each from different centuries and different realms. The third wall was a bank of windows and mirrors, some tall some short. Others still were covered with parchment or heavy tapestry while most remained clear and open. They were the Windows of Time. No one used them much
anymore, but they could be used to step back in time or into the future. Dragons used them to bend time, alter events, and delete or destroy times when there was too much happening and humans could not cope.
The wall behind her and the desk was filled with photos. Most of them paintings, some of simple drawings and sketches, but they were all of past fae warriors. Tess’s family hung there with a black band across their hearts, the only warrior fae that had ever been killed.
When she felt calm enough and in control she picked up the second file in the stack closest to her and opened it. Shamus. He was the only person she had ever called friend, and the only man who had ever stood beside her in battle even after all the problems with the queen.
Making sure she still felt calm, she opened the file. She did worry that if she wasn’t able to ease into this gently she might go pinging off his skull and harm him in some way—if she was able to enter his mind at all. Taking a deep breath she put the bloodied piece of parchment onto her tongue and waited.
Nothing happened. Just when she thought she had made a mistake in this whole theory, in tasting his blood and believing that it had something significant to do with her, she snapped into his head like a rubber band snapping onto skin.
It had been so long since she had walked a mind; she was clumsy at first and knew that he felt her when he kept looking over his shoulder for her. She gentled her search and felt him relax.
That was when she realized he had looked over his shoulder and she could see what he did. She could see through his eyes and into whatever he was looking at.
Giddy now, she did what she had planned and called to him. Demanded really, and as much as she hated to do that it was the best plan she could think of right now to see what the powers would do.
“Shamus, I need you to come to me. I’m in the office of the bailey. Come now.”
Within seconds he shimmered into the room, grinning and looking confused at the same
time. “Well, if you don’t look like the cat who ate the canary. What have you been doing?”
“Oh, Shamus, you have no idea. I need your help.”
~Chapter 14~
Aaron was sitting at the kitchen table when Nathaniel came up from his lair. He had been asked by Tess to watch the household and make sure that things were safe here. He knew that it was not busy work, there were several times when he had thought he had caught Albadar up to something, but the man had a good reason for being where he was at the time. Nathaniel still didn’t like it. Something was up with the man and he just knew it.
“Your mate came to see me this afternoon. She just showed up in my chamber out of the
blue,” Aaron said in way of greeting.
Nathaniel felt his fangs lengthen and anger burned through his veins. Vampires did not meet with another’s mate, no matter what. It was an unspoken rule that everyone knew and it would get you killed if you broke it. And here this man was seemingly bragging about it.
“She was only there in spirit, so you needn’t worry that is was anything clandestine or anything. She had a few questions she needed me to answer. We had a deal, and I got a few answers from her as well. Would you like to know what we talked about?” Aaron shook his head as if thinking something over. “Well, I can tell you some; some of it I don’t understand, but I’m sure it will come to light. How about it, Nathaniel? Would you like to find out a few things, like why she won’t bond with you?”
“Are you trying to piss me off or are you seriously thinking I wouldn’t want to know? She is, by and far, the most annoyingly stubborn woman I have ever met. But I think I’ve fallen in love with her. No, that’s not true either; I have fallen in love with the stubborn little chit. Tell me something, have you ever met a woman you wanted to both strangle and make love to all at the same time? She makes me cross-eyed with anger and so needy for her that I find myself wanting to take her anywhere there is a hard surface.” Nathaniel looked at the other vampire when he started laughing. Not just laughing, but holding ribs, leaning over trying to catch his breath laughing. He could only stare and amazement.
“Every day, my friend, every single day. But I will tell you this; there has never been a moment of boredom since I met my Sara. You will find that every day is an adventure and every night a walk into paradise. Sit down and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
Hours later, Nathaniel left the mansion and went to find a way to contact Athropos. He had a few questions of his own.
“Hello, Nathaniel Patrick Tremont. I understand you need my help. Before you ask me
things, there is something you should know. I can only give you what you ask for, nothing more.
You understand that, don’t you? The bargain between Tess and myself is just that, between us.
What can I do for you?” Athropos was saying as she shimmered into Blood Moon later that night.
The bar was for the supernatural, but lately it had been overrun by wannabes of all sorts of people, humans mostly, who wanted to be something they were not. He often wondered why humans wanted immortality. He himself had been around long enough to know that little
changed in the larger scheme of things and what was there today would more than likely be back again someday. They did make a lot of money for the owners, one of which was Aaron, but it still caused problems with the humans and supes alike.
Nathaniel had a private room set up for the meeting with the Fate. He did not want to be overheard, nor did he want to have to beat off the patrons of the bar. Athropos was a very beautiful woman.
“No one has called me by my full name since I was a child, and it usually meant that I was either in a lot of trouble or my mother thought I was in a lot of trouble, which come to think of it, was correct in both cases. I hope in this time I’m neither. I’ve taken some notes on some information I have. And I have a few questions I’d like to see if you can answer for me. I want to know how you hold both halves of Tess and how does one get them back from you?”
Nathaniel had been a cop for many centuries in different capacities and he knew when
someone was surprised by the information he had.
He watched as she pulled a charm bracelet from under her sleeve and showed it to him. “Do you know what a charm bracelet is? It’s just that. A bracelet of charms, sometimes for specific things, others to have things or memories close to you. Sometimes it holds things. Like this one for instance, it holds the soul of a very powerful demon. We made a trade. He wanted me to do something and, in exchange, he gave me his soul. I get to keep it until such time that he can make a better bargain. Then I will give it back to him.” She fingered a few more of the little pieces and then covered it back up with her sleeve. Athropos looked at him and smiled.
He knew he was missing something, but he needed a few minutes to figure it out. He also knew that she had told him the story for a reason, but surely it could not be that simple.
“I’d like to have my mate’s fae and warrior parts, please.
“Of course. What do you have to trade for them?”
~~~
Nathaniel walked to just inside the office of the bailey and looked at the woman at the desk.
There were files and papers everywhere, the floor, desk, and a chair. There were even files lying atop the turned over trash can with a few odd things sitting there too. And Tess was asleep in the middle of all the mess.
He smiled when he heard her snore softly. Nathaniel realized then that he had never slept with her the entire night. They had had sex a few times, not near enough as far as he was concerned, but they had never slept together. He planned to fix that today.
When she stretched out and knocked a few files to the floor he leapt forward and grabbed for them. As he straightened up and looked at her she was standing and staring at him.
“How did you…you aren’t supposed to be able to…you’re not fae.”
“No, I’m not. But you are and I wanted to see you. Athropos gave me permission to come here and to see you. It’s up to you whether or not I can return, though. You look busy, is there something I can help you find?” He started walking toward her and tossed the files onto the mess on the desk.
“I don’t—I was looking for something. I think I found it. There are files that I don’t under…why are you here? I thought we had a deal, I come to you when you’re ready to eat.” She moved to the other side of the desk and kept pace with him, but in the opposite direction. He did not care; he was on a mission.
“It’s called feeding. I’m not sure why, but there you have it. I’ve come to talk to you, see if we can bond and become mates.”
“No. I don’t think that’s a good idea. You have to leave, Nathaniel. I have work to do and you…you shouldn’t be here.”
He walked around to her side of the desk as she moved and grinned when she moved back
away from him more. Nathaniel was not surprised by her move. What he was surprised by was her scent and her arousal. She wanted him as much as he did her.
“I found out some things about us, about you mostly. I had a long talk with Aaron too. He helped me understand a few things and then I got a lot more from Athropos.”
“I’m going to stake that fucking vamp. He should learn to keep his mouth shut and his nose out of my business. Stop following me, will you? You’re making me nervous.”
“Then stop running from me. If you had come to me first, then it wouldn’t have been
necessary for him to interfere. We can bond, Tessa May. We can become one because we give our mates the best of us, not the other way around.”
“What do you mean? Never mind, I don’t care. I want you to leave right now. I have things to do and…you can’t do this.” Her voice had become husky and low. It sent shivers down his spine and though his bloodstream.
She had hit the wall that was full of battle gear. He wished she had hit one of the other walls, but he was glad she had had to stop. He didn’t stop until he was close enough to feel her breath on his face.
“When you bond with me, love, I don’t become mortal, which would be giving the worst of yourself to your mate. I give you my immortality because it’s the best of the two of us. You give me your powers of your fae heritage and I give you my vampirism that will make you stronger in addition to my immortality.”
Nathaniel watched her face while she processed this. He could see that she was struggling with this new information and whether or not he may be telling her what he wanted her to believe. He didn’t blame her for this. She loved him and she would want to keep him safe, just as she had told Aaron.
“I want to make love to you, Tess. I need you so badly that no matter how many times I try to relieve myself by jerking off I find myself wanting you more and more. The thought of drinking from you, sinking my fangs into your vein, makes me hard; the need to come inside of you makes my cock weep with need for you.”
Before he could take his next breath she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her mouth.
Need and urgency pumped through her and into him. And when she opened her mouth under
his he growled and pulled her closer, even as he pressed her to the wall.
Her dark leather pants were molded to her body, accentuating every curve of her, every muscle, and every feminine part. The vest she had on was sleeveless and cupping her breasts so tightly that her puckered nipples strained against the material. The lacing down the front hinted at the treasures he knew she had beneath, and he could not wait to sample her again. Her boots, darker than the other pair, had several buckles up the side and were cuffed at the knee. The soles were worn and looked to be as soft as butter.
Palming her breast, he rubbed his thumb over the peak and felt her shudder against him. She lifted her leg and he picked her up by lifting her ass up and pressing her against him so that she could wrap her legs around his hips. He rocked into her and she met him with a push of her own.
He wasn’t sure if he would last much longer and, as hard as he was, he suddenly did not care.
Nathaniel wrapped his hands around her pants, found the tab of her zipper in the back, and pulled it down. The pants immediately loosened in his hands, so much so that he could reach into them, cup her bare ass, and pull her against his cock. He would not have believed it possible, but he felt his cock harden and lengthen more.
“Drop your legs, baby, so I can get these off you. I’ve never seen anything…they were so tight. Now…now they’re not.”
“Magic. They mold to me so that when I fight they can protect me. I want you, Nathaniel, right now.”
Backing away from her slightly, he extended a claw from his finger tip and stripped the leather lacing from the grommets off her vest. He nearly whimpered when her breasts spilled out into his hands, filling them with her heat and their fullness. Lifting them in his hands, he leaned down, took the first hard nipple into his mouth, and suckled. She tasted like a piece of heaven and he needed more of her.
Dropping to his knees, he peeled the leathers from her hips and started kissing the exposed skin as he did. She was warm and soft, her skin was silky and muscled, her legs long and toned.
Pulling the leathers completely off her, he sat back on his heels and looked at her body. He had had sex with her several times, but he realized this was the first time he had ever seen her fully naked. His cock ached with a need to be inside her.
With his hands on her hips he pulled her forward slightly and licked at the tight curls at the apex of her thighs. She bucked against him hard. Her clitoris peeked out from her nether lips and he nudged his tongue into her sheath and teased the little nubbin with his tongue and teeth. She cried out and wound her fingers tightly into his hair to hold him in place. He knew that he was not going to last long and wanted them to complete this now.