“I feel a lot better already. The fresh air from just walking over here did wonders.” Marcella made a bottled water appear and she sipped on it. The SUV left the parking lot and Dominic prepared himself for the long day ahead of them. If all went well, they’d reach their destination by nightfall.
Silence filled the car. Since they’d been in the car they had yet to listen to a single song. If Jason had been there the car would have been thumping with music continuously. The guy seriously couldn’t go an hour without singing or listening to something. It was just like he’d used to be. What happened to him? Everything used to be about music. It was the one joy he’d gotten out of life before Marcella had come along.
Base began thumping through the speakers and Marcella’s eyes flashed to his. “Dom. Our song.” A seductive smile came to her face and she rested her head down on the pillow and looked up to him. “And you know what it does to me. Kiss me. Fuck me right here while our song plays.”
Dominic looked up to meet Samael’s eyes in the rearview mirror. God, it seemed like forever since he had last been with Marcella. Since before her mating, and that had been weeks ago. A look of approval came to Samael’s face, and he knew his old master didn’t mind. He pulled his shirt over his head and lowered to kiss her.
Coolness brushed against his skin, and Dominic knew Marcella had made their clothes vanish. The connection with her mouth broke as he lowered down to her breasts. The pink tips were hard, and he sucked one of her nipples into his mouth.
Marcella arched her back and laced her fingers in his hair. She reached up with her other hand and pressed his touch further into the soft flesh. Dominic held onto the fullness of her breast while he traveled lower, trailing his lips down her stomach. As he hovered over the flatness, he knew he’d done this before, when they first got together. Even then, he must have known someday this would happen. His demon gift had been to tell the past, present, and future, but half of the time it had been wrong. In that circumstance, though, it had been spot on.
The energy he could feel from the baby was amazing. If he hadn’t known she was pregnant he might have mistaken it for something else, but now that he knew, it was easily identifiable. He placed his lips against her and worked even further down.
At the touch of his tongue against her wet folds, Marcella moaned. He paused as he noticed how different her scent was. His thumbs separated her and he traced around her clit and opening. Damn, she tasted good. He pushed inside of her pussy and she moved her hips against him.
“Damn, this is so unfair,” Samael groaned. “But so hot.”
Dominic looked up and winked at him. All he could see was the new collector roll his eyes. Marcella’s hand went to his head and he took the hint. His tongue pushed back into her pussy and she cried out. “Yes. Keep going.” She moved faster, and he could taste that she was getting close. Her scent grew stronger and it drove him to try to do better. Her release was crucial to take in. His collector had to taste her.
The tip of his finger pushed into her entrance and she screamed through her orgasm. Dominic could feel his eyes glowing at how overwhelming her power was. She was getting stronger, and not just her flavor, but her actual strength. It was almost too much for him to take in. Samael laughed, and he waited for Marcella to finish before he looked up.
“Too much for you, Dom?”
“Is it because she’s pregnant?” He looked to Samael, confused.
“Well, yes and no. The pregnancy is going to speed things up quite a bit, but now that she has her memory back, the power is going to return, and fast. The more little things she remembers, the stronger she’s going to become.” He raised both of his eyebrows. “And this is just the beginning. I suggest you start building up your own strength.”
“No joke.”
Marcella pushed him onto his back and he could tell she was in a zone. There was only one thing she seemed to want, and that was his cock in her mouth. A deep breath shook his chest as her tongue traced over his tip. Dominic reached for the front seats and grabbed onto the leather for support. Samael’s hand reached back and grasped his forearm.
“Fuck!” Dominic yelled out as pleasure exploded all the way down to his toes. The suction of Marcella’s mouth while she took in his length made his legs start shaking. He could feel the ecstasy in every fiber of his being.
Pre-cum glistened against her lips, and he watched her hand stroke up to meet her mouth. “Samael, you have to let go of me,” he said. You’re doing this on purpose.”
Fingers gripped into him tighter. Painfully. He loved every second of it, and his former master knew it. Marcella’s nails raked down his inner thighs and Dom’s head flew off the pillow. She’d never done anything like that before. His cum was a second from shooting out. As he fought it, he stared at Marcella’s beautiful face, still sucking his cock. No, he would not release yet. He jerked his arm free and reached down, pulling her up to take his place.
“You liked that, didn’t you?” She looked to the red marks trailing down his thighs.
“More than you know.” The desire that filled her face while he eased into her pussy was going to stick with him always. She moaned as he began to thrust into her slowly. Dominic rotated his hips, and wetness enveloped him. Marcella had already been wet before, but now she was positively juicy. He wanted to pull out his cock and lick her pussy all over again. Before he could decide, nails raked down his back, hard. Dominic nearly came on the spot.
“Marcella. You’re playing with fire.”
“So burn me, baby.” Her look was a challenge, and he was more than ready to accept.
Dominic rubbed his fingers against her clit and watched as her head tossed back and forth. The moans grew louder, and it wasn’t two minutes before a release shook her body. As he pushed himself deeper, Samael caught him off guard again, and Dominic’s cum was shooting out before he could stop it. His body jerked against the sensitivity and a growl came from his mouth.
“Dammit, Samael.” He tried not to laugh as he felt himself losing balance. Marcella moved out of his way and he dropped to the floor. Sleep was taking over, and he knew it was because Samael had used all of Dom’s own energy to give him a mind-blowing release. Well, once he woke up, he was so going to get it. Two could play this game. It was time to see just how much power he could summon from his collector.
* * * *
Marcella climbed into the front seat and buckled up. Her eyes cut to Samael and she burst out laughing. “I like when you do that to them. They might not like to admit it, but the men love it.”
“I know they do.” A happy expression had been on his face since her and Dom had started. She could tell he didn’t mind seeing her with her men anymore. There was no jealously or feeling uncomfortable when he took them in. It was pure acceptance, and that was what she’d been waiting months for. He’d been defiant in the beginning, saying he’d never share her, but the more he’d come around, the more she could feel his love.
Hunger hit Marcella hard and she debated what to eat. She was scared that she would get sick again. Not only did she hate throwing up, but Samael would make them stop, and they’d only gone about forty miles or so since they left.
“What’s wrong? You’re thinking really hard.”
A package of crackers fell into her lap and she picked it up and showed him. “I’m starving. I’m just scared.”
“Ah, I see. Do you think those will work?”
Memories of her mother popped into her head. “My mom use to live off of these when she was pregnant with my youngest brother. I can remember my stepfather teasing her endlessly about the mess she’d make everywhere. It was in the bed. On the couch. All over the kitchen counter. He said you could always track her down by the trail of crumbs.”
Samael laughed. “Well if they worked for your mother, I’m sure they’ll work for you. Give one a try.”
Marcella opened the pack and grabbed her water to wash it down, just in case. She’d never been so afraid to eat in her life.
&
nbsp; Salt rushed over her tongue and Marcella chewed. Once she swallowed she sighed in relief. “I think we may be okay.” Cracker after cracker she ate, and although they were helping, they weren’t really filling the empty void. They’d already gone another hour and Dominic was still snoring in the back.
When they left Blythe, California, that morning, Marcella would have never guessed the mountains the state held, but as they neared some really big ones, she knew it wasn’t going to be good. Elevation wasn’t her friend. At least, it hadn’t been in El Paso. She just hoped that she could make it through in one piece, or without having to stop anywhere. The faster they went through this mountain range, the better.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Samael’s voice sounded awestruck as he took in the big mountains that grew nearer. She’d never seen him like that before. He loved it here. That was obvious. She just wished she shared his view. So far on their drive, the tallest ones she’d seen had been in Arizona. These put those to shame. These were real mountains. And they kind of scared her. There wasn’t any looking out for endless miles like in Texas. This place was different.
“They’re beautiful, all right.”
“But…” Samael looked over at her. “You don’t like them?”
“I like looking at them. Just not necessarily driving through them.” Pressure was building in her ears and she opened her mouth wide a few times to pop them.
Samael was quiet as they continued. Los Angeles came and went, and even though Marcella felt like a nervous wreck in all the traffic, she tried to appear calm. She’d never seen so many cars in one place in her life. The worst jam up they’d had in her small town was at five o’clock when the local refinery’s shift changed. Of course, if she went to Corpus there were usually traffic jams there, but they were never like Los Angeles. The sad thing was Samael told her San Jose was going to be a lot worse.
As they sat wedged between cars, she wished she had believed him. Nothing seemed like it could be worse than LA, but while she watched them move up a few inches on the outskirts of San Jose, she knew he’d been right.
“Eleven miles in two hours. This is ridiculous!” Marcella pressed her hand against her stomach. The constant stop and go was seriously making her feel sick as shit. All she wanted to do was get out and walk. She would have been out of this city by now if she would have started walking once they’d broken to a stop out of nowhere. It was like they were moving along perfectly fine and bam, traffic. To make things worse, it all started right on a damn mountain.
“I wish we had an anchor already here, Marcella.” Samael grabbed her hand. “We could have bypassed driving, period. As it is, I never kept contacts in the area. It’d be too risky for us to just materialize when there’s a chance we could get caught. “
“I know.” The cars moved a little and she rested her head back and closed her eyes. This part of the trip had been the worst part so far on her body. The elevation changes and the constant battling of traffic was just too much. “How far to Jamestown? Is it flat there?”
Dominic leaned forward and wedged his shoulders between the seats. “I’ve only been once. And it was just passing through on my way to Sonora. It’s pretty flat. There’s hills for sure. But not big mountains.”
“But how long,” she whispered. Talking was becoming harder. Pregnancy wasn’t really agreeing with her while driving, and she couldn’t stand it. She was supposed to be strong. A leader. Now all she felt like was a weak girl. She knew they understood. But what would the High Priestess think of her once they had to meet? What if she had to defend herself? The woman wasn’t expecting her, and it wasn’t clear how she’d be received.
“With the traffic”—Dominic flinched—”maybe three hours or so.”
Samael brought her fingers to his mouth and flipped over her hand, kissing her palm. “We’ll stop for the night. I can feel your anxiety from all the way over here. You need to relax. We’ll get a fresh start in the morning and beat the traffic.”
“We’re so close,” Marcella urged. “I really think I’ll be okay if we just hurry and get there. I can’t bear to delay another day.” Exhaustion took over. It was growing dark outside, and somehow they’d timed the traffic perfectly.
After another half hour they were finally moving. The road hummed beneath her and it wasn’t necessarily a good thing. What in the world was wrong with her? Was this a normal symptom or was she just carsick? It was hard to tell.
The wrapper from a new stack of crackers broke the silence. She was already on her third pack today, and she’d yet to eat anything else. There was no way her stomach could handle something heavy. It was on the verge of rejecting even the light weight of the saltines.
“A little longer.” Dominic rubbed her shoulders from around the seat and she leaned into his touch. “You’re doing great, considering how you feel. The nausea is really bad right now. I can feel your discomfort. It turns my stomach, and I’m only getting a small dose from your blood that is in me.”
“I feel it, too,” Samael sighed. “Although, I have to tell you, I feel more than discomfort. I physically feel sick.” He looked at her. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stop?”
The food dissolved against her tongue. “No. Just keep driving.” She drank some water to wash down the substance.
Orchards flew by the window, and she knew Samael was exceeding the speed limit. He wanted to get there just as fast as she did. The back roads were virtually empty of cars, and after two good-sized towns, they left Oakdale and got on the stretch that would bring them into Jamestown.
The winding roads had Marcella gripped to the door handle tightly. There was no way she was going to make it the last twenty to thirty miles. No way. The pounding of her heart shook her body and they went around another turn that headed up a hill. She reached out for the dash and was glad when Samael didn’t have to be told to pull over.
The SUV slid to a stop and Marcella practically fell out as she began to be sick. The fresh air felt good as she breathed in, but her body continued to heave against everything she’d taken in for the day. Dominic pulled her hair back out of her face and she barely even noticed. The sound of Samael getting sick didn’t bypass her.
“Breathe, love. It’s going to be okay.” Tears came to her eyes while she stood. Dominic handed her the water and she took a big drink, almost becoming sick all over again. Pain shot through her stomach and Marcella jerked forward. “Hey, talk to me.” Dominic helped her stand.
“I’m okay, just cramping.” She turned to Samael. His face was pale and he shook his head while he walked forward. “You.” He came up, his eyes narrowed in anger. “I thought you said you wouldn’t push it.”
“We’re almost there.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t make a difference. It’s not like we’re going to meet her tonight, Marcella. We could have stayed at one of the small towns we went through, and traveled the rest of the way in the morning. It wouldn’t have mattered.”
While he lectured her, Marcella tried to hide the worsening cramps.
“Now we have to keep going because we’re in between the two towns.” He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “You can’t be stubborn when it comes to the way your body is trying to alert you. Obviously, when you started feeling bad, we should have just stopped. I can’t believe I let you convince me back in San Jose.” He made her look up at him. “I love you too much to see you like this. You understand why I’m upset, right?”
“Yes.” Marcella’s fingers clutched at his shirt as another round of shooting pains took over. The world spun as he pulled her into his arms.
“Dominic, drive.” He opened the back door and laid her in the folded down space. As he climbed back there with her, she stared into his face.
“I thought it was from riding in the car too long or just morning sickness, but”—she shook her head as she groaned against the pain—”something’s wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Worry took over his face. “What do you
feel?”
The SUV moved back onto the road and the sound of the engine increasing in speed roared around them. Dominic wasn’t wasting any time trying to get there.
“It’s just cramps. But they hurt pretty badly. Maybe it’s because I was just sick. My stomach must have worked too hard or something.”
Samael sat next to her and pulled up her shirt. He closed his eyes and hovered his hand above her belly. There was no telling what he was doing. She was completely lost while she stared at him.
“The baby is…okay, I think. I can’t tell. Your energy is all over the place.” His fingers brushed through his long hair.
A scream came from Marcella’s mouth as she flew into the fetal position. Samael jumped at her outburst.
“What! Talk to me, baby.” He touched her side and the pain was too much for her to answer him. What felt like an electrical storm of agony spread across her abdomen, flickering with tiny pinpointed amounts of anguish.
She sucked air deep into her lungs. The urge to get onto her knees was automatic. Marcella tucked her legs underneath her and rocked against the sensations.
“Dominic, faster!” Samael’s voice barely registered to her as she tried to get into some kind of comfort trance. Anything to take the pain away.
Minutes went by and the feelings came and went. Although she felt a little better, the urge to talk wasn’t there. She was scared if she so much as moved, the discomfort would come back, and that was the last thing she or the baby needed.
“We’re almost there,” Dominic said, from the front. “Do I keep going and head to the hospital in Sonora? What do you want me to do?”
“Motel,” Marcella forced herself to say.
“You’re kidding me,” Samael whispered. “You need to see a doctor. I don’t think pain of that magnitude is normal in pregnancy.”
Marcella wasn’t going to argue with him. “I’m okay now. Just get me to a bed.”
A growl tore through the car’s interior. Within minutes the car came to a stop, and Samael carried her into a cold motel room. She could feel his anger and fear. It was consuming. She knew he was mad that she was rejecting medical help, but seriously, it would do nothing but cause more problems. She was fine. At least, she thought she was.
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