by Elise Jae
But the second it closes behind us, I know something’s wrong.
Ice falls from the side of the canyon And I look up, shoving her back a moment before the monster pounces.
I snap its neck almost without a thought. It’s a reflex, and since I’ve woken up, I’ve gotten stronger.
“Fault....” She’s looking up and I see them too. There are at least seven, slavering and ready to pounce.
A faint rumble draws my attention to the others at the opening of the ravine. More still wait further inside it.
They’ve been waiting for us—for her.
I hate the fear I feel from her, hate the way it pulses through her. Hate courses through me, hot and liquid, filing my veins, bleeding into my skin...
“Get back inside.”
“You’re outnumbered. I can help.”
“Wren, get back inside.” I turn back to her knowing my eyes are already glowing. I won’t let these creatures take her from me, but…. “They’re not the ones I’m scared will hurt you.”
She meets my eyes for a second and then punches the code, locking herself back inside.
If I could go with her, I would, but these creatures aren’t going anywhere and I can’t stop what’s building inside of me.
They stalk slowly forward, completely unaware of the danger I pose.
Like a nuclear bomb, my countdown already started, each step they take is one tick closer to their end.
The closest monster lunges. It slashes, and the claws tear through the fabric of my suit… but don’t leave even a mark on my skin.
Looking down at my bloodless chest, I’m distracted long enough that another has the opportunity to pounce. With its jaws around my neck, all I can think is: I won’t let you take me away from her.
That static builds and the monster jumps back, pacing in front of me, confusion writ in its eyes. Everything bleeds to that golden haze.
I feel Wren’s through the bond, I know she’s trapped inside that vile laboratory, and that I could too easily kill her if she tries to come back out and help me.
A whole new threat.
That blinding light bursts from me, heat and power and, this time, pain.
That nova bursts from my skin like a pulse, expanding out in a bubble that decimates everything.
I open my eyes to the destruction.
All of the monsters are charred to ash.
The ravine is no longer a narrow crack in the glacial wall, what was once high ridges of blue ice has evaporated, or runs in rivulets down the gentle incline.
My clothes are gone again and I look to the end of where the canyon had been. The bike is toast. Any hope of extra clothing gone.
Behind me, half of the buried lab is exposed. The scorched metal survived the blast, but the keypad didn’t. I can’t get in….
Knocking on the hatch, I lean an arm on the blackened metal and wait for her to come to me.
I hear the lock tumblers fall, and she manages to get it open a few inches, but I have to push it open the rest of the way.
“Are you okay?”
“That’s what I was just about to ask you.” She places her palms on my chest. “We need to get you home.”
I’m not going to die of hypothermia, and there’s no way we can hike back to the outpost. Not just because her feet will freeze. The new static in the air has nothing to do with me.
“We’re going to have to have to make a pit stop.”
Eighteen
WREN
The screech and lurch when the hatch opened felt like the way my heart wanted to snap when I felt the power burst out of him. The metal had been too hot for me to touch, but once I managed to undo the lock, it hadn’t affected Fault at all.
Now, as I stand in the strange void left behind by the weapon his father turned him into, all I can think is: I have to get him home before he succumbs to hypothermia.
But the second I place my hands on his chest, I know that it doesn’t matter that he’s naked. He’ll survive just fine.
“The bike is toast,” he says glancing back at the charred and mangled vehicle. “And you’re not going to make it back to the outpost with all your fingers and toes if we try to push through. Nightfall’s coming fast, but not as fast as the storm.”
I look up at the sky, only noticing now that all four horizons are eerily dark.
“What do we do?” I look back at the hatch. “The door lock is broken. We can close it, but I don’t know if it will relatch, and if it does, I don’t know if we’ll be able to get it open again.”
“There’s a place nearby,” he looks to the east. “It’s not a quick trek, but it’s a lot closer than home, and we can get a hold of someone and wait out the storm there.”
Nodding, I let him pull me close—the warmth of him enough to seep through my jacket and—we start for the waypoint.
He’s right that it’s not quick, but it’s not difficult either. And when we get there, he codes in, opening a hatch to a dark outpost.
It’s toasty warm, but the lights don’t come on automatically. When he throws the breaker, I blink at the sharp white of the bulbs.
“What is this place?” I turn a slow circle. There’s a massive amount of computer equipment shoved up against rough hewn walls. With the exception of the wall behind us and its hatch… the rest of the space looks like it was a natural cave before the Brotherhood got their hands on it.
“One of the Brotherhood’s emergency outposts. We can hole up here until the storm passes.” He boots up one of the oversized computers and taps the radar screen. The ugly blob would kill us if we tried to set out now.
“And tonight?”
He smiles and I know there’s a secret he’s about to unveil. “We keep you warm.”
I take his hand when he holds it out to me and he leads the way deeper into the outpost. It gets warmer—more humid—as we go.
And when he flicks on the next set of lights, the room he’s led me into has a set of four thermal pools sunk into the cave’s floor.
The water glows a vague green. And steam rises from the vaguely round pools.
“They’re beautiful.
“They’re meant for thawing out in the event we get stuck in the snow, but…” He shrugs, going to a cabinet in the far corner. Towels and spare clothes are stacked inside. “There are bunks, too. So we’ll be able to sleep.”
I’m not so sure about that.
He looks at me like he heard the thought and hands me one of the towels. Before turning back to the cabinet.
“I did. The things coming through the bond are getting more solid for me. And I know you’ve been hearing me too.”
“Fault?” I wait for him to meet my eyes and I drop the towel on a bench near the pool. “I think you know what I need.”
I don’t take my eyes off him as I unzip my jacket. “Will you be able to get in, or is it too hot?”
My snowsuit loosens with a pinch of the overall clasps. I have too many layers on, but Fault holds perfectly still, watching. When I’m down to my underwear, he answers my question by stepping into the pool and holding his hand out.
It just takes a quick wiggle and I’m completely naked.
“I can handle anything to be with you.”
I take his hand, but he quickly shifts his hold to wrap his arms around me and instead, he lifts me into the pool with him.
The water is so warm—especially compared to the freezing temperatures outside, but held against him and his warmth, I am ready for it.
My feet don’t touch the bottom of the pool and Fault walks backward, taking us deeper until he reaches the edge on the other side and he sits on some sort of ledge. It leaves me straddled over him and it takes nothing at all to sink down onto him.
I meet his lips, drinking in every ounce of pleasure he’s willing to relinquish, and after a moment, I forget everything but him and this cocoon of pleasure we’ve found.
Between the water and this desire, I’m already breathing heavy. But I want him s
o badly….
“Please don’t pull out this time.”
“I won’t.”
Kissing him again, I feel the sharp desire as his fingers press against my skin. I know an instant before they tighten and then…. He drives up into me.
Head dropped back, I can’t stop the sounds that fall from my lips. Or the sharp gasp as Fault moves us both, twisting so he can bite my neck where it meets my shoulder.
I’d known that having a partner who knew my every desire would be delicious… I didn’t know it would be so dangerous.
The more we’re together, the less time it takes to get me there. I would laugh if I wasn’t so high, as the idea crosses my head that in a year he’ll be able to look at me and make me come.
But I can’t keep a coherent thought in my head right now.
I come apart on his cock as his teeth sink into my skin.
I want him to mark me with more than his come. I want to see the reminders of our lovemaking in the mirror tomorrow. I want the permanent reminder he’s mine, now and always.
His hand grips my thigh more tightly, and I know I’ll have five round bruises.
Water sloshes all over the floor and I laugh, the sound bouncing off the rocks.
And then, his cock jerks inside of me, the ridges expanding, locking him into me, and I’m not laughing anymore.
My sharp gasp echoes off the rough cave walls and Fault stills within me.
But he knows I’m not hurt, just surprised.
He puts a hand under my left knee and pushes it to my chest before slipping my leg between us and turning me so that my back is tight against his chest, arm wrapped over my hips.
He moves within me with what little range he can locked in place as he is and the ridges that aren’t inside of me hit my clit with each stroke.
My earlier orgasm means I’ll be able to last a little longer…. Until his other hand snakes up my chest and wraps around my throat.
I need more. Need that roughness…
I move on him forcing myself further on and off of those ridges until the pleasure borders on pain. His grip on me tightens, I’ll have bruises on my hip bones, and his other hand moves to my shoulder. There will be marks there too.
“You promised to be careful.”
“That was last time.”
Even though he’s trying to slow me, I can feel the way it effects him. I can feel each notch of pleasure as it drives him higher—driving me higher right along with him.
I smooth my hand over his arm, reaching down until my fingers brush the softness of his balls. And he grunts, coming inside of me so hard that it makes me see stars as I join him.
I think, for a moment, that it’s possible I’ve left the mortal plane as the steam coalesces around us. But we’re both still here... and as he softens inside of me I let him hold me tight against him still.
The water still rocks from the motion of our love making and a thought occurs to me out of nowhere.
“Be careful when you get out. We got water everywhere.” I say, trying not to laugh too loudly. “You may have kevlar skin, but I don’t know if you can crack that pretty head open or not.”
FAULT
With a glance toward the bunks—I’ve shoved three of them together and Wren is fixing them so we can sleep across them—I dial in Drift’s comm number.
The clothes left for those of us stranded out here are enormous on Wren, so she’s tucked the towel around herself in a way that I half expect to fall off her at any moment. What she wore in will be dry by morning.
For my part, the shirt won’t fit at all, and the pants… I’ve made do for the time being.
Drift still flinches at the sight of me, and I can’t be bothered to care.
But momentary shock fades to concern as he looks behind me. “What are you doing out there?”
“The storm snuck up on us.” Technically true. “My bike is toast. We’ll need a pick up tomorrow afternoon, once the blizzard has passed.”
“You’re both alright?”
“Yes. We had a small run in with some monsters, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“Good.” Drift is nodding, too much.
“I’ll see you, or whoever you send out tomorrow morning.”
I don’t manage to disconnect before Drift clears his throat.
“Hey, I got a call about the money.”
“Unless there’s a problem, there’s nothing to say about it.”
“It was good of you to do that.”
“I don’t want praise or accolades. I’d have kept my name on it if I did.”
“I know, but… Wren was right. I’m sorry. I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”
I don’t ask how. I just nod and disconnect the call.
Sitting on the bed, watching me, Wren waits, her face so serene, I almost don’t trust it. Except… what i feel from her isn’t serenity, it’s… pride.
When I turn to her I know she knows I feel it.
“You can tell Drift he doesn’t get to praise you, but you don’t get to tell me.” She holds out her hand and guides me to the bed.
She draws the covers over us, her towel long gone, and I pull her close against me, curving myself around her.
“Sleep, Wren. You can show me how you feel tomorrow morning… if you still want to.”
Snuggling into my arm, she lets go a sleepy yawn. “I always want you.”
“I know.”
Nineteen
WREN
Fault hasn’t sat still since we got home. But we’ve eaten, information has been passed off to the Brotherhood—Jessica’s copious questions have been answered—and he’s drying his hands, standing at the sink.
I know he feels what I want. It’s why I don’t make him turn around before I get up and go to him.
He catches me as he turns, spinning me off my feet. “You are insatiable.”
“Practice time is over, love.” I slip from his grip, wiggling my sweater up to show him everything I’m not wearing, and I lean over the kitchen counter.
He doesn’t ask what I want. He doesn’t talk me through his plans.
I know, a moment before he drops to his knees, and his hands grip the back of my legs holding me still, thumbs spreading me open.
He’s so warm. Every point of contact is a little arc of heat.
It wasn’t the thermal pools that dragged the temperature of our coupling to new heights.
This is Fault. It might be new, but he’s mine and I have no intention of letting him go.
“Feeling’s mutual.” His words, spoken against my skin are a new source of heat and I clench against him as he slides a finger into me.
The lunch Fault made was immaculate, but now I’m starving. Hungry for him and everything he does to me. This is the man I was meant to find on this planet and I’ve never been so happy for fate to have intervened.
Every stroke pushes me higher, but I move on him and shake my head against the cold stone. “You know what I want.”
That tiny spike of trepidation slides across the bond between us and I look over my shoulder.
“We both know you’re not going to hurt me. You’ll know when you need to stop, if you need to.”
When he stands, I bite my lip against the small shock of triumph that shoots through me.
“Careful,” He says, hands on my hips. “Don’t make me wipe that smile off your face.”
I bite my lip harder, but it doesn’t help.
Muttering sian curses under his breath, his grip tightens, and he lifts me.
I have to grab hold of the counter as he pulls my feet off the ground and enters the wetness he’s created.
I didn’t even hear his pants hit the floor.
He fills me in a single stroke that has me crying out against the invasion. Even with that small amount of preparation, even with the changes to his body… we fit together perfectly.
“Fault?”
He makes a noise somewhere between a moan and a grunt.
“How many ways do you think we could do it, just in the kitchen?”
His laugh reverberates through my whole body. “This time around? Just one.”
Any thoughts I had of teasing him vanish as he thrusts into me, sliding me across the counter with each thrust, despite holding my hips immobile. The stone is cold through the sweater, and my nipples harden from the contact.
It doesn’t take long before his breathing hitches and I have to gasp on the sensation a moment before those ridges on his cock expand, locking him inside of me.
His next thrust presses one more notch inside, and I cry out at the sensation as he pulls out too. That sharp, delicious pain…
He comes on a harsh grunt, and I tumble right after.
We fall through a dozen emotions, coiling together and sliding through too many sensations.
He’s still locked inside of me, curled over me.
When I open my eyes, his hand beside me has dug a quartet of depressions in the stone.
“Shit.” I breathe the word and then reach up and slide my hand over his, my fingers through his. “We’re getting dangerous again.”
With a noise I don’t quite understand, he turns me on him—in the delirium he’s taken me to, I’m not certain how.
He hauls me against him, holding me tight as he moves us to the living room. Even he’s shaky.
Each time, it’s as though I’ve impaled myself on him. “Sometimes, I wonder if you’re not getting bigger.”
I know that it’s a matter of my anatomy, not his… I know that I’m the one who contracts each time.
But I almost want to go get a notepad and a tape measure to see if I’m wrong.
Fault goes to let us down to the couch and misses, sending us tumbling to the floor.
The sound that leaves my mouth is half a scream and half a laugh. He cradles my head as we hit the floor and it’s almost like he’s created a cage around me.
I can’t stop the ridiculous giggle that leaves my mouth.
His forehead pressed to the rug beneath me, he penetrates me slowly and shallowly, each movement punctuated by the tug of those ridges.
It’s soft and sweet and I relish the sultry delight of it.