Circle of Dreams (The Quytel Series Book 1)

by Jane S. Morrissey

  He pulled away and ran a rough finger over her mouth, trailing his touch to the peak of her breasts.

  “Cole.” Her breathy whisper tugged at his last thread of control.

  He caught a fistful of her thick, wet hair, returning her mouth to his, devouring her. Pinning her to the wall, he held her arms above her head and feasted on her lips with long, drugging kisses. He transferred both of her wrists to one hand while the other explored lower, teasing the curly hair covering the sensitive skin at the juncture of her thighs. Nudging her legs apart where she stood, he gave her no warning before plunging one of his fingers deep into her wet heat.

  Moaning, she strained against his hold, but he kept her hands securely trapped above her head, her struggles enflaming him even more. He uttered a snarl, low in his throat, inserting a second finger and a third, stretching her. She thrashed and arched, picking up his rhythm with each thrust of his fingers, riding his hand the way he was dying to have her ride his cock.

  Cole’s loss of control fed Bri’s hunger, her desire. His animalistic growls of pleasure and aggression were a heady rush curling in her stomach, making her slick with pleasure.

  She struggled anew, desperate to touch him, caress him, feel every bit of him she could get, but he teased and played with her. Restraining her so she had no choice but to follow the rhythm he set, he flicked her throbbing bud and a tidal wave of pleasure crashed over her. Whimpering against his mouth, her orgasm came fast and hard.

  Cole snagged her around her waist to support her, which was good because she didn’t know if her quivering legs would hold her up much longer.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered between kisses.

  She slumped in his embrace. “Okay?”

  She felt his smile as he nuzzled her shoulder blade. “Not too rough?”

  “Hmmm.” She felt like a cat rubbing against him. His hard erection throbbed, and she couldn’t wait to do something about that. “I’m not complaining.”

  “Good.”

  She watched through half-closed eyes as Cole soaped up a washcloth and ran it over every curve and valley of her body. She had difficulty focusing on anything but the gentle, stroking movement of his hands and the rough cloth on her skin. Relaxed and warm, she leaned against the hard strength of his muscular chest, melting into him as hot water poured over them both. He went to work on her hair next, massaging her scalp and rinsing the tangled mess.

  With some effort, she faced him. “Give me that.” She took the soapy washcloth from him. “Turn around.”

  Cole obliged and she ran the cloth across his wide shoulders to his tapered waist and over his tight butt. Touching him freely was incredibly hot. She pulled on his shoulder to bring him around so she could wash his hair, face, and chest. With gentle, slippery strokes, she made her way down to his hips and thighs, kneeling in front of him . . . finally circling what she really wanted.

  Cole’s body tensed. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”

  “Tell me.” She gazed up at him as she took him fully into her mouth and down her throat in the same motion. Her eyes drifted closed on a sigh, savoring his taste. She slid slowly up his length, then stroked down, sucking gently, her fingertips caressing the soft skin of his testicles. He trembled and grew even larger in her mouth.

  Then he fisted his hands in her hair, dragging her up the hard, muscular length of his body.

  Her eyes snapped to his, and her breath caught in her throat. They were nearly black with desire, every muscle tense and straining. He shut off the water and grabbed a towel, slowly patting her dry. How someone toweling her dry could be this erotic she had no idea, but by the time he finished she was on fire again.

  He lifted her easily in his arms, and she admired his thickly muscled chest and powerful legs as he walked into the bedroom. He pulled the covers aside and tossed her on the bed. Mesmerized by the sight of him . . . the size of him, she reached out to touch him when he knelt beside her.

  Rolling onto her side, she took his full weight, hard and hot in her hands. “We don’t have any condoms,” she sighed.

  Alternating gentle movements and harder, stroking pulls along his shaft, she licked the velvety skin like an ice-cream cone, savoring his salty flavor.

  He let out a guttural moan, wolfish and predatory, pushing her back so she sprawled out across the bed.

  “Stay put,” he ordered, grabbing the first-aid kit from the backpack and rummaging through it. “There’d better be one in here.”

  She laughed as he triumphantly produced several shiny silver packets. “I never would have guessed the mighty Quytel would think of condoms.”

  He set them on the nightstand and blanketed her body with his. “I wouldn’t think they would need a kit at all. It’s for us wayward mortals.”

  “Not human.” She traced his jaw and lips with a finger.

  “Does it bother you?” He pulled her finger into his mouth and suckled gently.

  She shook her head. “Are you in control when you’re the wolf?”

  “Most of the time,” he admitted.

  At least he didn’t shy away from what she’d seen when he’d jumped Mack.

  “Could that happen with me?” She ran her hands down his impressive biceps.

  Cole gently kissed her nose, cheeks, and lips. “I honestly don’t know. I’ve never felt like this with anyone.”

  “Never?” She thrilled at the thought.

  He shook his head, though doubt seemed to cloud his expression.

  Bri framed his face in her hands and teased his lips with flicks of her tongue. “Don’t think about that, not now,” she coaxed, somehow reading his mind.

  He skimmed her chin with his tongue and teeth, intensifying the chemistry they shared. And then his hands were everywhere, moving along the curve of her neck, stroking the sensitive skin of her hips. He kissed his way from her neck to her breasts on a path to her belly.

  Parting her thighs, his fingers danced on sensitive inner flesh, teasing her swollen lips. He rolled and pinched a nipple into a hard peak, sending tingles of desire straight to her core. Pleasure zinged like an electric pulse across her skin. She wanted to wrap herself around him and never let go.

  Bri was so slick for him, he almost howled. The scent of her desire flooded him and he rose up, trembling with the effort to hold himself still. He paused only long enough to rip open the shiny silver packet, and roll the condom over the head of his cock and down the base.

  In one smooth move, he plunged deep, and the hot tightness of her felt like home.

  Bri gasped, eyes first wide, then half-lidded as she moaned. He moved with long, deep thrusts, hurling them into a frenzy of pleasure and desire so strong it threatened to consume them both. Her hips met his, thrust for hard thrust, her muscles clamping down around him. She arched and bucked as she came again and took him over the edge with a sharp shout of pleasure.

  Cole wrapped his arms tight around her as she shuddered in the aftermath of their mutual climax. Sweat dried on his skin, and the scent of their lovemaking hung in the air.

  With her eyes closed, her hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they wandered up his ribcage to his face and across his lips. Cole couldn’t help but smile at the fluttering caress. He maneuvered onto his side, taking her with him. When he slid from her body, she released a sigh.

  He turned her gently and pulled her tight against his chest and legs.

  “That was amazing,” she whispered.

  He nodded, words lodged in his throat. He held her close instead. Her slender body snuggled up against his, a perfect fit, their fingers laced, their legs entwined. He knew the moment she drifted off to sleep.

  Contentment stole into his soul, and he followed.

  Chapter 16

  Sipping a pretty terrible cup of watery
coffee, Bri waited for Cole at the diner down the street from the motel. She willed the hot liquid to chase away the dull ache in her chest she’d had since she awoke this morning. In the harsh light of day, doubt was an insidious thing, and she had a hard time shaking it off.

  Magic she didn’t understand had brought Cole into her life, and it unsettled her on a fundamental level. Last night had been incredible. She’d never been with anyone who made her feel like she did with Cole. His body fit hers perfectly. She desperately wanted whatever was happening between them to be real. What if it isn’t?

  Cole came up behind her and brushed a kiss on her upturned mouth. “You look beautiful.” He gave her one of those smiles. Her toes curled as he maneuvered his large frame into the narrow booth across from her. “What did you order?”

  Both elbows on the table, she rested her chin on her folded hands and enjoyed the view. “Two Breakfast Specials with coffee. Very hearty.”

  “I need it.” He kissed the back of her hand, lowering his voice. “You wore me out last night.”

  Bri fought the flush heating her cheeks. Every time she saw him, he seemed to get better looking. It wasn’t fair. She felt like a schoolgirl with her first crush.

  Two steaming plates of eggs, bacon, potatoes, and toast arrived a moment later, and her stomach growled.

  “You’re a hungry one,” Cole teased.

  Waving her hand dramatically in the air, Bri brandished her fork. “No judging. I need sustenance.”

  Cole chuckled and took a swig of his coffee. Grimacing, he set the cup down and eyed his plate with more skepticism. “How is it?”

  “Good enough.” The food was a bit greasy for her, but tasty. Warm calories were what she needed. They had a long, and uncertain day ahead of them. “Did you reach your teammate?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

  Cole took a bite, followed by another gulp of coffee. “Nathanial. Yes. He’ll meet us shortly.”

  Bri focused on her food, feeling edgy. Nathanial’s arrival would bring them back to reality and the danger surrounding them, breaking the spell they’d created last night. For a few hours she’d been able to forget what had brought them together, to pretend they really were just two people getting to know each other and sharing incredible physical chemistry.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

  She shrugged and gave him what she hoped was a relaxed smile, not quite ready for the conversation they’d need to have when she gave voice to her doubts. Wanting what she couldn’t have made her inexplicably sad. She took a deep, cleansing breath, determined not to lose it over breakfast.

  “Tell me about your sister,” she said to change the subject.

  Cole smiled broadly at the mention of her. “Maliha is brilliant and driven. She has a gift with computers that’s beyond normal.” His expression held obvious pride.

  Bri furrowed her brow. “As in a psychic ability?”

  “I know it sounds strange, and I can’t explain it. Mali and another team member—Dean—have similar talents. Between the two of them, they can do almost anything with electronics. As you might imagine, it comes in handy.”

  Bri glanced over her shoulder, paranoid about being overheard. The rear of the restaurant was nearly empty this early in the morning. Other patrons didn’t seem to notice them. “And she’s a wolf too?” She whispered the question.

  Cole swallowed and nodded.

  “Do you know a lot of people like you?”

  He shook his head. “We’ve never met or sought out anyone else like us. It always felt too dangerous.”

  She reached across the table and laced her fingers with his, keeping her voice low. “You can trust me with your secrets, Cole.”

  He regarded their joined hands resting on the wooden tabletop, then held her gaze. “I wouldn’t tell you if I didn’t trust you.”

  His admission startled her, and made her realize something important. She trusted him too. Whatever else may have brought them together, trust was earned, and they had the beginnings of it.

  “What about the rest of your team, what can they do?” she asked.

  Cole relaxed in his seat, releasing her hand with a squeeze. “Jay is a strong telepath and Nathaniel is an empath, among other things.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “He feels what others feel, which is why he prefers not to touch anyone or spend much time with people. Sometimes he can access their emotions, and at times, he manipulates them to our or his advantage.”

  “That sounds terrible.” Bri shuddered, imagining a child who didn’t know he wasn’t supposed to hear everyone’s thoughts or feel what others were experiencing around him. How would he ever have a moment’s peace? The idea struck too close to home.

  Her mind leapt to Jonah’s dire warning about her own power, and she suddenly had difficulty breathing.

  “Bri,” Cole said sharply. “What’s wrong?”

  She pressed a hand to her chest and forced air into her lungs. In a moment Cole was beside her, massaging her neck, breathing with her.

  Soothed by his touch, she folded her arms on the table next to her unfinished plate and dropped her head into the cradle they formed. Terrific. How could she save herself if she had a panic attack just thinking about how horrible her power might be?

  She sighed and raised her head. “Sometimes I could strangle Jonah,” she said bitterly. “He should have told me more about my life. Who I am, where I came from.”

  Cole nodded in agreement, and there was some comfort in that.

  “I have no idea how psychic talent is passed on or if a child tends to have the same talents as their parents. Maybe it’s no different than hair or eye color. How could he not tell me about this? Prepare me for it?” She rubbed her pounding temples. “I’m angry with him, Cole. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive him. And Mack—” She nearly choked on his name.

  “We have to trust he somehow survived,” Cole tried to reassure her, shifting his hand to the nape of her neck, gently massaging away the tension.

  “How?”

  “He’s lived for how long . . . almost seven hundred years, right? This is unlikely the worst he’s seen.”

  Images of Mack appearing and disappearing, right before her eyes, merged with thoughts of how he and her father had somehow been trying to protect her. Mack’s mangled body and painfully-voiced instructions filled her mind again. Her stomach twisted into hard knots. If he survived she’d let her anger at him have full reign; until then, the grief of losing Mack hung like a weight in her chest.

  “It doesn’t seem real.” She gripped Cole’s hand, holding on as though it was an anchor in her new world. “Mack and Jonah can do all those things. You can speak to the earth and turn into a wolf. I have some dangerous power lurking inside me, just waiting to be triggered. It’s crazy.”

  “Give it time.” He rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. “It will become normal to you, as it has for us.”

  “I hope you’re right.” She stared at him steadily, seeing his sincerity in the set of his jaw and truth in the deep gray of his eyes.

  With his arm around Bri’s shoulders, they left the restaurant. Cole steered her around the building toward the parking lot. It amazed him how content and at peace he felt with her. She knew about the wolf and the peculiar abilities of his team, his family. When had he started to trust her? To care about her? It was a hell of a thing for a man like him to be so open, and yet with her it seemed easy. Is the pearl behind that too?

  Bri snuggled under his arm and wrapped hers around his waist. As they walked, she tucked her hand casually in the back pocket of his jeans, and his chest tightened. He was falling for this woman, and there was so much wrong with that, he didn’t know where to begin.

  He paused next to a black Jeep and unlocked the
door. Bri’s hand shot out to stop him.

  “We’re not stealing this car, are we?” she demanded.

  Leaning down, Cole brushed a kiss across her upturned lips. “Nathanial left it for us.” The man was a ghost when he didn’t want to be seen.

  She narrowed her eyes. “When did you see him?”

  “He left the keys for me at the motel.” Cole opened the door for her, waiting until she buckled up before closing her in and hurrying around to the driver’s seat. The Jeep started with a smooth hum, and he checked the rearview mirror.

  “Where is this mysterious teammate of yours?” she asked, looking a bit annoyed.

  Cocking his head toward the backseat, he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street.

  Bri glanced over her shoulder and nearly jumped out of her seat. “Oh!”

  He chuckled. Nathanial lay across the backseat, silent and unmoving, deceptively relaxed. He had long, jet-black hair and some interesting tattoos peeking out from the edges of his T-shirt; badges from an earlier life.

  “Didn’t mean to frighten you.” He spoke quietly with a subtle accent. “I thought it might be better if no one saw me with the two of you. I’m Nathanial.”

  “You scared the crap out of me.” Bri scowled at Cole. “Did you know he was here the whole time?”

  He grinned and gave Nathanial—friend and business partner—a small salute in the mirror. “I had my suspicions. Thanks for coming.”

  Solemn and contemplative, Nathaniel had been raised on a reservation deep in the deserts of Arizona, spending much of his childhood alone, roaming the outdoors to escape the pain of poverty and deprivation. He’d joined the military out of high school and would rarely talk about his specialized training. His skills in detection and termination had been unparalleled, his methods rarely discussed.