Reckless Times: A Paranormal Romance (Paragon Society Book 1)

by Michelle Hercules

  She halts on the other side when she senses my presence. “How did you get here so fast?”

  “Guess.”

  She twists her face into a scowl before marching forward. I head toward her, reaching her apartment as she’s closing the door. Using my gift, I create a barrier of air, keeping it open.

  “Go away, Stephan.”

  “No, I’m not going to let you shut me out again.”

  “Fine! Do you want to come in for the second round? Let’s do it.”

  She captures my wrist with one of her chains and yanks me inside her apartment. Actually, she tosses me inside. I would have broken through the window if I didn’t know how to bend air. With a somersault, I land on her plush carpet.

  “I don’t want to fight you,” I say.

  “Too bad, because I want to fight you.” She throws her arms forward, but her chains don’t follow the movement. “Ugh! Stupid useless power.”

  “Why can’t you attack me?” I ask, seriously concerned by her inability to use her gift. Did she get hurt during her fight with The Boulder?

  “Who says I can’t?” She leaps on me, sending us both to the floor.

  My head hits the metal leg of the sofa, making me dizzy for a moment. She straddles me in the meantime, curling her fingers in my shirt.

  “Why did you have to take that away from me? Why, Stephan?” she cries out.

  “I couldn’t simply stand by and let you continue on that road of self-destruction.”

  “I’m not joining the Knights no matter what you do!”

  I grab her arms, forcing her to stop shaking me. “I don’t give a fuck if you don’t join the Knights.”

  “Then why do you care what I do with my life?”

  “I care because I love you, damn it. I love you!”

  At once, she stops offering resistance. Neither of us speaks for several beats, but adrenaline has altered our breathing, making it erratic and loud.

  “Say something,” I beg.

  In true Andy fashion, she doesn’t do what I ask. Instead, she captures my face between her hands and crushes her lips against mine. It feels like an attack with the way her tongue invades my mouth, savagely and hungry. I reciprocate in kind, matching each stroke with a punishment of my own. My hands are on her hips, my fingers digging in her skin. I’m on fire already, and Andy is the fuel.

  I sit up, needing to be as close to her as possible. We’re chest to chest now, but it’s not enough. I want more. I want all she can give me. But I can’t simply take it.

  “Andy,” I murmur between kisses.

  She pushes me back, giving me a glimpse of her flushed cheeks and bee-stung lips. It aches to simply stare at her. Without a word, she pulls her T-shirt and sports bra off, revealing her perfect, perky breasts.

  “Touch me, Stephan. Please.”

  “I want to, Andy. Terribly. But are you sure that’s what you want?”

  God, I must be the craziest fool in the world for hesitating. But I can’t screw up with her anymore. I’ve used all my fuckups.

  “More than anything in my life.”

  There’s only so much I can take before my self-control snaps. And it just did.

  29

  Andromeda

  A sliver of worry enters my mind when Stephan simply sits there and does nothing. Can’t he see how much I’m craving his touch? I’m the only blind one here after all.

  Finally, he breaches the distance between us and kisses me again while he cups my breast. I melt under his caress, ready to discover what more he can do to me.

  He loves me.

  No, I can’t think about that or what the declaration will mean tomorrow. I throw myself into the need, the urge to forget everything I am for at least one night.

  Stephan makes it easy. With his expert tongue, he ignites a wildfire within me. Placing wet kisses over my skin, he creates a path of heat across my chest before he sucks my nipple into his mouth.

  Throwing my head back, I moan out loud, grinding my crotch against his. The most delicious sensation builds between my legs, and I can’t sit still.

  “Andy, you’re killing me here.”

  “This feels too good. I can’t stop,” I murmur.

  “If you don’t… hell, I’m going to explode.”

  “Shut up.” I kiss him again, holding his face between my hands. My eyes are closed, but suddenly, I sense a brightness in the room. My chains. I’d forgotten about them. They’re shining again, turning my small apartment into a giant lamp.

  When I reopen my eyes, Stephan is looking at me with desire shining in his blue eyes.

  Wait. Blue eyes?

  I gasp out loud, jumping from his lap.

  “Andy, what’s the matter?” He stands up but stays rooted to the spot.

  “I can see you.”

  He frowns. “What do you mean, you can see me?”

  My chains are vibrating so fast, they’ve become blurry. “It’s them. Somehow, they’ve made it possible for me to see you clearly, not only shadows.”

  “Has that ever happened before?”

  “No,” I lie. I can’t tell him I was able to spy on him through my chains. He’d be furious, and I don’t want to fight again.

  He comes over and hugs me. “That’s amazing.”

  It’s impossible not to melt in his arms. I push my guilt to the side and enjoy the moment. Stephan pinches my chin between his thumb and index finger, lifting my face to his. We stare into each other’s eyes in silence. I’m not sure what’s going on in his mind, but I’m drinking him in, trying to absorb all the details of his face and commit them to memory. Who knows if this is a onetime thing or not?

  My heart swells with emotion until it bursts with joy. This is what true happiness feels like.

  Suddenly, his face turns blurry, and for a second, I fear my chains are losing their power. But no, it’s the tears that are fogging my sight now.

  “Don’t cry, darling.” He wipes them off my cheek.

  “I’m not sad.”

  “Good.” He kisses the tip of my nose.

  “I want you to stay.”

  “I wasn’t about to leave yet.”

  “No, I want you to stay with me.” I search his eyes, still not believing I can actually get lost in their depths. “For the night.”

  He seems to stop breathing. “Are you sure?”

  I lace our fingers together, then steer him to my bedroom. When I take in its current state of disarray, shame washes over me. Crap.

  “Did a hurricane hit your room by any chance?” Stephan jokes.

  “Ugh, I didn’t have time to straighten stuff up.”

  I let go of his hand and begin to pick up the clothes that are spread out on the floor. Stephan touches my shoulder and takes a T-shirt from my hand. “Andy, you don’t need to do this now. I was teasing. I don’t care about what your room looks like.”

  “Oh.”

  “Come here.” He curls his finger around my belt loop and tugs me forward, silencing any lingering argument with a sweep of his tongue against mine. I want the kiss to last forever, but there’s something else I must do first.

  Pressing my palms against his chest, I push him back. “Wait. I want you to do something for me first.”

  “Anything.”

  The corners of my lips twitch upward. “I’ve got one word for you. Striptease.”

  Giggles bubble up my throat when Stephan’s jaw drops to the floor. “Are you serious?”

  I press my hands together. “Pretty please. I need to appreciate every inch of your body while I can actually see you.”

  “I’m feeling very self-conscious now.”

  I sit on the edge of my bed and smile. “I’m half naked. It’s your turn.”

  His eyes drop to my breasts, and he releases a deep sigh. “Okay. But no dancing.”

  “Too much talking and not enough stripping. I want everything off, babe.”

  “Oh yeah?” He’s smirking when he grabs the back of his T-shirt and pulls it off, mu
ssing his hair in the process.

  Sweet baby koalas. Stephan’s chest and abs are the stuff perfection is made of. My mouth waters as I’m overtaken by the desire to lick every inch of his body.

  He flexes his arms, striking a ridiculous pose. “Like what you see?”

  Unable to utter words, I nod.

  Slowly, he unbuttons his jeans, showing me a peek of his black underwear. There’s no hiding the bulge there, and I’m hit with a mix of desire and anxiety. I rub my legs together, and he doesn’t miss the movement.

  “Are you hurting, Andy?”

  “Yes, because you’re so damn slow. Stop teasing.”

  “It’s called a striptease for a reason.” He laughs.

  “Oh yeah?” I get rid of my jeans, lobbing them off to a corner. Only wearing my panties, I spread my legs. “You were saying?”

  Stephan’s jeans and underwear are off in the blink of an eye. But he’s cruel and barely gives me a chance to see him in all his naked glory before he’s kneeling in front of me with his hands on each side of my hips.

  “Where are you hurting, darling?” he asks in a throaty voice.

  “Right here.” I touch my pubic bone.

  Without breaking eye contact, he pushes the fabric aside and licks my clit with a long stroke. A strange sound comes from deep in my throat, and Stephan chuckles.

  “I think this will take a while to get better,” he says and then licks me again.

  I’m gripping the bedspread so tightly, it might tear. Watching Stephan between my legs is a sight I never dreamed I’d be able to witness. He’s beautiful. Breathtaking. And he can work magic with his tongue. My legs don’t seem to have bones anymore, and my thoughts are scattered in a galaxy far away. All I can feel is the delicious friction below.

  “Fuck!” I yell when the most amazing sensation hits me, crushes me, annihilates me.

  I tumble back, closing my eyes for a second. A moment later, Stephan lies next to me and kisses my cheek.

  “Did you like that?” he asks.

  “Are you fishing for a compliment, Silverstone?”

  “Always.”

  I reach for his cock, which is hard as a rock. “It was a good appetizer. Now I’m ready for the main course.” To make a point, I slide my hand up and down his shaft.

  “Andy,” he murmurs. “I’m hanging by a thread. If you keep doing that…”

  There’s a soft breeze, and then a piece of clothing lands on me. “What—”

  “Sorry. I’m a bit distracted, and my aim was poor. I need something from my pants.” He takes a small foil packet from the back pocket.

  “Do you always carry a condom with you?” I ask.

  “I know it’ll sound a little creepy, but I put this in my wallet the first time I realized I wanted to kiss you.”

  I roll onto my side. “Not creepier than you watching me destroy a Ferrari and thinking it was cool.”

  “That was pretty hot. It gave me a boner.” He smiles.

  “It did not.” I hit his arm playfully.

  The smile is still plastered on his lips, but the amusement in his eyes changes into undiluted hunger. My stomach clenches as I realize there will be no going back from this. There can only be one first.

  Stephan holds my gaze as he rips the packet and puts the condom on.

  I’m about to lose my nerve, so I do the only thing I can think of—I kiss him long and hard. With each stroke of his tongue against mine, he loosens bits of my anxiety until it’s gone. Gently, he pushes me on my back and rolls on top of me. The tip of his erection rubs against my entrance, but he holds back. For the longest time, we just kiss like there’s no one else in the entire universe besides us.

  “We don’t have to do anything else,” he murmurs against my lips.

  My chains, which I had forgotten up until that moment, rattle, and then the most mortifying thing happens—they weave themselves into a net, trapping us together.

  He chuckles. “A yes would have sufficed.”

  “I didn’t do this.”

  “Are you saying you’re not controlling your chains right now?”

  “No.”

  “It seems there’s some higher power that wants us to be together.” He brushes a strand of hair off my forehead, then captures my lips again. There’s a small pressure between my legs before Stephan slides in, filling me completely. This doesn’t happen without a little pain, and I hiss without meaning to.

  Stephan stops moving immediately. “Are you okay?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I’ll go slow.”

  “Not too slow.” I lift my knees and cross my ankles together behind his butt to demonstrate that I mean business. “I’m not a porcelain doll.”

  “I know you aren’t.” He pulls out almost completely only to push back in a little faster. I can barely feel the discomfort now, and with each new thrust, it gets better. And then it’s really good.

  “Oh, please don’t stop,” I beg.

  “I wish I didn’t have to, but sadly, you’re too fucking perfect, and I’m a weak man.”

  “Just say my pussy feels amazing,” I command shamelessly.

  “It does, Andy. It does.”

  There are many other dirty things I want Stephan to whisper in my ear, but it turns out I’m weak too. I shatter again, crying out a string of curses as he gives me an even better orgasm than the previous one.

  “You know you have neighbors, right?” he asks roughly.

  “Fuck them.”

  “Oh, babe. I’m so close.” He hides his face in the crook of my neck and begins to pump in and out even faster, chasing his own release. He seems to grow harder inside of me—something I didn’t think was possible—before he grunts in my ear as his body shudders.

  I dig my nails into his back, pulling him to me almost as if I want to mold myself to him. I never thought a man could make me feel so complete, so beautiful. I close my eyes for a moment, sensing when my chains retract into me on their own. It seems their mission is complete. Maybe there is a higher power conspiring to unite Stephan and me after all.

  The thought isn’t cynical, which would be on brand for me. It’s hopeful.

  When he rolls off me, I open my eyes, and everything is back to normal. My sight is gone, back to shadows, like seeing the negative picture of the world. I’m sad, but deep down, I knew this would happen.

  “Hey, are you okay?” He pulls me to him, trapping me against his wide chest.

  “Yes, I’m more than okay.”

  “I didn’t hurt you too much, did I?”

  “No. I’m glad it was you.” I kiss the hollow of this neck, breathing in his intoxicating scent.

  “Me too.” He lets out a heavy sigh. “I wish I could stay with you tonight.”

  My heart rebels at the idea of him leaving. “Why can’t you? You can fly out of the window in the morning. No one will know you spent the night.”

  “I guess I can do that.”

  I relax again in his arms, but the bliss doesn’t last long. White-hot pain flares up in my hand, reminding me that Stephan and I will never amount to anything more than one wonderful memory.

  The dream was over before it began.

  30

  Andromeda

  Stephan left before sunrise. It was a bittersweet goodbye, at least for me. I knew it was the last time I could hold him in my arms and call him mine. I’m headed for an abyss, and I can’t take him with me.

  As soon as he flew away, I locked myself in the bathroom, turned on the shower, and cried my eyes out while sitting on the toilet. I didn’t want to risk one of my neighbors hearing me fall apart.

  The ugly cry helps, but it doesn’t change the fact that a bigger hurt will come later. I have to lie to Stephan, deny that I’m irrevocably in love with him. How am I going to do that?

  I head for the kitchen, and surprise, surprise, I’ve run out of food. It’s Sunday, so the school cafeteria is closed. Good thing the school is smack in the middle of the city and there isn’t a
scarcity of cafes nearby. Terrible problems or not, I have to eat. If an evening of fighting and sex doesn’t increase one’s appetite, nothing will.

  There’s a great bakery around the corner that makes the most decadent pastries and has good coffee. Stuffing my face with sweet treats won’t take away the ache in my chest, but it will comfort me. At least, I hope so.

  I’m so distracted thinking about my evening with Stephan that I fail to react in time when someone jumps out of the vehicle parked by the curb and places a wet gag over my mouth. Immediately, the world goes dark as my connection to my power is severed. I’m shoved inside the vehicle, which, judging by the layout and noise of the door as it shuts, is a van. My head is already getting muddled when a familiar voice speaks.

  “Hello, Andy. Sorry for the rough treatment, but you’ve been avoiding my calls, and… well, you shouldn’t have done that.”

  The cold touch of metal wraps around my wrists followed by the soft click of handcuffs closing.

  “What the hell did you do to me?” I yell, trying to mask the growing panic inside of me.

  I can’t see, and I’m trapped in a van with a monster without access to my powers. There are two other people in the van with us. His minions.

  “Just took your gift away so we can talk. Don’t worry. It’s temporary.”

  “Can’t you take the hint? I don’t want anything to do with you.” I struggle in my seat, trying to break free from my bindings.

  “I’d save your strength, honey. You can’t bust out of those cuffs. They’ve been reinforced with lightning glass.”

  Fuck. I’m really screwed.

  “Where are you taking me?” I growl.

  “Just a quick drive around the block. I really just want to talk to you.”

  He sounds innocent, but I know he’s anything but. He’s the devil. It’s pointless to keep arguing. I’m not going anywhere.

  I sigh. “Go ahead. I’m all ears.”

  “I’m extremely displeased that you destroyed my gift and missed your first mission.”