Forgotten (37 page)

Probably.

The lights went out again with absolutely no
warning and they were plunged into darkness. Apparently their
middle of the night adventure was over—it was time to sleep once
more.

Chapter
Nineteen

“
Up and on your feet, you
pathetic maggots.”

The ringing voice in her ear made Kate jump
up in a blind panic, pulling the sheet tight around her. She heard
a shout and a thump from behind her and realized, too late, that
Rone had fallen through the couch they had been sleeping on the
minute she jumped up. Looking over, she saw him sitting in front of
the couch and rubbing his head.

“
Sorry,” she said
apologetically. “I just—that voice—it startled me.”

“
Yeah, I heard it too.” He
craned his neck, peering around. “Where did it come from,
anyway?”

“
I am speaking to you from
everywhere and nowhere,” the disembodied voice said, loudly enough
to make Kate jump again.

“
Madam Shadow?” she asked,
frowning.

“
Yes, you have the
pleasure of addressing the Madam of Shadows,” the sneering, haughty
voice replied. “Now listen—putting you together has not had the
desired effect. You are still out of harmony with each
other.”

“
If you think that just
forcing us to…to touch each other all the time will solve all our
problems you’ve got a lot of wrong ideas in your head,” Kate
snapped.

“
On the contrary, my dear,
that is
exactly
what will solve your problems and bring the two of you back
into harmony,” the Madam of Shadows said. “But clearly you cannot
be trusted to do what needs to be done yourselves.”

“
All we want to do is get
out of here,” Rone said, looking up at the domed ceiling. “You’ve
rid Kate of the fear toxins and we’re very grateful for that but we
can take it from here.”

“
Rone is right—we think
it’s time to leave,” Kate chimed in.

Soft, malevolent laughter filled the air
around them.

“
Do you think it is that
easy, my darlings? Do you think that once you have committed
yourselves to the Shadow you can simply
leave
at any time you wish to? I
think not.”

“
You can’t hold us here
against our will,” Rone growled.

“
Oh no?” She laughed
again. “Read the contract the two of you signed in your own blood.
I can hold the two of you here until I consider your relationship
healed—and it most certainly is
not
healed yet.”

“
We’re paying customers,”
Kate insisted. “Or anyway, the Kindred High Council is paying and
we want to go
now.”

“
Exactly—they are paying
for Flame and Frost to restore the two of you to your previous
harmonious relationship,” Madam Shadow snapped. “Which has not yet
been done. I intend to see that you are restored no matter
what
it
takes.”

“
But—” Kate
began.

“
So after you have had
your breakfast and put on the clothing provided for you, I will be
coming to escort you to our exercise suite,” Madam Shadow went on,
ignoring her.

“
Exercise? What kind of
exercise?” Rone asked suspiciously.

“
Just some harmony
building exercises, my dear Warrior, nothing to be concerned
about,” the Madam said breezily. “Now hurry up! I will be coming to
collect the two of you very soon.” There was a soft clicking noise
and the voice fell silent.

Kate looked at Rone.

“
What should we do? Should
we go with her?” she asked in a low voice.

He frowned. “Come closer—I wish we still had
our link so we could communicate without speaking out loud.”

“
You think she’s
listening?” Kate murmured, taking a step towards him.

“
I wouldn’t be surprised.
Let’s just keep our voices down.”

“
So what
are
we going to do?”
Kate breathed. “I vote for trying to get out of here.”

“
I suppose we could just
run like the Seven Hells the minute she opens the door to this
damned place,” Rone murmured.

“
They’re probably prepared
for that, though,” Kate pointed out. “I bet a lot of people want to
get out of here once they find out what they’ve gotten themselves
into.”

“
True.” He nodded. “Okay,
I say we go with her—for now. But if we see a chance to make a
break for it, we take it. And once we’re out of this room, I don’t
want to be forced back inside it.”

“
I agree.” Kate shivered.
“I don’t want to spend another night here. I want to go back to our
ship.”

For some reason, Rone smiled at her.

“
What?” she asked, putting
a hand on her hip. “Did I say something funny?”

“
No.” He shook his head.
“I just like how you said ‘our’ ship. It’s nice to hear you talking
about it like you belong there—because you
do.”

Kate sighed and took a
step back from him. “Honestly right now, I don’t know
where
I belong. I only
know it isn’t here.”

“
I’ll second that. Come
on—let’s go get dressed.”

“
You want some breakfast
first?” Kate asked, speaking in a normal tone now. “Personally, I
never want anything before eleven AM but—”

“
Green tea. I know—I think
I saw some in the cabinet,” Rone said.

“
Oh—where?” Kate was
already digging through the cabinets and soon enough she saw it—the
Green Genmaicha tea that was her favorite breakfast. It had roasted
rice kernels in it that made it taste nutty and rich—almost like
the Cream of Wheat hot breakfast cereal her mom had made her
growing up. That was probably why she liked it so much—but
unfortunately, just now it was out of reach. The familiar round tin
sat on the highest shelf, about a foot higher than her seeking
fingertips.

“
Here, let me.” Rone came
and stood right behind her, reaching up to get the round tea tin
with ease. “Here, you go,” he rumbled, holding it out to
her.

“
Oh…thank you.” Kate
turned around to take it and found they were face to face or rather
face to chest, since he was so much taller than her. But he was
leaning down to look at her and his mouth was in easy reach—close
enough to kiss.

“
No problem,
Lalli,”
he
murmured.

Despite all the intimate situations they’d
been put in during their brief visit to Flame and Frost, Kate still
felt her cheeks getting hot and her breath coming short. Damn it,
why did the big Kindred have such an immediate and intense effect
on her?

“
Uh…” She tried to laugh
in order to lighten the tension. “So is this our normal morning
routine at home? I mean, literally falling out of bed and then me
making tea?”

“
No. Normally I wake you
up with my tongue buried between your thighs,” he said softly, his
eyes flashing. “After that, we get up and have breakfast and start
our day.”

“
Rone…” Her heart started
slamming against her chest again.
I don’t
like that. I don’t want to do that,
she
told herself.
Not after what happened in
college…
But if that was the truth why
were her nipples so hard under the sheet she was still wearing
wrapped around her? And why did her pussy suddenly feel so hot and
sensitive?

“
Sorry.” He shrugged and
gave her a lazy grin. “You asked what our morning routine was. I
always kissed you awake—the same way I kissed you to sleep at
night.”

“
I…I don’t see how I could
possibly go to sleep if you were, uh, kissing me
there.”
Kate clutched
the tea tin to her chest protectively, feeling her cheeks get even
hotter.

“
Well, you wouldn’t be
sleepy at
first,”
he murmured. “But after I made you come two or three times
with my mouth, you’d start to relax and your eyelids would get
heavy.” He sighed. “Gods, I miss that—lying there between your
legs, cleaning away all your honey with long, slow licks of my
tongue as you drifted off to sleep.”

Kate tried to imagine feeling comfortable
enough to just lie there in bed and let him lick her while she went
to sleep and couldn’t. Just the thought of having him there,
between her thighs, made her feel so tense she could barely
breathe.

“
I…I just d-don’t know,”
she stuttered.

“
Don’t believe me? Here.”
Rone took her hand and brought it up to the side of his face. She
could feel the rough scratch of his whiskers against her palm and
the softness of his black hair. “Read me. Use your Knowing to see
the truth of what I’m telling you,” he urged.

“
I…I shouldn’t.” But Kate
found she couldn’t move her hand.

Suddenly an image filled her mind…

She was back in the bedroom of the ship they
shared, watching a vision of herself in the past. The past Kate was
sitting at the head of the bed, wearing a short white lace nighty
and reading a book. Just then, Rone came into the room wearing a
pair of sleep trousers and nothing else. His broad, muscular chest
looked smooth and hard and inviting. Kate immediately wanted to run
her hands all over him—to touch him and feel connected to him.

No,
she told herself uneasily.
That may
be how I felt then but I don’t feel that way now. Do I?

“
Bedtime, Lalli,” Rone
murmured, smiling down at the past Kate. “Are you ready for your
goodnight kiss?”

“
Of course.” To her
surprise, Kate saw her past self raise the lace hem of the nighty
to well above her belly button and spread her legs with absolutely
no shame at all. She wasn’t wearing panties so her pussy was fully
on display with its little mound of red curls. And when she spread
her thighs wider, the pink outer lips opened, showing her slippery
interior, already glistening with her juices.

“
Mmm…just look at that
soft little pussy, all ready for a goodnight kiss.” Rone’s deep
voice was a low, lustful growl. “And already so hot and wet,
baby.”

“
Just for you,” Past Kate
agreed with a naughty little smile. “Come and get it,
sugar.”

She didn’t have to ask Rone twice. He lay
full-length on the bed in front of her and buried his face between
her legs. He was gentle at first, kissing her outer lips softly and
lapping at her inner thighs. Then the Kate in the vision put a hand
on his head and pushed him down, shamelessly demanding more.

The big Kindred wasn’t shy about giving her
what she wanted. He redoubled his efforts, sucking her outer pussy
lips into his mouth in a slow, teasing way first and then, when she
moaned softly, spreading her with his thumbs to lap the sensitive
inside of her pussy and bathe her clit with his tongue.

Kate watched, both horrified and intrigued
as Past Kate moaned and bucked her hips up, her hands tightening in
the big Kindred’s hair.

“
Oh God, Rone,
yes,”
she gasped. “Right
there—keep it
right there.
I’m so close!”

Kate shook her head. It was clear her past
self wasn’t just tolerating this—she was eager for it and
completely enjoying it. And Rone was loving it too. He went down on
her, tasting her pussy as though he couldn’t get enough of her. His
broad shoulders split her thighs wide and Past Kate writhed under
him, pulling his hair and calling his name like she just couldn’t
get enough.

Just look at him,
Kate thought, watching the scene with awe and
uncertainty as the Rone in the vision lapped and sucked her past
self.
He’s licking me like I’m his
favorite flavor in the whole world!
But
how could that be? After what Greg Compton had said back in
college…

“
Your pussy
is
my favorite flavor.”
Rone’s deep, rumbling voice pulled Kate out of the vision and she
opened her eyes to see him standing in front of her, his eyes half
lidded with lust.

“
Oh!” She jerked her hand
away from the side of his face. “How did you—did you read my
thoughts?”

He shook his head. “I wish. That isn’t
possible until our bond is restored. You said it out loud.”

“
I did?” Kate felt
incredibly vulnerable. “I, uh, didn’t mean to.”

“
Do you believe me now?”
he asked, looking at her earnestly. “You know the Knowing doesn’t
lie to you. I’m telling the truth, baby.”

“
I know.” She couldn’t
look at him anymore. Her heart was pounding and she needed to get
some space…some air so she could breathe properly. “Excuse me,” she
said, pushing past him. “I…I really want some tea.”

“
Sure, baby.” He sighed
again. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just wanted you to
know I wasn’t making all this up. I know it probably sounds kind of
strange to you.”

“
No, it’s fine,” Kate
lied. “I asked about our routine. It’s just, uh, hard to imagine I
was so comfortable letting you do
that
to me.” But she had been—in the
vision she’d been positively
eager
to let him taste her. How had she gotten to that
point?