Darkness edged my vision, my breath caught and then fell free in a drawn-out, strangled sound of satisfaction.
This was pain.
This was pleasure.
I needed more. I chased that something extra, grinding against him, reaching between us to skim his arousal with my fingers. “Please.”
“Fuck yes.” Jax replaced his hand with his cock, thrusting deep to join me in riding the orgasm that had my body in its grip.
We collapsed against each other, panting and sweaty as we came down from the high.
“Fuck, Quinn…Fuck.” Jax buried his head in the crook of my neck.
I ran my fingers through his golden locks. “We already did that.”
He chuckled, his breath warm against my skin. “I love you.”
I kissed his temple. “I love you too.”
He rolled off me and tucked me against his side. “I could stay like this with you forever.”
I closed my eyes, nuzzling against him. “Me too.”
“Selene was asking after you.”
Selene…Lox’s memorial. I sat up quickly. “The memorial…That was tonight.”
He gave me a wry smile. “Yes.”
“I missed it…”
“It’s not your fault. Selene understands that. The pack understands.”
I dragged a hand down my face. “Shit. I wanted to be here for her. How is she coping?”
He sighed. “I think she’s going to leave.”
“She said that?”
“She didn’t have to. She was mated to Lox for a long time. I think…I think it’s just too painful for her to be here. I felt it at the memorial. We all did. The pack is more than just the Faoladh, it’s every fae female mated into it. Lox may be gone but Selene is still part of the engine.”
“I’ll speak to her tomorrow morning.” She’d lost her mate and then she’d risked her life to come to Faerie with me, putting her grief on hold. I should have been there for her when we got back, but with everything that had happened, I hadn’t had the time to see her. “I’ll spend the day with her tomorrow, and the evening…Are you guys hunting tomorrow night?”
He was silent for a long beat, indecision dancing across his features.
“What?” I poked him. “Spit it out.”
“Bryce, Emmit, and I agreed it’s best if you don’t come.”
I pushed up, bracing myself on my elbow. “What? Why?”
He sighed. “The relic is fragile right now, and with your new powers rising…” His lapis-blues were filled with apologies.
A lump formed in my throat. “You think I could damage it?”
“We don’t know, and we can’t afford to take the risk. You put your life on the line going into Faerie to find the Dagda and fix the relic, but like you said, all he could do was patch it up.”
“And you’re worried my proximity might undo that.”
I understood his reservations, and if the roles had been reversed, I’d have made the same call, but it still stung to know that the person I was becoming, the person I was learning to own and accept, might pose a danger to the world.
And if that was true, if I could undo what the Dagda had healed, then didn’t that make me a liability? Didn’t it make me a threat?
He stroked my hair and kissed my temple. “It’s nothing personal, Quinn.”
But it was. It really fucking was.
9
SELENE
“Okay, let’s try again.” I shake out my arms. “Come on, Walter, you can do it.”
Okay, okay. I’ve got this. Unngggg
I feel the tension inside me, a sensation like fire ants across my skin, then…nothing.
“Argh!”
I’m sorry. I don’t understand why this is happening.
I plonk my ass on the edge of my bed. “It’s not your fault. You’re not doing this on purpose…are you?”
No way! Selene, how could you think that? I want to be free.
I sense Walter sag in defeat and my heart goes out to him, but it looks like I’m stuck with my ghostly hitchhiker for a little bit longer.
I just…I want to go home. To see my family one last time.
It’s his unfinished business, no doubt, and I’ve made up my mind to help him. Being bonded to the pack had grounded me, and being mated to Lox had locked me within the boundary, but now that Lox is gone…
Pain lances through my chest.
Selene?
“I’m okay.”
No, you’re not.
“Fine. I’m not, but I will be. As soon as we wrap up your unfinished business.”
What?
“You’re stuck with me because you’re a ghost, but maybe if we wrap up your unfinished business, you’ll be able to pass on.”
And leave your body.
“Yep.” And I can leave now, if I want. I can go back into the sea, if I desire, but being linked to the pack means I no longer need the sea to survive. “We’ll leave tomorrow.”
“Selene? Hey, you up there?”
Quinn?
I feel Walter retreat to give me privacy and silently thank him.
I find Quinn in the kitchen glugging a glass of water. “Hey.” She scratches the back of her hand. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here for the memorial.” She sets the glass down and crosses the room to give me a hug. “How are you, babe?”
I hug her back, intending to say I’m fine, peachy, good. “I’m leaving.”
She pulls back with a soft sigh. “Jax thought you might be. I was hoping he was wrong.” She scratches her neck, and I note the red, flaky skin.
“Quinn, when was the last time you took a dip?”
She blinks in surprise. “Fuck, I’m not sure. But I shouldn’t need to any longer, should I? I mean…I consummated.”
She’s right. The bond to the Faoladh should mean no need for sea water, but when it comes to Quinn, the rules don’t always apply.
“I think you need to go for a swim.”
Her eyes light up. “Come with me.”
“What?”
“Come to the sea with me, Selene.” She takes my hands in hers. “Let’s spend the day together. A girls’ day out, just you and me.”
“Is this your way of trying to convince me to stay?”
Her smile is wistful. “I wish it were that easy, but I know it doesn’t work that way. I respect your decision to leave, and I hope…I hope you’ll come back to visit, because I’ll fucking miss you.” She blinks rapidly. “Gah. I will not cry.”
I swallow the lump of emotion in my throat. “I’m not going anywhere just yet, woman. We have a girls’ day out to enjoy.”
QUINN
Tate drove us to the clifftop house, then vanished into his study. Selene headed down to the beach while I grabbed a change of clothes and some towels. I was headed back out and almost missed Bea sitting in the conservatory. She was still and silent, staring out the window at Meri and Grumble in the garden with a look of desperate wistfulness on her heart-shaped face.
My excitement at my day out dispersed, replaced by a dull ache that echoed her longing. “Bea?”