Bloodline (25 page)

Micah collapsed onto the carpet. It felt like he was being slammed into by a pile driver, but it was the most perfect feeling ever. Every time Inigo pulled back, he felt each inch of the withdrawal and squeezed his muscles, trying to keep Inigo inside. Every drive forward by the vampire rubbed Micah’s cock against the carpet, a sensation part pain, part pleasure.

He was so lost in the moment that he didn’t resist when Inigo pulled out, turned him on his side, lifted his leg in the air, and slid back into him again.

“Better,” Inigo mumbled against his neck and shifted his fingers to Micah’s cock.

Inigo moaned and grunted as he jerked his cock in and out of Micah’s body and at the same time brought him off in the same frantic rhythm. A slight change of angle to nail his prostate and the end was in sight, black rubber burning as wheels spun, ready to fly. But it was Inigo who came first, jolting and spilling inside Micah’s body as he shuddered against his back. Micah came a split second later, his balls exploding, his anus contracting in tight spasms as he fired jet after jet of cum into Inigo’s hand.

Impossibly, he thought he felt Inigo come again, but Micah’s brain had gone walkabout, lost in a pleasure haze so thick the building could have collapsed around them and he couldn’t have moved.

He wasn’t sure how long they lay there, Inigo’s cock still inside him, still hard.

“How can it get better and better?” Inigo whispered.

“You just needed the practice. You’ll taper off pretty soon.”

Inigo chuckled and nipped his ear.

“You’ll make or break me, vampire. You do know I’m yours for as long as you want me?”

“I’ve had enough now. Go and shower.”

Micah laughed.

Inigo snuggled closer to his back. “And when you’ve managed to get to your feet, pull me to mine.”

* * * *

Micah emerged from the bathroom to hear his phone ringing. Inigo slapped his butt as he bent to pick up his pants, but the smile on Micah’s lips faded when he heard his father’s frantic voice. “A fox has taken a rabbit.”

“Sure it was a fox?” Micah’s heart pounded.

“Ellie’s gone. They’ve taken her. What are we going to do?”

“What’s happened? Tell me everything.”

“Jago just called. Ellie went outside to close a gate that was banging in the wind. Jago and Henry heard her scream and rushed out to see two faeries flying away with her.”

“Shit.”

“How the hell did they know where she was?
I
don’t know where she was. Do you? Does the vampire?”

Micah’s fingers tightened on the phone as Inigo scowled and began to yank on his clothes more forcefully.

“No and no,” Micah snapped.

“They’ll have taken her through a portal to Faerieland. We have to cross the Divide and get her back. Your mother’s frantic.”

“I have to make some calls. Do nothing until you hear from me. If you receive any demands, call me before you do anything.”

“Jago is on his way down here with Henry and Diane. I couldn’t not let him come.”

“No. Look, just in case, maybe you all ought to move to a different location, but stay in the London area.”

“I need to find a portal and go through with the bill of sale.”

“No.” Micah struggled to stop himself from screaming. “Do nothing until you hear from me. If you find a way over, Oberon will destroy the bill of sale, then kill you and Ellie. I’ll call you back soon.”

He ended the call and made another as he pulled on his clothes.

“It’s two in the morning,” Roman said.

“Hunters have snatched my sister Ellie. They’re probably already back in the kingdom.”

He waited for Roman’s
you should have let me take care of them
, but his boss merely gave a heavy sigh.

“Out of ten hunters confirmed as having crossed, eight are in custody, and six of those have asked for asylum.”

“Is Cavan one of the eight?”

“No.”

Micah’s stomach roiled. That meant Cavan had Ellie. “Put the call out to West Land faeries. We’ll meet in two hours at the portal in Richmond Park. Spankers Hill Wood. Maybe Oberon left it open for his hunters.”

“And what’s your plan once you enter the kingdom?”

Micah faltered. He couldn’t think straight.

Inigo took the phone from his hand. “We bargain, negotiate, lie, cheat, do whatever is needed to make sure West Land faeries have a decent, upright king on the throne, and at the same time ensure the safety of all innocent faeries.”

“And?” Roman asked.

“Call Jayne’s father,” Inigo said. “Tell him to meet us in Spankers Hill Wood. The wolves can guard the portal and stop Cavan and the remaining hunter from crossing back, assuming they didn’t stay in Faerieland. You could send support too.”

“Well done. Do you really need a pension plan and medical benefits?” Roman chuckled and ended the call.

“You’re not going—” Micah pressed his lips together.

Inigo glared. “Yeah, wise not to continue.”

As they made their way out of the hotel and headed to where they’d parked the car, Micah called his father, told him where to meet them and to persuade as many to come as he could.

“You drive while I make some more calls,” Micah said. “As fast as possible without drawing a police escort. If Cavan is on this side, we need him detained. Oberon’s weaker without him.”

“Spankers Hill Wood?” Inigo asked as he pulled out. “You recognized the tree?”

“I’d been there before. Not getting spanked in case you wondered.”

Inigo humphed. “The dialect word ‘spanker’ means something exceptional or striking and also a fast-moving horse.”

“You’re
clever
as well as a great fuck?”

“Yep, so don’t lose me.”

“Which is why you should stay with the wolves and…”

Inigo’s low growl made the hairs prickle on Micah’s neck. “I don’t think so, sunshine.”

Micah gave in.

INIGO WASN’T SURE whether Micah had given in or not, but there was no way Inigo wasn’t going to be next to him when he crossed into Faerieland. He listened as Micah called a succession of numbers, including Kit’s, and gave a brief explanation.

Finally, he stuffed the phone back in his pocket and sighed. “Now we wait to see who turns up.”

“What’s your best-case scenario when we confront Oberon and his court?”

“That they believe what we tell them, denounce him, put him in prison, accept Kit as the king, and we all live happily ever after.”

Including us?
Inigo kept the thought unspoken. He didn’t feel…right. He’d been desperate for blood, and yet when he had it, his body rejected it, taking the hunger with it. He’d wrestled and fucked with Micah, without wanting more from the faerie than his cock. A quick glance in the mirror showed no sign of a horn in the middle of his forehead, but he still worried.

He had no idea what he’d done by ingesting the unicorn blood. Yes, it had saved his life, but maybe it had also shortened it. He’d given the flask to Kit not just because he felt it was the right thing to do, but because he was afraid to keep drinking it. It was too tempting.

When he pulled up on a road next to the park and switched off the engine, Micah caught hold of his arm. “I need to tell you something. I… You’ve made me happier than I’ve been in my life. Even happier than when my wings came out when I was seven, and to be honest, I didn’t think anything could top that.”

Inigo smiled.

“My parents told me not to go outside, but Asher persuaded me I’d be fine, and I ended up stuck at the top of a tree. It was still the best day of my life. Until I met you.” He opened the car door. “I wanted you to know, just in case.”

Inigo caught up with him as he strode into the park. “When this is all over, want to date?”

Micah smiled. “Does it involve getting naked?”

“Don’t all dates?”

They started to run, sprinting over the grass toward the wooded hill. Inigo could sense no one else around, and when he spotted the tree ahead that marked the portal they’d used, he couldn’t see anyone either.

“I said two hours. How long left?” Micah asked.

“Forty-three minutes.”

“You are so useful.”

The weres were the first to arrive. Jayne was there with her father and ten pack members.

Her father shook their hands. “Thank you. I’m glad we have the chance to pay you back.”

“Jayne knows what Cavan looks like,” Micah said. “He mustn’t be allowed to go through the portal. If my sister Ellie isn’t with him, I need to know where she is. Be as rough as you need. Contact Roman if Cavan turns up after we’ve crossed.”

The Alpha spoke to a few of the men, who then stripped, shifted, and loped into the trees. It always made Inigo gulp when he watched weres transform. It looked so painful, bones cracking and reforming, muscles contracting and lengthening. All that hair sprouting. He shuddered.

The next to arrive was a large group of faeries and a few mortals. Judging by Micah’s stiffening posture, some of them were his relations. When a woman rushed up and threw her arms around Micah, Inigo took a step backward, and then another. He reversed into a male chest and spun round to see a tall, blond guy who had the same chin as Micah.

“You’re the vampire who’s snuck into my baby brother’s heart.”

“And you’re the faerie who let his baby brother get stuck up a tree on the day his wings came out.”

“Asher.” He held out his hand.

“Inigo.” Inigo shook it.

Micah caught Inigo’s elbow. “Whatever Asher said, it’s a lie.”

Inigo smiled. “I hope not.”

Micah glared at Asher. “What did you say?”

“That you’ve fallen hard, Little Bro, and Dad’s about to pitch a fit.”

“I don’t give a—”

“Ten minutes.” Inigo spoke quickly. He glanced round the gathering. “No Kit. No Pixie. We can’t do this without Kit.”

The air was filled with the sounds of growling and fighting, and Inigo stepped in front of Micah, who then stepped in front of him.

“You two going to dance all night?” Asher muttered.

Moments later, Cavan and another faerie were dragged into the clearing, iron chains around their necks and wrists. There was no sign of Ellie.

Micah strode forward. “Where is she?”

“Go fuck yourself,” Cavan snapped. “Oh no, don’t bother. Just get the vampire to do it.”

“Where is she?” Inigo sidled up to the other hunter and pushed out his fangs.

“Faerieland,” the guy blurted. “We took her there a couple of hours ago and came back to look for the others.”

“Show me how to get through,” snapped a tall, dark-haired guy.

Mortal
. Inigo guessed he was Jago, Ellie’s partner.

“We need to wait a few more minutes,” Micah said. “The more of us that cross, the better.”

Cavan laughed. “Good idea. Then more of you will die.”

The smile fell from Cavan’s lips as his attention was snagged by a male and female faerie.

“April and Flint,” Cavan spat. “We knew you hadn’t perished in a fire, but you fucking will. I’ll rip your arms and legs off and burn them in front of you. Maybe I’ll make you eat each other.”

“Can’t one of you magic up an iron gag?” Inigo muttered.

He gasped as a metal band appeared over Cavan’s mouth and wrapped around the back of his head.

“Oh, there’s an airhole.” Inigo scowled. “That’s a pity.”

April and Flint came forward and spoke to Micah, then glanced at Jago and the older male mortal who stood with Micah’s family.

Micah sidled back to Inigo. “Ten minutes up?”

“Two to go. Er…I can’t help but notice your father glaring at me. Does he want to stake me?”

“He’ll come round.”

“I won’t turn my back then,” Inigo whispered.

Micah leaned to talk quietly in his ear. “What the fuck are we going to do if Kit doesn’t turn up?”

“We go and get Ellie without him.”

“I don’t know how to open the portal. The other hunter claims he doesn’t know. Probably true.”

“Make Cavan tell you.”

Micah glanced at the iron-bound faerie whose eyes were wide with fury. “He’s going to lie and get us killed.”

“Can’t you just…use the force or something?”

He rolled his eyes and then straightened. “Maybe we can.”

* * * *

Micah had no expectation this would work, but it was all he could think of. He had every faerie present apart from the hunters link hands around the tree.

“Concentrate,” he said. “Believe we can open it.”

“I haven’t used magic for years,” someone mumbled.

“Nor me.”

“You’re still faeries,” Micah said. “We can do this.”

His mother began to hum, then his father, and gradually they all joined in, the sounds blending together and rising into the night. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Kit and Pixie running up. They joined the circle, and he sighed with relief.

When the air began to splinter, as though his retinas had torn to splatter his vision with specks, spots, and trailing spiderwebs, his heart pounded. The disturbance was in one specific part of the tree trunk. He kept hold of Asher’s hand, threw himself at the haze, and fell into daylight.

And the rest came tumbling after, including Jago, Jayne, and Inigo.

Inigo strode up and dragged him to his feet by the scruff of the neck. “You were going to leave me on the other side? If Jago hadn’t had the presence of mind to grab a faerie’s hand, we’d have been unable to get through, wouldn’t we? You’re fucking unbelievable.”

“I want you safe,” Micah blurted.

“This is not the time for lovers’ tiffs,” Asher said. “What’s the plan?”

Micah sent everyone, apart from his father, April, Flint, Kit, Asher, and Pixie because she whined so much, to talk to any faerie they came across as they made their way to the castle. They needed to persuade the citizens of West Land to put pressure on the Elders to listen to what they had to say, or all was lost.

Chapter Sixteen

Trouble was coming. Oberon knew it. He hadn’t needed his spies to whisper of banished fae crossing the Divide. He could sense danger in the air, taste it. He wished Cavan was there to supplement his power, but Oberon couldn’t rely on him returning in time. If the worst came to the worst, he had a winning card.