Beautiful and wise, and still one of the most powerful Etruscan goddesses on Earth, Nortia was the only one who could help her.
“I heard your call.”
Tira frowned, the Lady’s words not making any sense. She hadn’t even begun to pray. “But… My call? I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
Nortia shrugged, her tiny pointed nose wrinkling prettily before her smile popped out again. “That’s okay. You don’t have to. Now you have a question to ask. Shoot.”
Tira froze, unable to actually say the words. How did she phrase it? How could she even ask? How could she avoid offending the Lady of the Hammer, whose Gift she’d been granted?
As the Goddess of Fate, Nortia could control certain aspects of the future. And Tira saw the future.
At this moment, she hated her Gift.
Nortia’s smile softened the goddess’s beauty until she seemed much more approachable.
“Tira, despite my reputation, I am not an unreasonable being.” Her nose wrinkled again. “At least, most of the time.” She sighed as if someone had contradicted her, which Tira would never do. “Okay, some of the time. And this is one of those times. I feel your despair. Just speak your mind.”
Bowing her head so she wouldn’t see Nortia’s anger, Tira took a deep breath. “I wa—would ask for three days, Lady. Three days without my Gift. Three days to be able to touch the men I love without the vision of Nic dying and Duke…”
Lost to her. Forever.
It was the one part of her vision she’d never revealed to anyone. The one part she refused to acknowledge because it hurt too much.
“Three days, Lady, without consequence. I don’t want anyone else to have to pay for my…weakness, to—”
“You believe your love for Duke and Nic is a weakness?” Nortia’s head cocked to the side, her eyes narrowing as if to see inside Tira.
Honestly? Yes, she did. If she’d never met them, she wouldn’t be in this situation. But she’d fallen for them, both of them and that meant double the heartache.
“Don’t you think love is a weakness, Lady?”
Nortia didn’t answer right away and Tira chanced a glance at the goddess. Nortia’s expression showed no sign of anger. Or any emotion, for that matter.
“I believe you believe. But I can’t give you three days, Tira. Not under the conditions you want. There are always consequences, always a price to pay for everything. Some you don’t mind paying. Others are more costly but the reward is more dear. And therefore worth the cost.”
Tira blinked away tears but refused to give up. Not yet. “Then allow only me to suffer any consequences.”
Nortia took a deep breath before releasing it on a sigh. Her cold expression melted into one full of compassion. And regret.
Tira braced herself for denial.
“One day,” Nortia said. “I can give you one day of release from your Gift. From sunrise this morning to sunrise tomorrow. And I agree to the terms. No one will suffer as a consequence. But the boschetta needs a praenuntio, Tira. The time is coming when one will be needed more than ever. After the day has ended, I want you to return here, to me. I want to know if you wish to cede your Gift forever.”
Her skin prickled, as if she stood naked in a cold wind. Everything froze inside her and she had to tell herself to breathe. Nortia’s demand shouldn’t come as a shock. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t considered herself.
But hearing it aloud made it too real.
Her lungs began to seize, unable to draw in enough air. Her head actually swam but she nodded, pushing away the fear and the uncertainty. Instead, she reached for the anticipation, the desire, the longing she felt at all times for Duke and Nic.
And felt a small measure of calm ease her unsteady nerves.
“Thank you, Lady.”
“Don’t, Tira. Not now. Not until all is said and done. Because I can assure you, nothing ever works out as we intend.”
With those cryptic words, Nortia disappeared.
Tira stood silently, waiting for something to happen. To feel differently. Some physical sense that her Gift was gone.
But she felt nothing like that. Only fear. Not that Nortia wouldn’t keep her end of the deal.
No, she feared she would want to give up her Gift tomorrow. And that would make her an even worse coward.
Chapter Seven
Nic couldn’t sleep when he got home.
Duke had headed to Kyle’s to check on Kaine and talk about what they were going to do next about the eteri kidnappings.
Yeah, it was only six in the morning but Kyle wouldn’t mind. He never got upset if they dropped in on him unannounced for whatever reason.
Besides, they knew better than to knock on Kyle’s door if he and Tam were getting it on. A lucani’s incredible sense of smell came in handy for avoiding awkward moments.
Of course, now Nic didn’t know what the hell to do with himself.
He had too much restless energy to sleep but he knew his body couldn’t take another run. He needed some downtime.
Catch-22.
So he paced. Then he threw himself on the couch and picked up the TV remote, forcefully avoiding thoughts of what he’d done the last time he’d sat here.
He flipped through three hundred channels. Kaine’s television addiction was legendary. God forbid she couldn’t watch her shows, however many there were.
He checked the DVR and found a couple of old MXC episodes. Typically the show’s crude, juvenile humor made him laugh. Not so much today.
With a disgusted sigh, he shut off the TV and turned on the satellite radio. Duke’s metal blasted through the six speakers in the open living space.
Definitely not in the mood for thrash or death metal. He’d be bouncing off the walls in no time.
No, he definitely needed some Sinatra.
He swore his pulse settled as the first few bars of New York, New York eased into the air. The man’s voice was pure solid gold.
With Frank taking care of his blood pressure, he figured he might as well do something constructive. He booted up his laptop, sat on the couch and started to run down the address of the house that had nearly killed him.
Before Tira had laid out his death sentence, he’d considered getting a degree in computers. He loved them, loved putting them together, loved coding. Computers were puzzles that had fascinated him since he’d begged his parents to get one when he was ten.
They’d relented after almost a year of constant begging. And when he’d shown an aptitude for it, they’d actually considered sending him to a private eteri school to study. That consideration had been turned down in seconds, though. Since you could never be sure when your change would come, and because preteen lucani males needed to expend a lot of excess energy, lucani children were all homeschooled. At least as far as the human government believed. In reality, the lucani who lived in the den attended classes together.
Now he was damn good at finding information other people wanted to hide.
He hadn’t gotten far when he heard Duke’s Jeep in the distance.
Tira.
The relief was almost painful. But on its heels came doubt.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his now-uneasy stomach.
Would she stay?
Though he hadn’t said anything to anyone, Nic knew his time was running out.
He was going to die. Tira had seen it and she hadn’t been wrong yet.
For years, he’d been throwing himself into danger without fear because he’d known it wasn’t his time to die. Not yet.
But he couldn’t say that anymore. He felt it, like a hand on his back. Always there, pressing him forward, urging him closer to the end.
For years, he’d said he didn’t care so long as he lived the time he had to the edge. And he had. He hadn’t let fear dictate any part of his life. The only regret he had was Tira.
His death would be hardest on her because she’d seen it already. At least twice.
And when he wa
s gone, he knew she and Duke would shatter too. Unless he helped them form a bond now that could withstand his death.
But he still wanted her.
And she was coming home.
With his heart pounding almost painfully in his chest, he put the laptop aside and walked to the window by the door. He watched her park the Jeep in front of the house, watched her sit in the car, staring at the slowly brightening horizon.
Was she praying? Thinking? Was she going to get her stuff and run?
She couldn’t. He couldn’t let her go. Not now.
He could barely see her face in the hazy light. But when the sun finally broke over the hills, he watched her leave the car, her expression calm as she walked toward the house.
Or was it?
He couldn’t read her. Duke was much better at reading people than he was. The guy might not know what to say most of the time, or even care to say anything, but he knew what people were thinking, even when they didn’t.
Nic tended not to look below the surface. Usually because he didn’t want to see what people were hiding.
By the time Tira reached the porch, Nic realized what he thought was calm was actually determination.
His heart stuttered. She was leaving. Gods damn—
She opened the door as he stepped away from the window, ready to beg her to stay.
She had to stay.
He forced the demand back down his throat and took a deep breath as her gaze met his.
The look in her eyes…
Something had changed. He didn’t know what but a yawning pit opened in his stomach.
“Tira. What… Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Where’s Duke?”
He frowned. Her voice held a tone he hadn’t heard in years. At least not directed at him.
“At Kyle’s. Ti, what’s going on? Where were you?”
She nodded, her gaze dropping for two seconds before meeting his again. “I love you. You know that, right? Even though I haven’t said it, you know, don’t you?”
That pit kept growing. “Ti, what—”
“I went to Uni’s Temple. I wanted three days. I didn’t think that was too much to ask, but Nortia would only agree to one. Sunrise to sunrise.”
Vaffanculo. Nic thought he knew where she was going with this. “Sweetheart, what did you ask for?”
“You understand, don’t you?” She bit her lip, her expression falling as if he’d told her she’d done something wrong. “Why I had to.”
She moved closer and kept coming even when she reached that invisible barrier she’d never crossed before with him. He sucked in a deep breath then couldn’t seem to release it.
“You won’t turn me away, will you, Nic?”
“Tira, what—”
She lifted her hands, so slowly he couldn’t help but freeze, their gazes locked as he waited for the touch he craved.
The only woman he’d ever wanted to touch him held her hands centimeters from his face.
“Do you love me?” Her gaze burned into his.
“With all my heart, Tira.”
Her hands shook as she finally pressed her palms to his cheeks. They both drew in sharp breaths as her cool flesh met his overheated skin.
The look on her face was sheer joy and her wavering smile was a revelation.
“We have one day, Nic. She released me from my Gift for one day. No consequences, just twenty-four stolen hours. I don’t want to waste a minute.”
His body moved before his brain completely processed her words. Wrapping his arms around her, he brought her flush against him. His cock had already started to thicken by the time he put his mouth over hers and kissed her.
Blessed Goddess, he wanted to savor every sensation firing through his body. The silk of her lips under his, the rise and fall of her chest against his.
His eyes closed so he could taste her better. Desire, heat and desperation. He couldn’t remember if this is how she’d tasted so many years ago. Didn’t know why he even thought of that other than the fact that she felt different.
She’d been so slim the first time he’d held her when she was eighteen. A beauty with a hint of curves to come but tiny and breakable. Too fragile to release his full desire.
Since then, she’d filled out the promise of those curves. With her arms wound around his neck, her full breasts nestled against his chest. His hands latched on to her hips so he could lift her off her feet.
He wouldn’t drop her, he’d never drop her. He just needed to hold her.
She sighed into his mouth, a surrender if ever he’d known one.
And his brain simply cut off all higher functions. Such as thought and reason.
He knew only one purpose.
Get inside her. Make her his.
With one arm wrapped around her, he used the other to loosen her jeans. He didn’t have to tell her to take her shoes off. She’d already toed them off herself. When he pushed her jeans down her legs, they slid right to the floor.
He didn’t hesitate to rip her underwear off. He’d buy her as many more pairs as she wanted. All sky-blue silk to match her eyes.
Though they’d never match the softness between her thighs.
He moaned as he let his fingers glide through the moist lips of her sex. Wet and hot. For him.
“Nic.” She moaned his name, her mouth breaking from his to settle on his neck, nipping and sucking. His cock throbbed in his jeans, frustrated by the imprisonment. “Please. Hurry.”
“Yes.” He could only say yes. To anything she said.
He knew what she wanted. What he wanted.
He opened his eyes, his fevered brain spotting exactly what he needed.
Taking two steps forward, he pressed her back against the front door. With solid oak at her back and his body plastered to her front, she was trapped.
Thrusting his hips against hers, he nestled his cock between her thighs, let himself rest there for two brief seconds before he shoved the denim over his hips and freed his cock.
Warm air brushed against overheated skin, making his balls tighten. Her hips tilted the slightest bit forward to brush her sex against the tip, causing them both to shudder.
Mindless desire threatened to sweep him under and he wanted to take her hard and fast. Make her his completely.
He tried to rein in the impulse but his body had a mind of its own.
And Tira wasn’t helping. She moaned as the tip of his shaft brushed against her clit then wriggled until it happened again.
Flames licked through his cock and balls and up his spine as his head fell back. Her tongue swiped at his Adam’s apple before her teeth nipped at the tendon. Her labored breathing rivaled his own and the motion of her hips became demanding.
Her hands slid into his hair, her nails scratching along his scalp before her fingers curled and caught in the strands. She tugged on the curls he’d tried to tame. But the last few months he’d forgotten to get a haircut. Now he groaned at the sheer ecstasy of her hands tormenting him.
And how much better it would be when he got inside her.
He couldn’t wait any longer. Had to—
Grabbing her hips, he lifted her slightly and plunged home.
They both sucked in deep breaths, their gazes connecting as he buried himself in her warm, tight depths.
Her eyes widened as her lips parted and the look of sheer pleasure on his face made his blood pump furiously through his body. He wanted to fuck her so hard and long that she knew only him.
But that wasn’t going to happen. At least, not this time.
Already, his orgasm built in his balls, warning flashes of sensation prickling down his spine and through his cock.
He was going to come. Any second.
She had to come too.
Planting his mouth over hers, he kissed her hard, stole her breath as she moaned into his mouth.
Her fingers dug even harder into his scalp and her hips arched higher, forcing more of him into her. His hips took up the cause, faste
r and faster, shuttling in and out as her sheath rippled and flexed around him.
She sucked on his tongue with intense pressure as she mimicked the motion of his cock. So much sensation. Too much to hold back.
Gods damn. He was coming, his cock spurting his seed hard and fast inside her. Frantic to make sure she came as well, he continued to thrust.
He dragged his mouth away from hers. “Come on, baby. Come for me. Now.” He thrust hard, ground into her. “Right now. I want to feel you give in too.”
Whether it was his words or his actions, she shuddered in his arms, her legs tightening around his waist as she sobbed out his name and climaxed.
Nic forced his knees to lock so he wouldn’t fall as she continued to ripple around him, milking his cock of every last drop of his orgasm.
Eyes closed, he soaked in the feelings. Her breasts crushed against his chest, her hands in his hair. Her pussy gripped his shaft as tight as a fist.
And the words spilled from his mouth. “Love you, sweetheart. So much.”
With a little sigh, she nipped his earlobe. But said nothing.
* * * * *
“So he won’t say anything?”
“He refuses to say anything, except to thank Tam for her medical care,” Kyle said.
Duke stood in the doorway of Kyle’s daughter’s bedroom, studying the sleeping eteri. Kyle had one of the guy’s ankles cuffed to the four-poster bed, allowing him some freedom of movement. Just not enough to make a run for it.
Kaine, in her wolf pelt, slept on the floor by the bed.
“Is that safe?” Duke asked. “Letting her sleep in there?”
Behind him, Kyle sighed. “Of course not, but she refuses to leave him.”
“Have you had Kaine talk to him?”
“She refuses to talk to him in her skin.” Kyle shook his head. “She’s got a fucking crush on the guy. She’s protecting him, won’t leave his side. She was so injured, I haven’t pushed it. But this is a fucking Greek tragedy waiting to happen.”
“You think he’s hiding something?” Duke turned his head to look at Kyle, standing a few feet behind him.
“Oh, hell yeah.” Kyle sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his frustration starting to show. “And he won’t talk because he thinks he’s traded one prison for another. But until we know who he is and why he was being held, I can’t risk telling him more than he’s safe and we don’t want to hurt him. I’m thinking about letting him go and having Kaine track him so we can put some eyes on him, see what he does. Maybe whoever took him will take another stab at him and we can follow him back to them.”
Moonlight Menage Page 11
