“And the ritual. Did you hear what they said? Something like, ‘The power will be given. If it is not given, it will be stolen’?”
“And we will flourish,” he repeated.
“It has to be rape,” I said. “For it to work, you have to take me against my will. If you don’t, though, the power is given.”
“What are you talking about?”
I grabbed him by the cock again. I yanked him close to me. “Carter Alexander, I give myself to you.”
“What? Teagan, we can’t—”
“I give myself to you.” I guided him to my opening. I pushed him into me.
He hesitated there, looking into my eyes. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Yes. I’m positive.”
He pushed the rest of the way in. He invaded me sweetly, piercing me with pleasure. I cried out.
He closed his eyes. “You feel so good.”
I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him close.
He kissed me. He started to move in me, thrusting slowly.
Each thrust pulsed bliss through my body, radiating out over me.
Above us, lightning leaped from one churning cloud to another.
“Harder, Carter,” I breathed. “Harder.”
He obliged me, slamming deep into me. His breath was coming in gasps. “I love it when you say my name.”
“Carter,” I whispered. “My Carter.”
He groaned. He pushed me down so that my back was lying against the altar, and his body covered mine, as he plunged in and out of me. Elation was overtaking me, radiating out of the place where our bodies were joined. I could feel something building inside me.
Thunder exploded through the air, rattling everything around us.
The world went bright white with a flash of lightning.
Above me, he threw his head back.
I bucked against him, angling my hips, trying to take more of him, trying to get closer to him. I was lost in exquisite joy. Everything felt so good.
And it was growing more intense as he continued to pound into me.
Lightning splintered the clouds above us, reaching bright fingers down for our bodies.
I put my fingers on Carter’s lips, just like way I had in my dream.
He kissed them. “I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too,” I choked.
Lighting again, coming for me. I looked up as it struck me, coursing through my flesh.
At the same time, my body began to spasm around Carter, twitching out my orgasm. I flexed and heaved under him. He had pinned me down, transfixed me, stabbed me in the most pleasant of ways.
And we were grounded as the power gushed through us. Little sparks of bright light danced over my skin and over his. We were both lit up, glowing as we were flooded with potent energy. Our bodies brimmed with it. It sparked out of us, crackling in the night air.
And suddenly I knew everything. My ancestors had been priestesses to goddess Innarra, the goddess of the sky and storm, a sky serpent, who stretched out in the day to let in the sun and coiled around the earth at night to keep us warm and protected. My ancestors had been stewards of her power, keeping her temple, instructing others how to worship her.
And every generation, one priestess was marked to take the power of the goddess and to share it with her partner. The partner she would meet for the first time in dreams. They were marked for each other, soul mates who completed each other.
In the ritual, they would become one, both physically and magically, and Innarra would bless them, giving them power beyond their wildest dreams. They would use that power to give joy to others, to please the people, to protect them, and to delight.
But at some point, it all went wrong.
Invaders came from another country. When one of the priestesses dreamed of the invader as her lover, he was torn between his love for the priestess and his duty to his men. And at last, they forced him to bastardize the ritual, to rape the priestess and to steal the power. They stole the symbol of Innarra as well. They called themselves the Scales and the Fangs, and for hundreds of years, they stole power from my ancestors.
Carter and I had broken the cycle. We had restored the ritual to its original purpose. I had given myself to him freely. And now we were both filled with the power of the goddess.
I looked at the chains that bound us. They broke away, falling from our bodies.
We were still joined together. He was filling me, stretching me open beneath him. I gazed into his eyes. “It’s why I was drawn to you. Why I couldn’t stay away from you. It was all meant to be.”
He struggled to catch his breath. “You’re okay?”
I nodded. “Much better than okay.” I kissed him.
He slumped against me. “Something happened, didn’t it?”
* * *
I shrugged into my discarded robe, and Carter and I joined hands. We walked away from the altar as rain drops began to fall from the sky.
We found the members of Scales and Fangs huddled together in the amphitheater.
We halted at the top of the bowl and looked down on them.
“Innarra is displeased,” I said. “You have stolen her power when she would have given it freely. You have raped her priestesses and destroyed their minds. You have treated her poorly, and she is angry.”
Carter and I raised our joined hands above our heads.
Lightning surged down from the sky, heading straight for Adelaide and Professor Bancroft.
They screamed, but there was no time to get out of the way.
They shrieked as the energy bolt sizzled into their bodies.
But my voice carried above their cries of terror and pain. “Scales and Fangs is disbanded. Permanently.”
I sought out Reba, still tied up and gagged. One twist of my hand and she was free. I beckoned for her.
Carter squeezed my hand.
I looked up into his blue, blue eyes.
His lips came for mine. I pressed my body against his. I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of kissing him.
Epilogue
...two years later...
Carter
I sipped at a glass of champagne in the lobby of our new theater. I was shaking hands and schmoozing with the donors—the people who’d given the money to make the theater happen. It was our dream, and after a lot of work, it was a reality. The first performance of the first show had finished just minutes ago, and the audience was pouring out. I was here to greet them.
Someone touched me on the shoulder. “Oh, Carter, I want you to meet our friends the Dutrenes,” said one of our donors, Mrs. Jamison. “They might be interested in sponsoring your next show.”
“Really?” I said, reaching out to shake hands with Mr. Dutrene.
“We thought the show was just wonderful,” said his wife, taking my hand after I finished shaking with her husband. “I don’t think we’ve seen anything quite so full of life in years.”
“Well, thank you,” I said. “I’m the managing director, but I also directed this piece, since it’s our first. Of course, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as brilliant as it is if it weren’t for the star of the show, Teagan Moss. She’s positively wonderful.”
“You two are involved, aren’t you?” asked Mrs. Dutrene.
“That’s true. I might be a bit biased,” I said, smiling.
“Oh, no, she is wonderful,” said Mrs. Dutrene. “And the other one....” She searched in her program.
“Reba Keir,” said Mr. Dutrene. “We thought she was quite good as well.”
“Reba has a flair for the dramatic,” I said. She was actually a stellar actress. She hadn’t worked with Teagan and I to get the theater off the ground, but when she’d shown up for auditions, I couldn’t help but cast her. We owed her after what she’d been through on our account.
Reba had graduated from Thornfield on schedule, but the theater department had taken a large hit without the members of Scales and Fangs, who’d made up a significant portion of the artistic
programs there. Currently, Thornfield was struggling. It would never be the influential school that it had been. But considering it had stolen power from innocent women in order to do that, it had never deserved its influence.
At any rate, Reba hadn’t been held back by Thornfield. She was a working actress, and she was doing just fine for herself. She was also a friend. Teagan and I were happy to work with her.
“Well, we thought it was wonderful,” said Mrs. Dutrene. “And we’ve signed up for the mailing list.”
“Fantastic,” I said. “We’ll be in touch.”
“So nice to meet you,” said Mr. Dutrene.
As they walked away, I could hear them talking. “I hear that he and the actress got together when he was her professor,” said Mrs. Dutrene.
“Well, he can’t be that much older than her,” said Mr. Dutrene.
They both turned and looked at me.
I cringed.
Explaining to people that you were destined to be with someone because an ancient sky goddess had decreed you were soul mates didn’t exactly go over very well. Admittedly, I’d only tried it when I was drunk. People had mostly just laughed at me.
The truth was that Teagan hadn’t needed to go to college. She was a fine actress, accomplished and talented.
After the ritual, we’d left Thornfield right away, and we’d both begun working. Our first year together had been spent in the city. I directed. She acted. We had a little apartment together. It was nice. But we were apart a lot. Theater isn’t a business with regular hours. And because it demands so much creative energy, it can be quite tough to maintain a relationship.
Of course, there hadn’t been a moment since I’d first laid eyes on Teagan that I hadn’t been obsessed with her.
I wanted her with me. More of the time. Most of the time.
That was when we got the idea for our own theater. I’d be able to direct the plays I wanted to direct. We’d have a small repertoire of regular actors, including Teagan, and we’d round out our casts with guest artists. We’d do work that we were passionate about.
And now it was a dream come true.
“Wonderful show, Carter,” said another woman.
I shook her hand. “Thank you so much.”
* * *
Teagan
I hugged my Aunt Libby. “I’m so glad you guys came.”
My aunts stood together outside my dressing room, all of them a little nervous. They’d wanted to bring my mother along on their trip to my premiere, but she simply hadn’t been able to make it. I’d hoped that I would be able to help her now that I had the power of an ancient snake goddess churning through my veins. But there were limits to Innarra’s power, and I couldn’t heal my mother’s broken mind. What had been stolen from her was permanent.
I had been able to help financially, however. My mother had better care now than she ever had. I called her and spoke to her on a weekly basis. She sometimes had moments of sanity, like the one she’d had one the phone with me during that storm, when she’d told me to go to Carter. They were brief, but I treasured them.
“We’re so proud of you,” said Aunt Kate, smiling. “Our little Teagan is a New York actress.”
“Thanks,” I said. “It’s good to see you guys.”
“That show was a little, well, racy, don’t you think?” said Aunt Sarah.
I laughed. “A little bit. Sorry if it was too much to handle.”
“Oh, don’t be like that, Sarah,” said Libby. She smiled at me. “You were fabulous.”
I gave each of my aunts a hug. “Listen, you guys have the address for the opening night party, right? I have to find Carter, but we’ll meet you there.”
They showed me the address and hugged me again before shuffling back out of the theater. I waved at them, watching them go. It had taken quite a while for my aunts to trust Carter, but once they saw how devoted we were to each other, they’d given in. Now, I thought they were quite fond of him.
I knew I was.
I could go out into the lobby to look for him now, but I knew that if I went into the theater, he’d eventually find me there. We both liked to be on stage in an empty house. It calmed us.
I went into the theater and sat down on the stage. It was empty here now, but it had been full of applauding patrons not so long ago. Now everyone was gone. I sat in the silence, still feeling the rush of all of it.
Carter opened the door and strode down the center aisle. He had a rose in one hand. He approached me and handed it up to me.
I reached down and took it.
“You were stunning,” he said. “As usual.”
“Just last week, you were yelling at me and telling me I had no place in professional theater.”
“I don’t think I said that,” he said.
“You did.” I grinned at him. I leaned down and kissed his nose. “I know you weren’t serious. You get caught up in yourself when you’re directing.” Some things never changed. And Carter was a passionate man. Passionate about everything, including his job. Sometimes his passion translated into rude insults. But I didn’t pay them any mind anymore. I knew how he really felt about me.
“Allow me to apologize, then,” he said. His hand snaked up over my thigh, going under my skirt.
Thrills of pleasure traveled over me. His touch was still able to undo me, even now. I sighed. “We have an opening night party to get to, you naughty man.”
“Do we?” He kissed the inside of my knee. “You know, it occurs to me that with you sitting on the stage, and me down here, I’m really at the perfect level.” He kissed the inside of my leg.
I shut my eyes. “You’re going to make us late.”
“Well, I was a very rude director, wasn’t I? I think I owe you.”
I ran my hands through his hair. “You were rude.”
“Mmm hmm.” His lips went higher.
Pleasure splintered through me.
“Spread your legs wider, Miss Moss,” he said, his voice throaty.
I complied, enjoying the little jolt I got when he called me that. “Yes, Professor.”
He fumbled at my undergarments, baring my skin. His lips grazed the sensitive flesh of my sex. “Call me Carter,” he growled.
I threw my head back and moaned his name.
His tongue found my clitoris, and it was ecstasy.
My fingers twined in his hair, I pressed him close. I surrendered to it. To him.
“Carter?” I murmured.
“Hmm?” His voice was muffled.
“Is it always going to be like this?”
“Always,” he said.
And then he dragged his tongue over me, and I could no longer think.
VIGIL
VIGIL
A Billionaire Superhero Romance
by V. J. Chambers
Super rich. Super Damaged. Super Sexy.
When newspaper intern Cecily Kane kisses a masked vigilante, she doesn’t realize she’s plunging headlong into a relationship with two separate identities.
As Vigil, he is dark, sensuous, and irresistible. His touch skyrockets her to heights of pleasure. As Callum Rutherford, he is a billionaire playboy—arrogant, cold, and untouchable. She looks good on his arm, but without his mask, he holds her at arm’s length.
Sex with a masked man. Dinner with a rich sophisticate. A fractured relationship with a complicated man.
Deep down, he is broken, twisted in some dark, hidden way. Some way he won’t reveal to her. She only knows that it is somehow connected to his obsession with The Phantom, the costumed villain whose murder spree has rocked the city.
She must unravel Vigil’s secrets. To make him whole. And to stop The Phantom.
**Recommended for mature readers due to explicit sexual situations, coarse language, and disturbing violence.**
VIGIL
© copyright 2013 by V. J. Chambers
http://vjchambers.com
Punk Rawk Books
Please do not copy or post this book in its e
ntirety or in parts anywhere. You may, however, share the entire book with a friend by forwarding the entire file to them. (And I won’t get mad.)
VIGIL
A Billionaire Superhero Romance
by V. J. Chambers
CHAPTER ONE
“Have you lost your mind?”
I turned in a tight circle, searching for the source of the voice. I couldn’t see anyone.
It was a deep voice, a little scratchy, but still commanding. A male voice. A voice that was used to being obeyed.
I clutched my purse tighter, reaching inside to turn on my voice recorder. It made me feel irrationally safer to think that I would have this mysterious, disembodied voice on tape. Well, not literal tape. It was a digital recorder. But that hardly mattered. I was nervous, and my thoughts always got scattered when I was nervous, no matter how hard I tried to rein them in. “I prefer to conduct conversations with people I can see.”
Good. My voice hadn’t even shook.
“What are you doing wandering around alone out here?” the voice continued, plowing over me as if I hadn’t spoken. “Don’t you know that two women have disappeared from this part of the city, and they’ve only uncovered pieces of their bodies washing up on the shore of the bay?”
“As a matter of fact, I do know that,” I said. What did he think I was doing out here?
Then it hit me hard and cold in the pit of my stomach. What kind of man hides in the darkness and reminds women that they aren’t safe? The killer, that’s who.
My throat felt dry. I tried to swallow but couldn’t.
I forced myself to stay calm. I’d come out here to investigate things. That was my job. I was an investigative journalist. Well, I was a summer intern, but that hardly mattered. I had my press pass in my purse. I’d come to the seedy part of the city because I wanted to find things out.
Now, here I was, possibly talking to the killer. I couldn’t afford to be frightened. I had to be bold.
“Hayden Barclay?” I said. “Is that you?”
He melted out of a shadowed alley. He wore all black—skin tight spandex that hugged every curve and bulge of his body. He was hulking. Huge. His shoulders were broad, his gloved hands powerful and enormous. He was wearing a mask that covered his nose and face, leaving only his lips and chin bare.
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