Chapter 4
four
CLEMENTINE
All of the fae I interviewed looked at me with stars in their eyes.
It was flattering, but frustrating too. None of them seemed to take me seriously. They answered my questions, but many of their answers were along the lines of, “Whatever you want.”
There were thirteen men, including Orvin, who had come back to try his hand at my questions. I didn’t even make it through my whole sheet with any of them before I thanked them for coming and told them I’d keep them in mind.
Kai was right.
They were candidates, not suitors.
Or rather, they wanted to be suitors, but I couldn’t let them become anything more than candidates.
“That was the last of them,” Steve said, hours later.
A glance at the king had me lifting my eyebrows. He looked like he wanted to murder someone. But he also looked like he was about to fall off his throne in exhaustion.
“Can you find me more fae who are looking for mates, and not tell them what I am?” I asked Steve, biting my lip. “After they know what I am, it’s all they care about. And I want a real mate, you know? A partner. Someone who loves me for me.”
Steve nodded slowly. “Most fae don’t look for mates until they’re centuries old. We don’t feel loneliness without a partner the way wolves do.”
“Oh. Well, are there any older fae who’ve been looking for mates?”
Steve looked at Kai.
“No,” Kai gritted out.
“Can you just spread the word that there’s a fae here who needs to take a mate because she’s being hunted by her ex or something? There might be a few people willing to give me a chance.”
Steve looked at Kai again.
He closed his eyes. “Send Austin, Paul, and Rocky. Tell Rock to have Fred answer my calls while he’s in the realm.”
“Will do. Let me get rid of these guys.” He disappeared back up the stairs, to find the rest of the men I’d basically rejected.
“Who are Austin, Paul, and Rocky?” I asked Kai.
“The guys who keep Fae Manor running while I’m here.”
“You trust them?”
“More than anyone else.”
“You think they want mates?” I couldn’t suppress the hope in my voice.
“No. But they won’t want you for your magic, and if they mated with you to prevent a war, they would treat you well.”
I sighed. “This is not as romantic as I built it up to be in my head.”
“Something tells me you have that problem a lot.”
I flashed him a scowl, but couldn’t disagree. “At least I’m not angry and bitter.”
“That was a targeted attack, Five. I approve.”
“I’m not all sunshine and rainbows, okay? I’ve dealt with more than my fair amount of shit. I just don’t see the point in being grumpy about it, unlike some people.” The look I flashed him stated clearly that he was some people.
He yawned so widely, I had to bite back a snort as his entire face seemed to contort.
“You need a nap, Seven.”
“I need to sleep for a few days, actually.”
“It’s been that long?”
“Yes.”
“Well, you might be grumpy, but at least you’re a good king,” I said, looking back at my sheet of paper. “You don’t have to stay out here.”
“I’m not leaving you alone while any of the bastards in this building could try to take you for themselves. I don’t want war, remember?”
Right.
War.
That was why he was still sitting in his throne, even though he looked like he just might keel over.
A beefy, tired looking man appeared in the throne room, and I perked up.
He was pretty, at least.
He didn’t look at me, his gaze focusing on Kai. “What’s the problem? We’re still trying to round up everyone in the wolves’ territory.”
“The ginger needs a mate for undisclosed reasons. Answer her questions. Don’t ask why,” he said, gesturing toward me.
The guy turned around, his forehead furrowing as he looked at me. “I’m not looking for a mate.”
“That was an order, Austin.”
He scowled over his shoulder, but sat down in the chair across from mine.
I looked down at my sheet and went straight to the questions the other guys had given bullshit answers to. “How do you feel about kids?”
“They’re fine. I want two or three at some point. Not soon.” His answer was grumbled, but it was more than anyone else had given me, which perked me up. I hadn’t bothered taking notes since I realized I wasn’t interested in most of the men, but I grabbed my pen and scribbled them down.
“What about forced mate bonds?”
“Anyone who’d tie themselves to someone by force should be put to death. We kill them, as you should know.”
Suddenly, he was looking suspicious.
“Right,” I agreed, weaving enough magic into the words to ease his worries. “How do you want to split your time between Earth and the fae realm?”
“I avoid the realm as much as possible, but like most, my family lives here when the land isn’t eclipsed. That necessitates visits sometimes. My asshole king requires them now and then, too.” He shot Kai a dark look.
“Good to know.” I jotted down his answer. “Do you like dancing?”
His face twisted in disgust. “No.”
“Fae love dancing,” I protested.
“You’re clearly not fae yourself. What are you?” he looked back at Kai, who stonewalled him, so he looked back at me. “You look familiar. Why?”
“Someone dragged me through a portal here with intentions of forcing me to mate with them,” I explained. “I’m related to powerful people, so Kai is trying to find me a mate so those powerful people don’t cause you guys any problems.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re Rocky’s siren.”
“Rocky doesn’t have a siren,” Kai growled.
“He said you went after one. Look at her—she’s obviously not fae. There’s nothing sinister beneath the freckles.” He gestured to my face.
“Yes, I’m a siren,” I said with a huff. “I don’t know why you guys are so obsessed with pointing out that I’m not strong. I could bring you both to your knees if I wanted to.”
Kai snorted. “Sure, Five.”
I glowered at him, reaching for my magic and giving it a light push. It spiraled free, thickening the air in the room as it spread.
Austin groaned, gripping the table hard.
Kai’s eyes closed, his jaw clenching.
“Kneel for me,” I said, weaving magic much more intensely than usual as I lowered my voice.
Austin obeyed immediately.
Kai’s entire body trembled.
He fought the request for a moment—but finally lost control and sank to his knees at the foot of his throne.
Rising to my feet, I strode across the room, stepped past the king, and sat down on his fancy, uncomfortable chair.
“You were saying something about me being weak, your highness?” I smiled sweetly, finally pulling my magic back in for the most part. I couldn’t stop it entirely—some would linger in the room.
“Shit,” Austin grunted.
Kai’s eyes collided with mine. His emotions were somewhere between fury and respect as he remained kneeling. I wasn’t going to ask for a summary of them.
“We need to get her mated and out of here before the next eclipse strikes,” Austin said, rising to his feet. “Why are you still on your knees?”
“He hasn’t slept in a long time,” I answered for him.
Kai gritted his teeth and set a hand on the armrest of the throne, forcing himself to his feet slowly. “She’s done for the day. Tell Steve.”
There was a moment’s pause before Austin finally agreed and vanished.
I didn’t see him leave.
My eyes were locked with Kai’s. Blue vs blue.
Neither of us looked away until a woman slipped into the room, and I finally glanced her way.
She hesitated, uncertain of what she’d walked in on. I recognized her as one of the paid staff who had brought food in earlier, and gave her a quick smile.
“Do you know if a room’s been cleaned for me yet?” I asked.
“We’re still working on the public spaces,” she explained. “It’ll be a few days before we get to the rooms.”
“No worries. Thank you.”
She nodded, grabbing the empty plate off my table and leaving the way she’d come in. When the door closed behind her, I looked back at Kai.
“Guess we’re sharing a room tonight.”
He grunted.
I stood up.
Our chests brushed for a moment before I ducked under his arm, tugging it over my shoulders while I wrapped one of mine around his waist.
“Come on, Seven.”
He grumbled, but let me help him shuffle down from the throne and across the room. We made it through his bedroom door and to the bed, before I sat down on the edge of the mattress beside him and finally let go.
“Thanks,” he said, his voice grudging.
“Thanks for killing the spider.”
“It would’ve attacked my castle if I didn’t.”
Right.
So he was just an asshole, then.
I left him on the bed, stopping in the bathroom before I made my way back to the mattress. When I got there, he was already sprawled out on his stomach, his eyes closed and his face more relaxed than I’d ever seen it.
He looked much more comfortable than he had while I was in the tub. Why hadn’t he slept on his stomach then?
I studied him for a minute.
His hair was a lot longer than I’d seen it in the tabloids. The length didn’t look intentional, either—some of the pieces clearly needed to be trimmed by an inch or three to even it out.
There were lines under his eyes, too. Deep ones.
He really was exhausted.
“Quit staring at me or I’m going to have to fuck you,” he mumbled into his pillow. “Your magic packs a punch.”
Oops.
“I was staring at the bed. It doesn’t have a canopy,” I said, striding around the mattress to slip beneath the blankets on the empty side. “I won’t be able to sleep without one.”
The vampire legends had one thing right—they needed coffins, or other enclosed spaces, to sleep. And sirens were closely enough related to them that the same was true for us.
Usually, our beds were built with canopies over them that were basically lids, coming down over the bed in a big butter-dish shape. But obviously, Kai’s bed didn’t have one.
“No vampires in the fae realm. You’ll have to make do without it.”
I rolled onto my stomach. I slept that way too.
A few minutes passed.
I couldn’t stop moving. Tossing. Turning.
Kai made a strangled noise, and finally scooted across the bed, draping his body over the top of mine.
My eyes widened when I felt his erection against the side of my ass, but my body did relax as he engulfed me.
“Go to sleep,” he grumbled.
“Fine,” I whispered back, closing my eyes.
And somehow, I was out less than a minute later.
Though I’d slept with a decent number of vampire men, I’d never actually slept in a bed with them.
Or anyone else, unless you counted my sisters.
Which I didn’t.
Mostly because I never woke up with my sisters’ erections wedged between my ass cheeks. Or their gigantic, muscular bodies basically burying mine.
Or their snoring.
But Kai was definitely snoring.
It should’ve annoyed me, but his body felt so good against mine that I didn’t even care. And the way his chest rumbled against my back with the snores actually felt kind of nice.
I moved my hips a little, trying to see whether I’d be able to get out of bed at all, and sucked in a breath when the movement only buried the length of his erection deeper between my ass cheeks.
Wow.
Yeah.
That felt nicer than it should’ve. Much nicer than it should’ve.
Especially considering he was helping me find a mate.
I spent a few minutes debating whether or not I should wake him up. I needed to pee, but not so badly that I couldn’t hold it for a while. And honestly, I liked where I was.
Plus, what if this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience?
What if I never woke up with a gigantic, gorgeous male draped over me like a sexy blanket again?
What if Kai’s was the only cock I’d ever have trapped between my cheeks?
Okay, the last part was a stretch.
But still, what if I never had the opportunity again?
It wasn’t like anything was guaranteed in the fae realm. Life, included.
I could very well end up mated to Austin, who had absolutely no desire to screw me. Or one of the guys who just wanted me for my magic, and probably wouldn’t care at all about my pleasure. Most of the vampires I’d slept with couldn’t make me come—and I could easily mate with someone who had the same problem.
A problem Kai clearly didn’t have, considering the glorious filthiness that had gone down on his throne.
If I wasn’t so positive he’d turn me down, I’d seriously consider asking him to mate with me just because I knew we were sexually compatible.
And damn , his cock felt good against my ass.
I’d only tried anal a few times, and never been a fan, but he was making me want to try it again.
With him.
I obviously needed to get out of there before the last of my brain cells died, because who the fuck wanted to try anal again after it sucked ?
Me, apparently.
I was clearly not thinking straight.
Anyway, back to the possibility of waking Kai up.
Everything else aside, the king had admitted that he’d need to sleep for days to recover from his exhaustion. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been out, but it seemed safe to say it hadn’t been days. I’d been up for more than twenty-four hours when we finally crashed, so maybe I’d slept for fourteen or fifteen?
It didn’t particularly matter.
I couldn’t get out from under him without waking him up, which meant I was trapped.
But I was tired enough to go back to sleep… at least for a little while.
So, I closed my eyes and eventually drifted off.
The next time I woke up, Kai was still in the same position.
I officially had to pee too badly not to get out of bed.
I moved my hips a little, and earned a small groan from Kai.
His hips rocked lightly, and the head of his cock pressed against my asshole, through our clothes.
I let out a soft squeak, and he stilled.
“Good morning,” I said into the bed, my voice higher pitched than it should’ve been.
His weight suddenly lifted off of me. I heard something snap, and felt the tug of it against my middle and the fronts of my arms.
What the hell had snapped?
Had something been wrapped around me?
“Sorry.” His voice was low, but still as silky as always.
I looked at my arm, and realized the snapping had been vines . They’d grown around both of us while we were out, which was obviously Kai’s fault.
“It’s fine,” I said, as I rolled off the bed. More vines fell around me, and my legs shook a little. Yeah, I was insanely wet between my thighs.
I stumbled to the bathroom, feeling his eyes on me until I shut the door behind me and groaned silently.
Awkward.
So, so awkward.