Page 20 of Incurably Cupid (Moonhaven Cove #5)

Chapter 20

Indie

“To love deeply is to cherish.”

Cupid Inc. New Recruit Training Manual

W e circled the behemoth cruise ship once or twice in the helicopter before touching down on the landing pad. The ride had been new and enjoyable for me, but Mesmer was an emotional wreck, and I spent the entire journey quietly reassuring him that we would arrive on time and that the king was not an idiot—he would be on high alert. For that matter, I’d heard Sebastian Solace wasn’t an idiot either.

Both men awaited us at the landing pad as we descended from the helicopter. At least, I assumed the second man was Sebastian Solace. He had black hair, dark green eyes, and the vampire attractiveness that they all seemed to possess.

Sebastian moved first to shake Mesmer’s hand, then mine, while King Draven regarded Mesmer with a concerned frown. “I assume you found something during your time of enforced rest,” he said pointedly, giving Mesmer a brief hug before shaking my hand.

The men who filed out of the helicopter behind me were carrying our belongings, so I was free to hold Mesmer’s hand. We hadn’t had enough room in the helicopter for Lance, but Leo was safely tucked in my satchel.

Mesmer nodded respectfully. “Yes, Sire. I’m grateful for the short vacation you’ve given me to find my mate,” he said tonelessly. He was clearly experienced at trying to outwit the king—or, at the very least, keeping up with him often enough to protect him from those who wished to harm him.

Now that I thought about it, to keep pace with the king, one had to be exceptionally intelligent. Not that I ever doubted Mesmer’s intelligence—I’d seen it often enough over the past year—but he was perhaps more intelligent than I realized, because, as everyone knew, King Draven was a genius.

Speaking of genius.

King Draven had already noticed my hand in Mesmer’s even before Mesmer spoke, but at his words, a wide smile broke across the king’s handsome face. “Indie is your mate?” He joyfully stepped forward to hug Mesmer again, then me, which surprised me so much that I blinked at him dazedly. “I’m so happy for you two! Congratulations!”

Mesmer looked at me tenderly, then back to his friend. “Thank you, Sire. Can we talk? Privately?”

Sebastian nodded, made a few gestures to what I assumed was his security team, and we all began moving away from the helicopter platform. “Of course. Let’s head to my office.”

We walked across the private deck to a posh, private elevator that took us directly to Sebastian’s office. I found a seat near Mesmer, while the rest of the security team we’d brought with us filed out and stood guard in the hallway.

Sebastian offered King Draven the seat behind his desk, but the king shook his head and settled onto the couch. “What’s happened?”

Mesmer squeezed my hand and then began explaining to the vampire king what we’d discovered. I brought Leo into the conversation, and he supported both Felix’s account and Mesmer’s with data he’d obtained from encrypted files on the servers he’d infiltrated. Lunch was ordered, and I ate while everyone spoke around me. When it came time for my part in the plan, I carefully outlined my idea, and everyone agreed that it could work and that it gave us an advantage.

By early evening, I was exhausted. Sebastian, Mesmer, and I got off on Deck 17, The Stargazer Deck, while King Draven and his security remained in the elevator. Evidently, his deck was above ours.

“I’m sorry to just crash onto your ship,” Mesmer said regretfully. “Thank you for finding rooms for us.”

I snorted. As long as the king and consort were on board, Mesmer would have crashed this ship, even if it belonged to the President of the United States.

Mesmer shot me a look, and I smiled innocently. He shook his head, his lip curling in a small smile.

“It’s no problem,” Sebastian assured him. Mr. Solace looked tired. I imagined it was difficult when your wife was newly pregnant, and you were constantly worried about her and the baby’s safety, as well as the safety of the king of vampires, who’d decided to take a joyride on your ship.

I felt a little sorry for him.

“We always leave several rooms open for unexpected guests.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Do you often have people arriving by helicopter mid-cruise?”

His laugh was weary. “You’d be surprised. Here we are.” He used a card key to open first my suite, then Mesmer’s, and handed both key cards to us. “My cruise director, Rafe, will bring a packet of information about the ship, the activities on board, and the various restaurants.” He smiled. “I know you’re not here to shop or see shows, but I wanted to make you aware of them just in case.”

Mesmer nodded. “We appreciate that.”

Sebastian handed me a card. “This is my personal line. If you need anything, anything at all, please let me know.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded and briskly left, probably to go hunt down his wife and check that she was alright. I’d heard from two cupids talking in the logicians' break room how he’d discovered his wife was pregnant, and I almost fell out of my seat laughing. Of course, everyone had looked at me oddly because I’d been sitting alone, but it didn’t matter. Just that little story had made me chuckle for weeks.

I wasn’t one to gossip—I thought it was rude and sometimes cruel—but Mesmer looked in need of a pick-me-up, and this wasn’t really gossip since the whole ship had seen it happen, so I dragged him into my room and told him the story.

His laughter was much more controlled than mine had been, but he still left my room looking cheerier than he had been.

Mission accomplished.

Later that evening, we had dinner in the Starlight Lounge, a private venue on the top deck. Sebastian had closed it off to everyone else but those in our group, and I got to meet his wife, Grace, and their tiger, Kazi.

King Draven was waiting with Sebastian, but I didn’t see Mia anywhere yet. Mesmer greeted him and looked happy to be back with his king.

Grace hugged me, looking stunning in a white, shimmery mermaid gown with a little baby bump. “I love your hair and wings!” she said. “Do you mind if I use you as my inspiration for a cupid romance I’m writing?”

I laughed. “Of course not. But if you really want a great cupid for your book, you should meet my friend Mordecai.”

Appetizers arrived—crab-stuffed mushrooms, bacon-wrapped dates, lobster cheddar rolls, and more—and everyone fell silent as we focused on eating. I was starving since I hadn’t eaten since yesterday. Grace was slowly tearing pieces off a lobster cheddar roll but wasn’t really eating, and Mesmer was pushing his food around his plate. Sebastian and I exchanged rueful smiles before we quietly encouraged our partners to eat something. They both needed the nourishment.

Consort Mia arrived late, accompanied by a slew of bodyguards who all looked like they were taking their job of protecting her very seriously. She hugged Grace, greeted me and Mesmer warmly, and then took a seat.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said, placing her napkin on her lap. “I was trying to win a hand of poker against Grace’s mom, Mamma Liora, but she cleaned me out,” she added ruefully.

Grace took a sip of her ice water and shook her head with a knowing grin. “I tried to warn you. Mama’s a card shark.”

Mia laughed and kissed her husband, who was seated next to her. They spoke quietly for a moment, probably him checking on her, before the king returned to his discussion with the other men at the table, and Mia turned to us, holding up a bright pink bat.

“Mama Liora has instructed me to carry this with me at all times," Mia said, her tone amused. "Even to the bathroom.”

Grace nodded, her expression serious. “That bat has come in handy one too many times in our lives. Follow Mama’s advice.”

We all placed our dinner orders, but as we were a large group, it took some time for our meals to arrive. Sebastian had mentioned earlier that each dish for the king and consort would be tested for poisons or sleeping draughts before being served. I think they even had a shifter and a vampire in the kitchen testing it by scent. I was just relieved when the main meal finally came out.

I wasn’t a fan of seafood, so I ordered a chicken salad and a bowl of chicken tortilla soup with buttery, soft rolls on the side for dipping. I’d also pre-ordered dessert, much to the amusement of the girls.

“I need something sweet,” I explained. “It’s essential for survival. Besides, it makes me nicer, I’m sure of it.”

Grace chuckled, but Mia gave me a bemused look, then squinted at me until she burst into laughter. “You and my friend Dice are so much alike. I wish she were here so I could introduce you two.”

I waved my fork. “Did you just... do a little reading on me?”

She smirked and shrugged.

I set down my fork. “What did you find?” It had to have been something harmless, right? Otherwise, she wouldn’t have laughed.

She shrugged again. “You have a good heart, but you’re... prickly on the outside.”

And Mesmer, demonstrating his ability to follow two conversations at once, squeezed my hand in agreement with Mia’s words.

Mia turned toward Mesmer. “I’m so glad to see you’re doing better, Mes. I was really worried about you.”

Mesmer gave a modest nod, his eyes softening with affection. “I was concerned about you too. I’m glad you’re feeling better. I’m sorry I worried you. Indie’s been taking good care of me.”

Mia glanced toward where our clasped hands were hidden under the table, and her expression softened. “I can tell,” she teased, causing his cheeks to turn pink.

“Huh, I didn’t even know gargoyles could blush,” I remarked, observing my mate’s flustered face.

Mia laughed. “I didn’t either until I met Mesmer, but he’s a sweetie.”

Mesmer, who looked like he could take out a tank and win, blushed deeper and expertly ignored his friend, turning his attention back to the conversation at the other side of the table.

Mia, clearly entertained, laughed at his bashfulness, and I was fascinated by this new side of my mate. I didn’t think cupids could blush; I thought it might be physically impossible for us. I found the fact that my mate blushed adorable but kept my thoughts to myself.

Suddenly, Mordecai blinked in from the ether, standing squarely on the middle of the table with Lady, Mesmer’s enthusiastic dog, in tow. Chaos ensued. Vampires tackled him to the floor while Lady barked furiously, standing on the table right near Mesmer, and growling fiercely at anyone who dared come near him. Mordecai was shouting, “Get off! Get off!” and the ladies sitting in front of me seemed alarmed.

King Draven, however, after a brief and understandable protective reaction toward his wife, sat back down and resumed eating his dinner.

His wife glared at him, but he shrugged. “Look at Mesmer.”

Consort Mia glanced at Mesmer beside me, who was eating just as placidly, and said, “Oh.”

“What does ‘oh’ mean?” Grace asked, keeping a hold on Kazi, the mountain lion, just in case he decided to join in the fun.

Consort Mia shrugged. “Mesmer is incredibly protective of us. If he’s eating, then we have nothing to worry about.”

I laughed as I observed the chaos around me, and then laughed so hard that I had to lean on Mesmer for support when Mordecai started squawking for me to rescue him. I nudged my mate, who, with a long-suffering sigh, got up to talk to the vampires that currently had Mordecai pinned to the floor. They were in the process of cuffing him.

“He’s one of ours.”

The vampires nodded, removed the cuffs, and released Mordecai.

I followed my mate and grinned down at my friend. “You know, before they tackled you, you could have blinked back into the ether,” I said, helping him to his feet.

“I couldn’t think!” he wailed. “Suddenly, massive vampires were tackling me to the ground.” He rubbed his knees. “I think they bruised my knees,” he pouted.

“Why did you bring Lady?” Mesmer asked, holding onto his overzealous dog as she tried to kiss every part of him that she could.

I was worried she would re-open some of his wounds, so I called out, “Lady, sit!” She immediately plunked her butt down on the floor, and I rubbed her fluffy head. “Good girl,” I praised. She grinned at me, her tongue lolling out of her mouth.

“I had to,” Mordecai complained, rubbing her ears. “She stopped eating.”

Sebastian strolled up to us and gave Lady a once-over. “Kazi does too if he's away from me for too long.” He let Lady smell his hand, and when she seemed fine with him, rubbed her nose and behind her ears. “She’s huge. She’s even bigger than Kazi.”

Mesmer chuckled. “Sorry, sir. I’ve never been away from her for very long since I adopted her as a puppy.”

Sebastian waved off Mesmer’s apologies. “It’s no trouble. Maybe Kazi will take a liking to her. He hasn’t had an animal friend in a long while. I think he misses having four-legged companions.”

He turned toward the table and called him. “Kazi.”

Kazi, in typical mountain lion fashion, slunk toward us with sinuous grace. He paused when he came level with his human and gazed at Lady, who still had her tongue lolling out of her mouth and a happy grin on her face. She didn’t seem to mind a mountain lion less than five paces away from her. She was either a very brave dog or seriously thought she could make friends with everyone.

Sebastian snorted. “I think they have the same personality. Kazi is just cooler about it.”

Mesmer grinned. “Yeah, Lady has no cool and definitely no chill. She wants to be friends with the entire world.”

Sebastian looked down at Kazi. “Do you want to hang out with Lady?”

Kazi looked at Lady again, then seemed to chuff in agreement. “Don’t hurt her, Kazi,” Sebastian warned, and then walked back toward his pregnant wife and his cooling dinner.

“Lady, you okay with Kazi?” Mesmer asked, releasing the clip of her leash, curling it up, and stuffing it into his pocket.

Lady bounded forward and tackled Kazi with a happy yip, kissing him wherever she could in hellos and how-do-you-dos.

Kazi yowled indignantly and batted Lady gently away from him with soft, claws-sheathed paws. But Lady was undeterred, and finally, Kazi submitted to the indignity, ears pinned back and a patient expression on his face. When Lady stopped kissing him, his ears pricked forward again, and they started romping around the room, both being very gentle with each other.

“Well, I’ve seen everything now,” I said to Mesmer, who had his arm wrapped around my waist. I noticed he didn’t like to have me very far from him, and he always seemed to need skin-to-skin contact.

I didn’t mind.

“I think, in a certain way, you’re too good for me,” I said, looking up at him seriously. “You’re one of the kindest people I know.” I shook my head, frustrated. “I’m not.”

He held me close in a gentle hug. His gray eyes were warm with feeling. “I love you just the way you are, Indie.”

I went on tiptoe to kiss him back. “I love you too.”