Fire's Touch (The Enlightened Species Book Three) (21 page)

“You’re Meg, right?” Conlon asked dumbstruck Meg and received only a nod in response. “Conlon.”

He extended his hand to shake the nanny’s. Stacey noticed Meg’s hand shook slightly but the girl managed a decent handshake. Conlon leaned over her and rubbed Johnny’s oatmeal mined hair, giving her a whiff of pure male sex. Stacey felt her eyes flutter. “Lucky bugger, drinking from the tap.” He gave Stacey an inviting look.

“Um. I think I’ll go look around. I have my cell phone.” Meg excused herself.

Conlon downed the blood using the coffee like a chaser, his nose curled in distaste. Why? “Maybe you should have heated it up first,” she teased.

Conlon’s gaze landed at the throb of her throat then returned to her face. “Maybe I should have snagged one of Johnny’s private pile in there. You spoiled me in Amsterdam, remember?”

Johnny broke from her wrist and slammed both his hands back into the oatmeal slick covering the high chair’s tray. His blood-coated lips curled into a self-satisfied smile at the mess he was making. Stacey laughed. “Pretty darn proud of yourself, aren’t you?”

Conlon pushed his chair back and stood. Stacey looked at the expression of deep meaning on his face when he met her gaze. “Fates, you’re beautiful when you look at him,” he whispered and leaned over to press a kiss to Stacey’s startled lips before he lifted Johnny from his breakfast fiasco, completely oblivious to the oatmeal that transferred from Johnny to his chest. Conlon had a natural way with Johnny. Stacey guessed he probably was natural with all children. “You want to play in the water?” Conlon asked Johnny, who pressed oatmeal-covered palms to Conlon’s cheeks and bounced in his arms. Like mirroring mischief-makers, Johnny and Conlon blew her a kiss. “Yep, little buddy, we need a shower.” With that, her boys left with a purpose.

Stacey glanced around. Did Conlon have a housekeeper? She sighed and cleaned up the kitchen. Sort of. She reached the top of the stairs in time to see her naked son toddling from the master bedroom into his nursery. Conlon trailed behind, a towel wrapped around his waist and an amused grin on his face.

“You know you share a house with three females now, right?”

The front of the towel started to lift when his gaze met hers. “Yep, that’s why I put on a towel.”

Stacey wrapped her arms around his waist. The towel tent grew. “I’ll get him dressed. How about you run me a bath.”

Conlon rubbed her back lightly. “I think we used all the hot water.”

Stacey laughed; she’d done that a lot since meeting Conlon. “I think I can heat it up.”

Conlon chuckled and his lips found the curve of her neck. “In more ways than one.” Fully engorged now, his erection twitched against her stomach as he drew in her scent and ducked back into the master suite.

Stacey had just finished dressing Johnny when Cassie showed up. “Sorry I’m late.” She didn’t sound sorry, she sounded … sad.

Stacey held Johnny on her hip. “Well? What happened?”

Cassie blushed, taking Johnny from Stacey. “Nothing. I fell asleep with his shoulder as a pillow.”

“That’s it?”

Cassie nodded, her expression bleak. “That’s more than I should have let happen.” Her friend’s reaction confused Stacey. With Johnny’s intelligent gaze traveling between them, Stacey didn’t push for more information. “Hans was summoned back to his colony this morning. It’s probably for the best.” A sad resignation resounded in Cassie’s voice.

“We should talk later.” Stacey didn’t understand, but she wanted to. “BFF style.”

Cassie gave her a confused expression that quickly morphed into a smile. “Finally. About damn time you admitted it. There’s a playground on the backside of the campus. Johnny loves it. Meet me there later?”

Stacey nodded to her friend, and Cassie and Johnny left. A ripple of excitement fluttered in her stomach when she stepped into the bathroom. Conlon, barefoot in jeans and a white T-shirt, was on the floor mopping up puddles with a towel. A tub full of water waited for her. Stacey focused her ability at the water while her eyes were riveted to the male cleaning up after her son without a word of complaint. Steam rose from the surface of the water within seconds.

“You’re getting good at that.” Conlon never looked up when he spoke. Stacey thought he might not have realized she was there. Stacey stripped and sunk into the water. That caught Conlon’s attention, she noticed with a smile.

“You’re really good with him.” Stacey closed her eyes and let the heat of the water soother her.

“I have two younger brothers. I like kids.” Conlon had taken the position of sitting against the wall like he did last night.

“So there are three boys?”

“Four. Gregor is the oldest, then me, then Miguel, then Shane,” Conlon stated simply then … silence. They really were two peas in a pod. Neither of them ever talked about personal things. That much was obvious.

“And?” Stacey prompted. She peeked at him. He held his head in his hands with his elbows balanced on his knees.

“You’ve already met Shane and his bloodmate, Jess. Gregor bloodmated a warrior named Teja; they have a daughter named Irsu who’s a century younger than Shane. Irsu’s daughter, Jerika, is Shane’s protégé. Both my niece and grandniece live here, so you’ll get a chance to meet them. Gregor and Teja live in Alaska. Miguel is a pre-cog/Oracle; he and his life partner, Gary, live in Greenland.” Conlon seemed to relax as the words started flowing.

“So other than Miguel, everyone in your entire family is a warrior?” Stacey loved the sound of his voice.

“Yep, our mother had her hands full.” There was sadness in his voice. “My father was killed by a Morsdente nearly five hundred years ago; my mother followed him to the hereafter.”

Stacey digested that.
Hereafter
. She’d heard the phrase, but the concept still felt foreign. “How old are you?” Not that it mattered much to Volaticus.

Conlon rose and handed her a bottle of shampoo and conditioner. “Sixteen hundred and sixty nine.”

Stacey almost dropped the bottles. “Seriously?”

Conlon grinned and nodded. “Your reaction comes from being raised human. I’m not that old. How many of the ancients have you met?”

Stacey thought about it while she washed and conditioned her hair. “Well, I just met Eros. I don’t know. How can you tell the difference?”

“Oh, you’ll know as soon as you spend any time around one.” He chuckled. “The ones you’ll see the most are Eros, Innanna the Presiding Oracle, and Herme the High Ones Panel healer, who was here last night, although we never found out why.”

“He was the one who was with … Mick, right?” It felt so weird to say the name of the male from so long ago. Weird to even know his name.

Conlon narrowed his eyes when Stacey said Mick’s name. “Your reaction to him seemed … odd.”

Odd was an understatement. Stacey pulled the plug on the drain and took the towel that Conlon handed her to wrap up her hair. She dried her body by heating it till the water steamed away. “How much do you really want to know about my time in the breeding lab?”

“Mick was at the breeding compound? You knew him personally while you were there?” Conlon’s fists balled at his sides with anger. Why? Stacey nodded, confused about Conlon’s reaction. It wasn’t like he didn’t know where she’d been. “That might explain all the threats against you. Tell me all of it.”

“Why would that explain the threats?”

Conlon gritted his teeth. “Because Mick is Osiris’s son. Since Mick defected to the SOSC, Osiris has gone to great extremes to destroy the kid. What was your level of contact with him?”

Holy freaking henna, Mick was Osiris’s son! Stacey swallowed the lump of fear that rose in her throat. “A lot. He was assigned to me during my Becoming. I thought he was Johnny’s father until the healers told me Hulven males are sterile.”

“Mick!” Conlon yanked open the bathroom door with a fury. The tangible aura of murderous rage confused the shit out of her.

Stacey dashed past him, reaching the bedroom first and placing herself between him and the bedroom door. A feral growl emitted from his throat and his dentes erupted fully. In full, fierce warrior mode, Conlon looked the deadly predator of his true nature. Primal … erotic. Stacey blocked his path. “Why are you being a jackass?”

“Mick raped you!”

Stacey stood her ground, barring him from leaving the bedroom and meeting Conlon's misplaced rage head on. She placed a gentle restraining hand on his chest until Conlon tried to shove her out of his way.
Oh, hell no!
Heat caused her hands to shimmer when she shoved him back, adding kinetic energy to the impact, leaving his T-shirt smoldering. She pushed him closer to the bed. The fury of Conlon’s gaze never left her face as he released a roar of frustration that shook the walls. It took every effort not to cover her ears as his frustration bounced against the walls. Stacey had never heard anything like it. It should have been terrifying, yet the female part of her found it way too stimulating.

She stepped into his chest despite the threatening look on his face. “He didn't—”

Conlon interrupted, defiantly meeting her gaze. “I'll kill the bastard,” he bellowed, trying to step around her.

He was beyond listening to reason. Stacey reached up and placed her hands to his cheeks. “Listen to me or I’m going to burn you again. And then give you the silent treatment for the rest of your life.” Conlon clenched his jaw and crossed his defined arms over the smoking spots on his shirt. “I’m serious, Conlon. No making love and real conversations.” At least he gave her a single nod, indicating he would listen.

Now she scrambled with where to begin. One thing she was sure of … his stiffness would not do. Using her eyes to dare him, she wrapped her arms around his waist. He gave her a look of surprise and placed his hands gently to her hips. She could think of far better things she'd like to do to him rather than talk, especially about this subject. “Conlon, I wasn't raped … not by Mick. We had sex, but it wasn’t rape. Far from it, actually. I don’t remember being raped by anyone. I figured someone had raped me only because the healers told me Mick couldn't be Johnny's father, not because I remember being with anyone else.” Stacey saw a flash of jealousy in Conlon’s eyes. Much as she’d like to spare Conlon’s feeling she had to tell him the truth. Mick didn't deserve Conlon’s anger.

“When I started Becoming, a male sat with me during it. He was … nice. I felt
attracted
to him. He told me what was happening to me, even shared his personal experience of Becoming. He told me about being Volaticus, about the Tellus and Aquatie, too. His job was to let the leader know if and when I went into estrus so they could breed me. He was honest about it. I was prepared when it finally hit. But he didn’t tell them; he stayed with me, eased it for me, and held me when I slept. He told me my estrus only lasted a few hours. I don’t remember anyone else ever entering my cell. I didn't know his name and I never thought I'd see him again until Mick walked up to us yesterday.”

“He took advantage of you while you were in estrus. That is still considered rape, Stacey. Rapist weren’t given clemency.” Conlon's anger hadn't cooled in the least. Stacey could feel her internal temperature rise also. The windows were beginning to fog. Conlon's hands were turning red at her hips.

“Maybe it was just estrus, I don’t know, but I was drawn to him before my estrus started, not the powerful way I am to you, but the fundamental pull to him was remarkably similar. Conlon, I need you to hear me. Mick—Did Not—Rape Me. If he had, I’d kill him myself. Think about it … I’m not
that nice
.” She watched as the edge of his lip twitched at the reminder.

Conlon's eyes fell closed and he placed his forehead to hers, releasing a long sigh. “I should be glad you don’t remember the rape, and I hate that you were in one of those cages to begin with.” He whispered the confession. “You had
no
early signs of being Hulven?”

This should make future difficult conversation a piece of cake, right?
Stacey silently prayed. “My family’s wealth afforded me a private physician, exclusive schools, private jets. I got nosebleeds once in a while, and I had heavy menstruation, but that was it. I think it was a nosebleed that brought me to the rogues’ notice. The day before they raided my home, I got a nosebleed while leaving one of my father’s offices. Looking back, I think they followed me home and decided the risk if they were wrong and I were human was worth the reward if I turned out to be Hulven. They breached the security and killed most of our guards before they gained access. Once inside, two of them killed my parents while one restrained me. I pretended to be a maid, just like my father taught me to should I ever be kidnapped. I had to keep quiet and not call out to them as I watched them die.” Conlon's warm thumb wiped the tears from her cheek. She was crying. Damn it. Why was she telling all this rather than an abbreviated version? She'd only meant to tell him the truth about Mick. “Sometimes I still have nightmares.” Conlon pinched his eyes closed. “You can’t blame Mick, Conlon. He did nothing wrong. If anything … I think he saved me,” Stacey pleaded.

Conlon whispered, “He’s actually a pretty amazing guy. I’ve grown to respect him tremendously. Are you still attracted to Mick?” It was doubtful Conlon wanted her to hear the vulnerability in his voice.

Stacey steeled herself, cradled Conlon’s face between her palms so he would look her in the eyes. “Whose arms am I in, Conlon?”

Conlon didn’t push her to say words she wasn’t ready to. He kissed her hard arching her back over his forearm to get closer. Stacey felt her temperature spike. When he stepped back and broke the kiss Stacey could see blisters rapidly healing along his arms. She needed to get her ability under control.

“I’m supposed to meet Cassie at the playground. Do you know where it is?”

Conlon smiled. “Yeah.”

Chapter Eighteen

She felt like a goofy teenager walking hand in hand with Conlon through the homes and buildings. Not that she wanted to pull her hand from his … far from it. The clang of metal on metal reached her ears from beyond the edge of structures where a huge field opened up. Warriors of every species sparred, some with weapons, some without. Stacey had watched her guards “practice” in her yard many times, but it was nothing like this.