Cursed To Death

A chair moved itself out for her to take a seat. Sasha just shook her head and plopped down. What the platter revealed made her close her eyes and say a little prayer. Gratitude filled every fiber of her being as she took up her fork and knife to find that there was no need for a steak knife. It was free-range bison, marinated to perfection and so tender that all she had to do was gently press the side of her fork into it and the meat cut. “Damn…”

It was impossible not to wolf down her meal, and the cold beer that she’d asked for made her stop with the first sip and close her eyes, holding the chalice in midair. “Oh, man…”

Bread baked to Dwarf perfection with honey butter made her lose her ma

But it was amazing what a bath and full belly could do to a she-wolf’s mind. Relaxation brought clarity. Sasha sat up slowly. They didn’t have to do a frontal assault on a powerful Unseelie queen that would put the Fae at war. Queen Blatand of Hecate, for all her possibly unsavory qualities, most likely was unaware of the goings-on of the lower members of her court. Woman to woman and leader to leader, Sasha had to admit that she’d be equally pissed off if someone attacked her base just because Bear Shadow or Woods did something stupid.

Sasha stared at the moonlight. If something like that happened, the first instinct would be a defensive strike-then, and only then, would there be conversations about who’d shot John… And then the bottom line would be where was the respect? Why didn’t your nation come to our nation and lodge the complaint? There was no warning shot fired over the bow and you’ve attacked us? Nah… the Wolf Clans wouldn’t go for that, either, so why would a powerful Unseelie queen?

There had to be a way of forcing her hand, diplomatically, into outing the members of her own court that were involved in wrongdoing. And those guys were most likely here, not overseas wherever she resided.

An angry smile tugged at Sasha’s cheek. If they were with Vampires, an attack had already been launched against her people at Dugan’s old B &B… which meant that they had technically gone after Winters on Fae land. The Seelie Fae owned Dugan’s old spot, as well as the bar that Winters was ru

“Yeah…” Sasha said, thinking out loud. They could burn Vampire lairs in daylight looking, supposedly, for the female-the redhead-by law. And, knowing the Vampires, they would out the Unseelie spell-caster that had cost them so much prime real estate. Once they had the little son of a bitch in custody, they’d turn the screws on him… Wouldn’t take much; Shadow Wolves could always smell a lie. An emergency UCE trial could be called by the second night, and the Unseelie queen would be barred from retaliation. “Damn, Sir Rodney… I wish you didn’t have to wait for the morning to get this,” she murmured.

A light knock on her door startled her and yanked her focus away from the window. Flustered, she got up and went to the door, tucking her wet hair up into a loose twist. For a few seconds she just stared.

“May I come in?” Sir Rodney asked, his expression so serious that her body stood aside without consulting her brain.

He was freshly bathed, smelled divine, and wore only a long forest-green silk robe.

“Umm… I think I misspoke,” Sasha said, quickly closing the door behind him.

“You said you didn’t want to wait until morning,” he murmured, coming closer to her until her back hit the door. “Sasha… I…” His words fell away as his fingers trembled against her cheek.

“You’ve bewitched the room,” she said quietly. “No fair.”

He shook his head. “It is I who has been bespelled since the begi

“Oh, Lord.” She closed her eyes and dropped her head into her hands.

“No need for formal titles between lovers,” he said in a thickly sensual murmur.

“No, no,” she said quickly, pointing up. “I was talking about that one.”

He chuckled and stepped back an inch with a good-natured smile. “Even the Fae don’t tangle with the Ultimate… So what caused you to send up a prayer? Am I that much of a disappointment?”

“No,” she said quickly, placing her palm on his chest. “It’s not that… I did want you to come here, but because I want us to figure out a way to avoid an all-out Fae war… Your people ca

He stared at her, the humor fading from his incredible jewel-blue eyes, desire replacing it. He took up her hand, deeply kissing the center of her palm, and allowed it to fall away from his. When she hugged herself he touched her cheek, studying the facets of her face as though she were a priceless gem.

“Sasha, you are not only beautiful, radiantly so… but your heart is that of pure gold. Not fool’s gold, but pure gold; do you understand the difference, love? If you don’t, let me assure you that we Fae are well aware… and you are what lies at the end of a rainbow.”

She swallowed hard as his eyes left hers to slowly survey her body so intensely that it sent shivers down her spine. She couldn’t answer, much less move. The sexual energy that radiated off him was complete devastation.

“There is honor and integrity, the likes of which would knock the wind from any man standing. I have been felled by you, Sasha… And yet, it is this same integrity that frustrates the bloody hell out of me as we speak. You consider yourself mated, a married woman.”

The last part of Sir Rodney’s statement came out more like a wistful question. Her brain struggled to find the right gear to make her mouth work, stalling out like a bad transmission, slipping, not catching.

“Uh, yeah,” she finally sputtered out. “That’s a problem.”

“Are you sure?” Sir Rodney said in a low, baritone murmur, stepping closer. “It doesn’t have to be.”

His hands found her wet hair, as his mouth sought hers. Warm male body fused with her stomach and thighs and breasts in a hot, blanketing wash. As he intensified the kiss, a cha

“We have to-”

Another ardent kiss stopped her protest, but as he went for the sash of her robe, she grabbed the ends of it and pulled hard.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” she said, gasping.

“My apologies,” he gasped, heaving in large gulps of air.

“I’m not offended,” she said, staring up into his pained eyes. “Just…”

“Conflicted.”

She nodded, and suddenly he became blurry as she nodded even harder. What the hell was wrong with her!

“Oh, lassie… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry… didn’t mean to offend to such a degree.”

She waved her hand and bit her lip, totally freaked out that something like this could make a war veteran shed tears. It was ludicrous.

“It’s not you… Just look at all you’ve done.” She nodded toward the table, pointing out the bath, and then caught a sob as she pointed to the closet with a shaky hand. “I’ve never in all my life been given…” Sasha snatched back her hand and then folded her arms. She had to get her mind to jump back into her skull. It had definitely fled the room somewhere between the bath, the di