by A. D. McLain
She could see and feel how much he wanted her, from the wild desire visible in his eyes to the hardness which was made apparent by their bodies being pressed so closely together.
He lowered his head, running his nose along her neck, then planting soft, slow kisses all the way up from her shoulder to her ear. “Do you still wonder why I’m here?”
“No,” she whispered. She shook her head. “But we can’t do this. I can’t—”
“Why?” he demanded as his teeth nibbled at the skin on her neck. “Because you can’t let yourself get close to anyone? I know where you’re coming from.” He gazed down at her lustfully, rubbing his nose along the side of her face, his tongue darting out to lick the tender skin on her neck. “None of that matters here and now. Forget about all of that and just tell me the truth. Do you want me?”
“Yes,” she answered truthfully. A shiver erupted and ran from her neck down to her toes. A soft moan escaped her lips just before David captured them with his own. The kiss was frantic and powerful, and she gave herself up to the moment, shoving all her worries and uncertainties to one side. She slipped her hands under the edge of his shirt, clutching his back, and he pressed against her even more firmly. She couldn’t get enough of him. She needed to touch every inch of him with both her fingers and her lips.
“We… should get… out of the rain,” he muttered between kisses.
“Who cares about the rain?” she asked in a husky voice, fueled by passion and the growing presence of the wolf within her. She wanted this. She wanted David to be her mate. She recognized now, that their spirits belonged to each other. She knew it as truth, to the core of her soul.
She kissed his lips, his face, and his neck, devouring him.
A moan escaped David’s lips. Nicole was driving him crazy. He secured her lips with his own and lifted her up in his arms. She released a surprised sound against his lips before she wrapped her legs around his waist.
One after the other she shook of his jacket… then her own… then her shirt, desperate to feel his lips against her bare skin.
One look at Nicole’s lacy black bra and David knew he was losing control. He ran kisses across her neck and arms, stopping to suckle against a few interesting spots along the way. Nicole threw her head back and moaned. David moved on to her breasts, kissing, nibbling, and licking every available inch.
Nicole unhooked her bra and tossed it onto the pile of clothing gathering on the ground. David buried his face between her breasts for a moment before taking one nipple into his mouth. He sucked and teased at it with both his tongue and teeth eliciting a long moan from Nicole. Then he moved to the other breast, giving it the same treatment.
“I want to feel your skin against mine,” Nicole demanded, her voice breathless.
David looked up at her with passion glazed eyes. “As you wish.”
He carefully set her down on her feet and once he was certain she was steady he took off his shirt, spreading it and the other discarded clothing out on the ground.
He pulled Nicole into his arms again, reveling in the sensation of her naked breasts against his bare chest. They kissed each other wildly, intensely, both experiencing a depth of passion they’d never had before. Nicole’s legs weakened several times, but David kept her from falling, holding her securely. He kissed her neck again, sending waves of pleasure coursing through her body. Flicking his tongue over her skin, he took one breast in his hand, slowly plucking at the sensitive nipple. His hips ground back and forth, pressing his hardness against her, and she trembled with desire. With exquisite tenderness, he lowered her down onto the clothes he’d laid out on the ground, dropping down on top of her. Nicole wrapped her legs around him, pulling him even closer.
“I want you so bad,” she moaned. David moved down along her body with his lips, until she was squirming uncontrollably. Peeking up at her mischievously, he removed her pants, kissing her legs as he pulled the sopping material down. Then he licked and kissed at the skin above her panties, removing them painfully slowly. His mouth moved lower, and lower again, until he buried his face in her. Nicole gasped as he licked and sucked, pushing his tongue inside her. Her body twisted and shook, incapable of remaining still under his sensuous assault. She tangled her fingers in his hair sitting on the edge of ecstasy.
After he’d driven her insane with pleasure, David moved back up her body, kissing and investigating all the way. As soon as he was close enough she rose up and captured his mouth with her own, aware of the taste of herself on his skin. Like a crazed animal, she kissed his face, his neck, his chest. She circled one nipple with her tongue before nibbling at it and sucking it into her mouth. Then she moved across to the other nipple, giving it the same treatment. She explored his entire chest with her lips and tongue before moving downward.
Her hands shook as she removed his pants and underwear. She held his hardness in one hand and experimentally flicked her tongue over the tip. David moaned, and her lips curved into a smile. She lowered her head and took him into her mouth, sucking, licking and teasing, as his hips moved beneath her.
After several minutes of Nicole’s sweet torture, David could take no more. He pulled her up and rolled back over the top of her. Kissing her powerfully, he slipped a hand between her legs, teasing her with his fingers as he’d done with his lips and tongue earlier. Slowly, he pressed one finger inside her. Nicole’s arms tightened around him and he began to move his finger in and out, feeling her grow wetter with every sweet. He slipped a second finger inside her and she kissed his mouth and face, growing more frantic by the second.
David pushed deeper, increasing his tempo and Nicole moaned. She didn’t know how much more pleasure she could stand, but she also knew she didn’t want this sensation to stop.
David removed his fingers and positioned his legs between hers, teasing her and himself by just barely touching her. She used her arms to pull him closer and he started to enter her. Every movement sent explosive shocks through them both and David captured her mouth with his, entering her fully in one quick, sharp thrust. He caught her gasp against his lips.
He remained still for a moment or two, letting them both get used to him being inside her body. When he did begin to move, Nicole found every movement sent her spiraling to another level of ecstasy. He filled her so completely, body and soul. She’d never had anything feel more right.
They reached the zenith together, and David held her tightly until the tremors stopped, neither one of them in a hurry to get out of the rain.
Nicole was completely at peace. They rested in one another’s arms before they finally decided to get up and put on their rain drenched, muddy clothes.
When they kissed again, it was much more gentle, their passion spent. Nicole breathed in his scent and smiled. She felt giddy. David pushed back a strand of her hair and smiled back. “Your hair looks nice.”
Nicole blinked, then smiled. “Oh, yeah, I completely forgot. Meg helped me color it.”
“Do you want to go back to the house?”
“In a minute. That’s what I was doing when you arrived – I tripped over something.” She went back to the spot where she’d begun digging and finished excavating the item.
It was a dagger. The handle had been carved into the shape of a snake and created from some type of metal, and red gems created the eyes.
David knelt beside her and studied the dagger. “That’s remarkable.”
“Yeah, but what’s it doing up here?”
“I don’t know. Come on, we should get going.”
She glanced around the clearing and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. “Maybe you’re right. This place gives me the creeps.”
Wrapping his arm around her, David led them both back to the waiting vehicles. “Meet you back at the house.” He lifted her hand and brushed a light kiss against it.
She smiled. “See you there.” Kissing one last time, they got into their respective vehicles and left.
“Where did you get that?”
Mark crossed the room and picked up the snake handled dagger.
“Nicole found it up at Bear Mountain.”
Mark looked up at David with a frown. “Do you know what this is?”
“What?”
“This is Artemis’ dagger.”
“Are you sure?” Nicole’s voice voiced the question from the doorway.
David and Mark looked at her in surprise. Neither of them had heard her approach.
“I can walk quietly, too.” She smiled at Mark. “Hello, Officer Stevenson.”
“Um, hello, Miss Cameron.”
“I hadn’t realized the two of you knew each other so well.”
“We’ve known each other a long time,” Mark admitted.
“What are you doing up?” David asked.
“I was too restless to sleep, and then I heard voices down here, so I thought I’d come and see what was happening.” She turned back to Mark. “You said that dagger belongs to my uncle.”
Mark nodded. “Yeah, I saw him with it many times. He had it specially made for him. If you look at the bottom here, you can see his initials.”
She came closer to look at the dagger and Mark pointed out the initials. “But why would it have been up there at the mountain?” She recalled her nightmare, the images of her father and uncle fighting. “Could he have been in the plane, too?”
David shook his head. “I wouldn’t think so. Artemis and your father weren’t exactly on speaking terms. I can’t think of a single reason why he would have been there. Besides, no one ever suggested it as a possibility.”
“Maybe nobody knew.” She surveyed the room, momentarily drawn into the past. She could almost see her father, sitting in a chair across the room. That sort of vision had been happening more and more lately. Ever since she’d found out the truth, she was finding it increasingly difficult to be anywhere in the house. It was beginning to seem like a ghost house, where every room brought back images and sensations. She closed her eyes against the vision, goose bumps erupting on her flesh.
“I have to be going.” Mark retrieved his jacket from the arm of the couch and put it on. “Oh, and Miss Cameron, I talked to the university. Considering everything that’s happened to you lately, they’ve offered you a leave of absence. You can go back whenever you feel up to it.”
She smiled appreciatively. “Thank you, that was very kind.”
“No problem. I hope everything works out for you.”
She remained in the living room while David walked Mark out. If her dream was true, Artemis had been on the plane. That meant the remains of the crash were probably near where she found the dagger. She needed to go back to that clearing.
22
Sunlight gleamed off the dagger as Nicole turned it in her hand, examining it. It seemed almost as if she was expecting it to provide her with the answers she was seeking. “I don’t see anything,” David called, appearing from out of the trees. “There’s no sign of anything around this clearing that would hint at a plane crash.”
Nicole slipped the dagger into her pocket. “It’s got to be somewhere near here.”
David came up to her. “Maybe not. Maybe Artemis just came up here to search for the crash, like we are, and lost the dagger then. Admittedly, that doesn’t really sound like him, but maybe he wanted proof that Richard was dead, so he could celebrate.”
“He hated him that much?”
“From what I’ve heard, it certainly seemed like it.”
Nicole surveyed the clearing again, as always, drawn to the area where the grass had been flattened down. She absentmindedly rubbed at her necklace, staring at the spot. A dark forest and color-changing eyes flashed into her mind. She heard loud crashes of thunder overhead, despite it being a storm free day. A brief vision of the plane appeared before her eyes, made visible by a flash of lightning. She could feel herself running through thick mud, suction making every movement difficult.
The sun-lit clearing disappeared, replaced by a darkened, ominous forest. She found herself running in complete desperation.
Suddenly, an arm shot out and grabbed her. “Your mind is mine,” a voice said. Eyes, colors swirling in them hypnotically, stared into hers. “You will forget this night and all that came before.” She struggled, even as her mind grew hazy. Her energy was disappearing. Her eyelids got heavier by the second.
Light abruptly flashed over her face, briefly shocking her out of the daze. She kicked her uncle’s leg, slipping out of his grasp and running toward the light. The sudden rush of adrenaline left her just as she reached the source of the light – a flashlight held by an old man. Beside him was a woman, who appeared to be about the same age as he was. They were the last things she saw before the rest of her energy drained, leaving her in darkness.
The darkness morphed into light, a brilliant light. She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped. The light dimmed enough for Nicole to see her surroundings. She realized the light had been emitting from her necklace, the same necklace which had once belonged to her ancestors and was said to possess their incredible powers. She was certainly beginning to believe that could be true. She peered up into David’s worried face.
Nicole offered him a reassuring smile as her breathing returned to normal. “I’m okay. You said that a couple found me. What did they look like?”
David considered the question. “They were both elderly, with gray hair and wrinkles. They seemed nice enough. I don’t know much more, I’m afraid. I only saw them once, years ago, and it wasn’t for long.”
Nicole nodded. They had to be the couple in her vision. “I’m positive that Artemis was in the plane the night it crashed,” she said with certainty. “He followed me off the plane, and I think he did something to my memory.” Her head gave the impression that years of cobwebs were beginning to clear away. Vague memories were starting to take shape in her mind.
A faint light caught her attention. She searched for its source, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.
There it was again. It seemed to be appearing from out of thin air. The light from her necklace must be reflecting off something, but what? She moved her necklace around and saw the light reflect in different places. “Do you see that?”
David turned around. “What?”
“The light. It’s reflecting off something.”
David stared closely, seeing faint reflections of light. “Yeah, I see it.”
She walked forward a few steps, ignoring the apprehension which built in her chest this time. She started to see light reflecting wherever her necklace wasn’t shining. A thought occurred to her. “How powerful is Artemis?”
David shrugged. “Quite powerful, I think. I don’t really know for sure. Wait, you don’t think…”
“Could he do it? Could he hide a plane?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know if it’s possible. I mean, that would be a powerful illusion to maintain for any amount of time, and it’s been over a decade.”
“There’s only one way to find out.” Nicole walked swiftly toward the area where the grass had been flattened.
Just before she reached it, dizziness brought her to her knees. David ran to her side, fought his own dizziness, and helped them both to stand. Together, they walked the last couple of steps, each one taking tremendous effort.
Nicole reached forward, touching a smooth surface. Beginning at her fingertips and moving out swiftly in every direction, the surface of the plane became visible. They both stepped back and watched in awe, their dizziness gone.
David looked at the designs on the outside of the plane. It was Richard’s all right. “My God, he did it. He actually did it.”
Nicole walked to the open door of the plane, stepping cautiously inside. Part of the interior looked as if it had been scorched by fire. She remembered the fire she saw in her nightmare. Everywhere she looked, it seemed as if she was seeing ghosts, as images from the present and past overlapped. Her feet brought her to a seat near the middle of the plane. She sat down, feelin
g like she’d just entered someone else’s body.
The interior of the plane darkened. The rain was coming down hard. She jumped when another crash of thunder sounded outside. Her father appeared from the front of the plane and wrenched her uncle up from the floor. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You just killed a man!” Her father motioned to the pilot’s body, crumpled on the floor. “You could have killed us all!”
Nicole stared at her mom’s still form. She hadn’t moved in a long time. Nicole slipped out of her seat and went across to her mother. There was a trail of blood coming from the body. She peeked out from behind the seat in front of her. Her father and uncle were fighting again. Suddenly, she heard a shot.
At first, she thought it was thunder, but then she saw her father slump to the floor, clutching his stomach. Artemis was holding a gun.
Nicole began to tiptoe quietly towards the door, but her uncle saw her, so she ran. She stopped in the doorway, temporarily blinded by bright sunlight. There was no storm and no one chasing her.
She turned back to the inside of the plane. David was standing beside her. The plane looked different, now and memories flooded her mind. The first three years of her life began to fall into place. She could remember some small things about her parents and her home. She could almost hear the way her mother’s voice had sounded.
Nicole looked across to where she’d seen her parents, but all she saw now was dried blood. “That’s their blood.” Her voice shook a little. “He must have moved the bodies.”
“All but one.”
Nicole looked at him questioningly, then she remembered the pilot. David blocked her from seeing the front of the plane’s interior. “It’s better if you don’t look. It appears he was shot in the head.”
She nodded. “Artemis had a gun. I think it was an accident, thought. He was fighting with my father.”
“I know.” She could hear amazement in his voice. “I could see everything you saw.”
“You did? Is that normal?”
“No,” He shook his head. “It’s never happened to me before, but we have a very strong connection, and the vision had a lot of raw emotion behind it.”