“Can we go home now?” I ask. “I mean back to the Underworld?”
“Yes,” he says. “As long as you spend the night with me in our bed. I have missed you.”
“I will never spend the night away from you ever again, given the choice,” I tell him and he beams at me. “I love you.”
“I love you, my sweet,” he replies and then Teleports us back home.
The next day, after making love to CK all night long, I climb out of bed stiff and weary, but very satisfied. He has already gone off to do whatever it is he does when he disappears, and I am left alone to shower.
After I get out, I Astral on my clothes and pull my hair back in a casual ponytail. Then I go to the place that CK thinks he has hidden my magick mirror and I pull it out. In order for V.A. to remain calm and controlled, She has to be taken in and soon. I do not want a repeat performance of Her outrage.
“Finn,” I call into the mirror, but all I see is the foggy swirl that indicates no answer on the other end. “Finn!” I belt out at volume. “I am not going anywhere. I need you.”
It takes a few seconds, but then there he is staring back at me. “Finn,” I say in relief. “Please, you have to come now.”
“Just give me a minute,” he says and then disappears. I assume that he is going to ask my mother’s permission to leave and come to me. I can’t see any way that She could refuse him; I am, after all, a Dragon in need of her Guardian. I wait for about five minutes, getting more anxious by the second and then he is there behind me with a big smile.
“Sorry,” he says. “There’s a lot going on at the moment.”
Humph, I’m sure. I just smile at him and say, “No worries.” No point in making him suspicious of me. “But V.A. went nuts yesterday and I need you.” I turn around and pull my top over my head and then also drop my sweats to keep him sweet. He does so love a good eyeful. When I look back at him in the mirror, he has already taken his own loose top and pants off and is ready for me in all his naked glory. Okay, so I’ll admit, I love a good eyeful of him as well. He is gorgeous with his olive skin and long, dark hair that falls to his waist and abs that would make any woman cry with joy.
He steps forward and places his hands on me. I shiver as I feel V.A. come alive under his touch and within seconds he has peeled Her off my back and taken Her into him with a golden glow. He soothes Her and balances the Power and then hands Her back to me before he trails his hands down over my bare arse and gives me hard squeeze. I drop my head back against his shoulder, feeling more relaxed than I have since the last time he did this. He takes this as an invitation and I let him brush his hands down over my breasts and straight in between my legs. I gasp as he fingers my clit, circling me in a delicious way that pleases me a lot. He is about to go so much further when I hear a low growling, I turn with an expectant look and, to my joy, it worked! I had read the situation in the Dragon Realms perfectly and it has paid off. Remiel is wildly jealous of Finn and this little display has brought him straight to my side.
“Get your hands off her,” he says to Finn.
Finn just looks back at him in that way that he has that screams he doesn’t give a shit, and I visibly see Remiel trying to hold onto his temper. It annoys the shit out of me, as he has no right to be pissed off, but he is here and that is all that matters. I duck out of Finn’s arms and Astral my clothes back on, not wanting to be naked in front of Remiel for any longer than I already was. Finn on the other hand takes his time and with a reluctant look at me, he pops his shirt back on. “One day, my Queen, one day we will be together.”
I just stand there while Remiel simmers in the corner.
“Leave now,” he says quietly and I find it far more menacing than if he had yelled it out. He is more like CK than either one of them would care for, but it sort of amuses me. In a weird, sickening way, of course.
With a soft smile, Finn disappears and then Remiel fixes his blue gaze on me.
“Where have you been?” I ask quietly before he can say anything. “I have been calling for you.”
“I know,” he says shortly. “I have been busy.”
Yes, busy raising my daughter behind my back, you prick! “I needed you to come to me,” I say carefully.
“Why?” he asks just as carefully, but he comes closer.
I bring the tears to my eyes that are so close to the surface anyway and I look away. “I know you think I am being weak, but I miss our child,” I say.
He hesitates for a moment and then he comes to me and takes me in his arms. “I do not think you are weak, Aefre. I am sorry that I didn’t come sooner.”
“Why didn’t you?” I press. I do not expect him to blurt out his lies to me right now, but I need to get him to speak to me, to trust me.
“I was unsure of your intentions,” he says after a pause. “When I was here last time it was…confusing.”
“I was grieving,” I say truthfully. “For a lot of things. So much has happened, I was overwhelmed. But things are so much clearer now.”
“How so?” he asks.
“I want to try again at my next Heat, Remiel. I want a baby with you. Our baby, who will be so powerful and so loved. I know my destiny and I accept it,” I say, pretending that I am talking to CK so that I can make it sound believable.
“Oh, Aefre,” he says, “I have waited for these words. I want that too, but are you really
ready to forsake everyone else?”