The purr of an engine sounded a moment later. Cael raced to a car waiting near the gates. He hopped in on the passenger side as Everett jumped in the driver’s. They’d be the third car, there just in case.
Everett passed him his phone. “Press two. Steve is in the second car. He can keep us updated on where they’re going and what’s happening.”
Cael pressed two. Before the first ring even finished, someone answered.
“What’s up, Everett?” Steve asked.
“Cael here, I’m with Everett and we’re in a car following you. Tell me where you are and where you’re going.” Cael sat back in the seat.
“Heading toward town,” Steve sounded tense. “Sean is following on his motorcycle without lights.”
Cael glanced out at the passing darkness. A risky move, but with his Gargoyle eyesight, he should be able to see well enough to navigate.
“Just have him be as careful as possible. We can’t follow if he ends up slamming into another car.” Cael drummed his fingers on his thigh. Not as satisfying as hearing the rat-a-tat of his fingers on wood or glass, but less annoying to other people. “Call if he turns off or if there’s a problem.
“Will do,” Steve agreed.
Cael slid his finger over the screen. When they reached the city limits, Steve called.
“Sean had to turn off, he’ll circle and get in behind you, but we’ll need another car to come in and maybe offer some assistance depending on how observant they are,” Steve reported.
“We’ll be ready to move up when you need to turn off.” Cael glanced over at Everett. He nodded.
Everett accelerated, moving a little closer to the other car, but staying far enough back that they might not be associated with it. If it was a little later, there would be more traffic, and they could follow without such a risk. Traffic was too sparse right now. They weren’t on a major street. Nothing in this neighborhood seemed to be open twenty-four hours.
It got even worse when he turned into a residential area. Everett took the lead then, and the other vehicles ran on parallel streets just in case he turned so that Everett wouldn’t have to follow him too long. Cael kept the phone ready.
The car turned into the driveway of a house. Everett drove past the rundown house and turned left on the next street. Cael dialed Sean.
“Sean, see if he stays there. We can’t hang around or he’ll know.” Cael didn’t look back or to the side. “The house number is 6435 Thebes Street. But be careful. He might be watching for a car cruising down this street.”
“I’m checking from the end of the block. He stood outside for a while and has now gone into the house,” Sean said. “I’ll sit on him for a while and see if I can find a better spot to watch.”
“There’s a for-rent sign a few houses down from him on the other side of the street.” Everett pulled to the side of the road. “If you’re careful, you can break in there and watch.”
“Tomorrow an associate of ours can arrange to rent it for us.” Cael stared out the windshield. There had to be no connection to the Gargoyle so they’d have to use a human. “I’ll call back and get a few people to help with the watch. They’ll call when they get close. Good job, everyone. With some luck, we might be a step closer to stopping these bastards.”
Chapter Twenty Four
Thane sprawled on the couch next to Moriah. For once he was off on Saturday. It was good to get a day off and even better to get some semi alone time with Moriah. Semi because Cael was in the bedroom getting some sleep. After a long night watching the Gobel’s house, he probably needed it.
She traced her hands over his brow. “You are so not into tennis, are you?”
“Eh, I can take it or leave it. You don’t appear to be that into it, either.” He reached up and grabbed her hand.
“I have favorite players who I like watching. When I clicked up the enhanced menu, I saw that they’d already played.” She squeezed his hand. “Have Cael and Dante learned anything else?”
“Only that the house the Gobel is at is a rental. The rental agreement doesn’t trace back to anyone living in this area. The name on it is currently being used by a person in Virginia.” He shrugged.
“So, they’re going to have to wait and see if this creature moves somewhere later once he’s comfortable. Is there something else you’d like to watch or do?” She sighed and shook her head.
“Well, there is something I’d like to do.” He sat up and drew her to her feet.
“Where are we going?” She glanced at him as he rose beside her.
“The sun room.” Thane tugged at her hand and strode forward.
She followed along. “Ah, your wildly overgrown plant room.”
“You don’t like the plants?” Thane glanced over at her. It was one of his favorite rooms in the house.
“Actually, I love it, but I never expected all that wildness from you guys. You’re not overly organized, but you do seem to like order and all of that doesn’t fit.” She grinned.
“Ah, but the wild serves a purpose. The room is all glass, but with the wild plants in there we can have privacy from any neighbors who might look out their second-floor windows.” He guided her through the house until they reached the sun room.
Wild, lush greenery filled the room. Amid all of that sat a wide, light green lounger. Long enough and wide enough to have some fun on. Now, they’d test it out.
“Did you have cause to use it much?” She raised a brow.
“Sunshine, before we met you, we didn’t bring lovers home. They weren’t going to be staying in our lives for long, and we always had to be cautious of showing too much since the women were mostly humans. That was primarily where we looked because we hadn’t found a woman among the Gargoyle females we met. We didn’t know that our woman would have Branal blood, didn’t think it was possible. Matings between Branal and Gargoyle are rare.” Thane squeezed her hand.
“Well, I guess we were both surprised. I didn’t know there was such a thing as Gargoyles or mates. I guess you did sort of get a human though. I am half.” She lifted her shoulder.
“Sunshine, you’re a Branal. You might have some human blood in you, but almost everything about you is true Branal except for the way you grew up. And now that you’re with us, you’re going to be a Gargoyle with Branal abilities.” He cupped the back of her head.
Her silky, black hair slid over his fingers. That glossy mass was perfect to pull her close for a kiss. He lifted his gaze to the glass ceiling and drew in deep breaths. Patience. Don’t rush this. He could get through a simple conversation without being a complete barbarian and dragging her to the nearest flat surface.
“Great. I don’t even have a handle on the abilities I have as a Branal yet, and there’s going to be more to learn.” She shook her head.
“You’re doing great. I know that it seems like there’s so much to learn what with the fighting and drawing energy as well as everything else, but you’re doing it.” Thane dropped a kiss on her forehead. Doubts were normal, especially at first, when everything was new.
“Thank you, but I know I’m not doing so great on the fighting part or the drawing energy. And they hate my questions and having to come here because I can’t come to them.” Moriah looked down at the ground.
“They can deal with it. Even their Agal said that it was the best solution given the situation. It takes time, especially since you had no one to train you how to tap into the power you were given. You had to teach yourself, and some of those weren’t the most efficient ways. So you’ll have to unlearn them.” Thane drew her over to the lounger and tugged her down onto it.
She glanced over at him. “How do you know all of that?”
“We wanted to know what was happening with your training, so we asked the Agal to keep us in the loop of the reports he was given.” Thane lifted a shoulder. “The full picture. Not that I’m saying you’d lie to us.”
Her eyes narrowed, and her finger dug into his chest. “Then what are you saying?”
“Hey, careful with that finger. You might bruise me, and then I wouldn’t be able to make you scream with pleasure.” He ran his fingers up her ribs.
She twisted and turned, even as she laughed. He loosened his grip. She wriggled free and moved a couple of feet down to the end of the lounge.
“No trying to distract me, and screaming would be kind of rude since Cael is sleeping. What are you saying?” She held up her hand when he slid closer to her.
“I’m saying that sometimes what we see when we’re learning something new isn’t always the full picture. They don’t hate your questions. It’s just strange to them that they’re coming from someone your age, and they have to keep reminding themselves that you weren’t raised with the Branal. Coming here, though, that is something that irritates them, but they can suck it up.” Thane lifted a shoulder.
“Very sympathetic.” She shook her head.
“I don’t have to be sympathetic toward them. I’m sure they have others commiserating with them when they return home.” He smiled and slid his arm around her. “What I want to do is enjoy the day with you. Are you ready to play?”
“All right. Did you want me to help get my clothes off?” She tilted her head. “Not going to be easy with us both sitting.”
“No, I want to enjoy the tease and torment of the moment. I want to savor every touch as I peel you out of your shirt first.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. His fingers trailed up her shirt.
“So that’s how you plan to make me scream. You want to torment me until I’m so frustrated I yell for you to fuck me?” She slid her hand over his back.
“No, that’s not what’s going to happen.” He flicked open the first button. His tongue glided over her neck even as he drew his fingers over the small part in the shirt. Her sweet caramel taste burst over his tongue.
She pulled in a shuddering breath. “Then what do you plan to do that’s going to make me scream?”
He laughed. “You’re going to find that out when it happens.”
He flicked open the buttons and slid his hand over her stomach. Warmth seared his palm. Her abdominal muscles clenched. She shivered. He drew in a deep breath. Have to get control. Slow and subtle tonight. To make her scream, he had to build the sensation.
His teeth scraped over her shoulder, and he kissed the spot before doing it again. Delicious.
“I love your taste. If I could, I’d sit here and simply lick you for a long while, but that’s not what I want today. It would be too slow and too torturous. I’d lose control before I managed to get my fill.” He traced circles on her stomach and then up to her ribs.
She groaned. Good, but not nearly enough. She wasn’t even twisting or arching yet. He pushed her shirt off her shoulders and down her arms. The sun room would keep her warm and toasty even though it was chilly outside.
“I’ll do that someday, sunshine. I promise you that.” He licked the valley between her breasts. Her coconut and caramel essence swirled around him. His blood rocketed through his veins. Fuck. This was going to torture him.
“You are going to make me scream. In frustration. You’re not touching me anywhere sensitive at all.” She rested her hands on his shoulder.
“I’ll get to it. I’m enjoying the moment and so are you.” He leaned down and brushed his lips over her nipple.
The tip tightened, thrusting out as if asking for more. He flicked the bud before tracing the edge of the dark skin. She wriggled and clutched at his shoulders. He lapped at the curve of her breast, meandering away from the sensitive peak.
“I think I might need you to change this game up. Maybe, play doctor so you can fix what’s hurting if you keep this up. You’re driving me crazy!” She clenched his hair in one hand.
He laughed. Tingles speared over his scalp. He gently peeled her fingers away from his hair.
“You’re going to have to deal with a little frustration if you want the intense pleasure that’s waiting for you.” He flicked open the button on her jeans, but slid his hand down between her thighs. “I could get you off right now, but it would only be a shadow of what you’re going to feel when you come later.”
She dug her nails into his head. “I’m so getting you back for this. And I’ll make sure to tell you that it’s all going to be worth it when I finally let you take your pleasure.”
“Vengeful little thing, aren’t you? I like that. You’ll have to find something to secure me with though, and that might take you a while because I don’t have anything here to do it. You haven’t come into your Gargoyle strength yet.” Thane leaned down and nipped her shoulder. Wicked woman. It would be delicious.
“So that means you’ll probably have something for me to use later if I can’t find something on my own.” She stroked his cheek, a slow caress.
Someone was a tease. He drew his hands down the jean-clad sides of her legs. “Yes, we will get something that will hold you, but that doesn’t mean that it will hold a fully grown Gargoyle male.”
“Sounds like you’re attempting to dissuade me from trying anything out on you. Not going to work.” She shook her head. “I can be very persistent when I want to be.”
His right hand skimmed up her inner thigh and cupped her pussy. Her heat seeped through the fabric. He pressed his fingers up, pushing the seam between the lips. Her hips tilted. Was she wet for him? Soon, he’d find out.
“I know you can be persistent, and that’s why I think that once I get these off you…” He pulled his hand back before he drew the pants down over her hips.
“Once you get them off me, what?” She ran her hand over his shoulders and neck as he knelt in front of her.
“Once I take off your pants, I’m going to turn you around, and I’m going to make you burn for me, sunshine. I want to hear your moans rolling through the room. I want to hear you pleading for me to let you come.” He nibbled on the flesh just above her hipbone as he tugged her filmy panties down her hips. Slightly salty and sweet. Yum. He licked.
“So you’re going to ignore these?” She cupped her breasts, holding the aching mounds.
“I’m not going to ignore them. Trust me, sunshine. I’ll give them some attention. I won’t get my mouth on them, and I love doing that, but I’ll touch and squeeze them and give you what you need.” He placed a kiss on her mound before he rose to his feet. First, though, something had to be done about those hands.
“And what if I need to have your mouth there?” She glanced up.
“You want my mouth there? Maybe later, I’ll give you that.” He took her by the shoulders and turned her away from him.
“What if I’m mad at you later?” She glanced over her shoulder.
“You won’t be mad at me. You’ll be shaking with pleasure and eager for more. I’ll give you just what you need.” He hooked an arm around her waist.
As long as he did this right, she’d only moan and tremble. His palm swept up her stomach and over her ribs. She leaned into his touch.
He hummed and drew his hands over her hips. She wriggled back against him. Her butt rubbed across the ridge of his cock. A jolt shot through him. Damn, it would be so easy to unzip his jeans and slide into her sweet pussy. But not yet. She reached down, but he caught her hand.
“No, sunshine, I’ll give you all the attention you need in just a few moments.” He pulled her hands to her side. “You keep these right here or I might have to tie you up.”
“Yeah, with what?” She looked back over her shoulder.
“I don’t know if you’re ready to really play with me.” He pressed a kiss to her neck.
Hopefully, he wasn’t pushing her too much. She rubbed her butt back and forth against him. A fiery hunger speared straight up his spine. He drew in a hissing breath. Fuck, he wouldn’t last much longer if she did much more. He cupped her breast, squeezing the full globe. She moaned and pressed down into his touch. Such a beautiful sound, but she’d give him more before she came. He flicked and stroked the tip. The nub hardened beneat
h his fingers.
He nibbled at her shoulder as his hand continued to roam over her breasts. Her thighs squeezed together. Her scent intensified. Good. He tugged at the nipple. She rocked backward.
He leaned over her. What is she doing? She reached down, her hand slipping between her thighs. A few strokes and she might hurtle over the edge. Not going to happen. If she was going to come, it would be at his hand.
He growled. Impatient woman. He grabbed her hand, tugging it back even as he knelt. Just need to get that shirt. He grabbed it off the floor. In front or behind? Hmm, it would be more comfortable for her in front and he’d be able to press against her skin.
He released her wrists and ripped her shirt into strips. She gasped. He stepped around in front of her. Her eyes widened, but no fear tainted her scent. Thane once again took her hand. He grasped her other wrist and used the strips of her shirt to secure them in front of her. She twisted and pulled a little. He smiled. That wasn’t slipping off.
“I warned you, sweet sunshine. Now, we get back to the fun.” He moved back around her. “Since you seem so focused on that pussy, I’ll give this flesh the attention you’re determined to have here. Hold on to the lounger and you’ll love what I do to you.”
Her breath caught. “Is that a promise?”
“Definitely.” He pressed a kiss to her shoulder.
He skimmed his hand down her hip and over her buttock, but glided back up to her back. So smooth, sexy, and strong. He pushed her upper body forward even while he held her lower body in place. She bent over and smiled back at him. Pure taunt and challenge glittered in her eyes. He’d answer that. Perhaps a little bit of a reminder might be good. He lifted his hand and swatted the curve of her ass.
She yelped and tensed. He tightened his grip and held her still.
Finding Their Flame [Stone Passions 2] Page 20
