by Biance D'Arc
Mara 12 cocked her head to the side, thinking. “Intriguing,” she finally answered. “No doubt, you consider this good fortune. I, on the other hand, could wish it had never happened. Now that the general populace has some idea of what the Breeds actually are, there will be many questions to answer and I have not yet had sufficient time to come up with definitive answers. I could wish for more time to study them and their effects on Alvian DNA, but will instead, have to speed up my plans.”
Davin wondered if she was talking about the top secret project in which Sinclair had participated. If so, he counted it as yet another blessing on this day of miracles. If more Alvians gained emotion, it could only be for the better as far as he was concerned. Mara 12 would bear close watching from here on out and Davin knew just the man for the job. Davin held Harry’s gaze as Mara 12 turned to go.
“Don’t worry,” Harry said into his mind. “I’ll keep a close watch on her experiments. Now that I know what to look for, it should be easy enough. I’ll be in touch soon.”
Davin wished he could speak freely, but there were too many watching. He nodded to Harry as he turned to go, but Harry surprised them all by stopping to hug his sister. Alvians all over the room perked up in question at his very un-Alvian demonstration.
“Love you, sis.”
“Love you too, big brother.”
Davin heard their whispered words before they parted, though only Rick was close enough to overhear. Murmurs followed Harry as he turned to go, but he only grinned at the questioning looks thrown his way.
The engineering facility was in chaos when Davin, Callie and Rick returned. A number of problems had arisen that needed Davin’s personal attention.
“I’m sorry.” He pulled Callie in for a quick kiss. “I need to get things back online.”
“I can help,” she was quick to volunteer, but he knew she was worried about Rick. He was still very shaky on his feet after healing the Council Crystal.
“No, my love. Take care of Rick. He needs you now. Though I do appreciate the offer.” He kissed her again and she went back to Rick, supporting him under one arm as she led him off down the corridor toward the suite of rooms Davin and Callie had shared. Davin had plans to move them all to a larger, more secure suite, but the old set of rooms would do until the larger accommodations could be readied.
With a resigned sigh, he turned to the small platoon of lesser crystallographers, each of whom had a different problem to which only Davin could supply the answer. It would be a long night.
Rick woke to warmth. He was in a luxurious bed and this time, a soft female form was snuggled close. She was naked, as was he, and Rick knew immediately she was his dream come true. Callie. In his arms.
“Where’s Davin?” he asked around a yawn as he felt Callie stir in his arms.
“Probably still heading off disaster on the grid.”
“Poor guy.” Rick’s tone was obviously unsympathetic in a teasing way. “I guess that means I have you all to myself.”
“Are you feeling better? You were kind of wiped after that magic you did on the Council Crystal.” Her drawn brows communicated her worry for him and he was touched.
“I feel fine, Callie. Good as new. But there is one thing that would make me feel even better.” He stroked her back, ending by cupping her curvy ass.
She smiled up at him. “Oh? Whatever do you mean, Mr. St. John? Tell me and I’ll do my best to see that you get…some.”
“You’ll give me some?” He rolled her onto her back, leaning over her prone form.
“If that’s what you really want,” she teased.
“You know I do, baby. I want some of this.” He made her gasp by sliding one hand between her legs. Exploring fingers found her slit and pushed deep inside. She was wet and ready for him, as she always seemed to be. “Damn, girl. You must want it bad.”
“I want you bad.” She blinked up at him. “Does that count?”
“Oh, yeah,” he agreed. “In the best possible way. Now spread those legs and show me your pussy. I want to taste it before I come inside you.”
She gasped as he lowered his head, kissing his way down her body. He stopped off at her breasts, taking his time there while she writhed beneath him. He loved how responsive she was to his every touch. Leaving her nipples hard and wanting, he moved lower, helping her spread her already-wide legs, pushing up and out so she was totally exposed to his gaze. The glistening pink of her made him want to lap at her like a cat, but his eager cock pushed him faster. Rick bent to take her swollen clit between his lips, worrying it with his tongue while she squirmed, almost out of control on the cushy bed.
“Rick!” she moaned as she reached a hard completion, but it wasn’t as high as he would push her. No, he’d have her screaming the house down before he let her come the final time and followed her over the edge. This was only the beginning.
Touching her, he could sense when she was nearing another edge and he played with her, letting her come close, only to pull back. He knew the pleasure would be greater for it and he wanted to drive her as high as possible before joining with her. This would be the first time they made love alone, in a bed. He wanted to do it right and give her an experience she would never forget.
For once, he wasn’t holding back his emotions from her. Exposed by the energy drain of healing the crystal, his empathic sense—weaker than hers, but still present whenever he touched someone—seemed to call out to and connect with hers. There was a communion of sorts as their power meshed and melded, amplified and strengthened each other’s feelings. The passion increased along with the desire and it wasn’t long before Rick was on fire for her, unable to wait any longer.
“Callie, baby, tell me you’re ready for me.” His voice sounded like a plea to his own ears. He cleared his throat, lifting up to look into her eyes as he tried again. “Do you want me now, sweetheart? Do you want me as much as I want you?”
Callie smiled a slow, sexy smile that drove him up another notch. “Can’t you feel it, Rick? You’re burning me alive with your feelings.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I can’t hold them back. Healing the crystal did a number on me.”
Callie raised herself to a sitting position and touched his cheek. She held his gaze with a serious expression. “I love feeling what you feel. I’ve been waiting for this moment, Rick, since the day I met you. Don’t hold your emotions in check from me. Let them wash over me.” Her eyes closed as her head lolled back. He let a wave of passion flow from him experimentally and she shivered. “Can’t you feel what your emotions do to me? It’s like an aphrodisiac and I want more.” Callie raised her head and pulled him in for a long, wet kiss. He began to understand what she meant as her emotions bathed his weaker empathy with desire, passion and a fire unlike anything he’d ever experienced.
“I can’t wait, Callie.”
“I don’t want you to wait, Rick.” She gasped as he positioned her on the bed, spread before him as he knelt between her legs. “Come into me now. Let me feel you filling me.”
Rick guided his cock to the place it most wanted to go, watching every last flutter of her nether lips as he approached. He loved the way she stretched around him, accepting his girth. He pulled back and pushed in once more, going a little deeper.
“Yes!” she cried, spurring him on as a wave of ecstasy broke over him. It was a mixture of his own and Callie’s emotions, driving them both higher. Her warm wetness surrounded him, accepting him, taking his length in a welcoming slide that left him gasping as he seated himself fully within her tight depths. “Oh, Rick, it feels so good. You feel so good.”
“I love the way you take me, baby. I love the tight stretch of your body around me. You were made for me.”
“I was.” Her whisper, combined with the waves of empathic passion crashing over them both drove him to move. Rick lowered his torso to rub over hers as he began a driving rhythm that left her gasping. He watched her beautiful eyes glaze with pleasure as he stroked deep and high, reachi
ng for that secret spot that would make her come like nothing else. “Rick!” she cried when he found it. He knew then just how to fuck to bring her the most sensation on every stroke.
Callie came three times in succession as Rick congratulated himself on holding off his own orgasm. He wanted this to be special, but his strength was fast running out and when she went over for the fourth time, he went with her, shouting her name as he pulsed deep within her. Dimly, he heard her chanting his name along with her love as they crested and came down slowly on the other side of the most amazing experience he’d ever shared with another being.
“I love you, Rick,” he heard her whisper before unconsciousness claimed her. He didn’t answer aloud, but his heart repeated the words over and over as he followed her into sleep.
Callie woke a few hours later. Rick was still with her, already awake.
“That was beautiful, darlin’,” Rick said, kissing her hair as he snuggled her close at his side.
“Perfect in every way,” she agreed, “except…”
“Yeah, I know. That damned Alvian wasn’t here to watch. The pervert.” Rick’s chuckle reassured her, as did the emotion he now let her feel freely.
“I think you’re getting used to him.”
“That I am. Frightening as that thought is.” Rick scratched his chin, the rasp of his beard stubble making scraping sounds. “He kind of grows on you.”
Callie chuckled and reached to pull him down for a quick kiss that turned into a languorous exploration of his mouth. When she finally came up for air, she noted the worry that had crept into Rick’s expression.
“The thing is,” he spoke without her even having to ask him what was wrong. “I’m not sure if he’s as okay with this proposed arrangement as you seem to think he is. I don’t know. If the shoe was on the other foot…if I—”
“While I appreciate the sentiment, I have to remind you who the stronger empath is here.” Callie cut him off. “Don’t you think I’d know if he wasn’t comfortable with our relationship? Sure, he was hesitant at first, but he’s the one who made a study of resonance mating, and he’s known my parents for a long time. He knew more about what to expect than you did. Let me ask you this—you seem almost resigned to sharing me with him now. What I want to know is, are you? Will you stay with us? Will you be my mate, just like he is?”
Rick looked skeptical, then folded under the pressure of her gaze. “I can’t say no to you, sweetheart. You should know that by now. I still believe this kind of thing isn’t right for most women, but with you, even the impossible suddenly becomes possible.” He pulled her close, holding her gaze with his own. “I never dreamed I’d be a free man living among Alvians. I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love you. And I never believed I could be completely happy ever again.”
Tears gathered, but did not fall in the depths of his eyes and she felt all the deep emotion welling too, in his soul. It made her breath catch. “But I saw something, when I was deep in the matrix of that Council Crystal, Callie. I touched the spirit of the Earth itself.” Wonder shone in his eyes. “I know now what I was born to do. I’m a healer of people and of the Earth. Davin can help me do that and I can teach others. It’s what I was put here to do. That, and love you.”
“Oh, Rick.” Callie let the tears fall that he would not—the joyous tears of discovery and of a love so deep, it defied all odds.
Davin found them kissing, in a deep embrace that made every crystal in the room shine as bright as the stars themselves. Watching them together made him not only hot and eager to join, but also touched something in his heart he hadn’t expected to feel. They looked right together. As right as he felt when he held Callie in his arms.
“I didn’t think it was possible to be this happy,” Callie said as Rick pulled back, separating them.
“I feel the same, sweetheart.”
“Well then,” Davin said, alerting them to his presence in the room, “maybe my news will only add to the general euphoria.” He moved into the room and sat on the edge of the bed at Callie’s side. They were under the covers, but she turned to him and bestowed a smile that nearly stopped his heart with love.
“Is everything back to normal with the grid?” she asked.
Davin nodded. “Not completely normal. I don’t think it’ll settle down for a day or two yet, but it’s good for now. You and Rick can help me tie up the last loose ends tomorrow, but right now, I need some sleep, and some loving. Perhaps not in that order.”
“That’s easily arranged.” Callie’s voice purred over his senses, enflaming him.
“I’ll take you up on that, my love, but first my news.” His gaze sought Rick, leaning up on one elbow behind Callie. “Rick, I made a few inquiries and am pleased to tell you that I’ve found your father.”
“What?” Davin was pleased by the stunned look in Rick’s eyes. So much had been taken from these humans, it made Davin feel good to be able to give back a little bit of what they’d lost.
“Zach St. John is on his way, as we speak. He’ll be here tomorrow. Grady Prime is escorting him at my express request.”
“Davin, I—” Rick’s voice filled with emotion he had to visibly swallow back. “I don’t know what to say.”
Callie grasped one of each of their hands, squeezing tight as happy tears flooded her eyes. Davin felt about ten feet tall with the way she looked at him and Rick’s gratitude was humbling.
“It was relatively easy to find him,” Davin spoke. “He’s been housed among soldiers all these years. Seems he impressed the Alvian commander who finally caught him, and was kept as a worker for the garrison.”
“Damn,” Rick said, shaking his head, “I knew it had to be something like that. Surrounded by soldiers was the only way they’d be able to keep my old man locked up.”
“He’d earned the respect of the men, they said. I spoke to the Commander, a man called Rilan 19. The garrison where he was kept is on the other side of the eastern sea. Zach kept trying to escape in ever-more-creative ways until they convinced him he’d have a hard time working his way back to this hemisphere. After that, he seemed to settle in, more resigned to his fate.”
“Does he, uh…” Rick had to clear his throat. “Does he know why he’s coming here? Does he know about me?”
“I asked Grady Prime to tell him only what was necessary to gain his cooperation. I thought maybe it would be a nice surprise if you greeted his transport when it landed.”
“God.” Rick sat up, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I don’t know what to say, Davin. I don’t know how I can even begin to thank you.”
Callie sat up and hugged Rick close with one arm. “This is going to be great, Rick. When we start having kids, they’ll have lots of grandparents.”
“Kids?” Rick turned white as the sheet pooling around his hips.
“Well, they’re usually what results after the kind of night we just spent. Or hadn’t you thought of that?”
“I—” Rick’s jaw worked, but no words came out.
Davin decided to take pity on the man, since it looked like Callie was enjoying teasing him a bit too much. “That’s for later consideration, Rick. Callie is taking preventative measures. We decided to have children only when we were both ready. Now we’ll have to rethink our timetable, with you living here. Your wishes have to be considered too.”
“I never once thought about having kids of my own.” Rick shook his head.
“Well I hope you like the idea.” Callie turned to face him, letting go of Davin’s hand. “Because I come from a large family and I definitely want the same. That is, if Rick’s decided to stay with us. What do you say, Rick? Are we a trio?”
There it was. The question he’d been both anticipating and dreading. He’d answered Callie when they were alone, but saying it in front of Davin was another matter entirely.
Before him, he saw a future unfolding that was brighter than anything he’d ever dreamed. Reuniting with his dad, having the ability to use his tale
nts for the good of humanity, not to mention the love…
Callie’s love was worth more to him than anything. The idea of having children with her was both stunning and tantalizing. He didn’t know what his father would think of the arrangement, but Rick found it impossible to even contemplate a future without Callie in it. And where Callie went, so went Davin. Rick had to accept it all in order for them to be happy.
So be it.
“If you’ll put up with me,” Rick hugged her close, “I’ll stay with you as long as you let me.” He turned her to face him fully, noting the tears once again in her eyes. “I love you, Callie O’Hara.”
“Oh, Rick. I love you too.” Her voice was a breathless whisper against his cheek as she clutched his shoulders and hugged him tight.
Rick met Davin’s gaze over Callie’s head. “Are you okay with this, Davin? I mean, really okay?”
Davin’s alien face broke into a wide grin. “I’m really okay with it, Rick. I never expected to find a resonance mate. Callie is my miracle, and if making her happy means sharing the joy we’ve found with you, then who am I to complain? Besides—” Davin stroked one hand over her hair, gazing at her with fire in his eyes, “—in case you’ve forgotten, I like to watch.”
Rick chuckled at the way Callie’s pulse leapt under his fingers. “You know, I think our Callie likes that idea. What do you say we do a little something to celebrate this momentous occasion?”
Davin stripped off his tunic and moved closer to Callie. “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
She delivered a smacking kiss to Rick’s lips, then turned in his hold to give Davin the same. “You two have made me the happiest woman on the planet.”
“Not yet,” Davin said with a wicked grin.
“But we will.” Rick completed the thought.
