Yeah, Julian thought. I bet people underestimate you a lot, yet there’s a reason why Dragos made you his First among all his sentinels.
Gregoire appeared and unobtrusively added a few bottles of bloodwine to the liquor cabinet. Telepathically, he said, Mister Xavier will be arriving within the half hour, sir.
Will he? Displeased, Julian frowned. Xavier was supposed to be on his estate, recuperating from the effects of the brodifacoum poisoning.
He mentioned something about updating you on the citywide search. As quietly as he had arrived, Gregoire slipped out again.
Melly said to Julian, “Bailey texted. She’ll be here in about an hour.” She paused. “Did I forget to tell you Mom is sending me twenty troops?”
At the mention of her twin, her smile had faded and the skin around her eyes had grown tense.
“You’re both very busy, and that’s my cue to leave.” Graydon bent to kiss Melly’s cheek, scooped up his jean jacket in one hand and nodded to Julian. “I’ll look to hear from you later about what we discussed.”
“Count on it,” said Julian.
“Good hunting.”
As he watched the other man leave, he said softly, “You can count on that too.”
Fifteen
H
e turned his attention back to Melly. Her expression was calm and self-contained, but she had wrapped her arms around her middle again. Her stance was so defensive, it made his chest ache just to look at her.
He thought of the laughter and closeness they had achieved in the bedroom for such a brief time, and he ground his teeth.
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this,” he muttered.
She looked at him. “Say what?”
Walking over to her, he tilted up her chin and kissed her. “Come sit with me.”
She followed him as he walked to one of the sofas and sprawled at one end. “You’re not mad about the troops, are you?”
He snorted and pulled her down beside him. “No. We’re lucky if that’s all your mother chooses to do. Frankly, I’m a little surprised she hasn’t bombed Northern California yet, but that’s probably because you’re still here.”
She chuckled. The sound was wan.
Hungry to touch her and to feel her in his arms again, he pulled her against his chest. With a big sigh, she laid her head on his chest. He put his face into her soft hair. She smelled like his shampoo, and he loved that so damn much.
He said, “You don’t have to confront Bailey right away, do you?”
She lifted her head to consider him. Her expression had turned grim. “What do you mean?”
“You love your sister. I know you do.” He looked at her steadily. “Would you say that she loves you?”
A series of emotions flashed across her face. Fury, hurt, puzzlement. Even calculation. Finally, she said, “Yes, she loves me.”
“Here’s the thing,” he told her. “While we may have pieced together some information today, in reality, everything happened over twenty years ago. The truth is, we don’t know exactly why Bailey did what she did or if she regrets it. We don’t even know for sure that she did it.”
“She did it,” Melly said. “You know it, and I know it. It’s the simplest, most obvious explanation.”
He sighed. “Okay. But the only thing we really know for certain is that it’s old news. You can take time to think about things and decide what you want to say, or how you want to act. The past isn’t going anywhere.”
As he spoke, he took a curl and wound it around his finger. He loved to touch her. He simply loved it.
“Why are you saying all this?”
He responded slowly, so he could feel out his words. “Because you do love her, and because she loves you. If you and I can draw a line between now and what has happened in the past, maybe you can do that with her too.” He shrugged. “If you want to.”
She rubbed his chest, an absentminded caress that soothed his soul. A sense of well-being stole into him. He was enchanted at the exotic sensation. He and well-being… They were not well acquainted with each other.
After a few minutes, she asked, “What would you do?”
I would grind her bones to dust.
He was quite proud that he did not say it.
“That doesn’t calculate,” he said. “I don’t have a twin with whom I’ve been connected all my life. Relationships are breakable, Melly. It would be smart for you to be sure you know what you want to do before you break them.”
One corner of her mouth lifted. She cocked her head. “You’re so adorable when you’re being openhearted and wise.”
His eyebrows shot up. “I can honestly say nobody has ever said that to me before.”
“It was worth it just for the look on your face.” She grinned, but it faded again quickly. More soberly, she said, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He brushed his lips on her forehead.
“You would totally destroy her, wouldn’t you?”
“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation. “Her, along with anybody else who might have been involved.”
Groaning, she collapsed so that her full weight lay on him.
Hooking an arm around her neck, he murmured, “But I can see how things might be different for you. After all, she’s family. You have a golden opportunity, baby. Don’t do as I do.”
She stretched to kiss him lingeringly.
“Mmm,” she murmured against his lips. “I want to stop thinking about other people. We have… What do we have, forty minutes before Bailey and the troops show up? We could do an awful lot in forty minutes, soldier. Dirty, dirty things.”
The tip of her tongue tickled his lower lip in invitation. Instantly, he grew hard as a rock. He groaned against her mouth. “We have something closer to fifteen minutes, I’m afraid. Gregoire told me telepathically that Xavier will arrive very soon.”
“What?!” She collapsed on him again.
“I’m a guy. I could totally make it happen in five minutes.” He cupped her breast. She wasn’t wearing a bra underneath her fleecy top, and the full softness of her round flesh filled his hand. As he molded and caressed her curves, she let out a shaking moan. Wickedly, he whispered in her ear, “We could cut loose, you know. Every man for himself. I look after my orgasm, you look after yours. Right here, right now. Quick and dirty.”
As he talked, her breathing deepened. With a sexy roll of her hips, she ground her pelvis against his erection. She groaned, “Quick and dirty. Oh God, I could almost do it. No, I can’t. Not down here. Xavier’s such a gentleman – I know he knows about sex, but if we happened to get carried away, I really don’t want him to see me like that.”
“Upstairs,” he growled.
She raised her head. Her beautiful eyes had glazed, and a dark wash of color tinged her cheeks.
Suddenly, she moved. Rolling off him, she raced for the hall.
For a second, he held frozen. He had been teasing.
A crack of laughter snapped through him, and he leaped after her. Even when he was young, he hadn’t felt this young. Their mischievousness made him feel buoyant and recharged.
He pursued her up the stairs and into his suite. Once they were both inside, he slammed the door. She was already tearing off her top and kicking out of her pants. The feminine hourglass of her body was magnificent. The tuft of private hair at the juncture of her thighs was a dark gold, and her plump nipples were rosy pink.
He lost the impulse to laugh, and his need became aggressive. He didn’t think he could ever get enough of her. Yanking the fastening of his jeans open, he snaked an arm around her waist and carried her to the wall, flipping her so that she faced away from him. A breathless whine broke out of her.
Pulling her back against him, he spooned her and whispered in her ear, “Is this okay?”
Nodding, she wriggled back against him. “You’ve got some catching up to do, soldier,” she gasped. “I’m starting without you.”
That was when he realized she wa
s fingering herself, bracing herself against the wall with one arm.
A growl ripped through him. With a greedy, irrational sense of jealousy for those fingers, he sank to his knees to watch her pleasure herself. She had a heart-shaped ass that was begging to be bitten. He rubbed his teeth along her skin, hissing with frustration. He had bitten her too many times already in the past few days.
Her hand moved rhythmically between her thighs. “Not fair,” she gasped. “I’m seriously aching here. Where are you? You better not be jerking off down there.”
He burst out laughing. She paused to give him a glare. Rising to his feet, he spooned her again, took her by the hips and knocked her feet wider apart. She collapsed against the wall even as she groped between her legs for him.
Grasping his penis, she arched her hips back and guided him into place. He pushed in.
Entering her from behind made him feel more massive than ever. She was so tight, so hot, clenching on him like a wet, velvet fist. He pressed his face into her hair and started to swear through clenched teeth.
Then he was all the way in. She caressed the base of his cock and his testicles. Her fingers were soaking with her own arousal. Her inner muscles tightened on him as she pushed back, fucking him as he fucked her. He was ecstatic to be inside her, and furious at the world.
“Why can’t we find any time, goddammit?” he growled against her shoulder.
“I know,” she gasped.
Never any time. They wasted so much time.
He had wasted so much time. He had done this to them.
Grasping a fistful of her long, luxurious hair, he shoved in and in, while her gorgeous body moved and flexed with the onslaught. He needed to suck on her nipples and nuzzle her breasts. He needed to lose himself in the beautiful folds of her flesh, tease that tiny, exquisite clitoris of hers, listen to her gasp in his ear, and whisper things she would never dream of saying to anybody else.
He needed to be surprised into laughter by the next thing that fell out of her mouth, and to shelter her from all harm.
This was not the quick and dirty sex he had been expecting.
Something burning fell out of his eyes and splashed onto her shoulder. She twisted, staring.
“Stop,” she said.
He reacted immediately, pulling out. She flipped in his arms until she faced him. Whatever she saw in his expression caused her to fling her arms around his neck and cling to him.
He couldn’t speak. In her head, he whispered, I want to take back every ugly thing that ever came out of my mouth. I’m so sorry, Melisande.
He sank down to his knees. She came down with him.
I’m so sorry too, she told him. I got pissy because my feelings were hurt, and my pride was wounded. I didn’t fight for you, and I should have. I promise you now, I’ll always fight for you. I’ll never let you fight alone again. Never.
He could barely comprehend what she was saying. It almost didn’t matter. He would be happy to listen to her read the phonebook.
She straddled his hips and guided him back inside her. She whispered, “We have all the time in the world now. Nothing else matters.”
He took her mouth, kissing her as deeply as he could. He was desperate for her. The power of what he felt for her eclipsed everything else. He was probably leaving bruises. Jesus, he needed to get a hold of himself and ease up. She was the light of his life. He couldn’t continue to act like such an animal.
Then she ground against his pelvis and shook all over. She clawed at him and bit at his neck and jawline, and she was so gleefully savage about her own climax, he forgot everything that had just run through his mind, gripped her by the hips and exploded into her tight, welcoming sheath.
Afterward, he realized he was breathing heavily. Fine tremors shook through his muscles. She rubbed her cheek against his, nuzzling him with her eyes closed.
“You know what I miss?” she whispered. “Lake Tahoe. You remember how beautiful it was that winter? We closed out the world.”
“I bought the cabin we stayed in,” he confessed.
Her head snapped up, eyes flaring wide. “You own it?”
He nodded as he smoothed her hair off her forehead. “I never use it. I keep thinking I might go up there. Take some time off and see if I can remember how to fish. Then I’ve never gone. Why should I bother to learn how to fish? It’s not like I can eat them. And something or other keeps cropping up. Truthfully, I didn’t want to go back without you.”
She took his hand and kissed the palm. “Let’s go. Soon as we get done dealing with stupid Justine and all the stupid problems she’s caused.” She frowned. “Unless the cabin’s a dilapidated mess by now. After all, it’s been a long time.”
He waved that away. “There’s a caretaker that keeps up the property. I sank some money into some renovations not that long ago. Every once in a while they ask if I’ll rent it out, but then I think again about going up there, so I always tell them no.” He smiled into her eyes. “We’ll go as soon as we can.”
She smiled back. “You can relearn how to fish, and I’ll eat them.” She frowned. “Wait, let me revise that. You can relearn how to fish and clean them, and I’ll cook and eat them. How’s that?”
He laughed. “You’ve got a deal.”
Then his smile faded. “This time we’re going to do it right. We’ll learn how to be with each other again, and we won’t let anybody else come between us.”
Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss on his shoulder. “And we’ll make love in front of the fireplace all night long. I’ll take a pile of books that I’ve been meaning to read forever.”
“I’ll watch sports on TV,” he said.
They looked at each other. Grinning, she shook her head. “No, you won’t.”
Chuckling, he replied, “You’re right. I probably won’t.”
Stroking her thigh, he thought ahead. He needed to contact the caretaker to make sure the cabin was cleaned. Maybe they would also stock the kitchen with food.
He knew that he and Melly were glossing over many challenges. The truth was, many people were going to dislike their liaison now – just as many as had disliked it before. Some people in the Nightkind demesne would be looking to take advantage of a closer relationship with the Light Fae in Southern California, but several would oppose it. Saboteurs were likely.
But they would make it work. They had to make it work. As he had said before, he would fight the world for her. He might not be able to leave the Nightkind demesne, but as long as Melly could tolerate that, they could make a life for themselves.
His new phone buzzed. Giving her a quick kiss, he eased away, and they both climbed to their feet. He dug into his pocket, pulled out the phone, and checked the screen. Xavier had texted him.
He told her, “Xavier’s downstairs.”
She nodded, looking unsurprised. Moving quickly, they both cleaned up. Julian straightened his clothes, while she dressed again. Just as he was about to open the door, she paused.
“You go ahead,” she told him. “I have something I need to do first.”
His mind had leaped ahead to the search, so he kissed her. “Join us when you can.”
She nodded. He left, loping down the stairs. It was past time to locate and stake Justine, so they could get on with their lives.
As soon as Julian had left, Melly walked over to the armchair and collapsed into it. As she did so, the metal shutters on the bedroom windows quietly eased up, revealing the bright, sunny day outside. The shutters worked as discreetly as the rest of the household. Julian had a full house of attendants, but they were well trained and unobtrusive. The only attendant she had seen so far was Gregoire.
Now that she was alone, without the buffer of Julian’s powerful presence to focus on, all the many emotions she had been avoiding came crashing in.
Desultorily, she inspected the food tray again and nibbled on cheese and a few grapes as she worked to collect her thoughts. While she appreciated everything Julian had said earlier
, she honestly didn’t know if she could look Bailey in the face without plunging into a heated confrontation.
And she didn’t have time to reflect and settle on a course of action. Bailey was due to arrive within the next half hour.
At least, Melly could settle one question right away. Taking her phone, she tapped out her mother’s number.
Tatiana answered on the first ring. “Melly. Are you all right? Has Bailey arrived?”
“No, not yet. She’ll be here soon.” Melly was gripping the phone too tightly again. “Mom, I have to ask you something. I know it’s going to seem like it’s coming out of nowhere, but… did you have anything to do with Julian’s and my breakup?”
“Did I what? I would never do anything to hurt you like that. If I felt like you shouldn’t have been with Julian, I would have told you so directly.” Her voice hardened. “He isn’t trying to claim such a thing, is he?”
“No, not at all.” Tatiana was not above manipulation if it suited her purposes, which was why Melly had to ask her, but it was really good to hear the sincerity in her mom’s voice. Relief made Melly feel lighter and more clearheaded. She rubbed her forehead. “We recently discovered some things, and I just needed to ask. I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings.”
“Don’t concern yourself with that. What things did you discover?”
“I’ll have to explain everything later. Right now I don’t have time.” She paused, thinking. “How did you feel about Julian when we were together? You never said anything at the time. I know you’ve been really angry with him.”
“He hurt you badly, and I never forgot or forgave that. But when you originally got together, I was guarded yet willing to be open-minded about the prospect. As long as he treated you well, and you were happy, I could be happy for you.” Her mother’s voice turned dry. “And, of course, there were potential advantages.”
Biting back a smile, she said, “Of course.”
“Are you and he involved again? Because if you are, I have to tell you, he has got to work damn hard to make up for everything that happened.”