Touch If You Dare

by Stephanie Rowe

  Matt was standing at the base of the stairs, gripping the railing, head bowed as if he were trying desperately to summon the strength to walk away. And as she watched, he took a step, and then another and another— “Matt!”

  He spun around, sweat trickling down his temples. “What is it, my love?”

  Natalie gripped the bars, her throat so tight, so desperate. “If you love me enough to walk away, then don’t you think you love me enough to keep from killing me when we make love?”

  He stared at her.

  “That logic is way too sound,” Trinity muttered. “Gina! Hit her again.”

  “Again?” She cocked the gun. “I hope you’re right.”

  Natalie was reaching for Matt when the dart thudded into the back of her head. “Enough already!” She yanked it out and hurled it at Gina, then grabbed the one in her hip and unleashed it at Trinity. Both darts hit their marks square in the chest.

  “We’ll be fine.” Trinity yanked the dart out and dropped it to the floor as Gina did the same. “The tranquilizer has already been released into Natalie. There won’t be enough left to affect us.” She pulled out her phone. “I’m calling Reina, though. It’s time for her to sleep with her boss for the promotion. No time left to do it the old-fashioned way.”

  “I’ll knock out the sperm factory.” Gina bent to pick up the gun. She positioned it on her shoulder aimed right at Matt… And then she yawned.

  Natalie smiled. “I love you guys, but you don’t know what’s right for me. I do.”

  “When you’re sane you do, but right now, not so much.” Trinity jerked her head sloppily at Gina, in a not-so-subtle attempt to tell her to shoot the good guy. She tapped the speaker on her phone, and the ringing began to echo in the cell.

  “I’ve got it.” Gina pulled the trigger, promptly tranquilizing the flat screen television on the wall. “Whoops.”

  Trinity swung her head around to look. “Oops.”

  “Hello? Trin? What’s going on?” Reina’s voice echoed out in the cell.

  Trinity stared blankly at her phone. “Reina? Did you call me?”

  “No. You called me. What’s going on?”

  “I think—”

  Natalie blew on the back of Trinity’s head. Her friend swayed, the phone dropped to the floor with a clang, and then she tipped over. Asleep.

  “Wow, Nat.” Gina gave her a bleary-eyed thumbs up. “That was really cool.”

  Natalie blew her a kiss, and Gina immediately tipped over and was asleep by the time her head landed on the well-worn pink teddy bear that Natalie had slept with every night of her life.

  Until tonight. Tonight she would sleep with Vlad the Impaler.

  Natalie turned back toward the entrance, and of course, her lover was still there. Waiting. Natalie strode over to the bars. “How many times will you make love to me if I can open these up?”

  He ripped off his shirt, revealing a buff, toned body. “I’ve never made love before,” he said. “I’ve only had sex. This time… it’s making love, and I’ll make love to you as many times as my heart wants to tell you it loves you. A million, maybe? For starters?”

  The most delicious warmth rippled over her, and she yanked at the bars. For a moment nothing moved, and then Matt walked up, took her face in his hands, and lightly kissed the tip of her nose.

  Strength surged through her, the bars moved aside if it they were overcooked noodles, and then she was in his arms.

  And this time, there was no one to stop them.

  Chapter 20

  Jarvis might not be able to fly, even on his best days.

  But he could land.

  He hit cement easily, executed a textbook tuck and roll, followed by a round-off and two handsprings to absorb the excess momentum, and came to a graceful stop right at the entrance to the alley where he’d left his vehicle.

  He hated to give Angelica any kudos, but his gymnastic talents had come in handy on more than one occasion. Shit. Maybe the chick knew what she was talking about—

  He staggered as the full force of the Mean and Nasties smacked him, and he reeled as the purple shadows batted at his face. Since when were the hate goblins corporeal? He decapitated the lot of them to the sound of giggling that no grown warrior wanted to hear from the death shadows chasing him.

  More came out of the ground, squeezing out of the cracks in the sidewalk, bulging out of blades of grass. He felt them piercing his skin, eating at him. Black smoke began spiraling out of his fingertips, filling the air with noxious fumes.

  A couple passing by began to argue and then shout at each other. The cars began to honk. A dog howled. A cat squealed and hissed.

  Shit. This couldn’t be good. He was contaminating the world.

  “Jarvis!” Reina, looking like an angel in her blue jeans and white T-shirt, sprinted out the front door of his building, past the very proper doorman who was, thanks to Jarvis, currently berating the sweet old lady from the first floor for daring to outlive his own grandmother. “You’re alive!”

  His throat was thick, too thick to talk, so he just held his arms out. Come to me, babe.

  Reina, bless that loving heart of hers, threw herself into his embrace without hesitation. Her kiss was like magic, the soothing of magical touch, of peace, of sanity. He stumbled back toward the car, gripping her like she was his lifeline to sanity.

  Oh, wait, she was.

  Yeah, it was so not manly to rely on some sweet thing to stay sane, but what male could really control the monster inside? Wasn’t that what Angelica’s point had been? Maybe there was some truth to the notion that the warrior shit was all well and good, but in the end, a man needed a woman to bring out his soft side.

  Hell, now was as good a time as any to give it a try, right?

  Reina’s lips were warm, her tongue daring and a little saucy as she played with his teeth, her hands enfolded in his hair as he yanked open the driver’s door with one hand. He set himself in the driver’s seat without breaking contact and she straddled him, her knees on either side of his hips. He pulled her down on top of him and kissed her, drinking in the tenderness of her kiss, the softness of her body.

  “You’re going to drive like this?” she whispered against his mouth.

  “No.” He worked his hands under her shirt and shuddered at the feel of her bare skin beneath his touch. “I’m going to make love to you like this.”

  “What?” She pulled back, her flushed cheeks a stark contrast to the surprise in her eyes. But not fear. There was excitement and anticipation in her expression, revealing a woman who had just realized how badly her man needed her and was thrilled by that discovery. “We’re in a car! In public! People will see—”

  He cupped her face with his hands. “I need you right now. I need to feel your body against mine. We don’t have time to go upstairs, or even to take two minutes to get physical.” He tightened his grip, unable to keep the raw need out of his voice. “But I have to make time, because I need to get connected to you. I need to feel your soul wrap around mine and ease the pain.”

  Her face softened, and she touched his face. “Jarvis—”

  “We’re in an alley. No one comes back here. And if they pass by, they’ll just see two fully clothed adults kissing in the front seat. They can’t see what else is going on out of view.” He pulled her down and kissed her mouth, working it until she began to kiss him back. Every muscle in his body was trembling with the need to be with her. “Two minutes of your soul and your body,” he whispered. “That’s all I need.”

  Longing flared in her eyes, and she leaned toward him ever so slightly. Calling to him, to them, even while the old Reina, the fearful Reina, tried to be heard. “But—”

  He gripped her hair and pulled her close, his fingers twisting in her silken locks as the darkness pulsed inside him. Fighting to get free. “I can’t live without you,” he whispered. “Let me make love to you. Not on the edge of insanity, like before.” He pressed his mouth to hers, a tender, soft kiss. “Let
me feel what it’s like to make love. To experience that tenderness. I need to go there, and I need it with you.” His skin was hot, too hot, and he felt bad shit churning inside him.

  It was trying to take over, trying to taint his mind, and he didn’t want to go there. He knew his time was getting near, and before he died, he wanted to experience the peace that he knew only Reina could give him.

  He had to experience it. He couldn’t go another moment without it. So, he took over the moment. Took over her choices. Kissed her with the passion and depth and tenderness he’d never been able to do before she’d given him the gift of human contact.

  Reina leaned forward, pressing her breasts against his, in an unspoken acknowledgement of her own need for him. “But if someone sees us—”

  “Sweetheart.” He kissed the side of her neck, whispered in her ear. “I’ll keep watch for anyone. You’re safe with me.”

  Reina pulled back then and looked at him. Her blue eyes were dark with passion and need, and she looked like she was almost ready to cry. “I’m always safe with you, aren’t I?”

  He nodded. “I would never let anything happen to you.” He slid his fingers in the back of her hair, no longer able to talk. He needed to touch her. To connect. So, he pulled her close and kissed her. Harder. Deeper. Yet with a tenderness he hadn’t ever felt before.

  And this time, Reina finally capitulated to her desires and his and kissed him back with a commitment that made his heart soar. She accepted her own need for intimacy and connection. She stroked his shoulders with a tenderness that made his whole body shudder.

  Hands that soothed. Not hands that hurt. A gift.

  He caressed her back, her hips, drank in the feel of her womanly curves, loving the differences between their bodies, the gentleness of her being. Something deep inside him, something soft that was buried beneath the monster within, fought for acknowledgement, struggled to surface in response to her touch.

  He kissed her deeper, needing more, and she kissed him back every bit as passionately. It was intense and powerful, driven by need, but it wasn’t blind physical need. It was a burning in his core, in a part of his soul that had never been fed, and he was desperate for more, to access that part of him, to feel that warmth spread through him.

  But the beast tangled with it. Striving for supremacy. Not allowing defeat of its hold on the throne. But as Jarvis kissed her more deeply, as he shed her jeans and unzipped his fly, as he felt the skin of her thighs settled across his, he felt that flickering warmth inside him take a stronger hold. Still small. Still subordinate. But solid. Glowing. Holding on to the connection with Reina, and the tenderness of her touch and her kiss.

  He needed more. Had to be inside her. Had to complete the connection. He palmed her hips, stroking her soft skin as he lifted her over him.

  “Yes,” she whispered. She met his gaze, and then she smiled, so tenderly, so affectionately. An expression of pure, non-judgmental love directed at him, only for him, from her heart and soul into his.

  He thrust deep, one movement, and then he was sheathed deep inside her. She shuddered and leaned her forehead intimately against his, her gaze not leaving his as he moved inside her. He saw in her face pure tenderness, sensuality, and a need for who he was and what he could give her, the same emotions pulsing so deep inside him.

  Together, connected in their bodies, in their souls, and their spirits, they moved, passion building, need escalating, connection tightening, until he couldn’t think of anything but Reina. He couldn’t feel anything but her body around his, her breasts against his chest. He sought out her mouth and felt the world shift as their lips connected.

  When she cried out at the peak of her passion, his own answering orgasm hit him hard, rolling through him like a beautiful sunshine beating down at his soul, and he felt peace settle over him. True peace. The kind he’d never felt in his life. The kind of peace that only Reina could give him.

  She sagged against him, her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him so intimately, as if she’d never let him go.

  For a moment, neither of them spoke. They simply breathed in the moment, the connection, the bond.

  Then he heard voices, and he tensed, jerking his head up to look past her. She tensed against him as he watched a group of teenagers stroll past the end of the alley. One glanced over, and Jarvis felt the beast roar to life. Don’t look at my woman.

  He swore and leaned his head back, bracing himself as the poison careened through him like an angry, swollen river trying to destroy everything in its path.

  One minute. That was all he’d gotten. One damn minute of relief.

  Reina studied him, her face pinched with concern. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, sure.” He slipped his hand underneath her shirt, and he sighed at the feel of her bare back under his palms. He moved his hand around and cupped her breast. Dear God, yes. Her skin was so soft, a breath of life he could get nowhere else. She was his salvation, and he drank it in, trying to fight back to that place of peace she’d taken him to, but it was elusive, flitting out of his grasp. He tucked his face into the curve of her neck and inhaled her scent. The lavender and vanilla imbued his pores and his soul, but the relief would not come back. “I’m not having a good day, babe.”

  Reina sat back on his thighs, her knees on either side of his hips. She held his face in her hands and searched his gaze, her blue eyes so genuine and careful. “You did it,” she whispered.

  He couldn’t tear his gaze away from hers. “Did what?”

  “Rocco’s going to be okay.” She smiled, her eyes dancing with so much love he could feel the warmth of it in his own heart. “You gave him the strength to continue. You saved his life.”

  “I gave him hate—”

  “Which is more powerful than apathy. Sometimes you have to get angry first, before you can get happy. People don’t understand that, but it’s true. You gave him anger and hate, and that’s a reason to live.” She smiled and brushed her thumbs over his cheeks in a gesture so tender it made something burn in his chest. “You’re a gift, Jarvis. You saved his life.”

  Who the hell was tender with Hate? Didn’t she understand who he was? But he was glad she didn’t. He treasured the fact that she saw him as something other than a big, black ghoul. He took her wrists in his hands and squeezed affectionately. “You’re insane.”

  She smiled. “No, I’ve just seen everyone in my family surrender to death. Watching Rocco find the courage to fight to survive was the greatest gift you could ever give me.”

  His heart began to thud, a slow, laboring beat at her warmth, at her complete belief in his value. “Sweetheart, you can’t make other people fight. They have to make that choice, and if they choose not to, it’s not your fault.”

  She cocked her head. “Like how you’re choosing not to fight your explosion?”

  He scowled. How had the conversation turned to him? “That’s different. That’s how I end. It’s been a given since the day I was born.”

  She leaned forward until she was resting her forehead against his, mimicking her position when they’d been making love. “I want you to fight,” she whispered. “Why do I want you and Natalie to live more than either of you want yourselves to live? Why?”

  The thickness to her voice touched something inside him, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “Sweetheart, you need to ditch the love and start drinking in some of my hate. If you hated me, it’d be a hell of a lot easier.”

  “Hate?” She lifted her head to stare at him. “Are you kidding? I’d rather have a part of my heart die with you and my sister than soil my love with hate just to protect me from pain.” She laid her hand over his chest. “Love is good, Jarvis. You just need to let it in.”

  He sighed with frustration. “I’m not hard-wired for love. You need to stop making me into something I’m not.”

  “Jarvis—” Her phone rang, and she pulled it out of her pocket. “Oh, it’s Trinity.” She answered it. “Trin? Hello?
Hello?”

  Jarvis fisted her hair, absorbing the silkiness of those locks. He tunneled through her tresses and, almost absently, began to braid it. His mind began to refocus, to think about what they had to do next. The interlude was over. The final battle was approaching. And now, by the grace of Reina’s soothing presence, his thoughts were clear enough to strategize.

  Reina rested the phone against her cheek. “She’s in trouble.”

  “What’s wrong?” He finished one tiny braid and started on another, a smaller one this time. Narrower than his fingers, but somehow he was able to manipulate her hair with a finesse that had always eluded him with knitting needles.

  “I don’t know. She didn’t say anything, but I could hear noise in the background. We need to go to my house and check on her—”

  “No time.” Jarvis had his plans, and it was time move. Regretfully, he shifted Reina to the passenger seat and helped her put her pants back on, even though a part of him wanted to tumble her into the backseat and go back to that place she’d taken him.

  That moment was past. Now was time for reality. “We’ll have Blaine go check on her.” He zipped himself up and then took her hand. “We need to get that scythe from the Grim Reaper.” He pressed her palm to his lips. “I swore I’d help you save your sister, and I meant it. We’re going to make this happen for you. Your sister’s going to live, and Cam’s going to save the world from me. Got it?”

  She nodded, but he could tell she was barely listening as she settled into her seat and pulled her hand out of his. “I think maybe I should go see the Grim Reaper alone,” she said.

  “Absolutely not.” He shot a surprised look at her as he started the truck. “Why in the hell would you even suggest that?” As if he would allow her to go into that den of iniquity without protection.

  “Every time your stress level goes up, you go closer to the edge. Fighting my battles is shortening your life span.” She strapped on the seat belt, trapping herself on the other side of the car. Away from him. “So, drop me off and—”