Breaking the Nexus (Mythrian Realm) (13 page)

“Off. Now.” For emphasis, she tugged on his shirt

“Impatient aren’t we?” Connor said, gifting her peak with a gentle bite that wrenched a sharp cry of need from her.

She writhed against his mouth, seeking more. “Yes, damn you.”

Chuckling, he took a step back and pulled his shirt over his head. He turned to toss it over a chair and something caught her eye, something she hadn’t noticed last night.

“What’s that on your shoulder?” Sha asked, running her fingers over the black ink on his skin.

“Remnants of a misspent youth. My mother hated tattoos so when I was eighteen I had to get one just to annoy her. Hurt like hell getting it and got my car taken away for three months as punishment.”

“How’d you pick the design?”

He shrugged. “It just felt write when I saw it. Can’t really explain exactly, I just knew it was the one I wanted inked.”

“You don’t realize what it is, do you?”

He turned, puzzlement clear on his face. “I assumed it was a bird…”

“Connor, it’s not just a bird. It’s a phoenix.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“It’s pretty close to depictions I’ve seen back in Mythria.”

A slow, satisfied smile formed on his lips, reigniting the pulsing in her core. “It can only mean one thing,” he said, hands settling on her hips and his mouth inches from hers.

“And that’d be…”

“You’re destined to be mine.” Before she could respond, his mouth took hers again and he propelled her backward to the couch, sitting down with her straddling his lap.

“That goes both ways, Detective.” Did that husky voice really belong to her?

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” He nudged her to stand so he could pull off her sweat pants, fingers gliding down her body, slicking over her clit. “So wet, temptress. Hot enough to burn.”

Her eyes closed and she drifted on the sensations. When his fingers slid inside and began to lazily pump she thought she might lose her mind.

“Let’s see how you taste,” he murmured. He couldn’t mean…

Rational thought became impossible as his mouth settled over her core, fingers still thrusting inside her, curling upward to stroke the bundle of nerves inside. His tongue laved her clit, flicking it then suckling gently. There was no time to process the incredible, exquisite pleasure. She exploded, would have fallen had his arm not wrapped around her torso, anchoring her to his mouth.
 

He added a third finger, scissoring them so the pressure intensified, and she found herself riding the wave to another orgasm. When she was on the brink, teetering on the precipice he stopped, lifted his head away.

She cried out at the loss, body burning for his. “Damn you, Connor.”

Rising, he stripped off his jeans then pulled her down with him onto the couch, head of his cock at her entrance. “I want to feel you come around me,” he said as he thrust deep inside. Time stopped as the climax tore through her and she bucked against him, unable to stop the scream that burst from her lungs. It seemed to go on forever, and when it finally began to lessen she realized he was holding himself still inside her, his erection hard as a rock.

“Shit, I didn’t put on protection,” he gritted the words out between clenched teeth. “Let me—”

“Hush, it’s alright. One of the advantages of my Aquarum side is the ability to regulate fertility. Don’t you dare stop.”

“Ready for more?” Connor asked, hips beginning to piston inside her. Helpless to do anything but nod, the friction of his cock sliding through her channel was amazing. She gasped as he shifted, angling her so every thrust ground him against her clit.
 

Over and over he pounded into her, driving her insane. She clenched her muscles and he groaned, fingers tightening on her hips with near bruising force. Gods, almost there,
almost there
.

“Come,” he ordered, thumb pressing her hard nub and she erupted, her channel milking him. With a curse he flipped her onto her back on the couch, deepening his thrusts and impossibly she felt herself rising once more. She clutched at him, desperate for an anchor in the storm of pleasure so intense it bordered on pain. Moments later, she felt the first jets of hot semen, scorching her and setting off one last orgasm.
 

Her body shook, head thrashing as she screamed his name.

Minutes passed with only the sound of their labored breathing to break the silence. Her throat felt raw from the force of her cries, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about anything except the feel of being in his arms, the taste of his skin as she pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

“I wish I had the power to freeze time right at this moment,” she whispered, her voice raspy.

“Me too.” Gently he caressed her face and she leaned into his touch, savoring it for a few more minutes.

Finally it was time. As much as she loathed breaking the mood, it was necessary. “Guess we’d better see if we can save the world, huh?”

Rising, shoulders shaking in laughter, he pulled her into his embrace. “That’s what I love about you, your ability to cut right to the chase.”

Her heart stuttered at his words. “Did you just imply what I think you did?”

“To be honest I don’t know how I feel, but I know I want to find out, and I know you belong to me. We’ll figure out the rest in between fighting mythical creatures and sinister, disembodied voices.” He pressed one final kiss to her lips before stepping away to pull on his clothes.

“Connor?” She waited until he met her eyes again. “Same goes for me.” Ducking her head so her hair hid the blush burning her cheeks, she began to dress.

The room resembled the aftermath of a tornado. Sha demolished the self-control he’d prided himself on, so it made sense that it’d extend to his living space. Evidence bags were strewn about from when she’d rummaged through them last night, clothes and couch cushions were everywhere, and a lamp had fallen to the floor, he noted in amusement. Good thing he wasn’t a neat freak by nature. Seeing her things scattered around the house satisfied something inside of him he hadn’t known he’d lacked. Since she’d decided to grab a shower, he set about picking up the evidence. The last thing they needed was to lose a crucial item in the lead detective’s house.

As she walked into the living room, he noticed she’d changed into the spare set of clothes the female officer had bought her. They were functional enough, jeans that were a little too baggy and a long-sleeved navy shirt, also a little big, but they didn’t suit her. Maybe if things calmed down he’d introduce her to the wonders of the credit card and online shopping, that way he didn’t have to get dragged through endless stores. Then again, Sha didn’t strike him as the sort of person who’d want to spend hours looking at clothes. More likely, she’d prefer to spend hours looking at weapons.

Connor picked up the last few bags, pausing when he lifted the one containing the waxy substance he’d found. Judging by the initials, the lab had processed the sample. Quick work. Unusually quick actually. He thumbed through the case file, looking for the analysis. Most of it was geek-speak, but he deciphered it enough to get the gist:

Beeswax base. Traces of blood belonging to unknown species. Stone bits of unknown origin. Contains a number of unidentifiable substances. Further testing required.

Okay, not exactly helpful to locate the source of the wax, but it might prove more useful if they found a sample to compare it against.
 

“Hey, Sha? Can you take a look at this real quick?”

“Yeah, hold on one second.” He watched, fascinated by the rapid, sure movements of her hands as she braided her hair. How women did stuff like that, he’d never know. Living with three sisters, he’d learned early on that it was best not to ask questions about some things. When she held out her hand for the bag, he handed it to her, reaching behind her neck to tug on the plait, grinning when she gave him a withering glare.

“You’re lucky I like your hands where they are, otherwise you’d have lost them. Why do people always assume they can pull on my hair?” She pouted, ruining the effect when her lips twitched as she tried to hold back her laughter.

“I can think of a few good uses to having a pony tail,” he said, demonstrating by tugging on it again, tilting her head back for a kiss.

“I might be alright with that,” she said, her lips now glistening and a little swollen. The two times they’d made love hadn’t done a thing to lessen his desire for her. Hell if anything, it had grown. “Behave if you want me to examine this.”

Should he fill her in on the report, or wait until she gave him her impressions first? Probably better to wait so her findings weren’t influenced. Long minutes passed while she studied the wax, removing it and carefully running her fingers along the surface. Finally she put the sample back into the bag and cocked her head to the side, her braid falling over her shoulder and tempting him to play with it again.

“I’m assuming your people couldn’t identify most of the components in that wax? Thought so. You may have suspected this, but it’s without a doubt Mythrian. Handmade I’d guess judging by the ingredients I sensed.”

Even after everything, that surprised him. “You can sense specific ingredients? How the hell do you do that?” He’d love to be able to skip the hoops he had to jump through with the lab techs. Unless he resorted to bribery or the occasional threat, it was a battle to get evidence analyzed quickly.

“Some rituals and such require tangible artifacts. Sorceri tend not to need them, we’re born with our power and while it may increase in strength as we get older, we work with what nature gifts us. Mages are different. Their power is acquired and they almost always need the extra boost, in particular if they’re doing intense spell-crafting. Different materials help in different ways, but they all exude a certain…resonance for lack of a better word. Almost like trained musicians could tell you the exact notes played in a piece.”

“Ah, I suppose that makes sense. I think.” Magic and spells still boggled his mind, but he’d bet his next paycheck if he put her in front of his computer, she’d have the same reaction to technology as Connor had to her world. “What can you tell me about it?”

“Well, I can’t tell you specifics about the blood, not without spending a lot of time and energy on the process, but some mages use Mythrian creatures to help invoke their powers. It’s also possible the blood came from a previous sacrifice, be it a person or an animal. That type of spell-crafting is exclusive to blood mages, and that’s something I try to avoid at all costs.”

“That isn’t the first time you’ve mentioned that before. What’s so bad about it, besides the obvious?”

“Anytime you kill a living creature, part of its life-force goes into your spell. Not only do you condemn the poor being’s soul to a purgatory existence, after all it’s no longer a complete soul so it can’t move on, it introduces a risk of madness. There’s a much greater chance for unpredictable consequences. It’s powerful, hence why there’s always those willing to take that risk, but it’s incredibly dangerous.”

“That explains a few things.” Considering the brutality of the dismemberments, insanity was a good descriptor. “What else did you find?”

“There were some dragon scales, however, that’s not surprising; they hold immense power so it’s common to use their scales. I also sensed some remnants of gryphon’s claws and a tiny amount of banshee dust, what’s left after you defeat one. You only have a couple of seconds to collect it before it dissolves entirely, so it’s pretty rare. The shards of stone confuse me. I can’t think of any reason to include it in a ritualistic candle, unless it was from a burial site. If you use the blood of an individual, incorporating something from their grave can amplify whatever traits you were hoping to invoke, but my understand is few bother to use it.”

“How do you know so much about all of this?”

Sha shrugged. “Training. Sentinels have to at least be familiar with all kinds of types of magic, more so when you’re Sorceri. The worst move you can make is to run blind into a fight. Luca could tell you everything you wanted to know and more about different types of weapons, and animal behaviors.”

Before he could probe her for more answers, his cell buzzed with a text from his partner. “Ian’s going to meet us at Corvelli’s. Ready to meet the man behind the name?”

“You have no idea,” she said, her voice low and coated in frost, her dangerous expression making him glad they were on the same side.

One thing he’d learned in the short time he’d known her, it was a bad idea to cross his woman.

*******

Something about the wax wouldn’t stop nagging her. She’d missed a clue and that pissed her off, more so because she didn’t know
what
she’d missed. Oh, no question that she’d missed the particular animal species to which the blood belonged, but that was to be expected. They didn’t have time for the kind of in-depth focus that would require. Her mind wouldn’t quiet until she’d figured out what in the Seven Hells she’d overlooked, so she may as well try one last time.

“Connor, can you give me one more minute?” Without waiting for his acquiescence, she curled up on the couch, tucking her feet beneath, out of habit; her short stature had its disadvantages, one being that her feet tended to dangle. Taking a deep, cleansing breath, she opened the pouch and grasped the wax.

Her mind raced, filtering out the unnecessary bits of information, searching for whatever knowledge eluded her. The cushions bounced slightly as Connor sat down beside her, his musky scent enveloping her, furthering her descent into relaxation. A spark caught her inner sight.

“There’s a metallic substance in this,” she murmured. It was minuscule and had been hidden before, but as soon as her detective sat next to her, the particles sprang to life. Almost as if they were drawn to him.
By the flame, she was dense.
 

“Have you ever had any strange experiences with metal?” Sha asked, eyes closed as she sorted through her impressions. Something still hid from her.

The air shifted when he shrugged. “I’m a damn good marksman, have been from the moment I first fired a weapon.” His words held no boast; he’d stated it as a simple fact.