Beyond the Darkness (Dark Court 1) (4 page)

So why did he want to fuck
this
man?
Why Eljin?
Why did he have this uncontrollable need to protect the man from all the evils in the world? Sure, Eljin was an attractive man. Anyone who looked at him and saw that long, white-blond hair and those deep-blue eyes would think the same thing.
But that didn’t mean he was going to believe Eljin’s outlandish story about being pregnant. If it wasn’t for the fact that Zack was pretty sure Eljin was crazy, he might be tempted to follow his attraction and see what would happen. As it was, he wondered how long it would be before the men in white coats showed up to take Eljin to a padded room.
Not having any answers and growing more confused by the second, Zack headed back to the house. Maybe Gunny could shed some light on the situation. Zack trusted Gunny more than any man on the planet.
Gunny wouldn’t lie to him.
The sun was just starting to set by the time Zack walked back into the house and headed down to the secret basement. Everything was quiet inside, almost too quiet. Zack walked down the stairs and glanced over to where Gunny sat watching the security monitors. The man didn’t even look up of acknowledge his presence in any way.
“Where’s Eljin?”
“What do you care?” Gunny asked without lifting his head or looking away from the monitors.
“Hell, Gunny, I care what happens to the guy. I just don’t buy this story he hatched up about being pregnant. Men don’t get pregnant. You took human anatomy just like I did. It’s not possible.”
“That would be true if Eljin were human,” Gunny said as he finally turned away, pinning angry eyes on Zack. “But he’s not. He’s
Aes Sídhe
.”
“He’s what?”
“
Aes Sídhe,
a powerful, supernatural race comparable to elves.”
“Well… damn.”

Zack plopped down in the plush chair across from Gunny and dropped his head into his hands. Maybe he was hearing things? Maybe he really did have a massive head injury and the delusions were coming on one after another. He hadn’t taken any of his pills since the previous day.

Zack lifted his head to find Gunny holding a glass of whiskey out in front of him. He gratefully took it and swallowed some down, coughing when the fiery liquid burned down his throat. He frowned at the glass then glared over at Gunny.

Gunny chuckled and shrugged as he sat down again, his own glass of whiskey in his hand. “Don’t see any reason to spend tons of money on something I’m just going to piss out in a few minutes.”

Silence reigned in the room. Finally, Zack spoke. “Tell me about the
Aes Sídhe
.” “Do you really want to know?”
“Truthfully, I don’t know.” Zack grimaced and stared down at the glass he held

Hell, for all I know, I’m back in the hospital in some rubber room.”
“You’re just as sane as I am, Zack.”
“How do you know? I take pills to keep delusions away. I haven’t had any

medication since yesterday. What if this is all some elaborate fantasy created in my head because I forgot to take a pill?”
“You’re not crazy, Zack,” Gunny insisted. “This is all real and it’s all happening.”
Zack drew in a deep breath. “Okay, then tell me what this is.”
“Eljin is
Aes Sídhe
. He’s not of our world.”
“An alien?” Zack asked skeptically.
“No,
Aes Sídhe
are a powerful, supernatural race like fairies or elves. They don’t live on another planet but rather in a parallel universe of sorts. That was what I meant when I mentioned the veil. There is a thin veil between our world and his, like a gate.” Gunny paused to take a drink of his whiskey, but he continued watching Zack intently. “Eljin isn’t a normal
Aes Sídhe
, however. He’s
fayerye
, of royal blood. That’s what makes his eyes so blue. Only those born with royal blood have eyes that color.”
“Royal blood?” Zack chuckled. “Of course he is. That would just fit so perfectly into my little fantasy. If I’m going to get involved with someone they might as well be royalty.”
“Zack, this is no laughing matter,” Gunny said sternly. “Eljin’s life is in serious danger, as is the life of your unborn child.”
Zack groaned, dropping his head back onto the seat cushion behind him. “I don’t want to hear about that right now.” He wasn’t ready to confront the idea of Eljin being something other than human, let alone that he might be telling the truth about being pregnant. That was a can of worms that just might Zack lose it.
“You need to hear about it, damn it,” Gunny snapped. “If anyone from the Unseelie Court gets their hands on Eljin they will kill him, especially now that he’s carrying. Same goes for whoever is after you two here on this side of the veil.”
Zack looked up. “Unseelie Court?”
“Eljin’s world is divided into two worlds, like two separate countries. One is called the Seelie Court. This, uh, country, is beautiful. It’s like spring all the time. There are animals everywhere, things growing, beautiful cities made of the purist white stone you ever saw. It’s really breathtaking.”
“And the Unseelie Court?”
“The Unseelie Court is just the opposite. It storms all the time, nothing grows, the people are miserable, starving, everything dies. Think of what a war-torn area is like after the soldiers leave. There’s nothing. No happiness, no hope… only a brutal, dismal existence.”
“Why would someone from this Unseelie Court want to kill Eljin?”
“He’s a royal. That right there put a bull’s eye on his forehead the day he was born. Add in the fact that he’s carrying and he’s probably at the top of their hit-list, right under the ruling monarch.”
“Why?” Zack asked, refusing to put Eljin’s possible pregnancy into words. He still wanted to know though.
““Because your child joins others in being in line for the throne,” Gunny said. “Both cour—countries are at war. The Unseelie Court wants the territory of the Seelie Court and vice versa. It’s a war as old as time.”
Zack understood war. He’d fought more battles than he cared to remember. He wasn’t a regular Marine, but rather one of a team that was usually sent on special missions, the ones others couldn’t complete.
It was everything else he didn’t understand. “Tell me about Eljin,” he finally said. “If what you and he say is true and he is pregnant, how is it possible?”
“Eljin is a royal—”
“You said that already, Gunny.”
“Just listen.” Gunny held up his hand. “Eljin is a royal, as denoted by his blue eyes. Royals are always born male. As such, their genetic makeup enables them to carry a child and give birth.”
“Can all of the
Aes Sídhe
do that?” Zack asked in horror.
“No, just those of the royal bloodline, like Eljin.”
Zack rubbed the bridge of his nose, a headache coming on. “Do you know how fucked up this sounds? Fairies and elves fighting each other, men that give birth, secret agents trying to kill people? Are you sure I’m not delusional?”
“You’re not having a delusion, Zack. This is all perfectly real.”
Zack dropped his hand to stare across at Gunny. “How do you know so much about all of this? Are you
Aes Sídhe
?”
“No.” Gunny chuckled, and then his face turned more solemn, his lips turning down in a frown as his eyebrows drew together in an expression filled with sadness. “Twenty some odd years ago I went on leave to the hills of Ireland. I met a young man there named Roland.” Gunny smiled as he stared at the security monitors. “God, he was beautiful, Zack… long, blond hair and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. I was instantly smitten with him. We had three months together but it was enough for me to know I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.”
“What happened to him?” Zack asked softly, almost afraid to speak and break into Gunny’s memories.
“He was captured by the Unseelie Court and I never saw him again.” Gunny lowered his tearful gaze to the glass in his hand. He took a deep gulp then returned to staring at it. “I’ve spent the last twenty years learning everything I could about the
Aes Sídhe
, trying to find him.”
“Damn, Gunny, why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Would you have believed me?” Gunny waved his hand toward the hallway. “You have proof sleeping down the hallway and you still don’t believe me. Why would I possibly think you would have believed me before?”
“It’s not the same thing,” Zack growled and clenched his fists.
“It is the same damn thing, Zack. Eljin is pregnant with your child. Deal with it.”
Zack jumped to his feet, anger ripping through him. “I never agreed to it, damn it. I was tied down to a fucking bed. I never—” Zack’s own words slammed into him like a runaway freight train. His knees buckled and he dropped to the floor as memories flooded him.
The soft caress of Eljin’s hands, the man’s skin pressed against him, burying his cock deep into Eljin’s body. Zack cried out, besieged by images he couldn’t stop from filling his head.
Then he remembered the desolate look in Eljin’s eyes, the softly spoken words in his head. He remembered and now knew who had whispered “I’m sorry” to him. Zack looked up at Gunny in desperation as he realized he really wasn’t delusional.
Everything he’d been told was true.
“Gunny… fuck… Eljin.” Zack looked down the hallway toward the guestroom. He remembered every horrible thing he’d said to Eljin, each time he’d scoffed at the man’s unbelievable tale. He remembered Eljin’s promise to leave and not involve him, how sad Eljin looked as he’d said the words.
“I need to talk to Eljin,” Zack whispered as he climbed to his feet. His legs were shaky as he walked down the hallway. He paused outside the thick metal door, his heart pounding erratically in his chest. Zack was afraid—terrified, actually—of what he’d find on the other side of the door.
Would Eljin be gone?
Still there?
Zack wasn’t sure which scared him more.
Gathering his courage, Zack turned the knob and stepped inside. His gaze immediately went to the bed where Eljin sat brushing his hair. Zack’s breath caught in his throat at the guarded look Eljin cast him, almost as if the man waited for him to say something scathing. Considering his recent behavior, Zack figured Eljin had every right to be on his guard.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Zack tried to appear as nonthreatening as possible. “Can I talk to you?”
Eljin stared at him for a moment then nodded. He scooted back on the bed to lean against the headboard, crossing his legs and sitting Indian style. He didn’t say anything, but he kept his gaze pinned on Zack’s face.
He chose his words carefully. “Gunny told me everything.”
Eljin chewed on his bottom lip as his gaze dropped down to his lap. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“You’ve said that before, Eljin.”
Eljin’s eyes flickered up to Zack then back down to his lap. “Do you want me to go?”
Zack didn’t answer. He didn’t know what he wanted. He was too confused by everything that had happened in the last two days and everything he’d learned to be able to give Eljin a concrete answer.
“How far along are you?” Zack asked. He gestured to the mound under the white cotton shirt Eljin wore. He wasn’t surprised when Eljin’s hands dropped down to cover himself as if he were trying to protect the unborn child. Eljin seemed fiercely protective of the baby.
“I’m in my second trimester.”
“So you’re what… five, six months along?” Zack tried to quickly do the math in his head but Eljin’s words stopped him.
“No, our gestational period is different than humans. We only carry for five months.” The smile Eljin shot down to his stomach as he rubbed it made Zack wish the man smiled at him like that. “I only have another couple months to go.”
“Two months? Isn’t that kind of quick?”
“Each trimester is only seven weeks long. I have two weeks left in this trimester.”
“You’re not showing much. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is fine.” Eljin looked up, giving Zack the smile he wanted. “He’s growing just like he should. During the last trimester I’ll be as big as a house. That’s when the baby really starts to put on weight. Right now all his little body parts are forming.”
Zack reached out his hand, unable to stop himself, but then paused. “Can I?”
Eljin looked hesitant, staring intently at Zack before nodding and scooting down on the bed to lie back against the pillows. Zack’s breath caught in his throat as he watched Eljin pull his shirt up, revealing a stomach more swollen than Zack had expected.
Zack slowly stretched out beside Eljin, giving the man plenty of time to stop him. He leaned on his forearm and reached over with his other hand. He held it there, hovering just above the mound, glancing up when he heard Eljin chuckle.
“He’s not going to bite you,” Eljin said as he grabbed Zack’s hand and pressed it over his distended stomach, palm down.
Zack didn’t feel anything except Eljin’s silky skin. He glanced up at Eljin in concern. “Is he sleeping?” The moment the words were out of his mouth something gave his hand a hard kick against his palm. “Whoa!”
Eljin laughed. “I said he was strong.”
Zack moved his hand over Eljin’s stomach, chuckling when the kicks followed his movements. “He certainly is active.” He glanced up at Eljin, not realizing until then how close their faces were to each other. “Is that normal?”
Eljin shrugged. “I guess so. This is my first so I—”
“This is your first child?”
Eljin nodded, his gaze meeting Zack’s. “Of course this is my first child.”
Zack immediately felt like a jerk. “I’m sorry, Eljin. I just don’t know how these things are done. I’ve never been in this situation.”
Eljin nodded. “Me neither. I’m the youngest of five children, so I was never around when my father gave birth to my brothers.”
Zack choked. “Your father?”
“Only the men in my family give birth.” Eljin smirked. “It’s been that way for centuries.”
“You do know how strange this sounds to me, don’t you?” Zack asked. “In my world, men don’t have babies.”
“I’m sorry,” Eljin whispered. He seemed to fold into himself, his chin tucked down close to his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around his torso. “They said they would kill you if I didn’t—that they didn’t need you if I couldn’t get you to… to perform. They promised they’d let you go if I just… ” Eljin’s eyes were filled with tears as he glanced up at Zack. “I’m so sorry.”
“Shh,” Zack whispered as he wrapped an arm around Eljin and pulled the man into his embrace. “I know, hummingbird, I know.”
As Zack held Eljin he began to notice the softness of the man’s curves, the sweet smell of his silky skin. Each inhale brought more of Eljin’s sweet scent into his body until his cock ached with a need to have the man’s naked body pressed against his. “Eljin.”
When Eljin tilted his head back, they were nearly nose-to-nose. Zack stared at Eljin’s lush mouth. His cock jerked when Eljin licked his lips. He looked up into Eljin’s eyes then back down to his lips again. His heart beat faster.
“Eljin,” he murmured again, not sure if he wanted to warn the man off or plead with him to come closer.
Eljin took the decision out of his hands by leaning up and kissing him. Zack lay there stunned until Eljin pulled away, sadness making his face pale. Zack couldn’t have that. He cupped his hand around the nape of Eljin’s neck and pulled the man back into the kiss.
He tasted so sweet, so soft. Zack groaned. He had never felt such desire before, at least not that he could remember. His hands trembled as he moved them, one caressing Eljin’s cheek, the other running up and down Eljin’s back as he pulled the man closer.
Eljin’s body pressed against his was heaven on earth. He stroked his hand down Eljin’s back to his hip then around the perfect curve of his ass. He gently grabbed his thigh and pulled it up over his hip until their cocks met, mashing together.
A sense of urgency drove him. He needed more. Grabbing the hem of Eljin’s shirt, he worked it up the man’s lean chest then over his head. Eljin’s groan of protest turned into a cry of ecstasy when he started nibbling along his jawline then down to his neck.
When Eljin started yanking on his shirt, Zack leaned up far enough to whip it over his head. He tossed it across the room before lying back down. He immediately pressed his hands against Eljin’s skin.
Every time his gaze met Eljin’s, his heart turned over in response. His body was inflamed, burning. He stroked his hand over Eljin’s back again, moving down until he encountered the waistband of Eljin’s jogging pants.
Zack leaned back and took a moment to look into Eljin’s eyes before pushing his hand under the material, instantly cupping a softly rounded butt cheek in his hand. Eljin’s eyes widened, growing darker, but he didn’t protest. Instead, he pressed into the caress.
Eljin brought his leg back over Zack’s hip, opening himself up to Zack’s questing fingers. Zack watched Eljin’s passion-flushed face carefully as he moved his fingers down between the two cheeks, grazing the man’s puckered flesh. Eljin’s body stiffened before humping wildly against Zack’s seeking fingers.
“Zack.” Eljin moaned, his hand digging into the flesh of Zack’s shoulder. When his head dropped back against the pillow, his throat muscles arched. Eljin was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
He leaned forward and licked from Eljin’s collarbone up to his chin and then across his plush lips. Eljin’s tongue came out to war with his. It was a battle for dominance until Eljin finally surrendered with a deep sigh and allowed Zack into his mouth. Zack delved in, licking and sucking as he claimed Eljin’s mouth for himself.
As he brushed his finger across Eljin’s tight hole again Zack realized he needed some sort of lube. He might not remember having sex with Eljin but he’d had watched enough videos to know he needed something to smooth the way.