CHAPTER NINE
The haze of morning brought the most delicious sensations. The warmth of a touch moving from my arm to my waist. Lips on my throat. A gentle suckling at my skin. With closed eyes, I lifted my chin to grant access to my throat.
I liked this dream. My lips parted as a male groaned and waded through the sheets. With the barrier between two bodies eliminated, flesh met flesh. Something hard pressed into my hip. He groaned louder. A heavy leg shifted across both of mine, gathering me flush to his body.
His hips ebbed against me like a lazy tide advancing on the shore. The rhythmic surge of forward and back brought struck a tingle between my legs. The heat and the strength of him. The softness of his skin against the coarseness of his body hair. Something needy unfurled in my belly.
Strong arms wrapped around me as lips took my mouth.
My eyes flew open. Samuel. A luxurious hunger covered his face. The scent of arousal intoxicated. Neither tentative nor restrained he thrust again. Sure hands ran down my bare back and cupped the rounds of my backside.
Tentatively, I braced my hands on his chest. “Samuel?”
He drew back, his diamond white stare sharpening from sleep into full awareness. “Lia? Shit!" He wrenched himself away, flung off the bedding and leapt to his feet. I . . . uh.”
My heart raced from the warmth of unbridled lust.
“I’m sorry, Lia. I never wanted ye. . .”
His words slapped me. Mayhap in his dream state, it had not been me he was pleasuring. With his back to me, he scrubbed his neck and exhaled.
“Was it Jade?” I wrapped the quilts around myself. “Was it her you dreamt of whilst lying next to me?”
“What?” He cast a seething glance over his shoulder before bolting for the ensuite which connected our rooms. “It was a mistake. It just shouldna happened. I cannae say how sorry I am that it did.”
It was nine when I trudged my way down the stone corridors of the Dens toward the dining hall. That this place was built deep inside a mountain amazed me. That it felt warm and homey, even more so. I rubbed my temples, my head having exploded into a migraine after Samuel stormed from my suite.
Why bring Jade into it? Samuel’s thoughts and actions while sleeping were naught for me to judge. I should have allowed the awkward moment to pass. Instead, I humiliated him further by picking at old wounds. The warmth kindled in his eyes of late had extinguished in an instant.
Yet another thing ruined.
“Oh. She lives,” Cowboy said.
As they always did, each of the males at the table rose as a female entered the room. This late in the morning though, the usual crowd of two dozen Weres had cleared out and only Cowboy, Bruin, Mika, and Bree remained. Samuel’s absence hit me with crippling desolation.
Bruin strode to the empty seat opposite his mate and pulled out the chair for me. “We worried you weren’t feeling well. You’re usually up with the birds.”
I rubbed my hand over my brow as they reclaimed their seats. Why choose this morning to make me the center of conversation? I selected a plate from the buffet and after collecting a napkin and cutlery, accepted the seat Bruin offered.
May the gods bless him, Bruin dimmed the lights as he strode back to his seat. The wooden chair creaked under his solid frame as he rested his arm across the back of Mika’s chair. Absently, he played with her long chestnut ponytail. The two of them were lovely together. The ease they shared. Their affection.
Bruin held his hand up and a tall glass of offensive smelling liquid appeared. He flipped back his shaggy brown bangs, his turquoise gaze all too knowing. “A cure-all for a rough morning.”
I squinted his way, my head drumming out an incessant rhythm. “Apologies?”
“This is your first headache since you got here, isn’t it?” Mika asked.
I nodded and sniffed the rim of the glass Bruin gave me. My eyes burned and I thrust the glass away from my nose. “I think I would rather suffer.”
“Nonsense,” Bruin said. “Suck it back.”
Not wanting to argue with the Alpha, I swallowed the first few gulps then let the rest slither down the back of my throat. My entire body shuddered and fought the urge to heave. Closing my eyes helped. I breathed in and out of my nose and after a few moments, the throbbing echo in my skull did, indeed, start to subside.
“Better?” Bree asked from the end of the table. Even in jeans and a t-shirt, the female of Aust’s affections held an admirable strength. She survived the violence of the Scourge, but showed no sign of being left lesser because of it. Her warm amber eyes held sympathy, her coyote much too clever to mistake my state for a simple headache.
I speared fruit and pastries from the plates on the table and forced a smile. “Yes, gratitude.”
She stood and gathered her lab coat from where it hung over the back of her chair. “Wolf, I need you in my lab this afternoon for blood work—no excuses. If you don’t show, I’ll track you down like the dog you are.”
“Promises, promises,” he said, reaching for a platter of bacon from the center of the table and tossing a slice at each of the lion cubs wrestling on the floor. The cubs, distracted by the meat bombardment, snatched up the bacon, swatting and growling at their siblings.
Bree rolled her eyes. “I’m serious, Wolf. Be there or face my wrath.”
He barked out a laugh. “All the sass of a mate and none of the sugar.” She smacked him on the back of the head and he laughed harder.
“Laters, everybody. Don’t wait up.”
“You working at the Hearthstone tonight?” Mika asked, slapping Cowboy’s wrist as he made to throw another round of bacon to the four furry fiends now gathering around his chair.
Bruin stood to help Mika clear the breakfast plates. “By the blush, I say our little coyote has a hot date.”
Bree’s olive skin flushed brighter. “If you must know, Aust and I are going to run. He wants to let his tiger loose and it’s been a while since my coyote really laid paws to earth.”
“Sounds like fun,” Cowboy said, finishing his coffee. “Want company?”
“No!” Bree leveled a glare at each of the males. “I moved out of the Hearthstone to gain some distance from overprotective men. You boys are going to give Aust and me plenty of space tonight. I mean it. If I catch one whiff of your scents on the breeze, I’ll come back here and sink my canines deep into your haunches while you sleep.”
Bruin rubbed his backside. “I don’t know, coyote girl, my haunches are pretty tough.”
Mika’s hand cracked against Bruin’s backside as he leaned over the table to clear plates. When his brow disappeared behind his shaggy bangs she shook her head. “Don’t worry about them, Bree,” Mika said. “Have a wonderful evening.”
“Thanks, Ursa.”
Mika reached for the remaining empty platters, but Cowboy jumped to his feet. “Sit Ursa, you cooked. The men will clean.”
Mika settled back into her seat and smiled. “Who says chivalry is dead?”
I studied my plate of cut fruit as the males carried plates to the kitchen. “Has Samuel eaten?”
Mika sipped at her coffee mug and licked her lips. “Eaten no. He stormed out of here long ago. He told Cowboy to Flash you to Jade’s house and escort you to Reign’s office when you’re ready. What was that about?”
I stuffed a spoonful of fruit into my mouth and shrugged.
She laughed. “I’m an investigative journalist, Lia. I can smell evasion miles away. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. Let me know if you change your mind.”
Mika rose from her seat and untied the silk scarf laced through the belt loops of her jeans. Easing around the table she held it out to me. “If you want to avoid gossip and bloodshed, use this to cover up that love bite on your neck. The Talon gossip like old ladies at a quilting convention and even with your hair down, people will notice that hickey.”
I touched the flesh of my neck where Samuel had been. In my haste to vacate my suite, I forgot to wear my mourning band. Not ready to face my suite again yet, I accepted her offering and pushed my plate away, appetite gone.
The scent of warm pastry drifted from inside Reign’s private library. The smells rang of mango, lemon and apricot. Elora knew I was coming. Since leaving the village after Tham’s ceremony, she had been spoiling me with baking. It was an indulgence in both sustenance and affection
One I missed living at the Dens.
My chest eased slightly as Cowboy pushed the heavy wooden door open and waited for me to enter. “One Highborne beauty delivered as requested,” he said.
Samuel nodded but did not raise his gaze. Bent over the table in the center of the room, he continued running a finger over the faded sepia print in an ancient and likely priceless book. By the organization of the piles, I guessed he had examined a fraction of what he set aside to review.
His avoidance may have gone unnoticed to a human entering the space, but the scent of residual anger rang strong for a Were and an Elf. “That’s all, Wolf. I’ll let ye know when we’re done. We might need to take a road trip, if yer game.”
“Let me know what to pack. I hate bein’ under-accessorized.” Cowboy dipped the rim of his black hat and backed out of the door.
And then, the two of us were alone.
I understood his anger and from where it stemmed. I had embarrassed us both and it was only logical I be the one to calm the waters. I flexed my fingers and drew a breath. “Apologies, Samuel. This morning I—”
Samuel’s palm jutted into the air, though his gaze remained locked on the books before him. “I told ye. It was a mistake. Let the moment die its final death.”
I picked up a fabric-covered journal from a pile on the edge of the table. “And will your anger towards me be dying that death as well?”
He sighed. “It will. I promise. I hoped maybe the aroma of the sweets might cover that up.”
I toured the room. Reign’s private collection of realm books was astounding. His library, a two-storey room, rich in masculine tones of burgundy and midnight blue, housed floor-to-ceiling bookshelves brimming with scrolls, parchment and tombs. Beyond Elora’s baking, a faint mint incense hung in the air, counteracting the musty scent of old parchment and stale magic.
“What are you looking at?”
Samuel gestured to the open books on the table before him. “I combed realm history, looking for precedent on a woman’s rights over the act of mating. Highbornes aren’t the only race with strict bonding laws. Weres, Sprights, and some shifters like Finfolk have similar beliefs about how claiming a body translates to claiming a mate.”
“But there was no claiming of my body. No mating of any kind. Past cases will not come into argument. We should focus on how to prove that Abaddon lies.”
He looked at me for the first time since I arrived and it was as if the entire realm faded from existence. His gaze held such a mix of regret and emotion. Was this about more than our incident this morning in bed? “What is it? Please, tell me.”
He stepped around the corner of the table and bracketed my face with his hands. Wariness filled his gaze and he spoke too carefully for my liking. “Laws are laws, Lia girl. Ye cannae say for sure he lies, lass. Ye dinnae remember what happened in those weeks that Abaddon held ye captive. What if he can prove his claims?”
“He cannot.” My heart thrummed heavy in my chest. “He cannot prove what never happened. He is sadistic and insane. We must expose him for the monster he is.”
Samuel’s lips pursed into a fine line and, after a few moments, he nodded. “Aye, we will. I’m just saying, we must look at every possibility.”
“Because the asshole is evil hellscum,” Jade said, striding in to join us. “We can’t trust him to play by any rules when it comes to getting what he wants.”
Samuel whirled toward the door and his body reacted unbidden. The air filled with the distinctive spice he gave off whenever Jade was near. I could not blame him. He had not seen her since the attack and with her sudden appearance—you love whom you love, after all.
With an easy smile, he gathered her in his arms and then stepped back to study her. “Gods, ye look grand, Luv. How are ye? I didn’t know ye were home from Castian’s Palace.”
“Much better.” In worn jeans, a thick ivory sweater, and her curls long and loose to her waist, she once again glowed with strength and health. “It’s weird not having my powers, but since the Fates bound them, the danger to the twins seems to have passed.”
“Then thank the Fates for that.” I exhaled and hugged her myself. “That is wonderful news.”
“Aye, it is.” Samuel pulled a wing chair from the corner. “There now, sit.”
She leaned over the mountain of volumes and scrolls lying on the table before us. “I’ll sit. I promise, but being relieved of my teaching, Talon and healing duties has left me with way too much time on my hands. Let me help. Reign caught me up to speed and I’m all yours for as long as you need.”
The vitality Jade gave off, eased a worry held deep in my chest. Until another thought struck me. “Will Galan be accompanying us?” Though I missed my brother, the thought of him being there while Samuel and I dealt with Abaddon’s claim—What would I say to him?
“Not unless you want him to be.” Jade’s hopeful, emerald gaze dimmed as I shook my head. “Okay. That’s okay. He’ll give you all the time you need, but he is so sorry he said those things. He said if there is anything he can do—”
“There is.” Samuel passed Jade a thick green book and backed her into the chair. “Abaddon’s claim cites Highborne laws and, although Reign’s collection rivals the Library of Alexandria, if Galan could go to the village and convince those elders to part with the texts dealing with mating laws and claiming, that would be grand.”
A lump blocked my throat. “Is it not bad enough everyone here knows my humiliation? Why must those judgmental fools learn of Abaddon’s filthy claim? My sire is one of the elders. Do you think I want him to hear of it?”
Samuel braced his hands on the table opposite me and sighed. “First off, not everyone here knows yer business. I bet no one beyond yer Elven family, Bruin, Cowboy and Reign know the details of Abaddon’s claim. Stop worrying about that. Second, we need those books so we can shut the bastard down. No sense walking on eggshells. What’s done is done.”
I sighed. “Since when are you the logical one?”
Samuel smiled. “Yer rubbin’ off on me, duck.”
“So, do you want me to ask him?” Jade asked, her hopeful grin renewed. “I’ll tell him to keep the reason private. He can make up something to satisfy those aristocratic windbags. He could be back in a couple hours.”
My objection was ridiculous. Samuel needed those texts and until recently, I believed Galan hung the moon. More than my brother, he reared me from a sapling, protected me from our father and treated me with nothing but devotion my entire life. But his words from our fight still cut me to the quick.
I shook my head, picking up the yellow notepad Samuel used to make notes. “I cannot face him. If he were to give any credence to Abaddon’s claim—if he even looked upon me with an ounce of doubt or judgment—it would rip my soul apart and I would never recover.”
Samuel stepped closer and squeezed my shoulder. “All right, lass. We’ll ask him to retrieve the books and leave them here for us to go through later. Ye don’t need to face him if yer not ready. He’ll be glad to help in any case, I’m sure.”
Jade rose from her seat and moved to join us. “Whatever you need, hon. He’ll understand and he wants to be involved.”
Samuel’s brow raised in an elegant arc. “He could say it’s something to do with him being Sentinel of Souls. What do you say? It’s yer call.”
I rubbed my hands over my face. Though I would much rather hide in my room at the Dens or dunk my head in the river until the world and its troubles were carried downstream, I relented. “Very well, ask him. Please stress how important it is to me that the village not find out why we need them.”
Jade nodded and strode toward the door. “Consider it done. And don’t worry about a thing. Galan will not let you down again. I swear it.”