Celestra Forever After (24 page)

Laken goes rigid, and Coop wraps an arm around her waist as if holding her up.

“Laken—God, I’ve missed you.” Wes speeds toward her like a man on a mission. “Come back to me. I can’t take this anymore.” His eyes wash over her features with grief as he places his hands on her shoulders.

Coop knocks Wes back a good ten feet. “Don’t you fucking touch her.”

“Language,” Dudley snaps. “What the hell are we here for?” He growls into Ezrina.

“Wesley”—Ezrina’s voice vibrates out of tune—“shall you tell them or shall I?”

The windows ignite with a seizure of light, and every last one of us turns toward the opened doors. The sky fragments once again in a turquoise flame, exposing the sins of the Transfer in a wild shock of illumination.

That demented grin finally slides from Demetri’s face as he staggers toward the exit.

“It’s done.” He shoots a quick look to Wes as the ground begins to shake.

“What’s happening?” Laken drills into Wes, and, just as he’s about to open his mouth, a fountain appears near the entry. An entire pyramid of champagne flutes materialize from thin air, followed by a butter yellow liquid that waterfalls down from the top, filling each of the crystal flutes with the bubbling brew.

“Drink with me, brother.” Demetri takes a glass and generously passes it to Dudley.

Marshall takes a whiff before touching it to his lips. “Crème de la crème.”

“Only the best for occasions such as this.” Demetri widens his chest as he fills himself with pride. He motions for us all to partake, but we’re not near as eager to move as the shortsighted Sector.

“This reminds me of the king’s feast.” Marshall takes a careful sip and moans. “That would be the wedding to to his first wife, of course,” Dudley babbles on. “But, I must say, the future will pan out much better than the past ever did.”

“I agree.” Demetri gives a slight bow.

The sky ignites again, lighting up the Transfer over and over as if someone were flickering a switch, and Dudley stops cold with the champagne flute still tucked in his lips. His eyes bulge. The glass slips from his fingers before shattering at his feet.

Knew it. Demetri probably pissed in the bubbly.

Marshall strides out the door, and we follow.

“No,” he says it low, staring at the ground as if he’s had a profound epiphany. “Dear God up in heaven, what have you done?” He staggers toward Demetri with a wild look in his eyes. Marshall is dispossessed—caught off guard—and this worries the shit out of me.

Demetri thunders something short of a satisfied laugh. “It looks as though I’m one step ahead of your carnal perversions.”

“Holy heaven.” Marshall closes his eyes before roaring back to life. He lunges toward Wesley and roughs him up against the wall. Dudley inspects his face before tossing him into the bushes with a pronounced finality.

He stomps into the open, pitches his head back and cries out Skyla’s name, so loud that it rocks the Transfer, the earth, the universe with its deafening echo.

A darkness you can feel,
taste
, descends upon us, and the Transfer melts from right under our feet.

7

Trust Without Borders

Skyla

The rain pelts soft against the window like a love song, as if the universe were peppering it with a million gentle kisses. This is a time for love, for lovers, for Gage and me. We have the hotel one solid night, not nearly enough time to fully take in the pleasure of each other’s bodies, but it’s a damn good start. We set down our roots, twisted our beings around one another so fantastically tight we had become inextricable, banned from ever living a life apart.

Gage inches his lips down my chest, straight through to my stomach, and the sweet sensation pulls an aching groan from me. I watch mesmerized as that shock of dark hair travels south over my pale skin. His tongue dips into my belly button, and I let out a small cry as the air collapses around the wetness. My knees cinch up over his back, leaving that intimate part of me far more exposed than I wanted. Gage glances up. He looks drugged with a loose smile on his lips.

“What are you doing?” I twirl my fingers through his glossy hair.

“Drinking it in for later.”

“I’m sort of liking right now,” I purr into him with my mouth curling an involuntary smile. “We’re going to be together every day, every night, and each magical moment will bring something new.” I know what Gage meant. His later is eternity. He wants to have a playback of this special night at the ready, but I want to assure him in every way it’s not necessary. Once I set my mind to something, it’s hard to let go, and God knows, I’ve set my mind on the fact that Gage Oliver won’t go to the grave a young man. I’m going to move his life’s boundary stone so far back that our timers expire at the exact same moment. Gage and I would take our last breath on earth and our first breath in heaven in concert with one another.

“Right now.” He nods, his lids growing ever so heavy. “Guess what I’m going to do right now?” The glimmer of a wicked grin buds on his lips. Gage pushes my knees back and slides down the bed, leaving me spread wide before him, my body already quivering, wanting him to do exactly what he’s about to. Instinctually my knees try to connect and force my feet to glide in opposite directions, but I screw my toes into the mattress to remain just this way. It feels unnatural like this with my wings spread wide, the hollow of my body licking the foreign air.

“Gage,” I pant, low—desperately needy. There’s an ache in me that only being with him in this intimate way could ever cure, and here he is, the elixir. Gage Oliver is the exact drug I need to satisfy me. I’m pretty sure I’ll need at least a daily dose—I might have to triple up just to be safe.

“I’m going to put my mouth right here, Skyla.” He touches that tender part of me with the tip of his finger, and I bounce.

Oh God, oh God, oh
God.

I don’t say a word, just drop my head back and take a quivering breath—my thighs numb with anticipation. The butterflies in my stomach have long since morphed into a slew of rabid bats.

Do it. Do it. Do it. I quietly chant on the inside as he undoubtedly inspects the lay of the land.

I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about Gage anchoring those luscious, full lips right there—fantasizing myself into a sexual ball of frustration just thinking about it.

“Do you want that, Skyla?” Gage kisses a trail from my belly to the base of my hip, and I let out a moan. Gage is teasing me. Making me ask for it,
demand
it—beg.

A shiver runs through me as I bite down a smile. This isn’t the Gage Oliver I’m accustomed to—all fired up and rife with every lewd intention I’ve ever wanted him to have.

“Yes, yes, yes.” I rock my head over the pillow.

Gage gives my hip an unexpected bite, and a low gurgling laugh rumbles through me. Who knew he had a wild side that involved generously gifting me with teeth marks? Maybe for his birthday, I’ll get him a whip.

Gage trails kisses from my hip to the heated spot between my thighs that’s been quivering to receive him. His mouth lands over me, gently with the briefest kiss, and my knees reflexively press in, giving his ribcage the squeeze of a lifetime.

“
Gage
.” His name bites through the air like a threat. A charge of adrenaline rockets through me, strong enough to lift this entire hotel off its foundation. This is far more than a sexual pleasure. It’s a power that could challenge the splitting of an atom.

A dark laugh rumbles from his throat as he presses his mouth over my body, his tongue meeting me there. “Wild honey, Skyla. You’re as sweet as wild honey.” He lands his mouth over me again, moist and hot, and rakes his tongue over me gently as if he were kissing my mouth with careful affection.

My body seizes. That tender part of me starts in on a series of beautiful spasms that Gage tries to prolong with the gentle lashing of his tongue, but I’m already panting, gone into the beautiful stratosphere far too soon. Waves wash through me, electric and warm. I’m still quaking as Gage lowers his focus and spears deep into my body with his tongue. A strangled cry draws from my throat, and I explode into a million tiny pieces that vibrate into the atmosphere, each with a bliss of their own.

“
Gage
.” I draw my knees together and push his head back. “I think we just found another one of your superpowers.” I’m not even kidding.

His dimples quake as he glides back up to me. His lips press over mine, wet from my body.

“Sorry.” I shrug, slightly embarrassed by my hypersensitive response. The truth is, I’m still going—that sweet spot is still happily buzzing away with the aftereffects from those heated kisses.

“For what?”

“Stopping the show before it ever really began.”

“Mmm,” he moans, slipping his tongue into my mouth for a tender moment. “I’ll have to tell Ellis he was wrong. He swore I’d be setting up shop for weeks. Told me to bring sustenance because I’d need it.”

“Gage!” I swat him over the shoulder. “Tell me you did not have this conversation with Ellis.”

“Okay, I didn’t.” He pulls back, and his dimples flex. “He had it with me.” His chest rumbles with a silent laugh.

“Don’t even think of letting Harrison in on our little secret.” Just the thought of Ellis tormenting me over my spontaneous combustion is bad enough. “Ellis and I are friends—
good
friends—and it’s going to be weird. You know he’ll try to set me off like a smoke alarm just to see if it’s true. Do you want other men trying to gift your wife an orgasm?”

“You got me there.” He tickles my ribs. “Besides, I’m just glad it felt good for you. That’s all I care about.” He buries a wet, squeaky kiss into my ear. “I plan on becoming a master of pleasuring you.”

A searing heat rolls through me as he says those words.

“You’re already there.” I sink into the pillow and blink into him. “
Master
.” I take him in this way with the defused light spraying his features a soft gold, and, for a moment, I see Gage as the hurt boy by my side at West while Marshall and Logan pined for my heart right alongside him.  “Please”—my insides melt with grief—“I don’t ever want you to think you’re not enough. You’re everything to me, Gage, and I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you’re not.” My chest bucks as I struggle to hold back tears.

“Whoa.” He kisses each of my lids. “I don’t know where that came from, but only happy tears today. It’s okay, Skyla. I love you. We’re together now, that’s all that matters.”

He picks up my hand and kisses his grandmother’s ring on my finger. It’s only then I notice that Logan’s necklace is still safe around my neck, the mirrored heart right along with the protective hedge—warm as skin. I hardly ever notice it’s on half the time. Crap. I close my eyes a moment. I’ve taken Logan for the carnal ride whether he liked it or not.

“I’m sorry.”

He drops his gaze to where I’m looking and fingers the heart in his hand. “Don’t ever feel guilty. I loved Logan, too. I’m sure we’ll see him soon.”

I shake my head. Tears pool in my eyes, but I won’t let them fall. “This isn’t about anybody else. This is about us. We’re the real deal now, Gage. We’re going to have to tell our families.” A crooked smile teeters on my lips. An image of Emma dropping dead from the news flits through my mind. I’m probably not too far off base.

“I’m with you.” He nods. “Whenever you’re ready—I’m there.”

“Maybe we should figure things out first. You know, enjoy a small window of privacy. Soak it in,” I say.

He kisses each of my knuckles before running his lips up my arm, up my neck to my lips. His erection blooms against my inner thigh, and I take in a breath as he grows against me.

I’m soaking it in. This is just about us.

I never want to hurt Gage again. And I won’t.

He reaches to the nightstand and dips in the drawer as morning struggles to break outside. This has been one hell of an amazing night.

The good thing is, Gage and I are going to get to relive it, over and over again for the next several decades.

It’s going to happen.

I’m going to make sure of it.