Oracle Rising (7 page)

Honestly, the only time she felt anything like this was when he had been taken and her father had been torturing him. That was almost the same as this, only now her body felt like it was coated with a black horror.

She knew why.

The killer was a sicko.

He was trying to crawl into her mind, wanting to swallow her whole.

It was bad.

Real bad.

They were about to go head to head with something even more evil than her past. This entity, hunting Juliett Deveraux, was like nothing she’d ever felt before.

“Avi, honey, are you okay?” he asked again, gently brushing her hair from her face. “Do you need some water or anything else?”

She blinked, trying to register his words.

“No, Nathaniel, I’m okay. Now that you’re here, I’m so much better. Thank you for coming for me.”

Nate didn't know how he knew she was in pain, but he wasn’t about to stress it. Avalon was one hell of a mystery, and now wasn’t the time or place to question it. She looked to be better, and that’s all that mattered.

Instead of speaking, Nate pulled her upright, his hands framing her face as he let his lips slide across hers. After calming her with a kiss, he needed to know. “What the hell happened? Do you need a doctor?”

She moved into his torso, wrapping herself around him for protection. She was rattled. In her life, Avalon had seen a lot, but this was a first.

“No, I’ll be fine.”

“That didn't look like you were fine.”

Yeah, she was pretty sure it was scary to watch.

“I saw the shadow of him.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know his name, but he’s dangerous.”

“To who? You?”

She took a deep breath, trying to figure out a way to tell him without Nate getting upset. She could see his response, and it wasn’t going to be good.

He was going to be pissed.

“To people like me.”

Nate stared at her. “Excuse me?” There had to be a mistake. Nate had to have heard her incorrectly. There was no way she could have said what he heard.

They had someone hunting people like his Avalon? His only hope was that she meant blind. In fact, he crossed his fingers as she continued.

“The killer is hunting a psychic. We have to save her. She might be next. We aren’t going to have much time, so we have to move fast.”

He stared at her. “Christ, I really hope you’re not serious,” Nate muttered.

“I’m dead serious. It’s begun, Nathaniel. It’s time to fulfil our promise. We have a woman who needs our help.”

What could he say?

Avalon had her mission, and now he had his.

Someone had to keep her safe.

Chapter TWO

Avalon was surprised.

Nate wasn’t nearly as pissed as she thought he was going to be. That was probably a good thing too. Avalon was new at this relationship thing, and she wasn’t quite sure how to navigate through it.

While they agreed honesty was the best policy, she was still wary. Every time she blurted something out, he would get freaked out. She recalled the time she told him she loved him.

Granted, it was right after they had sex, and only a couple days after meeting him.

Before Nathaniel, she’d just tell the handlers what she saw, and that was it. They didn't try to keep her safe, protect, or coddle her. It was all about the job she had to do. The president had an agenda, and it was up to her to deliver.

Now, it was different.

There was so much more on the line.

Nathaniel Carter was more than her handler. He was her partner and the love of her life. This needed more than just dropping the bomb and making a break for it.

She needed to ease him, and his heart, into this.

“I don’t understand,” he said, pacing back and forth across the living room floor. “How did we go from helping people like you to tracking homicidal maniacs who kill women? When did we opt to take that route? Did I miss some meeting?”

Avalon wanted to go to him, but he was still angry. She could see the orange and yellow licks of fire surrounding his aura. Despite the calm tone in his voice, she could tell he was on the edge.

Yeah, now wasn’t the time.

Hell!

At this point, next month might not be the time. Avalon knew he was protective of her, and this was going to be the biggest obstacle they had to overcome.

Her sexy boyfriend wanted to wrap her up in bubble wrap to keep her safe.

“Avalon, I’m talking to you.”

She shook her head. “Sorry. I was thinking. What did you say?”

He repeated himself.

“All I can tell you right now is that he’s a psychic too. He’s stalking women, Nathaniel. We have to head in to stop him. Juliett Deveraux has gifts too. If we wait, he’s going to end her life, and we can’t let that happen.”

The man stopped and stared at his watch. “We’re not going in yet. We have to wait for Luke and Maura to get back.”

She shook her head. “By then, it’ll be too late. We have to go in now.”

He laughed. “There is no WE. You aren’t ‘going in’, Avi. It’s not happening. You point the team at the target, and we do the job. I’m not risking you.”

Her mouth opened and then snapped shut.

Yeah, he was pretty sure he’d crossed a line.

When he said it in his head, it didn't sound nearly as bossy to him. Then, it sounded like a concerned man worried about his woman.

Avalon didn't move. If she wanted to go with them, a fight wouldn’t be the way to do it. There was a right way and a wrong way to hit Nate with this, and she had to tread lightly.

“I can’t stay here alone.”

“We can ship you off to Callie’s house.”

Slowly, she turned her head toward Jagger. She could see his aura too, and he was amused. She just wasn’t sure if it was because the men didn't think she could handle it, or if he knew what was coming. After all, he’d spent time with her as a babysitter.

“Jagger, can you give us a few minutes?” she asked. “I need to talk to my boyfriend.”

The way she said the word spoke volumes. When a woman was pissed, there was just that tone in her voice.

Avalon had mastered it.

“Sure thing,” he offered, walking out of the room. As he passed Nate, he shook his head and patted him on the arm. He was a dead man—well, at least in bed. While the petite redhead couldn’t kick his ass, there were far worse fates for a man in love.

“Avalon,” Nate began as soon as they were alone.

Only, she held up her hand and cut him off.

“You and I decided to take on this new part of our lives together, Nathaniel. For ten years, I was a prisoner in a cage, and you’re putting me back there again. It’s not fair, and it’s not right.”

He gave her a chance to express her feelings.

“I wanted to help people, and I can’t do it locked away. You’ll need me there. We’re not dealing with a serial killer who is like you. We’re dealing with one who is like me. He knows Juliett Deveraux is special, and he’s going to try and take her out.”

“That’s only more reason why you shouldn’t be there. You’re the mother of all psychics, Avalon. They tested you and you’re off the charts. If he’s stalking her, what’s to say he won’t find you even more alluring? Once he gets a whiff of you, he’s going to be focused on the woman I love. I can’t lose you. We’ve been there and done that, and I barely survived. This isn't about me putting you in a cage. This is about me protecting the woman who owns my heart. If you can’t see the difference, I don’t know how to get you to understand.”

She moved closer.

The anger was drifting away.

She could tell by how he held his body, and the aura surrounding him that he was scared. The man who was willing to die for her was afraid of the future.

Now he needed reassurance.

The battle was over.

“I’m not going to get hurt, Nathaniel,” she reassured. “I can put up a wall and protect myself from anything he can do, plus I have you. You’re not going to let anyone hurt me. I trust you with my life.”

“Damn it, Avalon.”

He knew his back was to the wall. Had Maura and Luke been there, they’d be heading out with Jagger and he’d stay behind with Avalon. Now, he didn't really have a lot of choices. He couldn’t leave her, and he couldn’t stay. If he did send her to Callie’s, that was dangerous too.

Avalon had only been ‘dead’ for a short time. If the government was seeking her, that was risking her. It would be hiding her right under Big Brother’s nose. For Christ’s sake—his sister was a Fed.

His hands were tied.

Basically, he’d have to do exactly what she was saying. It was situations like these that freaked him out the most.

Avalon knew he was almost there. So, she went in for the kill shot. “I’m not your property, Nathaniel. You have to trust me, and I have to trust you. Isn’t that what it’s about when you’re girlfriend and boyfriend?”

He stared at her. He’d never hated those two words more than he did right then. Nathaniel didn't want a girlfriend. He wanted a wife.

Plus, she was so very wrong.

She was owned by him. There was no way he’d lie and say otherwise either. Nate wasn’t going to lose the woman before him. Once they came together, his life changed.

The dreams ended.

The need to die ceased.

Love filled him.

“Nathaniel, please trust me. I’m not going to get hurt. I can see the future. In three weeks, we’re going to be opening presents from Maura and Luke. You’re getting a blue Hawaiian shirt with flowers all over it, and I’m getting a pretty dress that matches. You’re going to hate it, and I’m going to make you wear it because it was a sweet gift.”

Nate liked the idea that they’d look like a matched set.

“Really? Is it going to be the color of your eyes…?” Then he realized she was sucking him in. “Avalon! Stop that!”

She laughed. “No, Nathaniel, it’s going to be more like yours.”

He was screwed.

She’d talked him down off the ledge.

While she was clinging to him, Nate took the moment to enjoy the scent of her hair. If he could breathe it in all day, he’d be a damn happy man.

“You unfairly manipulated me,” he stated.

Avalon ran her fingers up and down his back beneath his polo shirt. “I did?”

He sighed. “Avalon, you’re going to be the death of me. If you get hurt, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“I swear on our relationship that I’m not going to get hurt.”

He had to believe her. She’d never given him any reason not to trust her.

“If I take you, there have to be ground rules.”

She stared blindly up at him. “Okay.”

Nate pulled her toward his favorite chair. When he tumbled into it, she followed, landing in his lap. Immediately, his arms circled her, holding Avalon tight. There was nothing better than the way she curled protectively into his body.

“What are they?” she asked.

“We’ve been practicing using a gun, and I want you to carry one.”

She teased his ear with her teeth. “Mmmm hmmmm.”

“You tell no one you’re blind,” he stated, finding it really hard to concentrate. She was becoming a master at the fine art of seduction.

Then again, he was easy when it came to her.

“Ashamed of me, are you?” she teased, running her fingers through his black hair.

“Hell no! I don’t want them to think you’re an easy target. I don’t need the killer believing that he can take you.”

Avalon let her mouth trail down his throat to his collarbone. When Nate moaned, his body reacting beneath her touch, she wanted to shout in glee.

This feeling of power was amazing.

“Avalon,” he muttered, as she tore down his defenses in their living room. “This is so very unfair.”

She was well aware, but why should she be the only one tripped up by love?

“I’ll be safe,” she offered, teasing his Adam’s apple with her lips. It bobbed as he swallowed.

“You’re a menace,” he muttered when she rubbed wantonly against him. This is exactly why he couldn’t let her get hurt. She was his world. “If you get hurt, I’ll never let you leave the house again.”

She laughed. For some reason, she didn't think he was kidding. The only thing that worried her was that she couldn’t see all of their futures.

It was obstructed.

Although, it wasn’t like she was surprised. Fate was a bitch.

“Promise me that you’ll follow the rules,” he said as she turned to straddle his lap.

Was it wrong of him to want to have sex right there and then? Weren’t there some rules about using fornication to win an argument?

Screw it.

“Okay, I agree. I’ll pretend I can see you.” She turned his head, finding his mouth with hers. The kiss was more than sweet. In fact, it was heavy with love and lust.

When she pulled away, he was breathing heavily.

“Avalon! If you’re going to rile me up, you better be ready to finish it up. Teasing isn’t fair.”

Just a few weeks ago, the woman perched in his lap was a novice at luring in a man. She’d been innocent and sweet, and now she was learning to wield her power.

It was working well too.

“Don’t think that sitting in my lap and kissing me will get you whatever you want.”

She laughed. “Oh, okay, Nathaniel. What about sex? Will that get you to compromise?”

Her hands moved down his chest to the button on his pants. With a flick of her wrist, it was open. If she continued, he wasn’t going to be able to stop. They were still in the beginning stages of romance, and he was thinking mostly with his dick.

Sue him, but he was a man.

“That’ll get you anything you want, and you know it, Avalon.”

She didn't hesitate.

Avalon took control and dove back in. Her mouth sought his, and the lust between them exploded. It was hot, heavy, and filled with need.

When she surfaced, they were both dizzy with the power of just a kiss.

“Uh, teasing.”

“I’m not teasing,” she stated.

“Really?”

“Take me to bed.”

“The case?”

“Make it fast,” she stated, needing him naked and above her. She was flushed with heat, and only Nate could quench it.

That was all Nate needed to hear.

Standing, she wrapped her legs around his waist as their mouths met again. He stumbled from the room and into the hallway that led to the stairs.

In their path was a startled Jagger, who had to jump out of their way or get knocked over.

His laughter said it all.

“Get packed,” Nate muttered to the man as Avalon continued the assault on his mouth.

“Yes, sir,” he said, saluting.

Nate focused on the woman in his arms. “I swear I can’t get enough of you.”

She began tugging off his shirt. When she bit him on the ear, he nearly dropped her. She giggled when he used the wall to keep them from hitting the floor.

“Avi,” he whispered, as she tossed his shirt over his shoulder.

“Hurry, Nathaniel. I need you.”

She wasn’t lying or using this as a way to manipulate him. She was madly in love, and she wanted to feel him in her body.

He kicked open the door and then closed it again before he dropped them to the center of the bed.

“Get naked,” he hissed, pulling his mouth from hers. He wanted his hands all over her pale flesh in the worst way. He was obsessed, driven, and desperate.