Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Ebony dressed in jeans and a purple tank top with matching sandals, feeling like a princess in her very own fairy tale. Too bad it was going to have a Grimm Brothers' ending and not a Disney one.

She pulled her hair into a ponytail high on her head and applied a bare minimum of makeup. She was feeling pretty damn good about herself when she left the room, purse, and the clothes she'd come here in were bundled in her arms. She decided to leave the clothes she hadn't worn, not wanting to be greedy, but she did stick the deodorant in her purse since it couldn't be returned. She was going to ask Lark to take her to her place first so she could grab some things for the trip, she didn't want to keep relying on him for everything. She had money but she couldn't get over the instilled fear of spending anything she didn't have to. If Lark really didn't want it in the end, she would tell him to donate it to the orphanage when she was gone, or maybe her soulsister would need it to start her new life. Ebony shook her head, no that wouldn't be necessary, the woman would be showered with wealth as Lark's wife.

Ebony's throat stung, her eyes watered and she had to take a few deep breaths to keep those thoughts from surfacing further. She needed to keep her mind on the end goal, the end goal hadn't changed. She took one last glance in the mirror to make sure she didn't look upset, then left the room.

Lark was standing outside her door freshly showered and dressed waiting for her. "Are you ready?" he asked sharply.

She nodded, unsure at the anger in his tone.

"Leave that," he said, motioning to the bundle.

"They're my things," she'd said feeling dumb in the moment as she looked up at him. "Actually I was hoping we could swing by my place so I could grab what else I might need."

He frowned at her and glanced at the pile she was now hugging to her chest. "Are they important to you?"

"Well, no, these aren't," she admitted. "I do need my purse, but the clothes are just clothes."

"Dirty clothes, leave them here, we'll get what we need in Vegas."

"Oh, okay," she whispered and turned to dump the clothes on the bed. "You don't have to," she whispered, knowing he had followed right behind her. "I have clothes to take, clean clothes at home." Was he embarrassed by her dirty things? He probably didn't want to walk around Vegas with a halfling who looked like she did most of the time. "I have a few nicer things I can grab to fit in better." That was a bit of a stretch to the truth, but she was trying to be reasonable.

He grunted. "I don't care what you wear, Ebony, but we already had this discussion," he whispered back and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm taking care of you, because you're my soulmate. You deserve to have everything you want; do you really want that?" he motioned to the pile on the bed.

Ebony shivered. "Because I'm your soulwife?" she asked quietly.

Lark leaned forward; his lips brushed over her ear sending a lightning shock of desire to her core. "Is that what you want, to be my wife before you let me take you to bed and show you all the things our bodies can do together? You want to get the government even more involved in our lives? Track your cycle, report how many times I come inside you so they can decide if we are truly trying to procreate? Do your civic duty?"

Ebony bit back a groan and somehow managed to pull away and turn to face him. His words were a mix of the most ridiculous crap she had ever heard, and the filthiest. Why did it turn her on? "No, I want to find my soulsister," she said, voice shaking slightly, and walked past him out of the room on wobbly legs clutching only her purse to her chest.

How easy it would be to fall into bed with him, to give in to all that her body was screaming at her to do. But then what? She could die at the hands of her soulsister. She could die of cancer before she even finds her soulsister. She could kill her soulsister and become a fullsoul just in time to die of the cancer creeping through her body.

They could both know what love and lust and fulfillment feels like, and then she could leave him alone for the rest of his life.

Tears stung her eyes. The kindest thing for her to do was keep a distance, to give her piece of soul to her soulsister and let the woman and Lark have a real full life together.

So why did she want to risk everything and make a different choice?

"Looks like the lady is ready to go!" Stone said cheerily as she reached the bottom of the steps. She appreciated that he didn't mention her teary eyes.

"I am," she agreed and gave him a shaky smile.

"And the boss?" Stone glanced up the stairs behind her.

Ebony turned to look as well but there was no sign of Lark. "Oh, I think he's coming."

Stone's lips quivered with a held back smile. "You're really giving him a run for it, little Ebony. I've never seen him so off his game."

"Off his game?" she asked in a moment of confusion she could only blame on the haze of desire and confusion Lark had coated her brain with.

Stone just winked and she got it. Lark obviously wasn't used to women denying him. They probably fell over each other to get a chance with a man like him, she'd seen a bit of that at the restaurant. Ebony felt suddenly cold, and she wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her arms. A man like that, with all that experience would never be happy with what she would reveal under her clothes, or her lack of experience in bed. Just another reason to keep her distance. Seeing disappointment on his face would probably break her.

"Here comes Casanova now," Stone said loudly, and Ebony turned to see Lark descend the stairs with a calm look of annoyance. It seemed to be his resting face and didn't give away what he was really thinking under it.

"Is the truck ready?" Lark demanded of Stone as his eyes roamed over her.

Ebony dropped her arms and tried to relax her face into a neutral position, but she doubted he missed the redness of her eyes or the way she clasped her hands nervously in front of her.

"Yep, Granger's out there already. He was on the phone with the airport."

"Great, let's go," Lark said and put a guiding hand on Ebony, pushing her out the door and toward the waiting truck. He opened the passenger door, and she hopped in. Stone and Granger sat in the back and Lark was driving. No one talked for a while as they wound their way through parts of the city she'd never dreamed she'd see. The sparks of sexual tension between her and Lark tingled through her but the distance kept it at a low hum that she could actually enjoy, and as she stared out the window, she relaxed with a contented sigh.

Lark sucked in a breath at the sound and she swung her gaze to him. He was sitting stiff, hands gripping the wheel tightly and his lips pressed together in a thin line.

"Have you ever been on a plane before?" Stone asked, distracting her from Lark's discomfort.

"No," she admitted. "I'm a little nervous."

"Lark only travels in style, I think you'll like it," Stone said with a laugh.

"Well then, hopefully I don't puke all over," she said with a grimace She'd hate to embarrass herself and she'd especially hate to mess up something nice. If the plane was anything like the house, it was far cleaner than anything she'd ever been in.

"Don't worry, there's a private bathroom and puke bags too. But the day is clear and hopefully our flight will be smooth," Lark reassured her, then reached over and patted her leg.

It was a gentle touch, meant to be reassuring, but it sent a thrill through her body that only added to her nerves. She looked over at him, but his eyes were forward again as if the touch had meant nothing, though his body was once again stiff and focused.

"Lucky me," she said quietly and stared out her window again, no longer feeling relaxed. She wondered what Taylor was up to. Probably already at work and getting yelled at by Glick because they were short a girl today. Ebony felt bad for her workmates, she wouldn't have chosen to leave them in a lurch if it hadn't been so important to go right away. Glick would have her replaced by tomorrow though, she had no doubt, it was easy to find halflings who wanted a semi-decent job.

"So you two going to get hot and heavy in Vegas? It's not illegal you know, you are soulmates," Stone said, breaking the silence.

Ebony wanted to curl up and die, she crushed herself as close to the door as she could, as far from Lark as possible.

"Nice," Granger chastised.

"What?" Stone said with a laugh.

"You've embarrassed her," Granger said. "Lark, aren't you going to defend your lady?"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. She's my soulmate and I have every intention of doing every goddamn dirty thing to her that she'll consent to, and making her scream my name over and over again. In Vegas or not," he said simply.

Granger and Stone laughed. Ebony stared at Lark with mouth gaping, unable to respond. She'd never heard such a horrifying thing in her life. Horrifying and titillating and damn if she didn't love it even as her entire body flamed with embarrassment, and desire.

Lark finally glanced her way when the boys in the back stopped laughing and the silence settled. "What did you expect darling? You may be able to ignore the pull of our souls but fuck if I can or will. The only legal sex in my life will be with you and I actually look forward to spending the rest of my life between your sweet thighs."

"Oh my god!" she screeched, gaining laughs from the boys in the back again. "You can't be serious! You don't even know me."

"Doesn't matter," he said simply.

"Doesn't matter? Are you fucking kidding me? It sure as hell matters. I've resisted going to bed with anyone for this long, I'm not about to jump into yours just because we're soulmates. That shit was made up for us as a punishment, did you know that? This is hell! Hell on earth, brought about by the gods who are supposed to love us? Fuck that shit. I will not reproduce, ever. "

"Who said anything about reproducing, babe? I'm just talking a lifetime of great sex." Lark flashed her a devilish smile. "You're not the only one who grew up in this fucked up world," he said darkly. "I've spent my entire life trying to find a touch of good in this shithole. You just might be it."

Stone and Granger grunted agreement in the back.

Thankful that silence sat in the truck the rest of the drive, Ebony didn't know what to think or how to respond, so she didn't. He wanted to sleep with her, that was no surprise, but him being a fullsoul and still not wanting to have kids, that did surprise her.

It didn't change the fact that she was on her way to sacrifice her soul though.

She wouldn't enter into any kind of a relationship with him, knowing that. She flicked a glance at him and along the scar that ran from his ear and disappeared into his shirt. For the first time she wondered if he had grown up a halfling. Was that a soulbattle wound? Did she dare to think he might actually understand something of what she was going through? Or was he just saying what he thought would get him laid?

When Lark parked outside a small airport, she took a few deep breaths to gather her nerve as he walked around to open her door. She appreciated the gallant act but refused his help in stepping down. She didn't want to touch him, didn't want to feel that spark that meant they were legally allowed and morally obligated to fuck and reproduce.

Stone and Granger were already heading toward a small plane with its engine roaring. She moved to follow them, but Lark grabbed her arm. "We aren't going with them."

"What? Why not?"

"Different leads, we're heading to Vegas, they're heading to DC"

"There aren't any halflings in DC," she said with confusion.

"I'm certain you're right," he said dismissively and led her to a tiny plane.

She'd thought the others were heading toward a small one, but this looked like it wouldn't hold more than herself and Lark. "Um, where's the pilot?" she asked as they got close. The engines weren't running and although the staircase was down, there didn't seem to be any movement anywhere.

"Don't need one."

Ebony blinked up at him, her stomach clenching in fear, "You?"

"Ouch, such doubt. You don't know the half of what I'm capable of, Ebony," he said huskily, his tone and intense green gaze filled her mind with what some of those things might be, sending a thrill throughout her body. He leaned close enough that she could feel his breath soft against her cheek. "But I'm looking forward to showing you a few things."

"I—I can't," she stuttered. "Lark, I—" she almost told him everything right then, but she couldn't. What if he refused to help her, knowing the truth? She wasn't paying him. He was doing this because he thought he was going to have a life with her. She wanted to tell him, but she couldn't, she had to make sure he kept helping her. And selfishly, she didn't want to hear him say that he was fine helping her go to her death, because he'd have a fullsoul soulmate waiting for him in the end anyway.

Lark straightened and gave her a mocking smile. "Ebony, love, how long do you think you can deny us something we both so desperately want?" He ran a finger along her chin sending sparks of recognition straight to her brain, her eyelids fluttered, and her heart threatened to melt. He leaned close and brushed his lips against hers softly. "I have never been very good at denying myself something I desire, and I have never desired anything as much as I desire you. I will take you to my place on the coast, we can spend weeks doing every filthy thing that comes to mind once the soulbattle is done and you're safe."

That snapped her out of the melting state he'd so quickly brought her to, back to reality. She didn't have a future past the battle and any involvement with him before then would just make things harder. She pulled away from his touch and turned around. "Let's keep this strictly business," she said shakily.

"You are my business Ebony," he said and gripped her shoulders tightly. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her neck, making her shudder.

"Lark, I?—"

"I'm not a patient man, Ebony. I do take no for an answer, just don't expect me to stop asking."

He moved slightly, put a hand to her lower back and pushed her on toward the plane. She didn't know what to say and she was glad he didn't seem to expect a real answer.

Once they entered the plane, he was all business. He helped her get strapped into the copilot seat, told her to not touch anything , then went about turning on engines, closing the door and pushing all kinds of buttons and switches.

"How did you learn this?" she asked, hoping to distract herself as they started to move. She gripped the arms of the seat and stared straight ahead, as if she could warn him if they were about to crash.

"A couple years ago I helped someone find their soulmate, they paid me with this plane and so I got lessons," he said, flipping a switch and telling someone, somewhere, that they were about to take off.

"All clear," came a female voice through the speaker. "Have a wonderful time in Vegas, Mr. Duport. Win big."

He glanced at Ebony with a wink, "I always win."

The female on the other end laughed and he hit a switch, cutting off whatever else she may have been about to say.

Ebony closed her eyes and braced herself as they took off. She was sure this was it; this was how she was going to die. Her stomach flipped and jolted; the tiny plane dipped as it climbed.

"I'm going to be sick," she gasped, two hands covered her mouth and she looked at him helplessly. She was going to lose all that delicious bacon.

"Oh shit," he said and handed her a small paper bag. "We'll level out soon, try to breathe through it."

"Fuck you," she snapped and grabbed the bag seconds before everything she'd eaten flew out of her mouth.

"Aw, sweetie," he said with a little too much mirth for her liking, but at least it helped with the mortification of having just thrown up in front of him. She groaned and turned away.

She was startled by the feel of his hand rubbing her back. "Don't worry, it happens to Stone every time; he hates flying."

That did make her feel a little better.