Made to Suffer (Journeyman Book 3)

by Golden Czermak

  Gage liked that nickname a lot, wondering what prompted it. “Hammer sounds like my kinda guy,” he said jovially, making a whole lot of assumptions. “So when do we set off for the land of lucky charms?”

  Adrienne felt like she was in the Crispy Biscuit all over again, desperate to bury her face in her hands.

  Quileth laughed briefly before looking to Jane, who took over.

  “Gage,” she began in that tone of voice you never want to hear, “you and Adrienne are needed for another urgent task.”

  “And as such,” Quileth continued, “Marcus, Joey: you two shall be going to Ireland to liaise with Brandon and Dax.”

  With everything said, all sat in silence for a moment and the gentle drip from the leaky galley faucet became the prominent noise.

  “So, we are splitting the team?” Joey finally asked, fully knowing the answer was yes.

  “For now,” Jane responded, turning toward Gage and Adrienne. “You both will be going…” She hesitated, as if the next words were a tremendous burden to bear, “… to aid in negotiations on this new alliance with the vampires.”

  Gage’s heart beat heavily while Adrienne didn’t know what the hell was going on.

  Vamps? What the fuck?

  Her thoughts were so loud that she might as well have said it, the look on her face not hiding those feelings at all. She despised those blood suckers and everything they represented: the feeding, the darkness, and inevitable reality of death. For years, she had focused on honing her slaying skills to a lethal point with the sole purpose of clearing the threat from the face of the Earth.

  Now, after going through all that shit in the Astral Plane, she was being told to negotiate with them. It didn't sit well with her at all, even knowing that tough times called for tough sacrifices. Plucking her glass off the table she tried to guzzle, but it was empty. Rolling her eyes, she rose quickly and dashed to the sink.

  Gage sat there with his head down low. He felt a little bad about not telling her about the newly brokered deal between the Journeymen and the vampires, forged at the end of the first day of the Assembly. But hell, he assumed those deals would happen far away from them, not with them right smack in the forefront of it all. This just wasn’t turning out to be a very good end to the day and as Adrienne returned, he placed his hand on her thigh.

  Jane wasn’t yet finished, Gage trying not to look irritable as she started speaking again. “Evans… he will also be going with you, to head the dialogue.”

  Gage grumbled while Adrienne, not knowing who Evans even was, downed her entire glass, wishing it was full of liquor.

  “I know this is a lot to take in,” said Jane. “I suspect you thought you wouldn’t be around for all these… diplomatic steps.”

  “That’s just a bit of an understatement,” Gage replied. He looked to Ady. “Ya okay?”

  “Yeah,” she replied. “I can manage.” Looking to Jane, she had to ask, “So why us, of all people?”

  “Your past,” Jane responded. “Most of the clearings in Texas were done by your hands after all. The both of you, and Mr. Mosely, are known far and wide as extraordinary vampire slayers. That reputation is not solely held by the Journeymen. No, within the monster communities it seems that you are also renowned.”

  “It will be a sign of unity to the vampires if you are there,” Quileth interjected in support of Jane’s statement, “alongside one of their greatest Head Vampires. What better way to show cooperation between our two –”

  “I can think of a billion better ways,” Gage snapped. He then sighed, knowing that he really didn’t have much say in the matter. “This is why I prefer the field.”

  “Totally understandable,” Jane said as she and Quileth rose out of their seats. “Sorry to break such news and run, but it's getting late and we both have some paperwork that needs attention before the night is done. Thank you all for the company and for the quaint dinner this evening,” she said, shaking each of their hands in turn. “Gage, Evans will be brought to the Odyssey around nine AM, the ship scheduled to depart soon after that.”

  “Roger,” he replied obediently. “We’ll be ready for him.”

  “Thank you,” she said, smiling before leaving the galley.

  Quileth circled the table and shook Marcus’ hand. “Please give our regards to Om as well for having us in his home. He is a remarkable being, as are you my friend.”

  “Will do,” he replied, giving Quileth a hug. “Hopefully he will be up before we set off in the morning. What time shall we plan to leave?”

  “Feel free to come see me just after the ship sails for Texas,” he replied. “That’ll give you all a little extra time to spend with each other. I realize how important that can be in times like these.”

  Marcus moved in for another hug and Joey snickered. “So, you going to give it to him or not?”

  “Give me what?” Quileth asked.

  Marcus reached for the interior pocket of his sport coat, pulling out a stubby glass cylinder that looked like a hockey-puck. A shard of dull crystal hung inside it, motionless.

  “Apparently it's some kind of compass,” Marcus beamed in answer to Quileth’s jostling whiskers. “Adrienne gave it to us after we rescued her from the Astral Plane.”

  Quileth was appropriately curious. “A compass? That leads to what exactly?”

  “You're not going to believe it…”

  “Try me.”

  “According to Adrienne,” Marcus said excitedly, “the Solomon Six! Well, at least the ones we are looking for. She used it to retrieve the Seal.”

  “By the gods,” Quileth said, eyes wide open. “This could have just tipped the scales well into our favor!”

  A slight wince crept over Marcus’ smile.

  “What's the catch?” Quileth responded with exasperated breath.

  “I'm not wholly sure,” Marcus answered, “but it doesn't appear to be working. I think the transition across the boundary layer between the Astral Plane and here short-circuited it somehow, for lack of a better phrase. I was hoping that Henry or some of the team at HQ could look at it and get it working again?”

  Marcus moved to hand it over to Quileth.

  “Certainly, but are you sure you want me to take it now?” Quileth enquired. “I won’t be able to get this to Henry until after we meet up in the morning ourselves.”

  “That should be fine, Quileth,” Marcus replied. “I trust you absolutely as the friend you have always been to me. Though I may not be a Felidaen, I can definitely tell the feeling is mutual.”

  “Thank you,” Quileth responded with a bow. Though he would never admit it, that touched him right between his hearts. With that said and the compass in hand, he departed and the team shuffled around the table before sinking back into their chairs.

  Now that Adrienne had a few minutes to mull things over, sorting it out in her best OCD way, she found herself doing much better. Letting out a deep breath, she looked around the table and the faces there. It felt like old times again, all of them gathered around the breakfast table back at the Lodge – even with Marcus there, newest member of their crew… their family.

  She couldn’t help but smile. “So,” she said and the guys looked her way. “Is there anything to drink in here that has more of a kick than tap water? I figure if so, it would be a great way for the us to enjoy each other’s company, while we can.”

  The tone of her voice was subdued, after all they had been through recently the idea of being apart was a painful pill to swallow. Yet, as always, the Journeyman life wasn’t full of easy and conformable choices to make. They would make it through this somehow.

  “I think there’s wine in here somewhere,” said Joey, really wanting to take advantage of this time. “Anyone want to have some?”

  Adrienne certainly perked up, sending her arm into the air.

  “Any liquor in this place?” Gage protested, not a fan of wine at all.

  “Sadly not in the galley,” replied Marcus way too quickly, “but
… I do have some whiskey down in my quarters.”

  Gage stared at him downright romantically. “Well, whatcha waitin’ for brother?”

  LATER THAT SAME evening, once the conversations had died off and everyone’s food had settled, Gage and Adrienne retired to his quarters, leaving Marcus to tend to a snoring Joey back in the galley.

  “You think Marcus will just leave J up there tonight?” Adrienne asked, her voice a little slurred.

  Gage looked out the window. It was peaceful and serene, though a thunderstorm loomed off to the west. “Nah,” he replied, “they've been getting really close. Though honestly, I think he’ll definitely have a hard time waking his ass up.”

  Behind him, Adrienne took off her clothes while giggling. “That's so true,” she said as her top came off, the wine and whiskey playing havoc with her balance. She suddenly had to sit down, choosing the edge of the bed.

  “Ya okay?” Gage asked her, seeing her tipsy figure and awkward moves reflected in the glass.

  “Me? Yeah, I'm okay,” she replied, though somber. Her hands brushed across her face. “Ugh, just thinking about this upcoming mission we’ve got. I don’t like it at all, but I guess I don’t have much choice in the matter.”

  “Yup. Hence my dislike for the mandatory meetings,” Gage said, flopping onto the bed with his arms outstretched. He had learned not to do it too forcefully; the number of times he’d nearly sent her flying off the furniture too numerous to count. “Ya know, darlin’, I think that’s enough talk about what the suits want. How about we ‘discuss’ other things, like how this big thing in my jeans is gonna find its way into your gorgeous body?”

  “Such a hopeless romantic,” she replied, “big emphasis on the hopeless. But, admittedly, I am curious to find out…”

  Gage took that as his cue, wasting no time engulfing her with his large frame. He loomed overhead, placing an arm in the small of her back while arching her toward his waiting lips. There they met her breasts, paying loving attention to them as a finger worked its way down under.

  “Oh God, Gage,” she groaned passionately, feeling him rubbing inside. The feelings were so intense, causing her to curve her back even more as Gage increased the pace, adding another finger to tease her.

  His soft beard bristled against her delicate skin, provoking her nipples to get harder. A third finger joined in the fun and with that, he succeeded in rolling her eyes back in her head. The gratification continued to build, piling atop itself as he worked ferociously to bring her to the very edge of ecstasy. Jealous of his fingers, Gage raced down and drove his tongue deep inside her.

  Adrienne shot her hands behind her head during the beautiful ballet of sensations, letting loose another moan that threatened to shatter the windows.

  He could tell that she was getting close by her writhing, digging deeper with his tongue to extract every possible treasure from her cave.

  Before long, she was quivering like an earthquake, lashing out for his hair to keep him in place as she came.

  “Feel good, gorgeous?” Gage asked, peeking up at her with a wink.

  She could only muster a moan in reply.

  “That's a good answer,” he said, flipping her onto her stomach before she had a chance to recover. “We ain’t done yet.”

  Grabbing some protection from his jeans before sending them to the floor, he repositioned himself for entry. He laid his erection down the center of her beautifully round ass, all his glory on display. The sheer size of it in comparison to her body was like a starting pistol at a race. He brought himself back and then was just brutal, plunging into her with his full length. She was thankfully wet enough as he pumped his hips, ravaging his way along the pleasure highway.

  “Oh yes,” he bellowed, grasping her hips with his hands while flexing his broad chest. The striations creased his tattoos, veins rising up from his tight skin. “Thank God you’re mine.”

  “Yours,” she said, the delightful hurt overcoming her ability to say anything else.

  Gage showed no signs of slowing down, increasing the pace and masculinity with each subsequent stroke. He could see the light forming at the end of the tunnel, rushing orgasmically at him with all the speed of the Odyssey itself.

  He pulled out and in the mere seconds that were left grabbed hold of his wrist-thick cock. Thrusting hard with his hand from the base to the tip an entire foot away, the condom flung off. In that one fluid motion, coupled with cresting elation, he exploded into a shower of creamy white rain.

  Adrienne collapsed, a delightful soreness beginning to manifest between her legs.

  Gage plopped down beside her, looking intently at her brunette hair. He teased some of it through his fingers and was greeted with the ever present scent of tea tree and mint that she loved so much.

  “Once again, you’ve caused me to become a messy heap,” he observed. “I swear I think I’m losing my ability to make ya scream.”

  She laughed as she slowly got up. “You got that right. I’ll get us some towels.”

  AS THE NIGHT progressed things grew restless. Adrienne looked out the windows to the city below; the scene was expansive and cool, making her feel vulnerable and for some reason alone. The sheets of rain didn't help the mood, so she wrapped the blankets more tightly around herself and nestled her head into the pillow.

  I'm glad he's got Marcus to occupy his attention now. Will help to take his mind off this… and other things.

  Gage's statement back at the ruins of the Lodge began to plague her.

  … and other things.

  Unsure why that statement was speaking to her so loudly, she assumed it must've been the alcohol still toying with her emotions. Damn, she needed to learn to drink less.

  … and other things.

  She couldn’t help but wonder what he meant and no matter how hard she tried, or how deep in the pillow she buried her face, the thought repeated.

  Finally she had enough, reaching over and shaking Gage by his massive shoulder. He barely moved, but it was just enough to wake him up.

  “What? Is there somethin’ wrong?” he asked groggily, following up with a yawn.

  “No nothing's…. well, I don't really know,” she said while sitting up, unsure how to broach the subject of her concerns. As she scoured the room for something to lead in with, anything at all, she spotted a dirty fanny pack on a bowed dresser across the room. The thing looked gross, crusted with all kinds of nasty.

  “Where’d you get that?” she asked him.

  He shoved his chin into his chest so he could look without having to get up. “The fanny pack there?” he asked, now really wondering what was bugging her. “Pulled it out of the rubble back at the Lodge. I’ve always had a thing for them. Now tell me, did ya get me up just to talk about my sack, or are ya curious as to what I keep in there?”

  She giggled for a second at his wink, then sighed. “No, I didn't wake you up for that, I… just couldn't sleep. Like I said before, my mind is racing about this upcoming mission and, well, truth be known, something you said back at the Lodge.”

  She noticed a slight twitch in his eyes. Was it a tell?

  “I'm kinda lost,” he said, a little flustered as his mind jumped from thought to thought. “What did I say back there that would be causing ya all of this added stress?”

  “When you were talking about how happy you were that Marcus was around for Joey. That it would take his mind off the devastation at the Lodge… ‘and more’. I can't shake that I saw something in your eyes then, something deep. What did you mean by ‘more’?”

  “More?” he repeated. Judging by the look that came across his face, Gage now realized where this was headed. He sat up, the bedding rolling effortlessly off his body as he stared down to his lap. His chest twitched as he picked at a loose thread in the sheets.

  “I…” he began, try to think of how to put things. “Truth be known: we had a moment, Joey and I… a weak one. We both ended up doin’ things against our better judgment.”

&nbs
p; Adrienne knew exactly what that meant – she wasn't a fool – but she had to hear it for herself, out of his own mouth. “Care to elaborate on that?” she demanded.

  Gage was tongue tied, a rarity for sure. He was tempted to resist and just make up some petty, bullshit kind of answer. He fielded it with some puppy dog eyes, but she wasn't some stray hooker he had no loyalties to. This was Adrienne and the look that his brightest star had in her eyes forced him to do the right thing.

  “Joey and I… had sex,” he said, coming clean and blunt.

  The words, though expected, were sharp and struck her like a dagger to the chest. Gage, supposedly the man of her life, had shared himself with another, despite all his words. Joey of all people! Yet she found that she wasn't really mad at Joey, just the grizzly fucker sitting beside her.

  “Truth will out, eh?” Adrienne said to him disappointingly. “Never thought I would be quoting Shakespeare to you, Gage.”

  He struggled to hide his guilt, something he'd rarely felt before, likely because there wasn't anyone like Adrienne in his life before. He didn’t like all these new feelings that were rallying against him, but she did have his heart and he ended up feeling like a putz. He reached over to her, trying to grab her arm. “Ady I…”

  “Oh no, not right now Gage,” she snipped, dodging his advance. Shooting out of the bed, she moved briskly to the window and pointed at the glass. “Was that caused by your little sexcapade too?” she snipped, finger wagging frantically between the chink and him.

  He nodded and it was like dynamite setting off a dam, emotions flooding the place.

  “Gage, after all I went through in the goddamn Astral Plane! I told you all about it: the horrible creatures, me going all Lara Croft in the fucking temple of doom, all of it! You were my only guiding light in that horrible place and yet, you're telling me that you tripped the light fantastic with Joey? OUR JOEY, Gage, for fuck’s sake!”

  He didn't answer, shifting to his edge of the bed, letting his feet touch the floor. He put his face in those burly hands and sighed.