Lissa Kasey - Dominion 3 - Conviction (11 page)

“Mhmm.”
Exploring the whole breadth of it had him writhing beneath me. I watched his body tighten and gripped him to deliver strokes in time to the play I gave him. The way that thick flesh slid over his head and back again was erotic enough to nearly make me come. Damn, what was I missing out on?
The sound of the slick flesh, moving smoothly with the help of his precum and my spit, made me want to jump him. He growled at me when I eased back just before I was sure he would come.
“I think we should come together this time.”
“Then you best get up here.”
“I won’t last long.” Shimmying out of my pajamas in a hurry, I hoped this was really going to happen. I crawled up beside him, and he turned toward me, pulling me tight against his warm flesh, pressing us together. Surprisingly, he kissed me, tongue delving deep as he wrapped one hand around both of us. I’d never noticed how large his hands were before. Now the feel of them on me made my cock leak precum and twitch with wanting.
We broke away from the kiss, both panting and thrusting against each other. The friction built up fast, like a geyser getting ready to bust. His chest felt so hot against mine. His short hairs making my nipples hard and dick like stone.
His free hand yanked my hips against his, hard enough to hurt, but it added to the grinding friction. He gripped one of my ass cheeks to press us together.
“Jamie—”
Our precum mixed and helped lube the way between us. He finally let us go, grabbed my other butt cheek, and mashed our bodies together. I writhed against him, feeling the pleasure well up and spurt between us, like some kind of liquid fire. He gasped and shot too, still humping me and pressing us together.
Finally we lay in the sticky warmth of each other, both breathing like we’d run a marathon, arms and legs tangled, but relaxed. “You really have done this sort of thing before, haven’t you?” I mumbled against Jamie’s chest.
“Long time ago. College.” He paused, then said, “The first time around.”
“I’m the jealous type. Don’t tell me.”
Jamie laughed, which made me hard again.
“Jeez.” How that little sound could make me hard so fast was unbelievable.
“Youth.”
“Not up for another round, old man?”
“Not right now. Maybe later.” He put some space between us and glared at the drying cum. “I haven’t come that hard in years.”
“Blue balls.”
“I hardly think they’re blue.”
“Not anymore.” I winked at him and rolled over to my side of the bed to grab the blankets. “Nap with me.”
Jamie sighed but wrapped himself around me. “You’re sure Sei and Gabe are all right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” And we both went back to sleep.

W
AKING
up with him again was a lot like paradise. But the warmth of the room had me sweltering. I looked up and realized the light in the bathroom was on. Did we have power?

The room was warm too, like the heat was working. Maybe the storm had stopped. A glance out the window brought the realization that it was daytime, and just like most days, the storm would lessen during the day and grow worse at night.

Jamie finally roused beside me. “It’s hot in here,” he grumbled, not opening his eyes.
“The power is back on.”
That got him to wake up. He glanced at the side table, rolled over, and reached to flick on the light. When it worked, we both nearly leapt from the bed in the direction of the bathroom.
“Share a shower?” I asked him.
“No, we need food. You go first. I’ll go find out what’s going on downstairs.”

I tried not to show my disappointment and bent over to turn the water in the tub on to test for warmth. By the time the temperature was right and I pulled the lever for the shower, I realized Jamie hadn’t left yet.

“Invitation is still open,” I told him and wiggled my bare ass for his benefit.
He groaned but left the bathroom. I watched him hopping into his jeans while I stepped under the warm spray and tugged the curtain closed. After the door to the room had opened and closed, I jerked off to the memory of this morning’s escapade, unable to keep the smile off my face.
The happy feeling that almost made my feet float lasted until I’d gotten to the kitchen to find Jamie and food. Cat was all over him, feeding him bits of a cut up apple. Didn’t he get that he should be wary of everyone? Someone had poisoned Seiran. Maybe they were after all of us. I guess our one little interlude didn’t make us a couple. He could at least act like I hadn’t been an “only option” moment.
I stomped across the room, grabbed a spare bowl and an unopened box of cereal that sat on the counter. Jamie shot me a raised-brow look while I poured myself a bowl and began eating it without milk. The jug was open and half full. What if someone put something in that?
“Did you or Con get sick at all last night, Cat?” I asked curiously.
“No, why? Are you not feeling well?” She stepped back, putting some distance between herself and Jamie. “Are you coming downwith something?”
“What was for dinner last night?”

“We had vegetable stew with pasta salad. The cook made it.”
Jamie seemed to catch on. “Did Seiran eat that too?”
“Both he and his
friend
were down for dinner, yes.”
I ignored her comment about Gabe, wondering if she had a problem with vampires or homosexuals, which made me think she might not like Con much either. “Who brought him food?”
“We all ate at the table in the main dining hall. The food was already out.” She looked between Jamie and me, then cut another piece of apple for him. I chewed on the dry cereal and tried to focus on the issue at hand rather than my irritation.
Cat dropped a piece, and Jamie scooped it up and fed it to her. Her tongue lashed out to lick his fingers. His deep chuckle said he wasn’t upset about it.
I growled at him, grabbed the box of cereal, and headed back to our room. So much for a good morning, though it was almost noon.

Mrs. Gossner stopped me on the stairs with a hand on my arm. “I haven’t seen the little one yet. Is he coming down for breakfast?”

“No. He’s not feeling well, so he’s getting some sleep. I’m going to bring him some cereal, though.” I held up the box still in my grasp. “We’ll make sure he eats.”

Her smile was tight, but she nodded. “Do you want me to send up some milk? Now that the generators are running we can use the fridge again. I don’t think any of it spoiled.”

I didn’t want to touch anything that was open, but telling her that would be rude. “Nah, it will just sour his stomach. He’ll probably be fine later anyway. What time is dinner?”

“We’ll be there.” I nodded to her and continued up the stairs.
Constantine waited outside my room. I couldn’t contain my sigh, but maybe if we just rehashed some shit he’d get the point and leave me alone. I opened the door to my room and held it for Con. His eyes widened, but he followed me inside. Not like he had a chance to beat me up unless he had chloroform in his pocket. Three years of martial arts training could do wonders for a man’s self-confidence.
I grabbed a handful of the cereal and handed it to him. He took it and munched absently. With the door closed, he seemed nervous. “We heard that you left yesterday.”
“Just forgot something at the cabin. No biggie.”
“The gym bunny followed you. Are you a couple?”
“He’s all over your sister right now. You tell me.” I put the cereal box down and shuffled through my things for a magazine I hadn’t read. Maybe the storm really was over, and we could just wait for rescue. I certainly wasn’t a super sleuth and wanted to just go home. We’d file a police report, tell them about the rangers who were dead and the attempted poisoning, maybe even the sabotage of the snowmobiles.
Con crossed the room and sat beside me on the bed. “So why can’t we try again? We were good together. I felt like a real person when I was with you.”

Yeah, I remembered that about Con. He had sometimes been sweet but almost always manipulative.
We’d spent most of the weekend in the woods, mostly naked, pretending to be wild men and fucking as much as we could. The last day, I stood in waist-high water, bathing and fishing all at once. Con wore shorts and bent over the fire near our campsite, coaxing the coals to flare back to life. The dragon tattoo had color now and made him look so hot in the midday light.
“You going to catch anything or stare all day?”

I felt my face flush and looked back into the water. Curious fish darted around me, some large enough to feed us both. Staying still was key. Their big mouths would dart up for air, and if they were close enough, I could grab one or two.

Movement on the shore brought my attention up. Con peered into the woods, and a moment later his dad stepped through the shrubbery. We were on their land, but there were acres of it. I wondered how he found us. He and Con exchanged a few words, then he turned around and left the area. The stiffness of Con’s shoulders made me think that something had gone wrong. Maybe something had happened to his mom.

I waded toward the shore, thinking we’d get through it, whatever it was. We had each other. “Everything okay?”
He turned back my way and gave me a tight smile. “We should head back.”
“Okay. Give me a few to pack everything up.” I tugged on my shorts and a shirt and stuffed everything in my bag. He doused the fire and tied his bundle of things before we headed into the heavy woods.

The tension ate at me the whole way. He said nothing, didn’t even look at me, just hiked a few feet ahead. My heart raced in fear. Had his family found out about us? We already snuck around a lot. I couldn’t imagine having to take further steps to hide from them.
“Con? Talk to me, please.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Did they find out about us?”
“I said it’s nothing.”
“Maybe it’s a good thing. We don’t have to hide anymore.

That would be great, right?”
He stopped, swung around, and snarled at me, “It’s none
of your fucking business.”
I couldn’t keep from flinching. “What the hell is wrong
with you? I just want to help.”
“You’re what’s wrong with me. I’m tired of toting your
queer ass around, pretending to like all that shit. I’m done
with you.” He whipped back around and stomped down the
trail toward home.
Stunned was hardly the right word for what I felt in that
moment. Broken, maybe. Confused. Lost. And numb. We’d
done so much together. Stopped using condoms months ago,
spent endless days together, and he said he loved me a
thousand times. Yet it all just felt like white noise, distant,
unapproachable, and empty.
I don’t know how long it took me to get back to the house,
but I didn’t bother going to the door. After throwing everything
in my car, I hopped in and turned the key. The hum ran
through my bones like a jackhammer. I backed out of the
drive, and the tears didn’t start until I pulled into the
driveway of my parents’ home.
My mom sat on the porch looking sad. She patted the
swing seat next to her, and I all but fell beside her, letting my
tears wet her shoulder. So this is what everyone meant about the doomed first love. His words rolled over and over in my
head, while every bit of me kept saying, “But I love him.” “Did he tell you?” my mother asked softly.
“He said he’s not gay and doesn’t want me.” I fought
back the tears now, dragging my T-shirt bottom across my
face and cursing myself for the weakness.
“Ann is pregnant.”
The words made it hard to breathe. Pregnant? He’d said
he was just pretending with her, keeping up appearances.
Hell, obviously he didn’t care much for protected sex. God, I
felt so empty and betrayed. My mom rubbed my back like she
knew, and maybe she did. I damned myself for being so
blind, but he wouldn’t win. He wouldn’t destroy me. I was
stronger than that.
And I had been. Years of martial arts training, countless
meaningless relationships, and pulling away from the world
kept the hurt out. Until Brock introduced me to Seiran.
Seiran, whose smile was honest and trust so hard won. We
were two of a kind, he and I. And we weren’t defeated. Con rubbed my back like he had so many years ago.
The betrayal still stung more than I thought it would have.
I’d tested every two months after our relationship ended,
fearing what he could have given me. Any encounters I
initiated were practiced with a high level of caution. It’d been
three years, I told myself; he had no power over me anymore.
The ache in my chest now was all about Jamie, and that was
so much different than what I felt for Con.
That day when Jamie was shot and Sei taken, I thought
I would die. The world had become this dizzying spiral that
threatened to pull me down into madness. And those days that I searched for Sei, I’d bordered on it. Jamie, barely breathing and stuck in a hospital bed, begged me to find Sei. His heartbreak had been mine, and I did all I could to bring
our little brother home.
I closed my eyes and realized it was really true. Sei was
the brother of my heart. Jamie meant more to me than he
should. And that feeling that had been infatuation for Con so
long ago had vanished.
“Don’t you want to try again?”
Was he for real? “You hit on Seiran! You haven’t
changed at all from the whoring bastard you were when we
were teens.”
“I was lonely. He’s attractive. I think everyone has heard
rumors about how easy he is. I didn’t know you were here.” Excuses. Always. “Seiran and Gabe are exclusive. And
I’m not looking to relive the hell of high school, thanks. I’d
hate for you to have to tote my queer ass around.” I pulled
away from him and threw myself into the chair. Then
something else occurred to me. “You’re Dominion, right? You
and your sister. Have either of you tested?”
“Males don’t test. Cat has. She’sa three.”
“I tested. Seiran tested. We’re both level five. He’s earth,
I’m water. What element are you?”
“Air. Just like eighty percent of all Dominion families.
Ordinary, dull, weak, air.” He sounded more than a little
bitter.
“Air can do some pretty heavy damage when combined
with water.” I gestured to the window and the snow piled up
outside. “Like create a blizzard.”
“I can barely make the wind blow. Cat could probably
push around some clouds, but we’ve had three days of this
blizzard. Neither of us have that kind of power.”
Their whole relationship was a mystery to me. I knew
why Jamie traveled with Gabe and Seiran. Most families
weren’t as close as they were. Even if Sei tried to deny it.
“Why are you here with your sister?”
He shrugged and looked around the room as if it
interested him. “She broke up with her boyfriend. I thought
the trip would get her mind off him. He was bad for her
anyway. A cop. So always away and kind of a rough sort of
guy. My aunt and uncle said we could stay as long as we
wanted for free.”
“Aunt and uncle?”
“The Gossners.”
“Are they Dominion?” I hadn’t sensed any power from
either of them, but if they weren’t water, I wasn’t likely to.
They’d both been pretty nice to all of us, and I was becoming
a paranoid bastard.
“No. Hans is my mom’s brother. He married a nonDominion girl.”
And that meant he was no longer Dominion, since he
hadn’t done his duty to bear a Dominion child. The laws
were so messed up sometimes. Jamie was in the same
predicament. If he married a non-Dominion girl he would
have a hard time doing anything with his very Dominion
focused brother and sister. I didn’t want him to marry any
girl at all.
“We could be good. Cat is happy around your friend.
When she’s happy she doesn’t cling to me so much. You and
I can try again.”
I got up and walked toward the window. How many
years had my heart ached for him? How many scenarios had
I thought of to get him back? And for what? To be some
secret lover in a long line? “What happened to your baby?
The one Ann was going to have?”
“It was a boy,” he said quietly. “She aborted as soon as
she found out.”
Damn Dominion laws. “I’m sorry.”
He didn’t rise from his spot on the bed. I leaned against
the wall.
“It’s been a few years, so it doesn’t hurt as much. I will
probably never have children now. Catherine doesn’t want
any, despite what our parents say. So I can’t even live
through her babies.”
Having discovered my homosexuality in my teen years,
I’d had time to accept I wouldn’t have children. And not
being a part of one of the top families in the water
aristocracy meant that I wouldn’t be forced to have them
since I had sisters. Though I wondered if that would change
now that I had tested as a level five. “I’m sorry. Seiran is
having a baby through a surrogate. I’ll be happy if he lets me
see the kid once in a while.”
“Were you and he lovers?” His eyes searched mine, pain
there. Maybe he really had missed me.
“No. Just friends. He’s my best friend.”
“The prince of the earth witches. I saw you on the news
with him after the kidnapping and got so jealous. Never expected to run into you up here. In fact, I said yes to Catherine’s request because I wanted to get away from the
memories of what I’d fucked up.”
“You and I weren’t meant to be.” Shaping a new life with
my new family was really making me anticipate what life had
in store for me. I wondered if Jamie would even consider a
relationship with me. He could have a baby through a
surrogate like Sei had. We could work it out, somehow. “You left because of the baby?” Con asked. “I told you I
was sorry for those things I said.”
“I left because all you would give me was sex, and I
wanted love.”
He let out a heavy sigh.
“There was a time when sex was all that mattered. But
I’m not a kid anymore. I have friends I love, my own little
makeshift family.” Did I love Jamie yet? Maybe. Either way, I
was a careful guy, and I could keep myself from falling too
hard. No need to be hurt again.
“And if I gave you all of me now? Told you I loved you?”
Con sounded desperate.
“Too little, too late.” I folded my arms across my chest
and frowned at his sorrowful look.
“I never got over you. When you left and then they killed
my baby, I thought I would die. Even checked into a mental
institution for a few months.” My expression must have been
questioning because he continued. “I was cutting. The last
time I nearly died.” He pushed up his sleeves and showed me
the myriad of scars that crisscrossed his arms. “That’s when
I went to rehab. Sometimes the need is still there. Like the
pain will help. But I know it won’t.” He stretched and got up from the bed. “Then when Cat heard last month that her guy was not coming back, she began to do it. I was terrified she’d travel that same road I had. When my aunt offered this trip I
thought it’d be a way to save her.”
“Has she done it while you’re here?” I spent a lot of time
studying psychology now that I’d met Seiran. Issues inside
the head were often more damaging than a physical one
could be. His panic attacks were brutal and sometimes
painful for everyone.
“I don’t know. She rarely comes to our room. When we
were at the cabin she’d spend hours out by herself. I figured
she just needed the time away. But I don’t see any marks.” Just because he didn’t see them, didn’t mean she’d
stopped. I thought of Jamie and wondered if he knew, but
thinking of him fooling around with her just made a sharp
pang of jealousy run through me. Why I figured jacking off
with him gave me ownership in any way, I didn’t know. “Once we all get out of here, you should get her help.” He nodded, looking miserable. I felt like an ass for being
so mean to him before. Sure, we would never be lovers again,
but that didn’t mean we couldn’t be friends. Not if he was
out. He really looked like he needed a friend.
I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the door. “Maybe I
can talk to her. Get a feel for it.”
He looked indecisive for a minute, then said, “Okay. I’m
just down the hall.”
But I led him out of my room and headed in the
direction I’d seen him go the other night. “Which one are
you?”
He motioned to the one at the end on the left then
pulled his key out of his pocket. I watched him open the door
and shove it open. He peered inside. “She’s not here.” The room was empty, somewhat messy, but had double
beds. He looked back at me again like he wanted to say
something else. Then he just grabbed me and pulled me into
the room, his arms wrapped around me in an awkward hug.
The door banged shut, but he didn’t let go.
When he eased up enough to free my arms I hugged him
back, patting his back and saying nice things like, “You’ll be
okay,” and, “Everything will work out.”
Ten minutes had probably passed before he finally let
me go, sniffed, and looked away. “Sorry.”
I held my hands up. “Hey, we all have our breaking
point. Maybe you should let your sister know how worried
you are.”
“She never listens to me.”
“Do they ever?” I had enough siblings to know better. He chuckled lightly. “No, they really don’t, do they?” “We probably don’t listen to them much either.” “No.”
“I should go.” I turned back to the door.
“Kelly?” He gripped my hand.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” I left his room and headed back to
mine.