“Where are the stagehands?” We were completely alone.
“I bet she told everyone to stay away from me so we could chat. Normally I’m being rushed by a bunch of people before I leave.” I pulled away from him, the need to go home to my cottage took over all other thought.
“I wanna go home. My cottage home.” He nodded in agreement that we needed space from this city.
My driver pulled up to the back after one phone call and took us to the apartment to grab our stuff before heading to the country. Singing the song with Maddox standing so close filleted me open, and memories I’d held onto bled out. Then the collector fucked my emotional state further. Maddox remained calm the whole drive to the house, but the air around him seemed thinner. I stayed as far away as I could in the tight quarters since every time I neared him I had trouble breathing.
As the dark cottage came into view, a peace blanketed me. I could be myself here and let go of my emotions.
I thanked the driver, then tried to grab my bags before Maddox told me to leave them. Maddox stomped toward the house. So many words needed to be said between us, but instead of going inside I took off my shoes and stood in my garden. I relished the dirt between my toes and the leaves rustling in the nighttime breeze.
After the driver’s taillights disappeared, I slowly released my power into the plants around me to take the edge off. Every chaotic emotion inside me ebbed slightly. I sensed Maddox’s presence in the garden before I heard his boots hit the dirt. Flowers around me blossomed from the relief he was here.
“I’m so fucking pissed you agreed to meet with her and didn’t tell me. Now that we know what we’re dealing with, I’ve grown into barely contained rage. What the fuck, Hazel?” His anger stirred the calming breeze to flow faster and in all directions.
“I could say the same to you. You met with her first. We both kept secrets.” I faced him and my attitude died. Pain etched his perfect face. He’d felt the same as I did when I sang our song, and the collector’s attack fucked with his head too.
“I shouldn’t have come back.”
He flung those words at me through gritted teeth. I shook my head, refusing to hear those words. “I’m glad you did. I don’t see how I could live the rest of my life without you. Which feels selfish because I still have pain haunting me from before. Now all of this muddles those emotions. I don’t know what to do, Maddox.” Should I admit I’d never stopped loving him and potentially cause greater harm if anything happened in a week with the Collector? Or will our past drive a wedge between us forever, without a way around it?
I looked down at the dandelions pushing their seeds out from my powers accelerating their life span. “When we were kids, we wished on every dandelion blow.” I picked one up and brought it close to my lips. I closed my eyes and silently wished for what my lips couldn’t say. He’d heard the lyric earlier and knew what I wanted.
“I always wished for you, too.” Wind caressed my cheek, like an extension of his hand comforting me, then his fingers replaced the breeze and finally his lips.
Chapter Twenty- Seven
Maddox
The anger inside me bled into the wind, swirling around us. Emotions I’d long tried to push down were slashed open when she sang earlier. The collector poured lemon juice on the wound, and seconds ago I’d been pissed enough to demolish a town. Now all I saw was her, like I’d been thrown into the fire and only she could soothe the burn within in.
Her fingertips dragged along my chest to grip the bottom of my shirt. We temporarily separated to pull my shirt over my head, then our gazes locked. A silent agreement passed between us. We’d wasted enough time denying ourselves what we truly needed. We’d both been stripped bare by her song, and the threat to take her away from me. We needed to feel this living, breathing, and ever-present connection we shared.
With a stable breath, I lifted her shirt, my eyes never leaving her face. I wouldn’t rush this, and neither would she.
“Don’t destroy my house.” She smirked, and I smiled for the first time in what felt like hours.
“No promises.” I wrapped my hands around her waist, pulling the front of her body to rest flush against mine. Our smiling lips connected as our hands moved to unbutton our jeans. Every slow touch had our giddiness mending into something powerful.
“House or the garden?” I asked, giving her the option to choose where I took her, even though I knew her answer already.
“Garden,” she moaned as her lips moved down my neck and chest.
She licked down to my opened denim. A hippie and her soldier making love not war in the garden, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I cursed as she unleashed my cock and licked the head. Her hands slid up and down the shaft where her mouth couldn’t reach. A delicate hand broke free from its torturous friction on me to cradle my balls, and I lost it. One minute she was sucking me off, the next I lowered onto my knees before her, one hand wrapped around her back while I gently laid her on the ground. I quickly removed our jeans and tugged off my boots before nestling myself between her thighs.
“Shit. A condom.” The box I had grabbed after our first taste of each other sat in my bag inside the house. I looked down at her face and my body loosened.
“I trust you. Do you trust me?” Her hands reached up and cradled my cheek. I only trusted a hand full of people in my life, my squad, and her. Always her. I was clean, and Hazel didn’t sleep around like many celebrities did.
“I trust you. What about birth control?” Despite the heaviness of our talk, I flexed my hips, rubbing her wetness with my cock. Her mischievous smile grew on her perfect face and I needed to be inside her like I needed to breathe.
“What? You don’t want to make a baby with me, Maddox?” She giggled and her hands roamed over my shoulders and biceps. Images of a little girl with brown braids, mischievous brown eyes, and her mother’s wicked smile had me even harder.
Hazel thought she gained the upper hand, and there was only way to bring her back to the reality. When we were together like this, I ruled her world, outside of sex she could conquer any land she wanted and I’d happily fight by her side.
In one quick thrust, I slid inside her. The giggle vanished into a wide-mouthed gasp.
“One day, right now I’m gonna fuck my Queen to practice for cute little brown-haired girls with their mother’s spirit. I’m gonna fuck you right here in this garden for the rest of our lives if that’s what it takes,” I growled and pumped my hips slow and hard, in and out. Her nails dug into my arms, and I picked up the pace.
“Yes!” She lifted her hips up to meet every thrust.
“You’re everything I knew you’d be.” I watched her writhe beneath me and slowed my relentless pounding as flowers of all different colors sprouted around her head. I’d called her my queen before, but I was wrong. She was a goddess, a gift that I’d cherish forever. I got to love her, and with any luck, she’d love me too.
“You’re so beautiful.” My head dropped to taste her lips as I fucked her harder. I inhaled every moan, every gasp, and every cry for more. The wind whipped around us as I lost myself in her. I heard trees breaking in the distance but couldn’t find it in me to care. I wouldn’t damage her house, but everything else could fuck off.
I commanded a warm spring breeze to become an extension of myself, feeling her, rubbing her breasts, and pinching her nipples as my cock drove inside her over and over.
Suddenly her hands were at my chest and she was pushing me up, then down. Vines gripped my body and pulled me into some rows of plants, then released me. Before I could protest, Hazel positioned herself on top of me before impaling herself with a satisfied bite on her bottom lip.
My goddess wanted to ride me? I was all hers.
Those locs weaved with golden clips hung over her breasts as she rocked back and forth, then lifted her hips and slid down.
“Fuck, you’re perfect.” I gripped her hips and pounded her pussy from below. She cried out and arched
over me, lining up her tits with my mouth. I nipped and sucked one, then moved to the other while she moaned loud enough to shake the trees.
“Oh, Maddox.” Her body tightened and pleasure shot down my spine to my cock. I lifted my hips faster while pulling her body down on top of me.
“Come for me, Hazel.” I released one hand to pull on her hair. It was a gamble since some women didn’t like their hair being pulled but Hazel’s hair gave her confidence, she wore it the way she wanted with pride and honor. It made her feel sexy.
I gambled correctly when seconds later, she was coming on my cock.
“Maddox, oh, oh!” Her head snapped up and she cried into the air, and I’d never seen a more beautiful sight.
As she came down from her orgasmic high, blooms opened all around us in the garden. They glowed in the moonlight, accentuating the magic occurring between us.
“Did you?” She breathed and collapsed onto my chest, her hand moving over my arms lazily. I lifted my hips to prove that my cock was still very hard for her.
“Nope. I’m not even close to being done with you.” I chuckled and worked on her orgasm number two.
We’d switched positions a few times, and I’d used the wind to play with her tits and to raise goosebumps over her sweet brown skin. When we finally collapsed in a sweat- and dirt- covered heap in her garden, I held her close and basked in the star’s glow.
Chapter Twenty- Eight
Hazel
A swirling motion on my hip woke me from the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. Strong arms tightened against my waist, reminding me were I’d slept.
“Morning.” I nestled against Maddox’s bare chest, absorbing his warmth.
“I’m glad I got a porch swing that’s big enough for us.” His rough morning voice stirred the ever-growing need for him to be inside me.
“I got it for all my other man slaves. You’re not special.” I smiled, enjoying the way we bantered with each other.
“Did your other man slaves ever fuck you in the garden where you screamed,’ Oh you’re the best! Oh yes! Grip my hair harder! Oh, your dick feels so good! Oh! Oh!’” He changed his voice to mock my loud performance last night and I blushed.
“Every Tuesday they did.” I wouldn’t let him win this round between us. The hand that rubbed my hip gently descended toward my bare sex, as I watched his dick grow toward me. After our romp in the garden, we had managed to make it to the porch swing to cuddle before falling asleep naked together.
“Then I win, it’s not a Tuesday. I plan to make you scream every day,” he whispered against my hair as his fingers caressed my needy core. Shivers danced across my flesh, like they did every time he declared a future together.
I didn’t know how I would ever let him go. As soon as the thought entered my head, I forced it out. I needed to enjoy this time and moment now. I wouldn’t think about him leaving or how I still feared giving him my heart again.
He teased me with his fingers until I couldn’t take it anymore. I climbed on top of him, impaling myself on his dick. I couldn’t get enough of him.
After our morning swing sex, we took a shower together and made breakfast. Despite the edge of the Collector’s visit hanging over us, we managed to find some peace. We chatted about memories of our past without pain attached to them. Last night had stripped us bare, physically and emotionally. Perhaps we could move beyond our past.
“So, I have nothing on the agenda today. What do you wanna do?” I asked, taking a bite of my vegan strawberry and banana muffin. I was surprised to see Maddox pick one up and inhale it in one chomp. He was coming around to my way of things, and vegan diets were proven to help athletic builds like him.
“I want to hunt down the Collector before the bitch comes after you.” He sipped his coffee and stared at his tablet. I nodded, wishing we could act normal today and maybe have some fun. However, I agreed with his statement. The woman gave us a week, which meant time was a luxury right now.
“Do you have a plan how we can do that?” I leaned closer to his tablet, as his head lifted and his eyebrow arched.
“I think we need to chat with the computer kid at headquarters and see what he can find. The woman may have covered her tracks well, but no one can disappear without a trace. It’s impossible, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy.”
“AJ is amazing, as is his sister Mina. If anyone can figure out who she is, it’ll be them.” I took another bite of my muffin, contemplating how we could catch the Collector.
“I’m surprised the all-knowing Phillip hasn’t outed her yet and thrown her ass in jail.”
“Phillip is a complicated guy. He knows when to get involved and when not to. As hard as it is to control my powers sometimes, I’m glad I don’t have his. He has seen every potential future, even ones where his loved ones die. He lives with the knowledge every second of every day. It’s why he worked as hard as he did. I’m just grateful he found someone who completed him in Mina. Everyone needs a person that complements his or her soul.”
Maddox drove us in his gas guzzler to headquarters, which was full of life.
“Hiya Hazel!” Lilith, my no bra-wearing companion, hugged me and danced away shortly afterward. Her husband, Leon, gave me and then Maddox a nod before following after her. Lilith was the most free person I had ever met, but freedom had come at being groomed as an assassin and whore since she was a teenager. She looked like a supermodel, but she could kill a man before he could take his next breath.
Laughter echoed from the hangout room, but first we had a job to do.
“Sup, have you finally come to tell me you’ll marry me, Hazel?” AJ joked, eyeing Maddox with a shit-eating grin.
The black hair, green-eyed teen harmlessly flirted with the ladies of the Hero Society until one of the possessive males claimed them.
“We need help finding someone who doesn’t want to be found.” I skipped over answering his question and sat in one of the free swivel chairs. Maddox stood next to me like an overprotective guard dog.
“A challenge. I like it. Who am I looking for?” He popped his knuckles and began typing, focusing on the many screens before him.
“We’re looking for the Collector.”
Chapter Twenty- Nine
Hazel
“Seriously?” My ass ached from falling on the padded ground seven times in the past hour. Maddox and I decided to train in the gym while we waited for AJ to work his magic and find us some information.
Easy assumption to say it wasn’t going the best for me. He trained to be a perfect killer, even without the use of his powers. I knew how to defend myself, and kick some ass thanks to the Krav Maga lessons. But I wouldn’t lie and say I relied on my powers slightly more than I should.
“You’ve got to identify your weaknesses, and don’t give me that look. Once you know your weak spots, they become your greatest strengths. If someone sees you are favoring a certain side of the body, then they will attack the opposite. You’re tall, and you are shit at guarding your core. Your opponent will see that and aim for your gut. You can adjust and move, letting momentum take them to the ground.”
He helped me up and we resumed sparring, which meant he wrestled me to the ground, then proceeded to kiss my neck until I gave up. A cough echoed from the direction of the elevator and AJ stood there, trying not to stare.
“It’s OK, AJ. We weren’t doing anything inappropriate.” I pushed Maddox off of me and stood, hoping to hear good news.
“Yeah, I’ve walked in on too many things down here. There are apartments above but something about getting sweaty makes all you heroes horny.” AJ chuckled and my cheeks flushed. Thankfully the gym level was empty besides us so no one heard his admission.
“What do you got?” Maddox rose to his full height and walked over to AJ. A tablet was handed over, and Maddox scanned it over with a tight jaw.
“Yeah, I didn’t like that, either.” AJ’s comment peaked my interest. I strode to them in seconds to see what they read.<
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“The Collector, formally known as Imani Nelson. Age thirty-four. She grew up in Georgia. Homeless then a foster family. Attended therapy sessions throughout early high school years until she turned sixteen. She became the most popular girl in school, graduated with honors, then disappeared.
“I was able to run a facial scan from the club and found her prom queen picture. I’m gonna guess she has powers since life became epic once she turned sixteen.”
Every word made sense after having met the woman. She had suffered, like Maddox and I did as kids. Once she got her power, she turned her life around to have everything she had ever wanted. Unfortunately, the gift soured, and now she thought she could own people.
“Can you locate her?” The fun Maddox who had been beating my ass and kissing me stood rigid, anger radiating from his massive body.
“Not yet. It’s gonna take me some time. Besides word in the underground about her hunting for people with gifts she treasures, there isn’t much else. I’m running a scan for any properties listed under her name. I’ll keep you guys updated as I get new info. She seems pretty scary, though, if all the details I’m reading are right. She wants what she wants, and that’s all there is to it.” AJ grimaced, his concern resonating within me. I didn’t know how we could stop her, but we’d try.
“I’ll keep you guys updated on what I find.” He took the tablet back and gave us a grim nod before walking back to the elevator.
“Not sure if that information helped us or made the thought of catching her worse.” I voiced my thoughts and saw Maddox’s hardened jaw twitch.
“We’ll catch her.”
I instinctively wrapped my arms around him. We’d been a balm when fear struck our hearts growing up. We could soothe each other again.
“I’m with you,” I whispered against his chest, knowing he needed to hear the words as much as I wanted to say them.
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