Rock Bottom (The Gifted Realm #4)

by Jillian Neal

  “Ok, baby,” Dan soothed.

  She smiled and then scooted into the master bathroom. She closed and locked the door behind her.

  While calling himself a prick, Dan moved to her bedside table. I shouldn’t, he told himself, but his curiosity to know more about her, to know everything about her, won out over his conscience.

  He wanted all of her. He wanted every secret she kept. He wanted to guard them inside his fierce shield. He eased the top drawer open silently.

  With a quick, nervous glance back towards the bathroom door, he turned to pull the drawer all the way open. A broad grin spread across his face as he revealed several phallic-shaped, electronic devices, each made to hit a different hot spot. They were lying amongst several well-worn erotic novels.

  He quickly casted the vibrators to determine which ones had the lowest amount of battery power, and her favorites were easily revealed. He was elated with the knowledge he’d acquired. The fantasies his mind offered, of her in bed, vibe in hand, made him ache to learn more.

  While he sincerely hoped that she wouldn’t need any of those for a long time, unless she used them with him, he eased the drawer closed as he heard the commode flush.

  As she walked him back to her front door, he noted the kitchen. The lights had been out the evening before, and he’d been far too captivated by her to have noticed anything in the first place.

  She’d spent a fair amount of money renovating the kitchen, more than any other room. She clearly loved to cook, as the cookware that hung from the pot rack over the large, central island was well worn.

  He noted the copper teakettle on the eight-burner range. It looked rather old, though it was well polished. It had several dings in the side. It was something she appeared to take excellent care of, though it seemed she could use a new one.

  The negotiations began in his mind again. If he could talk her into a relationship… Don’t be stupid. You’ll get her killed.

  After shutting down those horrifying reminders, he made a mental note of the teapot and pulled her back to his body. He slipped his hand under the short silk robe she’d pulled on as she’d left the bathroom. He let himself thoroughly enjoy grabbing another handful of her luscious ass as he kissed her and promised he’d be back in less than an hour.

  * * *

  He climbed onto his bike with his mind so heavy with desperation and fear he wasn’t certain he could contain the agony.

  I have one week. I can have one fucking week, can’t I? Australia was one of the very few places on earth where Dominic Wretchkinsides had no interest. It was far too remote to import either drugs or guns. The Gifted Ruling family had proved to be solid and above the corruption Wretchkinsides wanted to plunder and use against anyone who could be of service to his needs.

  It was worlds away from Wretchkinsides, and crime, and Cascavel, and death, and it was worlds away from Amelia’s grave and all of the haunting memories. No one on the whole continent would know who he was or who he was with. That was all Dan wanted.

  She’s so damn beautiful and perfect, his mind continued its badgering reminders. You’ll never want this week to end.

  He knew it was true, but maybe by the end of the week he could either get her out of his system, or come up with some way they could actually be together.

  I’m so much better now than I was ten years ago. I was a pompous, egotistical prick. I had no clue how to keep her safe. I can keep Fionna safe. She just has to let me.

  His ego rescued him once again.

  Then you better show her the whole fucking world this week, Vindico. If you think a woman like Fionna Styler is going to be willing to be all yours, when no one can know you’re together, you better be every single thing she could ever dream of having. You better pave every street she walks in gold.

  His helmet shifted forward slightly as his body gave a nod of acceptance of his own plan.

  44

  Navigations

  ~Rainer Lawson~

  “So, he asked Fionna to come with him to Sydney, and she agreed?” Even though this was the third time she’d restated this question, Emily still sounded thoroughly irritated.

  “According to Garrett, she called him as soon as Vindico left to go get his stuff this morning,” Rainer confirmed. “Logan and I are, on top of everything else, supposed to keep him from freaking once he realizes what he’s committed himself to.” Rainer wondered how exactly they were supposed to fulfill Garrett’s requests.

  “If he gets her there, and then freaks and breaks her heart, you won’t have to worry about it; I’ll kill him,” Emily spat.

  Rainer chuckled at her vehemence.

  “Em, we’re just as shocked as you are,” Logan stated as he pulled his lips away from Adeline’s. They’d been getting a jump-start on their honeymoon, in the back of the Hummer.

  “You think you could leave her clothes on until we get to the hotel?” Rainer teased.

  Adeline blushed and giggled, and Logan rolled his eyes.

  “Hey, I can’t help it if my wife can’t keep her hands off of me.”

  Adeline looked like she wanted to melt into the floorboard.

  Rainer and Emily had endured Logan referring to Adeline as his ‘wife’ and vice versa, forced into conversation at every available opportunity, all morning long.

  With a tight clench of his jaw, Rainer tried to remember that they were excited and that he was happy for them.

  He was relieved that they had their own suite. Perhaps, if they spent the next few days wrapped up in each other, they wouldn’t feel the need to announce their new marital status every few moments.

  Emily shot him a grin that let him know that she was thinking the very same thing.

  He pulled into the Iodex parking deck. After they unloaded the luggage, Rainer casted the car, and then led Emily to the private tarmac. Governor Haydenshire was there waiting on them and holding their tickets.

  “That depends on who the other ticket is for, Daniel,” the Governor huffed into his cell phone.

  After a period of silence, Governor Haydenshire looked genuinely pleased. “Sure, I’ll take care of it. I’m the one forcing you to take a vacation. If you assure me that she moves more than your obsession with Wretchkinsides, then I’ll arrange a ticket for Ms. Styler right now.” His grin spread broadly across his face.

  Whatever Vindico was telling him, he was elated to hear. After a minute, concern etched the Governor’s face.

  “All right, Dan, I believe you, but you listen to me, son; don’t you take her to the other side of the world, decide this is more than you want to deal with all of a sudden, and break her heart. Do you understand me? If you make a commitment to her, we will all help you keep her safe. You deserve to live outside of that tomb, Daniel. Let me help you.” The Governor gave a silent nod.

  “Just please, for me, don’t screw this up.” He ended the call and moved to the gathering of pilots and flight attendants of his own jet.

  “I’m going to add another passenger, Glenda.”

  “Oh yes, sir, Crown Governor,” the woman was eager to help.

  * * *

  An hour later, Emily and Fionna were tucked up on one of the padded bench seats that ran along one side of the luxury flight they were currently taking. They were whispering heatedly and giggling. They would both occasionally glow red in their embarrassment over whatever they were discussing.

  Vindico looked annoyed as he sat in his seat, and flipped through a magazine that was on the plane.

  Logan and Adeline were in the small bedroom off the passenger area, with the door closed. They’d both insisted that they were going in there to talk. No one had believed that for a moment, though they’d kept their thoughts to themselves to save Adeline embarrassment.

  Rainer fully planned to harass Logan about his out-and-out lie, later on.

  Vindico kept glancing Rainer’s way, but then seemed unable to keep his gaze off of Fionna for any real length of time. He very obviously wanted Emily to leave Fionn
a alone so that he could have her attention all for himself.

  After he decided that was a good sign, Rainer didn’t comment. He just kept a close watch over Emily and tried to hear any part of her conversation. The whispers were too soft and too rapid for him to pick up on much.

  With what appeared to be a haggard, steadying breath, Vindico stood and moved to Rainer. He looked extremely uncomfortable.

  “Could I ask you something?”

  “Sure,” Rainer shrugged and followed Vindico’s eyes back to the girls.

  “Up here,” he gestured to another seating area at the front of the plane, just behind the cockpit.

  There were seven pilots and cooling officers flying their plane, which would put them in Sydney in a little over ten hours.

  Rainer followed Vindico to the bench seat at the front of the plane. Whatever he wanted to know, it was making him extremely uncomfortable.

  “You ok?” Rainer quizzed. If his boss suddenly decided that he shouldn’t have invited Fionna along on their trip, Rainer was going to shove him out of the plane, over the Atlantic. The thought settled firmly in his mind as he awaited Vindico’s response.

  He looked surprised by the question.

  “Yeah, I’m great, actually.” He even appeared shocked by the truthfulness of his reply.

  “Good,” Rainer was still waiting for the impending question. He began to wonder just what had happened between Fionna and Vindico. It appeared to have been much more than sex.

  “Uh,” Vindico drew another deep breath, “I was just wondering if you’d help me with something, I guess.” He still looked pained.

  “Sure. What?”

  “Well, it’s kind of been awhile since I was at the Academy.”

  Rainer knitted his brow. This question was starting off oddly.

  “And, you know, I’ve never really…” he continued to try to formulate his question, “uh, dated any Gifted women,” he finally managed.

  Rainer was still not certain what Vindico needed to know.

  “I remember Will and Garrett teaching a few guys how to cast a woman,” he choked out in a husky whisper. “I didn’t really need to know that at the time, but I do need to know now. It’s important, and I was wondering…” he hemmed again.

  While feeling genuinely sorry for his boss, Rainer immediately took pity on him.

  “If I could teach you how?”

  Air released from Vindico’s lungs as he quickly nodded.

  “And, also, if you could never, ever mention this conversation to anyone, I’ll owe you. As your boss, that seems like it puts you in a pretty good position,” he negotiated.

  Rainer chuckled. “I’ll teach you, and I won’t tell anyone. You don’t owe me anything if you just won’t break her heart.”

  “Why does everyone think I’m going to do that?” Vindico suddenly sounded highly offended.

  Rainer studied him incredulously. He didn’t really want to give voice to that answer.

  “Ok, fine. I’ve been an ass, but I’d…uh….” he turned to make certain Fionna was paying him no attention. “I’d like to make this a really great week for her.”

  “Ok,” Rainer agreed. He was certain there was more Vindico wasn’t saying, but he wasn’t going to push. He didn’t want to do anything to ruin this for either Fionna or Vindico.

  They moved to the set of seats that faced the front of the plane. The backs of the chairs would block what they were doing from the girls prying eyes. They’d suddenly become very interested in what was being discussed.

  Vindico smiled his appreciation as he took the seat beside Rainer.

  “Ok,” Rainer tried to think of the best way to explain how to cast someone. “Uh, you… you know, you and Fionna… last night,” Rainer choked.

  Vindico laughed at him outright. “Slept together? Yeah.”

  “Right,” Rainer willed away the blood pooling in his cheeks. “Ok, so you know when you do something, so that you, uh, have her energy… in your hands,” he finally forced. There wasn’t really a delicate way to explain this. He went so far as to mimic fingering someone.

  “Yeah,” Vindico didn’t seem to have any issue with anything Rainer explained. He concentrated and watched Rainer’s every move.

  “Ok, well, it’s easiest after you’ve done that.”

  “Ok,” Vindico was growing impatient quickly.

  “Anyway,” Rainer refocused, “so, if you use some of her erotic energy to summon with, and then you add your own soothing and calming energies, you just sort of move the cast up her from her….” He couldn’t think of a word for ‘vagina’ that he would be willing to use in front of his boss, especially since the girl he was referring to was seated not ten feet away from them. He gestured to his own crotch, and Vindico nodded his understanding.

  “Then you’ll feel where she opens way up; that’s where you seal her off, but keep pumping your own soothing energies into her for a few seconds after it’s sealed. That will keep it from making her uncomfortable,” Rainer explained.

  Vindico looked concerned. “So, if they do it themselves, it makes them uncomfortable?” he seemed surprised by that realization.

  “Yeah, a little,” Rainer hoped Emily wouldn’t mind his sharing this information with his boss. “Em still does it herself occasionally,” he whispered, “but she usually asks me to because I can do it, and she doesn’t feel anything. I mean, the way I do it just sort of, uh, makes her want more. She gets a pretty heavy dose of my energy when I close her,” he managed to force this information out of his mouth.

  “I didn’t know that.” Vindico’s brow furrowed.

  “And you know about the twenty-four hour thing?” Rainer felt a very odd role-reversal taking place.

  “That’s how long it lasts, right?” Vindico was clearly trying to recall.

  Rainer nodded. He almost chuckled out loud as he thought that Vindico should have been at the Academy a few weeks ago with him and Logan for Amative Energies week.

  Suddenly the girls’ voices picked up in their excitement.

  “I almost died. I mean, wow! He’s huge.” Fionna gushed. Emily was laughing hysterically. “Seriously, I almost want you to see it just so you’ll believe me!”

  “Uh, no thanks. I’ll take your word for it,” Emily teased as they erupted in another round of hysterical laughter.

  “Please tell me they’re not talking about what I think they’re talking about,” Vindico looked thoroughly embarrassed as he made his plea.

  Rainer grimaced and nodded. His mind rejected the information he was being force-fed.

  * * *

  A little while later, Logan and Adeline emerged. They were still gazing adoringly at one another as they took one of the small benches, only big enough for two, and began cuddling.

  Vindico finally requested that Fionna come and sit with him, which she agreed to happily. Emily fell into Rainer’s lap.

  “What were you and Vindico talking about?” she asked as soon as she was seated. Rainer chuckled and shook his head. He brushed a kiss on her cheek.

  “Well, not how vertically-gifted my boss is, like you and Fionna were,” he chastised.

  Emily’s face turned the color of her hair. “Well, I didn’t want to know that. She just kept talking about it!”

  Rainer cracked up.

  Fionna and Vindico remained in deep conversation for the rest of the flight. Occasionally, Rainer would hear one of them laugh, and several times they stopped talking in order to indulge in passionate kissing, but they definitely seemed thoroughly engrossed in one another.

  When the plane finally landed at Kingsford Smith, Logan, Vindico, and Rainer thanked the pilots and coolant officers as they grabbed the luggage and guided their respective companions off of the plane.

  Emily’s entire being lit as she took in the warm air and sunshine of the Australian coastal city. Adeline appeared to have enjoyed the flight and the ten hours of Logan’s undivided attention, but when they landed, her nerves returned in full fo
rce.

  “Hey,” Logan kissed the side of her head as they made their way off of the plane. “It’s our honeymoon. You aren’t allowed to be nervous until we go to the palace,” he instructed. A hesitant smile formed on her face.

  “Logan, my dad is somewhere in this city,” her voice shook.

  “Ok,” Logan nodded his agreement of that, “but if he happens to be in the honeymoon suite of the Kingsford Wellborn, I’m still gonna make him leave.”

  Vindico and Rainer rolled their eyes. They made their way to the car rental area inside the airport. After obtaining three compact cars, they all made their way to the Kingsford Wellborn Hotel and Spa, through the relatively calm streets of Sydney.

  “So, it’s Tuesday morning here?” Emily quizzed confusedly.

  Yeah,” Rainer agreed that the fact that they’d effectively lost an entire day in their ten-hour flight was somewhat disconcerting. They pulled the cars onto the parking deck of the hotel. After they gathered their luggage, they took in the opulent entrance.

  Adeline was suddenly overwrought about staying in such a swanky hotel. Logan shook his head as he informed the hotel clerk who he was.

  “Ah, yes, our honeymoon couple,” the clerk smiled kindly, and Logan beamed. “Right this way, Mr. Haydenshire. We have your suite ready and waiting,” the man gestured to the elevators.

  “We’ll see you later,” Logan offered with a slight wave. Emily and Fionna were still whispering to one another, although their conversation now appeared to be about the hotel.

  The vast entryway, which was several stories high, contained an extravagant bar area situated off of the restaurant. One side of the grand room had entrances for the world-renowned Kingsford Wellborn Day Spa.

  As he watched Fionna and Emily gaze longingly at the spa, Rainer assumed, at some point, that the ladies would be spending a day there. Vindico noticed as well. He and Rainer shared a chuckle. Rainer had never seen his boss so eager to please anyone.