Though she could fight him physically and keep hold of his hands, she felt him slipping back behind his sarcastic, slightly crooked grin and self-depreciating shrug.
“The healers did their best, but you have one sick puppy on your hands, Dallas,” he said with a laugh. “Damaged goods. A cracked—”
She kissed him. This was one argument she didn’t plan to lose. She planned to kiss away his pain, to use her hands to soothe away his hurts.
He jerked back, fighting her until she lightly flicked her pink tongue over his sealed mouth. He growled and loosened his lips just enough for her to deepen her kiss.
At first it seemed as if he was surrendering to her and the passion she was offering. Soon, his movements turned more demanding. He wasn’t surrendering at all. With a frantic edge to his movements, he ripped off her sweater, tearing a seam.
He reached down the back of her jeans with one hand while stroking her through the front of her jeans with the other. Her body ignited for him. She whimpered and tossed her head back. His lips closed over her suddenly tight breast.
Her world spun. She eased his boxers down his hips and then tore off her own clothes as she fought to get closer to him. More than physical need drove her. She ached to soothe the injured soul who had suffered those unspeakable indignities. She wanted him to know that he mattered. To her, he mattered.
Without asking her permission, he tied a velvet cord around her wrists, and tossing her to the floor he took the long dangling end of the cord and tethered her to the coffee table leg. The velvet tightly bound her hands together. It made her fingers tingle. She didn’t complain. The pain etched in his expression was reason enough to let him have this moment. To take, without having to worry about what it might cost him.
In that, she realized, they were the same. While she hadn’t been able to enjoy a man’s body because she’d been too afraid of being hurt, Brendan had kept himself from enjoying a woman’s love for the very same reason. Even when they were making love, he was giving everything and accepting very little.
They were a pair of broken hearts. Neither of them had been willing to take the risk.
This afternoon would be different. For him, she would risk everything. She was going to give herself and her heart to him unconditionally. She prayed it would be enough.
He spread her legs and pushed his long, thick cock into her until he was buried deep inside. No man had ever filled her so completely. Every time he entered her, his size surprised and thrilled her.
For several stuttering heartbeats, he remained absolutely still, staring into her eyes. His deep brown gaze touched her in ways she had never been touched before. His eyes spoke to her in a way she knew he would never be able to bring himself to say in words. It was as if he was still pleading with her. Begging her to listen to him…to value him.
“Yes, baby,” she whispered. “I desperately need you, too.”
His cock stirred inside her. She moaned with pleasure and angled her hips so she could take more of him.
His movements grew more frantic. He pumped into her. His hunger for her was overwhelming. She could taste his need as he made love to her not only with his cock but also with his tongue thrusting into her mouth. She was being filled on both ends. His hands roamed her body. His questing fingers knew the landscape. He lingered on spots that made her stomach quiver and teased her by avoiding her swollen clit until she was close to sobbing for release.
Only then did he touch her. She nearly shot off the floor, her body throbbing from the first of many orgasms. Over and over, he teased her. Keeping her aroused lips between her thighs hard, thick, and slick. It was almost as if he had used some sort of spell to keep her hovering at the edge of bliss, throbbing, screaming, and never letting her fully take the plunge. He wasn’t exactly human, after all. And neither was she.
They hadn’t discussed that part of their existence beyond his short explanation her first day at his apartment. She wasn’t sure what powers he possessed. The ability to torture her sexually was certainly a possibility.
She screamed as her soft nether lips pulsed and her womb throbbed as another orgasm filled her body and spilled out over the both of them. In that exhausted state of hanging on to the edge, unable to achieve bliss, she saw into his fractured soul. And she knew with crystal clarity that they belonged together. Though he was broken and scarred, there was nothing in him she needed to fear. They were two halves that would create a beautiful whole. He had the strength she lacked and she had the power to give him what they both desperately needed.
Their bodies glistened with sweat. Still, he pounded into her. She wanted him. Needed him. She hooked her legs over his shoulders to give him full access as her body continued to demand more and more. She nearly shouted for him to stop. This total lack of control was terrifying.
She was about to explode from the building excitement and pressure between her legs.
When she closed her eyes, she caught glimpses of the blue-tinted watery dream world where they had first made love. With every quivering breath, she could smell the clean, aqua scent of that magical place. From his expression of rapt contentment, Dallas suspected Brendan was seeing the same tranquil vision.
With a shout, he finally let down his walls. His throbbing release shuddered through her. Searing liquid heat filled her womb. The fiery sensation triggered an orgasm of her own. When it started it felt like the floodgates had broken. Every stale emotion gushed out. He rolled her over onto her belly and, entering her from behind, he pressed his wet cock in her, milking her orgasm for every shivering, jolting movement. Her body felt as if it no longer belonged to her. Every breath, every movement was for him. Only him.
I love him.
Tears spilled down her cheeks as his taut muscles eased. He relaxed, pressing himself against the whole length of her and for one glimmering moment she felt as if they had truly become one. Whole. Sane.
She wanted that wonderful feeling of oneness to last forever. But while she struggled to slow her breath, he carefully pulled out of her. Confusion clouded his eyes. He pressed a quick, awkward kiss to her lips and then collapsed on the floor next to her.
Lord help me, she thought, her heart aching in her chest. I love him.
* * * * *
Brendan stirred. His body was stiff and sore and not at all satisfied. It hadn’t been sex or love that afternoon. He’d fucked Dallas with every ounce of strength he had in his body. She’d cried out and he’d fucked her some more.
It had been amazing. She’d denied him nothing. But it hadn’t been lovemaking. It had simply been a one-way fuck. No, that wasn’t quite right, either. Something had happened between them. Something he didn’t understand.
His stomach churned. He’d probably just ruined the best thing to ever happen in his life.
“Forgive me,” he said, drowsily, “for everything. If you’d like, I’ll drive you to your apartment.”
Silence answered his peace offering.
She had every right in the world to be pouting.
“You want to go alone.” He understood that. “You don’t need me hovering over you every moment of the day. You’ve done a fine job of taking care of yourself. You’re strong. That’s what I like about you, you know. I’ll call a cab. You go alone. Come back when you want. Okay?”
More silence.
Brendan inhaled slowly.
“Dallas?”
Nothing.
Damn.
He pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. There was no need to look. The velvet cords would be empty. And the hastily strewn clothes would no longer be marking a path from the sofa to the floor.
She was gone. She’d left him because he hadn’t given her reason enough to stay. Damn. Damn. Damn him to hell and back. He was every inch a bastard.
* * * * *
The darkness flared to life. The one who had been shielded from it for so many hungering years was vulnerable. Black tentacles reached out, drawn to his swirling emotions. It insti
nctively knew it was time to act. Their powers were now inexorably linked. It had waited for years for this joining to finally happen.
To take one, the other would fall.
And that would just be the beginning...
The beginning of the end of the Protectors.
Chapter Five
The glass door to The Oblique Café swung open and a tall, broad-shouldered man with brilliant blond hair emerged onto the city street. He did a double take and then smiled at Dallas. “Good evening, New One,” he said.
She had no time to return the greeting. Guilt gnawed at Dallas. She’d left Brendan without a word of explanation. But when she’d tried to return to him, she’d discovered that he’d left his apartment and refused to answer his cell phone. She pushed aside the gentleman blocking the door with such force that he stumbled and nearly fell. “I need to find him,” she said, in place of an apology.
“He’s not with you?” The man sounded surprised, which didn’t make sense. There was no way he could know who she was talking about. He didn’t even know her.
“He’s not in there,” he said. An edge of concern sharpened his voice. “Has something happened to him?”
“No.” Brendan appeared as if stepping out of a storm and blocked her from entering the café. A thunderous expression darkened his features. “Nothing has happened to me.”
He glared accusations at Dallas, which only fed her guilt.
“I-I wasn’t running away,” she stammered. But she was.
He’d scared her. And not just his body or the explosive, out-of-control way his touch made her feel. He made her feel loved and vulnerable and that terrified her. Those feelings had terrified her even more after what had happened between them this afternoon. As impossible as it seemed, she loved him.
He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Okay, I ran away,” she admitted.
“What’s going on?” the man with the icy blond hair asked. His gaze bounced between Dallas and Brendan. “I thought you said you had won her trust and were devoting your energies on isolating the darkness in her.”
“I…um…I…”
“He kept me tied up in his bedroom for the past two days.”
“With your permission, tender,” Brendan said softly. Apparently embarrassment made him turn inward and quiet. She hadn’t forgotten how he’d explained why he didn’t like scenes. And this encounter on the street was collecting quite a crowd.
She touched his hand.
Her light caress appeared to break his spell. He huffed a quick breath and flashed a devastating smile. Then, without seeming to care what the world thought, he ran his fingertips across her jaw. His caresses whispered promises that set her body on fire. It took all her concentration not to throw herself into his arms. She wanted to wrap her legs around his waist and press herself against him.
“I seem to remember you begging me more than once to keep you tied up in my bed,” he said for all to hear.
A deep blush burned her cheeks and she was suddenly the one to stammer, “I…um…I…”
* * * * *
Brendan loved how responsive Dallas was to his touch. With her cheeks flushed and her pupils large and round, she couldn’t have hidden her desires from him even if she’d tried. And she wasn’t trying to hide how she felt about him. Her nervous gaze latched on his mouth and she flicked her lovely pink tongue over her lips.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered in her ear. “It takes more than a little kinky bed play to shock Stone.”
“That’s right.” Stone thrust out his hand. “And I’m pleased to finally meet you, Dallas. We’ve all been anxious to learn more about these amazing powers of yours.”
Like a skittish wren, Dallas crowded herself against Brendan as if trying to burrow within the folds of his wool coat and hide. Though he suspected it was embarrassment, not fear that had her retreating from Stone, her complete trust that Brendan would protect her warmed his heart.
“I assure you, Stone doesn’t bite.” Even so, he wrapped his arm around Dallas’s waist, enfolding her within the cocoon of his embrace. “Frank Stone is our local leader. I like to think of him as a coach or a mentor.”
“The leader of this non-human clan?” Dallas drew a quick breath. “Then you’re the one I need to complain to.”
Stone’s brows shot up. “Indeed?” Very few ever complained to Stone about anything. The New Ones generally stammered or simply kept their mouths shut around him.
“This not-human business is most confusing, you know.” Her voice was too loud. People were beginning to look their way. It made Brendan jumpy. “You need to put together a handbook that explains precisely what being non-human means in terms of lifestyle and whatnot.”
“Is that all?” There was an odd lilt in Stone’s voice that Brendan couldn’t read.
“Illustrations would be nice, too.”
Stone’s brows shot up higher. His gaze shifted from Dallas to Brendan. “Illustrations,” he said.
Brendan caught the unspoken message. He herded Dallas toward the café. “This isn’t a topic for the street, tender.”
“No, I suppose not.” A fresh blush stained her cheeks. It made him want to kiss her, but that would only draw more undue attention their way.
Once they were inside the warm, safe walls of the café, Brendan helped Dallas remove her coat. He took his off too, and hung them both on a peg next to the door.
This was his home and the people sipping coffee, reading the paper and playing various card games were his family. A strange glimmer of pride swelled in his chest at the thought of introducing Dallas to them.
“Welcome to The Oblique Café, where the coffee is strong and the patrons are most definitely odd,” he said.
“Not just odd. We’re not human,” Kara, who was seated toward the back of the long, narrow café, shouted. “That makes us damned odd.” The group sitting at her table roared with laughter, which only sparked more comments about their non-human abilities and a few off-color jokes.
Dallas tossed a nervous glance toward the door. “Shouldn’t they be more careful? This isn’t a private club. What if someone wandered in off the street and overheard their somewhat…um…weird conversation.”
“No, it’s not a private club,” Stone answered. He tossed his coat onto a peg as he walked past. “But we’re the only ones who can find that door. Humans and the New Ones who aren’t yet ready to listen to the truth see a blank wall instead of a door. So don’t worry. We’re safe in here.”
“It’s a pity, too,” Jake, the café owner called from where he was standing behind the counter. He was wearing his regular worn sweatshirt that had the café name, The Oblique, printed across the chest. “These deadbeats hang out for hours on end and hardly ever order anything. It’s enough to drive an honest businessman bankrupt.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re not honest, Jake.” Horace flashed Dallas a toothy grin. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, dove. I’m Horace, by the way. I’m sure Brendan hasn’t mentioned me, even though he should have. I watch over his reckless hide like I would a brother.”
Before Brendan realized Horace’s intentions, his friend had swept Dallas from his side and twirled her until she stopped in the middle of the café. She blinked her large, green eyes. Everyone was watching her and it was obviously making her uncomfortable. She shivered like a delicate songbird on display at the market.
“We’re all thrilled to meet you,” Jake said as he handed her a piping cup of hot chocolate, the drink he served to all the New Ones. “It’s rare for anyone, even the most seasoned of us”—he stroked his gray goatee—“to surprise Stone. But he didn’t know you existed. You simply popped up out of nowhere, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know about that,” Dallas argued in what must have been her fledgling lawyer, but well-practiced, courtroom voice. “I’ve been in the city since—”
“He’s teasing me, not you,” Stone grumbled. “Come, sit down. We have a lot to talk ab
out.”
Stone took her arm, but Dallas hesitated. She glanced back at Brendan. Though Brendan wanted to keep her by his side, he gave her a nod and followed a few steps behind.
The beautiful Kara, a slender brunette with short bouncy hair, appeared at his side. She wrapped her arm around his. This clingy behavior of hers had started several weeks ago. He didn’t understand what she was trying to accomplish. They’d always been friends. Nothing more.
“Welcome back to the living.” She purred like a cat and pressed herself against him. “We missed you, Fish.”
He flinched at her use of that name.
“You’re looking healthy.” Her hot breath teased his ear.
“Thank you.” His gaze was locked on Dallas. She needed his support. He didn’t have time for sex games or chitchat with anyone. Especially not with Kara.
“Come now.” Kara wrinkled her nose. “You can’t be interested in that skinny bitch.”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, look at her. Don’t you think she looks rather…dim-witted?”
Brendan drew his arm from hers. “No, I don’t. And she’s not.”
He joined Stone and Dallas at the back of the café. They were sitting around one of the metal café tables. Horace had joined them, too, and Jake was hovering in the background like a nervous bee.
Kara followed on Brendan’s heels.
“Now that she’s part of the team, you won’t be responsible for her anymore,” she said. “That should be a relief.”
Dallas’s head shot up with a look of dismay.
“Shut up, Kara,” Brendan snapped.
“We need to focus,” Stone said.
A queer expression darkened Dallas’s features as she watched everyone. She started to chew her bottom lip. It was impossible not to imagine kissing those lips of hers until they were bright red and swollen with desire.
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