Fire Struck (The Fae Universe #11)

Chapter 3

3

I mogen made sure Apollo was safely in the care of Taran before she signaled to Arawan, and they slipped away. She really wasn't equipped to deal with Apollo possibly mating with her cousin. She didn't want to have to keep it a secret from Lachie either.

"I don't suppose you can wipe the last twenty minutes from my memory?" she asked Arawan hopefully.

"Is Apollo discovering Lachie is his mate that bad? Because it makes a lot of sense. Charlotte is Reeve's mate, and the way Lachie and Apollo have always butted heads and pined for each other has always made me wonder," he replied. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "It's not your problem to work out. It's theirs."

"I don't like keeping secrets from Lachie. Now I have to look at his big puppy dog eyes as he goes full yearning. It was bad enough before."

Arawan laughed because he was a jerk like that. Imogen pinched his ass in retaliation. The walk in the forest was nice, at least.

The sun hadn't fully gone down, but it was good to slip away from the party for a moment so she could gather her thoughts. If she saw Lachie now, she would probably scream, "Apollo is your mate!" at the top of her lungs.

Arawan stopped walking so he could pull her close and kiss her. He might be a jerk, but he was her jerk. His tongue touched her lips, and all of a sudden, she was no longer thinking about Apollo and Lachie's drama.

She wrapped her arms around Arawan's neck, and he pressed her up against the nearest tree. One of her hands was down his pants before she could really think about it.

Arawan chuckled, and her pussy went wet. Imogen thought that after a while, she would be immune to that smug little laugh. It had only gotten worse with time.

Arawan stopped kissing her and pulled back. He looked around him. "Something is wrong."

"I'll say, your dick isn't in me. I didn't wear this halter dress tonight just to look nice," she said and waggled her eyebrows.

"That's not what I mean," Arawan said, removing her hand from his pants.

The hair lifted on the back of Imogen's neck, a strange flicker of fear hitting her veins.

"What is that?" she whispered, pulling a dagger from her boot.

Arawan looked around him. "That blade won't do much. It doesn't make sense. He never rides on midsummer because the energy is wrong."

Imogen didn't get a chance to ask who he was talking about. Reality tilted, and a portal appeared through two trees. Snow blew in from it, cold and biting, and a white horse came through.

Imogen hadn't seen Gwyn, leader of the Wild Hunt, since the battle in the forest with Merion. Even then, she had only caught glimpses of him through the fighting. Up close, he filled her with a mix of fear and awe.

Gwyn pulled off his helm, and the cold portal behind him closed. He had strange white hair threaded through with black and pale eyes. He was big, Celtic, and handsome in a terrifying way because your monkey brain knew it was going to be the last face you were ever going to see before he killed your ass. He was unmistakeably of Arawan's pantheon because they were the same like that.

"Gwyn, this is unexpected," Arawan greeted. Neither of them was smiling.

"I needed to talk to you without all my Riders about," Gwyn replied and slid down from his saddle. On his feet, he was a giant, standing a full head taller than Arawan. He turned and looked at Imogen, and she tried to smile without looking like a maniac because she was nervous.

"Is something wrong with the Hunt's Riders?" Arawan asked.

"No. It's just none of their business. Not yet. This woman is your consort? She has helped you restore your power in the human worlds?" Gwyn asked, looking Imogen over.

Arawan's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, she has. This is Imogen."

"I would like to challenge you for her," Gwyn declared.

"Woah, woah. Wait, I don't even know you, big guy," Imogen said, thoroughly confused.

"I need your help to help restore power to the Hunt. You have helped Arawan. I see no issue with this."

"I am not going to fight you for the consort I have already won," Arawan declared.

Imogen raised a brow. "Oh, you're not going to fight for me?"

"I would fight for you," Gwyn said, pulling out the huge sword that hung at his side. "I would slaughter a world until its rivers ran with blood, and I would put you on a throne made of their bones."

Arawan looked like he was about to explode, and because she had the devil in her, Imogen decided to fuck with both of them.

"I mean, that sounds lovely and all, but you have got to understand, Arawan has an absolute monster-sized dick, and it's hard for a girl to walk away from that," she said sweetly.

"Imogen..."Arawan growled in warning. Whatever he was going to say next, Imogen never found out because Gwyn had unlaced the front of his leather pants and pulled out his dick.

"Bigger than this?" he asked, completely unfazed.

"Oh my stars," Imogen said because she was staring too hard.

"Put that away, you idiot," Arawan snapped.

Gwyn shot Imogen a wink and tucked his dick back in. She didn't even think they came that big.

"The fae believe in mates, and Imogen is mine. You can't have her," Arawan continued.

"I believe a lady can make her own choices," Gwyn countered.

"Look, this is...very flattering and all," Imogen began, clearing her throat because it kept cracking, "but believe it or not, I am in love with the Dark Lord here. It works because we are like the equivalent of the fae's mates. How about you tell us why you need a consort to help you? Maybe we can, I dunno, set you up on some dates?"

Arawan looked at her like she had lost her mind, but she didn't see why. Gwyn was hot and scary, and some women were into that. Ginormous dickage, her brain provided unhelpfully.

Gwyn sheathed his other massive sword again. "The Hunt's magic is fading. Part of it is because it is run on the belief of humans, and they have forgotten us, not just in Wales but throughout the world. I have been watching the fae's return to this world and how they grow strong once more. I see consorts, or mates, as the key to that. They have helped rejuvenate the magic."

"But isn't the Hunt made up of bad people? It's a punishment, right?" Imogen asked. It had been a long time since her mother had schooled her on Celtic legends.

"It is not punishment, but atonement. My Riders are taken to make up for the deeds they have done in life. The worlds, magic, everything is made up of a balance. The Hunt takes who they were, strips it from them, and makes them feed the balance of magic that way," Gwyn replied.

To Imogen, having all the pieces of who you once were stripped away felt like a punishment. Luckily, she knew when to keep her mouth shut. Well, most of the time.

Arawan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Have you tried recruiting more Riders?"

"I have, but sometimes, when I find a suitable candidate, they can't perceive us. It has gotten better since the fae returned, but not much."

Imogen hummed. "If everything is about balance, you think the love of a good woman, or man, or whatever, is going to help? Is that what I am hearing?"

Gwyn nodded. "It is worth a try. I thought I would be able to barter for partners for my Riders, but you have made it clear that you aren't available even for me."

"Well, there are lots of people out there better suited than me. I'm suited to Arawan, but I'm sure if you look, you never know, the universe might throw a mate in your path?" Imogen said. A thought occurred to her, and she put her hands on her hips. "You can't go around stealing other people's partners, Gwyn. No matter how good your intentions are. You need to give your Riders like, time to go on some dates. Courting rituals or whatever. That's how you get them partners."

"Imogen, my love, the Riders aren't people you just let loose on the world," Arawan said, his tone dropping into a warning.

"She has given me much to think about. Thank you, consort of Arawan." Gwyn swung back up into the saddle. "If you ever tire of him, you only need to call my name to a waning moon three times, and I will come for you."

"You most certainly will not come anywhere near her—"Arawan began, but Gwyn turned his horse, summoned a portal, and rode through it.

Imogen let out a long breath. "Well, that was weird."

Arawan turned on her, his face furious. "You made him show you his dick! He was going to try and fight me for your hand!"

"He was also going to give me a throne of bones, which is rather flattering, don't you think?" Imogen added.

Arawan let out a sound of utter fury and tackled her to the soft moss and wildflowers.

"You are a menace, Imogen Ironwood," Arawan growled as he pinned her down. "I clearly need to remind you who you belong to."

"Oh no, I guess you must," Imogen said dramatically.

Arawan snarled in frustration and kissed her hard, every furious nip of his teeth and stroke of his tongue designed to dominate her.

Imogen reached for his pants, but his silvery power snatched her wrists and pinned them over her head. Oh, yeah, he was pissed, and she had to try really hard not to smirk about that. She could still goad him so easily. Embarrassing for him, great for her.

Arawan reached for the tie holding up the top of her halter dress and freed her breasts. He made another growling noise, this one of horniness. He kissed his way over them, covering them with love bites.

Imogen had sensitive nipples, and every rough suck and caress sent her back arching and body squirming until hopeless little sounds were coming out of her. She wasn't proud of the fact he could make her moan like a porn star with just some titty action, but she was enjoying herself too much to care.

"That's right. You make sure you remember that there's no one else that can make you feel like this, Ironwood," Arawan hissed. His hands went under her skirt and tore her panties off. His long fingers found her pussy and stroked expertly through the wetness gathered there. Arawan smirked as she wriggled. "That's right. You feel how wet this pussy is? That's because it knows who its master is."

"Fuck...you. Its only master is me. Jerk," Imogen groaned. Not her finest comeback, but he knew exactly how she liked to have her clit toyed with to make her lose her fucking mind.

Arawan's laughter was silky darkness in her ear. "Lie to yourself all you like. I care not." He licked the sensitive curve of her ear as he thrust his fingers inside of her and ground them against her G-spot. She let out a strangled cry and came hard and hot.

"I hate you so much," she muttered.

"Another lie," he chided, lifting her wide hips and thrusting his dick inside of her. It was rough and taking, but Imogen loved it. Loved that he still could get a bit possessive and jealous over her even after years of being together. Imogen wrapped her thick thighs around his lower back and held him tight.

"You really are an idiot if you think I would have gone with Gwyn," she said between gasps. "I would be the one slaughtering worlds if he tried to take me from you."

"Oh, yes? Because you seemed pretty interested in having two gods fight for your hand...when I had already won it," Arawan snarled, his own big hand closing around the side of her throat.

"It's nice for my ego, but you're mine, and I'm yours. You know it in your bones and blood. There's no separating us, baby," Imogen said.

Arawan kissed her, his desperate pounding never slowing down as he pinned her and fucked her into another universe. His free hand went to her clit.

"Come for me, consort," he hissed.

"Not my master," Imogen hissed back because she never knew when to quit.

Arawan gave her pussy a slap in retaliation, and she came so hard, she nearly blacked out.

"That's better," he purred before he pulled out and came hot all over her tits and soft belly. " Mine ."

"Oh gods, you're such a beast," Imogen panted, her brain still not able to form proper sentences.

Arawan gripped her chin and turned her face towards him. "Yes, but I'm your beast."

"Hell yeah, you are," she replied and kissed him. "And I'm never letting you go."

Arawan brushed a lavender lock back from her face. "And every time you pretend to forget it, darling, I'm going to remind you."

Imogen grinned wickedly. "How terrible for me."