"What's been missing."
Still not sure what he was talking about, I decided to play along a little longer. "And what would that be, dear?"
Mercury dropped his hands from my face and grabbed my hand, placing it against his chest right where his heart would be. "My heart. I think I found the part that's missing."
I cocked my head to the side. "You mean the part you lost in the Bandersnatch?"
Like myself, Mercury had been imprisoned by the Seelie Queen for his part in the incident that led to Moradoc getting free and the death of Kat's former life. While I had been locked away in the Hall of Mirrors to be forgotten, Mercury had gotten the better end of the deal, at least to some.
He'd never told me exactly what it was like to be locked in the Bandersnatch, an alternate dimension ruled by four spirits of the Underground. I knew enough about it from Kat's experience there to know that it was quite easy to lose one's self inside of it. I'd always assumed that had been what happened to Mercury. Why he had changed from being such a lively and passionate Fae to what he was now.
Not that I didn't love this version of his as much as the last, but I would love to see Mercury dance again. To see him smile so brightly that his face matched the color of his red and blue suit. Now, everything was somber and grey. As if the Bandersnatch had leeched the very color from his being.
"Yes," Mercury hissed and then his face fell, and he added, "I mean, no. It's all very complicated and I'd rather not get into it this very moment." His gaze dropped to the clock next to the bed and frowned. "It is quite a lot later than I expected. I didn't mean to be gone so long but you know how the Underground can be. One day could be one hour or even one week. It's hard to tell these days. The hours blur from one right into the next." He smiled again at me expecting me to understand.
I knew what he meant. The Fae world was a tricky mistress. One who didn't play by anyone else's rules. Especially now that so many things have changed. I didn't however understand why he hadn't left me a message at least.
"You forgot your phone," I said instead of hounding him about it.
Mercury's face pinched. "Yes. I did. I realized once I was there, but it was too late to go back. They're getting quite tight on their security as of late. I hardly made it in. It makes one wonder what else may be going on in there." His gaze drifted off to the side and I poked his side, regaining his attention.
Licking my lips, I peered up at him beneath my lashes. "I missed you."
Fingers tipping up my chin, Mercury hummed as he brushed his lips against mine. "As I miss you, every moment of every hour of every day." He took my mouth with his, kissing me until a hot need swept through my entire being.
Mercury may have lost his passion for the rest of life but there was one place he always made up for it.
Had my mother seen me now she would have been appalled that I was living with a man I was not married to, let alone one I bedded. She'd tell me I had ruined myself. Which I never really understood. How could something so deliciously nerve shattering good ruin you? What good was it to be unsullied at all?
"Mercury," I moaned, my head falling back, allowing him access to my neck. "Please."
His lips found the spot between my neck and shoulder and devoured it, nipping, and sucking until I dared not stay on my knees, else I fall.
Laying on my back, Mercury skimmed his hands down my sides, his brows furrowing slightly. "Is this new?"
I shifted on the bed, my gaze dipping down to the small night gown of blue silk and white lace. "Yes, I bought it with Kat the other day. Do you like it?"
There were other outfits Kat had tried to get me to buy. Ones of string and small triangles of fabric that weren't fit to be called lingerie. What was the point of wearing something that showed everything you were hiding?
My pulse raced as Mercury's gaze swept over the small gown. My skin prickled and my nipples hardened under his gaze until they