by Kiel Nichols
His grip tightened almost painfully then he let her go, disentangling from her gently. Raina couldn’t stop the whimper from the pleasure/pain of his withdrawal. She felt satisfied and well used.
“What have I done?”
He helped her stand up, pulled up her pants, and tried to wrap her torn shirt around her. The entire time he was saying, “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that. I’m so sorry.”
Raina didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t see anything or feel inside his mind. Normally sex increased their connection, but Gideon kept that door shut, more successfully than she was able to earlier.
It was the lack of connection that made her feel vulnerable, not the violence of their joining.
“Why don’t you go take a bath,” he suggested. “I’m sorry.”
Raina gathered him close. He shuddered again. “How can you even bear my touch now?” he asked with a hoarse voice.
“I love you.”
His grip tightened convulsively. “How can you say that? I just attacked you.”
“No, you didn’t. It was a little rough, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Didn’t you feel me? I wanted you.” Raina pushed at the door between their minds. It opened a little. She could feel his guilt seeping through it like mist.
“I love you. You didn’t hurt me. You didn’t attack me. I loved it. I love you.” She kept repeating it, trying to break through the wall of self-hatred she sensed in him.
The door opened a little more.
He broke. “I couldn’t stand the feeling of his hands on you. My own brother and I wanted to kill him. I can’t believe I took you without care. You’re so precious to me.” The words came tumbling out of him as the door between them bust open.
Raina rubbed her naked breasts against him, certain that he could feel the pointed tips of her nipples through his shirt. She grasped his hand and moved it to her breast. “Do I feel like I didn’t enjoy this?”
“Thank God.” Gideon started raining kisses all over her face. “I promise to never do that again. I was so rough. I’ll always regret it.”
“I don’t. I wouldn’t want that all the time, but I’m not going to deny that it was a huge turn-on this time.” She rubbed her soft belly on his still-exposed cock. It began to harden again slightly.
Gideon set her away from him. He pulled up his pants then picked her up and started carrying her for the stairs. “I can see that. How about a hot bath to ease the aches?”
Raina snuggled into him as they headed to her patched-up bathroom. She had to wait until after the danger passed to get a contractor in to update it, but for now it was usable. “Sounds great.”
* * * *
Jensen stood inside Director Cascaval’s office. “It’s done, sir. The house is wired with enough C-4 to blow up a small army camp. I know that Kallan and the other two men are in the building with her. The younger brother”—he checked his file for the name—”Bryce McConnell left, but I know we can scoop him up easily. It seemed more important to get the others in the cell.”
Jensen waited for a response. After a moment it came. “So are you saying that the house has blown up?”
“No, sir, not yet. It should go in about forty-five minutes.” Jensen was starting to get nervous. He knew it took more than a week to get the explosives in place, but he had to get around her security as well as the booby traps set by the private investigator.
“Then why are you here?”
Jensen didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure what to say.
Cascaval flicked a wrist, “Go, and don’t come back until Kallan is dead.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * * *
Raina gasped. She had seen the entire conversation in the bathwater. She could feel Gideon’s stillness. He was doing exactly what Kristano told him to do if he was with Raina when she got a vision. He stayed very still and let it play out.
She saw the man leave the office, then a flash of the man, Jensen, planting devices all around her home. There was even one in the planter in the middle of her kitchen. She didn’t know how he could have gotten it inside there. She knew he hadn’t been in the house. It must have been attached to the pot itself when she bought it. When the vision faded away, she stood in the tub abruptly.
Heedless of her nakedness, she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Kristano!”
He appeared in the bathroom.
“The house is wired to explode.”
Chapter 10
Raina’s statement catapulted Gideon into action. Surprisingly there was no embarrassment at being caught naked, yet again, in Raina’s bathroom. Gideon stepped out of the tub, flicking the switch to let the water drain and handing Raina a towel. As soon as he was clear of the tub, he found himself dry and clothed, as was Raina. He was in the same clothes he’d been wearing earlier, and Raina was wearing a pale-green dress.
Raina felt herself, trying to figure out what she was wearing, so Kristano said, “It was hanging on your closet door.”
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Gideon commented as they followed Raina out of the bathroom.
The magic he used caused Kristano to be a little paler when he answered. “It was worth the magic. I don’t think we have much time.”
“They’re set all over the house. I don’t know how to dismantle them.” In her rush, Raina stumbled over her torn shirt that Gideon had left carelessly on the floor on their way to the bathroom.
Kristano grabbed her arm to steady her. “Take your time, Raina.” He led her to a chair. “Sit and think, tell me everything you remember.”
Kristano turned to Gideon, “Were you linked when she had the vision?”
Gideon jerked, misunderstanding. “That’s none of your business.”
“Not that kind of linked,” Kristano said impatiently. “I mean were your minds linked?”
“No, we were just relaxing. We only form the visual link when we need to.” Gideon realized why Kristano had been asking. “Are you saying that if we’re visually linked, I can see what she sees?”
“It had worked that way in the past. I’m not sure if that’s going to work this time, though, because of Raina’s blindness.”
“That’s all interesting, guys, but don’t you think we should get out of the house before it blows up?” Raina nearly shouted.
“We’re not going to get out and let your house blow up, Raina. We’re going to get rid of the bombs. Did you see where they were placed?” Kristano asked.
It took Gideon another few seconds to jump his mind back on track. He felt like the startling revelations never ended. Every time he thought he got a handle on the situation, Kristano changed it.
“Did you see where they put them?” Kristano asked.
“It doesn’t matter. We have to get out of the house, now,” Gideon insisted. He was rubbing his hand over his scars, souvenirs of another explosion. No one was going to get hurt this time because he screwed up. He headed for the phone to call the police.
“You didn’t screw up,” Kristano said, reading Gideon perfectly. “And this time is different. If I can touch it, I can get rid of it. We don’t need a bomb squad.”
Gideon stopped abruptly. “What if she didn’t see where he placed them all?”
“If the same person planted them, I can find them by looking for his energy around the other bombs. Just in case, we’ll get out of the house before the time.”
Raina stood, abruptly, “Let’s find them. Now.” Her tone brooked no argument. Gideon felt her force the visual connection between them. He instinctively resisted the sensation for a second, but she didn’t do what she usually did. She didn’t warn him. She didn’t give him time to adjust. She just forced the connection. He had done it to her a few times and found it slightly uncomfortable to be on the receiving end.
Knowing what she wanted, he looked at the path in front of her so that she could head for the stairs. The three headed quickly down the stairs to the kitchen. Raina pointed to the pot of geraniums on the table. �
��There’s the first one, the only one inside the house.”
Kristano picked up the pot and held it for a moment. In a flash, it disappeared.
“Next?”
* * * *
The surveillance team sat in the phone company van just down the street from the house. Agent Jensen kept in contact with them.
“Tango one, do you still have a visual on the target?”
The man on the cherry picker tinkering with the box on the top of the pole answered into a communicator on his shoulder, “Affirmative. There’s been no movement in ten minutes.”
“Brace yourself,” the tinny voice came through the man’s earpiece. “There should be an explosion in about thirty seconds.”
“Sir, there’s some movement now. The target and two men are coming out to the front yard.” He picked up his binoculars. “I’ve got a visual ID on Gideon McConnell, the secondary target, but I have no ID on the other male. They’re just standing in the yard, looking at the house. The unsub seems sick.”
Jensen thought about how odd that statement was. Why would they stand out in front of the house if one of them was sick? He began getting nervous. The sweat trickled down his face as he sat in his office.
He looked at his watch. “Tango one, brace for impact. Three, two, one...”
There was no response from the surveillance team. “Tango one, report?”
“Sir, there was negative joy on the explosives. I repeat, negative joy. Subjects must have disarmed the weapons.”
“Copy that, Tango one. Disengage and report back. Leave a two-man team behind for routine surveillance.” Jensen’s voice was matter of fact, but his legs were weak, and his bowels were like water. He knew he was going to have to report the failure to the director, and he knew he was going to receive a dressing down. He could handle that. Yet he didn’t immediately call. He was terrified for no rational reason.
Before he could get the courage to report, his phone rang. It was Cascaval’s secretary Stacy.
“Director Cascaval would like to see you right away.” Her voice was pleasant and even, yet her words filled him with a sense of dread. There was no way Cascaval could have already known about the failed mission.
“On my way.” Jensen figured it was better to just get it over with. Regardless, he fought the almost overwhelming urge to run away. He went toward Cascaval’s office for one simple reason—he figured it couldn’t be too bad. After all, none of the agents left the Center due to his treatment.
* * * *
By the time Raina, Gideon, and Kristano headed back inside the house, Kristano had to be nearly carried.
“What the hell happened to you?” Gideon asked as they led him to a seat.
“Used too much magic. I have to feed.” Kristano looked away when he said it. He was embarrassed at being compared to a vampire, and he knew they would.
“Can I make you a sandwich?” Raina asked, clearly misunderstanding.
Gideon didn’t misunderstand. “He means blood, Raina.”
Kristano almost laughed at the shocked O she made. “Can you get blood from a blood bank?” Gideon asked.
“No. It has to be from a human. I’ll be all right in a minute. I’ll go out and find someone.” Kristano closed his eyes. He was trying to get up the strength to do just that. He’d been avoiding feeding because it felt like such a violation to him. It always had. He didn’t understand why the gods made his and Adder’s power dependent on blood. It would automatically give Adder the advantage. He wasn’t shy about taking blood and giving the victim pain and torment in the process.
Of course the lesson that Kristano learned from this was that there was no way to know when a surge of power would be needed, and he had to keep up his strength. He had been too low on power before this incident and was nearly powerless now. If they were attacked, he couldn’t defend them.
“Take it from me.” Raina’s sweetness was always a shock to Kristano. She walked toward him and tilted her head, as though inviting him to bite.
Kristano could feel Gideon’s resistance to the idea and was surprised when he didn’t loudly object. Regardless, Kristano rejected the offer. “That wouldn’t be a good idea, Raina, but thanks anyway.”
“Why not,” Raina swallowed audibly. “It’s OK if it hurts a little. I can take it.”
Kristano let out a sardonic laugh. “Trust me, it wouldn’t hurt.” Kristano heaved himself out of the seat.
“I assume it wouldn’t do the same to me,” Gideon said, holding out his wrist. “You can take mine.”
Kristano recognized the huge concession being made. He also knew something Gideon didn’t. By offering blood, Gideon was, in effect, swearing his fealty to him. He was giving Kristano power over him.
“I don’t think you understand. If I take your blood, I can always find you. I can link with you more easily.” Kristano felt it only fair to warn him.
Gideon only nodded.
“I insist on helping,” Raina chimed in stubbornly. “I want you to be able to find me and connect with me easily.”
Kristano felt the conversation between Gideon and Raina going on in their heads. “Right now you’re talking, and I can’t hear you. If I feed from you both, I’ll be able to hear it.”
Gideon looked at him, nervous but determined. “What do we do?”
Kristano motioned Gideon to sit in the chair he just vacated. After he settled, Kristano said, “You’re going to want to climb into his lap, Raina. He’s going to have some energy to direct to you.” Gideon looked shocked. He was about to protest when Kristano added, “I could hide the pleasure from you and blank your mind totally, but that always felt like a form of mind rape to me. It’s why I usually feed off women. You’re going to want to have Raina with you.”
Raina was blushing furiously as she climbed onto Gideon’s lap. She sat across him with an arm looped behind his head.
Kristano could feel both their embarrassment and hesitated for a moment. He thought that in the midst of this, they would lose touch with their embarrassment, but afterward it would come back tenfold.
Gideon thrust his arm out, “Do it then!”
“Kiss her,” Kristano commanded back. When Gideon just looked at him instead of obeying, Kristano shrugged.
Kristano grabbed Gideon’s wrist and gave it a long lick. His saliva acted as a painkiller for the skin so that his teeth didn’t hurt. It also had an aphrodisiac quality to it. Kristano felt a bolt of lust and surprise shoot through Gideon’s body. “Kiss her,” Kristano said again. This time Gideon did.
Kristano sank his teeth into Gideon’s arm and felt the warm sweet flush of hot blood slide over his tongue. At first, all he could feel was the pleasure of the blood replenishing his body and fueling his starved magic. Then he became aware of the massive sexual energy pouring out of Gideon. Gideon was practically devouring Raina. One of his hands ran all over her body while he pushed the other wrist harder onto Kristano’s teeth. Pleasure bounced back and flooded Kristano, making his body go hard as well.
After a moment, Kristano knew that he had to stop taking blood from Gideon or he’d take too much. He could also feel Raina’s confusion. She was reluctantly turned on by Gideon’s actions, but she was also hyperaware of Kristano in the room. Kristano took her arm, intending to bite her the same way that he bit Gideon, but soon realized he couldn’t. Her wrist was so small and narrow, he was afraid his teeth would damage her. He could stop her from feeling the pain now, but not later. Instead he rose and moved behind her.
Gideon had already shifted Raina so that she was straddling him on the chair. Gideon saw Kristano take a position behind Raina, and Kristano felt his intention to object.
This is the only way not to hurt her. Kristano could feel some of the pleasure leech out of Gideon’s body. He was suddenly concerned about his mate. Kristano knew the best way to allay his fears. He licked Raina’s neck, right over her pulse. She groaned. When Kristano sank his teeth into her neck from behind, she screamed with the force of he
r desire.
* * * *
Gideon was immediately sucked back into the vortex of pleasure. Because Kristano had linked them, Gideon could feel Raina’s pleasure, and more distantly, the fueling of Kristano’s power. Gideon’s need to bury himself inside Raina overpowered him, blocking out everything else. Gideon freed himself from his pants, moved Raina’s panties aside and buried himself in her to the hilt.
Gideon was no longer in control, the physical sensations running through his body overrode his need to take Raina privately. He knew that although Kristano wasn’t participating, he was watching what was happening. Gideon also knew that it was enormously arousing for the other man, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.
Kristano’s presence linked Raina and Gideon even further. Gideon could feel Raina’s tight pussy on his cock, as well as Raina’s feeling of being filled. It was overwhelming, and Gideon couldn’t control his need to rut up into Raina. Her continuous groan of pleasure accompanying her pussy’s spasms made it feel like his cock was being massaged by her body. He was grunting like an animal, until finally, he emptied his balls into her.
Raina slumped over him, shuddering, and when Gideon opened his eyes, Kristano was gone.
* * * *
Both Raina and Gideon fell asleep. Passed out from the force of their pleasure was more accurate. When Gideon awoke, he found himself, still semi-hard and still buried in Raina’s body. He thought back on what just happened and realized that he should be wildly embarrassed. He looked around, but still didn’t find Kristano in the room. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t invisible.
“Kristano?” Gideon called softly, so as not to awaken Raina.
“He’s not here,” Raina answered, her voice muffled by Gideon’s shirtfront. She had the ability to sense Kristano, whether he was visible or not.
Gideon felt like he had broken Raina’s trust. He took her like a wild animal, again, but this time, with someone else in the room.