Noble Blood (8 page)

Duncan shook his head as the fae wheeled the now empty cart back out of the office, shutting the door behind him. “How the hell does he do that?”

“What?” Moira looked confused.

“Know that I want privacy.”

Jaden smirked. “He’s a brownie, a house sprite. How can he not? Their very nature is to serve their master’s needs.”

“Hmph.” Duncan turned his attention back to Jaden. “What previous instructions had you given him?”

Jaden leaned back in his chair. “I’m in charge of your personal security, remember? If anything and I mean
anything
, looks like it might cause you to get a paper cut I want to know about it.” He gestured toward Moira. “Those orders now include Lady Malmayne.”

Moira was watching him through narrowed eyes. “All right. You’re here to investigate the Malmaynes. They’re making a pain of themselves but so far the only thing they’ve done is try to set aside Duncan’s Claim on me and Leo’s true bond. What are our options?”

Jaden blinked. Claim? He sat up straight, both feet planting themselves on the floor. “You two haven’t finished bonding yet?”

They shared a look that confused the hell out of him. Moira answered him first. “No, not yet.”

He was stunned. “Why not? If you two complete the bonding then Henri and his friends don’t have a leg to stand on! What’s left to do?”

“The Claiming is complete, but we still need to do the Vow and the Binding.” Moira’s expression was mischievous, but Duncan looked deadly serious.

“We can’t complete the ritual.” Duncan held up his hand, forestalling Jaden’s instant protest. “There are things you don’t understand yet. We’ll get into them later. But for now, completing the bond isn’t possible.”

Jaden was now fiercely worried. He didn’t understand why they hadn’t completed a ceremony they were both eager for.

Unless…

He stood, suddenly terrified. Duncan’s weary face suddenly took on ominous meaning. His eyes drifted automatically to the new silver in Duncan’s golden hair. “Is one of you ill?” He gestured toward those fine, terrifying silver hairs. “Duncan?” If there was something wrong with Duncan or Moira not even the Hob would be able to get him away from them. He’d fight Oberon himself to stay until Duncan was well.

A knock sounded on the office door. “I’m sorry, my lord, but there’s a visitor out front. He’s being very insistent that he be let in. I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold him off much longer.”

Moira put her hand on Duncan’s shoulder. “Why don’t you let me try and explain things to Jaden while you go and deal with the latest crisis. Okay?”

He kissed the top of her head. “Fine. Be gentle with him, though.” Duncan smiled and laid his hand on Jaden’s shoulder. “Welcome home.” He exited the office, his shoulders straight, his head held high. Whoever was waiting for the Malmayne lord was going to
find
the Malmayne lord, illness be damned.

You had to admire the man even while you wanted to knock some sense into him. If Duncan was ill he didn’t need to be worrying about anything but getting better. Moira should be tucking his ass into bed, not sending him out to deal with assholes.

“Jaden?”

“Hmm?”

“We need to talk.”

Jaden winced. Hell. It was never a good thing when a woman said
that
.

Moira wanted to kick Jaden and Duncan’s collective butts. How could they have danced around each other for so long? The heat between the two of them was burning her up! But the worry and fear in Jaden was reaching critical mass. She needed to diffuse it fast. “Duncan is suffering from mate sickness.”

Jaden turned on her so fast her head spun. He was quick, but she’d forgotten exactly
how
quick. “Why? Why won’t you complete the mating?” He stalked toward her, black bleeding out to the whites of his eyes. “C’mon, sweet. You can tell me.”

She shivered, the deep purr in his voice calling to her, a siren’s song she longed to answer. Where she found the strength to keep from responding to his vampiric lure she didn’t know. She took a deep breath, drawing in his coppery scent. “We couldn’t. Neither one of us could work ourselves up to it.”

Red flames danced in his eyes. “Why is that, Moira?” He stroked his finger down her cheek. “I can tell you that if I had you waiting in my bed there’s no way I’d hold off on making you mine.”

She smiled. He was trying to intimidate her. She shook her head, amused.
You’d think he’d know better than that.
She had to make him understand why they hadn’t been able to recite the Vow and complete the Binding. “How can you bond to your heart when your soul is missing?” He frowned, confused. Did he even understand what a true bond really meant? “Do you know what each step of the bond entails?”

He huffed out an irritated breath. “There’s the Claiming, which begins with a kiss and ends with a fuck.” She winced. He was being deliberately crude. “Then there’s the Vow and the Binding. The Sidhe recites the Vow, magic swirls, and the Binding takes place. Voila, you are married for eternity, life forces bound together.” He tilted his head to the side. “I hear Leo’s Binding with Ruby was quite the light show.” He smiled, the expression full of evil pleasure. “Kaitlynn was
so
pissed.”

She nodded. She’d been there. She’d known that if anyone had laid a hand on Ruby at that moment, Leo’s power would have destroyed them. It was never a good idea to get between a Sidhe lord and something he wanted. “It was. Do you know what was missing from my Claiming with Duncan?”

“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me.” For the first time since Duncan left the room Jaden looked truly worried again.

She reached up and stroked his cheek, pleased beyond belief when he nuzzled into her touch. “You, Jaden. You’re the other third of our bond.”

He started to laugh. “Oh, that’s a good one. Try and sell me a bridge. C’mon. You know you want to.”

She kicked him in the shins.

He leaned down and clutched his leg. “Ow!” The surprise in his face would have been amusing if the situation wasn’t so serious.

“I’m not joking. You left, and Duncan and I
both
went into mate sickness. We were pining for you and didn’t even know it.” She figured the only reason she hadn’t been even
more
sick was her leprechaun blood. It must have shielded her. Duncan had taken the full brunt of it, the mark of his anguish left on his body for all to see.

“Uh-huh. Sure.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “So how come after all this time I’m not bound to him? I’d think in the hundred years we’ve been together he would have popped wood over me at
some
point.”

Oh, he was going to be a pain in the ass about this. “My mother thinks—”

“You talked to your
mother
about Duncan’s erectile dysfunction?” He glared down at her. “Has he considered taking your TV away?”

She rubbed the bridge of her nose with a weary sigh. “Jaden.”

“Hey, it’s not like we were together for a hundred years or anything.” He tapped his fingernail against his teeth and sucked in a breath. “No, wait.”

“If you don’t knock it off I’m going to kick your ass so hard you’ll fart everything you say.”

He barked out a startled laugh. “God, I love vicious women.”

She smirked up at him. “Listen. We think the reason Duncan didn’t feel the pull toward you was because of your blood bond. We think it masked the need to Claim you. When you went away and cut off all contact the mating sickness set in.”

Jaden was shaking his head. “Duncan isn’t gay.”

“No, he’s not.” Jaden’s expression turned cynical. “He’s bi, just like you.”

Jaden frowned. “Honey, Duncan has never shown an interest in men. Believe me, I would have known.”

“Of course not. He had you.”

Jaden’s eyes rolled, which looked really weird. They were still vampiric, black with red hot flames in the center. “If Duncan was ever into men then he’s been so far in the closet he’s been living in Narnia.” Jaden turned his back on her. “Are you sure some other funky Sidhe sickness isn’t holding him back?”

“I’m positive.” She put her hand on the small of his back, smiling when he jumped. “He finally Claimed me today.”

“Good for you.”

God, the pain underlying that cheerful façade would drop a stronger man to his knees. She could feel it roiling within him. “Jaden, he
couldn’t
Claim me until you were here. Frankly, I think it was what you were doing in the shower that tipped him over the edge.”

His face turned bright red, his eyes leeching back to normal in shock. “Oh God.”

“Jaden, it’s all right.”

“No it’s not. He’s going to
kill
me.”

“Why?”

He shot her a disbelieving look. “I saw you naked. I rode,
uninvited
, in his head while he…” He gestured toward her body. “On the desk, no less!”

She laughed. Her sexy vamp sounded so prissy! “Are you kidding me? He was thrilled!”

His jaw dropped. “I have to get out of here.”

“Oh, no you don’t.”

His hand curled around her throat, but she wasn’t afraid. She could never be afraid of him. “Sweetheart, how are you planning on stopping me?”

”Like this.” She got up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Jaden froze against her, his eyes wide. When her tongue reached out and tasted his lips he moaned.

She had to get him to stay. She
had
to. There was only one other man who tasted this wonderful, and no way would she lose either of them. She buried her fingers in the darkness of his hair and opened her mouth, offering herself to him. He tried to pull back but her hand in his hair stopped him. Unless he wanted to lose some of the silky strands or, worse, hurt her, he couldn’t get free.

Jaden would never deliberately hurt her. He’d go sunbathing first.

The tip of one of his fangs touched her lip. She ran her tongue along the tip, uncertain how he would react.

He sucked in a breath and moaned, his hands going to her hips. He held her trapped, unable to move as his mouth devoured hers, taking everything she’d offered and more. She allowed that small spark of Sidhe power inside her to rise to the surface, to surround them both. She dropped her Seeming, letting everything she was sink into him, needing him to accept everything she’d been telling him.

They were meant to be together. He was meant to be hers. If he tried to run again she’d hunt him down and tie his ass to her bed. That was, if Duncan didn’t get to him first.

He pulled back with a gasp. His expression was horrified. “No.”

She was panting, so aroused she could barely breath. “No?”

“You’re Duncan’s. He deserves you.”

She blinked. The way he’d phrased that struck a chord. “And you don’t?”

His jaw clenched. “Duncan deserves the best.” His smile was wistful. “Sweetheart, you’re the best.” He kissed the tip of her nose and let her go. “Let me go, Moira.”

“Can’t.” She grinned up at him. “I’ve begun Claiming you.” She patted his chest, feeling justifiably smug. “You belong to me now, and you’re not going anywhere.” She blinked up at him innocently. “You don’t want me getting sick, do you?”

“Are you serious?” She nodded. Oh yeah. She was deadly serious, and he’d just have to get with the program. “Uh, no. I don’t want you to get sick.” He gulped. He looked like someone had just poked him in the ass with a stick.

“Good.” She brushed a kiss on his chin and let him go. She watched him turn on his heel and damn near stumble out of the office. She leaned back against the desk and chuckled. There was no way her stubborn vamp was leaving Malmayne property any time soon.

This was going to be fun.

Chapter Five

“What the hell do
you
want?”

Charles Malmayne paused on his way out of the white limo, his silvery gray eyes widening in astonishment. “Is that any way to greet your uncle?”

Through sheer force of will Duncan kept himself from grinding his teeth. He did
not
need this right now. He had another mate to Claim, some Vows to recite. He watched his uncle get out of the limo and make his way toward the stairs.

“Perhaps we should take this inside.” Charles gestured to the front door, for all the world as if he was inviting Duncan into
his
home. Charles had always been arrogant, but since Cullen had passed away he’d gotten bold.

“I don’t think so.” Duncan planted himself in front of the door and crossed his arms. “There’s no reason we can’t take care of our business quickly and efficiently. State your business, Uncle.”

“We have much more to discuss than apparently you are aware of.” Charles smiled, and something about the older Sidhe’s expression had Duncan’s shoulders tightening in anticipation. Duncan’s own face must have been colder than he thought, because his uncle’s next words were, “Aren’t you going to invite me inside?”

“No.”

Charles sighed. “Very well. There is unrest among the clan members. Several of us feel you have not upheld the obligations the lord of the Malmaynes must meet.”

“Such as the punishment of the Dunne clan, the mating of Leo and a suitable Malmayne female, and the execution of Jaden Blackthorn?”

“So you are aware of our demands.”

Demands? Duncan could feel his fury trying to creep over his face but managed to keep it off. No way would he allow Charles to see him upset. “We owe honor debt to the Dunnes. You know this.”

“None of it would have happened if Leo Dunne had just chosen to accept the marriage to Kaitlynn. You know this, Duncan. Something could have been arranged with his pet human. It’s not as if it hasn’t been done before.”

“Theirs is a true bond.”

“Oberon himself proved that under the right incentive a true bond could be broken.”

Duncan’s eyes went wide. “Oberon’s bond was dissolved by the Gods themselves.” And that was only after the Dark Queen had been shown to be in league with pure evil.

“So Oberon would have you believe.” Charles put his hand on Duncan’s arm. Duncan was stunned. How could Charles believe a true bond could be set aside by nothing more than will? “I know two clan members who are willing to fulfill the Malmayne end of the bargain.”

He needed to nip that thought before it bloomed. “That contract is between the heads of the two households. As there is no longer a daughter of Clan Malmayne, the contract cannot be fulfilled that way.”