Coveted

by Grace White

  My fingers thread through his hair as he continues kissing and nibbling my neck. But I finally admit the problem, “I’m scared, Cael.”

  Scared about my feelings for them. Scared of what others will say. But most of all, scared that I’m not strong enough to face what is coming.

  He lifts his head, his gaze sliding to mine. My breath catches at the adoration I see shining in his blue eyes. “We will never let anything happen to you.”

  “I know that.” And I do. But it’s not just about the looming threat. The battle to come. It’s about me and them and the five of us. It’s about what happens when our relationship takes the next step. What happens after this is all over.

  “So many thoughts in that head of yours, Kitten.” He trails a finger across my brows and down my cheek. “Let me distract you. Let me be your anchor. Let me take care of you, Terra.”

  My eyes flutter closed as I whisper, “Okay.”

  When I peek at him again, his gaze darkens, and I gulp as the air shifts around us. Not just a change in the atmosphere but a real tangible shift.

  “Is that you?” I raise a brow and he grins.

  “Maybe.”

  “You know Endo did—”

  “You want to talk about that red-haired devil right now?” It’s his turn to quirk his brows and I fight a smile.

  “Sorry.”

  “Never be sorry, Kitten. All we want is for you to be happy and safe.”

  “It doesn’t bother you, that he and I… that we…” I choke on the words and he chuckles, dropping a kiss to my head.

  “No, it doesn’t bother me. Now are we done talking about Endo or should I invite him over?” He pins me with a heated look, one that has me mashing my lips together and shaking my head. “Didn’t think so.”

  He takes my hand and leads me over to the bed. “Since that night when you broke into Allender, I have thought about nothing but kissing you again. Touching you.”

  My cheeks flush. “Cael, I’m not...” The words lodge in my throat.

  “Ssh.” He presses a finger to my lips. “You don’t ever need to worry with me, okay? Come here.”

  He draws me closer until there’s only a sliver of space between us. Cael runs his hands up my arms and down my waist. Hooking the hem of my t-shirt he tugs it up over my body and drops it to the floor. I want to cover myself. To hide from his intense blue gaze. But I don’t. I can’t. Because there’s something so honest in his expression.

  “You are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on.” He snakes a finger across my collarbone and down the valley of my breasts. My body trembles involuntarily as his name slips from my lips on a soft moan.

  “Lie down for me, Terra.” He commands, and I sink onto the bed letting my upper body fall back against the soft cover. Cael follows, kneeling between my parted legs. “Are you okay?”

  Pushing up onto my elbows, I nod, but another full body tremor ripples through me and his eyes burn through me. “Terra?”

  “Fine,” my voice quivers. “I’m fine.”

  “Do you trust me?” he asks.

  “Yes.”

  “Close your eyes.”

  My eyelids flutter shut and my breath hitches as his fingers travel up my thigh to the waistband of my pants. “Focus on our connection. Nod when you feel it.”

  I don’t hesitate. It’s always there, flowing between us whenever he’s near. But as I immerse myself in the familiarity of his energy, the comfort and warmth it offers, I sense something else.

  “Do you feel it?”

  “I feel...”

  “It’s okay,” he reassures me, and I peek over at him.

  “I feel them. I feel all of you.”

  He nods. “We’re always with you, Terra. In your heart. All you have to do is focus and you’ll feel us.”

  A deep sense of calm washes over me and I relax back into the mattress. Now I can feel them all, I don’t have to work hard to distinguish between the individual threads of energy. Earth. Air. Fire. And water. My protectors. Gaia’s Chosen.

  “We are yours to serve, Terra. Always.” Cael bows his head before resuming his position at the waistband of my pants. He drags them from my legs in a painfully slow motion. Maybe he’s giving me time to back out, or maybe he just wants to savour the moment, but the second the cool air hits my legs, a violent shiver rolls up my spine.

  “Cold, Kitten?”

  “A little,” I lie, very aware that I’m almost naked, stretched out before him.

  “Let’s get you warmed up then.” He shifts closer, pushing my legs wider to accommodate him. Cael leans down and blows against my tummy sending shockwaves zipping through me. But it’s when his lips connect with the skin just below my navel that I arch off the bed.

  “Does that feel good?” He dips lower, skirting dangerously close to the edge of my panties. I thread my fingers into his hair but my attempts to guide him to safer shores are futile since every lick and nibble and kiss clouds my mind.

  “Oh God—” I pant as his hot breath dances over my core. “Cael, stop...”

  “Stop?” His says with his head still nestled between my legs, eyes fixed on me as I peer down the length of my body at him. “But I’m only just getting started.” He flashes me a wicked grin and I roll my head back in defeat.

  Who am I kidding?

  I’m not going to stop him. It feels too good. The thread between us taut and burning with desire.

  I squirm as he inches my panties down my thighs, his fingers grazing the soft skin there. But his hands are quickly replaced with his lips. Teeth and tongue tracing my skin until I’m panting with need.

  “More,” I rasp. “I need—”

  Waves of pleasure rush through me as his tongue runs over the sensitive nub of nerves, and I feel him smile against my core. “Hold on,” he murmurs, sliding a finger inside me. And another. It’s too much. His lips. Fingers. The words he whispers as he continues working me into a frenzy.

  “By the gods, I want you.” His declaration fills my heart but I’m too incoherent to reply, moaning his name over and over as he drives me further to the edge. I’m practically pulling his hair needing him to stop all while needing more.

  “Cael, I…” My world shatters as he sucks the sensitive skin, letting me ride out the beautiful storm crashing over me.

  When I finally drift back down to reality, he kisses up my stomach, my collarbone, until he’s hovering over me. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” I smile back. “That was—”

  “We’re not done yet.”

  “We’re not?” My body shudders at the glint in his eyes.

  He drops a kiss on my nose and stands back, yanking off his sweater before shucking out of his jeans. My eyes drink him in. Running over his sculpted muscles and broad shoulders.

  “Kitten, you’re staring.”

  I chew my bottom lip as I continue my appraisal of him. And then my eyes land on his tented black boxer briefs and my stomach knots.

  “We’ll take it slow, remember? Scoot back onto the bed.”

  Once there’s room, he lies beside me so we’re face to face, the heat between our bodies magnetic. Cael stares at me with such admiration, it steals my breath. “What do you want, Terra?”

  “I want to touch you.” The words surprise me, even though it’s the truth. I want nothing more than to feel him beneath my touch.

  “I’m right here.” He leans in, pressing a tender kiss to my mouth and then we’re touching. Hands roaming and searching and exploring. I glide my hands down his abs, hovering at the waistband of his boxer briefs. “I’ve never—”

  He covers my trembling fingers with his own and presses them to his erection. A low groan emanates from his chest. But he doesn’t push, just waits for me to make the next move. I dip inside, grasping him. Cael groans again, his eyes shuttering with ecstasy.

  “Terra, that is...”

  Not enough. I want more. I need more. I need to feel all of him. Everywhere. The urge hits me so hard I su
ck in a sharp breath. Hearing my thoughts, Cael freezes. “You want that? But I thought...” His eyes search mine, but I’m done talking. He came here to be my distraction—my anchor—and I want nothing else.

  “Show me, Cael. Show me everything.”

  “It would be my honor.” His hands slide to my neck, drawing me to his mouth. This kiss is different. He’s still gentle but he’s surer. His mouth hard against mine. Desperate.

  In one second, we’re pressed up against each other and the next, Cael is above me. He expertly removes my bra and then sheds his boxer briefs until we’re skin on skin. I feel him move at my core, hard and ready and a wave of tremors rip through my body.

  “Focus, Terra.” He brushes his lips against the base of my neck, licking a path up to my jaw.

  This will change things. Me. Him. Us.

  All of us.

  But there’s already no going back. Not since he kissed me in Allender’s kitchen. Or when he kissed me right here, on this bed while Endo watched over us. I want them. All of them. And my heart tells me it’s right. That this is all leading to something greater. Our paths are entwined.

  Our past, present, and uncertain future.

  “I’m glad it’s you,” I whisper, burying my fingers into the hair at the base of his neck. His face lights up at my declaration.

  “I’m glad it’s me too, Kitten.”

  He guides himself to my entrance and pushes inside. Slow, at first. Letting me adjust to the feel of him. The flash of pain and tingling sensations flowing through me are overwhelming. He stills, kissing me deeply. Swirling his tongue with my own, claiming my mouth. And when his hips roll into me this time, the pain ebbs away into pleasure.

  “This, you...” he groans. “It’s everything.”

  I stroke his forehead, pushing his blond locks out of his eyes. “I feel you, Cael.” Not just him moving inside me, but his energy. The tangible connection between us.

  “I feel it too, Kitten. It’s like nothing I’ve ever...” He crushes his mouth to mine swallowing his words, but the strangest thing happens. I hear the rest of his words. But not because he says them. Because I can hear them ... in my mind.

  She still has no idea about what I feel for her. How deep my love runs for her.

  I stare at him as he thrusts harder, deeper. He loves me.

  Cael loves me.

  I knew he felt strongly about me, but love?

  “Terra?” His brows pinch and I wonder if he heard my thoughts but then he’s burying his face in the crook of my neck, groaning my name as he crashes over the edge.

  I hold him close, my own pleasure simmering. Because while being intimate with Cael exceeded everything I could have hoped for, I’m still stuck at the part where he loves me.

  Not Gaia.

  Me.

  “Kitten, wake up, we have company.” Cael brushes my cheek, rousing me from a deep sleep and my eyes flutter open.

  “What?”

  “Company.” His eyes go to the window and I bolt upright, tugging the covers up around my body.

  “Easy,” he chuckles. “They’re waiting for us to let them in.”

  “I need clothes.” I lean over the bed, trying to keep a hand on the covers, and pluck my t-shirt off the floor, yanking it over my head. “Can you deal with them while I…”

  “Sure.” Cael pushes up, catching me off guard as he kisses me, and then climbs out of bed, pulling on his jeans before going to the balcony door. “We’ll give you two minutes,” he says, slipping outside.

  I flop back into the pillows, overwhelmed once again at the strange turn my life has taken. But there isn’t time to dwell. The guys are right outside and it’s the middle of the night which means whatever they have to say is important.

  Once I’ve managed to catch my breath, I run my fingers through my hair a couple of times. My body is warm from Cael. His touch. The lingering hum of pleasure vibrating over my skin, and my lips curve as I let myself remember.

  He loves me.

  We didn’t talk about it, not when he held me afterward. I didn’t want to ruin the moment and he seemed content in just lying there.

  Taking a deep breath, I swing my legs over the bed, pull on my pants and call, “Okay, you can come in.” I sit on the edge of the bed watching as they file in one by one.

  Cael, Endo, Ross, and finally, Sol.

  Gaia’s Chosen.

  My protectors.

  Heavy silence fills the room and I wait for someone to speak.

  “As you know, we lost the trace.” I nod at Endo. Cael had told me as much earlier when he received a text message. “Well, after you went to sleep,”—Endo clears his throat, his eyes flicking to Cael who has moved beside me—“Ross entered your dreams to see if he could get a read on anything else.”

  I look at Ross and tilt my head. “You can do that? Enter my dreams, I mean?” I’m not sure how to feel about that.

  “When I need to, yes.”

  “I see.” After all our talks, he never said anything about such an ability.

  “And did it work?” My voice holds a trace of hurt and Ross averts his eyes, unlike Sol who simply stares through me. Endo looks ready to answer but snaps his mouth shut and I frown, feeling irritation bubble under my skin.

  “Is someone going to tell me what happened?”

  “We followed it, the trace. It led us on a wild goose chase all over campus. We’ve been out all night.” Endo rubs his jaw, glancing at Sol who gives him a tight nod. “Eventually, we traced it back here, to your dorm.”

  “Here, but…” The words die on my tongue as I try to process what he’s saying. “So it didn’t work after all?”

  “It worked, Terra.” Sol’s voice is flat and my stomach sinks.

  “You’re telling me that whoever is behind all of this lives in my dorm? Impossible.” I know these girls. I’ve hung out with these girls.

  Most of them are my friends.

  Unless…

  “Oh my God, it’s Jesse, isn’t it?” She’s the only option. “She’s had it in for me since day one and I saw her in the cafeteria one time, watching me, right after I felt it.”

  Endo and Ross shift uncomfortably.

  “It is Jesse, right?” I glance between them feeling the hairs along my neck stand to attention.

  Something about this isn’t right.

  “Sol?” I look to him for the truth because he’s the one who always says it how it is, regardless of who might get hurt in the crossfire.

  “It isn’t Jesse.” He pauses for a beat. It’s only a second but it’s enough… enough that I know whatever is about to come out of his mouth will change everything.

  Again.

  “Will you just spit it out already?”

  “It’s the witch. Amalia.” His eyes flash with contempt.

  “Amalia?” I laugh. Because that’s ridiculous. It isn’t Amalia. She’s my friend.

  “Terra.” Endo steps forward. “We know how it sounds but you have to trust—”

  “You’re telling me my friend, one of my only friends on campus, is the person that’s been messing with my life? That she’s the darkness the seer foresaw? Because you do realize how preposterous that sounds, right?” I stare open-mouthed at them, waiting for someone to tell me it’s a joke. A cruel unnecessary joke.

  Because Amalia can’t be the evil darkness the seer foresaw. It makes no sense. None. She’s been helping me: with my magic, with settling into college life. She introduced me to the coven for Christ’s sake.

  “What if it’s been her plan all along?” Sol says pulling me from my grim thoughts, and I stare at him blankly.

  “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer; it makes sense.” Endo adds, and Sol grunts, “Exactly.”

  “Guys, come on, this is Amalia we’re talking about. She isn’t some great evil force. She’s a college student. A dorm rep no less.”

  “And a witch.”

  I stare at Cael with disbelief. “You think this is a possibility?”
/>
  “If they traced it back to her then yeah, I believe it. I’m sorry, Kitten.” He offers me a sad smile.

  “But to what end? What does she want?” I can’t wrap my head around it.

  They all stand taller, arms by their sides, eyes fixed on me. These aren’t the four guys I’ve gotten to know over the last few weeks. These are Gaia’s Chosen; her warriors.

  And they’re ready to go to war.

  I’m not surprised when Cael, Endo, and Ross, look to Sol, waiting for him to speak. “That’s what we intend to find out.” His voice rings clear, the conviction behind each word familiar, and I know Gaia’s Spirit is flaring inside of me.

  I still can’t believe it. Everything I know, everything I’ve experienced since I moved to Atchison College tells me they’re wrong, but if they’re not and I don’t listen … what choice do I have but to believe them for now?

  “Terra, did you hear what I said?” It’s Cael this time and he’s staring at me, his mouth set in a grim line.

  “Huh?”

  “Remember I mentioned the safehouse before? Well it might be time to consider—”

  “No, absolutely not.” I fold my arms over my chest, staring him down.

  “You can’t very well stay here. Not now we know that Amalia is the threat.”

  “So you want me to move into the safehouse like some prisoner? Gaia fell from Elysia to fight not to hide away. We need to know more. Maybe she’s possessed or something. Maybe something got inside her like it did me.”

  “Terra, come on…” Cael starts and Endo murmurs, “This should be fun.” His smooth laughter fills the awkward silence. But the joke is lost on me because all I can think is nothing about this sounds fun at all.

  I just moved here. I just got settled. I can’t move again. Into a safehouse no less… with the guys. How would that even work?

  It’s not an option.

  Except when I finally lower my hands, four pairs of eyes tell me something very different.

  It’s happening.

  Whether I like it or not.

  He watched with quiet amusement as she glowered at Endo. He’d tried to warn them that this wasn’t the way to broach the subject of her moving to the safehouse, but he should have known they wouldn’t listen.