Deadly Lover (33 page)

She heard him move away, then return, and warmer air brushed across her rapidly chilling body. She forced her eyes to focus and tipped her head to where she could see him. He stood at the foot of the bed, stripping off his trousers. His cock jutted up, hard and long against his flat belly. He stroked his hand down the length and palmed the tip as his attention returned to her.

With a grunt his hands fell away from his cock and took hold of one of her legs. Squatting down he lifted her foot into his lap and pulled off one boot then the other. He used her legs to pull her closer to the edge of the bed. Still feeling boneless, she let him. His hands worked at her trouser fastenings for only a moment before he had them open and stripped them off her legs.

Lily finally forced her muscles to respond, to protest, when he pulled her legs wide and yanked her down to the edge of the bed. “Jo?”

He knelt between her legs and lowered his head to taste her. She dropped her question and threw her head back, closing her eyes to savor the warm, wet pleasure of his mouth.

The stroke and swirl of his tongue sent streaks of sensation spiraling through her belly. Her back arched and her legs widened in hungry eagerness. She was aware, but uncaring of the prick of his claws against her thighs. His tongue stroked aggressively against her. Need spiraled and tightened. Her hips rocked and her muscles tightened.

Then everything stopped and he stood between her legs, claw-tipped hands clenching and unclenching, chest heaving with a desperate need that matched her own. She lifted her arms, reaching for him. Needing him. Not only the pleasure he could give her, but the man he was. She needed him in her arms. Terrifyingly, she realized, he was already in her heart.

Bending down, he wrapped her in his arms and lifted her as he knelt on the bed and repositioned them both. When he pulled away again she tried to hold him but he pushed her hand aside.

He leaned in close, his face only inches above hers, his hands rested lightly on her abdomen. “Lily, my strong, fierce, Lily.” He breathed the words on a sigh. “I cannot bear your fear. I cannot accept your lack of trust.”

Her mind struggled to make sense of his words. Her thoughts were on, needing to be so close to him that she could forget anything existed beyond the passion she found in his arms and he was accusing her of not trusting him? She pushed away the haze that clouded her mind. “I trust you.”

He pressed his forehead to hers. “Good,” he breathed. “That’s very good.”

His claws scraped sharply against her skin as he worked his hands under her tunic. She grabbed his hands to stop him, pulling, but she couldn’t budge him.

He lifted his head to look her in the eyes again. “I want to look at you. Need to look at you. All of you.”

“Why does this matter? Why can’t you just…”

His eyes widened. “Fuck you? Is that what you want me to do? Just fuck you?”

Her jaw clenched as an ugly mix of anger, frustration, and embarrassment flushed across her. “I thought that was what we both wanted.”

He shook his head. “No. There is no
just
fucking for us. Just fucking isn’t nearly enough.”

“What the hell do you want from me?” She twisted against him as he continued to tug her tunic upward, exposing her belly, exposing the ugly white scars. The slashing traces where claws had torn her flesh. The scalpel straight lines left behind by the surgeons. She bucked, but he’d straddled her legs and she couldn’t move him. He didn’t stop pulling on her tunic until he’d lifted it over the swell of her breasts and then only to change his grip.

She stopped fighting him when he pulled the fabric up over her head. She knew she could only delay the inevitable. She knew she couldn’t get free of him by fighting him.

She knew if she really wanted to be free, all she had to do was tell him.

But she didn’t really want to win this battle.

She didn’t want to hold on to her fear.

And she didn’t want to be free of him.

She lay accepting as he tossed the tunic away, sat back and looked his fill. He traced his hands over her scars, much as she had done to him, but he quickly moved on to fill his hands with her breasts. His pupils widened even farther. His arousal reignited hers. This time when she rocked her hips, he moved immediately. Moved to kneel between her legs instead of sitting across them.

He pushed her legs wide and adjusted his position until his hardness stroked along the soft folds between her legs then he lowered himself onto her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him. Their rain-slick bodies slid together as they rocked, him poised at her portal but not yet inside.

He started over again, kissing her, kissing her cheeks, lingering over her mouth, and working his way to her aching breasts. He rocked against her, building her arousal until she needed to be filled so desperately she wanted to cry. The only thing that stopped her was knowing he was every bit as desperate for her.

“Please, Jo,” she pleaded.

“Yes.” He moaned as he surged forward. Filling her up, body and heart.

Nerves prickled through Lily as they walked through the streets of The Zone. The savory smell of evening meals being cooked drifted through open windows. Something melodic and fluty accompanied the mix of talking and laughing. The music slipped over the windowsills to echo along the narrow walkways that wound through the neighborhoods. The sound of her hard-soled boots slapping against the wet pavement shouted that she didn’t belong.

They were having dinner with Jolaj’s family. They weren’t blood relations, he’d explained. They were the relatives of his dead mate and the only family he had left. If that news hadn’t been enough to chase away any appetite she might have had, he’d informed her they were also on the Council.

They reached the home of Councilors Tasst and Zee too quickly in Lily’s estimation. She still hadn’t found her equilibrium when the door slid open. A young girl with a wide smile and a zebra striped complexion welcomed them inside then dashed back into a crowd of children playing on the floor.

Lily had expected a sizable gathering, but the number of Ormney, all turning to look at her as she came in, made the boisterous O’Leary get-togethers look cozy by comparison. The ground floor of the home sprawled out to encompass a food preparation and dining area, several small seating areas, and the large, central area where the kids were playing.

“This can’t all be one family.” They ranged from pre-school age to teens.

“It appears Councilors Vaj and Relerin are also here with their children.”

“Great.” She smoothed her hands down the cotton of her borrowed trousers. Her whole outfit had been provided courtesy of Zee, Jolaj’s sister-in-law.

A graceful Ormney woman glided toward them, navigating the obstacle course of children like a skater at a public rink. Her smile tilted in a more conservative, restrained angle than the girl who’d opened the door, but the resemblance was clear. The striping on her face had faded to a hint of light and shadow, giving her a haunting, ethereal look.

 “Welcome to our home, Agent Lily. Our brother Jolaj has told us you have been a great help to him as he serves our descendants.” The words were respectful but lacking any real warmth.

“As he always has.” The man that stepped into place at the woman’s side laid a hand on her shoulder, leaving no doubt they were a pair.

“Lily,” said Jolaj. “Allow me to introduce Councilor Tasst, brother to my lost mate, and Councilor Zee, his beloved.”

“Thank you for inviting me into your home,” said Lily, dusting off manners she hadn’t bothered with in years. “And thank you for providing the clothes.”

Zee smiled thinly and led them to an area where the other adults were waiting on low seating. Lily recognized Vaj and the woman next to him had to be Relerin.

Vaj got to his feet and reached out for her hand. “I am so sorry for your loss, Agent Rowan.”

Lily accepted his hand expecting to shake it and be released, but he clasped his other hand atop hers and stepped closer. He leaned down to touch his forehead to hers and made a soft noise in the back of his throat then stepped back.

“Thank you,” she offered, not sure if she was meant to react in any particular way. Jolaj tilted his lips in a smile and dipped his chin in a small nod. Relerin looked on with no sign of disapproval. Tasst and Zee didn’t meet Lily’s eyes when she looked their way. They were suddenly very involved in the motions of sitting down.

Vaj settled in next to his partner. “This is Relerin.”

“My pleasure, Councilor.” Lily found the words easier with this woman who met her eyes easily and neither reached for her nor waited for anything from Lily. Relerin, waved to an empty spot as if she were the hostess rather than Zee.

“Sit for a moment, Lily,” said Relerin. “You must be tired.”

Lily sat with Jolaj, following his lead. She should be tired, but her heart rate was too elevated for any relaxation. It wasn’t as bad as the scene she’d left at Aunt Jane’s. Mostly because she didn’t give a damn what any of these people thought of her. She was here for Jolaj, but she was under no delusion that they would approve of her. Civil was about as good as she could expect and they were doing civil well enough.

Lily’s thoughts started to churn back over the puzzle pieces that might lead her to the killer while the councilors questioned Jo about the future of the Ormney understanding programs he’d started in The Mixer. She had no doubt they’d be grilling him about the case if it weren’t for the houseful of children. Lily let her eyes drift over them. If they really wanted to improve relations between the Ormney and the Earth natives they’d start younger. Kids were less inclined to see the differences. They carried less hate.

A teenage boy snagged her gaze across the room. He stared hard at her eyes, but not really meeting them. His hands manipulated the small device in his lap and a message flashed in the corner of her com-lens. She checked the message and the text flashed across her vision.
Great com lens! Standard or secret Deepwater design?
The boy smiled and Lily smiled back.

She was sending him the specs when two younger children tumbled across the floor, landing in a heap at her feet.

One of the children squealed, an urgent, panicked noise, as the other shimmered half there and half not. Lily recognized the unstable child as the girl who’d opened the door for them.

The panicked boy kicked and pushed, trying to get free of her, but several of the other kids had been tumbling right behind them and two others had fallen to the floor in their wake. It was a tangled mess. The councilors breathed in a collective gasp. Vaj and Tasst had the clearest space in front of them. Both jumped to their feet and started clearing children away. The hazy girl panted in wheezy breaths and whined in an other-worldly way that had to be distorted from her not-all-there state.

Relerin bent down and began to murmur to the frightened girl. Zee sat frozen like a bystander at a train wreck as her son retreated into a shaking ball, thin arms wrapping around his legs.

Sara’s description of
slip
injuries flashed through Lily’s mind as the air around Jolaj filled with static and the tingly sensation she felt each time he prepared to
slip
.

Jolaj reached down and thrust one hand into the girl and laid another gently on the shoulder of her brother.

“Be calm, Daj,” he said to the boy. The girl had already calmed and her form no longer flickered, though she was clearly not
in-sync
.

Daj’s young face snapped to Jolaj.

“I’ll help Estus remain as she is long enough for you to move free of her.” Jolaj nodded encouragingly as he spoke, but the boy still seemed frozen and unsure what to do. Lily didn’t know how long Jolaj could do whatever he was doing, but his jaw and neck were taut with strain and the others seemed to be planning to let him do it as long as it took.

She surged to her feet. “Jolaj, can I touch him?”

The effort of stabilizing the girl showed in his face as he met her gaze then nodded. “Please.”

Lily carefully gripped beneath the boy’s arms and lifted him free. Jolaj immediately altered his slip, pulling his hand away from Estus until it lay lightly on the girl’s arm and he had settled into a matching half-there state. Together, they
synced
and the girl jumped to her feet and clung to Jolaj’s leg, tears streaking her cheeks.

The adults exhaled almost as one. Tasst lifted his son into his arms and carried him into the crowd of small bodies, setting about calming them all. Vaj joined him.

Zee, free of her paralysis, leaned down to speak to her daughter. “It’s okay, Estus.” She gently pulled the girl away from Jolaj’s leg. As she lifted the crying child into her arms, Jolaj brushed away the girl’s tears with the back of a finger. “You’re fine now,” he said. “Your father tells me you have a new rail set?”

“Yes.” She sniffed.

Lily saw Zee mouth a silent thank you to Jolaj.

The sentiment floated over the girl’s head, beyond her notice. “Would you like to see, Uncle Jolaj?” Estus’s lips quivered as she spoke.

“I’d like that,” he answered. He looked to Lily and she nodded then watched him walk away with the child and her mother.

“He has a special gift,” said Relerin.

Lily pulled her gaze away from Jolaj to focus on the Councilor who moved to sit closer.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Lily admitted.

“He’s the best we have. Did you know he’s the one who found Earth?”

Lily shook her head, too shocked to speak.

“Without his courage our people would have perished on the home-world. Without his abilities, many more would have been lost.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Just as he was able to stabilize Estus, he was able to stabilize the weakest among us through The Crossing.

“His mate didn’t survive.” Lily cringed the moment the words left her mouth. She knew she shouldn’t have brought it up.

“No,” said Relerin without hesitation. “Her fear made her fight his control and she was lost. He blames himself.”