by Brenna Lyons
“Jonas, I—”
“Do you want me to stop?”
“Are you crazy?”
He laughed. “Then let me play.”
She nodded, her eyes wide, as he pulled the zipper down and planted a kiss low on her abdomen at the top of the curls that he could barely make out beneath the silk. Sarah arched to him, her breathing ragged.
Jonas pulled her jeans off her legs and surveyed the length of her. She isn’t just a job. I won’t let her be.
Her hand ran down his chest. “Jonas?”
He met her eyes. The confusion he saw broke his indecision. Jonas pulled her body to his, his mouth seeking hers as his hand found the snaps at the crotch of the bodysuit. Sarah’s hands moved to his jeans. She smiled against his lips as she pushed them over his hips.
Jonas nipped at her lower lip. “What is it?”
“No underwear.”
“That bothers you?”
“Not in the least.”
She ran a hand over him, and Jonas stilled, gulping in breaths as his mind fought to function.
Sarah kissed his throat and chest as she continued to play with him. “I like how accessible you are.”
Jonas pulled away abruptly and dragged his jeans off. He stripped her bodysuit off and settled over Sarah, shuddering at the skin to skin contact. “I’ll show you accessible,” he promised.
“Jonas?” She was trying to rein in her fear, but he could see it clearly in her eyes.
“I won’t. You have my word.” But, he’d never wondered before. He’d never wanted to know if the Trojan 2020 ads were accurate until now.
Jonas captured her mouth. Wanting or not, he wouldn’t have sex with her without protection. His contract could be damned. Even if they ordered it, he wouldn’t do anything she wasn’t comfortable with.
He met her eyes as he sank to capture a rosy nipple in his mouth. He savored her body, the faint taste of musk and soft skin teasing at his senses. Her reactions were sweet music, from her mewling cries to her hands gripping lightly in his hair.
Sarah pushed Jonas to his back and took his length in her mouth. Jonas felt his control slipping. That didn’t happen to him. The E-shield went first, and he locked down on the rest to avoid a mishap, slamming his personal shield into place as he felt Sarah’s mind touch his. He hardly had the presence of mind to worry that she might see the change before the pleasure and his rational assurances that less than one percent of talents could differentiate shields tore the worry from his mind.
Her thoughts and feelings flooded his mind. When had Sarah dropped her shield? Her need hit him, prompting a groan. She wanted more than his body, and no woman had ever wanted that. Jonas had always been turned on by how much women wanted his body. He was more than turned on by a woman who whose wants went beyond it.
His body tensed in response. “Sarah, unless this is all you want, I need to do something else quick.”
She smiled sweetly as she released him. “Where are your condoms?”
“Front pocket of my jeans.”
Sarah leaned down and came up with a handful of little red packets. She raised a questioning brow. “Jonas?”
“Would you rather learn that you share my stamina without being prepared?”
Sarah gave him a heated look as she dropped all but one condom on the nightstand. “Is that a promise, Jonas?”
“Give me half a chance to prove it, and it will be.” He sucked in his breath as she started rolling the Plastilyte down his length. Her expert fingers sliding over him were driving him crazy.
“Now, now. I thought you wanted to prove your stamina?”
Jonas was never one to pass on a challenge. His smile widened. “Up for a bet on who breaks first?”
“What bet?”
“Whoever breaks first is at the complete mercy of the other for the next round.” He’d played this game before. With his attributes, Jonas had never lost.
“What kind of mercy?”
“I won’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”
Sarah seemed to be considering the possibilities.
“Do you have any toys?”
She nodded. “How many rounds?”
“Until you ask me to stop.” Usually, that was an exaggeration, but one look at the interest in Sarah’s eyes made him believe it wouldn’t be tonight.
She smiled. “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”
“Hmm. Are you so sure of yourself?”
“It’s a deal.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m game. Hope you enjoy being tied up.”
Jonas flipped her beneath him and slid deep inside her in one smooth motion. Sarah gripped his shoulders, and he could feel her fight to control her body’s rise. He smiled as he took her hard and fast, matching each movement to what her body craved of him.
“Jonas, please.”
He kissed her, possessing her utterly. Jonas released her mouth as Sarah cried out, her body contracting around him. He made her next rise slower, savoring the wicked thoughts coursing through her mind until he pushed her over again. He’d have to let himself lose one of the rounds. Sarah’s ideas for tying him up had Jonas looking forward to losing, something he never contemplated before. Unable to hold off, he followed her over.
Sarah cradled his head to her shoulder. “You’ve convinced me. I’m at your mercy.”
Jonas glanced at the painting above her bed, not trusting himself to meet her eyes yet. He didn’t want her at his mercy. He didn’t want Sarah at anyone’s mercy, but he just set her up for it. Jonas had no idea how Baker intended to use this against her, but he would somehow.
He scrutinized the painting, pushing away his gloomy thoughts. Jonas recognized it. It was called ‘The Accolade’. Jonas thought he was that knight in shining armor once, but had he ever had that much honor? He felt the familiar ache in his chest.
*
February 18th
Sarah smiled at the sight of Jonas. She had provided breakfast in bed, and he was returning the favor by washing the dishes. He wore only his jeans. She had pulled on his shirt as a lark, earning her a heated look from him and an offer for her to keep it if he could see her in it again.
The man hadn’t lied about his sexual appetite. He had laid with her for a long time after their first time, but at her first sign of renewed interest, he had been ready and willing again. Actually, he was more than that. Jonas was attentive, skilled, and tireless.
As he foretold, he outlasted her. After their fifth time together, Sarah had laughingly asked for a reprieve.
Jonas had chuckled. “Only a reprieve?”
“If you think I’m letting you go that easily—”
Sarah smiled wider. She had been exhausted when she asked for that reprieve, but she had another reason for asking. Irked by picking up his sister’s emotions when she dropped her shields again and again, Steven had threatened to come over at three in the morning. To keep the peace, Sarah arranged for Steven to pass the rest of the night in peaceful, undisturbed sleep.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nine thirty. Any normal person was up by nine, and Steven was typically up by seven or earlier. Sarah wasn’t letting Jonas go easily at all.
It was time for the next round. Jonas lost two rounds the previous night, and she lost three. She was at his mercy for the next round. Sarah snuggled to his back and reached her hand around to stroke him.
Jonas groaned and hardened under her fingers. “Sarah?”
“I think my reprieve is over.”
“It is if you keep that up.”
“Good.”
She kissed the back of his shoulder and unbuttoned his jeans, feeling his length straining against her hand. Jonas’ breathing hitched as she reached her other hand into his front pocket and pulled out one of the condoms still stuffed in it. Sarah stroked him as she tucked the condom into his hand.
Jonas nodded as he ripped the pack open. He hesitated then started rolling it down his length. Sarah
removed her hand as the material covered him. Jonas turned and scooped her onto the edge of the countertop.
He kissed her, running his hands under the shirt. Sarah gasped as his fingertips caressed her, making delicious little circles up her inner thigh until he reached the moisture gathering for him. Jonas didn’t speak; his actions said it all for him. He possessed her, his mouth relentless as he buried two fingers in her, driving her to the edge.
Sarah wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him closer. Jonas removed his hand and shuddered as his length slid home in her. Sarah leaned back, accepting the last of him as he lowered his forehead to hers with a groan.
Jonas rocked deep inside her for a moment. “The table or the wall, Sarah? Tell me, please.”
She smiled. “You choose. Which would feel better for you?” She wanted him to enjoy himself this time. Not that Jonas wasn’t enjoying himself. He most certainly was, but even Sarah could tell he was a talent using what he read from her unshielded mind to please her.
The first time she dropped her shield for him, it had been unplanned. Sarah lost concentration on a level she had never encountered before when Jonas touched her. Once she realized what he was doing and how miserable it made him to do it, she couldn’t help but drop her shield for him to show him how much she enjoyed what he was doing.
Sarah wasn’t sure if Jonas could tell she had a shield, that she was talent. Not every talent was capable of identifying other talents. Alex didn’t have that skill. If Jonas was a weak talent or unskilled, he might not realize that she had a shield and he wasn’t simply receiving sporadic thoughts from her. Many talents were limited in their range and receptiveness.
The only thing she knew for sure was that Jonas didn’t want her to know he was talent. He was always careful to keep a shield up. But, did Jonas do that because he knew she was talent or because he didn’t know and couldn’t take the chance of her realizing his shield was down?
Sarah dropped her shield, filling her mind with the thought of him taking control and doing whatever he wanted. Jonas lifted her and moved to the wall, his movements suddenly fierce and driven. Sarah shattered as he surged into her again and again, only raising her shield when the contractions were easing and Steven was promising to be there within an hour. She didn’t answer him.
Jonas’ E-shield disappeared in favor of the one that was always in place. He was never fully open to her. Not that having him unshielded would have done her much good. Mind reading wasn’t one of her talents. Sarah was a minor empath, and she found that she could read Jonas slightly even through his shield, as she could with Steven. She was also an expert at reading any use of talent in her range, not just the active classes that her mother and brothers could sense, but even the passive classes like identifying shields and feeling thought scans against unshielded norms.
The shift in his shield was what had tipped Sarah off that Jonas was talent and not a norm with an E-shield in the first place. When his shield shifted from the Eseries to his personal shield that first time, she considered calling him on it for a split second, until she felt the emotions coursing from him. Whatever his reason for lying to her, emotions never lie, and Jonas wasn’t trying to hurt her.
Sarah was what the DoPT would look for in a keeper, so the emergency charter hadn’t allowed them to seize her with the rest of her family. She was psi-linked to Steven, and her whole family— except Dad—could communicate telepathically with each other, but all of her powers were non-combatant. That meant she wasn’t deemed a danger to the general public under the witch-hunts of 2014 and 2015.
Jonas climaxed, roaring as he tensed inside her. She felt his regret washing over her. He was like this every time. Jonas wanted her desperately, but he always felt guilty afterward.
Sarah bit her lip as she considered the strange phenomenon. Either Jonas didn’t know she was talent and feared she’d leave him when she found out he was, or he knew she was and feared the same thing for a different reason.
If she were a norm, she might refuse him out of prejudice or ignorance. Since Sarah was talent, he would fear she’d leave him because of the problem of children. In the few cases where two talents reproduced together, there were no norms born yet. Researchers were tentatively placing the odds at or near one hundred percent talented offspring.
Sarah kissed him, drawing her shield more firmly around her. If either of them had something to fear, it was her. She was part of the infamous Randall family. Chances were higher than average that all her children would be powerful talents, even if she married a norm. Worse, very few talents would willingly risk censure by appearing to ally with the great house.
*
Jonas walked into the apartment and past Markham to the bed. He curled on his side with his hand pressed to his chest. The whole way back, he had considered his options. If Baker made him leave now, he’d resign. He’d tell Sarah he had to leave on business, but Jonas would be back–in thirty days when his time after notice of end of contract had been served.
Markham walked into the room and leaned against the doorframe. “I take it you did it?”
“Go to hell, Markham.”
“Paige—”
“Is this a debrief?”
“No.”
“Then I’m taking the fifth.”
“An update, then.”
“They better not have booked me on a flight, yet. Whether they order me to leave now or not, I promised I’d have dinner with her, and I will.”
“They’re not ordering you back. They want you here.”
“Why?”
“Getting close to Sarah is only the first step in getting close to the others.”
“I want to quit, Markham. This isn’t what I trained for.”
Jonas closed his eyes, remembering how Sarah felt in his arms that morning. He hadn’t wanted to leave, but Sarah said she had family matters to attend to for part of the day. Jonas had been afraid to leave her, afraid that he’d be dragged back to Boston or worse, that the DoPT would swoop in with their grand plan and make her hate him.
“No one gets hurt this way,” Markham reminded him quietly.
“She gets hurt this way. You don’t think she’s going to feel betrayed?” I’m going to get hurt.
Markham groaned. “Ah shit. What do you want?”
Jonas turned away, too tired to keep Markham out of his mind. On some level, it made it easier to have Markham know where he stood.
“You’re serious, aren’t you? You’d ditch your contract and blow this job for her.”
“Are you going to turn me in?” Jonas knew he should. As a keeper, Markham was required to inform Baker when his charge was out of their control.
“No.”
“Why?”
“What would you do if they sent Hall or Pendle to try for her?”
Jonas shot off the bed to Markham, stopping short of hurting him, but by a narrow margin. “They can’t,” he growled, wondering if that was the plan if he flaked.
Markham sighed and motioned to Jonas. “That’s why I won’t turn you in.”
Jonas darkened and took a step back. “Because I’d renegade?” The thought shook him. He’d never considered renegading before. Quitting, yes, but never that. Jonas ran a nervous hand through his hair and turned away.
“No. Because you might be in love with her.”
“I can’t live like this, but I have to do what they want to keep her safe. Which is worse, Evan?”
Markham set up the recorder silently and pulled Jonas to the bed.
“I’m not debriefing this one on the recorder,” Jonas insisted; the thought of reciting times and positions and pillow talk made him ill.
“You’re right.”
“Then what the hell am I doing?”
“Recording our notice for end of contracts.”
“You said—”
“We’re recording them. I won’t file them until it comes to a head. When they push too far, or when you know for certain you have to tell her and r
isk her life that way to keep her from something worse… You just tell me when that happens.”
Jonas managed a weak smile. “Guess you’re Evan now.”
*
Sarah hit the buzzer for the downstairs door without asking who it was. It had been fifty-six minutes since Steven’s threat. Who else would it be? She pulled the apartment door open and waved him in theatrically.
Steven paused a moment to scowl at the oversized shirt she wore under her terry cloth robe, Jonas’ shirt. He stormed into the living room and dropped down on the couch. “I take it he’s gone?”
“Jonas? Yes, he’s gone home, but he’s having dinner with me again tonight.”
Steven raised an eyebrow. “Dinner?”
Sarah chuckled. “Well, we did eat last night.”
“Please tell me you protected yourself, at least. I know you bared your mind and soul to him every— Oh, God, I hope that was every time.”
“It was, and I did. Mom and Dad drilled that into me. If I ever do decide to have children, it won’t be an accident.”
“Why? Did it ever occur to you that he might be talent? That dropping your shields could have consequences?”
Sarah fortified her shield as the guilt settled in. She forced the smile on her face to stay steady. She didn’t typically keep important things from Steven, but he’d take the news that Jonas was talent in the worst possible light. Then her entire family would descend on her.
“Yes. I considered it.”
His eyes narrowed. “And?”
“And it’s my life, Steven. I need this, maybe forever. Please don’t mess it up for me.” She dropped her gaze, hoping he wouldn’t press her on this one.
Steven groaned. “He means that much to you?”
Sarah nodded, pulling back tears. “I’ll have enough problems when he figures out who I am. If this has any chance—”
“You didn’t tell him?” Steven’s voice was edged with panic.
“Oh, that’s worked well before,” she bit out sarcastically.
Steven cringed, probably remembering her broken heart when she learned that David, the guy she liked in high school, had only taken her virginity on a bet to fuck one of the famous family of talents. It had taken the entire family to keep Steven from renegading. Uncle Bruce and Mac had arranged a discussion with David that shut him up and kept him away.