CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Elena had one moment of warning, one fierce beat of her heart that knocked against her ribs, signaling disaster, and then she had nothing left in the tank.
No witty comeback, no ounce of strength, no whisper of breath.
Between the physical exhaustion of fighting the brand, the Fae queen’s voice in her head, and the emotional upheaval every time Vaughn looked at her, she was just…done.
Her knees gave out, and then Vaughn was there, keeping her upright, arms locked around her like there wasn’t a force in this world that could ever tear her away from him.
Twice in twenty-four hours she’d found herself in this place, her world so out of focus she barely recognized it, and at the same time so painfully clear she couldn’t see anything but him.
A life of him holding her, kissing her, tickling her. A life of laughter and games and food they would hate and trade to one another. A life of adventure and new experiences and enjoying something as simple as curling up together on a rainy afternoon.
A few months ago none of those things had been in the cards for her. Her sister, her dysfunctional parents, the people she worked to save—they had been enough.
They were supposed to be enough.
So why did she crave him and a life together with a need so fierce it bordered on feral?
“Ivy,” he pleaded, for what she wasn’t sure. And then he captured her mouth in a soft, slow slide and nothing else mattered.
Sweet Avalon. She’d been so wrong. Now she was done. Exquisitely, meltingly done.
Clinging to the last bit of resolve that bubbled up from the deepest part of her, the part she held onto when her mother left, when her sister lost her way, when she realized she couldn’t save all of Morgana’s victims, she drew back.
She didn’t need much room, just enough to say one thing without brushing the lips she could sink into over and over again for the next thousand years. “If you do that again, you’d better not stop.”
He grinned and dragged her even closer.
She couldn’t inhale without feeling him move against her everywhere from her knees to the tops of her shoulders. The wolf was impossible to resist, and like always, he seemed to know it.
He caught her hand and tucked it around his neck, nipping the side of her jaw until she finally ran her fingers through the ends of his hair.
He growled in pleasure. “I won’t stop, Ivy. Not unless you make me.”
If there was ever a moment to stop all of this before she ended up with another scar on her heart, it was now.
Impossibly blue eyes burned into hers, waiting.
She tugged him down, pressing her lips to his forehead, lingering, falling even deeper. There was no saving herself her at this point anyway.
She was all in.
The moment Vaughn realized that, he snatched her off the floor. She wrapped her legs around him as he carried her the few feet to the closest table, something within her surging to awareness, driving away the pain, the fever, the doubts.
She barely felt him set her down, lost in the heat of the mouth that never left hers, not for a second.
This kiss was so hot and hungry and perfect. It didn’t seem to matter where they were or whether or not they were trading barbs, eating, dancing or fighting at any given moment. It was always hot, always on the edge of wild and just…perfect.
He dragged her shirt over her head, his mouth finding the curve between her neck and shoulder, one hand tangling in her hair, the other warming her where his fingers gripped her arm.
Hours ago her world had fallen out from beneath her, and with every kiss that lasted a moment longer than the one before, every brush of his fingers across her heart, he rebuilt her foundation until it felt like nothing could tear her down again.
Vaughn stilled. “What’s wrong? Is it the brand?”
Something on her face must have given her serious thoughts away. “I’m fine.”
The lines around his mouth deepened.
“I’m okay,” she insisted. Maybe not entirely, but as long as he kept touching her she could survive whatever came next.
He didn’t look convinced.
“Unless you’re worried I’m just playing you.”
“No,” he said with such conviction, she felt it somehow echo through both man and wolf.
“How do you know?” She had to ask, had to know one of them was halfway in their right mind, because Avalon help her, it wasn’t her.
He caged her face in his palms. “Because this is what your face looks like when you’re holding onto the light.”
A handful of words and she was back on shaky ground all over again. Gods, she hadn’t stood a chance when she’d given him her heart.
She hooked a finger in the waist of his pants, drawing him as close as he could get. “I don’t remember telling you to stop.”
He punished the comment with another kiss so fierce it drew the warmth from the bottom of her feet straight to her core. Anxious to touch him, she worked his shirt off, sucking in a breath when she noticed the wounds from the wraith still hadn’t faded.
The undeniable proof that he hadn’t gone to stone, that he hadn’t left her even to take care of his injuries, made her throat impossibly tight. “You need to heal.”
“Not as much as I need you.” He captured the hand ready to probe the flushed skin around the claw marks that had sealed but remained an angry red. He pressed his mouth to her fingertips. “Just you.”
She hooked her hands around his neck and hauled him close. The muscles tightened under her palm, and the sound he made against her lips was pure animal.
And it made her so hot she wasn’t sure why she hadn’t gone up in flames yet.
He’d fallen in love with her when she had called him Superman.
That one detail kept circling her thoughts, making her want to smile and cry at the same time. Hell she already had, and she’d never shed a tear for another man in her life.
But this man, this loyal, unrestrained playful gargoyle caging the most beautiful and protective wolf under the surface, was worth the scar she would bear when this was over.
Because she couldn’t ask him to choose between her and his sister, and if she couldn’t get him to trust her enough to let her help, this moment might be the last they’d have together.
Vaughn caught her hips, somehow working her pants off while the rest of her body was caught up in the sensual onslaught. Goosebumps erupted across her skin every time his hand spanned her lower back as he hauled her back to him whenever more than an inch separated them.
She remembered that raw need from their night in Vegas, saw it in every heated glance, felt it in every touch.
His jaw grazed her cheek and she turned toward the mouth ready to cast a spell all its own, and there wasn’t a magic in either realm she craved as much.
His lips parted greedily over hers, his tongue tangling in teasing strokes that came faster, deeper. He buried his hands in her hair, anchoring her in place for the bone-deep devastation that accompanied a kiss she hadn’t imagined existed.
Sweet, scorching and so damn heartbreaking.
A needy sound rose in her throat, but it somehow didn’t come close to betraying the molten response of a body moments from going nuclear.
***
Vaughn had never come from a kiss before.
And for the first time, in a forgotten library with his mate’s legs wrapped around him, pulling him closer to the second sweetest spot on her body, he thought it just might be possible.
The tantalizing promise of it skated down his spine, sinking deep into his balls at the precise moment Elena rocked her hips. The electric contact propelled him even closer to the edge of release.
Gods, he was in trouble if all it took was his mate’s mouth and the drugging friction of sliding his hard length against her.
He didn’t deserve this, not for a second. He’d made too many mistakes, had too much blood on his hands, and none of that touched what he’d put her through.
Not in a thousand years would he be worthy of the emotion shining in Elena’s eyes. Stunning, reason-defying emotion that nearly paralyzed him.
She should hate him, but she wasn’t hating him right now. Her eyes were too shiny, her gaze locked on his mouth, a flush on her cheeks that made her even more beautiful. He wasn’t even sure how that was possible.
A good guy would stop before any more damage was done, but he’d played in the shadows too long to ever be considered one of the good guys, and he was far too selfish to let this moment with his mate slip through his fingers.
“You’re stopping,” she said against his lips.
He shook his head. “Just taking my time.”
“You said you wouldn’t stop.” She unbuttoned his pants, and the heat drawing everything together deep inside him jumped a hundred degrees.
Five strokes—ten tops—and all that heat was going to make him explode.
“Not yet.” He caught her hand, drawing it up to his chest.
Her fingers gripped the material for a whole three seconds, then her hand fell back between them. Instead of ignoring him completely, though, she cupped him through the rough denim.
“Do you need me to go slow?” she teased.
He bit the sensitive curve where her neck met her collarbone and she laughed, the sound turning into a low moan as he pulled the tender skin into his mouth. He could sample a thousand flavors and the taste of his mate would forever be his favorite.
He moved his mouth to the right, sweeping feather-light across her skin and sucking slow. Her hand snaked lower and she cupped his balls, the pleasure intensifying so fast he sucked in a breath.
Instead of managing to distract her, he’d all but issued a challenge. He should have known it was coming. His mate reveled in keeping him on his toes, no matter what they were doing.
With a concentrated brush of his fingers—harder to manage that he thought with her sliding her hand from the base of his cock to the aching head—he unclipped her bra and tossed it away.
Her breasts rose and fell as she dragged in a breath without his mouth there to catch it. He needed to look at his mate, her pale skin stunning, the curve of her breasts leaving him impossibly hard, the pink tips making his jaw clench from holding back on devouring them on the spot.
Holding her gaze, he skimmed the underside of her breast, filling his palm with it, the beaded nipple jutting against him.
He tugged one tip, and her legs clamped around him. He lifted her ass, sliding her closer so he could rub against her like some kind of mindless beast with nothing but claiming his mate on his mind.
She was so hot and wet already. He nipped her bottom lip, and she buried her hands in his hair, pulling him harder to her mouth like she couldn’t get enough of him.
He slipped a hand between their bodies, parting her slick folds. Gliding through the moisture, he circled her clit. Her hips rose, seeking more. Willing to do whatever his mate needed, he pushed a finger inside her and she moaned against his mouth.
Pleasure spiked him from a dozen different directions. This time he didn’t stop her when she pulled at his pants, slipping beneath the fabric. If he lost his mind with a few skilled strokes, it would be worth it.
Her thumb skimmed the tip, and it was so fucking good he barely remembered what he was doing. Elena hadn’t forgotten though. She pitched her hips, and her hot walls greedily pulled at him.
“So soft and wet.” He added another finger, stretching her. Because in less than a minute he was going to be inside her. But he needed one more thing first. “I have to taste my mate.” His mouth ached just thinking about it, sharpening the edge on his need to mark her.
There wasn’t even a half-hearted protest. She laced their fingers together, sliding them down between her legs, across her clit and to the wet center of her.
Her eyes closed and she rocked against him, finally lifting their fingers to his mouth.
So fucking hot.
He dropped to his knees, and Elena was already with him, parting her legs enough for his shoulders and tangling her hands in his hair.
She pulled him in, moaning softly when he took a long taste of her, laving the flesh until she bucked her hips.
For a stupid moment he thought about finishing what she’d started by wrapping his hand around his cock while he devoured his mate. Except he needed to be inside her too much.
He traced the sick knot with his tongue.
She trembled. “Yes, please. Please.”
He slid a finger deep, working her over as he sampled every damp inch, circling back to her clit over and over again. And when he couldn’t take anymore, he jerked his pants down and drew her to the very edge of the table.
“Finally,” she breathed against his lips.
He pushed into her, lifting her ass so he could get deeper. So fucking deep. Her slick opening welcomed him over and over, clenching around him, dragging the pleasure across every inch of his cock.
Her nails bit into his ass, and he couldn’t thrust into her fast enough, hard enough, long enough. It would take a lifetime to satisfy the need that roared inside him. And maybe not even then.
He tucked his face against her neck, letting the rhythm take over, losing himself to the carnal pulse until his knees were shaking.
The table creaked beneath them as he drove into her. It could collapse under them any second and he wouldn’t stop filling her up.
She pushed him back, hopping down as if she knew what he really needed. He swung her around, sinking into her from behind.
He braced one hand on the table, linking his fingers with hers, as he slipped the other between her thighs. One caress, and she came apart, yelling her release as she rocked back to meet thrust after endless thrust.
He opened his mouth against the side of her neck, licking and kissing, every instinct between man and beast rushing headlong toward release.
And as the torrent of sensation finally ripped through him, he claimed his mate with a bite that made them both cry out in pleasure.
***
Elena thought about moving and dismissed it, her bones still too spongy to budge an inch. And then there was the lingering sting that wasn’t altogether unpleasant.
He’d marked her. And neither one of them had roused long enough from where they’d collapsed on the floor a while ago to comment on it.
Instead they’d done little more than draw lazy circles on each other’s skin in the last half hour. Now and then Vaughn would wrap a section of her hair around a finger only to let it unravel moments later.
She’d seen Cian preoccupied with playing with Emma’s hair on many occasions, but it clearly wasn’t just a cat thing.
At any other time, claiming her would have been a game changer. Now, she wasn’t sure where it left them at all. And in a few minutes she’d have to face that, but for now, as long as she had Vaughn’s arms wrapped around her, she was good.
The wolf seemed equally content where he lay with her sprawled half on top of him, his heart thumping steadily under her cheek.
Her stomach growled without warning, the rumbling sound loud to even her own ears. Gods, how long had it been since she’d eaten?
“I think I could have heard that from another room,” Vaughn teased.
She swatted him in the arm, her pleasantly strained muscles not protesting all that much. In fact, looking at him stirred all the places that should have been completely spent. Apparently she wasn’t as exhausted as she thought.
Vaughn ran his hand up the back of her bare shoulder, his touch igniting a fresh wave of need. “Maybe we should—”
“Absolutely,” she interrupted, rising to her knees and slipping a leg over his waist to sit astride him.
Soon decisions would have to be made, spurring her to take advantage of what little alone time they had left. He was already hard for her, his thick length nudging the inside of her thigh. She moved a little lower.
Vaughn groaned and gripped her hips. “That wasn’t the appetite I was referring to—”
She rocked her hips, pushing him closer to her center. The tip of his cock slid along her folds. “But?” she prompted.
His feverish blue gaze rose from her navel to her breasts, unleashing a curl of warmth that made her thighs clench. She pushed a little harder against him.
“I’d answer you but I can’t remember what we were talking about.”
“That seems to be a recurring theme with you.”
He caught her chin in his hand and drew her down. “If you weren’t so damn distracting it wouldn’t be such a problem.”
She took her time tasting the mouth that had worked her over so much it was a wonder she could function at all. “Why do I get the impression it’s not an apology you’re looking for?”
He cupped her nape, holding her to his lips for another hungry moment. His attentive gaze followed her as she sat up.
She drew a line down his chest, circling his navel, his abdominal muscles contracting under her touch. She arched back, letting him slip across her still sensitive clit until the head of his cock rested at her opening.
There wasn’t a nerve ending that wasn’t humming in anticipation, and then he pushed up inside her.
Biting her lip, she didn’t take her eyes off him, the weight of his gaze getting her even hotter. As much as she loved feeling him behind her, his arms tight, his body warm and hard at her back, she wanted to see his eyes this time, wanted to watch the pleasure build.
She pitched her hips, sinking down as deep as she could. Vaughn’s jaw tightened. He didn’t push her to move faster, savoring the slow ride.
For now.
Soon her wolf would want control, but she intended to drive him as crazy as she could until then. She drew her hands up her body, cupping her breasts. He clocked every movement, right down to the thumbs she brushed across her nipples. The delicious friction made her core tighten.
“Have mercy on me, Ivy.”
She grinned and gave a soft bounce, then another, sensation building on electrifying sensation. His fingers dug into her hips.
She ground down a little harder, sparking the flames that smoldered deep inside. Plans of going slow slipped through her fingers faster than she expected, the tease of another mind-blowing orgasm skimming up her backbone.
Vaughn rose to his elbows, dragging her toward him as he sat up. His mouth claimed hers with the same ruthless tenderness he used to lock his arm around her, keeping her close. She imagined their racing hearts beating against each other.
“Is this what mercy feels like?” she whispered between one drugging kiss and the next.
He fisted his hands in her hair, tugging just enough she knew the beast in him had a hold of her and wasn’t letting go. “You tell me.” He moved slightly, the change in pressure almost too much, heat drenching her from the inside out.
Gods, they were barely moving and everything burned hotter, clenched tighter. “It’s too soon,” she breathed.
Vaughn broke from her mouth, his lips drifting over his mark on her neck. “It was never soon enough with you.”
The raw confession shook her. “Vaughn,” she hissed, caging his face in her palms, giving herself up to the slowest, sweetest climax of her life.
He growled, but didn’t stop rocking them, didn’t stop sliding in and out, his cock so hard and stroking so deep. Didn’t stop until he gripped her hard, shuddering as he buried his face against her throat.
They slowed, their heavy breaths lost to another kiss that branded itself on her memory, a carnal satisfaction laced with such heart-squeezing emotion she’d never be able to let him go.
They stayed that way for a long while, the lulling sweep of his fingers up her spine too affectionate to sacrifice just yet.
Her stomach growled soon after, deciding it didn’t care how perfectly comfortable she was, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe it is time we find something to eat. What are the chances Dare thought about getting food? Assuming he doesn’t think we killed each other.”
Vaughn swept her hair over her shoulder. “If Dare was smart he put some serious distance between us.”
“He wouldn’t have left you.” Not just like that. She’d seen his hesitation as he wondered if leaving with the crown was the best move.
“I told him to take the crown and go.”
“So it’s not just me then? Everyone obeys your command?”
“Not everyone lives to defy authority.”
She pursed her lips. “Like me?” She couldn’t not ask. Not after that comment.
“Dare knows when to follow orders.”
“And did you order him not to tell me the truth?” She studied his face, wishing her playful wolf wasn’t retreating before her eyes. “Would you have told me if I hadn’t put the pieces together on my own?”
He shook his head. “Not until I figured a way out of this mess.”
“There is a way out.” And he wasn’t going to like it. She wasn’t really a fan either, but they didn’t have many options. “You give me the crown.”
***
Vaughn pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking for signs that last orgasm melted your brain.”
She pushed his hand away with enough force for him to realize she wasn’t kidding. Not even a little bit.
Shit.
Her lips barely parted.
He cut her off. “No. Not a chance.”
“Vaughn,” she began.
“Is that what this was about?” He felt like an ass the moment the words left his mouth. Was he ever going to get back to a place where he didn’t fuck up every other conversation they had?
She flinched at the question and climbed off him. “If you’re asking if I seduced you to get my hands on the crown, clearly the answer is yes since that’s what all evil sorceresses do, don’t they?” She threw his shirt at him and began hunting for her clothes.
He scrambled to his feet. “Okay I deserved that.”
She arched a brow.
“Just… Let’s just slow down a second. We can’t keep doing this. We can figure this out without—”
“—constantly questioning each other’s intentions?”
They both knew she could have been a lot harsher than that, which made him feel like an even bigger ass. He grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry. Really. I don’t want to fight with you anymore, Ivy.”
“Then let me help you.”
“With the crown,” he guessed, the earlier feeling of being punched in the gut returning with a vengeance. He didn’t let go of her hand even though the space between seemed to be widening without either of them moving.
“I can handle it.”
He mulled that over for half a second. “Were you handling it earlier? Because to me, it looked like she got inside your head.”
“She did—is—” she winced at how that sounded “—but it’s not like you’re thinking. There’s more to it than that.” She plucked up her shirt and dragged it over her head.
She sounded far too rational for his peace of mind. Had she been exposed to the crown for too long?
“Whatever kind of magic is in that crown, it wants out and it’s not above manipulating you to make that happen.”
“I’m not completely naive. But it’s not that black and white. I think…” She blew out a breath as if hunting for the right explanation. “I think she’s sad.”
Sad? He turned her toward him, hunting for traces that she’d already been compromised. “Elena, whatever might be left of the Iron Queen’s essence has been locked up for thousands of years. Maybe it’s sadness, or maybe it’s something far worse.”
“Or it’s not. Not anymore. Something is different.”
“How long has she been in your head?” When Elena didn’t answer right away, he took a guess. “You heard her in the chamber under the Wolf’s Den, didn’t you? When you were thrown across the room?”
“Haven’t you wondered why they picked me?”
He snapped up his pants and tugged them on. “That’s not an answer.” Not even close.
“Yes, she’s been in my head. I’ve seen…” She took a few steps away and then threw her hands up in the air. “I’m not even sure what I’ve seen. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Iron Brotherhood picked me. What if I was always part of their plan and they simply used you to get me? They saw a connection between us and knew you could get close to me.”
Gods, if he’d thought things had been spinning out of control over the last few days, then now they felt ready to detonate in his face. “It doesn’t matter.”
“And if you’re wrong? What if she can help us? All of us?”
“Help the ones you couldn’t save?” He still wasn’t sure what she meant by that earlier. “What did you mean when you said you wouldn’t have to lose another one?”
Elena glanced away, her expression unreadable.
“Whatever she’s promising you, you know there’s always a price. She’s Fae. There’s always more to it with the Fae.”
“And I’m half Fae.”
“And that means the iron could kill you. We can’t risk it.”
“You were certainly willing to risk my life up until now.”
The dig had the intended effect, and the guilt that chewed at him wasn’t as much as he undoubtedly deserved, but no way was he willing to take that kind of chance with her. Not now.
She jerked her pants on, continuing. “You were prepared to hand me over without even knowing what they were going to do to me. How is this any different?”
“I was an idiot for one. And you didn’t see the look on your face when you were near that box.”
“It takes me a moment to adjust. Being near her is like being at the center of a storm. I can feel her all around me, but she’s not trying to hurt me.”
“Since you’re so in touch with it,” he said purposely, determined to remind her they were dealing with an object and not a live being, “can you sense it now? Is it close?”
She cocked her head. “Not that close.”
“Not close enough to influence you?” he pushed.
She rolled her eyes, but shook her head.
Nothing on her face betrayed any magical influence or an ability to tap into the ancient magic. “You’re absolutely sure?”
“I don’t feel her. I promise,” she added when he regarded her skeptically.
“Good.” He pivoted away and then spun back to her.
She raised her arm, blocking the strike he should have been able to land. “What kind of game are you playing now, Barkley?”
He wished like hell he knew. The one thing he did know—very few immortals like Elena learned to defend themselves with any other means besides magic. Not only had she blocked him, but she’d also put him on his ass earlier.
He assumed the crown had somehow fueled her strength. But now… “If you’re not under the influence of the crown’s magic, then how did you fight me off earlier without your magic?”
Elena blew out a breath, an emotion crossing her face that he’d never witnessed before. Uncertainty.
“Elena,” he began, then froze.
Blood. The coppery scent drifted on the air. A thump followed by a muffled grunt of pain set the wolf on edge.
He faced the door. “Something’s wrong.”