Constant Cravings (21 page)

“It’s what
I
mean,” he said. “There is nothing on Earth that can come between us.

There is no one strong enough to take you from me.” I pulled back and wiped my eyes as I looked up at him. “Really?”

“Only
you
can ever get rid of me.”

The smile that tugged the corners of his lips also tugged my heart.

“There’s something I want to give you,” he said. “Until you mentioned what Cernunnos said about pregnancy, I’d forgotten I owned it.” 121

Tracey H. Kitts

Liam walked to the far corner of the room and brought back a jewelry box. He placed the box on the table and started to rummage through the contents.

“Okay,” I said, “now I’m intrigued. What does pregnancy have to do with jewelry?”

He looked up at me and smiled. “Everything.”

I was about to ask another question when he presented me with a ring. It was silver with intricate vines carved into its surface. The amethyst stones set into the design matched his eyes. As he slid it onto my finger I gasped. “What—?”

“The best form of birth control the world has ever known,” he joked. “Well, actually, the world knows nothing about it.”

I held up my hand to admire the ring further. “This is beautiful. Are you telling me this
ring
is a form of birth control?”

“It was made by an elven sorceress and blessed by one of the old gods.” I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Which old god?”

“Pan.”

I didn’t know how to react to his answer. Learning that Pan actually existed was more than I could fathom at the moment. Cernunnos was all the deity I could accept for one day. I decided to stick to the subject at hand. “How does it work?”

“It prevents the wearer from becoming pregnant, simple as that. Beats the hell out of the Pill.”

I laughed. “No kidding. I’ve never been able to take the Pill. It disagrees with my body, gives me migraines.” I continued to admire the ring and caught Liam watching me out of the corner of my eye. “Thank you.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

I was thinking that perhaps I could give Nym my supply of condoms. Then thoughts of the elf made me remember he would be there shortly.

“Do we have time for a shower before Nym gets here?” I asked, changing the subject. “I always feel better after a hot shower.”

“Are you sure you’re not just trying to get me in the water again?”

“I promise.”
But it had crossed my mind.

Liam pulled back, but didn’t let go of my hand. “Let’s hurry.” 122

Constant Cravings

Chapter Seventeen

My clothes littered the floor like a trail of breadcrumbs leading to the bathroom.

Thanks to Liam I was relieved of my grief. That didn’t mean I wasn’t upset. The stress of the past few days came crashing down as I watched him slide out of those tight black pants. What if this was the last time I got to look at him? Confusion and worry are a toxic combination and if you don’t find a way to cope, they can suck the life right out of you.

I knew that Liam could see my concern as I looked at him. I also knew that I was looking at the best method of coping I’d ever seen. Liam stepped into the shower and started the water. I was still on the other side of the divider when he said, “Give me a second to block the effects.”

“Don’t,” I said, moving around the corner so that I could see him. I kept my eyes on his feet, not wanting to lose my train of thought just yet. “I want to see you as you truly are. I want to feel the full effect of your power when you stand in the water.”

“Are you certain? The last time I didn’t block my power you had sex with me against a wall in an alley.”

I laughed softly. “What’s the danger here? We’re already in your shower.”

“I don’t want you to lose yourself completely.”

“I do,” I said as I looked up at him.

My breath caught as the water began to saturate his hair and poured down the front of his gorgeous body. Liam reached for me and his smile was like a sunrise to one who had previously lived in darkness.

He stood directly underneath the water, letting it pour over every curve and hollow, caress every sinuous line like a lover’s hand.

“This is what I need,” I said, reaching for him.

Liam held me close and I closed my eyes, pressing my face into the curve of his neck as he bent over me.

“There’s nowhere else I want to be,” I whispered.

With his hand underneath my chin, Liam tilted my face upward. With the gentle touch of his lips I felt his magic course through me. I moaned and he deepened the kiss.

Liam moved his hands to my waist and lifted me against the wall, holding me in place with his body. I wrapped my legs around his waist and before I could wonder how good it was going to feel, he was inside me.

No need to worry about condoms anymore. I wanted to thank him again for the ring, because I loved the feel of his bare cock inside me. He thrust in, deep and slow, holding me against the wall.

123

Tracey H. Kitts

Liam took my face in his hands, his lips hovered against mine, whispering something softly in Faerie and then in English. “I want to watch your face while I make love to you. Show me what you feel in your eyes.” Our lips barely touched and still I could feel the power flowing between us. It was as he’d first described when he told me about fairy kisses. Our souls touched. There was no more need for words. Liam kissed my face as he moved slowly in and out of my aching pussy. It felt as if I was burning from the inside out. A combination of my passion and his magic fueled the fire as I clung to him.

Liam moved faster and I was surprised to hear myself crying. My tears were a mixture of relief to be near him and fear that this might be the last time. What would the world be like without this body, without this face? I ran my hands through his hair and pulled him back enough to look into his eyes.

“I will kill anything that comes near you,” I said, still crying. “Whatever is out there, it can’t have you.”

Liam kissed me hard, pressing me tighter against the shower wall as he reached down and grabbed my ass. He moved faster now and I could feel the first tremor of orgasm beginning deep inside me.

“Come on me,” he whispered.

That was all it took. His sexy words sent me over the edge. I came, hard. I clung to him while my muscles contracted, and felt him shudder with release.

Liam lowered me so that my feet touched the tile, but he continued to support most of my weight. I wrapped my arms around his waist, still overcome with emotion.

“You’re not blocking me from your magic, are you?” I asked.

“Not at all.”

He rubbed my wet hair, slicking it back so he could kiss my forehead.

“Then why am I not in a trance like I was before?”

“For one thing, you haven’t been looking directly at me the whole time. Plus, the rain has a much stronger effect.”

“That’s right. You said your grandmother called it ‘Mother Nature putting her two cents in’. Damn. I really wanted to forget everything.” He laughed softly. “I knew you were trying to get me in the shower for a reason.”

“I really did want a hot shower. I wasn’t trying to use you.” He pulled back and turned his face toward the water. “I don’t mind being used,” he said playfully.

“Really, that wasn’t my intention. But when I mentioned the shower my next thought was getting you underneath the water.”

“Ah-ha.” Liam turned back to me and reached for the shampoo. “Let me wash your hair and try not to worry.”

124

Constant Cravings

“That’s easier said than done. You’re still gorgeous and I can hardly keep from jumping you again, but I was hoping to—”

“Leave the world behind?”

“Yes.”

“I understand.” He put his hands on my shoulders and turned me around. While he started washing my hair, Liam continued to talk. “It means a lot to me to see how much you care, but I’m not lying when I say it’s hard to kill a fairy shaman. Don’t let the word fairy fool you. Besides, it’s not as if we’ve got a duel at dawn or anything. There are still a lot of questions left to be answered and two nasty barghests to track down. Maybe what you need is not to forget, but to focus all your attention on the task at hand.

Sometimes it’s impossible for me to not worry. If that’s your problem, you could always help me with spellwork, ingredients and whatever else I might need.” His suggestion sounded more than reasonable and I was relieved to have somewhere to focus my nervous energy.

“You mean making myself useful might help?” I said sarcastically.

His long fingers paused and I sighed, wanting him to get back to massaging my scalp.

“You are always useful. You know what I meant.”

“Well, as long as we’re focusing on the tasks at hand, I’ve got a question for you. If Cernunnos is a demigod, why does he answer to Oberon? Shouldn’t a demigod trump a king?”

Liam tilted my head back and started to rinse my hair.
Damn. I could get used to this.

“He doesn’t exactly answer to Oberon so much as they have an arrangement. I’ve never known the particular details.”

Maybe one day I’d work up the nerve to ask this question to Cernunnos.

“Whatever started their arrangement,” Liam continued, “happened long before I was born. I don’t remember ever hearing anyone speak of it. But you’re right. In my reasoning at least, a demigod trumps a king.”

I laughed softly as I wondered what Cernunnos might have done to get himself in such a situation. Yes, I naturally assumed it was his fault.

“Maybe he slept with someone he shouldn’t have and Oberon didn’t go along with that whole ‘screwing a demigod doesn’t count’ business.” The shaman’s laughter echoed in the shower. “You’re probably not far off.

Underneath all his bravado, the Horned God has a very strong sense of justice. I could see him volunteering his services to make up for some sort of error in judgment.”

“Or he and Oberon might be lovers,” I suggested.

I glanced at Liam who looked as if this thought had never occurred to him. “Could be,” he said thoughtfully. “If that’s the case, at least Oberon and I aren’t blood relations.”

125

Tracey H. Kitts

“That’s sick,” I said, laughing.

“As I said, it’s something I’m glad of. I have never shared a lover with a relative and have no intention of starting. Even with a demigod.” His words had a light tone, but I could tell this was something Liam felt strongly about. Not that I blamed him. The thought grossed me out too.

Liam put some body wash in his hands and started lathering me up. I was really enjoying this. As he caressed my back I ran through a few more possible connections in my mind, trying desperately to put all the pieces together.

“Hmm. The former executioner that Cernunnos mentioned, do you think any of this has anything to do with him?”

“His name was Ja-rel.”

“I thought you weren’t allowed to speak his name.”

“Cernunnos isn’t allowed to speak his name. I’m already unseelie, so what the hell do I care?” He stopped lathering me up and I turned to face him. “Now that you mention it, I’m not sure. I heard that Ja-rel had a family, but I never knew them. It’s been twenty-five years since his execution and since I last said his name or even heard it.”

“What was he executed for?”

“Trying to overthrow the king.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t the fae think of anything besides power?” He laughed. “Do humans?”

“Fair point.”

We finished our shower and moved back into the bedroom. I was wearing a purple robe I’d borrowed from Liam and towel drying my hair when I looked at the clock.

“It’s been an hour and twenty minutes. Do you think Nym is lost again?”

“Shit. I didn’t realize it’d been that long.” He was already wearing a long, black robe and started slipping into a pair of matching pants. “I’d better go put a sign out front.”

He took a piece of poster board from the closet in the hallway and I followed him into the kitchen.

“You’re seriously going to make a sign?”

“What? It’ll work. Besides, this saves me the trouble of standing out in the cold and flagging him down.”

“Why doesn’t he just bring Aurora?”

“She must be working tonight or he’d have thought of that by now.” I watched, laughing as he wrote with a marker, “Hot elf wanted, seek position inside.” He added at the bottom, “And bring the sign with you.” 126

Constant Cravings

“I don’t want anyone else to see it,” he explained.

I didn’t point out that I’m sure someone else would read the sign before Nym brought it inside. The thought was too entertaining.

Liam then spoke a few words over the sign and sprinkled it with some kind of glitter.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.

I assumed he was going to tape the sign to the mailbox, because he didn’t have a stake. While Liam was gone, I decided to take a quick look at the books he’d left on the table in his bedroom. One of them was a bestiary. I scanned the index quickly and had just turned to the page labeled “barghest” when Liam walked back in.

The image I saw provoked all sorts of emotions in me, not the least of which was revulsion.

“Holy shit. You’ve got to be kidding me.” I turned the picture toward him. “We’re going looking for
this
? On purpose?”

Liam moved toward me with a grace I admired, especially after all we’d been through lately. His motions, like his sex appeal, seemed effortless.

“I’m afraid so. Keep in mind, this is only one person’s perception of what a barghest looks like. Think about it. How many different ways have you seen a werewolf portrayed in pictures? That’s not even counting movies.” I looked at the frightening image again. At a glance, I could understand how this creature might be mistaken for a werewolf. Upon closer inspection, there was something different about its face. The jaw was larger and more angular than that of a werewolf. The ears were longer and came to extreme points. Plus, it didn’t have fur on its face or ears and the skin in this area appeared slightly green. The claws were longer than pictures I’d seen of a werewolf and so were its arms. However, the rest of the body had a wolfman look to it. To the untrained observer like myself, it looked like a werewolf. A really fucking ugly one.