He had questions, but they could wait. He had been wanting her since the night before at his apartment, and now he was finally going to have her.
Kissing his way down her neck, he pulled her tank top off her shoulders, exposing more and more skin to his lips and tongue until he was once again kissing over the upper curves of her breasts. Her hands were under his shirt, her nails digging into his back as she arched upward, offering more of her body to him. He took without question, taking one of her nipples in his mouth as one of his hands trailed down to grip her hip and pull her legs around his waist.
Every inch of her skin was soft, tan suppleness, and he couldn’t keep himself from pulling at her clothes, trying to get her naked as soon as possible. She seemed to be of the same mind, and after their early afternoon interlude in her office, neither was shy or wanting to go slowly. The moment her clothes were off, his hand moved between her legs, his fingers slipping into her damp folds and eliciting a shuddering cry of pleasure from her lips.
He looked down into her face as he teased her with his hand, watching her lips part, her eyes drift closed, and an expression of eager pleasure drift over her features. Her hips never stopped moving against his hand, and he marveled at the pure sexuality of her body as she writhed under him, pushing herself closer and closer to the peak of her pleasure.
Julian let her get close—so close that she was about to explode at any moment—and then he took his hand away, grinning at the indignant way her eyes flew open.
“Julian!”
“What?”
“Don’t stop,” she urged, trying to grab his hand and move it back between her legs. “I was so close …”
“But I’m not done with you yet,” he told her, kissing her hard, then standing and picking her up in his arms so that he was cradling her naked body against his chest.
“Oh my.”
“That’s right,” he said. “Oh my.” He carried her into the hallway off the living room and down a few feet to her bedroom, nudging the door open with his foot and tossing her lightly onto the bed.
“Haven’t you thrown me around enough today?” she teased, her eyes sparkling as she stared up at him, utterly comfortable in her nakedness as she lay sprawled on the bed, propped up only on her elbows. Blonde hair tumbled every which way over her shoulders, and her body called to him, making him groan with need.
“I’ll be nicer about throwing you this time,” he promised, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it aside. Her eyes went straight to his chest, and he ran a hand over his muscles, tormenting her. Then he reached for the buckle of his belt and slowly undid it, sliding the leather strip slowly out of each loop and letting it fall to the floor.
Siobhan’s own hand went between her legs, and she bit her lip, staring at him as he slid the zipper down on his jeans and let the denim fall just a few inches to expose the muscled lines of his hips where they tapered inward.
Watching her pleasure herself to the sight of his body was almost more than Julian could take, but he wasn’t going to stop the show. He let the denim fall lower, sliding down his well-built legs all the way to the ground. Then he stepped out of them and kicked the jeans aside, standing there just in tight, black boxer briefs.
“Turn around,” she said, sounding breathless. “I want to see.”
He obliged, turning around slowly to give her a few of his well-defined back and firm ass. When she groaned appreciatively, his arousal spiked even higher, and he quickly ripped off the boxer briefs, letting her get a good look at his ass before he turned around, as naked as she was, and faced her.
Siobhan’s eyes went immediately to his hard length, and she was on her knees in an instant, moving toward him to take it in her hand. He let her wrap her long fingers around him, his head falling back as she began to stroke him while her other hand gripped his hip, anchoring him.
Lost in the sensation of her palm skimming along his sensitive skin, he didn’t anticipate what was coming next, and when her mouth wrapped around the head of his cock and slid down the shaft, he almost came right then and there. He couldn’t miss the sight that he knew was waiting for him, and he picked is head up, opening his eyes and staring down at Siobhan’s beautiful face as she slid her mouth over him again and again.
Her eyes were closed at first, but then she glanced up at him, a twinkle evident in the blue depths. That sexy, sultry look burned in his veins, and as good as her mouth felt on him, he knew that he had to have her with no more delay.
“Lay back,” he said, his voice husky as he pushed at her shoulder. “Lay back and let me fill you.”
Stubborn though she was, Siobhan didn’t hesitate. She lay back on the bed, her legs open wide to him, and he lowered himself over her, skimming his teeth along the shell of her ear as he teased her by moving his hips against hers without truly entering her yet.
“I’m going to tease the head of my cock against you,” he whispered in her ear. “Tell me when you can’t take it anymore and I’ll take you hard.”
A shudder of pleasure moved through her whole body, and her nails bit at his shoulders again as she clung to him, her hips still working against his, as moans fell from her parted lips. She didn’t last long at all, and in less than a minute, she was pleading with him.
“Please…Julian…please. Now. Do it now. I can’t wait.”
He couldn’t wait either, and he didn’t make her beg anymore. Shifting his hips, he hoisted her legs around his waist and slid into her body in one smooth, sure stroke that joined them completely. Siobhan arched and cried out, and Julian shuddered within her, the pleasure of her warmth surrounding him almost too much to bear.
For a moment, he just seated himself within her, as deep as he could go. And then, pulling back to look into her eyes, he began to move inside of her, sliding in and out of her sweet center with exquisite slowness that gradually increased to intense, pulsating thrusts.
Every time he entered her again, she cried out his name, and if he had cared, he would have worried about what her neighbors would think about hearing, “Julian, Julian, Julian, yes! Julian!” again and again. But he didn’t care, only reveling in getting to hear it himself as they pushed each other higher and higher toward their peaks.
She was coming, and he could feel it in the way that she pulsed around him, her body clenching his as she bucked upward harder, then bowed her back and shuddered into a climax so intense that it sent a flush rushing along her skin. She moaned, burying her face in his neck, and when she grabbed the back of his head, her fingers threading into the longer strands there, it was the last push that sent him over his own edge and had him spilling himself within her.
The climax was so intense that it knocked the wind out of Julian, and he collapsed over her, breathing hard as he nestled his face against her hair and wrapped his arms around her to keep her close.
He had just made love to Siobhan MacFaddan, the girl who was further under his skin than he had ever thought possible. His body was in a state of pure bliss, his mind was sleepy and content, and his heart was warm and safe. Turning his head, he kissed her tenderly, then lay over her again, holding her flush against his skin.
As they lay there, he knew without a doubt that there was nothing that could possibly be better than this one perfect moment.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Siobhan
It was dark outside when she woke up, and it took Siobhan a moment to orient herself. She was lying on her back, staring up at her own ceiling, but there was an arm draped over her waist and breath against her cheek.
Julian.
They had made love twice before they had both fallen asleep, and each time had been incredible. He wasn’t just hot and good in bed—it was more than that. There was a connection between them, part instinctive and part born of their shared experiences over the past few days. She had felt something new and wild and different when they had joined their bodies, and it wasn’t just sex. It wasn’t just fun. It wasn’t just temporary.
God. It wasn’t just temporary.
Though she was comfortable, warm, and safe in Julian’s arms, that thought slammed into her like a freight truck, making her feel as though she had to move, go, do, see, say something. Anything but continue to lie there with her thoughts, which were all over the place, bouncing from relief to excitement to fear to confusion and then starting the whole cycle over again.
She didn’t want to wake Julian, but she had a routine at night, and this wasn’t the night for her to skip it.
Very carefully, she slid his arm off her waist, letting it drop by his side. He shifted around in his sleep, but didn’t wake up, instead nestling further into the jersey sheets on her bed, his face turning into the pillow. She lay still for a moment, making sure that he was still asleep, and then she slipped from the bed, padding naked over to her closet, where she quickly dressed and grabbed the bag that she would store her clothes in while she was flying.
As Siobhan started to leave the room, she turned back, feeling guilty for what she was about to do, even though she didn’t even consider not doing it. If Julian woke up and she wasn’t there, he would be confused, especially given that they were in her apartment. At the very least, she should leave him a note. She could say that she’d been called away on a case.
But she didn’t want to lie.
And she would only be gone for an hour, or maybe less. He looked fast asleep, and he was even snoring very faintly, his breaths deep and even.
It’ll be fine, she told herself, biting her lip. Even if he wakes up, he’s not going to panic. And he’s not going to think you bailed and went home—this is your apartment. It’s just after two o’clock in the morning. He won’t wake up.
She didn’t stop for further contemplation, anxious to get out on her own, where she could stretch her wings and let her mind process all the new information in a place where she was most in control—the open air. Grabbing her purse from beside the door, she slipped it into her larger bag, then as quietly as she could, she let herself out of the apartment and into the hallway.
Within seconds, she was outside and then in her car, driving the short distance to a nearby trail that would lead her into the thick woods that would provide cover for her. She often flew with the others at night, and there was always one of them down by the pier, ready to fly out over the ocean. But she wasn’t in the mood for company right now, and she hiked her way into the woods, finding a spot that was clear enough and setting her bag down beside a tree, covering it with some loose leaves to keep it hidden.
She stripped off her clothes, not for the first time that night, and tucked them away into her bag. And then she jumped into the air, transitioning before she fell back to the ground, her golden wings unfurling and catching the breeze so that she flew higher and higher with no effort at all.
They had to be careful to fly above the cloud cover, and she went straight upward in a slow spiral, gaining a sense of control as she gained altitude. This was her true form, her safest space, and the most treasured part of her life, and embracing it allowed her to escape her anxieties and put her world back into perspective. High above the clouds now, she did a flip in the air, darting from side to side and just feeling the wind rushing around her. Condensation in the air sprayed her, providing a cool, refreshing relief, and above her, the stars gleamed brighter as she got closer to them.
Like a child released after hours of being stuck in a classroom, she played in the air, finding playmates in birds that flocked around her. Tumbling, rolling, and spiraling down, then up again, she stretched out her muscles and cleared her mind. And then, when she had almost exhausted herself, she just coasted, slowly letting her thoughts drift back into her mind, now that she was better equipped to handle them properly.
She wondered if Julian was truly having predictive visions of them or if it was just his psychic connection, reaching out and touching her. She wondered if she was just hoping so much to find someone to partner her life with that she was ready to jump at the first sign. She wondered if the fundamental differences between their personalities would mean a lifetime of conflict, or a lifetime of one them always trying to please the other while suffocating their own preferences. She wondered if he would be the kind of man to go scuba diving off the coast of Australia for an anniversary or jump out of a plane with her just because they didn’t have anything to do one weekend.
She wondered, and she worried, and she flew, but as she did, one thought kept coming back to her over and over again.
A golden dragon had picked him up with her wing, put him on her back, and flown with him to the top of a tree, and it hadn’t scared him. He had thought it was amazing.
He thought she was amazing, because that dragon was her.
The truth was, she was happy when she was with Julian, and she saw the possibility that their differences would balance them and only make them stronger.
And he was gorgeous. And fantastic in bed.
In fact, he was there, right now, in her bed. Alone. Asleep. She had that thought while she was cruising miles above the coastline, the still night perfect in its quiet darkness, and suddenly, all she wanted to do was go back to that bed and join him. Later, she would look back on that moment as the defining one for their relationship. It was the moment that she put her fears aside, fully embraced the fact that this was the direction that her clan—and now she, specifically—was going, and decided on Julian. It was also the last moment, for some time, that she had any feeling of security and certainty.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Julian
He woke with a start, the images from his dreams still projected in front of him, as though they were still part of his reality. Julian stared up at the ceiling for a moment, blinking away the scenes he didn’t recognize as anything that his own mind would have come up with, understanding that, in all likelihood, the dreams he’d had of a child, lost, lonely, abused, beaten, and abandoned, were images from Xander’s childhood. His psychic connection to Xander was powerful, and it continued to scare Julian, because Xander’s mind wasn’t one he wanted to delve into too deeply.
Slowly, he emerged from the half-dream half-vision and realized he was still in Siobhan’s apartment, lying in her bed. The thought made him smile, and he instinctively turned to the side, looking for her body to pull close against his.
But she wasn’t there; the sheets that should have laid beneath her were cold to the touch. Julian frowned and sat up, looking around the bedroom for some sign of her. When there was none, he slid his feet from under the covers and planted them on the standard-issue carpet that covered her bedroom floor, standing up as the bed creaked beneath him.
He pulled on his clothes, then walked out in to the living area, smiling slightly at the sight of the pizza box strewn on the floor. Curious about where Siobhan was, but not worried, he walked over and picked up the pizza box and plates, carrying both the kitchen to dispose of them properly. She wasn’t in the kitchen either though, and he frowned, now a bit more concerned. He had passed the bathroom door on his way to the living room, and it had been wide open, showing him a dark, still room.
There weren’t many places for Siobhan to be in this apartment, and she was in none of them. For a moment, he worried that the sex hadn’t been as good for her as it had been for him and that she’d left to avoid the awkwardness, but then he remembered that they were in her apartment.
The first flicker of worry tickled at him, and he walked back out toward the front door, noting that her bag was gone—the one that held her keys.
That realization gave him serious pause, but then he decided he was being ridiculous and he just needed to call her. Picking up his phone from the end table by the couch, he dialed Siobhan’s number, only to hear her phone begin to ring from the kitchen. It was here, and she wasn’t.
Was that because she had just forgotten to take it, or because she hadn’t left of her own free will?
Surely he would have heard someone come into the apartment…except
that he’d been in a partial vision. Maybe he’d been so out of it, like when he normally had his visions, that he hadn’t heard her being taken from him.
Fear and worry were far more than a tickle now, and he had to sit down to steady himself and figure out what he was going to do. He didn’t have any of Siobhan’s friends’ numbers in his phone, but hers was in the kitchen. Getting up again, he hurried in to find it tucked on the countertop nearest the refrigerator, and he picked it up, pressing the Home button only to find a lock screen in place.
“Damn it,” he muttered, though he shouldn’t have been surprised. What private investigator didn’t lock their phone?
He could call the office, but nobody would be there in the middle of the night, and he couldn’t afford to wait until morning if something had happened to Siobhan. She was a strong, capable woman who had fought off two male attackers, both bigger than her, earlier that day, but if she had been lying asleep in bed, vulnerable, there was no telling would could have happened.
And he had been too out of it to notice.
His guilt was strong, but he couldn’t dwell on that now. Siobhan had disappeared without her phone, and he had to do something to track her down or he would go out of his mind. First he would turn on the local news and see if there were any reports of an incident, and then he would try to find some way to contact one of her friends, each of whom were better able to handle this kind of thing than he was.
Julian walked into the living room, and immediately, a rush of anger and frustration hit him. His stomach began to churn, and his hands clenched at his side. For a moment, he didn’t know what was wrong with him, and then it hit him and he turned just in time to see a tall, hunched figure emerge from the hallway that led to Siobhan’s bedroom, the balding head gleaming in the low light of the morning hours and the beady eyes filled with a psychotic rage.
That low giggle from Julian’s visions made the hairs on his arms stand up. Xander was standing there in the living room doorway, one hand wrapped around a knife so tightly that his knuckles were white, and the other hand lifted so that there was one finger pressed against his lips.
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