Metal Read online

  “I didn’t mean talk dirty,” she said after a moment. Finn leaned back to see her face, holding her gaze.

  “You love it when I talk dirty.”

  “I love you and your dirty talk, which is why we need to have a real talk about the fairy scout who showed up knowing your name today.”

  “Scout?” Finn frowned, curiosity finally overriding his hormone- and wine-soaked brain. “Like talent scouts?”

  “They weren’t looking for you to jump on stage and belt out ‘Love Shack’,” Veruca said, resting her hand on his thigh. “They seemed to think you’ve been up to something you shouldn’t be.”

  “That doesn’t really narrow it down,” he said with a chuckle, absently tucking her dark hair behind her ear. “I do lots of naughty things.”

  “I doubt they were talking about bondage and dressing up like Princess Leia. This would have been something you did on the darker side of your abilities.”

  “I looked damn good in that slave outfit,” Finn boasted, pride quirking his lips. “And what darker side? I’ve tried nearly everything, but I’ve never hurt anyone who didn’t ask for it. You’ve asked for it a time or two.”

  “Finn,” Veruca said before giving in to a giggle and pushing at his chest. “We’re getting nowhere with you on my lap. Up, come on.”

  “I’m up,” he whispered, leaning in as if he’d try for another kiss. She pinched his nipple with her nails, making him jerk back with a yelp. Finally realizing she was serious and not just playing hard to get, he got to his feet, turning his attention to her and, she could tell, fighting his desire to keep teasing her.

  “Thank you. I assure you, once I know what’s going in, I’ll let you get right back into that metal bra, but for now I need to know what you’ve been up to when I’m out and about.”

  “I keep myself busy. I’ve been practicing here and there, like you told me to. I don’t quite have that army of old ladies yet, but I think I’m making progress.”

  “Nothing else? You don’t get into anything when I send you out shopping or have you stay back at a hotel?”

  “Only my own pants.”

  “I hardly think Fairy’s after you because you like to touch yourself.”

  “How could that possibly be a crime? Look at me.” Finn gestured to his slim body as if Michelangelo himself had been its sculptor.

  “I can’t argue,” Veruca said, nodding. There was no way Finn’s solo sexcapades had earned the ire of a leader in Fairy. Whatever they thought he’d done, Veruca was certain it was misattributed. “We do need to figure out what’s going on, though.”

  “Do we have to do that right now? There’s a whole lotta hot salami you’ve got to get your hands on,” Finn asked, his tone suggesting he wasn’t referring to the pizza.

  Veruca watched him for a moment, considering the options. She couldn’t know when Syham would send someone to request another meeting, and she hadn’t eaten in nearly half a day. Furthermore, it had been twice as long since she’d been on top of Finn, and he was more than eager to help satisfy her either way. Grabbing the front of his apron, she tugged him down into a kiss and then whispered against his ear.

  “The pizza will hold. Let’s go to the bedroom and get that apron off you.”

  “We don’t have to go anywhere,” he murmured against her mouth, his hands sliding around her to glide gently down her back. “I can get off right here.”

  “Get it off?” Veruca asked, before gasping as his hands tucked under her ass and gripped hard. He was deceptively strong, which she supposed was more a male trait than something Finn had worked for. He wasn’t a fan of hard work, at least not outside the bedroom.

  “You heard me,” Finn said, the edge of his voice slipping into a growl as he hauled Veruca up so she could wrap her legs around his hips. She lost herself in kissing him, loving that being with Finn shut her brain down so completely. When he touched her, she thought only of him, of the way it felt to be held by his soft hands and kissed by his perfect lips.

  Their hearts pounded together as he twisted to rest her on the table and press her backward. Still squeezing her in a hug, he kissed her until he made her feel breathless, and then moved to nibble along her neck as if he knew she needed room to suck in gulps of air. He groaned against her throat as he skimmed his hands around her body to rub them roughly over her breasts, before cupping the back of her neck and yanking her back up to sitting. She went for his boxers immediately, slipping her hand under the loose band to grab his cock and give it a rough stroke. He whimpered into her mouth and went briefly still, just as overwhelmed by her as she was by him.

  Veruca smiled, opening her eyes to see the look on his face, and found him watching her with a smile of his own. He kept eye contact as he kissed her, as he slid his hands down to gently grip her shoulders, lightening the mood from frantic to soft in an instant.

  Because it delighted her as much as it excited him, she matched his gentle energy with her hand, stroking him softly before reaching in to cup his balls. His entire body tensed, his eyes squeezed shut, and he moaned.

  A few precious moments passed before his frantic drive to have her overtook him again, and he grabbed at her shirt, tearing at the buttons even as she continued to tenderly make him mad.

  “I love you,” he murmured between kisses, cupping her breasts and squeezing them both in a clumsy show of arousal. “I missed you. I love you so, can barely stand to be apart. My love.”

  Overwhelmed herself, Veruca shoved at his pants before unbuttoning her own. No longer distracted by the motion of her hands, Finn had reclaimed some finesse in the way he was touching her, paying special attention to her nipples as if they were delicate and needed pampering. Even through the fabric of her bra, he could ignite every inch of her and make her want him more than she wanted air itself.

  The second her pants were undone, Finn switched tactics, grabbing for her wrists, and binding them both behind her back in one hand. His sudden stillness made her open her eyes again and she found him watching her quietly, waiting. Sure he had her attention, he shifted to slide her pants down inch by inch, because he knew she wanted speed. She kicked them away the second she could and arched herself against him.

  “Don’t you love me?” he asked, cupping his hand between her legs, poising his fingers at the edge of intensity.

  “Yes, yes,” she breathed, her body fighting against the way he kept her so close to orgasm and yet refused to let her touch it. “You know I do.”

  “Good,” he said, closing in to kiss her as he pressed his fingers against her flesh, and then shifted to glide his cock inside. She broke the kiss with a moan, barely able to handle the feeling of him, of how well he knew her body. He let go of her wrists to cup the back of her neck and force her to meet his gaze, and she braced herself against the table, feeling every thrust like a wave crashing over her senses.

  “Yes,” she moaned again, lifting her knees to squeeze against his rib cage as she felt the orgasm already threatening to undo her. “Finn.”

  “Veruca,” he whispered, letting his eyes flutter shut as he slid his hand from between her legs to grip her free hand and squeeze it.

  He mumbled her name again as they both came, and she swore that alone would have been enough to drive her over.

  Chapter Two

  Veruca woke up knowing someone was at the door to her house. It wasn’t a human someone, but she knew brownies to be creatures with individual personalities and preferences, so unlike some of the many demons she’d dealt with over the years, she would call it a someone and not a something.

  It was respectful, refusing to cross her threshold, not calling out or demanding her attention. She knew it was there only because of the wards Belial lain across her home and because she could sense the soul easily from her second-floor bedroom. Sure Finn would sleep through the meeting, she pulled on a robe and went down to meet it.

  “Hello,” she said as she gestured for it to enter. “No need to bow. May I offer you refres
hment?”

  The brownie, a short, ugly creature with a long, skinny tail and wrinkly skin covered by ill-fitting doll’s clothes, stayed hunched forward around itself for a moment. When it finally looked up to meet her eyes, she thought it looked unsure if she was being genuine. Her expression seemed to relax the brownie, and it stood tall, nodded, and spoke in garbled English.

  “Yes, treat.”

  “Welcome to my home. Please join me in the kitchen.”

  The brownie moved like a chimp, following Veruca through the large house into the kitchen, where it took a seat at the bar. Trying to remember what types of treats brownies liked best, she snuck a look at the creature’s mouth as she gestured for it to begin.

  “I was sent,” it began, clearly having trouble annunciating human language. Veruca noticed wide, flat teeth and recalled that brownies like sweet things. Luckily, so did Finn. “By scout to bring meet time. I have three. You are choose.”

  “Of course,” Veruca said, pulling three small cookies from the crinkly bag Finn had tucked in the back of the cabinet. She passed them to the brownie on a small plate before taking a seat as well. The brownie took a bite of the first cookie, wiggled visibly with delight, and crammed the other two into its mouth, chewing noisily. It stared at the plate while finishing, reminding Veruca of a baby sloppily gumming strained carrots.

  “Two hours,” the brownie continued, smearing fingers across the plate as if hoping for stray, unseen crumbs. “Nine one-six.” The third time seemed to vex the creature and it had to squint at the clock on the kitchen wall for a minute before meeting her eyes. “Three. But it is three-three-nine.”

  Veruca glanced at the clock, realized it was getting a.m. and p.m. confused, and decided it likely didn’t spend very much time working for humans. She’d met the occasional little fae who lived and worked with humans in exchange for treats and shelter, but this one was different.

  “Nine one-six will do. Have you a location?”

  The brownie simply dug its skinny fingers into the torn breast pocket of its shirt, pulled out a small scrap of paper, and dropped it on the counter. Veruca nodded, smoothing it out to find that it was in Seattle. She thought of Donald, hoped he’d found her a wealth of information, and figured it would be handy to speak to him in person rather than on the phone again.

  “Wonderful. Please deliver the time back to Syham. Would you like more treats for your trip?” The brownie brightened and Veruca went to grab more cookies. As she held out three more to the brownie, she was sure to catch its eye. “Can I count on you to help me communicate with this scout in the future, should it be necessary?”

  The brownie watched her for a moment, calculating, clearly understanding that the treats were a bargain. If it took them, it was agreeing to be called to her to relay messages. She had dealt with enough fae that she hoped her reputation preceded that of her boss, but that didn’t mean the creature would trust her so quickly. Carefully, it took the cookies, whispered three of the six syllables of its name deliberately, and dropped to the floor with a thud. It scampered to the doorway, disappearing into thin air just before it would have run smack into the heavy wood.

  “What’re you doing up, my love?”

  Veruca glanced over to find Finn had made his way downstairs, still not aware enough to have even noticed the brownie rushing by. He was sleepy, disheveled, and shirtless, a look on him she was quite fond of.

  “I needed to get a treat,” she said, shutting the cookies back into the cabinet. “We have somewhere to be in six hours. Let’s get some more rest.”

  “I’ll give you a treat,” he said, losing his battle with a yawn. Veruca smiled, slipping her arm around him and leading him back toward the staircase. Even half asleep, he was trying to get into her pants. It was one of her favorite things about him.

  “Later, darling. Perhaps when we get up.”

  “I’m up now,” he said, wiggling his hips as if she wouldn’t have noticed his erection without a demonstration.

  “But barely conscious. You’re no good to me without more sleep.”

  “Well, perhaps this time you can do most of the work,” he said as they reached the bedroom. Veruca snorted.

  “Sure. Lie down and if you’re still awake in five minutes, I’ll have at you.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  He was out in two.

  ****

  “Hey,” Finn said as he fiddled uselessly with his tie. “We didn’t have sex last night.”

  Veruca glanced at him in the mirror, one brow lifted. “I beg to differ.”

  “No, no,” Finn said, stepping back to admire his crooked handiwork. He’d been dressing like a true gentleman for nearly four months and he still didn’t have the hang of it. He wasn’t trying that hard to get it down, though. It was always nice when Veruca pressed right up into his space to fix what he messed up. Usually he could look right down her shirt. “I know we did have sex, but then you were down here eating my cookies and we didn’t.”

  “Maybe we did,” Veruca suggested, winking up at him as she stepped close to adjust the knot. He watched her for a moment, admiring her beauty. One would never guess by her name, but she was full-blooded Venezuelan, brought to the states with her family as a young child and raised under the close watch of the Prince of Hell. Her hair was black, heavy, and long, accenting dark eyes and perfect skin, curling just above her shapely hips when she left it down. Next to her, Finn looked even whiter than usual, but he’d take being called “pasty” if it meant he got to be in Veruca’s presence.

  Today she had her hair pulled back in a complicated braid, coiled like a crown, making her look even more regal and lovely than usual. She was short and fit, curved generously in all Finn’s favorite places. Though he knew she would laughingly argue that, for Finn, all a woman’s places were his favorite. And all a man’s places, come to think of it. Finn wasn’t picky and enjoyed love and affection in any form he could get it.

  That being said, he hoped he’d never again have cause to get it from anyone but Veruca. She’d been the light of his life ever since she’d rescued him from a nasty woman who fancied herself a criminal kingpin and who’d sent goons to chase Finn down and threaten to cut off his own favorite places.

  Shuddering at the thought, Finn rubbed Veruca’s arms gently to steady himself, and realized she’d posed a possibility that he disagreed with.

  “No,” he argued into the silence he’d left while ogling her. “I’d definitely remember if we had sex after you stole my cookies.”

  “Stole? I paid for those cookies.”

  “Yes, but I think we can agree I’ve more than worked off the debt of a few packs of sweets.” Finn slid his hands down to grip Veruca’s ass through her soft pants. “If you disagree, I can put in a few more hours right now, maybe build up some credit for more cookies.”

  “Perhaps later, darling.” Veruca slipped easily out of his grip, leaving him staring at his own reflection in the mirror. He couldn’t decide which view he liked better, that of Veruca’s curvy backside or of himself in a charcoal suit and green tie.

  “Perhaps later?” Finn called after her, deciding he didn’t need to pick a favorite.

  “It depends on what we see at this meeting. You’ll be on your best behavior, yes?”

  “Am I ever not?”

  “Ruining an entire library and nearly getting yourself eaten by zombies comes to mind.”

  “Yes, but that was before. What have I done wrong since then?” Finn demanded, hoping she would pretend not to remember the dozens of little ways in which he’d messed up since moving in. Veruca simply held his eye as she slid her coat on. He felt his shoulders slump slightly. “You said you weren’t that attached to the statue. Unless this is about the speedboat?”

  She turned to open the back door but he could swear he’d caught a smile on her lips as she did. Grinning, he followed her outside, keeping up the banter even though she was quiet.

  “The car? It can’t be about the candle
sticks. I told you I lost that necklace, I didn’t fence it.”

  ****

  Syham was alone at the house, standing out front as if he wasn’t a massive, inhuman monster that would strike fear into the hearts of children at a single glance—and had, from what Veruca understood. Veruca was sure his glamour was thorough, that she was the only one who could see him if that was how he wished it, but stepping out of the car to find him out in public was still a little jarring.

  “Is that for … what is … who is that?” Finn stuttered, coming to stand next to her on the sidewalk. Veruca patted his shoulder and started toward the driveway. She’d worn sensible shoes, not knowing what they would be encountering, but she still didn’t want to presume it was okay to walk on someone’s lawn.

  “He’s who we’re meeting. Finn, this is Syham.”

  Finn, ever game for a new experience, held his hand out to the creature, smiling unabashedly, completely trusting that Veruca knew enough to keep him safe. Syham hesitated slightly but agreed to a brief shake, letting go quickly. Veruca was reminded that he was certain Finn was a problem and gestured to the door, hoping they could clear the issue up quickly.

  “Are we going inside?”

  “He’s joining us?” Syham asked, observing Finn, his furry face unreadable. Veruca nodded.

  “Of course.” Veruca kept her expression pleasant, her gaze on Syham’s face while her attention was on the rest of him. She didn’t believe he’d outright attack Finn with her standing right there, but she also wasn’t sure what type of power he had. His soul was easy enough to see—a thick, golden rope wrapped around his heart, which she had noticed sat lower in his body than it would have in a human—but reading it clearly was a different story. She still held Denise’s soul in her chest, and even though Denise had been human, having her offered a small boost to Veruca’s own abilities. That didn’t make Syham an open book, however. The most Veruca could get off him was that he could control magic and that his true name was longer and more complicated than her human tongue could have formed. Beyond that, she had no idea of what he was capable. He might have been able to kill Finn with a single touch, or he may have been no more dangerous than a fae spawn child who could move wind around.