by Amy Sumida
A map with the location of the facilities holding Shava and Vivian, X-marked in red, would have been nice. But, of course, it wasn't that easy. We slogged through the untouched rooms first; they were mainly bedrooms and lounging areas. None of them contained any information on the other research labs. Then we scoured the scorched rooms. I looked over every scrap of paper I could find but nothing mentioned other sites.
“Enough of this shit,” Cerberus declared as he strode into the room I was searching. “I'll just have my hacker look for all the properties Dr. Craig Daniels owns.”
“Do it fast, Cerberus,” Glinda ordered as she strode in. “Vivian is out there, in the hands of some crazy human, and I will not sit idly by while she suffers.”
“No offense, I'm worried about Vivian too,” I began, “but Shava is the one in the most danger. Daniels knows that he can kill her and make her ashes into more of his infusion.”
“She may already be dead,” Cerberus murmured.
“Hopefully, the chance to study a living phoenix will outweigh his need to make more of his potion. Either way, we need to find those other sites fast,” Odin said as he joined us with the rest of our party in tow. “Do whatever you can, Cerberus; Glinda and I will conduct our own search.”
Glinda nodded crisply at Odin's look and then took his hand. Odin pulled out his traveling stone, and they disappeared without another word.
“Hey, what were the names of those two men you followed into BioSci?” Cer asked me.
“Dr. Arnold Costa and Leo.” I grimaced. “Sorry, I didn't get Leo's last name.”
“No biggie; the first one should be enough.” Cerberus grinned. “If my hacker can't find the research facilities, I'm sure he can find Costa, whether he's gone to ground or not. I'll check back at BioSci first, just in case, but I have a feeling they'll be on lockdown.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Lucifer asked.
“I don't think so, but thank you. And thank you for coming back here with us too.”
“Of course,” he murmured and slid a mysterious glance toward Torin.
“The best thing we can do right now is to go home and get some rest.” Torin gave me a heavy look. “I know you want action, little bird, but we need a target first.”
“I'll contact you as soon as I have something,” Cerberus said to me. “If the Witches beat me to it, you call me.”
“You got it,” I agreed as Cerberus used his stone to leave.
“Don't hesitate to call me again, if you need me,” Lucifer offered. “By song or phone, I'll always answer.”
“We will call if we need you,” Slate snarled. “But if I were you, I wouldn't hold my breath.”
“I can't hold my breath. Elaria steals it from me every time I see her,” Lucifer delivered the line with a sweet look my way and then a smug one at Slate before he shot upward into the Veil.
“He glows like a bug,” Banning muttered.
“And I'm going to squish him like one if he doesn't stop romancing my girlfriend,” Slate growled.
Raphael laughed. “I'll be sure to tell him you said so. See ya later, Ellie.”
“Bye, Raph.” I watched him and the other angels fly away and then looked at my men. “Ready to go home?”
“So very,” Declan drawled. “This place reeks of smoke, chemicals, and death.”
“Well, we can't have your delicate nose offended,” Gage ragged on Declan.
I was too on edge to appreciate the camaraderie. I just shook my head. “I'll meet you all in Kyanite.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“I'm claiming tonight,” Gage declared as soon as we all appeared in my kyanite living room.
Gage rarely demanded anything from the other men so they looked surprised but agreed readily.
“We'll see you in the morning.” My griffin nodded to the others in acknowledgment of their concession and grabbed my hand.
“Wait; hold on,” I said to Gage before turning to Torin. “What did you say to Lucifer?”
“I asked him what his intentions were.”
“As if you were my father?” I asked in surprised amusement.
“What did he say?” Banning asked.
All of my men stared at Torin expectantly.
“Lucifer told me that he intends to get over Elaria but it's going to take some time. He has asked for our patience and understanding,” Torin reported and then made an amused sound. “I hate to admit this, but I sympathize with him.”
“Seriously?” Slate growled.
“I know what it's like to love and lose Elaria,” Torin said softly, trading looks with the other men before settling his stare on me. “At least I had, and have again, her love in return. He has never felt her love, and he knows he has no chance of ever feeling it. She has evidently made herself very clear in that regard.”
The others swiveled their stares to me.
“As if you doubted that I had?” I huffed. “You all know me exceptionally well. Do you really think I'd let that sort of behavior continue without saying something to stop it?”
“It's not that we doubted that you'd make your feelings clear,” Declan said gently.
“It's that we weren't sure what your feelings are, as far as Lucifer goes,” Banning added.
“I told you—” I started angrily.
“Yes; you told us that you don't want him.” Torin held up a hand and cut me off. “But desire is a changeable thing, little bird. And so are women. Someone you once hated”—he glanced pointedly at Slate—“is now someone you deeply love.”
“Fair enough.” I sighed. “But I'm getting tired of defending myself. No; I can't say for absolute certain that I will never develop those kinds of feelings for Lucifer. But I can say, without a shred of doubt, that I will never take another lover unless the RS needs more to survive.” I paused and then asked, “RS, how much of a chance is there of that happening?”
The likeliness is slim, RS answered all of us with utter seriousness. Unless one of you were to die, and I'd rather not contemplate that.
“There you go.” I waved a hand out. “We're in this together; an army of seven. No one gets drafted unless it's necessary for our survival. I made promises to all of you, and I intend to keep them, just as I expect you to keep yours. That's how this works. Love and loyalty. I won't betray us. But I need you to trust me.”
“We do,” Darcraxis said immediately and leaned over to kiss my cheek. “Things have just been...”
“Totally fucked,” Slate finished. “Look, I don't have the history with you that you share with the others. It's been hard for me, you know that, but we've worked that out. What we have is real. It's the stuff of legends, sweetheart. We'll make history together in all sorts of ways. Of course, I trust you.”
“And the rest of us have been through too much with you to not trust you,” Declan declared. “I'm sorry if you felt otherwise. But trust goes both ways, Elaria. You need to trust us with the truth. You have to tell us when something important is happening with you, be it magic or matters of the heart.”
“You're right, and I will. I promise.”
“Good; that's one issue settled,” Banning said and then kissed me goodnight. “Now, I can get some sleep.”
I made the round with goodnight kisses and made sure that everyone was staying so I'd see them in the morning. Then I finally left with Gage.
“Where are we going?” I asked as Gage led me out to the balcony.
“My tower.” He glanced at me. “We need a change of scenery.”
“Okay.” I gave him a curious smile.
With a little amazement, I realized that I had never visited the other towers. This was my first trip over one of the bridges. They were steadier than I'd thought; only swaying slightly as Gage and I crossed in single file. The view, although at the same height as the one from my balcony, was far better out there; an unimpeded picture of my kingdom. If only my stomach would stop fluttering wildly, I might be able to enjoy it.
G
age glanced over his shoulder at me and grinned. “Are you afraid of heights, Ellie?”
“Not usually,” I murmured. “You know how much I love to fly with you.”
“But I'm not holding you right now.” He stopped and turned to face me. “You have to put your faith in steel and wood.”
“That could be what's unsettled me,” I agreed with a wary look down... and down and down to the stone courtyard far below.
“If you fell, I would shift in a second and catch you.” Gage slid closer and nuzzled my neck. “You can still put your faith in me.”
“My mind knows that but my body hasn't figured it out yet.”
“Shall I show you?” He lifted me up, and I screeched.
“Gage, don't you dare!”
Laughing, he put me back down. “Well, that got your blood flowing. Let's make use of it, shall we?”
Gage reclaimed my hand, and we finished crossing the bridge to his tower. His tower suite has the same design as mine; three floors with social rooms below and a bedroom on top. We went upstairs to his bedroom; a circular room split by a single, straight wall, and a peaked ceiling surging above. The walls were the same glossy kyanite as mine but the silk curtains that draped them, shielding the open arches that led out to the encircling balcony, gleamed golden-brown like the pelt of a lion. Someone had obviously decorated the room to match my griffin. The draped fabric rippled in a lazy breeze that swept in with a haze of moonlight. A sturdy armoire pressed against the only straight wall, and to its left stood a door that undoubtedly led to the bathroom.
In my tower, my enormous bed held the prime spot against that straight wall, but here there was a sturdy desk in its place. A conqueror's desk, not a scholar's; the sort that maps get stretched across and tactical positions marked. Instead of along the wall, Gage's bed dominated the center of the room. A massive, round mattress, draped in velvet and fur, perched atop a stepped pedestal directly beneath the ceiling's peak. No; wait. I moved forward to get a better look. It wasn't just round, it was more of a bowl shape; the mattress sloping down into the well of the pedestal. I considered the possibilities it offered; you could sleep—or do other things—flat or propped by the sloping rim. Pillows piled in the center of the bowl, waiting for someone to decide where they should go.
“I'm sorry, but is that a nest?” I turned to grin at Gage.
“It's a griffin bed.” He grinned back. “I had one made. Do you like it?”
“It looks very comfortable.”
“Oh, it is.” Gage drew me closer as his grin widened. “And it isn't.”
“What?” I glanced up at him and caught the glint of metal out of the corner of my eye.
I jerked my head back and up then gaped at the collection of chains and manacles wrapped around a steel bar that hung from the ceiling's peak. I had been so fascinated with the bed that I hadn't noticed the... what the hell was it?
“Gage?” I looked at him askance.
My griffin's expression had shifted in the few seconds I'd taken to look over the menacing mobile hovering over his nest-bed. No longer was he the easy-going guy everyone loved. Now, he was Gagerian, Griffin warrior. It didn't shock me; this was Gage's way. Out there, he was a generous, honorable, chivalrous man. But in the bedroom, Gage became a dominant, powerful lover. He had taken control of our sex life very early on in our relationship and had kept a tight grip on the reins ever since. I shivered just to see the shift happen.
“Take off your clothes and get into bed. I want you to stand in the center,” he commanded.
I lifted a brow at him as he began to unbutton his shirt.
“Do it now, Elaria,” Gage growled.
I swallowed past the dryness in my throat and shimmied out of my clothes. I could feel him watching me, and I deliberately disobeyed him; climbing the steps in my lacy underwear and giving him a sassy look over my shoulder before I descended into his nest. I heard him growl as I moved over the thick mattress and kicked aside the pillows in the center of the bed.
Gage appeared on the rim of the bowl; gloriously naked. I sighed a little as moonlight stroked his body, turning golden skin pale as it darkened the dips that outlined every bulging muscle. His shoulders seemed broader than usual. In fact, all of him seemed larger as he loomed there, face sharp with irritation as he possessively stared at me. I stared back, openly watching the rise of his manhood. He looked beautifully barbaric; the victor about to claim his prize.
“I said; take off your clothes,” his voice dropped into a lower, dangerous tone and it rumbled through the air to seep into my chest.
“I did. This is my underwear.”
“Oh, my mate wants to test me, does she?” He leapt down onto the flat portion of the bed, sinking into a crouch before he straightened and stalked over to me. “She wants to see how my strength compares to hers. Very well, Elaria, show me how strong you are.”
Gage started to slide his hands around my waist, heading for the closure of my bra, and I played along, jerking away from him. He snatched me back, and I fought him; truly fought him. I didn't try to injure him, but I definitely used all of my strength to escape his wicked griffin clutches. Gage laughed as he easily swung me around, dropped me, and shoved me face-down on the mattress.
“I'm going to bind you in chains and fuck you, Mate. Dangle you above my bed like a trophy and work my dick into your slick pussy over and over until you beg me to stop. And then I'm going to lick your delicious slit until my face is wet from your desire and you hang by your wrists because your legs refuse to support you.” Gage rocked his hips against me, pressing his erection against my thigh, and tongued my ear. “And then, and only then, I'll release you so I can bend you over the edge of my bed and fill you with my hot”—another flick of his tongue at my ear—“thick”—another lick—“cum.”
I trembled beneath him, my body anticipating everything he promised. As I shivered, Gage held me down with his legs and one forearm so he could undo my bra and then tear my panties away.
Another swift movement and I was standing naked before him. Before I could react, he yanked off my bra and tossed it away. I turned to clamber out of the bed, but he caught me again and held me tightly against his body as he unwound the chains from the crossbar above. In seconds, he had my wrists secured in manacles; solid steel with a silicone lining. Chains led from the manacles to opposite ends of the bar, holding my arms aloft and apart. I struggled just to test them, and they held firm. Excitement rocketed through me.
“Very nice.” Gage admired his handiwork, circling my body while drawing his hand over my waist; just a skimming touch that left shivers in its wake. When he reached my back, his hand dropped, splitting my ass and diving between my legs. He pushed my legs apart. “Wider,” he whispered in my ear. “Even wider. That's it.”
My legs were spread so wide that I could feel cool air bathing my sex and my toes had to dig into the mattress to steady me. Gage pressed against my back, steel-and-velvet cock cradled between my cheeks as he dropped his face into the curve of my neck. His growl vibrated my skin as one huge hand roughly gripped my breast and another slid down my belly to dip into my core.
“So fucking wet,” he whispered. “Do you like being chained, Mate? Helpless and forced to trust me?”
“So far, so good, Griffin,” I purred.
“You're right; we're just getting started,” Gage murmured with amusement. “Now, what should I do first?” His finger slid into me and started pumping. “Shall I take you from behind as I rub your clit? Lift up your thighs and bend you to suit my thrusts? Your back will arch and your breasts will beg to be sucked. But they would go unattended as I fucked you, bouncing helplessly in the air. Or should I come around front and lift your ankles over my shoulders so I can slam nice and deep? So deep that it would feel as if you were choking on me.”
“Just fucking get to it, Griffin,” I growled. “All your talk is wasting time that you could be using to fuck me.”
Gage chuckled, but he pulled away as he di
d so and a second later, his palm came down hard on my ass. I jerked in surprise and another followed the first.
“Behave or I won't just slap your ass, Mate, I'll fuck it,” he snarled in my ear. “Stretch that tight, little hole around my fat cock.”
I tensed and went serious. “You know I'm not into that, Gage.”
“Then do as I say, Elaria.” His hand slid up my throat and cradled my chin, holding me still for a conquering kiss. “Disobey me, and we'll explore that sexual act you're so scared of.”
“I'm not scared of it!” I snapped. “I just don't find it arousing. I don't see how it could be pleasurable.”
“No?” Gage nuzzled my face as he sank his finger into me again. He worked me until I was moaning and then pulled out and moved his hand around my hips, up beneath the curve of my ass, and pressed his finger against that other place. “Perhaps we should try it just to make sure that you don't like it?” He rubbed the wetness from his finger over me, and I tried to move away from it. “Be still!”