AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Nerissa returned to the kitchen, wearing an off-the-shoulder cream top that gave full vantage to her ample bosom, and a high-waisted pink miniskirt with ruffles that grazed her mid-thighs. I set down the bottle of blood, the fire rising as I stared at her. I wanted to drag her down to the floor and fuck her brains out right here. I let out a low growl.
She picked up on it; her eyes met mine. “Tonight,” she mouthed, and I nodded. It had been several days—too long for us, but what with all the crap going down, sex wasn’t exactly high on the priority list.
As she passed by, resting a hand on my shoulder, I grabbed her fingers and brought them to my lips, turning them so I could kiss her palm. Then I let go, and she settled in front of the laptop.
“What should I say? I guess I use the webcam to make a video?” She licked her lips to moisten them, then glanced over at me. “I really don’t flirt. Well, I haven’t much since I met you.”
As the others dove into their food, I took notes.
Delilah and Camille threw out possible lines. Some of them Vanzir and Morio nixed on account of “a guy wouldn’t respond to that,” but finally, we had a short, sexy script and Nerissa fluffed up her hair, adjusted her off-the-shoulder top to reveal as much as she could without showing her boobs in toto, and she stood back so the webcam could catch her entire outfit and recorded the canned dating video. After that, she created an account under the name of “Puma Girl” and filled out the forms, uploaded the video, and that was that.
“Now we just wait for them to take the bait.” She sat back, frowning. “I just hope they do.”
“I think… whoever Lowestar chooses to replace Hanson will want to make a name for himself. He will probably be trolling the new members for any likely subjects.” Delilah frowned. “That’s what I’d do.”
Nerissa bit into a biscuit. “I have e-mail on my phone, of course, so I’ll add the account I created to use for the profile. I didn’t want them checking into my personal account. I tried to leave as little of a trail as possible that they might be able to track back here. Can’t help if they figure out that I’m not just renting my condo. But I doubt they’ll check on who owns the place. And I’ve been seen with you guys, but I’m not that high profile.”
My wife had just bought a condo when we decided to get married. She rented it out now, but it had stood empty for the past month after the last renter had to abruptly vacate for a new job.
“With a little luck…” Camille let out a sigh. “And we need a little luck right now.”
As they ate, and I drank my bottle of blood, there was a noise in the living room. I was closest so I ran in to find out what was going on. As I entered the room, I saw Smoky and Venus standing there. Roz showed up a moment later, his arm around Trillian.
For a long time, Roz had been unsure about ferrying people through the Ionyc Seas, but after a little practice on me—I was already dead and he couldn’t do much to hurt me—he’d discovered that he could take a passenger with him. One at a time, but he could do it. That little discovery had made life easier over the past months.
Delilah, who was right behind me, gave out a little squeal. The others followed behind her.
“Venus!” She ran to the old shaman. He looked older than the average Were, which meant he was incredibly old, but his hair still streamed golden down his back, and his eyes were the same color as Nerissa’s—a brilliant topaz. He was handsome, sturdy, and solid.>Shade and Delilah headed up to their room, and I used Hanna’s bath, washing my hands and face. A glance at the clock told me it was barely seven thirty. I’d risen at four thirty, as soon as the sun set, and the ordeal with the Fyrun Fae had taken us around two and a half hours. As I headed back to the kitchen, Nerissa arrived home. She looked wiped, too.
I wrapped my arms around her. “I missed you.”
She kissed me, long and slow, her tongue playing over mine as a hazy wash of desire raced through me. I melted into her kiss, once again thanking my lucky stars I’d found her.
“You smell like you just came from a bonfire. Dancing around one out back?” She laughed lightly, but I shook my head and the smile died on her face. “What happened? Another fire?”
“Yeah. I guess you didn’t hear? The Utopia went up in flames. Luckily, they managed to save it, and we fought off several Fyrun Fae, though we had to bring Iris in to help. She’s exhausted, but we needed her ice magic, and since Smoky’s not here, we had to ask her to join us.”
Nerissa paled. “I had no clue. I stopped off to do some shopping on the way home. Is everyone okay? Did anyone…”
I shook my head. “No, no casualties this time, thank the gods. The club suffered heavy damage but it was all superficial. We ended up fighting some Fyrun Fae, though, and had to call in Iris to take care of them. She destroyed the gate through which they were coming. But she wore herself out big-time.”
A sound in the living room alerted us. The Whispering Mirror. Again. Since Camille was still upstairs, I went to answer it. As the fog cleared, I spoke to let Trenyth know I was there.
“It’s me, Menolly. What’s up?” Every time the mirror chimed now, we feared the news, because it kept getting darker and darker.
Trenyth motioned to the side and a rustling told me someone was there. A few seconds later, Aunt Rythwar appeared. Taller than Delilah, she was statuesque and regal, with hair as dark as Father’s and Camille’s, and eyes that were a brilliant blue. She was wearing a pair of trousers—which I’d never seen her in before, and a tunic. A dagger was strapped to her thigh, and she had a bow slung over her shoulder. This was a new side of Aunt Rythwar, for sure.
Her brow creasing, she cocked her head. “Menolly? I see Nerissa there in the background.”
“Yes, it’s me. The others are washing up.” Even as I spoke, a noise on the stairs alerted me to Camille and Delilah coming down. Shade and Morio followed them. “Just a minute.”
I called out, “In the living room! Aunt Rythwar is in the mirror!”
As they crowded in, I gave up my seat to Camille. She was keeper of the Whispering Mirror, and I was all too aware of how disconcerting it could be to talk to someone you couldn’t see.
“My girls… I’m so sorry.” Her own face was a mask, neutral. Full-blooded Fae could be incredibly volatile, and they could also be incredibly stoic. Right now, Rythwar in no way looked like she’d just lost her dearest brother.
“We cremated Father’s body today. We’ll bring him back to Otherworld when it’s safe enough. I hope you don’t mind. We’re going to hold a brief ceremony over here on Samhain, but we’ll wait till we can bring him home for full rites.” Camille let out a long breath.
