“Have more care!” he snapped. “Haven't you ever brushed your hair before?”
A snide chuckle came from the other room. I could hear the shuffling sound of numerous people gathering. Great.
I leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Are you seriously having me brush your hair while two warlords wait outside?”
“They deserve to wait,” he whispered back. “Those fuckers lost their soul stones.”
I laughed softly and drew my cheek along his as I eased back. His hand whipped out quickly and caught the back of my neck before I straightened completely.
He drew me back down and bit my lip with a light growl. “As soon as this meeting is over, I'm having you in a proper bed.”
“Yes, Hawk Lord.”
He made an approving grunt. “Braid my hair. Be gentle and quick or I will punish you later.”
“I really think you're secretly a sadist,” I muttered as I braided.
“Have I hurt you?” He kept his voice low.
The sounds of conversation came from the other room. Only a few feet separated us from all those people and yet, he was risking an intimate conversation with me.
“No,” I admitted. “But you can if you want to.”
The Hawk Lord inhaled sharply and cast a look at me over his shoulder. “I think it's the other way around, my bad bird. You are a masochist.”
“Nah.” I grinned at him. “I just like my ass bit every once in a while. Maybe spanked.”
The Hawk Lord rose to his feet and turned to face me. A muscle ticked in his jaw. His stare raked me possessively as he grabbed my throat and pulled me forward by it. His fingers shifted into claws before I could process it, their deadly tips scraping my skin but not slicing. Only the most powerful Sidhe could manage a partial shift like that, and Dalsharan had done it in a moment—a casual display of terrifying talent. If he was trying to intimidate me, it worked.
Dal's head lowered and he breathed me in as I shivered, one hand pressed to his broad chest. A brush of lips over mine, then a flick of his tongue, and I was hard and aching again. Dal breathed in deeply again and grinned.
“That's how I want you,” he whispered as he squeezed my throat just a little. “Rock hard and desperate for me. Remember that you are mine when we go out there. The Coyote Lord and I are not on the best of terms. He will try to seduce you merely to get under my skin. And Ravyn,” he growled low and dangerously, “if you let him get under my skin, I will beat the beautiful new skin on your ass until it's red instead of white. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Hawk Lord,” I said in a strong voice, so everyone outside could hear.
Dalsharan grinned. “Good bird. Now fetch the soul stones.” He swept past me and into the council room, saying something to the gathering that I couldn't hear over the pounding of my heart.
I looked at his massive bed and trembled in excitement, then looked down at my erection with a grimace. I couldn't go out there like that. My pants held my cock down a little but hardly enough to hide my hard-on.
“Jiggling boobs and wet pussy,” I whispered urgently as I fetched the stones from the satchel. “Jiggling boobs and wet pussy. Come on, go away, cock.” I turned around and came face to face with myself—my reflection in the mirror on Dal's dresser. “Holy fuck balls,” I whispered as I stepped up to it.
I was still me... mostly. But in addition to my pale, baby skin, my bone structure had shifted slightly—cheekbones angling up higher, along with my brow bone, giving me a distinctly fae look. My lips were fuller and my hair gleamed as if it were polished onyx. And my eyes... I leaned closer to the mirror to stare at them. They'd been blue before, just a normal sky blue. Nothing special. But now they had a sparkling iridescence that could only be attributed to one thing—magic.
My cock went limp instantly.
“I'm a fucking faerie,” I whispered. The enormity of that sentence hit me suddenly. I was immortal. Not invulnerable, but still, I'd live forever if I didn't manage to get myself killed. That was kind of a big deal.
“Corporal Ravellar!” The Hawk Lord shouted.
“I'm coming, Hawk Lord!” I shouted back and hurried around the partition.
If only, I thought to myself.
Then I stopped short. Everyone was staring at me, including the other warlords. The room was utterly quiet as I walked warily toward the Hawk Lord, who had claimed his seat at the head of the table. The Lion Lord and Coyote Lord flanked him in chairs to either side, but both were turned to face me. Their stares followed me across the room.
“My lord.” I held out the amulets to Dalsharan.
We have been betrayed, the whisper came again.
“What?” I hissed.
“I said, you fucking took long enough, Corporal,” Dal growled.
“Oh. Sorry, my lord. I was looking for the stones,” I muttered. “You know how the satchel likes to mess with me.”
Dal snorted.
“He truly is Valorian?” the Coyote Lord whispered as he looked me over. “How magnificent. You must be so proud, Dalsharan.”
“I am indeed overjoyed that my choice pleased the Beasts and the Great Mother,” Dal said as he handed the amulets back to their owners. “Corporal, attend me.”
Attend me? I frowned at him. What the fuck did that mean?
“Stand behind me and wait on my commands,” Dal whispered to me in irritation.
Help, the voice whispered. I stumbled as I went to stand behind Dal.
The Coyote Lord laughed low and sensually as he secured his amulet around his throat. “Don't be such a brute, Dalsharan. The boy has just been promoted from human to fae and to your...” he lifted a brow at Dalsharan in question.
“Consort, yes,” Dalsharan declared and gave the Coyote Lord a firm look. “He's mine.”
I gaped at the back of Dal's head. Fuck me, did he just claim me as his consort in front of a roomful of people and two warlords?
As I mentioned, the Army and the Fae, especially, are completely comfortable with every kind of sexuality, so I wasn't shocked that Dal would announce that he swung like that. However, warlords rarely took consorts. They had lovers, who enjoyed a certain status, but that status wasn't the same as a consort's. A consort was a step away from being a husband or wife. In a war camp, it gave me clearance to hear whatever he did. He had just basically handed me an invitation to any meeting I wanted to attend and a say in them. From the looks on the faces of the officers gathered in that tent, they were even more shocked than I was.
I lifted my chin, crossed my arms, and smiled broadly. I could very well be falling in love for the first time in my life.