"Hey, KiKi? I need a favor."
The blonde sighed. "What kind of favor, Ashley?" There was a soft rustling as Kina adjusted her phone at her ear.
"How soon can you get to the LaRoux mansion?"
Ashley winced and held the phone away from his ear. He had forgotten just how loudly and passionately his childhood sweetheart could swear. And in how many languages. Well, there's a reason she went into porn as a profession.
Finally, at the end of her impassioned swearing, the Voltaire princess asked, "What in the actual fuck are you doing in a slave den?"
Ashley's brow crinkled. "How did you know?"
Kina scoffed. "I'm of royal blood, remember? Some members of my family still keep slaves. Just because I told my grandfather where to shove it doesn't make me not a Voltaire."
The bassist winced at the venom in her voice. "They have Sandra."
Kina let out another extended breath of passionate swearing. Though she hadn't seen Sandra since they were children, she still considered the little half blood to be family. Especially since she WAS Ashley's family, and Ashley was her family. Sure, they'd dated, pretty seriously for about a year. Kina had wanted to appease her family with a formal courtship. Ashley was in denial about a cute little human singer. But they were never meant to be, and they both knew it. That didn't make their close friendship any less real.
"Ki, I need you to come pretend to be my mate. So I can get in and find her."
She sighed. "Alright. Fill me in on the way?"
Ashley heard the sound of a zipper, and then of wings unfurling. "No problem."
"Master, there is someone here for you," Jinxx called.
Ashley winced. "Come on, J." He lightly clapped a hand to Jinxx's shoulder as he slipped from the bedchambers and trailed down the hall towards the sitting room. "Kiki?" he called.
There was a high squeal and a giggle, then long limbs were winding around Ashley's body as the blonde threw herself into his arms. "Ashes! You've been gone forever!" She captured his lips in a slow, deep kiss.
Ashley clenched his eyes shut as he kissed back. A spark of guilt swelled in his stomach. He reminded himself this was for Sandra. "There's my princess," Ashley cooed back. That, at least, was a statement of genuine affection. He did still adore Kina.
"I'm sorry I couldn't wait any longer for you. I need..." Kina's eyes cast down, heavy lidded, as a blush rose to her cheeks.
The bassist brushed his fingers through her long, soft hair. "I know, baby," he whispered against her lips, pulling her in for another kiss.
"Hem hem."
Ashley looked up, keeping a hand on Kina's waist as she let her legs down to stand on her own feet.
Fortiscue was lingering in the hall outside his study. "There are bedchambers for such displays. I suggest you use them."
Kina giggled and tucked herself half behind, half beside Ashley, arm wrapped around his, chin resting on his shoulder as she left soft kisses on his cheek. Her six inch heels left her a bit taller than Ashley.
"My apologies. I didn't know she would be coming, but this has taken longer than I anticipated."
Fortiscue nodded and waved his hand at them in dismissal.
"J, let's go," Kina chattered, grabbing the Mystic by the wrist and pulling him along behind them. Her lilting giggle filled the hall as the three proceeded back to the bedchambers.
"Now what?" Jinxx asked, pulling his wrist from Kina's grip.
Ashley and Kina both winced.
"Sorry. My family is known for being...physical with our slaves. And I dropped names to get in here."
Jinxx just gave her a soft smile. "I know. Nice to see you again, by the way."
The blonde winced. "I wish it were under different circumstances, though. I hate this place."
"Join the club," Ashley groused.
There was a long silence, and then, "Aren't we supposed to be having sex?"
Ashley groaned. "I'm a mated man."
Kina scoffed. "Yeah, as if I'd ever actually fuck you again. We can pretend, dumbass."
"I'll just wait outside." Jinxx turned on a heel and slipped out into the hall. He closed the door, then dropped into a cross legged position in front of it.
He had forgotten Kina was a porn star. The moans coming from the room, though fake, were pretty convincing. If he didn't know what Ashley actually sounded like during sex, he wouldn't know the difference.
The Mystic settled for flickering fire between his fingertips to stay occupied. He wondered what his Sammi was up to, now. Would she have gone back to the house, or stayed at the healers' mansion with Andy and Jake? He found that being away from her was especially disconcerting recently, though he didn't know why.
"Servants aren't to use magic on the residential floor."
Jinxx looked up, extinguishing his fire. "I'm sorry, sir."
The young man glared down at him. "How are you even able to use magic?"
The Mystic winced. "My magic is unrestricted when Mistress Kina is around. There was an incident some time ago. Master Ashley's brother lost his mate. Since then, he's been especially protective of Mistress Kina. So I have magic when she is around, so I can protect her."
"And you do that? You protect her?"
Jinxx smiled. "Of course. She's been nothing but kind to me. She makes Master Ashley happy." He shrugged. "Why wouldn't I want her safe?"
The blond shrugged. "She's Voltaire. They're notoriously cruel."
Jinxx gave a lopsided grin and shook his head. "Not Mistress Kina. She's very nice. I think that's why Master Ashley fell in love with her. She's kind to everyone. Master Ashley puts a lot of importance on kindness."
The young man hummed thoughtfully, and then his thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like a wail of delight. "Are they always that enthusiastic?"
Jinxx chuckled. "Oh, that's nothing. Give it about an hour, the whole room will be shaking."
He raised an eyebrow. "That so?"
A laugh and a nod, then Jinxx responded, "I just hope they don't decide to fuck against the door. I hate it when they do that. I'm not really allowed to leave this spot."
The blond nodded in understanding. "Well, alright. I should get going. No magic in the corridors!" And with that, he skipped off.