Chapter 15

Robin hadn't stopped smiling since the ceremony. Seeing Simon in a kilt had been the cherry on the best cake ever baked. The wedding and consummation were every bit as wonderful as he had hoped and he could honestly say there was no inkling that the bond would wane. He wanted Simon by his side and wouldn't be satisfied with anything else. Simon muttered something unintelligible in his sleep, he'd drifted off again after waking Robin up and demanding that he better make sure his virginity hadn't somehow grown back and had been very earnest it was something Robin would have to be conscientious about as part of his duties as his husband.

He checked his phone and saw he'd received a message from a realtor in LA. Initial enquiries on a house he'd been keen on buying hadn't been positive but it appeared the owners had since had a change of heart seeing the amount of money—cash—Robin was willing to pay for their property. The only catch was they wanted a quick deal before they could change their minds.

He'd had the idea to take Simon back to LA although not until after he had fed, but as they were hanging around for his fangs to descend they had time to kill and this might be a nice way to do so. He pressed a kiss to Simon's shoulder and shook him awake.

"Evening, gorgeous. How's the fangs?"

Simon responded with a whole body stretch that let Robin have a marvellous view of his new husband. After they'd seen the house, he would book them into a boutique hotel and he'd repeat everything they'd done in the last two days, wanting to make absolutely sure Simon was satisfied with his agreement to marry him.

"They feel like they're working their way down, not painful, just there." Simon licked his teeth and opened his mouth so Robin could have a better view.

"I can see them poking through… baby teeth." He kissed him but wouldn't let Simon pull him on top of him. "I thought we could grab a bottle of the good stuff and then go see a house."

Simon cocked his head to one side. "A house? Where?"

"Beverly Hills. I know that you don't want to live where I have before so I've been putting out some feelers and the place I've found is perfect. But we'll need to be quick."

Simon looked delighted. "Is someone else trying to buy it?"

"Not yet, more that the current owners might change their minds. And I'd rather not go through the complication of taking it from them somehow, when we could just buy it with less issue." He'd considered draining the owner, but there might be wills and red tape and this was by far the easiest way. The sooner they could have somewhere they could call theirs the better. He wanted Simon with him when he was in LA. Needed to know that he would be curled around him in their bed, or standing next to him on the nights he had to be seen at the clubs. For years he'd accepted sexual favours from his clients, but that would no longer be the case, and having Simon nearby would make it obvious why things had changed.

Robin rolled away and grabbed a shower, Simon was still in bed when he returned, staring at his hands. "What's wrong?" he asked as he got dressed.

"My magic is not behaving. I was warned things might be a bit odd in the interim period but I hadn't expected this."

"How's it odd?"

Simon wiggled his fingers. "It's building, I can feel it shifting again but it doesn't want to play much."

"Will you be able to open a portal?"

Simon took a moment before he answered. "I think so. But I don't think we should go on our own, I'm not sure I can guarantee getting us back. Besides, Yerial would kill me if I left without him."

Robin laughed. "I guess there'll always be three of us in this marriage."

"You married into royalty, what did you expect? I'm sure you have your own security."

He did, but they were more discreet than six feet of brooding fae soldier. "If you'd rather we wait until you've fed and your magic settles down again, there'll be other properties."

"No, let's go and see if this place is all it's cracked up to be. I can't imagine you'd pick anywhere that wasn't fabulous."

Robin checked his watch. "We're eight hours ahead, and it's midnight here, so by the time we've eaten and ready it'll be dusk, nearly sunset there."

"Works for me."

"Let me make a couple of calls to set up the viewing and you get dressed."

He was never one for casual clothes, and while he might not be in a full three-piece suit, he still selected tailored trousers and an expensive shirt and designer jacket. Simon seemed to be taking his time so he poured him a glass of blood and left him to get ready. When he heard the shower running he almost headed back to watch but there would be plenty of time for fun later once he'd secured a viewing for the house and he wouldn't be able to stop himself from getting in the shower alongside Simon. The realtor was beyond excited to receive his call—this was too big a deal to lose and she would be at their disposal. Suzie was human but most of her clients weren't. She'd helped him find several places both for him and his associates, so she wasn't fazed when he said they would portal into the grounds.

Ending the call with instructions they'd most likely be with her in under half an hour, he made a second call to the hotel and then wandered back into the bedroom to see Simon dressed in soft trousers and a tunic, Robin had to stomp down on the desire to strip Simon naked, but the call he'd made to the hotel after speaking to Suzie would mean they would have an amazing night somewhere so exclusive most of Hollywood's A-list wouldn't get through the front door, but there wasn't anywhere that would refuse Robin Flint what he wanted.

"Yerial said he's not risking walking in on us fucking, so he'll meet us there, my tracker will direct him," Simon said. "Do I need to bring anything?"

" Tracker ?"

"After my last visit to the club, he insisted on a few tweaks to something I've had since my visit to Atlas, and my mother agreed. It's a spell, nothing too intrusive. It doesn't tell him what I'm doing, just where I am and that there's no concern with my vitals."

Simon's safety was important to Robin, and he had no objection to the safeguards that had been put in place. "I should have realised there'd be something. Last time you were in LA you had a collection of guards."

"Yerial has adapted the tracker over the years. My first visit to LA caused some consternation as you can imagine and it was originally put in place then, but I appreciate that he understood that I needed a modicum of privacy and has never been obtrusive."

"You did say you thought there might be something ensuring you remained chaste." He'd been fascinated by the concept of a magical chastity belt and the night Simon had climbed into his lap in LA had probably pushed it as far as they'd dare.

"I haven't asked my mother for details, but it wasn't Yerial's doing so you should have no concerns over him."

"I suppose I have to get used to Yerial being around, right?" To be fair to Yerial, he only had Simon's best interests at heart, and they would both have to adapt to sharing Simon, although in different ways.

Simon laughed. "The reality is I am heir to the Calanti throne, if not Yerial it would be someone else. I would have thought you'd have had something similar in place."

"I do after a fashion. I've a security team because of my business dealings, but I wouldn't be covered by official Vampire Council security until I take my seat… until then they consider that I can be replaced and not worth the effort." Claude would be unlikely to remove him from his succession plan, and he had no qualms with not being under the scrutiny of the Council, that would come later and he'd enjoyed the freedom it had given him.

Simon kissed him. "Just so you know, I think you're definitely worth it. Now, let's go look at this house so we can go back to bed. Where am I opening this portal to?"

Robin gave him the address.

Simon snorted. "Not much use to me, Robin. Maybe you find me the longitude and latitude coordinates?"

Simon didn't know much about Robin's world and that was something else he would need to get used to. An internet search later, he was able to give Simon more useful details and he was able to pinpoint where they needed to be and he opened a portal. They stepped into a secluded part of the grounds, near a number of mature jacaranda trees, which weren't in bloom. The house was large and less than ten years old, and he liked the modern architecture, very different from Fairbanks or MacLove Castle. The walls were white and although there was a lot of glass there were ways of treating the surface that would mean it wouldn't be an issue.

"First impressions?" Robin asked.

Simon wrinkled his nose and worried his bottom lip. "It's not like anywhere I've lived before."

As a fae prince Simon would have lived in some of the grandest places in his realm, and this would be a small love nest in comparison, perhaps that would be the best way to sell it to him. "Come and have a look. Different is not necessarily bad, and this could be our private bolt-hole where it's just for the two of us."

"I do like that idea."

"I thought you might. But we need to find the perfect place we can both agree on." He held Simon's hand. "Let's go, or should we wait for Yerial?"

Simon shook his head. "He'll catch us up."

Suzie, who Robin would best describe as perky with fizzy hair to match, greeted them as they approached the property. He'd engaged Suzie in several purchases over the years, and recommended her, among others, to his clients. No wonder she was happy to see him. "Mr Flint, so glad you could make it."

"Evening, Suzie. This is my new husband, Simon." He didn't give his title, adding royalty into the mix would only cause the asking price to inflate.

"Welcome," she said, a smile almost too wide. "I think you're both going to love this place."

Simon still didn't seem convinced as they walked into the house via a set of doors opening onto a pool area. "Are you much of a swimmer?" Simon asked him.

He'd never been one for any exercise. "I could be persuaded if it involved you getting out of your clothes."

"I can't swim. Never had a reason to learn. But I suppose with the right motivation I could give it a go."

He'd expected Simon to be more excited about the house, or at least the reasoning behind them viewing the property so they could live together, but as they made their way around Simon appeared less and less impressed. It was a beautiful house, one of the best he'd seen in the area and if this wasn't up to Simon's standards it was going to take them a long time to find something better. "Not feeling the love of the place?"

Simon was staring around one of the living rooms, Robin could tell he was trying to find the positives but was struggling. "It's not that I don't like the look of the place, it just feels… odd. Not sure why."

Suzie's smile was no longer so wide, no doubt sensing she might be about to lose a lucrative sale. "Let me show you the master suite. You'll love it, I swear. It's the jewel of the place, you have to remember all the décor is changeable, and you've plenty of space in the grounds to extend."

Robin tugged on Simon's hand to encourage him to climb the stairs. "If you don't like the house it's fine, I won't mind, and this is just the first one we've looked at. The grounds are large for the area, and I thought they'd remind you of the fae realm, but maybe the house isn't right, maybe it's too modern."

"I don't know what it is about the place. Feels like it's not right, but it could be it's not what I'm used to."

"We can go."

Simon seemed torn. "We should see upstairs. I want to give the place a fair chance, and to do that I have to see it all."

The house had a large floorplan, and he'd chosen somewhere expansive because of the places Simon lived in, but then he had many friends and his family near and perhaps they would be better getting somewhere smaller and spending their time split between the fae realm or MacLove Castle and a property in LA. He'd investigate some smaller properties, somewhere that would have a more intimate feel might be better for their honeymoon period.

Suzie stopped them outside an oversized door. "This is an amazing room. Ignore everything in it, concentrate on the view and the space and how you can make it your own."

She threw open the door to one of the biggest bedrooms Robin had seen in a private house in the US, which considering the circles he moved in, was saying something. Simon didn't look impressed. Robin suspected the décor wasn't helping, too minimalistic and on the stark side for Simon's tastes.

Simon stopped still in the centre of the room. "Robin, something's not right. And where's Yerial? He should have met us here."

Robin closed the distance between them, he should have listened to Simon earlier when he said something was off. "What do you mean it's not right ?"

The windows began to rattle, the lights flickered, and the pendulum of the light fitting swung violently. "Earthquake?" Robin asked. Minor tremors were pretty common.

"I don't think so… it feels… magic…"

"Whose magic?"

Simon shook his head as if trying to clear it. "I don't know. There's a weird energy, it's… I…"

Suzie gasped, went rigid and dropped lifeless to the floor.

Three garish green portals opened and several black-clad figures charged into the room. Robin couldn't tell their species, their heads were covered but there were only so many magical users who were powerful enough to travel by portal. One of the figures discharged a flash of purple light at Simon who yelped and threw himself to the floor, dodging it just in time.

Robin watched in horror as Simon rolled onto his back and pointed his open palms in their attackers' direction, but nothing happened. As he tried to surge forwards to get to Simon, an invisible force held him in place. He was helpless as Simon struggled against two of the figures, kicking out and trying to break free, and he was dragged into one of the portals. A wave of magic crackled around the room and then Simon was gone. Something hard hit him across the back of his head and Robin collapsed to his knees. Another blow, and the world went dark.