Chapter Thirteen #2
“If Desislav has had his beloved amulet back in his possession for the last two days, do you think I’d still be around?” She flashed another smile, then looked to the side and said, “I’m just finishing up. Did you remember to pack my spectral whip?”
“Are you saying ... no, you can’t be,” Aisling said, shaking her head.
“You don’t think Desi has Dawn?” Ysolde asked. “Or are you saying he’s not holding you responsible for keeping Jim’s mom in the Beyond so long it wiped her memories?”
“Or has he killed Dawn to take the amulet?” Allie asked, her eyes wide at the thought. “Surely, he wouldn’t do that sort of thing, would he?”
“He created Abaddon,” Jim said, and plopped down onto the floor. “You don’t do that if you’re afraid of crushing a few Maya gods and such.”
“No, no, look for the man tingler with the solar battery pack, not the regular one. Just in case I have to recharge,” Sally continued to tell whoever was off-screen.
She turned back to us to add, “Thank you all for inviting me for such a lovely chat, but I simply must dash off. So many fun things to pack, so little time to use them all.”
“Sally—” Ysolde started to say, but the former’s face blipped off the screen.
“Well ... merde,” Aisling swore. “I really hate it when she does that.”
“Drop cryptic comments and then run away?” Ysolde asked, peering over the arm of the couch when her son took another flying leap. “She’s like someone else I could name.”
“Er ... ?” Allie said.
“The First Dragon.” Aisling glanced up when Drake walked into the room, his phone in hand. “I guess the question is what we do now.”
“We have a plan,” Drake answered as he sat next to Aisling, who immediately leaned into him like he was a lodestone.
I thought about Hunter, and how much I liked being near him, and decided that I needed to tell him again how spectacular he’d been in his fight with the druids and Lattsa. His ego had taken a healthy ding from the loss of Dawn, but I knew he wouldn’t give up until we freed her again.
“We are drawing up plans on how each sept and tribe can work to best approach Desi,” Drake added. “As well as taking steps to deal with the threat Owain’s uncles made.”
The ladies continued to chat for a few minutes, but it was mostly just a wrap-up of everything that had happened over the last forty-eight hours, and my mind was focused on a hunky, green-eyed dragon who had a fine appreciation of my butt.
I trotted downstairs, pausing at the foot of the staircase as I wondered where Hunter would most likely be at that time of the morning.
“I was just coming to find you.”
His voice rumbled out from the massive lobby. I felt a bit awkward there, like I was an interloper, and wondered if Hunter was serious about leaving the lodge to some of his tribe mates in order to relocate.
“Good,” I said with a little squiggle of happiness that stirred up my stomach bees. “I have many things to say to you, and even more to do to your way-too-handsome-for-your-own-good self.”
Arms went around my waist, the familiar feeling of a steely dragon pulling me against his divine body sending my thoughts to a land of very erotic needs.
His breath ruffled the hair around my ear as he nibbled on my neck.
“I have an entire list of acts I wish to perform on you, too, not the least of which is bathing you in dragon fire. Did you have a good chat with the mates?”
I turned in his arms, the light of love in his beautiful eyes making tears prick for a few seconds. How on earth did I go from being a run-of-the-mill reaper and ballerina to the mate of a man who, despite hundreds of years of torment, spent his life caring for and about others?
“Yes. I love you, Hunter.”
He blinked at me; then his entire body went into seductive mode, but the corners of his lips curled. “Enough to do the splits while you’re sitting on me?”
“Only if you’re very good,” I teased.
“Oh, I am. I really am,” he said. “Ask anyone. Diego! Tell Mabel that I’m very, very good.”
“Eh,” one of the tribe members, a young man with gorgeous waist-length black hair, said. “He’s all right with spells and maces, but a bit lacking with a bow.”
“Heresy!” Hunter said, turning me and nudging me toward the stairs to the upper floor. “Remind me to have you exiled from the tribe later, after I’ve given in to Mabel’s many and varied demands.”
“So very subtle,” I told him, giggling when he pinched my behind as I hustled up the stairs, more than happy to be the recipient of the lustful glint to his eyes. “Not that I need everyone to know what we’re going to be doing, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
“They’ll know what we’re doing, mo chroí,” he said with a lascivious undertone. “But they’re happy that you have arrived to bring sanity to the world.”
“Did your meeting go OK?” I asked, a little thread of worry dimming my pleasure. “Drake told us you guys were making plans.”
“Yes, and yes. I will tell you about them later, after I’ve pleasured you to the tips of your somewhat battered toes and back.”
I paused at his door when he opened it, ignoring the desire to run and fling myself on his big bed, instead looking into his eyes, searching for the reassurance I needed.
“Sally hinted that Desi might not have Dawn, and/or the blood moon. But that would mean that Lattsa—his own daughter—didn’t take her on his behalf.
Why would a Finnish hedge-witch-type person want the blood moon? ”
“I’m not sure,” he answered slowly, his hands warm on me as he pulled me gently against his chest. “But I suspect she may have been working toward her own goals all along, and we’ve been led to believe she’s wholly in Desi’s pocket.”
I slid my hands under his shirt and stroked the lovely planes of his back, smiling to myself when his fire responded. “I have a horrible feeling we’re going to find out why, and it’s going to mean more trouble for dragons and vamps alike. Hunter, are you sure?”
He pulled back enough to be able to hold my gaze before understanding. His expression softened, and his eyes glowed with a pale green light that made me feel incredibly warm ... and infinitely lucky.
“I may have spoken like a fool in the past who didn’t understand that you being my mate makes us both stronger, but you quickly showed me how wrong I was. You are everything to me, Mabel. You are the light in my soul, and the joy in my being.”
“I love you, as well,” I said, tipping my head back to feather a few kisses along his lips.
Then I smiled and rubbed myself against him, laughing with pure joy at the knowledge that while we still had work ahead to fix the problems that beset us, each day would be spent with the man who made my life a thing of wonder.
“You know,” I told Hunter as he lifted me in his arms, his fire trailing every step, “there’s a small, little-known afterlife that caters to the sexually adventurous.
I’m not saying it would be strictly kosher—so to speak—to take you there, but .
..” I let him see the wicked intent I had for him, laughing when he dropped me onto the bed and had me stripped naked before I could even draw a breath.
“Yes,” he said, more or less shredding his own clothing in his hurry to join me on the bed. “Yes, you can take me to the sex afterlife, but only after I get to love you until you’re a sated mass of woman.”
“Deal,” I said, giving myself up to ecstasy that only he seemed to be able to give me.
And then I did the splits as I sank down on him, savoring his endless moans of pleasure, and, with the tiny part of my mind that could still function, made a mental note to buy a few of the more revealing leotards. Ones that looked good while doing the splits.
Just because.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
Please take care of Derry until I can make arrangements for him. He likes you and Hunter, so I’m sure he’ll be no trouble.
ME
What? Dawn? Are you OK? Are you with Desi? Has he done anything to you? Anything ... amulet-wise? Let me know where you are so we can rescue you.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
I don’t know when I’ll be free to pay my debt to you dragons, but know that I have not forgotten it.
ME
You’re a prisoner? Of Desi? Or Lattsa? Please just tell me where you are. Hunter and I will rescue you, and bring you back to Derry.
ME
Dawn? Please, please, please tell me where you are. This is beyond important.
ME
We’re not going to give up saving you from Desi. Hang tight. We’ll find you and bring you back, OK?
ME
Sigh. This isn’t going to be easy, is it?
* * *