Pax watched as James made his way down Commonwealth Avenue. He hung a right and Pax followed him a few blocks to a Subway. Well, if the male was stopping for food, the night had to be pretty much over. He stood by the corner of the large picture window and waited ’til he had ordered his food.
Suddenly, the brother started to turn his head. Fuck.
Pax glanced at the first person he could see. There was a human walking by in leather pants and a fringed leather jacket. Excuse me while I borrow your face. He felt the familiar burn throughout his body, then looked down at himself. Eighties hair band. Great look. He rolled his eyes and looked back into the shop. James poured his soda and sat down in a corner booth.
Man, that was a close one. He’d have to stay cloaked in another form from now on. He just wanted to make sure the brother was okay. There was no way to know how this thing was going to end. Or at least that was the current story he was telling himself. James was definitely not going to see it that way, however. He gleamed back to the mansion’s foyer and headed for the kitchen.
“New look?” Diesel asked, as he spread some mayo on a couple of sandwiches.
Pax laughed. “It’s all for you, my brother.”
“Gee, thanks, Jon Bon Jovi, but I think I’ll pass.”
He let go of the stranger’s form and picked up one of the sandwiches from the counter. “Great of you to think of me, partner. Cloning burns a fuckload of calories.”
“Dude, that shit is just wrong.”
Pax grinned, took a bite, and vanished.
Rose woke up in the safe cocoon of her male’s body and looked up into his dark eyes. She must have cried herself to sleep. Perfect. They’d been mated less than twenty-four hours and already she’d snotted on him.
He smiled and it lit up his whole face. “God, you’re beautiful.”
She nuzzled into his chest and looked up at him with one eye.
“Don’t you get all shy on me.” He leaned down and kissed her with great care, as if she might break into pieces.
In that moment, she realized she loved him. Of course, her mate was the sexiest male in the city, quite possibly on the planet, but it was his heart that had claimed hers. In fact, right now she was feeling anything but shy. Just the opposite. She was somehow liberated. His acceptance had freed her. She wanted to make him fly so high he forgot how to think. But first she was going to get rid of the damn robe. She’d never had any kind of sex fully undressed and it was now or never. She raised herself onto her knees and slipped it off, watching her mate as he popped right up off the pillows like he couldn’t wait to get ahold of what he was seeing.
Rose put her hand to his chest and gave him a firm shove backward. She smiled. Her male was trapped between her and the headboard. She leaned into him, pushed her breasts against his pecs, and kissed him. Hard. A low growl rumbled up from his chest. She grazed each nipple with her lips as she slowly made her way down to his abs. She stroked his arousal slowly through his boxers, but she only freed the head. She looked up into her male’s glowing green eyes and licked the tip before gently blowing on it.
“Fuck,” X bit out as the cool air got his attention, and then some.
“Later,” she answered with a wicked grin. She took him into her mouth and swirled her lips around the head. Then she rubbed the under seam with her tongue before very gently running her teeth along his shaft. She pulled his boxers off and crawled back up between his legs.
Holy shit. His Rose crawling toward him naked was a visual X wouldn’t soon forget. As she leaned up and kissed him, her hand found his balls and gave them a slight tickle. He drew for a breath, but the air he found was his mate’s as she took his mouth and went in deep. She flicked her tongue in and out, penetrating his mouth as if she was taking him, claiming him as her own. She moved back down his body, drawing her finger tips softly down his chest and abs. He closed his eyes and focused on the delicious sensation. Next he felt her hot mouth come around his hard length with a slow insistent sucking.
When he opened his eyes, he found her watching him with a playful naughtiness. She licked his length from base to tip before drawing him into the back of her throat. She moaned and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to go over the edge. Wait. She wasn’t moaning. She was humming. Holy fuck. With the vibration of that beautiful voice hitting both his ears and his cock he was done for.
“Take me, Rose. Now. Please. I need to be inside you.”
His female moved up his body until his arousal was enveloped in the wet heat of her sex. Slowly, deliberately, she sat down on him. X gave a tremendous roar that was definitely heard by the majority of the pretentious dicks at the condo association. He expected her to lean forward, but instead she arched back on her hands, giving him a perfect view of where their bodies came together. As she began to move she groaned and closed her eyes, her hips moving back and forth. Their naguals connected and sweat broke out all over X’s body as she quickened the pace. He was moments from release when she reached down between her soft folds with her hand.
Show. Over.
He came like some kind of wild animal, his hips jacking right off the bed, causing Rose to propel forward. He sat up and let her body fall against him as he wrapped her in his arms. They held on to one another for dear life, his release pumping into her while Rose’s own climax stroked him. It was the perfect union.
Their bodies slowly quieted, but he kept them connected while she sat in his lap. He buried his hands in her long, thick hair. She traced the outline of his goatee lightly with her thumb before she looked up into his eyes.
“I love you, my male,” she whispered.
The power of those words were so all consuming. In all of his days, X never would have imagined the answer would come so easily. But they came to him as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
“I love you, too.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SE dropped his mate’s hand and took a quick look around. He was relatively sure no one was there, but then they’d made that mistake before, hadn’t they? He cast out his senses just to be sure.
“We’re at the condo? I thought we weren’t coming here.”
“Well, convenience won out.” The truth was, he wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen. He shared his nagual with her a lot. He figured his idea was going to be reasonably safe. Except for the ten thousand unknown variables, that is. He had to at least try. Ana had lived half her life afraid she was evil. This was hurting her and it was killing him to watch it. He needed to do something or he was going to go paint chip crazy.
She followed him down the hall to Dimitri’s bedroom. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Well, I thought that if I shared my nagual with you, I might be able to get a read on what’s going on.”
She shook her head. “No, my male. Not after what I just did in that ally. No way.”
He put his hand on her soft cheek. “When was the last time we did this? A couple of nights ago? How much could have really changed since then? I’m not going to let anything happen.”
Ana shrugged out of her torn leather coat as she headed to the bed they had once shared. She thought about how she’d been caught in the warehouse fire and how SE had cared for her. She told him she loved him for the first time in this bed. She had never said that to anyone before that day. A lump started to form in her throat and she tried to push it back down.
She sighed. “Okay. As long as you swear you’ll get the hell out of there if anything freaky starts.”
They sat down to take their boots off.
SE looked over at the chair beside the French doors. “Is that your new jacket?”
“Yeah, I got swiped by some douche bag who thought his Swiss Army meant he was big shit.”
“That fails. I’ll make you a new one out of Tolies.”
She leaned into him and kissed him long and deep. “I love you.”
“Shit, keep it up. I’ll make you matching pants just so I can take them off.” He la
ughed, but her face stayed the same.
“So, do we just lay down?”
He ran his hand through his shoulder length hair out of habit. “Yeah, kind of like we do when we mate. Without the sex part.”
She rolled her eyes. “All I get today is crappy news.”
He cupped her cheek with his hand before she scooted to the other side of the bed. They lay down side by side and he took her hand as he exhaled. “Okay. Just relax. Here we go.”
Ana watched her mate close his eyes, then did the same. So maybe they did do this a lot, but this was different and she was nervous. It was a good thing SE did all the work. She couldn’t have focused if her life depended on it. She waited for the warm, euphoric feeling to arrive—the one she felt when his second soul entered her body. She didn’t have to wait long. With an ecstatic cry she felt her mate’s nagual penetrate her and commune with her second soul. Every time it happened it seemed new, like the first time.
The thing about it happening during sex was that you were just really busy. This was difficult. Without any distractions, she had no idea how long it would take. After ten minutes or so, she started to feel panicky. She was just about ready to freak out and sit up when she felt SE squeeze her hand. That kept her calm enough for the last two or three minutes before she felt his nagual begin to depart. She opened her eyes and looked over at her mate. A moment later, his peaceful Native American eyes were looking back at her.
Thank fuck. “What happened? Is it still in me?”
SE sat up and crossed his legs. “No. There’s only a trace of it, kind of like after my nagual communes with yours. But it’s gone now.”
Okaaay. This was what she’d thought she’d wanted to hear. But now it just seemed to bring up a crap load of new questions. “Oh, God. Do you think I killed it somehow?”
Her mate wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek. “No, I don’t.”
“Then what else could it be, my male?”
“I’m not sure, but we’ll figure it out, Ihkweea. I promise you.”
Victrixa materialized in her office and tried to catch her breath. After all these years it still felt like a punch in the stomach. She poured herself a glass of water, took a few sips, and called for her demon.
Cerberus appeared with the usual scowl on his face. “I was in the middle of something.”
She slammed her glass down on the desk. “You’re always in the middle of something. I want to know if you’re any closer to finding out how a pistol ended up in the hands of my head scientist.”
“You need to stop obsessing. We’ve already been through this. That gun could have come from anywhere. And may I remind you that being in charge doesn’t mean everyone agrees with you. Anyone could have taken pity on that hideous creation of yours. You should have posted a watch if you were that concerned with the human’s welfare.” He sneered.
She looked down at the demon’s pale, lifeless blue eyes. “If you ever speak to me like that again, those eyes of yours won’t be the only things that are dead.”
Cerberus took a step backward. “I’ll continue to investigate.”
She smiled as much as her scarred face allowed. “That’s better. And while you’re at it, find out how we can exploit this Batiste thing. I’m thinking of bringing him further into the fold. I’ll need a way to gain his trust.”
With a nod, he vanished.
Victrixa sighed. She could hardly wait until she no longer needed the little fucker so she could make him suffer for what he had done to her face. For the moment, though, it almost suited her. After all, the more fear she evoked the better. But it was hardly going to stay that way. She walked over to the window and considered her plan for Batiste. He was a dogcatcher, but he was also buying rogue mutants without her knowledge. Or so he thought. She would let that problem take care of itself. Right now he was just the kind of human scum she needed. The important thing was she now controlled two different serums. She could create both hellions and rogues at will. The rogues had all of their strength, but they still retained all of their faculties. True, they were messy, but unlike the hellions they could control their thirst when taught. It was a pity she hadn’t recognized their value sooner.
She was beginning to wonder if it even made sense to continue with the hellion experiment at all. Still, they did keep the warriors of the Order busy. That was no small gift. In the end, she decided she would wait on Batiste before making any decisions. One way or another she would have access to his pool of manpower before too long. His underlings would provide just the expendable force she needed if her plan was to succeed. When it did, she would end Batiste right along with every other human in the city.
Once Boston’s human civilians understood the kind of power the shifters could wield, they would no doubt beg for mercy. And who was she if not compassionate?
X folded a sweater and put it in one of several open cardboard boxes in the middle of the bedroom floor. He could hear his mate typing on her laptop in her office next door. She was putting together her resignation letter. Didn’t that just make him feel guilty as hell? Good times.
“Xavier?”
He was down the hall like a shot. “How’s it going?”
“I’m not sure. Would you mind reading it over?”
“Of course.”
She stood up and he took a seat at her desk. He stroked his goatee while reading through each line carefully and his female paced the room. Jesus, she wrote well. Oh, now, come on. Getting hard because of her voice was one thing, but over a letter of resignation? Really?
Rose stopped in front of the desk. “Is it too detailed? Overly apologetic?”
“No, actually. It’s very well balanced. I think it’s all set.”
“Thank God.” She moved to stand behind him and leaned over his shoulder. “You know once I press send you’re stuck with me.”
He kissed her cheek. “I can’t wait to get stuck to you. That’s for damn sure.”
She smiled a little. “Look, before we do this we should probably talk. I’m sure you’ve already thought of it, but I won’t be able to give us offspring. Not with my age.”
“Had you wanted them?”
She crossed in front of the desk. “Oh, I don’t know. I wasn’t the type to give it much thought.”
“Well, at the risk of sounding like an insensitive dick, I’ve never really thought of myself as the parenting type.”
Far, far from it.
She came back around the desk and put her hands on his shoulders. “Are you sure?”
X took her hand with his and used her pointer finger to hit send. “I’m positive.”
“Well, then I guess that’s about it. I have all I need for now.”
He stood up and took her hand. “I can stop by and finish up the rest tomorrow.”
“Let me just make one last check.”
Rose walked down the stairs and looked carefully through the boxes. It was probably a good thing Xavier hit that send button, because she honestly wondered if she could have. It was such a huge change. Major life transitions were never her strong suite. She’d been walking on eggshells so long that having a reliable floor under her feet made her nervous as all get out.
She picked up her bag and walked into the kitchen. Opening the farthest cupboard, she emptied the contents of the lowest shelf into her bag. Well, Xavier was her mate now. She was just going to have to learn to trust him.
Okay. One last check in the living room. The note to her friend Amy was right on the coffee table along with the key. Too bad she wouldn’t see her face when she got back from sabbatical next month. The note to Amy said she was moving to Japan and leaving her the condo. Permanently. She would never see her again, but the condo was one hell of a parting gift.
Xavier came down the stairs with her suitcase. “All set?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He brought her to him with his free hand and she wrapped her arms around his waist. Rose had a feeling the first gleam was a rite of passa
ge for any New Breed mate, but that didn’t mean she had to like the idea. Her male pressed his lips to her forehead and they dematerialized.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
James walked down the compound’s main corridor, went through the gym, and hung a right down the back hallway. He stopped in front of Christian’s door and paused. Maybe this wasn’t such a hot idea.
Then he heard the male’s voice from inside. “Are you gonna come in or are you gonna stay out there and inspect the paint job?”
He shook his head. Aw, what the hell. He needed something to take his mind off Seth. Off Pax. Shit, off himself. At least at night he could be out there actively looking for him. Long days were filled with nothing but waiting for something to break the inertia. He went in and closed the door behind him.
Christian lay sprawled out on his bed in the far corner. He patted the mattress and flashed a wicked grin.
“You’re not afraid of little old me, are you? Big New Breed and all,” he drawled.
James smiled. Jesus, he was a flirt. He sat down on the edge and checked out the book in the male’s hand. “Poe? Evy has you doing homework?”
He shook his head. “Nah. Things just tend to be light on entertainment around here. I think Evy ordered a bunch of stuff, but I’m about to hang myself.”
James barked a laugh. “Choose life, bro. That does totally suck. You know, I can get you a TV, if you want.”
“Hellz yeah. Does it come with a Blue-ray and Xbox?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Christian turned suddenly serious. “Do you think maybe you could ask about a laptop for Rory? She’s kind of a techie and she really misses it.”
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