Power Surge (Anna Jennings Super Novel Book 1)

by E. J. Whitmer

  I nodded and followed closely behind him as we snuck through the rows of lockers. We were approaching the end of the second row when Blake’s arm shot out to stop me. He whipped his head around and focused on a locker to our left.

  “They’re in there,” he whispered. He shut his eyes and focused, I assumed, on speaking mentally to the Vances. Moments later, he raced to the locker door and stared furiously at the lock.

  “Run and find Lilith,” he demanded.

  I didn’t ask questions, I just took off. By the time I found Lilith and Carl, I had run through nearly the entire compound and was wheezing with the effort.

  “Lilith,” I gasped. “Blake needs you. He’s in Row Q.”

  Lilith took off, Carl and I following closely behind. We found Blake on all fours, attempting to muscle the lock open.

  “Out of the way, Eric,” Lilith barked as she knelt down beside him. She took a deep breath, tilted her chin down toward the poppy boutonniere on her chest and began humming.

  At first, nothing happened. I fidgeted impatiently and opened my mouth to offer to grab the ever-useful tire iron when I noticed Lilith’s boutonnière twitching. The twitching soon turned to rustling as a long vine poked out from the middle of the boutonnière. The vine snaked its way down Lilith’s arm, toward the lock on the locker door.

  “Holy shit,” Carl breathed behind me.

  Moments later, the vine had successfully picked the lock and Blake swung the door up. The vine disappeared back into Lilith’s boutonniere, but not before softly embracing her cheek in a sort of leafy kiss. Totally weird.

  I directed my attention to the newly opened locker and gasped. There was Emmett, beaten and bloody, holding his father’s head in his lap. They were surrounded by the same electric bubble the others had been entrapped in. The concrete floors were broken, with large chunks scattered throughout the interior of the force field.

  “Emmett!” I cried, racing to the edge of the bubble.

  He was still beautiful, even with a blackened eye and singed clothing. He looked extremely confused.

  “Anna, what are you doing here?”

  I shook my head in exasperation. “Obviously I’m here to rescue you, Emmett.”

  “Carl!” Blake barked. “Run and grab the tire iron. Do not touch the walls. Just kick it out of the way.”

  “I’ll go with him,” Lilith offered, hurrying after him.

  “Is he alright?” Blake asked, nodding at Lloyd.

  Emmett glanced down at his father. “I think so. He’s been in and out of it since we got here. That fucker held us in that same abandoned warehouse in Englewood for the first day or two. When he transferred us here, he must have put a little too much juice in the shock he gave my father. I tried breaking through the concrete to get beneath the edge of this bubble, but the bastard shocked me so many times, I don’t have my strength back yet.”

  Before I could comprehend what that meant, Lilith and Carl reappeared with Dom and Peter behind them. Carl attempted to pass the tire iron to me, but Blake stepped in and snatched it away.

  “I’ll do it this time,” he growled.

  As soon as the currents were redirected away from the force field, I threw myself through the bubble. It didn’t feel good, but a small jolt was better than frying like a fly in a bug zapper. Once through, I ran to Emmett, kissing him soundly on the lips.

  “I’m so sorry I left you,” he whispered.

  I shook my head and shushed him. “I’m so glad you’re alright. Let’s get you home and cleaned up. You smell awful.” I winked and motioned Blake and Dom forward to help with Lloyd.

  When we had the Vances up and out of the storage locker, Carl and Lilith went back in to retrieve the tire iron. Once Carl kicked it away from the wall, the force field resumed its sizzling and snapping.

  “What are we going to do about the bubbles?” I asked.

  Lilith reached up and closed the overhead door, humming as her creepy vine relocked it. “We’ll figure that out once we catch Zinger,” she sang. “For now, we’ll just keep the doors locked and hope nobody messes with them.”

  The men did the handshakey bro-huggy thing, muttering their thanks, and we split up to head home.

  “We need to take your father to the ER,” I told Emmett.

  He shook his head. “He’ll be furious if he wakes up in the hospital. Let’s get him home. My mother was an LPN before she retired. She’ll take care of him and take him in if she thinks it’s necessary.”

  I grudgingly accepted this and rushed to open my car door. Dom and Blake gently deposited Lloyd in my back seat and turned to say goodbye. Dom crossed to me and pulled me in for a side hug.

  “Thank you,” he murmured before turning and trotting to his car.

  Blake still didn’t look happy as he approached me, but crushed my body to his in a tight hug. “I’m furious with you for putting yourself in danger,” he growled. “But thank you for saving me. For saving all of us. No more heroics for awhile though, alright?”

  I hugged him back and smiled into his shoulder. “I can’t make any promises, Blake. Go home and give Sophia and your grandmother hugs for me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He pulled away and affectionately grabbed Carl by the back of his neck. “Come on, Stealth. I’ll take you home.”

  17

  Just like riding a bike.

  I climbed in my car and turned to Emmett who was already in the front seat, looking a bit surly. “You okay?” I asked.

  He sighed and glanced over at me. “Fine. I’m just tired and hungry and I can’t really handle seeing my girl getting cozy with two of my best friends.”

  I smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Cool it, Vance. We all kind of bonded over trying to save your ass, but you’re the only one I want to get cozy with.”

  He grunted and I started the car. Emmett gave me directions to his parents’ house. By the time we got there, Lloyd was awake and sitting up in the back seat. We left him in Mrs. Vance’s care and headed toward Emmett’s condo. I pulled into the parking garage and cut the engine.

  “You’re coming up, aren’t you?” Emmett asked.

  “Sure, if you’d like me to.”

  He leaned over to kiss me softly. “Yes, please. I’ve been alone with my passed-out father for days. I could use the company.”

  We got out of the car and walked to the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, I wrinkled my nose. Emmett laughed and took a few steps back.

  “The elevator isn’t as sexy when I haven’t showered in a few days, huh?”

  “Yeah, bud. You reek. When we get up to your place, your first stop needs to be the shower. I’ll order a pizza or something.”

  “You know, you don’t exactly smell like roses yourself, Miss Jennings. Maybe you should shower with me.”

  “Hey buttmunch, if you’re going to try to get me naked and in the shower with you, you shouldn’t tell me I stink.”

  The elevator dinged our arrival and we stepped into Emmett’s condo.

  Emmett laughed and shoved me toward his bedroom. “Just shut up and get naked.” He gave my ass a smack as we made our way to the master bath.

  I ran my fingers through his messy hair and gazed into his eyes. He looked exhausted. “Maybe you should shower alone, Emmett. We’ve got time to shower together later. Right now you need rest.”

  Emmett shook his head. “Right now, I need to forget the shit I went through the past few days. Right now I need to lose myself in you.”

  Okay, that was pretty hot. And the idea of taking care of this big, tough guy was pretty hot too. So I relented and reached around him to get the shower started.

  Reaching down, I gently lifted his shirt over his head, taking note of the dozens of bruises and abrasions that marred his beautiful skin. His stomach tightened as I ran my fingers down the ridges of his abdomen to reach his belt buckle. Making quick work of that and the button on his trousers, I slid the material down his legs to the floor.

  Emmett Vance
was standing before me in nothing but navy blue boxer briefs. Even with blood and soot covering his body, he was beautiful. And judging from the bulge in his undies, he was more than a little turned on. I bit my lower lip as I snuck my fingers into the waistband and pulled his underwear down. If I thought he was gorgeous before, it was nothing compared to seeing him in all his nude glory. I knew if I didn’t get a hold of myself, we’d never make it into the shower and I didn’t want our first time having sex to be while we both smelled like bung and armpits.

  “Shower’s warm,” I whispered, trying not to gawk like a horny teenager. “Hop in. I’ll join you in a second.”

  “Next time we do this, I’m undressing you,” murmured Emmett. “But I feel disgusting, so I’ll let it slide this time.”

  He kissed me quickly on the lips and turned to enter the shower. Holy hot biscuits, the man had a fine ass! I wanted to bite it. Which is so weird, but so true.

  I unceremoniously shucked my clothes off and threw them across the room before joining Emmett in the shower. His back was to me and I had to consciously close my mouth for fear of drooling.

  As I shut the shower door, he began to turn. I stopped him with a light touch and took his soapy loofa from him. “Let me.”

  Emmett leaned forward and braced his hands on the shower wall in front of him, causing the muscles in his back to flex. I groaned and forced myself to remember he was sore and dirty. I began running the loofa over his skin in slow figure eights. Emmett moaned and let his head fall forward. After several swipes with the soapy loofa, I made my way down to his delicious ass and soaped up his muscular cheeks. I may have spent a little longer there than necessary before moving down the backs of his hard thighs and calves. When I was certain no area had been left unsoaped, I grasped his shoulder and urged him to turn around. When he did, the lust in his eyes about did me in.

  He allowed his gaze to travel slowly down my body, taking in every dip and curve. Feeling bold, I let him look his fill, fighting the urge to cover myself with my arms.

  “You are so beautiful,” he breathed, closing the small distance between us.

  He lowered his lips to mine, kissing me with barely contained passion. I placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back.

  “Not yet,” I scolded. “I need to get you cleaned up first.”

  Emmett lifted an eyebrow and paused for half a second before snatching the loofa from me. He scrubbed quickly and vigorously over his front, under his arms and down his legs. When he got to his manhood, I lost it, launching myself at him. He caught me with ease and whirled around, switching our positions. His mouth crushed into mine with a punishing kiss as he pressed my back against the cold tile.

  “I can’t wait anymore,” he panted between kisses. “Tell me you’re on the pill.”

  I nodded as he palmed my ass and lifted me, the head of his impressive erection pressing against my heat.

  “Tell me to stop and I will,” he warned, his eyes wild and chest heaving.

  In answer, I reached down to grab his thick shaft and guided it to my entrance. He slid in an inch or two and paused, closing his eyes and taking a calming breath. I wiggled my hips, trying to take him deeper.

  “Anna,” he groaned. “You’re killing me. You’re so tight. You’ve got to give me a second, babe, or I’ll embarrass myself.”

  My heart sped up to the point of being nearly painful. It had been quite awhile since I’d been with a man. I was worried I’d need to relearn the basics. But there I was, bringing a sexy, virile man like Emmett Vance to his breaking point and he wasn’t even all the way inside of me. Score one for Anna!

  After what felt like ages, Emmett slowly withdrew and paused yet again.

  “Emmett, plea-mmmmmm….” My plea turned into a lusty moan as Emmett plunged deep inside of me. His cock stretched my walls to the point of a delicious burn. He moaned a deep guttural groan as he withdrew and slammed back into me. I raked my nails down his back and dug my heels into the backs of his thighs, urging him on.

  Emmett set a punishing pace, thrusting into me with enough force to send shampoo bottles crashing to the floor. It didn’t take long before I felt the tingling of an orgasm building deep inside of me. With every thrust of his hips and every circle of his magical fingers, I grew closer and closer to the peak. The moans coming out of my mouth were tiptoeing on the scream level.

  Emmett’s kisses traveled slowly from my lips to my neck, nipping at the sensitive skin. “Come for me, Anna,” he whispered in my ear. “I want to feel you fall apart all around me.”

  That did it. I exploded, screaming his name as a million tiny pinpricks of pleasure raced across my body. Emmett picked up his pace, drawing out my orgasm.

  “Oh fuck, Anna,” he groaned, reaching his own release, pumping in and out of me furiously. When we finally came down from our orgasmic high, Emmett was slumped over me, his forehead resting on the tile wall. My legs were jello, and I would have been lying in a puddle on the floor had Emmett’s arm not still been supporting me.

  “Wow,” I breathed, trying to find the strength to stand on my own.

  Emmett’s chest rumbled with quiet laughter. “Wow, indeed.” He nuzzled my neck, just under my ear and planted feather light kisses across my skin. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, his gaze searching my body for any sign he might have been too rough.

  I shook my head. “Not at all. That was amazing.”

  He smiled and kissed me gently. “I don’t usually lose myself like that. But if you’re unhurt, I won’t be sorry.”

  I smiled up at him. “Don’t be sorry. I’m not.” At that point, my stomach chose to announce its hunger through an extremely loud, unladylike grumble. I blushed and smiled apologetically.

  “What I am is starving. I can’t imagine how hungry you must be. Let’s finish up in here and go order that pizza.”

  Emmett laughed. “I am one hell of a lucky guy. You bathe me. You make love with me. You feed me.”

  I winked and smacked his ass playfully. “Damn right you’re lucky. Don’t forget it, toots. Play your cards right and I may even read you a bed time story.”

  Later, as we were finishing our pizza, I noticed Emmett’s knuckles were bleeding. I reached down and took his hands in mine, bringing his battered knuckles up for a closer inspection.

  “From breaking the concrete,” he said. “It’s not as bad as it looks.”

  “So you do have super strength?” I asked.

  He nodded. “How much do you know about all of this?”

  “I know now that you have super strength. I know Eric Blake can read minds and communicate telepathically. I know Lilith has a weird plant manipulation thingy and Blake’s Grandma Rose sees visions in her food. You can thank egg drop soup for guiding me to you guys tonight.”

  Emmett chuckled and motioned for me to continue.

  “I know Dom and Peter and your father also have some sort of powers, but they won’t tell me about them. I know some crazy asshole who calls himself Captain Zinger is after you all. I know he’s the same guy who about killed you all last week and the same guy who attacked us after work last Thursday.”

  Emmett’s body tensed. “How do you know about last week?”

  “I was there,” I replied as I met his gaze. “I’ve known for awhile now. After Carl and I saw you guys practicing your skills on the 29th floor, Carl began following your father. I told him to let it go, but he followed you all to that warehouse in Englewood and called me when things were getting hairy.”

  Emmett took a moment to process all of this. “You knew all this time?” I nodded. “You could have asked me.”

  “I tried! I did. After I saw you manhandle Brock after our lunch date, I tried to ask you. You shook me off. I tried to ask you after Zinger attacked us in the alley, but again, you changed the subject. I was so frustrated! Blake wouldn’t even talk to me about it until very recently and I even then I had to find out the hard way what his super power is. Just two days ago he was over at my place
and I caught him listening in on my brain.”

  “Whoa whoa whoa,” Emmett put up a hand to stop me. “What do you mean Eric was over? Over at your place?”

  I didn’t respond. “Saturday or Sunday?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “Um … Both.”

  Emmett’s jaw clenched. “Explain.”

  “Emmett, honestly at first this jealousy stuff was flattering, but now it’s getting to be a bit much. Blake found me at the bakery Saturday morning. I told him about you leaving the night before and he came over to have donuts with me. He knew I was second guessing myself and that my self confidence had taken a big hit. We had coffee and donuts and he assured me you would be back and would explain yourself.”

  “Okay, so that’s Saturday,” Emmett said. “Explain Sunday.”

  I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “After Blake left on Saturday, I called Lea and Jo. They came over and set out on a mission to get me drunk to forget about you leaving me. Apparently I got completely hammered and called Blake. He came over, stuffed me into my bed and checked on me every couple of hours to make sure I didn’t have alcohol poisoning. He slept on the couch. I slept in my room. He left the next morning after I woke up.”

  I didn’t tell Emmett about the whole me being in my underwear thing. Some things are best unsaid.

  “Cool your beans, Vance. I’m only interested in the man who just made me fall apart in the shower.”

  The corner of Emmett’s mouth turned up. “The same man who’s about to make you fall apart on the kitchen counter?”

  Before I could respond, he was on me, bringing that moment of clairvoyance to fruition.

  18

  Even the dumb ones can be evil geniuses.

  Tuesday morning came way too early. Fighting bad guys, saving lives and making love all night leaves a girl feeling pretty ragged. I wanted nothing more than to snuggle up with Emmett and sleep in.

  However, when I woke up at 4am to pee, I caught sight of myself in the bathroom mirror and groaned. No wonder my pants were tighter! My belly looked like I was five months pregnant! … Okay, maybe not five months, but it was noticeably poofy.