“Jesus, I think I might be dying or something. What just happened?”
Pax smiled. “That was your prostate, otherwise known as your p-spot. It’s a male’s best friend.”
James rolled over and put his head on Pax’s chest. “I thought that was dogs.”
“Well, you have both. You tell me.”
James gave him a smartass grin. “Dog. No contest.”
Pax smiled and ran his hand over his buzz. “Then I guess we have our answer.”
Wait. “Does that mean you’ll never do that again?”
Pax laughed before dropping a kiss on James’s forehead. “I can honestly say that’s not something you’ll ever have to worry about.”
James yawned as Pax rolled to his side and pulled him in to spoon. “Thank fuck.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ana hovered above Victrixa’s ceiling, her Cobra form pulled in on itself in a comfortable coil. She could stay that way for hours without any fatigue whatsoever, which meant she could easily work surveillance until she found out just what Mommie Dearest wanted with Batiste. SE had been the one drawback in the op, and Ana regretted having to make him worry so much. It’s not that he didn’t trust her abilities. He did, and she knew it. But no matter how good you were, shit could still go wrong. She’d taught him that lesson all too well when she’d been kidnapped during the mission to rescue Adriana. Jesus, what a fiasco that had been. They had gained another New Breed, but even so. There was no way she could blame her male for learning the lesson she herself had taught him with her own damned carelessness.
Fuck. Maybe there was another drawback. She had nothing to do but sit in the ceiling and think until her psychotic bitch of a mother decided to show. Ana was in her own head enough as it was. Too bad she couldn’t teach herself how to read in Cobra form. She had plenty of research that could be using up the time. Just then, Ana heard someone spring the lock on the office door. The unmistakable click-clack of Victrixa’s boots followed. Well, at least Mommie Dearest had done her the favor of showing up. A cell phone rang and Ana put all of her energy into listening in.
“What?”
Silence.
“Are you absolutely certain he can meet our needs, Cerberus? I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how annoyed I will be if he turns out to be a waste of my time.”
Silence.
“Where did you find this shifter anyway? Never mind. If you think he can work with the formula, then I want to meet him.”
Silence.
“The sooner the better. Tomorrow, if he will agree to it.”
Ana heard her mother hang up the call and walk out of her office. Work with the formula? That didn’t make any sense. The formula was finished, wasn’t it? The plan was the extermination of the human race. It…no. No! She’d changed it! Ana gleamed out and materialized in her room in shifter form. “God dammit!”
SE got up from his chair and put down his laptop. “Ihkweea? What is it? Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m just dandy. I found out that my psychotic mother has either changed her plans or added to them or I don’t know what. She was on the phone just now talking about bringing someone new in to work with the formula.”
Her mate took her by the shoulders. “Okay, maybe she will. But you aren’t responsible for her actions and you’re not the only New Breed charged with stopping her. Setbacks suck, but we’re going to get her in the end, Ihkweea. Just not today.”
Ana exhaled and her male pulled her into his chest. “I hate her so fucking much. How is it possible to hate someone this much, SE?”
“Yeah, she’s got a whole fan club. But I understand that it’s different for you, Ihkweea. I do. The hate is the flipside of how much you loved her.”
She looked up at her mate. If anyone else had said that, she would have broken a limb. Minimum. “Ugh. How could I have? How was it even possible for anyone to love that…thing?”
“Kids are different than adults. Their love is unconditional until they start thinking like adults and morality comes into the mix. Look at Cesar and me. The only hope I have that he’ll forgive me for abandoning him the way I did, is that he loved me as a child. That’s why he’s as pissed as he is now, but I’m hoping it’ll be what saves us in the end.”
She touched the side of his cheek. “It will, my male.”
He kissed her forehead. “Now, how about you throw some cool water on your face, change your clothes, and come down for dinner with the family?”
Ana nodded and even managed a little smile. When SE was right, he was right. There was no point in trying to argue. There was something to be said for being mated to an older male. She knew a lot more about the spy game, but SE knew a hell of a lot more about life.
James rolled over and looked out the window. The sun was setting. Damn. How long had Pax let him sleep? He pulled on his pants and walked down the hallway. The most amazing smell was coming from the kitchen. He walked through the living room and found Pax at the stove wearing just his khakis and his shirt, which he’d left unbuttoned. Now there was a sight.
“Hey. You didn’t need to let me sleep.”
Pax smiled. “I know, but you were out cold. Besides, I did say I’d feed you.”
James leaned on the counter. “You did say that.”
“Now shut up and come taste this.” Pax let the hot food cool down on a spoon before feeding it to him.
“Oh, my God. That’s insane.”
Pax barked a laugh. “I’m not sure my Abuelita would agree. But, then again, I’m trying to impress a male addicted to Taco Bell.”
“Even I can tell that’s not Taco Bell.”
“This is the real deal. On the Island we call it comida criolla.”
Anything his camzah said in Spanish sounded good to him. “What can I do to help?”
“Ah, you can open the wine and make the salad.”
“I’m on it.”
Before long they were sitting kitty-corner at the dining table, eating incredible food, and drinking wine. “This is so good. Are you sure you didn’t phase into Mary to cook this?”
Pax shook his head. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.”
“What’s it called?”
“Arroz con pollo. Rice with chicken. It’s an island staple.”
James took another bite of fried plantains and finished his wine. His first glass ever. His first glass of rum earlier, too. Lotta firsts today. He smiled to himself. He couldn’t imagine any of them happening with anyone else but Pax. He leaned forward and kissed him with the same kind of reverence his camzah had so often shown him.
“I love you,” James whispered.
Pax smiled and ran his hand over James’s hair until it rested at the back of his neck. “I love you, too.”
When they were done eating, James offered to do the dishes. Pax protested, but James insisted. He thought it might be good for the male to have a little alone time. “You cooked. I’ll clean up.”
“Okay, you win. I’ll be out on the beach when you’re done.” Pax cupped his ass and kissed his cheek. Just like that, James was hard. Dishes. Right.
Evy sat in her spot on the bench in the garden. She looked up at the stars, trying to figure out what she’d done before that somehow allowed her to read them. She couldn’t imagine what the key to it could be. She’d been standing in the conservatory looking at the stars while she waited for Pax. Had she been thinking of anything? Hmm. Just that her talk with Akina had happened right in the same room. Was it the conservatory then? No, Evy. There’s nothing special about that room. Wait. She’d also been thinking of Basira, the seer who had foreseen Akina’s death. Maybe…
“Come on, Basira, help me out here.”
Without warning, her Seer’s ring lit up and Evy popped right up off the bench in her excitement. “Basira could read the stars!”
That’s what Akina meant by using the knowledge of the seers who came before her. Evy looked up into the starry night, her mind focused on Basira. She could
n’t see her, but she heard Basira’s words as though the seer whispered them in her ear.
Instinctively, Evy raised her hands to the stars and repeated the ancient Mayan incantation. “Ek’ mentik hu’un hook’ol!”
The stars didn’t so much rearrange themselves as glow differently. The brighter lights created a pattern Evy understood to be a system of letters. Holy shit. She turned and ran for the house, gleaming out mid run and materializing at Adriana’s door.
In her haste, Evy practically pounded on the door before remembering the baby. Crap.
Richard opened the door. “Evy? Are you alright?”
“It’s the Goddess. The stars say she will come to us tonight.”
Adriana looked over Richard’s shoulder. “Oh, my God. We need to reconvene the circle. Do you know when, Evy?”
“At midnight.”
Richard checked his watch. “That gives us about ninety minutes.”
“Evy, you should keep your eye out in case there are more messages. Richard and I will call the circle and gather what we need.”
“Before I go, I should tell you that from what I sensed from Ana at the last circle, I think she should be included. She doesn’t pose any threat to us and we may need her k’ul.”
“I agree,” Richard said.
Adriana looked from one to the other. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive,” Evy answered. “The ritual was meant to open a portal to the Goddess, and with Ana’s affinity for them, we somehow set her off too. But now that we know, we might be able to use it to our advantage.”
Richard nodded. “We’ll make sure she’s there.”
“This is it. It’s going to work. I can feel it.” Evy looked at them both before gleaming out.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
James finished up the dishes and left them to air dry. He walked out onto the porch and found Pax sitting in the sand on the beach, his arms resting on his knees as he looked out at the water.
James touched Pax’s shoulder. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Mind if I sit?”
His camzah shook his head.
They sat in silence for a while and James noticed how large the moon loomed over the water. He’d never seen it look that way before.
Pax ran his hand through the sand. “I had just always thought maybe someday, somehow there might be a chance for my father and I to—I don’t know. Agree to disagree, I guess. That probably sounds pretty childish. I mean, it’s not as though we disagreed over money. I’m gay. It’s who I am. I could never compromise that.”
The sadness in Pax’s voice cut into James as he thought about what to say. “No, it doesn’t. You were hopeful. You didn’t want to give up.”
“I guess I’m just shocked. I know we see the reality of death every day. He just always seemed so larger than life.” Pax looked down at the sand. “There’s something I want to tell you. I wasn’t totally up front with you before when you found out I’d followed you. I said I’d waited to tell you because you were dealing with a lot, and that’s true. But that’s not all of it. The look in your eyes when I found you in your room afterward. I knew it, James. I recognized it from somewhere inside myself. I realized you were ashamed of what had happened, and it scared me. Shame can be so destructive. I was afraid if you knew I was there, you wouldn’t be able to be around me. That you’d always associate me with what happened that night, like a constant reminder. I…I was afraid of losing you.” Pax looked over at him, his eyes searching. “I love you, James. More than I’ve ever loved anyone. And I knew if I lost you too…”
James put his hand on the male’s arm. “Whoa. Hey, that’s never going to happen. You hear me? Pax, look at me.” He waited until the male’s dark eyes were focused on his. “I’m not Luis. And I’m not your father either. You’re never going to lose me. I won’t let that happen. You got that?”
He leaned in and kissed Pax gently on the lips. When he pulled back, Pax nodded and gave him a little smile.
James looked out at the water and bumped the male’s shoulder with his. “Go swimming with me.”
Pax grinned. “You’re on.”
Evy glanced nervously up at the stars while SE cleansed each of the shifters with the smoke from a sage wand. One by one, they stepped into the circle and stood around the fire pit in the same order as before. Troy rubbed her back gently and her nerves quieted a bit. She looked into baby blue eyes that seemed to have their aqua glow more often than not lately. The protective instinct. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it.
“Remember, no matter what happens during the circle, we can’t drop hands once we begin to chant.” Adriana reminded them. “We’ll do it just like before. I’ll say the invocation once through, and then everyone repeat it with me.”
“It’s just about midnight. Let’s get started with the cardinal candles.” Richard lit the first long match from the fire and turned to the red candle standing to the east. “Fire, you represent the light of wisdom. Guide our path.”
Evy lit the white candle facing north. “Air, you are the breath of life. Keep us safe.”
Reyn faced south and set the black candle aflame. “Earth, you are our stability. Give us strength.”
SE dipped the tip of his match into the dancing flames. “Water of the West, sanctify our thoughts and actions this night.”
“Close your eyes and focus on the Goddess as much as you possibly can,” Adriana said.
Evy looked across the circle at Ana. She could tell her friend was nervous after what happened at the last circle, but all she could do was offer her an encouraging smile before she closed her eyes.
Adriana bowed her head and began the invocation. “Beloved Spirit of the Goddess Akina, we ask that you commune with us and move among us.”
As they all joined in, their voices became louder and louder and the chant seemed to take on a life of its own. Without warning, Evy heard Adriana gasp. She opened her eyes to see Ana becoming transparent just as she had at the last circle.
“Steady everyone,” Richard mumbled.
Evy watched in silence along with everyone else as Ana’s transparent body shimmered. The essence of her Goddess appeared to come from somewhere inside Ana, as if she were simply an open door. Evy looked over at Reyn who was clearly in shock. The vision floated to the fire pit and came to rest above the flames.
The mind-blowing moon lit everything around Pax and James, making it seem as though it were daylight as they stripped off their clothes and walked to the ocean’s edge. Pax had almost literally grown up on the water, but he’d never seen it look like this. They stepped into the water, following the trail of bright moonlight dancing across its surface. He wondered if it meant the Goddess was okay, wherever she was. Who else could create a moon so heavenly but the Goddess of love—the moon Goddess herself? He took James’s hand and as always the male’s fingers laced perfectly into his. When they were out deep enough, Pax watched James duck under the water, then break the surface again. He was so fucking beautiful, Pax actually sucked in his breath.
The two of them swam and splashed each other, water running over their bodies. The bright moonlight reflected off their wet skin as it rippled down their muscled torsos. Without warning, James gleamed out and materialized behind Pax, pushing his head underwater. He came to the surface and went right for him.
“You’re a dick, you know that? Come here.” Pax wrapped his arms around James and pulled him into a kiss, their bodies so tight together he could feel the male shiver against him.
Pax licked the salt from James’s mouth, inside and out. “I love you so much.”
James’s eyes lit up in their bright yellow glow, and Pax relished the fact that it was only for him. The male let his head fall back while Pax licked at the brilliant droplets of water rippling their way down his neck and chest. God, he tasted good. Like tangy salt and sweet sea air.
James trembled again.
“Are you cold, baby?”
“No. But I
want to go in.”
Seconds later Pax was falling against the stairs inside the house. James caught himself on a step at either side of Pax before pushing his body up over him and taking his mouth. The male bit Pax’s lower lip and he opened to him. Their tongues wrestled battled back and forth until James hit him with a shock from his piercing, the sweet sting making Pax’s head spin for a moment. Slowly, the brother licked and kissed his way down Pax’s neck and chest, pausing only to use his teeth playfully on each nipple. Pax knew exactly where the male was headed. Right from the first night James sucked him off, it was obvious the male loved cock. He was a total natural. And who was Pax to argue? He’d never been so fucking hard as James parted his lips and took him into his mouth, pulling him deep into his throat, and swallowing around the tip of his prick.
“Shit,” Pax bit out.
James licked his length from bottom to top, that tongue piercing adding a delicious pressure to every stroke. James smacked his lips. “Jesus, I love your cock. I could do this all night.”
Pax’s erection jumped like it was replying and the male pulled him in deep once again.
“Ahh, James.” Pax ran his hand over James’s buzz. “Ah, yeah. Just like that.”
James ran his tongue all the way up Pax’s shaft to the head, where he licked pre-cum off the tip, probing his opening with his piercing. Their eyes met and James gave him a sexy smile.
“God, you taste good.”
Pax moaned his reply. He thought he saw James’s bright gold eyes shimmer a little. But the thought was already gone as the male slid back down his body and sucked first one of his balls then the other into his mouth. The sensation hit all over Pax’s body as James sucked his dick back into his mouth until it hit the back of the male’s throat.
“Aw, fuck.” This time Pax couldn’t stop himself from rocking his hips back and forth.
“You know you wanna fuck my mouth. Do it.”
Nobody had to tell Pax twice. He pulled out and quickly followed James down to the landing. The male kneeled down and grabbed Pax’s ass, lowering his mouth over him. Damn if he didn’t leave that tongue piercing in just the right spot.
Desperate Call (New Breed Novels Book 5) Page 13