Master of Honor (Merlin's Legacy 5) Read online

  She’d found out what when her Twitter feed blew up as she was getting into bed. All that Orlan video had started hitting the Internet. Adam and Ulf had almost ended up dragon chow. Again. Then she’d seen that magical blast the enemy lizard fired at Kel. Oh, holy fuck, the Hive is here. Shit shit shit shit shit.

  At least she’d talked to Adam before she saw the video, so she’d known he and Ulf were all right.

  For now. But that scout meant things were about to get really ugly, really soon. She and Gaia had just run out of time.

  To make matters worse, Gaia said healing Brandon had probably sent up the magical equivalent of the Bat Signal. Which meant chances were good the Hive scout knew Gaia was here.

  Cheryl had spent the day with her powers wrapped up tighter than a nun at a strip joint. She’d texted Adam a couple of times, but he didn’t have much to say. She had a feeling they’d noticed the dragon’s magic looked like hers and jumped to ugly conclusions. The Hive was from a completely different universe from Gaia’s, but the Magekind wouldn’t be able to sense the difference. Just terrific.

  The one bright spot of the day was that Brandon was talking, though there were signs his speech had been affected. Luckily, he was only in kindergarten, so he should quickly relearn the skills he’d lost. In a couple of years, no one would know how close he’d come to dying. In the meantime, the boy was staying in Neuro ICU. Dr. Anand had reattached that section of skull, and he was still recovering.

  Cheryl smiled faintly. The mystery of what had happened to all that swelling and damage was driving the docs crazy. They’d be arguing over this one for years.

  At least I saved Brandon.

  For the moment, Gaia said. If we lose to the Hive…

  Yes, damn it, I know! As she turned into the driveway, the Volvo’s headlights swept across her big brick colonial, making its square white columns seem to glow. A thought flitted through her head for the thousandth time -- I really should sell this place. It’s way too big for one person. A condo would make more sense. She’d just never been able to give up the home Paul/Ulf had bought when they’d moved in together. Where they’d been happy for the best decade of her life. Where she’d raised their son after Ulf walked out.

  As she pulled into the two-car garage, Gaia said, Speaking of Ulf, he’s waiting in the den.

  Cheryl flinched, knowing what that meant. Again? He’d been in and out over the past month, pretending friendliness even as he maintained a wary distance. But if he thought she’d had something to do with the dragon…

  You can’t tell him about the Hive. The wrong information at the wrong time to the wrong people would have disastrous consequences.

  Yes, I know. You’ve made that more than clear.

  Cheryl got out of the car and slammed the door. She couldn’t sense Ulf’s magic any more than he could hers, but when she concentrated, she could feel his life force. She paused, scanning with her magical senses. She didn’t think he had a sword on him. Or a gun either, for that matter. Not that he needed one.

  Hoping neither of them was about to learn unpleasant truths, she opened the garage door and walked down the short hallway. Like the rest of the old house, the den was homey, decorated with the handmade rugs, baskets, and artwork Adam had collected for her during his travels. Stills from stories he’d shot in a dozen countries decorated the walls. A brick fireplace dominated the space, once wood burning, now occupied by gas logs. Next to that hung a flat screen, showing muted video of, naturally, Orlan.

  The black leather couch positioned opposite the TV looked plump and comfortable, flanked by oak end tables and pewter lamps. Ulf sat in the matching recliner off to the left. His turquoise gaze hit her like a punch, reminding her uncomfortably of a wounded wolf staring at a bear. Calculating the odds through the pain. “Hello, Cheryl.”

  “Ulf.” She paused in the doorway, not sure it was safe to get closer. “Nice of you to stop by,” she added dryly.

  “I couldn’t stay away.” The corners of his eyes tightened.

  He’s hurting. What happened? Remembering the Orlan video, she frowned. “Is Kel all right?”

  Ulf’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know about Kel?”

  “Like everybody else on the planet, I saw the video. It looked like that thing set him on fire.”

  He was silent a little too long, studying her with an intensity that made sweat break out between her shoulder blades. “The minute Kel dropped through the gate into the Mageverse, the flames went out. It still took Nineva and two healers six hours to save his life.”

  “I’m glad he made it.”

  “You’ve never met Kel.”

  “No, but Gaia knows him from all those years in your ring. And I know what she knows.”

  Ulf’s gaze flickered, and she realized he didn’t find that thought particularly comfortable.

  Cheryl headed for the couch, trying to buy herself time. His mood struck her as dangerous. There was none of the fencing they’d done before, the painfully polite chitchat. She had the feeling Ulf was on the verge of doing something she wouldn’t like.

  What the hell is he up to?

  She was staring at Ulf so hard, she almost fell on her face when her foot came down on something hard. Catching herself, Cheryl glanced down to see what looked like a solid gold hockey puck, heavily engraved with Magekind sigils that still glowed faintly. The gate generator he’d been using to pop in and out all month -- vampires couldn’t cast spells. “You’re going to burn this thing up like a match.”

  Ulf shrugged. “I wanted to see how you were doing. You’ve been going through a lot.”

  “That’s putting it mildly.” She sank down on the couch, studying him. If anything, he looked younger than the day he’d left her almost three decades ago.

  He used magic to appear older then, Gaia told her. Just like the spells you use now.

  Same high cheekbones, same strong, arrogant nose, same Caribbean blue eyes. Same dimples framing a sensual mouth. He still wore his blond hair short in what she’d once assumed was a businessman’s cut. Now she knew the length was to accommodate a helm. Unlike Adam, he wore no beard to soften the uncompromising angles of his lantern jaw. And she’d never seen a man look quite that good in jeans and a T-shirt. The thin cotton fabric lay taut against the hard, sculpted muscles of his torso, leaving his strong arms and big, calloused hands on display.

  Thank God for the magical full-body facelift Gaia had given her, or she’d feel like a dirty old broad. Never mind that Ulf was the one who’d robbed the cradle -- by fifteen centuries.

  Looking at that face now was like gazing back in time to the night they’d met. When he’d come storming around that bookshelf in Granger’s, she’d been terrified that Dixon had brought a rapist wingman. Then Ulf had grinned and offered to take out the trash, and she’d realized he’d come to rescue her instead.

  When Dixon had tried to lie his way out of it, Ulf had backed her up to the cops, and later to a judge. His fierce defense of her was probably the reason that prick had gotten kicked out of school.

  Meanwhile Ulf had visited the shop every night, playing the charmingly sexy nerd. They’d spent hours talking books. Within a week, they were lovers, and he was demonstrating all the remarkable things he could make her body do. Within a month, she was so deeply in love, she didn’t see daylight for the next eleven years.

  She’d never even questioned the frequent absences he explained as “traveling for work.” Though in a way it was true. He just hadn’t told her the “work” involved fighting spies, dictators, and warlords.

  When Ulf had finally walked out, only the need to take care of ten-year-old Adam had saved her from a complete meltdown. Now here they were. How can I get him defused without telling him anything that will blow up in my face?

  Guilt and longing shadowed his expression when he finally spoke. “There’s a few things I need to get off my chest.”

  “Oh?” Where was he going with this? “About what?”

  “The wa
y I treated you and Adam. I owe you an explanation. I hurt you, and you didn’t deserve it.”

  “Ah.” Cheryl blinked. Of all the things she’d expected him to say, that one hadn’t even made the list. Did you flambé my friend? Yes. Sorry I’ve been a dick, no. “Okay.”

  “I wanted to tell you the truth from the beginning --”

  “But the Magekind makes the CIA look like CNN.”

  He smiled faintly. “And there was Alys.”

  She went still at that, frowning. Gaia’s memories tended to pop up when something triggered them. This was no exception.

  Ulf had been at home in the Mageverse at the time, nervous as hell. Afraid of how she was going to react to finding out he was a vampire. He’d been planning to ask Gwen to cast the needed spells to make Cheryl believe him. And if necessary, to ensure she’d maintain her silence if she decided she wanted nothing more to do with him.

  Then Alys had knocked on the door and…

  “Oh, fuck,” Cheryl breathed, eyes going wide. Why didn’t you show me that before?

  You didn’t need to know. You do now.

  You irritate the hell out of me, you know that? Aloud she said, “Alys is never the bearer of good news, is she?”

  “Not really, no. She warned me not to tell you the truth because it would trigger something ugly. She wasn’t sure what, exactly, or how it would happen, but she was convinced it would lead to catastrophe.”

  “And it would have,” Cheryl said, Seeing the memory. What felt like a wave of ice rolled up her face at how close they’d come. “Because you’d have realized I was a target for the Fomorians and made sure I wasn’t captured. Gaia wouldn’t have been able to escape the ring when she did. When she finally made it out, the timing would have been wrong. So many little choices…”

  That’s enough, Gaia snapped.

  Cheryl’s jaw locked, and she choked. Damn it, Gaia!

  I do as I must. One wrong word will drown us like all the dogs in Atlantis.

  Fortunately, Ulf didn’t notice. Rising to his feet, he walked over and dropped wearily onto the couch beside her. “I thought the vision meant I wouldn’t be able to see you again. But Alys said we were going to have a son, and I had to be in his life.” Ulf laughed, a short, humorless bark. “That scared the fuck out of me, too. I knew I’d love him as much as I was coming to love you.” He reached over and picked up one of the hands she’d fisted in her lap. Began playing with her fingers.

  He’d always said he loved her hands. His felt warm. Rough with sword calluses.

  “I asked her several times over the years if I could tell you. I’d watch the black clouds roll over her eyes, the way they do when she has those visions. Every time, she’d look more horrified, because it got worse.”

  “Yeah. It would have.” She could See it now with Gaia’s eyes. All those pivot points into disaster.

  Ulf swallowed and interlaced her fingers with his. The pain on his face made her draw in a breath. “Jesu, I’m so damned sorry about this. What I did to you. Then. Now. This fucking thing with Gaia.”

  His gaze met hers, and she realized why he was saying all this. He’s afraid I’m dead. He’s thinks you ate me. How in the hell do I convince him you didn’t?

  You can’t. This is another one of those pivot points.

  Of course it is. I hate this shit. Cheryl blew out a breath, forced a smile, and said the first thing that came into her head. “Well, becoming an immortal twenty-year-old doesn’t suck. My back’s stopped aching from horsing patients in and out of bed.”

  He stared searchingly into her face, and she was shocked to see the depth of fear and despair in his eyes. “Is that all she did to you?”

  Can I say it?

  That? Yes.

  “I’m still here, Ulf.” She cupped his cheek with her free hand. His skin felt almost hot against hers. It always had. Now she knew that was because a vampire’s body temperature was naturally a degree or two warmer than a human’s. “I’m still me. Just with magic.”

  “Are you?” His gaze grew penetrating, as if he were struggling to read the truth right out of her skull. Then, with a low, desperate groan, he leaned in and took her mouth.

  She stiffened in surprise, even as her heart began to pound. He’d seemed so wary when she’d come in, almost afraid of her. Even as need began to pump in her blood, she thought, What brought this on?

  He’s hoping he can tell if it really is you, Gaia said.

  Should I show him it is?

  Yes.

  She wanted to. God, how she wanted to. It had been so fucking long. Years, endless years she’d spent feeling as if her body was frozen in a block of ice and heartbreak.

  Now there was the fear. The constant, grinding terror of the path she’d chosen. The ugly death she courted -- and not just for herself. What if I fuck it up? What if I can’t do it?

  Please, God, can’t I please have one damned hour in Ulf’s arms? One hour to forget?

  His lips felt like velvet on hers, so skilled and soft that her pussy grew wet as it hadn’t in far too long. With a low moan, Cheryl opened to him, let him sweep his tongue into her mouth for that delicious swirling exploration she remembered so well.

  He caught her hips in his hands, pulled her close. She shuddered as the pebbled tips of her breasts touched the hard planes of his chest. She could feel the pressure even through the layers of clothes between them. And she wanted to feel more. So much more.

  Hot memories spilled through her mind -- Ulf between her thighs, the heavy, rolling thrust of his cock. The wet delight of his tongue lapping over her nipples or between her thighs. God, what this man could do with his mouth…

  Her desire spun tighter, hotter, liquid and intoxicating. It made her feel like she wasn’t dead from the waist down. Made her remember how he’d ignited every nerve of her body into blazing glory every time he’d touched her.

  God, she wanted that again.

  He drew back a breath, his gaze intense, feral. It had always surprised her that such cool blue-green eyes could sear so hot. Cupping her face in one hand, he stroked his thumbs back and forth across her cheekbones. “Jesu, Cheryl, I need you. I never stopped.”

  The intensity of his gaze made her catch her breath. Her head filled with the scent of man and steel and an odd, masculine tang she’d never noticed around him before.

  Vampire, Gaia murmured. He had that all along. You just couldn’t smell it before.

  “But there’s something I need to say. If you… If you want me to go…” He paused, his breathing rough as he stared into her face. Probing. “I’ll go.”

  Well, of course he would. She swallowed as need gripped her in a hot fist. “I never wanted you to go to begin with.”

  “I know. But that was then. And it’s not the same. We’re not the same.”

  That’s putting it mildly. “I want to make love to you,” she told him with stark honesty. “The real Ulf, not Paul.”

  He spoke as if the words forced their way from his mouth. “Are you sure that’s wise?”

  She snorted. “I know it’s not. I just don’t care.”

  Ulf’s mobile lips parted. Leaning close, she took them in another kiss. He made a low, rough sound. Her eyes closed as she slid her arms up to encircle his neck, one hand cupping the back of his head, relishing the soft silk of his hair against her palm. Drinking in his mouth.

  Need exploded through her body like a firecracker, sudden, bright, and hot. Cheryl gasped against his lips. He deepened the kiss as he leaned back into the couch, one hand dipping down to grip her ass and pull her full-length against him. Letting her feel his cock, long and hard and thick against her belly. Leaving no doubt he wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him.

  That much, at least, had not been a deception.

  With a soft, desperate moan, Cheryl kissed him back. Rolling her hips to let him know she wanted it all. Everything he’d ever held back. All the need she knew he’d kept under tight control, because she remembered the effort
with Gaia’s memories.

  The “kind” deception that had been more of a cheat.

  Cheryl fisted his T-shirt in both hands and jerked it off over his head.

  With a low, wicked laugh, he removed her top in turn. She heard his approving hum at the sight of her breasts framed in pink silk and lace.

  Cheryl went to work on his fly, the zipper hissing an accompaniment to the gliding drift of his fingers across her cleavage.

  “I always loved your breasts.” He brushed his fingertips over the full curves in a tantalizing whisper of sensation. His voice dropped another register. “So soft.”

  His open fly revealed the head of his erection peeking over the elastic waistband of his boxers. A tiny, glistening drop beaded its tip. Cheryl brushed her forefinger over the pre-come, smearing it. Meeting his eyes again, she popped the finger into her mouth. The taste made her close her eyes and hum. So, so delicious. Salty. And yet… There was a hot spice to the taste that hadn’t been there before.

  Something else she hadn’t been able to detect as a mortal.

  “Wicked woman.” He kissed her again, his mouth hot, his tongue sweeping slow circles around hers until she purred in hunger against his mouth. He slid his arms around her, his hands finding the clasp, and she felt the strap tighten, then go lax as he flicked it open.

  He pulled her bra off, balled it up, and fired it across the room. “Buh bye.”

  Cheryl laughed at the Millennialism, only to lose her breath as she saw the absorbed, hooded way his gaze focused on her breasts. Her nipples tightened into hard buds, rose against the cream of her skin.

  Ulf bent, cupping one breast and rolling the tip up for his mouth. He engulfed it and began to suck, sending an explosion of delight up her spine. He hummed at her, the sound low, very male, then circled first one nipple, then the other with his tongue.

  Her breath rough, Cheryl dipped a hand into his open fly and filled her palm with the hot velvet of his shaft. He made an approving rumble as she stroked lazily up and down.

  Ulf pulled away from her breast. “I’m getting really irritated with all these clothes.”