by Lucy Rains
I turned to see Alex’s eyes were still boring into me, searching hard for answers to his questions.
When he turned to look at Pierce, he frowned in disappointment. “Water? Really?”
“Please,” Pierce spoke aloud, but not in a tone that suggested he was asking.
Alex rolled his eyes and left the room, mumbling about being a waterboy. Kyson and Gavin followed after him.
“You need to eat,” Pierce said, checking his watch.
Once again I was completely lacking any appetite. I knew this was not something Pierce would want to hear. “After we swim?” I suggested.
Pierce frowned and opened his mouth to argue when the light voice of Lettie trickled into the office.
She appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide, “Did I hear you guys want to go for a swim?”
Kyson stood behind her, a pained expression on his face, his cell phone in hand. I could feel his guilt, knowing he was worried about my reaction to her question.
I offered a small smile and nodded. “Yes.”
Pierce raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged. I was not the same person I was an hour ago. I no longer worried about her presence and being around the guys. She was a small speck in my world now.
“Great!” She beamed, “I’ll grab my stuff and we can go to my pool.”
She spun on her heels and trotted down the hallway.
Kyson waited for the sound of her feet to disappear before speaking. “I’m sorry, I-”
“It’s fine,” I said quickly, looking out the window. “I just need to get in the water.”
Alex walked into the office with a glass of water and offered it to me. When he handed it to me, I thanked him and drained the glass.
Worry.
Fear.
Apprehension.
Their emotions matched my own, but unlike me, they did not understand the source of mine.
I tried to smile, tried to push past the daze I was in. “I’m okay,” I reassured them. “Really.”
“Bullshit,” Alex spat.
My eyes closed, realizing I had let him into a small part of my mind unknowingly. “Alex.”
“You’re scared out of your damn mind. Shocked at what you just learned.” He paused, “You want to run away.” His voice trailed off on the last sentence and I turned to meet his eyes. The hurt apparent in them.
“But not without you,” I whispered.
Alex relaxed a little, knowing I spoke the truth. “Good. Because I would hunt your pretty ass down if you did, and then I would spank it. And then-”
“Alex,” Pierce warned.
Alex turned away, “I’m going to get my stuff.”
Kyson followed after him, leaving Pierce and I alone.
I met Pierce’s dominating gaze one more time. No secrets, he thought to me. The pressure of his dominance wove into my body and I knew I would not be able to hold anything back from him.
My eyes fell to the floor and my stomach clenched at the thought of repeating what I had just learned. Could I even repeat those words?
I nodded in agreement and watched him leave to gather his own things.
******************
For the first time ever, all four guys stayed near me as I swam.
In the past we would all separate and do our own exercises or movements within the water. But this time when I did laps, they would take up position in front, back and on the sides of my lane. If I hovered in one spot, they would do the same. Little eye contact was made, no one tried to talk to me. But we felt each other’s tension as if we were screaming it.
Lettie retreated to her own swim lane and followed through a series of strokes. Her sleek, black one piece gave her body an athletic image of strength and I envied her. I had no idea if she watched me, or if her eyes sought out the guys. My mind was focused on the sensations the water provided my emotional, mental, and physical being. The serenity it offered me in my time of constant obstacles, the rejuvenation my muscles felt. I let my mind become completely swallowed up in the positive energy the water brought into me.
There were no tingles, no fluttering sensations under my skin. My heart ached for the natural water of the ocean.
After an hour of allowing myself to be lost in the water, I climbed out and walked over to the table where our bags sit. Lettie was nowhere to be seen. We swam in an enormous indoor swimming facility, with multiple pools, a ceiling full of windows, and plush white towels offered to anyone within the building. I grabbed one and wrapped it around me.
My beach bikini didn’t offer much coverage, and I could feel the curious lust filtering around me from onlookers, both male and female. The guys had their own admiration for the sight of my body and I let myself appreciate it. It was different. Clean, pure. I would have never known the difference if I had not spent time on the beach in Florida.
The guys stood around me, wiping themselves down. My eyes bounced from one tight torso to the next. Lines of hair, pink nipples, indents of muscle. It almost distracted me from what was next.
Dinner.
Unfortunately, I was still not hungry and I dreaded forcing food down my throat I didn’t want.
Alex rubbed a towel over his thick wet locks as he said, “I am starving! We need to go eat before my stomach starts ruling what comes out of my mouth.”
“You really shouldn’t let hunger control your words.” I said.
“You make it sound like hunger is an emotion,” Kyson pointed out, “and it’s not.”
Alex paused wiping his chest to study Kyson. “Do not tell me hunger is not an emotion, dude, because I feel that shit in my soul.”
Pierce cracked a smile at this and dropped his towel around his shoulders. “Kyson and Gavin, you guys go change. Alex and I will escort Jade to the lady's locker room.”
Kyson shook his head as Alex continued whining about his hunger pains. We went our separate directions, and I padded along the wet floor to the steel grey locker room. Alex behind me while Pierce stayed by my side. A harsh shiver ran over me as the air conditioned vents blasted icy air overhead in the brightly lit hallway. Pierce wrapped a thick arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to his side. I pulled my towel tighter around me.
Pierce pressed a kiss to my head and dropped his arm to get a drink at a fountain. The locker room door swung open and Lettie stepped out. Her glasses were back on and her pixie short hair had been smoothed down.
“Hi guys!”
My stomach dipped but I managed to smile. “Hey Lettie, thanks for letting us come swim. This place was perfect.”
She nodded, “Of course, just let me know if you need to come again. If you, you
know, have time and all.”
“Right,” I agreed, having no idea what was next for us. “So, we’ll meet you back at the condo, okay?”
Her eyes widened, “Oh, I can wait for you.” Her head tilted up to Pierce, “Did you guys want to get something for dinner?”
Alex cleared his throat, but Pierce jumped in quickly, “We need to talk in private. We’ll be home in a couple hours.”
I didn’t have to be able to feel her emotions to know she was disappointed. Her shoulders dropped and she glanced between the three of us, “Oh, um, okay. I mean, Matteo wanted me to make sure you guys were safe and all. You know, keep an eye out while we’re in public.”
I frowned, “Does he think we’re in danger?”
Lettie shrugged, “You just never know.”
Alex cleared his throat again and I narrowed my eyes at Lettie. She wasn’t telling us something.
“We’ll be fine,” Pierce assured her, in his deep smooth voice that didn’t allow for argument. “I can call Charles if we run into any problems.”
With no choice but to smile and offer parting words, Lettie waved and said she would see us back at the condo. I threw a glance over my shoulder at the two guys before disappearing into the women’s locker room.
The locker room had a few women inside, all getting dressed to leave for t
he evening. I took my bag and found a private area to shower off and change.
The female voices dissipated after a few minutes and I wrapped my white towel around my bare body again. Sitting in complete solitude for a few minutes was too good to pass up. I crossed my legs and let my elbows rest atop my knees. My wet hair fell forward, already a few inches longer since I had cut it, growing faster than would be considered normal.
Normal.
What did that word even mean anymore?
Making an effort to keep my thoughts in check, I didn’t want to get caught up in things that were only going to make my chest tighter than it already was.
Without looking up, I could hear the women’s locker room door open, but it was not a woman that entered.
My eyes opened slowly, as I felt the familiar presence come closer. Heavy footsteps, treading carefully in my direction, and I tilted my head to look up at Kyson.
He was dressed in distressed denim and a black t-shirt, accentuating his damp dark hair. A small smile tugged at his lips. “Little jewel.”
My stomach dipped at the situation, me in my towel. Alone in a locker room. His eyes warming at the sight of me. I shook my head at him. “I am pretty sure you are not suppose to be in here.”
“I got lost,” he smiled.
I scoffed, looking back down to hide the blush that ran up my neck and into my cheeks. “What are you doing?”
He took a step forward, positioning himself in front of me, and then crouched low to the floor. He had placed himself directly in front of me, wanting my full attention. “You still have no appetite.”
My eyes rolled and I looked up at the fluorescent ceiling lights.
“Do you?”
Avoiding his eyes, I dropped my head and studied the individual fibers in my towel that stopped a few inches above my knees.
“Even though you haven’t eaten in ten hours, your stomach is lacking any ghrelin and therefore, is sending no triggers to your brain to make you feel hungry.”
I tilted my head at him, showing that I was not impressed with his observation.
“Your flight or fight response is taking over the hormones in your body that would normally tell you to eat.”
I sighed, “Kyson, I am planning on eating, okay?”
Staying low to the ground, his hand reached out and ran up the length of my thigh to wrap around my towel covered rear.
My eyes widened and I sat up straight. “What are you doing?”
“I’ve noticed,” he said with a sly smile, “that your appetite kicks in after any and all acts of sexual intimacy.” His other hand came up and tugged at the towel edge that laid on my chest, trying to loosen its hold on my body.
“Kyson!” I gasped, grabbing the top of my towel as my cheeks became redder with each movement from him. I glanced over my shoulder and back to his blue eyes that were quickly becoming dilated in desire. “This is a horrible idea!”
He leaned forward, forcing my legs apart to let him closer to me. His devilish smile spread wider and the vibrations in my chest pulsed with a new intensity. “Maybe from your perspective.”
His mouth pressed against mine and I pulled back, “What about-”
“No one will come in,” he said with confidence. His hand reached out and pulled with a firm tug at the towel around my body.
As Kyson’s hand gripped my bottom, the warm hum in my chest had moved into my stomach and began pooling between my legs. He pressed his mouth back to mine, his hand coming up to wrap around the back of my neck. His smooth lips moved against my own and I welcomed him into my mouth. My body loosened with each touch, each kiss, each lick of his tongue.
I let my arms wrap around his neck, the towel around my body no longer being held. The rush of cold air against my bare skin coupled with the erotic need I felt sent shivers up my spine. When Kyson let go of my neck to hold my breast I gasped in his mouth, the feel of his skin against my nipple turning the shivers into electric shocks.
My mind became hyper aware of the hand that left my ass and began tracing up the inside of my thigh, under the towel. I almost jerked when he reached the smooth folds that burned with desire.
He moaned into my mouth when he touched me, provoking a whimper from me I could not hold back. His fingers explored me slowly, driving me crazy with need. My hands moved to his shoulders and I clenched them for stability. With a single movement I knew I would be falling over the edge of my orgasm within seconds.
Kyson’s hand left my breast and wrapped around me, pulling me closer to him as his fingers moved, rubbing and stroking in all the areas I needed. My back bowed and my knees shook as I came, a yelping gasp of pleasure at the sensations. I buried my face into his neck to stifle a second outburst when a second wave hit me and I cried out again.
His touch softened, moving slowly over me as I caught my breath. I closed my mouth, swallowed, sighed, stretched my neck. Kyson pulled away and looked at me with the most satisfied grin. My lips parted and I had to take another deep breath.
Kyson’s eyes dropped to my mouth and he could not resist pressing his mouth against mine again. His hands came out as we kissed, pulled the towel around me, and rubbed my arms as I shivered.
When the pulse of arousal bit into my mind, not coming from Kyson, I pulled back. Looking into Kyson’s eyes, I asked, “Who is standing guard at the door?”
He glanced behind me, “Pierce and Alex.”
My arms wrapped around my stomach as a stab of hunger bit into me. But I looked into Kyson’s eyes and knew he was in need. I glanced down at his jeans, and back up.
He shook his head, “No.” He smiled. “I’ll be fine.” He kissed me. “To make up for our last time.”
My stomach growled loudly and hunger rolled through me. “I’ll get dressed,” I whispered.
Kyson nodded, his eyes tracing over my forehead, and over my chest. He backed up and studied my stomach.
“Go on,” I said. “Stop dissecting me.”
He smiled but I felt his heavy reluctance. Could feel the anxiety at my weakened state. I jerked my head behind me, and stood up to begin dressing.
It was hard not to laugh when a chorus of heated french in female tones entered the locker room a few seconds after he left.
I threw on a new top and black chino shorts so that I could join the others and begin to fill them in on what I had learned. Knowing, without a doubt, they would no longer look at me the same way.
Chapter 20
“I don’t think we got Jade enough food.”
I eyed Kyson as I put the last bite of pulled pork into my mouth. “I’m fine,” I mumbled around my food.
Pierce gave a quick jerk of his head and Gavin hopped up from his park bench and walked away.
“No, seriously! Gavin!” I turned to Pierce, “I’m fine.”
“Are you full? Satisfied?” He asked, taking a drink from his water straw.
I studied him for a moment and then turned to Alex, who I realized was biting back a smile.
“Stay out of my head,” I ordered him. “If I want more food, I’ll-”
“What?” Alex challenged me. “Wait until the next meal? Because I don’t see you actually asking for more food if you really wanted it.”
My mouth snapped shut and I sighed. He knew me so well.
“You’re welcome,” Alex muttered under his breath.
I softened my eyes. “Thank you.”
Gavin returned five minutes later with another pork sandwich and a green salad in a black container. We had hit up a nearby food truck by a large park rather than going into a restaurant. We wanted to be in a wide open space where we would be able to see anyone approaching.
“What was Lettie holding back?” I asked, popping open the clear lid. “Is there someone here? Looking for us?”
Alex shook his head, “Not us.”
Kyson raised an eyebrow, “Looking for Matteo?”
“You have to remember,” Pierce jumped in, “Matteo is a loose end for Zraa, or Doctor Pa
rker. They wanted him dead.”
“Are we in danger?” I asked. “Staying with Matteo has to be a risk.”
Alex raised a hand to stop me from vocalizing anymore worries. “Chill, Babezilla. Nothing has happened. Lettie has just been told to keep a close eye on us for our safety.”
I shook my head, still feeling unsettled.
“I don’t trust her,” I mumbled as I poured dressing on my salad.
“You don’t trust anyone,” Alex said, “current company being an exception.”
“Well, you of all people should understand,” I shot him a look, glancing at the others.
“Damn straight,” Alex agreed. “I got trust issues because people got lying issues.”
“Enough about this,” Gavin growled. “Tell us what you learned.”
I brought a napkin to my mouth and wiped off dressing at the corners, knowing everyone’s eyes would be on me. My stomach twisted and I set my salad down on the table. “What do you want to know?”
“Oh no you don’t,” Alex hollered. “Don’t pussy foot this. Spill it all.”
Jade.
I closed my eyes and rolled my head. Once I opened my mouth to speak, Alex would be able to see everything I was holding back. There would be no secrets.
The guys all leaned forward, watching me, propped on elbows. Curious, and anxious.
“We were stolen when we were young. Our world where we came from was at war. My parents are dead.”
Silence.
A bird chirped.
Four pairs eyebrows came down.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Kyson said.
Gavin rubbed his chin and Pierce frowned.
“Start from the beginning,” Kyson added.
I let out a heavy sigh. “The world we come from is almost two lightyears away and is called Lothreeland.”
“Lothreeland,” Pierce whispered softly.
Everyone had gone still again, waiting on my every word. “Our race, are called Lothree.”
“So like, I’m a Lothreean?” Alex asked. “That sounds kinda badass.”
“Shut-up, Alex,” Gavin said, his eyes not leaving me.