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“YOU CAN’T TELL HIM.”

Mia’s eyes flew open as she sat up quickly, looking around. She lay in the middle of a rich, green field with rolling hills that smelled like spring. It was beautiful and unlike anything she had ever seen. She patted the grass, smiled at the smooth texture and wanted to roll around in it.

“You can’t tell him.” The words drifted toward her.

“Who said that?” She slid to her knees, gaze keen as she searched for the voice. “Who’s here?”

A tall man with green eyes, long white hair wearing a black robe walked toward her. “Hello, Mia.”

“Hello, Grandfather. You scared me. Is this your place?” She looked around again. “I’ve never seen this one before, it’s beautiful.”

“Yes, one of them. Come sit. Let’s catch up.” He folded gracefully onto the grass.

Inhaling deep, she sat back and looked at him. “You look good, at peace.”

He nodded. “Things are changing but that’s good I think. How about you? Still searching?”

Did she hear mocking in his tone? Possibly. Grandfather had been around as long as she remembered. He first came to her in a dream in her early teens when she first escaped the Liege. She’d been lost and afraid, he told her how to find Thomas and the others which literally saved her life.

“Yes, I am.” She explained Thomas’ mission and her working the case. When she discussed the murders her heart wept. Emotions intensified in dreams.

“There is much evil in the world. At times like these there must be a balance,” he said. “You cannot tell the young man of your past. The time is not right. He’s not ready.”

Mia thought about what she had seen in the mist and agreed. “He’s been through a lot, thinks he’s older than me.” She offered a bittersweet smile. “You’re right, I cannot and will not betray the others by sharing our secret.” She looked at Grandfather. “Will he stay? With me I mean?”

He smiled. “That’s between the two of you.”

She hadn’t expected an answer but it never hurt to ask. “He changed. He’s fully human but has similar powers to us. How’s that possible?”

“Perhaps his injury required surgery that tapped into the same areas of his brain as yours. You’re human with a little extra, so is he.” He shrugged. “How would I know these things?”

“He’s lonely,” she said speaking of herself as well. She’d never realized just how lonely she had been.

“He’s not alone. There are others like him, coming together because of the war. Choices and alliances will be made, could be good, could be bad. Who knows what’s in the hearts of men?”

She took note of his words and didn’t bother asking for explanations. Most times she thought he was an oracle with no idea of the things he said.

“What about us? Are we going to survive all of this change?” Granted she told Thomas she knew she’d die one day, but if that day was in the distance, she wouldn’t be mad.

He gave her one of his rare smiles. Green eyes lit like shining shamrocks. “You will indeed survive dear child. One might think your journey is just beginning.”

Warmth filled her.

“There you are,” Noah said, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet from the rolling gray mist. “I didn’t see you.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close.

They stood in the middle of the campus, watching students come and go. She blinked several times to get her balance and waved at the fog. It rolled away so she could see clearly.

“I’ll be glad when I’m able to do that,” Noah murmured against the top of her head.

She leaned back and patted his cheek. “You will. Why are we here?”

Holding her hand they moved forward. “I don’t know. Green’s van hadn’t been on campus.”

“Could he have been here without his van?” she asked as they moved toward the student union.

“I suppose so.” They stood just inside the large building for a few seconds. “There.” He pointed. “Saul, the guy from the meeting.”

Saul moved quickly through the building, turned and walked down a long corridor. He opened a door into a small office with Leviticus Club on the door.

Noah whistled as they followed. “Somebody made a serious donation for that.”

Saul entered a small room in the back, closed the door and pulled out his phone.

Mia and Noah looked at each other and moved closer to look at the number. Noah wrote it down.

Moments later a male answered the call.

“Drum, we may have a problem,” Saul said. “The FBI is investigating Green’s death. My contact at the police department sent word to go to ground.”

“FBI? Hmm. Okay, I’ll pass it on. Your numbers are down for that area, what’s the problem?”

“Working on it. But we may need to hit the other campus soon, give this area a break. Or should we work the streets and hostels? We have decent success with those.”

“Not yet. Not until I speak with the Priest, see how he wants it to go. Sacrifice or worship? I’ll let you know. Don’t worry about the FBI either, that’ll be handled and I’ll let you know when the heat’s blown over.”

“Good to know.” He disconnected and stared out the window.

“That was two days ago when you arrived in town,” Noah said. “Someone called to let them know.”

“Because they knew this guy and his group was involved in the murder.” She looked at Noah. “But who? The Detective?  Receptionist? Those are the only two I’ve ever seen.”

“There are more,” Noah said watching Saul pace. “He’s nervous. Wonder why?”

“Murder makes a person nervous.” She watched Saul bite his fingernail while staring at the wall.

“But that happened last week. I spoke to him last night, he seemed fine. Can you read his mind?”

“What? No, I can’t do that, not fully,” she said. They watched Saul a few moments longer.

“What next?”

“You’re driving, I’m along for the ride,” she said easing her hand into his much larger one.

“Wonder if we can find Peter Drum or Aaron Mosely,” he said looking around.

Nothing happened.

Noah had no real idea how the dream-walking thing actually worked. In the past, he revisited places he had been before and was able to see what transpired in that location. But what if he could see places and people by choice, direct the dream to his specifications? That would be a big help.

“Look at me.” He stared at her. “Think Peter Drum with me. We want to see Peter Drum.” He squeezed her hand.

“We want to see Peter Drum,” she murmured.

“We want to see Peter Drum with the Leviticus Club,” he clarified staring at her.

She repeated what he said.

Seconds later the mist swooshed over them. They moved at a tremendous speed and stopped in an office. A man sat at his desk talking on his phone.

“Not yet. Not until I speak with the Priest, see how he wants it to go. Sacrifice or worship? I’ll let you know. Don’t worry about the FBI either, that’ll be handled and I’ll let you know when the heat’s blown over.”

Slender, blonde, well-dressed with every strand in place, he put down the phone and sighed as he made another call. “Henry, Saul needs a permanent vacation never to be seen again. The place is hot right now, make it happen in two days max.” He hung up, stood and brushed his shirt. “I hate when people get sloppy and make excuses.” He paused. “We may need to take out his contact at the police station as well.”

“Last night may have been the last time Saul is seen,” Noah said.

Mia nodded as Drum left the office. She looked around his desk to see if he left notes or anything lying around. Nothing.

“Can we follow him?”

“No, I’m wearing out,” Noah said.

“Same here,” she said as they disappeared into sleep.

<<<>>>

The morning sky didn’t burst onto the horizon with brilliant colors announcing its arrival. It rolled through the blinds in shades of gray, an omen of the day to come.

There was a bit of chill in the room when Mia woke. She stiffened at the arms wrapped around her waist and slowly remembered Noah’s declaration of wanting her last night.

Her gaze flicked to the window noted the gray clouds and a darker lining on the horizon. They were running out of time. She desperately wanted to prove she could do this type of work, not just to Thomas but to herself.

Yesterday, she hummed as pieces to the puzzle locked into place. She knew, with uncanny certainty Leviticus Club was somehow involved the moment the skinny chick approached Noah at the buffet.

A clap of thunder rolled across the sky. She burrowed closer to Noah’s warmth. They wouldn’t be going anywhere soon.

He pulled her closer, brushed a kiss across her forehead. “It’s a Texas morning.”

She smiled.

“Thunder and lightning’s the best way to greet the day.” His warm breath rolled across her scalp. His masculine scent filled and touched her. Why hadn’t she ever noticed that before? The men on the team had scents, everyone did. But she never thought of their scents as masculine. Interesting.

“Sleep well? No more dream-walking?”

“Slept great. Just woke.” She turned so that her back was to him. He moved closer. They fit into a perfect spoon.

His questing hand ran down her outer thigh, returned and moved slowly to her stomach, breast, pinched her nipple and down to rest between her legs. The hard cock pressed against her back clearly said this was more than morning wood. The musky scent of his arousal filled her nostrils adding to the accumulating scents in the room.

This was different. He didn’t roll on top, spread her legs and get relief. Frowning, she wondered if there was a problem. Turning, she met his gaze with a question on her lips. A question he kissed away.

His firm lips latched onto hers. The kiss obliterated every thought. All her concerns and questions evaporated like the early morning dew. He moved slightly, his big, strong arms tightened around her, drawing her closer still.

They broke apart, gasping. Pleasured shock raced through her. Her core throbbed in expectation. She stared into the heat filling his gaze, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. He deepened the kiss, probing with his tongue.

She moaned at the exquisite feeling of his tongue. “That was amazing,” she said in a whisper when they broke apart. “Teach me how to do that.”

He stared into her eyes for a few seconds. “Whatever you want.”

“I want it all. Teach me how to do it all,” she said excitedly.

His brow rose. “You’ve never had sex before?”

“Sex? Yes, of course. It’s necessary to have a periodic release. But I want to learn about this.” She ran her hand down his back. “What we’re doing now.”

“Kissing? Hugging? Hopefully foreplay?” he smiled.

“Yes. I want to experience it all,” she said wholeheartedly. Her body burned. Her core throbbed in a way it never had before.

“Okay.” He placed a quick kiss on her lips. “What if this time I show you how good it will be between us and start the lessons next time?”

Her heart slammed in her chest at the sultry promise in his gaze. Swallowing hard, she ran her tongue across her dry lips and nodded. “Okay.”

His smile reminded her of a naughty boy who had just been granted his fondest wish instead of punishment. He ran his hand beneath her back and pulled off her shirt, removed her bra and pulled down her panties.

Exposed to his gaze, her breath hitched as his finger lightly grazed the tips of her breast.

“Like that?”

Her skin heated like an out of control forest fire. Tingles shot to her core. Moisture dampened her thigh.

“Oh yes. Feels so good,” she moaned.

His tongue swiped across her nipples.

She jerked and looked down at the top of his head.

“Shh, let me work,” he murmured against her breast, before drawing the nipple into his mouth. Each suckle from his mouth sent little jolts of electricity crashing straight between her legs.

No one had ever touched her this way. Shock turned into drowning pleasure as his hand eased down her quivering belly and rested on her mound. Those thick fingers played between her legs, teasing, rubbing and finally entering her hungry core.

“Ohmigod,” Mia shouted. One hand held the back of his head to her breast the other pressed his hand between his legs as she rolled her hips. When he removed his hand, she groaned and then gasped in amazement when he licked his fingers. The expression on his face was one of joy. He smacked his lips and looked down at her.

“Tasty. I knew you’d be sweet but damn, woman. I’ve got to have more of you. This is better than breakfast.”

Unsure what he meant she frowned. When he placed kisses down her body she moaned in delight. But when he kissed her between her legs her eyes flew open and she tried to push him away.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He didn’t move and didn’t budge. “Beautiful,” he murmured.

The oral assault included long, leisurely swipes of his tongue between her legs, kisses, sucking and moans from his mouth that shot through her. Never had she felt anything like this. When his finger penetrated her again and the kisses continued she pulled him closer rather than pushed him away.

“Noah... oh my, never...this is so... please...” her head tossed side to side on the pillow. Her heart slammed in her chest. She closed her eyes to savor the sensations traveling at warp speed through her body robbing her of breath. Something was building. She grabbed his arms and lifted slightly.

“Noah,” she screamed as wave after wave of bliss crashed through her. Trembling, she sucked air into her starved lungs and stared at the ceiling. What the hell just happened? Seconds ticked in silence. Her heart didn’t slow and the tremors took a few moments longer to stop. The bed moved.

“Ready?”

She couldn’t speak if he paid her. Not that it mattered, her body had other ideas and clearly gave the answer he needed.

“This is just you and me. From now on, this is just us,” he said and then slid into her. He didn’t move, instead, he stared down at her, waiting. She met his gaze, saw the tension in his clenched jaw, the quivering of his muscular arms and realized it cost him to remain still.

“You’re so damn tight I’m about to lose my fucking mind,” he ground out.

Sensing his need was as great as hers, she relaxed.

He closed his eyes, dropped his head for a few seconds. “I need you.”

“Take me.”

His gaze locked onto hers. She shivered from the heat in the dark depths. He pulled out and rammed his whole length into her, stealing her breath. He had been so swift it took her by surprise. This was more than needing releases. The hard, fast thrusts were a primal taking. She shuddered in response, lifting slightly to meet each thrust, to give as much as she received. His grunts of pleasure lit a match to her need, spiraling her to another level.

He pumped hard and fast inside her, rubbing against her velvety walls. A cascade of fire spread throughout her body. Needing more, she dug into his hair, pulled his mouth to hers for a desperate kiss and received a short brush against her lips as she spiraled upwards, faster, and faster, she couldn’t breathe from the intensity of it.

She opened her mouth, no sound emitted as her body shook wildly from the force of her shattering climax.

Bewitched, Noah thought as he pressed down onto her, moving his hips rapidly, matching her moan for moan. When her pussy clutched him through her orgasm, he didn't stop to let her recover. He continued thrusting into her as her screams filled the air and no doubt alerted the hotel guest in the next room of their activities.

He couldn’t believe how tight she was, how sopping wet she'd been when he touched her. His balls literally dripped from her sweetness as they slapped against her. This was heaven. Teeth gritted, his nuts drew up, as he pushed into her. Just a few more.

His back arched as he called her name as he came so hard, toes curling, legs weakening and stomach tightening. He shuddered and fell like a weak cat. He gulped in air and tried to corral his splintered thoughts. He’d been sexually active since he turned 12 and he could say without question, she had the absolute best pussy he ever tasted or fucked.

He rolled to the side, pulling her with him. Outside, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, a perfect complement to the shifting thoughts in his mind. Mia was his addiction. Just thinking about her tight pussy sent blood rushing to his dick. Regardless of how long it had been since he took a woman, he was hitting 40 and normally it took a few minutes to regroup.

Pulling her closer, he inhaled their mixed scents and knew he would never forget it or her. She snuggled closer and released what sounded like a contented coo.

He smiled. “Satisfied? If not, I can show you a little more.” He pressed his semi-hard dick into her belly.

“Noah, I’ve never experienced anything like that.” She leaned back, snared his gaze and he was struck by her sincerity as well as the tears in her eyes. “No one has ever given me so much pleasure or kissed me down there. I didn’t know it was possible.”

His chest expanded with pride.

“You do want me,” she said as if it was some new or difficult concept for her to grab before looking at him again. Inhaling, she faced him with shoulders squared. “When I became of age, I was taken by force. Rape is what it’s called now. Over and over until I conceived. When the child was born they took her or him. I have no idea if I gave birth to a son or daughter. I’ve searched for answers for years and have not had a real relationship with a man. I’m not sure I know how. You say you’re damaged, broken, in that case, we are two of a pair.”

“God, I’m sorry, Mia. I’m really sorry.” Being stationed overseas in poor countries he knew things like that happened. People bought and sold infants all the time. It was a big business. He didn’t know how to make this better for her.

She wiped the tears from her face and offered a small shrug. “I don’t know who my family is. I don’t know my real name.” She sounded embarrassed.

“Orphan?” Not that it mattered to him. His parents were dead and he hadn’t talked to his younger brother in at least 10 years. He considered Liam his kin but that was about it. Family could be a bonus or liability, it just depended.

“Yes, orphaned.” She searched his gaze.

“I’m sorry for your loss, but it doesn’t matter to me.” He didn’t know what else to say that wouldn’t sound dismissive.

“That doesn’t bother you? This lack of identity?” she asked leaning up on her elbow, staring down at him.

“No, should it?”

Her frown deepened.

Using his index finger, he stroked the small indentation between her brows. “I want you, the person you are today. The bold, strong, sexy woman I met a few days ago. I care about her, you. I’m not minimizing your losses, I can only imagine how much it hurts and how you suffered. Despite all of that, I think the woman you’re today is pretty amazing.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “You do?”

“Yes, I do.” His gaze dropped to her full bottom lip and he pulled her close, urging her lips apart. His tongue slid in as if returning home as he rasped her tongue against his with increasing hunger.

She held onto him so tight, her fingers left marks. Badges of honor in his mind.

“You’re incredible,” she whispered. “I’m hot, trembly, and so turned on. What are you doing to me?”

Bewitched for damn sure by this woman. “Showing you my appreciation, how much I care for you, how much you mean to me. I want to give and receive pleasure from you.”

She held his gaze for several heartbeats. “I don’t know what to say. It’s never... ever been like this.” Then she smiled brightly and the sun outside joined her happiness as it peeked from behind a cloud. “I really like it. We can do it as much as you want.”

His heart leaped in his chest. “I will always want,” he said pulling her on top of him. “Are you sore?”

She frowned and then pursed her lips. “A little but I’m horny too, which makes no sense after what I’ve experienced already. It must be you. Because you make me feel things I’ve never felt before.” She sounded as if she’d just solved a problem and now things were right in her mind.

Rather than join her one-sided discussion, he lifted her from around her waist. “Line it up and when I bring you close, it will slide in.”

“Yes, I know this position,” she said taking hold of him.

If her hands hadn’t felt so incredible wrapping around him, he would’ve changed positions. Nothing they did should remind her of being with someone else.

As he eased into her, her heat welcomed him. He hissed his pleasure at the velvety warmth. She placed her hands on his chest, lifted slightly and worked her hips bringing him in and out of her.

He watched her face, eyes closed, mouth open with the tip of her tongue visible she fucked him. He knew when she found her rhythm, knew when she found the spot that would take her over. Her movements became jerky, her eyes flew open with a silent desperate plea.

He thrust his hips to meet her every move as her hips bobbed up and down on his cock.

“Noah,” she screamed, moving faster, straining.

He grabbed her hips tight, pistoned in and out of her, faster and faster.

Her walls tightened. They were both close.

She screamed his name again and shuddered as she came once more. Her release triggered his, as she milked his cock with her pulsing warmth.