Love Beyond Expectations

by Rebecca Royce

  Gabriel took a couple of deep breaths and grabbed Loraine's hand. Samuel moved into view. He could take anyone's face, look however he wanted, but at that moment none of his talents were going to help very much.

  "Leonardo, Christophe, Kal—let's get out. We're not beating him today."

  Leonardo cursed, sending Samuel a look that let him know what he thought of his opinion.

  Ruby bit down on her lip. She really didn't want to interfere with the demon but she wasn't going to stand around while they endlessly fought with the thing.

  She grabbed onto Christophe. "Remember the goal here: Colin. He's home. Unprotected with just an unconscious Marina, a hurt Drew, and Jason. We have to go back." Shaking his arm, she hoped he listened. "Come on."

  Christophe's pupils were dilated; he had clearly gone into true Outsider fight mode. She really had no idea if she could bring him back.

  "Merde." Christophe ran a hand through his hair. "I wish I could bring everyone back to where we came."

  Nothing happened, and he made a sound close to a growl. "Ruby, put your hand on me."

  She nodded. That made sense. Their powers worked better when they touched each other. "I'd like to bring us all back to where we came from."

  The same overwhelming sensation that had thrown her the first time she traveled happened again. This time, however, she prepared for it and managed to land on the floor without hitting her head. It was like freefalling. She just needed to figure out how to stop less forcefully. There had to be a way. Christophe managed to jump right back up each time.

  Ruby hit the floor and rolled. She jumped to her feet, doing a quick head count. Everyone was here, and hopefully, they had managed to leave the demon behind them. Christophe helped her to her feet, and she squeezed him when she stood up. He took her hand, and they left the others who were all getting back on their feet.

  When they reached her rooms, she finally spoke. "Can you see him? Did you come back with us?"

  "Should he be able to do such a thing?" He rubbed at his forehead. His eyes had a glazed look, and she wondered if the moving everyone back and forth bit had exhausted him.

  "I don't know. He got in before. Hassled me for a while. Marina is unconscious so her wards are probably not very strong at the moment."

  "Great." Christophe moved away from her to pound on the wall. She raised an eyebrow. Isabelle had warned her that the joining of soul mates usually resulted in the male temporarily losing his mind. Her quiet, cerebral French professor of science had turned into some kind of hulking alpha male who wanted to fight. She smiled as heat pooled inside of her. Both sides of Christophe worked just fine for her.

  She moved forward, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Hey handsome, it's okay. We'll walk room to room, and you can search for the demon."

  "Wonderful. It'll be like that children's game…what is the name of it?"

  His words had failed him again. That seemed to happen when he got really intense. "Hide and seek. The game is called hide and seek."

  "Yes. Seek and find." He repeated it wrong.

  She grinned, pressing her face into his back.

  "Exactly."

  "I need to see Colin."

  "Yes." She closed her eyes. Rest would, obviously, be out of the question even though she could feel tiredness radiating off him like it was her own. "We have to search that room. Want to start there?"

  "Sounds good." He turned around, pulling her into his arms. It took her a second to realize his cock pressed hard into her stomach. She grinned. "You can't possibly be up for it."

  "Ah…but, Ruby of mine, I am." He kissed her forehead. "If you are up for it, I need you. Right now."

  "With you, I have a feeling I'll always be up for it."

  He kissed her, hard, on the mouth. She groaned, pulling at his shirt and wanting his skin beneath her fingertips that very second. He flung it over his head and unhooked his pants while she took care of her own clothing. In seconds, they were both naked.

  Once again, she was struck by Christophe's beauty. The chanters must agree with her because they began their low melodic indication that everything between Christophe and Ruby was going according to plan.

  He carried her across the room, setting her down on the bed. "You're so beautiful." His voice was a caress over her senses.

  "I'm not but I like that you think I am."

  Christophe traced a finger from her chin to her bellybutton. "We're going to work on that response until when I say you're beautiful, you say 'well, thank you, yes I am'."

  Ruby smiled at him. "How are you going to make me work on it?"

  "By always, all the time, showing you how beautiful you are."

  She grinned. "I think I can take that kind of punishment."

  He kissed her then gently ran his tongue over her bottom lip. She stroked the side of his face, loving the whiskers that had popped up since the morning.

  Moving quickly, he positioned himself right over her core. "Put me inside of you."

  She grabbed onto his hard, thick cock and brought it to the edge of her pussy. She could feel the head touching her warmth. Her body tingled with anticipation. With a shove of his penis, he entered, filling her all the way up.

  Ruby sighed, her muscles clenching around him while they stretched to fit his large size. His eyes held her gaze. There was always so much intensity to Christophe, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

  Every time he thrust, she raised her hips to draw him deeper. These few precious moments when they could be together as one had to sustain her throughout what she now knew would be hellish days to come.

  The thought made her grip him tighter.

  "Christophe."

  He seemed to understand what she needed. He took her arms and, like he had the first time they'd made love, held them over her head under his control. Her body melted into a puddle of mush. When he held her like that, it made her feel completely connected to him. He had her, and she knew he would never let her go, never leave her on her own to cope in a world where she didn't fit. With Christophe, she made sense.

  He was her other half, the second part of her soul.

  The piece that had been missing.

  "Ruby." She could hear the desperation in his voice. He sped up his thrusts. She closed her eyes, each movement pressing against her clit, giving her the right amount of stimulation until she exploded around him. Her pussy wept, drenching him.

  He shouted her name, spilling himself deep inside of her. No babies. She knew that. It would take a specific set of circumstance. Tears slipped from her eyes from the perfection of their moment together. Someday she'd have a family with him. No demon on this planet or any other would stop her from having that.

  * * * *

  Ruby looked down at Colin. He sat straight up, sipping a soda. Usually, he didn't like sugary drinks, or so he had told her, but Jason had insisted he needed the sweets to finish the healing. No one argued with Jason. He could heal them using his brain alone. A rather impressive feat.

  "So you finally got the girl." He looked at Christophe. They resembled each other, but she'd never mix them up. Christophe glowed with light. Or at least he did for her. "Took you long enough."

  "I don't see any woman here for you. Seems to me that you're in a bit of shaky position to be judging how long it takes me to do things."

  Colin's smile could only be called mischievous. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

  Ruby could see them as children. The vision washed over her. They'd been babies, nearly identical. Hidden in a cave their father had converted for their safety. They'd done everything together.

  Christophe cried a lot. Except in the few moments when their mother would take them outside. He loved to look at the stars. They reminded him of other times. But Colin kept quiet, most of the time. His eyes took in everything. Beyond his years were the words his mother used to describe him. Babies shouldn't understand as much as Colin seemed to.

  A voice they hadn't expected filled the cave. Abraxas Moor
e. He thought he could save the babies. It was send off their children or death. Their mother cried but got them dressed. How could there be any other choice?

  Ruby could hear their thoughts like she could listen to their voices. None of her visions had been this intense before. It would have been nice to return to the present right then. She knew what would happen next. Yet, she had no choice but to watch.

  Colin reached out and grabbed Christophe's hand. The other half of her soul looked over at his brother and for a second stared at their clasped hands. Did Colin know what would happen next? Had he sensed it?

  Seconds later, they both floated in the air. Their mother fell to her knees, her husband's arms coming around her. One second, they were there, the next, they were gone.

  She expected to follow Christophe, and for a second, she did. He landed on a table in the middle of a fancy living room. A man and a woman sat quietly sipping wine. The man gasped, and the woman jumped to her feet.

  It took Ruby a moment but then she sorted it out. In front of her, she could see Christophe's human parents. The surroundings were fancy. Everything looked old but well maintained.

  Both of the adults remained silent, but Christophe started to scream. His father covered his mouth, not uttering a word. The woman, his mother, stormed forward, picking the baby up into her arms. He stopped crying, nuzzling his head down into her shoulder.

  Although Ruby didn't speak French, she understood perfectly when Christophe's mother spoke. "He's ours."

  The scene rapidly changed. In front of her, baby Colin wailed but no one picked him up. He lay among other unclaimed babies, all of them dirty, most of them hungry. More children than she could count. In the corner, a woman sipped a pink drink, ignoring the babies calling for her attention.

  Only Ruby knew Colin wasn't fussing for food or comfort; he screamed for his brother. Somehow, he understood what he shouldn't have. He'd been sent to the wrong place.

  "Ruby."

  She jolted, her eyes coming back to Christophe. He stood next to her, staring at her, his eyes wide and his brow furrowed. "Are you okay? We were speaking to you, and you didn't answer."

  "I had one of those visions. But different this time. Not just a quick passing knowledge. I really saw things like I was there." She waved her hand in the air. "Like I can see things that have happened in the past."

  Colin stood. "What did you see? Anything informative?"

  "I saw both you. When you got sent away, where you ended up."

  Christophe's brother scratched his head. "Yeah. Well, that's no secret. Christophe went to one country, I got dropped somewhere else entirely."

  "And you missed him. You shouldn't have known anything. You were a baby. Yet, you did."

  He stared at her and responded with just a shrug. "I never forgot him." Colin smiled, but she recognized it for what it was, a way to cover up just how uncomfortable he felt. "Even if all his red wine and money made him forget all about me."

  "Colin…"

  He turned his back on them. "Is there any place in this very large house where I can get a shower?"

  "Sure," Leonardo interrupted them, entering the room. "There is room enough in this place for all of us to have our own wings, sort of. In any case, it's a collection of rooms."

  "Then point me in a direction where I can find mine. I need to get clean, wash the stink of the past two days off me, and then I want to get on board with how we're going to kick that son of a bitch's ass."

  Ruby smiled, watching them walk out of the room together. Christophe shook his head. "He's been trying to make me feel guilty since he popped into my living room. It's not my fault. It's not like I had anything to do with where we landed."

  "No." She took his hand. "But that's not what he's doing. He's uncomfortable. Easier to make fun of you."

  "I can't deal with this right now."

  Ruby got the impression Outsider men didn't do emotions very well, other than with their soul mates. She'd leave them alone to be men about it. Or whatever it was that they did.

  "Finish searching the house?"

  He nodded. "Sebastian hunting. Then we go get your cane. This all has to come to an end."

  She loved him. They were entirely on the same wavelength. First the preacher. Then the demon.

  Chapter Twelve

  Drew stared at Marina. The woman had never been so silent or so still. Marina was a ball of energy, all the time. To see her like this and to know she didn't remain that way because she'd fallen asleep made him want to turn around and pound on the wall. That wouldn't be the first time he'd destroyed property over the woman. This time, however, fear would be motivating him, not frustration.

  He stood up. Jason had taken care of his physical pain, and already he could tell from the ease in his mind that Charma had gone to work on the emotional element. Not that he wanted her help. Pain usually deserved to be felt.

  "Marina." He took her hand and squeezed her fingers. This was the first time he'd ever willingly made physical contact between the two of them. Truth was, he'd become the worst kind of coward. Running and hiding from her instead of telling her the truth: that he'd never be worthy of her because of the stain marring his soul.

  "Open your eyes, gorgeous." He sat back in his seat. "Let me see your dark eyes. Be angry with me. Call me names."

  She didn't move. He stood up. It had been a magical explosion. That much had been obvious. He'd been thrown so far he hadn't even known where he landed. Not that he'd stayed conscious very long. Then who knew what had happened to get him to Sebastian?

  Marina must have taken the brunt of the force. Her body couldn't process so much magic that had landed squarely on her shoulders.

  If they'd actually gotten together then he could have touched her dreams, could have roused her. He shook his head. No use in bringing that up. If he'd bonded with her, then she'd be touched by his evil. She'd always been too good for that.

  "Marina." His voice shook, and he ran an unsteady hand through his hair. "Please wake up." She didn't budge.

  "Okay, I'm going to tell you. All the reasons why we can't be together." He took a deep breath. He'd wanted to tell her for so long. To finally be given the chance to do it might actually feel good. Or maybe it would turn him into a catatonic mess.

  Drew opened his mouth to speak, and Marina's eyes flew open. She blinked rapidly, and then her eyes focused on him.

  His heart fell into his stomach. "Marina. I'm so relieved. I mean, we all are. You can't know how worried we've all been."

  She stared at him, no readable expression on her face. "Who are you?"

  "What?" Her words didn't make any sense.

  "I asked who you are." She jolted upward in the bed. "And for that matter, who am I? Where am I? What's going on? Have I been hurt?"

  "Okay." He stood up. "Calm down."

  Drew had the gift of telepathy. He'd gotten that half of Isabelle's abilities. "Get Charma and Jason in here right now."

  Hopefully, the other woman would do what he asked. He was in no way equipped to know what had happened to Marina.

  She hyperventilated. "How can I not know who I am?"

  "Honey." He rubbed her back. "This is going to be okay. You're going to be fine. This is temporary. I'm sure. There are people who can fix this. They're coming right now."

  "How can they fix it? What? They have some kind of drug or something?" Her already pale cheeks whitened even further.

  "Listen to me. You're going to be okay." He pulled her against him. The no contact rule had to go out the window. She needed him. Maybe for the first time ever.

  Charma and Jason charged into the room followed by Isabelle, Kal, and Leonardo. Jason immediately went to Marina's side. His long blond hair, kept neatly in a ponytail, swayed behind him as he ran.

  "Tell me what's happening." Jason knelt down next to the bed.

  "She has no idea who I am or who she is." Saying it aloud made Drew's stomach tighten. The more minutes that passed, the more he feared this wa
sn't a temporary glitch. "You can fix this, Dr Jason?"

  Their resident healer didn't utter a word. That didn't concern Drew that much. When the doctor fell silent, it just meant that he worked.

  Jason shook his head. "Nothing physical. Charma?"

  The blond healer's soul mate stepped forward. "On it."

  Charma closed her eyes. The two of them together were like a study in who could look more angelic. He could be blinded by their blondness.

  Her eyes flew open. "They're all gone."

  "What?" Drew moved to stand next to her. "Explain what that means." Someone had to start telling him something.

  "Her memories are all missing. It's like they were picked up and removed."

  Marina shook. "Are you in my head? How did you do that? Stop it. I don't like it. People can't do that."

  "Her powers are missing too." Charma shook her head. "I have no idea how this could have happened. Everything I've studied, everything I know… I've never heard of such a thing."

  Drew's heart pounded hard against his ribs. "So what are you saying?"

  "Right now, as she is, she's memory-less and human."

  "Oh, Marina." He looked at his shaking love, who now had no idea who he was. "I've done it again. I've failed you."

  This time, they would all suffer for it.

  Maybe eternally.

  * * * *

  Alexa stood staring at the island in the distance. Or at least she assumed the island she needed to go to was somewhere out there. Apparently, she had to hire a boat, and no captain in his or her right mind would even think about taking a trip out there today. Leave it to the cult to have an island no one could get to.

  Of course, if it was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be so damn important.

  A woman walked up to stand next to her. Alexa jolted, unsure of what to make of the stranger so close to her. Her short black hair glistened with the small raindrops drizzling down on her head. Unlike Alexa, who had worn appropriate clothing for the weather, the woman next to her wore a pink T-shirt and a short black skirt.