6
Davey stood against her bedroom door for nearly an hour, staring at nothing at all. She had never seen Ethan cry—wasn’t sure if his body could even manufacture tears—but downstairs, he had seemed on the verge of breakdown. And it was her fault.
Before going to face Travis, Davey had offered Ethan pillows and blankets that he quietly refused, reminding her that he did not require sleep, but Davey had left them anyway. She made up the sofa bed, spending entirely too much time tucking the sheets and smoothing wrinkles from the soft cotton. It took a tremendous amount of effort to finally pull herself away and leave him standing there alone in the darkness but, somehow, she had at last. Now Davey’s gaze fell to Travis, sound asleep as moonlight filtered in through the sheer curtains that covered the bedroom windows and washed over his peaceful countenance. Moving ever so cautiously, she crawled beneath the covers, trying to cause as little of a disturbance as possible. Her head had just sank into the pillow when Travis stirred. She could practically taste the whiskey on his breath each time he breathed.
“You came to bed,” he mumbled in a voice thick with sleep.
“Yeah.”
“I hope you showed Agent Asshole the door.”
“Travis, shut up and go back to sleep. You’re drunk.”
Doing exactly the opposite, he propped himself up on one elbow to look down at her. His eyes drooped, halfway-closed, and his words were slurred as he spoke. “You two don’t seem like strangers. And I saw that before I got shit-faced.”
“Let’s talk about it in the morning, when you’re not drunk.”
His squinted eyes widened to the point of almost being a normal size. “So, you’re not going to deny it then?”
“I won’t, not while you’re drunk.”
He fell silent while visibly struggling to process that ambiguous response in his current drunken state. Then he shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Groaning, Davey rolled to her side, putting her back to him. “Travis. Go. To. Sleep.”
“Fine. But this conversation isn’t—” His sentence ended abruptly, replaced by heavy breathing and the occasional snore.
Davey lay there for hours, swearing a hundred oaths as she listened to the roaring freight train beside her and begged for sleep to come. She wished for ear plugs but didn’t have any. It was on rare occasion that Travis snored, and only after a bout of heavy drinking. But other than a weekly glass of wine, Travis never drank because he prided himself on his intellect and therefore naturally abstained from anything that caused a dulling effect on that.
At precisely 4:07 A.M., Davey gave up. She briefly considered sleeping in the bathroom, but her mind was too wired, and the cold tile floor would be unbearable. Getting some offsite work done would be a better use of time over lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, especially since she’d missed half of the day at the lab. Unfortunately, her work computer was still at Global Cures and her personal laptop was downstairs in the office.
Ugh. There was no other choice. If she stayed for another second and listened to Travis snore, there was a real risk that she might try to suffocate him.
Throwing back the covers, Davey climbed out of bed, not caring whether she disturbed Travis or not. Part of her hoped he would wake up, be sober, and they could talk through the rest of the night or at least until they both fell asleep. But mostly, Davey just wanted him to stop snoring.
Tip-toeing past the living room, she navigated into the kitchen without turning on any lights to fill a glass with water and quench the parched feeling in the back of her throat. Taking the drink with her, she rounded the corner and smacked solidly into a wall that wasn’t there before. A soft curse spilled from her lips as the glass slipped from her grasp, but she never heard the crash of it breaking across the floor. Strong hands steadied her, and a familiar voice drifted across the darkness.
“I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Ethan, why did you sneak up on me like that?”
“I didn’t. I’ve been standing here since midnight.” He pressed something cold into her hands. It took her a second to realize it was the glass of water. There was laughter in Ethan’s voice when he spoke again. “Sometimes I forget others cannot see as well in the dark as I can. Though you did seem quite confident in your skills.”
“Ha. Ha. I have lived here for two years, and routine breeds confidence.”
“Very true,” he agreed. “Did you have trouble sleeping?”
“Yeah,” she answered, wondering if her pulse was still racing from the scare or if it was because he was standing so close to her. Could Ethan hear her heart pounding? She hoped not.
“Ethan, why hasn’t there been any news on my car…or the other man you killed to save me?”
“I called in a sweeper team to take the body back to Global Cures and clear the accident. Your car was taken to a repair shop with an owner who is comfortable working off the books.”
“Oh.” Remembering how fake Ethan’s brains and blood had exploded all over the interior of her car, she began to feel a little queasy.
“Maybe you need something a little stronger than water.”
“It’s happening more quickly,” she blurted out without thinking.
“What?”
“You.” She swallowed. “The last time you lost your memories, it took you longer to be like this—like yourself—charming, awkward, and funny in your own way.”
“Thank you…I think.” He moved closer, and Davey suddenly found it much harder to breathe. “I think that every time you touch me, a little more of me comes back.”
She whispered his name, clutching the glass against her chest as if it might protect her. But her talisman failed. In the next heartbeat, his hands were wrapped in her hair and his lips had found hers, delivering a kiss that stole her breath away. She trembled as his tongue slid against hers, exploring her mouth in slow-burning motion. He tilted her head backward, taking her more deeply, setting her skin afire, and fusing their bodies together as one.
When he finally released her, Davey’s knees gave way. Gasping for air, she swayed on her feet, but Ethan was there. As long as his arms held her, she didn’t have to stand. She didn’t have to breathe.
“It kills me to see you with him,” he said.
“Ethan, don’t.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. His voice was soft and full of regret. “But I can’t be the good guy tonight.”
“Please,” she whispered as tears sprang to her eyes. She was powerless to stop them. “Please don’t.”
“No, Davey. You’re mine.”
Trembling, she clung to him with both hands and vaguely wondered what had happened to her glass of water, but then she realized they were moving. Moonlight washed over them, casting Ethan’s already stormy eyes in shadow. That steely gaze remained hooded with so much unspoken emotion as he lifted her shirt, letting his cool fingertips graze her belly before drifting across her ribs to send warm shivers over her skin. He stared hungrily at her bare breasts, the heat in his eyes and the nearness of his body causing a tug in her loins that pulled moisture between her thighs. When his hand reached out to touch her and closed around her breast, Davey hissed as if she’d been burned. He captured her mouth again, and she kissed him back, urging him deeper as she licked his teeth and lips, claiming him as her own. She gasped when his fingers curled around the lace of her panties and pushed deep inside of her in one quick thrust, lifting her onto her toes. Shuddering, Davey bit his bottom lip and let out an encouraging moan.
In the next second, he had whipped her around, roughly pressing her ass against his crotch as his other hand clasped loosely around her throat. Driving his hips forward, he gave her a taste of how ready he was to take her, and Davey pushed back, rolling her hips and grinding against his cock, making him harder and longer. His fingers tightened as he said her name in a gruff whisper, and then suddenly, her panties were gone, stripped away to leave her completely naked. She rested her elbows rested against the cold granite countertop as he pushed her forward and drew his hands down her back. His mouth followed, scorching a trail from her neck to her bottom, licking every ridge and valley of her spine. Reaching her ass, his mouth languished on each cheek before he dropped to his knees, gripped her thighs, and spread her legs apart. She whimpered when his tongue dipped into her slit and sucked sweetly at her bud, teasing her to oblivion. Moaning softly as every muscle tightened in her body, she dug her nails into both palms to stop the scream that threatened to tear from her lips as she broke into a million pieces. Set adrift in a sea of pleasure, she leaned over the counter gasping for air. Her legs hadn’t stopped quaking when Ethan stood and took her in one stroke, burying his cock inside of her, stretching her womb beyond its limits. Davey tried to relax as he impaled her, letting her body adjust to the generous length and girth of his shaft. Ethan waited. His arms circled around her, his body trembling with hunger, but he didn’t move again until she was ready. He rubbed her shoulders, tantalizing her with more kisses, increasing her arousal until she was slick and wet, allowing his thick cock to slowly sink into her well. Lifting her ass higher, Davey thrust down and backwards, slowly stroking him, making his cock harder, and forcing him deeper into her body.
“Fuck,” he whispered as she pulled forward and pushed back several more times, pumping his cock in steady rhythm. Grunting, he pulled away to grab her by the shoulders. Spinning her around, he crushed her body against his as he kissed her. Glistening with her juices, his erection dug hotly into her belly, and all Davey could think about was having him inside of her again.
The kiss seemed never ending, and she didn’t want it to. Their lips were still sealed together when he lifted her into the air, resting her thighs across his forearms as he took her across the kitchen and to the dining table. He sat down but held her up, biceps not even straining as he did so. Davey looked down. His cock was fully engorged and ready to claim her once more. Her legs were already spread wide. He only had to lower her onto his waiting cock—long, thick, throbbing, and capable of pulling so much pleasure from her body. His shaft twitched as it hovered against her opening, and two beads of moisture dribbled from the head just as he pressed into her folds to claim her inch by glorious inch. Dropping her head to Ethan’s shoulder, Davey clamped her teeth into his flesh to keep from screaming. The immensity of the pleasure that coursed through her body was overwhelming. And when there was no more of him to take, Davey sat on top of his muscled thighs as his cock pierced her to its hilt, filling her womb to its very limits.
They were both shaking now. The blistering heat left Davey’s body damp with sweat. Ethan’s skin—usually so cool to the touch—had warmed as if he burned a low fever. Davey laughed softly. Sex with him had always been amazing. And it felt so good to have him again, with his impressive girth buried so sweetly inside of her.
Leaning forward, Ethan sought her mouth and worked a slow, gentle grind against her lips. When the kiss ended, their eyes locked, and nothing in the world could have felt more right. Cupping her face, Ethan kissed her again, roughly. He was still holding her chin when his eyes took on a new intensity.
“You’re mine,” he said softly, surprising her with the ripple of ferocity that cut through his words.
Nodding slowly, Davey gripped his shoulders and leveraged her body upward, lifting herself until only the very tip of his cock remained inside of her. Then she lowered herself to sit on his thighs again, taking him in completely. Up and down she moved, riding his shaft, increasing the tempo until his fingers clamped down on her hips, digging into her skin as his jaw set with steely concentration. Yes, she was his. But he was also hers. And she meant it as fiercely as he did.
Davey watched him as she moved, saw his eyes close as he neared the brink. Then she quickly maneuvered from his lap and kneeled before him, pushing his knees apart. In one motion, she gripped his cock in one hand, wrapped her lips around it, and swallowed as much of him as she could. Uttering a thick moan, Ethan came…violently. His hips lifted as his cock pumped and pulsated, spilling a hot release. Finally emptied, he collapsed against the chair and took a deep, shuddering breath.
He was still impossibly hard as he sighed and pulled her onto his lap to slowly kiss her breasts, worshipping her nipples as his tongue swirled and sucked each bud. Then that tortuous mouth moved to her neck, finding her most sensitive spots and teased them until she was wild with desire. Davey rocked forward, grinding her clit against his stiff cock, anxious for another release. He wasn’t inside of her, but she desperately needed him to be.
“Ethan…please fuck me again.”
He responded by nipping the front of her neck with his teeth. “Don’t worry. I’m not done with you yet,” he whispered and slapped her ass lightly.
He carried her again, this time to the living room, and lowered her onto the bedding she had carefully prepared for him hours before. He pushed her legs up and back until her ankles were overhead. Spread wide, she was completely open to him as he kneeled in front of her, cock in hand and poised to take her. Davey bit her lip in anticipation. He pushed into her slit with a throaty groan, impaling her in a single, quick thrust. The new angle found more to tantalize and Davey squirmed beneath him. When she half-moaned, half-whimpered, his dark gaze fastened onto hers.
“Try to stay quiet,” he said.
He leaned forward, covering her body with his, and began moving his hips, driving violently into her. Davey gasped. His hips snapped forward again, taking what was his, plunging into her depths more deeply than ever before. She gritted her teeth, trying in vain to stop the moans and cries from escaping her lips, but every thrust brought her closer to the edge as he bottomed out inside of her, his pelvis pounding against her clit, making her writhe in pleasure. He covered her mouth with one hand and slammed into her with unyielding strokes, jarring her body with the force of each movement. Davey struggled to breathe as moisture spilled between her thighs, slickening with the thrusts of his cock. The heat was blistering now. Her core balled tightly, and she cried out as the ecstasy erupted, overflowing into an all-encompassing wave that seized her muscles and paralyzed her lungs. Ethan kept moving, relentlessly stroking exploding nerve endings to send her into a heightened frenzy. Pleasure and pain rolled into one. Stars exploded across her vision as she climaxed to new heights. The blissful high gradually tapered before cycling through another rapturous peak. At last, it ended, leaving her in a quaking and trembling heap of satisfaction.
Ethan still moved between her legs, but slowly now, fucking her raw as he watched her with open adoration. Davey studied him an aching heart, not believing he was really there. That he had truly come back to her. She loved him so much. And he felt so incredible.
It should not have been possible, but Davey felt her body responding again, coming to life under the skill of his touch. This time, when she skyrocketed to release, Ethan came with her. She closed her eyes and savored every spasm, jolt, and tremor. His weight briefly fell across her chest as he sank across her body, emptied and spent. Davey ran her fingers through his hair, imagining what it would be like to do this with him forever. Ethan rolled over, and she went with him to keep his cock inside of her because she wasn’t quite ready for him to pull out.
She sprawled on top of him, her muscles liquified by pleasure. “Ethan, you’re incredible.”
Laughing softly, he stroked her hair and kissed it. “So are you.”
As it happened whenever she made a decision that would end up hurting someone she cared about, a torpedo of guilt soon followed the selfish act. And it did now, hurtling inbound to sink the ship of her afterglow.
“Ethan, this can’t happen again…not until I tell Travis the truth about us.”
His fingers made languid traces across her back, drawing invisible patterns on her skin. He didn’t speak for a long time, and Davey began to worry. Needing to see his face, she sat up. He had one arm behind his head and wore a thoughtful expression.
“Ethan?”
“You do not need my permission, Davey.”
“I’m not asking for permission. I’m asking for your help.”
He frowned in puzzlement. “To tell Travis? I’d be happy to.”
“No,” she said quickly. “That’s not what I mean.”
Rolling to his side, he glanced sideways at her. “Then what do you mean?”
“Ugh. You’re going to make me say it.” Davey folded her arms across her bare chest, suddenly feeling vulnerable. “I tried, Ethan, but I didn’t even last one day. You stepped back into my life, and I immediately fell back into your arms even though I have a boyfriend who happened to be upstairs sleeping while we were fucking. I’ve tried very hard not to be that girl anymore. But what I did tonight was extremely selfish and it’s really going to hurt someone I care about.”
“Do you love him?”
“I do,” she admitted softly. “But not like I love you, Ethan, never like you.”
Nodding solemnly, he pulled her down next to him. “Can things between us be as they once were?” he asked.
“I think so,” she whispered.
Very well then,” he said and kissed her. “After tonight, nothing will happen again until you speak to Travis. But,” he added as both his voice and his gaze took on a hardness that dared challenge, “tonight, you are mine.”
Davey swallowed. “Okay.”
Stroking her face, Ethan kissed her lips again and sighed. “I need to be level with you.”
She tried not to smile. Ethan had a knack for looking adorable and vulnerable all at once, especially when puzzling out the nuances of human interactions that his machine brain sometimes struggled to process at the same lightning speed it could extrapolate the most complicated objective data. He obviously had an important confession to make and it wouldn’t have been wise to get side-tracked by his loveable awkwardness.
“The Alchemy Initiative has been reactivated.”
“The program that created you?” Davey asked, raising an eyebrow. “No offense, but I thought Global Cures had written it off as a failed experiment.”
“Had my brother had his way, they would have. He lied to our father, told them my body and the research were both destroyed before I could be brought online. But five years ago, Thaddeus Eleazar finally found out the truth.” Wearing a pained look, Ethan swallowed. “As the CEO of Global Cures, he had full authority to order the commander to bring me in, so he could see for himself if his son truly lived within the machine.”
She touched his chest as her heart ached for him. “He didn’t believe, did he? Oh Ethan, I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “No. It wasn’t that.”
“Then what happened?”
“I can’t talk about it,” he said with a grimace.
Davey frowned. “Is that also classified?”
“No,” Ethan’s eyes sparked with anger, but his voice remained soft. “I simply do not wish to speak about it.”
“Okay,” Davey said, backing off. It wasn’t like him to lose his temper. Whatever happened had to have been something really terrible because Ethan had been taken away and his memories reset yet again. Ethan’s brother, the commander, was a hard-ass. But in the end, the commander had been the one who allowed Ethan to live a human life with Davey for a time.
After giving Ethan a few minutes of space, she attempted to get the conversation back on track. “So, I assume that reactivating The Alchemy Initiative has something to do with Hogan…and Agent Drekker?”
“Yes, but in order to understand that, you must know the rest of the story. The car accident that claimed my human life and my father’s quest to resurrect me was not truly the beginning. All of this started with Dr. David Savage, a brilliant scientist in the employ of Global Cures. He was the man responsible for creating the mathematical formula that could transmute a human soul. He also engineered a vessel capable of withstanding the exponential amount of energy required to accomplish such a thing. But during his attempt to return Seth Eleazar to his father, Dr. Savage inadvertently designed the ultimate war machine—a soldier with heightened strength, agility, and speed, who would be invulnerable to bullets and chemical warfare, and resistant to explosives. A soldier who could never tire. A soldier who would never miss. A soldier who could infiltrate behind all enemy lines. In short, Dr. Savage created the body I inhabit today.
“But there was an accident. The resulting fire destroyed the lab and claimed Dr. Savage’s life before he could complete his work. His final act was to bring me—this body—online.” Ethan smiled sadly. “You know my history from there.”
“I do. But it makes you so very special, Ethan.” She squeezed his hand. He’d given her more than enough information to infer the right conclusions. “So, someone at Global Cures decided that the profits from a military application of human transmutations outweighed the risks and found a scientist with enough of a god-complex to attempt to recreate Dr. Savage’s work. Drekker is a by-product of those renewed alchemy experiments.”
“Yes, but something went wrong with the transmutation. Instead of becoming tethered to the body they created for him, Drekker possessed a living human. Mason Drekker became something else entirely…something evil. And he cannot be contained to a single host. He’s somehow corrupted process. When his body is killed, Drekker moves on even though the vessel has died.”
“What happens to the people whose bodies he takes control of?”
“They cease to exist. Two souls cannot inhabit the same body. Once Drekker transmutes into a human, that person is essentially overwritten…terminated.”
“Shit. Then Drekker could be anyone when he comes after Hogan. How the hell are we supposed to protect him from something like that? Never let him outside again?”
“I will keep Hogan safe. Fortunately, Drekker can’t just transmute into anyone. There has to be a certain susceptibility to the process. GC scientists are still struggling to understand it, but my mission right now is essentially damage control.”
Davey studied him, gnawing at her bottom lip. She believed every word he said. Ethan had no reason to lie to her, but she still got the nagging feeling that he was holding back. “Why do I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me?”
“Because there is,” he answered without hesitation. He placed his hands on either side of her face.
“I have my memory back and would never betray either of you to my superiors—no matter the directive, no matter the cost to me. But that’s not all. I don’t understand it, but something bigger is stopping me. Something has changed inside of me, Davey. I first noticed it at the school…in the parking lot…”
His gaze slid away from her as his voice trailed off. His eyebrows furrowed in thought, but his hands never left Davey’s skin. A constant, steady hum started between her ears. Beneath his hands, her cheeks began to tingle, buzzing like the buildup before a static shock.
“When you touched me,” he finished softly. Shaking his head, Ethan leaned away from her, and the hum fell silent. It took a moment longer for the tingling across her skin to dissipate.
“I know it may seem odd, but it frightens me. I’m used to being controlled by my father and brother, but this—this is different.”
“It’s not strange, Ethan. Fear is a part of being human. We get scared all the time.”
When a faint, uncertain smile tugged at his lips, Davey couldn’t resist. Sliding into his arms, she kissed him. Taking her time, she moved her mouth against him as if exploring him for the first time. When she broke away, his eyes had slightly widened.
“I could investigate the matter further,” he mused. “Run an integrated diagnostic of all systems and coding, but that would require me to enter a dormant state where I would experience a significant decrease in awareness for my surroundings.”
“But,” she said between kisses, “since there’s a psycho out there trying to kidnap my brother, you wouldn’t be the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree to try that right now.” Nuzzling his neck, she moved to his ear and teased the soft lobe between her teeth.
Ethan squirmed. “Affirmative.”
Davey let out a soft laugh. “So…do you still have that phenomenal sense of hearing and infrared vision?”
“Yes.” He raised one eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because…” Davey began, but paused to bite his nipple. “I’m yours tonight.”
“Ah,” he said and smiled, shuddering as she slid her tongue down the length of his abs. “We definitely wouldn’t want anyone to walk in on us while you’re doing that.”
She licked the inside of his thigh and then slowly lavished the velvety cock resting against it, tugging a moan from his lips as she slowly swirled her tongue across the very tip.
“Or that,” he whispered hoarsely.