From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4) (50 page)

Annabeth had graduated and wanted to stay in
Peru more. She woke up many nights with either nightmares of being
trapped underwater, drowning, or being held down by a faceless
figure. At fourteen her innocence had been ripped from her in the
most disgusting way when she was forced to do things no one should
ever have to. It became mandatory for her to see a counselor. But
because of what happened to her, Annabeth liked to stay close to
us.

“I’ll go get Sprig.” Lexie leaned over and
kissed my head. “You want a sandwich?”

I wrinkled my nose. “No. I’m good.”

“Come on, it could be tasty,” she teased,
stepping back across the porch. “You know he farts in his
sleep.”

“Ah, come on. Like I’m not nauseated enough,”
I yelled after her.

She giggled evilly all the way back in the
house.

I twisted back around with a smile, watching
the last bit of the sun dip below the horizon. Magic danced in the
air, thick and unnaturally bright over the forested mountains.

Lars’s warning had come true.

Two years earlier the realm between Earth and
the Otherworld collapsed, forcing the two worlds to mix. A lot of
things did not survive. Human technology and Earth’s infrastructure
were pretty much destroyed, but rebuilding with new materials got
better every day. It was like we were back in the Industrial Age
again, building and exploring new ideas. This time we were starting
fresh and more environmentally healthy.

Dr. Rapava had always been afraid of a war
between humans and fae. In a way his fear came true. But like the
Unseelie King had warned me, it had been a fight between Light and
Dark fae. Humans got caught in the middle, but the casualties were
as devastating as Rapava had predicted. The Seelie Queen broke the
barrier between the worlds. Now the deep secret of the fae became
known to all. And the human world still wasn’t handling it well.
The new Seelie Queen, the first Druid to ever reign, was doing her
best with the help of Lars, trying to put our worlds back and bring
our two species together. But centuries of tradition and fear would
not go away overnight. If ever.

“Sprig! Get down off the fan, or I’ll turn it
on. You threw up last time, remember?” Lexie’s voice sailed out to
me on the deck. I smiled.

Then I felt a change in the atmosphere.
Energy sparking. Someone came up behind me.

“That smile better be for me,” a deep voice
growled in my ear.

“No.” I whirled around, throwing my arms
around the man behind me. “But you could make it be.”

It had been six months before both of our
jumping abilities even partially returned and about a year before
we could completely control them again. Never a day went by that I
wasn’t thankful for being fae, for having these powers, and for
this man in my life.

Ryker’s hand slid up along my jawbone,
tilting my head to his. His mouth pressed to mine, his lips
devouring mine. I opened my mouth to deepen the kiss. His fingers
dug into my hips as he lifted me up, my legs wrapping around his
torso. One arm skimmed my back, the other crushed my head into
his.

After five years, he still set fire to my
veins. I never seemed to get enough of him.

His kiss turned hungrier. Our breaths
caught.

“The girls are in the kitchen,” I mumbled
against his mouth. “But the moment they walk out that door…?” I
lifted my eyebrows.

“We lock a monkey-sprite in the
bathroom?”

“Exactly.” I smiled.

“The hammock or the Chevelle in the
garage?”

“Both.” I grinned mischievously.

For my last birthday he surprised me with a
Chevy Chevelle. To everyone else it looked like an old classic car,
to me it represented our union, changed by the night we both
confessed we were in love with each other. Not surprising, we spent
more time on the hood or in the back than we did driving it.

“I like the way you think.” He kissed me
again, his tongue slipping past my lips. I groaned and squeezed my
legs tighter around him, desire invigorating my skin.

“If you don’t stop, everyone in this house is
about to get an incredibly kinky view of my ass.” He brushed his
lips over my ear and nipped.

“Like that would be a first.” I pulled his
mouth back to mine. He crushed his hand into the back of my head,
inhaling me. I was past caring who was around. But he pulled away,
setting me back down on my feet.

“Did you get the stuff?” I sighed.

He tilted his head in a
what do you
think?
expression. “I already distributed it around to the
clinics and left some for us at Casa de la Miel.”

“Thank you. Wish I could have gone with
you.”

“No. Way too dangerous.”

I pouted, but I knew he was right. At least
for now. I had to admit I started counting down the days till I
could join him again.

Ryker and I would never be nine-to-fivers or
be typical in any way. Some might think it wrong, but robbing from
the corrupt drug cartel to give back to the clinics, orphanages,
and less fortunate felt right. We were thieves. And we were damn
good at it.

Since the collapse of Earth and the opening
of the Otherworld, a lot of fae got in on drug trafficking. Illegal
drugs would never go away, and people took advantage of the weak
state of the world. Ryker and I took from those.

That was just one of our businesses. The
other was in Seattle. Lars helped Kate and me establish a new form
of DMG, what DMG first started out to be. He bankrolled it and
offered his ideas on what he wanted us to accomplish, but otherwise
left it to Kate and me to run. She was the lead scientist with a
ton of researchers under her. I was more the face of it, and the
ideas person. I jumped to Seattle all the time to collaborate on
new research projects. We were still trying to help find a cure for
cancer and a variety of disabilities, but without the killing,
kidnapping, and torture.

When not with Kate or pilfering with Ryker, I
tried to create a new format for orphanages and foster care. There
was an even greater need for help with children whose parents died
in the fae war. Hence Casa de la Miel—Honey House. Wild guess on
who named it. It was still new, but Lima became my test case, a
place for orphaned kids with and without special requirements who
needed homes. We wanted to get them a better education and medical
coverage while providing a place where they felt loved and wanted.
This was all funded by the money Daniel left me. It was exactly how
he would want me to use it. I hoped someday my new format would
take off and start moving around the world.

“Why is the bottle of rum empty?” a man’s
voice bellowed from the doorway, his footsteps on the deck treading
on the wood.

I glanced past Ryker.

A tall, dark, sexy pirate stood there with an
empty bottle in his hand, waving it around.

“Because you finished it last night and just
don’t remember.” I raised an eyebrow.

“Oh. Right.” Croygen nodded. “Never mind. Is
there another one somewhere?”

“There’s beer in the fridge,” Ryker mumbled,
though he kept his hands cupped to my face, lightly kissing my
jawline.

Croygen snarled. “Beer?”

“Yes.” Ryker straightened and glanced over
his shoulder. “You will have to suffer unless you want to get your
lazy ass in the jeep and go get more. How about you do that and
take it back to your own house?”

“I don’t have a house.”

“I know.” Ryker sighed, turning back to
me.

“I have a ship.”

“Which you’re never on.”

“The bed is comfier here,” Croygen grumbled,
then made his signature cocky smile. “I’m starting to think you
don’t want me to live here anymore. Nah, that can’t be true. I know
you love having me here.”

Ryker growled, while I grinned. Croygen was
right. I did want him here. The house was big enough, and I loved
it filled with people. Not just people, my family. I sometimes
would tear up when heading down the stairs in the morning, hearing
them laugh, bicker, and talk together. Truly a dream come true.

“Here you go.” Lexie popped around Croygen,
holding a sandwich on a paper plate for him. She had changed out of
her bathing suit to a tank top, pants, and zip-up hoodie.

“Thanks, little shark.” He took it, smiling
at her.

“I’m not
little
anymore.”

His gaze roamed over her striking features.
“Don’t I know it,” he mumbled and turned his attention to the
sandwich.

A soft blush covered her cheeks before she
turned to Ryker. “You want one? Annabeth is making a whole bunch to
take down to the shelter.”

“I’m good. Thanks,” Ryker said to her, but
his eyes were on Croygen. She disappeared back in the house.

Croygen’s gaze followed her.

“No.” I shook my head. “Absolutely not.”

“What?” Croygen’s head snapped back to
me.

“You know what,” Ryker growled. “If you even
think about touching her, I will kill you.”

“Me too.” I nodded.

Croygen’s eyes widened. “Oh come on, give me
more credit than that. She’s a kid.”

But she wasn’t anymore, and he had noticed.
We all had. Lexie’s crush on him had grown over the years, even
though he always treated her like a little sister. Lately that
seemed to be shifting, his gaze lingering a little longer, his
teasing a little flirtier. He almost seemed nervous around her. If
I hadn’t witnessed it, I would have thought it a tall tale, but
Croygen seemed smitten. In her presence he was kind, sweet,
patient. His eyes focused only on her when she spoke. And Lexie was
growing stronger, more relaxed, and confident in herself. I could
see their connection. They laughed a lot, and in my gut I felt it
was inevitable. There seemed to be something between them you
couldn’t explain.

Croygen had changed. He helped Ryker and me
with our “business” and took side jobs every once in a while, but
mostly he hung out with us, living in the house. He wasn’t a saint,
but he no longer seduced every woman who walked by.

“
Bhean!
” Sprig tore around Croygen, a
black pair of underwear trailing behind. He clambered up my leg to
my shoulder, adjusting his “cape.” “
Bebinn
is not letting me
have any more honey.”

“You’ve had half a bottle.” A head of long,
wavy blonde hair stuck out the door, defending herself. Her beauty
was almost unearthly. She could easily be mistaken for a fairy.
We’d celebrated Annabeth’s twentieth birthday the month before. She
helped me at Casa de la Miel full-time. She had found her calling
helping displaced children. Annabeth wanted nothing more than to
stay at Honey House with me, while Lexie had a restless spirit. She
was ready to go out into the world and explore it.

“Sprig, you know you can only have one,” I
chided him.

He huffed, folding his arms.

“Such a tight ass, huh?” Ryker said to Sprig,
patting my behind.

“Seriously.” They high-fived each other
behind my back. “Especially lately.”

“Don’t encourage him. You know what happens
when he overdoses.” My lids narrowed on the Viking. “I’m always
going to be the bad parent, aren’t I?”

“Yep.” Ryker winked and chuckled.

“Zoey?” Lexie joined the group on the porch,
with our Border collie, Matty, following her out. Yes, Sprig named
him too. “Kate just sent a message marked urgent.” Phones and
computers were victims of the collapse. The Unseelie King had
started a new system for both, much higher tech.

“Urgent?”

“Yes…very urgent.” A smile broke over Lexie’s
mouth. “She wants to know what date you decided on for the
shower.”

I groaned, my hands automatically going to my
tiny protruding belly. “I told her I didn’t want one.”

“You know how well she listens.” Lexie
grinned playfully, giving Matty the crust of her sandwich. He
gobbled it up in one bite, his eyes on her till he realized she
didn’t have anything else, then he wandered over to me. I rubbed
his head and behind his ears. He was a family dog, but Matty mostly
followed me around. He must have sensed the change within me
because in the last few months he rarely left my side.

“I’m barely four months and she wants to
start planning all these things.” I leaned my head into Ryker’s
arm. “Why couldn’t that have been one of the customs that
disappeared?”

“Sucks to be you.” He wrapped one arm around
me, kissing the top of my head. One hand rubbed my belly.

“I don’t care. Tell her she can pick one.” I
shrugged.

“Okay.” Lexie turned to head back in,
motioning to Annabeth. “We’re going to take off. Be back after the
kids go to sleep.”

Annabeth waved to us. “See you later. Love
you.” She never left the house without telling us that.

“Love you too,” I said back. “Check the stock
Ryker just left, will you?”

“Sure thing.” She waved and disappeared into
the house.

“I’ll go with you guys.” Croygen abruptly
rounded after the girls. “I have to head into town anyway.”

“Rum?” Lexie glanced over her shoulder at
him, a playful smile etching her mouth.

He nodded.

“You’re such a cliché,” she teased.

“Cliché?”

“A pirate drinking rum? Come on.” They walked
deeper into the house.

“Tradesman! I am a tradesman,” Croygen’s
voice exclaimed.

“Sure, Hook,” Lexie replied. The front door
slammed.

“Is there any way we can stop that?” Ryker
turned to me.

“I don’t think so.” I pressed my body into
Ryker’s. “The more you try to keep people apart, the more
determined they are to be together.”

He grinned, bending over to kiss me.

“You know what I was just thinking?” Sprig
piped up from my shoulder.

“No,” Ryker replied, his mouth still on
mine.

Sprig ignored him. “When the mini
Bhean
gets here, it will get to taste your honey tits.”