by Dora Blume
“Playful, are we?” He looked into her eyes lit with fire.
“Well, it took you so long to get back here.” She smirked and scratched his chest again.
“I slept a while. Now, I want to enjoy being alive, with you.” She captured his lips and clutched at his back with one hand while the other gripped his hair. She was fierce and hungry in her embrace. He was more than happy to give all of himself to her. He needed to feel her vitality as much as she needed to give it. He nipped her lip and went to memorizing her skin with his lips. Tonight, he wanted to cherish every inch of the woman he loved.
Chapter 20
“Oh coffee, how I love thee.” Sloane gripped her mug in both hands and took a sip. Mike rolled his eyes at her but took a drink from his mug.
“Maybe, if you slept more, you wouldn’t need coffee so much,” Erik said as he stood in front of the stove, stirring the scrambled eggs in the pan before him.
“Shut up and finish breakfast. I’m starving.” She smirked.
“Hey, don’t talk to him like that. He’s making us all breakfast. You should be nicer to him.” Jessie walked behind Erik, pinching his butt. She leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I appreciate you making us breakfast.”
“Thanks, babe. Sloane can make her own damn breakfast.” He scrunched his nose in her direction.
“Whatever, Erik you know you love me and would miss me if I were gone. Besides, who else here is going to give you shit? I’m just trying to keep you humble, little brother.” She squared her shoulders.
“Humble my ass,” Erik muttered under his breath.
“Okay, so let’s get our morning straight. Sloane and Mike are going to Caribou to meet Chloe. Erik and I are headed to the school to see what deliveries they’ll be expecting. Then, we’re meeting Scott at nine to get a truck. We will all rendezvous back here at say, ten to plan how we’re going to the school. Caroline is meeting her friends and making sure everyone gets here. Anything I’m missing?” Jessie asked.
“What about Nick?” Mike asked.
“He’ll be helping Caroline and meeting with the people Magnus is sending from Denver. He’s been on the phone all morning according to Erik.” She leaned against the counter and met Erik’s eyes.
“I still can’t believe you woke us up before the sun to do this. Just because you have to be at the school by six, doesn’t mean I had to get up at the butt-crack of dawn. I don’t have to be to the coffee shop until eight.” Sloane huffed and took another drink from her mug wrapping both hands around it.
“We all needed to be on the same page. The best way to do that was to be in the same room. Besides, Erik offered breakfast. I know you’d roll your ass out of bed for breakfast.” Jessie chided.
“True, I do love breakfast and coffee.” Sloane took another drink. “Mmm, coffee.”
“I think we can find something to do for a few hours, love.” Mike winked at Sloane.
“Could you two not do that while I’m here? That’s my sister. I’d rather not think about that, like ever.” Erik dished the eggs onto six plates. Jessie opened the oven and took out a pan of steaming cinnamon rolls. She set it on the counter and began icing them. “Babe, you should wait a minute for them to cool first.” He bent to kiss her on the cheek, and she set the knife down on the lid and turned.
“Whatever, I could hear Jessie all the way down the hall last night. What time did you two finally decide to sleep, or did you sleep?” Sloane narrowed her eyes at Erik.
“Sloane, do you mind?” Jessie said, placing her hand on her hip.
“Not at all, you sounded like you were having a good time.” She winked at Jessie.
“Ugh, Sloane!” She turned and went back to icing the cinnamon rolls. Erik pinched her butt, and she jumped, then relaxed when she met his eyes. He bent and kissed her lips gently then moved to stand behind her, resting his neck on her shoulder, wrapping his hands around her waist as she finished.
He whispered next to her ear, “I had a good time.” He nibbled her earlobe and backed away to put bacon on each of the plates. Jessie set a frosted cinnamon roll on each plate and walked two over to the table, setting them in front of Sloane and Mike. Erik took the other two and set them in the open spots. “I’m going to run two plates to Caroline and Nick. I know they haven’t slept and could probably use some food.” He walked down the hall to Caroline’s study and was back, sitting to eat his food.
“Damn Erik, who knew you could cook?” Mike said as he shoveled eggs into his mouth quickly.
“I’ll take that as a compliment since you barely came up for air to say it.” Erik bent to eat his eggs.
“Yeah, bro this is delicious,” Sloane said, finishing off her bacon and going for the roll.
When they were finished, Erik grabbed his leather coat and looked to Jessie. “You ready, babe?”
“Yeah, I just want to grab a few things upstairs. I’ll be back in a sec.” She bolted up the stairs.
“Mike, you’ll call if anything changes.” He looked to Mike expectedly.
He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll call you after the meeting.”
“Sounds good,” He looked as Jessie came back into the room. “All set?”
“Yep, see you guys later.” She walked out the door and to the car.
“So, you feel up to this today?” Erik asked Jessie when they were alone in the car.
“Of course, why?” She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Just checking, I know you put up a front for everyone else, but you can be honest with me Jess. If you’re not up to this, you can take it easy. No one would fault you for it.” Erik reached to take Jessie’s hand, but she pulled her hand away. He turned quickly.
Her eyes narrowed, glaring at him. “Thanks, for caring or whatever, Erik, but I’m fine. I can handle myself, okay?” She said and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I know you can handle it, babe. You can handle anything. It’s just that sometimes I worry you push yourself too hard for others. I want to make sure someone is taking care of you.” He placed his hand on her thigh and squeezed.
Jessie dropped her hands and gazed into Erik’s eyes. “Thank you,” she breathed. “I’m fine though, Erik. I promise. I need to be able to help later today. I’m the only one who can freeze the students. I don’t want anyone to have to fight our kids. What the demons are doing isn’t right. I want to make sure that no one has to fight their kid.” She dropped her head and balled her hands into fists. Erik reached to take one of her hands. He understood. He couldn’t imagine being in Nick or Caroline’s shoes right now, and to think about them possibly having to fight their daughter. It was unimaginable. He squeezed Jessie’s hand and drove the rest of the way to the school in silence. He pulled up and parked in the lot nearest the loading docks. He wanted to keep an eye on who was coming and going. He would bring back notes to the others about how many demons were in the building.
Jessie lounged back putting her foot up on the dash. Erik looked over at her foot and took a deep breath. He always hated it when girls did that. No guy would ever put his foot up on the dash. He had too much respect for his car. He looked back toward the building and began sifting through thoughts for something useful.
He heard the kitchen manager was expecting a delivery from the food wholesaler and Pepsi to fill the vending machines. He took a mental note and continued to listen. They were both supposed to be there in the afternoon which he wasn’t too happy about. They usually received their food order early in the morning, so he could have it all put away before they had to serve. Now, the truck would be coming in the middle of the day. He would have to pull a few people off prepping for dinner to put the food away. He picked up the phone to see if Carlos could come in early to help. Erik knew he might have just found someone to help them.
He looked to Jessie. “Text Magnus and let him know the food truck is delivering late today. Sometime late afternoon. Also, text Nick and ask him if he can find out who Carlos is. He works at the school. He’s coming in early to
help put away the food. If we come in that truck, maybe we can get Carlos to help us so that we won’t be noticed. If he’s already expecting the truck and coming in just for that, it’ll be perfect. I don’t know how we got so lucky, but we did.” He squeezed Jessie’s hand.
Jessie reached for her phone and typed messages to the two. Erik continued to listen for how many demons were in the building. It was harder to tell since many of the people here were still sleeping. He slipped between dreams to see whose thoughts may be off. The demons wouldn’t influence sleep, so they’d be dormant. He wouldn’t have a good number until everyone was awake. No one had even come into the office, yet. The only people who were awake in the building were the kitchen staff and the cleaners.
“Jessie, I know this may sound crazy, but what if we went in and planted some bugs around the offices? Especially, say, Mr. Hall’s office, so we could hear what was going on even away from here.” He looked over to her, and she furrowed her brow in confusion.
“How would we do that? Aren’t there people in the building, right now?”
“The only people in there are the kitchen staff and cleaners, and just as we thought, they’re not possessed. We could slip in undetected before anyone else wakes up.” His eyes were lit with excitement.
“I guess we could. Do you even have any bugs in here? We didn’t exactly plan for this.” She shrugged. “I don’t think we’d have time if we had to go back for them.”
“I have a few in my duffel in the back. It’s the same one I always take when doing any recon. I keep bugs in there just in case. Today that will come in handy. It has come in handy a lot. It’s why I always keep a stash of them in there. They are connected to my laptop so that I can listen in as far as ten miles away without interference. You up for it?” He looked over at Jessie. He was worried about her, but her face wasn’t ashen and pale like it was yesterday. She had gotten rest and seemed to be doing good. He didn’t want to put her in any unnecessary harm, but he could use her skills if he wanted to make this a quick run into the building.
She could easily freeze anyone as they went. It would be easy with her help. “Yeah, I’m up for it. We could easily slip in and out as long as all the people are out of the offices. You’re sure that no one is in there? We won’t have any surprises?” She focused her attention on Erik.
“I don’t hear anyone. They could be wearing amulets, but it’s not even seven yet. My bet is they’re all still sleeping. We could sneak in easily, plant the bugs and be back in the car before anyone notices. It’ll take ten, fifteen minutes, tops.” He studied Jessie.
She nodded her head. “Alright, let’s do it.”
He took the key from the car and slipped out toward the trunk. He grabbed the bugs and tucked a 9mm into his waistband. He never went into a building without a weapon. He had another tucked into this boot. Jessie did the same, pulling her jacket down over her back. He looked her in the eyes.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yep,” she responded, nodding her head once.
“Alright, let’s slip through the employee entrance. Mike was right; it’s the easiest way to get into the building without being noticed. It’s also the only door unlocked at this hour. If you see anyone, freeze them. It’d be nice not to have to answer any questions as we go.” He took her hand in his.
“Got it.” She squeezed his hand and walked alongside him to the door. He dropped her hand to open the door for her. No one was on the other side, so they walked down the hall. When they were approaching the break room, Erik reached his hand out to take Jessie’s. He jerked his head to the side, and she nodded. She froze the few that were in the room and unfroze them after they’d strode by. She did the same when they walked by the doors to the kitchen. They made it to the stairs, and they both hustled up, Erik taking two at a time.
They reached the door to Mr. Hall’s office. Erik reached for the handle, but it was locked. He swept his hand out giving Jessie space to work. She took two pins out of her ponytail and put them in the lock, twisting until it clicked. She opened the door, and they both slipped inside. Erik closed the door and let out the breath he’d been holding.
“Well, that was easy,” he said.
“Dammit Erik, you’re not supposed to say that. You’ll jinx us.” Jessie shook her head.
“What? We’ll be fine. As long as I have you, nothing will go wrong.” He bent to kiss her.
“What the fuck? Seriously, you are trying to get us killed? You did it twice. Plant the damn bugs before the cavalry comes rushing through the door after your stupidity.” Jessie stepped away from him.
Erik followed and grabbed her belt loops and kissed the crook of her neck. “How about we have a little fun while we’re here.” He whispered in her ear. He nibbled her earlobe and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Are you crazy? First, you jinx us. Now, you want to spend more time here than we need to.” She took a step forward, but Erik went with her. He cupped her breasts in his hands, massaging each nipple through her shirt. She moaned and leaned into him when his tongue dipped into her ear, and his fingers pinched each nipple. “Dammit, Erik. We don’t have time for this.” Her breathing became ragged.
“Come on, Jess. I will hear if anyone is coming. Haven’t you always dreamt of doing it in the headmaster’s office?” He continued to work his way down her neck, toying with her nipple in the process.
She turned and captured his lips. Raising both hands to his face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into her. She kissed him passionately, winding her fingers in his hair. He responded instantly, his jeans tightening.
He moved his hands to cup her butt and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her to the desk, depositing her on top of it. His lips still locked with hers. He lowered his hands to lift her shirt, cupping her bare breast beneath. “Mmm,” she moaned against his mouth as he toyed with her peaked nipples. “Erik,” she breathed. He raised her shirt above her head. She reached her hand behind her to take the gun out of her waistband and set it on the desk. He moved his mouth to suck and nibble her breast. She clutched his hair in her hand, moaning. Her head fell back as he continued to make her writhe beneath his mouth. He reached his hands to the button of her jeans.
He moved back to her mouth to capture her lips. One hand continued to pinch and rub her nipple; he lowered her down to the desk. He moved back to unzip her jeans. He slid the denim over her waist and froze. “Shit,” he whispered and bolted upright. He leaned forward holding his hand out to Jess. “There’s someone up here.” He took her hand and pulled her down behind the desk.
“Erik, what are we doing?” She reached her hand up to pull her gun down off the desk. Erik popped up to straighten the few things they’d disturbed in their passion. He bent back behind the desk.
“It’s not a demon, but if they open the door, it’s better if they don’t think anyone is here,” Erik whispered.
“I told you that you jinxed us. What the hell were we thinking?” Jessie’s eyes widened.
“We were thinking about having a little fun.” He moved and nipped her lip quickly. “Now, shush, before he hears you.” He put his finger to his mouth. Jessie bit her lip and looked toward the door.
Erik moved his hand to her face and cupped her cheek. He didn’t like that they’d been interrupted. He looked down at Jessie’s taut nipples. Shit, where’s her shirt? He thought. He turned and peeked around the desk. Her shirt was on the floor next to the desk. He reached his hand out and grabbed it. He held it out to her. “Not that I don’t mind your current attire, but here.” He winked at her.
She slipped her shirt over her head. “Thanks,” she mouthed.
“Have I told you, yet how happy I am you chose not to wear a bra today? Because I am, really, really, happy.” He looked down at the two beads which were sticking out through her thin cotton shirt. He raised his eyebrows at her. She shook her head, hitting his arm playfully and rolled her eyes at him.
&
nbsp; “I think the coast is clear. So, where were we.” He moved to kiss Jessie. She put her finger up on his lips before he could reach her mouth.
“Oh no, you don’t. We are planting those bugs and getting back to the car. There’s no way we’re getting caught in here when the demons show up.” She tucked the gun back in her waistband and pulled her shirt down. Erik looked down to his too tight pants and back up to meet Jessie’s eyes.
“Not even a quickie under the desk?” he smiled and stuck his lip out in a pout.
“No, it’s your fault we’re even here. Now, let’s get this done and go back to the car. We have work to do.” Jessie stood up and walked away from the desk.
Erik stood, trying to think of anything other than Jessie sprawled over the desk a few minutes ago. If he hadn’t heard the guy outside, he’d be enjoying himself. He cursed his power and planted a bug under the desk. He’d already put one under the lamp when they’d come in.
“Last chance to finish what we started.” Erik raised his eyebrows toward Jessie.
“No, let’s go before we have any more trouble. They should be coming into the office soon.”
“Ugh, fine.” He crossed his arms over his chest. Jessie laughed her sweet laugh, and he couldn’t help but smile.
“You’re cute when your pouting. Don’t worry we’re not done, just done for right now.” She winked and opened the door. No one was in the hall, and they took the same route back to the car. They had made it in and out without being noticed, and they had ears in Mr. Hall’s office. They would be able to hear what was going on back at Caroline’s house. Erik was happy with what they’d gotten done that morning.
