Through the Ether (Force of Nature Book 5) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,22
I knew he would never harm me again, there was something so dangerous and thrilling about being at his mercy—about being the thing he needed to feed upon.
“See me or eat me?” I asked, my voice so breathy it was barely a whisper.
His amusement was plain as he shook with stifled laughter. “Perhaps both…”
I looked over my shoulder to find his dark eyes assessing me. The scant light of the room reflected off his fangs, and I reached back to run my finger along one. The skin caught on the sharp tip and welled with blood. Before I could pull it away, Merc’s lips closed around it and his tongue swept the tiny wound. He moaned as he swallowed back my tiny offering, then released me, though he seemed reluctant to do so. Even in our shared dream, my blood affected him strongly. His wide eyes and shallow breaths were testament to that.
“Why did you need to see me?” I asked as I pushed myself up to sit across from him. For both our sakes, we needed a little distance.
“We have heard nothing from Liam, and though I know you feel otherwise, I am concerned about the turn of events with Knox.”
“I think I can handle that part,” I said. I explained how I could manipulate the bond between him and me, and how it had seemed to pull him back from the downward spiral he had entered. “If I’m right, then things should be different once this is all over.”
“Then I shall hope you are right.” He reached forward to tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “But Liam’s absence remains an issue, even if the difference in time between here and Faerie is taken into account.”
“Except we have no idea what that might look like if the queen did somehow make the realm whole again. Maybe it’ll run parallel?”
“Maybe, though there is no way to be certain.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “Or maybe there is.” Merc arched an eyebrow at me, a silent cue to continue. “I think I was able to send my magic into Faerie earlier…”
He shot to his feet, exposing just how little clothing he had on in his dream. The view was incredibly distracting, no matter how angry he looked.
“You did what?” he asked, his voice dangerously low.
“I just…I had a hunch after we got back from Mack’s. I wanted to test my theory before I bothered to bring it up—”
“It could have gotten you killed.”
“Not trying it could have the same outcome. We’re at a serious disadvantage here, Merc. I was trying to see if I could track the royals—see what they’re up to.”
His jaw flexed as he worked to control his anger. “And now you think that you could use that strategy to track down Liam and learn more about the state of Faerie.”
“Pretty much.”
His dark eyes narrowed. “How long was your magic in Faerie?”
“Not long. Maybe a minute or two at most.”
“Mhmm,” he mused as he folded his arms across his chest. “Why not longer?”
Oh shit…
“Well, Kingston came out—”
“Why do I feel like that’s not the full story?”
Silence. “Because you know me?”
“Indeed.”
I let out a loud exhale. “A voice said ‘I see you’, and I freaked out and yanked my magic out of there, which really hurt when it crashed into me, by the way—”
“Good. Perhaps the memory will give you pause the next time you decide to do something so reckless.”
“So, for the record, that’s a ‘no’ for hunting Liam that way?”
He canted his head at me. “Correct. But not simply because of the risk.” When he didn’t continue, I pushed off the bed and rounded it to stand before him.
“You think Liam might already be lost? But he hasn’t been there that long—”
“It should not have taken him long to do what needed to be done. The fact that he has not returned is cause for concern, at best.” He didn’t bother filling in the ‘at worst’, but I didn't need him to. My head was already spinning with creative ways my mother could have killed him. “If Liam is indeed gone, then our options have narrowed even further.”
“Then let me send my magic there to be sure!” I urged. “What would we have to lose?”
His expression hardened at my words, and he took a step closer. Strong hands landed on my waist and pulled me across the bed on my knees to his nearly naked body.