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He takes it and studies the etchings on the metal. “To your house?”
“When have you ever needed a key to my house?” she grumbles. “You always just appear inside.”
“Then what is it?”
“A key to my location, wherever I am. If you need me—for a diversion or otherwise—this will bring you to me.”
The gravity of such a gift dawns on him and his expression darkens with something I cannot identify. It surpasses lust and makes my body tremble.
“Thank you,” he says in a low, rumbling voice, but within those two words are more meaning than mere gratitude. He’s saying he understands that I’m trying to open myself to him, and this is my first step, so he’ll cherish it.
“And you tell Deandra, if she touches you she loses her head.”
Maddox grins but then he fades away as I envision the Council gazebo and transport myself there.
CHAPTER 10
Maddox
Stepping from Faereright on to Carrick and Finley’s front porch, I rub my hand over the back of my aching neck.
I’m a fucking demigod with the strength of a hundred men. A single female shouldn’t frustrate me so much that my body rebels from the tension, but trying to dodge Deandra’s advances is exhausting.
Irritable as hell, I bang on the door rather than ring the bell. I’m at least being polite by not appearing right in their house. While I’ve got an absolute open-door policy from my brother and sister-in-law, it was suggested the last time I appeared in their kitchen that perhaps I could use the front door.
How was I to know they’d be having sex on the counter?
Finley opens the door and smiles brightly. “There’s the second-hottest man in the universe.”
I step across the threshold and kiss her cheek. “I’m first and you know it, but I get you don’t want to admit that. Might hurt Carrick’s feelings.”
She backhands me in the stomach, and I hunch over dramatically, even though she’s like a fly swatting at me. “Ouch.”
“Don’t insult my husband,” she warns.
“Duly noted.” I follow Finley into the kitchen. “Where is said husband?”
“On the deck.” She reaches into the fridge and pulls out two bottles of beer, handing them over. “Need some alone time with him?”
“I’d like you to join us,” I reply. She somehow knows I’m here for a serious talk, not to hang. Nodding, she grabs a third beer for herself.
We step onto the deck from the kitchen. It runs the entire length of their house, which sits high on a bluff over the ocean. Carrick is at a table with a large umbrella unfurled to shield him from the sun. He’s working on a crossword puzzle and looks the epitome of domestication.
Lifting his head, he notes the beers and pushes the paper to the side. I grab the seat to his left, and Finley moves behind him to take the one on his right. She reaches her hand out and glides it along his shoulders in a simple touch of affection. I imagine if I did that to Zora she might snarl and hiss at me. The only time she accepts nonsexual touching is right after I fuck her brains out and they’re too scrambled to object. Then she’s all cuddly and soft and I like her that way very much.
I like her snarling and hissing too.
“What’s up?” Carrick asks, twisting the cap off his bottle, then pulling Finley’s beer from her hand to do the same. He hands it back to her with a smile.
I open mine and take a sip, looking out over the ocean. I have to squint against the brightness. “Been in Faere the past few days. There are tears opening between it and the Underworld. I’ve been assigned to ensure the veil doesn’t completely breach.”
Finley wrinkles her nose. “I hate Faere.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” I say, lifting my bottle in acknowledgment.
“It’s all too bright and colorful. So fake.”
“Yeah, well… add to that I have to put up with Deandra, and it’s not been a pleasant experience.”
