The fears I’d harbored about losing control, the doubts I’d had in the Nexus’ sustainability—they’d gripped my heart for so long, and now they were just…gone. My head had been filled with too much static. All I knew now was the beautiful woman in front of me and the need I had for her.
With hesitant hands, Rena reached for my belt. Her nimble fingers made quick work of the buckle, but I watched it all in slow motion, detached from the scene. She’d taken control countless times before, purposefully turning me on to push past my self-imposed barriers, but this time she seemed almost timid.
My belt hit the floor.
Okay, maybe timid wasn’t the right word. I kicked off my shoes as she unbuttoned my pants. Her gaze stayed glued to mine as she dragged them down my legs and knelt to pull them free. It took everything in my power to hold her stare and ignore the shadowed valley between her breasts. Why was I such a wreck?
As she stood, I watched her sneak a shuddered breath and it dawned on me. This wasn’t just my arousal. The Nexus had ignited her desire within me and vise versa. We were feeding off of each other’s needs, about to feed off of each other’s pleasure…
“All right, Husband.” She grasped my shirt and ripped it apart, buttons flying everywhere, my undershirt torn down the middle. The cerulean hue that’d sparked around her body told me she wasn’t fooling around anymore. Now that my power was protecting her, it was on. “How’s this?”
“Not bad,” I acknowledged, the faintest draft brushing my bare skin as I pushed her onto the air mattress. “But I have something else in mind for you, Mrs. Blake.”
Rena sat there, her chest heaving in anticipation. I wanted to torment her so badly, but I couldn’t keep my hands off her any longer. I reached around and popped the clasps on her strapless bra, before tossing it aside. Her ample breasts were a sight I never grew tired of, a taste I’d never gotten over. I kneaded them in handfuls and kissed the dip between them, promising to pay the area proper tribute later. After all, we had all night…
She bit back a moan.
Things blurred after that. My boxers, her panties. Somehow, even the shreds of my shirt ended up near the door. As Rena fell back onto the velvet-topped mattress, bathed in flickering amber, she pulled me down on top of her. Skin to skin. Warmth to warmth.
My heart pounded a heavy rhythm over the pipes’ groans as I caught myself on either side of her body, sucking in a reverent breath. I’d never seen her more beautiful, bared to me and vulnerable. The soft slopes of her body, the nervous trust in her eyes. I lowered my mouth to her neck and willed both of our pulses to slow.
“We’re really doing this…” she whispered.
“Mhmm,” I murmured against her, working my way to her mouth.
It was getting harder and harder to concentrate—and I needed to, desperately. The Nexus had done a decent job of yoking my power before this, lending her strength to withstand my affection, but what if things got too out of hand tonight? All it would take was one mistake. Her tiny frame couldn’t handle it.
And neither of us would recover.
“Don’t go there.” Her fingers slipped around my neck and tugged at my hair. “Stay with me.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I pulled back, locked onto her determined gaze, and…slowly eased in. Inch by inch, I focused on her for the slightest indication of pain. God, she was tight—tighter than I’d even expected.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shifted to wrap her legs around my waist, struggling to accommodate me. “I-It’s okay.”
“You sure?” I could barely speak. My erratic thoughts had turned to flashes and fragments. The warmth between us. The blossomy scent that clung to her skin.
Rena’s breath hitched as she cracked her eyes open. “Yes.”
I kissed my bride, grateful and emboldened as I carefully buried myself inside of her. It was the most beautiful damn thing I’d ever known—and I couldn’t concentrate enough to savor it. Pressure ached in my stomach, heat begging to drive into her, but I had to stay in control.
Her hands slipped down, over my shoulders, and squeezed as I pulled back to reenter. The pain of my intrusion, however expected, still ebbed at the edge of my consciousness. I had to take it slow, gentle…
I did.
After my third, inhumanly patient, thrust, I felt her soften around me. She bit her bottom lip and looked up through her lashes with a nod—a nod that grew fervent when I didn’t react quickly enough.
Shit. I tried, in vain, to find a rhythm, but the warmth of her grasp derailed any concentration. My shaking hands fisted at nothing. I cursed the mattress.
Rena must’ve sensed my frustration, because she jerked me down in a haze of blue. Her mouth worked against mine in heady possession, stealing the breath from my lungs. Her fingers tunneled through my hair and tugged. I moaned.
We’d found our rhythm.
Breaking for air, I stared wide-eyed at the beautiful creature lost in my shadow, candlelight outlining the sides of her face. Her chest rose and fell in sharp intervals, heaving beneath a glistening sheen. And her eyes—God, they were so alive. Even low-lidded, as they were. She looked up at me with a spark I’d never seen before.
As her heart pounded against my chest, she writhed beneath me, slick against my heated skin. The Nexus pulsated around us, its frantic energy building. Or maybe that was my own. Whatever it was, it anchored me, made me lighthea—
Rena’s sudden cry echoed off the walls as she arched her back with a sudden intake of air. Heat rushed our union and her trembling form clung to mine.
“Baby,” I rasped. My muscles betrayed me, along with any sense of coordination. I lost myself in the torturous ecstasy that was making love to my wife, thrusting and panting. Grasping. Sweating. When the pressure mounted to the point I couldn’t take it anymore, the dam burst.
I groaned so loud it echoed off the walls, heat spurting, mattress rocking.
Rena hissed, and I looked at her in sudden panic.
“Wh-what? What’s wrong?”
Her gaze darted back and forth before flashing to mine. “That wasn’t me.”
“But…” I fought for breath and forced my tunneled vision to take in the room. My knees sank in. Then my forearms. Finally, it dawned on me—on both of us, judging from the breathy laughter beneath me.
I’d busted the air mattress.
CHAPTER 20
« RENA »
Our ride to the ground was nothing if not memorable. It was like collapsing into a pillow, gently brought down from climax via parachute. We laughed, I cried, and then he loved me all over again.
Eventually, the day caught up with us.
Wallace’s breath warmed my chest as he lay sprawled atop me, rock hard muscle pinning me to an inch of velvet and vinyl—and I couldn’t have been happier. I idly toyed with his hair, twisting raven strands around my fingertip. It’d gotten long since I’d met him.
“Feels good,” he mumbled.
I smiled. The scent of rose petals we’d trampled in our hurry to get to the bed now lingered heavily in the air. Between the drafty wafts and wax-dripped ambience, our honeymoon had turned out pretty romantic…despite the circumstances.
Sure, I might not be able to walk in the morning, but it was worth it. We’d consummated our marriage. No weird Dynari precautions, no worry games—just raw, uninhibited love. No one could take that away from us.
Regardless of what tomorrow would bring.
I closed my eyes and held him close, my heart drumming between us. Just the thought of how much I adored this man was suffocating. I couldn’t imagine what I’d do if something happened to him. We were so close to our happily ever after. If Faye robbed us of that tomorrow, after everything she had already put us through, I’d never recover. My soul would be lost.
“Stopppp,” Wallace grumbled, his chest vibrating against mine. “Worry tomorrow.”
I’m never going to get away with anything, ever again. I ran my fingers through his hair. “Go back to slee
p.”
“Mmm…”
And then he was out. Again. If only it were that easy for me.
Maybe I just needed a change in thought pattern. It was easy to come up with material. The memory of him staring down at me with a desire so intense it stole my breath. The muscles that bulged and shifted with each thrust, outlined by the candles’ flickering glow. He’d been so uninhibited earlier, so powerful.
Now he lay sprawled on top of me, his weight a surprising comfort. Despite my anxieties about tomorrow, I felt safe here. Warm. If someone busted in our room right now, my husband would destroy them—assuming I didn’t get to them first.
Wallace cracked his eyes open. “Damn it.”
“What?”
“I…” He pulled back and rolled off to the side, propping himself up. “I completely forgot something I meant to tell you. It was just with the threats and the grieving and the planning and the—”
“Wallace.” I smoothed my hand up along his jaw. “It’s okay. What did you want to tell me?”
Indiscernible emotion ebbed through the Nexus, heavy with concern. “Cam told me something when she had me locked up, something she assumed I already knew.”
My pulse quickened in anticipation. I didn’t want to rush him, but he was dragging it out too much for it to be something trivial. “Okay?”
“She said…” He met my gaze with a softened expression. “She said we can’t have kids.”
Time came to a slow halt, pressure beating in my ears. I knew what he’d said had serious implications, but my brain refused to register it. “What?”
“The Nexus,” he went on, “is supposedly a harbinger of infertility, according to Sanctuary’s records. A baby born of Dynari and Augari lineage would be too powerful. It just…can’t be.”
“Oh.”
What could I say in response to that? A significant aspect of our futures had just fled the realm of possibility. Wallace, who would have made a wonderful father, would never get to hold his own child. The control issues we’d worked so hard to overcome would be for naught, in that respect. I hadn’t realized how badly I wanted to see him flourish in that role.
And me, I wouldn’t…
Tears warmed my eyes, but I shook my head. “Well, what the hell do they know?”
Relief flooded his features. “Exactly. Like we haven’t beaten the odds before?”
“And so what if we can’t?” I added, getting more and more indignant. “There’s adoption. We could do that.”
He nodded. “And in the meantime, we could just keep trying. All the time. We’ll do it just to spite them!”
I had to grin at that. “Baby, did you just turn this serious moment into a proposition?”
Even in the low light, I could make out the red staining his face and ears. “That depends…did it work?”
“On one condition.” I pulled from the reserve of his strength and rolled over top of him, pinning him down against our deflated mattress. To compartmentalize this blow before tomorrow, we were going to need a good distraction—something to wear us out to the point of exhaustion. “We try it my way, this time.”
His lips twitched. “Yes, ma’am.”
~
The honeymoon was over.
One night. That was it. As soon as we woke up, recovered, and cleaned up the aftermath of wax and rose petals, it was time to get back into gear. We met the others for breakfast amidst evidence of last night’s celebration. Confetti bells and fast food cartons still littered the floor.
Our typically chatty crew remained silent, each lost in their own worries for the day. Except Gabby.
“You’re walkin’ a little crooked today, Ree. How was it?” She laughed like a psycho. Unlike most of the others, her safety wouldn’t be at stake in today’s inevitable battle. As our resident prego, she would stay behind to help hold down the fort.
When I didn’t offer an immediate answer, Frank Bacon added an oi-eey, oi-eey.
I smacked my forehead. “Eacher-Pray in the oom-ray, Gabby”
“Tch, I’m Catholic. Kinda. We’re all about marriage and procreation and shit.”
I had no words.
Thank God Wallace wasn’t in the room. His face would’ve turned eighteen thousand shades of red. He was topside, trying to get a call through to George for confirmation. The plan we’d laid was complex and full of dominoes. If even one didn’t fall the right way, we might be screwed. But it was all we had.
“George and Todd are in,” Wallace announced, reentering the room. He was all business in his tux this time. “They’ve assembled a dozen or so others to lend support if necessary.”
“Good.”
I pulled at the skirt of my dress. It would not be conducive to a fight, should the need arise. Maybe I could wear shorts underneath…
“All right, we should probably get moving.” Wallace pocketed his phone and looked around, clasping his hands. “Correct me if I’m wrong here. Gabby, Zvoni, Wanda, Jaya, Grandpa Edwin, and Rachel are staying behind. Cole, Vlad, Henry, Aiden, Corynn, Pastor Mark, and…Grandma are coming with Rena and me.”
He didn’t like the fact that his grandmother was coming along, but he couldn’t control her. No one could.
“You forgot Frank Bacon,” Cole informed him. He still had that stupid-looking eye patch on. “He’s staying behind to watch over Rach.”
Wallace rolled his eyes. “Yes, and the pig stays.”
Thankfully, Rachel had been doing better when I checked on her. She could raise her arms a little and wiggle her toes. Jaya said, with any luck, she’d be back to normal soon.
“Good, now who’s riding with me?” Cole pulled his keys out. “We’re listening to Titsy’s biography.”
“Where did you find his biography?” I found myself asking, though I really didn’t want to engage on the subject.
“I recorded it last night.” His answer was matter of fact. Like it was perfectly normal to narrate your recently killed best friend’s life. “It’ll get us hyped to beat people.”
“Ah…” What else could I say? “Cool.”
“We’ll go with you, Cole,” Wallace told him, uncharacteristically indulgent of his twin.
“Me too,” Clara added.
The Blake family was giving me warm and fuzzies with their unspoken support system. It was weird to think I was one of them now. Rena Elizabeth Blake. REB—Reba?
Focus!
“All right.” Cole stood up. “Grandma, Wallace, and Sis with me. Corynn, Vlad, Aiden, and Mark with Henry. I’m going to go kiss Rach goodbye, and then I’ll be in fight mode, I swear, I’ll be ready to rip throats open with my teeth.”
“Okay…” Corynn made a face, but didn’t pursue her reservations. She, like the rest of us, probably sensed he was grieving and gave him a pass.
Mark cleared his throat. “Just to be clear, this little trip I’m accompanying you on, how dangerous is it?”
Wallace walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. We plan on sending you back with our families before anything ever happens.”
“That works.”
There were two things I loved about their exchange. One, how Wallace had grown to be more comfortable touching others without my noticing. And two, how cool Mark was being about all of this.
“Enough yappin’!” Edwin yelled out of nowhere. “Go stop my headcase daughter, so I can go to the grave in peace.”
Clara patted his arm. “Dad…”
“The legacy of my bloodline will not be her scar on this earth.”
“I understand that, but—”
“It’s time.”
His cryptic speech would have been a lot heavier, had he not been sucking chocolate milk through a straw the whole time. Still, his blessing felt like the final piece of the puzzle. This was it—our last stand against ERA. If we failed here, we might not have another chance to pull her away from the general population to minimize collateral damage.
No pressure.
“So it is,” Cl
ara acknowledged in a quiet voice, looking up at the rest of us. “Let’s go.”
~
Our wedding wasn’t nearly as exciting the second time around.
We held it in Middle Bass Island State Park—because we had such good luck the last time we all gathered in a state park. Sarcasm. I did have to admit the view was nice, though. Sorry, Gabby. We’d found a little clearing overlooking the water and rented a couple dozen white folding chairs. Aiden and Corynn created a half-assed arbor out of found wood, and Clara convinced a local restaurant to lend us their floral arrangements. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a simple wedding setup. Shabby chic.
Now we just needed the guests to arrive.
Cole was supposedly greeting them at the marina and shuttling them to us somehow, but God only knew what he’d end up doing. He rarely took direction well.
“Are you ready for Groundhog Day?” Aiden asked, slinking up beside me.
I laughed under my breath. That was what it felt like. “You remember that movie?”
“No.” He answered so seriously, I couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not.
“How are you feeling?” I spun my new bouquet around in my hands, watching for signs of approach.
He shrugged, stoic his new natural. “Present.”
“Ah.”
Aiden had been reborn as a different person. I had to accept that. And as for our traumatic incident…well, that was a part of my previous life. I was Mrs. Blake now. I had bigger concerns.
Okay, my adrenaline had spiked, and there was a distinct possibility I was about to sweat through my dress. At least I hadn’t clocked him and run.
Wallace glanced in my direction, still caught in conversation.
I shook my head. I was okay. He didn’t need to intervene.
“Heads-up,” Corynn warned behind me. “Guests incoming.”
Sure enough, a fleet of golf carts wound around the trail. Where Cole had gotten them, I didn’t want to know.
“Oh, sweetheart, the groom isn’t supposed to see you before the ceremony!” Mom called out, her curls freshly dyed for the occasion. The cart had barely stopped before she got out and ran to me. “I can’t believe you pushed the date up at the last minute without telling us. Goodness me, I almost had a coronary. It’s a lovely spot, though. Where’s Gabby? Is she showing yet? Hey, is that a tattoo? Where are you having the reception? I saw a cute little tavern on the wa—”
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