by Zoe Forward
He asked, “Can you read my thoughts? They…the druids said that’s probably your gift.”
She shook her head. “I get something from everyone else. But nothing from you.”
He slowly smiled. “Nothing? Are you sure? You seemed to understand about me not being in love with my job unlike anyone else.”
She shook her head. “Nada. That was a guess based on your expression. I’m pretty good at reading people’s intentions after a few years as a vet.”
“So you can’t hear what I’m thinking right now?” He shouldn’t start anything with her. He was humming with too much adrenaline and pent-up fury to be gentle.
“I wish I could. It would be easier to understand a lot of things about you, I suspect.”
He traced her lips with a finger.
She jerked away. “What about your fiancée?”
“I’m not engaged. I asked Cindy to leave, which prompted her to say that bullshit. Then you popped away before we could talk.” He resumed tracing her lips with a finger.
She whimpered and shattered his willpower. His mouth claimed hers in a burning rush. He took advantage of her parted lips to invade her mouth and then coax her tongue into a sinuous dance. He savored the feel of the heat at the vee of her thighs riding his erection. A moan detonated from his chest when her fingers teased the circlets of his nipples through his shirt. He needed to ensure she would never forget what he felt like inside her.
As his hand smoothed down her ribs toward the edge of her shirt, she winced. He broke the seal of his mouth on hers and tugged up her shirt, which exposed a wide bruise over her ribs. The need to annihilate every last member of the OLM consumed his mind. Hoarsely he choked out, “You are hurt.”
“It’s nothing. Must’ve happened when the car rolled. I’m fine.” She cupped the back of his head and pulled him to her lips.
She fisted his T-shirt in one hand and pulled it upward. “Take this off,” she pleaded. He broke the kiss.
“Sweetheart, I want to go there, but we both need a shower first. I need to get rid of the smell of blood.” And ensure you’re not injured elsewhere.
She ran her hand beneath his shirt over his abdomen toward his pants. “Make this a together event?” She lifted her eyebrows. Those puffy recently kissed lips curved upward.
He gritted his teeth. Now he was as hard as he could be. He choked out, “Lead on.” He followed into her modest bedroom, noticing the framed items over a pressboard desk. Veterinary school diploma. Bachelor’s degree. Three certificates that had silhouetted dancing couples. There was a picture of a happy middle-aged couple. “Those your parents?” They couldn’t be her real parents, not in this dimension.
Her gaze darted to the picture. She nodded and massaged her forehead.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“Was thinking of them…my parents, or at least the ones who adopted me, and now my head is killing me.”
He framed her face with his hands and sent a jolt of healing into her. “Better?”
She nodded. “Thanks. Bathroom’s through here.”
She led him into a white-tiled room with a standard shower-tub combination. Functional, but not sexy, not that he cared so long as their clothes were coming off. She started the water. Without a word, she turned and slid out of her clothes. The breath slammed out of him as he gazed at the flawless skin of her back, the graceful line of her spine and the flare of her hips. One hooded backward glance and then she disappeared behind the shower curtain.
Naked happened in seconds. He stepped behind the curtain and leaned down as she strained upward. He kissed her with every bit of the passion and possession thrumming in his blood. He pulled her flush to him, his erection cradled between them. His voice came out raw, gritty. “I’m not sure what you do to me, but…”
He winced when she ripped off the now drenched bandage on his side.
She said, “Sorry. Should’ve warned you. You forgot about these. We’ll need to replace them.” She ran her hand along the almost healed area where he’d been shot. “Or maybe not. That’s amazing.” She knelt and removed the bandage around his calf, finding a likewise almost healed area.
He tugged her upward and smoothed her wet hair away from her face. “All I’ve thought about since you disappeared is touching you, being inside you. I’m sorry about Cindy. She wanted to hurt you.”
“She did a good job, then.”
“Forget her.” His lips brushed hers. He kissed along her jawline and smoothed his hands down her back, over the flare of her hips. “Tell me what you want.”
“I think we should start with shampoo.”
He chuckled and reached behind her for the bottle. “Wet your hair for me, wildcat.”
She arched her head backward into the spray, running her hands through the now darkened strands. Had there ever been anything more erotic? Unable to resist he leaned in and kissed her neck.
She gasped and jumped.
Quickly he washed his own hair and rinsed. Then he slowly massaged shampoo into her scalp. He worked his hands down her neck and spine.
Her eyelids drifted closed with a moan. “That’s amazing.”
“Wait until we get to soaping. Rinse your hair.”
She rinsed while he popped open the body wash. He worked some into a lather between his hands. Quickly he washed himself. Then he stroked from her shoulders in gentle massaging to each breast and then down her abdomen. When he reached the bruise over her side and stomach, he slowed and released his healing energy.
“Why does it feel so warm?” She glanced down. “Are you doing your thing again?”
He nodded.
“Doesn’t it require your own energy? At least, that’s what Eli said.”
“Mmm-hmm,” he mumbled.
“Stop. You need all the energy you’ve got for yourself. You got more dinged up than me. I’ll be fine.”
He laughed. “Didn’t I say something like that a few minutes ago?”
She smiled. “Be careful for yourself.”
“Wildcat, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” His healing power assured him she was to a safe, pain-free state, not that he’d ever understood how exactly he knew. He just knew. He resumed washing her upper body. Unable to resist he leaned in and kissed along one breast, tugging gently on the nipple. She cried out and gripped his shoulders.
Her hand closed tightly around his cock. With a moan she said, “Please. I need you.”
“You’re in such a hurry,” he murmured as he moved over to the other breast. He detected a fine tremor in her body. He teased the junction of her thighs with his fingers, drifting a finger over her clit, and then across her wet folds, drawing a moan from her. He covered her lips with his again and consumed her next sobbing breath. She released him to dig her nails deeply into his back when he tunneled his fingers into her clenching sex. Whimpering into his mouth, she rode his thrusting fingers. He teased her clit with gentle motions until she came with a keening cry, her core milking his fingers.
“Damn,” he exhaled. He supported her now boneless weight as her body vibrated with aftershocks. God, he wanted to be there, to feel her surrounding him.
“That was incredible,” she said. “Now I’m not kidding. I need you. Inside me.”
He picked her up and out of the shower. After a quick towel dry, he led her into the bedroom. He kissed her hard and backed her up until she fell onto the bed. He covered her with his body and resumed kissing.
A distant pounding distracted him. “What is that noise?”
“What noise?” she asked, pushing up onto her elbows.
A loud pounding on the front door was punctuated by a yell.
“Someone’s at the front door, and I think I know who.” She pushed out of his arms and pulled a towel around her.
A man yelled through the door, “You better be in there, Kat. Missing two days at work without so much as a text is annoying. Don’t you dare stand me up.”
“Who the hell is that?” Matt asked as he wrapped a to
wel around his waist. Who the hell would she be greeting naked at the front door?
“Riley. Oh God, it can’t be Saturday. I forgot.” She twirled a second towel onto her head.
Matt retrieved his knife from his discarded pants and shot upward. If Riley was a boyfriend, he’d kill him.
Quickly she added, “Good-guy team.”
“Your team?” His lips thinned.
She rolled her eyes. “I work with him. He’s a vet, too, but I’ve got this thing today with him. We’re supposed to go somewhere, but I’m not sure. With you here…let me see what we can work out. Put that knife away. You’ll terrify him.”
“What kind of thing?” he demanded, unwilling to relinquish the weapon.
She didn’t answer as she pulled open the door.
“Ah. Caught you in the shower.” The guy strolled in, obviously familiar with the place. He slung a garment bag over a kitchen chair. His gaze shot to Matt. “Oh. You’ve got company.”
Matt locked gazes with the interloper. Stats were measured and probabilities calculated. A once-over of the guy’s light purple polo shirt and skintight slacks ensured him that Riley had no concealed weapons. The pristine arrangement of his hair and powerful cologne finalized his decision that Riley wasn’t interested in Kat for sexual reasons, which was a good thing. He lay his knife on the kitchen table. A subtle threat.
“Stand down, boys. I don’t need a testosterone face-off right now. Matt, this is Riley. He’s a work colleague, and not your competition. He’s a good friend. Riley, this is Matt and he’s—”
“Your time-travel hotness?” Riley interrupted and did an up-and-down on Matt, ending in a grin. “Twenty? Honey, I would’ve given him at least a twenty-five. I mean that…” He waved at Matt’s chest. “Is worth at least five points.”
Her already pink, recently orgasmed cheeks blushed darker. “Yeah, okay. But, seriously, I do not time travel. We, uh, had a bit of a problem in Matt’s dimension.”
“What’s this about twenty?” he asked, resisting the urge to grin.
Her face turned a darker shade of red.
“What kind of trouble?” Riley asked.
“Bad guys shot at us. But we’re fine.” Her gaze darted to Matt’s healing side.
“Since you’re not mortally injured, you and I are going to do this event. You may be quitting at the clinic, or might even get fired if you miss more work, but I’m going to have to keep my job for the foreseeable future. So, get dressed.”
“What about Matt?”
Riley squinted at him and worked his lower jaw.
She met Matt’s dark gaze. “Would you like to come with us? It’s a reception.”
“I’m going wherever you go,” he stated. He wouldn’t let her out of his sight.
She frowned. “We’ll need to get you a tux. I don’t think there’s any way we can stuff you into one of Riley’s.”
“Probably not.” He enjoyed the renewed color in her cheeks that he knew had everything to do with remembering where they’d left off.
Riley said, “We’ll stop at a rental place on the way, and see what they have in stock that fits. It’s last minute, so you might get stuck with a baby-blue ruffle special.”
He infused the Voice into his reply. “No ruffles.”
Riley took a step back. “We can stop at more than one place if the first doesn’t have something acceptable.”
At least his ability worked in this dimension. He asked Kat again, “What sort of thing do you have to do?”
“Let’s get dressed.” Without further explanation, she disappeared into her bedroom.
Chapter Seventeen
Matt hadn’t complained through the five suits he’d tried and modeled. Each one was tight in the wrong spots—arm, legs, chest. The store manager claimed he wasn’t a shape this rental place dressed often. She thought it an excuse that gave the manager a chance to touch him in all the spots that lacked the flab of his normal customers.
He rotated in the mirror, modeling suit number six, and subtly frowned. The store manager groaned and plucked at his tie. She smiled at the little salesman’s desperation to please Matt. The guy had an obvious monster crush on him. And who wouldn’t?
Each time he emerged from the small curtained off changing area, he’d looked spectacular. She’d just finished concocting an X-rated fantasy of him removing the last tux behind that thin curtain, and her body was on fire. The subtle friction of her thighs was almost enough to make her come. But the imagery of him naked behind that curtain tortured her. She imagined him taking her in that small space. Although her body wanted her to act out that fantasy, it scared her, realizing she needed so much from him. And wanted so much more than he was probably willing to give.
The salesman said, “I think I’ve got one more that you can try, sir.”
“This one is fine. I’ll take it.”
“Oh, bless the Lord. Let me draw up the paperwork. I’ll be right back.”
Riley nodded. “It’ll work. I need to hit the john before we head out.”
Matt draped the suit jacket over a chair and plopped down on the bench beside her. The thin fabric of her scoop dress provided little barrier from the rub of his solid, muscular thigh against hers. Her body tingled with awareness. She swallowed hard, probably too loudly but didn’t care.
Hoarsely she said, “Thanks for putting up with this. That one looks a little tight, too.”
“The suit will work. Did you enjoy the show?” The backs of his knuckles brushed against her cheek as he gazed down. His eyes flickered with passion and promise. For a second she recognized in his gaze the same confusing emotion she felt whenever in his presence.
“You drive me crazy, Kat. Most of these suits don’t fit in certain places because I want to do whatever is running through your brain every time I tried a new suit.”
“I didn’t mean to make you crazy,” she rushed out, her voice breathless. She struggled to keep her gaze on his face and not glance down. If she did, she’d want to touch. And probably drag him behind that curtain.
“You’ve got to stop looking at me like you’d be happier if I ripped off these clothes. Or yours. Riley seems to be in a hurry to shuttle us to this event. But right now I’m more inspired to stay here.” He leaned in and whispered into her ear, “I’ll bet I can convince you my idea of where we should go would be far more satisfying.”
Oh God. Her mind replayed her dressing-room fantasy. “I’m sorry. I just…I don’t understand anything when it comes to you.”
He said, “You and I need to talk about many things.”
So true. “Are you truly not marrying Cindy?”
He laughed a deep, brief laughter than made her stomach flutter. He shook his head. “You’re still worried about that? We just had a crash and got shot at, leaving Eli to God only knows what fate. We did a dimension shift, which was insanely risky. And you’re still worried about Cindy?”
“On my priority list it ranks number one. I mean, I am grateful. Thank you for everything. But she mentioned a Rome wedding…”
“I never had plans to marry her. We never had a future. She was talking pure bullshit.”
“Was that before or after we collided at that benefit that the two of you have no future?”
“Long before, but seeing you again confirmed that relationship was over. Let’s not talk about her again.” His heated gaze scorched downward to her gown’s plunging neckline. He flashed a meaningful smile that left no doubts as to exactly what he wanted.
Momentarily she forgot what they’d been speaking about. Her heart beat wildly.
The salesman rushed in and required Matt sign papers to rent the tux. He buzzed away.
Softly she asked, “What about your first wife? Online it said you separated and then she committed suicide, but at the benefit the other night someone mentioned you killed her.”
His eyes swirled with sadness. “Rumors are a terrible thing. The official report was drug overdose, but she never did drugs. No doub
t she was high-strung, and we were on the road to divorce, but I never hurt her. I barely touched her the last two months of our marriage before she moved out. And then she was murdered. It didn’t work with us. I couldn’t give her what she wanted other than my money, and she went a little crazy. I’m pretty sure the OLM kidnapped her. That type of death is their MO, but I have no proof.”
“That’s awful. I’m so sorry.” She placed a hand on his forearm. “So, what’s the deal with us? Me bouncing into your world and…well, frankly, I don’t really understand any of this. Eli mentioned something about Pleiades.”
“With you and me, I—”
“All righty folks, lets head out,” Riley interrupted. He rotated his watch and grimaced. “I’m driving, and we’re going fast.”
…
Kat stood next to Matt at the edge of the reception dance floor, sipping champagne. At least a million bucks must’ve been laid out for this wedding and reception, probably more. The magnificent ice sculpture, recreations of a Michelangelo, and the cake, which had to be at least six tiers of gold-crusted leaves and fondant were definite wows.
Matt’s rented tux wasn’t the quality of the one she’d seen him in at the benefit, but no one noticed clothes when it came to him. Every female in the vicinity kept vying for his attention. Women shot him ocular come-ons that made her feel as inadequate as a middle schooler at a high school prom. How could she possibly keep his interest long-term with this kind of competition?
“I’m glad you’re here,” Kat said softly to him.
A half smile curved his lips as he glanced around. “This is not exactly how I envisioned spending my weekend. But, at least I can get a drink at this party.” He raised his glass of scotch and sipped. “So, why are we here? These don’t really seem like your people.”
“Who exactly do you think my people might be?”
Riley cut off his reply. “They’re ready for us, Kat. But before we go do that, and before you pop out of this world to take him home, I want you to promise me something. Promise no matter what happens, you will always make it for rehearsals on Thursday and do the major competitions every year.” He shuffled his feet and glanced at the floor. “I get the feeling you’re going to be more interested in going wherever it is you go instead of here.”
