Oh, thank God, that was just a dream! I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him like I would never see him again. I needed to kiss him, needed to feel him. I pressed myself against him, desperate to wipe that vision out of my memory. The image taunted me… floated inside my mind like a dream, a premonition. Squeezing my eyes shut, I clung to Sean, spreading kisses down his neck. What could I have been thinking? Sean was the only one I wanted, and I wanted him right now. Completely confused by my actions, Sean tried to pull back to say something, but I held his mouth to mine until he gave up with a groan. I forgot I was completely naked until his hands smoothed over my bare hips to curl around my butt. As his calloused fingertips stroked my skin, my heart pounded, my breath stopped, my muscles turned to mush. It was time. I wanted more than kisses, more than his hand on me. I wanted all of him. Everywhere. I rubbed against him like a cat. He yanked me against him, his erection hard against my belly. A hundred thousand years of instinct overruled any restraint I might have had.
Drawing back to look into my eyes, he whispered, “Are you sure? I don’t think I can stop…”
Arching up to kiss him again, I breathed, “It has to be now…” We might not get another chance.
Murmuring words I didn’t understand, he peeled off his clothes and lowered me to the floor. When I was completely breathless, he raised our hands above us. Although nearly blinded by the force of the current flowing through me, I could clearly see what he showed me. Our two hands were gone; there was only one, and the mirage flowed over our arms and chests to cover every part of us that touched. Blue eyes bored into mine as he pushed himself inside of me, and the two of us disappeared completely.
“I want to say I love you, but that seems like such an understatement now.” Sean smiled into my dazed eyes. “Are you still conscious?”
“I think so. I’m not sure this isn’t a dream. Did that really just happen?” I was still glowing… literally and figuratively. My body was gently pulsing with light, and the golden locket was shining against my skin. The lines of Sean’s body were indistinct… as if we were still one person. I blinked my eyes to clear the fuzziness. When I opened my eyes, the solid muscles were clearly defined. Something had definitely happened. I felt the click of connection and knew we’d both been changed.
“I’m surprised no one has knocked on the door yet. It’s getting late, isn’t it?”
Sean nuzzled my neck and informed me that they knew perfectly well where we were and were giving us some privacy. What did that mean? I tried to sit up, but he wouldn’t get out of the way.
“Are you telling me everyone knows what we just did?” I blushed to my toes.
“Not exactly. They aren’t in here with us, now are they? They can’t see through walls, right? But your thoughts aren’t exactly your own these days…”
Oh, God! “Killian knows? He read my thoughts? That’s sick!” I would have to kill him. That’s the only solution. And after that dream… Uh-oh! Did he see the dream too?
Sean was scandalized by this idea. “What? No, he wasn’t trying to read your thoughts. But your, ah, emotional state was pretty intense, and he would pick up on that even from the other room. I’m sure, well, mostly sure, he wouldn’t want to read your mind while we were…”
I covered my face and groaned. We’d be needed very soon, and I didn’t want to leave this bed. I pressed him against me and closed my eyes. I would remember this moment forever. No matter what happened tonight or tomorrow. Time was running out. I shoved the niggling feeling of foreboding into the back of my mind.
“Regrets, Mica?” He pried my hands away from my face. “I didn’t disappoint you, did I?”
“What? No, never! I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t understand my destiny, and I don’t understand ours. All I know is that I need you like I need air.”
“And I need you. Now, come on, love. We’re about to be interrupted.”
Awkward doesn’t begin to describe the atmosphere in the foyer. We’d gotten dressed for the mission and were in the foyer getting ready to leave. Sean was adjusting my body armor for the second time when Dec came in. Regardless of what he did or didn’t know, I turned purple with embarrassment. Dec didn’t say anything, but I saw the questions in his eyes. He looked from me to Sean and back again. He knew something was different but didn’t ask. His eyes settled on my mouth. My lips were puffy and slightly red from Sean’s kisses. He knew! I stared at the floor, hoping to become invisible. Sean ignored him while he adjusted my mic with a professional attitude. When he accidently grazed my neck with his knuckles, I felt the effect down to my toes. Dec snorted with amusement.
“What?” I whispered to Sean.
He shook his head with some humor. Dec snorted again just as Killian walked into the room. His expression was colder than I had seen it in years. His disapproval cut like a knife.
His gaze swiveled from me to Sean. “Why is she glowing? What did you do to her?”
I nearly burst into flames right then and there. Mortified, I turned my back, burying my face in my hands. This time, I intentionally sent a plea to him. Please, Killian, don’t be disappointed in us. There’s no more time! Please… don’t cut me out! My emotions were already on edge, and I stifled a sob.
And this is what you want from Sean?
No, I want everything from him. But this is a start.
Still playing with fire, little girl? His tone was softer now.
Sean put an arm around me and turned me around again. He whispered, “It’ll be okay. Trust me.”
He faced the others and made an unequivocal statement.
“I have no secrets from you. We all know there is something between Mica and I that we can’t explain. I’ve tried to deny it; I’ve tried to fight it. I’m not fighting it anymore.” He linked our hands and raised them up for the others to see. As before, the lines between us blurred, shimmered, and disappeared. We were connected again.
Killian and Dec both stared. Sean continued, “What does this mean? I don’t know yet! But she’s changing. Her blood… her body temperature… her intuition… She’s becoming more like us every day. Why? There must be a reason for it. There must be a reason for us!”
He cupped my face, kissed me once, before stating boldly, “I love her. She belongs to me, and I belong to her. I will stand by her no matter what happens. I will teach her everything I know to make her strong. And I will destroy anyone who tries to hurt her. So now I ask you, my brothers, what will you do?”
The silence was deafening. We were all in shock. He was completely serious. Alex and Raphael stood in the back of the room frozen in surprise.
Finally, I said softly, “I am yours, and you are mine.” I searched his eyes and sealed my vow with a light kiss on his mouth.
Dec came over to us, and vowed formally, “Mica, you’re my sister now, and I will always have your back.” He kissed my cheek and rested his hand on my head before turning to Sean. ”Sean, I swear to you that I will be here for her when you can’t be. I’ll protect her with my life.”
We all looked at Killian. I was holding my breath. He considered Sean’s words and the ramifications of our relationship carefully. He seemed to be communicating with Sean, but neither said a word. His blue eyes softened when he glanced at me. He answered Sean’s formal challenge with a serious expression.
“I’ve stood by you against demons and humans. There is no one else I want fighting beside me. You’re right. Mica’s transformation has purpose that we are only beginning to understand. We must be patient. If this is your choice, I swear to you I will stand by you both. And yes, I will protect her with my life should something happen to you.” He bowed slightly.
With a lighter tone, he said, “Oh, and happy birthday, princess!”
Chapter 24: A Birthday to Remember
IT WAS SNOWING. Of course, it was snowing! I crouched behind the cab of the abandoned 18-wheeler and pulled my collar flat against my neck. The snow was melting in cold little rivers down my back. I
would have worn a scarf, but I didn’t want to make it too easy for someone to kill me. They’d need to bring their own weapons for that. I wasn’t going to make it easy on anyone tonight. I had a new reason to stick around a few more years. My face got all warm and happy just thinking about Sean. He’d made a commitment to me in front of everyone. I couldn’t be any happier right now.
“I’ll strangle you myself if you don’t stop daydreaming!”
I would’ve screamed if a big hand wasn’t clamped over my mouth. I relaxed when I saw it was Killian. He was scowling at me as usual. It doesn’t even faze me anymore.
“Will you please stop sneaking up on me and reading my mind? One of these days, you’re going to hear more than you want and you’ll regret it!”
“Doubtful.” He smiled wolfishly.
He was dressed in all black like the rest of us, but he looked more supernatural than the others. He was a predator, pure and simple. Maybe hunter was really a better word. His face was covered in dark paint, and his eyes burned intensely blue. Yes, predator was definitely the right word. He’d come over to warn me there were trucks coming so I should change my position.
He faded into the dark. I heard the low rumble of a diesel engine and turned my attention to my job as lookout. I whispered into the mic and told them there were three big pickups and a panel truck. The pickups had men in the back. Probably this wasn’t good.
I reported, “We have company. There are 13 men riding in the back of the trucks, plus 4 drivers.”
Sean responded, “Weapons?”
I peeked around my hiding place. “Looks like automatic weapons… maybe AKs? And… Wait a minute.” I did a double take. “I don’t know what that is, but it looks wicked.”
“Calmly describe it for us. Take your time but hurry up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, it’s really long like a rocket launcher. It’s got a smaller barrel and some kind of weird sight on it. It’s shiny looking… some kind of metal. Weird. Some of the men are guarding it, and the others are heading into the door. Oh, and there are some barrels in the back of one of the trucks. They’re unloading them.”
“Good. Stay out of sight and stay alert.”
I looked at my watch. According to the plan, Killian and Sean would go into the warehouse from the east side. Dec would go inside from the north. They had already disabled the security lights and cameras. They were going to sneak inside to see what was going on. If they could capture a hostage, they’d do that and teleport out with him.
A quiet voice came through my earpiece. “I’m in.” I sucked in my breath. Dec was inside. Sean called in a minute later.
I scanned the area around my end of the property. Everything was quiet. No headlights on the road, no strange sounds. Nothing moved in the shadows. The wind shifted suddenly. Ewww! A strong smell hit me in the face. It was horrible. I gagged and tried to hold my breath.
“James?” I whispered.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Do you smell that weird smell? The wind’s blowing it towards me now.”
He paused, and said, “Yeah, some kind of chemical. Don’t inhale.”
Was he serious? The wind shifted again, and I started to cough, my eyes burning and watering.
“You okay?” James coughed in my ear.
Definitely not okay. My eyes and nose were running like a hose, and I was struggling to breathe. I didn’t want to distract the guys inside though so I turned off my mic. A few minutes later, James made his way over to check on me. He was struggling not to cough as he pulled me down in the snow behind the trailer.
“Listen to me. It’s some kind of chemical.” He stopped to hack up a lung before continuing. “Close your eyes and slow down your breathing. Take shallow slow breaths.”
He dug up a handful of clean snow from deep under the pile and scrubbed my face with it. He let it melt into my eyes and flushed them until they stopped burning. Then he did his own. By this time, we were still coughing but not as hard. I had a feeling this was going to hurt later. The sound of gunshots surprised us a few minutes later. James shoved me onto my face and crouched with his gun ready to fire. The sounds came from inside the warehouse. Oh crap! Shooting wasn’t in the plan for tonight! Pulling out my Sig, I scooted around to see the door. There were more gunshots, and then a lot of yelling.
“James! Watch the door and grab anyone who runs out. Dec, get out of there!” Killian was barking orders into my earpiece. Where was Sean?
More yelling and gunshots. Finally, I heard Sean say, “What the hell is that?”
Killian yelled, “Out now!”
A loud roar came from the far end of the warehouse, and men began running out of the front door. James vanished and reappeared next to the door. He snatched the next two men who ran out and vanished with them. I blinked. Wow, so that’s what it looks like. Before I could get up and move, a small flash of movement near the building caught my eye. What was that? I pressed myself into the shadows and used my night sight to scan the area. Oh yeah. We have company. As men came running out of the burning warehouse, another observer hid in the shadows and watched the chaos. Who was this guy? Cop? The fire got louder and small explosions were going off inside the building. The acrid smoke from burning chemicals was drifting across the parking lot. I put my sleeve against my nose and tried not to breathe. Frantic now, I chewed on my lip. Where were they? Come on, come on! I switched on my mic and shouted for Sean, Killian, and Dec. None of them answered me. Shit. James was gone too. Double shit. Then I saw a dark figure on the roof and almost cried with relief. He was crouched over to jump off the roof when the entire roof exploded in an immense fireball. Whoosh! The night sky lit up like a nuclear explosion. The force of the blast slammed me backwards into the dumpster. The last thing I saw was the tractor trailer flying towards me before I crumbled into darkness.
Loud yelling jarred me awake. “Raphael? Raphael? Hurry!” Sean. Thank God, he was safe.
I opened my eyes a tiny slit and breathed with relief. We were in the penthouse again. I closed my eyes against the harsh lights. Sean was racing to strip off my boots and jacket.
While he worked, he said, “You’re gonna be okay. It’s all right. You just rest. Raphael will be here, and he’ll make you feel better.”
My chest was burning. My side hurt when I took a breath. Probably I broke another rib. Crap. I hadn’t heard other voices… Where was Dec and Killian? Sean looked horrible. He was covered in soot, and his skin was lobster red. His eyebrows were singed. Even the whites of his eyes were red. He had a gash on the side of his head that was bleeding steadily down his cheek. Then I remembered the explosion…
“I’m fine. It’s just a broken rib… Go take a shower. You’re a mess,” I ordered with a weak smile.
“Are you kidding? I’m not leaving you.” He bent down and kissed my forehead. The smell of the fire was overwhelming. I wrinkled my nose which started a new coughing fit. Sean was alarmed when I coughed up red mucus. His eyes were scared as he looked at me. I guess I looked worse than he did.
Alex and Jordan finally came home and were appalled by our appearance. Jordan took charge and efficiently helped Sean undress me and sit me in the shower. It was like having two nurses: one clean and one filthy. After I was chemical-free and covered by a blanket, Alex insisted that Sean take a shower to wash off any chemicals. Sean sprinted to the shower and was back in two minutes flat. He was squeaky clean except for the fresh blood that was running down his face again. Jordan sighed and handed Sean a towel.
Where was Dec? Where was Killian? Something was wrong. Tonight went horribly wrong. Where were they? Maybe they were blown up? Were they dead inside the warehouse?
“Don’t cry, baby.” He dabbed at my eyes with a tissue. “I hate not being able to help you!”
I was coughing again but managed to croak, “Dec? Killian?”
He wouldn’t answer me.
A few minutes later, Raphael finally showed. He came with Killian. There was no sign of
Dec. Killian was still hyper-alert, and the waves of heat coming off of his body were noticeable from across the room. He was coiled tightly as he reported in to Alex. Alex calmly listened to the details, and then gave out some new orders. He sent Killian after James. He needed help interrogating the two men he snatched. Depending on their origin, Killian was to use his judgment to dispose of them. Yikes! What did that mean, exactly? His eyes gleamed with eagerness.
“Killian, wait!” I said as he was getting ready to leave again.
Surprisingly, he actually came over and sat down on the side of the bed. His eyes softened as he took my hand in his. I tried to smile but broke into another fit of coughing that left me wheezing. He squeezed my hand and hollered for Raphael.
“Where’s Dec? Tell me.”
He looked angry again, but he kept his voice soft when he answered me. “I don’t know. He’s gone.”
Shocked, I said, “What do you mean ‘gone?’ How does a Primani disappear? Can’t you sense him or something?”
He shook his head. “I can’t sense him. I saw him in the warehouse right before the whole place went up, but I haven’t seen him since.”
My face crumpled, and he searched around for help. This was way out of his comfort zone; Killian wasn’t a sensitive guy on the best of days. He killed things; he didn’t give comfort. That wasn’t in his job description. Sean displaced him from my side. He was much better at comfort. I guess he’s had more practice.
It was lunchtime when I woke up the next time. I was lying on my bed with Sean. He was asleep and looked healthy again. I was so out of it last night that I didn’t remember Raphael healing me or going to bed. I took an experimental breath and didn’t cough. My eyes weren’t burning anymore either. I’ll have to learn to heal myself if I’m going to keep hanging around these guys. What will happen to me if Raphael isn’t around?
Sean rolled over and scooped me against him. He sighed sleepily and kissed my shoulder. I leaned against him and relaxed into sleep again. A light tap on the door gradually woke me. I started to move, but Sean shushed me and tightened his arms around me.
The Lost Soul Trilogy (Primani Book 5) Page 24