“Oh, yes you do, kitten.” Ruby turned to find Leo watching her, that quiet possessiveness once again in evidence. “All humans have magic, they just don’t know how to find it.”
“I don’t know if I understand.” Ruby stared into Leo’s otherworldly face, knowing her confusion showed by the concern in his expression. He hadn’t bothered to put his glamour back up.
“Trust me, kitten. Okay? Without speaking the Vow there’s no way to demonstrate the Binding, and since my parents are already bonded they can’t show you what it looks like.”
She sighed. “I’ve trusted you since the party, so I guess I can keep going out on that particular limb.”
Leo picked up her hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her fingers. “The only possibly frightening part for you would be if the Binding is strong enough to have visible results.”
“Like the Claiming?”
Leo shot his parents a quick look. “Not quite. If the Vow is taken during a time of stress it’s possible the show would be a bit more spectacular than that.”
“Oh.” Ruby thought the Claiming light show was spectacular. What would be next, fireworks?
“What’s the third part of the mating again?”
“There’s the Claiming, the Vow, and the Binding.”
Her head was beginning to spin. She got the Claiming and the Vow, but… “What’s the Binding again?”
“That’s the part where my power and yours blend, bonding us together for eternity.”
Oh. “Eternity is a really long time, Leo.”
“No. It’s not. Eternity is looking for your soul mate and never finding her.”
Leo used the hand he was holding to pull her to her feet. “We’ll be in our room.”
Leo closed the door and turned to face his reluctant mate. “Okay, kitten, now you know.”
“You’re positive I’m yours?”
Leo nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. Her face was shadowed, her brows drawn together in a thoughtful frown. She licked her lips and drew a quick breath. “How does this affect Shane’s kidnapping?”
“If the Malmaynes have their way, our mating would be set aside in favor of the alliance marriage, something I’m not willing to risk.”
66
www.samhainpublishing.com
Dare to Believe
“How can a mating be set aside? I kind of thought that was permanent?”
“Our mating isn’t complete. They could say that I could fulfill the terms of the contract and then return to you. Of course, Sidhe breeding being what it is, odds are you’d be around seventy years old before Kaitlynn conceived.”
“Seventy…” Her awed whisper tapered off into a low whistle. “And you’d still be…” She waved her hand in his direction. He could only assume what she meant.
“Young? Yeah, pretty much.”
Her “hmph” was thoughtful. “But, if they won’t accept Shane or Moira as a substitute…” She huffed out a breath and began pacing, growing agitated. “I mean, why does it have to be you?”
“Because my magic is almost pure Sidhe. Moira’s is almost pure leprechaun and Shane… Well, we’re still not quite certain how to classify Shane, other than wild.”
Ruby cocked her head, more confused than ever. “Wild?”
“The Sidhe and leprechaun blood in Shane is almost evenly mixed. He has the powers of both, with a little extra something genetics seems to have thrown into the mix.”
“What would that be?”
Leo shrugged. “If Shane exerts himself, using both his leprechaun and Sidhe powers in tandem, he can make fantasy reality.”
“You mean he could actually make that tent appear?”
“The harem tent? Yes, down to the outfit you were wearing.”
“Wow,” she breathed, intrigued at the possibilities.
“He uses it mostly in his work. He’s an artist.”
Her eyes went wide with admiration. “Wait. Your brother is Shane Joloun?” When he nodded, she whistled again.
Leo moved, pulling her against him. His hands cupped her ass, kneading it leisurely. “I wouldn’t even think of it, Ruby. You’ll find you have a very jealous mate.”
She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling. “You don’t want the houri outfit? I want your harem pants, oh sheik!”
Leo leaned down and kissed her, hard and swift.
“How does he do it?”
His lips had barely left hers before the question popped out. “We’re not sure, but we think it’s the earth sprite part. The tent would be made of silk, like the pillows, both born of the earth. Add in that he could read the fantasy in your head, and bingo! Instant harem tent.” Leo continued to knead her ass, loving the feeling of the firm globes under his hands. “But he can’t do it very often. It tires him out pretty quickly, so he usually uses it for self-defense, work, or sex.”
“Sex? You mean, he makes his fantasies realities and—”
www.samhainpublishing.com
67
Dana Marie Bell
Leo laughed. “No! We can’t make life, Ruby! We’re not gods, after all.”
“Then what—”