Triquetra

by Marguerite Labbe

  “Is that the best you can do?” I teased, bracing my hands on either side of him, snapping my hips harder as his lean, dark body twisted and arched. I could have watched him like that all morning.

  “Oh, there’s plenty of other names I could call you.” Kristair’s eyes half-closed, his mouth going soft as desire played across his features. “If you’d give me a moment to gather my thoughts.”

  “Not a damn chance.” I slid one hand under his ass, cupping the smooth cheek in my hand and squeezing it before lifting him higher. Now this was a morning ritual I could look forward to: listening to Kristair’s needy sounds of pleasure and having him wrapped around me instead of what we had been dealing with.

  I leaned low over him and kissed the hard plane of his stomach, dragged my tongue over the tattoo low on his ribs. Kristair moaned, and I smiled against his skin, looking up the length of his chest. Fuck, he was beautiful, and he was all mine.

  “You’re giving me that look again,” Kristair murmured.

  “Yeah, love, what look is that?” I kissed his stomach again and gave it a sharp nip, trying to hold onto the passion spiraling out of control within me.

  “Like you’re going to haul me off to your cave and keep me your prisoner there.”

  I grinned again. “Sounds like a wonderful idea. I might just do that, collar you and mark you at the same time.” Kristair’s dark eyes flashed—with want or pique, I didn’t know—and before I asked, his legs tightened around me as he drove his hips up.

  “If you don’t get up and kiss me, I’m going to….”

  “Nothing,” I chuckled. “You’ll do nothing.”

  “We’ll just see about that,” Kristair promised.

  Laughing, I kissed him, tongues mating as our bodies twined and moved together. I lost myself in his clenching heat, the sweet softness of his lips, the scent and sounds of sex. Kristair’s cock throbbed against my stomach, our skin now slick, and those needy, urgent moans of his drove me out of my mind.

  “Untie me. I want to touch you,” Kristair said, rubbing his jaw against my own.

  Oh, the thought of those long-fingered hands on my skin was a temptation, but I shook my head, capturing his lips again. The long, languid thrusts became quicker, harder, as the lazy, just-woke-up feeling vanished under the mounting heat.

  I broke the kiss, pulling back just enough so I could watch Kristair’s unguarded expression. I loved the moments like this when he held nothing back and I could read him as easily as if we still had the mental connection. It was these moments when Kristair shared his wants and needs and vulnerabilities without walls.

  He smiled, tongue tracing over my lips as he panted. “So close… just like that… don’t stop.” His moan had my stomach jumping and heart skipping a beat. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him as, with each rock of our hips, the pleasure rippled sharper and hotter over his face.

  Then he arched, a soft cry falling from his lips, his body tensing under mine as he came. Enthralled, I paused, buried deep inside him, feeling every rippling contraction as his muscles went limp from his release. I shifted, the head of my cock nudging his spot, and he gasped, biting his lip against the overstimulation.

  Kristair’s eyes flew open and his gaze locked on me as I began circling my hips again once I regained my composure and my own impeding orgasm tapered off. “Oh damn,” he whispered, and then he cried out as I drove into him hard enough to rock the bed against the wall.

  Each shout from my lover, each writhe of his body, spurred me on. I attacked his throat, nipping and sucking until his flesh was hot against my lips. And all too soon, it was over. One rough moan from Kristair, the hard clenching and buck of his hips, and I was lost, my climax hitting me so fast that it was like lighting zipping through my body, there then gone, leaving me trembling in the aftermath.

  “At least we didn’t break the bed this time,” Kristair said, after we’d recovered our breath and the tremors eased from his thighs.

  I started laughing and lifted my head from where it had been resting on his shoulder, dropping a kiss onto his lips. “I blame you for that one.”

  Kristair turned his head, glancing at the alarm clock we never had to use, and his eyes widened when he saw the time. “Oh for… Jacob, It’s not even six a.m.”

  “Nobody knows better than me what damn time it is.”

  Kristair attempted to tug his hands free again with no success. “I’m sorry if I woke you. Why don’t you catch some more sleep and I’ll make us breakfast in a little bit?”

  “Nope, not gonna happen. One, because for some sick reason, I can’t sleep if you’re already up and about, and two, I’m already wide awake.” I eased off of him and gave his flank a teasing slap as I rose from the bed. “I’m gonna grab a quick shower; then I thought we could go for a run.”

  “Don’t you think you’re forgetting something?” Kristair asked with a pointed tug of his bound wrists.

  “Nope.” I grinned and sauntered into the bathroom, ignoring his insistent call. Now this was the way to wake up. Pleased with myself, I lingered in the shower and ran through the different ways my lover would attempt to seek revenge on me before deciding I was safe. Kristair would forget all about it by the time he returned from work and I from the gym and meetings with the coaches.

  When I came back out again, towel wrapped around my hips, I found Kristair sound asleep again. He’d somehow managed to get himself free and was curled up again under the covers, snoring away. Old habits died hard, I guess.

  Another wicked idea struck me, and grinning, I grabbed a hold of all the blankets and yanked them off to the floor. Kristair sat up with a shout, reaching vainly to cover himself. And fuck, the look on his face was so priceless I doubled over laughing before I could say a word. “Kristair… oh my god, if you could’ve just seen your face, you….”

  The growl was the only warning I got, and the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back on the floor and Kristair was leaning over me, his face twisted into a snarl. Desire surged all over again in my veins. “About that run….”

  “Shut up, Jacob,” Kristair snapped, pinning my hands above my head. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  “I have no problem with that,” I managed to say before Kristair kissed me, rough and insistent. Oh yeah, I’d gotten him good.

  Chapter 2

  I CROUCHED down in front of the refrigerator, studying its contents. Eating was still such a novelty. I’d never paid any attention at all to what humans consumed before, except to make sure those I cared for did eat. By the time Kayla came to me, she already knew how to cook enough to feed herself, and she’d always done her own shopping with the money I’d given her. Usually, by the time I’d woken up in the evenings, she’d already fed and put everything away.

  I hadn’t realized eating could be such a sensual experience. The tastes, textures and scents all mixed together in more varied ways than could be dreamt of. Discovering and exploring it all provided me with endless fascination. More than once, the things I put on the table made Jacob snicker, but my lover always ate it. Pursing my lips and consulting the handy book balanced on my knees, I started to draw out the ingredients for something called “eggplant parmesan.” It sounded intriguing.

  “What’s that?” Jacob asked, coming into the kitchen and pouring himself a cup of coffee.

  “Breakfast.” I handed him the eggplant and rose, balancing the other ingredients I’d need on my book.

  Jacob dangled the vegetable in front of his face, then shook his head, and stuck it back in the refrigerator. “Save the shiny, purple monstrosity for tonight. I can’t handle anything called eggplant first thing in the morning.”

  “You eat eggs.”

  “There’s a world of difference between eggs and eggplant.” Jacob shook his head after another disbelieving glance at the refrigerator’s contents. “Do you intend on trying everything in the produce section?”

  “Why wouldn’t you?” I glanced back down at my book and huffed. I s
upposed I could wait until evening, though it seemed absurd not to try it just because of the time of day. I began flipping through the pages, searching for another picture that caught my eye. “I like the produce section. I can see what I’m buying. Did you know that they get upset with you at the store if you try to look in the boxes to see if you’re getting what is actually described?”

  A sound suspiciously like a snort drew my attention, but when I glanced at Jacob, his expression was smooth. I narrowed my eyes. I hadn’t paid him back sufficiently for his shenanigans this morning. Tying me up before the sun had even crested the horizon. As if Jacob could still read my mind, he smirked, his bright blue eyes vivid with mischief and that oh-so-knowing smug expression that turned my blood to liquid fire.

  Brat. And I loved him for it.

  My fingers itched to sink into his tousled hair to make it even more of a tumbled mess than it was. I suppressed the tinge of wistfulness, and before my mind could stray even more, I turned my attention back to my book. We could not spend the entire day in bed today, despite how I might wish it.

  “Fine, then, I’ll make this cheese and onion tart. And before you say anything, it has eggs in it. I still don’t understand why some things are considered breakfast foods and others dinner. Food is food. It all goes to the same place.”

  “I didn’t say anything. I was just gonna ask you if you wanted a cup of coffee.” Jacob topped off his mug and flipped the television on.

  I shook my head. I’d tried it several times when the aroma tantalized me, but I couldn’t acclimate to the harsh taste of coffee. Our morning runs were usually enough to energize me, though this morning’s activity had accomplished the same end. Waking up had also taken some time to get used to. It was unsettling, feeling the lethargy when I first opened my eyes. It reminded me too much of that time just before the Ascended took me, when it got harder and harder to rouse in the evenings. I pressed my lips together and suppressed a shudder at the memory.

  “If you could heat up some water for tea, that would be appreciated.”

  “No problem, love.” There was a nonchalance in Jacob’s voice that had me tensing as I laid out what I would need to prepare the breakfast. Sure enough, after my lover had filled the kettle and set it on the stove, he came to lean against the counter next to me. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “There’s nothing to talk about,” I replied, tensing despite my best effort not to.

  Jacob leaned closer, and I was unable to escape seeing the concern written on his face. “How about those nightmares you’re still having? You’re holding yourself aloof, the way you always do, setting up your walls. You don’t think I can’t see it? Did you ever think that if you talk about what you’re afraid of that—”

  “Afraid?” I stiffened, shooting him an indignant glare. “I am not afraid of anything, Jacob Corvin, least of all a phenomenon that has no power to hurt me anymore.”

  “Liar.” Jacob smiled and touched my jaw in a tender gesture that robbed me of most of my pique. “Everybody’s afraid of something and you’re no different. I know everything’s been turned upside on its head for you, but you don’t have to tackle it alone. Just think about it.”

  How could he know so much? How could he see into my heart and mind so well when we no longer had our connection? It was unsettling to be so exposed when I thought I had presented another image, and at the same time, this was Jacob…. If there was anyone I’d want to see me vulnerable, it was my young lover.

  To my relief, Jacob dropped the ridiculous conversation. I steeled myself, shaking my head. Afraid indeed. Where he got such ideas, I didn’t understand. When I was asleep, I couldn’t rationalize centuries old instincts away; they plagued me at a time when I couldn’t rein them in. Eventually I would adapt, that was all.

  I eyed him warily out of the corner of my vision as I cracked eggs into the bowl and whisked them with unnecessary force, but he didn’t seem inclined to try to push the topic anymore as he watched the morning news. I would have let myself relax, only Jacob was not the kind of man to let an issue drop just because I didn’t wish to discuss it. His tendency toward stubbornness bordered on the extreme.

  He turned and caught me watching him as the teakettle began to whistle and grinned. “I know I’m good looking and all, but if you keep staring at me like that, I’m liable to get an ego.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh, and the tension broke. “Mo chroí, you need no ego stroking. You’re bad enough as it is.” I leaned in and kissed him. “Go sit down, your hovering is likely to give me fits.”

  “Doesn’t take much,” Jacob teased as he danced out of swatting range and went to sit at the table.

  I let the tea steep as I finished preparing breakfast and set it in the oven. The morning ritual and Jacob’s presence were almost enough to banish my lingering unease. It irked me that I could let a mere dream affect me so.

  I took my tea and sat down next to Jacob, turning my attention to the news. The weatherman predicted another humid day and expected thunderstorms later on in the afternoon, which was no different from the past few days.

  “At least you don’t have to worry about practice yet.”

  Jacob snorted. “When training camp starts nothing’s gonna stop it, maybe not even lightning striking the field. You gonna drive out to Latrobe and watch?”

  I grimaced, thinking of the car that awaited me in the driveway. The car that I hadn’t driven once since Jacob had purchased it for me and insisted on a test drive. Now that was a memory for nightmares. “We’ll see. I still have to get through these interviews intact.”

  “Give it up. You’re never going to be happy with anyone other than Kayla in your office. Besides, now that you have day hours, do you really need someone to man your desk? It’s not like she was there full time anyway.”

  “I don’t understand why she felt the need to quit,” I grumbled. It still rankled that she had left to go to Baltimore to start up that shelter for teenaged runaways with Steve, of all people. I tried not to feel betrayed—after all, she had a right to her own life, which was why I hadn’t argued when she told me of her decision. “She could’ve funded her trust into any number of places here.”

  “Because if you and Steve didn’t stop bitching at one another she was going to shoot the both of you.” Jacob squeezed my hand. “And I might’ve helped her.”

  I dropped the issue before Jacob felt the need to defend Kayla and her so-called boyfriend any longer. He’d heard my complaint often enough. It was little comfort that I knew Steve disliked me just as much and, in all likelihood, had to hear Kayla defending me. After all, the bastard had still stolen her out of my life.

  However, I thought I behaved myself rather well considering the circumstances. I had been scrupulously polite to him up until the day he started packing, fully intent on leaving with my daughter and her money. At least neither Jacob nor Kayla knew of that incident. If I could get away with going down to Baltimore to look in on her, I would.

  How could I not have known the shelter was a dream of hers? Had I gotten so wrapped up in my own affairs that I’d lost touch with my daughter?

  I’d brood on it later, when Jacob wasn’t around to notice and worry over me. Instead, I busied myself by pouring a cup of tea and checking on breakfast. In the background, the newsman announced a breaking story, and Jacob cursed, turning up the sound. Frowning, I turned to see police and firemen swarming outside a downtown high rise in what had become an all too familiar scene.

  “The police have still been unable to identify the accelerant used on the victims. Whatever chemical it is…” the reporter was saying with an expression of grave concern on her face.

  My stomach twisted in a curious combination of horror and morbid curiosity. “They found another one?” Stupid question—I could see for myself that they had. The sixth victim in as many weeks, dragged out of their house at dawn, stabbed to death, and burned outside. “Poor bastard.”

  “The police still have no
suspects.” A number flashed across the scene. “Anyone with any information is urged to come forward and….”

  “What kind of sick fucker does something like this?” Jacob seethed, glaring at the TV as the reporter bemoaned the lack of any evidence and the cops went about their grim business.

  “One for whom killing is a pleasure, an art form in some respects.” A soot-smudged cloth covered a pitifully small lump. I had seen some atrocities in my time and admittedly killed my share of people, but this display was sickening.

  I pushed aside the useless reaction and took another sip of my tea, unable to tear my eyes from the screen. Six victims: three men, a woman, a teenaged girl, and whoever this person was. Six victims killed at the break of dawn, their bodies destroyed by fire. A chill raced through me as Jacob raged in the background.

  “It takes a real fucking douche to stab somebody while they’re sleeping and then set them on fire. That’s one real piece of shit. Let them try that bull-fucking-shit here and we’ll see what kind of a big man they are.” His rant continued in crude terms I had thought he had been moving beyond.

  Despite my best efforts, my dreams returned to me. The sun slipping over the horizon, rays eating into my flesh as I burst into flames, screaming. And Jacob reaching for me, fangs just visible between his lips as he caught fire as well and I was forced to watch him die.

  “Kristair!”

  Shuddering, I pulled myself out of the memory. It was just a dream, nothing more, and not even a very realistic one at that. “Yes?”

  “Are you okay?”

  I met Jacob’s concerned eyes and smiled. “Of course.” Disappointment and frustration flashed over his face, and immediately guilt twinged. I knew he thought I was pushing him away. I didn’t know how to explain to him that I wasn’t, that there was merely no point in rehashing issues that didn’t matter. But for his sake, I had to try. “I shouldn’t let it disturb me. After all, whoever it was was long dead before the flames touched them.”