CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
BETH
I wasn’t happy. I hadn’t planned on having sex with both men at the same time. Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t like I was complaining. It had been amazing, and my pussy throbbed just thinking about how both of them had looked, towering over me, their cocks ready for action.
But still, when I’d gone to bed, I’d had no idea I’d wake up in Daeary’s arms and have Bleddyn join in. Something was very different, compared to the first time I’d had sex with Daeary. I’d enjoyed it just as much, but I’d passed out and felt exhausted and like shit the day after.
Now I was so full of energy, it was fizzing through my blood like champagne bubbles. I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. It was early in the morning, and the sun was only just rising.
Bleddyn was still asleep, half his body hanging off the mattress. The cot was not made for two, never mind three people.
But Daeary was as wide awake as I was. He stood at the head of the bed, his eyes staring into my soul. Their fire was extinguished this morning, although there was a ring of golden red around his iris.
He came closer and kissed my forehead. The gesture was so tender, I held my breath, waiting for him to move to my lips. But he never did. Instead, he walked to his pile of clothes he dropped yesterday.
I got another glimpse of his muscled ass as he bent over to pick up his pants. Phew. I couldn’t believe I’d hit that last night. I felt like mourning when he pulled his breeches up, and all that gorgeousness disappeared under rough fabric.
He turned around and caught me ogling him. Sending me a panty-soaking grin, he said, “The two of you gave me enough to tide me over, but now I need to go and feed some more. I shall see you soon, little lamb.”
Then he was gone, and I was lying back, more questions bubbling up. What did he mean by feeding? There were so many things I didn’t know about him. But at least he’d always been upfront with me about what he wanted from me. He’d never pretended like Bleddyn had. I stared at the ceiling until my irritation got the better of me.
I turned around and shook the naked Fae until he grumbled awake. “What is it? Why are you waking me so early? We do not have to set off to the court for several hours more.”
I ignored his word and instead punched him on the arm. He flinched away, lost his balance, and landed on the hard floor with an “Oomph.”
“The Goddess take you, you crazy halfbreed,” he said, his eyes confused and tired.
I sat up and pulled the cover high under my chin. “I need to know what’s going on.”
He didn’t refuse answering my questions, even though his face grew more weary as he waited for me to continue.
“So Daeary is an incubus, but I’m not sure what that means. First of all, why do you keep calling him a demon?”
Bleddyn took his time getting up. He crouched on the edge of the mattress, rubbing his bruised butt, before answering. “Because he is one.”
I waited for a moment, but got no more than an aggrieved glance. Okay, enough was enough. “Look, dude. If you don’t give me more information, I’m going to push you off the bed again. Got it?”
His irritation turned to amusement. “I believe you would. Let me explain it to you. Daeary is an incubus, a sex demon. He arouses his victims to the point of insanity, and then he feeds off them.”
“His victims?” That did not sound good.
“Yes, his victims. Daeary is better than most I have met, but like other incubi, he gains his longevity by feeding on his sex partners’ life-force. He does not need much to keep him going from day to day. Only enough to make them tired or, at worst, pass out.”
I froze. That was exactly what had happened to me. No wonder I’d been so hungry and exhausted afterward.
Bleddyn continued, his silver eyes fixed on me as if he wanted to make sure I understood. “I do not know his true age, but Daeary is hundreds, maybe a thousand years old. To stay alive for that long, he has to drain his victims entirely. As I understand it, the last bit of life-force contains the spark that transfers their entire lifespan to him. Without killing, Daeary would be dead himself.”
I was stunned, my face numb with shock. How many people had Daeary killed to reach his age? How many decades had he absorbed to be as viral and young as he presented? I felt sick to the stomach.
But what made me even more upset was that my desire for him was unabated. If he came back right now and got undressed, even with everything I knew, I would want him between my thighs as quickly as possible. Hadn’t he proven he wouldn’t hurt me or Bleddyn?
The enforcer, as Daeary had called him, had finished speaking and stared at the ground between his feet. Now was my chance to find out about all the things I wanted to know. But what was I going to ask him? Did you kill my parents? Did you send an assassin after my friend Amber and me? Did you take my friends, and are they still alive?
I was alone with him. If he decided I knew too much or asked too many questions, I wouldn’t stand a chance. No. I couldn’t ask him about any of those burning issues without somebody else being present. And even then, I’d be risking my life. He might be a great lover, but I didn’t trust him. At all.
As if he could feel my doubt, he lifted his head and looked straight at me. His eyes were red-rimmed, as if he’d been rubbing them. “Beth, I… It is true what Daeary said. I work for the prince, but you already know that. I have done terrible deeds for him as his enforcer. But I would never hurt you.”
I stared at him, wanting to believe him. But I had to face facts. Bit by bit, I found out things about Bleddyn that he could have told me himself, but hadn’t until he was forced to.
“Why are you telling me that?” I asked, genuinely curious to hear his answer.
He scooted closer and took my hand. “Because I am drawn to you like to no other woman. Please trust me, even if you hear unpalatable stories about me. I will keep you safe.”
My hand seemed small as his fingers closed over mine. His skin was calloused from his sword practice, and his forearm corded with muscles that contracted as he squeezed gently. I felt that telltale scritching of his powers against my mind, but it stopped immediately.
“I apologize. Force of habit.” He sounded sheepish.
I didn’t know where I took the strength to say what I did next. “Bleddyn. If you want this to be a thing between us, you’ll have to choose. Your uncle or me. And that’s only the start. I won’t be with someone who isn’t honest with me.”
He dropped his head. “You do not know what you ask of me. You ask me to betray my oath to my liege lord.”
His eyes were wild, his eyebrows pulled together as he chewed on his lip. I watched his inner struggle play out, without any idea how he would decide. After all, I’d asked him to walk away from his job, his life at the palace, his identity. When he finally spoke, I steeled myself.
“I will do it to keep you safe.”
Pulling me against his side, he placed his arm around my shoulders and kissed me. I closed my eyes and got lost in the bitter juniper and cool earth scent that defined him, and the slick slide of his tongue playing against mine.
When he pushed me on my back and slid inside of me, I offered no resistance. And when I came on his cock while his fingers played with my clit, it felt like finding a slice of home in this hostile world.
***
DAEARY
I left the house and bent over, catching my breath. My legs barely carried me. I listened to Beth and that stupid Fae warrior first argue, then make up. At least they would not kill each other while I was gone.
Beth’s inner turmoil had tasted like fart-nettles to me. Hopefully, I would never have to explain why I knew that, and that I was able to taste emotions like a rich man might enjoy a bottle of wine.
Bleddyn was in love in with her. Beth did not know that, but the honey flavor of their mutual attraction made my teeth ache with its honey flavor. There was pepper there as well, but most successful relationships had a bit of spice.
When Bleddyn took her, some of the energy drifted through the open window, and I lapped it up like a starved cat might devour a bowl of milk. It was enough to help me amble to the river and find a young woman harvesting watercress. Within seconds, I had her bend over and offer me her pussy.
I doused her with incubus power, and she came and came until I had to hold her by the hips and pour myself into her unconscious body. I did not harm her, only left her asleep by the river banks. She would wake up and remember little of our encounter, but I was replenished to live another day.
The hangover hit me within minutes. I fell to my knees, clutching my stomach as the world turned black around me. The attack only lasted for a short while, and I came to nearly immediately.
I was vaguely aware of Fae passing by me. Somebody kicked me to make sure I wasn’t dead. Then they left me alone, probably thinking I had overindulged, even though it was early in the morning still.
I kept my eyes scrunched shut as the truth dawned on me. In all my hundreds of years of living, this had never happened before. I had taken life after life, always giving my donors the most satisfying death I could. Not once had I had a reaction like this.
But over the centuries, I had heard whispers and read snatches of texts in ancient libraries, when I was researching my heritage.
I knew now what had happened to my father, even though the knowledge had come too late for my mother. All these years, she had been convinced he had abandoned her, not realizing she had been his mate. Without it, I would not have been born, because incubi could only impregnate their mates.
I had found my mate, and by doing so, I had doomed myself.
I would no longer be able to feed from others, because my demon fire had accepted Beth and bound her to my soul. Yet if I fed from her, I would drain her and kill her as I had so many.
This was my punishment for the lives I had taken—the choice between killing my mate, the most precious thing to an incubus or, in saving her life, starve to death myself. It was what killed us all in the end, and why no incubus child was ever raised by a father.
It had been too long since I had drained a Fae. After all, I had not expected to meet the half-human, and now it was too late. The weakness I felt now was nothing compared to what was to come.
Feeding off Bleddyn and Beth would top me up for a while. But if I took too much, they would both die in my arms. I clutched my head in my hands, squeezing my eyes shut. I had days left at most.
And wasn’t that a suitable punishment for a demon creature like myself?