by Tina Folsom
Eric pointed to the sink in the kitchen. “And the water and sewer?”
“A private well and a leach field.”
“And nobody’s ever found this place?”
Scott shook his head. “Sheppard made sure it can’t be seen from the air. That’s why it’s surrounded by mature evergreens. They provide a thick canopy. And that’s why he put the solar panels off site.”
“Smart man.”
“We’re staying here for the night?” Tess asked.
“Yes. You guys can take the fold-out couch. It’s pretty comfortable. I slept there when I was a child.” Scott motioned to the door leading to the bedroom. “Phoebe and I will take the bedroom. But first, I think we need to sit down so Eric and I can work out a plan of action.”
Eric nodded in agreement. “Yes. Tomorrow Tess and I will leave and get to work.”
“So soon?” Phoebe asked. “Why?”
“It’s best if we split up. We can get more done that way. Not that I don’t like this charming retreat, but I doubt Scott meant for us to move in.” Eric grinned.
“I don’t want to seem inhospitable, but Eric is right,” Scott agreed with a smirk. Then he turned serious again. “Let me just get us all settled.” He looked at Phoebe and Tess. “Are you hungry?” They’d stopped for some food hours ago.
“Now that you mention it, a bit,” Phoebe admitted. She looked around. “I doubt there’s anything here. We should have gone shopping first.”
“No worries. There’s a cellar.”
Scott walked to the kitchen and crouched down next to the wall. He pulled away the rug and reached for the latch, lifting the large trap door and revealing a wooden staircase into the darkness. He reached inside and flipped a switch, illuminating the cellar.
Behind him, Phoebe let out a breath. “Impressive. What’s down there?”
Scott turned his head to her. “A couple of large freezers, some dry goods, and a hell of a lot of canned food to survive the apocalypse.”
Phoebe exchanged a look with Tess. “Guess we won’t starve.”
“As long as one person here can cook,” Tess agreed and sat down on the loveseat in the living room.
Eric joined her.
Scott pulled a notepad from the small desk that stood at one wall and sat down on the couch facing Eric.
“Looks like you have a plan,” Eric started.
“I do. I had a lot of time to think while driving.”
“Let me hear it, then.”
From the corner of his eye he noticed Phoebe standing next to the sofa. He glanced at her and reached his hand out to her in invitation. She sat down next to him, and knowing that she was here with him, alive and well, soothed him. He gave her a warm smile then looked back at Eric.
“We know there are others like us,” Scott started.
“Yeah, but we don’t know who, how many, and where they are. Sheppard kept that information to himself.”
“Well, not all of it. He gave me a list of the code names of all members of Code Name Stargate.”
“Where is the list? Let me see it.”
Scott tapped his temple. “In here.” He put a pen to paper. “I’ll share the list with you.” He started writing down the names, starting with Ace, his own code name, and ending with Zulu, Eric’s code name. Then he handed the list to Eric. “Memorize it. Then burn it.”
Eric ran his eyes over the piece of paper. “That’s quite a lot of agents. You wouldn’t by chance know their real names?”
“I’m afraid Sheppard thought it would be too dangerous for me to know.”
“Well, we can cross two names off, you and me. Which leaves us with what, a couple dozen others to figure out?”
“Right.”
“Looks quite impossible from where I’m standing.”
“I know. But we need them. If we’re right, and each of us has the same premonition, then something big is going down. Something we need to prevent. But we can’t do it alone, nor can we figure it out on our own. Everybody seems to have one piece of information. And only if we can get our hands on all the pieces will we see the big picture.”
Eric hummed to himself. “I agree, but it won’t be easy to draw the others out. They’re hiding, just like we are. They must assume anybody wanting to find them is doing it in order to destroy them. They’ll be careful.”
“I wouldn’t expect them not to use caution. But we have to use methods that will tell them we’re their allies. Something that will identify us to them as Stargate agents, while making sure we won’t give our positions away to our enemies.”
“Do you trust your contact in the Deep Web?”
Scott raised his eyebrows. “You mean despite the fuck-up about the time? Yes.”
“We might be able to use him to put out a few feelers for us.” Eric tossed a glance around the room. “Do you have internet access here?”
“I have a secure satellite system I can hook into when I need to.”
“Good. I’m assuming there’s no phone out here.”
“No. But I have a secure cell you’ll be able to reach me on. And there’s more equipment buried underneath the shed outside. We have everything we need to set up a command center here. It’s as safe as we’ll ever get it.”
“Good. Let’s do that. We might be able to find others that way.”
“Good idea. But there’re other ways too. You were alerted to me because I acted on my premonition. We have to assume the other Stargate members will eventually act on theirs. We need to monitor the news.”
“I can help you with that,” Phoebe said from beside him.
Scott and Eric turned their heads to her.
“You don’t need to get involved in this,” Scott said.
“I already am. You might as well let me use my skills. I’m in this too. That jerk was going to kill me!”
Scott felt a cold shudder race down his spine at the memory of Phoebe in the hands of the assassin.
Eric chuckled. “My suggestion is to give in.” He glanced at Tess. “I’ve learned that once a woman has made up her mind, all resistance is futile.”
Scott locked eyes with Phoebe. “We’ll talk about it later.” Then he gave Eric a sideways glance. “And I thought as a fellow Stargate agent you’d be on my side.”
“I am on your side.”
“How did Code Name Stargate even get started?” Phoebe asked.
“Henry Sheppard worked at the CIA. He had ESP although nobody knew about it, but he sensed that he wasn’t the only one with this gift. He made it his mission in life to find people like him, people who possessed the gift of premonitions. He knew they existed, because he found me. When I turned eighteen, he used his influence to get me into the CIA training program and in secret, he created Code Name Stargate with me and him as the first two agents. He believed in this. And he was proven right. The Stargate agents had a gift. And it’s real. He was dedicated to his work. It’s time for Stargate to rise again.”
Eric smiled. “Where do we start?”
“We’ll have to monitor the news. We know our enemy is doing the same. That’s how whoever hired the assassin must have been alerted to me. We have to be faster than he is.”
Eric nodded. “We know what we’re looking for. We know how the others think, how they were trained. You of all people can run this. That’s why Sheppard gave you that list. He wanted you to take over should anything happen to him. He wanted the program to survive. I think we owe him that.”
“This time nobody will be able to stop us,” Scott prophesized. “Because this time we’ll work together, not in isolation. That was the only flaw in Sheppard’s thinking. He kept us separate from each other, thinking we’d be too powerful if we worked together.”
But together they could prevent the impending disaster that both Scott and Eric had seen in their visions, and fulfill their destiny.
24
Phoebe watched as Scott entered the bedroom, his hair still damp from the shower. He wore pajama bottoms, but
no top. The sight of his virile body made her feel better instantly. The anxiety caused by her ordeal at the hands of an assassin was finally seeping from her and making way for more pleasant sensations. She was safe now. Safe with Scott, and because of him.
“You tired?” His rich melodic voice sank deep into her body as he walked to the bed.
She shook her head. “Not that tired.” She pushed the duvet lower, exposing her naked torso.
Scott’s lips curved upward, turning into a smile. “I’d hoped for that.” He loosened the knot that held his pajama pants up and let them drop to the floor.
Instantly Phoebe feasted her eyes on his nakedness. His cock hung heavy between his legs, thick and long…and rising with every step he made toward her.
When he lifted the duvet and slid underneath it, her mouth went dry. It felt like an eternity since he’d made love to her, and only now did she realize the extent of her need to feel him inside her. But this would have to wait for a few minutes, until she’d said what was on her mind.
Scott reached for her.
Before her courage could desert her, she said, “I’ve decided to move in with you.”
Scott froze in his movement. “Phoebe—”
“No, please hear me out,” she interrupted him and clamped her hand around his wrist. “About what I said to you and Eric today, I meant it. I can help you. I know how to get the news before the general public does. I have contacts. I can find out stuff that you and Eric won’t have access to. Please!”
He sighed. “Phoebe…”
“You need me. And you know as well as I do that I can’t go back to my old life. Whoever sent the assassin will send somebody else, and then they’ll force me to give up your hiding place. And I can’t stand much pain. I’m going to crack. That’s why I’ll have to live with you.”
A chuckle broke from Scott’s lips.
Surprised, she glared at him. “What’s so funny about that?”
“You, making a case for why you want to live with me.”
“But those are all valid reasons.”
He shook his head. “There’s only one valid reason why I’d let you move in with me.” He freed his wrist from her grip and slid his hand to her nape, pulling her face closer to his. “So, are you gonna give me the right reason, or do I have to torture it out of you?”
Her eyes searched his, and her mind went blank. One valid reason? What was he talking about?
“Phoebe, I’m waiting.” There was no menace in his voice. Rather, he sounded amused.
“I…I…I’m thinking.” Still, her mind remained blank. Maybe she didn’t do as well under pressure as she’d previously thought.
“Oh, Phoebe, is it really that hard? Maybe I should tell you the reason why I was going to ask you tonight if you wanted to stay with me.”
“You wanted to ask me?”
“Yeah, but I guess your mouth works a little faster than mine. I suppose since you’re a reporter, that’s to be expected.” He chuckled. “Though it seems you’re a little tongue-tied right now. Maybe I should use this opportunity to say what I have to say.” He stroked her jaw with his thumb. “I’ve fallen in love with you, Phoebe. I don’t know how it happened, but it did. When I saw the assassin’s hands around your neck, it felt like he was choking me instead of you. I never want to feel like that again. You see, that’s why you need to move in with me. Because I can’t live not knowing whether you’re safe. And the only way to make sure you are is to have you by my side.”
Her mouth dropped open and her eyes welled up with tears. Scott loved her.
“So, how about you tell me now why you really want to move in with me, hmm?” he murmured, his breath ghosting over her lips. “Preferably before I throw you under me and make love to you all night.”
“I love you.” The words suddenly burst from her.
“Now was that so hard?”
Scott’s lips descended on hers and robbed her of her breath. His mouth was warm and his tongue demanding as he kissed her. His hands on her skin wiped away the last of her tiredness, arousing her body and her mind.
He pressed her into the sheets, and she welcomed his warm and hard body and let herself fall. His hands explored her, caressed her heated skin, touched her naked breasts and squeezed them gently, almost reverently. As if he worshipped her. She wrapped her arms around him and slid her hand to his nape, caressing him there.
Phoebe greeted the visible shiver that raced over his back with female satisfaction. She clearly wasn’t the only one who was out of control.
Scott drew his head back and looked at her. “I need you, baby.”
Phoebe felt a smile tug at her lips. “You have me, body and soul.”
Lust and passion shone from his eyes. “Then you won’t mind if I take what I need, will you?” His hand moved down her front and slid between her legs, cupping her sex.
Her breath hitched, and she licked her lips. “Anything you want.”
“Anything?” The glint in his eyes turned wicked.
Her heart rate increased. She laid her hand over his and pressed against one of his fingers, pushing it into her. Her back arched away from the mattress as she felt the invasion. Slowly, Scott began to thrust his finger in and out of her.
“I take that as a yes.”
Phoebe hummed her acquiescence and closed her eyes, luxuriating in his touch. But her pleasure was short-lived when he suddenly pulled his finger from her. Before she could protest, he’d rolled her onto her stomach. A moment later, his hand was back between her legs, and he was bathing his fingers in her wetness.
Instinctively, she spread her legs, and he slipped into the space she’d made for him. Then his hands gripped her hips and he pulled her onto her knees, so her backside pointed up. She should feel exposed in this position, vulnerable, but all she could think of was having Scott inside her. She braced herself on her elbows.
“I’m sorry there won’t be any foreplay tonight, Phoebe. But if I don’t take you now, I’m going to burst. You understand that, don’t you?”
Already she felt the tip of his cock at her sex. Then he plunged into her without preamble, seating himself to the hilt. The power of the impact made her lose her balance and drop her face into the pillow. Her surprised gasp was swallowed by it before she was able to lift her head again.
The contact of flesh on flesh felt intoxicating. She’d never experienced a thrill like this, and she instantly realized why: Scott wasn’t using a condom. But before she could react, he was thrusting harder and faster, extinguishing any sane thought from her mind. Moans came over her lips, sounds of pleasure she couldn’t keep inside her, then his name.
“Scott! Oh God!”
Her words seemed to spur him on even more. His heavy breathing filled the room, and his moans and grunts bounced off the walls. His cock was iron-hard and relentless. And impossible to resist. Scott had never been so wild before. Passionate, yes, but not so out of control. Instinctively she knew why: they’d faced death together and triumphed, but the narrow escape from danger had made them both realize how precious life was.
Phoebe welcomed Scott’s wildness. It felt as if he wanted to imprint himself on her, to leave his mark, to brand her. As if to show the world she was his, and anybody who hurt her would be dealt with swiftly, and with deadly force.
As she moved in sync with him, she felt their emotional connection too. This was no frantic fucking, no mindless coupling, but a melding of body and soul. Despite the apparent dominance in the position Scott had chosen, she didn’t feel subservient or weak. She felt like an equal partner, one who could drive her man wild with desire.
“Oh fuck, Phoebe!” he groaned between hard thrusts. “I’m coming!”
Scott took one hand off her hip and slipped it to her front, bringing it to her sex, moistening his fingers. Then he rubbed over her clit while he continued to thrust into her from behind.
“Come with me, baby!”
With more pressure his finger continued to rub ove
r her center of pleasure, adding to the pleasure she gained from his thrusting cock. Her heartbeat accelerated and she panted, her body preparing itself now, knowing what was coming. She tensed. A moment later, a wave of pleasure washed over her and a moan burst over her lips.
Behind her, Scott groaned and his cock suddenly jerked inside her. She felt the warm spray of his semen fill her and his thrusts slow until he finally stilled, before he collapsed and rolled off her. Immediately, he pulled her to him, cradling her against his heaving chest, nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck.
“Oh God, Phoebe, that was amazing.”
She sighed contentedly and squeezed his hand, but there was something that concerned her nevertheless. “Scott, we didn’t use a condom.”
“Yeah, about that.” He hesitated. “I had another premonition.”
Instantly alarmed, Phoebe turned her head and pinned him with her eyes. Was he trying to tell her that an assassin would get her in the end, and that’s why there was no need to be concerned about a pregnancy? Her heart raced uncontrollably. “About what?”
“Our future…our family.”
“Our family?”
Scott moved his head to bring his lips to hover over hers. “I saw a little boy on a sleigh. I was giving him a push down a hill, and you were waiting for him at the bottom of it. You looked a few years older than now, and your winter coat was showing a big bump. You were pregnant again.” He rubbed his palm over her flat stomach.
Relief and surprise collided inside her. She would live? And she and Scott would have children together? A future? A home? Overwhelmed by this news, she couldn’t utter a single word.
Scott pressed his still semi-erect cock against her and grinned. “So why don’t we continue practicing now?”
Phoebe stroked his thigh, before slipping her hand onto his cock, making him hiss in a breath. “Yeah, why don’t we?”
~ ~ ~
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