grip me harder around the waist, harder as she pushes against me, head against the wall as she shudders again.

I cover her face in kisses and she relaxes into my arms, body melting into mine. My heart thumps against hers as I rest my hand against the wall and continue to kiss her.

I never want to lose this girl.

Vee moves to stand and steadies herself against the wall, legs shaking as she looks up at me from beneath her tangled hair. "I told you it wouldn’t be the same. Look, I’m still here."

"Yeah. Not the same. Try fucking amazing, Vee." I pull her towards me and hold her face in both hands. "Do you know how much I love you? And that whatever happens, I’m with you. Always."

Vee pushes my damp hair back, "You don’t know how much it means to me, to know you love me, and won’t reject me now I’ve changed."

"But you haven’t. Something inside may be different, but you’re Vee."

"And she still loves you, Ewan." Her words fill my heart until my chest hurts, because I’m surrendering to a part of myself I’ve denied my whole time here. "This supercharged nuclear Vee," she says and chuckles.

I moisten my lips and trace a finger around her breast to her nipple, and her eyes darken again as it peaks. "Oh, yeah."

We laugh and joke as we dress, and I mean what I said. But I also witnessed Vee do something I could never imagine to the portal, and saw genuine fear in Logan’s face when he looked at her. The girl who looked into my eyes as our bodies connected isn’t filled with darkness, but with love and affection.

So what has changed?

I am fucking terrified what we might find inside that book.