Motor City Fae (22 page)

“Oh, gods, Meagan, I nearly lost you today!” Ric raised himself up on his elbows, stared down at her.

“It’s over and we survived, Ric.” She groaned, her hips wiggling against his. “Now, I need you inside me.

Please!”

He kissed her hard, before he positioned his cock with his hand. “My pleasure,” he whispered, as he impaled her with one powerful thrust. She nearly wept at the beauty of it, the fullness and the completeness of his rock-hard shaft inside her. He bent his face down to take one aching nipple into his mouth and she did cry.

Tears ran down her face as she clutched his head to her breast and pumped her hips in time with his. He switched to the other nipple, sucking strongly, not gentle at all and she came, convulsing around him, but he didn’t stop, didn’t even slow down. He kept thrusting and suckling until she felt the pleasure building again.

She tugged his face up, wanting to kiss him on the mouth. He complied, thrusting his tongue between her lips with the same rhythm as his cock was pounding into her body. She wanted, needed to be even closer, so she tilted her pelvis up into his, wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles, holding on for dear life.

She could feel his body tense as his orgasm built and it was all she could do to hold back her own explosion. As his spine stiffened, he grew even larger, stuffing her almost to the point of pain. She dug in her nails and held on, forgetting even to breathe. The scream started from the base of her own spine and emerged as she shattered, mixing with Ric’s hoarse shout as he spewed into her, pulsing and pumping for long, beautiful moments, while Meagan twitched and spasmed around him. Even after they’d both stopped coming, he stayed inside her while she held him tight, wishing she never had to let go.

“Now try again, but this time picture the object exactly.” Blaine’s voice was starting to get ragged as his patience frayed. Ric fought a laugh at the snotty look Meagan shot the mage.

“I did. It’s not my fault I got the Diet Coke without the bottle.” Both Meagan and Blaine were damp, wearing a good bit of the errant soda.

“You were probably focusing on the taste of the liquid and not on the container.” Ric couldn’t help the snicker that came out with his words. “A common mistake this early in the game.”

“True enough.” Blaine wiped his shaggy black hair away from his face. The man looked positively frazzled and Ric couldn’t blame him. Twins due any day and a Faerie assassination plot dumped on his doorstep.

“If they haven’t already mentioned it, you’ve come amazingly far in such a short time.” Dee wandered into the sitting room carrying a glass of milk and a banana.

“’Porting an object with no training at all, even under the influence of an overload of adrenaline, is an impressive feat. Once you get a handle on things, you’re going to be very powerful, especially for a halfling.”

Meagan beamed. “Thank you, Dee. How are you feeling this morning?”

Dee smiled back. “Fat. Sluggish. But otherwise marvelous, thank you for asking. Have you any children of your own?”

Meagan flushed and shook her head. “Always figured I was too much the flaky artist to make much of a parent. Never ran into a man I wanted to make babies with, either.”

Flaky? His Meagan? Bollocks! Ric couldn’t believe his ears. But the thought of her making babies with any other man made him want his sword in his hand.

Dee took a seat on the couch next to Blaine and his arm went around her automatically, almost as if the man didn’t even register his own motion. What must it be like to be that tuned into another being? Ric had no lingering feelings for Deirdre other than friendly affection, but now, he was actually jealous. Only he didn’t want Dee, he felt an absurd longing for what she and Blaine had together and a sick feeling grew in his stomach as he realized he only wanted that with Meagan. Like it or not, he’d fallen completely in love with her.

“It happens when you least expect it.” Dee was reassuring Meagan. “Look at it this way. If you’d already had a husband and kids, how much more awkward would your present situation be?”

“You’ve got a point.” Meagan nibbled on a croissant from the tray on the cocktail table in front of them and looked around, as if for a drink. Her tea was long gone, Ric noticed and she was too polite to ask her hosts for her normal beverage. He snapped his fingers and handed her a diet cola, fresh from her own refrigerator.

Their gazes locked as she took it from him, unscrewed the cap and took a long swallow. When she finished, she closed her eyes as if in ecstasy. “I still hate it that you can read my mind, Ric, but thanks. I needed that.”

The funny thing was he hadn’t skimmed her thoughts. He’d simply known that’s what she was missing this morning.

He caught a quick flash as Blaine and Dee exchanged a knowing look. Fuck, they were on to him. He looked down at his hands and spoke briskly. “How about now we focus on your luggage?”

“The whole suitcase or piece by piece?”

“One item, to begin with. Something easy to replace, but familiar. Like your toothbrush. You have to be able to picture it’s location, in order to grab hold of it.”

“Wasn’t there one in your bathroom?” Dee, ever the attentive hostess, asked with concern.

“Of course there was, love, that’s why it’s expendable.” Blaine patted his wife’s hand. “Good call, bard. Now, Meagan, close your eyes and concentrate on that toothbrush. Visualize the color, the shape, the weight of it and where you saw it last. Now imagine it in your hand.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and held out her hand. The others waited, watching in rapt silence. Suddenly, there it was. Her well-worn purple toothbrush appeared in her hand. Meagan opened her eyes and squealed. She launched herself at Ric, throwing herself into his lap, her arms around his neck.

“I did it! I did it! Did you see?” She hugged him hard and planted a smacking kiss on his lips. “I can’t believe it!”

What the hell, his friends already knew he was a goner. He hugged her back. “Aye, love, you did it.”

“Now I can get my suit!”

“There’s a designer boutique downstairs.” Dee’s violet eyes twinkled. “You don’t need to worry about clothing. Help yourself to anything you’d like.”

“That’s really sweet, but…”

“But you’ll feel more confident in your own things.”

Maeve had joined the group, coffee in hand. “Not all of us are as casual about clothing as you are, Dee. I imagine that Meagan will want her own armor in place for meeting our fearless leader.”

“Exactly.” Meagan finally seemed to notice she was still on Ric’s lap. Her face turned a bright pink as she scooted off of him and back to her own spot on the sofa.

“I can blink you your suitcase, Meagan.” Ric missed her weight already. “I wanted Blaine to teach you some basics before we leave. But we do need to get moving. The queen isn’t known for limitless patience.”

Blaine snickered. “Not hardly. I want to weave a few more protective charms around the two of you before you go. That amulet is good, but some more oomph won’t hurt. And if you need to leave court in a hurry, be sure to come here. I’ve got wards set against incoming nasties from that side as well. They’ll be tuned to let you through.”

Ric ’ported in Meagan’s luggage and left her in the bathroom of their suite, doing whatever it is that women do. Meanwhile, he wandered back out to have a private chat with Blaine. He filled him in on everything that had happened in the last several days, leading up to the fight at the truck stop.

“You’re going to have to be careful at court. She won’t be safe there, but you can’t come across as the overprotective lover, or Llyris will gut her herself.”

“I know.” Ric downed a mouthful of the Scotch Blaine had poured. “Llyris told me to seduce the heiress if I had to, in order to get her to come. If I pretend that I’m only attentive to keep Meagan in line, I should be able to stick close enough to keep her safe.”

“Sounds like a dangerous game, my friend. Your Meagan doesn’t seem like much of an actress.”

“I wasn’t going to tell her. Goddess, no, every thought she has shows on that face.”

Blaine laughed and Ric ground his teeth. “What?”

“You are asking to have your balls handed to you in a brown paper sack. Have you forgotten that the woman just killed a professional assassin with a fucking baseball bat? Lying to her is almost as stupid as playing games with the queen.”

Ric glared at Blaine through narrowed eyes. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep her safe. That’s all that matters.”

Blaine shook his head and sipped his drink. “Love makes fools of us all, doesn’t it?” With a laugh, he raised his glass to Ric and drained it. “On that note, I’m off to make sure that my wife stays off her feet.”

“You do that.” Ric raised his own glass, returning the salute. “And, take care of her, Blaine. You’re one lucky son-of-a-bitch.”

Blaine whistled, badly off-key, as he left the room.

“That I am, lad. That I am.”

The portal itself was far less impressive than Meagan had expected. Of course, she hadn’t really had any idea what to expect. Other than that the butterflies in her stomach were determined to continue playing rugby for the foreseeable future.

She dressed in her own coral linen suit and heels, with her adoptive mother’s pearls glowing at her neck and earlobes. She’d even put on makeup. When she’d started to pin her hair back, though, Ric had intervened.

“Leave it down.” It hadn’t been an order or a suggestion, but almost a request. What red-blooded woman could turn that down? “It adds a bit of wildness that will come across as exotic and exciting Underhill.”

Exotic and exciting? Her? Oh, well, she’d have to take his word for it. But she left it down and turned to Ric. “Do I look all right?”

She could have sworn those golden eyes actually glowed as they gazed down at her. He ran one hand over her hair and gently kissed the tip of her nose. “Perfect.”

Yeah, right. She felt like an ugly duckling next to him.

He’d changed into an outfit straight out of a Renaissance festival catalog. His gold ruffled shirt had leather lacing at the neck and full, gathered sleeves. Tan suede pants looked painted on and were tucked into above-the-knee boots in a darker shade of brown. Several gold earrings glinted in his left ear. She wondered whether it would be more fun to paint him dressed like this, or dressed in nothing at all.

“Nothing. Definitely nothing.” She jumped when she heard herself. Had she muttered that out loud? There was no contest really, but if she painted him like this, she could show it to others. She wasn’t sharing any pictures of him naked.

“Anytime you want, love.” Ric’s whisper was low and rough. “Glad you approve.”

One of these days she was really going to have to get a handle on the whole mind-reading thing. Including the how-to-shield-your-brain part.

“You’ll be fine.” Ric rubbed her shoulders as he reassured her, obviously still reading her thoughts.

“Blaine says your shields are actually quite good for as little training as you’ve had. It’s a lot harder to block someone with whom you’ve been intimately connected.”

He gave her a sexy, sleepy-eyed smile.

“Ready, kids?” Dee stood at the door to their room, Axel and Fearghus behind her. Feargus the Brownie had cleaned and repaired all the clothes they’d arrived in last night. Even Ric’s sword-slashed, blood-covered jeans were in pristine condition. Fearghus picked up Meagan’s suitcase, while Axel held the three wrapped paintings in a reverent grasp. Ric carried two guitar cases over his shoulder, leaving Meagan to grab only her purse.

“Fearghus and Axel have already been through to check the portal and the entry hall.” Dee was calm and collected, every bit the warrior queen. Meagan shuddered, thinking of poor Gunter. “They’ll stay with you till you’re settled at court. I also sent a case of Diet Coke ahead to your rooms, Meagan. Thought you might need a boost after your introduction to Her Majesty.” Dee led them through what had to be her private office.

“Thank you!” Meagan gave in to the impulse and enveloped the elven woman in a quick, careful hug. Dee and her family had been so nice, so helpful, that Meagan was ashamed of her initial jealousy. Besides, whatever had once been between Dee and Ric had obviously been over for a long, long time. The love between her and Blaine was the kind stories were written about. What Meagan wouldn’t give to have that kind of bond for herself some day. She looked up at Ric and sighed.

Problem was, she only wanted it with him and he hadn’t said a thing to give her hope of continuing their relationship once his assignment was over.

Ric squeezed her hand, urged her forward. Dee had stopped in front of a wooden door, no more or less ornate than any other in the apartment. In fact, Meagan had assumed it was a closet. “Ready?” she asked.

Ric nodded. “Meagan?”

She squared her shoulders and smiled. “Ready. Thanks so much for everything, Dee. Take care of yourself and the twins.”

Dee flashed her billion-dollar smile. “That’s why I have Blaine and Maeve.” She dropped a kiss on Meagan’s cheek, tugged Ric’s down and planted one there as well.

“And you two be careful as well. The danger isn’t over, not by a long shot. Take good care of each other, right?”

“Right,” they replied in unison.

Dee opened the door and there appeared to be nothing but a misty darkness behind it. Axel stepped into the blackness first, disappearing from view. Fearghus followed closely behind. Seconds later, Axel’s face and shoulder emerged. “All clear.” He vanished back into the inky mist.

Stepping up to the doorway, Ric wrapped his arm around Meagan’s waist. “Let’s go.” And together they stepped over the threshold and into—nothingness.

There was a moment when the only thing Meagan could see, hear, or smell was Ric. There were no walls, ceiling, or floor, except for a static-charged haze that wrapped around them like an octopus engulfing its prey.

Ugh, no more Animal Planet for a while. Suddenly, her feet were back on solid ground. Only this time the floor was smooth, polished marble instead of thick wool carpet.