The Steve Williams Series Boxed Set

by J. E. Taylor

  He changed and then sent a quick email off to Sandy before he headed back out.

  “See you later,” he said as he passed through the family room. Both Tom and Raven waved a hand in his direction and he nodded goodbye.

  * * * *

  Tom waited until he saw the car pass through the gate and then he glanced at Raven.

  “You want to see that Oscar?”

  “In your bedroom?” Raven asked.

  Tom nodded and stood, putting his hand out for her. When all she did was stare at him, he signed, “I promise, nothing will happen, I just want to show you who I am.”

  She rolled her eyes and took his hand, letting him lead her upstairs.

  Each step closer to his room brought a greater layer of doubt and he glanced back at her, offering a nervous smile. His stomach fluttered like it had before his first time and he wondered if she was feeling the same tension, the same electrical current in the air.

  He swung the door open and any intention of getting physical with her did a swan dive. Standing in the center of the room with his wings folded neatly was his father.

  “You know better than to bring a girl upstairs,” he chided.

  Raven squinted and shaded her eyes, sending a sideways glance at Tom.

  “I wanted to show her the Oscar.” Tom signed.

  Ty waved toward the shelf. “There it is,” he said.

  Please leave us alone, he thought.

  Ty chuckled. “Steve ordered me to stay here, so,” he shrugged.

  Tom glared at him and slammed the door closed, leaning his back against it before looking down at Raven. “Sorry,” he sighed and smiled at the same disappointment in her features.

  “I can deal with the bright light if you still want to show me your room,” she said.

  He laughed and shook his head. “You see light, I see my father, and I’m so not comfortable bringing you in there with him watching over us.”

  “Okay, so studying it is,” she said and headed back downstairs.

  Tom opened the bedroom door and glared at the angel. “Go away,” he said.

  “I can’t do that,” he said and took a seat on the bed. “Especially with the little x-rated show going on in your head. Boy, you’re going to get yourself into some real trouble one of these days.”

  Tom shut the door again and stormed downstairs, throwing himself on the couch opposite Raven.

  “Damn, you sure know how to pout,” she said and he looked up. “Especially for someone who said nothing was going to happen upstairs.” She crossed the distance, straddling him on the couch and pushing his shoulders back against the fabric. She leaned forward, running her tongue down the side of his neck and nipping in the same manner he did in the theater earlier.

  When her hips started circling on his lap, creating a heat that consumed every inch of him, he didn’t hesitate to run his hands under her shirt and this time the boundary of her bra didn’t stop him. She purred as he ran his thumbs over the fabric, feeling the hardness of her nipples underneath.

  Her hands yanked on his shirt and he let her peel it off his torso. When her gaze landed on the bruises covering his ribs, she gasped. “Oh, my God,” she said.

  Tom looked down and then back at her with a shrug. “It doesn’t hurt,” he signed.

  Her gaze dropped to the cast.

  “Your cast is cracked.”

  He peeled it off his arm and tossed it on the table. “I know. CJ did that for me,” he signed and scratched his arm before resuming his exploration of her chest.

  “I thought your arm was broken?”

  “My arm, my ribs and my cheekbone,” he signed and kissed her exposed cleavage.

  She grabbed his wrists, pulling them away from her and his gaze met hers.

  “Wha?”

  “Did you really get hurt?”

  Her tone cleared out the lust from his brain and he met her gaze. “There’s one more thing about my family that you should know.”

  She cocked her head, waiting for his answer.

  “Steve has the ability to heal others,” he signed. “I was really bad off on Monday night. I had a concussion, too, and I think that’s what caused my seizure after they brought me home. Steve said I stopped breathing and instead of losing me, he fixed me from the inside out, leaving the surface bruises so people wouldn’t ask questions.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, I’m not kidding,” he signed and peeled the bandage off his cheek. “My face was split open to the bone. When I looked this morning, it was just a scratch.”

  She ran her hand over the bruise on his cheek and then traced the discoloration on his chest. “Jesus,” she whispered.

  “I was in rough shape. Not as bad as when Steve found me in Georgia, but still, it hurt like a bitch.”

  “You could have died,” she whispered.

  He smiled and shrugged. “In any normal world, I would have died several times over by now,” he signed meeting her gaze. “I wasn’t exaggerating yesterday when I told you I was damaged goods.”

  The color in her face drained and her eyes filled with tears. “Blessed be,” she whispered and kissed him. “You are not damaged,” she said when she pulled away.

  He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I am,” he whispered and ran his hands under her shirt, peeling it off and dropping it next to his on the floor.

  “Is this how you get all the girls to let you do what you want?”

  He couldn’t help the grin that surfaced and shrugged, shifting and stretching her out underneath him on the couch letting the heat rule his head. His hands studied every curve, teasing and caressing her skin, memorizing and categorizing each reaction.

  Even with all his experience, being with her felt like the first time all over again and when she let him remove her bra, he marveled at her perfect full breasts in comparison to her tiny waist. When his fingers fumbled with her belt, her hands gripped his wrists, pulling them away from the clasp.

  Tom leaned on his elbows and searched her eyes, finding the warning clear. This was all he was getting today and he offered her an understanding smile, resuming his exploration of her upper body with his mouth and his hands. She gasped and arched into his mouth when he latched onto her breast, using his lips and teeth to drive her wild.

  She ran her hands into his hair, whispering his name and some ancient Celtic verse, shivering and sweating under his touch. His temperature skyrocketed, and he pulled away, pushing himself into a kneeling position, letting the air settle between them before he reached the point of no return.

  Panting, he signed, “I need to stop.” He threaded his fingers through his hair, resting his wrists on top of his head. Tom closed his eyes, concentrating on settling his heart into a natural rhythm and willing his body back into a relaxed state.

  “Has anyone ever told you that you are a gorgeous man?”

  He grinned and opened his eyes, reaching down to retrieve her bra and shirt, handing them to her. “I don’t think Jennifer would appreciate finding us in this state,” he signed and moved away from her, slipping his shirt over his head.

  A chill settled on the room and Raven shivered and quickly slipped her shirt over her head. Tom froze in place, all the heat sucking out of him with the frigid breeze on the back of his neck. His hand dropped to the medallion under his shirt, gripping it and meeting Raven’s gaze.

  A frigid hand laced into his hair, pulling his head back and her skinless face came into his peripheral vision.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The fury in her voice cut him to the core.

  “Run,” he signed to Raven but her eyes locked on the spot where Tanya stood and her gaze narrowed.

  “Leave him alone,” her command rang through the room.

  Fear wrapped a cold hand around his heart and his protective instinct kicked in. He twisted out of her grip and spun, facing Tanya with his back to Raven.

  “I told you, you are mine,” she growled and stepped closer, her hands ba
lling into fists.

  “Why don’t you go haunt Bear,” he said, knowing she could hear the real voice behind the broken syllables.

  Tanya stopped and her hands uncurled.

  “He’s the one who beat the shit out of me,” Tom added and her eye sockets widened.

  “I didn’t mean to…”

  “To what? You didn’t mean to fuck him? Bullshit. I was just a goddamn showpiece to you. A fucking puppy dog that you could manipulate and parade around to all your friends.”

  “Tom,” she whispered, reaching for him.

  He knocked her hand away, the anger blowing through the surface, annihilating any remnant of fear. “Get the hell out of my house!” he bellowed and pointed at the door.

  Tanya stumbled back with an expression of despair until her gaze landed on Raven standing close behind Tom. Despair transitioned to fury and she screamed, charging.

  A blur of light interceded creating a whirlwind that blew the papers on the table all over the family room. When the light faded and the papers settled, Tom stared at the empty spot where Tanya had stood.

  Maybe having my father here wasn’t such a bad thing after all. He glanced at the ceiling and sent a silent thank you.

  Raven’s arms encircled his waist and her cheek pressed against his shoulder blade. Her entire form trembled against him and he sighed, turning and wrapping his arms around her.

  “Owwy,” he whispered and kissed her forehead. When she pulled away, he gazed into her tear-glossed eyes. “What were you thinking?” he signed and wiped a wayward tear from her cheek.

  “I thought I could dispel her.”

  “That was not a proper banishing spell,” he signed and raised an eyebrow.

  The shock of his statement drew a laugh from her and she looked into his eyes. “How would you know?”

  “I did what you asked me to do. I Googled Wicca and did some reading. I paid close attention when I got to the Book of Shadow banishing spells.”

  “Really?” The cute arch of her eyebrows brought a smile to his face and he nodded.

  “Yeah,” he said. “But I can’t articulate the spells, so I’m shit out of luck,” he signed.

  “I can,” she said.

  “I know. But what would they do to my father?”

  Understanding smoothed the lines of her forehead. “I don’t know.”

  Tom shrugged. He didn’t want his father banished from the house, only Tanya, and he didn’t understand magick enough to mess around with it. A clear thought popped into his head. If his father was busy keeping Tanya away that meant the bedroom was unoccupied. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs, throwing his door open and smiled at the absence of the angel standing guard.

  “What are you doing?” she asked and he pointed to the shelf with the Oscar sitting amongst his sports awards.

  She dropped his hand and crossed the room.

  “Can I touch it?”

  “Yeah,” he said and sat on the bed.

  “Is it real gold?” she asked, turning toward him from the opposite side of the room.

  “No. Gold plated.”

  She smiled and closed the distance, inspecting his knickknacks on his bureau and his desk full of papers in utter disarray. She chuckled at the Patriots snow globe on his nightstand, picking it up and raining snow all over the mini-field inside. Gillette Stadium never looked so magical.

  “You really researched Wicca?”

  “Uh huh,” he said.

  “So, what did you think?” She stopped in front of him, searching his eyes for any sign of mocking.

  “It has some of the same moral framework that’s outlined in Christianity. But the thing I liked the most is the focus on nature. It made much more sense to me than the Catholic Church ever did.”

  Her gaze rose from his hands to his face. “Maybe there’s hope for you after all.”

  “I don’t know what I believe anymore. I know angels exist just by way of my father, and ghosts as well as the balance of good and evil. But I think evil is a human manifestation. Nothing in nature harbors the same propensity for evil that mankind does.”

  “Beautiful and deep. Damn, I think I hit the mother lode,” she teased.

  “You forgot I’m rich, too.”

  She glanced around the room. “You don’t flaunt it.”

  “It’s not my style, although the car I want is a little flashy. But Steve won’t let me blow over a million on a car.”

  Her eyes widened. “What kind of car costs that much?”

  “An Aston Martin,” he signed.

  “And you have that kind of cash lying around just to throw away on a hunk of metal?”

  “It’s not just a hunk of metal,” he signed and sat down at his desk, pulling up the picture of an Aston Martin One 77 on the computer. “This is what I want.” He waved at the screen.

  She glanced at the picture. “You could get a Ferrari or a Jaguar for a fraction of the cost and still have those sleek lines.”

  “But it’s not an Aston Martin.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Both the Ferrari and the Jag can go just as fast as the Aston Martin.” She propped her hands on her waist.

  He swung the chair around and pulled her onto his lap. “Why are you arguing with me about a car?”

  “I just think it’s a waste of money,” she said, glancing at the photo on the screen. “And it’s not that sleek,” she said, rolling her eyes. “The beamer in the garage is more attractive than that.”

  He grinned. “You certainly know your cars.”

  “Yes, well, a girl can dream too.”

  “What exactly do you dream about?” he signed out of curiosity.

  “You,” she said and then her eyes widened at the admission.

  He wasn’t prepared for her answer and blinked, his mouth popping open as he studied her. Her gaze dropped to the floor and she squirmed in his grip, trying to break away from him, but he tightened his hold, waiting for her to look at him. “Why?”

  “I’ve had a crush on you since our freshman year,” she admitted and her cheeks blazed red, complimenting the vibrancy of her hair. “And I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d ever see the inside of your bedroom.”

  Something about the vulnerability of her confession spoke to his soul and all he wanted to do was make her see she wasn’t just another one of his conquests. Yet his body had another agenda, ever fiber wanted her and his hand traveled up the inside of her thigh. He stared into the ocean of her blue eyes waiting for her to say stop.

  When his fingers reached his objective, her eyes closed and she let out a sigh that sparked a fire in his lap. It took every ounce of self-control not to rip her clothing off and explore every inch of her lightly freckled skin.

  For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to just sleep with a girl; he wanted to make love to her.

  Screwing around with Tanya was nothing like this. With her, it was only the motions but nothing really invested on an emotional level, no matter what his initial thoughts on the matter were. Intimacy was missing.

  This was intimate and personal and soul touching.

  It wasn’t him stripping and getting down to business for the sheer physical pleasure of fucking.

  Raven opened her eyes and he inhaled at the intensity in her gaze. Her lips formed the perfect airway for her shaky breath. He couldn’t see ever getting tired of that expression, especially since it locked his lungs and he had to remind himself to breathe.

  He continued rubbing his knuckles across the seam of her pants, watching her cheeks flush and her chest rise and fall with each stroke of his fingers. He smiled at her and she shifted, straddling his lap. She used the back of the chair for leverage, circling her hips into his, creating a friction that was bound to ignite.

  His hands gripped her hips and he moved with her, wishing there wasn’t two layers of fabric between them, but unless she made the move, he’d just savor the feel of her through her clothing and let his imagination run wild.

&
nbsp; “Tom?” Jennifer’s voice rang out downstairs.

  They both froze, staring at each other and he mouthed, Oh Shit!

  She slid off his lap and took a seat on the bed and he swung around toward the computer, typing a few commands and pressing enter. The school website came up and he quickly clicked through to the homework assignment, glancing over her shoulder and waving her over.

  She stood next to him and started reading aloud halfway through the page.

  Her quick thinking gave him time to cool down because if Jennifer came in and he had to stand, she would know they were engaged in something less than innocent. As it was, he knew she would give him an earful after Raven went home.

  “Oh,” Jennifer said from the doorway.

  Raven turned and leaned on the desk. “Hi, Mrs. Williams,” she said, smiling.

  Tom half turned and gave her a nod. “Hey,” he said and pressed print. He ripped the page off the printer and stood, handing it to Raven.

  Jennifer crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow. “You know I wasn’t born yesterday, right?” she said, staring Tom down.

  “We weren’t…” he started to sign.

  “You really want to go there?”

  Tom gave Raven a sideways look and dropped his gaze to the floor.

  “If it makes you feel better, no clothing came off in his bedroom,” Raven said, meeting Jennifer’s gaze.

  Jennifer’s glance moved between the two teenagers and she finally nodded. “Fine, but I don’t want to find you up here in his room again, understand?”

  Tom balked, “Bu,” he said and waved to the computer.

  “You have a laptop,” she said. “There’s no reason for you two to be up here,” she reiterated. “Now, did you want pizza or grinders for dinner?”

  “I thought I’d cook tonight,” Tom signed.

  Jennifer suppressed a smile and waved toward the stairwell. “By all means.”

  Tom let Raven lead the way down the stairs and Jennifer put her hand on his arm before he climbed down after her. He turned toward her.

  “Just because Steve isn’t here doesn’t mean you can throw that kind of bullshit in my direction,” she said.