The Progeny (The Progeny Series) (22 page)

He
r request was foolish. If he didn’t hold back she could be hurt, possibly killed. Fighting against the pleasure, he shoved the tingles back down, stemming the overwhelming urge to come. Hesitating, he paused the thrusting, grabbing her hips to get control of his body. He suddenly feared what his orgasm might mean for her.

Wiggling free of his hold, she moaned,
“Don’t stop,” as her rigid tongue traced circles onto his neck. Her hips resumed their rocking, lashing him with their churning, forcing him to the edge. Shauna twisted her fingers into his hair, her eyes glazing with tears. “I’m close...I’m so close.”

It was too much
—the intense heat inside her, the grinding and her tongue circling his neck. The fire returned, burning more than it had before he’d stopped them. “Shauna.”

H
er hands secured his head. “Come for me, Ascher. Don’t be afraid, I want you to come for me.”

That did it. His control vanished, leaving his primitive nature behind. A fuse blew in his brain as his wild and uninhibited side
slipped out. Ascher growled low and clutched her hips, roughly thrusting himself into her.

* * * *

The pain shocked her, flooding her with a discomfort that gave way to a pleasure so overwhelming that it caused her to rip her nails across his back.

Ascher
never even flinched.

Their bodies rocked with pleasurable, mind-blowing
release as they clung to one another, drenched in the sweat of their endeavors. She was sure that her eyes and mind screamed everything she felt for him. His fingers traced her back as she laid her head against his shoulder.

Afterwards, they lay in the middle of the bed, staring at their clasped hands, her face nuzzl
ing into his chest. “Sorry about your back.”

“It’s a good thing I’m immortal, otherwise you’d kill me with your claws!” he teased. “Don’t worry about it. The marks will be gone in the morning. You’d make a scrappy little newborn. I’d pity your enemies.” He
paused. “Did you know that some people refer to an orgasm as la petite mort?”

“You are the owner of very weird erotic trivia.” She shook her head. “English
, please.”

“La petite mort is French for, the little death.”

“
That
would be quite the way to go. I might choose it, if I had the choice.”

“I know what you’re trying to do, Shauna.”

She gave him a puzzled glance, all the while knowing what he meant. She didn’t care. He hadn’t stopped himself, so he evidently wanted it, too. “Been in my mind again, I see.”

“I’ve thought about it a lot, wondering if we should
’ve used protection. At first, I was unsure, not knowing what we’d make or if it is even possible. Now I hope you’re pregnant. If I don’t come back, you’ll have that piece of me to always remember.” He placed his hand on her tummy. “But if you are and I do return, I’ll seal to you and we’ll raise our child together.” He handed her his amulet. “I want you to keep this for me, just in case. Our child may need it.”

Her heart
was breaking. Sex made her forget, but only for the moment. Now the sobering truth was back to haunt her. Though she liked the sound of him saying 'our child', she didn’t like thinking of him never coming back. Why did she have to choose her love? Why couldn’t she have him and a child?

Shauna snuggled
her way back into his arms, staring into the darkness and thinking how unfair the situation was. They spoke no more words. The only sounds were their breathing, the crackling of the fire and his family’s distant laughter on the first floor.

Nineteen ~ Emergence

They marched down the stairs like an army of
the determined damned, their pale faces expressionless, black overnight bags slung across their shoulders. Their dark clothing seemed to mimic their murky moods.

Sh
auna stood, wondering how many of them would not return. The man she loved resembled a stranger. An eerie, deathlike cold replaced the deep warmth in his eyes. All of their eyes were lifeless blue daggers, threatening death to anyone who crossed them. She looked at Ascher, afraid of the evil saturating his demeanor. He
looked
like a killer. She finally saw his other half, the part he hid from her. Her feet were too heavy to move, so she stood still to observe them.

They spoke
in French and intentionally low, preventing her from understanding them. A nervous laugh echoed over the brooding group before they disbanded, each on a solo mission.

Ascher floated
toward her, his guarded look indicating that he’d been in her mind. Stretching a careful hand to her, his cold eyes melted and warmed enough that she vaguely saw
her
Ascher.

Taking his hand, Sha
una dropped forward, sobbing into his chest.

Ascher stroked
gentle circles along her back as his embrace tightened around her. He gave her forehead a tender kiss. “Don’t cry. I’ll be all right. We’ll be back in a few days. Olivia has promised to take good care of you, and I trust her. Please don’t worry.”

A stream of tears deluged her face as she looked up into his eyes, fear
snaking through her. “How can I not worry? You and Katy are all I have left; you both have to come back to me.”

* * * *

Ascher’s jaw clenched. He knew that saying goodbye would be difficult. He felt the terrified beating of her heart, the violent shivering of her body against his. Nestling his nose into her hair, he hoped to burn her scent into his memory. Glancing up, his doubtful eyes pierced into Quinn.
I can’t do it, brother. I can’t leave her.

Quinn shook his head, distress and
disapproval heavy on his face.

Ascher
looked into Shauna’s eyes again, and the pain flooded from their dark depths. The sight broke his heart. He drank her in as if it were the last time he’d see her—it could well be. He wrapped her up in another tight embrace, placing her hand over his heart. “I love you now, tomorrow and forever. Death won’t even change that. I’ll love you into eternity and beyond.”

Sh
auna struggled to speak; her cries muffled against his chest. “I love you—too.” She collapsed into a sobbing heap.

Ascher gave
her a deep, sorrowful kiss. He didn’t care about their public display of affection. He knew his brothers understood, and he didn’t care if they objected. Reluctantly, he stepped away from her. “We have to go now.”

* * * *

Shauna stared at him, the hurtful distance stabbing her heart.

Olivia came, placing her cold arms around
her.

Leaning
into her, Shauna shivered from her icy embrace and cried harder.

“There, there now
,” Olivia whispered. “I know it’s hard, but he’ll be okay. Ascher is very strong. They all are.” She pointed to a very handsome, brown haired man. His eyes were the same shade of blue, his skin pale as the rest of them. “My dearest is going, as well. Would you like to go back to your chambers to rest? It might be better if you leave now.”

She pulled away from Olivia, the sorrow turning into something else. Her brain snapped as Olivia’s words echoed in her head.
It might be better if I go to rest. Nothing but him coming back to me will make it better. How can she say that? How could any of them think I’m okay with this, when I’m not?
Gray blurs saturated her vision as she thought about the awful mess. She glowered at all of them as her fear turned to anger, manifesting itself in a hot burn that grew and crept along her legs.

Ascher took a wary step toward her. “Shauna, please calm down.” He put his hand
s out for her to come to him.

Sh
auna met his loving gesture with a callous warning. “No, Ascher, don’t come near me—stay away.”

Quinn tried to calm her next. “Shauna, it won’t do you any good to upset yourself.”

“Shauna, come with me. I’ll give you something to calm you, and you’ll feel better after you’ve had some sleep,” Olivia pleaded.

Shauna’s temper flared. Drugs were Olivia’s answer to her grief. She glanced around the room at all of them, giving them a warning, “Don’t any of you come near me
, just stay back!” She felt her face and neck flushing. Her tiny fists balled and hung stiff at her sides. Her breathing labored as the warmth crept up to her chest, saturating her heart, causing her temperature and pulse to spike. Her vision blurred, disorientation flooding her throbbing head. She closed her eyes and chanted. It didn’t work.

Her
vision filled with silver puddles of glowing madness. Piercing a silvery stare into the man she loved, Shauna uttered, “Please Ascher, don’t come any closer. I don’t want to hurt you.”

The front door flew open, sending a gale of night air rushing into the foyer. The paintings on the wall shif
ted and crashed to the ground. The Rousseaus glanced at one another, confusion chiseled on their pale faces.

Lightning streaked the night sky.

Shauna walked out to the front lawn and Ascher followed behind her. Tilting her face to the sky, she paused as another flash of lightning struck beside her, scorching the Earth. The Godly mother was showing her approval.

Ascher grabbed
then shook her. “Shauna, don’t do this. Please try to calm down.”

“No! I’m tired of being weak.” Thunder boomed
as light from the streaks flashed over her. “If you won’t change me, I’ll learn to harness my power. No one is ever going to hurt or threaten me again.”

Another boom of thunder rocked the sky as a streak of lightning flashed around her, outlining her body. She stepped away from him, her lips tremb
ling as she chanted more.  It became louder, faster, flowing stronger with her fury.

Another gale blew, knocking Ascher down and away from her.

Shauna raised her voice as she finished chanting and waited. Before long, another gust came, swirling bits of leaves and dirt around her.

* * * *

Ascher gulped and looked up at his sweetheart.

Shauna held her
hands outstretched to the sky, the gale picking her up, levitating her off the ground. The hair swirled around her face as she hovered above him.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. She’d had other episodes of rage but had never levitated. It was easy to write the other times off, to forget the destruction she was capable of when he looked into the dark eyes he found so beautiful. Selective amnesia wouldn’t let hi
m deny what he was seeing now.

The truth was hard to ignore when it was there
chanting and glowing while floating above him. Her dark eyes were hard to remember when eerie, gray beams pierced him from silvery sockets.

Ags
had been right all along. The woman he loved was a witch.

“Move!”
Shauna shouted, smirking as a small tree uprooted at her command.

A collective horrified gasp came from the
Rousseau brothers, while even the fearless Quinn stood startled by the sight.

P
ointing a deliberate finger at a shrub, it obeyed, dislodging from the ground and whirling about as she twirled her fingers. She swept her hand towards the woods, causing the shrub to fly in the same direction. Her rage seemed to lessen as she descended to the ground, her body stilling as trickles of blood dripped from her nose.

“
Shauna!” Ascher ran to her, scooping her into his arms.

Her eyes rolled in her head.
“You have to take me with you,” she whispered. “I have to be there when you find her. Take me with you to find my sister, Ascher.”

* * * *

“Coming through.” Aggie pushed her way through the sea of vampires huddled around Shauna. “Out of my way,” she seethed through clenched teeth, shoving their cold bodies aside. She found Ascher sitting in the floor with Shauna’s sleeping body resting in his arms. “What the hell happened to her, Ascher? You’re supposed to be protecting her, not making her rage!”

Aggie
had awakened from a horrible dream. She'd envisioned Shauna raging. Casey tried to convince her not to come to Bonheur but she was having no part of it. Her coven was convinced that adding Shauna was a mistake. It was a gamble, but Shauna’s gifts more than made up for the imbalance adding a fifth might bring.

Casey was jealous
and felt threatened by the huge amounts of time she spent with Shauna. Aggie only wanted to assure that she found her path. Someone with such strong gifts needed guidance. She was tired of Casey’s complaining. Mother Mias wanted this. If Aggie had to become a solo witch, she would. It was her choice and she chose to help Shauna find her way. She would bind blood with her, no matter how the coven felt about it. If they couldn’t accept it, she’d leave.

“She was fine one minute,” Ascher said
in a bewildered tone that rang with worry. “The next, she was levitating.”

The tension between
Aggie and Ascher was evident. It was no surprise when everyone scattered in different directions, away from the den, away from their bad blood.

He laid Shauna on the floor, transferring her head to Aggie’s lap. Their hands brushed causing a spark of electricity to charge through her, rushing up her arm and into her heart.
Aggie gulped and shivered. Being his friend was going to be tougher than she anticipated. “I have her now. You can go.”

“I don’t think so.” He
gave her disapproving stare. “I’m going to be here when she wakes up.”

“Have it your way,”
Aggie mumbled, taking a stone from her purse.

“What is that?
”

“A healing crystal,” she grumbled at him then rubbed Shauna’s face. “It’s okay, Shauna, I’m here. Aggie
’s here. You’re not alone.”

“Is what happened to her tonight common in the beginning?”

“Finally, he believes me!” She placed the crystal on Shauna’s forehead. “If one is not properly instructed, it can be difficult. Shauna and I haven’t discussed levitation. This is something that comes much later in knowledge. She’s skipped over so many things.”

“What does that mean?”

“She’s a natural witch, and it was born within her. One this strong comes from a witch with an ancestry line stretching back generations.” She smoothed the hair away from Shauna’s face, feeling along her forehead. Her temperature was falling, but she was still too hot. “She’s so much stronger than I anticipated. I’ve never seen someone without proper guidance, be this strong in the craft. She has to learn to control it. This kind of rage is not good for her. Has that detective had any luck?”

“I met with him this morning.”

“Did he find anything?”

“I was going to wait and give
Shauna the file after Romania. If something happens to me, Olivia has her orders.”

Aggie’s heart gave a nervous squeeze. “About Romania
.” She fought back the tears. “Are you sure there's absolutely no way to resolve this without a war?”

His eyes flashed with rage. “The time for that ended when they tried to kill my brothers and me.” He moved closer and whispered, “They have her sister there, too.”

His body and lips were so close to her, making her remember that night on the pier. She moved away from him. “I’ll check in on her later, if that’s okay with you.”

“You’re not leaving so soon. You just got here
. Aggie, wait a second.”

As
cher was too close, so she stepped two paces back. “No.” She sighed. “
We
have nothing else to say!”

“I hate that this is so hard on you. Why can’t things just go back to the way they were before that stupid kiss?”

“Because I can’t go back Ascher! I love Shauna. She’s my sister, but I love you too! One love doesn’t cancel the other, and it isn’t good for me. I know you’re in love with her. I have to hear your mind every time you make love. I have to hear hers, too!” There, she’d exposed herself to him, ripped her heart open for him to pour salt into the wound. Aggie sobbed. It seemed to be the only thing left for her to do.

Ascher's
reaction was not what she expected. He put his arm out to comfort her.

Aggie
really wanted to forgive him and move on. Things would be easier, less complicated. His arms tightened around her, making sparks flood her body, causing her to cry louder.

“I’m so sorry, Ags. I miss our friendship
so much. I know I’ve asked you to extend yourself far beyond your breaking point. Shauna is lucky to have you. You’re my best friend. I love you—we both do. You know that.”