Page 15

Chapter 14

Vareck

I leaned against the doorway, watching her.

Meera sat curled up in my overstuffed armchair, her legs tucked beneath her. Her wild ginger hair had been pulled into a bun, though several strands had already broken free, framing her face in loose curls. On the table in front of her was a cribbage set. She was playing against herself.

“Is this what you did all day?” I asked.

She jumped, her wide hazel eyes flying to me. “Jesus, you scared me.”

I chuckled under my breath and lifted my hands in mock surrender.

“To answer your question—yes. It's not like there's much else to do in here.”

A tiny sliver of guilt tugged at me. Given that I was the reason she was currently holed up in my bedroom, it wasn’t unwarranted.

Meera pushed the table away and got to her feet, placing her hands on her hips. Whatever guilt I felt quickly dissolved when she scrunched her nose in an expression I think was meant to be annoyance—but only came across as adorable.

I stepped into the room and softly closed the door behind me. “We'll have to get you something for entertainment, then,” I murmured. “Maybe some books.”

Meera snorted but didn’t elaborate as to why she considered it funny.

I went to the bathroom to start my evening routine, well aware of the beauty standing just outside the door. I swapped the fine fabrics of my everyday clothes for casual wool pants that hung low on my hips. After brushing my teeth, I splashed cold water on my face.

I was apprehensive about this next part more than I wanted to admit.

When I stepped back into the bedroom, Meera paused mid-pace. I watched as she swallowed hard, her eyes dragging over my bare chest before snapping back up to my face. My lips twisted into a smirk.

“See something you like, siren?”

She licked her bottom lip, clearly trying to come up with a response. “Siren?” she asked casually.

I shrugged. “You’re beautiful and your compulsion is unusually strong. Seemed like it fit.”

She bit the inside of her cheek, fighting a smile. “Is that another one of your pickup lines?”

I grinned. “That bad?”

She shook her head, smoothing a hand over her hair in a nervous fidget. Then her gaze flicked down to my pants. “Why are you dressed like that?” she asked, gesturing toward me.

“Your game of cribbage must have been riveting for you to not realize it’s nearly midnight,” I said dryly. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to bed.” I pulled back the furs and blankets on the bed.

Meera froze, her eyes going round. “Here?” she spluttered.

I cocked a brow. “This is my bedroom.”

Her mouth opened then closed as she tried for words. “But there’s only one bed.”

I fought a smile. “I hadn’t realized.”

Her eyes narrowed in indignation as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I just meant, where am I supposed to sleep? No need to be an asshole.”

I chuckled. “In the bed, presumably.”

Her face turned beet red. “I think that’s inappropriate given the . . . circumstances.”

I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest, not missing the way her eyes briefly dropped at the movement. “I don’t bite.”

“That’s—” she practically choked on the word. “That’s not what I meant. Or said.”

“It’s what you implied. I’m not going to take advantage of you. I would think if I’ve proven anything since you’ve been here, it’s that.”

Her lips pressed into a flat line. “I’m suggesting it’s inappropriate because the . . . ya know . . . the . . .” She swallowed. I knew exactly what she was talking about, but I made no effort to say it. Meera had pretended that she didn’t have the dreams and had continued in her refusal to acknowledge it. If she was going to use that as an excuse, then I was going to make her say it. But when I didn’t say anything to help her finish her sentence, she threw her hands up in frustration. “Whatever. I’ll just sleep on the floor.”

“If you insist,” I replied, still fighting a grin. She stomped over to the bed in a huff, dragging one of the thick blankets and a pillow onto the floor. I slid under the covers as she attempted to make herself comfortable. With a snap of my fingers, the overhead lights turned off, plunging us into darkness.

Meera let out a hiss, twisting this way and that. Ninety seconds passed before she spoke.

“This stone is freezing. Why don’t you have a rug in here?”

“You do know I have a cat, right?”

“And?”

I snorted. “You’ve clearly never owned one. Corvo would throw up his hairballs on it if I put any kind of rug in this room.”

Hearing his name, Corvo popped into the bedroom and curled up in the armchair Meera had vacated. “He’s right. I so would.”

Another couple of minutes passed before Meera let out an exasperated sigh.

“I give up,” she groaned, getting to her feet. She bundled the blanket up and tossed it on the bed, followed by the pillow.

“That was my face,” I said, pushing the pillow away.

“Oops.” She said it like she wasn’t sorry at all.

I chuckled again as she took tentative steps toward the bed. I couldn’t make out her expression in the dark but the light from the moon made it easy to see her form.

“Just to be clear,” she started. “There will be no cuddles, no feeling each other up, no touching—period. Got it?”

I arched an eyebrow she couldn’t see. “There’s no need to be nervous, Meera. I’ve seen you drool all over my pillow when you passed out from burnout. ”

“That’s not what this is about,” she squeaked, her voice going all high and breathy with panic.

“Uh huh,” I hummed. “I’m not going to instigate anything. Now get in the damn bed and go to sleep.”

“Fine.” She acquiesced, gingerly lifting the covers before she curled up under them—keeping as much space between us as possible. I grinned, biting back a laugh as she rolled over to give me her back.

At first her breathing was heavy and labored, but as the minutes ticked by it slowed. For all the fanfare, she fell asleep well before I did. Meera wasn’t the only one feeling some sort of apprehension about this set up.

For years, I’d dreamed of her.

Now we were sleeping in the same bed.

Would I dream of her still?

The thought didn’t bring me the same comfort it usually did, but with the scent of blood oranges in the air, sleep claimed me soon enough.

Soft hands smoothed up the planes of my chest. My eyes snapped open. Darkness still blanketed the room, but there was no missing the feminine form pressed against me as I lay on my side.

I froze, my body forgetting how to respond as she trailed one hand up my neck to thread through my hair. Her fingers curled in a tight, too familiar grip.

She pulled me closer while arching her back, her lips parted.

“Meera,” I breathed, mouth dry.

She groaned at the sound of her name, her chest brushing against me. The feel of her crop top against my skin was both a blessing and a disappointment.

She was sleeping.

Of course she was sleeping. Meera would never do this while awake. She’d made that perfectly clear.

I cursed under my breath as I tried to pull away. She wasn’t having any of it.

“Vareck,” she said softly, tugging on my hair again. When I didn’t move, she shuffled upwards. Her lips met mine, hungry as they ever were.

I grabbed her waist, trying to push her back. Meera moaned, tossing her leg over my hip. Her sharp teeth bit down on my bottom lip, hard enough to make everything hazy. When her tongue tangled with mine, I forgot what I was supposed to be doing.

Fuck, she felt good.

Her body was soft and warm and everything I’d ever wanted in a woman. Like every curve was made just for me. It was harder than it should have been to stop this. I trailed my hand down her leg and wrapped my fingers around the back of her knee, gently removing it from my body.

Meera growled, turning my blood to fire.

Fuck me.

“You need to wake up,” I said, trying to extricate myself from her kiss.

“I am,” she groaned. Meera opened her eyes, revealing dilated pupils blown with lust. She released my hair, placing an open palm against my shoulder and pushing. I fell back against the bed, unable to think past the woman who tossed her leg back over me. She moved her hands to my chest, sitting up to straddle me.

All complaints died in my throat.

My muscles refused to work when she grasped the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. A lacy bra cupped her full breasts, her hard nipples visible through the sheer fabric.

Meera grabbed one of my hands and moved it to her chest. I palmed her, feeling the heaviness while my thumb brushed over her peaked nipple.

Her hips jerked, pressing into my already hard cock.

“Fuck, I need you to touch me,” she whined.

Any restraint I had snapped.

I gripped her thigh with my free hand, fingers pressing into her supple flesh. My grip on her breast tightened as she continued to rock against my length. I leaned up and pulled at the lace of her bra, lowering it so I could take her nipple between my teeth. She hissed at the pain, but that sound turned into a whimper as I lapped at the mark I’d left. When I sucked on the rosy bud, she bucked again, her head thrown back in pleasure.

“I want to fuck you so bad,” I rumbled against her damp skin. I lowered my hand to press into the apex between her thighs where the material of her leggings was already damp. “Are you going to let me?”

“Yes,” she moaned.

I rolled us. Her back hit the mattress as my weight came down on her. I moved my hands to either side of her face, caging her in. “I want to hear you beg.”

A tiny whine slipped free from her lips. I rolled my hips, pressing into her just once before I pulled away. My fingers hooked in the band of her leggings. I dragged them down with ease, taking her thong along with them. “ Please .”

I chuckled, sliding off the bed. I grabbed her ankles and pulled her to the very edge before sinking down on my knees.

I tsked. “You can do better than that. ”

She tried to speak, but only gasped as I licked her from her opening to her clit. I traced the tip of my tongue in circles around her little nub, stimulating but only barely touching. Meera arched her hips. “Pleaseeeee,” she moaned. “Fuck me.”

“Better,” I hummed, my breath fanning over her slick flesh.

Meera shivered, but I didn’t think she was cold.

In fact, it felt like she was burning up. I wanted to burn with her.

Without dragging it out, I plunged my middle finger into her tight channel. She clenched at the intrusion. Her fingernails scraped my scalp as she fisted my hair and tried to pull me closer. I gave in, lowering my head once more to suck her clit between my lips.

Her hips jerked again. “Yes, yes, yes!” She chanted, thrashing back and forward as I moved my finger in and out. “More. I need more.”

“Greedy little thing.” I pushed a second finger in her.

Meera climbed high, but just before she could find her release, I stopped. A sob left her throat. Her grip on my hair turned borderline painful.

I blew on her clit, then waited for her to come down before starting the process all over again.

Then again.

By the fourth time she was a sweaty, writhing mess. Just the way I liked her.

“Vareck, please,” she begged.

“What do you want?”

“You.”

I bit back my grin. “What do you want me to do?”

Meera groaned in frustration. “Fuck me. Now .” She tacked on the end, her full lips pouting .

I got to my feet and removed my pants. My cock thickened, impossibly harder under her hooded gaze. Meera licked her lips.

“Scoot up the bed,” I told her. For all her brattiness otherwise, this version of her, the one I knew all too well, listened beautifully.

She spread her legs wide without having to be told. Even in the low light, the wetness between her thighs glistened. I stroked my cock once before climbing up after her. Instead of crowding her body with my own, I lifted her hips to meet mine.

“Are you protected?” I ran my length through her slick heat, making her shiver.

“Y—yes,” she stuttered out.

I notched my head in her entrance, pushing in the slightest bit. “Good.” Then I filled her with a single thrust.

My teeth pressed together, threatening to crack. Godsdamn was she tight. She gripped me perfectly as I slowly pulled out then pushed back in. I took things slowly at first, using my hold on her lower half to guide her body up and down my shaft.

Meera wrapped her legs around me, her heels pressing into my lower back.

“Faster,” she demanded.

“No,” I replied through gritted teeth.

“Vareck—” she all but whined.

“I’ve been dreaming of you for fucking years. I’m going to take all the time I want to get acquainted with this body and you’re going to be a good girl and take it.”

Her pussy rippled around me as she tried, and failed, to find her release. I pulled out until only the tip remained in her before thrusting deep. Meera’s labored breaths grew strained. Her legs trembled. Instinctively, I knew she was approaching a climax, no matter how slow I decided to take her.

“I—” she started. A beautiful flush crept up her soft, pale skin. “I need—” Her back bowed. “ Please. ”

“Shhh. I know what you need.” I slid one hand across her hip bone, my fingers barely more than a caress as I circled her clit. Her body shook as she neared the edge. Her muscles twitched, squeezing the ever-loving fuck out of my?—

I jerked, eyes flying open.

My heart was a riot in my chest, but there was no mistaking it. I was awake this time. For real.

Still on my side, my arm was wrapped around Meera’s waist. She was pressed against me like a second skin, head cushioned by my arm. I rolled to my back, slowly disentangling myself. Unlike dream-Meera, this one didn’t wake up and try to have her way with me.

I scrubbed a hand over my face. Gods, I was an idiot.

Too warm to relax and still hard as a rock, I climbed out of bed silently. Usually when my dreams ended, I would take care of business in the shower before going on with my day. This time, that felt . . . I shook my head. Everything was a mess, especially my thoughts.

I sighed, collapsing in the armchair. This was a problem.

A quiet moan sounded from the bed.

My eyes sought her before I could think better of it. Meera had moved to her back after having kicked off the blankets. Her thighs rubbed together, seeking friction.

The scent of arousal permeated the air.

I swallowed, fingers wrapping around the armrests in a white knuckled grip.

This was a new form of torture, having her right there and yet so far. My iron clad resolve began to fracture when she whimpered in her sleep. Her brows puckered, like something was bothering her. One tiny hand slid across her belly, dipping beneath her leggings.

I bit my lip and tasted iron. Godsdamn it. I needed to wake her up. This was wrong. Right? And yet, I couldn’t help but wonder if that embarrassment would be worse.

Meera rolled her hips. Her lips were parted, unintelligible sounds coming from them like the sweetest fucking music to my ears.

The wood cracked beneath my fingers. I flinched at the sound and Meera fell silent. Shit. I needed to leave. Even if I couldn’t bring myself to wake her, I shouldn’t be here.

I got to my feet then froze at the sound of my name. “Vareck?” Her voice was husky, like we’d done a lot more than sleep. “Why are you over th—” Her eyes flashed as they dropped down to my pants, seeing the very reason I needed to walk out. I could tell the moment it clicked. The sharp intake of breath only confirmed it.

Meera swallowed hard, looking away. I saved us from the awkwardness of addressing what we both knew. “I’m going to take a cold shower.”

“I didn’t know,” she blurted out. I paused in front of the bathroom door.

“Didn’t know what?” I turned, crossing my arms over my chest. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but her continued denial was getting under my skin. It wasn’t just because she was lying, but for the life of me I couldn’t tell why.

Meera swallowed, still not looking at me. “That you were real. I just thought . . .” She didn’t continue.

“That they were sex dreams,” I finished for her. Meera dipped her chin in the tiniest nod as a deep blush spread across her face. “How long have you had them? ”

I knew what I experienced, and it seemed like we were existing in the same dream, but nothing about this made sense.

Meera hesitated. “They started a few years ago. After the first time I visited Faerie.” She slowly lifted her eyes to meet mine. “You?”

I nodded. “Four years ago. They were on and off the first year . . .” I trailed off, seeing what she would say.

“Then it was almost every night,” she muttered.

Despite my raging hard on, I wasn’t cutting this conversation with her short. Not when she was finally willing to talk. I retook my seat in the armchair, put a pillow on my lap, and rested my elbows on my knees, fingers clasped together.

“And it never occurred to you that I might be real?” I tried to keep the accusation out of my tone. On a logical level, I knew it wasn’t fair to hold it against her. Hell, everyone assumed I was crazy for the last couple of years. Even my own familiar. Yet, I couldn’t help the slight frustration that was there.

She narrowed her eyes. “You do realize that people have dreams all the time, and it doesn’t make them real?”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Do you realize how unlikely it is to dream of someone you’ve never met for years ? Always the same person. Always the same face.”

“I never saw your face when I dreamed of you, but your voice was always the same. I thought I made you up,” she argued defensively.

A thought occurred to me. “How old are you?”

“What?” Her brow puckered in confusion. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

I sighed. This woman. She was going to drive me insane. “I’m fifty-eight. I’ve been around long enough to know that this isn’t normal.”

“I’m twenty-five,” she answered quietly. I nodded, suspecting as much. She was old enough to think it was odd, but not enough to realize just how much.

“Have you even gone through the passage?” I asked, referring to the time in a fae’s life when immortality kicked in. Until that point, we aged just like humans. For most fae, it was around thirty. Some were younger, but I had a suspicion that wasn’t the case here.

Meera confirmed it with a shake of her head. “I don’t even know if I will. Only part high fae, remember?” I had no doubt in my mind she would. If she were this powerful before the passage, she would be a force to be reckoned with across the nine realms after. Something told me she didn’t want to hear that.

“Small fae do too.”

“I don’t know if I’m small fae,” she replied. “I only know I’ve got some high fae because I have persuasion. I might not even be half. I might be half human for all I know. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me. I don’t have any other characteristics. I can lie. I can’t glamour. I don’t—” Her mouth snapped shut, as if she just realized how much she was revealing. Meera’s gaze narrowed again.

“I haven’t compelled you since I brought you here,” I reminded her. “You would know if I had.”

“I still don’t understand why not.” She didn’t sound bitter, only confused.

I shrugged. “I told you, I’d rather get to know you. I’m not going to force you to tell me anything.”

“Outside of Damon?”

My shoulders dropped. “The situation with him . . . it complicates things. ”

“That’s one way of putting it.” Meera snorted. “I really was going to find him and bring him back. That was my plan before I even apprehended him, but then I saw you and everything went to hell in a handbasket.”

“You were going to find him, yet you don’t know where he is,” I said slowly. While she admitted she could lie, I had compelled her to tell me his location when we were in her apartment. This didn’t add up.

“I–” She broke off, biting her lower lip. I could tell she was debating something. I waited, giving her the chance to work through it. She took a couple minutes before finally saying, “I have an ability that lets me find things.”

“Things?”

“Anything,” she corrected. “I assumed it was just objects but then I got the job to take the prince. Turns out it works for that too. I was planning to complete the contract, then turn around and find him again.”

“You told me you wouldn’t have accepted the job if you’d known it was for a person. So why did you finish the job? Would they have been after you if you didn’t?”

“Not exactly.” She sighed. “I don’t know how much I can tell you.”

“That’s not in the contract?”

She shook her head. “There isn't a fine print. It’s magical. When I take a job, it activates. From that point I’m obligated to complete a job. I also can’t talk about the job. That includes what I’m after, where I’m going, where the drop site is, who my broker is, or anything that could reveal another party involved.”

“That still applies after the contract ends?” I asked. She dipped her chin. “Let’s pretend this is the first time you were hired, when whoever it was approached you. I’m assuming they told you all this before you took it?” She nodded again. “Then tell me how it works. What you were told then, before you ever took a contract.”

She pressed her lips together, tilting her head to the side. “That actually might work. Okay, so you asked why I completed the job. No one comes after me. To my understanding, the client hiring doesn’t even know who I am. Only the broker. Once I accept, I have two choices: complete the job or become an indentured servant. Permanently. Doesn’t matter what job it is, that’s always the stipulation.”

My brows shot for my hairline. “That’s extreme,” I said slowly. “Why would you ever accept one to begin with under those terms?”

Meera released a long breath. “Couple reasons. First, because I was broke, and I didn’t want to borrow more money from my family. They would have done it, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask if I had another option. They already supported my dream of owning an antique store, even though they didn’t think it would support me. I can be stubborn sometimes . . .”

“You don’t say?”

A slight smirk tugged at her lips. “I agreed when I was eighteen that I would give it three years to see if I could make it work. If it didn’t, I’d look at getting another job. Well, at the three-year mark, I was only scraping by, but it was just barely enough to make ends meet, and I wasn’t willing to let go. I didn’t want to admit that ‘enough’ wasn’t actually enough. So I told them everything was fine.”

“But it wasn’t,” I said quietly.

Meera nodded. “I felt . . . feel like a failure.” She lowered her head, picking at a loose thread on the blanket that didn’t exist. Embarrassment heated her cheeks. “My contact heard through the grapevine I had a knack for finding things. Approached me right before I was going to be evicted if I didn’t find money fast. The pay was enough to get me caught up. After that, the cycle just continued.”

“Until Damon?”

“Yeah. After that I wasn’t going to take another contract—even if it meant giving up on my dream. Stealing things from rich assholes is one thing, no offense. I’m not okay with ruining lives.”

I tried to smother the grin on my face but failed miserably. “None taken. You said there were a couple reasons you took it.”

“Right,” she shifted her weight around to sit cross-legged on the bed. “I can find anything, even if it’s in a different realm. I took the jobs because there was no real chance that I couldn’t complete them.”

“You still could have been caught,” I pointed out.

Meera snorted. “I’m too good for that.” She paused at the look on my face. “Or I was. As you experienced, I can usually persuade my way out of any problem.”

“That I believe. I’ve never met a fae with persuasion as strong as yours.”

She made a face. “Yeah right. I’m sure loads of people can.”

I cocked my head. “You really don’t realize how much of an anomaly you are, do you?” She shifted again, looking away. “I’ve only ever met two fae that could persuade me—and many have tried.”

Her head snapped back. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. That you could hold both me and Damon at the same time?” I shook my head. “I don’t know what you are, but I don’t think it’s human.”

“I’ve wondered if I could be part witch. I don’t know of a fae that can find things like I can.”

I sat back in the armchair, lifting one leg to rest my ankle on my knee, still keeping the pillow in place. “Do you have a mark?”

Her brows knit together in confusion. “A mark? Like a birthmark?”

“Sort of. You would know it if you had one. Witches are descendants of gods, or demons if you prefer to call them that. They’re one and the same. Each god has a mark that is specific to them. Any witch born from their line could carry it.”

“I’ve never heard that before.”

I smiled, but this time it was sad. “It’s not common knowledge. If a witch has a mark, they usually have remarkable powers, and they generally hide that brand. It can get them killed.”

Her lips parted. “That’s . . .” She shook her head, swallowing hard. “Why?”

“That mark makes a god vulnerable. If they find out a child has formed one, they put an end to it. If someone wanted to kill a god, they’d need to know their true name. And that’s what that mark is: their true name.”

Meera considered that, chewing on a hangnail. “If it’s not common knowledge, how do you know about it? I mean you’re the king, yeah, but I would think that out of everyone, powerful people like you are who they would especially want to hide it from.”

I took a deep breath. The answer to her question had been a secret for a long time, but if I wanted Meera to trust me, I had to be willing to do the same.

“Because . . . my sister had one.”