He would hunt tonight.
He knelt on the floor, sitting back and extending his hands. “Thank you, Lord Jorint. I pledge to you again, my life and my soul.”
“Join me, Rem.”
Rem glowed with happiness as he sank into the water and moved to do his lord’s bidding.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Gene seemed to be stewing over her last remark. She tried to get his mind back on track. "Thank you for Johnny's dinner.” She hooked her arm around his elbow, which he accepted without comment. "And my dinner. It was delicious." She smiled, hoping to lighten his mood, but Gene's sour expression seemed glued in place.
He walked slowly, staring straight ahead. "Will Mack be joining us back at the house?" he asked.
She stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"
"You two have something planned, right? He was the elephant in the room the entire evening. I almost ordered him a couple of tacos."
She stationed her hands on her hips. "I didn't think of him once."
"Pfft."
“When did I have time?” We had Johnny to deal with and dinner to eat and…”
“When you lie you talk faster.”
She started walking again, faster than before. Gene caught up easily. “Okay. Maybe I thought about him three times. You're not jealous are you?"
He laughed. "When you two are in the same room, you suck up all the air. It's entertaining to watch you fight the urge to be together. Alan, Sam, Diane, and I are taking bets on the date, time, and place."
"That we kiss?"
"Please, you must have kissed already. I’m talking about sex." That brought on a rare blush, which amused Gene even more. "If there's such a thing as destiny, you two are meant to be." He shook his head. "No, I'm not jealous—just envious."
“I got dumped.”
“Mack’s a fucking idiot.” Under the gentle haze of the streetlight, his expression grew serious. "I'm sorry about—well, later. It isn’t right. If we didn’t have to project or use our energy, we wouldn’t have to reboot.”
“We can talk about that later. Let’s try to enjoy the night.”
“I'm your partner. When are you going to start trusting me?"
"What do you want to know?"
"Besides what happened in Atlanta, how about what your experiments with power are really all about?"
"I’m afraid you’ll…”
“What, report you? C’mon, you don’t trust me yet?”
“No, no. I do trust you. I’m afraid you’ll say no.”
"I learned early on that when my Ingrid and I were honest with each other, everything else was easier. I want it to be easy for us too."
"She must've been a great partner."
"She was a great person. Her skills as an ingénue were weak compared to yours, but the rest of us picked up the slack. She was part of our family, like you'll be, if you stop hiding from us."
"I don't hide," she said indignantly.
"You’re like the troll under the bridge, only popping up to make trouble. You've probably got secrets piled on top of secrets. Must be getting heavy."
"It's how I've survived."
They walked through the entrance to Snug Harbor without speaking; Gene's thumb brushing back and forth over her knuckles. The sensation was a pleasant one, but the attraction was only a vague possibility, the usual thing between ingénue partners who had no choices.
Rich, one of the rangers, drove past in his shuttle cart, giving them a friendly wave. It was almost dark now.
"Doesn't this place close down at dusk?" She'd seen the sign posted outside the gate.
"Yeah, but Rich and Artie let us run around at night if we can't sleep. We're isolated here, away from the cameras and the crowds so we don't have to morph. It's become our nighttime haven.” He dropped the morph and sighed from the release of energy. "Go ahead. No one's around but the rangers."
She did as he said, scanning the area. "Such a strange place. Spooky."
The two hundred and fifty year old Music Hall loomed to their right, a tribute to the era of Greek revival architecture and art deco interiors. Decades of musical plays and concert performances were now only distant memories for the ghostly fans to enjoy at their leisure. Across from the austere building was the chapel dedicated to the veterans of ancient wars, an enormous bell standing in memoriam alongside the entrance.
Gene urged her up the steps and through the dimly lit space to a pew not far from the tiny stage. A gentle push had her sitting.
"We can talk here. No cameras. No hidden microphones. I give you my word that anything you tell me is only between us."
She stayed silent, still unsure.
Gene tried again. "Forget about Atlanta. You can tell me when you're ready. Right now I need to know what game you're playing with your axis powers."
"It's no game," she snapped back.
"But what are you trying to accomplish with the experiments? I know it isn't for The Director's benefit."
"I hope he never sells another ticket. Entertaining the alphas and vamps who kill humans makes me sick to my stomach."
"During that rehearsal with Diane, you were way over the energy limit."
"So what. Did you think I was out of control?"
He smiled. "Never. In fact, you were at your most focused. Working with you was extraordinary. You're as solid with your psycore as Mack is with his axis."
She'd started trembling a bit. Gene noticed and draped his jacket over her shoulders. "I'm on your team, remember? Trust me. That’s an order."
She huffed out a breath, blurting out, "I'm going to get us out of this life. Away from living in a troupe, away from the parties where they can beat us or rape us because The Director gave his seal of approval."
She turned her face away, too scared to look him in the eye. But it was too late to take it all back.
"How?" His voice was hoarse, but he hadn't moved, giving her a grain of courage.
"I can teach the troupe how to use their powers in a more practical way." She faced him now. "We'll sneak away, dump Dr. Dirt and live a free life." Johnny's name for The Director sure fit him.
"Tell me all of it." And she did, the same way she'd told Mack, only Gene wasn't arguing with her. He was listening.
When she'd finished, he surprised her again. “Show me." And just like that, he lowered his outer shields, leaving himself more vulnerable. He twisted his body toward hers and clutched her hand against his heart. "I need to see." He reached out to connect to her mind the way an audience was trained to do, only a theta knew how to keep his private inner shield still in place, protecting his secrets.
She squeezed his hand and he grinned. "Watch, southern boy. Watch how we can take them out."
The fantasy only lasted fifteen seconds, but it was enough. Gene had jumped up and was backing down the aisle before she had a chance to pull out of his mind.
"Holy shit. Those armed soldiers looked as real as anything I've ever seen. All of their rifles were aimed at me. I thought I was dead meat."
She held her breath, waiting for him to make his decision. He was leaning against the edge of a pew, obviously still in shock, but she was still hopeful he'd see things her way. His dark blonde hair was tousled, obscuring one of his jade eyes, his chest taking in deep breaths to calm his panic.
She'd been floored by the brilliance of his mind, the connection she'd established still in play. He’d understood instantly, almost as if the concept had been his own, wrapping around her ideas and taking them further. Why are we limited to a morph that changes only the body? Why can't we add an object, perhaps a weapon? Is there a way to open up more pathways? To form a group connection? His mind worked through layers of schematics, the patterns of magic with which they were gifted. But she couldn't read his heart. His inner shield was closed to her, which meant she had to trust that he wouldn't tell The Director.
"So many possibilities. I'm in, sugar. We talk to Mack about this tomorrow." He'd risen to his full height once more
.
Gene would keep his word. He was like Mack in that way. Her two men: one to love as a mate, one as a friend, both precious and necessary to her survival.
Ingrid sunk into the pew in exquisite relief; muscles she hadn't known were tense finally relaxing. Of course, getting Mack to agree to work toward their escape was the monkey wrench in the plan. "Maybe you should do the honors," she suggested. "Mack’s not open to hearing me right now.
"He'll come around, especially now that I'm on your team. Mack needs someone to shake him up." Amused, he gave her the once-over and arched a brow. "Think you're up for the job?"
She giggled and curtseyed, using a southern accent. "Shaking up is my specialty, sir." She remembered The Director's threats when he found out she'd been at Mack's house and decided, in the spirit of their new code of honesty, to tell Gene about it.
After listening, he tilted her head, his hand under her chin so she'd look him in the eye, his expression grim. “The Director's done that kind of shit before."
"If I worry about what might happen I won't be able to focus on the plan."
"There's an actual plan?"
"Well, not yet. But I'm sure you can come with something." She batted her eyelashes and grabbed his hand. "C'mon. We can talk about it back at the room."
"About tonight's reboot..."
She held up a hand, her palm facing Gene. “I have a solution."
"Why am I not surprised?" he laughed, taking longer strides as they headed home.
When they arrived back at the house, Alan and the actors were in the back yard drinking beer and enjoying what was left of the barbecued ribs and corn on the cob. Ingrid delivered her orders to Alan with a satisfied smirk. "A young human male named Johnny will be at the gate sometime tomorrow. Please do your best to find him work. He has a large family to take care of."
"Now you're heading up the local employment agency?" Diane said, puffing on a cigarette. Ingrid frowned at her. A pack of those cost more than a guy like Johnny made in a month. "I'd stay away from the norms if I were you. They carry guns."
Gene took the cigarette from her mouth and crushed it under his shoe. "We sent dinner to his house. He was hungry, not dangerous."
"We can use another driver," Alan suggested. "Shawn Hogan broke his leg at the Cityworks Construction site."
Gene explained, "The Director and his wolf allies are the owners."
"Did he fall?" Staci asked.
"No. His supervisor cracked him in the shin with a wrench. His wife said the bone was sticking out. Won't be on his feet for weeks."
"His boss is a mid-level wolf." Sam explained. They were known to be particularly surly.
"They're all Alpha wannabes." Alan added.
"Has he gotten medical attention?" Ingrid asked.
Alan nodded. "When his wife came by I gave her some cash to pay for whatever he needs. Told her I'd pay him off the books while he was out of commission. He won't be getting paid from his construction job even though it was the wolf that put him out of action."
Ingrid smiled at Alan. "You're a man after my own heart." She placed her hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek.
He looked down, blushing. "Shawn's a hard worker."
Diane opened her mouth to make a comment, probably at Alan's expense, but Gene tugged on a strand of her hair. When she looked at him, his glare shut her up fast.
Her duty done, Ingrid walked inside the house, motioning with her head for Gene to follow. She shut the door to her room with a soft click. "Sit on the bed."
"Giving orders now?" Instead of sitting, he stretched out diagonally. "I know I agreed to listen to your evil plan, but are you sure you can resist me?" His grin was as hot as a grin can get, but it only made her laugh.
"You are such an ass." She pointed out the window, knowing full well the arrogant act was nothing like the real guy "Somewhere out there is a girl who'll worship the ground you walk on."
"Please, I have thousands of those already." She tossed a pillow at his head, but he managed to catch it before it whacked him. "I want a girl with brains enough to see past this." He swept his hand across his very hot body.
"She looked up at the ceiling. "Is my room...?"
"It's safe. Alan and I check the house for bugs every couple of days."
“Great. Now I need you to answer two questions and we'll go from there.”
"Go where from there?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
"Behave. Are you okay with dropping your shields?"
He shrugged. "I did at Snug Harbor. I suppose I could do it again, although I'd prefer not to have to share you with a couple of fantasy soldiers."
"Both shields. The inner one too."
"No." Gene sat up, the flirty fun disappearing in one word. "I trust you, sugar, but no."
"I'm dropping mine."
"Sure you are." Inner shields were the first things a theta learned to create. They protected thetas from mental attack, and it was second nature never to let anyone else inside.
"We won't touch each other's memories or feelings. That's not why I need you open."
Gene crossed his arms over his chest. "Explain."
"We're going to loop."
"Looping is forbidden." This time she was the one rolling her eyes. "We perform all the time without dropping our inner shields," Gene pointed out stubbornly.
"I explained. We're looping."
"Why is this necessary?"
"It will give me more control and greater access to the area of the brain I’m targeting."
"Somehow that explanation doesn't comfort me."
"We’re both gifted with a kickass amount of psycore. By looping without barriers we should be able to reboot without…”
"Fucking?" Gene still didn’t seem one hundred percent onboard.
"We'll direct the extra energy to the pleasure centers, bringing on orgasm and hence, rebooting.
That brought a smile to his face. “And you know where my pleasure centers are, huh baby?”
“I’ve studied the brain in detail.”
“And all this time I thought you were into my six-pack.” He winked, rubbing his abs. “But will we need axis energy?”
“When ingénues reboot, axis isn’t usually involved,” Ingrid said.
Gene grinned like a chimp. “Yeah, but you’re talking Radical Reboot, ending in Outrageous Orgasms plus a mind blowing burst of Battery Bounce-back!”
“I’m so not the only nut in this room,” Ingrid giggled.
"So…?”
“Did I ever tell you I have twice as much axis power as most actors?”
Gene’s eyes widened. “This could freakin’ work.”
"See? I knew you'd get it."
"Oh, I get it, but it sounds dangerous and about as much fun as having a tooth pulled." Ingrid sat beside him on the bed, her hopes fading. "Don’t look so sad, sugar. I’m not saying no.”
“Really?” He grinned and nodded. “This is going to work. I promise."
He sighed, lying back on the bed. "Tell me what you need me to do."
She took his hand, lying beside him like two friends staring up at the stars. “When I say go, drop your shields.”
“Go? Really? Blast off would be better.”
Ingrid rolled her eyes. "It’s go.”
“Even drop ’em...."
“Shut up, Gene. It’s go.”
A long drawn out sigh was followed by a softly disappointed, “Okay.”
“Ready? Go.”
Without hesitation on either side, two layers of shield fell away. Ingrid had never felt quite so naked.
"Ow. I need those fingers," Gene grunted.
"Sorry."
"This is too weird. Focus."
"I'm focusing. Now be quiet so I can focus. Also don't move."
"Bossy bitch."
"Shush."
Ingrid's axis-enabled mind snaked through Gene's, tentatively at first, marveling at the colors, the hot spots and cool spots, the explosions of activity. As his body obe
yed the commands of his brain to lie still, his mind raged with ideas and emotions, turning over schemes and sorting them into patterns.
She'd never seen anything as beautiful.
"Wow."
"Everything okay up there?"
"You're gorgeous."
"You're not too particular. It’s probably all wet and wrinkly.”
"It's your psycore. I can see it. It's a motherboard of activity, tiny explosions sending out orders in dozens of colors."
"Can't wait to see yours." He swiped his hand up her thigh, lifting her dress.
"Behave.” She slapped his hand away. “And no touching."
"I'm tellin' Mom that you’re being mean,” he whined.
"Shut up. You're making me laugh."
"Good, 'cause this is so boring. Ungnh!" Suddenly he was panting beside her. "Oh man. Whatever you did, please do it again," he groaned, grasping his groin. “I didn’t know I could get this hard.”
"Guess I found your pleasure spot," she giggled. Now follow me back and find mine.”
Like a puppy, Gene pushed his energy farther into her mind than he’d ever gone before. “Holy crap. This is something else.”
“If you move to this section… Oh, god.”
Blissful moans tore through the room, their bodies arching off the bed. Every one of Ingrid’s erogenous zones vibrated with heat as if two males were bringing her pleasure at the same time. She was instantly wet, her nipples hard and achy, her mouth needing to make contact with Mack’s so badly. Where was that big lug when she needed him?
Gene twisted in Ingrid’s direction, his muscular arm clutching at her waist as he pulled her closer with a firm tug on her hip. Her face was jammed against his neck, her ear resting on his pulse, beating rabbit-quick like hers. His sweat-slick skin smelled of lust and need. She dug her nails into his shoulders and he cried out, their psycore-induced release coming fast, violent and sensual.
After several whimpers and a few moments of heavy breathing, Gene whispered hoarsely, "Holy. Fuck.” He lifted his head, suddenly realizing where he'd ended up. "Hey, I'm sorry. I had this incredible need to touch you. Guess I must have reached out. Hope I didn’t…” He looked down and smiled sheepishly. “At least I didn’t tear off your clothes.”
Playing with Passion Theta Series Book 1 Page 13
