Midnight Enchantment (17 page)

Huh.
They weren’t really friends, were they? Yet the truth cookies had let him say that. Fascinating.

The front door opened, and Elizabeth entered. “Mom? Whose car is that…
Niall?
” Her eyes flicked from the plate of cookies to Niall’s face and she went completely still.

Relief rocketed through him. She hadn’t been captured. Niall gave her a slow smile and a wink. “Hi, Elizabeth!” he returned brightly.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

Her mother turned in her chair. “Come on in, honey, Niall was just telling me how you two met. You didn’t tell me you had a new friend.” Her tone said the unsaid—
who’s a man
.

“I was going to tell you, Mom.” She smiled. “I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.” Her eyes met Niall’s while her mom’s head was turned, and he mouthed
liar
at her. “But I’m really glad to see that Niall is here because I need to talk to him. Right now. Outside. Would you be offended if I took a little walk with him, Mom?”

Thea immediately stood up. “Not at all! While you’re gone, I’ll make you both some dinner.”

Niall regarded the stove warily. If the cookies made him tell the truth, what would dinner make him do? “A walk is a great idea.” He stood and followed Elizabeth out the door.

Once they were traveling the moonlit path away from the small house, she whirled to face him. “What the hell are you doing here? How did you even know where to find her?”

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’m the only one who knows where to find your mom. A friend found an obscure reference to a sprae dependent woman who adopted a possible asrai, and I followed up on the lead. Took me all damn day.” He studied her. “She’s who you’re protecting, right? And she doesn’t know about it. She’s got no idea you have the pieces.”

“She knows now.” Elizabeth gestured angrily at the house. “You ate her cookies.”

“No, I didn’t tell her you’re the one hiding the pieces of the
bosca fadbh.
She has no idea you’re currently the most wanted fae in all of Piefferburg.”

She said nothing for a long moment, then tipped her head to the side. “Why? You could have taken her into custody, threatened her. You could have used her against me. Why didn’t you?”

His jaw clenched, apparently he still couldn’t lie. “I came to warn you about that very thing, but certain events have transpired since then. Walk with me.”

She fell into step at his side. She wore a tight pair of leather hunting pants, popular with nature fae, a pair of scuffed boots, and a heavy black cable-knit sweater. Her red hair hung loose around her shoulders. If it hadn’t been for her pale skin and her hair, she would have blended seamlessly into the night.

And she looked good.

“Have you been to your house lately?”

She shuddered. “There was a man, a big guy with long black hair and a gold tooth. He came with goblins.”

“Ragnar Joren Kvalheim,” Niall replied grimly. “I saw his body. Who killed him?”

Hugging herself, her boots crunching dead leaves, she led him into a small clearing and sat down on a boulder. He sank down beside her, and she moved a degree away—probably afraid of being captured by him again. “I don’t know. That Unseelie did something horrible to me, felt like my veins were on fire.”

“He can—could—boil blood and the water in a person’s body.”

“Lovely. Whatever he did, it nearly killed me. All I know is that some other people showed up, two men I didn’t recognize. There was a big battle, and my house ended up on fire.”

“You didn’t see their faces, hear anything they said?” He rubbed his chin. Who the hell were these new players? Someone sent by the Summer Queen?

“Gee, no, sorry. I was too busy writhing in absolute agony. They tried to cuff me in charmed iron, but I managed to force myself to dissolve right before they got me.”

“Why did you come back here? It’s not safe.”

She looked at him sideways. “Why do you care whether I’m safe or not?”

“I’m not a fucking monster, Elizabeth. I came to warn you that the Shadow Queen told me to back off, says I’m too close
to do what needs to be done after all that time I spent in your head.”

Apparently she’d been right, considering he was sitting here having this civil conversation with Elizabeth.

“She sent Ragnar after you instead,” he continued. “He’d intended to torture and kill all the people you care about one by one until you gave up the pieces.”

“
Damn it.
Ragnar is dead, but that doesn’t mean she won’t send others.” She pushed away from the boulder and paced in front of him, hugging herself.

“Right. The Black Tower has a surplus of badass fae who have no problem hurting people if ordered. So it’s time to give up the pieces before you lose the people you love.”

Elizabeth stopped pacing and looked off into the distance, in the direction of her mother’s house. “She’ll die, Niall. If the walls fall, she’ll suffocate without the sprae to give her breath.”

“Then I guess you’re in the same position as our queen. You have to sacrifice one to save many. It’s an awful decision to have to make, but—”

She lunged at him, grabbing his jacket and coming nose to nose with him. The scent of her flowery soap wafted around him. He tried not to inhale and be seduced. “You’re still under the influence of my mom’s cookies, so tell me, do you have magick that could help me?”

Fuck.
“Yes, I do.”

“What is it?”

He clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes, fighting the magick that was compelling him to tell the truth.

“Tell me what magick you possess that can help me save the people I care about,” she asked again.

He sighed, unable to combat it any longer. “I can conceal them from anyone who looks, at least for a time.”

“You can…hide them?”

“Yes.”

She considered him for a moment. Her breath warmed his mouth and he fought a crazy impulse to lean forward and press his lips to hers.
Fuck.
He was in trouble. “You want to help me for some reason, don’t you?” she asked him in a mystified tone.

“No. I don’t want to help you hide the pieces. What you’re doing is wrong, but I do want to keep you and yours alive.”

She stared at him for a moment longer, and then turned away. When she spoke next, she sounded defeated, like she knew what his answer would be. “Do you have magick that could help my mom if the walls break?”

“I wish I did, but no. If I had magick like that, I would have already offered it to you.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Do you know anyone who does?”

He went silent, considering. The Piefferburg witch was the only one he could think of. “Maybe.”

She turned back toward him. “Really?”

He held up a hand. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up. This fae is expensive and capricious as hell. Sometimes she’ll hurt while seeming to help you. Sometimes she’ll help you while seeming to hurt. She loves to sow chaos, and she doesn’t give a shit about the walls coming down. Her time here in Piefferburg is like a blink of an eye to her, she’s so old. Everything’s a game to the Piefferburg witch.”

Elizabeth’s eyes glowed with hope in the small amount of moonlight. “Still, if there’s even a chance.”

“She could make it worse.”

“How could it get worse?”

Niall rubbed a hand over his face as he stared off into the tree line. Sprae danced and cavorted in the leaves and bushes. “Look, here’s the deal. I’ll do the concealment spell on your mom and your people, but only for the time it takes me to go talk to the Piefferburg witch. If she’s got some miracle solution for your mom, you’ll hand over the pieces, right?”

She squealed and launched herself into his arms. “Happily.”

He held her close, enjoying the way her body molded to his. Immediately he recalled the night on the floor in front of the fire, when he’d made her come over and over.… Fuck, his dick was getting hard.

He held her at arm’s distance, trying to control his impulse to lay her flat on this rock and make her come for real. “If the witch doesn’t have anything to help you, all bets are off. Got it?”

“I get it.”

“I know who you’re protecting now. I can use that against you. I would never hurt your mom physically, but there’s other ways I can make you do what I want.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Just when I started to think you were a good guy.”

“You’re making me work against my queen right now. It’s making me cranky.”

She raised an eyebrow and grinned. “I’m not making you do anything. You offered to do this. Why?”

“You’re really fucking taking advantage of those cookies, aren’t you?”

She shrugged. “All the nature fae around here know not to eat my mom’s food. Sometimes it makes you tell the truth. Sometimes it makes you do a dance. Sometimes, if you’ve been really naughty, it will kill you.”

“And your mom seemed so sweet.”

“She is sweet. She’s just not a sitting duck.”

“Your mom is Unseelie.”

“Technically.
Answer the question.
”

“I’m helping you because I want to get the pieces back with as little bloodshed as possible. Also, I like you.”

“You do?”

“Against my better judgment, yes.” Damn, and he’d even offered that bit of truth voluntarily.

She stepped toward him. “What about during that time you had me tricked, that night…in front of the fire…” Her voice had gone a little husky and it made his cock go hard. “Did you
want
to do that? Was it personal…or was it just part of the show?”

His mouth went dry, remembering the soft silk of her skin, the little sounds of pleasure she’d made. “That was intensely personal, Elizabeth, and I’m dying to make it real. Officially, you’ve still never come. At least, not—”

She held up a hand. “Yes, got it.
Right.
” He couldn’t tell for certain in the low light, but it looked like she was blushing.

His voice came out low, husky with lust. “I still want to watch you do it yourself, as well as do it for you.”

“Do you now?” She tilted her head to the side and gave him a flirty little smile.

“Oh, yeah, in the worst way. I like the sounds you make. I
love the way you look when you’re experiencing that kind of pleasure, the flush of your skin…” Reaching out, he caught her wrist and pulled her up against his body. Cupping her cheek, he murmured, “I like you a lot, Elizabeth. I hate that we’re on opposite sides of this.”

“Yeah,” she murmured, staring at his mouth. “I do, too. Can we take a time-out, maybe?”

That was the best idea he’d ever heard.

He moved his head at the same time she moved hers, and their lips met for the first time in real life. She tasted wild and sweet, like the cool, running water of a Boundary Lands river. He made a hungry sound in the back of his throat and plunged his hands into her thick fall of hair, angling her head to the side to better part her lips and ease his tongue within her mouth.

Her hands closed around his shoulders and slid slowly down his back. He enjoyed the feel of her warm body against his and wanted all this fabric between them to disappear. He wanted her bare breasts against his chest, wanted her pretty thighs parted, wanted to feel all that smooth skin brushing against his body.

He just wanted her, no matter the cost.

His tongue rubbed up against hers, tasting every little part of her that she would allow. His hands found the hem of her sweater and pushed up, searching out the small of her back. He rubbed his fingers over her smooth skin, back and forth, wanting to delve below the waistband of her pants for more tender parts of her anatomy.

When he was in a person’s head, creating a fantasy world for them, it was pretty authentic. But this? There was
nothing
better than this—having her in his arms for real.

She broke the kiss, breathing heavily. “We shouldn’t do this. This is not right.”

“Feels pretty right to me. I thought we were taking a break.”

“I want to, but we both know better.” She stared at him for a moment in the half light, breathing heavily, lips parted and a little reddened from his kisses. “There are no breaks for us. No time-outs. We’re enemies, remember?”

He shook his head, gaze on her mouth. “Nope, can’t really remember that part.” He pulled her close and nipped her lower lip.

She melted against him, her fingers going to the button of his jeans while she pressed her lips more firmly against his. “You taste really good,” she whispered against his mouth. “Better than I remember.”

“You, too.” He nipped at her lip. “I want more.”

He couldn’t wait to get her clothes off and have her pressed up against this boulder behind them. His only regret was that she deserved better for her first time. She deserved a bed, at least, but this might be their only shot before this whole mess engulfed them in chaos once more.

His hand slid down the front of her pants, skating along the silken smooth skin of her abdomen to between her thighs. He cupped her sex, finding her clit, such a delectable little berry. He wanted it between his lips, pressed under his tongue. It would taste so sweet.

She moaned into his mouth, shuddering against him with pleasure. He pressed and rotated his finger on her clit, remembering the way she looked back at the cabin when she’d come. He wanted to make her do that again, right now.

Elizabeth shuddered again, her body suddenly going tense. Then, abruptly, she pushed away from him. “This is wrong. You keep making me forget that.”

He pulled her back. “Not wrong. Nothing that feels this right can be wrong.”

She shook her head. “It is.”

He curled a tendril of her hair around his index finger. “Just let go, Elizabeth.”

She looked up at him with clear eyes, the lust-filled haze fast disappearing, and he knew he was losing her. “Make sure you do what you promised.”

“Elizabeth.”
His voice came out in a bark of warning because he knew what she was about to do.

Then he was standing there alone, her clothes in a pile at his feet, and one long red strand of hair still wrapped around his finger.