by Dee, Bonnie
There had been no movement from Trent since his eruption. He panted against her mound; her throbbing clit pulsed at the heated whisper of breath. “Trent? Sweetie? You okay?”
His answer was to dead-lift her off him and roll her under him. He moved down her body, caressing skin along the way, before shoving her legs apart. A fiery glance fixed her in place. “Don’t … fucking … move.”
He placed her legs over his shoulders. He lifted her sex to him, his hands on her ass cheeks steadying her and then he devoured her. If she’d thought his oral ministrations had been hungry before, they were nothing in comparison to what he did now. Her excitement level was so high, if there was pain it did not register. Only pleasure caused her body to tremble in his strong hands and under his talented mouth.
She moaned constantly, the pressure building until she thought it could go no higher—but it did. “Trent! I need to come … help me … please?”
Growling into her pussy, he removed one hand from her bottom and swiped a finger through her moisture before moving to her back door and wetting the little opening. She moaned.
“Baby?” He rimmed the opening with his tongue, following with the wet finger. “Yes or no?”
“Yes … yes … do it!” She gasped, trying to take in enough air to continue breathing.
“Come for me, Autumn.” Zeroing in on her clit, he suckled it strongly as he finger-fucked her. Two, three penetrations and a sharp nip to her clit and all hell broke loose.
Like a line of supercells, her heated essence was swept into the sky, circling, building, feeding upon itself, finally letting loose with all the force of an EF-5 tornado. As she swirled ever and ever higher, she sensed the solid essence of her lover. Trusting in him to catch her, she let go, screaming her pleasure. She floated downward from the pinnacle like a leaf on the wind until she was caught and held safely in the arms of her man.
She must have fainted because when she next opened her eyes Trent was bent over her, crooning loving nonsense as he worked a warm cloth over her satiated, limp body.
She stroked his arm, and he halted his ministrations. She asked, “Was it good for you?”
Laughing, her lover, her protector, tossed the cloth to the bedside table and then angled over to kiss her on the forehead. “Hell, yeah. You?”
“Yeah.” She smiled sleepily. “Come to bed, my darling. Hold me.”
“Always.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tuesday, Midnight, EST, Southwestern Indiana.
It was the sound of footfall on rock that awakened him. It was the light reflecting off the cave walls that brought him to full consciousness.
Lily lay snuggled against him, still lying across his lap. When he jerked to attention, she murmured grumpily, then settled back to sleep. Damn, he didn’t want to disturb her, but their ride had just arrived.
“Carr?” Donovan’s voice echoed in the cavern. “You there?”
“We’re back here,” he called out. “About twenty feet from the opening around a bend.”
“Carr?” Lily yawned. Her eyes slitted open. “Are we saved?”
“Yes, baby,” he whispered, nibbling at the shell of her ear. “Donovan Callahan is here.”
“Oh!” She sat up, securing the space blanket more closely around her naked legs. “I’m not dressed,” she wailed.
“It’s okay, Lily.” After all she’d gone through, she was more upset about wearing only a shirt to meet the KOTE leader than she’d been about taming a killer quake.
Donovan rounded the bend. His powerful torch aimed at the ground, lighting his way. “Are you two okay?” He scanned them with a narrowed gaze. “Any injuries we need to deal with before climbing up to the copter?”
“We’re fine.” Carr stroked Lily’s arms. “I did a quick exam on Lily last night, but when we reach safety I’d like her checked out by someone who knows more than I do.”
“I’m more than fine.” Lily held her hand toward the leader of the Terran race. “I’m Lily Redfern. I’m honored to meet you, Talisman Callahan.”
Donovan knelt next to them. Laying his torch to the side, he took the hand Lily offered. “I am honored to meet you Talisman Redfern. Thank you, and Gaia bless you for your service to Earth and all living creatures.” He bowed his head over her hand, kissing her knuckles, then held the hand to his heart.
Lily flushed a dusty rose. Carr rubbed his cheek against hers. “Don’t be embarrassed, baby. You’re a heroine.”
“I’m so not a heroine. I just did my job.”
“You so are.”
“You have to think that, Consort.” She slapped playfully at his chest with her free hand.
Laughing, he hugged her to him. He swelled with pride at the reverence with which Donovan had praised his little Talisman. But pure male possessiveness had him regaining Lily’s hand still held by the Terran leader.
Donovan chuckled. “I understand totally, Carr. If anyone touches Brenna other than me, I get testy. But I had to honor your woman. She has and will continue to sacrifice much for all living things and the planet itself.”
Lily turned into Carr’s body and stroked his chest, almost petting him. It soothed him and the jealousy burning in his gut vanished as quickly as it had arisen.
“Talisman Callahan—” Lily said.
“Call me Donovan, please.”
“And I’m Lily. What’s happened since yesterday?”
“Baby,” Carr nuzzled her cheek, “why don’t we get out of here first? We can get a sitrep once we’re on the ’copter. I want you in dry clothes and fed sooner rather than later.”
“Okay, big guy.” Her tone indicated she was humoring him. “But I’m not the only one wet, cold and hungry. You’ve been taking care of me since you found me.”
“My right. My privilege.” He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers.
“I know, but I get to take care of you too—just like I did last night.” She winked at him.
He chuckled. “And you cared for me so well, little Talisman.”
“My right. My privilege, Protector.”
The little minx tossed his words right back at him. He loved this carefree side of her. Donovan looked from one to the other of them. Carr had to laugh at the curious expression on his leader’s face. “You have a question, Donovan?”
Donovan blushed and looked anywhere but at the two of them. Carr wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it for himself. The leader of the Terran world was embarrassed by his and Lily’s sexual innuendo. This was the same man who’d just yesterday openly discussed the need for Lily to accept sex with Carr for the good of the planet.
Drilling the point home, he said, “By the way, Lily and I will have no trouble attempting to fulfill the Book’s prophecies.”
Donovan choked, then coughed. After he managed to regain control of his breathing, all he said was, “Thank Gaia and all the gods.”
Stiffening next to him, Lily snorted. “Does everyone know about this prophecy business—and what it entails?” She looked to him. He nodded.
Donovan choked back a laugh. “Yes, I’m afraid they do.”
Lily moaned. “I’ll never be able to look another Terran in the face again,” she mumbled, tucking her flushed face against his chest.
“It’s okay, Lily.” He patted her back. “There’ll be three more couples just like us soon. Plus we’ll be too busy saving the world to take the time to be embarrassed.”
“I sure hope so.” She spoke into his shirt. “This is just too much pressure, you know?”
“I know, sweetheart.” He rubbed his cheek against her hair. “But consider this, you manhandled a 9.0+ quake down to under a 6.0, making love with me should be a piece of cake.”
“Easy for you to say,” she whispered, her words going no further than his ears. “You’re more experienced in this sex stuff. I’m still on a learning curve. We may not have time for my body and fertility to come up to speed.”
He brushed some hair off her ea
r and murmured, “We can trust in Gaia for the fertility part—and if your book-knowledge of the actual sex act is anywhere near as good as your knowledge of foreplay, we’ll do just fine.” He paused before adding for her ears alone, “We’ll burn up the sheets, baby.”
Lily lifted her head, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “You know just what to say, dontcha?”
“Not always, but trust me on this one. You’re a natural.”
Lily gazed at him. “And you are … like no other man. I couldn’t do … it with anyone else. Just you.”
Carr smiled. “That’s a good thing, baby, ’cause I was ready to take old Donovan’s arm off for merely touching you. The gods know I’d kill anyone who attempted to touch you sexually.”
“I know. I felt your emotions—and I don’t want anyone else, have never desired anyone the way I do you.”
“Everything is as it should be,” he said, still whispering. Looking up, he noticed Donovan had moved away to give them privacy. “Donovan? We’re ready to get out of here.”
“I’ll let Mark know we’ll be climbing up. I’ll leave this extra torch for you. It’s pitch black out there.” He stepped to their sides and laid the powerful flashlight at Carr’s feet, then left the cavern.
Lily stood. She tugged the thermal shirt down until it reached her knees and wrapped the blanket around her like a sarong, tying it at her waist.
He gathered up the backpack and shouldered it on, then picked up the torch. He extended his free hand. “Let’s go, Talisman.”
“Lead on, Protector. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Never behind, Lily, unless there’s danger. You should always be at my side. We’re partners.”
“I’ve never been anyone’s partner before.”
“Well, you are now.” Taking her hand, he pulled her into his side, and using Donovan’s flashlight, he led them out of the cave and into the night.
* * * *
Tuesday, Midnight, EST, a small airfield near Buffalo, New York.
Darcy kicked at the skids of the ’copter. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
He scanned the small airfield he’d located just outside of Buffalo. The Midwestern quake had done some damage here, but not as much as he’d expected. The dinky airfield’s sole human employee lay unconscious and tied up behind the check-in counter. The pimple-faced youth had not been of much assistance—and there was no one else around who could help him fix whatever was wrong with the ’copter. Hell, he’d been lucky to get this far.
Striding away from the ’copter, he cornered the small building serving the airport as offices and waiting area, and raked narrowed eyes over the parking lot. There were three cars, one he assumed belonged to the kid and the other two probably belonged to customers who’d left their cars while they used their planes or helicopters. Flying was about the only way to get anywhere west. Almost all the roads he’d flown over in Indiana and Ohio were buckled or completely destroyed. The roads to the east had all been passable as far as he could see from the air.
Since he couldn’t fly, he’d need ground transportation to Brody’s place. The pickings were slim.
Entering the building, he ripped off the gag from the employee and slapped him awake. “Which car is yours?”
The kid blinked, his eyes filled with fear.
Stupid human. Darcy wasn’t going to kill him, just steal his car.
“Uh, the Ford Fiesta.” The youth gulped, his lips trembling. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“I won’t,” Darcy muttered, replacing the gag. “A fucking found-on-road-dead-driver-returned-on-foot … figures.”
He wasn’t driving to Brody’s estate in a damn piece-of-shit Ford. He’d see if he could get into one of the other two vehicles—a Jaguar coupe or a Cadillac Escalade.
The Jaguar was an older model in pristine condition. A thin wire easily got him past the door locks. It only took seconds to hot-wire the classic Jag. Buffalo was about 125 miles from Brody’s place. In two hours or so, he’d be in place to begin his search for Lily.
* * * *
Tuesday, 2 a.m., EST, Grissom Air Force Base, Indiana.
Lily sat at a long, scarred wooden table in the underground shelter’s canteen. After a shower, dry clothes and a short medical exam that pronounced her bruised, but fit, she all but inhaled two bowls of chili with cheese, a glass of reconstituted milk and two caffeinated soft drinks. Finally she felt more like herself.
“You’re awfully quiet, Lily,” observed Mark Winbolt, Donovan Callahan’s right-hand man. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine, Mark,” she said with a smile, “just soaking in the quiet and calm while I can. I expect with the snowball effect of the two Destroyer-created disasters we’ll be seeing other seismic catastrophes needing Carr’s and my help.”
Mark shook his head. “Man, when Claire showed me the Book yesterday morning, it hissed and shot streaks of color into the air like Fourth of July fireworks.” He leaned closer and spoke in a lower tone so the humans around them wouldn’t overhear. “The Book wrote the quake—and you and Carr—into it as it occurred. Claire said she’d never seen it do anything like that since Brenna brought it to San Francisco in 1989.”
“I’d like to see the Book,” Lily said. “Maybe when this is over, Carr and I can visit San Francisco and look at it.”
“That’ll be happening sooner than you think, Lily.” Carr’s warm breath tickled her ear. She jumped at his words; she hadn’t heard him enter the room. “Claire wants us back at KOTE’s headquarters ASAP.”
“What’s wrong?” She leaned into Carr’s body as his arms surrounded her.
“Minor quakes are shaking the whole western coast. Unknown faults deep within Earth are making themselves known for the first time in eons. The US Geological Survey is flummoxed and overwhelmed and has asked for KOTE’s help in mapping the quake activity.”
“Is my girl safe?” Mark leaned toward the two, his deep fear palpable.
She recalled Mark was Claire’s mate. It was obviously not just a rumor.
Carr massaged her neck. “For now. The Earth Keepers in the San Andreas district and up toward coastal Oregon and Washington are handling the small temblors, but they’re just managing to stay ahead of the curve. The situation is ripe for more dramatic quakes with a higher magnitude of S-waves in Northern California, Oregon and Washington. There’s also seismic activity in the lower Cascades near the Three Sisters volcanoes and in Montana at the Yellowstone supervolcano. Even the dormant volcano that created Crater Lake has displayed some rumbles and the water temperature is increasing.”
“Shit,” Mark said. “Sounds like a recipe for a massive clusterfuck.”
“Yeah, that it does,” Donovan said as he joined the trio. “Fire Keepers from all over the Pacific Rim are on their way to back up the Earth Keepers in the affected areas. If Yellowstone blows, the ash from such an explosion would bring about a new Ice Age.”
“Is there any hint a Destroyer is behind the west coast problems?” Lily asked.
“We’ve recently received intel from Trent Steed, Brody’s former spokesman,” Donovan said. “So far it indicates that none of these new disasters are Destroyer-generated. Trent was the anonymous source that warned us about Brody’s generation of the Midwestern tornadoes and the old bastard’s role behind the Indiana quake.”
Donovan sighed and rubbed a hand over the deep creases lining his forehead. “We have to assume this activity is part of the Gaia effect. The amount of electromagnetic energy generated and released by the quake in Indiana has destabilized the entire North American continent. Mother Earth is angry and seeking balance in the only way she knows how.”
“So our job is to diffuse, contain, and rebalance?” Carr said.
Donovan nodded, his face grim. “Yes … to the best of our ability.”
Lily sighed, rubbing her cheek against Carr’s hand. “Let’s pray we’re up to it.”
* * * *
Tuesday, 3:30 a.m., PST, KOTE Headquarters
, San Francisco.
Lily swept a gentle finger across the pages of the Book of Sorhineth displaying her and Carr’s story. The words rippled at her touch as if they sensed and knew it was her touching them. Tiny sparks flew between the page and her finger. It soothed her for some reason.
“As you can see, Lily,” Claire said, turning the pages. “The future is still being written. We now know the Air Talisman and her Protector will appear in the Gulf Coast Region to deal with the potential for devastating hurricanes. The Book has not confirmed their identities yet.”
“When will we know who they are?” Carr’s arm was around Lily’s waist, his warmth and strength flowing into and surrounding her.
“Not sure.” Claire pursed her lips. “The Book indicates that the Air Talisman is awaiting the awakening of her Consort. Her necklace is present and lying dormant.”
“My amulet appeared just as I realized I had to stem the quake,” Lily murmured.
“I received mine while I dreamt about Lily and the quake. It was around my neck when I woke up.” Carr kissed her cheek. “It allowed me to travel astrally to her and give her aid.”
“What else happened?” Excitement lit up Claire’s eyes.
Mark stood behind his mate. He kissed her hair. “Babe, they might not want to share personal stuff, ya know?”
Lily looked around at the people gathered in the room besides her and Carr. Donovan, Brenna, Claire and Mark—all of them saviors to their kind. She knew anything said in this special room under KOTE’s headquarters would remain here. If the Book wanted the rest of the Terrans to know the secrets, they would be written into the Book.
“There was a voice,” she said.
“A female voice,” Carr added.
She nodded. “Yes, a female voice. So calm, but so powerful that all the chaos around me receded into the background. The voice’s words and tone strengthened me until Carr appeared on the astral plane to take over.”
“What did the voice say?” Claire asked.
