Fallen Star (17 page)

“What about her double?”

Elias shrugged. “This is the perfect
opportunity for her to retire. There’s a coffee shop three doors
down from Unique Ink. The double could drive Jillian’s car to the
tattoo shop then decide she needs a cup of coffee. We’ll have
Jillian waiting in the coffee shop and the double can sneak out
through the back. We’ll drive the double home and the real Jillian
can return to her old life, more or less.”

The plan should work as long as no one was
watching too closely. And as long as the tattoo shop was under
surveillance, Jillian should be relatively safe. “They’ll have to
wear identical clothing and…the details aren’t important until we
know if she’s willing.”

Elias spun back around and typed a command
into the wide console. Images scrolled across the six monitors,
more interior shots replacing the data. Jillian’s bedroom appeared
directly in front of Elias and Odintar tensed. He’d known they were
under surveillance, but seeing the actual image made him much more
uncomfortable than the knowledge that they were being watched.

Jillian sat on the side of her bed, back to
the camera. She was dressed in a bathrobe and she was working the
tangles out of her damp hair. She must have opted for a shower
rather than the bath he’d suggested. The first sob was so soft,
Odintar wasn’t sure what he’d heard. The second shook her
shoulders. She set the comb aside and covered her face with her
hands.

“Turn it off,” he commanded as he headed for
the door. “And leave it off!”

Elias’ only response was a knowing
chuckle.

Emotions pelted Jillian like sensory hail.
Burning anger urged her to pummel the walls while loss leeched the
strength from her body and made it hard to breathe. She wasn’t even
sure why she was so upset. The feelings had overcome her without
warning as she stepped out of the shower. She crossed her arms over
her stomach and rocked back and forth, tears flowing freely down
her cheeks.

Odintar knocked on the door, but she ignored
him. She’d had enough of his detachment and pointless
rationalizations. Life as she’d known it was over, whether she
liked it or not. The things she’d thought were important, the
things she’d worked so hard to achieve, seemed meaningless now, as
if they belonged to someone else.

He knocked again, calling her name, and
loneliness consumed her anger, leaving only aching isolation. She
covered her mouth with one hand and clutched her waist with the
other. How could emotions be so painful?

“Answer me or I’m coming in.”

She lowered her hand and tried to shout at
him to leave her alone, but she was sobbing too hard to speak.

He flashed into view and rushed to her,
kneeling on the floor in front of her. Placing his hands on her
knees, he spoke in a calm, clear voice. “You’ve strangled your
emotions for days while your power keeps making them stronger. You
must let them out.”

As if she had a choice. An especially
violent sob tore through her chest and she covered her face with
her hand. Staring into his compassionate face was only making it
worse. “Go.” She sobbed. “Away!”

“Hit me.” He lightly grasped her wrist and
pulled her hand away from her face.

She glared at him, unamused by the
ridiculous suggestion.

“Your abilities are amplifying your
emotions. It’s going to take more than tears to defuse this storm.”
He stood, pulling her to her feet right along with him. “Now hit
me.”

Suddenly thrilled to oblige, she balled up
her fist and swung. Her knuckles connected with his jaw and she
cried out, shocked by the pain shooting up her arm. “That hurt!”
The realization made her furious, so she swung with her other hand.
He absorbed the force with a barely audible grunt that snapped what
remained of her control. She swung and kicked at him wildly, lost
in a haze of fury and sorrow.

For a while he just let her hit him,
apparently hoping she’d wear herself out. Then he began deflecting
her blows and blocking her kicks, controlling her movements as her
tantrum continued.

Finally, when it was obvious that violence
alone wouldn’t drain her overload, he urged her back against the
wall. He pinned her hands above her head and sealed his mouth over
hers. She arched and twisted, tugging against his hold, but he
easily restrained her as his lips explored. He was exasperatingly
patient as his mouth slid and pressed, his tongue gently
teasing.

She’d wanted to kiss him for days, imagined
them sharing all sorts of intimacies, but not because she’d
momentarily lost her mind. She didn’t need his pity and she refused
to be indulged. Her fists clenched and her chest burned. His
tenderness only made the ache worse. She wanted him wild and out of
control, consumed with passion. Did he feel nothing but obligation
when he touched her?

Jerking her face to the side, she panted
harshly as his mouth brushed the underside of her jaw. “Stop it.”
She tugged against his hands. “That’s enough. I’m better now.”

He laughed, his warm breath fanning her
skin. “Why do you think I waited so long to kiss you again?” He
shifted her wrists into one hand and collared her throat with the
other. “There’s no way in hell I’m stopping now.” Their gazes
locked, hers wide and uncertain, his glowing with passionate
promise. He tensed and frustration hardened his expression. “Unless
this really isn’t what you want.”

“It is.” The admission sent carnal hunger
twisting through her abdomen. “But why’d you change your mind?”

“I didn’t. I’ve known this would happen
since we first met. I was just waiting until you were ready.”
Before she could argue further, his mouth covered hers again. This
time all hesitation was gone. He tilted her head to a better angle
and deepened the kiss.

Parting for him, she greeted his tongue with
the warmth of hers. She inhaled his breath, intoxicated by his
spicy-fresh scent. She’d dreamed of this, imagined it over and over
as they trained. They weren’t harming anyone with this indulgence
and she refused to feel regret.

He tore his shirt off over his head,
separating their mouths for just a moment. The kiss was even more
intense when their lips found each other again. She wanted to touch
him, needed to feel the bunch and flex of his muscles beneath her
eager fingers, but he refused to release her hands. She pulled
against his hold, making a disapproving sound in her throat as his
tongue moved in her mouth.

If you touch me right now,
gennari
, this will be over before it’s begun.

There was that word again. It was obviously
an endearment, but she’d have to ask him if it had an exact
translation. Later. Much, much later.

If you lose control, we’ll just start
over.
She kept tugging and he finally let go. Rather than going
straight for his jeans, she stoked her way along his neck, across
his shoulders and down his arms. Every inch of his body was honed
to perfection, yet his skin was incredibly soft. She squeezed his
rock-hard biceps and shivered, immediately imagining another body
part that was equally hard.

With frantic urgency, he disentangled her
belt and tore open the front of her robe. Then he bent to her
breasts and closed his lips around one nipple as he worked the
other with his fingertips. She arched, savoring the firm suction of
his mouth, feeling it all the way to her clit. They’d barely begun
and already her body was thrumming, threatening to combust.

His mouth switched to the other side as his
hands explored her straining body. She wanted his touch everywhere
all at the same time and she couldn’t stop touching him. It was as
if they fed off each other, as if they’d been starving for years.
He grasped her hips and rocked against her, showing her just how
right her imagination had been. He was long and hard, more than
ready to fill her emptiness.

He lifted his head and looked at her, his
breathing as ragged as hers. “Gods, I need inside you.”

She was too keyed up for subtleties. With
nearly violent motions, she unfastened his jeans and freed his
erection, stroking the shaft boldly from base to tip. “Now. Put it
in me now!”

Firmly grasping her waist, he slid her up
the wall. She braced herself against his shoulders and wrapped her
legs around his hips. His tip found her slick entrance and then he
paused and looked into her eyes. He didn’t say anything, but
sapphire rings warned of his consuming passion, his need to
possess.

She groaned, trembling as anticipation
coiled through her, amplifying the emptiness. Her body was a
reflection of her life. Her old world had been hollowed out,
ruthlessly emptied by forces beyond her control. Now she was ready
for new experiences, new challenges and new companions. Slowly, oh
so slowly, he lowered her onto his cock, filling her inch by
incredible inch. She stared into his eyes as he pushed deeper and
deeper into her body. This was just sex, a much needed release of
pent-up emotions. So why did it feel so different, so
important?

A knowing smile curved his lips as his
pelvis pressed against hers. He didn’t move, didn’t thrust wildly
as she’d expected. Instead he widened his stance and eased his hand
between their bodies. He pressed against her belly, accenting the
fullness inside her. She wasn’t sure what he was doing until his
thumb found her clit. She gasped then shivered as he caressed the
sensitive nub.

“Squeeze me.” He whispered the command
against her parted lips.

She tightened her inner muscles and he
echoed her groan. His thumb circled her clit, sending mini-tremors
vibrating through her core. It all felt wonderful, yet she wanted
more, needed the strong slide of him in and out and against her.
“Please,” she cried. “I need you to move.”

“Then let go. I’m not moving until you
come.”

With a frustrated hiss, she pressed her head
against the wall and closed her eyes.

“No. Look at me. Offer me your
pleasure.”

She’d never responded well to sexual
commands, but her body didn’t seem to care. Her core tensed,
rippling with the start of an unexpected orgasm. She opened her
eyes and his finger joined his thumb, applying pressure with a
careful pinch.

The pleasure burst deep inside her, flowing
along her inner muscles in a series of rhythmic clenches. She rode
the wave gladly, instinctively reaching for his mind.

That’s right.
She felt his excitement
responding to hers.
Share it with me, love. Let go.

Before the last spasm eased, he pulled his
hips back and drove his shaft deep into her. She gasped and
clutched his shoulders, riding the pleasure to an even high peak.
He caught the back of one knee and spread her legs so he could move
fast and hard between her thighs.

She felt off balance and out of control, so
she wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him helplessly.
Their faces were side by side now as he drove into her again and
again. He took her with hard, deep thrusts, filling her completely
with each stroke.

Her body responded to his skill and the
demand with which he moved, but her mind resisted the penetrating
intimacy of their link. She wasn’t afraid of him, knew he would
never harm her, but she wasn’t ready to share herself so completely
with someone else.

His hands shifted to her ass and he thrust
his entire length into her pulsing core. For just a moment his
energy blazed into her mind, consuming and possessive,
yet…beautiful. Then he withdrew from her mind and pulled out of her
body, spilling his seed against her belly.

She gasped and bit back a disappointed cry.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she whispered. “I’m protected.”
Against pregnancy sure, but what about STDs? Safe sex practices had
been the furthest thing from her mind as she ripped open his jeans
and begged for him to put it inside her.

Shame chased a shiver down her spine. Was
this how it happened with her mother? One moment of booze-induced
weakness and her life changed forever?

“The concerns of humans don’t apply to us.
We both have Bilarrian blood. Each time we join, our link will
expand, even if I don’t come inside you. If I do, the expansion
will happen that much faster.” He wrapped his arms around her as he
pulled her away from the wall. “Judging from your reaction just
now, I didn’t think you’d welcome a deeper bond.”

Clinging to him more to hide her face than
out of any fear that he’d drop her, she tried to figure out why his
statement stung. She
had
retreated from their connection and
he didn’t sound angry, just disappointed. Still, the observation
made her feel like a coward. She’d freely offered her body, yet
blocked his access to her emotions. It was a strange dynamic,
nearly backward from what she’d experienced in the past. And the
past dynamic had been incredibly hurtful. He was the one who should
be upset.

He set her down on the bed and hurried to
the bathroom. She was looking around for a box of tissues when he
returned with a wet cloth. Rather than hand it to her, he wiped his
seed off her skin with obvious disappointment. With each gentle
swipe of the cloth, her heart broke a little more.

“I’m sorry.” The word slipped past her lips
before she could stop them. A few minutes ago they’d both been
breathless with pleasure. How had the mood turned so dark so
quickly?

He tossed the washcloth in the general
direction of the bathroom and crawled onto the bed. Without looking
at her, he lay on his back and folded his hands behind his head.
“You have no reason to apologize. If anything, the fault is mine.
My lack of control made you feel guilty and that was not my
intention.”

The formality with which he spoke revealed
more than his words. His Mystic mask was firmly in place, but he
was obviously pissed. Well, maybe not pissed but upset.