“Luke,” her voice was full of regret. “I don’t have the strength to move.” She couldn’t bear to tell him she couldn’t feel her body at all.
He lowered himself down to her level, kneeling on the grass not twenty paces from her. “Yes, you can. I know you can do this.” His voice was so calm and gentle. A ripple of emotion echoed through her body just looking at him. “You’re brimming with life, Ginger. Once you get up, we leave this place together.”
She wanted that. Oh, how she wanted that. “Luke,” she whispered. “I choose you, I do, but I can’t move. I’m so sorry. It’s too late.”
“It’s not too late. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. Only ten steps, and you’re to me.”
“No, you don’t understand,” a sobbed wrenched from the back of her throat, “I can’t feel anything below my neck. I can’t move.”
His cry was full of anguish, and it shot straight into her heart. “Please don’t tell me that,” he pleaded. “I can see you. You’re alive! We’re so close to fixing this. Can you lift your hand?”
She tried with all her might, but it wouldn’t respond. “No. I just don’t have any strength left. I’m so sorry, Luke. This is not what I want. In the beginning…I admit…I was fine with this being a possible outcome. I knew I was taking risks at the time, but I took them willingly. But now, after what we shared, this is not what I want! You have to believe me. I know—” she swallowed back her tears “—that I could’ve found happiness with you.”
Luke jumped up and pounded on the barrier again, bloodying his fists. “I’m not giving up! I will not let you die. If I can’t get to you from here, I’ll find another way. Just stay with me. Stay conscious.”
She closed her eyes. She couldn’t bear to watch him. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She’d messed up, and she was paying her penance. “I’m sorry,” she said on the barest breath.
“Don’t shut me out!” Luke called. “Ginger! Don’t go to sleep! Don’t you dare leave this world! I refuse to let you go.”
She drifted away, feeling like a leaf falling from the sky onto the beautiful blue lake.
Luke wrenched himself out of his dream. His arms were still locked around Ginger’s body. He gasped as he turned her in his arms. She was here. She was his. He had to wake her up. “Ginger,” he pleaded. “I know you’re still there.” His hand caressed her face and her heart gave one fitful beat.
He slanted his mouth over hers.
The kiss was gentle. He had to do something, and this was the only thing he could think of. “Please,” he whispered into her lips. He kissed her again. All the emotion he’d felt welling in his body since they’d been together he tried to transfer into that kiss. He remembered what it had felt like when she excited him, and he fought with his brain to make that happen. “Come on,” he muttered to himself, “generate something she can use.” He nipped at her bottom lip instinctively, pulling it, coaxing it, anything to get her to respond.
His head shot up.
Something stirred. His lips went back to hers, and there it was again. A tiny kernel of something from her. “Yes, yes!” he cried. “I can feel it! Keep doing that.” He gently opened her mouth and let his tongue rake hers. This time enough emotion had built to transfer back to her. “Here you go, Ginger. Please take it.” He nuzzled her neck, waiting, hoping.
She took in a small, tentative breath.
He brought his head up. “Ginger, can you hear me?” She moaned, it was barely a breath, but it was enough. He peppered her with kisses—her throat, neck, shoulders, and back up to her face. He kissed each of her closed eyelids and moved back to her lips.
The entire time, even more emotion swirled in his gut. He was ecstatic. His happiness boiled over, and when it did, it sparked even more emotion. He threw his head back and laughed. “Ginger, you’re on your way back. I can feel it!” He smiled into her lips before he kissed her again, transferring what had built up right back to her.
She groaned. “Luke?”
“I’m right here,” he whispered next to her ear. Then he took the lobe into his mouth and bit down ever so gently. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to take this very slow.”
Her eyes fluttered opened. Her pupils were unfocused. “You were there.”
“Where?”
“In our shared dream.”
“Yes,” he said. “I was there.”
“Very few sex demons can share their dreams with another. Did you know that?”
“I didn’t know that.” Luke smiled into her cheek, pressing a gentle kiss there. “I couldn’t get you to wake up in the dream, so I came back to the land of the living to give it a try. If this hadn’t worked, I would’ve gone back. Anything, until I was successful.”
Her voice broke with sorrow. “I’m so sorry,” she choked, “I did that to you. I had no…no idea it could be like this with another person.”
“Shh,” he said. “Don’t cry.” He placed a kiss on her forehead and wrapped her in his arms even tighter, rocking her. “Everything is in the past now. We start brand new right this minute. This is the day we heal each other.”
Very slowly she brought a hand up to his face. More feelings swirled inside him. They were building fast now that she was awake, and he was elated. “How am I supposed to heal you?” she asked.
He smiled down at her. “I’ve been carrying around pain inside me since I was six years old. I’ve been directing it outward, hating for no reason, unhappy with my life. You—you alone—have been the one to change that for me, and you did it without even trying. Every single day we’ve been together, I’ve healed without knowing it. As we talked, laughed, and debated the world together, you’ve given me something I had no idea I needed. Now I’m going to give it back to you, and together, we heal each other.”
“That sounds…wonderful.” Ginger smiled for the first time. It changed the dynamic of her face, making her even more stunning.
“Your power doesn’t hurt or manipulate me the way you think it does,” Luke said. “I need you to understand that. Nothing is happening against my will. I want to be here. Maybe that’s the key to a successful relationship in your world? I have no idea, but you don’t push me to do something I don’t want to do.”
“But my body is taking from yours. I can feel it,” she said. “That’s the only reason I woke up.”
“Yes, but what’s happening inside me is hard to explain.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “When I’m with you something immediately builds inside me, kind of like a balloon inflating slowly. It feels fantastic. Especially since I know that whatever accumulates is going straight back to you. It’s this…perfect circle,” he mused. “One we create just between the two of us.”
“You make it sound so beautiful.” A single tear tracked down her face.
“It is beautiful to me. I had no idea this is what I’d been missing my entire life.” He leaned over and put his lips to her ear. He licked the lobe, and then he dragged his mouth to hers. Ever so slowly, she opened up for him. The feeling was exquisite. A current built between their lips, and his began to tingle. He deepened his hold on her, hugging her body tightly to his, his tongue delving farther.
She moaned, her tongue raking his.
They stayed like that in a tangle, kissing, exploring, and nipping for a very long time. He was content to wait as long as she needed, because little by little, she’d been regaining her strength.
His lips thrummed with a delicious ache, and he had no intention of stopping.
After a long, intimate kiss, Ginger whispered, “I think I’m ready for more.” Her mouth trailed down his neck. “I need you.”
He gazed down at her, propping himself up on an elbow. “Are you sure? We can kiss for days until you’re ready. I’m fine with that.”
“No…I really need to feed.” She blushed, but her smile was glorious. “But more importantly, I want you. I’ve never been with anyone like you, and I feel ready. I’m so happy to be here, to be granted
a second chance. My heart has never been so full, and I want this experience to be perfect.”
“I like the sound of that.” He lowered himself down and ran his lips over her collarbone, edging back so he could see all of her. “You’re incredible, you know that?”
“No, I can honestly tell you, you’re the incredible one here. You’re like nothing I ever thought could exist in the world.”
Luke met her gaze and grinned. He leaned over and nuzzled the column of her neck and kept going. She still had her bra on, so he stopped at the lace, his tongue flicking out, teasing her through fabric.
Ginger arched toward his touch. “Even your breath on me feels electric.”
He felt it, too, and he couldn’t wait another moment. He brought his mouth over the silk and sucked her tight peak between his lips.
“Ohh!” Ginger cried.
“You’re like a transformer. When I touch you it’s like white-hot lightning straight to my core.” Anticipation shot through him. Luke was on his knees in the next instant. He bent over her body and took the edge of her panties in his hands. “I’m going to take these off now, okay?” His hands shook as he edged them slowly down her long legs. “Ginger, look at me.” She obliged, lust and happiness shining in her eyes. “I don’t think I’m going to last long once we start. These feelings—are too electric.” He tossed the scrap of blue onto the dresser and slid his hands around to her back to unclasp her bra, as he whispered, “Ginger, you’re my sweetest salvation.”
Luke’s words were like jumper cables placed right on her most sensitive parts. She responded in kind as he eased her bra from her shoulders. “I can’t wait for this, Luke.” She arched up and captured his lips, her mouth greedy, her own words making her stomach flutter even more.
His response was immediate. She felt his emotions swirling in a frenzy like as he transferred them back to her in rapid-fire shots. Her head spun.
It was intoxicating on every level.
She was absolutely certain she’d never felt so alive. She locked onto Luke’s mouth as he lowered her back down to the sheets, his body landing on top of hers, heavy and delicious. He had so many hard lines, which contrasted nicely with his smooth skin.
“Ginger,” he panted, “my body is on fire. I need…you.” In response, she rocked her pelvis up and rubbed it against him. Sparks flew between them. He groaned, “You’re killing me here.”
Luke raised himself up on his arms. “I’m all in,” she murmured, her fingernails raking his back, tingles of anticipation raging through her.
His tip hit her core, both of them yelling. She bucked upward at the touch, her hands clutching his shoulders. “Holy shit!” Luke cried. He breathed hard through his nose. “That was…I’m not sure…I think I might lose it the moment I enter you.”
She grabbed onto his face, holding him steady. “You won’t. I’m not going to lie to you. It’s going to be an explosion of emotions, but focus on me. We can do this together. I want our first time to be incredible.”
He nodded, and bent down to kiss her. His tongue was hot and wet, and when he broke the kiss he was smiling. Then, very slowly, oh so slowly, he brought himself down to her again. When he entered her this time they both kept it together. But just barely. Everywhere his body touched hers there were feverish tingles.
Now that he was in, her core felt like it had a current of its own.
She kept her eyes locked on him, and he did the same. His gaze never wavered as he pushed in, and they both gasped.
“Good gods, Ginger.” Luke bowed his head as he started to move inside her. “This is…heaven.” He latched onto her nipple as he increased his rhythm.
“Ohhh,” she moaned, wiggled beneath him, rocking her hips in tandem with his, the electricity building to a crazy crescendo.
As he thrust, he groaned. “My thighs and hips are on fire. I don’t know where I end and you begin.” He fed her emotion faster than she could take it in.
It was euphoric.
Ginger was almost out of her mind. She grabbed onto his shoulders to steady herself. Something had to change, or she might implode. She hooked one ankle around Luke’s calf, and twisted her body, rolling him over. In the next instant she was sitting on top, never breaking their connection. “I have to…I have to drive,” she panted. “It’s too much.”
“Anything.” He fastened his hands on her hips. “Anything you want.”
She placed her hands on his chest, luxuriating in his contours as she began to move. It was hard to concentrate on anything when her entire body felt like it was covered in electrodes. This was nirvana for a sex demon. Ginger never thought herself capable of getting here with anyone.
Her movements started out slow and precise. She came up off him and slid back down, pushing herself onto his solidness and rubbing her sensitive parts against his flat abdomen, and then over again.
It was pure bliss.
Slowly, she increased her speed, losing herself to the motions. The pressure began to increase at a rate she could handle, and she glanced down at Luke.
He was watching her every move, a smile on his lips. “You’re amazing,” he said on no more than a breath. “I can’t get enough.” She couldn’t form coherent words any longer. Instead, she came down hard and fast. Luke moaned. “Yes, Ginger, that’s it. Come for me—”
Her world burst apart.
She stopped moving and held onto Luke for dear life. It was so much feeling at once that she forgot to breathe. Rocket-fuel emotion shot through her, giving her strength and filling her completely. She felt the strongest she had in years.
Luke braced her on top of him, anchoring her as he moved inside her twice more before he came, bellowing her name.
She leaned over and took his mouth as he filled her yet again.
Once it was over, they stayed connected, Luke gently easing her to her side. She gazed at him in wonder, bringing her hand up to his cheek to make sure this was real and not a dream. “I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “I can’t believe I’m here.”
“Believe it,” Luke said. “I plan to nurse you back to health multiple times a day from now on.” He placed a kiss on her forehead.
She smiled. “That sounds lovely.” She snuggled into him, luxuriating in his warmth. After a long, peaceful moment, she had to ask him what was on her mind. “Did…did my brother make it?” She was fearful of the answer, both wanting Damien gone and alive at the same time.
She held her breath as Luke tensed. “He made it,” his voice was grim. “Raoul led Diesel, Sofia, Jake, and Neve to us. They took him into custody. You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to.”
She buried her head in his chest and he gripped her tightly. “If I can handle almost dying, I can handle seeing my brother. I’m a big girl, and I’ve been one for quite some time. I just didn’t realize it.”
Luke rolled her over and settled on top of her, and Ginger stopped thinking about all the stresses in her life. She was going to enjoy him for all it was worth, and worry about the rest later. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“Saving me from myself.”
“I’d like to make a toast,” Luke lifted his glass. Jake had brought out the best bottle of champagne Hellhounds had to offer. It was after hours in the bar, and everyone at the table raised their glasses in tandem. “To Ginger Elliot, the most fearless, amazing woman I’ve ever met. After being exonerated by the SCC, may she succeed in all she chooses,” and under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear, “and accept the new job offer here in Vegas.” He grinned as he leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
“Hear, hear,” Sofia said as she tinked her glass with his.
“Just what we need, more Collectors. The next job I’ll be assigned will be Dumpster diving for naughty gnomes,” Neve groused, but clinked her glass in the middle.
“What the SCC does need is whatever Dossier has to offer, so let me be the first to welcome you to the family,” Diesel boo
med, a huge grin on his face. He’d been Ginger’s second biggest supporter, after Luke, and the fact that he’d gone the extra mile counted. Luke was grateful to him.
“Are you considering the offer?” Jake asked Ginger as he took a swallow of his drink, his arm casually slung around Neve’s shoulders. “Louie told me you’d been extremely professional these past few weeks, and for him to say that is the equivalent of you blowing his mind. Your brother, it seems, has been less than ideal. They’ve had to use extreme methods to extract information, but I know what they’ve gotten thus far is enough to Collect every former member of The Sumerians. They’ve also uncovered various safe house locations around the world. Collectors are being dispatched as teams to clear them out, which is unprecedented.”
Luke watched Ginger beam. “I am considering the offer, Jake. But I told Louie my position comes as a two for one. My job for the agency, if I took it, would be a hybrid position. I would mostly be working behind the scenes. The SCC has agreed to fund Dossier, so I can continue my work, but in order to do that I need Raoul. He’s the heart of my organization. I can’t run it as a one-woman show, and I am unwilling to train anyone unfamiliar to me. So we’re waiting on him to give us an answer.”
Luke kept his scowl to himself. Raoul had proven to be nothing but a stand-up guy, but Luke disliked that Ginger had to defer to him to make her final decision. Luke wanted her on the SCC payroll, and it was a perfect offer, since she wasn’t cut out for the dirty business of Collecting.
“Why can’t you just call him and ask him to make a decision?” Sofia asked, setting her glass down on the table and taking Diesel’s hand.
Ginger glanced down at the table, not ready to give an answer, so Luke ran interference. “Raoul has been out of communication starting two days ago,” he told the group. “We’ve tried multiple avenues but can’t get through to him, and he hasn’t tried to get in touch with us either, which is not his norm. We think he went back to the caves—at least that was his intent a few days ago. He told us he’d found something key inside and was going back for it, but wouldn’t tell us what it was. Ginger wanted to go after him immediately, but the agency decided to send someone ahead of us. If they don’t find him in a week’s time, we go.”
Sin City Collectors Boxed Set: Aces Wild, Ante Up, All in Page 33
