Lauren walked to her closet and unbuttoned her pants, shoving them down her legs. Kicking her shoes off, she stepped out of her pants and let them stay on the floor. She’d pick them up later. “And what if I’m wrong and she is in trouble?”
“That’s why we are making this a priority. There is one lineage we haven’t been able to trace, and that is the Seer. We aren’t sure if it’s a man or woman or where he or she is located.”
Lauren hurriedly pulled her blouse over her head, holding on to the cell phone in one hand. Once she threw that on the floor alongside her pants, she walked to her dresser and opened a drawer. Grabbing the normal tank top she liked to sleep in, Lauren asked, “And you think the Seer is related to this guy?”
“That’s the only possible scenario. It took years for us to put together a list of everyone’s heritage and power, following the descendants that were around when the meteor crashed. We lost track of one family, and that was a Seer from generations ago. Hold on a sec,” Theo said, carrying on a conversation with someone in the background. She could hear Reese, his wife, talking to him. Straining to hear, she thought she heard Reese say that Jagger was sending a couple men to Alaska on a tip that the Seer was in seclusion up there. “I heard her, Theo,” Lauren told him, slipping her bra off and her tank top on. “Why do you guys think he’s there?”
“Could be a she,” Theo threw out, “since the two we know existed were female. You remember Gavin from when we were young. He and Ronan are the ones Jagger is sending up there. Gavin’s always got his ear to the ground, always watching and observing. He said he heard something about the Seer the other day, something about a remote town up in that cold-ass state.”
“You live in Colorado, for God’s sake.” Lauren laughed. “You couldn’t get me to Alaska for anything. I’ll stick to Florida.”
“And the mosquitoes and alligators,” Theo teased. “No thanks. I’ll stick with the bears.”
“Funny, Theo.” Lauren chuckled. “All right. I won’t worry about it too much. Maybe in around a month, when I know Victoria is back in town, I’ll contact her by phone and make sure everything is okay. If Ronan and Gavin find anything out, let me know.”
“Will do. Take care.”
Lauren closed her cell phone and laid it on the nightstand. She hadn’t bothered turning any lights on in her apartment, which meant she could fall face down in the bed and sleep. Lifting the covers up, she crawled underneath and flipped over, pulling a pillow underneath her. The coolness of the sheets felt wonderful, and she tried desperately to shut her mind down.
Five minutes later, she moaned aloud and rolled over onto her back. Damn, she couldn’t stop thinking about them, and, if she were honest with herself, their lifestyle. She thought back to that afternoon, when Caden had held her head still for his kiss. She remembered the feel of the cuffs against her wrists. The control he exerted sent a shot of adrenaline through her body and immediately felt as if fire traveled from her lips to her pussy. What would it have felt like if Trent had been there with them?
“Arghhhhh!” Lauren grabbed a pillow and placed it over her face. She needed to stop thinking about them. Period. She’d made it this far in her life on her own, and she planned to keep it that way.
Memories of her childhood floated through her tired brain, and her mother’s face flashed before her eyes—the desperation of thinking their father was going to come back for them, thinking that he loved them when he hadn’t. Her mother had wasted years of her life on a man who couldn’t have cared less about their welfare, all the while neglecting her children. Neglect might be too harsh of a word, but it was still how Lauren felt. She was the one who made sure her brother, Max, got to school. She was the one who made sure Max had lunch money. She was the one who made sure dinner was on the table. Not her mother. Their mother spent hours upon hours searching for a man she believed had left out of necessity, when in reality, he left because he wanted to.
Both her parents were Nobles. Her father had the gift of a Transporter. Humans would have said he had telekinesis, but his ability was strong. It only took a mere thought to move whatever he wanted to, but there was no ruminating over it. Her mother was born with the ability to locate a person like she could, but it was through different means. Her mother literally had to touch an object the missing person had touched within a couple days of the last time the object was impressed with their energy. Lauren’s assumption was that, with each generation, the powers mingled and became stronger. But every Noble she encountered had a different story to tell, so she was only basing her assumptions on her own past.
When her father left, Lauren’s mother swore it was because he was scared someone had found out about their powers and wanted him to do terrible things. This was back in the day when Nobles weren’t able to integrate in society and feared discrimination. And that had never truly gone away, no matter how many strides society had taken. Her father hadn’t left because of that, though. He had left because he wanted to.
Love was an illusion, an emotion made up by people who thought they couldn’t live alone in this world. Her mother was a perfect example. People put too much emphasis on others to make their life happy and complete. Lauren thought back to this morning, when Trent explained how they take care of their women. What had he said? Something about when a woman forgets to take care of herself, they remind her with spankings. Who came up with that idea, some sadistic nut job? She could take care of herself. She didn’t answer to anyone. And she refused to even contemplate why her panties had remained wet all day and her nipples were hard from the picture Trent had created. Turning over again, she brought the pillow over the back of her head and buried her face in the bed, doing everything she could think of to dispel the images.
When a half hour passed and she knew she wasn’t going to sleep, Lauren threw the pillow to the floor and opened up her bedside table. Grabbing her purple vibrator, the one with the new batteries, she left the tube of lubricant in the drawer knowing she wouldn’t need it tonight. Not one to waste time, Lauren kicked off her underwear and immediately placed the tip of the vibrator against her entrance. Sliding it inside, she made sure the little vibrator that was for her clit laid directly on that bundle of nerves that were already firing off signals. Reaching down, she clicked the two buttons with her thumb, making the shaft of the vibrator start to move and the little bulb over her nub start to vibrate.
Lauren arched back, trying to reach that climax she so needed by also moving the vibrator with her hand. After ten minutes, sweat was starting to pool between her breasts and her body was as tense as when she had started. She had clicked the vibrator up to the highest setting, but it was not helping one iota. So much for instant gratification, she thought with disgust.
She let her mind drift, trying to let her body relax enough to give it what it wanted. Unexpectedly, a vision of Trent and Caden behind her, while she was hanging from that wooden X that Caden had her affixed to earlier, filled her mind. They were taking turns spanking her, and Lauren’s body finally tightened, only to give off small spasms and not the kind of release Caden had been able to give her. Finally lowering her back to the bed, Lauren pulled the vibrator from her pussy and frustrated, threw it to the floor. She heard it roll off the pillow and thud to the floor. She was not a submissive, she told herself. Shit, she thought. Maybe she needed a new vibrator.
* * * *
“You know I didn’t mean it that way. I meant Victoria’s situation could be dangerous, not Lauren. And, technically, I’m not being hypocritical about Vic being with a Noble. I would feel the same way if he weren’t a Noble. There is good and bad in everyone, and I just want to see Vic end up with someone extremely good.”
Caden sat on the couch, in front of the large television that was turned on but muted. He glanced down at the bourbon in his hands, swirling the auburn liquid around the glass. It was only Wednesday evening, but it seemed as if days had passed since they’d seen Lauren, not four hours. How could a woman he’d known
for such a short time get under his skin so fast?
“I know that,” Trent said, grabbing the remote from the coffee table. He was sitting in the overstuffed chair, its dark-green color matching the couch. Caden watched as the blue bars on the television grew darker as Trent turned up the volume. “But you need to fix it before we can move forward. She might have said the words in anger, but I could see the hurt in her eyes.”
“You’re not making me feel better here, little brother.” Caden knew the remark would earn him a raised eyebrow. Trent hated that he was born three minutes later, so Caden used that bit of ammunition as much as he could.
“I wasn’t meaning to.” Trent motioned toward the television. “Did you see the hurricane that is going to make landfall? They think it’s going to be a category three.”
“I saw that yesterday, but it’s been circling out at sea for a day or two.”
They both watched as the newscaster showed various paths the storm might take. When the main track showed that the storm would most likely pass right over them, Caden became worried.
“I wish Lauren would have been able to get a location on Vic. What if she’s somewhere near the coastline when this storm hits?” Caden tossed back the bourbon and winced as the liquid poured down his throat, leaving a burning path. “It’s going to be bad enough here, if what they say is true. Speaking of which, we need to notify everyone that the club will be closed this weekend.”
“You can stop worrying about Vic,” Trent said, looking over his way. “She’s near Atlanta, and the storm shouldn’t be as strong by the time it reaches there.”
“What?” Caden stood up. “Lauren told you that? Why didn’t you tell me that earlier? Damn it, I can have one of our contacts—”
“Caden, stop.” Trent rose out of the chair. Coming up to Caden, he took his brother’s glass and walked over to the minibar alongside the far wall. “I promised Lauren we wouldn’t act on that information.”
“Why the hell would you tell her that?” Caden couldn’t believe his brother. They had been together for hours, and this was the first he was hearing about it. And he went so far as to say they wouldn’t go looking for Victoria? What the hell was wrong him? “We’ve been going insane for weeks, Trent.”
“I told her that because I meant it. I’ll admit, this thing with Vic is very out of character for her. But she’s grown up, Caden. She’s not a young girl anymore, and she has a life. One we need to respect.”
Caden watched as Trent refilled his glass and then poured himself one as well. Since when had Trent decided that Vic was safe? “Trent, we both know there is something more to this than Vic trying to find herself. You saw the look on Lauren’s face when Vic asked if a Noble was looking for her.”
“You’re right, I do think there is something more going on with Vic, but we know her well enough to know that she would come to us if she were truly in trouble. Now that we know she wasn’t kidnapped and isn’t being tortured somewhere, we can rest easy. As for Lauren, we need to trust her, especially if we are considering making her part of our lives.” Trent walked to where Caden was standing, in front of the couch. “And I really want to have her be a part of our lives, Caden. There’s something special about her.”
“I agree that there is something special about her, Trent. But there are several factors we’ve got to take into consideration.” Caden, again needing the fortitude, swallowed the bourbon in one toss. “What if she doesn’t want to be a part of our lifestyle? Have you thought about that? Can you live without it? We’ve based our home around what we love. And yes, I foolishly wanted to show her what we could give her, without any thought to scaring her off. You know that I’m usually more cautious than that.”
“We talk to her first. See if she’d be willing to give us a chance.” Trent also chucked his bourbon down in one swig. Trent continued speaking after he placed his glass on the coffee table and sank back down in the chair. “If she’s the one for us, could I give it up? Yes. Although there are aspects of it that are hard grained in me, as well as in you. It’s something we’d have to talk about.”
“And what about her being a Noble? What about her job? You know I didn’t mean she was a danger, but have you thought about if someone came after her? There are fuckers out there who wouldn’t think twice about killing a Noble.” Caden immediately felt a pang of panic, thinking she could be in danger. The thought kept running through his mind after the conversation with their sister. He felt an urge to call and check on her, even though he’d only known her for two days, if he counted the conversation they’d had last night.
“So what are you saying?” Trent stood up again, as if he, too, was uncomfortable with that thought. “That you don’t want to get involved with her because it would put us in danger? Since when are you a coward?”
“I didn’t mean it like that, Trent, and you know it.” Caden fumed, now angry at Trent as well as the thought someone would hurt Lauren just because she was a Noble. “We’ve known her, technically, for two days. And now we’re considering seeing if she could be the one. What if she is? We both want children. The danger she faces every day would also affect our children. Can you deal with that?”
“You think I haven’t thought of those questions myself?” Trent grabbed the remote and muted the television, which was still covering the approaching storm. “It wasn’t like I was expecting this attraction either. But there’s something about her that makes me think about her constantly. And watching her expressions is becoming addicting to me.”
Caden felt himself deflate, the anger washing out of him. They both felt the connection with Lauren. They both felt it could turn out to be something good. Thinking back on their conversation, Caden realized he hadn’t finished addressing Trent’s statement about Victoria. Knowing he needed to concede, it was still against his better judgment. “I know Vic has a right to her own life. Something just feels off to me, Trent. But we’ll talk to her when she comes home.”
“And Lauren?”
“We make a plan. If she’s meant to be ours, we need to do this right.” Caden took his empty glass over to the bar. Placing it on the counter, he turned to say one last thing. “And I’m going on the record that if Vic isn’t back in exactly three weeks, Lauren will need to help us find her, because I’ll be done waiting.”
Chapter Seven
“How did the daughter take it?”
Lauren held her cell phone cradled between her ear and shoulder while she poured the iced tea from the pitcher into a glass. Setting the pitcher on the counter, she took a sip while listening to Officer Bates describe the events of the day. He had personally told the daughter of Mr. Brewer her father’s body had been found. Unfortunately, he had drowned in the lake between his residence and the park he was so fond of. Officer Bates had already called a crew to search the lake before she ever mentioned it yesterday. The only saving grace was that it was free of alligators, so they were able to recover his body and give the family the resolution they needed. Lauren waited for him to finish speaking, leaning up against her kitchen counter.
“I’m glad you were able to locate him. I—” A knock interrupted what she was about to say, but since she knew Officer Bates was a busy man, Lauren took the opportunity to disconnect the call. “Listen, someone’s at my door. I appreciate you keeping me in the loop.”
“Anytime, Lauren. You have a good day.”
“Bye.”
Lauren pressed the end button and laid her phone on the counter. The knock came again, which made her wonder who in the world it could be. She had spoken to Max earlier this morning and knew he was on a plane somewhere to Europe. She hadn’t even bothered to ask where in Europe, knowing he probably wouldn’t know anyway. He always had the tendency to fly by the seat of his pants, and he would call her when he wanted. It was something she was used to.
She walked to the door and turned the knob. There were few times Lauren was speechless in life. It happened yesterday when Caden had brought her to a mind-blowin
g orgasm, but this did it too. She knew she must look ridiculous, standing there with her mouth open and closing like a fish. But Caden and Trent both stood there, looking too attractive, and the spanking dreams from last night ran through her mind. She’d find out what they wanted and then make them leave. A person only had so much resolve, and she wasn’t any better than the next person.
“Lauren, may we come in?” Caden asked, nodding his head to indicate her apartment.
Both were dressed similarly to the way they had dressed yesterday. Caden was wearing slacks, but this time they were a dark grey, with a matching button-down shirt. Trent was in jeans with a white T-shirt that definitely didn’t leave much to the imagination. His chest was certainly contoured in all the right places.
Caden and Trent definitely had their separate personalities, but seemed to have similar governing qualities that appeared to have been absorbed into her dreams. Caden was more intense than Trent, although she had a feeling Trent would be more likely to carry out punishments, like the spankings he always referred to. She needed to get them in and then get them out.
“Of course.” Lauren stepped back, far enough away so they didn’t brush by her when they entered. She’d learned her lesson yesterday, when Trent’s arm brushed up against her breasts. When she pleased herself, she was the type to get down to business, so her breasts never came into play. She had forgotten how sensitive they could be—that was, until Trent’s touch had made them come alive.
Lauren closed the door behind them, took a deep breath, and then followed them into the living room. She hardly ever gave a thought to her apartment, but having them inside made her realize how tiny it was. It was also pretty scarce on the decorations, now that she looked it over. She had never gotten around to painting the white walls and didn’t really have any pictures to hang, although she did have a few red throw pillows for color on her cream furniture. That should be good enough, right? Giving a shake of her head at the fact that she was wondering what they thought of her apartment, she waited until they turned around to start the conversation.
Noble Release [Nature's Nobles 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 6