The Mating Season Page 2

  “I think we have the video recorder around somewhere I could show you.” Faith casually glanced around again before turning back to look at her friend, her eyes wide with amusement as Fay shook her head.

  “Same old Faith- still the joker.” She chuckled and Faith tipped her head on a grin as she raised her brows in amusement just as Jake appeared at Fay’s side.

  “Who’s joking- Faith considers them art movies.” Jake announced, his sudden appearance causing Fay to jump slightly as her spine started to tingle again and she flashed a look up at him before turning her eyes to Faith who gave her a mock shocked look, before the grin appeared on her face again.

  “Great two jokers, just what I need.” Fay mused lightly as she shivered against the rush of awareness up her spine, trying to shake the feeling that wouldn’t leave her, she hated that feeling- she didn’t have it often but when she did it usually signalled trouble.

  Jake motioned to the beer in Fay’s hand, “Aren’t you going to drink that?”she looked at the unopened bottle and shrugged.

  “Not without a bottle opener-“ She mused giving her friend a knowing look and tightened her grip on the nonexistent bottle that had been whipped from her hand, the top instantly popped off with his thumb before he offered it back to her and she chuckled appreciatively.

  “That’s his party trick-“ Faith assured her before he blocked Fay’s view of Faith as he walked towards her and reached for her bottle. Faith shot him a warning look and a small shake of her head as he flicked the lid from her bottle a small lop sided grin stretching his mouth upwards.

  “Boys got skills- good to know.”

  “Live dangerously.” Jake mouthed to Faith and she shot him a death glare before he moved away from them, going to pour himself a drink just as voices came from the open doorway that caused Fay to turn in her seat, albeit with a little difficulty- to meet the steely blue eyes of one of the men that was coming into the room.

  Adam hesitated in his step as he met her curious gaze- his eyes intent on hers and although she had never met him before- she could have sworn that she saw a look of recognition in those eyes a moment before a shriek made everyone in the room jump- but for different reasons.

  Fay was sure she saw pain etch across the man’s face a moment before her vision was full of the blonde bombshell headed in her direction- her mouth gaping open and her eyes wide as she looked positively giddy to see her friend.

  “You’re here- oh my god- oh my god.” She leaned over flashing more cleavage that Fay ever wanted to see and grabbed Fay around the shoulders- practically bouncing in her heels as Fay held the beer out in front of her away from her friend for safety- she just really didn’t want to spill on those expensive damned cushions no matter what Faith claimed had been all over them.

  “Hey Hope-“ Fay caught sight of Faith grinning at her as she pointed a finger and gave an open mouth silent laugh of amusement at Fay’s expense- stopping only when Hope let Fay’s shoulders go and stood up turning to Faith and happily stating the obvious.

  “She’s here!”

  Faith gave her a mock look of shock and shrugged her shoulders as Hope put her hands on her hips and regarded her friend with open disbelief, “and you said she wouldn’t make it on time.” She accused in a tone that had been practiced over the years just to wind Faith up- Faith of course instantly responding.

  “I did not.” She shook her head in denial as she shot a look at Fay who was giving her a questioning stare of disapproval.

  “You thought I wouldn’t make it to your wedding?” Faith shook her head trying to hide her grimace behind her hand, it didn’t quite work and Fay sighed her disappointment.

  “Really?”

  Faith immediately jumped to her own defence, “Not the wedding just tonight’s deadline that I thought you might… miss- a little- be late-ish.” Faith looked anywhere but at Fay as she rubbed guilty fingertips across her forehead and Hope pursed her cherry red lips and nodded her head in agreement.

  “She did sweaty- she even bet me good money that you wouldn’t show tonight.” Hope rolled the amusement over her face as she regarded Faith with disapproval and Faith shrugged her shoulders.

  “What- ok- I was wrong- you made it- whoop- whoop- it’s not like you don’t drive like Miss Daisy’s best prodigy-“ She groaned out and Fay heard the chuckles come from behind her.

  “Michael Schumacher tonight-“ Abel commented as Fay turned and frowned at him just as Adam elbowed him in the ribs, the air escaping Abel’s lips on a huff, bringing her eyes back to the steely blue one’s in an instant- only for Hope to shriek again and draw Fay’s attention back around to her.

  “Well I knew you’d make it girl- I had faith in you- faith- get it.” A groan went up collectively from everyone present and Faith shook her head in faux dismay.

  “Don’t give up your day job Hope.” Hope snatched the beer from her hand and huffed as she cut her a stare.

  A chuckle from behind had Abel walking further into the room towards the group. “Wait so we have Faith and Hope- please tell me you are charity and I’m sure I can come up with some really good punch lines over the next couple of days.”

  “That’s Fay-“ Faith trotted out snatching her beer back from Hopes hand before she had a chance to get it to her lips.

  “Obviously-“ Abel gave her a look of knowing before opening his arms in a questioning stance and Fay looked at the bottle of beer in her hands checking for the strength of the brew, either she was tipsy, which she doubted or he made absolutely no sense to her.

  “That’s her name-“ Faith gritted her teeth slightly and Abel all but jumped to attention- his eyes shooting back and forth between Faith and Fay- who was now openly staring up at him like he was the village idiot.

  “You’ll have to forgive my brother- he’s had one too many nips tonight’s-“ Adam was at Fay’s side before she had even realised he had moved and she felt that damned tingle up and down her spine again as she forced herself to lean away from him- but that didn’t mean she could stop herself from staring up into those blue eyes.

  She heard the spluttering of chaste chuckles and giggles from around the room as her eyes had a hard time pulling away from Adam’s to see what everyone was sniggering at.

  “Such a doggone shame when a guy like you can’t hold his beer.” Jakes voice was the catalyst that Fay needed to be able to look away from Adam and she caught sight of the sneer of disdain that Abel shot at Jake.

  “Well we can’t all be dead good at holding our liquor can we?” Faith cleared her throat loudly before coughing her disapproval into her hand as both men seemed to come to attention around her, three sets of eyes turning towards Fay as she suddenly felt like the person who didn’t get the joke at the dinner table. She had picked up on the animosity between the two men though.

  “So Fay- I’m Adam and this doofus is my brother Abel.” Adam caught her eye again- even though Fay had tried really hard not to look him right in the eye and she was transfixed for the moment- a small smile spreading over Adam’s lips as he stared down at her.

  “Adam-“ Faith called him a little too loudly and his eyes shot to hers granting Fay the respite from his gaze she needed to be able to look away as she mentally shook herself, trying to figure out what the hell was going on with her tonight, putting it down to either the booze or the encounter with the wolf that had rattled her a little.

  “Grab a couple of beers for you and Abel.” There seemed to be an undercurrent in Faith’s words, or maybe it was her demeanour as Fay regarded her for a long moment before Hope piped up again.

  “Well- isn’t this- “ Hope started and then seemed suddenly lost for words as Jake chimed in with an air of amusement.

  “Nice?” he offered slowly and Hope pointed at him, grabbing at what he was offering her like a life line.

  “Yep. Thanks. Doh- nice- the word I was looking for was nice.” She looked everywhere but at anyone in particular as Faith started sniggering behind her hand again and Fa
y lifted a lone brow and shook her head.

  “Either you people are nuts or I just need a few more beers to catch up.” She mumbled causing a splattering of sniggers to ripple through the room.

  “Here’s to that.” Faith lifted her bottle in salute to her friend before taking a long hard draw on the brew, less to savour the flavour and more to give herself enough time to get over the tension inside her.

  Adam nudged Abel in the ribs which caused Abel to gave a low growl of warning in his chest just as Faith walked back into the room, giving them both a look of annoyance she flopped down onto the sofa and sighed long and hard, dropping her head back against the cushion her eyes closed.

  “What gives Faith?” Abel groaned as he flopped down on the sofa opposite her and spread out, his inner wolf needing to stretch a little after his run.

  “She doesn’t know she’s Fae you idiot- for all intents and purposes she’s human and that’s how you need to treat her.” Faith gave him a look of reprimand just as Hope walked in and slipped into the armchair positioned to the side of the sofa’s.

  Adam shook his head in disbelief, “How can she not know she’s Fae?” A loud sigh left Faith’s lips as she tipped her head back against the cushion and rolled it from side to side as though that might just get rid of the throbbing that was starting in her head.

  “She was orphaned when she was very young- she was fostered, but not by Fae carers- she’s never learned the ways of the Fae-“ Abel shrugged his shoulders as Adam frowned deep in thought.

  “So why don’t one of you guys just tell her?” Faith blew out breath of disgust as Hope shook her head in disgust.

  “That’s against the rules- she has to either know of her heritage or come to it of her own accord, anything else and-“ Hope looked around her as a slight shiver ran through her body, she didn’t even want to think about the penalty for breaking the rules.

  “It wasn’t like we didn’t think about helping her discover herself in the past- after all she did gravitate to her own kind- us-“ Faith motioned between Hope and herself before she shrugged. “But you really don’t want to piss off the Fae council- trust me.” Hope shivered again as she nodded her agreement and Adam shrugged.

  “What if an outsider were to tell her?” He enquired as Faith and Hope shot each other looks- trying to figure out between them if they knew of such a rule- both shrugging their shoulders.

  “Couldn’t say- but as you’re not under Fae law, being a Lycan and all, I can’t see how the law would apply to you-“ She shot Hope a look, wanting her to confirm her assumption and the woman obliged by nodding her agreement. It sounded reasonable, but sometimes the Fae council could be less than reasonable. Faith sat forwards in her seat and looked intently into Adams eyes.

  “But tell me Adam what would you say? And in the grand scheme of things do you think she would thank you for opening her up to our world?” Adam chewed that one over. He was more the strong silent type as opposed to his brother and Faith knew he would be mulling that over for a while.

  “Does anyone else find it kind of ironic that Fay is a fae and yet she doesn’t have a clue? It’s like her parents left her a big sign telling her what she needed to know and yet she’s still in the dark.”Abel mused just as Jake walked into the room and dropped down with eternal grace onto the sofa beside Faith, lifting her hand and lacing his fingers with hers.

  “Yes, imagine if your mother had named you wolf- or pup-“Jake eyed him with a certain amount of glee and heard Abel sigh shortly before he gave him a look of disdain.

  “And what of you? Fang? Bat? Oh wait- Dracula?” He offered back with a little more venom than he needed to muster and Faith squeezed Jakes hand in hers- it was hard for her to see the animosity between her wolf brothers and her lover and at the moment they had an uneasy truce because of the love they had for Faith, but things happen- especially when you had the Lycan temperament on one side of that equation and she didn’t want to see anyone get hurt.

  “Come on guys- it’s a wedding- play nice- we’re all supposed to be friends here remember?” Hope admonished and encourage at the same time, but then that was the problem with having Lycans and Vampires under the same roof, things didn’t always go to plan and it was only going to get worse as others started to arrive for the ceremony.

  “Someone throw a ball for him to fetch while the grownups talk-“ Jake drawled with enough sarcasm in his tone to hammer his point home and he heard Hope sigh as Abel rumbled a low growl in his chest.

  “I swear if one of you guys ruins my wedding I’m going to get all dark Fae on your arse.” Faith said pinning first one and then the other with a glare before she dropped her head back against the cushion and returned her thoughts to the same thing Adam was silently contemplating. Fay.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “So Adam seemed quite taken with your not a Fae- Fae friend Fay tonight- don’t you think?” Jake mused as he stripped the black shirt from his upper body leaving his muscled torso as eye candy for Faith’s gaze and she gave a satisfied smile, letting her eyes drift over the hard planes of his chest, desire sparking within her as she leaned back against the headboard and sighed inwardly at the sight of her man.

  “Adam can keep his paws to himself-“ She almost purred the words while she watched Jake toss his trousers onto the armchair across the room, thick corded muscles running down his thighs- deliberately tensing and relaxing under her gaze as he used what he had to turn her on from afar. Not that she needed it- he only had to touch her and she was his- open and ready for him.

  “Literally.”He grinned in that devilishly sexy- playful way that had her heart skipping within her chest as she pulled herself up onto her knees on the bed and crawling towards him with cat like grace that had him hard within a heartbeat, the bulge within his boxers signally his desire for her attentions.

  “Fay’s too sweet to get caught up in our world- I can’t imagine her with a Lycan or a vampire- you guys are a little too powerful and domineering for someone like Fay- she needs a sweet guy- a human-“ He was strolling towards where she came to rest on the edge of the bed, still on all fours with her eyes fixed solely on that bulge that awaited her touch- her tongue flicked out over her burgundy lips to moisten them as he came to stand in front of her and she slowly lifted her gaze up his body until she found the darkness of his eyes where his desire to have her burned his iris’s black.

  He reached out his hand and ran his fingers through the mane of silken black hair that hung loose and framed her face, spilling down over her shoulders and covered the swell of her breasts like a veil holding a promise of delights.

  With his free hand her freed himself from the restraint of the fabric that held his solid shaft and Faith’s lashes skirted down over her eyes- her tongue peeking out between her teeth as she gave a wicked smile of need- lifting her delicate hand to run her fingers over the throbbing vein that ran the length of his shaft her pulse raced when she heard him groan his pleasure at her touch.

  “Are you saying vampires can’t be sweet?”He breathed out against the pleasure that washed up his shaft and tightened his sack when she swept her fingers over the bulbous tip of his arousal before gently thumbing the slit, his hardness twitching under her touch.

  “I’m saying that you guys are a little too demanding in the bedroom department for someone like Fay.” He felt her breath against his sack as she dipped her head and ran the tip of her tongue up the length of his shaft- his hand immediately fisted her hair as she grinned up at him with the most wicked smile that made him want to just throw her on her back and drive into her.

  “Am I not a generous lover?” He breathed down at her tightening his grip in her hair until she moaned her approval.

  “You know I can’t recall- maybe you can refresh my memory after I do this.” She opened her beautiful red lips and he watched as the length of his shaft started to disappear into her mouth, the groan of pleasure caught in his throat when he hit the back of her throat and she swallowed him down, thos
e beautiful red lips slipping to the hilt until her nose was buried in his black hair.

  “Jesus Faith-“ He growled hard between clenched teeth, trying to keep his control while she massaged his hardness in her mouth- pulling back to the head just to swoop forwards to swallow him down again until he growled long and hard pulling her head back away from him and tossing her backwards onto the bed.

  “Something wrong lover?” She teased seductively before her middle finger disappeared into her mouth, knuckle deep as she sucked it, running her tongue around it before reaching down under her silk panties and running it across her folds, her finger disappearing into her hot wet core as he stood there with fire for her burning in his eyes, watching his woman please herself.

  He growled hard as he reached for those damn panties and ripped them from her hips- his eyes fixed on the two fingers she know had buried within her core, kneeling on the bed between her thighs he stroked his fingers up her thighs, lightly brushed over the sculpted pubic hair around her mound and listened to her breathing hitching with each deep thrust of her fingers that disappeared within her silken walls- while his eyes flicked between the action between her thighs and her beautiful face as she became caught up in what she was doing, her hips swaying to her touch.

  He used his thumbs to open her folds to him and she gasped in a breath, his thumb finding the swollen little nub of flesh and bringing a moan to her lips when he applied pressure against it, circling fast, her hips lifting from the bed as she moaned her pleasure.

  He could smell her juices and she was the finest nectar he had ever sampled, leaning over her he breathed in her scent before using his tongue to run over her fingers to her core, licking against her digits and following her inside her stretched walls, his growl of desire mixed with her moans until he traced his tongue up along the sensitive folds, catching every nerve ending on the way to the nub.

  Faiths hips thrust up to meet his tongue as he worked over her nub, catching under the hood and finding the sensitive nerves- her heartbeat was raised within her and he could hear the little catch in her breath as she delighted in their joint touch.