Rise (Elemental Hearts Book 2)

by Jayelle Morgan

  Her back arched and eyes shut as he suckled her nipple into his mouth, tongue swirling.

  “Ajax?” she asked, breathless. Aching.

  “I didn’t say we were done here,” he said, looking into her eyes as his tongue slowly licked over her nipple, and then switched direction to give the other nipple attention. “Just that we can’t risk intercourse.”

  Slowly, deftly, he began unbuckling her jeans with one hand.

  “This seems like a bad way to avoid sex, Ajax.”

  A rumble came from his chest, sending a delicious vibration into the nipple that was still caught in the suction of his mouth. He let it go with a pop, and spoke between kisses down her abdomen.

  “There are other kinds of sex,” he said, pausing to lick a trail towards her hip, “than just those that could lead to pregnancy.”

  Oh right. Yes, of course.

  She swallowed hard, eyes widening. Did he mean…? She clenched her thighs together, heat pooling at the thought even as her nerves jangled.

  “Easy,” he whispered, lips brushing the skin below her belly button. His hands curled over her waistband and he left kisses periodically as he slowly pulled her jeans down her legs.

  When her legs were free, he slowly spread them open with his body as he knelt between them, bent over her. The way he looked at her, lids lowering and throat working as he stroked a finger between her cotton-covered lips… He looked as if he might eat her—

  —and oh god, then he was. He lightly, so lightly, bit her so that his teeth scraped over every sensitive, hungry nerve. Her panties were still on, his fingers curled into the flesh of her ass under them; holding her open to him. Then his tongue followed the line his finger had moments ago.

  It made her shake.

  “I’ve wanted to do this ever since that first night. I never forgot that little taste.”

  No, and neither had she.

  He leaned back down and repeated his lick, stopping to nudge the bundle of nerves with the tip of his tongue before doing it again. And again.

  Biting her lip, she pressed her head backwards into the cushion and closed her eyes, unable to watch.

  Soon her panties were soaked by his mouth and her desire, amplifying every stroke of his tongue, every nibble of his teeth, until she thought she would scream. Who would have thought it could be so erotic, feel so good, with her panties still on?

  She tried to control the quivers of her body as she breathed in and out, but it wasn’t long before she was shaking and moaning with every breath.

  “Ajax,” she whimpered, hands scrabbling across the couch, trying to find a place to hold on to, to anchor her down as she started to spin away on almost painful pleasure.

  “Mmmmmm,” he said against her flesh, one thick finger sneaking in under the elastic to glide into her.

  That was all it took. She started to shake, and Ajax grabbed her hands and put them on his head. She couldn’t help gripping his hair, crying out as her hips rolled against his mouth, her whole body clenching and pulsing. He only slowed as the aftershocks made her fall limp.

  He climbed back up her body, the hard ridge of his erection pressing where his mouth had been.

  She looked at him, still trying to catch her breath.

  “You taste good.” He licked his lips with a lopsided smile, and she thought she just might die.

  She grabbed him with both hands, pulling him to her by the hair. Kissed him. It was a wet, messy, racy kiss, and she didn’t care. She kept kissing him as she unbuckled his jeans, thinking that she would risk it. She needed him inside her. Needed this— He hissed as she palmed his length— to fill her again.

  “Fuck!” His yell did not sound like the good kind, and his hand reached down and stopped the movements of hers, lifting it above her head.

  “What?” she asked, pulling back. “What is it?” A little bit of fear leaked in around the arousal, threatening to sweep it away. Was it the Chaolt?

  “My alarm is going off.”

  It was then she noticed the tiny buzzing vibration on the wrist holding hers.

  “I have to go.”

  “Now?

  “Yes.”

  “Like, now now?”

  “Fuck,” he groaned, stroking against her hips with his own. “Yes, now. I can’t miss shift change again, and then I have to go back to base to report to Walker.”

  “But what about you?” she murmured. His hard erection couldn’t be comfortable. And she’d been looking forward to pleasuring him the way he had her. Her mouth practically watered.

  He kissed her hard, nipping at her lips and her tongue. “Wait for me. When I get back, we can pick up where we left off.” Another bruising kiss, full of dark promise.

  He peeled off of her and stood up, rushing to fix his clothes. He stopped with his hand on his zipper, and stared.

  “Fuck. Me.” A hand scraped down his face, and he looked like a man sorely tested.

  She looked down at herself, breasts bare and reddened by his goatee. Pants off, panties clinging wetly to her skin, hiding nothing.

  Oh. She was making it hard for him to leave.

  “Sorry,” she said with a hot blush and smile, closing her legs and pulling up her bra and shirt.

  So. Not. Sorry.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “I’ll be back in ninety minutes or less,” he’d said. “Wait up for me.”

  He slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The way she’d looked lying there, all flushed and damp and ready… But somehow he did. He hadn’t been sure he could walk away. The thought of what would happen if he was late for shift change again was literally the only thing that could have pulled him away from her.

  He set his alarm for a little extra leeway next time. Just in case.

  Because if he had his way, they would be tangled in each other at every opportunity. She was his drug. Never had he been with a human woman that got so deep into him. He couldn’t get enough. Would he ever?

  He wanted to kiss every inch of her pale skin, wanted to lick every spot where it flushed red for him. He wanted all of her, over and over. It still might not be enough.

  It might never be.

  His heart kicked hard behind his ribs and then calmed as he settled in to that thought.

  Nah, he’d never have enough of her. She’d ruined him for other women just after a few hours of conversation, and sealed it with the night she’d spent in his arms. He hadn’t done his playboy thing since her because he just wanted her.

  Hers were the lips he wanted to kiss, the skin he wanted to touch. She was enough for him for the rest of his life, but he would never get enough of her.

  But how the hell were they going to reconcile everything? They couldn’t continue on forever like this. Rules had been broken, trampled to dust.

  Frustration made his chest tight. “Fucking secrets, man.”

  Ajax made his report to Levi when he got to the patrol point and then drove back to base, foot heavy on the accelerator. He struggled through his report to Walker, the lies tasting bitter on his tongue.

  When he was excused from Walker’s office, he stopped by his suite. He packed a duffel bag of clothes, energy bars—and condoms— and slung it over his shoulder. With a glance at his watch, he saw that it was 10:30 p.m. Jackson would still be asleep when he got back. Maybe he and Emory could finish where they left off.

  The thought of her hands, her mouth on him made his heart pound and his jeans tight. He quickened his footsteps.

  “Leaving again?”

  With a false casualness, Ajax turned toward Walker and shrugged. “Just going out for the night.”

  Walker eyed the bag slung over his back and he resisted the urge to hide it behind him.

  “And you packed for it?”

  Ajax forced a cocky smile to his lips. “You never know when you might need an overnight bag.”

  Walker chuckled. “So you’re going to Gemstone then?”

  Once again, he found himself lying. “Yeah.”


  “Good, I’ll go with you.” Walker pushed a hand through his shaggy hair. “I need a drink.”

  And that easy, Ajax once again found himself with unwanted company.

  He couldn’t be that unlucky, could he? Fuck. There was no way he could back out now without looking very fucking suspicious to Walker, and the last thing he needed was his commander examining anything he did more closely.

  Ajax just nodded and headed for the elevator, Walker’s footsteps echoing on the concrete floor behind him. He barely held in a curse. It would be a little bit longer before he was naked with Emory again.

  But if nothing else, he’d finally have the chance to ask Walker about draining Jackson. That was important, and he’d already put it off too long. The conversation would seem a lot less suspicious in the casual environment of the bar over beers than anywhere else, any other time. It wasn’t like he had a choice now anyway. He’d make the best of it.

  Maybe he’d get the right answer from Walker, and then be able to go soothe any of Emory’s ruffled feathers with the news that Jackson could be drained.

  Nothing good was going to come from this trip, Ajax could fucking tell. Walker hunched in his corner, nursing his drink and brooding about…Walker things.

  So, great. But he hadn’t seen any natural way to segue into questions about Jackson. He was just going to have to spit it out and play it off as natural curiosity.

  “Walker, what’s the youngest Erratic that’s ever been drained?”

  His commander looked up from the spot he’d been staring at on the table for the last half hour, gaze sharpening.

  “The youngest I know of personally was fourteen. But that was an extremely rare occurrence. Other than that, I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”

  Ajax shrugged, keeping it casual, keeping it cool. “Just wondering if anyone had ever tried to drain a child, if it was possible. You know, like maybe we could get to them before they ever have the chance to cause a problem. Before the Chaolt ever find them.” He was impressed by his own off-the-cuff reasoning. It sounded like a perfectly normal, reasonable question considering their mission.

  “The more diluted the Elemental blood in the Erratic, the later the powers manifest. I don’t know of any Erratics manifesting as children since the Originals.”

  Fuck, he still had no way of knowing whether it would be safe to drain Jackson.

  “I wonder if their Elemental parent could have drained them when they were young.”

  “I have no idea how a body that small and weak would have handled it, Ajax. Why the sudden interest in the Originals?” Walker’s attention was sharper, and he damn sure didn’t need that.

  “Was just wondering if it could be a new tactic in our arsenal.”

  “I’m fairly certain it can’t be done without harming the human, or the Premiers would have let us know as part of our mission.”

  Yeah, and if Walker wasn’t sure, the only ones left to ask were the Premiers. No fucking thanks. Going back just to ask that question would put him under enough scrutiny to guarantee all the bad shit he was trying to avoid.

  “That sucks,” Ajax said to Walker, pretending to have already lost interest in the answer. He took another pull on his beer, acting like he was casually looking over the dancing crowd at all the skin on display. It did nothing for him tonight. Hadn’t in a year.

  Walker went back to brooding, and he waited as long as he could and still keep things natural. He was fucking leaving. He couldn’t afford to be away from Emory and Jackson this long. The Chaolt didn’t seem to know about him yet, but the amount of power inside Jackson would draw their notice eventually.

  “See you tomorrow, Walker. I’m out.”

  Walker raised his eyes and considered him. He glanced around the crowd. “Not leaving with someone tonight? That’s rare for you.”

  Shows what Walker knew. It had been rare for him. Before Emory. But of course he couldn’t correct him.

  Ajax shrugged. He was going to turn into Micah with all this non-verbal communication shit. “Didn’t see anything I liked tonight.” Because the only woman he wanted was probably sick and tired of waiting up for him and had gone to bed. Alone.

  Walker’s eyebrow raised, but then he just nodded once. “Tomorrow, then.” But Ajax could still feel his commander’s eyes on him as he walked away.

  Ajax wanted to run out of the bar, but he took his time, played it casual. Paid for his drinks, and glanced around the crowd as if he was reconsidering company at the last minute.

  Company found him.

  “Hey there, Ajax.”

  “Hey…” He gave the olive-skinned brunette in front of him a short nod and went to step around her, but her long-nailed hand on his chest stopped him.

  “It’s been a long time. How ya been?”

  Aw, hell. Been a long time? He studied her a moment, from her sleek black hair down to her large breasts and wide hips. He remembered her. Couldn’t remember her name, but he remembered the way she smacked her gum.

  Yeah, it had been a while since his night with her. Since his half hour with her rather, locked in the bathroom at the back of the bar. Now the memory made him want to curl his lip in disgust.

  At himself.

  She looked exactly like the kind of woman he’d be interested in. She was exactly a woman he had been interested in. If Walker was still watching… He gritted his teeth. He’d have to make his brush off look natural.

  “Yeah, long time. How have you been?”

  “Oh, well, you know…” She moved in close, hand moving up over his shoulder. “It’s been a little lonely around here lately. I’m a little lonely right now, as a matter of fact. You were good company once before, so how about tonight?”

  The last of her words carried the sharp scent of vodka to his nose.

  “You’re drunk.”

  Her pout was probably supposed to be alluring, enticing. It had the opposite effect.

  “I’m a little tipsy, but not so much that you have to worry about taking advantage of me.” Her lips traveled up to his ear. “Unless you want to.”

  Distantly Ajax heard Walker’s phone ring and knew he’d be distracted from any interest he had in what Ajax was doing. He gripped the woman’s upper arms and set her back from him. “Not tonight, sweetheart, I’m going home. You should too.”

  He gave her a lopsided smile and a wave as she shrieked after him.

  “You don’t know what you’re missing!”

  He had to laugh. Yeah, he did. Silky, brick red hair and green eyes. Soft hands, and a softer heart. She had an allure all her own that had nothing to do with tight dresses or red lipstick.

  And he needed her like he needed air.

  He had just made it through the door of the bar when he heard Walker call his name from behind him.

  “Motherfu—” Ajax looked up at the starless sky, his frustration and dread leaving him with a growl. Had he made Walker suspicious by leaving behind an obviously interested woman?

  He turned as Walker pushed open the door.

  “Ajax, glad you’re still here. I have a job for you.”

  “It’s not my shift anymore.”

  Walker’s eyes darkened, his jaw tightened. “Do you have somewhere better to be?”

  Yes, with Emory. Clothes optional. “No,” Ajax gritted.

  “Good. Because guess what, it’s not my shift either. But you know as well as I do that keeping this world from going to hell is a full time job. The only reason we even have shifts is because our mortal bodies need breaks. You had one in there,” he said, motioning behind him to the bar, “and now I need you.”

  Ajax put his thumbs in his pockets and gave Walker a curt nod. He would be lucky to get back before daybreak.

  “What’s the situation?”

  “Get in your truck and follow me. I’ll fill you in on the way.” He held up his phone to signal for Ajax to call him.

  Right then is when he should have told Walker why he didn’t want to on this mission. That’s when
he should have said he had something bigger, something more important in his life going on. When he should have made it clear he wasn’t giving it up even if Walker wanted to toss him. It wasn’t only about Emory waiting all hot and bothered for him, it was about the whole thing. He had a family now, to protect. A concrete goal instead of an abstract mission. Walker even looked like he was expecting an argument, a resigned look on his face.

  But Ajax just nodded his head once, and went to his truck. For Walker to be in this big of a hurry, something serious had to be going on. And like it or not, he had a bigger mission.

  When he started his truck, Walker drove by slowly and waited for him to fall in behind him.

  Adrenaline starting to spike, he dialed his commander. “What’s up, Walker?”

  “Here’s the situation, Ajax. The base in Colorado called me and said they had a powerful Air Erratic kidnapped by the Chaolt. Instead of making that Erratic go critical, they seem to be heading toward our state line. They’re coming here.”

  Ajax’s hands tensed on the wheel as he pulled out of the garage, gunning it after Walker. “Why are the coming here?”

  “That’s my question too, Ajax. If the Erratic is that powerful, she could have caused greater damage in the Denver Metro area. Why bring her here? Mountains, small town, low population. It doesn’t make sense. If the Chaolt were going to Vegas for even larger casualties, they would have gone south. Instead, the Silverthorne group have chased them all the way across Utah into our state on I-80. They just made the turn toward Topaz Ridge.”

  Walker was right, that made very little sense. With the exception of Brooke earlier this year, kidnapping wasn’t really their m.o. They’d only taken Brooke to increase the number of casualties by breaking the dam above town. If the Chaolt took a powerful Erratic to cause a lot of damage, Denver would have been ideal for that.

  “Something isn’t right,” he told Walker, a dark swirl of unease in his gut.

  “Yeah. This isn’t like them, and I have no idea what it means. So here’s the plan. We’re going to haul ass in their direction. You’re going to wait ten miles up the road from me, and when I sense the Chaolt pass, I’m going to call you and let you know they’re headed your way. Before the drain starts, I want you to use your powers to block the road somehow, blow over a tree or something. I’m going to follow them, and when they get to your roadblock, it’s on. The Silverthorne guys shouldn’t be far behind and will be able to help recover the Erratic and dust the Chaolt. Got it?”