Ram sighed deeply. He was going to give in for all the same reasons he had given in the first time. “That’s why you wanted to be a knight?”
“Rammel, if something happened to you, I would never forgive you for going out without me because I would always know that I might have prevented it if I’d been there. I owe that to you, to me, to Helm, and to B Team.”
“Are you plannin’ to play every card in your deck?”
Elora raised her chin and smiled. “I’m not playing, Ram. I’m standing by my man.”
“You know there’s a reason why Great Paddy ne’er married.”
Elora cocked her head and looked at Ram thoughtfully. “You do know there’s no Great Paddy, don’t you, Ram?”
“What do you mean?”
Rev interjected. “If this is settled, I need to go throw a couple of things in a bag.” He started toward the door and turned back. “Oh and take one of the kids we’re moving up with you. Have them take turns. They might as well learn from the best. They’ve already been informed and will be waiting for your instructions.” He closed the door and was gone.
Ram and Elora looked at each other.
“I think he paid us a compliment. He implied we’re the best. I did no’ know that Sovereign types know how to be nice.”
“He’s not being nice, Ram. He’s planning to put my kids on the streets years before they’re ready.”
Ram’s face softened. He took her hands, pulled her up out of her chair and repositioned her on his lap. “Well, see, here’s the thin’. In your eyes they’ll ne’er be ready whether they’re eighteen or forty. Same thin’s goin’ to happen with Helm someday. When it comes to life, lettin’ ‘em go ‘tis definitely in the hard column. But sometime you have to do it.
“Now I happen to know that they could no’ possibly have had a better teacher. You’ve given them every possible advantage to help them do the work and stay alive. This crop of trainees comin’ out of Jefferson Unit? In the whole history of Black Swan there’s ne’er been a bunch so well-prepared.”
She turned her face into his and smiled just a little. “Yeah?”
“’Tis Paddy’s own truth. Now which one will we take with us tonight? And we need to get a babysitter. ‘Tis on The Order’s tab.”
CHAPTER 20
“Wait. Condom.”
He gaped at her. “I don’t have a condom, Mercedes. Who do you think I was planning on fucking? One of my team members? Or maybe the buttoned-up bitch who was looking at me like I was something pulled out of a stopped-up drain?”
“You did not just say that.”
“I… didn’t. Well, I guess I did. But I was talking about how I saw things before. Not how I see things now.”
“How do you see things now, Raif?” Her voice was soft and he loved the way her mouth formed his name. He’d never thought it was a particularly good name before, but he was starting to really appreciate the sound of it.
He looked at her with a question in his eyes. “I see the most beautiful girl who’s soft and naked, ready for me, and looking at me like I’m candy.” He moved his hands up and down the sides of her bare body under the water like he was double checking to make sure she wasn’t an illusion. “Do you like my name?”
There was confusion on her face. “Do you have ADD?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. But do you like my name? And would it be a problem if I do have ADD? Never mind. Forget that. It’s the other thing I want to know. About my name.”
“All right. Your name.”
She looked away and seemed to be gathering her thoughts. She thought it was an odd conversation to have in a naked embrace with a man who was essentially a stranger.
“No,” he said. She brought her gaze back to his face not understanding what he was saying ‘no’ to. “No diplomacy or tact or Miss Manners. Just tell me how you feel about my name. The real deal right now.”
When she looked back at him, her eyes looked as liquid as the reflection of the navy blue water in the pool that surrounded them. “I don’t know why you want to know what I think about your name, but I’ll tell you what I think. No one has ever had a name more beautiful than yours. If you say it altogether, it sounds like what it is – a song. If you break it down to just your nickname, it sounds like a lover’s contented sigh. Now why do you want to know?”
He wasn’t sure he could articulate why his heart had forced the question out of his mouth, but he was sure that he was dumbstruck by her answer. She was perched partly on a flat rock that formed a natural step, with her legs around his hips. The water was warm and clean and heavenly, but nothing was as heavenly as the beauty he held in his hands. He looked down with hooded eyes. “Kiss me.”
“If there’s no condom, I don’t think kissing is a great idea. It could lead to things condoms are designed for.”
All of a sudden he started laughing under her. “You think we’ll die from an STD before we starve to death?”
“Well… no, but that’s not the only reason people use them. What about pregnancy?”
“You’re not on birth control? You weren’t kidding about giving up on love, were you? Okay.” He ran his hand down his face, his pale eyes sparkling in the ray of late afternoon sun that came through the cavern ceiling above. “Let’s have the mature, planned parenthood conversation. Take the one in ten thousand chance that we live through this and combine that with the one in a hundred chance that you’d get pregnant… What we have is essentially zero probability.”
“Keyword is ‘essentially’.”
“Then I hope he has your brains.”
After the pause of a few heartbeats the worry lines cleared from her brow and she smiled. “I hope she has your smile. And your eyes. And your…”
Stopping that thought in progress, he covered the fountain of words with a kiss that was undoubtedly to die for.
With the help of buoyancy, he held her with one hand and brought the other up to caress and tease a nipple that jutted proudly stiff from being out of the warm water. He pulled her up and into position where he poised at her opening. Listening to her greedy whimper made his head fall backward. When he opened his eyes a sliver to get a look at the expression on her face, he was spellbound by the hunger there, but that wasn’t all he saw. His eye was also drawn to a ledge that hadn’t been apparent from other vantage points because of the way it blended into the shadows.
Tired of waiting, Mercy pushed her pelvis forward with an eagerness that took what was left of his breath away and caused her to hiss in a mixture of pain and pleasure.
“Mercy,” he groaned. “You’re tight as a virgin.”
“That’s because my girl parts are out of practice,” she panted.
When her body began to adjust to his size, he gradually increased the pace of his thrusts until they were churning the water into waves and sloshing over the sides. All the while he reveled in her response to him. Her uninhibited vocalizations echoed and reverberated again and again, creating a virtual sound chamber of eroticism. It sounded like he was making love to a dozen Mercys at once, which made his senses feel bombarded with sexual pleasure. The result was that he was harder and fuller than he had ever guessed was possible. Sooner than he would have liked, he jerked in release and buried his face in the crook of wet skin at her neck.
After the sound died and the water calmed, they were both starting to feel the drain. The adrenaline spike may have helped get them out of the way of the collapse, but there was a price to pay for it.
“Hmmm,” Mercy said in a way that was too drowsy.
Raif knew how easy it would be for both of them to just go to sleep in the warm water, but there was stuff to do. “Come on.” He pulled back and lifted her away at the same time. “Got to get out and get dressed.”
“Nooooo. It’s cold out there. It’s warm in here. I’m staying. You should stay, too. Don’t go.”
At that moment in time he would have given her just about anything she could ask for. Anything, but that.
“Raif! First, my ass is not bounteous if you mean that the way it sounds. Second, we don’t have towels. That means we’ll have to put our clothes on while we’re still wet and then the clothes will be wet. And stay that way! In the cold air! Just let me stay here. I might as well die comfortable.”
He grabbed her face between his hands. “You’re not going to die, Mercy. Got a new plan, but it requires cooperation from you.”
Tiny lines formed when her brows drew together. “What kind of plan?”
He groaned. “I’m supposed to be protecting you. Remember? I can’t do my job if you’re always questioning me. I don’t interfere with your work, do I? So can’t you just trust me and do what I say?”
“No. What kind of plan?”
“There might be a way out. We need to explore the possibility.”
She looked around confused. “What way out? We’re in a rock walled tube.”
“Well,” he pulled her toward him, turned her around, and angled her head just so. “If you look right there, I think there’s a ledge that might lead to another cavern, and that one might go to the surface. It could be the monastery tunnel we were hoping for and can only be seen from this position. If you’re just looking around, it’s hidden in the shadows.”
She turned to face him and narrowed her eyes. “When did you know there was a way out?”
“Right before you sat down on my cock.”
Her lips parted and her eyes flashed. “And you didn’t tell me?”
He barked out a laugh. “Sweetheart. I’m a man. You really expected me to say, ‘Stop the fucking! I’ve just found a way out?’ And give up my fantasy?” He was shaking his head. “Noooooo. Not likely. Clearly you have no idea how good you feel when you’re wrapped around me.”
“You! Gambler!” She was spitting mad and it sounded like an accusation, but not a very bad one. At least not to his way of thinking.
“Gambler?”
“You gambled with our bodies and our future.”
He looked confused. “How?”
“STDs? Remember?”
“Mercy, I have never barebacked before. In. My. Life.” His face spread into a sardonic smile that was hypnotizing. “And It. Was. Good.”
When her brain was able to function again, she said, “Well, that’s not the only problem, is it? What if we get out of here only to find out that I’M PREGNANT! How would you feel about your ‘fantasy’ then?”
“Is this a trick question?”
She scowled. “How could it be a trick question?”
“Doesn’t matter. Told you the truth the first time. If we made a baby, I would hope he had your brains and I would hope you don’t really love New York because I wouldn’t want us to raise our kid there.”
That took the wind out of her sails. She stood there blinking.
As he gathered up his clothes, he said, “Hey. What are you gonna have to eat when we get back to the hotel? I’m thinking steaks. Maybe three.”
She had to give him points for optimism. “You do have ADD, don’t you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Is it important? Do you want to talk about it right now?”
“No. I do not want to talk about it right now. I want to get out of here right now and then get far away from you. I don’t know what made me forget that you’re certifiable.”
“Probably my smile. Or maybe my eyes.”
“GAH!”
She scrambled out of the pool, shrieked at the cold, grabbed her dingy-looking backpack off the ground and gave it a brush like that would actually have some effect.
She pulled on her clothes as fast as she could, letting the burst of anger warm her and fuel her resolve. What aggravated her as much as anything was the delicious soreness between her legs and the fact that her nipples were still sensitive and reacting to the touch of cloth. If it had been a fond farewell to life on Earth, it wouldn’t have been a terrible way to go. But she would die in earnest before she ever let him know she felt that way.
When Farnsworth and Farthing arrived at the hotel in Sozopol, it was such a circus they couldn’t get close to the front entrance. They told their driver to let them out and walked the rest of the way with their luggage.
What spoke to Farnsworth’s state of mind more than anything was the fact that she had not contacted the hotel ahead of their arrival. For her, it was an inconceivable error of omission, the sort of mistake she would never make if she’d been handling travel arrangements for someone else.
They stepped up to the desk and asked for a room. The desk clerk had the nerve to look amused. “Reservation?”
Rev looked at Farnsworth who looked stricken and shook her head.
“We don’t have a reservation. Any room will do,” he said.
“I’m sorry, sir. The hotel is full to capacity. There’s a hostel a few miles away that may still have beds.”
“No. We’re going to stay here. We’ll work something out with some of your present guests.”
The clerk raised an eyebrow. “You know some of our guests?”
“Probably most of them.” He looked at his watch. “And I also know where I’ll find them at this time of night. Do you have a place where we can leave our luggage for an hour?”
“Of course.” He rang the bell on the counter and a bellman appeared within seconds to stow their bags behind his counter.
They wound their way through the crowded bar filled with people who either worked for The Order or had been contracted on short notice, at great expense. They found Torn, Gunnar, and Glen in a corner looking glum and nursing liquids in small glasses. The expressions on their faces quickly ran the span from recognition to surprise to confusion. As they looked back and forth between Rev and Farnsworth, noting the Sovereign’s protective hand on the small of the Operations Manager’s back, it was clear they had a question about the relationship.
“I can see you’re relieved to see us,” Rev deadpanned. “Finngarick. Glad to see you survived your run in with Mount Balzak.”
Torn, who had imbibed on top of the pain meds he’d been given at the hospital, was days away from sober. He collapsed onto the table and started beating it with his palm while he laughed. “Ball sack. There’s a mountain named ball sack. And I ran into it?”
“Gods Almighty,” Rev said.
Glen snatched Torn’s drink away.
Torn became serious very quickly, “Hey!”
“They didn’t tell us he shouldn’t drink, sir,” Glen began by way of explanation. “But clearly that is the case. We, uh, weren’t expecting you. What a surprise.”
“Well, it so happens that it’s more personal than business. We need to stay here and they don’t have any more rooms.”
Glen just realized they hadn’t invited the new arrivals to sit. He rose. “Sorry, sir. Please sit down. You, too, Ms. Farnsworth. These two were just going to head upstairs, right, Gun? Can you handle him by yourself?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Just a minute,” Rev put in. “Before you go, we need to shuffle accommodations.”
“Oh sure,” Glen looked at Gun. “The adjoining room next to ours isn’t being used at the moment. It’s where, um, where Dr. Renaux was staying.”
Glen saw Rev’s hand tighten on Farnsworth’s arm as she sniffed and looked away.
Glen had to help Gun get Torn to his feet and drape his arm over Gunnar’s shoulders.
As soon as they were gone, Rev said, “We’re anxious for word about the survivors of the collapse.”
Glen thought that making an assumption of survival was overly optimistic, but wasn’t going to correct the Sovereign.
“Nothing. Some guy from Salzburg got here tonight. He’s going to be in charge. I guess they’ve lined people up to start rebuilding the scaffolding at first light. Then they’re going to try to run a drill past the rubble and check for signs of life. That’s all we know.” Glen raked a hand down the front o
f his face and Rev noted that he’d never seen Glen look really tired.
“Long day.”
Glen looked over at Rev. “Yes, sir. Long day.”
CHAPTER 21
It was getting dark fast as they began their ascent. Raif climbed ahead of her and stopped to give her a hand up to the first ledge. She was thankful for the hiking boots with tire tread soles because the rock was slick from damp-loving mold.
Mercy made a promise to herself and the gods. If she did survive the ordeal, she would never complain about being tired ever again. Not after finding out what tired actually means as in depleted, can’t go on, nothing left, and thinking that death would be preferable to making another step.
Seeing that she was tapped out, Raif was continually encouraging. “You’re doing great. Slow and steady.” Pause. “Know you’re tired, but you can do this.” Pause. “Yeah. That’s the trick.”
He even managed to get a momentary rise out of her when he said, “That’s my girl.”
She was still mad. Beauty and great sex didn’t make up for the fact that he was an oaf who was bossy. A bossy oaf. But she did think it was endearing that he was so concerned for her safety and that he kept uttering little words and phrases of praise to urge her on.
By the time they had partially scaled the wall and pulled themselves onto the ledge, it was dark.
Raif switched on his helmet lamp then said, “You switch yours on, too. I want you to see every step before you put your foot down.”
There wasn’t as much room overhead as in the lower tunnel. They didn’t need to crouch, but it definitely felt more claustrophobic. They were also on an incline and it was steep enough that they were both getting winded.
“Does it strike you as being rather perfect for a natural formation?” Mercy asked.
“Was thinking the same thing. We may have just lucked into finding one of the tunnels the Templar chroniclers wrote about. Wish it was light. If the sun was up, we’d be able to tell if light was coming in from somewhere.
Knights of Black Swan, Books 7-9 (Knights of Black Swan Box Set Book 3) Page 29