Rise of the Fae (12 page)

He’d set her in her bed and then called Mason. Mason had said it was a bad time, but Neeman had explained Selene’s condition and Mason had said he’d be right there.

Neeman had gotten Selene to eat a few crackers and she’d drunk three bottles of Gatorade, but she was still weak and refused to talk.

He ran his fingers through his hair. He was still livid about the demon, but concern tugged at him as well. When had his life come into such upheaval? He didn’t like it. He liked order, control, the two things he wasn’t able to get with Selene around.

The door swung inward and Mason stepped into the room. He nodded to Neeman and went to the bed. The box spring creaked and sagged under his tremendous weight.

“Selene.” He turned her to face him. A small cry escaped her and her eyes flew open and locked on him. Her chin quivered. She sat up and flung her arms around his neck.

“Mason,” she cried.

He hugged her tight.

“It’s all right. It’s okay.”

“I didn’t mean to. I swear I didn’t. I tried to control her, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I had to drain my magick and he recognized me and was looking for you and…” She broke into sobs that wracked her body.

Mason pulled her closer and stroked her hair. “It’s okay. It’s okay. You knew this was going to happen sooner or later.”

The sight of Mason holding Selene threw Neeman’s jealousy into overdrive. He ground his teeth together in an effort to hold back the words he wanted to spew.

The two sat on the bed and clung to each other for several minutes before Mason’s grip slacked.

“You’re cold,” he said. “Too cold. You need energy. You’ve spent too much. You’re lucky you didn’t kill yourself.”

“It’s not my fault. In the fae plane, I can control it better. My fae becomes stronger. I haven’t had a problem in years. But the voice. Her voice. I lost the amulet and I thought I’d be okay, but I’m not.”

“We’ll fix it. You need to recharge. Stay strong. Keep her caged. You need life force magick. It’s the only kind that will keep her at bay. Do you understand?”

She nodded and looked at Neeman. Her skin was still pale and waxy. Her eyes rimmed with deep shadows.

Mason’s gaze travelled to Neeman as well. “You have to help her.”

“Help her what?”

“Her magick is depleted and she needs life force to make her better.”

“Why can’t you help her? Afraid Danika might catch a whiff of her on you?”

Mason frowned.

Neeman didn’t care. To have Danika at home and now Selene here, in hiding, was more than angering, it was wrong and he didn’t want any part of it.

Mason stood from the bed and walked to meet Neeman. “You have something to say?”

“What do you want me to say? You’re mated to the coven lord of Chicago, but your old girlfriend shows up and you ask me to keep her hidden?”

Mason’s brows knit together. “Girlfriend? Selene’s not my girlfriend.”

“Lover. Whatever you want to call it.”

Mason looked over his shoulder at Selene. “You didn’t tell him?”

“It never came up.” She shivered and pulled up the covers.

Mason turned back to Neeman and sighed. “She isn’t my lover, Neeman. She’s my sister.”

“Sister?”

“Our mothers were sisters.”

“So she’s fae?”

“Look, I don’t have time to explain. I need to get back before Danika rises, but I need you to help her. Please.” Mason stared at him. “I know I’m asking a lot, but will you do this favor for me?”

Neeman swallowed hard and nodded, not knowing what he was getting himself into.

Mason turned to Selene. “I’ll call later to make sure you’re better. I’ll return if I can.”

“When?” she asked.

“You know how this works. Only now it’s even more complicated. A few days at the latest, I promise.”

She nodded and her teeth chattered.

Mason headed into the hallway and Neeman stepped out after him. “Mason. What’s going on?”

“The Russians are getting more insistent on seeing Danika. The three kings are as well. You know how they are about diplomacy.”

“Does she know what they want?”

“Not yet, but she has a feeling the Russians want to stay. Did you get anything out of the demon?”

Neeman shook his head.

“Well, that’s too bad. It would’ve been helpful to know where the rift is so we can close it. But at least he’s dead and can’t talk.”

Mason’s phone buzzed and he pulled it out. “That’s William. Danika’s up. I need to leave.”

“Mason, Selene can’t stay here forever.”

“I know. I know. But there are things about Selene that you don’t understand. I need to make sure she’s safe. Just for a few more days till I can talk to Danika.” Mason looked at the door. “I don’t even know what to do with her. She’s so…”

“Annoying?”

Mason laughed. “I was going to go with unpredictable, but yes, she can be a handful as well. It’s not her fault, it’s in our blood. And she has a hard time controlling her…impulses.”

Mason turned and left and Neeman walked back into Selene’s room and closed the door. They stared at each other for a moment.

His emotions were all jumbled. He didn’t know which way was up with her looking so defeated.

He crossed to her bed and sat next to her. “All right. What do you need?”

* * * *

Selene shivered in her bed, a bra and pair of matching pink panties the only covering she had besides the sheet. She stared at Neeman, his face a mask. What she needed and what she wanted were two different things. What she wanted was to have him hold her and make love to her. But that wasn’t what she needed.

“I…I need your energy,” she chattered.

“What does that mean?” His eyes filled with suspicion.

Embarrassment flushed her. She’d never had to ask for it before. Men had always been more than willing to bed her.

Neeman stared at her for a minute and then relaxed his stance. “Scoot over,” he ordered.

She did as she was told and he slid in next to her. She waited till he got comfortable and then pushed her body up next to his. They were the same temperature. He lay completely rigid as she pressed into him. He was like hugging stone.

One of his arms wrapped around her, but she could tell it was with great effort.

This wasn’t going to work. His energy was all wrong. There was nothing comforting or protective about him at all.

“You know what?” she said. “That’s okay. I’ll be fine. You can go.” She turned away from him, tears welling in her eyes. Fatigue weighted down her body as if she’d gained a hundred pounds in the last hours.

She pressed her face into her pillow and stifled a cry. Why had she thought she could do this? Control her other half? She’d forgotten what it was like. So many years she hadn’t had to deal with it. She’d forgotten what a struggle it had been on this plane. Only finding Mason had kept her sane. That and her mother’s amulet. She was so alone.

“What did I do?” Neeman asked. “I was holding you.”

She sighed, pushing the pain at bay. “You can’t just lie next to me. I could do that with a dog.”

“Then what?”

She rolled over to face him. “You’re mad at me for killing Rex and for stealing your car and for bringing home bags and bags of stuff. I get it. It’s okay. You don’t have what I need.”

“What do you need?” His voice rose with tension. Anger played across his features, but anger could often become something else.

Her inner voice growled. “
You can’t do this. You’re not good at it. This is my job.”

She sat up to face him, reached out the palm of her hand, and stroked his cheek.

He stiffened under her touch.

She ran her hand down his muscular chest and hard packed abs.

“This,” she whispered. She leaned in and kissed him softly, letting her tongue slip over his lips. “I need tenderness. Caring. Love.” She kissed him again, running her fingers through his soft hair.

His hand slid up her bare arm and goose bumps rose on her skin. He kissed her back, letting their tongues swirl together. Warmth pooled in her belly and her limbs tingled.

He pulled her to him with his rough hands and her body melted against his. Every inch of them touched as they lay side by side. He wrapped her leg around his hip, his arousal pressing into her most sensitive spot. One arm snaked under her head cradling her against him. The other ran up and down the length of her body, sparking her skin with electricity.

“No. Stop. You can’t.”
The voice chanted. Selene blocked the voice out and reveled in the feel of Neeman.

She slid on top of him and undid her bra, tossing it away. He sucked in a breath, his eyes worshiping her every curve. He cupped her flesh, rolling her nipple with his thumb. A thrill of pleasure ran up her body, but she knew this romp wasn’t for her pleasure. It was for his. She needed his chi and to get it, he had to be in utter bliss.

She allowed him to caress and knead her skin with his fingers. His arousal grew even more and pulsed beneath her. He sat up and kissed her breasts in turn, suckling them while using his hands to move her hips against him.

“I want you,” he growled deep in his throat.

Good.

The voice in her head pleaded with her to stop. But she couldn’t afford to. It was too dangerous.

He gave her panties a yank and flung them to the floor. Then he shucked his pajama bottoms off and settled her on his lap. His gaze swept over her, clouded with desire and lit on her neck.

For a moment, she contemplated not going through with it, knowing what would come afterward, but she had to. She had no choice. She needed this.

His hand slid over her body to her neck and he ran his fingers over the pulsing vein in her throat.

She smiled and gripped his length, rubbing his head against her core. He grabbed the sheets and moaned.

“You’re going to kill me.”

She held him tight and slid down the length of his shaft. He filled her, making her head snap back. She gasped and clawed at his chest. Too long. It had been too long.

His strong fingers dug into her hips and he guided her. The friction between their bodies heated her center and made her throb with need.

“Neeman,” she gasped. “Harder.”

He growled and sat up against the headboard. He pulled her hips forward and thrust at the same time, causing her to grab onto his shoulder with one hand and onto the headboard with the other. Over and over she rocked her hips, sliding down on him, bringing herself closer to the release she had always craved, but never obtained.

“Selene.” He groaned. “You are so beautiful.” He caught her breast in his mouth once more and waves of ecstasy shot through her.

“Selene.” His hands moved faster, and their friction increased. His face tightened and she no longer felt him inside her. Instead, she concentrated on his energy.

It flowed and swirled around him, growing like a ball of light. His body tensed and the ball wound tight, ready to snap. At that moment, right before he climaxed, she placed her palm over his heart.

He groaned and thrust as his body tensed and she dug her fingers into his chest. His ball of energy snapped and wisps flew in every direction. She uttered the magick words of gathering and the wisps flew to her chest, burning through her skin and warming her instantly.

“I bind the one that hides within. I cage her deep and bid her sleep. Till her name is called by me.”
She chanted in the ancient language.

The voice howled in rage and backed away.

She opened her eyes. Neeman’s expression was stunned. Her body warmed and her energy renewed itself.

“It worked. Thank you.” She reached to touch Neeman’s cheek, but he pushed her away, his eyes wary and his skin paler than normal.

“Neeman—”

He dumped her off him and ran to the bathroom. Hitting the toilet, he retched violently. Selene swallowed hard. How many men had she taken from in the past? Fed off their chi, leaving them in their bathrooms, confused and weakened. She couldn’t just walk away this time. She wanted to go to him, to explain and apologize.

Instead she pulled the sheet around herself and waited. Minutes passed and he stumbled out of the bathroom.

“What the hell did you do to me?” he demanded.

* * * *

Neeman hadn’t felt this weak since the first months of his turning when he’d refused to drink blood. His limbs burned as if every fiber was being torn apart. His throat felt like dry ice had been forced down it and his head spun so violently he couldn’t see straight.

Selene sat on the bed in a dizzying spell of health. Her color had returned and her skin no longer looked waxy.

“I asked you what the hell you did to me,” he said again, swallowing down the nausea that threatened to send him back to the toilet.

“I... I took your chi.”

“My what?” He leaned against the doorframe, trying to get his vision to focus.

“Your chi, your energy. It’s strongest right before the climax of a sexual act. I’m sorry I didn’t explain better.”

“Explain? Explain what? That you were going to steal from me?”

“I didn’t steal it, Neeman. You said you’d help me. Besides, isn’t that what all Vampires and vampyr do all the time? Steal blood’s life force from humans?”

Rage ripped through him. Though his head thundered like a bass drum, and his vision continued to spin, he let go of the door jamb and stood straight.

“No. That’s not what
all
Vampires and vampyr do.” Taking heavy, deliberate strides, he moved to his underwear and pajama bottoms and tugged them on, refusing to fall over and be humiliated any further.

How could he have been so stupid as to think having sex with her would have been anything more than a means to an end for her? Another way for her to get what she wanted.

“Neeman, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“To what? To steal from me or to steal from the demon upstairs?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I stole nothing from the demon upstairs.”

“But you did kill him.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “He deserved to die.”

Neeman wanted to be angry with her, but if what she’d said earlier about the demons coming for Mason was true, then they were obviously coming for her as well.