Guardian's Joy #3

by Jacqueline Rhoades

  Her mind screamed at her to say something coarse and cutting to drive him away while her body beseeched her to yield to the warmth and strength of this body surrounding hers. And because her mind and body could no longer work in conjunction with each other, JJ remained frozen. She became Pinocchio to his Geppetto, a puppet on a string. Wooden muscles moved where his body directed.

  She tried to tell him, but her words came out stilted and he misunderstood their intent.

  She didn’t understand this dichotomy of body and mind. She wasn’t new to the game of sex. She’d had more than a few turns at bat. What made this time so different from the others? Stupid question. She knew what made this one different and frightening.

  For one, she was stone cold sober. For another, there was no drunken fumbling on the way home from a bar, no tearing off of clothes amidst slobbering kisses, no frenzied rutting like two animals before the final and inevitably disappointing collapse. There would be no sneaking away under cover of darkness, ashamed of what she had done or who she had done it with.

  Oh yeah, she knew why this was different and terrifying. Though she’d tried to deny it, this man mattered and she had no experience with that kind of man. She was experienced in fucking. Nardo was making love and JJ wasn’t sure she knew how.

  And so she remained his puppet, allowing him to pull the strings. She was beginning to enjoy the sensuousness of it and then he had to spoil it by saying she was beautiful. Frustrated because she could get no sense of truth or falsehood from him, she chose falsehood. No one had ever called her beautiful. Her eyes were too large for her face, her nose too long, her mouth too wide to ever be considered beautiful. Her body was as slender as a boy’s. She wanted to pull away, but Nardo wouldn’t let her.

  He ran his hands over her body and her body responded to his touch. He repeated over and over, how beautiful she was, a mantra of belief and seduction. She could feel the muscles of his chest rippling against her back as his hands moved from place to place. She felt the hardness of his erection pressing up along the space between the cheeks of her rear. It pulsed and throbbed against her and she felt her insides grow warm with need as her hips moved to his rhythm.

  He halted those pelvic thrusts and her hips, sensing the unspoken command, stopped their seeking.

  “You’re driving me too fast, woman,” he growled behind her as if she were the one in control. “Slow down before I crash.” He kissed her neck and shoulders, tiny dots of flame hotter than the water cascading over the two of them. “Besides, we’re not finished here.” He ran his tongue back along the line of his kisses and up to the lobe of her ear where he nibbled a moment with lips and teeth. She whimpered at the loss when he withdrew. “Patience, baby, patience. Good things come to those who wait.”

  JJ tried to muster some indignation at the smugness in his tone, but her mind was too busy to form the words. All her senses were intent on watching her hand, guided by Nardo’s as he steered the razor through the last few strokes. She felt his free hand follow the strokes, gliding over the smooth skin. She heard the rasp of the razor as it moved inexorably toward the spot where she most wanted to feel his touch. She could smell the faint scent of her own arousal.

  Nardo took the razor from her hand and straightened their bodies. “Turn,” he said quietly and much to her embarrassment, she followed his direction without question. She turned to meet him face to face, but Nardo wasn’t there. He had dropped to his knees.

  “Spread your legs,” he ordered.

  It wasn’t the order itself that made her obey. It was the raspy desperation in his voice. He wanted her, wanted her in a way no man ever had. That sound and the heavy breathing that followed made her feel powerful and… and… beautiful.

  The feeling might not last, but for this one moment in time, she was beautiful and powerful and capable of bringing this breathtaking Guardian to his knees.

  She spread her legs as best she could in the oversized tub and pressed her hands against the tile and glass for balance. She watched him lean forward and lap the length of her folds with the flat of his tongue. The feel of it almost lifted her off her feet. He sat back on his heels and bowed his head as if in prayer. His shoulders relaxed as the pent up air left his lungs. And then he kissed her, right below her navel. His hands gripped her hips and held her tight to his mouth as he worked his way along her pelvic bones and down the tops of her thighs. His tongue and lips and teeth were everywhere, leaving searing little marks and kisses everywhere but where she most wanted them to be.

  She threw her head back and thrust her hips forward, trying to direct his attentions to her hot, needy core. The water from the shower head above rained over her breasts and flowed down her body adding to the heat flowing through her from inside.

  When the tip of his tongue finally touched her swollen nub, she gasped. A flutter of fear passed through her mind; the old fear that she would disappoint him when she couldn’t come, but the thought was no more than a shadow in her mind. Her body was already spiraling higher that she’d ever soared before.

  Chapter 27

  Nardo used his thumbs to separate her folds and plunged his tongue into the liquid honey of Joy. His fingers danced tiny circles around her swollen clit and her soft moan told him his pleasure was hers as well. He nibbled and sucked his way along her folds and delved his tongue into her most secret places. Her hips began to thrust against his mouth, seeking more and while his tongue continued its work on her clit, he plunged his finger into her core. In and out, in and out, he matched the rhythm of her hips. Another finger joined the first and he reveled in the sound of the small moans and whimpers that joined the rhythm of his fingers entering her body.

  Her moaning became more pronounced. She was reaching for something only he could give her. It made him feel more powerful and alive than any demon fight ever had. He felt her body tensing, spiraling up and up toward an explosion of body and soul. His increased the speed and depth of his thrusts, his fingers rubbing against the inner wall of her feminine channel.

  “Please, oh please.” Her plea was the cry of angels in his ears. He pressed his lips to that sweet nub and sucked it into his mouth. His tongue touched the tip. Her body clenched around his fingers so tight, so tight, and she cried out.

  “Oh, Nardo!”

  He rose to meet her mouth, swallowing her cries while her body shuddered against him. She clung to him, and while he knew it was only a momentary thing, her need for his support touched him deeply. She was his and the responsibility of that didn’t weigh him down. It made him stronger. Finally, she collapsed against him and he reached behind her to turn off the water.

  “Are you okay, baby?”

  “Better than okay,” she answered and her face turned a deep and becoming crimson. “You made me… I thought I couldn’t… You made me… beautiful.”

  “You were always beautiful,” he laughed.

  “No, you don’t understand.” She leaned her forehead against his chest, so she wouldn’t have to see his eyes when she said the rest. “I’ve never had a man make me feel like you just did, like he wanted me. Me and not just sex. That’s what made me feel beautiful.”

  “So those other guys didn’t do it for you, huh?” Nardo puffed out his chest and winked salaciously.

  JJ looked up at him and tried to frown. “You’re going to be insufferable now, aren’t you?”

  “Probably.”

  Nardo was grinning as he helped her from the tub and wrapped her in one of the thick oversized towels from the warming rack. Then he lifted her in his arms and carried her to bed. Her arms were around his neck and her face was buried in his chest. She was warm and soft and tender; nothing like the woman who sparred in the gym or the one who threw herself at the guy with the gun.

  He laid her out on the bed with her head on the pillow, glad he’d turned down the covers on the way to the bath. A bottle of wine and two glasses waited on the night stand.

  “Pretty sure of yourself, weren’t you?” She stretche
d languorously like the cat that purred contentedly on the chair in the corner. With other men, she’d always been aware of her body’s deficiencies, but with Nardo, she didn’t feel the need to cover or hide.

  “I told you I would be here. You didn’t say no.” He pointed to the platter on the dresser. “Fruit, cheese, bread? Or I can go heat up some left over supper. Anything you want.”

  “Anything?”

  “Anything.”

  She held out her arms to him. “Then I want to finish what you started in the shower. You look like you’re up for it.” She laughed when Nardo palmed his erection.

  “Oh, baby, with you that’s gonna be any time, all the time. All you have to do is call my name.”

  Her laugh was husky with anticipation when he slid up her body before she finished calling, “Nardo!”

  Later, much later, as they lay together sated and content, JJ thought about the events that brought her to this House. She tried to attribute it to happy coincidence, but she’d never been a big believer in coincidence. She eyed the cat, curled up and sleeping in the chair in the corner. No, her connection to this House of Guardians, to the Daughters of Man, and to this wonderful man lying beside her, couldn’t be attributed to an accident of circumstance.

  Her mother claimed to have second sight. JJ could remember as a little girl, sitting quietly in the corner watching her mother do readings at the kitchen table. Sometimes she would use the tarot and sometimes the rune stones. Customers always left happy and always left money on the snow white tablecloth.

  “Never give them the bad stuff, Joy, only the good. That way they always come back.”

  As an adult, JJ saw her mother’s readings as a harmless con game, but after meeting the women here, she was no longer sure. Grace sometimes got flashes of those she loved and Manon claimed to ‘see’ the past. Had her mother seen what the future held for her daughter? Is that why she tattooed the lilies onto JJ’s back?

  The words flitted through her mind. This is who you are.

  She shifted to her side and laid her hand over the skull and lilies on her lover’s chest. With her fingers spread wide, her hand covered the symbols of his Guardian commitment; the skull for his willingness to die for the Race and the tears for the blood he would shed.

  She gathered her fingers into a fist as if she could gather the lilies to her, lightly scraping her nails along the petals. She smiled at the little ripple of movement in the muscles beneath the skin. Nardo’s eyes were closed, but she knew he was awake.

  “Nardo?”

  A half smile played across his lips. With eyes still closed, he waved her off, “I know I said you just have to call my name, baby, but you’ve worn the little fella out. Give us a minute and we’ll be ready to go.”

  JJ used her newly made fist to thump the chest she was only moments ago caressing. She was laughing and this, too, was new and wonderful. She’d never had a lover to laugh with and tease.

  “I’m not interested in your ‘little fella’.” Which in truth, wasn’t little at all.

  “Sure could have fooled me.” The half smile turned into a full grin as Nardo rolled toward her. He slid his hand over her hip and pulled her to him.

  “Stop it,” she said, pushing at his chest with her hands, “I mean it. I need to talk.”

  Nardo sobered immediately, though he didn’t remove his hand. “I’m listening.”

  “We need some ground rules,” she told him. “You were angry with me for following you.” She put her fingers to his lips to silence him when he started to speak. “You were trying to protect me. I get that and a part of me even likes it. But you almost got yourself killed because you didn’t trust me to take care of myself.

  “The other women, they laugh about their ‘Neanderthals’ and they ignore the orders they find unreasonable. I get that, too, and it works for them, but when I’m out on the street with you or anyone else for that matter, I don’t want to question the motives behind every order I’m given. I shouldn’t have to. You, all of you, should have enough confidence in my abilities to trust me fighting by your side.”

  Goddess, but she loved this man! She could see the words trying to burst from his mouth, but he kept his lips sealed and listened to what she had to say.

  “If I expect that kind of trust from the people around me, I have to prove I’m worthy of it and so far, I haven’t done that.” Here was the part that was so hard to admit. “You were right about the panic attacks. They’re dangerous. That’s not the worst problem, though. This is.” JJ wiggled her fingers and the crackling blue sparks gathered at the tips. “My power’s become unreliable. That’s why I had to throw myself at the gunman.” She looked at her fingers and the sparks died. “Power failure.”

  Nardo looked confused. “It worked fine when you zapped the vamp.”

  “It did,” she agreed, “But why? What’s the difference between you and the vampire?”

  “Blood Rage. Beyond that, I have no idea. Why me?”

  “Because I couldn’t zap you either.”

  “Ha! Tell that to my leg.” He looked so outraged, she giggled.

  “If I’d zapped you, you wouldn’t have been able to run me down.” She saw the look of remorse on his face and knew he was remembering her injuries. “Don’t,” she whispered and leaned forward for a quick kiss. She continued as if nothing had happened. “Believe me, I tried to fry your ass, but it just sputtered. I must have thrown fire instead. It wouldn’t have hit you at all if you hadn’t moved.”

  “Sorry,” he said sarcastically, “Next time someone is firing at me, I’ll try to stand still.” He rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling, mulling over what Joy had said. “What about Otto? Do you think you could zap him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Humans?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered, frustrated. “I’ve only used it on the monsters, the demons. I’ve never had a reason to use it on anyone else.”

  Nardo rolled off the bed, grabbed his shirt off the floor and headed to the bathroom. “Come on. We’re wasting time.”

  JJ sat on the edge of the bed, looked at the clock and groaned. The red digits showed 3:52. “I was hoping to get a little more sleep,” she said in what she hoped was a seductive voice.

  “Sleep later. We need to get down there before the others are awake. That way we can avoid a lot of questions.” He came back into the bedroom fully dressed and pulling his hair back with a wide leather casing. He laughed and ruffled her hair.

  It was an annoying gesture and she swatted at the offending hand at the same time she reached for her underwear drawer.

  In the bed, she’d felt uninhibited and sexy in her nakedness. Now, she felt self-conscious and she kept her head down as she hastily dressed. Her time with Nardo was over, the romantic spell broken. This hurried dressing and escape before the rest of the world was awake was too reminiscent of the countless times, sober and ashamed, she’d fled the scene of a one night stand.

  She pulled a sweatshirt over her head, zipped up her jeans and, shoeless, headed for the door. Nardo followed her down the stairs.

  “Hey!” he called in a whispered shout. JJ ignored him. They were at the War Room before he caught her.

  “You’d better go change your clothes,” she suggested. She refused to look at him, afraid she couldn’t mask the hurt in her eyes. “You wouldn’t want too many questions.”

  Nardo looked down at his shirt. He’d changed before he went to Joy’s room and while it probably wouldn’t hurt to change again, he didn’t see why anyone would question it. It wasn’t like he’d dribbled gravy down the front or spilled his beer.

  “Questions about what?”

  “About where you wasted your time,” JJ muttered. She gritted her teeth when Nardo started to laugh. “Glad you find it so amusing.”

  “You’re pouting,” he sputtered. “My fierce warrior woman is pouting.” He wrapped his arms around her middle.

  “I’m not pouting,” she argued and s
et her mouth in a straight line. She never pouted. She made fun of women who did. She wasn’t pouting. She wasn’t. Was she?

  Nardo confirmed it. “You are. Now tell me what’s wrong.”

  “I’m not,” she insisted, “And there’s nothing wrong.”

  He pressed a kiss to her neck and spoke with his lips tickling the spot he’d kissed.

  “You are and there is and we will stand here just like this until you tell me why. I’m bigger and stronger than you. I can make it happen. Grace will have to vacuum around us. In a few months, there won’t be room in this hall for you, me, and Grace with her monster baby bump. Cobwebs will collect in our hair. Millions of teenagers will go through withdrawal because you’ll deprive them of the electronic games they depend on. Hope will be unemployed. You won’t be able to escape if the professor starts quoting poetry. We’ll eventually starve and where will they keep us? Canaan already has two bodies in the freezer. It’ll be tragic for all concerned, but especially for Dov. He’s already obsessed with our sex life. He’ll grow old and bent watching to see if we’re doing it in the hall.”

  “He’s already bent,” JJ snickered.

  “You prove my point! Think what will happen if he slides over into complete and total perversion.”

  “All right, I surrender.” She wasn’t angry anymore and was pretty sure she’d jumped to the wrong conclusions, but without her ability to detect his lies, how could she tell if he was telling the truth. “I’m not good at this relationship stuff. I don’t even know if we have relationship.”

  “We do. See how easy this is?”

  “No, it isn’t easy for me.” She turned to face him. “You said what we did was a waste of time and you didn’t want anyone to know.”

  “When did I say that?”

  JJ huffed. “Not ten minutes ago, when you rolled out of bed.”