"Your shirt, Justin. Please take it off," Gina's hands touched my face then wandered beneath the fabric of my pullover.
That felt good.
"Anything for you, baby," I breathed against her neck before kissing her there.
The shirt came off, but I didn't rush it.
Her palms lay against my chest. "I've watched you at football practice, playing without your shirt," Gina sighed. "You put those other guys to shame with this," her hands wandered down my body. Yeah, I have a six-pack. I figured it was a combination of sports and working on construction sites for Dad.
Lately, it was fighting spawn, but that was something Gina couldn't know.
My body had never really been a concern and the truth was, Mack was just as built, he was just shorter—at least for the moment. I figured the wolf would see to that. Mack had run track in junior high and high school, and had a few trophies on the shelf in his bedroom. I figured the wolf had helped out with that, too, we just didn't realize it before.
Gina's hand wandered to the button on my jeans.
"Want that open, baby?" I breathed, covering her hand with mine.
"Yes," she mumbled, closing her eyes when I kissed her.
"You got it." I pulled the fabric loop from the button, leaving the zipper up. I let her do that herself.
The second she touched my cock, I thought I was going to come. With a force of will I had no idea I possessed, I kept it from happening.
Her fingers, wrapped around my shaft, drove me wild.
"Justin, this—I've never seen anyone this big," Gina breathed against my mouth. I was desperately attempting to distract her—to keep her from stroking me.
"Your fault," I mumbled against her lips. "All your fault."
"You won't mind that I'm not," she began. She was worried I'd think less of her because she wasn't a virgin.
"Baby, that has nothing to do with us," I said, leaning away. "Now, if you keep touching me there, I'm gonna come, and that means you won't be satisfied like I want to satisfy you. Okay?"
"Can we save it for later, then?"
"Oh, yeah."
I think we made love as Westley rescued Buttercup in the fire swamp. In a way, it was fitting—I dived beneath the covers the moment Westley drew a breath and dived into the lightning sand to save his true love.
Gina came—twice—before I stopped pleasuring her with my mouth. We joined then—after the ceremony of the condom was completed. She did it for me while I watched, her hands sending messages to my body and my brain as I watched it roll down my length.
Her hand guided me into her body after that, and I was grateful not to fumble that.
It couldn't have been more perfect, and my satisfaction was complete at the end of it.
* * *
While Gina acted shy after we dressed later, I pulled her chin up so I could see her eyes. "This is our love, Gina," I said. "That means there's nothing to be shy about or feel ashamed of. Nothing is different between us. I just hope you enjoyed it as much as I did."
"I did. Justin, that was—incredible. I really don't have a better word, and there should be one," she said. I kissed her for that.
"It's late and we should go," I said. The credits had rolled half an hour earlier, and I didn't want to keep her out too late.
"Yeah. Mom might worry," she acknowledged. "Thank you, Justin. This was the perfect night."
I drove her home after that, walked her to the door of my old house and kissed her there on the doorstep. The porch light was on, but I didn't care if her mother saw me kissing Gina.
She was my girl.
* * *
I handed house keys back to Joey the following morning. He nodded and never said a word. Maybe he knew it went well. Maybe he knew it wasn't any of his business. We didn't discuss it, and that was the right thing to do.
It was Sunday; Mack and I had homework to do—Joey did remind me of that. We had a calculus assignment to turn in and a writing assignment in history for Bearcat.
Lately, that was the story of our lives—punctuating the absolute terror of fighting spawn and kapiri with mundane high school homework.
"Dude, I need to do laundry," I handed the saltshaker to Mack over breakfast that morning. "Almost out of clean jeans."
"Yeah. Sometimes Beth does my stuff at home, but now," Mack shrugged.
"Come on. Grab your stuff and we'll get it done while we do calculus homework."
"Is this how it'll be in college?" Mack grumped.
"I figure it will," Mom walked in and patted Mack's shoulder. "I'm thinking of hiring somebody to help clean this house. I can't do it all myself, especially since I don't have any power at the moment."
I studied Mom—the baby bump looked slightly larger. "Your dad's birthday is coming up," Mom reminded me. "Have you done anything about that?"
"Oh, crap," I said, rubbing my forehead. "It's next Saturday, isn't it?"
"Yep."
"What do you have planned?" I blinked at Mom. "I mean, he already got the cufflinks you ordered for him."
"Before your autocratic father demanded cufflinks, I'd already bought something for him," Mom huffed. "It's not returnable, either, or I might have tried that."
"What's not returnable?" Dad wandered in, a cup of tea in his hand.
"Your real birthday present," I said before Mom could shush me.
"Sweetheart, those cufflinks are worth a king's ransom," Dad began.
"I already bought you something, before you demanded those," Mom said. "Don't ask me about it. I can't return it—you're getting it. End of story."
"How much is a king's ransom?" Mack asked. He and I were curious about how much Tiralian crystal was actually worth.
"Those cufflinks together have six carats of Tiralian crystal," Mom said. "The raw stones are worth twelve million dollars. That doesn't include the cutting, shaping and spelling by Grey House, so you can add another eight million to that. That's what your father got for his birthday," Mom snapped and flounced out of the room.
"Damn," Mack breathed. "Twenty million dollar cufflinks. Well done, Mr. G."
I bent over laughing.
* * *
Adam's Journal
If I'd been anyone else, I'd have bought extra insurance and an alarm system for the house—after installing a hidden safe.
With the multiple shields around the house, the other things were not only unnecessary, they'd be redundant.
I suspected the cufflinks were expensive. I just hadn't estimated twenty million dollars' worth.
It made me wonder about the other gifts—while they weren't made of Tiralian crystal, they were gray jewels crafted by Grey House and included gold, platinum and in the case of the boys' watches, chaugis-skin bands. Chaugis skin was highly prized and the species was protected, therefore, only the skin of the naturally deceased animals could be used for anything, including shoes, boots and watchbands.
Those watches were likely worth eight million apiece; I just didn't want the boys to know—they might take them off. They were built to protect their owners, after all, and spelled against wear and tear.
"Dad?" Justin said, bringing me away from my thoughts, "Mack and I need to run errands this afternoon, when we finish laundry and homework. Is there anything you want us to pick up? Flowers, maybe?"
I lifted an eyebrow at my son before nodding. Yes—I owed my wife flowers, in addition to many other things.
"Here," I pulled out my wallet and handed Justin a wad of cash. "Get as many roses as you can carry in that Jeep of yours when you're done with your errands," I said. "I want to fill the pool with rose petals. I can place a stasis spell, so they'll stay fresh as long as I want."
"A stasis spell? That's kind of amazing," Mack said. "Wish I'd known that before I dumped the expired chicken salad last week."
"You—homework," I pointed toward the hall leading to their bedrooms. Mack and Justin snickered as they walked away.
* * *
Justin's Journal
Gina had t
o work, so we didn't get to take her shopping when we went. I had to find something Dad would like—he was picky about his clothes, ties and shoes.
"How about a special box—for his twenty-million-dollar cufflinks?" Mack suggested as we made a second round through the mall.
"You know, you don't get nearly enough credit for being an almost-genius," I teased.
"I have my moments," Mack grinned. "There's that little specialty shop down at the end, let's go see what they have."
They had plenty, as it turned out. Boxes carved from all kinds of wood, plus a few made of semiprecious stone. Those looked too small to me, so we studied the ones made of wood.
That's where he found us. With everything else that had happened, I'd almost forgotten Randall Pierce. Yes, he was a fugitive who'd broken out of jail, yet here he was, strutting into a small shop at the mall as if he weren't a wanted criminal.
I did the first thing I could think to do under the circumstances. I couldn't attack him—that could get me arrested right along with the asshat who stood three feet away wearing a malicious grin.
Dad, I sent, Randall Pierce is here at the mall. I don't think he wants to be friendly and apologize, either.
"Better check all your friends," Randall sneered. Mack growled low in his throat.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I snapped.
"Some we couldn't get to. Not all of them, though," Randall's voice became a snarl. If I hadn't held Mack back at that moment, his wolf would have shredded Randall. As it was, Dad and Uncle Dragon walked into the shop, followed by Officers Francis and Barton.
"You think that jail is gonna hold me a second time?" Randall spat at us as he was handcuffed.
Dad, I think he's done something terrible, or knows about it, I sent while Randall continued to grin at me.
He intended to hurt me in some way. Gina was my first thought, so I texted her immediately.
Justin, I just got to work, her return text read. I'm fine.
Stay that way, I texted back. We just found RP at the mall, and he made some awful threats.
Did the police show up?
Yeah, but he's saying they won't be able to keep him in jail since he broke out the last time.
That asshole, Gina replied.
I can think up better words, I tapped.
So can I, but autocorrect keeps changing them.
Understood. Be careful, okay?
I will.
"Son?" Dad dropped a hand on my shoulder. He'd watched me text Gina. "What threats did he make?"
"He said we'd better check all our friends," Mack answered for me.
"Gina's fine. Can we ask the police to watch the restaurant?" I asked. I worried about her in such a public place.
"Is there anyone else?" Dragon asked, his dark eyes focusing on me.
"Oh, my God, Sarah," Mack breathed.
"Let's go," Dad said.
The moment he got us out of the mall and away from prying eyes, we folded space.
* * *
Sarah lived with her parents not far from our old house. Yeah, the old house was protected with shields; Dad said so. So was Joey's house, where we'd been last night. It was three blocks away from Sarah's house.
I figure Randall's allies wanted to get to Gina and me, but were prevented. Randall had likely named an alternate target.
The minute we landed outside the house, Mack smelled them.
Spawn had been here. Some of the larger ones, too. They'd hit Sarah's house, plus the neighbors on both sides.
All the infected inhabitants wandered out of their houses the moment we appeared, Sarah included. She was dead—only a monster stared through her eyes, now.
"No," Mack breathed, his voice breaking.
"Son, take Mack for a walk. We'll handle this," Dad said softly.
* * *
Adam's Journal
Dragon and I wouldn't do this ourselves, but we had enough allies to do it for us. Dragon folded Merrill, Daniel and Martin Walters in while I held the newly born spawn at bay.
Nearby neighbors from across the street and houses farther down the block had come out to watch. Some of them already suspected what had happened—after all, there'd been plenty of reports on the news, and everybody had seen the attacks from the silent monsters at the Valley High football game.
"I went to visit this morning. Couldn't get a word out of 'em," one man said as he came to stand beside me. "What can we do? I saw those things attack at the football game."
"I have help on the way," I sighed. I'd have to shield Merrill's claws; Martin and Daniel would appear to be Merrill's vicious, extremely large dogs.
If anyone recorded the attack, they'd see soon enough that these were no longer human—the dusting would be the best indicator of such.
I wanted to weep for the young girl who'd befriended Mack and Justin; she'd been Gina's best friend since first grade.
Her monster stared at me now, blank-eyed, waiting for me to make the first move.
I wouldn't be making it.
Dragon drove up and parked my SUV across the street while Merrill and two large wolves climbed from the vehicle. They were halfway across the street when the spawn recognized them as a threat and attacked.
Seven former humans died in a rapid dusting as the wolves and a vampire defended themselves. Several watchers recorded it on their cell phones.
Dragon recorded it on mine, in case there were any questions. I had something to do, however, when Officers Barton and Francis showed up with several other police officers, blocking the street with their cruisers.
"Everything all right?" Francis asked as he came to stand beside me.
"For the most part," I sighed. "The Pierce boy told Justin to check all his friends. He had something to do with this."
"You think he and his father are friends with those creatures who do this?" Francis swept out a hand, encompassing the spray of dark spawn dust covering the street.
"Innocents died because of them," I nodded. "One family because they befriended my son."
"What do they have against him?" Francis asked.
"My son is standing between us and those monsters bent on destroying all of us," I answered truthfully. "If anyone asks, you will not be able to repeat that information."
"I wouldn't repeat it anyway," Francis shook his head. "If your son has some way to combat this epidemic, then I'm all for it. I'm all for that man and his dogs, too," Francis nodded toward Merrill, who was busy placing compulsion on the officers asking questions.
After all, he was too fast for anyone to record on their cell phones, so only Dragon and I saw him behead four of the seven while Daniel and Martin's wolves crowded in to cover the deed.
With compulsion, the dogs in question wouldn't even need a rabies tag. The truth was, however, that I could produce those with power if it became necessary.
My immediate concern was for Justin and Mack.
Then I intended to have a chat with Randall Pierce at the jail. In my eyes, he was guilty of murder and attempted murder. I wondered how he and his father had gotten involved with spawn to begin with, and why those spawn had left them human, when anyone else was bitten or consumed immediately.
That's when Officer Francis' radio began chattering. Not only had the police station been attacked, three officers had been killed and partially eaten by the spawn who'd broken Randall Pierce out of jail a second time.
* * *
Justin's Journal
Mack and I felt sick. Nauseated as well as sad and weary.
Sarah was gone, and I'd just begun to realize what sort of void she'd leave behind.
How could we tell Gina what happened?
Could we tell Gina what happened?
If the incident was recorded and shown on the news, then she'd know Dad and Uncle Dragon were there on the scene. That meant I'd know, and if I didn't tell her, she'd be even more upset.
How do you tell your girl that her best friend and her parents were taken over by monster
s, and then killed by others that most humans would consider monsters as well?
I wanted to find Randall Pierce and show him my monster. Mack probably wanted the same thing.
Son, come back, now. Randall Pierce has managed to escape from jail again, and his spawn allies killed three officers in the process, Dad sent.
"Did you get that?" I asked Mack.
He nodded, keeping his head down and his eyes on the grass at our feet. We stood in a small, neighborhood park two blocks from Sarah's house, while kids played, laughed and squealed around us.
It all sounded so surreal—that people had died not so far away.
Life went on and for a moment, I was witness to all of it—the good and the bad. I wanted to cry, because there wouldn't be another body for Gina to bury.
Mom? I sent as Mack and I walked away from the park toward Sarah's house.
I know already, honey. Your dad told me, Mom said. This is a horribly sad day for all of us, she added. Sarah can't be hurt anymore, but Gina will feel this all her life.
She was right. The people left behind would suffer the most from such a senseless thing. There was no reason for it, other than the anger and hatred one small-minded boy could pour out toward perceived enemies.
"I want to kill him," Mack clenched his fists beside me.
"You may have to stand in line," I muttered.
Guilt began to eat at me, too. If Randall hadn't focused his hatred on me, Sarah might still be alive. Actually, she would be alive. Randall only attacked her because he couldn't get to Gina. Or me.
"I think we need to convince Gina she's in danger," I said, breaking into a run. The police couldn't protect her from Randall Pierce's spawn buddies.
Mack ran beside me and picked up the pace—he knew I was right.
* * *
Adam's Journal
"The police are taking Gina home," I assured Justin. He was convinced now that Sarah's death was his fault and that Gina could be next. I never thought to see my son break down like this, but he was close to tears.
Kiarra and I had pulled him and Mack into my study the moment I got both of them home, attempting to tell him that he wasn't at fault—Randall Pierce was deranged in his anger, and likely encouraged by those who held power over the spawn he considered allies. I couldn't disagree, however, that Gina was likely in danger as a result.
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