“No.” Her slender hands cupped his jaw. “You were always in there. You were always a good man, Kade. I’m convinced of that. I’m just the first one you ever let see it.”
Chapter 16
Love for Kade poured through Autumn as she sensed he was finally starting to believe the truth. To believe she loved him.
His mouth covered hers in a deep, drugging kiss, his tongue sweeping inside, ending the conversation. She could feel the need in this kiss as she had his others, but something had changed. There was a gentleness beneath the passion this time. Almost a reverence. And she felt the miracle of his love.
Slowly their kiss deepened. Kade slid his hands down her back and into the waist of her sweatpants, his fingers cupping her buttocks, sending heat of an entirely different kind flooding through her system.
While his hands kneaded her bottom, he kissed her cheek, then trailed kisses down her neck, making her shudder again with a feeling that had nothing to do with cold or fear. And while her mind was abuzz with questions and fears of what might be happening on the outside of their cage, she understood what he was asking for. Understood what he was offering.
Paradise. For a few hours. Maybe a day. Before she became too thirsty, too hungry, too cold to give him anything more.
Could she forget and give herself up to him for those hours?
Kade kissed her forehead, then her temple, sending shivers racing through her. “Let me love you as you’ve never been loved. I can make you forget everything but me, everything but us. If you’ll let me.”
And this would be the last joy he might have for centuries. The last memory. The last love.
She slid her arms around his neck and kissed his mouth. “Love me, Kade,” she whispered against his lips. “Love me as no one ever has before nor ever will again.”
He kissed her, his mouth covering hers, his lips brushing over hers with tenderness, his kisses growing harder, more urgent with every brush of his lips. But the fire erupted between them and the tenderness turned to need and want. A shiver went through her, part cold, part pure heat as he slid one hand lower, stroking the dampness between her legs.
She gasped and rocked with pleasure against his hands. “I want you. I want to feel you beneath my hands. I want to feel you against me. Over me. In me.”
Kade groaned. “If only I could get out of these damned handcuffs.”
He would be wearing them until they disintegrated and fell off him. The thought was too terrible to contemplate. She pulled her mind back from the abyss and embraced the moment, refusing to look ahead even a few hours. They had now. And now would have to be enough.
He pulled his arms from around her and pressed her back to the floor. She could see his dark form moving across the wavering moon, then felt his hands at her waist. Her sweatpants and panties slid down her thighs and legs. She heard the soft whisper of fabric on skin and knew he was probably removing his jeans and boxers. The thought made her moist and hot.
He stretched out beside her, his hands moving over her in tandem, the cool chain of the handcuffs between them. One strong hand traced the contours of her body, setting her aflame with each touch, with each kneading of her breast, with each stroke of her hip.
She leaned up and kissed his shoulder and his chest, then grew bold in this desperate hour and reached for him, wanting to feel him in her hands. Her fingers slid over the soft head to the hard, silken shaft. It filled her hand, moving against her palm.
A groan escaped Kade’s throat and his lips fastened on her shoulder. “So beautiful,” he murmured, his kisses trailing to her neck.
“You can’t even see me.”
“You feel beautiful. And my hands feel what my eyes have seen before, remembering the contours, raising the pictures in my head. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, ever known.”
She gasped, excitement shivering through her body as his tongue trailed beneath her ear.
“Lie down for me.”
She did and reached for him, but he didn’t cover her body as she expected. She felt him rise onto his elbow a moment before his mouth grazed the top of her breast. His kisses moved lower until his hot mouth covered her breast, sucking the fullness into his mouth right through her bra. She dug her fingers into his hair, holding his face against her, never wanting the wonderful sensations to end.
Her breath caught in her throat as his mouth left her breast. She felt him shift onto his knees. Her stomach quivered as his kisses resumed, leaving damp shivers down her abdomen. His hand hooked beneath her thigh and lifted, opening her to his seeking mouth. Even as the chilled chain dragged across her tender flesh, the heat inside her exploded to fire.
“Kade!” She feared she would come out of her skin at the exquisiteness of the feeling. His tongue slid over her, inside her, sending sensations shooting through her body and spiraling down her limbs, melting her from the inside out. She gasped and arched against his mouth, rocking her hips, desperate for completion.
Just when she thought she would come undone, he lifted his face and kissed her belly. He moved back up her body, kissing the top of her breast.
“I’ve dreamed of this,” he murmured, his voice rich with satisfaction. He covered her mouth with a deep, drugging kiss, and her body with his as he cradled her head in his bound hands.
She opened her legs, welcoming his weight and his warmth, and the full, hard length of him as he pressed that great fullness against her most sensitive flesh. He entered her slowly, stretching her with ease, sending shafts of brilliant joy arcing through her body. She was ready for him, incredibly in need of this closeness, this completeness.
He filled her, the feeling so intense, so perfect, that on that first stroke he sent her tumbling over the edge in an explosion of passion, finishing what he’d started with his mouth.
He pulled partway out, then thrust into her again and again, every slide of his thickness sending more wondrous contractions cascading through her. Slowly, the heat began to build all over again, her body rising toward another crest.
Kade’s body melded with hers in a perfect symmetry. Higher and higher she rose this time. Love for the man in her arms nearly overwhelmed her and tears trickled down her cheeks.
“I love you, Kade,” she gasped against his cheek as she neared that final crest.
“I love you, Autumn McGinn.”
With the next thrust, she was gasping, swept away by the intensity of the explosion that went through her, an explosion that banished the cold and sent strength barreling through her body. She felt Kade tumbling with her on a groan of pure pleasure, thrusting hard. Again.
“Autumn.”
“Hmm?” She opened her eyes, then froze as she stared into a pair of blue nightlights. Kade’s eyes. In the glow from his eyes, she could see his hair flying above his head.
The stab of fear left over from before, dissipated in a wave of confusion. “But…I’m not a virgin anymore. How did we raise the power again?”
“I don’t know.”
Against her back, she felt an icy wetness and jerked. “It’s cold! Get up! I think we’ve sprung a leak.”
Kade pulled out of her in a last, shivering pleasure, then rolled away and pulled her up. As he looked toward the floor, his blazing eyes shone blue on what was definitely a growing puddle of water.
“We’ve punched a hole in the cage.” A triumphant grin lit his face.
Autumn stared at him. “Does that mean…? Do we have an escape? Or are we…am I…going to drown?”
He swung those blue beacons toward her. If anything they grew brighter. “You’re not going to drown. If we raised enough power to do this, we can enlarge it.” He moved away from her, screwing up his face as he yanked his hands apart. With a satisfying snap, the chains of the handcuffs broke.
He shrugged out of his coat and swirled it over her shoulders. “If we get out of here, we’ll be swimming. The fewer clothes the better.” He tore off his shirt and knelt before her, magnificently naked, his hair
flying, his blue eyes aglow. As wild and magnificent a male as was ever made.
He held out his hands to her, the cuff chains dangling from his wrists. She took his hands and he led her to the puddle.
“Sorry, this is going to be cold, but we need to focus all our energy on this one spot.”
Autumn nodded, looking into those glowing orbs with amazement. And love. “Let’s do it.”
“If calling our power hurts, tell me.” The smile that lit his mouth was nothing less than feral. “We’ll try raising it through more lovemaking.”
“Could you do it again so soon?” She hated being such an innocent.
His thumb stroked her cheek. “All I have to do is touch you and I want you all over again.” Lowering his hand, he tugged on hers. “Let’s try this first. I have an idea.”
He knelt in the puddle. “Come around behind me and put your hands on my shoulders.”
Autumn rose and went to kneel behind him, her knees sliding between his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he reached for her hands.
“I want you to hold on to my shoulders and envision your power going through me, sweet one. Do you understand? Don’t push against me. Push through me.”
“Okay. If this works, will the hole get bigger, or will the cage disappear?”
“I don’t know.” He squeezed her hands. “I hope we find out.”
He released her and she kissed his cheek. “Let’s blow this Popsicle stand.”
“Let’s…what?”
“Don’t ask.” Autumn laughed, something she never thought she’d do again. But hope was a heady emotion.
“Ready?”
“Do it.” Autumn cupped Kade’s bare shoulders with her hands and imagined the power surging through her, into him and through his hands.
The water was rising, covering her ankles. Her pulse pounded in her ears. “Is it working?”
“Something’s happening. Are you okay?”
“Yes. My hands are warm, but the power doesn’t hurt.”
“Keep doing whatever you’re doing. The hole’s getting bigger.”
Autumn concentrated hard, pouring everything into Kade on a river of love. Her hands grew warmer as power tingled through her, rising and growing, her mind and body clawing toward an unseen pinnacle. She almost felt as if she were racing for an orgasm, except this release, if it worked, would be literal.
The freezing water lapped at her calves. It was working. The water was rising quickly now.
Hope soared as she pushed harder, willing the power into Kade’s body.
More. More.
The power exploded in a rush, pain shooting through her body on a river of fire and joy.
“That’s it!” Kade shouted. “Hold your breath!”
She took one quick, gasping breath and the cage imploded.
Autumn struggled toward the surface, Kade holding tightly to her hand, pulling her up with him. Her head broke the surface and she expelled her caught breath in a gasp, her body still hot with pain. Icy water ran into her eyes and she pushed her hair back, blinking hard.
Kade caught her and pulled her to the ladder on the dock. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“The power hurt you. I felt it attack you as it surged.”
“It only hurt for a moment. That surge was what we needed.”
“Yes.” He helped her, half carrying her up the ladder, until they stood, dripping and all but naked on the docks beneath an almost full moon.
“Anyone who sees us is going to think we’re crazy.”
“Anyone who sees us is going to think they’re hallucinating.”
Autumn tried to laugh, but the effort was too painful. “We’ve got to call Jack. Tell him Zander has the stones.”
“We’ve got to get you dry and clothed before you get sick.” He swept her into his arms and headed for the houseboat.
Autumn laid her head against his shoulder. “Clothes are good. Maybe they left my purse on the deck with the house keys.”
Kade rushed onto the boat. “Can you stand?”
“I think so.”
He set her on her feet, propped against the side of the cabin. His eyes had stopped glowing, but the docks were relatively well lit.
“Do you see my purse?”
“No. Zander may have taken it to keep the stones in.”
“Cute. Unfortunately, that’s where my keys were.”
“I’m more concerned about the lack of a phone.” He took the sliding door in his hands and wrenched it off its track, removing it from its frame. “What time is it?”
“Why?”
“Because Zander’s opening that gate tonight.”
Autumn gaped at him. “But…it’s not the full moon.”
“He means to use the power of the stones. Apparently, Ustanis has the ability to manipulate them in that way.”
“But…the Sitheen won’t know. They won’t be there to stop him.”
“Exactly his plan.”
The direness of the situation washed over her anew as she stumbled into the dark houseboat and flipped on a light. Her anxious gaze flew to the clock on the microwave. “It’s almost eleven-thirty! We don’t have much time.”
“I need something to wear.”
Autumn grabbed a couple of towels and tossed Kade one, then ran back to her small bedroom. She’d taken most of her clothes, but had left a couple of things. She flipped on the light and pulled out a pair of sweatpants that might fit an extra large man. She looked up to find Kade standing in the doorway, towel drying his hair, his hard body gorgeous and still fully aroused. Her gaze moved up to his face and she found his eyes on her, thoroughly hot.
“Mmm-hmm.” She tossed him the sweatpants then dug a pair of panties out of her drawer.
“My body has a mind of its own where you’re concerned,” Kade said, pulling on the pants. “But it’s going to have to wait.” As she pulled on her jeans, he came to stand in front of her and cupped her bare shoulders with his hands. “Once you’re dressed, I want you to leave here. Leave the city so Zander will never find you.”
Autumn stared at him. “Kade…no way. I’m coming with you.”
He shook his head. “I’m not risking you again.”
“I love that you’re trying to protect me, but if those stones fall into the hands of your king, I’m doomed. You said so yourself. Let me help you. If my life is over, let me go out trying to win.”
His eyes bored into her, ablaze with emotion and fear…for her. “If Zander gets his hands on you, he’ll kill you.”
“I know that. But maybe I can help you. I helped you get out of that cage, didn’t I?”
He didn’t look convinced.
“Kade, please. All my life I’ve wanted to do something important. This is my chance to make a difference. To actually help instead of always screwing things up.”
He grabbed her. “I can’t lose you.”
“I can’t lose you, either. Which is why I refuse to send you there alone. Don’t take this from me, Kade. Let me help. Let me be part of this.”
She could see the struggle written across his face. And knew the moment she’d won. “This really means that much to you?”
“You know it does.”
He kissed her hard. “You have more courage than anyone I’ve ever known.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Against my better judgment.”
Autumn grinned and finished dressing in record time. She grabbed a jacket and hurried after him through the open door. “Are we going to run all the way to Dupont Circle?”
“No, it’s too far. And we need to get a phone.” He grabbed her hand and they ran through the marina and up to the street, which was lined with bars and restaurants.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m hoping I’m able to control others again.”
Autumn squeezed his hand. “A cop!”
“Perfect.” He started running toward the police cruiser as it pulled into a parking lo
t half a block down.
“Kade, are you crazy? They’ll try to arrest us, again!”
He released her hand. “Wait here. They can’t harm me.”
“No.” She sighed as he took off. “And you’ll make such a great impression with those broken handcuffs around your wrists.”
She watched as he started running, moving so fast, she could hardly see him. He reached the police officer as he was getting out of his cruiser, probably without the man ever knowing he was there. The cop got back into the car and Kade jumped in behind him. A minute later, the car pulled up in front of Autumn. She opened the back door and jumped in.
Kade touched the officer’s neck. “You will put on your sirens and drive to Dupont Circle as quickly as you would in the direst emergency. First give me your phone.”
“Personal phone,” Autumn said hurriedly, not wanting to be handed some high tech cop thing.
“Personal phone.”
The cop pulled something from his back pocket and handed it to Kade, then started the sirens and took off.
Kade handed Autumn the phone. “Is there a problem?” he asked as she stared at it in consternation.
“I’m trying to decide the best way to go about this. I don’t know anyone’s numbers. They’re all programmed into my speed dial. Let me try 4-1-1.”
She called information, got nothing for Jack, but finally got a number for Larsen.
“Autumn?” Larsen asked sleepily.
“Larsen! The Esri have all seven stones and they’re opening the gate tonight.”
“What?”
“At midnight. Listen to me. Kade’s not what Jack thinks.”
“He’s Esri. Autumn, Kade is Esri! One of the cops shot him in the forehead and the bullet popped out.”
“I know he’s Esri. But he’s on our side. We’re heading to Dupont Circle right now to try to stop the other Esri from taking those stones through. We’ll meet you guys there.”
And hopefully one of them would get there in time to stop the Esri from taking those stones into Esria. Someone had to save the world.
Chapter 17
Kade held Autumn against him, relief flooding through him, as the cop tore through the relatively empty streets, sirens blaring. Against all odds, they’d escaped the shadow cage.
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