by Montana Ash
She was evolving.
For some reason, that scared the shit out of him. It was the same feeling he got when she mirrored his thoughts like a few seconds ago. Because such a thing, done with no effort and no intention, only added weight to the theory of a grander plan. Because if she could feel and know one’s thoughts without consciousness, then what did it mean for her other feelings that also seemed to come to her unwittingly?
Like the chades.
Like an uprising.
Like war.
Fate. Revolution. Providence. Many such words had been thrown around since they discovered Max and her Custodian status. Hell, he had been one of the first to suggest it. Now, with all those things hovering at the edge of their reality, he sometimes wished he could take it back. Not because he feared battle or violence. In fact, he truly believed their society was in desperate need of a good revolt. No, what he feared was what the whole thing meant for Max. Because she was pulling away from him – from all of her Order. Her old habit of blocking her thoughts and feelings from them was returning and it was something he was not going to tolerate. He knew she was scared, but he was damned if he was going to allow her to shoulder her burdens alone anymore. She never had to be alone anymore. Never.
“Hey, you okay? I didn’t really hurt you, did I?” Max’s concerned voice broke into his inner musings.
She had pushed herself up and was now straddling his waist, her hands checking him over for injury, even as her eyes shone with concern. Damn, he must have spaced longer than he thought. Capturing her hands, he flattened them over his chest and smiled when her fingers seemed to flex of their own accord, as if seeking as much surface area as possible.
“You didn’t hurt me.” He assured her, “I was just thinking.”
She cocked her head – much like that darn mongrel dog did – a gesture he secretly thought was the cutest fucking thing ever from the both of them. Not that he would ever admit it. If he did that, he would also have to admit that he adored the be-speckled dog almost as much as his master.
“Thinking about what?” she asked.
“You.” He replied, simply.
She narrowed her eyes, smoothing her hands over his chest in the direction of his pierced nipples. He barely restrained from bucking his hips and seeking some friction. His woman had an unholy obsession with his piercings and could reduce him to a quivering mass within minutes when she started playing with them. Not wanting to worry her – or himself for that matter – he decided to go with what he had been thinking when he had first seen her swinging lazily in the breeze, hair glinting in the sunlight like a living flame.
“I was thinking about how every time I look at you, I can’t believe you’re mine.”
***
“Ryker …” It was the only word her vocal cords would allow her to whisper.
The sheer emotion shining from his eyes and the reverent way his rough hands now rose to shape her face, clogged her throat. He loved her, she knew. With everything he was and everything he would ever be. The miracle of it swamped her, as it always did, whenever he allowed his poetic soul to surface. But she knew that wasn’t what he had been thinking – not completely anyway. She didn’t know how she knew – just that she did.
She wasn’t in his mind and the Order link was muted almost to silence. There was an awareness that she wasn’t alone, that she was connected to her paladins, but that was all. No words and no emotions were filtering through. Her shields, which had been non-existent when she had arrived, were now as strong as steel. She could dictate her thoughts and feelings through the Order with the precision of an expert marksmen. And yet, despite that iron-clad control, she couldn’t stop the rush of knowledge that continually battered her. It wasn’t taxing or painful and she often didn’t even realise when information wasn’t her own. It was just a kind of knowing. She didn’t know how else to describe it.
She knew it bothered the others. She wasn’t oblivious to the concerned looks she received every time she responded to a thought that hadn’t been spoken out loud yet. Or the lines of worry that would wrinkle foreheads when she inadvertently predicted something yet to happen. That last one was causing more than a wrinkle on her own forehead because foreseeing when the phone was going to ring or when the heavens were about to open up was nothing compared to the other things she was seeing.
“Max?”
“Hmm?” she jolted, looking down and seeing the familiar handsome features, even more appealing for their roughness. Ryker had neglected to shave the past couple of days and he had the makings of a decent beard shadowing his strong jawline. She wasn’t really a beard person – more of a scruff person – but even she had to admit, the softness of the longer hairs against the sensitive skin of her inner thighs was a nice contrast to the usual rasping.
The thought made her smile and she reached out a hand, stroking her fingers through the blackness, her heart kicking up immediately when his mouth captured her fingers and began to nibble. She squeezed her thighs, feeling his chest expand with his breath. He was wearing a plain white tee and something about the way the bland colour contrasted sharply with his tanned skin and the writhing black lines on his left forearm, really worked for her. It also didn’t hurt that it made the metal piercing through his nipples stand out more. She licked her lips and felt Ryker’s body answer in the sudden hardening beneath her butt. His pupils dilated, eyes narrowing, as she reached out a hand to play …
“Yo, Ryker!”
Ryker’s colourful response to Axel’s untimely interruption practically turned the air blue and Max had to muffle her giggles against her man’s chest.
“What?!” Ryker barked, anchoring her hips so she couldn’t go anywhere – not that she wanted to anyway.
“Oh, nothing. Just wanted to cock-block you,” was Axel’s laughing reply, before he wisely turned and ran in the opposite direction.
Cursing and bucking underneath her, Ryker flung dire threats after the blond-haired jokester as Max did her best to hold Ryker down through her own peals of laughter.
“He’ll meet someone one day and when he does, I swear, I am going to have my revenge against that blue-eyed bastard! His balls won’t know what hit them!” Ryker vowed.
Max sobered at that. “I hope so,” she murmured, thinking of the knowledge which had flooded her brain just that morning concerning her dear friend. “I do hope so.”
Shaking her head to remove the funk she was dangerously close to, she instead focused on the wet-dream beneath her. Feeling a little devilish, she sent her thoughts into the ground beneath Ryker. Small, brown roots promptly pierced the dirt and slowly began winding around his thick wrists. Dark eyebrows raised in question as he tugged experimentally against his bonds. Max smirked when the roots proved to be quite strong. She leaned down, placing a sucking kiss on his Adam’s apple. His whole body jerked as if it had been struck by lightning.
“Max …” came his strangled groan.
“Hmm?” she inquired, tracing a path over his cheek which had once held a vicious scar.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Ryker asked.
Max sat up once again, “What does it look like I’m doing?”
He tugged ineffectually against his bonds once more, “It looks like you’re trying to tie me up in order to have your wicked way with me.”
She grinned at him, “And they say you’re not smart …”
Ryker immediately scowled, “Who says that?!”
Max couldn’t stop her giggle; he was so easy to rile. She was just leaning down to capture one of those gorgeous metal bars between her teeth when he bucked, almost dislodging her. “Hey!” she pouted down at him.
“Not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment, but don’t you think we’re a little too exposed out here?” Ryker waggled his eyebrows at her.
Max looked around her, taking in the truly picturesque scenery of the sparkling ocean, native bushland, and perfect garden. A glance to her right had her laughing out loud; three hum
an faces and one doggy one were pressed to the kitchen windows. Diana, Cali, and Axel grinned at her with their thumbs up, clearly unrepentant for spying. Zombie simply licked the glass. Max wasn’t an exhibitionist by any stretch of the imagination and she knew her man definitely was not. He was not into sharing. Feeling her mischievous side rise, she couldn’t help making fun of him;
“What’s wrong, baby? Not into outdoor sex? You know, Cali and Dex do it on the beach all the time,” she informed him.
Ryker grunted, “I know. Don’t remind me. And I have no problem with outdoor sex. We’ve done it outside before,” he pointed out. “I just don’t see the need to show my arse off to the world. And I certainly don’t see the need to show yours.”
Max laughed, “Ah, so you’re just a prude then.”
“What?!” Ryker yanked on his bonds, growling in frustration when they held strong. “I am not a prude!”
“Uh huh,” Max taunted. “I bet Darius wouldn’t have a problem with public sex. That man is seriously kinky.” The tales Diana told, Max thought, shivering a little.
Ryker huffed, “Will you please stop reminding me of all the sexual deviants living in our house? It’s very disturbing – especially about Darius.”
Max laughed again even as she felt warmth spread through her hearing him call the house, ‘our house’. Sometimes it still felt like a dream to her; the house, the family, the friends. And especially the man happily bound at her mercy underneath her. Suddenly feeling impatient, Max sent a silent thank you to the large eucalyptus tree next to her, and was gratified to see it pull back its roots, freeing Ryker’s wrists. Not that the man moved. No, he just continued to lay there, looking all sexy and smug and fuckable.
“Don’t mind if I do …” she murmured, quietly.
Ryker’s biceps flexed as he laced his fingers, resting his head on his hands. “Don’t mind if you do … what?”
“Fuck you,” Max answered bluntly.
Ryker’s brown eyes flared with heat as he reached for her in a snap, “Well then …”
She evaded him easily, jumping to her feet and heading straight for the water’s edge. “Catch me if you can!” she yelled, laughing as she splashed fully clothed into the ocean. She didn’t glance back. There was no point. She knew her man would follow.
FOUR
Ryker stopped just before the lapping waves met his bare toes. “You expect me to follow you in there? Are you crazy, woman? That water is freezing!” And it very nearly was. It was mid-year and winter was fast-approaching. The water on the South Coast of Australia at that time of year was wickedly cold.
“Freezing?” Max shrugged, feminine smile playing around her mouth. “It feels fine to me.”
Ryker frowned and walked the final couple of steps to the ocean’s edge. Bending down, he placed a hand in the salty water only to find it almost as warm as bath water. Shaking his head, he looked up to see his woman eyeing him smugly – and expectantly. It was obvious she was using her power over the element of fire to heat the water. Although his own coat of arms was not writhing with power, there was a low-level hum running through it. He knew that Axel’s brand, on the other hand, would be another story as his liege tapped into the fire paladin’s element. He wanted to join his woman for a frolic in the warm waters – he really did. But peeling off wet cargo pants was never fun, and no way was he getting buck-arse naked in what amounted to his backyard. He wasn’t a prude, he assured himself. He just didn’t feel the need to flash more than his chest. Especially when he knew there were a bunch of incredibly pervy women with no appreciation for personal boundaries living in the house.
“But … water is wet,” he tried valiantly not to sound like he was whining.
Max rolled her eyes, “Trust me, babe. You’re not made of sugar; you won’t melt. And neither will your pants. But if it makes you feel better …” She waved a hand. Once. Just once.
Ryker felt his jaw open as he watched the ocean part, creating two walls of water on either side of Max and a sandy alleyway in the middle. Max was now standing literally on the bottom of the ocean and was completely dry, as if she hadn’t been standing waist-deep in water just seconds before.
“Are you coming?” Max challenged.
Ryker took a hesitant step forward. He wouldn’t put it past the wily woman to bring the ocean crashing down over his ears. But his steps became more certain as he made his way to her. His feet sunk into the sand, the golden grains not feeling damp in the slightest, as if they hadn’t been covered by metres of ocean just moments before. It was devoid of critters, coral, and shells, and felt soft as silk between his toes. When he was within arm’s reach of Max, he simply stopped, making no move to touch her nor her him. Another wave of Max’s hand, had the water answering her command and the space behind him filled with another wall of water. He was now officially in a cocoon of water, in the middle of the ocean with a goddess.
“Well? Is this private enough for you?” Max asked, gesturing around her.
Ryker looked around, seeing the winter sun beaming down on them from above, the four walls of water, glinting like living glass around them. Max had used her powers on him before – both to play and when she was pissed off. But never to such a degree as this. His woman was powerful as fuck and could crush him with a thought. The knowledge had him hardening in seconds – her strength was a major turn-on.
“They’ll still know what we’re doing,” he pointed out, even as he snagged her waist between his hands.
“Do you care?” Max asked, arms winding around his neck.
He pulled her up to her tippy toes and felt their breath mingle. “Not in the slightest,” he answered her, before slamming his mouth down on hers.
The female moan of pleasure that met his ears was like a miracle. She tasted like chocolate – of course. But also a heady combination of lust and love that had his head swirling with pleasure. His hands mapped the generous curves of her body – her breasts, hips, and her delectable butt. She promptly lifted a leg, wrapping it around his when she felt his palms on her thighs. The action had his stiff cock pushing into the cradle of her thighs, her heat scorching him even through the layers of their clothes. Wanting to feel skin against skin, he pulled his mouth from hers and yanked their shirts off, dropping them carelessly to the ocean floor. He really wanted to appreciate the pretty lacy contraption that cupped her breasts so well, but he was too impatient. He had her bra unhooked and jeans and underwear off in the next breath.
Despite his frenzied arousal, he stood stunned for a moment, taking in the beauty of the woman before him. The sun was beaming down on her, setting her hair to flame and causing her eyes to glitter even more fiercely. Her short frame looked even more petite with the massive walls of water dwarfing her, but he knew she was anything but vulnerable, even as she stood naked in the middle of the ocean. Her tongue peeking out and licking her lips as she literally eye-fucked him, had him hastily shedding his own pants until he stood facing her just as naked as she.
He held his arms out to the side, “How do you want me?”
Max’s smile turned positively sinful, “Oh, my man … I have so many answers to that question, I don’t know where to start.”
Ryker felt himself shiver and then flush from head to toe. Swallowing loudly, he gripped his aching shaft, “How about you start here?” he suggested.
He was thrilled when Max didn’t hesitate, dropping to her knees and taking him down her throat. He let his head fall back, releasing a guttural groan. He loved how diverse their sex life was. Sometimes it was hot and heavy and filled with need, sometimes playful and fun because they were both just plain horny. And then there were the times when they made love and it was like nothing existed but the two of them. Before he met Max, Ryker was the first person to roll his eyes when people extolled the virtues of ‘lovemaking’ rather than just sex. He hadn’t understood. Sex was sex, right? It was fun and felt damn good when done right but he had never experienced the intimacy of the act with anyone prio
r to Max. And to be honest? He was glad he hadn’t until now. He couldn’t imagine having such closeness with anyone else but the goddess at his feet.
Panting now, thighs shaking, he forced himself to pull Max’s talented mouth off, fearing their time would be cut short otherwise. He muffled her protest with his mouth against hers, filling his hands with her breasts. Her nipples were beaded, hard pebbles against his palms, and he lowered his head so he could take one of them into his mouth. Max gasped, arching her back to grant him more access. He sucked and nibbled, loving the rosy flush brought to the surface by his tongue. Pulling back a little, he blew on the plum-coloured peak, watching it become impossibly harder.
“Ryker!”
Max gripped his hair – hard – and he revelled in her loss of control. “Now what, baby?” he asked, nuzzling the softness of her neck.
“I want to ride you,” she whispered, pulling his earlobe into her mouth and nibbling.
This time, it was he who groaned and shivered and he could tell by Max’s wicked chuckle that she exulted in her power over her man. Like he gave a shit. She could exult all she wanted, he thought, as he lowered himself to the ground. He gave a fleeting thought to sand ending up in uncomfortable places but promptly decided the pleasure he was about to experience would easily trump a bit of sand. But it turned out he didn’t need to worry, because Max worked some magic, compacting the sand beneath him so not a single grain remained loose.
He had assumed Max would simply climb on and begin rocking his world, but his lover clearly had other plans. She kissed him, gently pushing against his chest until he lay flat against the surprisingly comfy sand at his back. She then surprised him by straddling his waist backward, affording him a perfect view of that amazing arse of hers – and the incredible ink gracing her back. As Max ran warm, soothing hands over his legs and thighs, he traced the black and white tattoo covering her entire back. The artwork was truly remarkable – Max’s very own rendering of the main character in her graphic novel series – The Reluctant Royals.