Bastion: O-Men: Liege’s Legion

by Elaine Levine

  Selena wrapped her hands around his big arm and held him tightly to her. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  Bastion closed his eyes, centering himself. He opened his energy to hers until they vibrated at the same resonance level. Once they were connected, he called up her memory of that day, in just the same way he would call up one of his own memories.

  He had to work to keep himself calm. Just seeing Flynn near Selena was enough to sever the link he’d opened. Second by second, he saw the whole event from her perspective, all of it downloaded to him at hyper-speed. He felt her fear, her absolute desire to live.

  She was a freshman at her prep school. She’d joined a cross-country track team before the school year started, and to her surprise, she’d actually been enjoying it. But her focus on sports had impacted her academics, so she’d stayed after one day to do some catch-up.

  The boys were in the library—the ones who’d been eyeing her since the school year started, staying as student after student packed up and left. She tried to ignore them, but they openly stared at her.

  Unnerved, she gathered her things and left. She thought briefly about going outside, but her mom wouldn’t be there for a while, and she’d be even more exposed waiting by herself.

  Instead, she walked as calmly as she could, then turned down the hallway where the girls’ bathroom was. It had a lock on the door, didn’t it? She could wait out the time until her mom came to get her there.

  She walked, then jogged, then ran to the bathroom. She hadn’t been fast enough. She saw the boys follow her as she stepped inside.

  There was no lock on the door. She leaned against it, hoping they were just trying to scare her and would give up when they couldn’t get inside. It worked for a moment, then they both pushed against the door, knocking her down.

  She scooted backward, deeper into the bathroom as they stood over her, laughing. Though she’d never met the boys, she knew of them. They were on the football team. Their families were wealthy. They acted like kings of the school. Oliver Jensen had blond hair, deep blue eyes, an oval face. His friend, Toby Elliot, had dark hair and blue eyes with a face that was rounder.

  Evil shone from their pretty eyes. Selena was terrified. She scrambled to her feet and swung her backpack at them, missing them. It hit the large mirror that spanned the length of the sinks, cracking it. That enraged them. One grabbed her neck and smashed her head into the broken mirror.

  The impact left her stunned. They pushed her down and began ripping at her clothes. One sat at her head while the other destroyed her life. They took turns.

  When she could get a breath from pressure around her neck, she flailed out to her side, searching for something to fight back with. Her hand grazed a big glass shard. She sliced up at the guy holding her head and neck, cutting him multiple times before slashing the shard down at the skull of the guy between her legs.

  They screamed and let her go, but not before kicking and punching her, leaving her broken on the floor with all the mirror shards.

  She wasn’t certain how much time passed before she was able to gather herself up. Blood was everywhere, real and mirrored. She was covered in it. Hers and theirs. She put her clothes back together. She couldn’t stay in there. What if they came back?

  She grabbed the big shard of glass. There was something next to it on the floor. A glob of flesh. She picked it up, not knowing if it was from the guy whose face she’d cut or from herself.

  She caught her reflection in what remained of the big mirror. She was bleeding from a thousand nicks and cuts. And down there, between her legs. She was dimly aware of her body hurting, but the primary objective she had at the moment wasn’t to tend to herself—it was to get somewhere safe.

  But where would that be? The library was locked. The school would soon be locked down for the night. Maybe someone was in the main office, but God, it was long walk to that end of the school.

  She opened the bathroom door and peeked into the hallway. No one was there. No one was anywhere. What if she was locked here in the school with them?

  She was vaguely aware of crying as she made her way painfully down the long hall. When she turned the corner, a third of the football team was there, laughing and pointing at her, calling her terrible things. Rape bait. She looked for the two boys who’d attacked her but didn’t see them. At least their cruel behavior wasn’t a physical attack. Insults wouldn’t kill her. She forced herself to walk past them. The first adult she saw was the janitor, wheeling his mop out of one of the classrooms.

  He dropped everything and rushed over to help her. She collapsed when she saw him, knowing help was soon to arrive. He caught her and carried her, running to the office.

  He was talking to her, keeping his voice steady and strong. She couldn’t really make out what he was saying, so she kept asking him to call her mom. He got her to the nurse’s station. Sitting next to her on the bed, he tried to hold her hand, but both were clenched around the things she’d brought from the bathroom.

  He and the nurse tried to get her to open her hands. She just gripped them tighter. Blood seeped from the hand that held the mirror shard.

  Her mom was there suddenly. Crying and holding her face, checking her body with her hands. Castigating the school personnel. It was her mom who finally was able to get Selena to open her hands. She gently lifted the glass from her hand as the nurse stuck a wad of gauze there and squeezed.

  And then her mom got her to open her other hand. Everyone encircling the cot went quiet. The assistant principal found a plastic bag and collected it from her palm, saying it would be evidence.

  31

  So that was where she’d gotten the term “rape bait” from. An innocent young girl, in a bad state of shock—of course she would internalize such an insult. It killed him that his beautiful, brilliant, resilient light thought of her body in such an awful way.

  Bastion slowly separated himself from her, keeping their energies calm as he regained his own boundaries. The whole memory retrieval had taken less than five minutes. He’d seen everything in nonverbal knowings—the fight, the broken glass, the attack, the aftermath, the ambulance. Selena’s persistent shock. Her mother’s fury. He loved that woman too. If he ever got the chance to meet her, he’d give her a huge hug. She had stood by her daughter unfalteringly.

  He let a few more minutes pass before taking a deep breath, signaling to Selena that the process was finished.

  She looked up at him, her face pale. “Did it work?”

  Bastion nodded. “I know why Flynn’s coming after you.”

  “Because I scarred him.”

  “No. Because you lived. He’s attacked a lot of women since you, but you’re the only one still alive. What happened after the attack?” he asked.

  “My parents sued Oliver—Flynn—his family, the school, just about everyone and anyone even remotely involved. Somehow, the whole town turned against us. I don’t really understand how that happened. Evidence was lost. The DNA samples were corrupted. The case didn’t go anywhere. My parents weren’t easily cowed; something bad made them drop the case. We moved several times after that. My dad kept losing his jobs. My mom couldn’t find work. It wasn’t until a few months ago, when Greer compiled a stack of background info on all of us, that I learned the Omnis had been destroying my parents’ lives—because of me. It’s been twelve years since it happened, and the shadow of it has been with me the whole time.”

  Bastion was struggling to control his fury. “Do you know why you’ve been calling yourself ‘rape bait’?”

  “Because I am. Men look at my body like it’s it an object they can just help themselves to. I’m disgusting.”

  Bastion scooped her up and set her on his lap. He brushed a bit of hair from her face. “You are beautiful. And any man with a functioning libido would of course find you attractive. But that’s not where that awful term came from.”

  She frowned at him.

  “When you were dragging yourself out of the bathroom, you wen
t past a bunch of boys. ‘Rape bait’ was one of the taunts they threw at you. It has nothing to do with your beauty and everything to do with their pushing the blame on you for what Flynn did. And every time you look at yourself and reinforce that term, you are letting them attack you all over, like cutting into a wound so it never heals.”

  Her eyes turned to liquid pools of green.

  Brutal honesty was a cruel friend. He should have kept his mouth shut.

  “I’ve hated myself a long time.”

  Bastion nodded.

  “I don’t know that I can undo that.”

  “You can. It’s just a habit of belief. Learn a new thought habit. Thank your body for protecting you that day and in all the fights that followed it.”

  She studied him, her mind closed to him. “I owe you an apology.”

  He gave her his half-grin. “Oh?”

  “I underestimated you. I didn’t think you’d be so philosophical.”

  “What did you think I was, then?”

  Selena caught the sides of his beard in her hands then dragged her fingers slowly through the coarse growth. “A cave man.”

  Bastion laughed. “You do bring out the primal in me.” He caught the back of her neck and brought her close. His lips barely skimmed hers before he bent his head and deepened the kiss.

  When the kiss ended, she straightened. “I have pushed many lovers away. I didn’t want them to get close to me.”

  He kissed her again. “Mm-hmm.”

  “What happens if I push you away?” she asked.

  “You can’t. I am you.”

  She squinted and shook her head. “What does that mean?”

  “It means we’re one. I’ll know when you need space. And I’ll know when you need you company. As I did tonight. And what you need, whatever it is, is what I need.”

  She frowned. “It doesn’t work like that.”

  “It should, n’est pas? It could, if we make it that way. Who’s to say otherwise?”

  She smoothed the wiry curls of his beard. “So you’d give up yourself for me. That’s major concession. What do you want in return?”

  “Why must this be a barter?”

  “Everything in life is.”

  “Then I will give you the world if you fuck me—give you my world, anyway.” He kissed her again. “Dieu, I will give you my world even if you don’t fuck me. I will give you anything that is mine to give.”

  “I don’t want things, Bastion, but I do want to fuck you.”

  He smiled. Perfect answer. He ground her hips over his dick. “Let’s do it now.”

  She looked over her shoulder. “There are cameras in here—”

  He untied her shoes, then removed them and her socks as he said, “Cameras don’t work around me. I have blocked this room; no one will be coming in on us. And no tech can watch us.” He pulled the top of her sports bra down, freeing her breasts. He stroked the messy web of scars on the sides of them. “These marks are beautiful to me. They are a testament to your struggle and your survival.”

  “If I take the modifications, will they go away?”

  “They may. Not all scars do. Flynn’s didn’t. Some of us are able to get lasting tattoos; some mutants’ bodies reject the ink. Each of us is different.”

  He leaned forward to kiss the web of pain she’d carved into herself. He loved her. He had since the night he first saw her. Waiting for her had been hell on earth, but she was worth every second he’d been forced to surrender.

  He held the heavy orbs of her breasts, pleasuring them with his tongue and teeth and hands. A wave of delicious pheromones scented the air between them, hers mixed with his. He kissed her neck, her jaw. He slipped his hands inside the hips of her tight knit shorts and began to push them down.

  Selena stood, in a rush for what was coming. She removed her shorts and thong. Bastion got out of his socks and boots, then ripped his tee off. He pushed his jeans and underwear down his thighs, freeing himself. He was painfully erect—a reality that thrilled him. He’d been so long without any true desire that to feel such devastating hunger for a woman, this woman, was ecstasy.

  He caught Selena’s hips and drew her closer so he could bury his face between her thighs while she was standing. He slipped his tongue along her secret folds to circle her clit as his fingers entered her slick channel. She fisted his hair. He smiled as he continued sending her ever closer to an orgasm. When he felt her body tighten, he pushed her down over him, sliding all the way inside her.

  Connected to her mind and her body, he knew just when to thrust and when to hold still, and he did it over and over again, prolonging her pleasure as one of her orgasms rolled into another. He loved the way her generous breasts bounced with her movement, the way her hips bucked against his. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her, wanting to feel all of her with all of him. When he sensed her peak had passed, he gripped her hips and pumped a last time, giving in to his own orgasm in a rush of hot release.

  Spent, she slumped against him. Bastion loved the feel of her bare breasts against his chest. “You are a gift to me, Selena. A rare, wonderful gift. When I first ran into the Matchmaker, I wanted to kill him for stealing away my free will—and yours, though I didn’t know who you were at the time.”

  She leaned up, resting her elbows on his chest. She was warm and languid, and he was already becoming hard again inside her. She smiled. He went fully hard.

  “And now?” she asked.

  “And now I would make him his own Gateau St. Honoré.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A delicacy of puff pastry, cream puffs, cream filling, and meringue.”

  “Mmm. I want one.”

  “Then I shall make one for you as well.” He kissed her and made slow love to her again. Their gazes locked on each other, they finished together. He realized he could take her another dozen times before he felt somewhat satiated. “I think we should go to your room.”

  Selena sat up and glared at her shorts.

  “You can shower in your room.”

  “Great. And I’ll walk up there naked, in all my glory.”

  He smiled. “It is a fine glory.”

  “It’s not happening.”

  “I’ll grab a robe from the bathroom.” He looked at her breasts as she was righting her sports bra.

  “And everyone will see me in my robe.”

  “No one will see you. I will hide you. Take your bra off.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

  “Because I want to know you’re naked underneath your robe.”

  He wasn’t sure she’d grant his request, but after a moment, she conceded. “If anyone does see me, I’m locking you out of my room.”

  Bastion put his hand on his heart. “You wound me. I trust you implicitly, yet you trust me not at all.”

  The robe from the men’s locker room fell in a heap beside them, startling her. “How did you do that?”

  “I levitated it. Put it on so we can go.”

  She did just that, shoving her shorts and underclothes in one of the pockets while Bastion pulled his jeans on and stashed his tee, socks, and underwear in his boots. She grabbed her shoes and socks.

  Bastion took her hand. She looked hesitant as they stepped into the hallway. He smiled at her. “You are helping me see there are some benefits to being a mutant.”

  They left the gym building and went up the back stairs to the bedrooms in the southern wing. Ace and Val were coming out of their suite. Selena saw them and gasped, then ducked behind Bastion.

  Ace frowned at his missing clothing and the boots he carried.

  “Hey,” Val said. “I see you survived Selena.”

  Bastion chuckled. “Yes. I survived her very well.”

  Selena punched his kidney.

  “Come down for a beer before dinner,” Val said.

  “Sounds good.”

  The couple went down the stairs, and Bastion and Selena made it to her room without running into anyone else.

/>   “They didn’t see me?” Selena asked.

  “They did not.”

  “What did he mean by that ‘survived me’ comment?”

  “You scared the guys when you chased them out of the gym. They are fragile.” He reached for the tie on her robe and loosened it, opening the terrycloth to reveal her nude body. He smiled as he took in her lush curves. “I want you again. Now. Turn around.”

  They were in front of her long mirror. He stood behind her, tall and broad. Her lean, taut body looked petite in front of his. He moved his hands over her luscious curves, from her neck, down her breasts, her slim ribcage, over her navel, to the trim triangle of dark hair on her mound. He slipped his fingers between her legs. She was still wet from their sex earlier.

  He nuzzled her hair, moving it aside until his face was against hers. “It is all right to do it from behind, oui?”

  Her green eyes had huge pupils as her gaze caught his in the mirror. She nodded.

  Mirrors, nudity, and sex were triggers for her. He wasn’t sure if what he had in mind would work, but if it did, there was a chance she could begin building new, pleasurable associations for those things.

  “Lean forward and down.” He flipped up the hem of the robe onto the small of her back, baring her ass, which was round and firm and divine. He guided himself into her channel as she braced herself on the wall, the mirror between her hands. She was just tall enough that he didn’t have to crouch to penetrate her—spreading his legs more than hers worked fine. He watched her reflection in the mirror as he moved in her. She watched herself too, which he’d hoped she would.

  Little by little, he wanted her to experience her body differently, not as something wicked that tempted men, but as something of incredible power that she gave freely to the one she loved.

  Further rational thought failed him at that point. He was mesmerized by the movement of her breasts each time he pumped into her. He pumped harder and faster, getting close to his peak, trying to hang on long enough for her to get there first.