His deep throaty laugh threatened to disintegrate every brick of every wall, plow through each barricade and melt every layer of her protective coating.
“What’s so funny?” Her attempt at scowling proved a challenge when his smile was so effusive, his gaze so solicitous.
“That had been my original plan, you know. Ask you on a proper date or two. Get to know you. Ease you into this new life of yours. Fate had other plans. But here we are and I happen to like you already. Very much.” He trailed a finger up her arm, over her shoulder, across her chest and stopped at the dip between her breasts. “You wanna date? I could take you on a date. We could chit-chat. Have a few drinks, shoot the breeze.”
Grayce reminded herself to breath. He was too close, his body, his scent, his touch, too overpowering. Fuck talking. She wrapped her arms around his neck and went in for the kill.
Before invading his mouth with her tongue, she whispered, “I hate dating.”
* * * *
The floor trembled. Pictures swayed on the walls. Stephen gripped the edge of the table as the chair danced under him.
“This is fun.” Stephen giggled.
A black mist oozed from the center of the coffee shop floor and thickened as it rose. Pictures jumped from their hooks. Glasses and mugs dove off the shelves. The shatter of glass rang in his ears.
The size of Chelsea’s eyes made his heart stop. Uh-oh. This wasn’t supposed to be fun. Danger. Chelsea grabbed his hand and yanked him from the dancing seat. “Grab the back of my coat and don’t let go Stephen.” People screamed. Tables and chairs were thrown about as they pushed and fought to get through the door. Chelsea banged a chair against the window, once, twice before glass sprayed everywhere. “Stay behind me.”
The black mist grew larger. As it swelled, it sucked people in. It surrounded them and they just disappeared. It made its way toward the little girl that’d been smiling at Stephen from across the room. No, he wasn’t about to let it get her. Still clinging to Chelsea’s coat, he raised his free hand and shot his electricity at the black mist. It jerked, vibrated and shrunk. The girl, now in her mother’s arms, smiled and waved as she disappeared into the crowd.
Stephen made a pistol with his hand, pointed his finger to his lips and blew.
Chelsea tugged his arm, pulling him against her side. The black mist turned its attention toward Stephen. As it thickened even more, a mouth shape formed at the center and called his name. It was a loud, terrible screeching sound. “Steeepheennn.”
“Chelsea, Chelsea, we need to go.” A face jetted from the oily mist and stopped inches from Stephen’s nose.
Oh my God. Shayde.
The mist screamed loud and shrill, showing rows upon rows of perfectly sharp and pointy teeth. Black drippy arms grabbed and clawed at him.
“No!” Stephen sat up, throwing his pillow across the room. “Shayde. He’s here. We have to go. We have to leave.” Taking a moment to catch his breath he realized no one was around to hear him. It took great effort to free himself from the mountain of blankets Chelsea had covered him with. When finally untangled, he marched to the room next to his and pounded on the door.
“Little man, what’s up?” Z’s hair was a mess and stood straight up on the top. Stephen fought back a snicker. No time for jokes.
Grabbing Zander’s shovel-sized hand he pulled him out of his room. “We have to train.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Zander squatted and grasped Stephen’s head in his hands. “It’s six in the morning. What happened? Bad dream?”
* * * *
“Z, listen to me. This is important. We have to train. Now.” Stomping his feet and shaking his fist in the air, Stephen looked hell bent and more than determined. Zander glanced over his shoulder to the warm naked body lying under the sheet. His hope for a good morning romp fizzled like a defective firecracker. Shit. He scratched his head and pulled the bedroom door shut. Grabbing the boy’s hand, he let himself be led, half naked and barefoot, away from his love and down the long hallway.
He rubbed the stubble on his chin and squatted in front of the boy. “Mind telling me what this is all about, little man?” The troubled expression on the young sleepy face set off alarms in Zander’s head.
“There’s a bad man. Very bad.” Fisted hands shook in the air. “He’s the one who hurt my mom. I’m dreaming about him. That means he’s coming. He’s coming. My lightning can hurt him. So you need to teach me how to use it.”
The determination on Stephen’s face and sheer force of will in his eyes, told Zander that anything other than a “hell yes” would have been unacceptable.
Zander knew all too well the devastating effect fear and ignorance could have on a child wielding power as strong as Stephen’s. At least he’d be able to keep the boy safe. Stephen grunted a “thank you” as Zander threw him over his shoulder and headed out. Shoes be damned, he wasn’t going to let this young one down.
The ladies of the house were going to be pissed.
With Stephen in tow, Zander bolted east, deep into the mountains. The sun was already hard at work evaporating the morning dew when he found an ample sized clearing miles from civilization. Far from the threat of prying eyes or discovery.
“That was so cool.” Stephen’s hair looked as if it’d been sucked through a vacuum nozzle and plastered with quick-dry cement. Zander held back a laugh.
“Okay my man, let’s do this.” Zander squatted. Stephen’s eyes grew to the size of Chelsea’s pancakes as they studied the expanse of his bare chest. The boy inflated his own chest and looked down at himself with lips pursed. It was comical, yet heartwarming to watch the small, breakable child size himself up with such confidence.
“First, I want you to show me what you’ve got.” Zander pointed toward a boulder across the clearing at the base of a hill. “Can you shoot that far?”
A snort escaped Stephen’s lips. “Um, yeah. I think so.”
“Well, let’s see it.” Zander stood back resting his hands on his hips. The boy widened his stance, stretched his left arm toward the boulder and inhaled. With a shrug of his shoulder, he shot a bolt of blue toward the stone. It struck the outside left and sent shrouds of dust and shards of rock flying. Pride filled his hazel eyes as he turned toward Zander.
“Interesting.” He smiled, nodding. “Can you do it with the other hand?”
Stephen, overconfident, shot another bolt from his right hand and missed by a few feet. Without hesitation, he threw his arm back up, paused to aim, then shot again. He hit the target, just shy of a bull’s-eye.
“Good job.” Zander grabbed Stephen’s shoulders and gave him a playful shake. “Can you use both at the same time?”
Without a word, the little boy with the big power, shot two bolts of blue electricity and struck the rock dead center, transforming it to a pile of dirt and pebbles.
“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.” Stephen jumped up and down. With hands raised in the air he performed a little dance. “Oh yeah, oh yeah.”
Zander let Stephen have his moment. His skin already tingled and itched from being so far away from Grayce. Fuck, he didn’t like this withdrawal shit.
Time passed in painful waves of ravenous craving and burning prickles while he allowed Stephen to target practice. Little more than an hour had passed and already the gnawing need to be near Grayce drove him out of his mind and nearly out of his skin. If they were going to keep up this training, it would have to be closer to home.
“Or, you could bring Grayce with you,” Zander heard Chelsea’s voice in his head. “Come home boys, breakfast is ready and your woman is going to burn down the house if you don’t get back soon.”
Oh shit. He hadn’t considered Grayce’s withdrawals. There’d be hell to pay when he returned. The thought made his pulse quicken and his cock throb.
* * * *
A faint, thermal glow dusted Grayce’s skin. It would’ve taken a chainsaw to cut through the tension that hung thick as lard in the air. Lips drawn ti
ght, she mumbled under her breath, words not appropriate to speak in front of a child. Zander let her spew. It was kinda cute.
She continued until Nikolas whisked Stephen and Chelsea to the lab. Stephen was the youngest one of their kind to surface with active powers and Nikolas had been eager to start running tests on the boy. Before the door shut behind the doctor, Grayce was straddled in his lap. He cupped her ass and hunted down the tender region in the crook of her neck.
“Fuck Baby. I need to be in you.” He worshipped her musky skin from her neck to the deep dip between her breasts that had become his favorite spot. Her moan was the only invitation he needed. Before she protested, he had them back in their bedroom. They’d hammer out their issues the fun way.
Zander lowered Grayce to her feet, then bent to taste her succulent pink lips. Her kisses were his nourishment. And he was a greedy bastard.
He kissed her until she melted against him. He ran his hands down her backside and pulled her to the floor as he knelt. “Fuck, I can’t get enough of you.”
“Zander,” she whispered. “Get naked, then I’m all yours.”
“You want me here on the hard floor?” He patted the ground next to him.
“No. I want you here.” She pointed to the heavenly place between her legs. “And I want you fast and hard.”
Before the last word left her lips, her panties tore at the seams and drifted to the ground. With eager hands, his shirt was removed and his erection was freed from his jeans. Grayce mounted him. He leaned back on his arms to allow deeper penetration and to watch as she had her way with him. This woman of his was pure, unbridled sensuality.
Lean thighs supported her weight as she stroked his cock with her silky heat. She rode him with wild abandon. Hair tossed back, lush lips parted, nails scoring his chest. Her slick, tight insides pulled and massaged him with perfect friction. Nothing in the world was more satisfying than being inside of her. Nothing.
Grayce pounded against him one last time, ground their hips together, kissed his chest, then stood and backed away.
His heart skipped a beat or two, amazed that someone so breathtaking was hungry for his touch. He laid back, crossed his legs and folded his hands behind his head.
He groaned. “We need to get rid of that dress.”
Her eyes darkened to a sultry hue. “You take it off,” she teased and inched toward the bed.
Her shy smile made his balls tighten. He jumped to his feet, removed his jeans and prowled after her. The dress was removed with a simple rip and tug. The dark peaks of her breasts puckered in anticipation. He stood back to enjoy the view.
“That was my favorite dress,” she murmured.
“That’s a shame.” He shook his head and smiled. “But I like you so much better without it.”
He was about to go in for the kill, but came damn close to hitting the floor when Grayce crawled onto the bed and positioned herself on hands and knees. He’d never taken her from behind. Feared it was too dominating a position and would flood her with unwanted memories. But she offered herself to him with complete trust.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, then cautiously positioned himself behind her.
Grayce turned her head to meet his gaze. “Fast and hard, Zander. Please.” There was no fear present in her eyes. They burned with hunger.
“Are you trying to kill me?” he asked through gritted teeth.
Before she could answer, he was buried so deep she yelped. Her flesh gripped hard and he pulled out with a steady drag. His erection glistened with her slickness. He could’ve continued with the slow burn. Could’ve watched his cock enter and retreat her backside all day. But his firecracker wanted fast and hard. Who was he to deny her wish?
With one hand gripping her hip and the other splayed across the small of her back, he rammed her again and again. Through her whimpers, her moans, he pumped and ground his hips against her perfect round ass. Fast. Hard.
He continued until her sex clenched and spasmed around him. With one last forceful thrust, he exploded inside of her, then collapsed on the bed by her side.
Without a doubt, he was the luckiest man alive.
As he skimmed the sultry surface of the naked body sprawled next to him, Zander had a heated debate with himself. He knew what needed to be done. He hated it, but fuck him, there was no better option at this point.
“We’re going to train. We’ll start tomorrow.”
“Why the sudden urgency?” Turning toward Zander she pulled the sheet up to cover herself. “You’re keeping something from me. I can see it in your eyes.”
Zander rubbed a finger over the curve of her ass. With a less than convincing smack, she put distance between them. “What’s going on?”
He had to tell her.
“He killed Carrie. Another woman from the bar is missing too.”
The fire in her eyes dulled to ash. Grayce sat and curled into a ball.
“Oh my fucking hell.” Fisting her hair, she rocked back and forth. “We have to stop him.”
Zander’s heart split into a thousand tiny shards seeing her like that, scared and frail, retreating to her dark place. “There’s more.” Before continuing, he sat and pulled his precious, broken lover into his lap.
“What? What more?” Grayce shivered then relaxed into his hold.
“He left Carrie in your car in Armstrong’s parking lot. They haven’t found the other girl, Georgia I think her name is.”
No need to talk about the horrific condition Carrie was found in. Grayce shouldn’t hear about the wounds, or the torture devices he left with the body. Most likely, Grayce had seen those tools up close and personal. Tyr wanted her to see them. Zander would not let that happen.
The rocking continued. “Why is he doing this?”
Unable to bear it any longer, Zander untangled Grayce’s hands from the strands of hair she frantically twisted. He turned her to face him. “Because he can. Because he’s insane. Shit. He’s been consumed by the darkness, that’s why his eyes are black.” Zander had only heard of the evil ones, he’d never come face to face with one. Nikolas and Chelsea had. Loved ones had lost their lives during the horrific encounter.
“He’s one of us,” Grayce whispered.
“Yes. But he’s not like us, not anymore. He’s pure evil, the darkness owns him, controls him. Nikolas believes he has the ability to teleport. That’s how Houghton escaped from prison.”
Mindful of her fragile disposition, Zander pushed. “I know this is hard to talk about, but if you have any information that may help, we need to hear it. We need to know everything we can about him.”
“Fuck Zander, what can I say? We lived in California. I never met his family, but I know they were stinking rich. He had an older brother. I’ve seen pictures, but he never talked about siblings. I didn’t ask. If he had powers back then, it was kept from me.
“Grayce, baby. Think back. Do you remember anything peculiar?”
“For fuck’s sake Zander. He kept me in a torture room, shared me with strangers, charged admission. Does it get any more bizarre than that?” She looked at him with pleading eyes, her internal struggle evident.
“Wait. There is something. When he left for more than a few days, he’d come back pale and sickly. The color would come back to his face after he’d touch me.” Violent shivers wracked her body. “Those were the best days. When he was gone on business. I would be locked in my room and left alone. Servants would bring me food. I begged for help once...” Grayce stopped. The shimmer of tears told him all he needed to know. He didn’t urge her to continue.
“Firecracker, there’s something extra special about you. Tyr and Stephen can’t get their fill. Shit, I even noticed at the bar. Men are drawn to you. It’s not just physical. It’s chemical, like you’re a walking bottle of pheromones.”
“Talk about a cluster fuck of DNA,” Grayce huffed. “Why isn’t Nikolas attracted to me then?”
Zander ran a hand through his hair. Thank God Nikolas wasn’t att
racted to her. It was bad enough that he had to compete with a six-year-old for her attention. “Maybe because he already has Chelsea. Stephen and Tyr, they haven’t bonded yet.”
Grayce gasped. “Oh shit. What if Tyr finds his mate? How powerful would he be?” She trembled.
Zander loosened his grip on Grayce, hoping to hide his own sharp shiver. “Let’s hope we never find out.”
“So we’re going to do this. We’re going to find him, right?” Hope lit up her face like a spring sunrise. “When can we start?” She tried to crawl away.
Zander pulled her back to his chest. “I told you, we’ll start tomorrow. Right now, I need to make love to you again. Soft and slow this time.”
9
“Insatiable fiend. Let me eat first.” Grayce pried Zander’s fingers from her hip bone and stormed toward the door. Sure, she wanted round four every bit as much as he did, but come on, a girl needed to recharge and rehydrate. “Fuel. I need fuel.” As she stepped through the threshold, she entered a lush green jungle. The air hung heavy and wet. Bird calls echoed through the foliage and a monkey screamed somewhere in the distance.
“What the hell?” Grayce stumbled back into Zander’s embrace. Her head bounced against his chest as he laughed.
“Where are you my friend?” Zander called out. With a sweeping motion, he moved his arm in front of him and the jungle swirled in a rainbow of colors. “This is some of your best work yet.” He chuckled. “Sound effects are new.”
Grayce hadn’t realized she was frozen until he nudged her to move forward through the illusion. It shimmied and misted around them showing hallway, then jungle, then hallway again.
“Can you please tell me what the hell is going on?” Anger fizzled before it could manifest into more. The scene was so beautiful, so real, the only thing missing was a coconut bra and a palm leaf sarong.
“You’ve frightened my lady, Marcus. I might have to give you a beat down for that.”
In an instant, the jungle lifted and disappeared into the ceiling, leaving behind the hallway and a beast of a man. He rested, shoulder against the wall, chiseled arms crossed over a massive chest, head held in a playful tilt.
Aflame (Apotheosis) Page 14