Elfcharm (3 page)

“Taryn,” Andre whispered with a throaty laugh, “you are such a delight.” He stepped closer to me, closing the distance between us, his hand sliding along my jaw and up to the point of my ear before burying into my hair. He fisted his hand, tugging my head back, lifting my face to the ceiling with a pinch of pain as if he had read my thoughts. His now warm lips found mine, claiming my mouth as his tongue glided against mine. I pressed my body against his, my hands on his chest, nails digging into his skin. His firm thigh fit between mine, letting me straddle it and rub myself against him as he kissed me.

His free hand slid over my hip, up my ribs, and finally cupped my breast. His thumb brushed over my tender nipple, making it pucker again, and I whimpered into his mouth. His fangs came down, nicking the inside of my lip, making the metallic tang of my blood flavor our kiss. He drew my lip into his mouth, sucking on it as he rolled my nipple between his thumb and forefinger, pinching as he twisted my hair a little tighter. Unable to control myself, I rubbed my wet pussy against his leg, faster and faster, in time with the tiny pulse in my lip as his tongue encouraged the blood flow. I reached for his cock, wanting to stroke him until he came in my hand, hopefully in time with me, but I only had time to caress the warm, pliable flesh before he grabbed my wrist again.

“No,” he whispered into my mouth, placing my hand on his chest. “Only you, my sweet little elf.” I whimpered, shifting my hips against his leg.

My nails cut into his skin and he growled into my mouth, making my stomach knot in anticipation. I felt my magic filling me, pressing at the edges of my body, bouncing back and forth from every spot that Andre touched me, mouth, breast, and pussy, drinking in the power he offered me with the pleasure and the pain. My clit swelled as I edged closer and closer to the orgasm, uncontrolled noises spilling from me into his mouth. Just when I felt the pressure cresting between my thighs, Andre broke our kiss and pulled my hair hard, stretching my neck, baring my throat for him.

He dipped his head forward and his fangs slid into my throat, my blood bursting into his mouth, and I screamed as the orgasm ripped through me as I ground my body against his. My legs finally gave out under me as my body shook with the pleasure; only Andre’s arms around my waist held me up. He thrust his leg harder between mine, rubbing his wet thigh against me, massaging my throbbing clit, drawing out wave after hot wave as he drank from me.

Slowly he withdrew his fangs, holding my body close to his, and his tongue lapped at my neck, cleaning and closing the wounds. I let my eyes fall closed as I enjoyed the warm honey feeling swirling through my body.

“That’s three,” he whispered against the shell of my ear, his tongue darting out to flick my lobe. He gathered me up in his arms and carried me back over to the bed. Gently he laid me down, propped up against the pillows, my arms lank over my stomach. He gathered the covers he had thrown to the floor earlier and shook them out before draping them over me. Kneeling on the bed, he caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned my face towards his to kiss me, softly, one last time. I smiled lazily up at him and he grinned down at me, a knowing look in his eyes. He liked to see how much he could take out of me, and I didn’t mind letting him know.

I blinked slowly and, between one moment and the next, Andre was gone as if he’d disappeared into the shadows. I stretched long and luxuriously under the covers, reaching my arms up over my head to grip the railings of the headboard.

The sun was fully gone, leaving the city in a wash of silvery moonlight and my bedroom in near total darkness. I rolled over until I could reach for the lamp on my nightstand, clicking it on. I thought about going back to sleep for a time, I didn’t have anywhere to be and I was well and truly worn out, but something stopped me. After so much blood loss, I knew I should eat something, but that wasn’t what was pulling at me.

I slipped out of bed, taking the top blanket with me, wrapping it around my body, and walked over to the dresser. The amethyst chips twined in the metal seemed to glint even in the weak light of my lamp. I picked it up, holding it by the fairy floss chain, watching as the charm spun slowly in the air. I had started wearing it more and more in the past few weeks, realizing I felt different without it, disquieted somehow. The only thing was, when I fell asleep wearing it, I would dream of the elf who gave it to me and I would wake missing him.

He had promised me that by taking the charm, I wouldn’t be put under some spell, making me his slave or something. The Fae couldn’t lie, but we’d spent eternity perfecting the art of telling half-truths rather than ever actually lying. But he hadn’t called to me like the Hunter had; I hadn’t seen him since the festival, and the dreams that I had were pleasant ones. They reminded me of a different time, when our people and humans were still separate, a time before mine.

Surrounded by a forest at midnight, stars shone so brightly in the sky I could see them through the canopy of foliage. Will-o’-the-wisps drifted in the shadows, their gentle light glowing bright, beckoning me this way and that. I wore soft, hand worked leathers, hand stitched to carefully mold to my body. And though I wasn’t dancing, though I was alone in the forest, I could see the light from my eyes as they shown quicksilver, as if my magic was always just below the surface, full and alive, not waiting for another to replenish me.

Every night was the same. I would walk through the forest, searching for something, for someone, and then I would hear the measured footsteps of another. I would turn just in time to see him emerge from the shadows. Our bright eyes would meet and he would smile at the sight of me.

“Fallon,” I breathed his name, smiling in relief at the sight of him, realizing immediately he was the one I was looking for. His emerald hued hair was longer than I remembered, tumbling behind his shoulders in thick, curling waves, setting off his bright green eyes that glowed with the magic of the forest. The sharp points of his ears peeked through, curving back. He too was clad in hand tooled leathers, but only in boots and pants that were slung low on his hips, the sharp bones drawing the eye down to the lacings holding them closed. His skin was pale like moonlight glinting on a lake, an almost iridescent sea foam green, with darker green lines swirled and twisted down his arms like some ancient tribal tattoo.

He stopped, waiting for me to come to him. It was strange, I know I would usually refuse to run to a man who was waiting for me to come to him, standing my ground and waiting for him to come to me, or at least meet me in the middle, but I couldn’t fight this compulsion. I ran to him, happily, leaping the last few feet into his arms. He caught me easily, his muscled arms wrapping around my waist, laughing quietly as he hugged me to his body.

I moved to press my forehead to his, the lights of our eyes glowing bright. Closing our eyes, we stood like that for a time, my arms around his neck, his around my waist, our faces close enough to kiss, feeling the magic between us swelling from nothing more than our embrace. A tear slipped down my cheek, falling to splash on his chest.

Fallon lowered me to my feet, keeping one arm around my waist while lifting his other hand to brush his thumb over my cheek, wiping away the tear track. I opened my eyes to stare up into his face, knowing too soon I wouldn’t be able to look at him; too soon I would have to leave this wonderful place.

“Taryn,” he said softly, bringing his hand down under my chin, lifting it up to look at him. “We have such little time; let’s not waste it on tears.”

“But I’ll be gone soon, you’ll be gone soon,” I said.

“But not yet,” he said, bringing his face close to mine. My lips parted in anticipation of his kiss, but he moved to the side, pressing his lips to my cheek. Reluctantly I stepped back when I felt him pull away from me. His arm fell away from my waist and his hand caught my wrist, sliding down to take my hand, twining our fingers together.

He led us through the foliage and the trees, walking confidently through the shadows and shifting moonlight. I stepped closer to him so that I could wrap my free hand around his bicep, pressing the line of my body to his arm, not quite clinging to him. We would walk like that, the forest never changing, the will-o’-the-wisps never fading, only the moon tracking our steps in the sky.

Eventually I would feel the world grow darker, the trees would begin to fade away, and one by one, the will-o’-the-wisps would wink out with the stars. Turning to Fallon, he would smile sadly down at me, knowing I was fading away.

“I don’t want to go,” I said.

“I know, but you can’t stay.”

“Why?”

“Because you have forgotten what it means to be Fae.”

And then I would wake, alone in my bed, the charm around my neck, trying to catch my breath.

“You didn’t even tell me your name,” I said, cradling the charm in one hand while I clutched the covers to my chest. “So how do I know your name in my dreams?”

Closing my hand around the charm, I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts of the beguiling green stranger. But no amount of squeezing my eyes shut or violently shaking my head would make his echoing words stop. Had I forgotten what it was to be Fae?

A glance around my apartment said as much. After the Solstice Massacre, I had finally bought a cell phone, which was charging in my kitchen at the moment. My apartment was powered by the human run electricity plant. I had a television. Hell, there was hardly anything in my apartment that spoke to my elfin nature except for the blackout curtains that allowed me to sleep through the day. At least I didn’t wake with the sun. That was one last tie to the elfin lifestyle that I couldn’t imagine ever changing.

“Stop it,” I said, looking at myself in the mirror. “You’re a Bright Elf, Taryn Malloy. No stupid fairy dream can change that.” I could still feel the magic swirling in my body, making my skin glow with power. No human could do that. Awkwardly, I snapped my fingers, trying not to drop the blanket or the charm, and watched as the spark of power burst at my fingertips. Pursing my lips in a smile, I nodded to myself. Glancing down, I realized how careful I was to keep the blanket clutched around me, but why? Elves didn’t worry about modesty, especially when alone.

Letting the blanket drop to the floor, I stepped out of the puddle of fabric, feeling the air caress my bare skin. One more look at the charm and I decided it was time to take it to Corbin and let him tell me if it was in fact enchanted. I hadn’t questioned myself like this since I kicked Cillian out; why would I start now?

“Damn him,” I whispered before I dropped the charm on the dresser top again, walking away from it and into the bathroom to get cleaned up before I went to see Corbin.

July in the city was nearly unbearable, but when the sun set and the buildings’ shadows stretched long through the street, the world became cool and inviting. I pulled my long blond locks into a high ponytail and wore a lightweight, black, off the shoulder sweater with a pair of skinny jeans and sandals.

I paused in front of the mirror and gazed at my exposed shoulder. There were still two faint half-moon scars along the muscle of my shoulder where it curved into my neck. They had faded to a light pink, but were still shiny against my fair skin. I touched the scars, brushing my fingertips over them, and felt the phantom pulse of the bite’s power. Every once in a while, one of my lovers would do something to awaken it, setting the scar aflame and making my body tremble with need, though it was nothing compared to what it was before Corbin’s potion.

But if Daniel pounded me against the wall too hard or Andre fed from that side of my neck, it would be a couple of days before it quieted again, and until then, my carnal appetite was nearly insatiable. Daniel was careful about stimulating it, but sometimes Andre would set it off just for fun, insisting the magic still contained therein did something to my blood, which in turn gave him more power. I think he just liked to keep me for a few days in his bed, waking only for food and sex until even his body was weak. I never had to worry about Corbin reawakening my bite though; I could carve my desire for him in the skin of his back with my nails, but he would never reciprocate the pain. He wouldn’t even kiss my neck there.

Sometimes I felt his hesitation so acutely I would almost ask him to kiss me there, bite me there, bury his nails into the scars, but I didn’t. Corbin had such control, it drove me crazy, and I wanted to rip his control apart. I didn’t need him to pay any attention to my bite for that; it only ripped my control apart, not his. I closed my eyes and shook my head, blowing out a breath to clear my mind. I pulled the charm out of my pocket and slipped it on around my neck. As soon as the charm lay against my chest, even with the fabric of the sweater between me and it, I immediately felt settled. I laid my hand over the charm, hiding it from the reflection in the mirror, but I could still feel the magic of it, like a tiny heart beat finding the rhythm of my heart beat, the magic slipping and sliding around me until it melded with my magic.

“Yeah,” I whispered to my reflection, “I don’t think that’s right.” After tucking the charm under the neck of my sweater, I grabbed my bag and my keys and headed out the door to go see Corbin.

Corbin’s building was a reconverted hotel from the 1920s. The lobby was still decorated in that Art Deco style with stained glass and gold everywhere. But the residents or the landlord didn’t really care about keeping it up to its former glory; the carpet was in tatters, every surface had a thick coat of dust, and even the mirrors lining the walls had tarnished years ago. The thick glass in the windows of the front door was coated in grime from the nearby sewage drain and the names next to the apartment buzzers were nearly gone, not that anyone bothered to keep them up to date anyway.

I had never seen any of Corbin’s neighbors, but I could feel them behind the walls, albeit faintly, like they weren’t fully alive. I assumed they were all vampires and ghouls, Corbin being the only warm body in the building. And what a body it was.