Knotted by the fae, p.1
Knotted by the Fae, page 1
part #4 of Fae's Claim Series
Knotted by the Fae
Laxmi Hariharan
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Epilogue
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Acknowledgments
1
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Lily
"Let me go." I rear up and the man’s arms tighten around me.
"If I do, you will fall. Can you fly, girl?"
"Girl?" I huff. "Who you calling, girl?"
"Who do you think?"
His chest muscles bunch, the planes so solid that every one of those impressive eight pack abs dig into my front. This Fae-vampire had grabbed me up from the beach in Singapore.
He'd spirited me away in front of the Fae Corps team who had gathered to have a meeting.
I'd had no business being there.
I had gone along because...because I’d wanted to see him one last time. I'd kept to the fringes of the crowd, hoping to stalk him unnoticed.
Not that there was any danger of me standing out among these Fae.
Almost all of them were taller than me, the men well-built, the women willowy. Little ol' human me, I felt positively dowdy by comparison. Not that I was ugly. Nor what you'd call beautiful. I was in between. Average looks. Average figure, maybe a little on the skinny side, except for my butt. Don't get me started on the shape of my ass.
I flatten my lips.
It’s better to be passed over, than to attract attention, right? When you're one of the very few humans among the Fae, you learn not to anger them. My adoptive Fae family has been protective of me, but how long could I rely on them?
I had to fend for myself. It's what had prompted me to show up there. And, he'd spotted me.
He’d run down the beach, whisked me up in his arms. Then he'd extended his wings and launched up toward the sky. Which is where we are now: soaring through the clouds. OMG. Don’t look down. Don’t. I peek sideways, and gasp.
White.
Pure white.
Oh, wait, that would be the caps of the waves that are far below. Really far below because we are flying over them. I hiccup.
My heart begins to race so fast that I am sure it's going to jump out of my rib cage. Noise fills my head, drumming in my ears.
"Stop screaming."
His hot breath sears my cheek.
I gulp, and my throat hurts. My ears ring. What the—? Had I been howling in his arms?
The acidic taste of bile in my mouth warns me that I am going to be sick. No. Not now. That would be the ultimate embarrassment.
Wait, why do I care? It would serve him right if I puked all over him. That would show him. What? That he was right in his assessment?
That I am but a helpless human female…and he is…is the big bad alpha Fae-vampire who'd grabbed me because…he could.
Gabriel, that was his name, or so Alice had informed me. She'd let it drop that he was her half-brother, then she'd warned me to steer clear of him. As if? I snort. Since I'd seen him with Alice and her mate Doc, I had been intrigued.
He's the most lethal male I have met.
He could toss me away. On the other hand, he could throw me down and part my legs and…my thighs clench. Hell, no. Not that. He wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t let him come near me. If he did, I’d kill him...right after I’d allowed him to possess me.
My head spins.
What am I thinking?
Heat from his massive body pours over me. His wings flap out above us.
They span at least twenty feet on either side and are so broad that they seem to have a life of their own. I trace their angles to where the serrated ends join up to his back.
My mouth goes dry. I draw in a breath and my lungs burn. And it's not because the wind is too strong. This, male, sucks up all of the oxygen as if he were born to command. I can't take my gaze off of his face.
All of my instincts narrow in on the man whose very presence screams predator. He's a beast on edge. A thinly veiled veneer of civilization disguises what he really is: a prime, 100% masculine, tightly constrained savage.
Dominance clings to his aura, surges around him. Throbs with a sense of destiny. I lurch forward, drawn to him, not wanting to fight his pull.
The coal dark hair whips back from his features and I gasp.
Black eyebrows slash down over emerald eyes, fringed with the thickest, most luxurious lashes I have ever seen on anyone. High cheekbones that are sharp enough to cut through the air. To cut me, if I were to touch him, which I am not going to do. Of course, not.
Hooked nose, a thin upper lip that hints at his nature. Cold. Mean. Heartless. And a lower lip…I swallow… His lower lip is fleshy, scrumptious, a cupid's upturned bow that hints at the pleasure seeker in him. Hedonistic. Beautiful. The contrast of those lips as he dips his mouth between my legs, sweat beading his gorgeous shoulders as he flexes his muscles, grabs my hips to hold me in place. He holds me in the perfect angle for him to suck on me, nip on my lower lips, thrust his tongue into me and—
"You want me?"
I shake my head.
"Such a little liar."
"What do you mean?"
"Your heart flutters in your chest, your breathing is harsh, and your pupils..." He stares into my eyes and I can’t look away.
His jaw tics, "Your irises have gone so black that they seem to fill your eyes. A clear sign that you desire me."
His words describe my emotions with frightening accuracy. But his tone is hard. All expression wiped from his face. The darkness in his green eyes is absolute. Bottomless. A black hole of nothingness that hints at what he is. Not a man. Not quite alive.
"What are you?" I bite my lip.
He studies my features with an intense perusal. There's no change in his expression. He might as well be assessing his prey…examining it for signs of weakness, deciding how to season it… right before he swallows it. He’d consume me whole.
He’d rip me to pieces with that cold intent etched in every nook and crevice of his face.
His wings flap, a gust of wind sweeps over us, and he fans out his wings again to steady us. His body stays rock-solid, his immense shoulders block out the sight of the land we left behind. My city. My people. They all saw what happened. They’ll be worried. They’ll come for me. They must.
"No one can help you."
His features close. He could be wearing a mask and suddenly…suddenly, I want to find out what’s behind that inhuman face.
How dare he read my emotions so accurately? Can he understand what I am feeling? He doesn’t. No one does. All through my life I have been underestimated. A defenseless human female groomed by vampires to become their prey.
I didn’t escape them and take refuge among the Fae to be kidnapped by this…this thing: A man who is breathtaking and deadly. Who means to use me as a leverage to get the Fae Corps' backing for his mission.
I raise my chin. "I don’t need anyone to come to my aid."
One side of his mouth quirks. To call it laughter would be too charitable. It's a grimace that fades away so quickly I am sure that I imagined it.
"Whatever." He stares ahead, ignores me.
Jerk.
Anger flushes my chest. My shoulders tense. "I can rely on myself." I bend my leg, intent on kneeing him where it will hurt the most. He hooks his ankle around my calves, locking me between his thighs.
"Not that old trick." He clicks his tongue.
My chest rises and falls. "I am not giving in without a fight."
I wriggle my hips, bring up my hands to shove at his chest.
He doesn’t flinch.
His breathing doesn’t change rhythm. His bulk is unmovable. A massive wall that hides me from the world. That keeps me safe…?
Not. No, not that.
Why am I thinking in such strange directions? He’s not my protector. Not my savior. He’s my captor and I must escape him.
He tightens his hold around m y waist, yanking me close. My hands are trapped between us. My legs held immobile by those hard thighs. "Let me go." I writhe my hips, and his hard-on thrusts into my soft core. I freeze.
My breathing becomes shallow.
I stare up at him and something flickers deep in his dark green eyes. A spark of gold that fades away so fast that I am sure I am mistaken. His thigh muscles flex, his cock thickens, stabs into my center. No, I’d been right. He wants me. Liquid heat squeezes my belly. No, no, this is all wrong, I can’t allow him to have this effect on me. I squirm in his hold. "Get away from me, you monster."
His features harden. A vein pops at his temple.
"Fine."
He loosens his grip, widens his legs.
The next second the wind whips over me. What the—? The bastard released me?
No.
This can't be happening.
A scream rips from my throat.
The sea rises to meet me.
2
Gabriel
Her scream streaks over my nerve endings and I wince. Damn it, I hadn’t meant to let her slip from my grasp…No, I lie.
I had done it with intent.
I'd wanted to frighten her. Show her who was in charge. I had meant to loosen my hold, then she'd called me a monster. A monster. Exactly what the Vikings who had kidnapped me, and later the vampires who had tortured me, had called me. An aberration of nature. One who doesn’t belong anywhere. Least of all with this human female who I hadn’t been able to avoid. One look at those guileless blue eyes, one scent of that fresh feminine essence of hers, and I couldn’t get her out of my head.
Then, she’d struggled to get away.
I had seen the hatred in her expression, the loathing that clung to her features as she’d realized the effect her nearness was having on me, and I had reacted on instinct.
Instinct.
It had guided me to help Doc rescue Alice from the virgin auctions. I'd followed them back to the Fae Corps headquarters. I'd asked the Fae Corps to help me take on the vampire-Viking alliance that controlled the auctions. They'd refused. So I had taken her instead.
A weak human who would never be able to face up to the edge of my desires, my perversions—the filthy intent that comes from having spent so much time as the plaything of another. I’ll never let anyone wield control over me that way. Ever. Especially not her. I was going to teach her a lesson.
"Help me." Her body hurtles towards the waves far below, yet I can track her.
Her heartbeat ratchets up, sweat pools in her armpits, terror overtakes every sensible thought in her head. My guts churn. I sense her fear as if it were my own. How is that possible?
She’s my prey, my pet, mine to do with as I want…not. What am I thinking? I had taken her to get the attention of the Fae Corps, remember? I need their help to shut down the slave auctions taking place around the world, the same ones that had victimized me. That’s it. That’s all she means to me. So why am I riding the air currents and waiting…waiting…for what?
"Please don’t let me die...Gabriel."
She called out to me. Me. My nerve endings pop. The darkness inside dissolves. I dive down.
The wind whips back my hair, squeezes my skin, tears at my wings. Adrenaline spikes my blood and I keep going.
Don’t stop.
She’s almost at the waves. Her arms outstretched, her hair steaming behind, her body tumbling toward the white tops. With a harsh cry, I swoop down and snatch her up. I pull her to my chest, cradle her, stretch my wings, and race up to the skies. She’s still, silent. I peer down at her and find her eyelids closed. Her dark blonde hair is a tangle around her face. Her skin is cold, so cold. I tighten my hold around her. I am a bastard, an asshole. It’s why I subjected her to this. She stays quiet, so quiet. Is she breathing? I tighten my hold around her shoulders and she doesn’t protest. I bring her so close that her breasts flatten against my chest. Through the fabric of my shirt and the thin blouse she wears, the hard nubs of her nipples press against me. Was it from fear? Adrenaline? A mix of both, maybe? Or perhaps she's turned on from my proximity, hmm? I level out my flight path, ride the next air current, then turn my full attention to her. "Look at me."
She stays still.
"That little fall was not enough to hurt you, so don't pretend."
Her shoulders shudder, I tighten my hold around her. So thin, so fragile. I could break her with my bare hands. And I had…had let her slip from my grasp. Literally. My throat closes.
Had I been wrong to subject her to that? I wasn't used to being around humans; had forgotten how fragile they could be.
I had been corrupted by years of abuse.
Of being treated like an animal—a raging, angry, hurting beast who had no conscious thought except that of survival. Had I forgotten what it meant to be afraid? To spend days and nights locked up in the recesses of my mind, until I had been sure that I had been going crazy. Until anything else had been better, even being subjected to the most degrading of acts.
I flap my wings and pick up speed and she trembles. Her entire body shakes. The skin over her cheeks stretches, color fades from her features. Her lips turn blue and that’s when I realize what I'd done. She is going into shock. "Fuck," I swear aloud.
She winces and her shoulders hunch. Her breathing grows ragged.
My heart stutters.
The hell had I been thinking? Or not. I hadn’t been. I had acted out of fear. I had been afraid of how my body had responded to her. Of how the cold inside of me had receded for the first time, unveiling the light that leaped toward her. My limbs had shaken, my heartbeat had ratcheted up. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her, and damn, if that hadn’t scared me.
I had lashed out at her—by wanting to hurt her. And I had. And damn if I am going to allow anything to happen to her. I am going to protect her from whatever crawls inside of me.
"You will open your eyes." I loosen my grip, “Now."
Her eyelids flutter open. Those blue eyes flare at me. Grey swirls in their depths. Stormy, an incoming tsunami that could sweep me away if I’m not careful.
"You asshole," she sputters.
"Alphahole to you, little Sparrow."
The sound of my voice jerks me out of the reverie I had fallen into. I blink and stare at her. Red smears her cheeks. She draws back her lips, exposing those little teeth. "You let me go. You allowed me to think I was going to die!"
"So?"
Color slides off of her features.
I peel back my lips to show her my canines. There, that should frighten her.
If that little stunt of mine hadn’t broken her, surely my lackadaisical attitude should get to her. By rights, she should be submitting to me right now. Begging me to not release her, to keep her safe.
Instead, she raises her hand.
The skin around her eyes stretches, then her palm connects with my cheek.
3
Lily
His head jerks back. My hand falls away. The howl of the wind rings in my ears. Or is that the sound of the slap? I can’t tell.
I don’t care.
The imprint of my fingers reddens his cheek.
I have never slapped anyone before. Hell, I’ve never been violent, never picked a fight growing up. My adoptive Fae parents had brought me up to be polite, but this man…This, this… "Alphahole," I spit out the word and he doesn’t react. "How dare you let me fall?"
