Mating Call (13 page)

Troy opened his eyes and reached for his female. About two seconds more and she was gonna accomplish exactly what she was tryin’ to. He drew her up and lifted her easily, starting for the bed and kicking off his boots and jeans as he went. She shivered when he laid her across the bed.

“Are you cold?”

“No,” she whispered.

He covered part of her body with his just in case and closed his eyes as skin met skin. He took in the feeling, savoring it. When he looked at her again, she was smiling.

She reached up and touched the side of his face. “Open yourself to me.”

He hesitated. Last time he’d done that before he took her it was so overwhelming he could barely tell his own feelings from hers.

She looked at him like she could tell what he was thinking. “It’s okay.”

He took a deep breath and let her in. All at once he was invaded by the most intense pleasures. Love, beauty, sex. All of it magnified. He gasped. “What….”

She ran her hands up his chest and down along his back. “It’s the essence of the Goddess. Let me share it with you.”

She kissed him and his whole body responded. His erection hit between her thighs and she arched for him. He slipped his arm under her, pulling her closer to his mouth. He leaned down, teasing first one nipple then the other with his tongue. Her skin was so incredibly soft. He reached down and cupped her core with his hand. Oh, God, she was drenched. Lust took him over completely. He waited ‘til their eyes were locked before he lifted one of her legs and drew back his hips. They both groaned as he entered her in one beautiful motion. He pulled back and surged again, taking it as slowly and controlled as he could. She was so tight, her core enveloping him as he stretched her. Raw heat pulsed through his body; sweat broke out all over his skin. His reserve broke when instinct took over and all reason was lost.

Ilah.

Mine.

He held her by the shoulders and pounded into her. She took everything he had over and over until she cried out and he felt the pulses of her release. His strength left him as he went over the edge and he dropped down on his elbows, his breath ragged as he filled her over and over.

When he’d caught his breath and his vision cleared he looked down and realized Evy’s head was on something brown.
What the hell?
He’d fucked her right onto the bedside table for Chrissakes.
Nice.

Evy leaned up as Troy gently reached around her back and slipped his hand under her shoulder blades so he could move her to a pillow.

He kissed her temple. “I’m so sorry.”

She laughed. “That’s okay. I obviously didn’t mind.”

Or notice, was more like it.

Troy pulled the duvet over them and she snuggled against him.

“Hey, how did you know that was the Goddess’s… What was it? Her essence? ‘Cause it felt more like an aphrodisiac on steroids.”

She laughed. “Well, she is the Goddess of Love. I’m not sure exactly how I knew. I mean, how do you know it’s your second soul when you feel it?”

“Is that why you watch the moon so much? The Goddess?”

She put her chin on his chest. “I can sense her better then. Her power emanates from it, I think.”

He picked up an extra pillow and put it behind him. “Can you control when your eyes get all pearly like that?”

“You mean like this?” She focused for a minute until she felt a warm sensation behind her eyes.

“Now see? That shit’s just not fair. Mine give me away the minute you walk in the room.”

“Like right now?”

“Aw, man.” He put the extra pillow in front of his face.

She giggled, reached up, and pulled it down. “Don’t hide them. I think they’re beautiful. Besides, they’re part of the reason we’re together. Okay, my turn to ask a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Did you really punch Mike Lavelle in the face for sneaking in the girl’s locker room to watch me get undressed?”

He gave her a cocky grin. “I might’ve.”

She smiled. “I thought that was just a rumor.”

“Nope.”

She kissed his shoulder. “Thanks for defending my honor.”

He pulled her on top of him, wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. “I love you, Evelyn O’Donnell.”

“I love you, too.” She let herself drift off in the warm safety of his arms.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Seth waited in the shadows of Mason Street. It was almost light out and he’d been freezing his ass off for a good hour. Apparently, Batiste’s contact didn’t give a fuck about being on time. Finally, a black Escalade with dark tinted windows pulled up. The driver got out and opened the back door. Seth dropped his cig on the concrete and climbed inside. A middle aged human with glasses sat in the back seat. Not exactly who Seth had in mind to play the part of the Tolie bigwig. Maybe he’d seen
Goodfellas
too many times.

“Drive,” the guy said.

Once they were back in traffic, he turned and looked at Seth. “Ah, yes. I remember you. You were one of the first.”

Holy shit.
This was the guy.
The
guy. Seth had some weird visceral reaction, like he thought the fucker was going to brandish a needle full of all kinds of shit and stab him with it right there in the SUV.

“Tell me, what is your name?”

“Uh, Seth.”

“Alright, Seth. As I know you have been hand-selected by Batiste to handle our business together, I’ll identify myself as well. My name is Roman. I’m the head scientist for Toltec. Now, Batiste has expressed a lack of time for checking over the merchandise and delivering payments.”

A chill ran down Seth’s spine at the word
merchandise.
What a cocksucker. He wasn’t merchandise and neither were the other rogues. Ah, well. To this guy they were probably all just a bunch of fucked up experiments anyway. “So how does this work?”

“My driver will meet you each week at an appointed time. You will receive a text on your phone with the information. He will never meet in the same location and you are not to share anything from the text with anyone other than Batiste himself.”

Seth nodded.

“Now, I will be let out shortly. My driver will take you over to look at the mutants. He will do this every time. Once you are satisfied, you will notify your boss and he will send over the vans to pick them up.”

“About how many are we talking about each week?”

“Anywhere from ten to twenty with thirteen being average. It depends upon how many the process yields.”

“Right.”

The human held out his hand expectantly. “I believe you have an envelope for me?”

Seth pulled out the cash and handed it over. The geek didn’t even count it. Instead he just slipped it inside his coat while the driver opened his door. For a moment the soft light of sunrise crept into the car. Seth watched as the man hurried down the street, turned a corner, and was gone.

Troy walked out of the elevator into the compound corridor. Pax was standing by the swinging door to the surgical ward, his head leaning against the wall. No one else was there. Around here that meant good news. He doubled back.

“Troy, hold up, my brother.”

He rolled his eyes and turned around. “What.”

“I thought…that is I wondered if you would permit me to speak with your mate. I owe her an apology. I owe one to both of you.”

Troy exhaled and slapped the male’s shoulder. “Yeah, sure. She understands. Stop up when you get a chance. She’ll probably see you comin’ anyway.”

Pax cocked his head. “She…”

“Never mind, man. Just stop up. How’s James?”

“Strong enough to have visitors, apparently. I’m going to go in in a minute. I’ll let you guys know how he’s doing when I come up.”

“Thanks, man.”

“You got it.”

As he watched the brother walk back toward the ward, he picked up on James’s emotional signature on the other side of the door. He seemed different. Actually, if he didn’t know better, he’d say there was a totally different New Breed in there. Maybe it was just the shock of the shooting, but he doubted it. Between James’s fucked up pattern and everything Pax was feeling he was pretty sure something else had happened and it had nothing to do with the shooting. He closed the elevator door and headed back up to his mate.

Pax waited alone by the ward a few more minutes before Helen came out. He practically attacked the female when she finally walked through the door.

She smiled. “He’s already healing. He’s incredibly lucky. Nearest I can figure, he gleamed into the bullet. There’s no entrance wound, just an exit. You can go ahead in. Don’t stay too long.”

He shook his head and started for the door. “I won’t.”

“Oh, and Pax? Do not upset him or you’ll have me to deal with.”

He watched her walk off down the hall.
Do not…? What the…? Diesel.
He was going to have a serious chat with that brother. He pushed into the room and his breath caught in his throat. James was lying still, his eyes closed, wires and tubes running all over the goddamn place. An image of Luis came into his mind. Weak. Emaciated. He forced it out of his head and walked to the chair next to James’s bed. He stared at the male’s hand. He wanted to take it so badly his chest ached. He couldn’t have sat there more than a couple of minutes when James opened his eyes.

“Hey, you’re awake.”

“Hey.”

Pax swallowed the beginnings of a sob and cleared his throat. “You okay? You’re not in pain, are you?”

The male looked at him like he’d just asked the lamest question imaginable. “I’m okay.”

Pax looked down at his hands. Anything not to look into those gray eyes. “So, ah, Diesel gets his prosthesis in a couple of days. He may need some help coming back. I’ll be working with him while you recover. Maybe even after that. ”

The lights in the room started to flicker on and off. It was James. Pax shook his head.
Damn it.

“That’s fine. He’s your partner. We were never really together.”

There was something in the way the brother said it.
No, there’s no way he could know.
Out of nowhere, the words just started piling out of Pax’s mouth before he had a chance to stop them. “I’m so sorry about the other night. I never should have treated you like that. It’s unforgivable. You made me take a look at a part of me I didn’t want to see and….”

Pax looked up into James’s eyes and he could swear something was different. He looked older. Harder. “I think by holding onto his memory, you’re really holding onto him. Until you can let him go, there’ll never be room for me.”

Oh, my God.
He knew. In the same way James always seemed to know about others. He’d read his heart. “I wish I could explain it better. You deserve that. But there’s just so much you don’t know about me.”

“If you’re going to give me the ‘I’m no good for you’ speech, grab a barf bag off the counter for me first.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I just—”

James turned his head away. “You know, I’m kind of tired.”

Pax lurched up. “Oh, right. Sorry. I’ll come back when you’ve had some rest.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

But even as he walked out the door after his first visit, he knew he’d never be able to endure a second.

Evy straightened out the bedspread and fluffed up the shams.

Troy poked his head out the bathroom door wearing his typical smartass grin. “You know Mary’s just going to do all that again.”

“Yeah, I know. Old habits, I guess.”

As she walked into the closet with Troy’s sneakers, she heard a yell from the bathroom. She flew around the corner, the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. Her mate was crouched down by the Jacuzzi.

“Troy!”

He cried out again, pulling in on himself.

She kneeled down and took his hands in hers. “What is it?”

Tears fell from her mate’s eyes. “It’s James. So much pain. I can’t…can’t block him out. Fuck!”

He rocked back and forth, sweat breaking out on his forehead. “Oh, God.”

“Troy.” She took his face in her hands. “Focus on me. Only me.”

When he looked at her, the pain in his eyes made her suck in her breath.

“You have to break the connection.”

He shook his head. “I can’t. I can’t.”

She was terrified that if it went on much longer he’d lose himself altogether. Frantic from the thought, she pulled him to her and kissed him, letting the panic fuel her passion. At first there was no response. But then, little by little, he started to tap into his own emotions and return it. Finally, she broke it off. “Are you okay?”

He nodded and laid his head down in her lap. They stayed that way for what seemed like a long time.

She stroked his hair back. “How do you feel?”

“Exhausted,” he mumbled.

Suddenly, she felt a jolt inside herself. A weight in her chest took hold. She struggled with it for a moment. Then it broke.
Oh no.
“Troy, could you tell exactly what was going on with James?”

“Nah. All I got were feelings, but it was definitely about Pax. All of it.”

“Something’s wrong.”

He sat up and faced her. “What do you mean?”

“Something’s happened that wasn’t meant to be.”

“How can you tell?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know exactly. It sort of feels like a string has snapped.”

“A string?”

“Yeah, like a strand of time, a series of events connecting the past to the future. Whatever just happened changed James’s destiny forever.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

X walked out to the compound’s garage and got behind the wheel of his vintage ‘65 Chevy. He had restored every inch of her until she purred. Loudly. He started the engine, steered her out to the main road, and headed for the entrance to highway 128. Driving always put him in a good mood. He’d never understood all the morons who restored cars then refused to drive them. The whole point of a car was to enjoy the thing. It was a short trip. The cutting edge prosthetics center that was creating Diesel’s leg was just a few exits north. Tomorrow Diesel would be with him and the brother would be whole again. Man, Dies had been so amazing during the whole thing. The dude said he looked at it as a tradeoff for the life he had now with his mate. If any female was worth losing a limb for it was Helen. But damn.