Summoned and Stolen (Summoned Series Romances) (11 page)

Lily’s answer poured out of her, flowing straight from her heart. “I will only go home if there is no one here who wants me to stay.” She blinked back the tears that pricked at her eyes and smiled at Kel, hoping he would understand what she was trying to tell him.

“And if I asked you to stay? I’m not a good man, Lily. I’m a sell-sword with a talent for killing. But I don’t want you to leave. My world’s not so dark when you’re with me.”

Their feast was scattered across the bedclothes as she flew into his arms. “Yes! Yes I will stay with you. I love you, Kel. The only place I want to be is by your side.” She laughed aloud, her joy making her aura glow silver and gold. “And in your bed.”

“Then stay with me, Lily. Stay with me and let me love you. I don’t have much, but what I have is yours. And I swear that no one will ever hurt you again.”

She kissed him and then lifted her head back enough to be able to look into his eyes. “Then wherever you are, my love.
That
is home.”

“You are a wonder to me,” he murmured, his touch achingly gentle as he brushed her hair back from her face.

“And you are like no one else I have ever known.” She leaned in to nuzzle his lips with hers, her fingers tangling in the red-gold waves of his untamed hair. Calloused fingers stroked her cheek as he whispered against her lips.

“You are mine, little temptress. Do you understand?” His tone held an edge to it, a dark counterpoint to his tender caresses.

“I love you. There will be no one else in my heart but you, now or ever.”

“Good.” He nipped her lip and wrapped her hair around his hands, tugging her head back so that her throat was bared. “If any other man so much as touches you, he’s dead.”

Just the scent of her skin had his balls tightening and his cock swelling. She was intoxicating, beautiful, and she loved him. It was proof that the gods were all madmen. Her head fell back and he kissed his way down her honey-sweet skin, pausing every few inches to nibble and suck so that he left a trail of tiny love bites leading down to her breasts. He wanted to mark her, to show the world that she was his. He needed to bury himself balls deep in the heat of her body and fill her with his seed.

His need was so great it was hard to form words, but he managed. “I need you. Hands and knees, little one. Now.”

Lily left his arms with laugh, her eyes glittering with joy behind the lavender veil of her lashes.

Kel was out of bed the second she moved away from him. He tossed one of the pillows to the center of their bed, guiding her body so that she was facing away from him. He ran his hands down her hips and caressed the sweet curve of her ass, kneading the soft globes in his hands until Lily moaned and pressed backward against his palms. She lowered head and shoulders to the bed, resting on the pillow he’d placed there and his cock twitched at the submissive way she offered herself to him. It was a sign of her love, and her trust that she gave herself over to him so easily after all that had been done to her.

He would never betray that trust.

Lily’s skin felt like it was on fire everywhere his hands touched. She had never wanted any other the way she wanted her warrior. He was fierce, and proud, and his soul was touched with shadows, but he was hers. The gods had heard her prayers and given her more than she had dared to hope for. She was safe, and free, and loved.

His thick fingers traced along the seam of her ass and she quivered in anticipation. A rich chuckle rose from behind her and his hand stopped moving. “Always in such a rush, just like the first time we met and you landed right in my lap.”

She huffed in frustration instead of answering, eliciting another chuckle.

He leaned in, letting her feel the hard ridge of his cock pressing to her bottom as he reached between her thighs and pressed his fingers against her needy clit. Shimmering threads of pleasure began to unfurl, spreading throughout her body, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted more.

“Please, Kel,” she whispered.

He found her clit and began rolling it lightly between his thumb and forefinger, teasing her with a touch too gentle to give her what she craved. “Tell me what you want, little one. Tell me and I’ll give it to you.”

“I want…you.” She lifted her head, looking back over her shoulder so she could see his handsome face. She saw hunger there, as wild and urgent as her own. As powerful as he was, as
strong as he was, she looked at him and knew that in that moment, she was the one in control. That knowledge loosened her tongue and set her wild side free.

“Fuck me with your hand, Kel. Make me come with your fingers. And my wings, stroke my wings.” She let her wings unfurl, stretching them out in brazen invitation.

He uttered a strangled growl as his free hand reached out to caress the edge of one shimmering wing and she knew he was fighting to stay in control. That wasn’t what she wanted.

“I won’t break. Don’t you see? The gods made us for each other. I’m not afraid of you,
mercenary
. So show me who you are. All of it.”

A feral snarl was Kel’s only answer, and then the bottom fell out of Lily’s world. He took her at her word and let go, taking her with him. Two thick fingers plunged into her pussy, pumping in and out as he pressed his thumb to her clit hard enough she saw stars shimmer in her vision. His other hand was on her wings, stroking and teasing until her entire body shook with the need to come.

He held her on the brink, controlling the pace and playing her body like a troubadour would play a lute, plucking notes of pure pleasure from her skin over and over again. Finally, he gave her what she needed, tweaking her clit sharply so that she came on a scream. Before she could draw breath to refill her lungs his hands gripped her hips and his cock surged into her slick opening.

“Is this what you wanted?” he demanded as he bottomed out inside her.

“Aye!” Lily hadn’t intended to scream her answer, but that was what happened as she felt her body give way to his. She was still reeling from the powerful orgasm he had just given her, but that didn’t seem to matter. Her body responded to his with an intensity that robbed her of reason. She braced her body against the pounding of his hips, each thrust coming harder than the last. His cock felt thicker than ever before, filling her to breathtaking completion. Her inner walls pulsed and tensed, trying to hold him deep in her body and he groaned as her passage gripped him tight.

“I will love you until the stars fall,” he whispered, leaning over her so that his chest pressed against her unfurled wings. The delicious friction of that contact sent her spiraling into a release so powerful the world seemed freeze and then shatter into a thousand shimmering shards of crystalline bliss. She heard him cry out her name as he came, their voices blending into one ecstatic chorus as they lost themselves in each other’s bodies.

Even as she drifted in the sensual aftershocks of their pleasure, Kel was still whispering promises of love in her ear, his body curved protectively around hers. Lily closed her eyes and whispered a near-silent prayer to the gods of both worlds.

Thank you.

***

EPILOGUE

“This is not what I agreed to, damn you!” Kel couldn’t believe what his father was suggesting. Nay, suggesting was too gentle a word. What his king was
commanding
him to do.

“You killed two of my nobles in one day, Kel, and only one of them has an heir. I need you to do this. Gods, I have men ready to fight each other like rabid dogs over what I’m offering you.”

Kel spun around on his heel and glowered at his father. “Then give it to one of them. They’ll do a far better job of it than I ever could. And I only killed
one
of your men. Camford’s men killed Rockland.”

Lily made a soft noise of disapproval and Kel turned his attention to her, shaking his finger in admonition. “And you. Don’t pretend you knew nothing about this. I can already see the truth of it. My woman and my sire are conspiring against me! Gods above, how did I come to this?”

Lily opened her hands in a placating gesture. “You followed your heart. That’s how you ended up here. If you hadn’t, I’d be dead or worse, and your father and half-brother would shortly be joining me. You can do this, Kel. I think you should do this.”

“And if I do, then what happens to you, little one? Have you thought about that?”

Lily’s berry-sweet lips turned up in the faintest ghost of a smile and Kel knew he’d been set up.

“Your father has suggested that I might make a very good duchess.” She dusted her hands over the sleeves of her silk and lace gown and arched one violet brow at him in challenge. “Do you think differently?”

“I…but…you’re fae!” Kel argued. He had the distinct feeling that he had already lost the battle, but he was damned if he was ready to concede just yet. He had a home to return to, winter training to organize and an army to feed. The latter issue was a big one, because it was going to be difficult to buy supplies when he had lost the gold for their last contract by killing the man who was to have paid him. The last thing Kel wanted to do was to become a thrice-damned duke.

His father was out of his mind.

“She tried that argument already, son. The truth is that Camford’s people need something different. They have been badly used for far too long. Giving them a duchess of Lily’s unique talents and beauty would give them someone to pin their hopes to.”

“If she’s their symbol of hope, what would I be? They’ve had a gullet full of war already. I could see that in the eyes of every man in Camford’s army. The last thing they want is to be ruled by another warmonger. Why try to give this duty to me?”

Bern scrubbed a hand through his silver hair and looked Kel squarely in the eye. “
You
are the only man I know with enough sense not to want the job. You don’t crave power or gold. You’re a soldier, not a bloodthirsty killer. You even have a private army full of men who would be loyal to you at all costs. Men you could feed and shelter easily if you had the coffers of a duke. Camford’s former nobles are going to need a firm hand to rule them. I believe that hand should be yours. When you walked away from all this years ago, I was disappointed. Now, I see it was the right decision for you. I’m proud of the man you’ve become, but I want you to come home. I need a man I can trust, to advise me and guard my southern border. I need my son.”

Kel’s heart felt like a giant’s fist had gripped his heart and squeezed. He had turned his back on his father’s world a lifetime ago. Back then he’d been young, arrogant and disdainful of the soft life of a courtier. He had wanted to forge his own way in life, accepting nothing from the man who had loved his mother, but not enough to stand against tradition and marry a commoner.

Lily’s soft voice was coaxing now, “We could do this, Kel. It won’t be easy, but imagine what we could accomplish. No more slaves, no more tyrants. No more suffering.”

He held out his hand to her, and in that moment Kel knew he’d agree to it if Lily said yes. “If I do this, you’d have to become my wife. There would be…expectations.”

Lily nearly danced across the floor to his side, slipping her hand into his. He was going to say yes. “I know what would be required of me…if we were going to be a normal sort of duke and duchess, but I don’t think we’re going to be at all normal, do you?”

Bern burst out laughing as Kel swept her into his arms and kissed her, his mouth hot and hungry against hers. Strong hands cupped her bottom through the light silk of her gown, lifting her up so that the thick ridge of his erection was rubbing across her stomach. “No little temptress, I suppose we’re not going to be anything like what is expected.”

“I’m going to take that as your acceptance,” she told him.

He deliberately ran his hand up her back, seeking out the place where the gown was cut away to accommodate her wings. His fingers stroked the delicate membranes and she shuddered, making him chuckle. “Aye. I surrender. I’ll be the damned Duke of Southmoor, but only if you’re my Duchess.”

“I’m not going anywhere, love.” Lily smiled and pressed a tender kiss to his mouth. “Not even after we find someone to remove this damned collar.”

The King choked and spluttered at Lily’s crass language, ending with a booming laugh. “And here I thought she’d be a good influence on you. It seems to be the other way around. And now that it’s been mentioned, I already have a wedding present for you, Lily. I’ve located a magi who can undo the spells that bind you. She’s waiting for the both of you in the library.”

Lily couldn’t speak for the joy that filled her heart. She was going to be free.

“You wily, bastard. You waited until you had my agreement before you told us?” Kel growled in annoyance, but Lily was too happy to be upset at the minor manipulation.

“You don’t get to be king as long as I have been without learning a little bit about timing, my boy. Now, take your lovely bride to be upstairs and try not to upset the magi. With my luck, she’ll turn you into a toad or something and I’ll have to go looking for another duke. And try to remember not to call me a bastard again. I am your King…Your Grace.”

Kel scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the room, past a pair of bemused looking guards. He didn’t set her down once they reached the corridor, but set out for the library with long strides. “I should have remembered he was a cagey one. I’m starting to think this was all a very bad idea.”

“He is feeling very smug right now. After all, he’s waited twenty years to get his way. Let him have this moment.”

“For now,” Kel grumbled and Lily had to muffle her laughter at her lover’s disgruntled expression.

As they approached the library, both of them grew quiet. “Will you stay with me while it’s done?” she asked.

“Aye. As if I would leave you alone with a magi. One of them enslaved you, did they not? I don’t trust them.”

“Nor should you, Kel of Wulfshaven. Magi are a dangerous breed. Fortunately for you, I’m not truly one of their order.” A familiar voice came from beyond the library door and Lily felt the blood in her veins turn to ice.

“Mistress?” The query flew from her lips and she curled into a ball within the shelter of Kel’s arms.

“You do remember me, sister. I’m glad.”

Lily lifted her head and found herself face to face with the strange, silver-eyed woman who had delivered her to Rockland years ago. She was a servant of the magi who had taken Lily from her home and family. Dark memories came rushing back, and Lily couldn’t stop the trembling that took hold of her body.

“Bring her to me, mercenary. I’ve come to undo the spells my master placed upon that torc, nothing more. Once she’s free, I will depart. The King has paid for her freedom, and my master does not renege on his contracts.”

The woman Lily had always known as Mistress was as lovely and stark as ever. Startling white hair framed a face that seemed too angular to hold any expression that might be considered gentle. Her hands were crossed over her chest, and the air around her crackled with the energy of her magic.
That
was not something Lily remembered from their last meeting.

As if reading her thoughts, the other woman nodded. “I am not permitted to call on my powers outside of the citadel save at my master’s express command. Today, I will need them to undo the binding spell and remove the collar. When I do so, you will no longer be able to understand the language of this world, and your warrior will no longer be able to understand you either. I brought an alternative.” She held out one hand and Lily spotted a slender, silver bracelet dangling from the other woman’s fingertips.

“What will that cost?” Kel asked, looking at the silver chain as if it were a viper poised to strike.

“This is not my master’s work, it is my own. A gift. One that will not cause your fae lover the discomfort the torc does. My magic is…different than the magi’s.”

That was when Lily spotted the collar that encircled the other woman’s throat. The realization hit her like a blow. They were both slaves. The difference was that when the sun set tonight, one of them would be free, and one of them would still be a prisoner. “I’m sorry, sister. I didn’t know.” Lily shifted in Kel’s arms, but he only held her tighter.

Mistress gave her a sad smile. “You were not supposed to know. Now, it doesn’t matter so much. This bracelet is a gift between sisters. I would prefer if you did not tell anyone where you got it.”

“No, I suppose it doesn’t matter now. I accept your gift, Mistress. Kel, it’s fine. Don’t you see? She’s like me.” Lily lifted her arm, offering her wrist to the other woman so that she could fasten the bracelet around it. It was warm against her skin, but was not at all uncomfortable.

Kel rumbled unhappily but eventually loosened his grip enough that Lily could lean forward, giving the other woman access to her torc. “If you hurt her, I
will
kill you.”

“You could try, warrior, but you would fail.” The silver eyed woman looked to Lily. “This will not be pleasant, but it will be over quickly and then you will be free.”

She laid her delicate hands on the torc and Lily could feel the magic building, flowing over her and twisting through the collar that marked her as a slave. When the spell broke, she welcomed the disorienting surge of power that accompanied it. It slammed through her, filling her vision with red and gold dancing lights. There was a terrible cracking noise, and the torc fell away.

She was finally free.

Lily shook her head, trying to clear her vision. When she opened her eyes again, they were alone.

“Good bye, little sister.” The voice came from nowhere, and everywhere, making both of them jump.

A second later Kel turned her in his arms and she felt the way his heart thundered against his ribs. “Are you okay, little one?”

“I am wonderful. More than that, I am free!” She laughed with pure joy, her natural aura flaring bright as the summer sun.

He spun her around in circles until they were both dizzy, kissing her all the while. When he finally released her, she flew up into the air, wings outstretched and a song rising from her throat. She had the freedom she had dreamed of for so long, and more than that, she had Kel.

Not even in her dreams had she ever been this happy, or this loved.

The End

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