Slither

by Bernadette Gardner

  “Get me something on Gyland I can use and I want to see something concrete on this Jim Smith person before your shift is over.” Nathan’s final command was muffled by the closing of the door.

  Rihana concentrated for a second, drawing herself backward toward her body.

  She came to with a mild gasp. Fortunately Brogan didn’t notice. He was wise to breeze past her desk without comment. He must have sensed her rising animosity because he didn’t even glance in her direction. She let her eyes follow him until he left the room. Then she hung her head and dragged in a great, shuddering breath.

  Shame at what she’d just done made her shiver even more violently than the bone- deep cold of the quaking. She’d allowed herself to become exactly what the general population feared about people with her abilities. She’d compromised her integrity for a man, and the worst part was, she knew deep down that she’d do it again in a heartbeat.

  Chapter Twelve

  “I can’t stay,” Rihana told Heath when she arrived at his apartment at dusk. “I just wanted to tell you I’m off the case.”

  Her news didn’t surprise him, nor did her reluctance to step over the threshold. “You could have called to tell me that. If you can’t stay, why did you come?” He knew the answer. Her reasons were in the images swirling through her mind. He saw bodies entwined on the floor, tasted salty sweat on his tongue.

  “I shouldn’t be here and I shouldn’t be telling you this.”

  He stepped back, hoping to entice her inside by putting distance between them. Clearly she wanted him. Her body shook with desire. Her aura was indigo and violet. Lust drove her emotions. “Telling me what?”

  “They have another suspect.”

  “And I know who. Come in and I’ll show you what I’ve found.”

  Her brows arched and her curiosity cooled her ardor by a degree or two. That certainly wasn’t his intent, but at least it got her to move a few steps forward. He closed the door behind her, making sure to brush his arm against hers as he moved. The contact sizzled and she gasped. He hid his smile, telling himself he was just glad she was still safe.

  “Found what?”

  He led her into the living room and snatched the photo off the coffee table. “I believe this is the assassin.”

  She took the small rectangle from him and her eyes widened. “Where did you get this?”

  “Tanesha Wain’s apartment.”

  She glared. “As if I’m not in enough trouble because of you. Now you’re stealing evidence from crime scenes?”

  “Exciting, isn’t it?” He moved to stand next to her so they could survey the face together. “Is this the man you saw in your vision?”

  “I…can’t be sure. He’s generally similar. The shape of the face is right, the eyes…the eyes are dead on.”

  “It’s him. It has to be.”

  “So Tanesha did know him?”

  “It makes sense now. That’s why she pestered Darq and me for an interview for so long. She was helping the Gemii. He used her to get to us.”

  Rihana thrust the picture back into his hand as if it burned her skin. “Then why did he kill her and not you?”

  He shrugged. “She’d outlived her usefulness, I suppose.”

  Rihana shook her head. “No, they had a fight. This must be the man Brogan was talking about today.”

  “You talked to Detective Brogan?” That did surprise him. For some reason, jealousy flared in his gut, even though he knew Rihana had no attraction to her colleague.

  “No. I overheard. God…I can’t believe the things I’ve done since I met you.”

  “What things?”

  She waved off his suggestive question. “Brogan has been following a lead. Tanesha knew a man who looked like this. They were dating, maybe living together, and they had a fight. She threw him out. That makes him a suspect.”

  “And me less of one.”

  She eyed him. “That explains why there was no sign of a struggle in the apartment. Maybe he had his own key that she forgot to get back from him when he left. Maybe she didn’t even know he had a key. When he came in, she was afraid, but not panicked because she did know him and she thought she could handle him. She let him touch her and that’s when he injected the poisoned ink.”

  “Does Brogan know how to find this man?”

  “Not yet. He went by the name of Jim Smith, or maybe Jem. Tanesha’s neighbor thought the man’s name was Jem.”

  “How can we track him down?”

  Rihana took the photo back from him. “We can give this to Brogan.”

  “And tell him how we got it?”

  “No. I’ll get it to him anonymously.”

  “Okay.” Heath closed his hands over his. “Later. Right now…”

  “No.” She pulled out of his grasp. “I didn’t come here for that.”

  “Yes, you did. That’s the only reason you came here.” He threw her own fantasy images back at her. Panting breath. Tongues laving ridges and valleys. Beads of sweat rolling down straining muscles.

  She moaned. “Don’t, Heath. Please.”

  “I don’t want you to leave. Stay here with me where you’re safe.” He took her hand, and the photo fluttered to the floor.

  “I’m not safe here. Every minute I spend with you, I lose more of myself. I’m not me anymore…I’m someone who eavesdrops on my co-workers. I think about sex all the time.”

  “That part is you.”

  “No. Just because for once I was able to…enjoy myself doesn’t mean—”

  He slid his fingers to the back of her neck and pulled her close to him. “You want that again. Why shouldn’t you have it?” He wasn’t sure whose thoughts he was voicing. His desire had skyrocketed the moment he’d opened the door. Now her emotions seeped into his brain, and he felt her desperation. She’d been alone in her shame so long, wanting things she couldn’t have. After starving for years she had a feast before her and she couldn’t justify walking away from it. He understood how she felt. He’d carried his own burden for longer than he cared to remember. Keeping apart from the inhabitants of the worlds on which he and Darq had lived hadn’t always been easy. The isolation imposed by their imperative to elude the Gemii had left them both lonely and wanting.

  “Just one more time…” She whispered the words and whimpered as his hands sought the buttons of her blouse. In her mind, he already had her naked. He was already inside her. The image made him instantly hard. The moment he finished yanking her blouse out of the waistband of her pants, he threw open his belt buckle and liberated his erection.

  “As many times as you want,” he told her, roughly shoving her own pants down her hips. He had her out of her panties in a heartbeat and guided her to straddle him as he sat on the couch.

  “I should go. I should go.” She repeated the mantra over and over between gasps of pleasure as he settled her over his cock and thrust upward. Knees spread on either side of his hips, she rose up and slammed down hard, impaling herself. Her body arched back and he caught her. He let her rise up and down, twice, three times. Her juices coated his erection, making the glide sweet and easy. She rocked her hips back and forth while he flicked open her bra and took her breasts in his hands.

  The guardian beast he’d painted across her body writhed with her, its slender body expanding and contracting as if it took in each labored breath as she did. The scent of their combined arousal floated between them, heightening his desire, making him insatiable. He needed her in this moment more than he’d ever needed anyone or anything in his life. She was air for him, a lifeline, reminding him that he was more than a political pawn from a dying government. He was a man who’d put his most intimate desires on hold for too long.

  “You saw this in your mind the moment I opened the door,” he told her before running his tongue between her breasts. “You came here for this, for me.”

  “No.” She rocked, rose and fell above him, eyes closed, head back. He ran a hand up her body, rested it in the center of her chest to f
eel the wild drumbeat of her heart. The steady thrum of his own matched her rhythm and merged with it as their bodies became one.

  Her aura was electric blue now, pulsing with the same beat. Her pussy contracted around him and she bowed forward, lips forming an “o” as a shudder ran through her.

  “You can’t lie to me, Ree. We’re completely connected now. You wanted me in you. You wanted this again.”

  She bit her lower lip and squeezed his cock with her inner muscles. His balls tightened, but he held back. He wanted to come with her. He pictured it in his head and pushed her hips down to seat her more tightly against him.

  She braced her hands on his shoulders and canted her knees forward. “I wanted it one more time. How long will you be around?”

  He refused to respond. He wanted to say forever. He wanted to claim her the way Darq had claimed Makena but he knew he couldn’t. That would be too dangerous for them both, too selfish.

  “How long, Heath?” She ground into him, forcing his orgasm up from his balls. He grunted and dug his fingers into her hips, pushing her up almost all the way off him then ramming her down again. “How long?”

  Forever. The word echoed in his mind. Though she probably heard it in her head, he refused to say it out loud. That would have given it weight and made it real, and staying with Rihana forever was a fantasy he could never achieve. “I’m here now, Ree. That’s all that matters.”

  Shuddering, she cried out, surged forward and rose up, riding him hard while his shaft pulsed within her. Her slick walls contracted. She guided his mouth to her nipple and he suckled hard, drawing the beaded tip deep against his tongue until she moaned.

  Fire tightened his loins and his climax slammed into him, dragging a growl from his throat. For a moment he was complete. He had everything he needed, everything he wanted within reach, his for the taking while he emptied himself into her.

  Above him, Rihana’s succulent body reacted. Her pussy convulsed like a fist, milking him relentlessly, drawing out his pleasure to the ultimate height. She keened from deep in her belly and continued to rock until the tremors ceased. Then she deflated, draping herself over his shoulder like a ribbon of warm chocolate silk.

  He wrapped his arms around her slim waist and hugged her, dropping kisses on her shoulder and her throat. She tasted sweet and salty, a confection that left his mouth watering for more.

  “I’ll stay until you’re safe,” he said finally. That was a promise he had no right to keep. Putting the safety of one individual before the continuation of the royal bloodline went against everything he’d been taught. Since Darq had done that very thing by refusing to leave even though he had a mate, it was up to Heath now to keep the integrity of their family.

  If he died here defending Rihana, their line might end and the Gemii would win. If she died because of him, what value would his own life have? He didn’t want to calculate that. He didn’t want to let her go.

  Gently, he lifted her off him, scooped her up and carried her to his bed. They’d worry about their future in the morning. Together or separate, he decided they were both entitled to one more night of pleasure.

  * * * * *

  Rihana woke to the gray darkness that often fooled her into believing she’d slipped into the quaking while asleep. Only the small green light at the base of the cordless phone on the nightstand clued her in that she was truly awake. The only spot of color in the room at this hour, the glow cast a faint, otherworldly illumination over Heath’s features.

  He slept beside her, the magnificent angles of his hard body covered by nothing more than the corner of the satin sheet. She could have easily slid the shimmering fabric away from him to reveal his cock, slightly arched in the beginnings of a dream-induced morning erection.

  She thought about waking him with a kiss or with trembling fingers curling around his shaft, warm lips parting to suck his glans into her mouth or lick a drop of precum from its tip.

  No. She shook the feral thoughts from her mind. If she dwelled too long on images from the night spent spread beneath him in the huge bed, he’d awaken and he’d have her again. Of course she wanted that, but she was already dangerously close to an addiction. What would she do when he was gone? How would she sate this newfound need for a man who, until three days ago, she’d never laid eyes on?

  Fighting to keep her thoughts focused on the task at hand, she slithered from the bed, careful not to disturb the sheet. His mattress was the expensive kind that absorbed weight and movement, so she could have bounced a bowling ball next to him without waking him, but she didn’t want to take the chance her absence would be felt if she lingered too long.

  Holding her breath, she slipped away, grateful her clothes were scattered around the living room. She could dress in peace out there and direct her thoughts away from him.

  She indulged in a final glance before she left the room. He was exquisite. His face was finely chiseled, his jaw solid and strong. His chest rose evenly with each deep breath and a faint smile curled the edges of his sensual upper lip. She’d never forget his face or anything else about him. She’d never forget what he’d given her, but she couldn’t keep taking.

  Even the act of sliding her shirt and panties on aroused her hypersensitive flesh. He’d done things to her through the night that had left her heart hammering and her body tingling for hours. The pull of clingy fabric across her breasts made her nipples harden as she recalled his mouth there, suckling until she orgasmed. Pulling her jeans over her hips and fitting the stiff denim snugly against her crotch made her clit pulse. He’d been there with his hands, his mouth, his cock, spreading her and delving deep inside, past the shame she’d harbored for so long. She wondered if she’d be able to experience that same freedom with another man when he was gone.

  Maybe not, if the twinge of guilt she felt when she scooped up her purse was any indication. The thought of Brogan imagining her in bed with Heath weighed her shoulders down. The embarrassment of being removed from the case came flooding back as she headed for the door. She’d carry that with her for a long time, even though she vowed never to let it happen again.

  During the interminable elevator ride, she battled with the shame of having left Heath’s apartment like a thief. Part of it was wanting to avoid any more pointless discussion of how and when he planned to leave. Part of it was fear she’d end up begging him not to go and another part, the worst part, was the desire to let him know what it might feel like to be abandoned.

  She didn’t want to be that person. She’d climbed above teaching people lessons a long time ago…about the time Sam left for college, ending their final summer as illicit lovers with no more than a chaste kiss on the cheek. She’d spent a month dreaming of making him sorry for going away, wondering what it would be like to show up at his Chicago dorm room with a pillow stuffed under her shirt just to see his reaction to an unplanned pregnancy. Knowing Gramma Essie would tan her hide for even thinking such a thought, she’d instead invented an illness to write to him about, hoping he’d be worried enough about her welfare to come home and see her.

  He hadn’t returned, but he’d called…once. She’d laughed off the ruse, too afraid to continue the lie. No more head games, she’d decided then, because the results weren’t satisfying enough.

  She’d call Heath later, from the safety of her apartment, and apologize, but right now she needed to be away from him in order to clear her head.

  The street lights were still on, illuminating the short walk to the underground garage in which she’d left her car. She hated the automated garages that had sprung up over the last decade. A live attendant on duty at all times meant higher fares but no long walk though the echoing sub levels.

  She shivered as she slid her debit card through the reader and waited for the machinery encased in bullet-proof glass to cycle through and relinquish her valet key. With a metallic clink, it fell into the slot, along with a paper receipt that she crumpled and jammed in her pocket. Holding the key in her clenched fist, s
he power walked down the winding access way, scanning the numbers painted in brilliant white on each parking space.

  A familiar feeling settled at the back of Rihana’s neck as she reached the level on which she’d parked her car. Some people experienced the weight of eyes upon them, the prickly sensation of being watched was common, even among those with no measurable extrasensory perception, but it was different for Rihana. Rather than the tingle caused by the belief that she wasn’t alone in the dim, fluorescent-lit garage, she felt icy drops of awareness slide down her spine, one at a time. Distinct and separate like ancient water torture, they pinged on her heightened senses, sharp and pristine.

  With her car in sight, she instinctively picked up her pace, key at the ready, clutched like a weapon. Protruding from between her index and middle finger, the two inches of serrated metal could blind an assailant or scar his face. She could create a puncture would that would require stitches, forcing a criminal to seek medical attention or chance bleeding to death.

  Grateful for her soft-soled shoes, she strained to listen for footsteps but heard nothing beyond her own raspy breath…except she wasn’t breathing. She had drawn air into her lungs and held it, prepared to use the coiled power in her muscles to repel a physical attack.

  The rasping belonged to someone else. To him.

  A loud hiss made her attention ricochet behind her. She whirled in time to see a shadow slide across her field of vision. It had no distinct form and it moved without sound. She shivered and stepped backward. Her car was barely two yards away now, a haven…or a coffin if the intruder managed to follow her inside it.

  She considered triggering the panic alarm. A button on her keychain would set off a deafening wail and activate a police beacon under the dash if it wasn’t shut off again within fifteen seconds.

  In the automated garage, she’d still be alone, but help would come within minutes.

  The hiss sounded again, close behind her ear, and she jumped. A form sailed past her, colliding with an inky mass that launched itself from a narrow crevice between a black SUV and the grimy cinderblock wall.