Revealed (7 page)

Turning, she put
her cheek to the bed. She didn’t say anything else because he hadn’t asked her
to. Instead she lay there with her body open to him and him alone and waited
for the pleasure she was certain would come next.

His hand slid
down over her bottom, and he smacked her again lightly, one to each cheek. Then
he rubbed the sore spot before hitting a little harder. “Do you want more of
that?” he asked in a low tone.

“Yes, Sir, may I
please have more?” It felt amazing. It was as if he were lighting up her pussy
and making it burn. “If it pleases you, Sir.”

She received
four more smacks, each a little sharper, on each of her cheeks. When he was
done he pressed kisses to her heated flesh, his fingers rubbing through her
moisture and teasing her clit. One finger delved into her pussy.

She bit her
lower lip to hold in a sob of need. “Thank you, Sir,” she breathed in a near
pant.

“So wet, so hot,
so swollen and needy. Are you needy for my cock, Riley?” He pressed his finger
into her pussy again before slowly withdrawing it. “Do you want me to shove my
cock into your wet hole and take you?”

“Yes, Sir,
please, fuck me. Fuck me as hard as you can. Please, Sir. I need you to make me
scream,” she begged.

“Good girl.” He
bit her bottom before smacking her a couple more times. “Gods, I love how pink your
skin is getting. All for me.” Hector moved his fingers back to her clit and
began to rub and flick it.

“I’ve always
been yours.” Riley pushed back without being able to stop herself. “Please,
Sir, again?” She could get addicted to his touches.

He gave her six more smacks,
each a little harder than the last. Then he slapped her pussy, the sound loud
and wet. “
Shh
,” he soothed. Rubbing
her back, he stilled her from the jolt she’d just given. “Riley, you still with
me?”

“Yes, Sir,” she
panted. “I’m still with you.” She spread her legs even more. She was so turned
on that she was about to melt right there under him. “Please, Sir.” She was
begging now. She needed him to touch her, fuck her. Just needed him. Plain and
simple.

“One more smack
for my pussy, and then I’ll fuck you, hard and fast.” She only had a second
before he did just that. An instant later, his cock was pushing through her
swollen folds. “Fuck,” he growled. “You’re so tight. You’re already close,
aren’t you, Riley? You can’t come without my permission. Remember that.”

“Yes, Sir,” she
gasped. “I won’t come without you telling me that I can.” She prayed that she
could keep up her end of the bargain. “And yes, Sir. Yes, I’m so close.” She
was shaking and fighting to keep from lifting up and pushing against him.

“I can tell. My
pussy is grasping so greedily at my cock, sucking me in deeper and holding on
so tightly. Push up on your hands, Riley. I want you to grab hold of the
headboard and drop your head and shoulders, so that your back is arched. Do it
now, so that when I fuck you, you won’t get hurt.”

Riley moved so
that she could grab the headboard and moaned, biting back a sob. “Oh God, Sir,
that feels so good.” She arched her back for him.

She felt him
shifting around, his hands on her hips. He began to move, pulling his cock out
slowly and thrusting in hard. Over and over, that same slow pull, fast push.
“How are you doing, Riley? You have a hold on your climax, yes?”

“Yes, Sir.” That
was all she could say. She was biting her lower lip, sweat beading on her brow
and between her breasts as she fought the need to come. She battled against her
own body’s pending orgasm because she knew when he did allow her to come that
it would be spectacular.

“Take a slow
breath and focus on some thought, some point in your mind or in front of you,
and you hold it tight. Never once should your vision waver from that image. It
should help you to hold off your climax. Because I’m not going to let you come
any time soon.” He pulled out and thrust back in, again and again.

Those words were
like a song to her ears. She loved the forceful way he was speaking, but the
underlying softness and care was also clear to her. “Yes, Sir.” She did as
instructed.

“Good girl, I
can feel you holding out. Keep your focus nice and tight.” His hands tightened
on her hips, and he began to move faster, harder, rocking her toward the
headboard with each forceful thrust.

She stared at
the small scratch in the headboard. Then she gasped at a new movement. Biting
her lip, she forced herself to calm and not come.

“Not until I
tell you that you can,” he said, his voice rough. His movements weren’t as
smooth anymore. They were becoming erratic, and his hands were tightening on
her hips. He moved one to cup her pussy, catching her clit between his fingers
and squeezing. “Come now!”

She screamed and
pushed back hard against him. She came, her vision wavering. Sobbing, she came
a second, then a third time, her screams filling the air with her utter
pleasure.

He pushed in one
last time before he came, his semen hot inside of her as he let go, her name a
bellow from his lips. He caught her so she didn’t collapse onto the bed, his
chest to her back as they both fought for air. “Let go, sweetheart. Let the
headboard go,” he whispered roughly against her skin.

Riley released
it from shaky hands. She was happy he was holding her because she was
completely boneless in that moment. She had never felt anything as intense,
anything as amazing, as what they had just shared, and when she was finally
able to get her breath, she would tell him. For now, she just curled into him
and let him take care of her.

Slowly, her body
was lowered to the mattress. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. After a few
minutes, he withdrew from her and left the bed. He disappeared from the room
and returned about three minutes later. A cold, wet cloth was pressed to her
face. “Riley, I need you to sit up, sweetheart. I want you to drink this glass
of water and talk to me.”

Riley opened her
eyes and looked at him. She was grinning like a loon and couldn’t help it. “I
love you so much, Hector. You amaze me.” She let him pull her into a seated
position, leaning against him when he pulled her close. “That was amazing. I’ve
never thought anything could be that perfect, that good, but it was.”

“It only gets
better in time, as we explore more and more.” He pressed the glass into her
hand, keeping his fingers wrapped around hers. “How are you feeling? No pain, I
hope?”

“No, no pain at
all.”

He nuzzled her
skin, nipping at her jaw. “You were amazing, Riley.”

She took another
sip and smiled. Once she had finished the water, she passed the glass back to
him. “I’m so ready for sleep. And tomorrow we will—what are we doing tomorrow?”
she asked suddenly.

“Tomorrow we’re
going to the Mountain … home. It’s where our base is, where we are completely
protected from the monsters. It’s the only place still protected by the
goddess. We don’t know how, or why, but it’s our last refuge on earth. We all
need to be well rested for the journey, because I have no idea what it will
bring, to be honest.

“When Gaius
returned with Emily they were attacked on the road to the Mountain. It was the
closest the monsters have ever struck up to. This war is coming to an end. I
think the magic—or whatever the goddess is using to protect the Mountain—is
failing. I pray to the gods I’m wrong, but it’s a definite possibility I’ve
been considering.”

Riley frowned.
“Is that why Gaius is with you? To help in case there’s an attack? Did he have
help too?”

“He came with me
in case we found the monsters waiting at the sanitarium. Now, I’m very glad he
is with us. I’m terrified that there’s a fight coming.” His arms tightened
around her, and he kissed her neck. “I can’t lose you.”

“I can’t lose
you either,” Riley whispered. “I never want to be without you.”

There was
another squeeze from his arms before he let her loose. “Rest, Riley. We need to
get some sleep. Morning will come all too soon.” He moved to set the glass and
cloth on a bedside table. Once she was under the blankets, he turned off the
lamp and joined her. Pulling her into his arms again, he tucked her close,
pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Goodnight,
Hector.” Riley yawned once more. “I love you.” She stroked his chest. Then her
eyes closed and she dropped off into sleep without another word.

Chapter Six

They’d been
driving since seven that morning. Hector had gotten her up early, fed her, and
they’d hit the road. Only twice did they stop, and only so she could use the
facilities. In the last twenty minutes both Hector and Gaius had become
increasingly tense.

“We’re in the
home stretch,” Gaius said. His words sounded like a warning. But the look
Hector shot her was definitely cautionary. Which meant they were getting close
to the Mountain and a possible attack.

Riley moved so
that she could place her hand on Hector’s shoulder and squeezed. She was in the
backseat now, both men loaded with weapons. “Whatever it takes,” she whispered.
“I trust you. I know you’ll get us there.” There was a question she was dying
to ask, but she didn’t know how.

He turned in his
seat, a hand coming up to cup her face. “What? I can see the question in your
eyes, Riley. Ask it, sweetheart.”

“Why is it that
they haven’t attacked you guys before now? Why didn’t they attack you and Gaius
on your way out? Why haven’t they attacked anyone going out, just when you are
coming back in with a VV?” She had been told the entire story about the vestal
virgins, about how they completed the men and so on.

“As I said, our
numbers are few now. We’re hardly a threat to them anymore. Oh, we can still
put up a damn good fight, but they’ve been whittling away at us for a long
time. The vestal virgins, though, there’s a prize worth having. To turn
something so pure, the protector of a guardian’s soul, to their side. Power,
pure and unadulterated power.” Hector shot her a look and shrugged as he
continued, “They know that without our vestal virgin, we’re fucked. While there
were a few in the early days who got a pairing with a human, it petered out
after a while. We figured the Fates had rearranged the game board, and now we
know it to be true. The problem is—the monsters and evil all know that if they
can turn a vestal virgin to their side, they are many steps closer to full,
world domination.”

“That’s
terrifying.” Riley shook her head and bit her lip. “I would never turn to the
darkness,” she promised. “I would never let you either. I need you here in the
light with me. You’re my guardian, my warrior, but I’m your protection from the
darkness. I’m the soft to your hard, and I’m taking that to heart. Especially
now. So, chin up, bucko. You got me now.”

Hector kissed
her. “It’ll be fine. They can’t have you. Not now, not fucking ever. Sit back,
Riley. We still have a ways to go before we get to the Mountain. Sit back,
buckle in, and be ready just in case.”

“Okay.” She did
just that, closing her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she shifted slightly, opened
them again, and watched the passing scenery. Feeling the joy from Hector that
she was in his life, she smiled. She was happy too. Very happy.

“You see it?”
Gaius barked suddenly, about ten minutes later.

“Yeah, I see
it,” Hector muttered. “Mercury, it’s Hector,” he said into his phone. “Looks
like the welcome party’s rolled out the red carpet. Yeah, that would be a good
idea. We’re slowing down so they don’t hit us like they did Gaius. What? Okay,
sounds good.”

He hung up and
looked to Gaius. “He wants you to stop and see if they keep coming. Anything to
buy time. He’s coming with whoever’s hanging around. He thinks Jason’s there,
but he hasn’t got a clue if there’s anyone else, given the number of incidents
cropping up.”

“Jason works,”
Gaius said with a nod. “Fucker’s been looking for a decent fight for a while
now.” The vehicle slowed until they came to a stop. Gaius threw it into park
and leaned forward, his arms braced on the steering wheel as he stared out the
window. He gave a snorted chuckle after a moment. “I think we’ve confused
them.”

“Good, we need
to give Mercury time to get here. Given how they had their asses handed to them
the last time, they likely brought more muscle with them.”

“Gods, I
sincerely hope not,” Gaius said.

“What do you
mean you hope not?” Riley asked with a frown and leaned up in the seat. “I
don’t understand—wouldn’t you want more people rather than not enough?”

“Not when it’s
the bad guys bringing more to the playing field, sweetheart.” Hector turned to
look at her and smiled. “We kicked the bad guys’ asses the last go around.
Which means they’ll be bringing more with them. Remember when I mentioned that
we’re low in numbers? Well, I wasn’t kidding. If they ever actually got all
their forces in one place, we’d be fucked.”

“Unless we nuked
them,” Gaius muttered.

“With the way
our luck’s been running, that would only make them more indestructible,” Hector
said with a glare to his friend. “I really don’t want something harder to kill
than what we already have to deal with.”

“Shit, good
point. Maybe just some bombs … non-nuclear ones, I mean. Blow them all to
smithereens. If we ever got them all in one place. Wipe out the evil ones all
in one go.”

Riley rubbed her
temples and laughed. “You guys are too much. I like it, though. The way you
both bicker with each other and so on. It’s nice to feel such a familial bond,
even when I know that the two of you are very far from being siblings.”

“Thankfully,”
Hector muttered. He shot her a look and winked, one corner of his mouth kicking
up for an instant. Facing forward once more, he stared out the window. “Well,
the good news is that they’re still confused and aren’t moving yet.”

“They likely
have a trap set up and are trying to figure out how to get us over there where
they can kill us and make off with Riley,” Gaius said before Hector’s phone
rang.

“Yeah?” he
answered. “No, they’re not moving. Gaius figures there’s a trap set and we’re
screwing with their grand plans. Uh, we’re about a mile up the road from them.
Okay, sounds good.” He turned to Gaius. “Mercury’s close. He said to start
easing forward. If they make any move toward us, we’re to stop immediately. He
needs a sense of what they’re up to and also wants to see if we can taunt them
away from that spot.”

Gaius shrugged
and threw the truck into drive, easing them forward at a whopping three miles
per hour.

“We’re moving,
Merc. No, nothing yet. They’re definitely paying more attention, though. Got
it. Yup,” Hector said into the receiver. Hanging up again, he tucked the cell
in a pocket. “He’s two miles out. He says to keep playing with them a bit, and
maybe we’ll pull them away from whatever they’ve got going on up there.”

“I’m all for
puttering along in grandma mode,” Gaius told him. “Hopefully, Mercury gets here
before we all doze off out of sheer boredom from our high-speed race to
safety.”

Riley burst out
laughing, despite the situation. Once more, she leaned back and watched
everything. Then she frowned. “Wait,” she said sharply and put her hand on
Gaius’s shoulder. “Up ahead.” She tilted her head to the side. “There’s
something that isn’t visible to the naked eye, but I see it because it’s wrong.
It’s like a thin thread, across the roadway, just about here. It’s wrong. It’s
a lie. An optical illusion.”

“Holy mother of
the gods,” Hector said on a hiss of air. “What is that, Riley?”

“What? What are
you seeing?” Gaius asked.

“I don’t know.”
Hector frowned. He was blinking rapidly and shaking his head a little now and
again.

Riley leaned
closer, her cheek to Hector’s. “Pull on our bond. See what I see,” she
whispered. “See through my eyes.”

He sucked in a
deep breath, his hand coming up to touch hers, pressing her palm to his skin.
Hector closed his eyes, took another couple of deep breaths, then let his lids
come up. Tilting forward, he pulled her with him a little as he squinted.
“Fucking hell. Stop the truck. They’ve rigged up one hell of a surprise for us.
In fact, back us up again and call Mercury. If they hit that, they’ll be
chopped in half before the explosions kill them.”

Riley wasn’t a
fighter, but she could see things that weren’t natural, weren’t right, and she
was very glad that she could, in that moment. “Keep the connection to me open.
I don’t know what to look for, but you’ll see it. Draw on what I can do, draw
on the truths that are out there,” she urged Hector.

“Will it hold if
we’re not touching?” he asked. Turning in his seat, he looked at her. “Because
I have to say—that’s one hell of an ability you have, Riley.” Lifting her hand,
he pressed a kiss to her palm, nipping gently at the skin.

“Mercury’s one
minute out. He knows about the trap and will swing out wide. He’s got Jason
with him, no one else, though. The Mountain was empty except for Emily,” Gaius
said.

Riley focused on
Hector. “I don’t know if you can draw on my ability without touch. This is all
new to me. I just assumed that you would be able to draw on what is mine
through our bond. I’m hopeful that you will be able to use it often.” She
wanted to do anything she possibly could in order to keep him safe.

“We may need to
practice with it before I use it in the field.” He cupped her cheek, but he
kept the contact light. “I love you, Riley. And I want you to stay inside the
vehicle at all times. No matter what—do not get out. It’s armor-plated and,
beyond that, has some unique protective spells that will prevent the monsters
from getting in. Unless you open the door, which is viewed as an invitation.”

Riley nodded and
licked her lips. “I trust you.”
He
hauled her close and kissed her hard. “Stay in the vehicle,” he ordered. Then
he pulled a blade from somewhere, flipped it over, and handed it to her hilt
first. “Just in case.” He stared into her eyes for a moment more before turning
and getting out, Gaius sliding out the other side. Their doors slammed shut,
and they both moved around to the front of the truck to stand facing what was
out there, between her and
them.

Riley looked
down at the blade in her hands and dropped it onto the seat beside her. She
didn’t like weapons. She moved closer to the window, her hands on the door as
she watched Hector. She pushed as much energy and her ability through the link
as possible, in the hope that he would be able to see what was off and what
wasn’t.

He turned his
head to look at her and winked. He must have felt something, which meant he was
keeping the bond between them wide open. Turning back around, he shook out his
arms before reaching up over his shoulder and under the collar of his jacket. A
moment later, he pulled out a stumpy-looking sword. With a flick of his wrist,
it became a very long, imposing blade.

Riley gasped.
Holy balls, that’s a big piece of metal.
She shifted so that she could see better. Pausing, she frowned.
Hector, look to the tree line at the left.
There is something there, something that people are protecting,
she
directed through the bond.

There
are binoculars in the console. Take a look and let me know what it is. I don’t
want to try and split my attention here. Thank you, sweetheart.
When she looked his way again,
he’d moved a little farther from the vehicle and two others had joined them.

Riley grabbed the binoculars and
looked out into the shadows, shifting the vision slightly, then biting her
lower lip.
I don’t know who it is, but he
looks wrong. He’s large but not so large that he’s bigger than you. He’s
wearing a cowboy hat. Who wears cowboy hats anymore? He looks like
old-fashioned pictures that I saw once of Billy the Kid.

She heard male
voices then and turned to see Hector was speaking with the group. They all
studied the area where she’d indicated the man was. The largest of the males
with Hector was clearly cursing now as Hector continued to keep watch on what
was coming their way.

He
was a guardian once. That is Billy the Kid,
he informed her.
He’s
extremely deadly and accurate with his weapon of choice. And he knows as well
as anyone that they have to shatter the medallions or take our heads.
Unfortunately, with his accuracy, he could do it from a hundred or more yards
out with a handgun. With a rifle…
Hector didn’t finish that thought. He
didn’t need to.

“No,” Riley said loudly with
wide eyes.
You had better not get hurt,
Hector, or I will not be a happy woman.
She wished she could do something
other than just see the truth of things. She wished she could fight.
How can I help? What can I do?

Stay
inside the vehicle. The glass will protect you, should he fire. Do not come out
of there, Riley. I can’t be worrying about you. So please, for me, stay safe.
Now, I’m sorry, but I have some monsters to destroy.
She looked out the front
windshield just in time to see all the men racing to meet the monsters bearing
down on them.

“Oh God,” she
whispered and sat back hard. The man that was barreling toward them seemed to
be surrounded by light. But he was so much more than a man, that much was
certain to her gaze. She bit her lip as she watched him step into the fray and
the battle really began.

All four men had
their weapons up, and they didn’t stop as the monsters reached them. They swung
their blades—hacking, slicing, ducking, and weaving to avoid all contact. The
entire fight seemed to take place in high speed.

Riley could only
watch. She knew when it was over because there were likely twenty to thirty
bodies lying around the men that were protecting the truck. She turned her eyes
back to the shadows. The man that had been there before had not moved an inch
while the others fought. Then she saw it—his hands moving to the pistols at his
sides.

Riley didn’t
think. She moved.

Opening the
door, she raced toward Hector, knowing where the man was going to shoot without
hesitation. She tossed herself against him just as she felt the burn of the
bullet at her side. It would have shattered his medallion. “Crap, that hurts,”
she cried out and held on to him. She saw two of the men racing for the tree
line but knew that the cowboy was gone already. “Don’t you dare let me go.”