Courts and Cabals 2 by G.S. D'Moore (warren buffett book recommendations TXT) 📗

have a fuckin’ seat,” Dani gripped a chair and tossed it into the wall. It gouged the wallpaper and drywall like an angry animal had taken a swipe at it.

Venus just raised an eyebrow and returned to her binder, which only pissed Dani off more.

“How can you just sit there?” she ranted. “Your daughter is sitting in jail on some bullshit charges,” she paced back in forth in front of some very expensive flatscreens. She weighed the satisfaction of destroying them against the balance in her bank account, and opted against it.

“They aren’t bullshit charges,” Venus replied calmly. “The government feels they can make a case for murder. Personally, I think they will fail. I will admit, we were outmaneuvered. The Fae took us by surprise. We weren’t able to get to the families of the students in time to provide financial incentive for them not to press charges. That falls on me, but the lawyers are handling it. We’ve already agreed to settle with one family if they drop the charges, but it’s likely we will have to go to trial.”

Dani just stood there with wide eyes as Venus explained the situation. “You’re one cold bitch, you know that.”

Venus’s eyes snapped up to Dani, and gave her a frigid smile. “My daughter is immortal, and a shank in the shower isn’t going to kill her. She will plead down, or take a chance and take this to trial. I give it a forty-sixty shot the government will get a conviction, but if she pleads, she will still do some time. Not a lot; a drop in the ocean that is her life.”

Dani just stood their speechless, as Venus turned the page again. “What do you think of him?” she asked as she turned the binder for Dani’s benefit.

The page showed an attractive looking young man, and a lot of biographical information; age, height, weight, education, their WRA registration number if they were a supernatural . . .”

“Dick size,” Dani did a double take to make sure she’d read that correctly. “Average sperm sample size.”

“You’re looking at potential donors?” Dani’s jaw dropped.

“The federal prison system can hardly deny her sustenance,” Venus smiled. “I’d thought I’d take an interest and try to round out her harem a little. With Cameron gone . . .”

“Where the hell is Cam anyway?” Dani interrupted, placed her hands on the table, and applied enough pressure that the hardwood groaned in protest.

“He’s likely in New York, but he hasn’t popped back up on our radar yet,” Venus continued in the same casual tone as she examined another man to feed her daughter while she was in prison.

“Could you even act like you fucking care about them?” Dani grabbed the binder and chucked it across the room. The metal rings warped enough that pages spilled out onto the carpet.

“I do care,” Venus’s voice grew hard, and Dani took a step back. “What you fail to realize is that I have patience, dwarf. Patience born of seeing more sunrises and sunsets than breaths you’ve taken in your short life.”

It felt like the room closed in a round her as Dani continued to retreat from the succubus.

“You do not know Cameron and Lilith as well as you think. No humans will make them suffer; a year, ten, or a century, they will be fine. Return to your forge,” she commanded, and Dani felt her feet automatically heading for the door. “You have work to do. I don’t pay you to sit around and bitch.”

Dani’s feet didn’t stop until the solid, steel door of her forge slammed closed behind her, and the warmth of the fire fought back the chill of the compulsion.

***

Venus rubbed her eyes as Danielle left. “Children,” she pinched her nose in irritation. She thought about resuming her search, but her time was valuable. She texted the code of the man she wanted to HR and they’d take it from there.

“Why grandma, what big teeth you have,” Lark appeared out of thin air; or, possibly, he’d been standing in the corner of the room the whole time. The old Fae had a talent for avoiding attention if he didn’t want to be seen. Even by Venus.

“I’m not in the mood, Lark,” she sighed and placed her hand on her belly.

Lark caught the movement, and his eyes narrowed. “Ahh, so that’s what this was all about.”

She could practically hear all the gears click into place in the satyr’s mind. “Naturally,” she stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Is that wise?” there wasn’t fear in the Fae’s tone, but it was something close.

“I’ll handle it,” Venus replied with finality, and Lark bowed his head in acknowledgement.

“And the boy?” he asked.

“You like him,” it was an observation, but it made them both smile.

“It’s so rare that something truly interesting happens,” Lark shrugged.

“Don’t worry,” she gave him a placated smile. “We will make sure Cameron comes back to us. He might have served his purpose, but he is still valuable.”

“He loves Lilith,” Lark remarked, only for Venus to laugh in his face.

“Neither of them knows what love is,” she grinned, an expression that made Lark both anxious and extremely horny. “It takes time to cultivate,” she slid out of her chair with a sensual grace. “Like a fine wine,” she ran her hand down Lark’s chest and his glamour dropped.

Her fingernails caressed naked flesh and fur before reaching his hard cock. “Let’s just give them some time apart to figure things out,” she started to stroke back and forth while nibbling on his ear.

“As you wish,” he groaned, and their lips met.

After that, neither of them cared about anything, or anyone, outside that room for a good, long while.

Chapter 19

I got bitch slapped. That’s the best way to describe the chemically-induced