Wicked Wonderland (24 page)

Lilly stirred and opened her eyes. For a moment, she just looked at him. Her eyes widened and then filled with a dreamy happiness. Slowly, beautifully, her smile bloomed. Her sleepy smile could stop his heart, take his breath away.

“Baby, you’re awake. What can I get you? Are you thirsty?”

“Yes. Thanks. The painkillers they gave me dry out my mouth. I keep telling the doctors I don’t need them anymore, but they keep insisting I take them. They don’t believe I can feel as well as I do.”

Nick smiled and crossed to the little metal sink nearby, then poured some water into a glass that sat on the stainless steel sink bench.

He brought it back to her, and she gulped the whole thing down faster than he’d ever seen anyone drink anything. She set the empty glass down on the bedside table and gave him a sheepish look. “Actually, I’ve been pretending to be asleep. I thought you were Mama come back to talk to me again. I know it’s cowardly, but I just don’t want to deal with her at the moment. You were right, Nick, she does sponge off me. I
am
an enabler. I enable her gambling addiction. And you guys were right about my being a martyr. I felt I owed so much to my mother just for taking care of me when I believed my birth mother abandoned me. Apparently, she’s dead now, my birth mother. At least that’s what Zenia claimed.” Lilly swallowed, and her eyes glimmered with unshed tears. “Funny, I always thought I’d find her one day. That we’d have some kind of reunion.”

He reached out and took her hand.

“But anyway,” Lilly continued, “I’ve realized you and Kris were right. I’ve never really stood up to Marion since she started gambling. I didn’t even stand up properly to those strippers when they attacked me. I should have fought them like a wild cat. There were five of them against one, but I should at least have kicked and scratched and screamed. But I froze like a coward.”

“Hush. You’re no coward! And you’ve just had major surgery; you don’t need to be thinking about any of this now.”

“But, Nick, I want…I need to talk about it all now. Zenia confessed that she was my stalker. All these years, everyone assumed it was some guy, and it turns out it was my own half sister! She did it to attack my self-esteem, to kill my power, and you know, it totally worked!”

Lilly’s eyes flashed fire. “I found out my mom was tricked by Zenia, tricked by her magic into gambling. But still…if she really cared enough about me, about our family, she could have damn well fought it, couldn’t she?”

Nick swallowed, trying to think of the right way to answer her question. “It would have taken some guts, but…yeah, there are limits to fae power. Zenia couldn’t have forced a mortal into gambling without any consent from the mortal at all.”

“She was at the casino on Christmas Eve, for God’s sake! It’s like she never leaves that place, and she never learns.”

His fists clenched in his lap. It hurt his heart to see what the combination of her mother’s foolishness and the dark fae magic had done to her. “I’ll tell Marion to leave the hospital. Lie back down. We shouldn’t be talking about this until you’ve had more rest. You shouldn’t distress yourself.”

“No. I need to talk with you. About everything that happened. I have so many questions.”

He stroked the hair back from her face. “All right, shoot.”

“Well, first of all, this.” She fingered the bracelet on her wrist. “Why did Zenia want my bracelet so badly? The one you gave me?”

“A turquoise stone of that exact color, that strong a robin’s egg blue, is considered a spirit stone, one that can protect fae and help fae creatures find their true life mates. I’d hoped when I gave it to you that it would let me know for certain you were the third to Kris and
me–
that you were meant as the life mate of us both. Sylphs traditionally live in ménage relationships. But you didn’t seem to have any magic powers or awareness of magic, so at that time, Kris and I decided you were wholly human and we’d made a big mistake messing with your life. I could kick myself now for letting you go, but you told me to get lost and never speak to you again.”

Lilly cringed. “I’m sorry I yelled that at you. I’m sorry I threw the bracelet.”

“Oh, baby, it’s okay. That’s all in the past. I’m just explaining why I was a stupid fool and didn’t keep you close the day I met you. Kris feels the same. He kicks himself for having let you slip away.”

She nodded. “So, did you figure out what Zenia hoped to gain by taking my bracelet?”

“I imagine she hoped that taking it would stop you from finding your true life mates. She also hoped the Blue Spirit Stone would help her find her own fated mates and lead her to royalty. I’m sure she also feared the stone would lead you to being crowned queen of the fae.”

Lilly looked down at the bracelet on her arm. “Okay. Well, second, and more importantly, I need to know more about the path of iron and how fighting with that sword might have affected you. Because I remember you and Kris telling me that fighting with iron swords can destroy magic power. You attacked Zenia with iron. You picked up a birdman’s sword.”

Nick’s gaze slid over the paleness of her face, dwelt on the bruises on her jaw. His own jaw tightened. “I did it to avenge you. I saw in my imagination everything Zenia had done to you over the years. I pieced it together from what I’d seen and what you told me. It all clicked in place. Even when you were a helpless child, she attacked you. She tried to drown you.”

Lilly bit her lip. “You shouldn’t have risked your fae powers for that. What happened to Zenia? I saw you stab her. I saw her screaming beneath the iron trunk, and then it fell. She’s dead?”

“One of the birdmen, a guy called Rurik, heaved an iron trunk over the rails, and it fell on her. It destroyed her glamourie. As a fire fae, her real appearance is that of a winged salamander, so she didn’t actually die.” Lilly clenched the blankets, and Nick reached out to smooth her bangs out of her eyes. “Yes she’s technically still alive, but you have nothing to fear from her. She’s an amphibian with no power other than flight.”

“So that’s what I saw on the decks, a salamander? I thought I was hallucinating.”

“No.” He smiled. “That was real.”

“She’s powerless now?”

He nodded, wanting to tell her that her own magic had been real too, that she’d made lightning strike the mast that had free her from the birdman, that he’d talked to Rurik and Rurik thought her song had given him the strength to push the trunk onto Zenia. But he couldn’t tell her, because if the sword that had ripped through her chest was made of iron, her fledgling gift could already be destroyed. At last, he gave in to the urge to touch her hand, and she didn’t pull away.

But she was frowning, rubbing her forehead. “I want to know what the story is with your power now. Have you noticed a change in yourself?”

Looking at the damage to her face and seeing in her eyes only concern for him, concern about what he’d risked for her, made a lump form in his throat, and he swallowed with difficulty. “What’s done is done. Let’s concentrate on the future.”

She fell silent for a moment. “Nick, do you have fond memories of the time we spent together at college? I mean, before I found out about you and Kris.”

“Fond? Are you kidding me? I remember the bliss I felt listening to you sing or play the flute. I remember way you moaned in my arms when we made love. I remember the way your eyelashes always fluttered right before you came, and I was thrilled when I found out they still do.

“And…” He gave her a wicked smile. “Kris told me he never forgot the way you taste.”

She blushed and laughed. Her eyes blinked rapidly.

Then he took her hands in his. “Joking aside, Kris and I are hoping you’ll move in with us.”

Chapter Fourteen

Christmas morning, Lilly’s heart pounded with excitement. Finally, she would get to see one of Kris and Nick’s homes. She knew she had Kris’s magic to thank for how little pain she had left over from her injuries, and she had Nick’s bravery to thank for freeing her from the horror of the dark-fae stalker who had terrorized her since childhood.

Now she stood between the two of them, holding their hands outside the gates of their Long Island mansion—a 10,000-square-foot French-chateau-style structure elaborately ornamented with towers, spires and a steeply pitched roof. It was amazing to think this was just one of the many homes they had around the world. Kris said it was the closest one to her mother’s tiny Long Island townhouse.

The chateau hallway smelled of roses. The first big room they entered was all high-arched ceilings and oceans of glass, revealing incredible sea views. The floor was gold-veined white marble, amber and gold accents adding to the appeal of what was obviously a dining room, with its huge, glass-topped table. White roses and lilies spilled from crystal vases and silver urns, and Lilly realized Nick and Kris had placed them there for her, her favorite white flowers.

But the sight of white flowers made her pause. Had the sword in her chest taken away those powers she’d only just come to realize she had? Would she ever see white petals fall from the sky again? And what about Nick? Nick’s powers were surely gone.

Did he resent it? Would he come to resent her for her part in making him lose his magic?

The three of them took off the boots and the heavy coats and scarves they’d worn for the outside weather. The warmth of central heating caressed her skin and made her nearly purr with contentment.

She caught a glimpse of herself in a full-length mirror and almost gasped. She’d never in her life had the money to afford a dress as fine as the one Kris had conjured for her in the hospital. The silk of it moved over her skin like magic, the ivory fabric shimmered in the sunlight, and it fit perfectly over her too-large breasts. Slits in the side revealed the shapely legs she’d always known were one of her best features, and the lovely new strappy ivory-colored high-heeled sandals Kris had conjured helped show them off too. She’d never looked so hot! She turned in a circle and then again, raising her arms up and laughing out loud.

She heard Kris draw in a breath, and then he laughed with her. Nick was silent, and when she glanced over at them, she saw he was scanning her body up and down. He said not a word but took her hand and led her farther into the house, through another door into what was obviously a living room with its huge, high-tech home entertainment system in one corner.

Cinnamon, clove and pine replaced the scent of roses that pervaded the other rooms. This one was done up for Christmas with an evergreen garland draped on the mantel. Even the entertainment system was decorated with a giant red velvet bow.

In another corner of the living room stood the tallest, most impressive and most beautiful real Christmas tree she’d ever seen, covered with white and gold decorations. Underneath it lay a ridiculously large mountain of wrapped presents. It made her blush to imagine how many might be for her and how many would be something sexy. But even from a quick glance, she could see her name written in large, bold letters on at least a dozen of them.

Nick looked good enough to eat in a causal black T-shirt and snug, sexy jeans. Kris wore a white T-shirt that showed off his golden tan to perfection. They both looked so wonderful. So
hers
. “You guys realize you can never have a breakup, right?”

Nick looked taken aback. “Why do you say that?”

Lilly grinned. “Because there’s no way I could ever choose between the two of you. You’d have to go to court and have a custody battle.”

Kris laughed and goosed her butt.

“Hey, watch it!” She giggled. “You nearly made me fall over.”

Nick strode toward the french doors and pulled closed the delicate white curtains. He followed by circling the entire room and closing all the other curtains. The grin on his face was intense and wicked. He came toward her and nudged one of his knees into hers, pushing her backward onto the long white backless ottoman.

Her breath caught in her throat. Nick’s expression was oh-so-casual, but she could tell that underneath he simmered with dominant sexual energy. “I think you need to be punished, Lilly. Punished for not believing in magic when we first told you about our sleigh and punished for not believing in us.” His voice was a soft, dark whisper.

Her pussy responded to the mocking tone of his voice and the arrogance of his smile, but she rolled her eyes at his condescension. “I’ve already apologized for not believing you. I don’t doubt either one of you anymore.” She looked into Nick’s hazel eyes. “You gave up your powers to save my life.”

Nick waved away her praise with one hand. “I didn’t save your life. You’re immortal.”

“She was planning to lock me in a cage and starve me. You saved me from a fate worse than death.” Guilt twisted in her throat. “You risked everything for me.”

Nick sighed, then leaned over and kissed her forehead. “You don’t need to keep apologizing all the time. It’s not like Kris and I didn’t screw up in a dozen different ways ourselves.” He tucked a curl of her hair behind her ear.

“I know. People have always told me I apologize too much.” She shrugged. “I guess I still have some growing to do. Zenia did quite a number on my self-esteem. She put an awful lot of effort into it.”

Nick raised an eyebrow in agreement. “Yup! And a woman as gorgeous as you has no business having low self-esteem. But anyway, now is not a time for serious talk. You know why?”

Lilly shook her head.

“Because I’m hard as a fucking rock looking at you in that skimpy little dress.”

She grinned and tossed a cushion at him. He threw it back at her. His words and the lust in his eyes sent desire rushing hot and thick to pool in her belly. Nick’s promise of a “punishment” was also not forgotten.

“Settle down, children! You two think you’re the only ones with needs?” Kris grabbed Lilly’s hand and pulled it down to place it on the steely bulge in his jeans. She gave it a firm squeeze. Then she traced her fingers up under his shirt. He slid down to his knees so he was level with her as she sat on the ottoman. She felt the rapid rise and fall of his chest and his heart beating under her hand.