The Hob (The Gray Court 4) (3 page)

Kael stared at her with something akin to awe. “He’s staying with me for a few days, and haven’t we had this discussion before? Are you sure you should be speaking to a stranger so easily?”

The laid-back way Kael spoke to her made it clear they’d been friends for some time. His concern for the female was admirable, but still…

Robin fought off the urge as his eyes tried to shift to the green light that spelled death for any who crossed him. Kael had done nothing but be polite to the tiny woman, a friend of his to boot. Robin should have no quarrel with Kael’s actions, but the way Robin was reacting to them was startling.

However, Kael had a point. Robin blinked down at the strange, little brown wren of a female. There was no way she could fend off two full-grown men, if they were so inclined to harm her. If Ruby had done such a thing he would have paddled her ass, mate or no. “Indeed.”

Michaela smiled up at him serenely. “You won’t hurt me.”

Robin blinked again. His brows rose. Apparently the woman was certifiable. On the basis of Kael’s supposed friendship, she trusted him? “Is that so?” Tempting though it was to accept her challenge, Robin was not a complete bastard. His little human was all right for the moment, but her insane belief that the world was a safe place was going to get her killed.

“Mm-hmm.” She laughed.
Laughed
, as if the implied threat were nothing. She headed past the ugly concrete column, still chattering away like the perky little bird she resembled, but this time she looked up at Kael with a frown. “Oh, Kael? FYI, some new tenants moved in while you were gone. They gave me the heebee-jeebies.” She shuddered delicately.

“Oh?” Robin exchanged a look with Kael. Perhaps they were sharing space with some Dark Court Sidhe after all. If so, it might be prudent to move their lodgings.

Her lodgings. Robin’s instincts were telling him to get her the hell out of here, get her somewhere safe, but he couldn’t. Not now. If he was right, if she truly was his bondmate, the last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to her while at a convention full of Dark Court fae. To do so would be to court disaster on an epic scale.

Kael’s stance became protective, hovering over Michaela. “Did they bother you?”

“Nah.” She wrinkled her nose, that pretty smile back on her face. She was absolutely adorable, and Robin wanted her on his arm, damn it. “I let them find their own way to the elevator.”

She looked like a stiff breeze could pick her up easier than it did a sylph, but she bounced along beside them without a care in the world.

“You’re awfully confident for someone the size of a flea bite.”

Robin almost laughed at the insult Kael muttered.

Michaela did laugh. “I know, but I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve if someone decides to get frisky.” She made some idiotic motions with her hands and feet that Robin assumed were supposed to be some form of martial arts but looked more like a squirrel having seizures. “Take that, bad guys!”

Robin couldn’t stop himself from patting her on the head. “You’re cute.”

She wagged her finger in the air. “And lethal. Don’t forget lethal.” She waved toward the elevator. “And here we are.”

The amusement in her gaze let him know how seriously she was taking her own pronouncement.

Interesting
. He hadn’t been this hungry for a female since Ruby. He kept the predatory anticipation that filled him off his face, for fear he would frighten her away.

This one was available for consumption, and he would feast for many years to come.

But for now, he needed to earn her trust before he could claim her body. He kept his expression amused, rather than hungry. “I’m certain thousands live in fear of your mighty fists of death.” Robin pressed the button to summon the elevator.

“Damn skippy.” The dainty little thing sniffed and stuck her nose in the air as she stepped onto the elevator with all the grace of a Queen. Or she would have if she hadn’t tripped over thin air, landing against the back of the elevator with a muffled, “Oomph.”

“Can we keep her?” Kael stepped into the elevator and helped Michaela to her feet. “I even know what to feed her. Please?” He made puppy-dog eyes at Robin, and Robin reluctantly chuckled.

Hell. Robin sighed, more amused than he wanted to admit. He’d let the boy live. He was far too amusing to kill.

“Thanks.” She blew her bangs out of her eyes and turned to Robin. “I’m sorry, I’m terrible with names. What did you say your name was again?”

Robin took her hand. “Ringo Midori, at your service, my lady.” Robin raised her hand to his lips and chastely kissed the back, but he never once broke eye contact.

She blushed, her cheeks becoming fiery red. “I see now why you’re friends. You two are bad, bad men, aren’t you?”

Robin cocked an eyebrow, delighted when she laughed. The sound trickled down his spine, lodging in his cock. That uninhibited, utterly happy sound had him harder than anything a lover had done for him in centuries.

He needed to know more about her. Where she lived. Was she seeing anyone? What were her favorite foods? Was there anything she did not like a lover to do?

For make no mistake, Robin intended to have her before the mission was done.

The elevator dinged and Michaela sighed. “Damn. This is my floor.” She reached up and patted Robin on the cheek. “Welcome to the building. It was nice meeting you.”

“You, as well.” Robin watched Michaela bounce her way down the hallway until the elevator doors blocked the sight. A strange silence descended as the elevator once more began to move.

“Ringo? Really?”

Robin shrugged. “He was my favorite Beatle.” And if Kael forgot and started to say Robin, it would be easier to slip into the new name than if he’d named himself, say, David. He would not have taken such a precaution if he had been working with an experienced Blade, but Kael would eventually learn. Robin would see to it. In the meantime, it was better to be cautious.

Kael chuckled, then leaned back against the elevator wall. “She’s single. And hot. I’ve thought about asking her out.”

For a split second Kael’s life hung in the balance. Rage filled Robin at the thought of Kael with Michaela, stroking that peaches and cream flesh. Wrapping that bouncing ponytail around his wrist as he rode her.

Robin took a deep breath and stared at the elevator numbers flashing above him. He was a split-second away from killing a man he had every intention of recruiting into the Blades, all over a fantasy. That was a reaction he would have to explore later. Much later. Alas, finding the young prince took precedence over Robin’s reaction to the delectable little human.

Kael led the way to his apartment and opened the door. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”

Robin looked around, curious as to why Kael lived in such a place when he was, at least technically, a member of Gloriana’s family.

It was a fairly standard city apartment, with a galley kitchen, small dining area and slightly larger living area. The bedrooms were side by side toward the back. The entire thing couldn’t be bigger than a thousand square feet. Already Robin felt stifled, boxed in. He missed his six-thousand-square-foot home in the mountains.

He would go insane if forced to live here indefinitely.

He struggled to find something nice to say about the place. “I like the furniture.”

He did. It was what he might have picked if forced to live in such a small space. A pale cream sofa and glass tables lined one wall, cream-on-cream wallpaper in a harlequin pattern creating a focal point behind them. By the entryway, a large mirror leaning against the wall kept the small room light and airy. Two accent chairs in bright blue sat by the big window, a glass end table between them. Across from the sofa was an electric console fireplace with a large, flat-screen television perched atop it. In the tiny dining area a glass table for four created the illusion of space. Outside on the terrace dark wicker furniture with cream cushions dominated the space. Robin would be able to sit out and enjoy the city lights in comfort.

It was small, far smaller than he preferred, but Robin would live with it. For now. At least the pooka had good taste.

Kael frowned and stared at the large mirror. “Where’s Oberon’s mirror?”

Robin shook his head. The boy would learn. The mirror would be in the most obvious spot, but only those of the Gray would be able to use it. The mirror would recognize no other. “Follow me.”

Robin led the way to the master bedroom. There, next to a very nice queen-size bed, was an ornately decorated mirror. Symbols etched in silver and gold graced the black frame, twining around it in a pattern only another fae would recognize. The mirror itself looked antique, the glass clouded.

“Oh. My room.” Kael coughed, and Robin wondered if he feared the entire Gray Court traipsing about his apartment willy-nilly. “Well, then. In that case, let’s unpack and settle in for the night.”

“Good idea.” The delegates had already arrived, but Robin knew they would not be getting together formally until tomorrow. The thought had crossed his mind to scout out the hotel ahead of time, but he was weary. He allowed Kael to show him to his room and stripped himself down, the lure of the soft bed far too strong.

Robin collapsed on top of the comforter and slipped quickly into sleep, thoughts of Michaela chasing him into his dreams.

Robin heard a giggle, a warm sound that filled him with eagerness. She was here somewhere, in Robin’s house, sneaking about as if she could hide herself from the Hobgoblin.

“Come and find me.”

So his beloved wished to play hide and seek, did she? Robin was more than willing to oblige. He ghosted through the house, fully aware she could not sense his approach. He would take her, claim her, soothe her fears and make her sing for him.

But first, he had to find her.

She was not in the great pool she’d come to love so much, nor in the gardens where she sat for hours and admired the mountains. She wasn’t in the kitchen, badgering his staff and earning cookies with her huge eyes and gamine smile.

Would she hide there? In so obvious a place?

Robin snuck into his bedroom, and pondered anew the changes he’d made since he’d first dreamed of her. Where once his walls had been deep purple, his bed, a place of unbridled lust, she had taken it and made it a place that both appeased the beast within him and inflamed his desire. His walls were now painted a purplish-gray, still dark and decadent, but much calmer. For her, he had replaced the black satin sheets, the dark curtains, bringing light into the room with pale, cream sheets and curtains. Even the carpeting was lighter, a few shades off from the walls, creating a place she loved to roll around with him when he was feeling particularly frisky.

The four-poster bed was the one piece of furniture he’d insisted upon. She’d become bolder in their love play, allowing him to tie her down upon occasion.

Indeed, she’d tied him down once, and he’d discovered he enjoyed being at her mercy. She’d been a tender lover, careful of him as so few were, aware he could easily break free but trusting him not to do so.

He had not. After all, turnabout was fair play, and Robin enjoyed playing fair with his lover.

“Found you!” Soft arms encircled his waist. She buried her face in his hair and hugged him tight.

Robin chuckled. Trust her to be one of the few who could find him when he made an effort to be elusive. “So you did.” He turned and pulled her into his arms, dazzled anew by her. “Gods above, you’re beautiful.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I know you are, but what am I?”

Robin shook his head. Always, she took his compliments and turned them back on him, teased him for his supposed vanity. He preened for her, and she sparkled with laughter. “Lucky?” She tickled him, and he grabbed her wrists, placing soft kisses on her palms. “Witch.”

“Me?” She batted her lashes.

“You must be.” He nibbled her fingers, delighted when her eyes darkened. “How else would you have bespelled the Hob?”

“With my sheer, unadulterated awesomeness.”

It was said with such a straight face that Robin couldn’t help but laugh. “I believe that last was a given.”

“As long as we have that straight.”

“We do, indeed, my dear.” Robin bent and took his bondmate’s mouth, eager to taste her once more.

Michaela whimpered as she woke. Damn it. Just as the dream was about to get good too. Stupid alarm clock. Stupid night shift.

Ugh. Stupid life.

She stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom, her body throbbing, eager to finish what her dream man had started. But she had to get ready for work. She had kids to take care of, kids who needed her.

She held up her toothbrush like a torch. “I am nurse. Hear me roar!”

Then she wiped the toothpaste off the mirror, thanking God her dream man wasn’t real and couldn’t see what a dork she was.

Chapter Three

“What the
fuck
is this?” Robin stared at the entrance to the Marriott. He turned and looked at Kael in disbelief as people, huge masses of people, streamed in and out of the building. A woman in nothing more than a bikini made out of leaves walked past him, distracting him.