by Bonnie Vanak
And then she felt him tremble, felt his broad shoulder shake beneath her cheek. Kelly looked up.
Tears ran down Sam’s cheeks.
He leaned his forehead against hers, cupping her face in his hands, and kissed her. The salt of their tears mingled together, washed away by the shower. Kelly opened her mouth beneath his as his tongue slid into her mouth, stealing away her breath. His kiss was demanding and yet gentle, urgent and desperate.
Then he pulled away, reached for the bar of soap and began to wash her.
Symbolic and soothing, his actions roused her desire as he slid the soap over her arms, the slope of her neck. Droplets clung to his thick brown hair and sparkled in his long lashes. Water cascaded down his strong, muscled neck, beaded in the dark hairs of his chest and slid lower.
He looked beautiful and sexy and intent, and it took her breath away.
His heated gaze remained affixed to hers as he stroked the soap over her wet, glistening skin. Sam brushed kisses alongside her jaw, sweet and tender as when they’d first made love. His hands cupped the rounded curve of her hips, pulling her tight against him.
“Turn around,” he said, his voice thick.
Kelly closed her eyes as he stood behind her, lathering her breasts, cupping them and gently teasing the hardened nipples with gentle strokes of his thumbs. Massaging gently, he molded his body against hers, his erection rubbing against her bottom. Each languid stroke aroused her senses, chasing away sorrow and regrets and replacing them with sensual awareness.
Cleansing them both, Sam washed away the past, replacing it with new and fresh feelings of heightened desire.
“Slippery when wet,” he whispered. Taking the lobe of her ear between his teeth, he gently bit.
She moaned as he turned her around.
His mouth went from her ear to her throat, nuzzling down to her bare collarbone. He suckled her breasts, his tongue flicking over each crested peak, creating new, aching need inside her. Kelly sagged bonelessly against him, pushing her hot skin against his questing mouth. More. More. Sensation speared her, so fresh and tantalizing, it was as if she were a virgin once more. A girl who had never experienced passion, felt desire or the tender touch of a lover’s strong, skilled hands.
Sam’s hands.
Sam’s hands...were sliding down her front. He slid the soap down her belly, dipping a finger into her navel, and then he skirted around her and dropped to his knees. Sam squeezed her bottom.
“Man, I love your ass. I’ve dreamed about doing this to you. Bend over, sweetheart,” he said hoarsely.
As she did, he spread her cheeks wide and stroked the soap between them. Sam washed her front, slicking her folds as she gasped, her passage growing wet and ready for him. Then she felt the delicious roughness of his tongue delve between her cheeks as he gently massaged her clit.
A nearly unbearable ache filled her lower belly as he kissed and licked her, all the while stroking her. Water streamed down her body, mingling with her natural moisture. Kelly splayed her hands against the tile as he grasped her hips.
“I’m going to make love to you now,” he rasped. “Send you into oblivion until you can’t take it anymore. Until we both come, together. And then I’m going to start all over.”
She felt the insistent push of his cock nudge at her slick folds and then push slightly inside her. He entered her slowly, stretching and penetrating her deeply, and deeper still. Kelly made a little pleading cry as he sank inside her to the hilt and remained still, his fingers gripping her hips.
“Sam, please,” she whispered.
“Not until I say what I must.”
Sam bent over her, his body firmly lodged inside hers, the crisp hair on his chest against her back. He flung aside her wet hair as the water pattered upon them and kissed her nape.
“Back in Honduras, I couldn’t say how I really felt. It was too intense, and there was too much between us. I’m telling you now, Kelly, I do care. You drive me crazy with need.” His voice dropped to a husky whisper. “All I can think about is getting inside you, keeping you in my bed for good.”
“I just want this moment, with you, to last forever. I wish it could,” she whispered.
Slowly he withdrew and then thrust back inside. She reached back, felt his hand, felt their fingers entwine and then release. With a groan, he began to surge heavily into her, teasing her clit with his finger. Her breasts swayed as his flesh slapped against hers, nearly suffocating her with incredible erotic pleasure. It had always been good with him before, but now it was exquisite. Sam murmured praises of her body, how sweet and tight she felt, how beautiful she was. Each demanding stroke raised her higher and higher until the raw, stunning sensation shimmered, the pressure built in her loins.
“Now,” he cried out as she squeezed him tight. “Come with me, Kel!”
Crying out, she surged and soared upward as the orgasm crested over her, feeling him pump deep inside her.
In sated exhaustion, she sagged against the wall as he slowly withdrew. Kelly turned around to see the husky glint of satisfaction in his gaze. Then Sam reached past her and turned the knob to shut off the shower. He glanced down.
“I’ll be damned,” he muttered, staring at his penis. “I didn’t use a condom.”
A glint ignited his gaze as he glanced up. “If you get pregnant, we’ll get married.”
Crazy hope fluttered inside her breast and then died. Sam wouldn’t marry for love, only duty. “I won’t get pregnant. I’m on the Pill.”
Was that stark relief in his gaze, or mild disappointment? Hard to tell.
She wanted all of him, including his heart. But that organ still seemed locked deep inside despite the blaze of passion they’d shared.
She didn’t want to think about that as he dried them both off and then carried her back to the bed.
For a long time they lay together, entangled in each other’s arms. Kelly stroked his damp chest hairs and traced the hard brown circle of his nipple. She badly wanted to confess her feelings. But his previous attitude gave her caution. A soft purr came from the cell phone on the nightstand. Sam rolled over and pushed a hand through his hair.
“Yeah?”
His languid expression became intense. Instantly he sat up, a steel core shoved in his spine. Kelly fisted her hands in the sheets.
Thumbing off the cell, he tossed it on the bed with a soft curse. Sam stared out the window.
“The council found out you’re back in the country,” she guessed.
He nodded. “Gibson, the executive secretary. Curt told them and now he’s ordered me to bring you in.”
All good things must come to an end, she thought, hysteria rising in her throat. The tenderness of their lovemaking faded. Reality check.
Fading sunlight dappled his sandy-brown hair. How she’d loved holding him close, wishing never to let go.
She had to let go now. Because if Sam brought her back, the council would be there, including Senator Rogers, most likely. She was going to use all her magick to free herself.
“Screw this,” he muttered. “You are not going back.”
Picking up the cell, he punched in a number. Sam stood, displaying the cords of muscle on his back and across his muscled, taut ass.
Remembering how strongly he’d pumped that ass to thrust deep inside her, Kelly squirmed on the bed. As he left the bedroom, talking on the phone, her hands fisted tighter in the sheets until her knuckles whitened.
She remained like that until he returned.
“I called Curt. Told him I’m going back to base. Neglected to say I’m going alone.”
He ran his thumb along her knuckles, his touch reassuring. “You’ll stay here. I warded the land enough so even a tank filled with Mages can’t come onto the property. I’ll break the bond between us so we can separate.”
He trusted her not to run for it. She had to trust that he’d fight for her.
“What will you do at the base?”
A fierce look came over him. �
��I’m going to find out what the hell is going on.”
Chapter 19
Shay grappled with the problem during the flight to Virginia. As a SEAL, he fought with courage, conviction and the sureness of knowing he did the right thing.
Now doing the right thing was wrong in his superior’s eyes. He stood to lose everything as a SEAL.
Curt’s voice echoed in his mind. “You’re too involved. Step back and let us handle this.” Hell, it sounded like Curt, even the clipped words. Was the man a doppelgänger?
He needed to see the man for himself.
At the airport, he flagged down a cab. He’d given a vague arrival time. Didn’t want to chance getting a little surprise.
But the surprise greeted him as he walked into ST 21’s ready room. Curt stood by the desk. In the front chair, Senator Robert Rogers. Next to them...
The entire Council of Mages, including Allen Shaymore, his dark gaze sharp as he nodded to Shay.
“Uncle Al. No retreat this year?”
“They cut it short.” Al scowled, tugging at the collar of his white starched shirt beneath the formal purple velvet robes of a Mage Elder. “Sent an air force jet to retrieve me so I could put on this damn monkey suit. What the hell’s the deal, son? You in trouble again?”
An air force jet? Shay’s heart dropped to his stomach. Rogers had pulled plenty of strings to make that happen. Unless the conspiracy went a lot deeper than he’d realized.
An expectant hush filled the air as the Mages looked at Lieutenant Commander Curtis.
“Where is Kelly Denning, Chief Petty Officer Shaymore?”
Curt never called him by his full title. Guess I’m in a little trouble, he thought humorlessly. Or maybe this isn’t Curt.
He shrugged. “Looks like a welcoming party. If I’d known you’d go through all this trouble, I’d have brought the beer.”
Al laughed, but Curt scowled. Rogers stood, his elegant frame trembling with rage. “Where the hell is Kelly Denning?”
“Chill, Senator. Don’t want to burst a blood vessel.” Shay kept his body loose and ready for action. If that SOB came at him, he’d get a fist smashed into his surgically altered nose.
“You’re a U.S. Navy SEAL and you were ordered...”
“I know my orders,” Shay fired back. “Yeah, I’m a SEAL. You call us adrenaline junkies, but we’re trained professionals. And part of any op is gathering good intel before we deploy.”
His gaze swept over the council. “I need information.”
“You are a soldier. You follow orders. Your job is to do what you’re told.” Rogers’s mouth thinned as he flexed his manicured hands, as if itching to wrap them around Shay’s neck.
“I’m not turning Kelly over until I know why she’s being charged, and what the formal charges are.” Shay narrowed his gaze.
Before Rogers could retort, he pushed on. “Section five fifty-seven, Code of Honor of the Executive Council of Honored Mages. And I quote, ‘If an Arcane is suspected of breaking Mage law, and bringing harm to Elemental Mages, the council will ensure due process is served and appoint a skilled attorney fluent in Code law to serve as counsel to the defendant. No Arcane shall be imprisoned without formal charges until such counsel can be found.’”
“You’re an arrogant son of a bitch,” the senator sputtered.
He considered. “Yeah. But we’re discussing Kelly Denning, not me.” He flashed a cold smile. “She deserves a lawyer. Are you trying to circumvent our sacred laws?”
“Of course not,” Rogers snapped. “We will, of course, see that she gets a fair trial. If she’s guilty, she’ll be executed.”
But the truth was carved on the faces of each Elder, except his uncle. Kelly was a dead woman.
“He’s right. The girl deserves representation. I’ll make sure she gets it.” Allen’s gaze was sly as he looked at his nephew, who grinned back.
Expecting Rogers to retort, he watched Curt signal to a waiting aide.
“We have a small surprise for you, Chief Petty Officer Shaymore. Someone who’s been missing all these years, who wanted dearly to see you again. Someone who will make you see reason.” Curt smiled.
Right. Not a fat chance. Shay’s hand dropped to his sidearm. And he nearly dropped with cold shock as a ghost strolled into the room. A gray-haired, stately ghost with hazel eyes like his own.
“Dad,” he whispered. Couldn’t be. The council was playing tricks on him. Or maybe this was a doppelgänger, as well...but sweet hellfire, how could they have taken his DNA if his father had been dead for twelve years?
The room spun around like a top. Shay braced his hands on a desktop.
“Samuel.” The ghost offered a thin smile. “You’re here. I knew you would come.”
Only his father called him by his full name. Shay swung his gaze to his uncle, who stared at the floor and then back to the ghost. “I buried your remains...”
“You buried a servant who lost his life in the blaze. I’m here and quite alive. Samuel, my son. How I have missed you.”
“You’re dead.”
“Quite alive. I’ve been in hiding all these years. Too crazed with grief, living in the shadows.” His father’s face contorted with emotion. “In a way, I have been a true phantom, a ghost.”
The crack of a fist slamming into flesh. Shay watched in quiet satisfaction as the ghost stumbled backward.
“Don’t feel like a ghost to me,” he said, flexing his fist.
Colton wiped blood from his split lip. “Excuse me. I need a moment alone with my son.”
Shay fought for control as they walked to a nearby storage closet. Nothing ever surprised a SEAL. They had to adapt swiftly to sudden change. But all the hard training never prepared him for this.
Closing the door, Shay leaned against it.
“I will forgive you for hitting me because I owe you an apology for not telling you sooner.”
“Apology? You owe me a hell of a lot more,” Shay snapped. “Sooner? Twelve years ago would have been sweet! Why didn’t you tell me you were alive? Where the hell were you when the fire broke out? The day I fucking buried your body?”
Something flickered in his father’s eyes. “I had gone out the back door to sneak a cigar. Your mother disapproved and I didn’t want to upset her. The flames spread quickly and were too hot. I couldn’t try entering the hallway to save them.”
Shay had tried, and he had the scars as a result.
“Dad, how could you leave me?” Shay whispered.
Another flicker of emotion. Shame? Guilt? Hard to tell.
“I’m sorry, son. I went mad with grief over losing your mother. I ran away and by the time I regained some sense, you had gone.”
“And returned a year later, goddammit. What was your excuse then?”
Silence draped between them. Colton tensed, white lines bracketing his mouth. “I was on a blood hunt to avenge their deaths.”
Shay went still. “You went looking for Kelly’s father.”
“That bastard Arcane took my beautiful Annabelle away from me. I sought revenge against all his parasitic kind.” Colton’s eyes sparkled with rage. “And now I have the means. Those goddamn Arcanes, always trying to steal what is ours. No more. I met a most remarkable Elemental Phantom who convinced me to come out of hiding and put my skills to good use.”
“You couldn’t tell me? Enlist my help?”
“Not after I discovered you and the parasite’s daughter were having an affair.”
Guilt pierced Shay as his father regarded him with the look he knew well. Sheer disappointment. Even though he’d fought hand-to-hand combat with terrorists, his father still made him feel as if he was nine years old. “How did you know?”
“I found out a few days before Christmas. One of the servants saw you and Kelly go into the underground tunnels.”
They’d thought themselves safe, invisible to the world. And all the time, someone had known.
“I knew you were sneaking off with someone, so I sent
her to watch you.”
Shay’s mouth twisted. “Nice touch, Dad. Spying on your own flesh and blood.”
“You worried me, Samuel. No discipline, restless and disobedient, more headstrong than ever. If you were in trouble, I needed to know.” Colton rubbed a hand over his face, and suddenly Shay saw how much he’d aged.
“An Arcane. Really, son. I understand the fascination. But what in the hell were you thinking?”
“Watch it, Dad,” he softly warned. “Don’t you dare insult her.”
“She’s a slut like her father.”
Shay jerked the door open. “This conversation is over.”
He wanted to scream but clamped a lid on his temper as they returned to the ready room. Sickened, he watched his CO put a hand on his father’s shoulder. “Colton heads a new civilian committee to assess an Arcane threat. We’re going to work with him, Shay. All of the Phoenix Force.”
“A committee? You mean a hate group.” Shay swung his gaze over the silent council, including his uncle, who glowered at Shay’s father. “You approve of this, all of you?”
“It’s necessary,” Rogers said tightly. “If there is a threat against our people, we need to be prepared to destroy it. Just as you and the other SEALs do.”
The meaning became clear. “We fight to keep our country safe, not kill innocents.”
“Self-preservation,” Curt put in. “Protecting our people so they can thrive. Arcanes are like cockroaches...they breed incessantly and unless you wipe out their numbers, they will always be underfoot.”
His father nodded. “Only more dangerous, ready to seize everything dear to you. You must accept the truth, Samuel. These Arcanes threaten the very fabric of our lives. Bring them Kelly Denning. She is key to uncovering their plans to destroy us.”
Toss Kelly to the wolves. Shay felt off balance, his world splitting open beneath his booted feet. But one surety remained. “No way in hell. She’s innocent.”
But Curt spoke up. “Since you refuse to comply, Chief Petty Officer Shaymore, you are formally charged with unauthorized absence.”