Behind the Veil: 3 (Temptation Unveiled) (15 page)

Finn mocked himself. She didn’t look better. She looked
beautiful, adorable and entirely too fuckable to be on such public display.

He snarled when he heard Kyle’s thoughts from the other
room. The human had decided to join them. To check on Sheridan. Finn wouldn’t
allow it. Kyle didn’t get to see her like this. Didn’t get to imagine her
waking up in bed with him. She was
his
. The rest of them be damned.

Dian stood quickly. “Ceri, I think it best we take Kyle for
a stroll in the high caverns. You told me there was something you wanted to
show him.”

“I did?” Ceri’s voice rose, pausing momentarily as she read
her lover’s expression. “Of course I did. Finn, lock up on your way out. We’re
taking Kyle on an adventure. We will see you for tonight’s festivities. Unless
we decide to keep him to ourselves.”

Finn took a breath only after the outer door had closed
behind the trio, leaving them alone. She shifted against him and he clenched
his jaw, struggling for some semblance of control.

“They didn’t have to leave. Whatever Badger gave me, it
worked.” Her words were sleep-softened and soothing. But he could sense it in
her too. Awareness. Need. The same need that was making him ache. Making him
burn. “I’m okay now, I promise. I won’t be going berserker or Horde on you any
time soon. You can let me go.”

Did she think he was worried about that? That he was
restraining her because of what had happened? She was touching him, couldn’t
she feel what he was feeling? Didn’t she know?

“No.” He rolled on top of her, his erection pressing into
the inviting opening between her thighs. “I can’t.”

But he needed to. He couldn’t take her, not yet. Not the way
he wanted to. It would put her in too much danger. It would distract them both
from what needed to be done.

She was breathless beneath him, desire darkening her eyes. “Finn?”

He wasn’t sure what came over him. The need to claim her in
some small way, in any way, was driving him insane. He reached for her wrists
and dragged them over her head so she couldn’t get away. He didn’t want to use
his abilities. He wanted to feel her pulse pounding against his palms, to wrap
his fingers around her soft, delicate flesh.

He rocked his hips against hers, her heat scalding him
through their clothing. He could feel her body crying out for his. “Finn,” he
rasped. “Not Tinkerbell. Not Faery Hood.
Finn
. You’ve been using my name
more often of late. Could it be, Detective, that you finally know what you
want?”

She struggled instinctively against his grasp, her hips
bucking up into his in a way that made them both groan in pleasure. “Yes, damn
it,” she gasped. “Did I not make it clear enough last night? I know what I
want.
Do you
? And do you remember that whole Fae pact you made such a
fuss about? The one you apparently broke by telling Meru? Because I’m getting
mixed signals here, Fair—”

“I didn’t tell her about last night,” he growled before he
kissed her. He couldn’t help himself, and he wasn’t entirely sure he could
stop. Where had his skill gone? His experience? It was as if he’d never kissed
another woman before Sheridan. As if he’d die if he let her go. Had he laughed
at the Lycan’s reaction to his mate? Found Hawk and Val’s obsession with Linnea
amusing?

He was a fool. One who had to touch his woman. Just feel her
heat beneath his fingers before he let her leave this room. He lifted his head
and growled, “Roll over, Sher.”

Her eyes, now more green than hazel, widened—but she obeyed
instantly, her hip pushing against his hard cock when she turned and presented
him with perfection.

Perfection encased in too much fabric. There was no time for
buttons and zippers. No time for finesse, but still he resisted using magic to
make it easier. His arms flexed and he ripped the seam of her jeans and the
lacy nothing beneath it from waist to thigh, smiling in satisfaction at her
shocked shout. Had she forgotten what he was? What he could do? The Vikings had
nothing on a full-blooded Fae.

“Oh my God.”

“I won’t fuck you, Sheridan.” His voice was deep, hardly
recognizable to his own ears. “Not the way we both want me to. Not until you’re
ready. But I won’t promise not to do everything else.”

He dragged her hips upward until she was on her knees, her
face pressed against her pillow and the tight curve of her ass displayed to his
view. “I won’t promise not to fill your pussy with my fingers, to see how much
you can take.”

Finn slid two of his fingers inside her in a deep, curving
thrust, loving how her arousal instantly drenched his hand. How her hips rocked
with the rhythm he set, silently begging for more.

“I won’t promise not to do this.” He licked the thumb of his
other hand, pulling it from his mouth and lowering his palm to the silken flesh
of her ass. He pressed the thick, wet digit against her in warning and she
moaned at the unexpected caress. “Should I, Sher? Should I promise not to take
your ass? Should I promise not to give you a taste of this? Not to fill you
front and back? I know you’ve imagined it. Your dreams gave you away.”

He thought about her habit of driving him insane with her outspoken
lust for Hawk and Val. She’d admitted she had fantasies about them as well. He
felt his pulse tic on his jaw. He would never share her. It wasn’t going to
happen. But there were other things he could do.

“No,” she groaned beneath him, making him pause. “No, I
mean…
Fuck.
Please, Finn. I don’t want you to promise. I want you to…
Please
.”

Oh hell, she was begging again. His cock pressed painfully
against his jeans as he pushed his thumb inside the tight sheath of her ass,
his other fingers deep inside her sex. “I will not take you until you’re ready,”
he swore through gritted teeth. His words a mantra to remind himself to keep
control. “I will not bury my cock as deep inside you as I can get.”

He pushed deeper, barely hearing her cries through the haze
of desire pounding in his ears…coursing through his veins. His skin felt tight
and hot. His head was spinning as he watched her grip the willowy wood of the
headboard for balance. Her back bowed as she rocked against him, faster and
harder, taking everything he had to give. He loved the sounds she was making.
The whimpers. Loved the scent of her arousal. The scent he now craved.

“I will not fuck you. I will not feel your snug pussy clench
around me as you come. I will not fill this sweet ass and watch how perfectly
you take me. I will
not
make you mine.”

“Finn. Jesus, you’re driving me crazy.” Sheridan shouted his
name again, gripping the headboard so hard he heard the wood creak…and he felt it.
Felt her find her release against his hand, soaking his fingers.

His body demanded that he seek his own climax. Now.

Take her. Fuck her. Claim her.

“No.” He lifted his hands from her body and moved away with
a speed he knew she would think was unnatural. Everything in him immediately
rejected his decision to stop touching her. Everything but the knowledge that
there would be no going back if he didn’t. He wouldn’t be able to let her go
once it was done. And he wasn’t sure that was what she wanted. “We have to
stop.”

“Stop?” Sheridan sounded out of breath and dumbfounded. “Oh
no you don’t. Not again, buddy. What the hell? Was there some sort of fine
print in our Fae contract about the prophecy affair not including actual sex?
If so, I’d like to renegotiate.”

He felt his lips twitch. “Prophecy Affair? Is that what
we’re calling this?”

“We could call it The Case of the Frustrating Fae and His
Faulty Memory,” she grumbled. “You were in my dream, Finn. We… Well, it isn’t
as if I don’t know how we’ll be together.”

But she didn’t. The dream had been incredible. Unbelievable.
He knew reality would be more. “I only want to make sure—”

“I’m ready. I get it. I suppose we could be creative.”

He watched her get up on her knees, saw her flushed face as
she turned and reached for his waistband. “What are you doing?”

She bit her lip, her dazed eyes attempting to focus as she
slipped the buttons that had been digging into his sensitized flesh free. “I
think the term for this is quid pro quo. You’ve gotten to watch me come. More
than once now. But even in my dream, even when I felt you inside me,” she
shivered, “I never got that chance.”

He made a sound of mixed protest and yearning, loving the
feel of her hands, tender and feminine and surprisingly strong on his bare cock
as she took him in hand. She laughed softly and he met her gaze. Clear eyes
now, full of satisfaction, determination and desire. “We won’t break any
promises or go too fast if
I
get to make
you
come, will we,
Tinker Stud? Do you think I’m ready for that?”

He nodded slowly, knowing this was dangerous territory. He’d
held himself back. Kept his needs at bay. But since the dream, since he felt
her lips around him, he’d wanted more. He was wound so tight, so ready for her,
that even the slightest touch could set him off.

Sheridan did more than touch.

Her mouth opened around his erection with no hesitation. No
false modesty or tepid samplings. Not his woman. She was greedy. Finn hissed
and looked down to watch her cheeks hollow as she took him in, her eyes closed in
apparent ecstasy.

Finn let his fingers tangle in her hair and she moaned. She
wanted his touch. His taste. As much as he wanted hers. His fingers tightened
experimentally and she shivered. Yes. That was the woman he knew. The wild
warrior who craved submission. “Sher.”

Her tongue circled his shaft, both her hands reaching up to
grip him, cup him. Her passion pushed his to the breaking point. Her mouth was
his weakness. He pumped his hips almost helplessly against her. A week ago he’d
thought she would never touch him. Now she was here, doing things with her
mouth he’d been dreaming of since that first kiss.

“Do you like it, love?” he growled. “Is that why you’re
doing this? Does it give you a thrill to see how quickly you can own me? Or do you
need to see me beg before you’re satisfied?”

She tugged her head away from his hands and lifted her
mouth, her flushed face glowing, her breath heavy with arousal. “I need you to beg,
yes. I love to drive you mad because you drive me mad. And I want you to come,
Finn. I want to taste it. I. Want. You.”

She was a devil. And Druid, human or Fae—she was his.

Something inside him, something that had been hardened long
ago, shattered as he climaxed. Jagged lightning flashes of sensation struck
every nerve ending and his shout echoed off the walls, the sound of her name ringing
in his ears like a battle cry. At last.

But the battle wasn’t over yet.

Shameless.

Not the Fae that filled the palace hall in every manner of
colorful dress and revealing attire. Not the couples and groups she’d seen in
the gardens and against the walls in the hallways leading to the feast—the ones
who had decided there was no need to get a room in the land of the Tuatha De
Porno.

She
had
rolled her eyes at Meru when they passed by
the heavy-petters, but not necessarily at
them
. Apparently the sight of Fae
mid-coitus gave her pregnant, hormonal cousin a mad case of the inappropriate
giggles.

Sheridan was the shameless one. Not just because of what she’d
done a few hours before in a bed that didn’t even belong to her—attacking Finn,
allowing herself to be ravished and become ravenous in return—but because she
liked the feeling. She wanted it again.

And she wouldn’t mind it if everyone watched.

Badger’s magical mixture had worked better than the Druid
may have hoped. Sheridan was seeing things clearly. Everything. Her life
choices and her rebellions. Her dreams and her nightmares. Her reaction to this
new world, and why she’d put herself through the kind of punishment she had
with her manifestation of Eonis.

Her
manifestation. She had done that. When they were
dressing for this event, Meru and Badger tried to explain what happened. The
quiet, maternal Linnea had been listening raptly on the sidelines.

Sheridan had taken a piece of the darkness inside her unconsciously.
Luckily, regardless of the voice’s effect on her psyche, it had never been able
to control her actions. And now it was gone at last. But then today happened.
Today and the dagger. She remembered feeling, for a moment, what it was like
for Hawk when he became a berserker.

She used to envy him his strength. Not anymore. Now she just
had the craziest urge to give him a hug and the need to tear the Archon Freya’s
hair out for trapping him the way she had. The point was, she knew. She knew
how Hawk felt when he held that blade the way she knew what she’d had for
breakfast.

True knowing with a twist, they’d said. And the twist was
still a mystery. One she desperately wanted answers to. But she reminded
herself that wasn’t the mystery she was supposed to solve this evening.

Tonight she had control. She could feel her power just
beneath the surface, waiting patiently for her to command. She should be able
to know without allowing the knowledge to overwhelm her. Tonight, for the first
time regardless of all her training with Raj, she finally felt more than human.

Sheridan squared her shoulders and followed the other women
to the table where their men were waiting. They had been given priority seating
to view the crowds, and now that she had a bit more in her arsenal than a
prophecy and raw nerves, she was ready to ferret out the bad guys in time for
dessert.

She grimaced. Overconfidence had gotten her in trouble
before. Gotten her kidnapped. It was her kryptonite and she couldn’t let it get
the best of her again.

Meru took her hand and squeezed. “You look fantastic.
Personally, I feel like a floating silk globe. But you? Sher, you’d think you
were born to wear Fae fashion.”

She shook her head at her cousin’s words. Meru was stunning
and everyone knew it. She’d seen all the stares the petite bundle received, and
it wasn’t just because she possessed the Book of Veils. The Madonna had nothing
on her. With her dark curls flowing down her back and her skin glowing,
practically radiating joy, Meru had finally come into her own. She’d found her
path, her destiny, and she’d embraced it.

Sheridan shifted, adjusting the one-sided strap of the
practically sheer emerald gown that Linnea had gotten for her to wear. Other
than her insecurity about her scars—the ones no one but Finn had ever gotten to
see before tonight—she’d thought she didn’t look half bad in the bathroom
mirror. But here? In public? It was kind of over the top.

Was this really how Fae women dressed? Looking around, she
could see that it was, but still, it seemed very… What was the word she was
looking for?

It came to her when she noticed Finn standing a few yards
away with a tall, red-haired beauty leaning against his arm and frowned.

Slutty. That was the word.

Finn went eerily still and his perfectly etched jaw
tightened. And then he was staring directly at her, fire sparking in his eyes
and making her skin heat. The same fire she’d seen when he’d left her at the
entrance to The Guardian Mother’s apartments with a few terse words.

No “Thank you for the best blowjob of my immortal existence”.
No “Come back to my place and skip this party”. Not even “Sorry I ripped your
favorite pair of jean”. Just, “I have to go”.

Any other woman might worry that he regretted what happened,
but she didn’t. It was the damnedest thing, but somehow she knew. She knew his
reactions were real. Knew he’d felt what she had. It went beyond her gift. It
just was. She’d never experienced anything like it before.

And if that woman didn’t step away from him soon, she’d
commit murder in fairyland and never be able to experience it again.

“Wow.” Kyle appeared at her side and took her hand,
half-twirling her as he took in her upswept hair and flowing, floor-length
gown. “Wow.”

She tried to curtsy. “Thank you. Twice.”

He shrugged, his silk tunic tightening across his shoulders.
“It bears repeating. And really? That’s all I’ve got in my compliment arsenal
other than ‘
Damn
, woman’ and a few other inappropriate comments that
should never be spoken out loud at crowded parties.” He glanced over at the
other women. “I’ll spread the wow love in your direction as well. Luckily, your
men are on their way to claim you, so I won’t have to fend off the wild things
for very long.”

Meru snorted. “Thanks for heaping that praise on, Kyle. But
it’s not us I’m worried about. There’s a group of Fae across the room who are
licking their chops as if you’re the buffet. I thought the claiming would put a
stop to that. Are Ceri and Dian coming to protect your delicate behind?”

Kyle smiled, though it wavered slightly, and Sheridan
noticed. He was hiding something. “They’ll be here soon. Wanted to make an
entrance. And yes, I noticed them. Apparently the claiming
mutes
the
hotness but doesn’t erase it completely.” His chuckle sounded bemused. “Who
knew being literally the most average, boring human in my neighborhood would
eventually pay off so big?”

The women all laughed and Kyle pulled Sheridan against him
in a playful embrace. “Get a piece of this average magic while you can,” he
joked. “Before my head swells and we can’t get away from all the pretty fairies
in time for Ceri to save me.”

“Ceri can’t save you from me.”

Sheridan jerked in Kyle’s arms. Had Finn just flashed across
the room in front of everyone in order to threaten Kyle? She pursed her lips in
irritation. “Did you get tired of your new twinkly toy so quickly? I thought
you’d bring her over for introductions.”

“She’s a fellow tracker and has the ear of the queen.”
Finn’s tone was grim. “She’s the current favorite and she was trying to bargain
for some time alone with Kyle. I warned her away, but perhaps I acted too
rashly. My only concern was that Ceri might not like him returned to her
bruised. Meara’s fond of whips, I hear.”

Kyle paled and Sheridan stepped between the two men, hands
clenched at her hips. How dare he? “You would know, wouldn’t you? In fact, why
don’t you help us out, Finn, so we don’t step on any toes during the opening
feast. Point out the one or two Fae here that you
haven’t
slept with
before. That way, we’ll be able to tell your family apart from the others.”

Someone choked and someone else seemed to be gasping for
air, but it was the sardonic male chuckle that Sheridan honed in on.

Nyctimus. “Still, guys? I was sure you two would have gotten
some of that out of your systems by now.”

Sheridan whirled around, avoiding everyone’s gaze but the
demi-god’s. “You having a problem keeping your nose out of everyone’s business
again, Nyctimus?
What
are you doing here anyway? Filling in for Myrddin
as the token irritating Archon?”

Nyc smiled and shook his head, bringing attention to his
long, shimmering hair and the silver scar on his face that did nothing to mar
his attractiveness. “Now, Sheridan, don’t turn that stinger on me. I’m
basically family.”

He lowered his voice, his smile still in place but his
silver eyes dark with meaning. “And as a relative, I feel you need to be
warned. It’s not that we aren’t enjoying the show, but I thought the point was
not
to draw too much unwanted attention. The rate you two are going now? You’ll
either be fighting or fucking before the festivities begin and everyone will
want a front row seat for either option. Unless that’s a part of the plan no
one told me about,” he glanced over her shoulder to include Finn in the
conversation, “you two need to stop the jealous banter and work together.”

Her cheeks heated in anger and embarrassment. She’d just
been lectured by Nyctimus.
Of all people
. And he was right, the jackass.
Kyle must be rubbing off on him.

Hadn’t she been sure of Finn’s feelings only moments ago?
What flip had switched inside her that had suddenly made her crazy with
jealousy? “He started it,” she muttered before crossing her arms over her chest
and bobbing her head in agreement. “You’re right though. We don’t want anyone
watching us while we’re trying to find the spear before the bad guys do.”

“Wow.” Kyle huffed out a surprised breath. “Savor that, Nyc,
old buddy. You probably won’t hear it again for a few thousand years.”

Nyc smirked but didn’t look away from Finn. “You may have to
break one or two of your rules before this is over, Fae of the
Fianna
.
But right now you need to keep your cool. You ready?”

She heard Finn snarl behind her. “I am. And thank you.”

Kyle whooped softly. “Two for two. Dude, you are on
fire
.
You’ll have to tell me your secret.”

Nyc lifted his eyebrow and looked over his shoulder at his
human cheering section. “That’s easy, Dimples. Didn’t you know? I’m a god.”

Damon appeared behind Nyctimus and clapped his shoulder with
one large hand. “Funny. You should take that act on the road. You know, the
road that doesn’t follow us around wherever we go? Now where is my wife?”

“Ah, brotherly love.” Badger smiled. “Come on, little wren,
we have to get you up to the dais with the queen before she sends her ever-present
ladies our way.”

Linnea and Badger said quick goodbyes and swiftly
disappeared into the growing throng of the tall, beautiful and scantily clad
clones they seemed to breed in this dimension. Sheridan sighed. She should have
worn higher heels.

She was watching Damon reunite with Meru as if he hadn’t
seen her for months, complete with embarrassing growls and high-pitched
giggles, when she heard the whispered, “I’m sorry” against her cheek.

Finn. She closed her eyes as his heat warmed her bare back. “I
know.”

“You know?” His voice was chiding. “That’s it. You
know
?”

She shrugged. “I know things. It’s my gift, haven’t you been
paying attention?”

“Clever.” His fingers traced a line up her spine through the
thin fabric. She bit her lip, hard, so she wouldn’t shiver. “You look
irresistible in this. As soon as I saw you I wanted to take it off and touch
you. When Kyle did—”

She was trying not to smile. “I know.”

Those talented fingers reached the sensitive nape of her
neck. “You
are
good at this. Do you also know that I’ve never slept with
Meara, the woman you saw me with? I worked with her, but I never slept with
her. She’s married to my brother now.”

She let her lip go slowly, sensually, her eyes on their
small party as she focused on keeping her voice low so they wouldn’t hear. “
Now
.
But I’m sure you had a chance before. Not a fan of whips then?”

“Not as a rule, no.” His other hand cupped her hip, lightly,
teasingly. “With the right woman, however, I could become a fan of anything. We
could experiment.”

“Is it a Fae thing?” She sighed, loving his hands on her
body. Wishing they were alone. “The flashes of jealousy stuff? I wouldn’t think
so, since everyone here seems to be really…open to sharing.”

“You noticed that?”

“Literally impossible not to.”

“Let’s just say it’s a you-and-me thing,” he murmured. “It’s
complicated.”

Her laugh was strained. “You always say that.”

“This time I’m not exaggerating.”

She was afraid of that. “I know.”

* * * * *

Sheridan was quickly becoming convinced that she shouldn’t have
allowed Kyle to come anywhere near this place. She’d been selfish. She’d wanted
her friend close by. Desired the safety and familiarity of his presence.

Now he was the one who appeared to be in danger. Kyle had
apparently been sprayed with the Fae equivalent of catnip, and the kitties were
in a playful mood. A steady stream of males and females alike approached him at
their table. With each new course, she would look up to notice another visitor
reaching out to touch his hair. Leaning in to smell him. She’d never seen
anything like it, and by the tense expression on Kyle’s face, neither had he.

She turned her head slightly in Finn’s direction, keeping
her eyes on her partner. “I never thought I’d say this, but where the hell are
Ceri and Dian? Shouldn’t they be protecting him from this mob of human-hungry sex
sprites?”

Finn, who’d been sitting beside her and driving her insane
for the last hour or more with a not-so-subtle exploration beneath the table,
seemed to understand her concern. “I’m not sure. Don’t worry, no one would dare
overstep in front of so many witnesses. The dinner is over, and as soon as the
protection ceremony is done, we’ll leave and look for them. I don’t know Dian
that well, but I know Ceri. She takes her responsibilities seriously. There is
undoubtedly a good reason for her absence.”