The Chronicles of the 8th Dimension - Limited Edition Box Set (4 Books): A Supernatural Thriller Box Set

by Carissa Andrews

  “Not all of them,” Gabe warns.

  I raise my hands in agreement. “True. Okay, fair enough—Mike and Bea are great. Though I wish Mike would say more. I can’t quite figure him out, you know? He’s kind and courteous, which is wonderful, but I can’t seem to get a read on where his head is at.”

  “Maybe it’s because he doesn’t quite know.”

  “I suppose.” I say. “I mean, it’s not every day a fissure in reality cracks right in front of you—only to find out you’re destined for a calling so big it could change the fate of all you know.”

  “Precisely. What do you get off of Bea?” Gabe asks, unlatching his belt buckle and letting his jeans slide to the floor.

  I pause, watching his body move. In the low light of our bedroom, the muscles on his chest, shoulders, and abdomen are more pronounced as shadows cut deep grooves across his skin. Despite myself, a slow grin slides across my lips.

  “What?” he says, grinning back at me. He raises his eyebrows, but amusement twinkles in his eyes.

  “Nothing.”

  “Hmmmm.” He narrows his eyes at me.

  “Can’t I just admire the beautiful man in front of me?” I offer.

  “Morgan, I’m standing here in my underwear. There’s not a helluva lot of beauty in men’s underwear.”

  He grins, but I sense the playfulness rising in him.

  Pushing off the bed, I walk over to him. I place my right hand on the space where his chest muscles convene and slide it along his shoulder and down his arm. Trembling under my touch, he meets my gaze with a newfound curiosity.

  “Well, you could just take them off and let me admire all of you properly,” I whisper, leaning in close.

  His scent of spearmint tickles my nose, and I plant a gentle kiss along the place where his neck meets his collar bone.

  Another shudder rumbles through him, and he leans into my kisses.

  “We’re no longer alone in this place… ” he warns, letting his voice trail off.

  “Everyone is getting some much-needed rest. They’ve all had a rough day. But for us, it’s just Tuesday,” I whisper, batting my eyelashes at him.

  He chuckles softly, pushing one of my auburn strands over my shoulder. Slowly, his hand slides from my shoulder to the front of my green silk blouse. His crisp blue eyes meet mine as his hand lingers in a silent quest for permission.

  I respond by raising myself on my toes so I can kiss him satisfactorily. As our lips connect, adrenaline pulsates through my body, exciting every nerve ending. We’ve been so focused on finding the others, dealing with their inner turmoil, we’ve lost our way to each other. I’ve lost my way to him.

  Gabe is my soulmate, my lover, and my best friend. It was his passion and messages of encouragement that have kept me tethered to the mission—and helped me to feel more alive when I felt all was completely lost.

  And if all of this ends soon…

  With deliberate care, he slides each button open, letting my shirt fall to the floor. His breath hitches, but he continues onward, unbuttoning my jeans and allowing them to drop. When we’re both standing in the middle of the room in our undergarments, I unlatch my bra, flinging it to the other side of the bed.

  “There, now we’re even,” I grin, pointing at his underwear still firmly in place on his lower half.

  “So we are,” he says, his eyes flooding with longing.

  Without another moment’s hesitation, Gabe’s lips crush down on mine, his hands pulling at the small of my back as he bridges the gap between us. I press my hips against his, feeling his excitement grow as I allow my fingertips to explore the grooves of body.

  He groans, shifting forward and parting my mouth with his tongue. Leaning into his scent, his energy, his urgency, I slide my hands down to his waist. My fingertips dive into the rim of his briefs, tugging gently at them. Removing his hands from my back, but leaving his lips firmly connected to mine, he reaches down, sliding his briefs off completely. Then, suddenly he’s standing before me in all his naked glory.

  My pulse races, strumming loudly in my ears, and I do the same, dropping my panties to the floor and kicking them aside. We linger for a moment, admiring the sanctity of the other, and I breathe out in anticipation. Gabe steps forward, bending in to kiss at my neck as he slides his left hand along the curve of my hip. The sensation from the heat of his skin and the closeness of his own excitement shoots a craving through my entire being, and I can’t help but exhale in anticipation.

  “I’ve missed you,” he murmurs, planting kisses from the base of my neck up to my cheekbone.

  I trail my hands down, resting them on the firm muscle of his butt and press against him. He groans, grinding his own hips against mine before spinning me around and dropping me on the bed. My legs dangle off the side, and I as watch him, his eyes take on a fierceness they ordinarily don’t hold. He’s much too centered for it—but not now—not when it comes to this. To us.

  With his left knee, he parts my legs, then drops his hands beside my shoulders. The corners of his lips turn up slowly, transforming into his sexy, smoldering grin because he knows exactly what it does to me. Lowering himself down within inches of my hungry skin, he plants tiny, gentle kisses along my collarbone, then trails them down my torso.

  My breath is nothing more than shallow pools as every ounce of me wants every ounce of him.

  Where will his kisses land next?

  Without thinking—without wanting to—I run my hands through his golden hair, silently urging him to continue wherever he’d like.

  He stops for the briefest of moments, looking up at me from the middle of my torso with his eyes blazing. Then, sliding his right hand along the inside of my left thigh, he parts my legs farther.

  I close my eyes, waiting in suspense of where his lips will make contact with my skin. The first kiss lands on my left hip bone. The next, just above my pubic bone. As he drops to the floor, he hoists my legs up, firmly placing my feet on the edge of the bed. I let out a small squeak as he wraps his arms through them, latching onto my waist and pulling my entire body forward until it teeters on the precipice.

  Without hesitation, his hands slide farther up my ribcage as he places slow, deliberate kisses along my inner thigh. I bite down on my lower lip, grabbing fistfuls of the bedspread as he abandons his toying for more forceful play.

  “Oh gods,” I blurt out, giving in to the sensation of his tongue as it works its magic.

  Gabe’s hands roam freely, tugging, nipping, pinching until I can’t handle much more stimulation. I yank on his hair, forcing him to look up. My eyes are surely filled with desperation as I urge him on to the bed with me. Scrambling backward, I wait for him to follow. He rises slowly, prowling forward like a predator on the hunt.

  I lick my lower lip, excited to see where he plans to take things next. Instead of waiting, however, I let impulse take hold and once he’s in place, I snake one of my legs around his, forcing him to drop onto his side. As I do, I roll out from under him, so I can get him on his back and splay his arms upward.

  “Oh, you think so, do you?” he purrs, raising a slow, self-assured eyebrow.

  “Indeed I do,” I grin, still holding his hands prisoner by his head as I straddle my legs around him.

  “This could have dangerous consequences,” he teases.

  I smirk at the thought. “Is a little danger so bad?”

  His eyes twinkle with mischief as he shoots me a lopsided grin. “Not so long as it’s with you.”

  My smile erupts across my face, and I chuckle at the ironic thought of corrupting my beautiful angel.

  Leaning back, I ease down, wanting to take my time, to feel all of him, to let him feel all of me. To stay in this sacred space—together—for as long as we possibly can.

  Gabe closes his eyes, a soft groan escaping his lips. His hands reach out, wrapping around my waist and guiding my movements as we work in tandem with one another.

  Our breathing unifies, both coming out in short, shal
low bursts and moans as we get wrapped up in the pleasure of each other. Sweat pools in the small of my back and across Gabe’s glorious chest, but we continue to rise and fall with the momentum building between us.

  The entire room—this entire reality—falls away. All that’s left in everything there is, or ever was, is the two of us. Our mission—this life and death, all-or-nothing world we live in—is lost as we focus solely on the thrumming of blood pulsing through our bodies and the pleasure we bring each other.

  His hands roam my body freely as I lean back, feeling the sway of my hair across my shoulders. The intensity builds with each touch of his fingers, each perfectly placed kiss.

  We’re both close—I sense it, hear it in the space between breaths—each awaiting the other before releasing completely, but neither wanting to be the first to give in.

  Of course, I’m the first to finally relinquish control. The first to succumb to the pleasure of the moment and the feeling of our two bodies joined together.

  Gabe is quick to follow—seconds perhaps. After a couple of minutes, he sits up, again wrapping his arms around me, holding me tight and burying his face in my neck.

  “Oh gods,” he murmurs. “Why is that always so—”

  “Intense?” I finish, shivering.

  “Exactly.”

  I rest my cheek on the top of his head, throwing my arms around his broad shoulders. As our breathing slows, sights and sounds I’d been shutting out start to filter back in.

  The hum of the air conditioner, the soft light glowing from the lamps on our nightstands, the daunting mission of the world around us…

  “It’s been too long,” he whispers.

  “It’s been six days,” I laugh, trying to stay present in the moment.

  “See? Too long.”

  A grin slowly creeps across my face, and I can’t help but wish we could stay here in our cocoon of bliss forever. Outside of this realm, things are dark, messy, and uncertain. But this—my life with Gabe, our love—it’s the one thing I’ve never questioned. Not once.

  After a few moments, wrapped up in each other, the tendrils of reality do make their way to us. Beckoning at our proverbial doorstep until the magic between us in the past few moments has faded to a low hum crackling at the edge of our memory.

  “We should get cleaned up, my love. I want to slide under the covers and hold you in my arms,” Gabe whispers.

  “Sounds heavenly,” I agree, still refusing to let go.

  We continue to sit there a moment longer, clutching one another and listening to the sounds of our heartbeats as they begin to fall in a slower rhythm.

  Finally, we disentangle enough to lie back down. It only takes a moment or two before we’re back in each other’s arms. As I slip into the bed next to Gabe, he pulls the blanket up so it covers most of my back and bare shoulder.

  Placing my head on Gabe’s chest, I inhale deeply, content in the rise and fall of his chest.

  “Is it weird for you?” I ask, running my fingertips through his golden chest hair.

  “Hmmmm?” he responds in his semi-groggy, semi-blissed-out voice. “Is what weird, my gorgeous wife?”

  “Knowing what you are, all you can do and see, but being trapped within this bag of flesh and bone,” I say, running my hand along his torso.

  “Is that all I am to you?” he says, playfulness again vibrating in the air between us.

  “Of course not, but if I were like you, I imagine I’d think it would be strange. That’s all.”

  “I may be an angel, but I was a human first. That hasn’t changed for me. I can be both simultaneously, the same way you can be our bridge and still be a woman. It’s just another component of who I am.”

  “But I’ve seen what you really are—I honestly don’t know how your body can contain it. I mean, it’s astounding and beautiful. You’re beautiful,” I whisper, staring deep into his eyes.

  “As are you, my dear one. Maybe you don’t see it, but you are something to behold.”

  His fingertips circle the small of my back, lulling me into a sense of peace and tranquility I could float away with, if I weren’t too careful.

  “I wonder when the others will start their shift. Sense it, even. I mean, awakening is hard, but it has to happen soon,” I say, musing aloud. “The urge to make our move is still there, still very strong. What do you think?”

  “It’s hard to say. Thea and Braham have some hurdles to contend with before they see anything at all.”

  “You can say that again.” I say, the hairs on his chest tickling my cheek.

  “I think they’ll come around soon, though. Something tells me they will, anyway.”

  “I sure hope so,” I say, sighing loudly.

  “What is it?” Gabe asks.

  “Every moment, I’m worried this is going to be it. You know? Darkness is coming; the war for survival isn’t far off. What if it happens sooner rather than later, and I wasn’t good enough to get everyone on board. I wasn’t good enough to guide them to—”

  “This isn’t on your shoulders. Your job is merely to bridge our worlds together. You’re doing the best you can with that information,” he whispers, playing with the ends of my hair.

  “And yet, two aren’t on board and one is still MIA,” I say, raising my eyebrows.

  “Then there’s a reason. Give it time. When the universe is ready, everything will open up.”

  I swallow hard.

  “You never did answer me, you know,” Gabe says.

  I tug my eyebrows in and look up at him. “Answer what?”

  “I asked you what you get off of Bea,” he says. “Is she hard to read too?”

  “When was that?”

  “Right before you seduced me,” he says, his eyes shining playfully.

  “Oh, I seduced you, did I? In my world, it was most certainly the other way around,” I laugh.

  “And how do you figure?” he teases.

  “Because you were the one standing there all sexy in your underwear,” I say knowingly. “It’s hard to concentrate when you’re so hot and half-naked.”

  “You were the one talking about getting naked,” he retorts, narrowing his eyes. “I’d say it was a wash.”

  I laugh. “Okay, fair enough. It was a mutual thing.”

  “See, you did it again,” Gabe laughs.

  “Did what?” I say, again playing at the hairs on his chest.

  “Hmmm,” he says, pulling his eyebrows in.

  “Um, guys. Is anyone up there?” Thea’s voice echoes from the stairwell.

  Pulled from our sheltered little bubble of a world, I prop myself up on my elbow.

  “Um, yes. Uh… Just a minute,” I say, throwing a glance at Gabe.

  He nods in return, and we each slide out from our respective sides of the bed. Walking to my dresser, I tug on a new pair of panties and bra. Glancing over my shoulder, Gabe does the same, finding new underwear and pulling on a pair of black sweatpants.

  Grabbing a shirt and pair of shorts, I dress as quickly as possible.

  “Ready?” Gabe asks, throwing on a gray shirt.

  I walk to him and then down the stairs that lead from our loft bedroom to the bottom part of the sanctuary.

  “Everything okay?” I ask as we reach the bottom.

  “Well, I almost died of boredom waiting here, but other than that, I guess I’ll live,” Thea says, smirking slightly.

  Gabe and I exchange quick glances.

  “So, what is it you needed, Thea?” Gabe asks, returning his gaze to her.

  Thea juts a hip out, resting her hand upon it. “I don’t know how else to tell you this, so I’m just gonna spit it out and hope for the best. Braham’s not in his bedroom locale of choice. He’s not anywhere, so far as I can tell. So, good luck with that.”

  8

  Morgan

  Racing to the backdoor, my instincts are screaming to check for the car. The moment the wooden slab swings inward, I know looking for him anywhere inside the sanctuary woul
d have been futile.

  “Is the car—?” Gabe asks, reaching my side.

  I step back inside. “Looks like he made a run for it.”

  Gabe sighs. “Dammit. Sorry, love.”

  Thea’s eyebrows arch high, and she slumps against the wall. “Well, what the fuck? The least he could have done is ask if I wanted to go with him.”

  “How far could he have gotten?” I say, letting my thoughts tumble out of my mouth.

  “He’s only been gone a couple hours at most. But that gives us a pretty big radius to consider,” Gabe says. “Are you picking up on an energetic tie or anything?”

  “No—nothing.”

  “Hang on a damn second—why did he get to leave? When I tried to go, I got some weird psychedelic shit,” Thea demands, kicking off the wall and getting in close to our personal space.

  I turn from Thea to Gabe, searching his face for an answer.

  Gabe’s expression softens and he says, “I believe it’s because Braham is stronger. Perhaps he’s more in tune with shifting the veil than the others?”

  “Did you just call me weak?” Thea snorts, narrowing her eyes and dropping her chin.

  “Each of us have our strengths. Until we embrace what we are, certain aspects can elude us. You’re not weak; you just haven’t learned to control what you’re capable of yet,” he offers.

  “So, as soon as I master the Force, I’m free to go?”

  “Something like that.” He says nonchalantly.

  “Well, praise be, sign me up. Where do I start my lessons?” she says, rubbing her hands together.

  “Right now, we have bigger concerns. Like, how are we going to get Braham back here? We don’t have time to be chasing him down,” I begin.

  Whatever bliss and stress relief I’d previously been basking in is making a quick plan for escape, now that terror is budging its way in.

  Gabe steps in front of me, grabbing hold of my arms and gazing deeply into my eyes, “We’ve done what we can. We have to trust this is part of his journey. Perhaps he has to discover the truth on his own. I’m sure he’ll be back.”