by Dee, Bonnie
“We’ll be back in a half hour,” Brigid said as they shut the door behind them.
* * * *
Outside in the hall, Ethan looked at Brigid and shrugged. “Do you think he noticed that we left?”
“Don’t know.” She linked her arm with his. “Let’s explore a bit.”
They took the stairs to the outside and followed a path to a pocket-sized garden attached to the inn. The moon rode high in the star-filled sky now and the night seemed as bright as day. A small, unpainted gazebo sat in a corner of the yard and they made their way to the secluded structure.
Brigid sank onto a cushioned wicker armchair while Ethan leaned against the railing, his hands in his pockets. Silence reigned for a handful of seconds before Ethan spoke in the Old Tongue. “Do you ever wonder, Brigid, what might have happened if your family had never left Ireland?”
Brigid closed her eyes before answering him. “I don’t think I’d be here today. Nolen would have found Roisin and probably killed her and my spirit would have died with her. It makes the most sense.” She opened her eyes. “Why? Do you think something else would have happened?”
He nodded and his face took on a faraway look.
“Aye. I think your great granny would have settled down with a young man with Terran blood and they would have had children and grandchildren and one day you’d be born in a little town somewhere here. You’d grow up and decide that you wanted to teach college level courses. You’d find your way to Cork University and we’d bump into each other in the teachers’ break room. I’d apologize for the tea I spilled on you and you’d say, never mind, you hated that blouse anyway.”
His voice grew even dreamier. “We’d go to some dreadful faculty parties together first and then, one day, we’d look at each other at one such event and know that this was the night.” His voice softened. “We’d go to my place because, messy as it is, I don’t have any roommates.”
He took a step away from the railing and stood in the middle of the gazebo. “It would be a night like this with the moon riding high in the sky and a soft wind blowing the curtains just a bit. I’d want to close them, but you’d tell me not to. I’d want to put on the light and you’d say ‘no.’ And the moon would cast a blue light on your skin as I undressed you. I’d cup your breasts in my hands and bend my mouth to them and suckle them. I’d kneel at your feet and sip the creamy core of you. I’d slip my fingers between your swollen folds and play you as I play Ceol Mhor and your body would thrum with music. Then I’d rise and offer you my hand to lead you to my bed.”
He stretched out his hand. “You’d place your hand in mine and I’d know who you were. I’d know you were my love from ages past.” He paused. “And you’d know me, too.”
He stood immobile, holding his breath as Brigid’s hand slowly reached out to his, their fingers twining.
She looked up unshed tears glimmering. “That takes place in a fairy tale world that doesn’t exist.” She unclasped their hands.
He nodded. “What would happen in your fairy tale, Brigid?” He concentrated his talent, compelling her to respond.
“In my fairy tale?” She cocked her head and leaned back against the cushioned chair. She licked her lips and took a deep breath. “I’d have you both.” Her voice grew husky. “We’d find a place somewhere in the mountains in New York state, somewhere away from any neighbors where we can make love all day and night.” She closed her eyes. “You’d kneel at my feet like in your fairy tale, but Gabe would be behind me, his cock pressed against my ass, his big hands encircling my breasts, rubbing my nipples, pulling them, pinching them.” Her breath quickened. “I’d arch against him, reaching around to grab his butt. He’d lick his fingers and thrust them between my cheeks.” She moaned and swayed. “Your tongue would slip into my pussy and you’d find that spot, that one dripping, aching, hot swollen, needy spot. And you’d suck me and he’d thrust into me until I came screaming your names.”
She opened her eyes. “That’s my fairy tale. Like it?”
She rose and brushed by him. He watched as she moved away, her hips swaying, and entered the inn.
“My God,” he whispered.
* * * *
Brigid took a deep, cleansing breath. Had she just revealed to Ethan her ménage dream? Had she actually become so aroused that her panties were damp? That her pussy ached? He must have used his Singer talent on her. Sneaky male bastard. She took another deep breath and looked at her watch. Almost half an hour. Even if Gabe wasn’t done, she wasn’t going to hang around letting Ethan seduce her with his Terran ability. Suddenly she smiled. She turned back through the inn door and tiptoed toward the gazebo.
He was still there, sitting in the chair she’d vacated.
She focused, gathering the moisture in the air, concentrating it and directing it to the gazebo.
And let go.
A mini-shower poured down upon Ethan, drenching him. He jolted out of the chair, his hair dripping in his eyes, his clothes sopping.
He darted a look around, but she stepped out of sight.
And did a little dance of joy before going back into the inn.
That should cool him off!
* * * *
Gabe pushed his seat back and stared at his laptop’s blank screen. He’d sent Donovan an encrypted email detailing everything. His response was swift and brief.
Fix it.
He sure as hell hoped he could. He stretched, cracked his knuckles and yawned. He checked his watch for the time and date. May first? They’d only been here for four days and in that short span of time, his whole damn world had metamorphosed into a strange amusement park from a Twilight Zone episode.
Now if only the security videos would get here in time.
“Gabe? Did you contact Donovan? What did he write?”
Gabe looked up as Brigid entered the room. “He told me to fix it. I’m waiting on the videos.” He paused. “Wasn’t Ethan with you?”
Brigid broke into a grin. “He needed to get something from his room.” She moved over to the bed and plunked herself down. She watched as Gabe started to type, his fingers flying on the keyboard. “What are you doing?”
He answered, staring at the screen. “Listing what we know about Nolen.” He grimaced. “We don’t know enough.” His voice dropped. “Damn, I wish I could examine his hard drive right now!”
“But there may be nothing on it or you might not be able to access the information.”
Gabe swiveled around in the desk chair and faced Brigid. “If there’s data still on that hard drive, I’ll get it.” He grinned. “And if I can’t get it, one of the techies at KOTE will.”
“KOTE will what?” Ethan said as he sauntered into the room. His damp hair was combed out and pulled back into a ponytail. “Sorry I’m a little late.” He narrowed his gaze at Brigid. “I had a bit of a problem earlier and needed to take care of it. So, what’s going on? Bring me up to speed.”
Gabe answered. “I contacted Donovan and he left it in our hands. We’re still waiting for the videos and I’m listing everything we’ve learned about Nolen thus far. It’s not enough. What I’d really like to do is examine that hard drive we took and get it to KOTE for them to dig deeper in it.” He cast a long, hard look at Ethan. “What kind of a problem?”
“Got myself a little damp around the edges over in the garden. Did you know they have a beautiful gazebo there?”
“Can’t say that I did. I wonder if—the videos are here!”
Ethan and Brigid crowded around the screen with Gabe as he downloaded the videos. One by one, they checked each of the eight flights that had left Heathrow earlier that day for America. Each had one or more of the Kerry/Manchester passengers booked on them. They hit pay dirt on the seventh.
“There!” Brigid pointed to the image of a tall, well-dressed female striding to the passenger gate of an American Airline scheduled to land at Kennedy Airport at about five-thirty in the afternoon New York time.
“Damn.” Ethan swore
softly and looked at Gabe’s travel clock—midnight.
Gabe smashed his fist against the desk in the room without holding back any of his Protector strength and dented the wooden top. “We’re too late!”
“Can you tell which one of our potential candidates he is now?” Brigid asked.
Gabe scanned their list. “This flight included five of the females transferring from Manchester. If we send the names over to Donovan, he can arrange to track them down and find out more information about them.”
“Like if they exist or are just an identity Nolen created to get him safe passage to America.” Ethan’s voice was filled with steely determination.
“I’ll phone him now and send him the names and addresses of the passengers they need to check on.” Gabe sighed. “It’s going to take awhile to get the information. We might as well call it a night after I’m through.” He turned to Ethan. “Let’s meet in the morning, around seven, okay?”
“Aye.” Ethan shook his head. “Nolen’s been one step ahead of us all the way.”
“But look how long he’s had to plan it,” Brigid said. “We’ve had less than four days.” She smiled. “I think we’ve done amazingly!”
Gabe frowned. “Amazing hasn’t been enough.”
* * * *
Brigid yawned and snuggled deeper into the pillow, her face turned away from the door. Gabe hadn’t come to bed yet. He had looked so exhausted, she ordered him to take a long, hot shower and for once he agreed without an argument.
That more than anything scared her. She had never seen him this discouraged. He had always been her rock, her super hero. Ireland had knocked him off his pedestal and made him more vulnerable, though somehow, easier to love.
Ireland had done much more.
It had opened up a new world to her, peopled with legendary figures and demons and powers beyond anything she’d known before.
And an unknown race and an unknown love.
She couldn’t deny either love. She wanted them both. She couldn’t have both. She would keep whom she had.
She heard the door open. “Gabe?”
“Yes.” The mattress sagged as he sat on the other side of the bed. “I’m glad you ordered me to take that shower, little tyrant. It cleared my head.”
Brigid felt the heat of his body as he slipped beneath the soft, linen cover. His hand smoothed the curve of her hip and slid down the length of her thigh until he reached her ankle and the hem of her nightgown. His knuckles brushed her skin as he bunched the flimsy lace in his fist and slowly pushed it up her body. He stopped when he reached her waist and her backside was bared to him. He followed the fullness of her buttocks and cupped one round cheek.
She moaned and pushed against his hand. Her side of the bed dipped as he moved closer and pressed his cock against the seam of her ass and rubbed his thickness between her cheeks.
His breath whispered across her ear as he asked her, “Shall I take you from the rear first or roll you over so you can look at my face as I make you come?”
His fingers moved to her mouth and his thumb caressed her lips as he waited for her response.
She nipped his thumb and smiled.
Her hero was back.
She turned and looked at his expectant face. “Turn off the lights.”
He nodded and left the bed, striding naked to the switch by the door and plunging the room into dancing shadows. The moon shone above the shuttered lower half of the windows offering them privacy, but allowing the silvery light to slip into the room.
She sat up, the thin straps of the lace gown sliding off her shoulders. She watched as Gabe came to her, the moonlight turning him into a silver statue. She rose to her knees and opened her arms, inviting him in.
He moved to the bed, placing one knee on the mattress. His mouth thinned as he gazed into her eyes. “Brigid? I asked what you wanted.”
She smiled. “I want you on your back and me riding you. Hard. I want my sweat to drip on your skin and then I want to lick it off. I want you to love me without any restrictions.” She pulled down her bodice, revealing her breasts, the fading red circle between them, and the bruise near her right nipple. She cupped her breasts, offering them to him. “I want you to give me a matching mark and brand me as your own.”
Gabe’s breath hissed. He stretched out on the bed his hands clasped beneath his head, his cock, hard and erect.
Waiting.
Brigid drew the nightgown over her head and tossed it on the floor. She shifted, spreading her knees wide to either side of Gabe’s lean hips. She moved up until the tip of his cock lay on the golden curls shielding the entrance to everything he wanted. She rose slowly, grasped his penis and then sank inch by inch until he was sheathed. He filled her.
She felt like a queen with a secret lover, like a goddess seducing a mortal, like a pack female making love to her mate. She rocked on him, holding onto the headboard to keep her balance. He gripped her ass and added his strength to her movements. She closed her eyes then opened them as sweat dripped from the tip of her nipples and onto his chest. She smiled.
And licked the salty drops from his skin. Her tongue darted out and swiped his neck and shoulders. She moved down his chest, following the arrow of dark hair to his navel. She dipped her tongue in his belly button.
And her smile grew broader.
“Ouch!” A strong fist grasped her hair and pulled her away from her task. She looked into Gabe’s hot eyes. “Enough fooling around. You wanted me to brand you, you said.” He rolled her over to her back. “No time like the present.” He bent his head to her silky breast and sucked greedily on its fullness. “Now, take me in your hand and put me exactly where you want me.”
She grasped his penis, lifted her hips and positioned his exactly as he’d asked her to do. She bucked and arched as he moved faster within her hot core. His weight on her body felt so good. The scent of sex permeated the air like the finest perfume. Their panting breaths were music. The sight of his bent head resting on her breast, his muscular flanks flexing as he moved within her, was an erotic dream.
He lifted his mouth from her bosom. “I won’t stop, you know, until I give you what you said you wanted.” He licked his lips. “It’s what I want, too.”
“It’s what we both want. Don’t stop!” She begged him. “Don’t stop!”
“I won’t. I promise you.”
* * * *
Ethan burrowed his head underneath his unresisting pillow when what he really wanted to do was bury his head between Brigid’s unresisting thighs.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Dammit! He still could hear them.
He pictured what they were doing up there. He could see them as vividly as if he were in the room with them.
He was in the room with them. Gabe was leaning his back against the headboard. Brigid had Gabe in her mouth. Her sweet, round ass was bared for him to admire.
To touch.
He moved toward the bed as if in a dream.
Gabe spoke. “We started without you. Hope you don’t mind.”
He shook his head.
“Good. Brigid wants you to fuck her right now. Take off your pants and do it.”
Ethan’s clothes vanished. He climbed behind Brigid onto the immense bed. Her backside moved rhythmically as she devoured Gabe’s erection.
Gabe smiled and sucked in his breath, letting it out with a whoosh.
“She’s got some mouth on her. Well, what are you waiting for? Fuck her.”
Ethan licked his fingers and moistened his path between her cheeks and stopped. “Where’s a condom?”
Gabe shook his head. “Don’t worry about protection. It’s a dream, man! It’s your dream. You want her any way you can have her, right? Well, this is the way she wants you—with me. Get used to it.” He frowned. “Now, take that needy prick of yours and give her what she wants!”
Ethan reared back and rammed his dream Brigid.
She let Gabe’s penis slip from her mouth and Gabe disappeared.
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It was only the two of them in the room now. She grabbed onto the headboard and moaned. He twined his fingers with hers and whispered in her ear. “Tell me this is the way you want it. Tell me.”
“Where is Gabe? I want Gabe. I need Gabe. Gabe. Gabe? Gabe!”
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut…”
Ethan woke up, face down on the bed in a sweat, the pillow clutched in his hands on his groin.
He cursed.
Where the hell was he going to find a pillow at this time of night?
Thud.
He grabbed a robe and headed for the shower.
Chapter Sixteen
2nd May—Morning
“Morning, sleepy head.”
The smell of fragrant, fresh baked goods with a hint of creamy butter wafted past Gabe’s nose and he opened his eyes.
A basket of bread, steam rising from the chunky slices, and a glass bowl with pats of butter sat on the small round table by the window. A pot of tea and a setting for three took up the rest of the space on the linen covered surface. Brigid sat, nibbling a thick slice and reading the paper. She glanced over and smiled at him. “Morning. We’re on page one.”
He jolted up in the bed. “What?”
“The weird fire storm in Carrigclarseach, the explosion at the cave and the destruction and disappearance of Lord Nolen and his staff. All there.”
“Let me see.” He jumped from the bed and grabbed the paper, quickly scanning the article, then cast it aside. “Great. They think drugs and money laundering are involved with Nolen’s disappearance.”
“Well, they’re probably right. Nolen probably was involved in things like that. He had to make his money some way. I assume there’ll be an investigation into his illegal activities. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“No. Now there’ll be humans involved with this. Not Terrans. People who won’t know what they’re getting into and who won’t be prepared for what Nolen or anyone or anything helping him could do.” He cursed under his breath. “And who knows what could happen if Ba’al displays his powers. I have to tell Donovan about this new snag right away.” He flung open his suitcase and threw on some clothes, then grabbed his phone.