Tammy Falkner - [Faerie 02] (18 page)

“Are these sensitive?” she asked as she hefted the weight of his balls in the palm of her hand. He hissed and jumped back, but she held tight to his manhood and wouldn’t let him move back too far. “Are they?” she asked as she rolled them in her fingertips.

“Just a little,” he breathed.

***

Claire wet her lips and blew gently on the tip of his manhood, and the slit wept with want for her. He forced himself to hold in a groan as she stuck out her pert little tongue and licked across the tip of him, tasting the seed that he’d spilled. She sat back and licked her lips. “Salty,” she said with a smile.

“Aah,” he groaned. Would she do it? Would she take him inside her mouth? He lifted his bent knuckle to his mouth and bit it hard. If he didn’t, he’d spill down the front of her. But then she opened her mouth wide and took the tip of him inside the hot cavern of her mouth and closed her lips around him, sucking gently, testing his flesh with her teeth and tongue.

“Damn, that’s lovely,” he whispered. He threaded his hands through her hair and tugged her lips back a little. She looked up at him questioningly, and he motioned her back forward with a tug of her hair.

“Like this?” she asked, talking around the tip of him before she closed her mouth and began to suckle, her head bobbing up and down as she worked him.

“Stop, Claire,” he warned. “If you don’t stop, I’m going to come in your mouth.” She hitched herself higher on the edge of the tub and took him even farther, until he could feel the back of her throat. And then he fell over the edge. He tugged at her hair to pull her back, but she held tightly, refusing to pop free. He had no choice, so with a grunt, he raised up onto his tiptoes and spilled his seed within her mouth. She swallowed, surprised, and looked up at him. “Let go if you don’t want it.” But her throat just worked as she took all of him.

When he was spent, he forced her mouth from around him with a gentle tug, and he reached down to wipe the corner of her mouth.

“Goodness, Claire,” he said, his voice broken. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” she chirped. Then she tossed off the towel she wore and sauntered naked into the bedchamber, and he followed her home like a little lost puppy.

The wedding was an informal affair. They’d opted to have only family at the event, which was held at Robin and Sophia’s house, since theirs was the place where Claire had supposedly been staying during her recovery.

She’d actually been staying in Finn’s bed, and they had barely gotten out of it since the night they’d bathed together. He’d kept her busy, and she’d returned the favor. He’d taken her fast. He’d taken her slow. He’d taken her mouth. He’d flipped her upside down on her knees, and he’d lifted her knee so far by her head that she would have sworn she could kiss her calf.

But through it all, he’d been so very conscious of her, of her needs, of the life that grew within her. He’d fed her and bathed her and let her sleep on top of him. He’d brushed her hair and rubbed her feet, and he’d said so many dirty things to her in the throes of passion that she no longer cared what he said. She had even repeated many of those words when it was her turn to take charge.

Finn hadn’t seen Claire since last night, when he’d come to the hall to drop her off. They’d made love in the carriage on the way over, and she was slightly mussed when she entered Robin and Sophia’s home. Sophia had dragged her away to help her clean up, and Robin had taken Finn into the study for a drink and a stern lecture, Finn had later confessed. “You should have seen his face. He was stuck somewhere between really happy for me as a man and really irritated about his brother having relations with his sister-in-law.” He’d laughed. And there was no sound sweeter to her ears than that of his laughter.

Claire let her mother and Sophia help her dress, and she turned back to look into the looking glass. “I wish Grandmother and Grandfather were here,” she said. Her grandmother had opted to stay in the land of the fae for a bit as she was still grieving for her husband.

“I’m sure she’ll be ready to pay you a visit before too long,” Sophia said. “She just needed some time to get used to being alone, I think.”

“Do you think that Finn will ever be able to go there with me, to see the land where I came from?” Claire asked wistfully.

Her mother and Sophia shot a glance at one another.

“What is it?” Claire asked.

“We have been warned that to bring a human into the land of the fae without prior approval will be grounds for the clipping of our wings.” Her mother said it in one great, big breath. And then she froze, as though she was afraid of Claire’s reaction.

She should be afraid. “But you were just there! Both of you, with your human husbands.” She pointed a finger at Sophia, who automatically recoiled. “And you even took your human stepdaughter for a visit! But I can’t take my husband to my homeland?”

A knock sounded on the door. Finn stood there, and he looked a bit worried with his eyebrows drawn together so severely. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Claire snapped. “Nothing at all.” She swiped a hand beneath her nose and blinked back a tear. This was supposed to be a happy day. And here she was growing angry at her family for something that was well beyond their control.

“Can I have a moment with Claire?” Finn asked. Sophia and her mother scuttled out of the room.

He closed the door behind them and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she barked, as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Something is wrong,” he said as he came to sit beside her. “Come on. Tell me. You’ll feel better if you do.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. How much she’d come to rely on him in such a short time!

“There’s a prohibition against humans in the land of the fae. I have to have prior permission to take you there.”

He shrugged. “So, ask for permission. Problem solved.” He tweaked her nose playfully. “You want to go marry me now?”

“I want to marry you no matter what,” she admitted. He beamed down at her.

The door opened with a soft click and her father stuck his head in the room. He eyed Finn warily. “Hello,” he said.

“Hello,” Claire said with a tiny wave.

“I heard there’s a bride who needs to be delivered to the vicar for marriage,” her father said lightly, but he narrowed his eyes at Finn. “Why are you in here?”

“I needed him,” Claire said. Her heart clenched with love for Finn. “I’ll always need him.”

Her voice cracked on the last words and she hated it, but Finn tipped her chin up, kissed her softly, and said, “Let’s go get married.”

“Can I have a minute with my daughter?” her father asked suddenly.

Finn looked at her and arched his brows. She nodded at him, and he bent to kiss her forehead softly. “I’ll see you at the wedding.”

When the door shut behind Finn, her father came to sit down beside her on the bed. “It’s not too late to back out,” he said, looking at her thoughtfully.

“And let someone else end up with that wonderful man?” She snorted. “You have to be mad.”

“He loves you,” her father said, as he pushed a lock of hair behind her pointy ear.

“I love him too,” she admitted. She nudged her father’s shoulder. “Don’t tell him that, or he’ll think much too highly of himself.”

“You’ll make a great mother,” he said, looking deeply into her eyes. Did he know?

“Umm,” she said.

“Things happen in their own time, Claire,” he said. “As they are meant to be.”

Claire exhaled long and loud. “I’m so glad you already know.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “So am I.”

“We were going to tell you after the wedding.”

“Why were you going to wait?”

She snickered. “I wanted him to look handsome for the wedding. And if you’d known about the baby, you’d have given him a black eye. Or worse.”

Her father’s expression clouded. “Baby?” he asked.

Claire sucked in a breath. “You didn’t know?”

“Baby?” he asked again, his mouth twisting. “I’ll kill him.” He thrust open the door and charged from the room, pushing past the startled guests as Claire clung to the back of his coattails.

“Don’t!” she cried. But her father already had Finn’s shirt front in his grip.

“What did you do?” he snarled.

Finn looked over her father’s shoulder and glared at Claire.

“Sorry,” she murmured to him as she continued to pull at her father’s coat. Truth be told, his allegiance was touching, and he felt more like a father to her than he ever had before.

Finn tried to duck when her father swung the first fist. But with the way her father had him in his grasp, it was difficult. Finn took one punch directly across the cheek before the duke grabbed her father and pulled him back.

Finn wiped his hand across his cheek, pressing at his cheekbone, as he said, “I take it she told you.”

“I didn’t mean to! He made it seem like he knew!” She still held on to her father’s coat.

Her father raised his fist and charged toward Finn again, but this time, her mother stepped between them.

Finn said, “The first one is free. The next one might cost you.”

“Not more than it already has. She’s my little girl,” Ramsdale bellowed.

Claire’s mother patted his chest and said, “Come with me.”

***

Lady Ramsdale led her husband from the room by the tips of his fingers. It was like trying to drag a tiger by his eyeteeth, but she held fast and didn’t let him jump back into the fray with Lord Phineas, though he obviously wanted to. She took him into the drawing room and closed the door behind them.

“Did you know about this?” he bellowed.

She arched a pretty auburn brow at him. “Are you yelling at me?”

He ran a hand through his hair and spun in a circle, alternately stopping to swipe at his mouth and spin again. “Sorry,” he finally murmured. Then he asked much more calmly. “You knew?”

She nodded.

“How could you keep this from me?” he asked.

“She needed to tell you in her own time. I just don’t think this is what she intended.”

There was no use avoiding the obvious. Their little girl wasn’t an innocent. But she wasn’t their little girl, either. She’d grown up without them and was woman enough to fall in love, marry, and raise a family. And she would do a damn fine job with it. “She’s about four months into the pregnancy.”

“Four months?”

“Do you remember when we went to the land of the fae and left her in his care?”

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “We picked the wrong person, didn’t we?”

“Everything happens for a reason, darling,” she reminded him. She crossed the room to lay her hand on his chest and look up at him. “Do you remember when we fell in love?”

He covered her hand with his. “Of course, I remember.”

“They fell in love too.”

“But he wasn’t very honorable,” he murmured, finally settling down.

“I hope our children never do the math and figure out Marcus was born a mere seven months after we married.”

His face colored. “That was different.”

“How so?”

One of the many reasons she loved him so much was because he was like this. He loved fiercely and completely. He was protective and he could even be overbearing at times, but he had a good heart.

“Never mind,” he murmured as he heaved a great sigh.

“Can we go back out without you trying to beat Lord Phineas to a bloody pulp?”

“Maybe,” he said, begrudgingly.

“Stop pouting,” she warned playfully. He jerked her against him and pressed his lips to hers.

“I can’t believe you knew and didn’t tell me.”

“She called me for help. I didn’t want to betray her trust and have her never call on me again.” She searched his eyes. “She called for me, of all people, when she needed someone. I would have expected her to call on Sophia. But she didn’t. She called on me.” Tears pricked at the backs of her lashes, even though it had happened more than a sennight ago.

“Of course, she called you. You’re her mother.” He pressed his lips to her temple. “I imagine we should go back out there so that scoundrel can marry our daughter.”

“It would be a good idea to do it before the baby is born.” She bit back a laugh.

He chuckled and squeezed her hard in his arms.

Claire had never looked more beautiful than as she stood there with her hand in his, staring up into his eyes. “Wilt thou have this Woman to thy wedded Wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”

“We had better live for a very long time,” he murmured. She smiled softly and wiggled her brows to scold him. “I will,” he affirmed.

She repeated similar words, her eyes filled with so much emotion that he wanted to crawl inside her and live there forever. Finn reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. He slid it onto her fourth finger and said, “With this Ring I thee wed, with my Body I thee worship, and with all my worldly Goods I thee endow: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”

“I pronounce that they be Man and Wife together, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Finn bent and kissed her, although the vicar didn’t seem too pleased by that.

Robin coughed into his closed fist in warning, just as Claire’s father stepped toward them. Finn pulled her into his chest and hugged her hard. “She’s mine now,” he said playfully to her father.

“That won’t keep me from kicking your—”

Claire rushed to cut him off. “Is there cake?”

“Of course, there’s cake,” her mother said, as the footmen brought in a cart full of tiny cake squares, little sandwiches, and tea. “Let’s all take a seat, shall we?”

***

How had she gotten here? How had Claire gotten to this place where everything fit so right? She’d never even liked this world, much less the people in it. She’d believed in magic and only magic, and had eschewed anything that didn’t have magical origins. Her life had been simple—she’d had her missions, her brother and sister, and her grandparents. She had her magical homeland, and it was her refuge.

All of her boxes had been neatly stacked where they belonged, until she came here and they were scattered and turned on their side. But now Finn was her refuge. He was her everything. Finn’s cheek was splotchy where her father had hit him. He would certainly have a bruise there tomorrow. He touched his fingertips to it and winced, and then bent down so she could kiss it softly. Her lips lingered over his skin, warm and firm.

He’d put her boxes all back in order for her. They sat nicely upon the shelves, all stacked and tidy. They were solid, firmly supported by her family, her friends, and her husband. Claire laid a hand on her belly and thought about how she’d felt a few short weeks ago.

She’d been desperate to escape her life, to run far, far away from everything she considered to be home. But now he was home. He winked at her. Heat crept up her cheeks.

She loved. She loved him the way she’d never loved anyone, and she couldn’t wait to tell him. That night, she could just imagine climbing on top of him, fluffing her wings, and encouraging him to touch them. To learn them as he’d learned every other part of her body. She needed for him to embrace that part of her, just as she was willing to give it all up to be with him.

She would give him children and love him until the day she died. If someone told her today that she would have to give up her wings to be with him, she would do so. She couldn’t wait to tell him all about it that night.

Wilkins, the butler, stepped into the room and crossed to speak to His Grace. He handed the duke a missive, sealed with a wax marker. Finn leaned over the duke’s shoulder to read as he did. His face blanched.

“What’s wrong?” Claire asked.

He took her hand and led her down the corridor to the duke’s study. “I think we have a problem,” he said as he closed the door.

“What is it?”

He held the missive out to her, and she took it with trembling fingers.

Dear Lord Phineas Trimble,

Bedfordshire is lovely this time of year.

It wasn’t signed, but it didn’t need to be. Only one person could have sent it. Mayden. The Earl of Mayden had found out where Katherine was, and he’d gone there.

“Is your man still there?”

Finn nodded as he began to pace.

“Then Katherine will be fine, right?”

Finn didn’t look certain, but he nodded. “Probably.”

“What do you think we should do?”

“I can send more men.” Finn continued to pace back and forth across the floor. “But I really wouldn’t feel comfortable sending anyone else into the situation blind.”

The door opened and Robin stepped into the room, followed by Sophia. “What do you want to do?”

“It’s my wedding day. I want to take my wife home.”

Robin just looked at him.

Claire knew that wouldn’t be enough for Finn.

“I sent her there. And now he has found her.”

Claire had visions in her head of Katherine being tortured. She laid a hand on her own belly. “You’ll have to go to her.”

Finn cupped her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“It’s not as though you won’t come back,” she said, attempting a light laugh. He wouldn’t get hurt, would he? “Maybe you should stay here,” she said, instead, suddenly fearful for him. “Don’t go.”

“I’m afraid it can’t be helped. She’s under my protection. And he’s there with her. She could already be hurt.”

“He wouldn’t hurt his child, would he?”

“You saw her eye after the soiree. He knew full well she was increasing at that point.”

“There’s no end to what he will do to win,” Robin said. “I’ll have horses saddled and go with you.”

“Must you?” Sophia asked, her voice high with worry.

“I’m afraid so. This is my battle as much as Finn’s.”

Finn looked at Robin. “We started this by calling in all his debts. He’s probably rather desperate.”

“There’s no telling what he might do to her as retribution. She’s innocent in all of this.”

“No one has ever claimed Katherine Crawfield is innocent.” Finn snorted.

Robin just rolled his eyes. “We’ll have to go there. If we leave now, we can be there in a matter of hours.” He tugged his watch fob from his pocket. “We can ride through the night.”

Finn nodded and turned, drawing Claire into his arms. “I love you,” he said. Claire opened her mouth to return the sentiment, but he laid his mouth on hers, his lips soft and coaxing, a promise of what would come when he returned home. He leaned his head close to her ear. “I will expect you to be naked and waiting in bed for me when I get back.”

“I think I can do that,” she murmured back.

Sophia and Robin stepped into the corner, where he kissed her quite soundly. She staggered when he let her go. “Do be careful, Ashley,” she said, her voice quivering.

“I will,” he said, pulling her to him once more.

Finn wrapped Claire in his arms and held her close, breathing deeply with his head buried in her hair. “I need to speak to your father,” he said, and then he started in that direction. He pulled her fingertips, dragging Claire with him as he went back into the parlor. He placed Claire’s hand in her father’s and said, “Only until I return.”

Her father nodded, pulling Claire to his side as he dropped an arm around her shoulders. “Only until you return.” He pulled Sophia forward with the other arm and did the same with her. She looked up at him and smiled.

“I’ll accompany you,” Marcus said. Finn nodded and the three of them started for the door.

“Finn!” Claire called. He looked back at her with that smile she’d so come to love. She wanted to confess her love for him. But she really wanted to do it at a time when he wouldn’t assume it was forced. “Be safe,” she whispered, instead.

Then the three of them left, the door closing soundly behind them. Claire looked around the room at the remains of the wedding cake and sat down, popping a piece into her mouth. Someone had to eat it. It may as well be her. She shoved a piece at Sophia. “Eat,” she said. Sophia joined her in her misery, the only one who could.