by Jillian Neal
The press would be out in force with everything that had happened to Fionna in the past several weeks. This was her first return to the Arena. Neither Dan nor Fionna wanted Aida bombarded by the press, and Fionna was adamant that she not know about the miscarriage.
“I was thinking that maybe Garrett could come over and play tomorrow while I’m gone.” Fionna baited. “And then when I get home, we’ll all do something special together.”
Aida seemed please Garrett might be coming over, but she was visibly distressed as they pulled into the driveway and began unloading all of their purchases.
Receivers
~Rainer Lawson~
Simply unable to touch enough of Emily’s body to ever satisfy himself, Rainer continued to massage sunscreen into her skin. Finally forcing his hands off of her luscious ass that was completely exposed, he fell to the towel beside her.
“Take that top off for me, baby. I need to put on a little more.”
She gave him a sexy half grin and popped the clasp on the bikini top.
A low, hungry growl echoed from him as he lathered his hands and began massaging her breasts. He groped and pulled until she was arching her back and her energy spun in waves of tantric need.
She shuddered and gasped deliciously as he spun his thumbs over her nipples watching them as they rose in stiff peaks that made him weak from desire.
“I want you.” Her body rolled with her plea.
“Is here okay?” He grimaced at the sand on their feet and calves. “I don’t want anything to….” The word chafe was decidedly unsexy. He bit his lip to keep it from escaping.
She stood, grabbed his hand, and led him towards the water. An entire beach all to themselves. The reward without any of the risk filled him with reckless abandon.
Edging a few steps in to the warm, rhythmic, breaking waters, she spun. Her exposed breasts danced all for him. His hungry cock tented his boardshorts. Freeing himself of them, he tossed them out of the water’s reach and seated himself in the shallow surf.
Emily straddled over him hoisting her exposed breasts in his face. Grasping her waist, he brought them to his mouth and licked the sweet, salty flavors of her from between them.
With the taste of her filling all of his senses and flooding his brain, he jerked the insubstantial bikini bottom to the side and revealed her swollen lips. She reared up on her knees shaking her ass for him as his fingers made certain she was prepared.
“Ride me.” He grasped her waist and lowered her over him. Her eyes flashed from his gruff order, and as the surf broke over him again and she slid down his cock.
The water washed over them as she pulled away and lowered herself back repeatedly. He'd never felt anything so utterly amazing. He watched her work.
Still sucking and licking her breasts, he held her to him via her lush ass cheeks as she rode him hard. He felt her body slide over him slowly inch by delicious inch. She pulled him deeper with each pass. She threw her head back giving him a hell of a show.
Her hands slipped down her own breasts, and he went wild. A loud evulsive growl echoed from him as he grabbed her waist, spun her, and laid her out in the incoming surf that trailed just a few inches under her body.
The water caressed underneath her as he formed her around his length. He forced the rhythm of his thrusts to the breaking waves, slow, thorough, and steady. Everything in him drew tight. His muscles seized as her body swelled and enfolded him in a tight heavenly grip.
With a loud whimpering moan, she broke as the waves washed over her and a set all her own crashed through her.
Her body pulled and nursed the climax he’d been fighting. “Oh God,” he moaned, “I'm gonna fill you up, baby. You feel so damn good.”
“I want it! Give it to me!” She commanded.
With that, he collapsed on top of her as he flooded her body with his release. The water surrounded them, and he made her his own.
Worried his weight was too much for her against the sand, he rolled off of her and pulled her up onto his wet, sandy chest. “You okay?”
Laughing, she sat up. “Well, I'm a little sandy, but that was amazing.”
“Well, I probably can't do that again for a while, but my ability to give showers is still top notch.” He grimaced when she turned. “And I think I might have a few things I need to heal up. He gently touched the sandy scratches on her shins, knees, and her inner thighs.
“Sorry, baby. Maybe ocean sex only works in the movies.”
Emily giggled. “Totally worth it, and my husband always knows how to make me feel better.”
He winked at her and pulled his shorts back on. When she wobbled slightly, he took the towel she’d been folding and threw it in the bag. Pointing to his back, he offered, “How about another ride?”
With his help, she threw her arms around his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist letting him give her a piggy-back ride back to the villa. As they approached the deck, he bounded rapidly up the stairs. She squealed and tightened her grip. Rainer was quite certain that this was the perfect honeymoon.
~Dan Vindico~
Having decided not to think about Fionna being gone for a few hours the next day, Aida flitted back and forth from her new room where she watched Dan drill holes above her windows to hang her curtains to the kitchen to see if Fionna needed help with the food for the luau.
While the chicken marinated and the poi rested in the refrigerator, Fionna joined Dan in Aida’s room. Aida watched with glee as Dan lifted the mattress off of her bed and Fionna pinned the bedskirt to the box springs.
She helped Fionna put her new fairy princess sheets, fresh from the wash, on the bed. Dan spread the quilt wide in the air and let it fall over her as he laid it on the bed. She laughed delightedly as she crawled her way out.
They watched her very carefully arrange all of her new books on her shelf. She cradled each one in her hands like she was holding fragile glass. Running her fingers over the titles and authors’ names she informed Sophie the order in which she planned to read them.
Fionna helped her put the pram stroller, she’d spent thirty minutes picking out in the toy store, in the corner to hold Sophie’s bottle and blanket and the pretend baby food she’d picked out.
Dan snapped together the wooden cradle, and Aida tenderly laid Sophie in it and covered her with her blanket. She began rocking it slowly and sang Sophie a lullaby in Portuguese.
Suddenly, she raced to Dan and Fionna throwing her arms out wide in effort to embrace both of them. “Thank you so much for everything you got for me! And for letting me live here and be a family! I feel like the sunshine is inside my tummy!”
Fionna hugged her tightly while blinking back tears.
“Yeah, I know just how she feels.” Dan gazed deeply into Fionna’s eyes.
~Rainer Lawson~
“Finally!” Rainer pointed to Aldus and Ximena pulling up on a vehicle equipped to drive through sand and low level water.
They carried trays containing Rainer and Emily’s dinner and enough food for the next day that they’d requested two hours ago. Rainer helped them with the load.
“We certainly hope you enjoyed your day here at Hatchpointe, Mr. Lawson.” Aldus’s smile seemed sinister.
“Very much. Thank you,” Rainer kept his tone cool. He was still pissed about the interruption at lunchtime and the wait when they had ordered food.
Emily, fully clothed this time, offered them a half smile as she studied Ximena closely. She moved to Rainer and laced their fingers together.
Panic rocketed through Rainer. His heart thundered in his chest. She felt something in Ximena’s energy she hadn’t liked. He positioned his body between Emily and Xiemena.
“That will be it for awhile. We’ll call in a day or so when we need more food.”
Aldus offered a slight chuckle. “We will leave the honeymoon couple to their villa. Enjoy your evening. There is to be a meteor shower tonight if you’d care to watch it. The sky is clear, so it should be
quite a show.”
“Thank you.” Rainer adjusted his stance. When Ximena moved closer he narrowed his eyes.
“Do let us know if there is anything else we can bring you.” Aldus drawled.
Ximena offered Emily and Rainer a rather cool ‘Buenos noche,” before she followed Aldus back to the truck.
“What did you feel?” Rainer wrapped Emily up in his arms. He set his shield around her.
She let him restore her for a moment before she pulled away. “Fi’s been trying to help me with this. Well, she was helping me with it before everything happened. And she’s a much stronger Receiver than I am.”
Fionna was a slightly stronger Receiver. Rainer would agree with that much, but he still believed that by the time Emily was thirty she might be nearly as strong.
“What was she teaching you?”
“You know I’ve always kind of been able to pick up on dark energy, black energy, anything like that. All receivers can do that. And you know I’m able to sense if you’re upset or Logan or any of my family without touching them. Sometimes I can do it without even being in the same room with them. You can be upset at work and I sense it when I’m all the way at the arena.” She flushed, embarrassed by her own abilities.
Rainer caressed her cheek. Her smile soothed his soul.
“Anyway, Fionna said that you can kind of channel that energy read and read anyone that’s near you. Fi has always been able to do it without even thinking about it, but she’s incredible. I’ve been trying to do what she taught me and I’ve gotten a lot better with it.”
Rainer felt his heart sink. “Em, why didn’t you tell me all of this?” She used to tell him everything.
Emily offered him a sorrowful gaze. “When she first started trying to get me to feel it, I never thought I could actually do it. I just thought Fi wanted me to because sometimes all of her power kind of freaks her out. But then when you were telling me about what happened at the Tantra with Wretchkinsides, and you said that he’d had people at Dad’s inaugural ball, I remembered that I had felt something weird from a few people. It wasn’t dark and it certainly wasn’t black, but I’d felt the other energies that Fionna had been talking about. I didn’t want to bring it up then because I wanted to be there for you. You weren’t yourself for a little while after that.” She explained hesitantly.
Rainer sank down on the reclined lounge in the seating area of their villa and seated Emily beside him. He certainly hadn’t been himself. That was an understatement. He just hadn’t realized that she’d needed him as much as he’d needed her the days following the takedown.
“What other energies?” He wanted to know everything. He could listen and process it now, and truthfully, he couldn’t have then.
Emily kissed his cheek before going on.
“Fi can even feel Non-Gifted people’s energies.” She sounded thoroughly impressed. “And I can only do that if their energy is running in one solid emotion. For most people that isn’t the case, but since the takedown I’ve been sort of practicing feeling other Gifted people, ones I don’t know.”
“What did you feel from that women?”
“Well.” Emily sighed thoughtfully. “I felt her deceptive energy. It was kind of strong. It may not have anything to do with us at all, but she isn’t a nice person.”
Rainer racked his brain as to how to handle this turn of events.
“What about the guy, Aldus? Did you feel anything from him?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t pick up on anything, but she was closer to me. It was kind of strong. I’m so sorry, Rainer. I know you wanted this to be perfect, and it is perfect! I feel terrible now.”
“Hey,” Rainer cradled her closer. “Listen to me. I had Dan check and re-check this place when I made the reservations. He even had Fitzroy double check it on the International Records, but my only concern is that you are safe and happy, okay?”
“I doubt it had anything to do with us. I mean she could hate Aldus, or working here, or be irritated that we’re on vacation and she isn’t. There are a million things she could have been thinking.” Emily pointed out.
“That is true, but I need to make certain that nothing’s going on that shouldn’t be.” Brushing a kiss on her forehead, Rainer picked up his cell phone.
Logan was still on mandatory vacation after what had happened with Pravus, so Rainer went with his next best option.
“Man, I explained all of this to you when you were fourteen. You cannot already be confused,” was Garrett’s snide greeting.
Rolling his eyes, Rainer huffed, “Yeah, unless you want me to tell you all about what I’ve been doing to your sister since I got her here could you can it for a minute?”
Garrett chuckled. “All right. Well played. So, why exactly are you calling me from your honeymoon?”
“Could you do me a favor?”
“Oh, this should be good.”
Growing weary of Garrett’s mocking, Rainer sighed. “I need you to run a couple of names for me.”
Garrett’s tone changed immediately. “Why?”
Rainer briefly described what had happened and gave Garrett Aldus’s first name and Ximena’s full name. He’d carefully noted it from her nametag.
“That’s not cool, Rainer. If Fi’s been teaching Em, then she’s probably right. You need to keep a close eye on everything going on. I’ll run the names and call you back.”
“I will. I swear.”
“You got some way to get my baby sister off of that island if something goes down?”
Feeling defeat settle on him harshly, Rainer shook his head. “No, not really. It would take several hours to get a helicopter back out here.”
“Fuck. All right. Just chill. Let me see what I can find out about your overly helpful help. I’ll call you back.”
Family
~Dan Vindico~
“Hey, man, could you do me a favor?” Dan asked Garrett hopefully.
Laughing, Garrett seemed amused. “Sure, seems I’m in the favor business tonight.”
Dan had no idea what that meant, so he went on. “I was just wondering if you’d wanna come hang out with me and Aida tomorrow while Fi’s at the arena. She’s been asking for you.”
He couldn’t stand that thought of Fionna entering the arena alone while the press chanted and screamed about whether or not she was going to sign her contract, or about Aida, and the miscarriage, but he didn’t know how to be two places at once.
“Actually, I’m not too crazy about Fi being at the arena alone tomorrow. The press has gone crazy. They’re outside of my apartment still asking if I know if she’s gonna sign for another season. How about if I pick up Miss Aida Mae and take her out to breakfast or bring her out to the farm. Mom and Dad would love that, and she could play with the twins while you take Fi to the arena?
Accepting that he owed his entire life to Garrett Haydenshire, Dan sighed. That sounded perfect. “Thank you. She’ll love that.”
“I’ll get her by eight. Tell them both I love them. I gotta go do something for Rainer.”
“I will, and thanks, Garrett, really.” Dan offered humbly before hanging up the phone.
He grinned at Aida tucked up in the corner of the sofa with Anne of Green Gables reading intently. Sophie was beside her and occasionally Aida would explain the story to her.
He headed into the kitchen. Fionna was hunched over the sink scrubbing sweet potatoes. Sliding in behind her, Dan breathed hot kisses down her neck.
“Need some help, baby?” He let his hands slide up her waist and over her breasts. She spun. Her hands were in gloves and she was holding a potato, but the flirty smirk she gave him made him hungry for far more carnal things.
“And what would you like to help with, Mr. Vindico?”
“Well… I was thinking… after I kick my family out of here… that maybe we should recreate… some of our trip to Kauai.” He paused between every few words to spin his tongue up Fionna’s neck and let his teeth graze over the thin skin.
“I haven’t given you a bath since we got home, and that stuff Tutu makes is pretty incredible. I wouldn’t mind rubbing it all the right places just before I take you to all the best places.” He assured her with a great deal of arrogance.
Feeling her breath catch and her body tense beside his, Dan gave her a cocky grin. “That sound good, baby doll?”
“Oh yeah,” she vowed in a passion filled plea. Suddenly she spun back, pulled off the gloves, and laid the potato in the colander with all the others.
She wound her arms around Dan’s neck. “But now I’m all wet,” she murmured in his ear letting her hot breath set him on fire.
Dan felt his body tense and shudder as he wrapped his hands over her stunningly sexy ass. He let his mind reel over all of the things he planned to do to her once Aida was asleep.
“I could take you upstairs and take care of you real quick,” he offered. “Or you could just keep thinking about how hard you make me, baby doll. Such a naughty little girl for me. You hang me so hard I ache. Think about how good that’s gonna feel when I finally give it to you. You think about how hard I’m gonna take you once I get you swollen hot and dripping for me, or about how wet your sweet little pussy is gonna be when I finally explode deep inside of you. Let it build for me until we’re all alone tonight and I open you wide.” He kept his tone low and commanding as he whispered his requests.
“Oh God.” Fionna ground her body against Dan’s now straining erection evident through his jeans. He lifted her up onto the counter top as he devoured her mouth. He laced one hand in her hair and let the other slide down the side of her breast and then to her back.
The doorbell ringing had them breaking apart and gasping for breath. Aida entered the kitchen carrying Sophie and her book. Fear cast her sweet face. She moved to Dan and grasped his hand timidly.
Ordering the erotic pleasures he planned on indulging in much later from his brain, he realized that she was nervous about his family coming over and that she felt safe when she was near him. He leaned and hoisted her up into his arms.
