by Riley Storm
Liam basked in the touch. It was such a simple act, but he knew he would never grow tired of receiving her affection.
“Did you…?” she asked curiously, glancing down between them.
“Almost,” he growled, kissing her thoroughly, squeezing his Kegel muscles, letting her feel him flex inside her.
“Oh,” she said dreamily. “Nice.”
He laughed through their kiss at the bluntness of her statement. “Just nice?” he asked, pulling his hips back and then thrusting forward again.
“Very nice,” Jen moaned. “But, change of plans today.”
Liam stopped. “What?”
Putting both hands on his chest, she pushed him off. Going with the flow, he sat back, giving her space and freedom to move. Jen got up from her back, grabbed his shoulders, and then twisted him down onto the bed.
“Ah,” he rumbled happily as she climbed on top of him. “I can get behind this.”
Jen bounced her eyebrows. “You can get behind it another day, I promise. Today, I want this.”
He laughed, shaking his head at her crude humor. Perfect. She was just perfec—Oh.
His thought was cut off as she reached behind herself, grabbing his shaft and slipping it inside. “Fuck, that feels good,” he groaned, grabbing her hips as she started to ride him.
“Yeah?”
Nodding eagerly, he focused on her body, watching it bounce and jiggle as she moved back and forth against him. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, his eyes working their way from her stomach, up over her breasts before coming to a rest on her face. “So beautiful.”
Jennifer smiled, arching her back, head drooping behind her. Liam took the invitation, grabbing her breasts, squeezing, gently pinching her nipples. Suddenly he had a new sexiest memory of her.
She rocked against him for some time, sitting up, bending over to kiss him, always grinding her hips, taking him as deep as she could. They didn’t speak much, but Liam could feel the connection between them building and building. It wasn’t just the growing pressure between his legs. The shared intimacy, the feel for one another.
There was something more here than just lust. Something…deeper. No pun intended. No, there’s a very real connection here. As if she is my—
Jennifer chose that moment to squeeze her walls around him, and the sudden added pressure was too much. With a mighty groan, he grabbed her hips and held tight, holding her just above him as he thrust into her hard over and over as his climax overtook him.
She screamed, one hand diving between them, rubbing herself furiously. Her body shook in his hands, words he couldn’t focus on slipping from her mouth.
Liam went limp, and a second later Jen collapsed on top of him, both breathing heavily. Tired, but satisfied.
And happy. He couldn’t forget happy. Today had been a day for big breakthroughs, on both their parts. Though he had yet to tell Jennifer the realization he’d just, eh, come to, Liam couldn’t wait to reveal the news.
“Hold on a second,” Jennifer said as he squirmed under her slightly. “I need to focus, and with you still inside me moving around, that’s difficult.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said with a laugh.
Pop.
“What are you—?”
“Roll that way,” she said, tilting her head to his left.
“What?”
“Roll. That. Way.”
He did as he was told, and together they rolled through the portal she’d just created…onto the bed in her room at the farm.
“Well that’s convenient,” he muttered with a laugh as the portal closed behind them. “Very convenient. But uh…”
“What now?” she asked.
There was a knock at the door.
“What about our clothes?”
32
“Well, I have more here,” she said.
“I know you’re in there,” the voice said from the door.
“Now is not a good time, Logan,” Liam called from under her. “Please come back later.”
There was a pause.
She frowned. “Are we in trouble for sleeping together?” she whispered.
“No,” Logan answered from the door, much to her embarrassment. “But we really appreciate you keeping it down this time.”
Her face lit up like the surface of the sun.
“Go away,” Liam called, clearly biting back a smile.
Shaking her head, Jennifer tried to tell him with her eyes that this wasn’t a laughing matter. That was horrifying! Had that many people really heard her the first time? Oh, she was going to die of embarrassment. How could she ever be seen around the farm again?
“I can’t,” Logan said through the door. “We have a problem.”
“Shit,” Liam muttered. “One second.”
Jennifer didn’t wait. She rolled off him. Air popped as she opened a portal back to her old room and went through gathering up clothing and throwing it through as she got it. She didn’t bother to get completely dressed, instead just pulling her robe around her. Liam simply pulled his pants up and went back to the door while she returned to the farm and closed the rent behind her.
“Ready?” Liam mouthed, hand on the doorknob.
Nodding, she sat back onto the bed, conscious of the evidence of their deed still inside her. This was going to be awkward. Some of it dripped out, and she stifled a groan. She’d never enjoyed that feeling. Not after, at least. During was…quite pleasurable but—
Focus. Something is wrong.
“Sorry about this,” Logan rumbled. “I wouldn’t do it if there wasn’t a good reason.”
“I know,” she said, before Liam could speak, her voice tight. “What is it?”
She feared she knew. The Mage Council must have sent a representative to speak to Logan while she was gone. They would have given the rebel leader an ultimatum, to hand her over, or face the consequences. That was what this conversation was going to be about. She was going to have to go on the run.
Jennifer’s pulse quickened.
“Laurien is reacting far quicker than anticipated,” Logan said without preamble.
“Oh.” She spoke out loud, surprised at the real issue.
“The Tyrant King has summoned a number of reinforcements from around the world, and they’re all expected to arrive shortly. Numbers enough to put us back at a major disadvantage,” Logan said, speaking quickly. “Most of them are loyal to the throne, not to Laurien himself.”
Liam was nodding along, and a moment later, she understood as well. “So, when they do arrive, they’ll be loyal to whoever is sitting on it.”
“Yes,” Logan said.
She exchanged a glance with Liam before asking her next question. “Do they know about me?”
Logan nodded. “Yes, they do. Word has gotten out, as we suspected it would. In fact, I don’t think it will be long before another mage joins forces with Laurien and the Canis Magi.”
She frowned at that. The Canis Magi, a magic-trained shifter, was going to be a problem on its own. But adding another Academy-trained mage to their team would spell doom to their plan.
“I’m not surprised,” she said in response to both shifters looking at her. “There are plenty who support the Tyrant King. He’s willing to let them work magic that has been outlawed for a century. Something nobody else is okay with.”
“We’re only going to have one chance at this,” Logan said gravely. “One shot to undo all the wrong that has been made.” He stared at Jennifer in apology. “I wish I could have given you more time.”
Liam came over to her side, squeezing her shoulder. “How much time do we have before the first reinforcements arrive?”
“They already have,” Logan said quietly. “But not enough to make a difference.”
“When do we attack?” she wanted to know.
“Immediately,” Logan said in a very soft voice. “In less than twelve hours, the first of major reinforcements will arrive at Moonshadow Manor. If we’re not there, and I or
one of the command group is not on the throne when they arrive, we’re doomed. It’s that simple. This is our chance.”
Jennifer tugged on her hair, looking at the fiery red locks. Logan wasn’t here to tell Liam about the problem, she realized. He had come for her. To ask her, to plead with her, that she be ready. Everything was hinged on that, on her strength and abilities, and whether or not she could open the doors to the Manor.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” she whispered, looking up at Liam, trying to tell him to call it off. To find another way. There had to be one. Something that didn’t involve her being entrusted with so many lives. Not after she’d almost killed the two of them earlier.
“You had better be,” Logan said firmly, before Liam could speak. “Because otherwise, a whole lot of my men are going to die.”
She started to protest, but the rebel leader wasn’t finished.
“Unfortunately, if we don’t go now, all of them will end up dead. That decision is on me, Jennifer. Not you. We’re going to attack, no matter what. There’s a chance, a slim chance, that maybe we can win through. But that chance is exponentially larger if you’re there with us.”
She bit her lip, so very uncertain, despite the reassuring squeeze on her shoulder from Liam.
“We can’t stay here,” Logan said, getting up, squaring his shoulders. “It was safe because we had the numbers and knew the loyalists wouldn’t attack. But that’s about to change. We have to act before they can. I hope you’re there with us.”
Then he strode from the room, leaving the two of them alone.
“Liam,” she started, but a finger against her mouth silenced her.
“It’s okay to be frightened,” he said. “That’s normal. I’m glad you are.”
She frowned. “What? Why?”
“Because it means you realize the enormity of the task before us. Of what we have to do. If you didn’t, then I’d worry you were overconfident, and we would be exposed because of it. I know if you’re scared, however, you will do a magnificent job, because you’ll cover all your bases.”
She collapsed into his hug, head resting on his stomach as he stood next to her while she slumped into him at the edge of the bed. “What if I’m not, Liam? What if I succumb to temptation?”
“I trust you.”
There was some serious gravity to those words. Jennifer sat up straight, pulling away enough so she could look up at his face, into his eyes.
“Trust is a big thing for you, isn’t it?” she asked. “Why is that?”
Liam was silent for a moment. It stretched on long enough that she thought he wasn’t going to tell her.
But then, just as she was about to give up hope, he started speaking.
33
“Yes.”
He forced that first word out, knowing on some level, somewhere within, that if he didn’t speak, didn’t say anything, it would be the beginning of the end between the two of them. This was a crucial bridge, and it was one it was time he crossed.
“I thought so,” Jen said, staying close to him, but not actually touching him.
“You did? Why?”
“Um, you talked about it a lot?” she offered. “And every time you did, you kind of tense up, your eyes get clouded. And just now, when you said you trusted me, it seemed like it was harder for you to admit it to yourself, than it was to say it to me.”
Liam bit his lip, nodding along with everything she said. “You’re not wrong. It…wasn’t easy.”
But I had to.
“Why is that?” Jen asked in her softest voice. “Are you able to tell me?”
“I’m going to try,” he said, his voice suddenly thick.
Liam didn’t like that. This mage, this woman, she was important to him, dammit. She meant a lot. More than a lot. There was a large possibility she was his mate. If Liam couldn’t trust his mate, then, in his own mind, he didn’t deserve her, and she most certainly deserved better than him. Jennifer had opened up, sharing her secrets, her shame. Now it was time he showed her his pain. That was what mates did.
“I’m going to try,” he said in a stronger voice, letting anger at his betrayal fuel his desire to share everything with Jennifer.
Layton had betrayed him once, hurt him, nearly had him killed. The time for that was over though. Liam wasn’t going to let that asshole continue to affect him. His life was his own, nobody else’s, and Layton wasn’t going to win. Not again.
“It’s okay,” Jen said, reaching up to rest a hand on his shoulder. “You don’t have to tell me.”
He shuddered at her touch, but eventually leaned into it, relishing it, accepting it. This was the touch of someone he liked. Someone he cared for. It should feel good. It did feel good. The way she reached up with a pair of fingers and caressed his neck without actually moving her hand. He liked that.
“Yes, I do,” he countered. “I do have to tell you. Because you’re the first person I’ve trusted in months.”
“What?” Jennifer seemed taken aback by his comment. “What about Logan, and the others?”
“No,” he said gruffly, staring at the wall, knowing if he looked into those perfect jade eyes, he wouldn’t be able to keep his composure. “Not entirely.”
Footsteps started echoing through the house as booted feet tramped down hallways, stairs, and the forces of the rebels began leaving the farmhouse behind.
“We should go outside,” he said, finding the clothes Jen had hastily grabbed from through the portal and putting them on.
She nodded and they dressed in silence, exchanging silent looks, but not speaking.
“My room,” he said, leading the way out into the hall. They passed several rebels heading outside, eyes hard, their bodies draped with weapons.
They were ready for war.
He entered his room, briefly snatching up his dagger and some heavier duty tactical boots.
“I wish you didn’t have to be involved in this,” he said, breaking the quiet between them as he shut the door behind him and gestured for her to lead the way downstairs. “But let’s face it, we have no hope at all without you.”
“I’m not your savior,” she said quietly, clearly not comforted by his words.
“I know. But you’re our chance. We still have to finish it. But you’re giving us the chance to even start. That’s all we can ask.”
Jennifer grinned. “I can be your chance. That I can handle.”
“Good.” You’re more than that to me.
“You trust me to be your chance?” she asked, clearly meaning him personally.
“Yes,” he said, meaning every ounce of it. “I do trust you.”
There was more silence, but this time it was a heavy one, and Liam knew why. He knew what she was asking him about, without actually speaking a word. He knew what she wanted to know from him.
“It’s hard to trust again,” he said, booted feet clomping across the hardwood as they went for the exit. “After the person closest to you, the one you consider practically family, stabs you in the back. Not just stabs you in the back, but they do it so blatantly, without attempting to seem apologetic or caring, that it becomes obvious they never cared about you in the first place.”
“That must have been horrible,” Jen agreed, reaching out, resting a hand on his forearm, only pulling it back as they pushed open the door and went outside.
Liam surveyed the packed ground that served as a courtyard between the farmhouse, several of the closer barns, and a pair of large utility sheds. It was packed with shifters, over a hundred of them, grim-faced men in standard gray t-shirts and sweatpants, with thick black tactical boots. All were armed with daggers, some had swords, and fewer still, those in the front ranks, had uranium-dust pistols strapped to their sides.
This was no scout team or raiding party. It wasn’t a review of the men nor was it a pre-dawn workout. Training was over. The skirmishes were done.
It was time they re-took their home.
“The bastard didn’t
just jam the knife home and betray me, nearly killing me,” he growled, eyes roving over the rebels, a feeling of pride filling his body at being a part of something like this. Something with meaning. “He showed up in person to try and collect, without any remorse. After something like that, well, you just sort of lose your faith in everyone.”
He recounted the story of Layton and his escape from the Manor. Jennifer looked shocked, appalled, horrified, but most of all, she seemed concerned for him. Her hand returned to his arm, giving it a squeeze.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that Liam. I am. What are you going to do now?”
“Now?” he asked, taking up a position slightly off to the side of the assembled ranks of men, facing them at a right angle.
On the other side of the formation, several of the other high command faced him back, all stern and focused on the mission at hand.
“Now, I’m going to face that unpleasantness. I’m going to go back to Moonshadow Manor with you at my side, and I’m going to end it. I’m going to ensure nobody else is ever hurt.”
Jennifer was quiet for a moment. “You mean to kill him, don’t you?”
“If I can’t convince him to see reason, yes,” he said coldly. “House Canis needs to be united. Now more than ever, Jen.”
He could sense her frown. “Why now more than ever? Aside from the obvious, you’re stronger as one?”
“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “A gut feeling. But something else is coming. And I think we’re going to need to be ready for it. Without any internal conflict. We’re going to need to trust one another again, fully.”
“I’ll be there. For you, for them,” she said quietly, taking his hand and letting it hang between them. “I won’t hurt you.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “That’s why I…care for you.”
He wasn’t sure if Jen caught the slight hesitation while he decided what word to use, but he did feel her hand squeeze his tight in return. It was, he thought, the first open admission of feelings between them, and Liam was fairly sure she was as surprised as he was that he’d been the first to say it, not her.
“It’s because I care for you,” he said, doubling down, “that I trust you. And it’s because of that trust, I know you can handle this.”