by V J Lee
“Well, seeing how it was my energy that healed her in the hospital, then used again for the baby’s growth, we think that same energy could be their savior.”
“So, do your blue glowing thing with your hands and give her energy,” Cruz bit out.
“It’s not like that. It has to be the same way we give and receive our energy, to keep us here,” Cosmo explained.
“He’s right. It has to be sexual energy,” Apollo said.
“You will not fuck her,” Trevor growled.
“It would be my honor. Now, the rest of you, get your happy asses out of here, so we can get started.” Cosmo rose from the bed to start shooing the others out like he didn’t even hear Trevor’s command.
“It can’t be one of us, Cos,” Aurora said, placing a delicate hand on his chest. “If we do it, we risk taking energy from her. We can’t take that chance. She’s too fragile.”
“Well then, it’s settled. Timber will step up to the plate,” Sky said, pushing her brother to the front of the line. Timber shook his head, even though he was grinning.
“No, she needs someone with centuries of knowledge on how to sexually please a woman. I am a king. The rest of you may bow down and let me take care of her.” This came from Ethan.
“Wrong, freak! If anyone does her, it will be me. At least we know she likes me,” Dakota said, winking at her.
“I am the one she wants!” Cruz chimed in.
Rissa’s blood was boiling, and she was about to lose her shit. “This is not the fucking DMV! I am not installing a ‘take-a-number’ kiosk in my room. ‘Now servicing number ten?’ Gross! I’m not doing any of you. Just go and let me die in peace. You’re all ridiculous.” She threw herself back into a horizontal position on the bed and closed her eyes.
When she opened them, everyone was staring at her, and no one had left. “I thought I told you all to get out.”
“Rissa, you were out cold for two hours.” Jock’s concerned voiced washed over her.
“What? No, I just closed my eyes for a second.”
“No, sweetheart, you didn’t.” Trevor squeezed her hand. “It’s been two hours.”
“Well, I’m not about to screw everyone in this room to satisfy a hunch with no hard evidence that it will help me.”
“You don’t have to have sex with anyone, but Trevor. It has to be the father,” Apollo said. “You need Trevor’s energy to help the baby grow and to keep you alive, until it’s time.”
She let out a breath. “Well, fuck me raw.”
Cosmo burst out laughing again. “Yeah, I imagine he will have to.”
Jock’s booming voice broke through the snickering. “Come on, asshats, let’s get out of here and let them have some alone time.”
Apollo stepped up to the bed, then bent down to place a sweet kiss on her forehead. “If this works, I will continue to help with the growth of the baby.”
“Thank you.”
Everyone said their goodbyes. Gingerly getting up out of bed, she called out to Cosmo. “Can I see you for a minute?”
“You need me to get you started?” He chuckled and flashed that killer grin in her direction.
Chapter 21
Trevor sat in the living room with Jock, after everyone else had cleared out. Everyone, except Cosmo. What the hell did Rissa need to talk to him about? And what was that little comment about getting her started? Trevor never had a problem getting her motor running in the past. Of course, she was pretty pissed at him now. Fuck it—he needed to know what was happening in there. He stomped over to the bedroom door and flung it open.
Cosmo had his hand down the front of Rissa’s sweats, and if he wasn’t mistaken, that was her orgasm face … the face that was supposed to belong to him, and him alone. Cosmo looked over at him with a grin, then pulled his hand out from underneath her elastic waistband, making it snap back against her skin. Without breaking Trevor’s gaze, he brought his fingers—the ones Trevor could only assume were just inside Rissa—across his lips and into his mouth.
“Mmmm … just like I remember. Tastes like heaven—as addictive as the sweetest drug.” Cosmo closed his eyes, savoring Rissa’s flavor, then reached out to place his hand on Trevor’s hip. He leaned in to his ear, and whispered, “Do you need a little help getting started? The first one’s free, but I’ll have to start charging you after that. Unless you’re as good as she is, then I’ll get you going for free, the way I do with her. Hell, I might even pay her for that sweet stuff.” He grinned like the cat that ate the canary.
“Just get the fuck out. And don’t ever fucking touch me again,” Trevor said, trembling with rage.
The fucker had the nerve to look at Rissa, and say, “I’ll come back daily to make sure you stay well lubricated. I know you’ll need it.” He stuck his fingers back into his mouth, as he strolled out of the room like his behavior wasn’t completely fucked.
“What was that about?” He was trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
“I had a couple of questions.”
“How did that lead to his hand down your pants?”
Her eyes narrowed at him. “None of your fucking business. You are not my husband … you are not my anything. I feel like we have been through this a million times. You can screw Petra all you want, but you don’t want me with anyone else. You know what? It’s getting old. You didn’t believe a word I said, and you made damn sure we wouldn’t be together again.”
“Rissa, I am your friend, and I love you.”
Her shoulders slumped as she sat at the foot of the bed. Some “friend” he was, putting her through so much heartache. “Trevor, I can’t even produce enough moisture to coat my mouth with saliva, let alone get the fluids down south working. I feel and look like death-warmed-over. Cosmo has that special touch to help with this thing that we have to do.” She motioned with her hand between the two of them. “This is strictly clinical. Leave your emotions at the door. This is not us getting back together. This is us trying to save our child. Nothing more.”
“Well, I plan on giving it my all, with the hope that we might be able to save our child’s mother as well.” He sat next to her on the bed. “Rissa, how am I supposed to raise a baby who took you away from me?”
Without looking at him, she said, “If you can’t do it, then let my sister or parents raise the baby. But I would like Jacob and this baby to be close, seeing as how they’re siblings.”
He couldn’t keep himself from touching her. He placed his hand on her knee and gave it a little squeeze. “At least try and fight for your life. I will raise both kids if I can. But I’m feeling selfish where you are concerned. I’ll need some time to adjust to your absence, and I’ll need to learn how to love the piece of you left behind, rather than being angry with him or her for taking you. I will figure it out. But you have to promise me that you’ll fight. Fight for your life.”
“I can do that.”
She slowly pushed herself off the bed. “I need a shower, then we can do what needs to be done.”
Trevor wanted to scream. He wanted to punch the wall and rip the door off its hinges. He wanted to shout at her that this meant so much more to him than doing “what needs to be done.” Instead, he reigned in his temper and suggested, “Maybe I should take a shower with you.”
She shot him a look that should have caught his balls on fire. “I am more than capable of washing myself.”
“You have been passing out cold. If you’re in there and lose consciousness, you could really hurt yourself.” Because he knew she didn’t give a shit about that, he quickly added, “Or the baby.”
That made her come to a halt. “I’ll just take a bath.” She slammed the bathroom door and locked it behind her.
“You could still drown.” He knew she couldn’t hear him, but he needed to say it anyway.
He stomped around the house, checking to make sure all the windows and doors were locked. He even went outside to survey the perimeter of the yard. After coming back in, he had to re-check a
ll the locks, terrified that they were coming for Rissa again.
Back in her room, Trevor removed his jacket and placed it on the little blue reading chair in the corner. He paced the room, trying to wrap his head around how he could come to terms with Rissa’s abrupt and inevitable exit from his life. Agents and Others were certainly not unfamiliar with death.
This career choice and lifestyle placed them on the Grim Reaper’s speed dial, but Rissa was loved by everyone who knew her. He didn’t know why the Others couldn’t amend their damn policies to save her life. If the situation were reversed, and Rissa had to break the law to save one of them, she wouldn’t hesitate. She and Trevor were the same that way: generous and self-sacrificing. If she needed him to, he would make the ultimate sacrifice for her. He would live and die for her. He would exchange his life for hers—not that she would let him.
Trevor had no idea how long he had been pacing around the room, but he began to realize that there were no sounds coming from the bathroom. He knocked lightly on the door. “Rissa? You okay in there?”
Silence.
He knocked harder. “Rissa? Everything all right?”
Silence.
He pounded so hard against the wood, he busted the skin on his knuckles open. “Dammit, Rissa! What the hell is going on in there?”
Trevor kept trying to open the door, even though he discovered on the first attempt that it was locked. Using his shoulder, he rammed against it repeatedly, until he heard the frame start to splinter. He switched shoulders, barreling his weight against the door, until it finally gave way, sending slivers of wood in every direction. The sound of his forceful entry into the bathroom couldn’t even wake Rissa. Trevor stood in the doorway, chest heaving, both hands and shoulders throbbing in pain.
Rissa was laying in the tub, her head tilted back with a rolled-up towel under her neck. She was deep in unconsciousness. He felt a little like a pervert observing her wet, naked body in the water, hair floating around her shoulders, darker where it was wet. She looked so frail, so thin, and even in sleep, there were dark circles under her eyes.
Trevor knew that her back was littered with scars, but now, he noticed more on her arms, chest and legs. She must have endured so much during her capture, and yet, he did nothing to find her. Hell, he didn’t even notice she was missing. He failed her miserably. Trevor looked over Rissa’s bony body, lingering on her breasts and causing things to stir. He noticed her extended belly and had a sudden urge to reach down and rub his hand over it. Instead, he clenched his fists. He needed to stop staring at her and get her out of the water.
Rushing to the tub, Trevor pulled her out of the lukewarm water, he wrapped her in a towel and carried her to the bedroom. He dried her off, fighting back the tears for the condition of the woman he loved. Rissa was literally half the woman she once was. He dressed her in one of his old, gray T-shirts. She had other pajamas, but seeing her in his clothing stroked his ego and fed the possessive monster within him. He braided her hair, rubbed lotion on her hands and feet, and set a glass of ice water, some tea and crackers on her nightstand.
Then waited for her to wake up.
* * *
Rissa woke with a start. She had been in the tub, and wondered how she got to her current location. However, she was thankful to be covered in warm blankets, instead of cold water. She noticed that she wore a T-shirt, but no bottoms, and it took her a moment to figure out how it was possible she got into her bed. Trevor sat in the chair in the corner of the room.
“I must have passed out again, huh?”
His hair was wild, sticking up all over his head in spikes. “That you did.”
She was relieved that there was a glass of water within reach, and she drank it in its entirety, letting the cold liquid rush down her parched throat. “I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t take a shower. Thanks for that.”
Trevor shrugged a shoulder. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, it was more like he was giving up. She knew they needed to do the deed and she was still ready, thanks to Cosmo and his magical touch.
Before she could speak up, he said, “I know you may not want to, but we really should see if this sexual energy exchange will work for you. Next time you pass out, you may not come out of it.” When she just sat there, he went on. “If you’re not ready, we can wait.”
“No, you’re right. We need to do it.”
He stood, took two steps toward her, then sat back down. Trevor ran his hands through his hair, stood back up, and took a deep breath. He sat back down to unlace his boots, pulling them off. He remained seated in the chair, lost in thought.
“You know, if you need a little help getting things started, I can get Cosmo to come back and help you out.”
Trevor shook his head. “It’s not that. Don’t you get it? You turn me on, no matter what. It’s just that there’s a lot riding on this. I mean, what if it doesn’t work? Then what happens to you?”
“Can we just take things one step at a time? Let’s try it and see if it works. I mean, it may take a few times to understand if it’s going to work, but the sooner we get to it, the sooner we will know. Plus, who knows how much longer I’ll be coherent. It could get weird real fast if I pass out in the middle of sex. I mean, do you finish? Do you stop? Do you do freaky stuff to me?”
That made him laugh and calmed his mind slightly. “I’ve already done freaky stuff to you. I don’t need you to be passed out for that.”
Silence filled the space between them. Memories of their many trysts hung in the air like a thick fog. Rissa read his facial expressions, and noticed the moment he snapped out of the past and back to reality. It was time. He removed his socks and whipped off his shirt.
His golden tan, muscled skin made her mouth even drier. Funny, the sight of all that sexiness should have made her mouth water. However, the little shot of arousal she received from Cosmo earlier was flowing very nicely, making other areas nice and moist, and for that she was grateful.
Most importantly, she needed to remind herself to keep her heart out of what was going to happen between them. These sex sessions had to be handled with the head, not the heart.
Trevor stood at the side of the bed in his black boxer briefs. Rissa needed to tell him something, but the sight of his skin stretched tightly over delicious muscles, made her brain freeze up. Was she a fool to think she could do this without emotional attachment? She didn’t know if it was possible. Rissa loved this man. And yet, they were not good for each other, so she had to take her heart and lock it up.
“Trevor, this energy thing needs to be like a medical procedure. Does that make sense? No foreplay. No kissing. No cuddling. Just get in, get off, get out.”
The pained look on his face was heartbreaking.
“No kissing?” She shook her head. “What about touching? Where can I touch you?”
“I understand that touching needs to occur, just not in intimate places.”
“Do you want me to leave on my boxers? I can just pull my penis out through the flap.”
“You don’t have to, but I’ll leave that up to you. Whatever’s going to feel best for you. I will leave the T-shirt on, though.”
“Okay. I can handle that.”
When Trevor slipped his thumbs under the waistband of his boxers, she had to tear her gaze away, to finish telling him, “This doesn’t mean we are getting back together.”
“I know. It’s to save the baby.” And with those words, he pushed the black boxers down his toned legs, releasing the magnificent beast, hard and ready for her.
She pushed the blankets away, opening her legs, inviting him in.
It confused her for a minute, as to how he could be so erect and ready. Rissa had to look like shit—but there he was, full of blood, pointed right at her.
Taking him in her hand, she guided him to her opening. Trevor thrust once, sinking all the way into her. He felt so good, so right, like he was made just for her. How many times had she thought that when they’d made love? She had to
shake her head to get those thoughts to scatter. This was about the baby, nothing more.
Trevor started thrusting into her. He was taking his time, waiting for her body to respond to him.
“Just so you know, only you need to get off, not me. So, we can do this fast,” she gritted out between pants. She had no idea if he heard her or not. He had each of his hands at her head, and he was just staring at her lips.
When he stopped, she thought he was finished, until he took both her wrists, pinning them above her head. That’s when he went to Pound Town, thrusting into her so hard, she thought she was going to be pushed through the mattress. She loved his hands holding her arms above her head as he thrust into her, over and over. She soon began feeling the tingling sensation that happened right before she came, but all too fast, he collapsed on top of her, breathing so hard, she thought he was hyperventilating. Rissa regretted telling him that she didn’t need to come, because it was all she wanted to do now.
Rolling off of her, Trevor got up, and she missed his heat, his body, his scent. Hearing him in the bathroom, she thought maybe she should finish what he started, but he would be out soon. She could wait until he was out of the room.
Trevor came back in with a warm, wet towel to clean her off. He then pulled the blankets over her and checked that she had plenty of water.
Without a word, he put his boxers back on, pulled on his pants, picked up the rest of his clothes, and headed toward the door. Trevor was going to leave without saying a word to her. It was probably for the best, but for some reason, she needed to hear his voice.
“Trevor?”
He turned those all-American features to her, his feelings well-masked, but his green eyes were burning with resolve.
Rissa grinned up at him from the bed. “Don’t waste a boner. Come to me whenever you get hard, no matter when it is.”
Trevor just raised his chin in acknowledgment.
* * *