Oleander: One of Us Series

by Faulks, Kim

  The lightning ebbed, and was stolen by the midnight sky as Shadow shook his head. “We were being traced. I’m betting it was the same person who unlocked that damn file as well. Harvey said he was traced the second he started searching…they found him…so what if it was her? What if it was someone called Pulse?”

  The dark sky above flickered neon white.

  Tires squealed beside us. I jerked my gaze through the window as the car in the next lane braked hard and fell behind.

  “What the fuck?” Shadow muttered.

  A savage bolt of lightning arced down, hitting the asphalt with a deafening crack.

  I was thrown against the door and then toward the driver’s seat until the seatbelt snapped taut, catching me. The blinding glare disappeared in a heartbeat, leaving star bursts in my eyes.

  “Watch out!” Sixth’s roar was muffled and strange.

  But Shadow fought, whipping the car sideways for us to scream to a stop in the middle of the freeway.

  Darkness slowly bled into the glare. Hands gripped me, blue eyes inches from mine as Tex leaned close. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t grasp the sound.

  I could only stare through the windshield as in the distance another bolt of energy cleaved open the night sky. But this time it didn’t hit the pavement around us.

  This time it didn’t hit at all.

  This time it burned brighter than I’d ever seen, lighting up the freeway and the three four-wheel drives parked lengthways up ahead. I lifted my hand, fingers trembling as I pointed.

  “Jesus fucking Christ.” Shadow’s voice trembled as he gripped the wheel. “What the fuck was that?” But Sixth wasn’t answering, he was following the line of sight.

  “Gready,” Tex snarled as he gripped the back of the passenger’s seat and leaned closer. “It’s him, isn’t it!”

  “Turn the car around,” Sixth growled and shoved open the door. “It’s time to end this once and for all.”

  Fear slammed my heart against my chest. Headlights came on in the distance. They were coming for him…they were coming. I yanked the handle and spilled out of the door.

  “Oleander, no!” Tex lunged across the seat toward me.

  But I was already moving…already stepping around the rear of the car as Sixth wrenched his head toward me. I saw it all now. Saw all the things he tried to hide—to me and himself. Love raged in his eyes as he shook his head. “Get back in the car, Purple.”

  I flinched with the name…and instead of Maddox’s filthy words in my head, all I heard was Sixth…

  In the diner when I was nine…

  In the mall when I stared at my father and his new daughter…

  And in that house…when Maddox took me.

  It was always Sixth…in my head and in my heart.

  But it was my heart in the driver’s seat now, smothering my mind with a rag soaked in pain and hurt.

  The beast pushed upwards, dragging in the bitter scent of ozone in the air. She was alive now, savage and smiling.

  The thud of a car door echoed behind me, and the crunch of asphalt under boots rang out, and in the distance the crack of thunder.

  Headlights from the four-wheel drives splashed against Sixth’s face as he stared at me. Engines gunned as wheels spun and they shot forward. “They’ll take you. They’ll take, and this time I won’t ever get you back.”

  My stomach clenched tight as that silver glare in his eye came alive. I took a step, and held out my hand. “That’s never going to happen.”

  The beast inside growled, and the vibration of that desire rippled down my spine. The woosh of fire swallowed the growl of thunder as Tex stepped closer and snarled. “Not while I’m alive it isn’t.”

  “And me,” said Shadow as he surged forward, meeting the headlights face on.

  He melted as he moved, leaving behind a wisp of midnight mist, before he was gone completely, slipping through the night. I caught the dark mist a second before it melted into the first vehicle surging ahead of the others.

  Tex took one step backwards and held out his hands. Orange blazed bright against the dark as the fire swept into a ravenous ball of flames, growing brighter and bigger with every breath.

  The first four-wheel drive skidded, spinning sideways out of control before the dark mist slipped from metal once more and Shadow strode from chaos.

  Tex surged forward, taking one step and then another as Sixth lifted the rifle in his hands and broke into a run, in time with the beat of my panicked heart.

  Heavy boots rang out like thunder as the skidding black four-wheel drive jerked sideways, and the rear tires lifted.

  Glass cracked and metal crunched, sending shards flying through the air as the fireball in Tex’s hands was unleashed. The skidding truck rolled, smashing against its roof, and then over again.

  Tires howled as the crack of automatic gunshots rang out. The fireball hit the ground at the spot where the truck should’ve been. But the hurling missile of metal and glass was turning, weaving in and out of the lanes and leaving the other two four-by-four’s behind as it headed toward me.

  The crack of gunshot resounded through the roar. The shot hit the windshield, the hole punching all the way through. Still the car wasn’t stopping, turning now to head toward Sixth as he took aim once more.

  “No!” The word punched through my chest.

  He would sacrifice…they would all sacrifice…

  For me.

  I opened my hands, and plunged my power through the earth, letting the beast swallow me whole. She whispered in my ear, comforting and calming, wrapping me in a cocoon of need.

  Poison followed…poison and desire.

  I didn’t want them to see this…I didn’t want them to see me this way. The ground rumbled underneath me, roots were unearthed, carving their way. She was inside me and I was inside her.

  The taste of dirt filled my mouth as her veins slipped around rocks and boulders…and finally asphalt. I took a step and then another as lightning sliced the sky overhead.

  The glint of metal was all I saw as one of the four-wheel drives skidded to a stop in front of Sixth. Car doors opened and men piled out.

  That trapped star blazed bright in Sixth’s eye as he lifted his rifle, took aim and shot the grille of the other black four-wheel drive.

  Shots rang out, but it was too late…

  It was all too late.

  A root stabbed through the ground, and then shattered the pavement. Poison on the inside, and poison on the out. Tendrils hardened like spikes that curled around the leg of one man as he lifted his pistol, centered on Sixth’s chest and took aim.

  But he never pulled the trigger…he never had a chance. Barbs of the Oleander tree reared backwards before the beast gave a roar and drove them through his chest and out the other side.

  “He’s not here!” Sixth turned his head. “Gready, the piece of fucking shit isn’t here!”

  A breeze whipped past me, ruffling my hair. I caught the darkened blur a second before it was gone once more towards our car.

  Tex dropped his hands against his side, fingers flickering with flames. He dropped to his knees as I caught the faint whiff of gasoline. A tiny flame leapt from his finger to the end of the trail.

  Orange blended into blue as the steady trickle caught alight and raced toward the overturned truck.

  Our car started with a growl behind me, as I watched the sonofabitch I’d caught writhing and choking in the beast’s spiked arms. Black veins speared across his face, blood leaked from the corner of his eyes. Boots kicked and skimmed the ground as the mass of Oleander roots lifted him.

  Headlights washed across him for all to see as Shadow swung the car around and yelled. “Let’s go!”

  Tex unleashed flames toward the other cars as the first drops of rain smacked my face. The beast released her hold. The attacker dropped to the ground, and that’s where he stayed.

  Drops hit one after another until in the space of a heartbeat, a downpour erupted.


  The sky was alight, thunder and lightning like I’d never witnessed before. The earth began to split, but there were no roots. “That’s not me.” I glanced to the others. “That’s not me doing that.”

  If not me, then it was someone helping us…opening up the earth, just like someone opened the file…

  Still the earth widened, cracks racing toward us, big enough to swallow a car. Big enough to swallow a four-wheel drive. I glanced at the fissures and then wrenched my gaze upwards. “Sixth!”

  He jerked his gaze toward me and then to the ground. He was a blur of movement, grabbing Tex by the shirt and hauling him backwards as the cracks widened.

  They weren’t coming, not for us…not right now. The asphalt split, widening to a gap no bigger than my fist and then wider. Dirt and rocks fell away as the gap widened, leaving a crater the width of a car.

  The beast gave a satisfied snarl and then sank into the darkness of my mind once more. Sixth reached for me, wrapping his arm around my waist as he stumbled past.

  Tex doused his flames and lunged into the open passenger’s door, leaving Sixth to haul me into the backseat. The crack of gunfire echoed, hitting the road a second before I was thrown across the backseat of the car and the door slammed shut behind us.

  Momentum crushed me against the back of the seat as Shadow swung the car around and sped back the way we’d come.

  Breaths found me, harsh, warm breaths against my cheek. I swallowed, unable to move with the weight of Sixth on me.

  The roar of the engine, and the boom of thunder filled my ears. But underneath that…the pounding of my heart. I turned my head, finding the glint in his dark eyes.

  “I could’ve lost you,” he murmured, and the tremble of his words raced. “I could’ve lost everything.”

  Harsh breaths filled the space as he moved closer, and while shadow speared us back along the freeway Sixth moved closer, crushing me with his weight.

  But I didn’t notice…I didn’t notice at all.

  I was lost in the warmth of his lips, and stolen by the desperation in his words.

  “I can’t see a goddamn thing!” Shadow growled.

  Rain beat down, pummeling against the roof of the car.

  “There’s a barn over there.” I caught Tex’s words as Sixth pressed his weight between my legs.

  His body quaked, hard muscles quivering. I ran my hands along his arms as the car slowed and then turned. Asphalt gave way to gravel, crunching and grinding.

  In an instant the deafening roar of the rain against the roof of the car was gone. Darkness swallowed us as we pulled to a stop and Shadow killed the headlights.

  “Okay, I think this will be fine,” Shadow muttered as Sixth pushed his hands against the backseat, lifting his chest from mine as he lay between my thighs. His lips, his body…his heat…it was all I knew.

  “Sixth?” Shadow muttered… “Oh, okay.”

  Car doors opened, and the interior lights of the car washed over us. The sweet scent of hay filled me as Sixth broke the kiss.

  Desire detonated like bombs in his eyes as he glanced over his shoulder and then turned back to me. “It’s not fair on the others.”

  I could feel them, their hunger, their need. My mouth was dry, breath just a rush as I glanced behind him to Shadow and Tex. “We can all try together…”

  He slid away from me, climbing out of the car backwards and then held out his hand. The rifle was left behind as I shoved against the seat and climbed out after him.

  Tex took a step toward me, eyes darting from the ground to mine. Sixth stepped away as I moved closer to Tex. “Only if you want to,” I murmured as he lowered his head.

  Soft lips met mine. He bowed his spine, yielding to me. Trembling hands danced on my shoulders before they settled. The kiss was soft and gentle, taking my mouth slow and then deepening.

  My hands went to his waist. His body trembled, and I knew it wasn’t the cold. Our kiss before had been sweet and perfect, but there was nothing sweet about this.

  His hands went around me, big hands, sliding down the small of my back to cup the curve of my ass. Tex had taken care of me, bathed me, fed me…he’d held me gently but now he kissed me like I was the air he breathed.

  My feet left the ground as he lifted. Knees widened as I wrapped my legs around his waist, chest to chest, breath rushing, leaving him to be swallowed by me.

  He was rock steady, carrying me as though I weighed nothing at all. Rain beat down on the roof of the massive wooden barn. Tractors and machinery filled half of the space. A horse nickered softly, letting us know it was there.

  I closed my eyes, giving into the feel of his body. Hands touched me, pulling my shirt high to slide against my stomach.

  I opened my eyes and broke the kiss to turn to Shadow. Tex slid his hand higher, cupping my breast and moved closer. I kissed the hard ridge of Shadow’s lips, dropping one arm from Tex to reach for him as we walked deeper into the barn.

  The lightning crashed down in the distance, lighting up the barn. Sixth strode toward us, fingers working the buttons of his shirt. I turned to him, leaving Shadow to move close, lips finding the lobe of my ear and then slipping low.

  But I couldn’t look away from my Marine, even when the light died away I could still see him as he dragged his shirt free. Still see him as Tex held me hard against him and knelt.

  Soft straw caught me and I sank deep, nestling against the mound. Lips stole me, hands moved where they wanted. My shirt was first, dragging upwards. My stomach tensed as I lifted my head, catching Shadow’s gaze as he tugged my shirt free.

  The shirt he bought me…

  Caring for me.

  Loving me.

  My boots were next. Tex gripped my heel, and dragged the first boot free. “I’ve waited my entire life for this.” His fingers reached under the hemline of my jeans skimming my calf. “To touch you, to love you, to protect you. I was born with you under my skin, raised with the image of your face burning in my mind…your name always just out of reach, just enough to drive me insane…and so have they. You get that right? You get how you’re our entire world?”

  I yanked Tex’s shirt from the hemline of his jeans, the word a breathless whisper. “Yes.”

  A silver light washed over our bodies. I didn’t need to turn my head to know it was Sixth. His power rushed over me, and through me. This time there was no fighting, not him or his need.

  This time there was no fighting anything.

  Barriers trembled and then fell away. I let him all the way in, past the hurt and the pain, past the loneliness, and the beast rose in response. He never recoiled, not inside my mind and not out here.

  He dropped his shirt to the ground and then moved to the buckle of his belt. My hand slipped against Shadow’s body, sliding all the way down as he rose, and dragged his shirt over his head.

  Tex moved on hands and knees, crawling to the opposite side to peel his sodden shirt free. Muscles trembled, silver light casting shadows

  There in that barn I shed my clothes like I shed my skin. We all did, our skin of suffering and pain…our walls made with steel designed to keep everyone out…to keep everyone from knowing what we really were.

  We weren’t human.

  We were freaks.

  But right here, none of that mattered. Right here they were my world, and I needed them like I needed air to breathe.

  Tex worked the buttons on my jeans as Sixth dropped his pants. The waistband caught on his hips, and then tumbled to the ground. I lifted my gaze to the raised, faint red wound just above his heart, and then to the silver glow in his eyes.

  The trapped star that’d been searching for me.

  Tex and Shadow lowered their heads at the same time, lips kissing my nipples through the white lace bra one size too small. Their hands worked together, like they were one and the same, pushing the waistband of my jeans down low as Sixth knelt between my legs.

  The silver light dulled, ebbing until there was darkness once more. A neon bolt
carved through the sky as the storm raged the only glimmer of light. My jeans were gone, fingers slipped against my hips, catching the waistband of my panties.

  Sixth lowered his head, dragging my jeans all the way down, until they were gone. I shuddered from excitement. My skin jumping, and trembling as his lips skimmed my belly.

  “It’s okay,” Sixth murmured against my navel. “God you’re perfect. So goddamn perfect.”

  I gave into his words, his breath, the heat racing lower as he dragged the hemline of my panties lower. Shadow slipped a hand under my back, pushing into the hay, and my bra was gone.

  I turned to him, reaching for the hard rise of his muscled chest, and slipped lower as he slowly rose to his feet…his navel, the hard thickness of cock. His fingers worked the button of his pants, and they tumbled to the ground.

  He was perfect and bare in front of me. Tiny silver scars across his stomach, illuminated in the glow of the storm. I lowered my gaze to the juncture of his thighs…and hard thickness ready. Tex rose, just the same, shedding his jeans with the slide of his hand. He was taller and leaner, dark thatch of hair between his thighs had a red tinge in the neon glare of the storm.

  I slid my hand along his leg as he stepped free of his jeans. Desire sparked, melting into the dark as the glare of the lightning died away. Hay rustled as Tex knelt beside me.

  My hands slipped against Tex and Shadow as Sixth kissed the juncture of my thighs. Sparks travelled, carving a line through my core as his soft lips met my body, and his warm tongue plunged deep.

  Tex’s fingers skimmed my cheek. He moved closer, taking my mouth with his. A warm breath against my belly. I opened my hand, fingers skimming Shadow’s thigh until I found the hard, thickness of his cock.

  He curled his spine, moving his body against mine. Slick skin slipped along my palm. I gripped his cock, sliding all the way to the base as he lowered his head. Warm tongue circled my nipple, another probed my mouth, and Sixth speared deeper, finding that part of me that made me whimper.

  My hips bucked under the feel of his fingers, still I wanted more.

  I wanted it all…everything they had to give me.

  Sixth’s mouth left that tiny nub at the top of my sex, lips kissed the inside of my thigh before he pulled away. There was a second where he waited…a second where it was just Tex in my mouth and Shadow at my breast. I opened my legs wider, urging him closer…to do what he wanted.