Page 7 of Slaying With Sylphs (Haven Ever After #6)

CHAPTER SEVEN

DIRK

T he color drains from Louanna’s face, her mouth dropped open to form a perfect, delicate O. “You must be shitting me. Are you for real?”

I play with the end of her long braid, smiling. I know this is a shock for her. And I’ve seen her stare at Connall. She wants him. As she should.

“Serious as a fookin’ heart attack, my love.”

“I’m not your love,” she grumbles.

Well, I cannae have that, so I grab her hand and shove it against my chest, above my gem nestled between my pecs. My power streaks across my skin to gather under her palm, sparking and flashing as it connects with her.

“If you were anyone but my woman, this would shock the shit outta yeh, Louanna, as I’ve said. It doesn’t shock Connall either.”

Her fingers curl against my skin as her amber eyes land on mine. “You’ve touched him?”

I grin. “What do yeh think about that, my sweet? Me touching him. Him touching me. Both of us touching yer beautiful self.”

Pink dusts her cheeks. “I…I don’t know. I haven’t considered it.”

“No?” I reach out to stroke my fingertips down her jawline. “Pretty sure that’s a lie, my sweet.”

“Well,” she hedges, “are you planning to drag him up to a rooftop sometime soon to have this same convo? Shall we turn it into a mating production line?”

I grip her chin and force her gaze not to waver from mine. “I may be all charm, my darlin’, but the love? That’s only for the two o’ yeh.”

Her pink cheeks flush to red, but when she opens her mouth to say something, I jerk my head to the forest. “We’re gonna miss the show, Louanna. Shall we get going?”

It’s clear to see her struggle with the concept of spying on Connall.

“Don’t think of it as spying, my sweet,” I say. “I’m a hunter, so let’s go hunt.”

Louanna nips at her lower lip. “I don’t know if I’m in a good headspace to date anyone, much less this idea you have of all three of us. I just…I’m dealing with a lot right now. And if you think he’s your mate, you should be pursuing him, not acting creepy.”

“Mmm.” I stroke the shell of her ear as I don’t agree or disagree. “We’ll take it as slowly or quickly as yeh like. Just know that yeh’ve got my full attention, Louanna. Let me prove how good I can be. And don’t worry about me telling Connall. I will.”

Amber eyes flicker with an emotion I read as uncertainty, but she nods.

“Let me hear yeh say it with a playful wink: ‘Yes, Mister Zefferus.’”

She slaps my chest again, pulling her emotional armor back on. “I’m not repeating that. Once was enough; it’ll just encourage you.”

“Tae be honest, Louanna, there’s no stoppin’ an elemental male when he sets his eyes on his prize.”

She rolls her eyes. “Well, perhaps you should start by explaining more about that. What do elemental mating traditions look like? Is it all spying and secrets, or is there some part of dating you that would feel normal to a human and a shifter?”

I snort and grip her hand. “Normal? Not in the slightest, doll. But I can’t wait to show yeh what that means for us.” Glancing to the forest where Connall disappeared, I rub my gem. “I don’t need my gem tae fly. It does help to cement and strengthen my power a bit, but I can fly without it in my current form. Otherwise, it works the same way, so we’ll just step off the roof intae the air.”

Lou glances over the side of the roof to the ground two stories below us. “Umm, are you?—”

“Sure? Yeah. Trust me for the second time tonight?”

She nods and stands, reaching for my hand. “Kind reminder that I am terrified of being dropped.”

I spin her in my arms and pull her against my front again. “Never, my sweet.” And with that, I step backward and pull us into midair.

L ou screams as we fall, but before we hit the ground, I take off into the trees. Gods, I hope Connall didnae hear that shriek.

Lou grabs at the arm wrapped around her middle and threads her feet through my legs, gripping me tightly. We fly quickly through the forest, past beautifully aging pines with ferns growing thick around their bases. Minutes later, we come to the clearing, and, like always, Connall’s stopped on one side, leaning against a tree, just hidden in the shadows of its broad branches.

I stop far enough away that he cannae hear us, alighting on one of the lower tree limbs. It’s broad enough for me to sit on it with Louanna caged between my thighs. I position her there, keeping one arm around her middle. Her heart flutters wildly, her pulse pounding just under her skin.

“Keep quiet,” I murmur in her ear. “We’re just outta range of his hearing, but a lively shout would call his attention.”

“Maybe I’ll do that, then,” she snarks. “Something like, ‘Hey, over here! Dirk wants to fuck you!’”

“Good. Do it.” I grab her braid and pull it over her back so I can lift it to my nose and breathe in. “I’m gonna mightily enjoy this.”

Across the clearing, Connall glances at his comm watch. I don’t know what he’s looking for, but he drops both hands to his waist, staring around. A time or two, I’ve thought he knew I was here, but like Louanna, he’s never said a word. And I’ve watched. A lot.

Lou hisses in a breath when Connall reaches for the button of his jeans and opens it. He slides the zipper down, his heavy cock falling thick and hard from the opening. I’ve stared at it a million times, but I’m certain Louanna hasn’t had a chance to see how gloriously perfect it is.

“I’ve gotten close enough to see the veins,” I whisper in her ear. “When I’m in wind form, I can hover right beside him, spin his hair up a bit while he touches himself.”

“Getting creepier by the minute,” she hisses.

“Not creepy when yeh both belong tae me,” I remind her. “I mentioned this earlier, but it bears saying again, Louanna. There are no lengths a sylph male won’t go to to claim his mate or mates. No lengths whatsoever.”

“So you’ve said.”

Like always, Connall rubs the mushroom tip of his cock first, wetting his fingers with his tongue. And like every time I watch him jack off, I imagine wetting those fingers myself, or dropping tae my knees on the forest floor and helping.

Soon.

He plays with the tip for a long moment, rubbing and squeezing. I hold back a groan as my cock responds, hardening against Louanna’s back.

“Oh my gods, Dirk,” she mutters as she elbows me in the side.

“We can play this one o’ two ways, Louanna,” I say, brushing my mouth along the soft skin below her right ear. “I can touch yeh while he touches himself. Or I can whisper filth in your ear and not touch yeh at all. What’s yer preference?”

When she doesn’t answer, I chuckle, my eyes still on Connall across the glade.

We watch together as he strokes his cock with slow, measured movements. If I could get closer, I’d see that his cheeks are flushed pink, his mouth open and eyes rolling back in his head.

Louanna is stiff between my thighs, her heart racing.

“He moans your name when he comes,” I whisper into her ear. “Sometimes it explodes from him in a great bellow while he coats his fingers with seed. Louanna,” I say on a low groan, mimicking words I’ve heard from Connall, “get on your knees, woman.”

Her heart rate speeds up.

“He’s got jest as filthy a mouth as I do, my sweet.”

“Dirk, stop,” she whispers. But she presses harder against me, slinging one arm around my thigh as if I’m her lifeline.

“Never.” I press a tender, teasing kiss to the base of her neck. Then another just above it. “I’ll never stop lavishing you with praise, with attention, with whatever yeh need, Louanna.”

She’s silent, but her fingers curl around my knee, tightening as Connall continues fucking one hand. But when he cries out, her name audible from even this far away, Louanna moans. Connall brings his free hand to his cock and fucks hard through both fists, his cries rising and rising until he comes with a roar, back arching as cum spurts from him.

And her name falls from his lips like a godsdamned prayer, his body jerking as his spend coats the forest floor. In my arms, Louanna pants as she covers her mouth with her left hand, her body hard and hot against mine.

“Yeh could be comin’ now too, my sweet, if yeh’d allowed me to touch yeh.”

A muffled, frustrated groan is my answer. I nip playfully at her neck, following the bite with the barest hint of tongue.

“Imagine this mouth between yer thighs. Or between his. Or both of our mouths on yer sweet pussy. I cannae wait to do that with yeh.”

This time, she doesn’t chide me or remind me why it cannae happen. She presses harder against me, her muscles quivering with need.

I’ve always read monsters well, something I have tae do to perform my job duties. Which is how I know to give her a moment of space. I’ve teased enough for now. Jest like I’ll tease him soon.

Across the long, thin glade, Connall wipes both hands down his handsome, angular jaw. He tucks that gorgeous cock back into his jeans and zips them up, shaking his head. He turns for the forest and jogs away, leaving Louanna and me alone in the tree.

She watches him go, but once he’s gone, she spins in my arms and cocks her head to the side. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you? About us? And him?”

I nod, stroking her collarbone toward her shoulder. “I am, Louanna. Consider this our first date. First of many.”

She gives me a wry look. “And you plan on letting Connall in on this when?”

“Immediately,” I confirm. “But just like with you, I’ve been playing the long game with our wolf. He’s a little flightier than you are.”

She snorts. “Flighty, huh? He seems about as grounded, loyal and reliable as they come.”

I smile. “He’s never been with a man, Louanna.”

Her expression softens. “How do you know?”

“I listen to his therapy sessions sometimes, and one of the other wolves brought up being attracted to a friend.”

The red in her cheeks grows deeper. “Dirk! You can’t fly around spying on people all the time!”

“It’s literally what I get a paycheck for,” I remind her, curling one brow high.

“When you’re investigating crimes. In the human world, we have laws about this.”

“Well,” I say with a snort, “all laws have nuance, Louanna. And in the elemental world, there’s almost nothing you can get in trouble for if it’s done in pursuit of your mate. Even murder.” I let that sink in for a moment.

“Murder?” Her brows go straight to the top o’ her forehead.

“Yep,” I confirm with a pop of the P. “Elemental mate bonds are undeniable. For one of us to pursue someone when a mate bond has been identified is a capital crime in my culture, punishable by death. It’s typical for a mate to deliver that punishment.”

Lou opens her mouth as if she’ll start asking me questions. I can almost see her mind spinning around what I’ve jest shared. Sylphs are secretive, living often solitary lives in a singular haven on the opposite side of the world. Not many have experience living in a haven with one. Which is why me and Minnie dog showing up to hunt criminals is always an invigorating experience. I love to surprise monsters.

I can’t wait to keep surprising my two.

“Let’s go, Louanna. I want to tell him how I feel right now.”

Her eyes go wide and she sputters in shock as I pull her off the branch, depressing my gem at the same time. We disappear into the wind, gusting after him.