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"May I have a moment?"
Gabrielle looks at Lily, and Lily nods. A small thing, but I see it. I see the way the children listen to her now. And for Gabrielle to defer to her? Nothing short of a miracle.
If you had asked me a week ago, I would’ve said Gabrielle was attached to no one. I've learned twice now that I hardly know the woman.
Gabrielle gets to her feet and shakes out her long mane. When I was younger, I was often transfixed by the sight of her bare breasts, but I've grown past that now. For better or worse, I only have eyes for my love.
When we're alone, she speaks first.
"There's something I'd like to say..."
"You'll get your chance, I promise. But first, I need you to know I wasn't lying to you about what’d happen if you stay. You know I have to protect my family. I can't let outsiders harm these people. Even you."
Lily reaches out, and I can't bring myself to step away. Her fingers brush across my chest, seeking out my skin beneath my shirt. The familiar electricity is still there when we touch. If anything, it's even more powerful.
A part of me cries out to have more. More of the pleasure only she can give me. And more of the power.
"I’d never hurt this family, Fabien. I want you to know that. I want you to know I love you. I made a mistake and trusted the wrong people, and the people I thought were the bad guys turned out not to be so bad. The people I thought were the good guys turned out to be pretty shitty.
"I've spent my whole life being told I was too pretty to make my own choices. Too pretty for Harvard, too pretty to join Homeland. Too pretty to be a field agent. The only people who've ever just accepted me, trusted me and made me feel like I belong are right here.
"You. This family. Your demesnes in Faerie, and these lands here in the human realm are my home. I want this with you, to be by your side and be your wife. To help you lead this family through good and bad times.
"Is there... Maybe I can't do that. Maybe you won't let me do that. But I can't leave it. I love you too much, Fabien. And I love this place, and this family."
"You...would leave your old life behind? And join us?"
"I would."
It sounds wonderful. My heart begs for it to be true. But it remains these are only words. She can say whatever she likes. She told me her name was Mia. I met her false father and sister. While we made love, she snuck away to send messages to her people.
Trying to draw me out where they could arrest me and throw me in a human jail.
She lied and lied.
"How can I trust these words you're speaking now are true? When you've lied so many times to me?"
Lily winces. It's all I can do not to put my arms around her and comfort her. A tear courses down her cheek. One of my tentacles licks it away gently. A force of habit. Even the flavor of her tears thrills me.
She thinks about it for some time.
"I'll stake my life on it," she says. "My boss is working with the enemy. If I feed him the right information, then the Oleanders will have no choice but to come out in the open. I can set the trap, and when it springs, we'll be there to finish this."
If I had eyebrows, I’d raise one. I do my best with the tentacles that make my face readable to humans.
"And I’ll be the bait in this trap..." It's a statement and not a question. I understand what Lily is proposing.
She tells her boss about a meeting where I'd be doing something illegal, and her boss shows up with our worst enemies, either to arrest me and kill my men, or just to kill us all. Either way, we have a chance to eliminate the threat to our family once and for all.
"It's better than that," she says. "Because I know how Homeland handles things. I know about their operations, their missions. I've got lots of intel on how the police handle things, too. I can give you the main players, all the people who have to be dirty for a thing like this to happen. Everyone who works for the Oleanders."
"You'll sing like a bird for me?"
I'm unable to keep the desire out of my tone. I know I shouldn't trust her. Thiscouldjust be a way to draw me out into the open, to capture or kill me finally and cripple my family.
But I don't care about that now.
If there's a way I can have my woman, and keep her, then that's all I want. That, and to hear her sing for me once more in my bedroom.
"I'll do whatever you want," she says. The glee in her smile says it all.
Slowly, a tentacle wraps around her neck. Her heart races beneath my skin. I taste the thrill of her desire and her fear. My tentacle tightens until it just chokes her.
Then another fills her mouth and drives itself into her throat.
Her eyes widen with surprise, going hazy with need. Her tongue strokes at my tentacle, and her lips suck on it, even as it goes deeper.
It hits the back of her throat, but she doesn't choke. She meets my gaze defiantly, even as I lick her tears away.
"I'm going to teach you a lesson," I tell her. "And you won't ever forget it."
