25. My Liebling
Chapter 25
My Liebling
Phillip
M y eyes never left Cassius for a second, already sensing that the sneaky bastard had used an enchanted stone that was difficult to create, all so he could steal a private moment with my woman. From the small glance V gave me upon my return, whatever was said or done while she was stolen away to frozen time would piss me off enough to act on homicidal notions.
I was sure of it.
It took every bit of my Hunter training not to slice the Dark Fae’s throat right then and there, in front of a café full of witnesses. I’d been known to do worse, and it didn’t seem totally out of character for me to go off book and kill the slimy bastard just because I wasn’t feeling charitable.
Cassius was a one-of-a-kind enchanter, his abilities both revered and feared in the Organization. The powerful items he created with his magic were the very reason Eros hadn’t killed the sneaky kotzbrocken in all the years I’d known him.
Cassius had worked with some of the most powerful Fae to cross over to the human world, and his intimate knowledge of enchantments and the complexity of its magic was dangerous to anyone he considered an enemy .
As a Fae who had lived several centuries longer than I had, maybe more, it wasn’t clear, I’d once thought the devious devil could easily outwit me one day. But, ironically, Cash had a fatal weakness—he feared any level of pain and did whatever he could to evade its clutches.
One of Eros’s specialties was magical torture, so Cassius did whatever the other Dark Fae commanded out of fear of one day being held captive to an endless world of torture. And he was right to be terrified. Eros would make the cat-eyed bastard suffer a fate worse than death if he were to ever cross him.
Unfortunately for Cassius, I, too, excelled in various methods of torture, and it was with that very threat I coaxed the bastard into becoming an informant.
Spying for me required the sneaky devil to be cleverer than most, and it was the very reason I was careful to never fully trust anything he said or did without the aid of the Truth Cuff. But if it was one thing I’d give to the wanker, it was Cassius knew how to manipulate and deceive anyone he came in contact with, even one of the world’s greatest assassins, Eros.
But partnering up with Cash was like playing with fire. The purple-eyed Fae was too devious and quick to switch sides. Torture and my clever inventions were the only things that kept the Dark Fae honest. For this reason, I hadn’t killed him. Of course, I never imagined I might one day be on the other end of things, vulnerable to his astute deduction skills—because Cash never dared to make an enemy out of me before today.
I knew it was a risk to work with him the way I was now. The crafty Fae would latch onto my weakness, and unless V cooperated, it was easy for everything we planned to burn to the ground because of the wanker now walking beside us on our way to the coven’s location .
I slid my tattooed hand behind the fiery Hunter’s head and gripped the back of her neck, instantly getting V’s attention. Hazel eyes beamed in the dying light, full of barely concealed shame and guilt. She’d been off since I put the ring on her finger, but even more so since Cash stole her away into a window of time.
Fuck.
“One thing at a time, V. Trust me and trust your training…” I said cryptically to her and she nodded, understanding perfectly.
Clever lass.
“Hunters are all about talking in riddles. It’s exhausting,” Cash complained before he comically tripped over a branch, doing a weird movement with his arms and side scuttle with his feet to keep from falling straight onto his face.
The smile creeping onto the young Hunter’s face was enough to calm the rage crowding my chest. When she giggled, it was difficult to stay angry. V’s raspy laughter was a balm on my tortured soul, and I vowed to protect that smile no matter what it took.
I hadn’t been given the chance to make good on the promised punishment of her body from the night before, and I was craving her like water on a hot day. Everything V did, from the teasing touches to the half-smiles and taunts she offered me all morning, made my cock hard. I was desperate to ignore responsibility so I could have my wicked way with the tempting nymph.
I wanted to worship her skin with my mouth and hands; pay special tribute to the beauty I’d been a slave to from the very first moment our eyes connected in that classroom. I yearned to hear her breathless moans and raspy voice calling my name in the throes of ecstasy, and I despised Cash for occupying my head when it was V who should live there, unrivaled by another, for the rest of my days.
Most distressing, whatever this backpfeifengesicht said to my liebling , it’d gotten into her head. But it was easy to see she feared my wrath more than what Cash had said to her, which was a drop of comfort in a sea of bullshit.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out the Dark Fae capitalized on my feelings for her being in question because of her blood, but there was more to it than her possible Siren abilities. If the kotzbrocken sniffed out the trap like I suspected he had, he’d use it as a bargaining chip to get V to do something she would otherwise refuse.
The chipper fucker had been much too happy since the private moment between them, and I’d bet Blood Slayer he was after the one thing he’d been trying to get back since coming to this realm.
My guess was Cassius’s plan included using V as bait, and then the muscle to take down the group while he made a swift escape. Although, if he was truly falling for her, there was a good chance he might option to help her finish the job, and then seduce her with promises of bringing down the Organization.
The way the bastard’s eyes always seemed to find V, following her every movement, and all the disgusting little smiles he sent her way were indications Cash was already smitten.
Since Nigel and Sloan, I’d become hyper-aware of every person who even looked at the spit-fire beauty. I used to think jealousy was for weak-minded men, but it didn’t stop me from playing right into that fate myself. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust V; I didn’t trust every other fucking person who came in contact with her. If that made me a small-minded bastard like I once accused that bloody dog of being, then I’d take it on the chin and be a hypocrite.
I’d be anything for V.
The young Hunter was kind-hearted and compassionate when life hadn’t given her a reason to be. Had she not been, our relationship would’ve never happened. I was painfully aware of that fact. Yet, it was the very thing that made her vulnerable to enemies, and V tended to see the good in every person she spent any amount of time with.
Even if she didn’t, Cassius was a silver-tongued sycophant. He’d find some way to woo or entrap her, and with his arsenal of enchanted items, it was uncomfortably likely he’d succeed at first.
Until I murdered the bastard once I found him.
It wasn’t clear what the amulet did or why Cash was so heart set on getting it, but my gut told me that I’d better tread carefully with this one. It was better if neither Cassius or V knew I was onto them, though I got the sense my little darling might tell me regardless of what Cassius threatened.
She was such a good girl.
“Dead weight stays here,” I said pointedly at Cash.
The Dark Fae put a hand over his chest, gasping ghoulishly. “I beg your pardon. I am not dead weight. I can fight, same as you.”
V’s look at the Dark Fae nearly made me cackle out loud like a little boy. It was riddled with overt disbelief. “Isn’t it your M.O. to run at the first sign of danger, Fae?”
“It’s Cassius,” the cat-eyed man corrected, brushing back his silver hair with flamboyant flair. “I happen to be quite powerful. You brought me along, so I might as well help while I’m here.”
My partner didn’t seem the least bit convinced, and it made me yearn desperately to kiss her.
Her wariness and feisty wit were among many reasons for why I had difficulty keeping my hands off her anywhere we went. I barely caught myself from reaching out and taking strong hold of that slender neck of hers—so close to fitting my fingers around that petal-soft flesh that yielded to my hand every time I grabbed it. My hands were a perfect fit every time I grabbed hold of that beautiful throat, and I was addicted to the way her gorgeous hazel eyes always fluttered shut, overcome by pleasurable bliss.
Like she was made for me and me alone.
I was beyond tempted to dominate the smirking woman beside me, and it took every ounce of my control to keep from showing Cash how little chance he stood against swaying her away from my side.
The only man worthy had tried and failed.
It wasn’t my finest hour stealing back a woman I’d previously abandoned, but I couldn’t give her to anyone. Not to that obnoxious wolf. Not to a man who would’ve treated her like a goddess and was one of the kindest blokes I knew. And especially not to some kotzbrocken who didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as V, let alone touch a single stretch of flesh on her flawless body.
“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said in all the time I’ve known you,” V snarked, eyeing the Dark Fae skeptically.
I snapped out of my eternal worship, sure the clever vixen had read my mind. But thankfully, she only regarded Cash like he was the scum of the Earth.
I should scorn the young Hunter. Hiding our emotions was basic level Hunter training, but this inadequacy was one of the reasons I was so enchanted with her. V couldn’t hide what she felt, and it comforted me to see the way she beamed when she caught sight of my proud grin. Her entire face glowed with happiness, and I wouldn’t trade a single fucking emotion to make her a better Hunter.
V could overcome any foe regardless of what her face said. No need for a poker face when you burned entire buildings to the ground with your power.
“It’s your funeral, dude. Just don’t get in the way of the real fighters here, m’kay?” she added, winking at me and making my hands ache to restrain her to a tree, or the ground, or maybe some wall nearby. If I wasn’t careful, my dick might get hard thinking about all the ways I’d have her when we finally got a moment to ourselves.
The things this woman does to me…
“You okay over there, buddy?” V teased cutely, and I realized belatedly that my internal struggle was ironically showing on my face.
Yeah, V was more dangerous than any enemy out here. She made someone who fought with the best of them forget himself and fall into temptation with a single smile. It no longer took me by surprise how much I didn’t recognize myself around her.
I’d become an absolute idiot with the woman.
“Just considering how best to punish our enemies today,” I whispered in a seductive voice her direction, lips tilted with the insinuation behind my words. If she was smart, and she was, she’d pick up on the hidden meaning without effort.
The fiery Hunter’s eyes danced across my face before flicking down to my lips. “What, that’s even something you think about? Just spank them with Blood Slayer. Isn’t that how you always do it, anyway? ”
Oh, she wanted to play.
Cassius offered the two of us a confused glance, clearly not following, and I had to be glad he wasn’t. It’d ruin the fun.
“I think I’ll use my hands today,” I teased, rubbing my neck with a tattooed hand before wrapping it around the girth with my eyes trained to the lass. “I’m feeling a little creative. I want to watch them squirm.”
Her eyes dropped to the hand stroking my neck and she swallowed, comprehending exactly how I’d punish her later.
Cash, having been totally oblivious to the brewing sexual tension, cut in matter-of-factly, “Wouldn’t that be pointless with vampires, or am I missing something?”
V’s impish grin made it torture not to taste that sweet mouth and suck those deliciously plump lips of hers. “If there’s a way to do it, Phil will find it. He’s just a persistent asshole like that.”
Fuck, I wanted to take her by the throat, pin her to a tree, and tongue-fuck her mouth while the stupid bastard watched. Then I’d bind the asshole to a tree and have my way with her somewhere far enough away that her sexy moans couldn’t be heard by his undeserving ears.
Cassius sighed in his usual petulant manner. “You Hunters are so weird. I’ll never understand why you enjoy hunting down and finding creative ways to kill others. You call me the villain, but from where I stand, it’s you two.”
V snickered, eyeing the idiot beside her. “Says the guy who helps the worst assassin in this place and then pretends he didn’t have any hand in it. At least we know what we are. It may not make much sense to you, but we have something to protect. What are you protecting? Your own neck? ”
Cassius’s eyes widened and his jaw worked, unable to rebuke her statement.
Proud wasn’t a strong enough word for how I felt in that moment. Then again, the venom she spat at Cash indicated a huge shift in her treatment of him. She no longer aimed to appeal or sympathize with the Dark Fae. So I quickly deduced a bargain was struck, and I’d need to be careful with how I went about finding out what was agreed upon, and how. Still, it was good to see my companion back to her old antics, and I soaked it in before reality dawned and everything went to shit again.
Because it would.
It always did.