Department 57: Bloody Crystal

by Lynne Connolly

For the first time ever, she cursed her parents’ decision to keep her apart from the rest of Talented society, encouraging her not to mix. She’d been lonely for so long without really realizing it, afraid to get too close to mortals, afraid to approach any Talents she sensed. Until Rhodri. And even if he betrayed her, she’d love him. That made her officially pathetic, she supposed, but right now, with his arms protectively encircling her, she didn’t care.

  Rhodri continued to hold her as Wilkinson’s men walked around the bed and chained them down, just as they were, still holding each other. This time the men merely bound them with strong, silver-reinforced bands, then locked her wrists in handcuffs behind her back before locking Rhodri in cuffs, his arms still around her. One of the men performing the task chuckled. She wanted to kill him, bile rising in her throat. Rhodri shushed her.

  The men fastened Rhodri and Cerys’s feet in cuffs too and dragged the duvet off to reveal them naked. She and Rhodri should have been ashamed, Cerys supposed, but she didn’t feel that way. She was with the man she loved. She concentrated on that and tried to control her blushes.

  Four men wheeled them outside. Like a normal hospital bed, this one was equipped with casters that locked down when the bed was in position. The door was wide enough for the bed, but only just, and she scraped her calf on the rough edge of the doorjamb. When she winced, Rhodri growled and promised the man who’d let it happen retribution. The man laughed.

  More people waited outside, watching the bonded pair transported to their new suite. This one would have stronger protection, less opportunity to escape. Then they’d be auctioned. The glint of a camera lens caught her attention. They were performing already, she guessed.

  “Hold on, sweetheart, and add your strength to mine. When we reach that junction, just do it.”

  The order came fast and hard, straight to the heart of her.

  She had to trust him. She’d promised herself that she would, whatever he told her to do.

  They came to a junction in passageways, and the men hauling the bed prepared for the turn.

  “Now!”

  She did as she was told, dropped her barriers, and pushed all her strength into him.

  They flashed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  She only realized what was happening when the familiar whirling sensation took her, as if the world was passing at a preternaturally fast rate. Which, in a way, it was. If he hadn’t a firm picture in his mind of their destination, they would both die. But at least she’d die with him.

  “Good evening.”

  The voice—a cultured American tone—was one she’d never heard before. They lay on something soft with a hard surface beneath, free of the shackles and chains but still naked. Someone threw a soft blanket over her, and Rhodri lay beside her, still holding her. She closed her eyes, felt the familiar fatigue sweep over her. Where were they?

  As if she’d spoken aloud, an answer came. “You’re in New York, in my office. I’m Cristos, and I run Department 57 in the USA.”

  She opened her eyes and saw a man with silver hair, but unlike Kai, this was cropped in a neat style to hug the man’s skull. His eyes almost matched his hair but were a shade darker, a steel gray, penetrating. She felt she couldn’t keep any secrets from this man. Like his eyes, his suit was gray, his blue tie the only color about him. He stood over them, at their feet, watching them.

  Rhodri sat up and helped her, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, heedless of his own nakedness. Something flew across the room, and he lifted his hand to catch it without taking his attention from her. A pair of jeans.

  “Thanks,” he said absently.

  “Hello, Cerys.”

  She jerked at the familiar voice and looked around. Kai leaned against a large desk that stood before a huge window, reflecting the New York she’d always dreamed of visiting one day. But not like this. At least she assumed it was New York. The buildings opposite the office were modern, lights gleaming in a random pattern. He smiled at her. “You feeling all right, baby?”

  This time she didn’t mind the endearment. She was just glad to see him. “How did it happen?”

  Rhodri hugged her closer. “Esti planted a picture of this place while she was examining me, then she told a lie about the death of her parents to clue me in. Just before they moved us, she said she was controlling us, remember? She wasn’t, didn’t even try to, and couldn’t do it in any case. I think someone was monitoring her to make sure she didn’t contact us with anything too obvious. I’d been here before, so I might have recalled it anyway, but there were details I didn’t recognize.” He nodded to a small bookcase by the window. “That’s new. She’s certainly under surveillance, and she knows it. But that was enough. And someone had to have told him that I’m allergic to silver. Which I’m not. She is working with the Department, isn’t she?”

  “Of course.” Cristos turned his back and crossed the room to a wet bar that stood against one wall. “Drink?”

  Rhodri waved at the window. “It’s still dark.”

  “I wasn’t asking you.”

  “I’ll take a scotch, if you have one,” Kai said. “I need something after witnessing that. We thought you were never coming, and then you did. It never fails to unnerve me.”

  “You’ve seen it before,” Rhodri said.

  Kai took the crystal tumbler filled with a generous portion of amber liquid from Cristos with a word of thanks. “It still freaks me out.”

  Rhodri got to his feet and pulled on the jeans, then held out his hand and helped haul her to her feet. Cerys clutched the pale cream blanket around her. After their recent exposure, she felt raw. She wrapped the fabric under her arms and tucked the ends firmly in.

  “You could make a rag look like a couture design,” Rhodri murmured, then turned to the two men. “I want her safe, and I want to care for her. There’s something you need to know.”

  “Cerys is pregnant,” Cristos said. “Congratulations. When you came in, I sensed three presences, not two.”

  “One of your Talents?” Kai said sharply.

  Cristos smiled enigmatically. “One of them.”

  Rhodri contacted her privately. “Nobody knows what Talent Cristos has, or even if he has one. There’s a book running on him here and on Will in London and the heads in other countries. They won’t tell.”

  “Why not?”

  “They say they want to avoid bias and favoritism, but it has to be more than that.” He sounded amused. She was so glad he could do that. Right now all she felt was confused and exhausted. She closed her eyes. She thought only for a moment, but when she opened them again, everyone was staring at her.

  “Time for a break. There’s a bathroom through there,” Cristos said, indicating a small door. “Go freshen up if you want to.”

  Cristos handed her a pair of jeans, some panties, and a T-shirt. With a smile of thanks, she took them. When she found that the room contained a shower as well as a basin and toilet, she couldn’t resist using it to rinse her body clean. She returned feeling much better and saw Rhodri similarly attired, his hair sticking up in damp spikes. There must be two showers nearby.

  “We have a room at a hotel ready for you. Unlike the one you used in Manchester, this one is used to receiving Talents and is set up securely. I don’t want you flashing there. You’re too tired to do it accurately, so Kai here will take you.”

  “I’m staying too,” Kai said. “Nice place.”

  “We’ll talk later,” Cristos said. “Unfortunately we have to act quickly to secure this situation. There’s an ongoing operation, and I’m hoping Rhodri can assist. Kai has agreed.”

  “We’re bonded,” Rhodri said, his brows set in two grim lines.

  She put her hand on his arm. “We have to. I won’t feel safe until he’s under lock and key.”

  “That’s if he’s lucky,” Kai added. “Come on, I have a car outside.”

  “Bulletproof?” she managed with a light tone.

  “Of course.” He smiled,
but he wasn’t lying. The glass in the limousine he took them to was three inches thick.

  And he was right. A short journey brought them to one of the best hotels in New York, where they were escorted straight across the lobby and up to a special floor via a private lift—elevator, she reminded herself. Astonishingly someone had packed and brought her new wardrobe from Manchester, but since Kai had told them the core team had arrived, they’d probably brought it with them. In first class. She was still stunned that she’d found her way across the Atlantic without knowing it.

  Standing by, but careful not to get in front of the window in the room, she stared across Central Park. A pair of arms snaked around her waist and pulled her close to a hard male body. She didn’t have to turn around to know who the arms and body belonged to. “The windows here are bulletproof. One of the owners of this place is a Talent, and he had this floor refurbished for the sole use of Talents, especially agents requiring a safe house.”

  “Nice to know. I don’t even have a passport, Rhodri. How could they do this?”

  “Private charter. Don’t worry; you’ll have a passport by the time you need it. Cristos will expedite it.”

  She sighed. “I’d have liked to experience my first long-haul flight.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll make sure you experience the one back home. Come and shower with me. We’ll order room service first.”

  “We showered earlier.”

  “Not together.”

  She turned in his arms. “I never thought I’d be here, do this. I couldn’t imagine it.”

  “I could. I always wanted to do something like this with you.” He gazed at her as if she was all he could see. “I should feel exhausted, but something else is driving me on, and I don’t think I can sleep until I’ve made love to you again.”

  “Made love?” She must be really old-fashioned, because she loved the sound of that. “Not fucking?”

  “I want to do both. Riding you to a screaming orgasm, going for the multiple, just doing it for physical pleasure. And showing you how much you mean to me, cherishing you, caring for you. Which do you want first?”

  She smiled up at him. “You choose. I still feel a bit groggy.”

  “I’m tempted to pamper you. I will, don’t get me wrong. But oh, cariad, I want you so much I don’t think I can!”

  As if a dam had burst, he dragged her close and took her mouth in a deep kiss. She opened for him like a flower dying of thirst, drank him in, and savored his taste. Even his earthier than usual scent turned her on. She scented his blood and recalled that she hadn’t fed that day.

  Before she came to the conclusion, he was there. “We’ll see to your needs later, sweetheart. You’ll have to make do with me for today, unless you want me to call one of the others. You won’t get the same level of sustenance.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” she purred, sinuously wriggling against his chest.

  He growled low. “Come here, wench.”

  But instead of taking her to the shower, he spun her around and bent to murmur in her ear, his hot breath bathing her with every word, making the rim of her ear tingle. “Something I noticed back in that room. When I reminded you that they had cameras trained on us, you got wetter. I felt it, and your mind heated up. Tell me, sweetheart, do you think anyone can see through this window?”

  “This is a security room, isn’t it? If it was dangerous, they’d make us close the curtains, wouldn’t they?”

  “Smart girl. Bulletproof and one-way. But we can see right out, can’t we?”

  She shivered. “Clear as day.” And it was indeed daytime, bright sunshine outside. Spring in New York looked like a delightful time to be here. People wandered up and down outside, both on the pavement—sidewalk—and the broader one outside Central Park opposite. “What do you think would happen if we gave them a show? If they could see us doing this?”

  He lifted his hands slowly, slid them up the outside of her T-shirt and covered her breasts. Squeezed and released, but pinched her nipples through the fabric. Her head went back to rest on his broad chest.

  “Do you trust me?” He squeezed again.

  “Totally.” She didn’t have to think about it.

  He growled again. “Not many people do. I have a temper, one I’ve worked hard to control. I’m a vampire, and everyone in my family was terrified of me. They all knew, but kept their distance. Other Talents are wary of vampires. Hot-blooded, they say. And yet you, a young one, have never showed a minute’s fear. I could turn on you, take you. I’m stronger than you are, more powerful. I could overwhelm you in an instant, especially in the daytime. And yet you’re not afraid of me.”

  “You’ve never given me reason to be.”

  He eased his thumbs under the waistband of her jeans and slid them around to her front, holding her in his powerful embrace. “So what if I do this?”

  She gasped, lost in a world of their making. She had no difficulty imagining that the people below could see them, and it turned her on. “I’d have to assume you won’t let me be arrested for indecent exposure.”

  “That’s riiight.” He hummed, vibrating the skin just under her ear with a wonderfully stimulating tone. Her turn to purr. “You’d have to trust me.”

  “I do.” She’d almost lost her voice. He stroked her stomach, working slowly lower with each touch, dipping below her waistband. Her button had come undone—she had no idea how—and now her zipper slipped slowly down, almost of its own volition, it seemed, giving way under his gentle hands.

  With each stroke her arousal rose like a living thing inside her. She’d thought herself exhausted, wrung out, but now she discovered she was wrong. She hungered for him, more than she could remember doing for anyone else. He’d barely cleared the hair at the top of her mons, nowhere near touching her, but she leaned back, pushed up her hips.

  “No, darling. If you want me to touch, you have to show. Let the world see how beautiful you are. Take off your jeans.”

  She couldn’t do anything else. This was more than loving; this was a demonstration of trust. She guessed he needed it. He’d been alone most of his life, moved on and made a life for himself. On his own. Something deep inside of him demanded this, that she trust him of her own volition, when there was nothing at stake but trust. In danger, she had to trust him because he knew best. It would have been foolish to do anything else. But here she could say no. She could walk away, and there’d be no repercussions. Or none that were life threatening. But she’d hurt him, and that would always remain between them.

  Besides, he was heating her blood to fever pitch. Right now she’d do anything for him if he’d touch her just once.

  He continued to stroke her lower stomach and her hips until she made up her mind. Moaning her surrender, she leaned forward to drag her jeans down her legs. She kicked off her shoes. The ones they’d found for her were a size too large, so she didn’t even have to undo the laces. That saved time.

  As she straightened, he slid his hands up her body, over her waist, taking her T-shirt with him. He pulled it off and cast it aside, heedless of where it fell. She wouldn’t be wearing it again in any case. He cupped her breasts. “Mmm, sexy. I liked that bra you wore before.”

  “I have a drawer full.”

  “None that I’ve chosen. I want to choose some for you, have the pleasure of seeing you model them for me.”

  “What will you do in return?” She was almost gasping now, his warm hands blazing a trail to her heart.

  “Anything you want me to. And maybe give you a few surprises in the bargain.” He paused, but only to strip off his own T-shirt. He returned immediately, drawing her against his hot, hard body. “That’s better. Open your legs, Cerys. Show the world how beautiful you are.”

  She moaned and leaned against him, the end of her messy ponytail brushing his skin. She did it again, and it was his turn to moan. “Do it, cariad. Agor eich coesau.”

  “Ie.”

  She had no choice. None at all. She wanted him to
touch her, needed it like she needed her next breath. Shakily she spread her legs. “Wider.” She did as he told her, his voice soft but masterful. Below, people walked. They’d be able to see her from across the street if this were an ordinary hotel room. They were high enough but not too high for anyone with a camera with a zoom lens or a pair of binoculars to see her easily. See them.

  She lifted one arm to curl around his neck, to hold him tight as he kissed her neck, her throat, lingering at the pulse point. He held her close to his body, so close his cock burned through his jeans, and moved his hand lower and lower still, slowly drifting through the curls until he reached her cleft. “Oh God, sweetheart, you are so wet,” he murmured, his mouth against her throat. And finally he dipped lower, into her wet heat. “Open to me. Your mind, your heart. Everything. This room is protected from psi invasion, better jamming than anyone else has, so nobody can penetrate it.”

  At the word “penetrate,” she had a sudden vision of his cock plowing into her, forging its way into her body. And she melted. She couldn’t deny him anything.

  Not while he was doing that. His devilish fingers strummed and pinched. He slipped a finger just inside her, bathing it in her essence, then drew it up in an agonizingly slow sweep until he reached her clit. At the same time, he pinched one of her nipples with his other hand. He knew she liked that. She cried out, almost past words now.

  “Can you see us reflected in the window? Open your eyes, cariad; look at them. One glance up here and they’d see it all. See inside you, that beautiful pussy, dripping for me. Do you think they’d like to do this?” He pinched her nipple and her clit at the same time, catapulting her into temporary oblivion. He held her steady while she pulsed around him, and shoved two fingers deep, hooking them, searching for her sweet spot. She had no idea if he found it. She was high enough already.

  He stilled. “Open your eyes.”

  She did as he ordered. Right on to the throng of people outside. As far as she could see, nobody was looking at their window, but if this huge window was open, everyone could see her and everything she had.