She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes to his sexiness. “Bloody hell,” she moaned. “No, I do not feel better. I got my mom all up in my business, my brother wants to kill you, and you keep looking at me like you might try to eat me.”
“Take out the might try and replace it with definitely going to and then you would be correct,” Cush told her softly.
“You have GOT to stop saying stuff like that.” Her eyes snapped open as she turned to glare at him.
“Seriously dude, I’m sitting right here,” Lisa piped up. “Probably not in your best interest to try and seduce my daughter while I’m sitting next to her.”
“I haven’t forgotten, Lisa. Sword wielding is to be done outside of your home and I’m assuming now you also mean out of your presence.”
“I’m going to sleep,” Elora interjected before her mom could respond to his comment. “Please wake me when we land.”
She heard Cush chuckle next to her but when she looked at him his face was as serious as ever. Weird, hot elf she thought to herself as she closed her eyes again and tried to keep from climbing into his lap.
Cush watched as Elora and her mom exited the restroom, and he fought the urge to grab his Chosen and force her back onto a plane bound for her home. Now that he had embraced the fact that she was his, the thought of not being able to protect her was nauseating. It was a feeling he wasn’t used to and wasn’t enjoying in the least. As soon as they had landed in the dark-elf territory, his senses had been on full alert as the dark energy swirled around him. Elora seemed to come alive as she exited the plane and a soft flush had overtaken her skin. It was as if just being in Vegas was invigorating her. The thought troubled him as he considered it and then it struck him. She was half dark elf. Of course the darkness of the city would be appealing to her. She probably wasn’t even aware of it because it was a part of her, in her make up essentially to be drawn to darkness.
His Little Raven wasn’t a goth chick by chance, she was literally living out what she was in a human fashion, but without all the evil. Her head snapped up and their eyes locked as if she had heard him. She gave him a sexy smile and a wink. Yes, his Chosen definitely had a dark side, and he had a feeling he was going to have to keep a close eye on her while they were in Sin City. That shouldn’t be too hard since he didn’t plan to let her out of his sight.
“Hey.” She smiled at him as she stopped in front of him. She had taken her ponytail down and her dark hair with red streaks was partially covering her alabaster face. He reached up and pushed the black curtain of hair away from her face and leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, needing the intimate contact if just for a minute. “Hey yourself,” he said keeping his voice low, for her ears only. “You’re beautiful.”
He loved the way her eyes widened and her lush lips parted as she looked up at him.
“Um, okay,” she said obviously taken off guard. “So where to?”
Cush heard someone clearing their throat and looked up from his Chosen to see the others standing just past her. Oakley’s eyes narrowed on his hand which was currently buried in Elora’s hair. Cush bared his teeth at her brother in a wolfish smile as he tugged her closer until she fell against his chest. Her brother was going to have to get a clue. Elora was his. He had been stupid to not grab her up the moment he had realized it, but the decision had now been made and nothing was going to take her from him. Not even her own flesh and blood.
“Possessive much,” she said and her words came out muffled because her face was pressed into his chest.
“Little Raven, you have no idea. Your brother is going to have to lose the death glare. He’s challenging me and I don’t take kindly to being challenged,” he told her quietly.
She laughed and tilted her head back so she could look up at him. “What? Are you a wolf?”
Cush smiled his best wolfish smile. “Want to find out if I bite?”
“Oh, dear,” Elora breathed out.
“Could we please get moving before you two rip each other’s clothes off in the middle of the damn airport,” Oakley’s voice interrupted their private conversation.
Cush fought the urge to reach out and clock him.
“He’s my brother,” Elora reminded him, having picked up on his thoughts.
“You are my Chosen.”
“Want to tattoo it to my forehead so I don’t forget?”
Cush smirked. “I can think of a better place to tattoo it.”
“Ass,” she growled.
“Exactly.”
“Crap, I totally walked into that one.”
“Hello!” Oakley said again. “People are beginning to stare.”
Elora pulled back, but Cush wrapped an arm around her waist before she could get too far. Cush looked at her brother again and reached for all the self-control he could muster. “I would only remove your sister’s clothes in public if she asked nicely and since Elora doesn’t seem to ask nicely for anything, you have nothing to worry about.”
Elora nearly choked as she caught the laugh that bubbled up at Cush’s words. Her brother’s face glowed bright red with a mix of embarrassment and anger and she should be outraged at her, her what? Boyfriend? But she was too shocked to be outraged. And frankly, it was pretty freaking funny. She glanced at her mom who was chuckling as she looked at Cush, all the while shaking her head and attempting to look disapproving but failing miserably. Rin was watching in amusement and for a second she thought he was going to say something to Oakley but then seem to think better of it. He caught her looking at him and must have seen the question in her eyes.
“It’s too entertaining to say something,” he explained with a smile.
Elora snorted. “You are easily entertained.”
“True enough.”
“I think a good place to start would be at the casino, Iniquity,” Cush interrupted them. “There is a contact there who is human, but he has deep connections among the dark elves.”
“What makes you think he’s going to help us and how do you know this?” Elora asked.
“Everybody has a price,” he repeated her sentiment. “Trik wasn’t the only spy in our world, Love; he was simply the best.” Cush left it at that. It wasn’t the time to give her a history lesson of his life and he preferred that they be alone once they finally did have that conversation. He wasn’t about to share his skeletons with her family.