*************************
Fifteen minutes later, standing in a darkened gym hall with the rest of her class, the windows blacked out at the press of a button, Ella wonders what might be about to happen.
Alex sets up a looped recording of various loud and distracting noises, just like he did on the playing field.
And it’s pitch black.
She imagines that he’ll suddenly appear behind her, his hands all over her. She imagines that he’ll drag her to the back of the room, eager to explore her. Perhaps he’ll fondle her breasts like last time. Perhaps he’ll do more.
She imagines a lot of things.
Nothing happens, though.
Then, all of a sudden, it goes quiet.
Serenely quiet.
Too quiet.
Ella hears the soft tinkle of metal against the linoleum floor, but by the time she realizes what it is, it’s too late to protect herself.
The grenade goes off.
A shock grenade.
Light fills the room in short, sharp bursts, and a sound like gunfire begins to reverberate around the room.
It’s loud.
It’s bright.
It’s disorienting.
Many of the Cadets fall to the floor and cover their ears, squeezing their eyes tightly shut.
Some try to run for cover as if they’re actually in danger.
Ella flinches, but stays put.
She winces and covers her ears, and as her eyes begin to adjust to the rhythm of the flashing, she sees Alex watching them all from the edge of the room.
He’s grinning.
He’s also wearing dark glasses and ear plugs, and that can only mean one thing: there’s more to come.
Hunters are taught to withstand shock grenades. After repeated exposure, a Hunter should be able to keep working even when two or three or four of these grenades are released simultaneously.
Stun grenades, however, are another matter, and Alex is holding something in his hand.
As the shock grenade comes to the end of its cycle, he tosses something else down on the floor in their midst.
Yup.
It’s a stun grenade.
When it goes off, there’s a tremendous boom and a super white blast of light.
It’s impossible to withstand.
All the Cadets—including Ella—drop to the floor like twigs.
The light is blinding, and causes permanent retinal damage to Chimera. Not only that, but the tremor of the boom will burst a Chimera’s eardrum if it’s in close enough proximity.
Stun grenades are a handy tool, but a Hunter must be trained to use it wisely.
Hence this class.
After the grenade has done its work, Alex opens the windows up and lets light back into the room. Without proper protection, the blast unsettles your inner ear fluid and destroys your equilibrium.
Standing is impossible.
Alex removes his ear plugs and dark classes as the Cadets roll around on the floor, moaning and whining.
“I’ll give you fifteen minutes to recover, then we go again.”
By the end of the four-hour class, most of the students are rendered temporarily deaf. Their ears are ringing, and their equilibrium is all askew. They stumble out of the gym hall, many of them leaning on each other for support.
Steadying herself against the railing at the end of the bleachers, Ella hangs back to talk to Alex.
“You look like you just stepped off the drunky bus.” He laughs at her. “I wish I was recording this.”
As she sways uncontrollably to the side, Alex clamps his hand over hers on the railing, preventing her from losing her grip and falling.
He keeps it there.
“Did you get an invite to Maydevine’s New Year’s Eve soiree this weekend?” she finally asks, after the world stops threatening to turn upside down.
“I did, but I don’t know whether or not I should go.”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“Will you be there?”
“Of course. I live there.”
“And do you think we’re capable of spending the evening together without …”
A Cadet rushes back into the room to snatch up a forgotten sweater.
“There’ll be lots of other people there, that’s all I’m saying.” He lowers his voice and pulls back his hand. “It could be risky.”
“Since when am I not worth the risk?” she pouts, then falls flat on her ass.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
New Year’s Eve
Alex hovers by the punch bowl in Maydevine’s kitchen. He looks around for Ella, but doesn’t see her. He does, however, see a pretty woman in a flattering blue dress who’s trying to catch his eye. He deliberately avoids her.
Great.
This is going to be the most boring night of his life.
As he considers stepping outside for a cigarette, he’s blindsided by Maydevine.
“There you are.”
“Here I am.”
“I didn’t receive a letter of resignation from you this week, so am I to take it that recent events have persuaded you to stick around a while longer?”
Alex is saddened by the memory of seeing Ella in that hospital bed.
“I hated seeing her like that.”
“She’d look even worse on a morgue table.”
“You’ve made your point.”
“So you’ll stay?”
“For now, but I’m not happy about it. Nor will she be.”
“Are you kidding? She’ll love having you on the line with her.”
“Not when she realizes we won’t be able to marry.” He watches Maydevine closely. “And I can’t help but wonder if that’s really the point of all this.”
“Excuse me?”
“You can’t stop her from seeing me. You already tried that and it didn’t work. So is this just some strange tactic to get me to protect your daughter, while at the same time preventing me from making her my wife?”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“Because I’m a foster child. Because my bloodline is inferior.” He hesitates. “Because I’m not Luka Kinsella.”
“How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t give a damn where you came from. And as for Kinsella …” Maydevine takes a sip of his drink. “Honestly, you spend more time thinking about that boy than she does.”
Alex looks around again. “Where is Ella tonight?”
“I arranged a little surprise for her. Since she’s been taken off the line for two weeks, I thought she could use a little pick-me-up. Why? What’s the matter? Separation anxiety?”
“The sarcasm doesn’t exactly boost my confidence, you know.”
Maydevine takes him by the shoulder. “Listen to me very carefully, son. If I didn’t want you in Ella’s life, you wouldn’t be in Ella’s life. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her, and making you go away would be a piece of cake if I wanted it that way. I’ve done it before, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. Hunters die on the line all the time. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”
“I think so.”
“She loves you very deeply, and I wouldn’t do anything in the world to upset that.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re willing to accept me as a son-in-law, though.”
“Gimme a break. You’ve been a part of this family since you were six years old. If I didn’t already think of you as … I mean, if I didn’t already feel as though …” He sighs and gives up. “Jesus christ. I like you, okay? Can we leave it at that?”
Saving the situation before it risks getting mushy, Ella walks in through the front door. Her sudden appearance causes the living room to fall into a hushed silence, and Alex and Maydevine go to investigate.
Ella’s wearing her emblems and she’s dripping with blood. Her hair is slick with red goop, and her clothes are saturated. Her bare arms are streaked with mud and bodily fluids, and her hands are so drenched she looks like she’s wearing a pair of
shiny red gloves.
Alex wills his body not to respond.
He looks over at Maydevine. “Where did you say you sent her?”
“To the rink, for a little out-of-hours sport.”
“She’s got broken bones, you know.”
“They were juveniles and adolescents—her favorite playthings. Besides, she was supervised.” He smiles at his daughter. “Go straight to the bathroom and throw everything in the tub.” He turns to Alex. “I don’t want her traipsing blood all through the house. Go fetch her a towel from the linen closet so that she can take a shower.”
He turns his head as another guest arrives.
Veva.
“Good evening, Gabe.”
She’s stunning, as usual. She greets him with a kiss on the cheek as Alex and Ella slip quietly away together.
“I can’t stay long. I only have a babysitter till midnight.”
Maydevine steals a proper kiss. “I’m glad you came.”
While they retreat to the kitchen for drinks, Alex knocks on the bathroom door, carrying a fresh towel. When he enters, he finds Ella stripping beside the tub. She’s washed the blood off her face, her Kevlar vest and pants have already been discarded, and her tank top is drenched and clinging to her body.
He sets the towel down on the vanity.
“If I could, I’d be all over you right now. Bloodshed looks so good on you.”
She peels off her tank top. Beneath it, her white bra is now blood red.
As Alex’s eyes wander over her, a drop of blood cascades slowly over her left breast and disappears into her cleavage.
The bruises on her skin are masked by death, and her stitches are barely visible. Alex grabs a facecloth and runs it under the hot tap. He wrings the excess water out of it and dabs gently at her wounds. Thankfully, she’d had the forethought to put liquid bandage over the stitching before she went out.
“Are you hurt?” he asks her.
She shakes her head. “I feel pretty amazing actually.”
He rinses the washcloth, but this time he doesn’t wring it out. He holds it over her chest and squeezes the warm water onto her skin, letting the droplets run all over her, then he rubs it delicately over her neck … down over her collarbone … over her breasts … her stomach …
He stops at the hem of her panties.
He drops the washcloth and begins to slide his fingers inside her underwear …
There’s a knock at the door.
“Is everything okay in there?”
It’s Maydevine.
Alex retreats and opens the door just wide enough to let himself out, keeping Ella’s semi-nude state concealed.
“I was just making sure she wasn’t hurt.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you were. Inside and out. Now get back out here before anyone starts getting suspicious.”
Back in the kitchen, as instructed by Maydevine, Alex pours himself another drink and starts to mingle, but that doesn’t last long. Fifteen minutes later, he receives a text message from Ella:
THANKS FOR THE TOWEL.
SOME CLOTHES WOULD BE NICE.
He excuses himself and heads to her room.
Maydevine stops him.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“She asked me to get her some clothes.”
Maydevine rolls his eyes. “Make it quick.”
That’s his intention, but when he opens the door to Ella’s bedroom, he sees something he’s not expecting.
Veva.
She’s over by Ella’s writing desk, and as he steps into the room, she shoulders her purse and tries to make a quick exit.
He blocks her in the doorway.
“What’re you doing in here?”
She looks uncharacteristically sheepish. “I thought Ella borrowed a hairclip from me, but I must’ve been mistaken. Honestly, though, it’s a lot more acceptable for me to be in here than it is for you.”
“I’m fetching something for her.”
“Better hurry up, then.” She brushes past him.
After she’s gone, he steps over to Ella’s desk and checks out what she was looking at. The only thing on the desk is a graphic tablet that Ella uses to do her Academy homework.
He touches it.
A welcome screen pops up, inviting the tablet’s owner, Ella Cross, to unlock it by placing her right hand on the screen to confirm her identity via her palm print.
A frown creases his brow.
Uncertain what to make of Veva’s snooping, he puts those thoughts to the back of his mind and sets about the task at hand. He grabs a shirt off Ella’s bed and some underwear out of her dresser, and for the second time, he knocks on the bathroom door.
Ella’s sitting on the edge of the bathtub, wrapped in the towel. As soon as the door’s closed, she stands up and lets the towel drop to the floor.
“I’m all clean,” she announces.
Alex tries not to look at her. “Don’t do this to me. Not tonight. What if someone comes to the door? There are too many people here.”
“But how else am I supposed to get my new year’s kiss from you?”
She wraps her arms around his neck and coaxes him into an embrace.
He doesn’t object.
She presses her lips against his and they begin to kiss. If nothing else tonight, he wants to give her this.
He should know better, though.
A kiss is never just a kiss with Ella, and she’s soon reaching for his belt.
He stops her.
“Whoa. What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m coming on to you.”
“You said you wanted a kiss.”
“I didn’t say that was all I wanted.”
Glancing down at her naked body, Alex makes a swift decision. Keen to please her, he lifts her up onto the sink and buries his face between her legs. It’s not what she was expecting, but she’ll take it. It’s been weeks since she’s had him this way, and she doesn’t realize how much she’s been craving his tongue until she feels him down there.
All of a sudden, it’s exactly what she wants.
She runs her fingers through his hair, holding the back of his head, keeping him pressed against her. He’s so much different from Luka, and she can’t help but compare them. Luka was so tentative and gentle. They’d only ever had sex like this once, and he’d tickled her with the tip of his tongue like he was licking icing off a cake.
But Alex is different.
His mouth is confident and eager, and he nuzzles and probes and licks her like a starving man at a banquet. And in the midst of her quick and volcanic orgasm, she realizes something: this is what it feels like to be touched by a man who genuinely craves her orgasm, rather than by a boy who only does it because it’s expected of him.
She couldn’t be happier.
When her grip relaxes on the back of his head, he knows he’s done his job. He stands back up and wipes his chin, enjoying the look of satisfaction on her face.
“How was that for a new year’s kiss?”
“It was perfect.” She looks devious. “There’s just one problem.”
“What?”
“You can’t go back out there looking like that.” She makes eyes at his very noticeable erection. “You’ll have to do something about it.”
She’s right.
His erection is impossible to conceal, so he gives it to her without argument.
He doesn’t even try to hold back.
He finishes inside her in fifteen strokes.
*************************
When Ella finally emerges into the party, now fully clothed, Alex is sitting on the couch talking to the woman in the blue dress. She’s clearly flirting with him.
Ella pretends to ignore it and heads for the kitchen to get herself a drink. While she’s in there, Alex receives a text message:
DO YOU NEED SAVING?
Under the guise of a cigarette break and a necessary phone call, Alex excuses himself. He locks eyes with El
la briefly as he exits through the kitchen door.
Ten seconds later, she joins him on the patio.
“Give me a cigarette.”
“You quit months ago.”
“I need a reason to be out here. Just give me one.”
He obliges.
“It’s harder to quit the second time,” he warns as he lights it for her.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She draws the smoke deep into her lungs. “I think that woman in the blue dress wants to take you home.”
Alex detects a hint of jealousy in her voice.
“How’s that shoe fitting you?”
She gives him a blank look.
“Now that it’s on the other foot.” He smirks at her.
“You laugh now, but what’re you gonna do when midnight comes?” She peaks an eyebrow at him, putting the cigarette back between her lips. “You’ll have to kiss her.”
“Ah, then you’ll know how I felt when you locked lips with Luka Kinsella at the Christmas party.”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“Because you’re a guy. A little bit of jealousy fires you up. I’m a girl. A little bit of jealousy could turn me into a homicidal maniac.” She suppresses a yawn.
“Tired?”
“These pills are kicking my ass.”
“Why don’t you get an early night?”
“As if.” She savors each draw from the cigarette. “You think I could sleep with all the yakking and laughing going on in there?”
Famous last words.
Not only does she miss the stroke of midnight, she misses the woman in the blue dress launching herself at Alex. She misses the kiss, the failed crotch grab, and the speedy rejection that followed it.
Blissfully unaware, she snoozes peacefully on the couch.
“Well, I never thought I’d see that,” Maydevine catches Alex staring at her. “She hasn’t been asleep this early in years.”
“It’s the painkillers she’s on. They make her drowsy.” Alex sets down his drink. “I’ll take her to bed.”
Trying not to wake her, he scoops her off the couch into his arms and carries her to bed. As he lies her down, he actually thinks he’s managed to do it without disturbing her.
He’s wrong.
She’s faking.
Inamorato Page 35
