Nexus

by C. L. Parker

  “Oh, ew! I so do not want to hear this.” Tori covered her ears.

  Gabe took her hands and pulled them away. “All’s I’m saying is a little experimentation never hurt nobody. Live a little, why dontcha?”

  “Really? Because I think I died a little on the inside from the TMI you just force-fed me.”

  “Backfired, huh?”

  Tori nodded. “A little. I think I just threw up in my mouth.”

  “Hmm, oh well. You get the point, though. I’ll bring you back something pretty to make up for my faux pas.” He picked up his glass and turned to leave. “Go, and try to have fun. Don’t forget to brush your teeth, though. Nobody likes a yuck mouth.”

  Talks with Gabe were certainly enlightening, and this one had been no exception. Yes it had. It was dreadful, but still, he had a point. The same point she had been trying to convince herself of all along. Maybe, just maybe, she’d actually take the advice today.

  That afternoon, Dante was standing in the foyer by the door when Tori came bounding down the stairs with a messenger bag hanging from her shoulder. She almost lost her footing and went for a tumble down said stairs, which he thought was cute. What was even cuter was the way her cheeks glowed a delicate pink from embarrassment.

  “Sorry it took so long. Ready?” she asked as she hiked her messenger bag back up her arm.

  Dante looked Tori over appreciatively. She was dressed casually in fitted jeans and sensible designer boots with a short heel—perfect motorcycle attire. The V-neck shirt she wore was modest yet dipped far enough to give him a glimpse of her ample cleavage while clinging to her waist in a way that made him jealous. He almost hated that she would have to sit behind him where he wouldn’t be able to see her, but knowing everyone they passed would see that she was with him, hanging on to him like a snug jacket—yeah, that was an acceptable consolation prize.

  “To spend the day alone with you? I couldn’t be any more eager.” Dante opened the front door and bowed like a valiant prince. “After you, milady.”

  Tori rolled her eyes at his corniness, but stepped out onto the porch.

  “Hey, kiddo! Where you off to?” Dominic asked as he came down the stairs and stopped her.

  She turned on her heel and stuck her thumb in her pockets before letting her shoulders sag—the universal sign all young adults used when they thought their parents were being annoying. “Dante’s taking me sightseeing today.”

  “Is he now?” Dominic gave Dante a calculating once-over. “Dante, can I have a word with you before you go?”

  “Dad . . .”

  Dominic held up his hand in defense. “It’s okay, Tor. I’m just going to make sure young Dante here knows how important you are to me, and how very upset I’ll be should anything happen to you. It’s a father’s right.”

  Tori gave a disgruntled moan and walked down the steps to leave them alone while mumbling under her breath. “Jeez, it’s not like we’re dating or anything.”

  Dante closed the door and turned to Dominic. “My father has already given me the drill about making sure I keep her protected. I assure you, she’s perfectly safe with me. Or maybe it’s the other way around, seeing as how she kicks my arse royally on a daily basis.”

  “Mmhmm.” Dominic put his hand on Dante’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “Look, you’re a Guardian, she’s a Guardian . . . blah, blah, blah . . . I don’t need to tell you to keep an eye on her because I believe you will, if for no other reason than out of a sense of duty that a Guardian feels compelled to abide by. And I know you’re both adults, but she’s also my baby girl—always has been, always will be. You’re a good-looking kid, and I don’t believe for one second that you haven’t noticed how beautiful Tori is, which is why I have to say this: Keep your dick in your pants because if you hurt her, you’ll be choking on your own balls. Comprende?”

  Dante smiled and nodded his understanding. He admired Dominic’s no-bullshit technique. He shot straight from the hip, leaving no room to question his stance on a matter.

  Dominic patted his cheek. “You’re a good kid, Dante. Don’t make me regret allowing you to date my one and only daughter.”

  “But we’re not dating . . .”

  “Yeah, kid, whatever.” Dominic reached around Dante and opened the door. Then he clapped him on the back, giving him a nudge out to the stoop before waving at Tori. “Have a good time, baby girl! Don’t stay out too late; your mother will worry.”

  “When does she not?” Tori called back.

  “Tori . . .”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know,” she said, waving him off. When Dante reached her at the driveway and took her bag, she mumbled conspiratorially, “Can we just hurry up and get out of here?”

  He laughed under his breath and tucked her belongings away in the saddlebag. Then he straddled his bike and started the engine, feeling empowered by the deep rumble of his most prized possession. He sat forward to make room for Tori.

  “Hop on, Angel.”

  Tori just stared at him. “Don’t you have a car or something?”

  “Nope, this is it. Why? Do you have an aversion to my ride?”

  “Aversion? No. Fear? Yes. If you wreck they’ll be using a hose and a broom to clean my mutilated body off the road.”

  That gave him a good chuckle. “Do you really think I’d put you in harm’s way? I should think you’d know better by now.”

  She worried her lip nervously and looked the motorbike over like she was actually considering staying behind. Dante was prepared to tell her to forget about it if she was really that scared. If it made her feel safer, he’d opt for another day of training and a few cracked ribs.

  “What’s wrong, Tor?” Dominic called from the stoop where he still stood.

  “Nothing, Dad!” she called back.

  Dante laughed, but offered his hand, knowing the threat of spending the day with her parents was a far scarier idea by comparison and just the right amount of motivation to get her to comply with his mode of transportation. As predicted, she took his offering and quickly hopped up on the bike behind him. The warmth of her thighs cradling him and her arms wrapped around his waist almost possessively stirred something primal inside. Oh, but to be able to have her straddle him in the same manner and for very different reasons. He wanted her physically—that was a no-brainer—but more than that, he wanted to claim her as his own. It was an urge he could say he had never felt for any other woman. Seemed both of their fathers saw something more between Tori and him as well.

  Shifting the bike into gear, Dante took off, traveling through the city and past all the normal points of interest for any other tourist with nothing more than a nod in their direction to acknowledge them. He didn’t want to bore Tori with information she could read about on the Internet or in old history books. He had something else in mind that would let her experience part of history firsthand, but that wasn’t on the agenda for the day. Today, he wanted her to learn to relax and maybe even have a little fun while still getting to know the person under the all-important title even better.

  Once they broke free of London’s city limits, the road opened up and so did his motor. They had about an hour’s drive to their destination, and that was longer than he wanted to spend without being able to see her face. Tori must not have appreciated his urgency because when he looked into the side mirror, he saw her face buried into his shoulder and her hold around his waist had tightened. He chuckled to himself, but kept up the same pace. She was going to miss seeing the English countryside, but the place he had in mind was far more beautiful.

  Dante took the back roads through Kent to the South Downs in East Sussex between the towns of Seaford and Eastbourne. He finally slowed to round the bends in the roads once they reached Seaford Head. Tori finally lifted her head and opened her eyes, gasping when she saw the awe of the chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters. Luckily, it was still early enough in the season that there weren’t a lot of tourists and no one to complain about the motorbike on the path. He
continued on until they reached Limekiln Bottom between Short Brow and Rough Brow. It was a relatively private nook, perfect for an afternoon alone with an angel.

  The skies were free of clouds, and although the sun was at its peak, the mild wind blowing off the English Channel provided relief from the unusual heat of the day. Dante parked his motorbike and waited for Tori to climb off before dismounting himself. As she walked out toward the cliff’s edge, he retrieved a blanket he had stowed in his saddlebag and spread it out on the ground. Then he crept over to where Tori stood while putting her hair up into a ponytail and grabbed her from behind. She jumped and quickly turned to plaster herself within the safekeeping of his arms.

  He laughed, but held onto her nonetheless. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights. Not after the whole bungee-jumping escapade.”

  She shoved him in the chest and took a step back. “That wasn’t a very nice thing to do. What if I had fallen over the edge?”

  Before she could pull away farther, Dante grabbed her again and spun her around so that her back was pressed to his chest. Completely by accident, one of his hands spread out over her lower abdomen, precariously close to touching the place he knew would bring them both pleasure. He didn’t offer to move it. Instead, he dipped his head, letting his lips ghost across the shell of her ear.

  “I told you I’ll never let anything happen to you, and I meant what I said. When will you learn to trust me?” The back of his fingers lightly trailed up her side and along the swell of her breast to her shoulder.

  Tori swallowed hard, her chest rising and falling with her deep breaths. She was turned on, but trying very hard not to show it. “Those are some pretty powerful words for someone who barely even knows me.”

  “I know you, Angel. Come on,” he said, taking her hand before pulling away to lead her back to the blanket.

  “What are we doing here, Dante?” Tori huffed as she let him drag her along.

  When he stretched out on the blanket and nodded for her to do the same, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at him. “You’re not getting down my pants and I’m not letting you into my sanctuary either.”

  Dante gave her an incredulous look of mock insult. “Is that what you American Guardians do so early on in a relationship? I’m shocked! I’m also a little worried about my virtue.”

  Tori arched a brow. “I think I can safely say your virtue was stolen long before I ever met you.”

  Dante made a show of considering her statement. “Right you are, Angel.” He smirked and then tugged on her arm to make her fall, rolling when she hit the ground to cover her body with his. “Maybe you’re the one who should be worried.”

  Tori squirmed beneath him. She had been in the same position with him twice before, so she knew the effect her movements would have. It was a dangerous move on her part, especially since she had just made the grand announcement that he wasn’t getting into her pants. Maybe she hadn’t meant it after all. Either way, he decided it best not to take advantage until he knew for sure, so he gave her an out. Just this one time, though.

  He rolled off her and positioned himself on his side to watch her.

  “You’re entirely too tempting, Angel, but I have no intentions of doing anything other than getting to know you today.”

  “So you don’t want to get down my pants?”

  “Are you offering?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Then why are we still talking about it?”

  He sat up and unbuttoned his navy blue shirt to pull it off, still modestly enough covered by the wife-beater he wore underneath. He noticed the appreciative sweep of Tori’s eyes over his chest and arms, and when her tongue peeked out to wet her lips, he couldn’t help but think of that kiss and how badly he wanted to do it again. He needed a distraction, fast.

  “What’s your story, Angel? Who are you?”

  Tori shrugged and then lay back on the blanket to look up at the sky. “I’m half Guardian Angel, half Guardian of the Light.”

  Dante stretched back out on his side, using his elbow as a prop. “I know what you are. I want to know who you are.”

  “There’s really not much to tell. I’m not that exciting of a person.”

  “Do you have a boyfriend?”

  Tori took pause and then turned to look at him sarcastically. “Are you kidding me? You’ve met my parents, right? Imagine bringing a guy home to be drilled by them.”

  Dante chuckled. “Yeah, no one would ever be good enough for my parents either, except maybe you. How about friends?”

  Tori shook her head. “Nope. It’s just easier not to worry about who I can and can’t trust if I don’t even bother to try.”

  Dante could sympathize with that as well. “No friends, no boyfriend . . . what do you do with all your spare time—draw in that notebook of yours?”

  She shrugged. “That’s just a hobby. I’m really not very good at it. Other than that, I do the same thing we’ve been doing; I train, mentally and physically. It’s what I’ve always done, even though I don’t even know what I’m training for.”

  “Yeah, same here. What about when you’re not doing that?”

  Tori laughed. “What is this, twenty questions?”

  “How else are we supposed to move our relationship along? You’ve already declared I’m not getting in your pants.”

  She rolled over to playfully punch him in the chest, but he caught her wrist and pulled her against him instead. “Careful, Angel. Touching me gives me permission to touch you back. Do you really want to play that game?”

  The expression on her face flashed from amused, to confused, and then playful. Oh yeah, she wanted to play. “So I can’t touch you?”

  He sighed and looked her over. “You can touch me anywhere, anytime you want, no restrictions.”

  “But then you get to touch me back?”

  “Mmhmm . . .”

  “But you’re touching me now even though I didn’t touch you first.”

  “My game. My rules.”

  Tori laughed. “Okay, let me see if I have this right. If I touch you, you get to touch me back. And if I don’t touch you, you still get to touch me anyway?”

  Dante gave her a crooked grin. “What can I say? I like to touch you.” He really did. There was just something addictive about the way his nerve endings came to life with those jolts of energy that passed through their bodies when their skin met. It was almost euphoric, but not nearly as euphoric as when they kissed.

  “I also like to kiss you. Shall I make up a game for that as well?”

  Tori’s eyes darted to his lips and she licked her own instinctively.

  “Do you want me to kiss you, Angel?” She didn’t answer, but her eyes remained on his mouth as if she was entranced by it. “Those kisses we shared yesterday were amazing, weren’t they? Do you want to see if it’ll feel the same way again?”

  Dante leaned in, slowly closing the gap between their lips until a faint current seemed to spark between them before they even touched. “I’ll kiss you, but you need to answer just one small question first.”

  Her eyes became hooded, but the spark of her Light shone brightly. She wanted to kiss him just as badly as he wanted to kiss her. “What?”

  “What was your nightmare about last night?”

  Tori’s eyes snapped open with awareness and she pushed away from him to sit up. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

  Dante wasn’t going to let it go that easily. “Fine, you don’t want to tell me what it was about. I get it. But will you at least tell me how often you’re having them? Because last night might have been the worst, but it definitely wasn’t the first time I’ve heard you call out in the middle of the night.”

  She looked down at her hands, refusing to look at him. “It’s really not a big deal.”

  “Isn’t it? You’re a Guardian of the Light, the Guardian of Mankind. You shouldn’t be having nightmares, and the fact that you are is certainly cause to worry. I can talk
to my father about it. Maybe he can—”

  “No!”

  Dante pulled back, a knee-jerk reaction to her boisterous interruption. For something that wasn’t a big deal, she sure was passionate enough about it.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. It’s just . . .” She shook her head. “You can’t do that.”

  “You’re going to have to give me a little more than that because I’m seriously worried about you now.”

  “Don’t be. It’s nothing.”

  Dante put his hand over hers. “Hey, you can trust me.”

  With a sigh, she finally relented. “I’ve had them sporadically throughout my entire life, but since I turned eighteen, it’s been every time I fall asleep.”

  “Three years?” He asked, shocked. “Well, I’d say that’s pretty serious. Do you know what’s causing them?”

  “No, but I do know that I’ve never been able to wake up before the dream has run its course, but somehow, you were able to pull me out of it last night.”

  Dante furrowed his brow. “I didn’t do anything but touch you.”

  Tori shrugged. “I don’t know what happened then, but I was glad. It was a pretty bad one.”

  “Do your parents know?”

  Her eyes grew wide with panic. “No! No one does, and you have to promise me you won’t say anything!”

  “I don’t know that I can promise that. If it’s that serious then why wouldn’t you want your parents to know?”

  “Because my mother will blow it way out of proportion and make a bigger deal out of it than it actually is and keep me on permanent lockdown. In fact, she’ll probably board us on the next flight leaving London to hide me away in some bomb shelter out in the middle of Bum Fucked Egypt.”