by TW Knight
The air shifted and the serene silence shattered. A wailing like nothing Bree heard before assaulted her. She didn't hear it so much as feel it resonate painfully through her body. Crying out, she covered her ears and leaned against Bass. The warrior wrapped himself around her, and grabbed Sam to pull him close as well.
"What is that?" Bree panted against Bass' chest.
"It's the Un-tar. Such pure Heavenly energy is too much for them to handle," he answered roughly.
Peeking over the protection of his bicep, Bree caught sight of the gathered demons writhing on the ground outside the villa's entrance. "Oh, God."
"Someone get them inside," Bass shouted. "Take them down to the gym!" Without hesitation or question, Tucker, Gina, and Serephina ran back to the manor. They collected the crying demons, and ushered them inside.
Bree turned back to the glorious sight before her. The Legend— as she thought of it —spread its great black wings and knelt next to Hogart. The warrior's rage-filled cries turned to whimpers, then screams when They laid their hands upon him.
The air in the courtyard stirred into a whirlwind, carrying with it the scent of roses. An overwhelming sense of belonging and love washed over Bree and she collapsed. Bass went to his knees with her, keeping Sam locked in his embrace.
"Everything will be alright," he whispered to the twins. "I'll keep you safe."
Looking up, Bree caught Bass' expression. His gaze was one of resolve, as though he'd come to some profound conclusion. Leaning forward, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. As he pulled away, a heatwave washed over the group, cutting off his words.
Next to her, Sam gasped. "Holy shit." He dug his fingers into her arm.
The light in the courtyard was blindingly bright, obscuring Hogart and the being Cassidy and Rail had become; there was nothing but a silver white ball which crackled and snapped with lightning.
In a trance-like state, Bass released her and moved toward the light. Bree grabbed for his arm, but he slipped through her grasp.
"What's happening," Sam asked filling the space the warrior vacated. "Is this what happened back at the hanger?"
"No. This is way different," she whispered. "Whatever's happening is affecting all of them."
All the warriors rushed forward, forming a loose circle around the light. As one, they stepped forward and vanished within the glow.
Warmth coming from the very center of her being spread over Bree. She was part of the light, part of every living thing on the island and in the world. The sensation threatened to overwhelm her. Fearing for her own sanity, she reached for Sam, but he screamed as if burned by her touch, and pulled away.
"Bree," he shouted, holding his head in his hands. "Help me!"
Tears blurred her vision and she reached for him again, only this time her brother leapt at her like a rabid animal. Breath exploded from her chest as Bree landed back on the stones. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get any air. Sam tightened his hands around her throat.
Gasping and fighting her brother's hold, Bree looked into dead eyes, no more than swirling black pits and she knew— Sam was possessed by whatever took hold of Hogart.
Her lungs burned and she slid toward oblivion. The ringing in her ears mixed with angry shouts and the pressure on her throat vanished. Sweet air rushed in to her lungs. Coughing, she struggled to sit up. Her rescuer turned out to be the mild-mannered Margarite perched on Sam's back, her arms wrapped around his neck. Tucker and Serephina struggled to hold him back.
"Don't hurt him," Bree rasped during a coughing fit. Before she stopped him, Tucker landed a devastating punch to the side of Sam's head and he toppled over.
"He's okay," Tucker reassured her, taking his belt off and using it to bind her brother's hands. "I just knocked him out."
Margarite knelt next to Bree, shaking. "What happened? Why did he attack you?"
Bree shook her head. "I think it has something to do with whatever happened to Hogart." She looked at the light encompassing half the courtyard.
"Maybe he needs to be in there, too," Gina offered. "I mean if it's supposed to help Hogart?"
Still coughing, Bree pushed to her feet with Margarite's help. "I think you're right. We need to get Sam into the light, too."
"On it!" With less care than a man handling a laundry sack, Tucker hefted Sam over his shoulder, took two steps, and tossed him into the glow.
The answering reaction was almost immediate. The light pulsed outward, accompanied by a heated shockwave knocking Tucker and everyone else off their feet, then imploded and vanished leaving the group stunned.
Blinking away tears, Bree stared at the bodies scattered around her. What had they done? Did adding Sam to the light create an overload? "Please tell me they're alive."
Tucker sighed as he touched one and then another. "Yeah. They're alive." A groan pulled his attention over to Rail. "And it looks like they're already coming around."
"Holy fuck," Bass spat. He sat up holding his head. He barely had time to react to the scene around him before a tearful Bree threw herself into his arms and knocked him down. "Uh. What the hell just happened," he asked in a rough voice.
Bree shook her head and sobbed.
Chapter Twenty-One
"That was intense," Boomer said, tossing back another shot of whiskey.
"Understatement of the century." Hacker scoffed, dropping onto the leather couch next to Boomer and accepted the bottle of Kentucky's finest from his friend. "How are the twins?"
Bass stalked into the media room looking like a kid who'd lost his puppy. "Sam's still out cold and Breanna's locked herself in her bedroom." Not that he could blame her. "I was just heading up there to see how she is."
"Any word on the others?"
"Everyone's checked out. Rail and Cassidy are upstairs sleeping off whatever they did. The only significant injuries were to Margarite from Sam trying to pull her off his back. But she'll be fine with some rest." Bass couldn't stop his admiring smile. "Who knew she had it in her?"
Hacker nodded in agreement. "Damn tough woman. How's Tam dealing with her commando raid?"
Snorting a laugh, Bass snatched the bottle away as Hacker passed it back to Boomer and took a swallow. "He's somewhere between, Oh my God I wish I could have seen you, and, Don't ever do something like that again." All three men chuckled. Handing the bottle back, Bass asked, "Where's Gina? I would have expected the two of you to be locked in your rooms together."
"She's still a little freaked out so I didn't argue when she said that she and Serephina were going with Kaz to check on the Un-tar. Whatever happened out there really, uh..." He took a drink. "Disturbed them."
"Well, it disturbed me, too." Hacker rubbed his face with both hands as though he could scrub the moment away. "I haven't a freakin' clue what happened after Cassidy and Rail turned into that whatever they turned into and laid hands on Hogart. Everything's a blank until I woke up on my ass looking at a fluffy cloud shaped like a bunny riding a skateboard."
Bass nodded and clapped the warrior on the shoulder as he walked out. "I know what you mean." He didn't remember anything past that point either. But at least he'd regained consciousness to find Breanna rushing into his arms. He'd wanted to tell her something while he'd held her, but in the chaos, those words were lost.
He stood in front of her door at a loss about what to do. How did one say, Sorry your brother went bat shit crazy and tried to kill you? From behind the wood, quiet sobs cut into his heart. The sensation disturbed him. Bass hadn't been kind and forgiving for centuries. No, he'd turned into the hedonistic bad-boy persona he wanted everyone to hate. Women, booze, and battle, that was the kind of male he'd chosen to be. The kind he needed to be to survive. All three of his vices were temporary and that's how he liked it. Permanence led to loss. He only deserved temporary.
Right?
No matter how he tried to convince himself he shouldn't start a real relationship with Breanna, no matter how hard he showed her he really was a love-�
�em-and-leave-‘em kind of guy, he kept picturing them together for however long they got in this life.
His knuckles grazed the wood lightly before he consciously decided to knock.
"Bree? Are you okay? Can I come in?"
When there was no answer, he turned away. A step from his own room, the door behind him cracked open.
"Bass?"
Her voice was the whisper of an innocent child and drove straight to his heart.
Without thinking, Bass folded his arms around her, holding her tight. Attempting to sooth her fears with quiet murmurs, he backed into her room and shut the door. "I'm so sorry, Bree. I'm sorry for everything. I should have been there for you and I wasn't."
"It's okay." She sniffled. "You couldn't have known that Sam would—" She sobbed and buried her face against his chest. "How?"
"Shush," Bass whispered into her hair, running his fingers through the tangled strands. "We'll figure out what's going on. We'll fix Sam and Hogart. I promise."
She nodded and wiped her eyes. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Just being here. The girls, they wanted to talk but..." She shook her head and slowly stepped back from his embrace. "I just couldn't. It reminded me too much of therapy after our parents."
As the space grew between them, Bass' heart paused, bereft from not having her against him. "We don't have to talk if you don't want to." He sighed. "We can just sit here instead."
Her tear-filled laughter gave him a glimpse of the emotional armor she worked to put back into place.
"So now you're mister sensitive? I thought you were the asshole who only wanted to fuck and fight."
"I am." Bass placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her from moving further away. "But after today, I'm also the guy who wants to protect and take care of you."
"Why?"
Bass opened his mouth, shut it, and shook his head before running his hands over his face. "Damned if I know. Maybe it's the soul-connection. Maybe I don't like seeing you hurt this way. Maybe I liked how easy it was talking to you back at the hanger. Maybe it was how worried you were about me." Maybe I should just shut my mouth.
"Then why have you been trying to push me away? Accusing me of trying to make us more than we are, when all I want to do is be friends?"
"Honestly?" When Breanna nodded, he answered, "Because this connection we have kind of freaks me out. It's not me. I'm not Mr. Sensitive. I am the one night stand, wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am, leave them begging for more as I walk out the door guy." Bass took her hands in his. Strong, knowing hands callused from using the sword. "I'm starting to feel things I don't understand and until I do, I thought you would be better off anywhere but near me."
"That's stupid." She gave his fingers a squeeze.
"But safer."
"For who?"
"Both of us." Pulling her close once again, Bass slid his hands around her waist until they rested on the small of her back. She fit perfectly against him. "I don't want to hurt you. But I will. That's just who I am. I'm dam— never mind."
Breanna looped her arms around Bass' neck and leaned in, placing a soft but meaningful kiss on his mouth. "I think that's who you want to believe you are so you don't get hurt."
"Bree—"
She stopped him with a finger over his lips. "No. You're going to try and convince me that I don't want this. That I don't want you. That it's just my emotions all mixed up over what happened today. Maybe you're right. Maybe I just want to feel alive. But I don't care. I believe we're supposed to be together, Bass. Can't we just have this here and now and worry about the rest later?" Breanna pulled his head down until their lips met. "Friends with benefits?"
Bass groaned, inhaling her fragrance, her essence. Breanna teased his mouth. First nipping and sucking his lower lip, teasing with her tongue before her kiss turned hungry and wanting. Her hands traced over his body, awakening a fire Bass was certain would consume them both.
"Bree, baby, are you sure?" he panted.
She nodded with a slight dip of her head, desire sparking in her eyes. "Yes."
In answer, Bass swept her up and carried her to the bed. "I don't want you to hate me later."
Breanna giggled. "For two days, all you've been trying to do is get me to hate you and now you're worried that I will?"
"I just don't want you to have that morning after regret." Staring into her eyes, searching for any sign of hesitation, he laid her back and brushed the hair from her face. "I don't want it to be a mistake for you."
Sobering, Breanna framed Bass' face in her hands. "Do you really think it would be mistake?" Her lower lip quivered.
"Yes, but only because I'm no good for you. You deserve better. You deserve someone long-term."
"Then lie to me. Tell me you're the best man for me. That no other can compare to you."
Bass laughed. "No man can compare to me." Dipping his head, he brushed his lips against hers in a soft kiss. "And I can't lie to you. You're my Aktura. The soul bond prevents me from lying to you."
"But you've tried to."
He shrugged. "Half-truths, maybe. Omissions, certainly. But not lies."
"Then tell me you don't want this and leave." Breanna let her hands drop away from his face.
Bass remained balanced on his arms, hovering above her, emotions surging through him. He finally smiled. "I can't." As he straightened, his fingers hooked her waistband. "Are you sure? Because once we start, I won't be able to stop."
At her nod, Bree's shorts vanished.
Kneeling on the bed he pulled the hem on Breanna's tank top over her breasts. As the fabric passed over her neck, Breanna raised her arms so he could pull the shirt off, but instead, Bass used it to trap her arms and blindfold her.
She wriggled beneath him to free herself. "Bass."
Ignoring her plea, Bass covered her body with his and began a slow torturous assault on her senses. Starting with kisses to tease her mouth, he switched to grazing his teeth across her pebbled nipples straining against her satin bra. Breanna moaned and arched her back, ruthlessly rubbing her hips on the hard ridge pressing against her belly.
At last he pulled the tank top free. "Touch me," he growled.
Breanna was more than happy to comply, freely exploring his body. When her fingers reached his waist band, they both froze. Bree nodded, a silent agreement there would be no turning back and no regrets.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Everything turned into a heated blur. Unable to fight the heat and desire building beneath his skin, Bass skimmed his hand across her belly. He wanted to claim her and ease the need building between them. Just here and now. That's what she'd said. That's what he could give her. When his fingers touched her panties, he didn't hesitate and tore the cotton aside. "God, you're beautiful," he rumbled in her ear, sliding his fingers against her core. She was hot and slick.
Breanna bucked with the first touch. "More!" She pressed her hand against his. "Don't stop."
Rumbling with ecstasy, Bass ripped open her bra. Breanna arched as he took her right nipple into his mouth, sucking hard, teasing her with his tongue. Bass pushed her back into the pillows, his mouth slanting over hers, devouring her.
"Bass?"
"Hmmm?" He turned his attention to her neglected nipple.
"Condom," she answered breathlessly.
"Don't need them. I lost the ability to create children when I was expelled from Heaven." Bass gazed into her eyes. "And I can neither catch nor transmit disease."
"You can't lie to me, right?"
He smiled brilliantly. "I cannot lie to you. Ever."
In response, Breanna's fingers slipped beneath the waistband on his sweatpants and grasped his cock. Bass pressed into her hand as she slid down, caressing him from base to crown and back, her thumb teasing his swollen tip. She whimpered when he pulled away. But it was only for a moment so Bass could shed the confining fabric. Poised above her once again, Breanna wrapped her legs around his hips and grasped his shoulders, pulling him clo
ser. "Please, Bass."
He groaned when she arched her hips, rubbing her slick heat against his swollen head. "You don't really want this," he choked out, his voice rough. "You don't really want me."
"I've wanted you since I first saw you," she confessed, eyes locked with his. "God, how I wanted you. Only you."
Mine! The word vibrated though his bones like a gong.
He couldn't bear it a second longer. His restraint snapped. Grasping her hips, he lifted her and thrust deep, pistoning between her thighs with desperate urgency. Breanna's body tightened around him, squeezing him tight. With a roar, he answered her climax with his own.
Sucking in a deep breath through his teeth, he withdrew.
"Don't stop," Breanna begged, clinging to him.
"Stop?" He chuckled hoarsely. "Babe, we're just getting started."
Flipping Breanna's supple body over, Bass balanced her on hands and knees, entering her from behind, his hands sliding across her belly to caress her breasts.
Reaching forward, he grasped one of her wrists and pulled her hand back to where their bodies were joined. "I want you to feel me," he rumbled against her back, trailing kisses over her spine with each thrust.
***
Bree's spirit soared. None of her previous lovers took her with such passion and ruthless need. He was perfect.
Bass pulled her hand between her legs to touch him as he moved within her. She tilted forward, sending each thrust deeper.
It took her breath away.
When she caressed his balls, Bass jerked.
"Have to see you." He groaned. "Have to see you come."
Bree gasped, when Bass flipped her to face him and knelt between her knees. He was still impossibly hard. Bree ached to stroke him and reached forward.
"No." He gently pulled her hand away. A wicked grin flashed across his face. Like a man on a mission, he kissed a trail down Bree's body, mapping every dip and swell, paying extra attention to her breasts and belly, before kissing the one spot she wanted him most.
