Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Meg
I come awake to the sound of raucous music. It’s
cheery and a little bawdy. I don’t understand the lyrics, but I know bawdy
music when I hear it. My mouth feels dry, and I wonder if I went on a bender
the night before. I had the strangest dream.
“Head hurt, lover?”
I force my eyes open, and, sure enough, my strange dream is
staring me in the face. He sits back in an armchair, one ankle propped on his
knee. He looks like I expect a pasha would look reclining in his palace. His
face is exactly like Beck’s, but this man is different. Beck Finn radiates
authority and responsibility.
This man radiates sex.
“Cian?” Could that man sitting there looking at me like he’s
going to eat me up really be Cian? There’s no cloudiness in his gray eyes now.
They’re filled with a sharp intelligence.
“In the flesh,” he says with a crazy, sexy smile. His voice
is deep, but there’s a hint of humor in it. He’s dressed in neatly pressed
white pants, dark boots, and a tunic he hasn’t bothered to tie. It leaves his
perfect chest exposed. “And in my right mind, thanks to you.”
I sit up and put a hand to my head. It doesn’t hurt,
exactly. It feels slightly foggy. “It worked?”
Of course it worked. The evidence is sitting right in front
of me like a piece of perfectly tempting chocolate cake I want to devour in one
long bite. Memories of his life flood me. I groan as my head pulses.
He’s on the bed behind me in an instant. He pulls me between
his long legs and cradles me back against his chest. His hands sink into my
hair, strong fingers massaging my scalp. “Careful, Meggie mine. You took a
whole lot of me. I’m sure you still feel the effects.”
His hands feel good. So good. I relax into his warmth.
“You’re better now?”
“I am damn near perfect.” Cian’s voice is a slow seduction
in my ear. He leans close, and I feel his lips moving against my skin. “I don’t
know how to thank a woman for saving me. Can you think of any way I could
please you?”
Even with my head throbbing, I can think of a way. Yep, I
have a type, and I know exactly where that path will lead me. I shake his hands
off. I have to come to my senses. I’m not about to get my heart broken by a
second Finn brother.
“You don’t have to thank me.” I scramble off the bed,
gathering my dignity around me like a shield. “I’m just glad you’re all right.”
His eyes darken, but he relaxes after a moment. He leans
back against the pillows, not hiding his raging erection at all. It tents his
pants admirably. He spares me not a single, delectable inch of his glorious
body as he stretches out. “I am more than fine, wife. I’m perfectly healthy and
prepared to serve you in any fashion you can think of.”
I have to force myself to swallow because I’m not having a
problem with dry mouth now. This is what got my heart in trouble in the first
place, my inability to turn a Finn brother down when it comes to sex. Cian is
merely trying to show his gratitude. Besides, it’s been a long time for him. He
hasn’t had sex since his illness took over. I haven’t forgotten our bonding.
Cian is a carnal creature. He will want that pleasure as soon as possible. So
we needed to get a few things straight.
“Please don’t call me wife,” I explain in a firm voice.
Cian’s brow arches quizzically, but he allows me to continue. “I’m not from
this plane.”
“No,” Cian interjects. “You’re from the human plane. You
were born in a place called Texas and lived in a city called Fort Worth. They
have one of those on the Vampire plane, too. We’ll go someday and you can tell
me how different it is. I would find that fascinating. You lived in a small
apartment, and you hated it. There was no beauty to it. The walls were beige.
The carpet was beige. It wasn’t a home. It was like purgatory, a place to wait.
Explain this purgatory to me.”
He sits up and crosses his legs. He switches from hot and
bothered potential lover to curious student. I’m struck dumb by how accurately
he has described my postage stamp apartment. It has nothing of me in it. It’s a
place to eat and sleep. It’s not a home. “How did you know?”
His expression remains serene. It’s disconcerting how
quickly he can change. “We’re bonded. I saw your soul, and you saw mine. It’s
the deepest bond two beings can form. You can try running from me, Meggie, but
it won’t work. I know you deep down. I know what you need.”
I feel my whole body flush with embarrassment. I remember
things from Cian’s life like they’re my own memories. What had he pulled out of
my head? I’m so vulnerable in this moment, even more vulnerable than I was with
Beck. The bonding with Cian was so different.
“Because Beck didn’t offer you the full bond,” Cian says as
though he read my mind. He chuckles as I flash a startled look his way. “It was
a good bet that was what you were thinking, nothing more. I can’t read your
mind. I can see images at times, but I can’t hear your thoughts. When we make
love, though, I will be able to feel your pleasure and to give you mine.”
I ignore the last bit. It’s best not to even go there. “So
Beck and I aren’t bonded?”
“Not fully, from what I can tell,” Cian states as
academically as possible. “Many choose not to form a full bond with their
bondmates. You can help Beck bridge with me without seeing his soul. I,
personally, think it’s a cowardly thing to do. You’re my wife, whether you
accept it or not. I am your husband. I want you to know me, the good and the
bad. I don’t want to live my life without really knowing my wife. I want to
know what she likes and doesn’t like. I want to know what makes her laugh. I
want to know that she feels like everyone will abandon her in the end because
that’s all anyone has ever done.”
I turn away because he has seen way too much. My hands still
shake from the physical process of bonding.
He’s suddenly behind me, winding his arms around me. His
hair is loose, and I can feel it on my skin, caressing me. “I won’t ever leave
you, wife. I know Beckett can be hard to understand, but he is loyal. He won’t
abandon you. We’re here for you. We’re bound together forever. You’re safe with
us.”
I don’t believe it for a second. The door to the bedroom
opens, and I’m glad for the distraction. A small brown woman walks in. Woman?
She obviously isn’t human, so that likely isn’t the word I should use. Cian
gives my shoulders a squeeze before shifting to stand at my side. He keeps an
arm around me, and I can feel his affection for the strange-looking female.
“Meggie mine, this is Flanna,” Cian says. “She’s a brownie
and a very valuable member of our court.”
Flanna grins, showing her gapped teeth. I find myself
fascinated by another nonhuman creature. Despite my aching head, I kneel down
to get on the same level as the brownie. It seems like the polite thing to do.
I feel Cian’s pleasure at my gesture. The bond makes it easy to sense his
moods.
“Hello, I’m Meg. It’s very nice to meet you.”
The brownie bows deeply. “And you, Your Highness. I cannot
express my joy at this bonding. It has saved us all. Surely Danu herself sent
you to us.”
I look up at Cian, hoping he’ll explain who Danu is.
He merely grins down at me. “I’ll give you a full lecture on
the religious beliefs of the Fae at another time, sweetheart. For now, our
people await. They long to meet their queen.”
I’m up on my feet in an instant. “Queen?”
His smile is slow and sure as he leans over and whispers in
my ear. “What do you think they call the woman who fucks the king, my lover? I
know you’ve been fucking big brother, and I mean to have some of that, too.
I’ll have you in my bed by the end of the week. I promise you won’t want to
leave.” He drops a light kiss on my cheek and walks to the door. “Get dressed,
my queen. We have a party to attend.”
With that, he winks and disappears behind the door. I sink
to the bed and take a deep breath. I thought Beckett was a lot to deal with. He
hadn’t actively tried to seduce me. Cian has just made a declaration of intent.
“He’s a charmer, that one,” Flanna is saying with a chuckle
as she walks to the small wardrobe. She goes on tiptoes to open the door and
pulls down a sumptuous-looking gown. “I wouldn’t bother trying to hold him off,
Your Highness. He’ll be in your bed before you know it. No woman can hold off
Cian Finn when he wants her.”
“What about Maris?” The name comes straight into my head. I
search my new memories. The blonde Fae bondmate was named Maris.
Flanna’s eyes widen in obvious surprise. She hands the dress
to me. “He performed a true bonding, then?”
“So he tells me.” The dress is sapphire blue with flowing
skirts. There’s delicate embroidery around the bodice. It’s like nothing I’ve
ever worn before. This is the dress of a faery princess. “She was his fiancée?”
Flanna nods. “She was engaged to the princes at a very young
age. Their father chose her. She came from impeccable bloodlines. She was very
much the lady.”
While the brownie’s voice was even, there’s hostility there
as well. “You didn’t think she was right for Cian?”
“I didn’t think she was right for either of them,” Flanna
corrects. “Come along, Your Highness. I will help you get dressed while we
gossip. It’s a sacred thing in a royal court, and I’ve missed having a queen to
gossip with.”
I allow Flanna to pull and prod me into the dress while she
speaks.
“Maris was a cold girl, and she would have become an even
colder woman,” the brownie explains. “Beck accepted the betrothal because Beck
always obeyed his father. He convinced Cian to accept it as well, but I know
Cian was worried about actually bonding with her. He would never have formed a
full bond with her, I promise you that.”
Flanna gets on the bed to button the dress up the back.
“He was pretty out of it. I don’t know that he intended to
go so far with me. Beck didn’t.” I watch in the mirror as Flanna puts the
finishing touches on the dress. I don’t recognize myself.
I’m such a long way from Fort Worth.
“Don’t let that worry you,” Flanna says, getting off the
bed. “Beck has his reasons. He’s done things he’s not proud of. Give him time.
Let him come to trust you.”
Shaking my head, I stand and smooth the skirts one last
time. Flanna gives me soft slippers for my feet. I don’t tell her I have no
intention of bonding with either brother any more than I already have. It isn’t
fair, but I don’t intend to give Cian a chance to hurt me. I will get through
the evening and then sit Cian down in the morning for a thorough discussion of
how this “marriage” is going to work.
In the meantime, I will get used to my new home. From the
sounds of the party going on in the front yard, it seems as though I’m about to
meet the entire village. It’s time to put my game face on and start that
learning curve.
I allow Flanna to escort me to the door. We walk into the
living room. The music is louder out here. The door is open, and I can see the
night beyond is lit up with torches and a huge bonfire. All manner of Fae
creatures dance around the bonfire. Some of them don’t look even vaguely human.
I feel my jaw dropping and force it to close.
A cheer goes up when I walk into the yard.
“Welcome, Queen Meg,” they say as I pass.
I plaster a stunned smile on my face as they welcome me.
Then there’s only one person in the whole world as Cian Finn walks up to me.
He’s so beautiful that I feel my heart seize.
“My queen,” he says, bowing. He holds out his hand. “A dance
for your poor husband?”
I let him lead me. When I’m encircled by his arms, my head
against his chest, I realize that Cian Finn might be even more dangerous than
his brother.