She was still trembling from the intensity of her climax when Carl released her wrists, gathered her in his arms, and murmured her name in her ear. The vibration of his lips against her skin sent little shockwaves through her. He shifted her, hooking his thumb in the waistband of her panties. Anxious to feel him inside her, she lifted her hips to help him slide them downward.
Someone cleared his throat and tapped loudly against the wall. Carl froze. He lifted his head, glaring daggers at the intruder. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Kayla twisted so she could see who was standing in the doorway. Brant coughed and averted his gaze to stare at something over their heads. His discomfort was palpable. “Excuse the interruption. The locks were temporarily disengaged as a precaution after what happened earlier. Master Tal’Vayr is in the common room and would like a word with Mistress Rath’Varein.”
A laugh bubbled out of Kayla before she could stop it, and she clamped a hand over her mouth. Two minutes later and Brant would have gotten more than an eyeful. Carl swore and readjusted her panties and dress before he stood. She rolled over onto her side, unable to quell another burst of hysterical laughter. The entire situation was so outrageous she couldn’t do anything except laugh.
Carl wasn’t as amused, but then again, he hadn’t grown up in a ruin rat camp where privacy was an unaccustomed luxury. He also hadn’t just experienced an earth-shattering orgasm, which had left her pretty damn relaxed.
Carl glared at Brant. “I bet he does, but that’s just too damn bad. It’s late, and we’re entitled to some privacy. He can speak with her tomorrow. And I suggest that next time, you don’t just walk in here unless there’s an emergency.”
Brant winced. It was clear he’d rather be anywhere but there at that moment. “I understand your concerns and will do my best to accommodate them. However, I must insist Mistress Rath’Varein join me in the common room. Master Tal’Vayr needs to discuss their bond. He’s concerned about the possibility of not being able to sense another attack.”
The laughter died in her throat. She couldn’t catch a break, could she? Kayla threw her arm over her eyes. If she didn’t reestablish their communication bond, Alec wouldn’t know if someone tried to go after her again. She bit her lip and tried to decide which was worse: the cold chill, or feeling Alec’s lover through their bond. It was close, but the cold chill won. She rolled over to stand but paused at the unmasked fury in Carl’s expression.
His jaw clenched as he shook his head. “Fuck it. I’m not playing these games. I’ve had it with this whole damn bond thing. He obviously can’t keep her safe.”
Carl turned and stormed out into the hallway. Kayla’s eyes widened, and she catapulted off the bed to follow him. Carl’s temper was like a slow burn. He put up with a lot, but once it ignited, it was time to look out.
Brant was already going after him. Before Carl could reach Alec, Brant tackled him and pushed him against the wall.
“Stand down, Trader. I understand where you’re coming from, but don’t make me do this.”
Carl’s eyes narrowed as he shoved Brant back, seeming to welcome the chance to release his anger through physical contact. Brant grabbed him, and the two grappled together. Kayla rushed forward trying to decide if she should intervene or let them duke it out, but a strong pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her back. She glanced up at Alec’s angry expression, but he was focused on the two men fighting.
“Enough!” he ordered in a loud voice. Both men ignored him, slamming into the wall again. Alec issued the command once more, but this time with a sharp sting of air emphasizing his point.
Carl shoved Brant away from him. Both men were breathing heavily. Carl turned his head, and his eyes narrowed on Alec’s arms around Kayla. His voice was cold and contrasted sharply with the fury in his eyes. “I think you need to let her go, don’t you?”
Alec immediately released her. Kayla frowned and stepped away, wondering what was going on. Something had changed in the dynamic of the relationship between the two men, and she didn’t understand it. She looked back and forth between Carl and Alec.
“What’s going on?”
Carl glared at Alec, his fists clenched at his sides. “I’d like to know that too. I agreed to help keep Kayla here to protect her. That’s obviously not working. Until you plug some of these leaks and get the situation in the towers straightened out, she’s not going to be safe. I’m beginning to think it might be best if we went underground for a while.”
Kayla blinked and tried to figure out if she’d just heard him right. She held up her hand. “Whoa. Wait a fucking minute. You agreed to help keep me here?”
Carl paused. His jaw worked, and a flicker of some emotion flashed in his eyes. He didn’t answer.
Her gaze whipped back and forth between the two men. It all made sense now. The conspiratorial looks, Alec’s suppression of their bond, Carl sneaking out of bed to speak with Alec…
“You bastards,” she whispered, taking a step backward. The betrayal cut deep, especially after everything Carl had said about supporting her decisions. “You two just decided what’s best for me and were working together to manipulate me into doing whatever the hell you wanted? Instead of talking to me and letting me make my own decisions, you’re once again trying to control me?”
Carl cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his unbound hair in agitation. “No, it wasn’t like that.” He took a step toward her, exhaustion etched on his face. “Sweetheart, we almost lost you. I can’t stand by and go through that again. Both of us want to protect you, and we agreed to work together to make that happen. You have my word that I’m not trying to control you. Yes, we thought it would be safer if you were here in the towers, but neither of us ever intended to force you into anything. Alec and I don’t always agree, and sometimes it’s a fine line to walk, but both of us know how much your independence means to you. You’ll always have the final say in every decision.”
Kayla looked over at Alec. His expression was pained, but he nodded in agreement. She turned back to Carl and bit her lip. Their alliance was doing weird things to her system, and she didn’t quite know what to think about it. She’d considered going back to the surface after being released from the medical ward, but she’d been so distracted with everything else going on. It was obvious now that the distractions had been intentional.
Sheesh. Was she that predictable? All they had to do was dangle some prototypes from Research and Development in front of her nose and she’d follow them around anywhere. Or better yet, let’s allow Kayla to build a home for the ruin rats and she’ll stay safe and secure in the towers. She shook her head, disgusted with herself.
Even so, she wasn’t sure it was a good idea to leave just yet. There were too many strange things happening within the towers, and she needed to find out who was targeting her and Alec. The sooner they cleared up the mysteries, the quicker things could get back to normal. After her last falling out with Carl, though, she needed to make sure they were on the same page. “Are you serious about wanting to go back to the surface?”
Carl hesitated and glanced at Alec before shaking his head. “No, not yet. It’s a tempting thought to take you away from everything, but there are more risks out there. Until we get a handle on everything with Lars and the Coalition, you’re safest here. I don’t like it much, but it’s probably for the best. Besides, Alec recalled the trader camps earlier tonight. Veridian and everyone else are heading here in the morning. If anyone can help find out who’s trying to hurt you, it’s those guys.”
“That should make things interesting,” she murmured, considering the implications. Having a bunch of semi-reformed ruin rats running around the towers would definitely stir up more trouble than OmniLab realized. But it would make it easier to turn the advantage in her direction. With everyone’s combined skillsets, they could help solve the puzzle of the attacks within the towers.
Kayla rubbed her temples, warning off the beginning of a headach
e. “Look, I get it. I do. You’re both feeling protective, but you need to back off and stop trying to make decisions for me.” She lifted her head to meet their gazes. “I’ll stay in the towers for now, but I won’t tolerate you two conspiring against me. No more secrets. If you don’t trust me enough to make my own decisions, we have a bigger problem than Lars and the Coalition.”
Carl relented first and nodded. He crossed over to her and brushed a kiss against her hair. When she leaned against him, he put his arm around her. “Fair enough. I won’t ever force you into anything, Kayla. You may drive me crazy sometimes, but I won’t ever try to take away your free will.”
Kayla turned her head to meet Alec’s gaze. His eyes were guarded, but she could see the sadness and longing in them. She reached for him with her energy threads and felt his eager acceptance when they brushed against him. A rush of relief and love flooded through their bond at the contact. She closed her eyes at the onslaught of emotions before he tapered them back.
“He’s right, love. Carl’s shown me how much you need your freedom. I’ll do my best to honor that, but I can’t make any promises. Perhaps I’m a lesser man, but I’d rather have you hate me for trying to protect you than to risk losing you.”
Kayla swallowed and leaned her head against Carl’s chest, not believing either one of them to be lesser in any way. There was no doubt in her mind they would do anything to protect her. They might have different ideas about the best way to do that, but their intentions came from their hearts.
Kayla pulled away from Carl and walked over to Alec, reaching up to put her arms around him. He swallowed and jerked his head up to look at Carl. The stunned look on Alec’s face was almost comical. She ignored his surprise, leaning against him in a long-overdue embrace while Alec’s arms wrapped around her as though she were a fragile piece of glass. She stood on her toes and brushed a light kiss against his lips.
“You’ll never be a lesser man in my mind, Alec. Just keep your ‘distractions’ away from our bond. It’s icky.”
His lips twitched in a smile, and his eyes shone with emotion. He gave her a small nod of understanding. With a smile, she stepped back and reached for Carl’s hand. Without another word, she turned away and led Carl back to the bedroom. It was only after she’d left the room that she realized it was the first time she’d ever reached out to Alec without him using energy to entice her.
Chapter Six
A light tapping on the door woke Kayla the next morning. She cursed the person and their mother in the most colorful language she could manage before burying her head back under the blankets. A swirl of cold air hit her as Carl’s weight shifted off the bed. She grumbled and scooted over to suck up the warmth from his abandoned spot.
Muffled voices reached her through the blanketed cocoon, and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to burrow into the bed even deeper. It was too early to wake up. Everyone needed to go away. Between the metabolic booster that was messing with her system and the entire ordeal from earlier, sleep hadn’t come easily. She’d spent the majority of the night trying to hack into OmniLab’s sealed records. Sure, it would have been easier to pester Alec for the access codes so she could read up about the Shadows, but where was the fun in that? Unfortunately, with the heightened security, they’d put safeguards on top of the safeguards. Carl had finally managed to lure her away from the computer sometime just before dawn.
On the plus side, she’d managed to finish looking at the Research and Development files. It wasn’t as much fun as hanging from the rafters, but she was still able to improve some of the prototype designs. Her lips twitched in a smile. That scientist wouldn’t know what hit him.
Uh oh. Maybe he’s already seen the schematics and that’s why they’re knocking.
“—appointment with a water channeler this morning to begin training. If a Water was responsible for the attack, this may help circumvent any future attacks while she’s sleeping,” Brant said.
She lowered the blanket enough to peek over the top. Carl’s back was facing her, and he’d only bothered to throw on a pair of pants before answering the door. Damn. The man had a great ass. She wanted to run her hands down his back and tug those pants—
Carl turned around. When he saw her watching him, he raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”
Kayla blinked. Yep. She’d definitely missed something. She frowned, trying to clear her head of the sleep and lust-induced fog. She had all sorts of thoughts, but most of them gravitated toward him climbing back in bed with her. Her gaze roamed over his body as she bit her lip. How the hell did the man get to be so yummy?
“Uh, sorry. I was distracted and didn’t catch that.”
His eyes warmed, his mouth twitching slightly. He knew exactly what she’d been thinking. Turning back to Brant at the door, he said, “Give us a few minutes.”
The door slid shut, and Carl turned around to face her. With a determined look, he stalked toward her. Her eyes widened as he crawled up the bed and caged her in his arms, his loose hair brushing against her cheek as he bent down to kiss her.
“Brant and Alec want to start your training this morning. What do you think?”
Kayla pushed away the blanket to reach for him. His gaze drifted downward, following the line of the blanket to her exposed skin. The heat in his eyes was instantaneous. She loved the effect she had on him.
“I think it would be more fun to stay in bed with you all morning.”
He wrapped his arms around her and rolled over so she was sprawled on top of him. She laughed as their limbs tangled in the blankets.
“We can do whatever you want, sweetheart,” he said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
Kayla propped herself up on an elbow to look down at him and trailed her hand along the contours of his muscular chest to his abdomen. It was moments like these that were the most precious. The love and desire in his eyes was the motivation she needed to keep fighting. In all honesty, the depth of her feelings for him frightened her. She’d been schooled not to open herself to such deep emotions, but she hadn’t been able to resist him. Carl touched a part of her no one else had ever come close to reaching. It made her even more determined to find the unknown zap-happy freaks threatening them and fry their databanks. She wouldn’t lose Carl or what they shared together.
“I’m going to go train. I want to learn how to kick some energy ass. Then, I want to come back here and celebrate by spending several hours getting naked with you.”
He laughed. It was such a great sound— husky and warm at the same time. His eyes danced with amusement. “I fully support that idea.” He reached up to cup her face and pressed a kiss against her lips. “I’m going to head down to see Director Borshin and get a status update. Veridian and the rest of the crew should be here by the time you’re finished.” His expression turned more serious. “Will you be okay training with Brant and Alec? If you want me to go with you, I can.”
Kayla shook her head. Even with everything they shared, she still felt uncomfortable using her energy around him. It was a part of herself that was still too new. Until she understood more of that aspect of herself and had it under control, she was determined to protect him from it.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Kayla looked down at the diaphanous coral-colored cover-up dress and frowned. When Seara had insisted she wear it over what looked like undergarments, she’d laughed. It didn’t cover up anything. Half the time these Omnis were so prudish that she was amazed they still procreated naturally. The rest of the time they wore things that made her wonder why they bothered wearing anything at all. She wasn’t sure she’d ever understand the logic.
Seara adjusted the strap and took a step back to survey her work. “Once you get to the pool area, you can remove the dress. You don’t swim in it. You can slip it back on when you’re finished.”
Kayla’s head jerked up. “What? Swim?”
Seara’s hand fluttered to her mouth, her eyes widening. “Oh my.
You’ve never been swimming, have you?”
Kayla shook her head, feeling more than a little anxiety about submerging herself in water. They didn’t really want her to do that, did they? Until they’d discovered the river, she’d never even seen a large body of water except on a vidviewer.
Seara brushed off the concerns. “I wouldn’t worry about it. You only need to touch the water, and Alec won’t let anything happen to you. Not only that, but Ariana Alivette will be the one working with you on water energy. I was surprised Alec asked her after…” Seara glanced away, a small frown on her lips. “Well, let’s just say I was surprised. It was a good decision though. I think you’ll like Ariana. Not only is she a remarkable young woman, she’s a highly skilled water channeler too.”
“Yeah, that’s what Brant told me earlier,” Kayla said and stepped away from the mirrored glass. It was strange having Seara dress her like some sort of doll. “He said she’s beyond reproach and couldn’t be the Water channeler responsible for what happened last night.”
Seara picked up a pair of sandals and handed them to Kayla. “He’s right. It’s not in Ariana’s nature. You’ll be safe with her, especially with Alec there.” As Kayla slipped on the shoes, Seara started to turn away but paused. “You’re all right after what happened last night, aren’t you? You weren’t hurt?”
Kayla frowned. She’d forgotten about Seara’s strong reaction to the energy attack and the woman hanging on Alec. “I’m fine. It wasn’t pleasant, but Alec was able to stop it. I don’t want to go through it again, but it’s done.”
Seara opened her mouth to say something but stopped and nodded instead. “I’m glad Alec was close enough to sense your distress through your bond and was able to help you.” She lowered her gaze and murmured, “Sometimes, I wonder if this bond between you two is truly a blessing. I don’t understand why Fate would put you two together unless you were meant to be. I have to believe there’s some grand purpose in all of it.”
Tremors of the Past Page 8