Crown of Thorns (Legends and Lovers)

When we came in a nuclear blast of pleasure, he fell back, still holding me against his chest.

“I’d break my vows again for this,” he said, when we had caught our breaths.

My smile disappeared when we were interrupted.

“Well, look at the two lovebirds.”

Fourteen

The woman who entered was stunning, easily the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Her fiery-red hair tumbled in effortless curls down her back. Her full, ruby-red lips split into a wicked grin.

“Witch,” Duncan called as he sat upright in bed.

We were both still very naked, and I saw her eyes drop to his crotch. I quickly sat up and yanked the sheet over both of our laps. On my end, I pulled my side up to cover my breasts.

“Well now, no need for name-calling and covering of cocks. I must say, Gabriel—or is that Duncan you’re calling yourself these days?—I will gladly ride that fine cock of yours when she’s gone. I’ll even wear her face while doing it.”

Her head blurred, and I blinked a few times, thinking somehow my vision was off. But when she came into focus again, it was like looking in a mirror.

Duncan wasn’t impressed, just royally pissed off. “If ye ever think I’d bed ye, ye’re wrong. Ye may wear her face, but yer not her, witch.” He spat in her direction for emphasis.

Her face blurred again, and she was back to wearing the face she’d walked in with. “I did mention no name-calling, as you know exactly who I am.” Points for Duncan as he’d pissed her off. When he didn’t respond, she sighed. “Lilith, daughter of Adam and pain in the ass to Eve,” she reminded him.

“How did ye get here?” he asked. To me, he mumbled, “She shouldn’t be able to cross here.”

“Ah, well, I must thank Elin and her mother for that. Fabian, the dear, let me piggyback my way in. Well, ‘let’ isn’t the right word. He didn’t have a choice. And since poor Elin blocked her powers from her mind, her mom sought out help. Fabian is able to use other powers as long as he’s touching them. He used Elin’s to cross her into Scotland. And I was there along for the ride.” She smirked. “I’ve been here watching and waiting for the last several days. You two are terribly entertaining.”

I remembered the hands that had clawed Fabian after we crossed. There was still something bothering me about her story. “But you were there at the tavern,” I said.

She’d been the barmaid who had spiked Duncan’s drink with a demon potion to get him drunk.

“Oh, that. The poor tavern girl felt lost after her mother died and when her ugly little father took advantage, she sought out my help. I won’t bore you with what he did. Let’s just say gross, which meant she needed me. Speaking of which, where is my son?”

“He’s not your son,” I said with more vehemence than I’d spoken thus far.

Duncan took my hand, and I could feel him sending calming vibes to me, along with the sense that he didn’t want me to speak further. From that I guessed he didn’t want the evil woman to know any more than she did.

“Isn’t he? I orchestrated the events that led to his conception. Gabriel has been cockblocked since his creation. The pack of them live like eunuchs, blindly following the orders on high.” She drummed the tips of her fingers together. Her spiky nails clacked, making the most annoying noise. “Did you know Gabriel and the others were the test run for God’s greatest creation—man? My father, Adam, was the most hypocritical being of all creation. He blames my mother for his downfall as if he didn’t make a choice. And Eve took all the blame. And because she didn’t take orders well, there aren’t females of his kind.” She stabbed a finger in Duncan’s direction. “Such a shame for specimens like Gabriel not to use all that hard muscle to give pleasure.” She turned her full attention to him. “I gave you freedom with my elixir. I freed your mind, body, and soul so that you could have what you wanted. Once you give cock, you never say nocht, am I right?” She spoke with laughter like she thought that was a ta-da moment.

Only she’d used the terms wrong. I didn’t bother with an explanation. Instead, the answer came to me as if I’d always known it. “But you weren’t there. You couldn’t possess the girl if you wanted her to conceive. Free will and all of that.”

Of course, there were exceptions to that. Women had been taken advantage of throughout history and gotten pregnant. But the coercion couldn’t be from outside this realm. This truth hadn’t come from something I’d read. The knowledge came from the part of me made by Michael.