Page 5 of Beast

I forget about the fight with my father. I forget about thepotential for disaster lurking in the background. I forget about everything butthe need to come. I let my hands trace the lithe lines of her body, guiding herup and down.

I work my hand in between our bodies. I rub my mistress’sclitoris forcefully and am pleased when she comes with a mewling cry. I letmyself go and groan as the orgasm takes me. I buck up and hold her hips. Amandafalls forward into my arms.

I rub her back gently, but my brain is working overtimeagain. I should be content. I should be basking in the afterglow, but all I canthink about is how I’m going to face my family in the morning knowing I nowhave an expiration date. How am I going to find a job in a company my fatherdoesn’t own? I seriously doubt Susan will give me a decent reference asanything but a man-whore.

“You need to find someone completely unsuitable.” Amanda’swords are said with a sigh against my neck.

“What?”

She sits up and puts her hands on my shoulders. “Look,consorts are hard to come by ever since King Torin closed off Tír na nÓg.”

“You mean Torin the Pretender.” The words are harsh to myown ears but I won’t take them back. Torin killed my aunt, uncle, and cousin,Bronwyn. Torin is the reason Beck and Cian are in exile. I will not hear himhonored with a title. “The kings of the Seelie Fae are King Beckett and KingCian.”

Amanda’s mouth forms a perfectly shocked O. Itdoesn’t surprise me. I rarely sound serious. My cousins’ throne is one of theonly things I’m damn serious about. One day I will convince them to take itback. I won’t be satisfied until Beck, Cian, and Meg wear their rightful crownsand lead the Seelie plane.

“Of course,” she says politely, scrambling off my lap. Shequickly recovers. She pulls her robe around her and pours me another drink. Hersmile is gracious as she passes it to me. “I apologize, baby. As I was saying,once the Pretender closed off the homelands, consorts became rare. I hear thereare many who come from planes we would never have considered before.”

I zip up my pants. I’ll take a shower before I head home.The last thing I need is my parents to catch me when I reek of sex and Scotch.And it’s probably time to begin to ease my way out of the relationship withAmanda. I’ll pay for her last year of school and give her enough to have a baseto start life after grad school. Maybe it’s time to be alone for a while. “Yes,the Planeswalker clans are making a fortune off Torin’s miserliness. I don’tsee how this helps me.”

It limits my options. Now that I really think about it, Isuppose I always planned on finding a consort eventually. Almost all vampiresof royal lines marry a consort. There are several practical reasons for this,the chief being all the physical benefits a vampire receives from takingregular blood from a consort. It elongates the life of the royal vampire. Atypical vampire’s life-span is roughly a hundred years. It doubles when a royaldines regularly on consort blood.

A consort is a special type of male or female, usually ofFae lineage, though I recently discovered humans can be consorts, as well.Something about their blood strengthens the vampires from royal lines. Inreturn, the consort remains young and vital from sexual relations with thevampire. Torin is attempting to sway the Vampire plane to his side by cuttingoff our access to suitable consorts.

It’s starting to work. There’s a certain segment of my planethat believe we should turn over the royal twins to Torin. They argue if Torinis satisfied, he’ll open Tír na nÓg and trade will flow once more.

It isn’t going to happen. They’ll take my cousins over mydead body.

“A Fae consort is trained.” Amanda’s musing brings me out ofmy dark thoughts. “Even Colin, who wasn’t aware of his status until he came toour plane, was taught manners and proper etiquette. He was educated. Yourfather might have come from meager beginnings, but he has high standards. Ifyou brought home a completely unsuitable wife, he would be horrified.”

Now there’s a thought. My mind races with the possibilities.Amanda is right. My father would die before allowing an uneducated rube intohis precious family. Perhaps I can use the current state of trade to myadvantage. “He might even let me get her a house somewhere far away.”

Amanda rolls her eyes. “He might let you cast her aside. Youcan then go back to your former playboy lifestyle, having done your best tosatisfy your father.”

It could be the perfect solution, though I would never casta partner aside. It’s a terrible thing to do in my culture and brings greatshame to the person being cast aside, but if I can convince a consort to workwith me, then that’s another story. It wouldn’t be a marriage as much as apartnership. I could marry the woman, and then she would prove to be completelyunsuitable. Perhaps I can find a human like Megan. Humans seemed a reasonablerace. I can certainly work with one. Together, we’ll ensure that she’s anembarrassment to everyone. My father will understand that we should live apart,and I’ll be free to live the way I always have. She’ll get a life free of anymonetary concerns and all the freedom she wants. All in all, not a bad deal foreither of us.

“You’re a genius,” I say with a smile.

“That’s what the IQ tests tell me,” Amanda quips.

I wink at her as I make for the door. I have a lot to do. Ican shower later.

Chapter Two

Amanda

The minute the door slams, I make the call. I don’tbother to change into more professional clothes. It’s not like the man on theother end of the line hasn’t seen me naked. It also won’t hurt to remind him ofwhat he’s missing while I’m on this particular job.

“What is it?” Chalen Palgrave asks, his voice rough. There’san edge of impatience to his tone that is always present no matter what thesituation is.

He picked up immediately, and that tells me he’s beenwaiting for the call, waiting for any kind of information I can dig up on theDellacourts’ son. I’m slightly satisfied that his eyes go immediately to mybreasts. There’s a bank of windows behind him that tells me he’s still in hisoffice. He rarely leaves it these days. Since his brother disappeared sixmonths before, Chalen spends all his time at work. He has to if he wants tokeep Palgrave Industries from going under.

“He’s been ordered to get married or face disinheritance.” Isit forward, waiting for his approval.

It’s not forthcoming. “And this is news? What could youexpect after the disgraceful way he behaved this evening? His father shouldhave disowned him right then and there. It proves Donald Dellacourt’s poormorality that he did not. The Dellacourts have no honor. What should we expect?They’re one generation off the surface. Dirtwalkers, every one of them.”

I barely manage to not roll my eyes. When I started movingin this expensive, lofty world, I rapidly discovered royals think alongdifferent lines than commoners. They only see the big picture and rarely thinkabout how important small cracks can be. A peasant understands all about smallcracks. My whole life has been a delicate balance.

“If he’s invested in finding a wife, I think his newfoundwork ethic is going to get shelved. He’s been much more serious about work inthe past six months. He thinks he has something going in bio-med,” I explain.“He can’t work too hard if he’s looking for a wife. He’ll let his guard down.Better yet, if his father does kick him out, he’ll be vulnerable.”