Three Parts Fey (2 page)

“Today, my dear
Tremble, we do nothing. We relax, and if all goes well, we get our
tattoos.”

“Did a goddess
of death really tell you to do it?”

“She said if I
wanted to keep you all alive, you needed to be marked.”

He paused and
poured her a cup of coffee. “Then, I am pretty sure we should do
it.”

She answered
the email with,
Looks good, ready when you are.

A few seconds
later.
Ink will be ready at 4. See you at five. Bringing Tomlin
with me.

Great. At the
dower house.

Benny smiled.
“She will be here at five with the tattoo artist.”

“I look forward
to it. What shall we do about placement?” Tremble raised his
brows.

She patted her
ribs on her left-hand side. “I want mine here. I can see it when I
want to and hide it when it would be obvious.”

“Would you want
to hide it?”

“When I go out
for karaoke? Of course.”

“Why do you
enjoy it so much?” He propped his head up on his fist and
smiled.

“That is an
awkward story.”

“We are bound.
Time to start leaking the secrets.”

She sipped at
her coffee and wondered where to start.

“Demon blood is a funny
thing. Each manifestation requires a different sort of food to keep
the demon healthy. Succubi and incubi feed on sex, warrior demons
feed on battle and, of course, scholar demons like you and my
grandfather, feed on knowledge.” She sighed and stared into her
coffee cup.

“What about
high kings?” Tremble had a wary look in his eyes.

She sipped her
coffee and mumbled into the cup.

“What?”

She enunciated.
“Attention. We feed on attention and worship. It was one of the
reasons I never considered myself to follow in my father’s or
great-grandmother’s footsteps, they need physical contact. I don’t
need much attention, but I do require some to stay healthy.”

Tremble’s mouth
was open. “You are not kidding.”

“I am not. It
isn’t a fun thing. I had to engage in every afterschool activity
that involved public performance. I was a freaking cheerleader for
pities sake!”

She got up and
poured another cup of coffee, resettling in her spot. “It doesn’t
do anything to my audience, but it gives me what I need to keep the
magical batteries charged.”

“And the more
you perform...”

“I currently
have enough of a charge going to last me for the next ten years. It
is a mirror effect. The stronger the power of my audience members,
the more energy I take in. Last night...”

He caught on.
“You were in the presence of some of the most powerful beings on
the continent.”

“Yup. It is why
my parents always had family parties during the months and weeks
that I wasn’t at school. I would be admired by the crowd and that
would be enough.”

“So, will we
have to begin habits that feed our inner demon?”

Benny dug into
her fruit salad and laughed. “You already have them. Your demon
tailored itself to match your existing inclinations. Argyle likes
to fight though he holds back, Smith has an interest in sex that he
has never let out and you just about orgasmed when you saw my
parents’ library. Now that you have demon blood, you can read half
of the tomes that were previously off limits.”

He perked up.
“Really?”

She snickered.
“See? Just the thought of knowledge and you want to run over
there.”

Tremble blinked
and rubbed the back of his neck. “Fair point.”

“How long does
it take you to braid your hair in the morning?” She smiled and
propped her head on her fist.

“Five minutes
if it is cooperating. Lately, it has been slightly recalcitrant.”
He grinned and flipped the braid to lie over his shoulder across
his chest.

She reached out
and stroked her fingers over the thick rope of silk. “How difficult
of it.”

He leaned in to
kiss her, and they had a moment to enjoy the contact before a low
and persistent buzzing broke the mood.

Tremble sighed
and leaned back. “One of our phones. I will find it.”

He got up and
left her, so she worked on her second cup of coffee and enjoyed the
noon sunlight coming through the glass.

Jessamine
floated up and fanned herself. “I thought that being with your
parents was unpredictable. You have half-naked men all over this
place.”

“Get used to
it, Jess.” Benny could hear Tremble talking, and she smiled at her
ghostly friend. “Did you hide all night?”

“Until the
moaning and laughter stopped, then I snuck over here. I have to
say, I expected more of the same, but it was blissfully quiet.”

Benny laughed.
“We are all tuckered out after our eventful evening. Mom and Dad
were delighted, and the relatives had a great time.”

Tremble came
back in, and he was scowling at the phone in his hand. “We have
been recalled to duty as of tomorrow.”

“Did they say
why?”

He shook his
head. “I warned the captain that we are all going to pop positive
for demon blood, but he didn’t care. He said we needed to get back
on the roster. The team with Tearago suffered an accident last
night. They showed up at a scene and a group of beta wolves decided
to attack. They are all in hospital.”

Benny wrinkled
her nose. “Ouch. So what—” Her phone went off.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Ms.
Ganger. This is Captain Matheson of the Redbird City XIA.”

“Uh, hello,
Captain.”

“You are being
put onto active duty beginning tomorrow. Your team takes to the
streets at dusk, and you will be pulling overtime until just before
dawn. Are you prepared to act as an Agent of the XIA?”

“Yes, Captain.
Um, Captain?”

“Yes, Ms.
Ganger?”

“What about the
security scanner? My demon side has been a little frisky
lately.”

He cleared his
throat, and Tremble covered his eyes as he listened, peeping in
between.

“Um, right.
Well, you will be issued a special dispensation, given your
particular circumstances. Simply report to the officer on the
scanner if you set it off.”

“Yes, Captain.
Thank you.”

“Arrive and
gear up for your first day with your team. Welcome to the XIA,
Agent Ganger.”

The phone call
ended, and she fought to keep the blissful expression off her
face.

“What did he
say?”

She sashayed up
to him and put her phone on the counter. “You may address me as
Agent Ganger.”

He put his
hands on her waist and pulled her up for a kiss that got wild and
ended up with her seated on the countertop, her robe open.

She wrapped her
legs around his waist and growled lightly as she rocked against
him. When he reached between them to stroke her, she moaned and bit
at his lip.

He joined them
quickly, and she held tight as he jerked against her with a strong
rhythm. Pleasure spiralled inside her until it broke, and she
groaned into his mouth a moment before he shook and held himself
against her.

Panting, he
pressed his forehead to her shoulder. “I did not mean to do
that.”

She blinked.
“Were you reaching for the salad spinner and slipped?”

He laughed
softly and bit at her shoulder. “That wasn’t what I meant and you
know it. I had meant to have a quiet day without sexual
tension.”

“I feel nice
and relaxed.” She nuzzled his neck with her lips.

“You feel
wonderful.” He slowly straightened and slipped out of her.

She patted the
backs of his thighs with the soles of her feet. “You feel good,
too.”

He glanced down
and behind him. “And you are far more limber than I would have
given you credit for.”

She grinned.
“Cheerleader. It wasn’t a proud moment in my life, but it taught me
some necessary skills.”

“I can’t
imagine you as a cheerleader. It seems off personality.”

Benny adjusted
her robe and winked at him. “Says the elf who hasn’t even seen the
pics of me in my Mage Guides uniform.”

He backed away
and adjusted himself, resuming the appearance of sexy
respectability. “If I were interested in that, it would be
pervy.”

She snorted.
“Not really. I go in as a guest speaker every now and then. I have
an outfit that fits.”

His eyes lit
with delight. “You still have a costume?”

“It is called a
uniform. And, yes, I have one. It is at the big house.”

She wrinkled
her nose at him, and she smiled as Smith came in.

“You two were
having sex?”

Benny became
aware that she was still sitting on the counter and Tremble was
very close.

Smith looked
hurt that he had missed it. His tousled hair stuck out at strange
angles and his golden eyes were still sleepy.

She beckoned to
him. “Good morning, Smith.”

He covered his
mouth as he yawned and stumbled toward her. “Call me Andrew.”

He tumbled into
her arms, and she caught him with an
oof
of air escaping. He
was solid muscle, all warm and hard.

He nuzzled her
neck and licked her, dragging the rough expanse of his tongue up to
her earlobe.

She shivered
wildly. “And good morning to you, again.”

“I missed you
when you weren’t next to me.”

Benny grabbed a
handful of his hair and tugged at him until he was facing her. “You
knew I was in the house, and there was nothing to worry about. We
all belong to each other; I don’t belong to all of you.”

Tremble poured
Andrew a cup of coffee. “That said, she knows you need sex more
than the rest of us.”

Andrew smiled
slowly. “You do?”

She kept a
blank expression on her face. “I do. I am just making the point
that I am a person first and something to screw, second.”

The lion in her
grasp showed his understanding. “Of course, Benny. Sorry. I wake up
after my cock does.”

She stared at
him for a while before her stern look cracked. “Right. I should
have noticed. Everybody now gets three asinine statements before I
take them seriously, every day. Beware when the three are over
though, because I bite.”

Tremble
chuckled. “Tell him the news.”

She blinked and
then realised what he meant. “Oh, right. You can address me
tomorrow night as Agent Ganger. We have all been recalled to
duty.”

“You get to
come with us and work?”

She grinned.
“And draw a paycheque.”

Tremble leaned
against the counter next to them. “How do you support yourself?
Your job as a food writer couldn’t have paid much?”

She smirked.
“Trust fund. Very large trust fund. It began with the introduction
of vampire blood, and Beneficia put money in it the moment I was
born, as I was her namesake.”

Tremble
nodded.

Benny sighed
and ran her hands through Andrew’s hair. “The funny thing is that I
don’t need the money. My food and lodgings are taken care of, as is
my transportation. All I buy is clothing and junk food.”

It was fun to
stroke the mane of gold and brown into thick waves.

“Have some
breakfast, Andrew. I need to grab a shower.”

Tremble
chuckled.

Andrew perked
up. “Shower?”

She laughed.
“Come on.”

He didn’t let
her get on her feet; he held her against him and bolted for the
stairs.

Tremble called
out, “I am going exploring.”

Held like a
dolly, Benny simply hoped that Andrew didn’t drop her.

It was a relief
to stand in the shower and have him take her against the wall. At
least she wasn’t being dangled over the stairs anymore.

Pleasure rushed
in on her a moment before she heard his deep groan. She was on the
edge, but she didn’t have a chance to reach down to stroke her
clit; his hand beat her to it.

He was careful
and precise, finding the motion that made her clench around him and
then repeating it. She cried out in high moans faster and faster
until she gasped and her body gripped him, milking him into another
spasm.

When they had
finished the physical exertion and were both limp and lazy with
satiation, they rinsed off and returned to the outside world.

Argyle was
leaning up on one elbow. “You know, I haven’t been woken from sleep
by folks having sex in centuries. Benny, you have quite the set of
lungs.”

She blushed and
shrugged. “I figured there was freedom to let go in our home.”

He grinned. “I
am not objecting. I am just surprised to be awake while the sun is
still out.”

Damp and tired,
Benny kissed Smith and crawled over to Argyle, lying with her head
at a right angle to him, on his belly, while she looked up toward
his face.

“You are all
wet, Benny.”

She grinned.
“Not right now. Give me a few minutes.”

Laughing, he
stroked her head.

Smith tweaked
her toes and found his wardrobe. “I am going to go and find the
gym.”

Benny didn’t
ask how he knew about the gym; she could hear Tremble on the
machines downstairs.

Argyle stroked
her hair and smiled. “How are you enjoying your first lazy day with
us?”

She wrinkled
her nose. “It is a lot more acrobatic than I planned on. How are
you feeling?”

He grinned. “I
feel like I could take a walk in the sunlight.”

She snorted.
“Give it a few weeks. Do you need to eat?”

His eyes grew
heavy-lidded. “You are offering?”

“I am. As I
told the other two, you belong to me and I belong to you. It goes
around.”

He grinned and
his teeth were extended. She lifted a hand toward him, and he
stroked the smooth skin of her wrist.

She chuckled as
he licked her slowly. “This is also because we are all back on duty
tomorrow night. We might not have time for a few days.”