Page 104 of Defy the Fae

“I was just remembering this place,” she quips. “The look on your face when I gave you a tongue lashing that first night.”

“The first night or tonight? Because both were unforgettable.”

She smacks my chest, which rumbles with laughter. “You know what I mean.”

That, I do. “Ugh, that righteous quote you attacked me with. I wanted to sneer and take you down a peg, as much as I wanted to sample that outspoken mouth of yours.” I sweep my lips across her nose. “You set me on edge from the beginning.”

Juniper’s mirth fades, her gaze trailing over my features. “No one will ever come close, Puck. No one ever has.”

The words embed themselves in my heart. “The feeling is mutual,” I whisper, cupping her face.

It’s only ever been her. For all those years, she was the memory I’d never been able to extinguish. Every move I made had been wrapped up in this mortal.

Somehow, I’ve made her happy. Someway, she’s given me the same fucking thing.

With a groan, my mouth sweeps down and claims hers. I haul her partway over me while our tongues fuse together. Her exquisite cunt radiates wet heat across my thighs, and now my cock is primed for a slower, more patient round of sex.

We’d fucked each other to the point of no return. In about five minutes, I’ll make love to her until she’s so lucid, she’ll feel every inch of me for days.

But first, Juniper pulls away on a sigh, concern eclipsing her need. “What about Cerulean?”

Pain and fear clip my revelry in half. I frame the sides of her face and speak against her lips. “We didn’t lose each other. We’re not going to lose him, either.”

“I love you,” she whispers.

“Eternally, luv,” I murmur, before taking her mouth again.

I roll on top of Juniper, my body aligning with hers. Her thighs flank my waist as I tease her entrance with my cock and kiss her breathless. My lips and tongue devour her, savoring these remaining hours.

My brother won’t end in that cage. Not if I can’t help it. Not if the rest of our band has anything to say about it. For sure, I know one brother who’s prowling toward the mortal realm right now, hellbent on that task.

No one’s coming. They abandoned you. Any others won’t know where to look because they never saw where we put you.

I’d been half-conscious in the cage, but I remember that moment. At the time, the mortal’s words had lathered salt into the wound. But not anymore, now that I’m feeling perkier and ready to give Juniper more bliss.

…they never saw where we put you.

Huh. The humans must have forgotten that us monsters are a threesome. And for all those Fables and cautionary horror stories, they should know a thing or two about Elixir. He doesn’t need to fuckingsee.

PART 3

ELIXIR

23

Nothing survives without water. Not in my world.

It flows through this land like a vein, pumping life into the mountain, forest, and far beneath the earth. It is the beginning of many things—a storm, a seed, or a rushing river. Each begins with a single droplet.

Even in poisons and cures, water is a component. Even for immortal souls, it is vital. Even in me, it is an irreplaceable magic.

While submerged, my body shifts from one being to another, from a Fae with limbs to one with a tail. The river swirls as I flex my arms. Beneath the surface, my legs fuse into a single appendage.

This would not happen without water. It is my life force, as much as The Deep itself and the touch of my lady.

As I swim, the river parts like a gate, allowing me to pass. Liquid thrashes with each stretch of my arms, each whip of my serpent tail. My nostrils inhale the metallic scent of sharks, and my ears discern the siphoning cadence of their gills.

The noise subsides quickly. I am moving too fast for the sounds to be more than an afterthought, for time is of the essence.

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