There was so much paperwork. It covered my desk. There were stacks and piles, some needed to get tossed, others needed my signature. Under all that, there were maps and diagrams, and my head ached from all of it.
“We have a situation.” Bo, my brother and right hand, burst through my office door without even a knock of warning.
Asshole.
I waved him inside the space that had become as much a home to me as my actual home. Fucking war. “What is it?” My office was the size of a small bedroom. The walls were wood except for the stone fireplace to my right. My desk faced the door, not the window behind me, and my desk was the same large wood desk my grandfather carved when he settled Blood Falls.
Bo sauntered—there was no other way to describe it—inside, shutting the door, before hopping over the chair to sit on it. Bo liked flair. He also seemed to have unlimited energy. “Ender is a prick.”
Ender, of the House of Volci, was indeed a prick. But then again, I thought all wolf shifters were pricks. “How is that a situation? He’s been a prick since the day he was born.”
“True.” Bo produced an apple seemingly out of thin air. “However, he is being more prickish than normal. I think he’s jealous we have more presence on the Plane than he does.”
An alpha of Ender’s variety would be threatened by anything he didn’t control, and right now he, along with all the rest of us, controlled very little. Not to mention the two most powerful samhain females with direct access to the Plane were part of my family and not his.
Rhiannon could do more with psychic energy than anyone ever had. She was terrifyingly powerful and possibly the key to our survival.
And then there was my Rhysa. My other half. Without her I couldn’t take my other form, the form gifted to me by Destiny when my parents were killed. I wasn’t fully me without her, which sounded unhealthy, but with the fate of our universe in the balance, a lot of sacrifices had to be made. Everything was connected. Maybe even Ender’s frustration was part of the grand design.
“We’ll have to find a way to include him in a way that makes him feel like he has some power here.” I couldn’t have one of the most powerful Houses, let alone their most powerful male, upset when war was at our doorstep.
Bo steepled his fingers. “And how do you plan on doing that, dear brother?” Bo was leaner than me. He was longer and more elegant, where I was broader, a warrior.
A dragon.
Bo, in many ways, was the actual heir to our House now. He carried himself like a Wren, he shifted like a Wren. Destiny took me out of my place and put me somewhere else. But for the time being, I was still the eldest sibling and therefore the Head of House.
Which meant I saw things differently from my brother. I saw the world the way Ender saw it. Responsibility, power, control. I needed power and control because it was my responsibility to keep my House, and everyone I loved, safe. If I thought I had a blind spot, I’d be foaming at the mouth too.
“I’ll handle it.”
Bo frowned. “But how?”
Ender needed an inside line. Someone he could trust. “Aethel.”
Bo’s frown deepened. “You’re going to annoy Ender until he leaves?”
“She’s our sister. Of course we think she’s annoying.”
Bo leaned forward. “Oh no, this isn’t my brotherly opinion. Have you seen her with Ender? She drives him up a wall!”
Bo was so close to getting it. I let him keep explaining the obvious to himself.
“He looks like he would rather spit nails than spend time with her. I swear he almost tore the desk in half when she,” he paused, mouth open, eyes widening, “oh shit. No. Absolutely not.”
I shrugged. “None of us can escape Destiny.”
He shot to his feet. Somehow, despite seeing Destiny at work all around him, Bo still believed he could fight the inevitable. “No. There is no way we’re accepting a Volci into our family. No.”
“We don’t have a say in it. Whether it’s Destiny or Aethel’s choice, they are Fated. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes.” And through a dream I shared with Rhysa. The sign was clear. My sister would fall in love with the wolf shifter…eventually. For now they simply annoyed each other to death.
Bo dropped back into the chair. “But how will making an already upset alpha wolf even more upset help us?”
“Eventually he’ll realize what Aethel tells him is true. And that it matches the intel we give him. He’ll realize he is part of it all and that his power is intact. Just give it time.”
Bo sat quietly while I placed my stamp on a sheet of data going out to the Houses. Eventually he sighed. “Just don’t play games when it’s my turn, okay? Say it to my face.”
“You make it sound like a death sentence to be chosen by Destiny.” For a long time that’s exactly how I felt too, so I understood.
“Wouldn’t you prefer to have chosen Rhysa?”
I shot to my feet, anger and protectiveness surging through my veins in an instant. “I did choose her, you fucking idiot. I would choose her again a thousand times over. Destiny does not change love. Fate doesn’t fake love.” I got in his face, pushed him to the wall, just barely stopping myself from putting a fist through his face. “Do not speak of what you do not understand.”
Bo stared right back at me, his body locked in a defensive stance, ready to fight me, but his eyes had the look of pure confusion that got me to back off. “You really do love her?”
I ran my hand through my hair. “How can you ask that after all this time? After all you’ve seen?”
Bo straightened his clothes and rolled his shoulders. “Because it makes no sense to me. I see it, but it doesn’t translate in my brain. I believe you, though. Until something changes I will do as you ask. I will not speak of what I do not understand.” He left with a nod.
I was close to my family, so I didn’t like leaving things like this, but I was even more uneasy that Bo truly felt the way he felt. Did my other siblings have these same thoughts? Did they truly doubt Rhysa’s place at my side? How could they after seeing it happen again with Leena, and then again with Kris?
Hell, we grew up watching our Aunt Bethany live with a broken heart while she waited for Sun to return to her.
Destiny broke them apart every bit as much as it brought Rhysa and me together.
A knock came at my door and Aethel stuck her head in. “You summoned me, oh great one?”
“Yes. Come in.” I waved to the chair and returned to my desk. “Do you think I love Rhysa?”
She made a comically funny face. “What kind of question is that? You can’t keep your hands off her. It’s really gross by the way. Like, I get that you two hump day and night, but I don’t need to see it when I’m getting my coffee.”
“That’s not necessarily love.” Although I found my attraction inextricably linked to everything about Rhysa.
“I’m extremely uncomfortable describing your relationship with Rhysa so I’ll just say this, dear brother, you’re madly, head over heels, in love with her. Like, pull down the moon with your bare hands because she said she thought it was pretty. That kind of love. The kind Mom and Dad had.”
It filled me with great relief to hear her describe it as such. “Thank you. That’s what I needed to hear.”
“Bo fucking with your head again?”
I stamped the last paper and set them aside. “That’s what little brothers do. Now, the reason I asked you here. I need you to work with Ender on the reports from Rain and Rhysa.”
She stared at me, blinking. “You’re serious.”
“As a Himsai on a sunny day.”
She swore a lot and then glared at me. “Why?”
“Because he needs a translator. Someone who can explain, in ways he understands, that Rain and Rhysa aren’t threats to his power.”
Her mouth fell open. After a moment of confusion she smiled. “Oh. You want me to distract him.”
“No. I want you to do exactly what I asked.” I sighed, trying not to play games, but also not divulge what she needed to learn on her own. “I’ve seen the way you two interact. Yes, you aggravate him, but you also get through to him when others can’t.”
She sat for a moment, taking all that in, then nodded. “I’ll do my best.” Then she squinted her eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be home by now?”
I reached out to the Plane, checking in with the universe, and panicked. Rhysa was waiting for me.
She’d been waiting a while.
“Shit!” I shoved the papers at Aethel. “Can you send these out?”
“No problem, oh great and wise one. And don’t worry. I’ll take care of your Ender problem.”
Rhysa was cooking and baking a lot. She said it was because she had to eat a lot more than she did before she was Awakened. But I think she finds it soothing. Cooking can be distracting, there’s a lot of things to focus on and everything has to be done just right. Distractions were good when the end of the world was coming at about the same time as graduation.
I certainly didn’t mind the sudden abundance of different foods in my life. Some of the experiments ended in disaster but everything else?
Delicious.
So I wasn’t surprised to discover the house smelled fantastic or that the kitchen counters were covered in dishes. “I’m not sure you made enough food.”
Rhysa had the music up loud, a drink in her hand, and chocolate smeared across her cheek. “That’s partially your fault. The longer you took the more food I made!” she shouted over the music. Aerosmith, I think? Her dark hair was looped up into a loose bun, her cheeks flushed from the drink, and little more than one of my t-shirts on underneath the apron.
I moved around the counter and swiped some of the chocolate off her cheek. “Mmm. Maybe I should be late more often?”
She shot me a look. “Only if you like dessert. I seem to switch to sweets when I’m left waiting.”
“I love dessert. Especially when it’s made by you.” I apologized for my lateness by wrapping her up in a deep kiss that was so electric it made my toes curl. “Damnit, Rhysa. Why are you always so sexy?”
Her fingers danced along the small of my back. “You’re one to talk, Mister. Now, onto the feast. We’ve got lots to pick from. Eat what you like. I made jalapeño poppers for the first time and I think they came out pretty good, but the salad dressing is a little too salty. The leg of lamb might be cold. I put tin foil over it, but it’s been out of the oven for a while now.”
“Rhysa.”
“I know it’s a bit much, but there’s oysters and shrimp over on the coffee table, and—”
“Rhysa.”
She kept going. And going. “Pizza with vegetables from the greenhouse, and for dessert there’s chocolate cake or chocolate mousse. I also have a hot chocolate standing by because I found a recipe I really want to try.”
I cupped her face and moved down to catch her gaze. “Rhysa, my love. It all looks delicious. You don’t have to explain everything.”
She bit her lip, looking up at me all gorgeous and vulnerable. “I’m just so fucking excited and terrified.”
And that was the vibration that drove her to cook so much tonight. It wasn’t just the generic stress of war and school; it was the very new reality of what my abilities meant to us both. I pulled her back into my arms. “We can’t control what Destiny has in store for us, but we can enjoy this night together.” Everything inside me screamed to make her happy, to erase all the stress and worry with my bare hands if necessary. It killed me that I couldn’t.
She sniffed. “Well then we should start with the oysters because my mouth has been watering ever since I put them out and I really want to try one.”
“Then we shall start with oysters.” I let her go first so I could watch her walk away. Any chance I could get to admire the most perfect ass in all the world was a chance I took without reservation. I would never apologize for appreciating Rhysa’s beauty—whether it was inside or outside.
Her legs were bare and the apron strings dangled as she walked. I resisted the urge to pull on one because I didn’t want to upset the mood. Whether she knew it or not, Rhysa was hanging on by a thread and probably needed this dinner party as much as I did.
I watched as she ate her first oyster. All that mouth and throat action reminded me that everything about eating them was sexy. “I’m not sure what humans have to say about oysters but,” I selected another and used the little fork to pry the meat free, “for samhain they are an extreme stimulant.”
“Sake?” Rhysa croaked as she poured out steaming clear liquid from a slender pitcher. “It’s supposed to make the flavor of these oysters pop.”
“Then I’d love some sake and to savor this next bite.” I groaned as the alcohol on my tongue combined with the flavor left by the oyster. It burst across my taste buds in a way I hadn’t experienced before.
“Whoa.” Rhysa shot me a surprised glance. “If you keep moaning like that I won’t need oysters to turn me on. It’s so hot in here all of a sudden.”
“It’s not actually. Your blood vessels have just been flushed with fresh blood.”
She stood up, untying her apron and whipping it off. I couldn’t help but stare at her perfectly erect nipples poking out of the soft cotton shirt. They made my mouth water just looking at their silhouette. “I’m tingling everywhere. It’s like every cell in my body is somehow more alive.”
“What do you want, Rhysa?”
She shook her hands and bounced on her toes. “I don’t know. Maybe to be touched? Something to soothe all this…everything.”
I could definitely do that.
“Come here.” I stood up and slipped off my clothing before stripping off her shirt too. “Clothes can feel restricting and make you more anxious instead of less.” I ran my hands over her skin, feeling the stress and anxiety she needed released. It seeped out of her.
“Oh yes,” she hissed.
“Here.” I pressed her down onto the large leather ottoman. “Hands and knees.” She needed my dick and she needed it now.
“Give it to me, Dray. Please?”
My shoulders rolled back when she begged like that and I got even harder. “Down. On your elbows. Push those gorgeous nipples against that cold leather.” I made all the furniture in the house. I was proud of it. But now I found a whole other level of pride because it gave Rhysa pleasure and could hold up to our lovemaking.
She gasped for air as I pushed inside without any of our usual warm up. She was already dripping wet and slow would have bored her. No, what she needed was a good quick, overwhelming fucking to calm her down. “You’re so big like this!”
I felt her tremble around me as I pushed deep, forcing her to open for me, raw and intense. “You like it?”
“Love it,” she sighed, sinking a little into the ottoman.
“Good.” I pulled back and started pumping hard while holding her hips in my grasp so that she had to take it all. Her need called out, letting me know this was exactly what she wanted. I planted my foot beside her for a better angle and leverage. “You like it deep today.”
“Yes! More!” Her breath grew even more ragged.
I used every inch of my length. Long, deep strokes. It was just my cock and nothing else. No tricks. No magic. I didn’t stroke her clits or anywhere else on her body that felt pleasure. Just straight fucking for now. We’d get to the good stuff later.
“Fuck, Dray! I’m going to come!” Her body started trembling.
So I pounded harder, driving her toward that orgasm she needed like I was possessed by a spell. She screamed and then her whole body relaxed as the orgasm washed through her body.
Which of course only made my dick harder for her. And longer. And thicker. It was incredible the way her body called to mine, always wanting more of me. The fact that I could always satisfy her, one way or another was more important to me than anything else once we got naked. Tonight was no exception. “That was a nice appetizer.” And another of those oysters sounded good right about now. I made one for myself then carefully arranged one for Rhysa. “Open.” She opened her big eyes, all glassy with pleasure, smiled, then opened her mouth, accepting the treat. “Good girl. Would you like another?”
She nodded, still trying to catch her breath.
I pulled out and pressed into her ass. “Then hold on. I’m just getting started.”
