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Heady. He tasted like summer wine and incense and wild mushrooms and cinnamon, and I let out a faint groan. Grieve sucked in a deep breath and leaned his head back, his teeth glistening and sharp, ready for the strike.
"Grieve--" Chatter's timid voice broke through the sex haze I was drifting in and I gently tapped Grieve on the shoulder.
He held me fast for another minute, staring into my eyes, a triumphant smirk on his face, then he let go and--without a word--turned to leave. Chatter mumbled a hasty farewell, and before we could blink, they were gone from the house and I closed the door behind them.
I turned back to the others.
"Don't say it. Don't say a word. Grieve and I . . . We are whatever it is we're becoming, and like it or not, he and I are linked."
"You want it to be that way," Leo said, a slight accusatory tone in his voice. "Don't trust him, Cicely. He's one of them."
"No! Yes . . . but not fully . . ." Frustrated, I kicked at the burnt chair. "I can't explain this. Grieve and I have some sort of bond that formed long before he was turned by the Indigo Court. Why else would I have the wolf guardian tattoo and why else would he have a tattoo of me on his thigh? I trust him . . . as far as I can."
"Fine," Leo said abruptly. "You trust him, okay. But what are you going to do about balancing your work for Regina and the Crimson Court, and your feelings for Grieve?"
"It's not like I forgot about the vampires. Trust me, dude. I'm as confused as you are and whatever I do has to straddle both worlds. And I have to decide whether to tell Grieve about it."
"You're going to feed Grieve the information that you're spying on him and his people? How stupid can you be?" Leo jumped up. "I don't care if you fuck him. But are you forgetting the little matter that Grieve's new family kidnapped your aunt and my sister and our friend Peyton? Did you forget all of them?" His face contorted and then he punched the air and took off toward the stairs.
"Leo--" I started, but Rhiannon stopped me.
"No, let him go. He's just angry and worked up. I'll try to calm him down. I understand both sides, unfortunately." She turned and raced after him.
Helplessly, I turned to Kaylin. "Is he right? Am I just not seeing things clearly?"
He sidled over to me. "Little girl, you aren't seeing anything but the sheets."
I bristled at the "little girl" but he just snorted.
"Remember, I'm one hundred and one years old. I can call you 'little girl' or 'little child' or 'wayward brat' if I want to, as long as you're younger than me."
"You really think so, do you?"
"I've got seventy-five years on you, Cicely--never forget that, even though I look your age. Rhiannon's right. And you're right. You and Grieve do have a connection. But I also believe that he has you under his power. Probably a venom in his fangs. The Fae of the Indigo Court are extremely seductive, and they inherited the vampire's ability to seduce along with their own natural charms, which pretty much makes them rocket scientists when it comes to sex."
Without thinking, I reached up to touch the grazed skin on my neck. Was Kaylin right? Was Grieve playing a game with me? The memory of his touch, his tongue on my neck swept me under again and I let out a soft moan as I pressed the skin where he'd bitten me.
"Hell, woman, you're lucky I have any honor," Kaylin whispered.
My eyes fluttered open. He was staring at me intently, and I could tell he was aroused right through those tight jeans of his. Blushing, I lowered my hand. "I'm sorry . . . I don't know . . ."
"You reek of desire. I can smell you from here. And the look on your face--you're begging to be fucked." He shook his head when I started to protest. "Save it. I'm not standing on ceremony because if I was any other man--a man with a weaker will--we'd be on the floor right now and I'd be screwing your brains out. You'd better go take a cold shower and think long and hard about the situation."
Stunned, angry, I made my way up to my room, where I stripped off my clothes, then hit the shower. I scrubbed the slightly sore wound on my neck--and every other part of my body--with a vanilla body wash, thinking about what Kaylin had said. As I stood under the pounding water for a good half hour, my thoughts began to clear.
Fuck. Could Kaylin be right?
After a while, I stepped out of the shower and dried off, feeling self-conscious. Maybe Grieve was on our side--I wanted to believe it. But could we risk Heather's and Peyton's lives if my feelings for Grieve were due to a powerful aphrodisiac in my system?
Slowly pulling on a clean cami and pair of jeans, I let out a long breath. Truth was, my heart wouldn't let me walk away. And neither would the vampires. They wanted information and I was apparently their conduit. I was caught between two enemies, a pawn for one and in love with the other.
I headed down the stairs, a dozen questions racing through my mind.
Leo and Rhiannon were back in the living room with Kaylin, and they all looked at me as I entered the room. I gave them a wary look.
"I'm sorry. I . . ."
"Kaylin explained what might be going on," Rhiannon said. She was holding The Rise of the Indigo Court in her hands. "I skimmed through. Listen to this:"
