EPILOGUE
Marcus opened the door to Steel’s office, and held it aloft to allow Ella, who carried Nate in her arms, through ahead of him as he sighed. Neither of them had slept much last night, and he knew his wife was running on empty. But she wouldn’t listen to him. He had tried and failed to keep her at home this morning because she insisted being here to listen to the update on the professor. But there were other concerns.
Namely, her brother.
She shot him a deadly look, and he raked his hand in his hair. As they stepped into the room, raised voices greeted them.
“I want you both to know that you are not working together on the next mission. It’s out of the fucking question. Until this conflict between you two is sorted, you keep your distance from each other. Understand? There is no place for romantic liaisons of any kind among the team,” Steel spat out, boring holes into Jake and Isabella.
Marcus closed the door behind him with a loud bang, and everyone turned to face them.
“Aw.” Isabella rushed to Ella’s side to fawn over the baby.
“Nice to see you, Drayton. Ella, I didn’t expect you here.” Steel’s gaze reached over the women to land on Marcus, who arched his eyebrow and shrugged.
Ella smiled at Isabella, but lifted her head to gaze at the interplay between Marcus and their boss. “I needed to know how the professor is.”
Steel motioned for Ella to sit down in the tufted brown leather armchair next to the desk, and she moved to settle herself all the while gripping Nate as he slept.
Marcus stared at her. Getting her to relax and leave the baby for a second proved difficult. He understood her worry, but she would make herself ill if she carried on.
She lifted her gaze to spear him with another angry glare.
I cannot help it.
You must lighten up a little. He’s my son too. It wouldn’t hurt for you to give in a little. I want to help.
He blew out a breath. He didn’t want an argument in front of the team—or at all, for that matter. He needed coffee. Fast. He wandered to the corner of the room where the tall silver thermos promised him relief and helped himself to a strong, full mug of the rich dark roast he knew Steel had. He looked back at Ella.
Coffee?
She shook her head and stared at Steel.
Marcus sipped the hot brew and leaned back against the wall cabinet, listening to the conversation as it swirled around him.
“The professor is sedated, but he’s expected to make a full recovery, which is good news for us, because I’m letting you all know, he’s going to have no choice but to join the team.”
Marcus choked and spluttered his coffee as he digested the words Steel said. He swiped his hand over his fitted dark T-shirt and slammed his mug down on the desk. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? The professor is the enemy. He’s murdered people, been involved in playing God with our DNA, abduction, and anything else you can imagine. He needs to be put down. I get that we need him for intel, but shit, becoming part of the team? You cannot be fucking serious. We cannot trust him.”
Marcus couldn’t rein in his fury as he spoke. He knew he needed to control that, but lately, his temper escalated at the slightest provoking. Steel zeroed in on his face and his eyes narrowed. He knew his tone caused Steel to question his mood.
“Drayton, I’m not asking you to trust him, but he could prove useful. I suspect the Padre wanted him dead, and for that reason alone we need him. Our task is to make him understand he has no choice but to help us as soon as he’s recovered. In the meantime, I want you to report to Dr. Davies for support and counseling.”
Marcus rose from his position and tread closer to Steel, his fists clenched. All eyes rested upon him and he grit his teeth. He glanced over at Ella holding their son and she lifted the sleeping baby toward him. He exhaled and bent over to place his hands under the soft white blanket. He picked up the light weight and Nate’s saucer-like blue eyes flashed open wide, capturing his sole attention. Straightaway, the tension in his shoulders eased and he smiled down at his son. His heart ached as he brushed the plump round cheek, and he brought him closer against his chest. Nate smiled. He knew it was wind from the books he had read and a vibration under his hand confirmed it.
“What the hell is that smell?” Jake said.
“He needs changing.” Ella stood. “I’ll take him. I must call in and see the doctor, too. She is going to run some tests on Nate. Can you meet me there when you’re finished here, Marcus?”
He nodded. “I won’t be long.” He kissed his son’s rosy cheek and handed him back to Ella’s waiting arms, watching her as she headed toward the door, but she stopped and turned around to face them.
Here it comes.
“Look, yesterday, the professor told me I have a brother. I don’t believe him for a minute, but I need to know why he would say that. He said my brother is helping the Elusti gather people like us. I’m sure it’s a pack of lies and fabrication but I need to know.”
Sweetheart, we’ve been over this! The man will say anything to hurt you.
Steel flashed a stern look at him and back at Ella.
“Now that your son is back, our focus is on the Elusti and the Padre. I have multiple missions going on in America, Asia, and Europe. This is the job you all undertook when you signed on. It isn’t something that will be achieved overnight. I’m not sanctioning any further personal missions. Whoever this man is, Ella, if he isn’t on the radar or part of an active mission, it will have to wait. There’s too much going on.”
Steel walked to the door and opened it to enable Ella to leave. Marcus wanted Ella to take a break from Orion; she was entitled to maternity leave. Hell, she didn’t need to work at all. He would be happy if she played the stay-at-home mom for a while, but he knew as he folded his arms that’s not what she planned. Damn it, after everything, she remained infuriatingly stubborn.
“I understand. I want to let you know that I’m taking personal leave. To look after Nate. I feel I’ve lost so much time with him, and I don’t want to miss another moment. He’s so precious to me and Marcus.” She pinned him with her angel-blue eyes.
His heart stammered in his ribs.
Are you out of your mind? Ella.
Drayton—not now, not here.
He ground his teeth together and swung his gaze back at Isabella, who stared at him with complete understanding. Ella may well be taking time off from Orion, but she wasn’t going to quit working. She intended to search for her brother with Nate in tow.
You are not doing this, Ella. Why didn’t you include me in this decision?
Because you would try to stop me?
Too fucking right.
“I’ll see you at the doctor’s and we’ll talk later, you can be damn sure of that,” Marcus said aloud.
Steel flicked his gaze between the two, as if getting an undercurrent of a conversation he didn’t understand.
She nodded.
“I think taking time off to spend with the little one is perfect.” Steel smoothed his finger over the baby’s tiny hand.
“Good.” Ella stepped outside.
Steel closed the door and swiveled around to face the remaining trio. “Now, what the hell is going on? Jake, you and Isabella last night—that interlude shall we call it—was all over the transmission. We all had an earful here. Who the hell is Roman? Should I be concerned? Do I need to bring him in?”
Marcus sighed. He couldn’t get his mind off Ella, even as the others talked around him. She was a damn force of nature, he had always known that, but to strike out on her own to search for her kin, when she hadn’t even talked it through with him, floored him. The fact that she had made that decision alone and simply expected him to accept it pushed all the wrong buttons.
“It’s a non-issue, boss. It won’t happen again.” Isabella’s eyes focused right ahead.
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
“That’s shit, and you know it. If you hadn’t trounced off the other day in a mood, you would have heard what I wanted to say. I don’t care who this Roman is. If you have feelings for me, and I’m sure you do, I want to explore them. Steel, stay out of my face. I give you my time, my energy—my life, damn it—but this, this I get to have.” Jake stood in front of Isabella.
She stepped back and opened her mouth.
Marcus knew she was about to tell Jake to back off even though she wanted the opposite. It was a move at self-preservation. A mind full of reasons why they shouldn’t get involved exploded into his mind. Roman, the vampire prince, and starting a war with his people, to name a couple.
Shit!
Jake grabbed her shoulders and kissed her. It happened so fast that even though he knew she wanted to resist, she didn’t have chance.
Marcus turned away, not wanting to be a voyeur in this scene.
“Doesn’t anyone listen to me? This is my office. Get the fuck out of here, you two. Now, before I fire the pair of you.”
Jake broke away and flicked his gaze over at Marcus, a huge smirk plastered on his face, and he pulled Isabella with him as he headed for the door. “See—she cannot resist me.”
Jake opened the door and they left, closing it behind them.
He knew their path was littered with troubles, but as he scratched his head, he wondered whose wasn’t. He heaved out a long breath, and studied Steel as he reached in the bottom drawer of his desk. He knew what the man kept there and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.
Steel settled the bottle of whiskey on the desk and pulled up two glass tumblers, filling them both with hefty measures. He handed him one and he accepted the alcohol, needing it for what he was about to do.
“I’m getting too old for this shit—now, tell me what that was all about? Ella isn’t the kind to stay at home,” he said.
Nothing escaped Steel.
“Getting Nate back—well, it isn’t over, is it? The reason they took him haunts us both. They have our DNA. Not just ours, either. The world is full of other entities and they’re creating an army of beings trained for their purposes, with who knows what as their agenda. Some of their plans are written in the files I recovered along with Nate. The fear for him, and others like him, will never go away. Ella lives in that perpetual state of being ready, trying to save everyone. We’re immortal, Steel. Imagine having an army that never dies? They would be fucking invincible. We must stop this. We must work with all the vampires, shifters, soul-shifters, and the other otherworldly beings out there because everyone is under threat. Humanity is under threat.”
He sighed and raked his hand through his hair, studying a portrait on Steel’s desk. His eyes widened. Fuck, he knew he’d seen that witch before. He studied Steel, who followed his gaze and lifted the picture off the desk and slipped it inside his drawer.
“Not a word,” Steel said.
Marcus rubbed the day’s growth of whiskers on his chin and stared at the man facing him. He nodded and looked away.
“I wish Ella was the stay-at-home type. Nate’s a baby—he doesn’t get a say in any of this—but I do, and I’m going to make my voice heard. I won’t interfere in your life, but don’t fucking mess with mine. I won’t back down. This is my family, and I will do everything in my power to protect them, even from themselves,” he said.
He rambled, but it was a confession of sorts.
“I’m not sure what you mean, son. Ella is a remarkable woman. She reminds me of Josep—”
“Don’t—she reminds me of my mother too. She sacrificed everything and ended up alone. I know what it’s like to grow up without a mother, and I won’t let that happen to Nate or any other children who come our way.”
Marcus placed his tumbler back on the table, certain of his action as he stared at it and watched the sunlight hit the glass, reflecting a rainbow of bright colors. He stood. “I have to go and collect my wife.”
Steel smoothed his hand over his bushy moustache, twisting the ends, and cocked his head to the side as he strode to the door.
“Whatever you’re up to, Drayton, be careful. I thought I had all the answers once. It didn’t work out so well for me. One day, I will tell you my story. One thing you’re right about is making alliances with those at risk. I’m going to arrange a gathering.”
Marcus opened the door. They needed to join forces. A war was coming. As far as Ella, was concerned, she belonged to him. He had every right to invoke his control over her.
****
After talking with Steel, Marcus cleared his mind. For his plan to work, he needed Ella to be unaware of what he intended. He acted the dutiful husband at the doctor’s, talking about the various blood tests to check the baby’s development, and watched as the slim and pretty Doctor Davies with freckles showed him Nate’s weight and percentile chart. She confirmed that everything looked normal. After the doctor’s, he took Ella and the baby home, where she talked eagerly about her plans.
“I will take Nate with me. We will travel to Wales. I have a hunch it’s a good place to start.”
He forced himself to remain focused and in control. “Let’s talk about it later.”
The day slipped into night and he lay awake in bed, aware that Ella sat in the white rocking chair, snuggling Nate against her breast. Reading her thoughts as she wished that Josephine and her mother were alive touched him deep inside. Ella wished she had been closer to her own mother and missed Josephine, who had shown her love unlike her own mother. A sadness filled her. He studied her as she brushed Nate’s silky hair with her hand, loving the feel of it between her fingers as he smiled in his sleep.
“Ella, come to bed. I cannot sleep without you by my side. Give Nate to me,” he called.
Lifting herself off the chair, she moved near the bed and Marcus sat forward to take the baby from her. She passed Nate over and slid into the bed in her short silky nightshirt.
Marcus held Nate and brushed a soft kiss on his son’s cheek. “We need to make the most of when he sleeps, Ella, or before you know it, he’ll be waking just to be held. He’s smart, like his dad.”
Marcus twisted away so that his broad back faced her as he got up from the bed. He stood naked and knew her gaze followed him, bringing her attention to him. He placed Nate on his back in his wooden crib positioned at the end of their king-sized bed and covered the soft fleecy blanket over him. Once more, he kissed his son tenderly and returned to slide back in the bed. Ella stared over at the crib. The desire and need for her drove him wild. His heart squeezed with the love it held for her and Nate. Shuffling closer to her, he cupped her face with both hands and turned her head to face him. He kissed her plum lips, and nudged the seam of her mouth with his eager tongue. Ella opened at his playful thrusts, and he held her chin as he slid his tongue deep inside to taste her sweetness. His desire spiraled as he leaned into her luscious body, pressing her down into the bed.
Ella arched her body and skin touched skin. His painful arousal brushed against her soft thighs, and she clutched his muscled arms. Marcus dipped inside her thoughts and knew she wanted him to make love to her. To make the sadness that lingered disappear. A need pulsed inside his body and blood surged through his veins, pushing him to take what belonged to him. He broke the searing kiss and she panted at his departure. Marcus stared into her eyes.
Mine. Say it, Ella.
He searched her mind and pushed to insist she comply with his demand.
I’m yours.
He dipped his hands down over her flat belly and soft mound to touch her silky folds. A groan escaped him at the wetness there already. He planted a tender kiss on her lips and her chin and he proceeded to slide down her body, laying tiny kisses on the exposed velvet skin of her neck that brushed the coarse whiskers from his chin that had regrown over the last several days. She bucked under him and her need increased, as did his. He breathed against her neck and felt the shivers race down her spine. Ella’s response to his touch exhilarated him, and he never wanted to let go.
He licked and kissed the sensitive skin below her ear that he knew drove her crazy. She giggled and sighed. She wove her hands through his thick, wavy hair and gripped it tight as he nipped her skin with his sharp teeth. He knew what he needed to do after plucking it out from a reluctant Isabella. The pulse in her neck flashed and he couldn’t resist. He sank his elongated teeth in her neck. The moment the blood gushed into his mouth, the sweetness, like an aphrodisiac, drove any second thoughts away. He clutched her to him, drinking and savoring the taste. Wave after wave of euphoria sizzled through his veins, shocking him. He knew she felt the same—they were connected—and when she lifted her body, offering herself to him, he couldn’t back down. He needed to possess her body and soul. Marcus wrapped his arms around her back, fusing their bodies together as he sucked and drank her blood.
A low growl escaped him and he continued to plunder. The wondrous rush of delicious tingles surged in his bloodstream, causing a wildness to take over. He pushed her farther into the mattress and positioned his erect cock over her waiting core. Ella wriggled and twisted; he knew the balance of taking her blood needed to be carefully maintained. Her nails dug into his back and he lost control, thrusting his arousal deep into her warm and wet channel, gasping at the complete and utter joining.
Mine in body and soul, Ella. Say it.
Yours in body and soul.
Marcus groaned as the walls of her muscles gripped around his cock, heightening the sensation and building the orgasm. She rose as he rocked into her body, meeting each thrust with the tilt of her hips. He withdrew his teeth from her neck, licking the open sores. The wounds vanished, but underneath him, she writhed and undulated with the sensations rippling through her from their mating.
You will forget what the professor said about your brother. All you want to do for the next six months is care for Nate. Do you hear me, Ella?
Yes.
Marcus cupped her right breast, teasing it, and lowered his mouth to play with her sensitive nipple. She moaned, but thrashed under him as he licked and sucked the hardened bud.
Submit to my will, Ella. I have a right, and I claim it. Submit. Say it.
Marcus pushed deeper inside her body, his cock filling her to perfection. He sensed her resistance and confusion as it swirled inside her. He wanted to tip her over the edge to oblivion to gain her consent. He plundered her wet folds and massaged the skin where their bodies connected to each other. He slowed his rhythm, and she lifted her hips, gasping. A fine sheen of perspiration covered her body, and her heart rate soared; he could hear the fast beat.
Say it.
She pressed her head back deep into the pillow as he rocked in and out of her body, pushing her to the limits.
“Marcus.”
He played with her sensitive nub, driving her to a frenzy. He rubbed his finger in wide circles and her core flooded around him as she wriggled against him. When his thumb brushed over her sensitive spot, she pressed her hand over his to stop the tantalizing sensation but he held her hand and continued to play. A whirlwind of confusion clouded her mind, he felt it.
Marcus.
She pleaded for understanding, but he tugged her nipple in his mouth, replacing her concern with fire and desire. He felt her will dissolve as the waves of her orgasm hit her and she cried out.
I submit.
As the words entered his mind, she relinquished all control to him. Her body melted into his. Her hands smoothed along the length of his spine, and an overbearing wave of animalistic need thrummed throughout his entire body, driving him. An explosive power pulsed through his veins like a wildfire that consumed him as he ravished her. She wouldn’t be able to resist his command. In the morning, her memories of what the professor had said would be erased, and she wouldn’t remember her scheme to search for her brother. In fact, she wouldn’t query anything he asked of her. He didn’t want her complete submission, merely the ability to prevent her making reckless choices. He wouldn’t overstep the control he held over her.
“Forgive me, Ella. I love you.”
Marcus lay a heated trail of kisses down her neck, shoulders, and breasts. Marking her skin with tiny bites. Riding the waves of the tumultuous ripples that consumed him. He plunged deeper inside her perfect sated body, made only for him. He promised Ella he wouldn’t take away her will, but he blanked out that thought from his mind as she wrapped her legs around his back, deepening the joining. She loved him without question, and their child.
He cried out as he came and spilled his seed deep inside her womb. He wanted this moment to last forever. She may even be pregnant again. He wanted a large family, and Ella right beside him. Safe and wrapped in his arms. Always. She belonged to him, and one day she would understand that making her submit control to him was because of his all-consuming love for her, and erasing her memory of a fictitious brother was for her own good. He prayed that would be the case as he held her in his arms as she drifted to sleep, and he kissed her forehead.
THE END