Page 8 of Bound and Beguiled

A few seconds later, she spoke again.

“Seriously, though. It’s all good. Go at your own pace, no pressure. Anything you do will be a help, and my people will be happy to answer any questions you have.”

“Thank you.” It came out hesitatingly, almost a question. Sid’s words sounded right, but her fingers tapped the console between us in a nervous gesture that seemed out of character for the self-assured woman. I raised an eyebrow.

Sid glanced over, caught my look, and grimaced slightly. “Out with it, then. Okay. Khalon needs to talk to you. You didn’t do anything wrong,” she assured me when I blanched. “It’s standard protocol. This is the Cairn Riders’ territory. The Broken Crown is their seat. Anyone working there needs to be approved by them—no worries on that count—but there’s some business with oaths of loyalty and protection.”

Her eyes flickered to the gold bands circling my wrists. “Nothing as binding as what Ymet demands. But serious enough. I’m sorry, I didn’t think to tell you. It’s normal in Meta communities, but Katarina says not so much in Human ones, and after everything, I—”

“Hey, hey, hey,” I laughed, holding up my hands. “It’s fine. I expected something like this.”

“Really?”

Sid sounded skeptical, and I laughed again, digging the phone out of my pocket to waggle it in the air.

“Yeah. This move might not have been exactlyplanned, but I do have access to the internet. Searching ‘What to expect as a Human living with Metas’ pulls up about a million hits, so I’m not completely unprepared.”

“Oh. Right. Good.” Sid pursed her lips, letting the silence stretch between us.

I took pity on her obvious discomfort. It was very kind of her to worry about me.

“Is there anything I should know about the Riders specifically? Khalon’s your brother, right? Any tips on things not to say?”

Some of the tension eased from her shoulders as she thought. “They’re not big on formality. Don’t worry about titles, or bowing, or anything like that. No bullshit. Lying will get you booted before the words are off your lips, and I won’t be able to do anything about it.”

I swallowed. Not volunteering information wasn’t the same as lying, surely.

“As far as Khalon goes...just don’t flirt with him. I don’t want to deal with the whining if the Bwbachod kick his ass for poaching.”

My mouth snapped shut so fast my teeth clicked. I developed a sudden and all-consuming fascination with the hem of my tee shirt, steadfastly ignoring Sid’s snicker.

Teasing aside, it was a ridiculous notion. Beyond the obvious impossibility of the Bwbachod feeling any kind of territoriality overme, I didn’t have the first idea of how to flirt with anyone, let alone someone like Khalon. He had his pick of eager, experienced, gorgeous people. That much had been obvious from the little I’d seen last night.

If for some reason I was mad enough to try, he’d laugh himself off his bar stool.

Picking at the soft, worn cotton of my shirt, I allowed myself to entertain the fantasy of being fought over by such fae as Khalon and the Bwbachod. An almost forgotten schoolgirl thrill skittered through me. I hid a smile and tucked the daydream away. It would be my guilty little secret.

∞∞∞

“My sister tells me you went through some shit before you came here.” Khalon’s voice was like good, aged whiskey: deep and smooth with a bite. He leaned on Sid’s desk, arms crossed over his broad chest and legs spread. He wasn’t a particularly tall man, but his presence filled the room until Mouse—sprawled on the couch to my right—felt small in comparison.

The couch looked normal, but its frame had to have been made from solid steel. On one side, eight feet of Ogre draped bonelessly. On the other, an equally large Gargoyle—who’d been introduced to me as the Vice President—brooded, wings flexed and hands dangling between his spread thighs. The couch didn’t so much as creak.

Impressive.

“She says you handled it. That’s good.”

My toes curled in my shoes as I fought to maintain eye contact.Don’t look guilty. It’s handled, like he said. Over. What happened yesterday was...nothing.Khalon’s gaze bored into me.

“Anything like that happens again, I expect to hear about it immediately. Is that clear?” At my nod, the burly biker grunted. “You have any issues, questions, you talk to Mouse. He’s sponsoring you.”

I startled.

“That a problem?” The Gargoyle’s wings flexed, and he glared.

“No, of course not!” My gaze flickered between the stony Vice President I couldn’t bring myself to refer to by name and my surprise sponsor, breathing a little easier when the latter winked. “I just thought it’d be Sid, is all.”

“Nah, gotta be a Rider.” Mouse shifted one boulder-sized shoulder dismissively, grinning. “Sid’s a lot of things, but a Rider she is not.”

---