“I think I created a monster,” Dev observed as Daniel left. He hugged me tight and I could feel his satisfaction. “Looks like we’re not through tonight, my goddess. I think my wedding night is going to be happy after all. I like being in the middle.”
I shook my head and laughed, avoiding several questions I would really like to ask. The boys weren’t ready to go there so I let go of the whole thing. “You’re going to have to settle for a hand job, buddy.”
Dev nodded. “I can handle that.”
When we joined Daniel, he welcomed us. Our threesome was finally blessed in both of their worlds.
Daniel pulled me into his arms and the magic began all over again.
Chapter Thirty
“Zoey.” Neil jumped onto the bed the next morning. His weight made the mattress shift underneath me and shoved me further into Dev’s arms. “Zoey, wake up.”
I groaned and opened an eye. I could already tell it was way too early. Dev grumbled in his sleep and disentangled himself from me so he could turn over and shove his head under a pillow to try to escape the noise. I wasn’t allowed such retreat as Neil was insistent.
“God, Neil, what time is it?” I moaned the question.
“It’s time for you to help me.” Neil’s voice was a little desperate and whiny. “If you want to make that brunch we’re supposed to go to before we head home tonight, you’ll get up and fix this.”
I sighed and pushed myself up. I really couldn’t miss the brunch with McKenzie. We were still negotiating the alliance, and after last night, we were coming in from a position of power. I just wished I could have slept the day away. My husbands had taken the idea of a wedding night seriously. Danny had kept me up until right before dawn, reminding me I was married to him as well as Dev.
My vampire couldn’t seem to stop indulging in the new freedom he was giving himself. When I told him I couldn’t take anymore, he just cuddled against me, playing with my neck or pressing his ear against my chest because he said he loved the sound of my heartbeat. Dev passed out after our little feeding session, the events of the night having exhausted him completely. As I drifted off to sleep, Danny had kissed me and promised that when we got home, he would sleep beside us again. The noise of so many people kept him awake, so he slipped off into his coffin for the day. Now I was kind of wishing I’d gone with him because I would still be asleep.
“What’s the problem, sweetie?” There was no getting around it now. I was awake.
Neil scratched his head and his eyes had a desperate look to them. “I think it was the pixie.” Tears welled as his voice quivered so slightly. “I think she gave me fleas.”
I tried really hard not to laugh but Dev didn’t bother. He just shook with the force of his amusement.
He tossed the pillow aside and pushed up on his elbows to regard Neil with sparkling green eyes. “I told you she would get you back, wolf. Pixies may be small, but they’re great believers in revenge. Hope, no pray, she’s satisfied with this or it will only be the beginning.”
A horrible thought hit me. The ramifications could be truly terrible. “Dev, this isn’t funny. If Neil has fleas, then they could move over to Lee and Zack. All of our wolves are going to end up like this. I have to flea dip Neil or they’ll be all over the house.”
Dev thought that was just the funniest thing he’d ever heard. He let his head fall back as he laughed loudly. “I assure you Zack would never let himself be flea dipped, but you should probably check out Lee. I heard he went hunting last night so he wouldn’t have to listen to the sounds of our wedding night.”
Neil was still scratching his hair furiously, trying to stop that itch. “It’s making me crazy, Z. Please tell me I won’t have to wear a flea collar. They don’t go with anything. I promise I won’t eat the pixies anymore.”
I shot a look around the room where the pixies were glaring at Neil. I pulled the sheet around me even as Dev protested the loss of it. I rolled out of bed and addressed my new tiny retinue. “He’ll leave you be from now on. You’ve had your revenge and he’s sorry. All the wolves will know the rules. You have to get along with them because they’re not going anywhere. Now, I have to go delouse my wolf. Try to stay out of trouble.”
I swear those little butterflies were laughing their asses off and their priest was right there with them.
“Come on, Neil,” I said, giving the entire Fae contingent my most forbidding look before holding out my hand to him. “We’ll wake up Sarah. I’m sure she knows something that will get rid of the fleas.”
An hour later, Neil sighed as I used a scrub brush on his hair. He sat in the tub looking a little like a drowned puppy with his blonde curls flat against his face. Sarah had whipped up something with orange, yarrow root, and a bunch of flowers that seemed to be working. At the very least, Neil had stopped trying to peel his scalp off. Sarah wielded a pitcher of warm water and poured it over his head.
Lee walked in and frowned at the scene in front of him. “You do know he’s human too, right? You two girls treat that boy like he’s one of those yippie dogs debutantes buy. I bet you’d carry him around in your purse if you could.”
Neil’s hand shot up, and he scratched behind his ear. “Missed a spot, Z.”
He probably wouldn’t have cared if we did carry him around in an oversized handbag as long as it was Louis Vuitton.
I rubbed some more of the paste into his scalp and frowned at Lee. “Well, you better stay away from the pixies or I’ll have you in this tub too, mister. Neil tried to eat one and she gave him fleas.”
Lee’s face lost all color. “Are you talking about the little butterfly things that are suddenly everywhere?”
“Tell me you didn’t eat one,” I begged.
“It got away.” Lee sighed a little. “They’re really fast.”
Sarah shook her head. “I’ll make up some more.”
“Actually, I was looking for you, Sarah. I don’t feel so hot. My stomach is upset. Nothing too bad, but I was hoping you could give me something.”
I gave Neil one more thorough rubdown as I cast a glance at Lee. He’d been running around in the woods all night. “Well, it was probably something you ate. Have you been eating strange birds again? I told you that would give you a tummy ache.”
“I have just the thing.” Like the good little healer she was, she declined to give Lee a lecture on not eating nasty things. “Ginger will take care of it. You’ll feel better in no time. I swear, Z. I’m going to have to pack up my garden when we go to Faery.”
“Oh, Sarah,” Dev said from the door. “You haven’t seen gardens until you’ve been to Faery. I assure you, you’ll find everything you need and many things you never thought you would ever see. I’m truly glad you and Felix have agreed to journey with us. Zoey will need her friends around her. It’s a strange place but very beautiful.”
Dev was going home for the first time in seven years, and he would be returning with more power than anyone could have imagined. He would be returning with a wife and his friend. He’d left alone, but he was going home with an entirely new family at his back.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Sarah said, her eyes filled with anticipation.
Dev was dressed in his version of casual, expensive but comfortable slacks and a T-shirt that hugged his chest. His long black hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck, but I remembered the way it hung down when he was on top of me. I smiled up at him, my breath catching a little because I was so happy. Danny was happy, really happy, for the first time in a long time. He was finally relaxing and learning to be comfortable with who he was. Dev was happy. They had promised to stay with me forever. Our relationship, the three of us, finally felt settled. There would be more changes. I knew that for sure, but it felt like forever this time.