Chapter 39
“You’re leaving already?”
Oscar smiled at her faintly. “I think most people in the New York coven would appreciate it if I did not prolong my stay further.”
Drabek jumped off the bed and came over to greet Mae. She bumped heads gently with Brimstone, her chest rumbling with happy purrs. The fox licked her face.
Mae’s chest lightened at the bond that thrummed brightly between the lynx and her sorcerer. Their cores were devoid of any aftereffects Subjugate might have left, something she knew Nikolai had been worried about.
A muscle jumped in Nikolai’s jaw. “Promise you’ll visit from time to time.”
Oscar stiffened.
“I…don’t think that’s such a great idea,” he said awkwardly.
He looked at Mae, seeking her help.
“He wants you to be the best man at our wedding if we ever tie the knot,” Mae said quietly.
Oscar’s eyes rounded. His gaze swung between them. “You guys are getting married?!”
Warmth flooded Mae’s chest as she and Nikolai traded a secretive glance.
“We’ve talked about it,” Nikolai said.
“But—what about the incubus?” Oscar said, confused. “I thought you would ask him if it ever came to?—”
“Are you joking?” Nikolai scowled. “That asshole still wants to get in Mae’s pants!”
She sighed. “No, he doesn’t.”
Nikolai pursed his lips. “He said as much last week.”
“And I’m telling you he was yanking your chain.”
Oscar finished packing and got ready to leave. Mae, Nikolai, and Bryony accompanied him and his lynx to the entrance of the mansion.
Bryony studied Oscar with a conflicted expression. “I wish you’d stay longer.”
“Thank you. But I should go on this trip.” He stroked Drabek’s head. “It will be good for us.”
The sorcerer intended to travel across North America for a few months before returning to Europe and dismantling what remained of the businesses run by the Dark Council.
Nikolai’s eyes darkened as he studied his brother.
Their reconciliation had not been an easy process. Still, Mae knew the sorcerer no longer harbored a grudge toward the man who had ended his mother’s life.
“Don’t be a stranger.” A tremulous smile danced across Nikolai’s lips. “You’re family.”
He hugged Oscar.
Oscar squeezed him hard, his chin quivering.
Mae’s throat tightened as the brothers pulled back and gazed warmly at each other.
Abraham came down the stairs. “Hey, anyone know about the crack in the pink Ming vase in Bryony’s study?”
Drabek flinched. Oscar’s shoulders knotted. Bryony narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“It was an accident, honestly,” Oscar protested. “She didn’t mean to knock it over.”
Bryony scowled. “Do you even know how much that vase is worth?!”
“Half a million,” Oscar said promptly. “I checked.” He grimaced. “I’ll pay you back.”
Magic flashed in Bryony’s eyes.
Oscar paled. Nikolai and Abraham did their best to calm the High Priestess, to no avail.
“Run for it!” Mae urged the sorcerer and his lynx as Bryony unleashed her sword.
Oscar and Drabek bolted out of the door.
* * *
It waslate by the time Nikolai parked his SUV outside their apartment. They’d finally vacated Vlad’s place and returned to the quaint, two-bed unit above the cinema in Ridgewood.
“Man, that was a long day,” Mae muttered.
Nikolai closed the front door and dropped the keys on the console table. “Wanna have a nightcap before we go to bed?”
Mae shook her head. “I’m kinda pooped, to be honest. I think I’m gonna hit the sack.”
“Oh,” the sorcerer murmured. “Okay.”
He stood and watched while Mae headed to her room, a strange expression on his face.
It was when she was stepping out of the shower some fifteen minutes later that Mae froze and blinked. “Wait a minute!”
Brimstone appeared in the bathroom doorway, a hot dog in his mouth. What is it, my witch?
Mae squinted. “Why is that in your mouth?”
It’s a late-night snack. What’s troubling you?
“Oh.” Mae gripped the towel to her chest. “I just realized something. Nikolai and I haven’t, you know,” she shuffled her feet and bit her lip awkwardly, her voice dropping to a low mumble, “—had sex yet.”
Brimstone choked on the hot dog.
Hellreaver woke up with a snort where he’d been dozing on the sink. The pair of them stared at her like she had grown a second head.
It took you this long to realize?Brimstone said pityingly.
That poor sorcerer has the patience of a saint, is all I’m saying, Hellreaver mumbled.
Mae pursed her lips. “Let me get dressed first. I feel uncomfortable having this conversation naked.”
Fear not, my witch, Brimstone huffed. Your pale, plump flesh does not excite us.
Mae scowled. Five minutes later saw her dressed in her pajamas and her hair dried. She started pacing the floor.
“I mean, it’ll be kinda awkward if I just walk up to him and say?—”
Would you like to proceed with an amorous congress?Brimstone suggested.
Do you wish to do the deed of darkness?Hellreaver said salaciously.
How about we engage in some horizontal—? Brimstone began with a smirk.
“Alright, that’s enough out of you two,” Mae snapped.
She plopped down on the edge of her bed and put her head in her hands. “I don’t know what to do.”
Brimstone and Hellreaver exchanged a glance.
The weapon quivered. There are books about the mechanics of intercourse if that’s?—
“That’s not what I meant, Hell!” Mae snarled.
Alright. Sheesh.
Determination tightened Mae’s jaw. “I’m just going to walk over to his bedroom and seduce him.”
She stood up.
Brimstone squinted at her pajamas. Maybe you should change into that lingerie the incubus gave you. I sense your consort may not find your bunnies arousing enough.
Mae studied her reflection in the mirror and chewed her lip. “You’re right.” She hesitated. “No, Vlad’s gifts are too dangerous. They might give Nikolai a coronary.”
Brimstone rolled his eyes. He’s a white magic sorcerer. He’s as healthy as?—
A helldragon, Hellreaver interrupted excitedly, getting into the spirit of things. A lustful one whose fiery loins have been curtailed for far too?—
Mae threw a pillow at him and marched out of the bedroom.
She bumped into Nikolai in the hallway. “Oh!”
He steadied her with a hand behind her back. “Hey.”
Mae sucked in air when she found herself standing close to the sorcerer. His hair was damp and he smelled of vetiver shampoo.
“What,” she gulped, “—what are you doing?”
“I was coming to find you,” he said huskily.
Her breath caught at the look in his eyes.
They glittered with a banked heat, like he wanted to devour her whole.
A shiver danced down Mae’s spine, her blood heating up to match the fire in his gaze. “Oh, hell.”
She clasped his neck and yanked him down for a kiss.
Nikolai hesitated a fraction of a second before molding their mouths on a groan of pure desire. He grabbed her thighs and hitched her up his chest. She wrapped her legs around his waist and clung on for dear life, her fingers kneading his back.
Nikolai broke their kiss.
“Your room or mine?!” he gasped.
“Mine’s closer.”
Mae clutched his face and claimed his lips again. He headed for her bedroom, his hands hot where he clasped her thighs, his tongue clashing with hers in a way that was making her lose her mind.
Mae moaned when he put her down next to her bed, ending the kiss. Nikolai yanked his T-shirt off and dropped it on the floor.
Mae bit her lip as she scanned his six-pack and the alluring treasure trail arrowing past the waistline of his lounge pants. She hastily undid the knot in them. He chuckled, his fingers finding the buttons of her pajamas.
A snigger pulled them up short. Their heads swiveled.
Brimstone sat by the door. The fox was grinning.
Don’t mind us, my witch.
Alastair perched on his head, the crow staring unblinkingly at Mae and his master in wide-eyed innocence.
Mae marched over, snatched up the fox and the bird, and deposited them outside the bedroom before slamming the door shut in their faces.
Oh, come on!Brimstone protested through the wood. A muffled snort followed. Things were just getting interesting. The fox paused. The crow has questions, my witch. It would be better if he got a visual.
“What’s he saying?” Nikolai asked at Mae’s pinched expression.
“Nothing you want to know. Now, where were we?”
Nikolai fiddled with the second button of her pajama top. “I was about to get ravished by a very hungry witch.”
His lips curved in a devastating smile. Mae cursed and pushed him down on the bed, lust making her feverish.
Nikolai laughed as he bounced. His expression sobered when Mae climbed on top of him. His hands found her hips. She parted her lips and lowered her head to claim his mouth, her hair falling in a silken curtain that brushed his flushed cheeks.
They froze when something hummed quietly in the room.
You guys know I’m still here, right?Hellreaver said.