Within the Realm (The Gifted Realm Book 1)

by Jillian Neal

  Rainer shrugged, “We didn’t do anything.” He sincerely hoped Governor Haydenshire knew that he’d kept his word.

  Logan nodded his understanding. “I know; Dad’ll get over it eventually. You know how he is about Em. He loves you and all, but he was better with everything before you started churning her butter, so to speak.”

  They both cracked up. Rainer settled down on his pillow, and hoped Logan would follow suit. To Rainer’s delight, Logan flipped through the channels with the remote, instead of summoning any of the Gifted networks. He gave up, and turned off the TV. He scooted down in the bed with another yawn.

  “So, when do you want to move out?” he asked.

  Rainer faked a yawn himself. “Don’t know. Whenever Em wants to, I guess.”

  Logan nodded, and sank his fist into his pillow before settling in.

  “And that will be soon?”

  “I take it you’re missing Adeline.”

  Logan laughed. “Well, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this,” he drawled as a grin spread across Rainer’s face. “I mean, the past twenty years or so have been great, but I think we should start sleeping with other people.”

  Rainer guffawed. He feigned heartbreak by clutching his chest as he tried hard to stop laughing.

  “I can’t believe you're breaking up with me. I thought we were forever.”

  Logan was still laughing hard as he nodded. “Yeah, well, I mean, it’s not me, it’s you.”

  “Naturally,” Rainer sneered as he hurled an extra pillow from the floor at Logan. He caught it, then fluffed it dramatically. “If you’re about to pretend that pillow is Adeline, I’m leaving.”

  Another hearty round of laughter played out before they settled down once again.

  He decided silence was probably the best way to get Logan to sleep, so Rainer refrained from any further comments. As he watched the minutes tick by slowly, he allowed himself to fantasize.

  By 11:50, he’d filled his head so full of Emily that his entire body ached with a pain that only she could heal. He’d been picturing her in the pale pink, see-through gown, with the black G-string, and then letting the way her skin felt as he’d pulled the silky gown off of her sear through his mind. The way she tasted, the way she moaned, and called his name as he pushed her over the edge. The heady scent of her, and the way her body felt when he pushed into her. The gasp that always sang from her as he took her. His heart hammered; his muscles pulled taut in desire and expectation as he slid the covers off.

  He studied Logan as he moved silently towards the door. He prayed Logan was really asleep, and pulled on the shorts he’d had on earlier in the day. After grabbing his flip-flops, he decided not to put them on until he was on the porch.

  “Have fun,” Logan mumbled. He turned over and repositioned himself as Rainer reached the door. Before Rainer could ask, Logan yawned.

  “Saw Em taking a few quilts out there earlier.”

  “Plan to,” Rainer goaded before he pulled the door closed and moved down the long hallway silently.

  He eased across the wooden slat floor and took small, light steps as he neared the stairs, and the Haydenshires’ bedroom. He prayed that they would remain asleep as he tiptoed down the steps.

  With a sigh of relief, he edged down the entryway and around the pile of the twin’s toys in the living room. He cursed under his breath as he stepped on one that squeaked. Someone chuckled, and he spun towards the kitchen. His eyes goggled, and his heart pounded.

  “She’s waiting for you,” Patrick gestured his head towards the barn in the Haydenshires’ backyard. Patrick slid by Rainer with equal effort to remain silent. He was late for his new curfew; the one he’d been assigned for a few weeks after Lucy had been caught spending the night in his room. He chuckled again, and slapped Rainer on the back. “I’m going to try really hard not to think about what you’re going to be doing to my little sister, but from one guy to another-- I hope you have fun, man,” he shook his head slightly.

  Rainer allowed himself an embarrassed chuckle as relief flooded through him.

  “Thanks for not saying anything,” he offered Patrick.

  “Never; I’m no snitch. You don’t grow up in a family with ten kids and survive if you tattle.”

  Rainer moved into the kitchen, and waved to Patrick as he eased the Dutch door open. He pulled the door closed silently, slipped on his flip-flops, and tried not to run towards the small barn behind the Haydenshires’ home.

  The larger barn sat on the gravel driveway across from the house. It had been converted to hold all of the cars owned by the different members of the family.

  Another barn, this one much smaller, sat behind the house. It held Christmas decorations, old furniture, school projects, and other things with either very little usefulness, or that were only needed a few times a year.

  The former hayloft had always been Emily’s hideout. When her brothers got to be more than she could handle, or when she wanted to play house, or some other decidedly girly game that the boys would tease her for, or when she wanted to think, or just be alone, she could usually be found in her loft.

  She and Rainer had made out in it numerous times, but he’d never snuck out of the house to meet her in it in the middle of the night. Since all of Emily’s family knew that’s where she liked to go, it didn’t offer a great deal of privacy.

  Rainer’s heart raced as he reached the barn door, and he smiled. He could see the flickering candlelight from the doorway. He forced himself to calm down and not sprint up the loft ladder.

  He made himself feel the soft well-worn rungs of the ladder, and inhale the scent of the red wood barn mixed with pine from the Christmas décor. Then he caught it, the soft floral scent of Emily’s perfume, along with the delicious, heady scent of her.

  “Hey there,” he husked as he crested the top rung and climbed up into the loft. He had to lean forward to walk up there.

  She grinned at him coyly. Her hair hung in soft auburn waves; her face had been scrubbed clean of all her make-up. She was wearing a navy blue Ioses t-shirt, and was seated cross-legged as she gazed up at him. He could see the hem of a pair of his boxers peeking out from under the shirt.

  He chuckled and slid beside her onto the quilt she’d spread over the worn wooden flooring. He moved his hand to her leg.

  “Those look familiar,” he tugged on the hem of the boxers. She giggled, and gave him a look that threatened to set him on fire.

  “You can have them back, if you take them off of me.” She let him see the storm of passion and desire swirling rapidly in her eyes.

  He groaned and turned his head. He cradled her face in his hands as he devoured her mouth.

  “That what you want, baby?” he asked, between his hungry kisses. She gave a heavy nod as her breath came in quick, stuttered pants of expectation.

  He kissed her passionately, too consumed with need to work slowly, as he slid her bottom lip between his teeth and felt it swell in his mouth.

  He pulled away, and gazed at her as she gasped for breath. He wanted her so badly he could taste it. He knew he needed to slow down.

  Her lips were ripe for his kiss, her eyes dark and hungry with curiosity lit in their depths. She was flushed, and couldn’t quite catch her breath. As he watched her sit there in the candle light of her childhood playroom, wanting him, it threatened to drive him right over the edge. He slid his thumb over her lips tenderly, and caressed her face.

  “I just want you,” she let her eyes close as he brushed a kiss across her forehead.

  “I want to feel you, Rainer. I don’t want anything else. I just want to be with you,” she pled, and he groaned in reverent need.

  “Where do you want to feel me, baby?” He wanted to hear her tell him.

  But she didn’t answer audibly; she did something much better. With a wry smile, she grabbed his hand and pulled it to the slit in the boxers she was wearing as a loud ravenous growl echoed from him. His eyes flashed as he stared at her with a look
that said he’d drink every last drop of her gorgeous body, if he were able.

  “Lay back, baby,” he moved another of the quilts she’d brought up behind her back.

  “I want to touch you. I want to taste you. I want to suck those sweet lips until I drink you,” he groaned. His tone bordered on a command, but he couldn’t help it.

  The pent-up desire swirling in his body had him bound. She didn’t seem to mind. His orders seemed to ignite a fire deep within her as she slid down the quilt. Her eyes were begging and needy as she reclined on the folded quilt he’d placed behind her. He kept up the mildly dirty talk as he tried to discern what she wanted. He concentrated to feel her energy as it spiked.

  “I’m gonna take these off, baby, so I can see you and give you what you want.” He traced over her hungrily.

  She moaned as her abdomen clenched tightly and her energy gave a tantric pulse. He smiled, and let it wash through him as he slid the boxers down her legs.

  His orders and his promises had the soft red curls between her legs already glistening in the candlelight, and he moaned as he traced his fingers over them.

  He separated her, but didn’t enter her yet. The humid air caressed her folds. He concentrated as she spiked violently, just like she did just before he sent her over. Her body writhed from the anticipation alone, and he reveled in the education of her. He decided to continue to test her; he blew hot breath over her as he pulled her apart tenderly. Her body bucked wildly. She was unable to lie down. The sensation pulled her tight.

  “Rainer, please!” she begged, and he throbbed as he listened to her ask for it. With a moan, he lavished his tongue over her inner lips. She writhed and fell back instantly, and hoisted her hips up to push him in deeper.

  “That feel good, baby?” She panted and groaned in ecstasy. Determined to find out just how dirty she might like it, he continued to concentrate hard on her body’s rhythms and how they dipped and spiked according to what he did and what he said.

  “I’m gonna do it again, baby. I’m gonna lick your clit and suck you until you let it go in my mouth. Until I can taste you. I want you in my mouth.”

  “Oh, yes,” hissed from her.

  He dragged his tongue back over her and began alternating his fingers and his tongue and then he delved between her folds. He sucked her lips, and moved to suck her clit gently with his mouth. She came undone instantly as she cried out for him.

  He pulled off the shorts and boxers he was wearing and grabbed her backside. He began grinding into her, and letting her feel him throb against her.

  The desperate, fiery need that seared through his entire body from deep within his groin, drove everything he did. He grabbed her hand. Beyond the ability to use the head above his waist, he wrapped her hand around his length, but again she delighted him by moaning loudly as her eyes flashed in excitement and she stroked him.

  His body seized as she pulled him and spun her thumb over his head; then she went lower, cupped him, and watched his reactions, as well. She moved her thumb back up him spreading the pearly liquid that leaked from him. He growled loudly, grasped her waist, and dragged her to him.

  Rainer kept his kisses deep and constant. He consumed her mouth with his own. She worked him over, tracing him lightly with her fingers, and then added to the pressure as she grasped him in her hand. She was exquisite. Every touch threatened to end him.

  He quickly pulled her shirt over her head. He wanted to see all of her and to feel her in his mouth. Her nipples were straining and pulled taut from her heated desire.

  Her energy was swirling rapidly all around him. He wanted to drown in it. He grasped her waist, and moved his mouth to her breasts, as her head fell back and she arched her back deeply.

  With a loud groan, he pulled one into his mouth and groped the other with his hand. Her breath stuttered deliciously as she panted. She kept tracing him with her hands. It drove him wild.

  He felt her energy ebb; she seemed to study him. Before he could determine why she’d slowed, she leaned and whispered in his ear.

  “I want to suck you, Rainer. I want you in my mouth.”

  A fervent growl evulsed from him as he fought the release that threatened to end everything.

  “Em,” he shook his head. If she put her mouth on him, he wasn’t certain that he wouldn’t lose it instantly. Every ounce of the copious amount of erotic energy that permeated his entire body came from his dick. To give a Gifted guy a blowjob was even more incredible than it was for a Non-Gifted male. She was going to draw his erotic energy straight from its source.

  “Please, Rainer.” She released him, and began kissing down his chest.

  He watched her; he couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she laid her hand on his chest and pushed him back.

  She kissed along his cut lines, and he gasped and moaned loudly. With a deliciously naughty smirk, she dragged her tongue up him as a shuddering growl overtook him.

  He pulsed hot and heavy in her face, and she moaned fiercely.

  Rainer used every ounce of concentration in his body to push away the eminent explosion as she pulled him in her mouth. As she sucked, she began drawing the erotic energy from him. He’d never felt anything so exquisite. Unable to help himself, he thrust his hips upward. He wanted her to take him deeper. She moaned loudly and slid more of him in her mouth, and he grasped the quilt underneath him. He needed desperately to cling to something with all of his might, lest he explode in her mouth. Suddenly he felt everything in him draw tight, and he had to stop her.

  “Em, baby, stop.” He touched her cheek. “Please.” She pouted deliciously as she released him with one last swirl of her tongue. “Did you set the cast?” he panted urgently. He wanted inside of her, and he wanted it now. She nodded as her eyes flashed in ardent desire.

  “Then lay down, baby, and spread your legs for me, right now.”

  “Yes,” she panted as she did as she was told. “Take me,” she demanded, and he didn’t have to be told twice. He lifted her hips slightly, and slipped all of his straining length into the silken heat between her legs. As he felt her envelop him tightly, he groaned.

  Her body devoured his as her energy flooded the space around him. It joined his in dizzying spirals of ecstasy. He thrust harder as her moans became longer, louder, and more desperate. He ground against her.

  “You feel so damn good,” he kept his thrusts deep and rhythmic.

  She lost control, and screamed out his name. Her body flooded hot liquid sex around him, and he was done for. He exploded inside of her and filled her with all of him. He reveled in the mingling of their energy as he felt their releases combine inside of her.

  She shuddered in convulsive waves. He held her tightly as it shattered through her. She stilled, and he withdrew but kept her as close as he possibly could. He never wanted to let her go.

  “You are absolutely incredible,” he vowed when he regained the ability to breathe. She grinned as she lay in his arms. She kissed his chest as they stared at their combined energies spinning wildly around them.

  He felt her breasts slide up and down against him as she continued to pant.

  “I don’t want to go to bed without you,” she whispered. “I want to stay with you.”

  His heart fractured slightly. “We’ll move out soon, baby. I promise; whenever you’re ready.”

  She nodded, but refused to let go of him. He held her tightly and wrapped her up in his body. He made certain that all of her touched some part of him. They laid there for a long while, and felt the energy of the enthralling love they’d created dissipate slightly in the humid evening air. Her need to be near him was palpable in her rhythms as she calmed.

  Eventually she sat up and pulled his t-shirt back over her body as he pretended to pout. She giggled.

  Once they’d redressed, they moved down the ladder quietly. They snuck around the swing-set as they headed to the back of the wrap-around porch. They stepped onto the landing, removed their flip-flops, but then Rainer heard someon
e whispering.

  He put his index finger to his lips, hushing Emily. She nodded and moved closer to him.

  He held her hand and edged closer to where the back of the large decking met the side porch. They halted and began listening.

  “Lillian, I don’t know,” Governor Haydenshire was whispering, but he sounded disgruntled. Emily’s parents were on the porch swing on the side of the house.

  Panic washed through Rainer as he tried to determine if the Haydenshires had heard him and Emily in the hayloft, but Rainer relaxed, as they didn’t sound angry. The barn was a long way from the house.

  “Stephen, if you don’t, then they’ll move out sooner than they’re ready. Especially Adeline; she needs a little more stability than to be living with Logan and Rainer and Emily. They all do, I think. You know perfectly well all of the rooms in my parents’ house that we did it in before we were married, and they’re going to do that, as well,” Mrs. Haydenshire huffed.

  “Ugh, Lillian,” the Governor shuddered audibly. Emily bit her lip to keep from laughing. Rainer grinned, but then touched her lips lightly to remind her to be quiet.

  “I just don’t think it’s appropriate to tell them that we don’t mind if Rainer moves out of Logan’s room and Adeline moves in,” the Governor tried for an imperious tone, but Mrs. Haydenshire just laughed.

  “I think you just don’t want to think about Rainer moving into Emily’s room.”

  “Look, you and I both know they’re going to sneak around, just like all the rest of them. I think we should just leave it at that. They can sneak around like every other young, unmarried American couple. Just like we did, but there’s a difference in knowing they’re doing that and in condoning it.”

  Mrs. Haydenshire sighed audibly. “You’re not listening, Stephen. Adeline needs to stay here for a while with us, and we need to make sure that she doesn’t feel like she’s disappointing us in any way. That’s only going to drive her further away.”

  “All right, but can we talk about it in the morning, please? I’m exhausted.”