Faerykin Read online

  “Language, young lady.”

  “So screwing bad?”

  Jaime snorted. He grabbed his shaft and lubricated it with my juices. My pussy clenched when his cockhead brushed my opening. After what seemed like forever, he penetrated me.

  I yowled. Fuck. It hurt.

  He stopped. His face was a mixture of confusion and lust. “Aine, are you…a virgin?”

  “No,” I said quickly, realizing his cock was way bigger and thicker than his fingers. Jaime thought I was tiny and delicate. If he found out I was a virgin too, he would change his mind. “I don’t think so. Maybe I just haven’t done it in a long time.” Long time as in all my life. I wasn’t completely lying. I just omitted the truth. “Please, fuck me. Jaime, don’t stop.”

  He looked as if he didn’t completely believe me, but lust seemed to conquer his rational thoughts. He tilted my chin up and kissed me deeply. He thrust in again, spearing me open with his cock. His kiss muffled my shout. I tried not to scream, but it hurt so goddamn bad, and so good. Jaime released a strained inhalation and pushed in until he was buried balls deep inside me.

  He swore through clenched teeth. “Aine, you’re so tight.”

  I should be. This was the first time I’d had a man’s cock inside me. And it felt…amazing. Pain and pleasure danced together in one mind-shattering sensation.

  “You okay?”

  Not trusting my own voice, I nodded until my head almost unhinged from my neck.

  “Oh, Aine.”

  Jaime tugged and pulled. Not much. But enough to make my toes curl in pleasure. His shaft ground against the walls of my vagina, searing all my sensitive nerves to madness. I loved having him like this. So intimate and close.

  For a while, Jaime did nothing but move with hummingbird shyness. We kissed. We panted together. Our kisses were a symphony of lust. Then Jaime seemed unable to control himself. His thrusts were longer.

  Harder.

  Faster.

  “I’m sorry, Aine, but I must…” He grabbed my hair and quickened his pace. His cock slammed into me in a series of wild thrusts.

  I mewled. The lingering soreness was replaced by pure pleasure. “Jaime. I love it… Please, oh, please, Jaime, don’t stop.”

  My plea seemed to drive him out of control. He grunted and battered me with hard, primal fucks. I writhed. Thrashed. The pleasure rapidly came. Jaime slammed faster. Wordless screams choked in my throat. I was almost there. He slammed some more, again and again. A climax swept over me. I shouted. My ears rang. Breath was cut off from my lungs. My body quaked as intense pleasure washed over me.

  But Jaime didn’t stop. He kept fucking me across the bed until my head was partially hanging over the mattress. He was as savage and brutal as a man who had been denied carnal pleasure for too long. I didn’t mind. I loved it. I came again. And he still didn’t stop.

  He fucked and fucked until I could only feel fire. Just when I couldn’t take this much pleasure any more, another violent orgasm ambushed me. The world darkened for a moment. My soul soared into the promised land.

  When I crashed back to earth, I found Jaime jerking and shuddering. His cock spasmed inside me, bathing me with his fertile, warm seed. My pussy clenched in cadence, milking him to his last drop.

  “Aine,” he whispered. His voice was hoarse. He kissed me. “I’m sorry. I’m a dummy.”

  I wanted to laugh. He’d forgotten to take it out. Not as if that mattered, anyway. I wrapped my legs around his waist. “I wasn’t joking when I said I want to have your baby.”

  He stared at me for a long time. “You serious?”

  “Sure as shit.”

  “Language.” He chortled. “That settles it. We should go to Vegas instead.”

  My grin spread across my face like forest wildfire. “Quick Vegas wedding?”

  “Yup. Aunt Sally will think I’m scum if I didn’t put a ring on your finger. She’ll know I slept with you.”

  Mrs. Aine Walker. My dream was coming true.

  And no, I wouldn’t think about Valerian and his merry shit kickers and their threats that loomed over us. Or the fact that I hadn’t told Jaime about the real me. That could wait. I wanted to savor this moment forever.

  Jaime stroked my cheek. “I love you, Aine. I’m sure you already know that.”

  “And I’m sure you already know I love you too.”

  “Uh-huh. Lucky me.” Jaime kissed me.

  We kissed and kissed until we were both frisky again and fucked each other’s brains out through the night. When the sunlight peeked through the curtain, we were both exhausted beyond words. I drifted to sleep and didn’t wake until way past noon.

  Chapter Three

  I was sore as hell and had a hard time keeping my eyes open as Jaime drove along the highway. I almost dozed off a few times, earning me an “I told you so” look from Jaime when I caught his gaze. Okay, he definitely wasn’t a kitty cat. He was a ravenous beast. I was glad my pickiness about deflower-worthy candidates had led me to him.

  My first time was memorable.

  The second, third and fourth ones were mind-bendingly explosive.

  Being with Jaime was magical. Now that I was well-fucked and sated, I had to come clean to him. I didn’t know how he was going to take it. But if he loved me as much as he told me, it shouldn’t matter. I’m still the same Aine, minus not being human and the whole faery thingy going. I was sure I could conceive and give him children, but I wouldn’t age as humans would. Faeries were blessed with longevity and youthful appearance. Though we weren’t truly immortal, a faery could live beyond several millennia. Our half-blood children would be granted the same gifts, but less powerful in wielding magic.

  I threw him a weak smile and brushed his arm lovingly. “Will you stay with me for better or for worse?”

  Jaime looked surprised by my question. “Of course I will. Why do you ask me that?”

  “Just curious.”

  He frowned slightly. Then he patted me on the head. He had a strange way of expressing his affection. Jaime was an introverted man. If he said he loved me, I shouldn’t have questioned his sincerity.

  The traffic on the highway was pretty sparse despite the rush hour people going home from work. The sky looked dark already. Black clouds were pregnant with rain. A few droplets hit the windshield. Then a steady drizzle poured.

  “Your boss okay that you just skipped off work like this?” I asked him.

  “I called in yesterday. I told chief I have a family emergency.”

  “Oh.” I waved my iPhone. “Everybody on Facebook wondered where you and I went.”

  He turned sharply. “Did you tell anybody?”

  “No. I thought we’re going AWOL. What’s the point of playing hooky if we announce it to the world?”

  Jaime looked relieved.

  I rolled my eyes. “Jaime, I’m not that stupid.”

  “But you’re so gullible and naïve.”

  Look who’s talking. I was anything but gullible and naïve. Faerykin were mischievous. Most of us were cunning and self-serving.

  “Aine, do you remember anything about these people chasing you?”

  I stiffened, uncomfortable. Should I confess now? But I hadn’t gotten a ring on my finger. After a brief consideration, I decided I should stall a little bit longer. I’m a bad girl, I know.

  I chose my words carefully. “They aren’t human.”

  His jaw twitched. His eyes focused on the road. A brief silence stretched between us. “If they aren’t human, what are they? Ghosts? Robots from the future?”

  “Like Terminators?” I snorted. “Dude, they were dressed in britches and cloaks.”

  “Normal people don’t just appear and disappear.”

  Well, actually, that was common faery magic. “Maybe they’re wizards. Like Harry Potter.”

  It was Jaime’s turn to snort.

  “Okay. What’s your theory?”

  “I don’t know, Aine. All I know is that I have to take you to a safe place
for now. We’ll figure out the rest later.”

  Jaime wasn’t the type of man who liked to wing it. He had a little bit of OCD in him. Anal retentive to the heart. I was sure he had plans, but he just didn’t feel like sharing it with me.

  He glanced at me. “Why don’t you take a nap? We have quite a drive ahead…” He slammed on the brake. “Shit!”

  Our car rammed against an invisible barrier. A misty fog shielded dark, translucent figures in front of us. My seatbelt prevented me from crashing through the windshield, but the air bags broke, and suddenly my face was smothered by whiteness.

  I couldn’t breathe. My arms flailed. Panic surged.

  Darkness engulfed me.

  *

  When I opened my eyes the first thing I saw was Valerian’s face. I inhaled a sharp breath and tried to scuttle away from him. I couldn’t. I was strapped to a bed where iron manacles clamped down my wrists and ankles. My magic didn’t work against that metal. I thrashed. “Let me go, asshole!”

  Prince Valerian sat at the edge of the bed, shaking his head. He looked exactly as the last time I’d seen him: cold. Arrogant. And inhumanly pretty. His silky river of platinum hair swayed as he leaned down. “I see you’ve forgotten your manners while living among the humans for so long.”

  “I see you’re still the same fucking dick.”

  “Princess Aine,” Valerian chastised me. “Such harsh language. A maiden like you shouldn’t curse. It’s improper.”

  “Fuck you. Where’s Jaime?”

  His light eyebrow arched slightly. “That human?”

  “If you lay as much as a finger at him, I swear…”

  “You swear what?” Valerian taunted. A wicked smile curled at the corner of his lips. “You’ll kill me?”

  I opened and closed my mouth. He knew it was a big bluff. I couldn’t kill Valerian, even if I really wanted to. He was the most powerful fae in the realm. He didn’t usurp the Court of Light’s throne and gain a massive following by handing out candies and gift baskets.

  I sniffed petulantly. “I won’t let you have me.”

  “Oh?” Valerian looked amused. “How do you propose that? It seems to me you’re lying ripe for the taking whenever I desire.”

  “Rapist!”

  “I am no such thing. I’ll take what’s meant to be mine. You, Princess Aine, are my betrothed, after all. Any claim I have over you is just.”

  I spun my mind for a second. “I can make your life miserable. I’ll stop taking showers. I’ll vomit all over you. I can bite your dick off when you’re sleeping. Trust me, I have plenty of nifty ideas to make your life a living hell.”

  His eyes rounded. The amusement doubled. “This is what you learned after seven years on the run?”

  “I’ve learned many things.”

  “Including taking a human lover?” Valerian narrowed his eyes. “I can smell him on you. How disgraceful.”

  “You stabbed your own father in the back. I think we know which one of us is disgraceful.”

  The amusement evaporated. His eyes flashed dangerously. I flinched. I felt his raw power sweeping over me, causing the hair on my body to stand up and goose bumps to break all over my flesh. Maybe I should rein back my tongue a bit. I’d heard rumors that Valerian could flay a man clean of his skin simply with a flick of a finger.

  Valerian rose with the grace of a swan. He wore a simple white shirt with dark sage-colored trousers. Huntsman’s boots covered his feet. No knives. No weapons. Heavens knew he could wreak havoc without a single blade. “Suppose I don’t torture this human of yours. What would I get in return?”

  “I’ll be a good girl.”

  “Oh?”

  “I’ll do whatever you want me to do. But you must send Jaime back to the human world.”

  “And lose my leverage over you? I think not.”

  I scowled.

  Valerian waved his hands and the iron manacles that held my limbs clicked open. I quickly wrenched out my arms and pulled my legs from the contraptions. I rubbed my wrists. The pure iron made my skin break out in a rash.

  “We will wed tomorrow at noon. Everything has been arranged. I expect you’ll be pleasant…” My scowl deepened. “…during the procession and our wedding night. If you don’t hold your end of the bargain,” Valerian made a fluttery gesture, “your human lover will suffer dire consequences.”

  My blood ran cold. Besides killing, I heard Valerian loved devising deathly contraptions and torturing his victims in unspeakably horrid ways. If Jigsaw Killer were real, those two would be BFF, Best Friends Forever. I swallowed. “I want to see Jaime.”

  “Unthinkable. You’re my bride.”

  “How do I know you haven’t already killed him?”

  Valerian huffed impatiently. He waved his hand and produced something from thin air. It was a small hand mirror. An enchanted one. When I took it I saw Jaime in it. My heart plummeted. He was stripped naked, chained from limb to limb on the ceiling. Valerian was keeping him in the dungeon. I didn’t know whose. Maybe Valerian’s. Or ours. I had never been into the Midnight Palace’s dungeon, where they kept miscreants and law offenders. My eyes watered. Jamie looked unconscious at the moment. He was going to be miserable when he woke up. He didn’t deserve this cruel treatment.

  “Release him from that.” My voice choked. “Give him a decent cell, clothes, food and water.”

  A triumphant smile blossomed on Valerian’s lips. “Not until you prove that you will abide by my wishes. You can start by being a joyful bride on our wedding tomorrow.”

  I glared. My chest constricted with fear, tears and hatred. “Why don’t you just kill me? You’ve got everything. Nobody is going to oppose you if you take over the Court of Midnight.”

  “Aine, Aine.” Valerian sighed theatrically. “You know nothing about politics. You have been gone from our realm for too long. I could take over Midnight Court by force. But why should I shed unnecessary blood when there’s an easier way? War is costly and untidy.”

  I narrowed my eyes. What had happened since I was gone?

  “Do you understand your situation, Princess Aine? Do you want to see your kinfolk’s blood on your hands?”

  I looked away. “N-no.”

  “Then be a good girl and don’t cause me headaches. You hold the fate of many. Think wisely.”

  Valerian vanished, leaving glittering faery magic floating in the space where he had been.

  I slumped on the bed, clutching the mirror in my lap. Jaime. My Jaime. It was my fault he had to suffer like this. I should have hit the road after he offered me to stay in his house. Why did I have to lust over him? And why did I have to disillusion myself that Jaime and I could be together? Valerian would never let Jaime go. He had me with Jaime.

  I couldn’t look at it anymore. I threw the mirror away. It sailed across the room and broke into a hundred pieces.

  Like my heart.

  *

  Valerian’s hunters came in and took me to my old room. All my servants, personal guards and governess bowed in obeisance as I entered. Many things had changed since I had left Midnight Palace. I saw Valerian’s men everywhere. It seemed the Regent of Five, who ruled on my behalf, no longer had power over the Court of Midnight. Valerian’s plan to reign over the realm had come to fruition. All he needed to do was wed and bed me to seal the deal.

  I sat on a chair and gestured to allow everybody to stand. Valerian’s hunters exited and closed the door. I had a feeling they were guarding the outside of my room, preventing me from roaming the palace unattended. I was a prisoner in my own domain.

  My governess rose and poured me some wine. I declined. Not in the mood for anything with alcohol in it.

  “Your Highness,” Sarene, my governess, began. “You’ve grown up much. You’re even fairer than your mother.”

  “Thank you. How is she, by the way?”

  “Lady Brigid is in perfect health.”

  “Glad to hear that.” My mother was one from a dozen of my father’s consorts.
Her days were spent in the Palace of Dusk along with others, reminiscing over the memory of my father. Former royal consorts were not allowed to remarry. In the old days, when a fae king passed, they were ordered to accompany him to his grave. Ritual suicide no longer existed anymore, but my mother still didn’t have a say or influence in the royal court. I knew she didn’t approve of the betrothal between me and Prince Valerian, but when the Regent of Five pressured her, she had no choice but to give me up.

  “I didn’t see Lord MacCuill with you,” Sarene continued. “Has he been treating you right?”

  “Graeme’s dead.”

  A wave of shock rolled over everyone’s face.

  “Was he lost in battle?” Sarene asked. “Lord Graeme was a fierce warrior. It would take more than a skilled fighter to take him down.”

  I didn’t have the heart to say Graeme had turned into an alcoholic while we were on the run, which ultimately had claimed his life. “He had fallen ill and died,” I lied to preserve his honor and memory.

  Dreaded murmurs filled my room.

  “What has happened since I was gone?” I inquired.

  Sarene regarded me with a pained look. She told me everything in a low voice.

  After Graeme had spirited me into the human realm, Valerian and his army besieged our territory until the Regent of Five surrendered. Valerian accused them of cheating. Unfortunately, the dukes and duchesses sitting on the Regent of Five were nothing but a bunch of wimps.

  They had never expected me to bail out on my wedding day. The plot was hatched by Graeme and a few elders who held loyalty to my father. I didn’t want to marry Valerian, so I went along when Graeme whisked me away.

  I was told many of my father’s loyalists were unhappy with the Regent of Five’s decisions. Especially when they were used as puppets by Valerian. He knew about the resistance, hence he forced the marriage. If he wedded and sired the only heir of the Court of Midnight, Valerian’s rule over us would be unchallenged.

  “Your Highness,” one of my knights, Bres Silverlane, spoke up. “If you are opposed to this atrocity, say the word and we will fight to protect your wishes.”

  That was the problem. Our kingdom had been divided since my father’s death. Dukes against dukes. Duchesses having catfights. Everyone wanted to kill everyone. It should have been me who united them all, but I was nothing but a spoiled girl. I didn’t want to see my people suffer from the war.