A Hint of Cayenne (The Trouble With Elves Book 4) Page 4

  As she fought against her restraints, the honey around her wrists itched, seeping down as her body heated. The rope began to slip on the left side. Encouraged, Cayenne fought until her whole body strained against the rope and sweat sprung up across her brow. Her left wrist slipped free, and she spun around. Nothing but woods behind her. She yanked at the rope and didn’t bother to take it off her right wrist. With her top half covered entirely in the sticky honey, she blinked to the hunting office. If nothing else, she’d be waiting for his elf ass when he stepped out. She had no idea what she would do to him, but she promised herself it wouldn’t be good.

  She could see the white coats taking away the fairy through the barred window. Cayenne slid to the opposite side of the door and waited for Hawthorn to come out. He didn’t keep her long.

  The front door opened, and he walked through stuffing something into his jeans, probably her bounty reward. He’d used her as bait, and she had every right to that money. Even if she wasn’t the one to physically turn the thing in, she worked for it, was bait for it. It belonged to her, and, one way or another, she’d have it. When the front door came closed and Hawthorn’s back was to her, Cayenne flung the rope around his upper body and willed them both into a blink back to the woods where he’d tied her up.

  “What the hell?” Hawthorn’s surprised voice came out, and she let him fall out of the blink. He landed hard on his knees. She kicked him in the gut, and he rolled over to stare up at her with wide eyes. Cayenne pulled a small blade from inside her boot. She never used it but always had it just in case. Now seemed like a great time to try it out.

  “Stand up.” She pointed the blade at him.

  Hawthorn stood and squared his shoulders. “And just what do you think you’re going to do with that little knife?”

  “Whatever needs to be done for me to get the coins. The way I see it, I’m entitled to them. You used me as bait.” She took a step toward him, walking him back into the same tree she had been tied to.

  “Entitled?” A crooked grin came up on his face.

  “We need that money, and I intend to take it. So instead of getting yourself hurt, just hand it over now.”

  Hawthorn put his hands in his pocket and pulled out miniature versions of the gold coins. His back found the tree. “If you want them, come and get them, elfess.” His eyes sparkled with amusement and challenge.

  Cayenne glared at him. Her jaw clenching as she bit back tears from the burning anger coiled inside. She advanced on him, grabbing for the coins. The blade in the other hand reached for his neck.

  His grin never faltered. He waited for her to grab the money, and then faster than she could say elf, he turned her around with her back up against the tree and the knife twisted out of her hand, thrown out of reach.

  “What are you going to do now?” His words were hot against her cheek, and her heart raced pounding on her ribs. How did he do that?

  And why the hell did it turn her on?

  She raised an eyebrow at him, not wanting to let him know she was wet between her legs. God, why do I have to be attracted to this one so much? He’d screw her over again, if she let him. She needed to walk away before it was too late. Cayenne slammed her knee up catching Hawthorn in the groin. He flinched but didn’t move. His eyes widened for a few seconds, and then he bit his bottom lip. He inhaled a sharp breath and said, “Is that all you got?”

  With both of her hands pinned, there was nothing else for her to do, so she kept her fist closed around the coins and decided she wouldn’t let them go no matter what. All she could do was glare at him.

  “What did I say about hitting me?”

  He wouldn’t, not after all this. He couldn’t still––

  Hawthorn’s mouth came down on hers, and she stiffened. His body pressed into her, and his knee came between her legs lifting up slightly to rub along her moistening pussy.

  Why was her body betraying her?

  He pulled her wrists up above her head and licked at her lips. They parted on their own. He cuffed her to the tree with one hand, and the other slid down her face, neck, and finally cupped her breasts. She melted into him. He groaned, and his cock hardened against her.

  “You can have the damn bounty. I was going to give it to you anyway.” His words hovered above her lips as his knee ground into the throbbing between her legs. Cayenne gasped.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, take it and help your family. Just because I didn’t answer you earlier doesn’t mean I wasn’t listening. Help your sister.”

  Tears stung at the corner of her eyes but she had no idea if it was out of confusion, happiness, or frustration…possibly all three. She felt the coins expand in her hands as he released his magic with a breath that blew past her ear. She melted even more, her heart thumping at a rapid beat. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll find you again.” Hawthorn claimed her lips and then blinked away leaving her standing in the middle of the woods, twenty gold richer, thoroughly wet, and drenched in honey.

  Chapter Nine

  Cayenne looked into her sister’s hurt blue eyes. Tears streamed down Lily’s ivory face. The pain was real for her...and bare. Lily seemed skinnier than she had three days before and Cayenne wondered if Lily found enough to eat. Aside from three drinks at the bar and some water from a forest stream while she hunted, Cayenne hadn’t consumed anything since the time she was with Lily. Her sister deserved better than to be as hungry as Cayenne felt.

  Raw feeling rushed from Lily’s mouth as she spoke, “You left me here. You didn’t even bother to tell me where you were going. I thought you were dead.” She hugged her stomach and sucked in a breath, her bottom lip quivering.

  “I did this for you. I won’t apologize. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I didn’t think I would be gone long enough for you to worry. It was three days. I’ve been out on assignments and odd jobs longer than that.” It wasn’t like she’d been gone for weeks or anything. She shouldn’t feel guilty for trying to support her family. She refused to.

  “Yes, but you always told me!” Her foot stomped into the ground.

  Cayenne stared at her surprised her sister’s words bore into her righteous thoughts. Lily was right. She didn’t even consider what her sister might think or feel. Despite her desire to help her family, she had been selfish to leave Lily hanging, bared to the unknown. And the unknown was always the hardest to tangle with. It tore at the inside—heart, mind, and soul. It left everything up to speculations and rumors. Cayenne thought about what she would do in her sister’s place. She would have concluded the worst as well. Probably would have searched for her, and then, when she finally found Lily, she would lay into her about how wrong it was to leave like that.

  “I’m sorry.” Cayenne kept her gaze soft and steady with her sister’s. Guilt swelled inside her heart, bearing down on her like a fallen tree. She’d made the wrong decision. “I should have sent word or came back to tell you. But I swear, I had our best interest in my thoughts. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Lily.” Cayenne took a few small steps toward her sister and reached for shuddering skinny shoulders. She pulled Lily inside her arms and squeezed. Sobs broke from her sister’s mouth and as each one came, another slice of Cayenne’s heart fell. She’d caused her this pain. She ground her teeth and faced what she’d done. Cayenne rubbed her sister’s back until the tears no longer rushed down to soak her shirt.

  “Don’t ever do that again.” Small arms hugged Cayenne briefly before Lily backed away. Her long, strawberry blonde hair sprung out with the static between them, and Cayenne grinned.

  “I won’t.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the twenty gold coins. “Look what I earned. We can buy a real home now. One we won’t be kicked out of. It will be ours.”

  Lily’s eyes grew wide, and long tentative fingers reached for the money. “It’s really ours?”

  “Yes, and I will get you all you need. No more garbage cans, no more begging. And I can go out on more bounties to make sure we keep mone
y coming in.”

  Her sister’s head snapped up, and she glared. “No. I don’t ever want to not know if you are coming home or lying dead somewhere again. Promise no more bounties. My heart can’t take it.”

  “Sweetie, the money––”

  “I don’t care about the money! You are more important to me. We have enough for a home. The rest, well...we can make it happen without me sitting at home terrified you might never come back. I can go out and work too. You are worth more than all the gold in the realm. Promise me.”

  Cayenne stepped back. The fierce look on her sister’s face gave her pause. She was serious. Cayenne hadn’t made an actual job out of bounty hunting yet, a few trips, but people didn’t know her as a bounty hunter. She could give it up, let all of that money go for her sister. The only family she had left. The only person her sister had left...

  “All right, I promise. No more bounty hunting. But what will I do?” It was a genuine question. What could she do? She didn’t grow her own food; she didn’t own a bar. Though she might be able to work at Reed’s bar or maybe tend to a vendor stall for someone in the city.

  Her sister’s face lit up. “We can worry about that when the time comes. For now, let’s get our home. Do we want to live in the city?”

  “Nirra? Sure. I could find work easier in the city and not be so far from you.”

  Lily smiled for the first time since Cayenne had come back for her, to their dug out hole in the ground. She reached out a hand to smooth her sister’s hair down, but it only caused the strands to static cling to her flesh. “Come here.”

  Once her sister was safe in her arms, Cayenne closed her eyes and concentrated on the blink back to Nirra. She allowed her thoughts to wonder about what kind of home they would get and at what part of the city. Hawthorn’s face wormed its way into her head as she felt the familiar pull of magic.

  Chapter Ten

  Thorn stepped out of his blink, readjusting his prick. The elfess had smelled so damn good, and his body reacted to her and her heat. The image of Cayenne backed up against a tree played havoc with his body, and he groaned. He would find her again, but, first, there was a debt he had to figure out how to pay.

  The underground tunnels were dark with fireflies lighting the way in between lanterns and smelled like earth and water. The best way to gamble and get a rush at the same time was to visit the drow. They lived in the tunnels, thousands of them, and the tunnels covered the whole underground of the realm. The drow used to be elves, until the Feral, an elf disease, took over. They lived off souls, elf souls to be exact. Pulled them right out of bodies like a breath of air. That’s where the rush came in; he never knew when or if they would take his soul. Today might very well be the day. He didn’t have the eighteen gold to repay his gambling debts, and drow didn’t forgive.

  Thorn took the familiar path down the left side of the tunnels, took a right, another left, and then sauntered into the Dugout, basically a bunch of gambling tables, a few drinks, and a mix of elf, drow, and humans. Tonight there were no humans or elves, aside from himself. Three big drows leaned against the wall to his right. Their black skin crackled as blood red veins popped out.

  “Just the guy I’ve been waiting for. Thorn, how are you this fine evening?” Birch clapped his hands together, his dark eyes amused as they met Thorn’s.

  “Depends.” Short simple answers were the way to go.

  “On?”

  “If you plan to suck out my soul because I don’t have your money.”

  The amusement left Birch’s eyes. His jaw clenched. “And where might my money be? You claimed you’d have it. A good bounty you said.”

  “I did have a good bounty, twenty gold worth. But...” Thorn leaned up against a table next to Birch. “There was also an elfess. Let’s just say things got out of hand, or maybe in hand, and I turned the money over to her like a good gentleman.”

  Laughter bubbled up from Birch’s broad black chest. He took a deep breath to calm himself, wiped away a tear, and shook his head. “Now what am I going to do with you?”

  “How about not eat my soul,” Thorn offered.

  “Get off it. If I eat your soul, I don’t get my money. Since you don’t have my money, how do you suppose we can rectify the situation?”

  “I could work for you?” Thorn folded his arms across his chest.

  Birch pondered the idea. He slowly walked around the Dugout, watching his feet. Short white strands of hair fell over his forehead. Thorn had no clue if working for the drow was even possible, but it beat many of the alternatives Birch could come up with when left to his own devices. Thorn would rather have a say in what happened next in his life. Working for the male seemed the safest route. He expected to have some shit jobs, might even have to do things he wasn’t comfortable with, but better to be doing them than be the one they are done to.

  “Work for me. No matter what I ask, you do it until the debt is paid?” Birch rubbed his pointed chin.

  “Whatever you ask.”

  “There is a particular soul I want. She came to gamble once. I think mostly to get money, but she lost what little she had. So innocent, naive really. I can still smell her.” He paused to close his eyes and inhale as if sniffing the female. “She smelled like the rain on a hot summer day, humid and wet. I need her soul. You could say, since I saw her, I crave it.” Birch had slowly closed the distance between them as he spoke.

  “And this lovely soul you want. Does she have a name? A place to live? And how will I get her soul to you?”

  “Full of questions aren’t we?” Birch smiled. “Her name is Lily. You don’t get her soul. You bring her to me. I can share her image with you, if you permit me to.”

  Thorn shrugged. “Go for it.”

  Birch bowed his head, and a few seconds later, the image of the elfess he wanted flashed in Thorn’s mind. She was thin, ivory skinned, and clear blue eyes. There was a familiarity about her Thorn couldn’t quite pinpoint, but he’d never met her before. The image drifted away.

  “If I bring her to you, how much of my debt does it take away?” He wasn’t about to let the drow have free rein over his debt. He needed a structure, wanted to know what he owed, and the amount each errand Birch asked him to do removed from the ledger.

  “I’ll be generous, since this is a living being and the risk is high on your part. Ten gold. But if you fail to produce her, I will add that amount to what you owe me.”

  Thorn pressed his lips together. He raised his eyebrow. “And when does she need to be here?” Better ask all the questions he could now, so he didn’t get screwed later.

  “The end of the week work for you?”

  “Sure, where do I find her?” Thorn resisted rolling his eyes; bad manners didn’t pay off with this kind of male. Unfortunately, Thorn kind of respected him. He wasn’t a good guy by any means, but he stayed true to his word.

  “She has already made her way to Nirra, so I’m told. I had one of my males follow her. I’m sure you’ll run into her if you go looking.”

  Thorn didn’t wait for Birch to say anything else. He’d treat this just like any other bounty hunt he’d been on. The time frame was short, but he knew what she looked like. He could ask around. Ten gold wasn’t a horrible haul. He just needed to compartmentalize the situation, think of it in terms of a creature gone bad, so to speak. He planned to head to Nirra anyway. There was a certain elfess he owed a little visit, and his body needed a release.

  Thorn blinked with ease from the drow tunnels right beside the stall of honey. He grinned—just what he needed.

  Chapter Eleven

  There was a two-bedroom treehouse near Reed’s bar. It cost twelve gold, but it was bought and paid for. The owner handed over the lock and key, smiled, and left with the coins in hand. Cayenne found dealing with people much easier when the cash lay right there in front of them. Though there wasn’t any furniture or beds, she still had the few blankets they managed to always bring with them. Make-shift would work for the night, and
when morning came, she would search the stores for what they needed. She’d worry about a job after she had Lily set.

  The loft had nice light wood walls. A single window looked out at the city from the kitchen. A cooking area near the window, a sprout for water, and a huge living room. The bedrooms lay one to each side of the loft. It was the nicest place they’d ever lived, and she was proud to be able to give it to her sister.

  Lily spun around in the center of the room, her arms straight out. She laughed as she fell and sprawled out in on the floor, a beautiful sound full of happiness. Cayenne closed her eyes and listened for a moment. It had been too long since she’d seen Lily so giddy.

  Deep down, despite what Hawthorn had put her through, she was grateful. He’d given her the money, and she didn’t even bother to find out what the cost to him would be. Guilt hovered. What if he had someone to provide for too?

  She shook her head. She couldn’t think that way. Resolved to be appreciative for what they had, she led Lily into her room.

  “It’s late. The night has come to pull our dreams over our eyes. In the morning, we can shop.” She handed the blankets over to her sister.

  Lily’s eyes teared up. “Mother used to tell us that at bedtime.”

  “I know. It seemed right to say it here, knowing this is ours. You won’t have to live in dirt again. No one can take it from us.”

  The tears slowly slid down Lily’s cheeks. She brushed them away. “I know. Thank you.”

  Cayenne nodded and walked out of the room shutting the door behind her. Exhaustion set in, and her arms felt heavy. She rolled her neck and shoulders releasing some of the built up strain. It would be good to fall asleep safe, knowing she’d always have a place to rest. She pulled off her shoes and wiggled her toes. The wood was soft and cool on the bottoms of her feet. She put her arms out the way Lily had done and then spun in a circle.