Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Firth of Forth
THE PORTAL CLOSED BEHIND US.
King Belshazzar’s ice blue eyes surveyed the terrain while he pocketed the Original vampire amulet in his pocket.
I dropped my hand from the king’s shoulder and scanned the area the same way he was. Trees. Many trees, big and beautiful. And not a human, vampire, or druid in sight. I murmured absently, “I wonder if I kicked one of those amulets in your pants pockets if your dick would blow off. What do you think?”
“I think you’re a dangerous woman when you’re pissed off.” King Belshazzar marched forward through the underbrush. “Keep up, Gwen. It’s a hike from here.”
I put my feet into motion, his legs much longer than mine. “Yes, sir, Mr. Secret Keeper, sir.”
He groaned low in his throat. “Are you going to be doing this the entire way?”
“Maybe. I haven’t decided yet.” I shrugged my shoulders. I stepped over a fallen log. “So you weren’t saying all that shit about not being able to tell me yet because the Overlords were in the room with us?”
“No. I really won’t tell you yet.” His lips curved up into a sexy smirk. “It’ll ruin the surprise, little one.”
I huffed. “I don’t like surprises.”
“Yes, you do. You haven’t taken off that necklace I gave you since the day I clasped it around your sweet neck.”
I scowled. “Well, it is pretty.”
“You think it’s so pretty that you hide it under every top you wear.” Bel chuckled quietly, his tone intimate. “You like having a secret with me.”
My cheeks heated, a pink blush staining my skin.
His smile was private as he ran those chilling eyes over my face. “It’s all right, Gwen. I like having a secret with you, too. And I’ll never tell.”
I hopped over a deep rut in the dirt. “So if you’re not going to tell me the reason why you killed Lord Pippin, which pisses me the fuck off, do you want to talk about this whole children clause you put into the vampire and druid laws?”
Bel hummed softly. “What do you want to know about it?”
“I’ll start with a more practical question. Do you realize you just sealed the druids’ fate to always have a vampire ruler? If you had died at some point in the future, a druid could have taken over. Now, it’s set for only a vampire.”
“Yes, I did realize that.”
“And you don’t care that you took away that choice from them?”
“I think I worked three thousand years to get the Original druid amulet back so that our people on Earth could co-mingle without being spurned or killed. I think I will raise my children to have the same opinions I do, with safety and love and justice in their hearts. And my children will be physically strong and magically powerful. They will be more than any other druid or vampire. What kind of magic they hold shouldn’t matter as long as they are the best rulers that the people can have. My children will be that.”
I lifted my brows high on my forehead. “How do you know your children will be more?”
Bel’s eyes caught mine. He didn’t flinch. “Because I am more, Gwen. You know this.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “I just wanted to hear you verify it.”
“You are so adorable. And a little annoying.”
“And you’re still on my shit list.”
Bel snickered. “Doo-ly noted.”
I blinked. “That was bad. Don’t try that again.”
“Not funny?”
“Not in the slightest.” I sighed and stared up at the limbs shading us from the sun of a brand new day. “On to the personal question now. You obviously plan to have children with me at some point. How do you think that’s going to happen? Natural relationship? Artificial insemination? Surrogate? What’s going on inside that head of yours?”
His lips twitched. “If you really knew what I was thinking about right now, you’d be blushing again.”
I whapped his chest with the back of my hand. “Stay on track. I know you at least heard what I said while porno was playing in your mind.”
“Don’t ruin my fun, little one. We’re walking by some sturdy trees. I could pound into you—”
“Stop.” I shook my head. “Remember, we’re hands off until you start spilling more of your personal details.”
The tips of his lips curved down in an honest frown. “All right. If that’s what you wish. I can wait for you to be ready.”
I shook my head, and mumbled, “Every time you say that it hits me in the gut. I’ve never met anyone like you before, Bel. And I’m not just talking about your sexy horns either.”
His frown disappeared in an instant, and his chest puffed up more than a little. My lover peeked down at me, and asked, “You think my horns are sexy?”
“They’re fucking hot,” I stated honestly.
One black eyebrow lifted, and he purred, “How hot?”
“I’ve imagined myself riding you hard while I hold on to those sexy as fuck—” I cut myself off and hissed deep inside my chest. “You never answered my question about the children. Quit trying to distract me. We’re getting close to the city, and if I can hear it, you certainly can too.”
His pants were a bit snugger in the crotch area, and his breathing was a smidge labored. Bel rumbled, “I want to hear more about your fantasy.”
“Not going to happen right now. I asked you first.”
The beast that lurked inside him growled.
“Nope. That’s not going to work either.” I snorted.
My lover glowered. “Yes, I do want children with you at some point in my life. Not any time soon. But…at some point. We would make sweet, beautiful babies together.”
I shook my head and chuckled, dumbfounded and confused. “Well, we know what they would look like.”
Bel’s lips twitched. “Indeed.”
I swept my eyes up to his, and asked seriously, “Are you saying you want us to be mated and have children together, Bel?”
“Would it scare you if I said that?”
“Fuck yes, it would.”
My lover hummed under his breath. “Do you want me to lie to you to make you feel better or do you want me to tell you the truth?”
“The truth. I think.” I bent and grabbed a leaf off the ground and pinched the stem. Lost in my thoughts, I twirled it between my fingers. “Actually, don’t answer. Either way I look at it, I don’t think I’m ready for the answer.”
He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “I know, little one. It’s all right.”
I squinted in his direction. “I let that kiss slide, you know.”
“If you say so.” Bel’s deep chuckle tickled my ears.
I whacked his chest again for good measure.
He snickered harder. “Fucking adorable.”
I flashed my fangs in his direction but quickly simmered down when I saw humans. A playground was in full use right outside the forested area. I sighed and pointed a finger. “You can’t tell me you really want one of those. Look at that little boy running around and yanking the other kids’ underwear up their ass cracks—”
“I believe they call that a wedgie.”
“All right, a wedgie. How undignified is that?” I exclaimed. “That child’s poor parent has to be embarrassed.”
Bel’s lips twitched at the corners. “I think you forget I saw you for a time when you were still living with your parents at the stronghold. I remember one instance with porridge that was quite memorable. The managers use that story as a warning to new employees to this day.”
I stared straight ahead, sputtering, “They do not!”
“They do. I promise you.” He shook his head of long black hair, the slight breeze ruffling it. “How did you get into the kitchen anyway? No one has ever been able to figure it out.”
My grin was tiny. “You keep your secrets, I’ll keep mine.”
He grunted. “Very mature, Gwen.”
I giggled as we passed the playground. “You can say whatever you want. I’m still not going to tell.”
Frustration flickered in his eyes. “And you call me cruel? There’s a reward for anyone who can figure it out. Every year, a little money is put into a reward account. I think it’s up to six hundred dollars now.”
My head tipped back, and laughter danced past my lips. “I’m not going to let you cheat. That’s not right.”
He shrugged his shoulders and adjusted his backpack, the sidewalk much smoother to walk on with our bulky loads than a forest floor. Bel grumbled, “Fine. I’ll figure it out one day.”
“Where exactly are we going in Edinburgh?” I surveyed the morning joggers and people rushing in their cars, late for work. The architecture was absolutely darling, new and old structures smashed together for a creative smorgasbord of style. “I’ve never been here before. This is new for me.”
“Lonzo lives on a busy street full of retail shops. That’s where we’re headed.”
“Does he know we’re coming?” I asked.
“No,” Bel stated very slowly and rubbed at his bristly chin with the palm of his hand. “He and I had a small argument the last time we saw each other. I doubt we’ll be welcome.”
“Small argument?” I lifted a brow.
We both curved around a woman with a steaming cup of coffee gripped in her right hand and two leashes for her rowdy dogs in the other. The lady must have been trying to get burned. That was a bad decision altogether.
Bel teetered his right hand in front him. “He…may…have lost an arm somewhere in the middle of our argument. It was about a hundred years ago. Not long enough for him to forget.”
I shook my head in exasperation and asked in a voice full of doubt, “Are you sure he’ll help us?”
“If he doesn’t do it willingly, I’ll make him.”
“That’s the team spirit.” I sniffed. “I don’t have many changes of clothes in my backpack. I ended up bringing more weapons than garments. So make sure to keep the splatter away from me.”
“If it comes to that, I’ll try my very best.”
“I’d expect nothing less.”
We took a right at the stoplight. “What’s the street called that we’re looking for?”
“The cross street is Princes Street.”
I nodded primly. “A fine royal name.”
“Don’t expect refinery with Lonzo. He’s more like a mob boss to many of these businesses, and he dabbles in drugs more than not.”
Bel grabbed two apples off a vending cart as we walked by, the human not noticing. He tossed me one, and I caught it. We ambled down the sidewalk and munched on our apples and people-watched for the next five minutes.
My lover tossed his apple core in a trashcan as we passed another intersection. With a mouth full of a hurried last bite, he sputtered, “We’re almost there. Finish eating.”
I bit off the last bit and tossed the apple core into a woman’s purse as she raced past us, her high heels click-click-click-click-clicking on the concrete. Highly annoying. With shoes that tall, she should have run on the balls of her feet for added silence.
Bel placed a possessive hand on the small of my back and pointed with his free hand. “Do you see the red cigar shop?”
“Yes.” That was a loud red.
“Lonzo lives beneath that. I hope he lets us in quickly. It’s getting busier out here. The humans may take notice if I start shooting someone in broad daylight.”
As to not be taken unaware again, I questioned delicately, “Is Lonzo an old friend of yours?”
“No, he and I have never been together.” He shook his head roughly. “Whatever is running through your head, I want you to flip it. And then twist it. That is Lonzo.”
My lips twitched. “How in the world did you meet him?”
“A bar, I think.” We stopped in front of the cigar shop and faced it. With his hand still on the small of my back, he lifted his right foot and banged down on the sidewalk six times. Anyone who was looking at us on the street instantly turned away as if they had forgotten we were right in front of them. He grunted. “Now, we wait.”