Guardian (20 page)

Once outside I walked rapidly away from the mouth of the cave, not willing to have Ian overhear my conversation with Keane but conscious of the need to stay close for Ian’s sake. When I figured we had enough space between us and the cave I turned to my fellow Monad. “Ian is working with both the elves and the Faeries to try to figure out who’s behind the current trouble.”

“And has he made progress?”

I shook my head. “He knows some of the minor players, but he hasn’t been able to trace the plot past them, to whoever is pulling the strings.”

Keane frowned. “Who are these ‘minor players’ as you call them?”

I hesitated only briefly, deciding I could trust him with at least that much knowledge. “An elf named Aubrie…”

“I know of him,” Keane interrupted, “he is fairly close to Faerydae is he not?”

I nodded. “Very close. Close enough to create a danger to the queen if she is not extremely careful in her handling of him.”

Keane nodded, understanding the complexity of that situation fully. It was the type of thing we faced on Olympus regularly. The exact thing we were facing now…though I wasn’t willing to let him know that much yet.

“The other is a faery named Dawnia. They are apparently working together at the behest of someone who is powerful enough to move among the various magical populations, stirring unrest…” I narrowed my eyes at him, “…as well as within the human sphere.”

Keane swore. “This is catastrophic!”

I nodded, agreeing completely.

“Have you any idea who it might be?”

I kept my face carefully blank and shook my head. “Obviously Tana and Faerydae are prime suspects.”

Keane nodded. “Obviously.”

A thought suddenly occurred and I almost smiled. It would be a way to throw Keane off the scent of what Ian and I were doing until we knew we could trust him. And it would be a practical exercise in weeding out the two Queens as suspects. “That is where you can help us.”

Keane frowned, “Me? How?”

I need you to make an Ambassadorial visit to each of the Queens. Spend some time with them. See if you can figure out how involved they are with the plot. And while you’re there you can keep an eye on our suspects.”

“I can do that.” He frowned, “But what will you and the half breed be doing?”

I winced, glancing toward the cave. If Ian heard himself referred to as a half breed I was pretty sure there would be bloodshed. “I wouldn’t taunt him were I you, Keane Warrior Monad. He’s a very powerful creature.”

Keane just shrugged. Like most of the men I knew, he viewed himself as invincible and more important than everyone else. Particularly someone whom he apparently viewed as a rival. He wouldn’t bother to be perturbed by Ian if he weren’t just a little threatened by him. “I fear him not.”

I shook my head and turned away, hoping he’d forget he’d asked me a question. “Fair travels, friend. I’ll contact you as soon as I get this metal removed from my wrist.”

“Nuria.”

I winced, stopping, and answered without turning. “Yes?”

“What are you up to?”

I blew out a silent sigh and turned. “Ian and I are trying to locate the leader of this plot.”

His pretty eyes were narrowed in suspicion. “And you have some idea who that is don’t you?”

This at least I could answer honestly. “No. But we are working very hard to find that out. You must trust me,
friend
.” My voice softened on the last word, bringing Keane’s dark head up in surprise.

We rarely used such endearments, and only when our emotions were high.

He stared at me for a long moment and then gave me a brisk nod. “As you wish. Contact me as soon as you can. I only wish to help.”

I watched him turn and walk away, feeling guilty for not entirely trusting him. And at the same time, wondering if I’d just pushed away a valuable ally when I needed one most. As Keane disappeared into the dense greenery around the cave I turned and ducked back inside.

Ian was alone in the cave, bending over a small fire that now held a coffee pot. He looked up when I entered.

“Where’s the angel?”

He stood up, glancing behind me for Keane. “She’s gone to plead our case. Is the Monad gone?”

I nodded.

“Will he cause trouble?”

I walked over to the fire, suddenly feeling cold down to my deepest center. “I don’t think so. I’ve asked him to drop in on the Queens under the guise of an Ambassadorial visit. They will be less guarded with him, assuming that he knows nothing of what is going on.”

“An inspired idea, Nuria.” His voice was suspiciously soft and I looked up.

I gasped. He stood just inches away, his body heat calling to me as I shivered beside the fire.

Ian reached out and pulled me into his arms. I nearly sighed as a wave of instant pleasure caused by his heat and the feel of his hard body swept over me. “We are alone at last, drunkin’ spirit.”

I shivered again, this time from the meaning throbbing behind his soft words. I tucked my face into his neck and inhaled the musky scent of him. It sent pleasure spearing through my body and wetness pooling between my thighs.

His big hands rubbed up my back and into my hair, tangling there. Ian used my hair to pull my head gently back and his lips dropped toward mine. “It is time we finished this.”

His breath swept my face and I felt my knees buckling beneath me. Ian tightened his grip around my waist and my feet nearly left the ground as he pulled me up and into the soft onslaught of his hungry lips.

Of their own volition my hands wrapped around his densely muscled forearms and held on as the world swayed around me. I closed my eyes against the feeling that my world had broken from its moorings. Beneath my toes, all that was left on the ground as Ian pulled me up hard into his body, the dirt and rock floor of the cave seemed to roll and tilt.

I gasped as Ian slid his hands from my hair, over my back, and down to grasp my buttocks, yanking me up so that I rode the hard ridge of hot flesh at the juncture of his thighs. I moaned and ground myself against him, certain I couldn’t get him inside my body fast or deeply enough.

Ian bent over and started to lower me toward the ground. I braced myself for the cold, hard earth and was pleasantly surprised when I landed on dense softness. Ian grinned at my look of shock and lowered himself on top of me, the heat from his body dissipating any residual chill I might have been harboring.

I grinned up at him. “You magicked a bed? I wasn’t aware that was one of your skills.”

He shrugged. “I have many skills you are unaware of drunkin’ spirit.”

My grin became a leer. “Prove it.”

Ian’s lips tipped further and lowered to blaze a trail down my throat. “Do not fear, I fully intend to.”

And then his lips found mine again and all thought left my traitorous brain. My body became nothing more than an endless supply of pleasurable feeling, so much so that I barely noticed when Ian removed our clothes with deft, efficient movements.

All I knew was that he was suddenly, gloriously naked above me. His long body was dark, hot, and hard against my pale softness. I was so overwrought by the feel of him that I was nearly panting. Every inch of my sensitized flesh called to every particle of his wondrous body.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled, bringing a delicious hardness into the vee of my thighs and rubbing myself hard against him.

Ian responded by groaning against my lips. “Have you been in the ambrosia again, drunkin’ spirit?”

I shook my head, chuckling huskily. “Nope. This is all me…eee…hhh…ooohhhh!” I gasped as Ian slid the tip of his hard shaft into me.

“This is all me too,” he murmured huskily as he drove his full length into my body.”

I cried out and flung back my head, feeling every thick, rigid inch of him as it rasped delightfully against my sensitive internal nerve endings and then scraped wonderfully back out again. My body shuddered against the wave of pure pleasure that swamped me as Ian’s teeth closed gently over my lower lip and nibbled there.

I lifted my legs and wrapped them around his narrow hips, pulling him closer and lifting my hips to drive him more deeply inside my body.

Ian groaned and released my lip, throwing his head back and picking up the tempo of his glorious assault on my body.

The wave of pleasure that had been building inside me suddenly rose up and washed over me. I screamed his name as I went under, my entire body clenching with my release. As soon as I hit the bottom of the wave I swam up again, clinging to his driving flesh with something very close to frenzy and driving my fingers into his hair to pull his full, soft lips down to mine.

Ian’s body reacted to my climax by driving more deeply and quickly into me. He reached under me to lift my hips, allowing him his hard length to drive so deep he sent me screaming into another shuddering orgasm.

It was finally too much for Ian. He fell over with me, growling out my name as his body reached the culmination of his pleasure, and writhing against me as the after affects slid through him, seemingly unable to stop moving inside my body.

I closed my eyes and sank back into the soft bed he’d conjured, wondering if my body would ever be able to do without him again. My muscles were wonderfully loose and, looking down, I realized my toes were tightly curled.

Ian lowered his forehead to mine and pressed a gentle kiss on my lips. It was filled with the feelings his body still shuddered to contain. I slid my fingers through his hair and returned the kiss with equal feeling.

I wasn’t a bit surprised when his body started to move within mine again.

I sank neck deep into the heated pool and sighed as the wonderful achiness in my body smoothed out under the effects of the hot mineral water. A few yards away, in the area of the cave where we’d slept, I could hear Ian dispersing the fire and removing all evidence of our passing.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew the fun was over for a while, we had all manner of intrigue and challenges ahead of us and I knew our very lives were at risk. But for just that moment I wanted to enjoy the way my body felt. And the fact that Ian was mine for the taking.

My sexy Elfaery.

“Well don’t you look like the cat demon who swallowed the harpy?”

My eyes flew open and I jerked upright in the pool, sloshing water onto the rock at its edge.

Aubrie stood a mere few feet away, his handsome face filled with smug hostility.

I took a deep breath and forced myself not to react. I used my inner sight to search the cave room for Ian. He was nowhere in sight and, I realized with a start, I could no longer hear him moving around in the next room.
Shit!

Aubrie tilted his head and chuckled. “Don’t bother looking for the half breed. I’m sure my warriors have taken him down by now.” He took a step closer to me and I bit my lip, forcing my quivering limbs to stay put.

If I ran it would all be over for me. I doubted I could outrun him. And even if I did manage to escape him that way I didn’t know where his men were or how many of them he’d brought with him.

I decided that my best hope lie in letting him get close enough so I could grab him…

Aubrie knelt at the edge of the pool and put a long, elegant finger under my chin. His aura deepened from a harmless blue to red tinged purple. I knew if he achieved pure red I was in deep trouble.

Oh hell, who was I kidding. I was
already
in deep trouble!

I jerked my chin away from his finger and tried to ignore the way his golden gaze slid below the water line to scour my nakedness. “You couldn’t wait for your beating, elf?”

Aubrie laughed, his long, blond hair swinging around a strong chin as he shook his head. “Subduing you will be more fun than I’ve had in years, Spirit.”

I grinned. “Let’s get started then.” I grabbed his wrist and yanked him into the pool. I caught him off guard and he hit the water head first, his long legs catching on the rock floor outside the pool, so that, for a moment, he couldn’t gain purchase enough to turn himself upright. I didn’t wait around for that to happen.

I jumped out of the pool and grabbed my clothes, which I’d dropped in a pile beside the pool. I ran full out toward the mouth of the cave, realizing almost too late that I’d be running right into the arms of Aubrie’s men.

I stopped suddenly and reached for a wrinkle. I watched for the air before me to start shimmering but nothing happened. That’s when I realized I still had the magic deadening band on my wrist. “Damnation!”

I’d have to go through Aubrie’s men after all.

But before I could take a step Aubrie grabbed my hair and I was jerked backwards, into a hard chest that felt like it was made of fire.

I screamed as Aubrie’s magic imbued skin scorched the flesh on my back. Jerking in his arms in a fruitless attempt to escape, I managed to give myself a hair’s breadth of space. Gritting my teeth against the pain to come, I twisted quickly and placed a well formed kick in the squishy spot between his legs.

Aubrie grunted and jerked my hair, pulling me toward his burning skin again. I turned and jumped, placing both feet on his chest and gritting my teeth against the pain as the soles of my feet sizzled and burned. I straightened my legs and locked my knees, making myself impossible to reel in.