Five
Ife walked around the dining room table, her eyes on him, assessing, using her limited empathic sense to read his mood, his mind, his physical health.
“Would you stop that?” Will barked, a spoon halfway to his mouth. “I’m fucking fine, Ife. Go bug someone who needs a vampire babysitter.”
Taking a seat across from him, Ife reached out and snagged his left hand. “You’re not. You look sick, Will. I should have stopped this weeks ago. Whatever this bond is, it’s hurting you.”
As he placed the spoon back into his bowl, Will took Ife’s other hand in his right. “What you see is simply a very exhausted man who is catching up on his rest. Is the merge draining me? Yeah, a little. Is it dangerous? No. Ife, don’t you think I would know if it were hurting me?”
“I think you wouldn’t tell me if it were. I think you feel like you need to do this. Will, I’m shutting it all down until we have a better understanding of what it is. You forget that I can tell what’s going on in your mind, and you’ve lost focus. You’re not yourself anymore.”
“I’m completely myself. You know as well as I do that we earth warriors have to go on faith. I’m doing that, Ife. I’m following my path. I can’t let you stop me.”
“It’s my project, my territory, and you will comply with my directives. Will, I’ll let you back in, but not until we gain more insight as to what this thing means, if it means anything at all, and what it wants, if it’s seeking something from us. Until then, you are to relax, rest, eat, and recover. Tonight, Zia is coming to your room to use her power with you. It will make you feel better, Will.”
Ife watched Will’s expression go from smiling to fuming. That expression told her that she had been right. For whatever reason, he was addicted to this strange power merge with the cave, the crystals, Mother Earth, whatever the hell he was doing down there all this time. It had seemed manageable, harmless at least, at first, but now she had reason to believe the exact opposite was true. Her instincts told her that Will wouldn’t pull away regardless of the potential for damage, so it was her duty to protect him.
Brigitte had agreed when they spoke about him two nights ago. If anyone understood the changes in Will’s personality of recent, it was the woman he slept with. Her intimate contact showed her more than anyone else might see.
“He’s detached, distracted, less interested in being with me. It’s like someone blew out his light,” she’d told Ife.
“So I’ll end this for now.” Her response had been predicated on her own observations about Will’s state of being. Then there was her question to Torin last week.
“So what does Will tell you about what he’s doing while under?”
Torin’s eyes had been guarded and he’d looked away while he answered her. “Not very much. He’s going to reveal more once he is finished, which he says will be soon.”
The demeanor and body language had worried Ife. Tonight, though, he’d come to her and explained that he thought Will was sick. That he’d barely emerged from the bond this time. That Ife had better be worried…
She pushed away from the table. “Will, take care of yourself. That’s your only job now. In fact, after Crezia checks you over, why don’t you join her and Scottie in the fields. It’s what I wanted you to come down to Brazil for in the first place. I think your skills are exactly what they need.”
He didn’t answer, but she hadn’t expected him to. He needed time.
“Okay, then, I’ll send Zia to you later on. Please, Will, be in your room and let her work with you. She’s incredibly powerful, you know that, and she should be able to help you. Please.” Following a pause, she leaned over to capture his gaze. “Will you?”
“Sure. Why not? I’ll be there. Getting drunk.”
Nodding, she lifted herself up and walked out of the dining room. Well, small victories. Willoughby was a strong-willed and extraordinarily powerful man. Honestly, she thought that if she refused him access to the cave, and right now, she did, he’d find a way to get it back. In the end, she was certain that she couldn’t keep him out. For now, she’d accept the win.
AT DEZ’S COMPOUND LATER THAT NIGHT
“Hey, gorgeous! It looks like I’m free to spend some extra quality time with you. It looks like Will doesn’t need my help anymore.”
Olivia downed a sip of wine and glanced up at Torin leaning across the table. Too bad, she thought. I have to tell my lover boy that I won’t need him anymore either. The question in her mind, though, was why Will didn’t need his monitor.
“Really? Is he finished?”
“For now. Ife pulled him out of the cave. It’s weird, but during the past two sessions, I think the earth or whatever he’s on with down there, is sucking him dry. I love the guy, and I couldn’t let him keep at it when I think that it’s hurting him. So for now, he’s banned.”
Hurting Will?
“What do you mean, hurting him? How?”
Torin shrugged. “I don’t know. This is all still pretty crazy to me. Will’s a big guy, strong, and when I met him, built like a bulldog. You know, meaty and ripped. But he’s losing mass and his color is pale. Also, his energy has changed, he’s almost a different person lately. Last night, Will couldn’t pull out of the merge, and, Olivia, he literally called out for me to help him like he was in trouble. And he was. He couldn’t stand, he couldn’t get up the ladder without my help. The crystal cave is fucking robbing that guy. He’s going to be fine, Ife and Zia’s going to work on him tonight.”
Torin scooted his chair back and skirted the table to drop next to Olivia, his knees on the floor and hands in her lap. “So, I’m all yours, vampiress.”
I’m not all yours. Olivia smiled into his eyes, spanned his face with her hands and kissed him gently on the lips.
“Ah, Tor, you are a darling, but this is bad timing. I’m heading home tomorrow night. My business needs me.”
“Not yet, Olivia. Please, we’re just getting to know each other. I haven’t even shown you all of my moves yet. You gotta give a guy a chance to impress you.”
“Tor, you do impress me. It’s not easy to do that when the woman you’re fucking is hundreds of years older than you, so rest assured, you satisfy me completely. But I do need to get home.” She slid a hand down lower to press against his crotch. “But we still have all night.”
He wasn’t happy, but he knew that nothing he said would change her plans, so he rose and lifted Olivia off her seat. “Then there isn’t a moment to waste. Can we order your first meal in your bedroom?”
“Ummm, that’s the best way to eat it.”
“I’m only aiming for the best tonight, my lady, so let’s go do this.”
Arms tight around Torin’s neck, Olivia laughed and realized that she would miss this energetic sexy man. Perhaps in the future when she got over this fascination for Will, she’d come back down and see if Torin was still available. Perhaps he’d like to visit her in Vegas.
Enough with musing about the future. It was something that vampires rarely did. Living in the moment was a default setting for immortals. Trying to deal with the current moment and those yet to come was exhausting and ultimately unsatisfying.
Carrying her down the stairs to her chambers, Torin entered Olivia’s rooms with energy to spare. Placing her on the bed, he rolled over and pinned her to the soft duvet.
“How do we get the food delivered?”
She lifted a hand to point. “Press that button, tell them what you want, and presto, here in twenty.”
Just as he reached for the button to order the obscene amount of food they would want, Torin’s fone chimed. Glancing at the screen, his brows came together.
“Huh. It’s Brigitte.”
“Answer call,” he said, and held it to his ear.
“Tor, I need your help.” Brigitte’s voice was calm, so he assumed there was no problem, but then she continued in the same calm voice. “Will and I had dinner and I lay down with him so that he could rest. He looks like shit. Anyway, I woke up a few minutes ago and I can’t find him. I think he’s gone to the cave alone. Ife has forbidden him to continue with the bonding and he agreed with her terms. I should have known he would do this. Hard-headed human.”
“I’ll come right away. Did you notify Ife?”
“That’s the thing. If she finds out he took off without any protection to do what she’d told him not to do, I think she’ll send him away. Tor, I’m not empathic on my own, not without channeling my sister, but I think it will destroy him to be separated from the crystals and this deep access to earth magic. I need you to help me get him back here before Ife gets involved.”
“I’m on my way.”
Torin laid his fone down and started dressing. “I need to find Will. He took off.”
“I heard Brigitte through the fone. I’m coming too.”
Using hyper-speed, Olivia was dressed, hair brushed and clipped back, perched on the edge of the bed as Torin pulled his shirt over his head.
“What is he thinking? You vampires are too powerful for him to think he can overrule you.”
“Will is used to doing what he wants. I suspect that the best way to ensure he does it is to tell him he can’t.”
Torin stilled to catch Olivia’s eyes. “He’s not well. You haven’t seen him this week, but he’s changed. I’m worried that this might be dangerous for him, and so is Ife. She barred him from visiting the cave for a very good reason, Liv, and yet he’s sneaking back.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get him. We won’t let anything happen to Will.”
Torin didn’t know it, but Olivia would move hell and earth to protect that man.
“Let’s go. We’ll take a lift-car of course.”
Twenty minutes later, Torin led Olivia through the standing stones where Brigitte waited at the ladder above the crystal cave.
“Thank the gods you’re here. I just came back up. I know he’s down there, I know he is, but I can’t find him.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. He would be in the main chamber.”
“Yet he isn’t.”
“Are you sure he came here?”
“Tor, I know that man well, and I know why he disappeared without telling me. He’s here, I fucking tell you he is.”
“Let’s go down.”
Olivia wasn’t messing around. Like Brigitte, she believed that Will either came here or intended to, so they needed to search for him, and if he really wasn’t here, then they needed to look at alternative possibilities. This wasn’t the time for pointless discussion.
After climbing halfway down the ladder, impatient and worried, she pushed off and dropped the last half to land easily on her feet. She stepped away and headed down the corridor to the cavern using air displacement, and stood in the center of the cave turning a full 360 before she accepted Brigitte’s word that Will wasn’t present. The last time she’d been in this cave, the area had been lit by solar powered LED lamps as it was now, she assumed that Brigitte had turned them on. The only other thing she noticed out of place from that first visit were quite a few smaller crystals lying randomly on the ground, mostly toward the bottom of the walls, but spread over the entire space. It gave the sparkly cavern an untidy look after the stark perfection of that first trip weeks earlier.
She scanned one last time as Torin and Brigitte arrived at the outside perimeter of the chamber. Brigitte searched the space as Olivia just had.
“See? Where the hell might he be? Tor?”
“Maybe he just went somewhere to cool off. It’s been a bitch of a week for him. Maybe he just needed some breathing room.”
“That tracks.” Olivia approached them. “Bi…Will is a solitary man. He isn’t comfortable around groups and this place is nothing but groups. If he’s ill, if he’s upset, he’d seek solace by going away from everyone. Either way, we still need to find him.”
“Wait.” Torin walked around the cave now, moving his feet carefully around the fallen stones. “What the hell is this? There are fragments and crystals all over the ground. This is not normal.” He turned to Brigitte. “Were these like this when you came in the first time?”
“I think so. Honestly, when I saw that Will wasn’t here, I didn’t pay much attention. I just went back up to wait for you.”
“We’ve been here for weeks and not one crystal has ever fallen off the walls or ceiling. I don’t…”
The slight tremor beneath their feet didn’t alarm any of the three at first, the movement so minute, they weren’t completely sure they’d felt it. A split second later a low rumble preceded a stronger wave and doubt disappeared. When a third even more powerful quake shook loose more crystals, falling like tiny torpedoes around their heads, Torin grabbed Brigitte’s hand and held the other out for Olivia. “We have to get out of here now!”
Brigitte started down the corridor as Torin waited for Olivia, but he watched helplessly as she moved her foot on shaky ground to speed to him, but tipped backward as the earth beneath her feet split and dumped her against the wall.
Before she could regain her feet, the ground beneath her body tore open and she felt air beneath her body as she fell into where the floor of the cave used to be. She thought she heard Torin scream through the cracking earth, but she was gone, falling, falling, and all she could hear then was the rush of air, sight lost as darkness replaced the lighted place she’d fallen from. Her skills were useless because there was nothing to push against, no idea where she was or when she’d stop. Fear barely registered since she knew that, as vampire, very little would kill her, but pain was real, and as she passed jagged stone too close, something ripped her side. What felt like minutes was likely much less, but when she finally landed on a solid surface, her breath knocked from her, her head striking hard, consciousness faltered and she thought she was going out. Tiny explosions and sudden strikes on her skin and head resulted as soil, rock, and crystals fell down the crevasse with her.
But once the cracking stopped, silence and complete blackness surrounding her, Olivia lay still, her head exactly where it dropped, eyes closed again, and struggled to recover her breath. Motionless, eventually her respiration calmed and she opened her eyes to look up. Nothing to see, there was no light down here this deep beneath the surface of the world. Once she regained her senses, she would be able to assess how hurt she was and try to determine how fucked she was.
For now, she didn’t move, but focused on controlling panic. Panic was useless, it messed up thought processes and she needed her wits about her. For now, she was safe, nothing was falling and she’d survived. For now.
Several long minutes passed, her eyes wide to blackness, she squinted to see if there was any fraction of light anywhere, but her landing point was devoid of it. Could she create light such as the earth warriors did? They fed off each other to do so, but maybe a fourth gen first blood could pull it off. Carefully lifting her arms, the damage to her right midsection stinging, she mirrored the motion she’d seen them do. Nothing. What she could do was create a flame, she’d done that before, so when she rose, she’d light up at least a small space to get a glimpse of what she had fallen into.
Finally ready to try to sit up, Olivia pressed her hands into soft dry ground, and pushed when a glow began to her left. Sitting now, she watched as the glow brightened, then a dark form moved through it to resolve into the shape of a man.
“Olivia?”
Will. It was Will!
“Biker!” she called, her voice still weak.
He was beside her in seconds, shirtless, the glow following him, enough light to easily see his worried face. Knees on the ground, he hovered over her, his fingers moving against her waist.
“Olivia, are you hurt?”
Pale, butter-colored light glowed unnaturally all around them as Will’s fingers moved over her.
“Not really. Well, not my arms or legs. I think something scraped me as I fell down this rabbit hole, but it isn’t serious. Not for me, anyway. Will, how did you get down here? Did you fall in as well?”
“She drew me down. The mother planet opened up and swallowed me. My landing was softer than yours, I imagine. I’m sorry, Olivia, you weren’t meant to be here.”
Olivia processed his comment before she asked her next question. “But you were?”
He nodded as he slipped his fingers along her side to check out her wound. “I was. I always was meant to be here in this chamber of power. Olivia, you’re bleeding.”
The warmth of Will’s fingers moving across her skin distracted Olivia, and she pressed her own fingers over his.
“It’s okay. I’m vampire, remember?”
“I remember, but this is deep.”
“It will heal.” Her eyes had adjusted to the limited light that came into the darkness with Will. “Are you bringing the light?”
Nodding again, Will looked up at the soft illumination.
“Earth magic. I don’t think anything is more powerful. I don’t actually have the power to do this, but I have the ability to channel the power of the planet beneath us.”
“You are remarkable, Biker. I knew that from the first moment I saw you.”
Instantly, erotic images surged in her mind and her body reacted with moisture. Not good, she thought, the two of us trapped here together. They really had to get out of there. “Let me get up from here and we’ll see about escape from our little earthy cell.”
“Let me lift you up.”
“Will, I can do it myse…ow!”
Pushing away from the ground, the tear in her side hurt so much worse than she expected. Finally on her feet, Olivia lifted her shirt to see about a six inch gash on her right side from just below her breast to her waist. The blood had begun to clot, it was only seeping, but it was clear that she’d sustained more damage than she thought.
“Olivia…” Will whispered, his eyes on the torn flesh. “You need blood to help you heal.”
Not from him, oh, hell no, never from Will!
“No, it’ll just take a little longer, that’s all. See, I can walk.”
She could, but her pace would be slow. Her injury hurt even more than it looked like it did, but enduring it was a much better idea than a blood-draw from this man. Just his touch was almost too much since she’d desired him for such a long time, un-satiated.
Will watched Olivia struggle with moving along the narrow corridor provided by the crystals that would lead her to another cave. Since the walls of the corridor were close, at least they provided support.
He smiled to himself. Olivia was as stubborn and determined as he was not to reveal her feelings. Although he had committed to the relationship with Brigitte, for the time being, she wasn’t unaware of his intense reactions to Olivia.
Or hers to him.
It seemed that right from that first night, the night when his world had changed forever, for the worst and for the best, their timing had been off. She’d refused him during those first few days when their sexual chemistry threatened to create an explosion, and now, a year later, he was bound by honor to remain faithful to another woman. At least until this unfortunate event had, literally, dropped her into his lap.
“It’s only about twenty feet ahead. Just take it slow. Believe me, it’s worth the journey.”
“I just hope there’s a nice place to rest for a moment. And by the gods, is there any chance we can get some water? I’m parched. It’s almost like I fell through half a mile of earth.”
“Ha, ha. Olivia, I think you’ll be properly pleased.”
Rounding a final turn, Olivia felt like the narrow corridor spilled her out into paradise. The cavern wasn’t as large as the sparkling one she’d just fallen from, but it was majestic, filled with clear crystals in different shapes. Long chandeliers made of shining spikes of crystal hung from the geode coated ceiling, pointing toward stacks of stones covered with glittering patterns formed in delicate lace-like crystals splattered everywhere on the ground that looked like it was made of glass. Along the back wall multiple paths of water trickled down another wall of crystals and emptied into a bubbling pool of water lit from below with the same infusive pale yellow light.
“Oh, Biker. I don’t think the word beautiful begins to describe this. How is this here? Why are we here? What does this mean? And oh, God, I want some of that water. Is it clean?”
“Whoa, lady. I will answer your questions, but let’s get you into that pool so you can get a drink. It’s also filled with healing minerals, which you need, plus I’ll warm it using my abilities. You can just relax and soak.”
“Are you sure, Will? You are that certain of what you’ve been brought to down here.”
He shouldn’t, he knew it, but he did it anyway. Will moved close and took her face in his hands, which felt right in ways he didn’t want to explore. “I am that certain. My journey, my destiny, it’s here. This is what I’ve been brought to South America to do…to reveal this wealth to your community and ultimately bring it to the entire world. All here is pure, is right, is good. Get in the pool and let the waters restore you. I feel guilty, it’s my fault you’re here in the first place. You came to look for me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but I wasn’t alone, Will. Brigitte and Torin came too, but they were on the other side of the cave when the earthquakes broke out the ground beneath my feet. I hope they are safe.”
“No one has been hurt in these caves. Other than your injury in the fall, I mean. Olivia, please, get into the pool.”
The nagging pain in her side brought her eyes back to the inviting bubbling water, and while it was compelling, she couldn’t take her clothes off around Will. That would be only slightly less dangerous than giving him a blood draw.
“I’m fine.”
“Stubborn, is what you are. Okay, whatever you want. I, however, am going in. I imagine that my friends have told you I’ve suffered from my recent bondings.”
Olivia’s eyes moved from Will’s face to his body and back up. Muscles bunched in his arms as he flexed his hands, his torso presenting the defined abdominals, but he was slimmer than the last time she’d seen his body without clothes. “Yes, and I can see that they are right. You’re too slender now. Your face is almost gaunt.”
“I realize that. This pool is energized by an infusion of healing minerals as well as the power of the crystals. Its purpose is to heal and that is exactly what I need, so forgive me, but I am going in.”
“Huh.” Olivia’s eyes moved over his body again, lingering below the beltline. “Naked?”
Will’s eyebrows lifted. “Naked. You have a problem with that?”
Oh, fuck yes, I have a problem with it!
“No. I’ve seen your equipment already.”
His eyes on hers, he snapped the top of his jeans, hooked his thumbs around the edge of the waistband and tugged them over his hips, lower, over a cock that popped free, growing erect, as her eyes stayed on it. The pants on the ground now, he stepped out of them and recaptured her gaze.
“Olivia, join me. It’s safe.”
She watched him step into the water and wade deeper until the delicious cock bobbed at the surface before it was submerged as he went deep enough to begin to swim across to the opposite side just below the trickling water.
Lifting her eyes back to his face, she wasn’t surprised to see a wide grin.
“Still thirsty? Come on in, the water coming down the wall is cool and pristine. I can’t bring it to you.”
Cool water on her parched throat was the least inviting thing in that pool. Could she undress and get in with Will without fucking him? Unlikely.
“Not now. Maybe later, after you’re finished.”
The humorous expression on his face changed. He lingered against the wall for a few moments longer before he suddenly surged across the pool and out, the water splattering as he shook his hair. Unexpectedly, he lifted Olivia off her feet and carried her with him into the water, still dressed, still wearing her boots and dropped her into the middle of the pool at its deepest point.
Sputtering, treading water, the boots tugging at her feet, Olivia surfaced, shoving soaked strands back over her head, fire in her eyes. “What the fuck, Biker?”
“You want me. Even I can tell that’s why you didn’t want to get into the pool with me. Get over it, take your fucking clothes off, and come over here to let the water heal you.”
“You motherfucking…you think you’re irresistible? Hardly asshole! Dick! Jerk!”
“Wow, all the classics. Call me whatever you want, just get over here, relax, and heal.”
Still treading water in the center of the pool, Olivia admitted she needed this, admitted he was right, but she was still pissed at him for forcing her into the water. Since she was already in and her clothes were now soaked, she might as well see if the water really was so magical.
She wouldn’t make it easier for him either, though.
Swimming back to edge, she lifted herself from the pool, dripping from every square inch, and pulled her boots off. Watch me now, she thought, see how it affects you.
Locking her eyes on Will, Olivia pulled her sodden shirt over her head. The thin lace bra she wore held her breasts high, and when she released the snap and let it fall to land on her discarded shirt, full breasts, nipples taut, stayed in place. She smiled when she saw Will’s eyes on them, and his hand drop beneath the waterline. Good, motherfucker, suffer.
Her jeans came off next, exactly as Will had removed his, slowly, revealing herself to him, her legs spread apart slightly as they fell to the ground. She turned away from him to pull them over her feet, her rounded bum on display as he stared.
Will couldn’t look away; he wanted her more now than ever. Together in this setting, an intimate hot springs that smelled like gardenias, he had no doubt, he wouldn’t be able to stay away from a woman he hadn’t stopped thinking about since the first moment he saw her.
“Is this what you want?” she chided as she reentered the pool and swam over to where he leaned against the edge, his hands still below the water.
Buoyancy let her breasts stay in sight as she treaded water in front of him. Yes, it’s what he wanted, and so much more…
But he said, “It’s what we need. Come, get comfortable over here. The stone wall is warm and will aid in your healing. Olivia, relax and let your body rest.”
Shooting daggers at Will with her eyes, Olivia did as he requested and, only two feet from him, settled in, her back up against the wall which did feel amazingly warm and healing. After closing her eyes, she let her mind drift to the ever-repeating image of that first time when he walked toward her dripping sparkling drops off his hair, his arms, his cock, just like tonight. Keeping her eyes closed was good, wise, she had to do it. Otherwise…no, there would be no otherwise. Brigitte. Keep seeing her sweet happy face when she looks at this man. He is not yours, he will never be yours.
I could devour him.
Olivia opened her eyes but kept them raised to the crystals that lined the ceiling. Unbelievably beautiful, more so than those in the cave above. Gently floating, relaxed more than she’d been in a long time, the water caressing her, she let a sensuous sigh slip out.
Beside Olivia, feeling much better, the water having already rejuvenated his flagging strength, Will felt a primal tug in his loins when Olivia sighed in pleasure.
He opened his eyes and turned to her. Her head back, still damp, the globes of her wet breasts bobbing on the surface of the water, her lips curled up, happy, Olivia was healing too. Will didn’t know a lot in this world with so much that was unknowable, but this, what he had to do, he knew.
The water held his big body afloat as he moved around in front of Olivia. His hands moved down to curve around her waist, the fingers of his left hand sliding along the injury. Damn, the slash was nearly closed and well on its way to healed.
Vampire healing and earth magic in tandem, anything was possible, including a rare fourth generation vampire accepting a night of depraved sexual fantasy with a mere human male. Right?
Fuck, he didn’t need permission. Unless she made it clear she had no interest in him, he was going to fuck her until she saw the stars.
Olivia opened her eyes when she felt hot fingers curl around her waist, and had to quash a moan.
“Will?” His name came out in a whisper, she had no doubt why he had touched her. When she looked into his eyes, filled with need, no other words followed.
Lifting her hands to his hair, fingers tight in the strands, she pulled him to her, perhaps too brutally, and his mouth sought hers as hungrily as she sought his.
Tongues warred, twisting, her hands pressing him into her, harder, seeking him. She wanted to feel him, to taste him, to crawl inside him. Their mouths sealed against each other, she plastered her body to his. Her breasts pressed to his chest, her legs lifted to wrap around his waist, and there, cradled between them, his hard cock grazed her between her legs. Heat built and she pulled away from the kiss enough to speak.
“Fuck…me…now.” Breathless, she made it clear what she wanted, and Will, given the permission he had thought he’d never have, moved to make room to lift her legs to his shoulders to kiss her there, the beautiful slit, shining with her moisture, the tongue that had been in her mouth now inside her, the same deep seeking, the same licking at the place begging, begging, needing…
While it was incredible to feel Will’s lips on her, nipping that most sensitive organ, twisting it around his tongue, his hands curved around her bum, sliding along the contours as his tongue laved her, it wasn’t what her body craved. He felt it before she could ask and moved backward yet again to lower her legs so she could bring them to his waist again. Will lifted his cock, his fingers scoring his own weeping slit and fed it into hers, the thickness growing wider as he pushed inside, hard, too hard? No!
He began the ancient strokes that brought pleasure to man and woman, in, out, in, out, in, hold, feel her, let her feel you, out…forced an orgasmic reaction that often meant a claim for eternity.
What neither noticed, neither realized, was that the universe marked the moment too, sprinkling scattered lightning flashes all around the already sparkling cave. All Olivia saw was Will, his handsome face, so near her, his eyes soft, focused only on hers, and when he began to ascend to orgasm, pleasure enough for both, as their orgasms arrived seconds apart, hers driven by his, and he emptied himself into her, pumped, pumped, until he collapsed into her, his breathing hard, arms tangled around her.
“I don’t want to let you go,” he whispered seconds later. “I’m afraid you’ll disappear like my dreams.”
What? “Your dreams? You dream of me?”
He groaned. “When do I not?”
He dreamt of her. Whatever he had with Brigitte couldn’t be as deep as she’d thought, not if it was Olivia in his mind and dreams. Then again, she could just be hoping that was what he meant. Gods, this destiny thing was a bitch!
Still, whatever the truth was, for this moment in time, this irreplaceable moment, he was here, in her arms, his spent cock nestled inside her.
If he’d had feelings for her since that first night, anything even approaching what she felt for him, then this moment had to come.
“We were inevitable,” she whispered.
Moving back from where he’d buried his head beneath her hair, Will slipped his hands around her face. “Were we? I can’t read this destiny thing you vampires believe in. I have no idea what it wants of me or plans for me or expects of me. Unless it is…”
The abrupt stop brought Olivia back against the ledge, her eyes searching Will’s. “Unless?”
“Unless it’s just this earth thing. That, I understand. Maybe that’s the destiny I’m made for. Nothing more.”
“Will, it is apparent that this tie to the living world is your path. Other trails you might travel may not be destined, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other beautiful things waiting in your life. I know of a young vampire who would agree.”
Nodding, Will let himself float another twelve inches away from Olivia, the vision of her elegant arms stretched along the rock ledge, lifting full breasts above the waterline enough for the nipples to perch on the surface, her face glowing, he thought he might be falling in love with her all over again.
In love? Was he? Was it real or just the culmination of finally being with the woman who had haunted his dreams for so long? What about Brigitte? The relationship he shared with her was real. He couldn’t deny that they’d been building something over the past year. The great companionship and amazing sex had been satisfying.
Gods in the heavens, where did this go from here? He had just been inside Olivia, and all he wanted was to crawl inside again. He watched her and when she smiled suddenly, it lit up this already magical cavern.
“Will, don’t let what we just did torture you. Life takes turns, takes its time, leads us astray, leads us where we need to be, and leads us home. In other words, relax, it will all work out in the end. Whatever the universe has planned, however destiny sets us on our path, it is all okay. I know you have a lot going on now, and I won’t be something that makes it harder.”
Olivia moved closer to wrap her hands around his waist. “Making love wasn’t wrong. We have an attraction to each other, we’re here in this magic-filled place in a warm pool and naked. Honestly, what else was going to happen? There is nothing to feel guilty about. I mean, you and Brigitte aren’t exclusive, right?” There was one more word she had to say but it stuck in her throat. Finally, she let it come. “Yet?”
“I can’t define our relationship, Olivia. I respect Brigitte, we’ve had a lot of fun together. We’re connected, of course, but is there a future for us? I don’t even know how she really feels. You guys are immortal, I’m not, so I don’t have a clue what you need.”
“The same thing everyone does. Look, let’s just work on getting out of here. You were right. I’m already healed. And Will, you have undergone a transformation. Can you feel it?”
He lifted his arms, filled out again now, his chest fuller.
“I feel strong again. For the past few weeks, I’ve felt drained, like I could barely hold onto my bike. I haven’t missed the fact that my clothes have fit looser and my appetite’s been weak. Yeah, I feel incredible.”
“You look it. So, let’s get out of this heavenly pool and get our clothes on, because, Biker, if you’re looking for truth, here’s some. Little has changed since I first saw this body naked coming out of the muddy pool in Arizona, and what we just did, as perfect as it was, barely touched the surface of my desire. But once will have to do, so get dressed while I linger in here and let me know when you’re covered.”
Will stared at this supernaturally radiant woman floating in front of him who had just admitted how badly she’d wanted him and still did. With a comment like that, if he’d been fully free, he would have pulled her from the water and pounded into her on the more stable surface of sand on the floor of this cave. Could he admit the same to her? That his need to be inside her wasn’t even marginally satisfied. Brigitte’s smiling face filled his mind and he lowered his gaze to the sparkling water.
No. He wasn’t fully free. Best to agree with Olivia’s statement and leave her to continue healing while he pulled his clothes on. There would be time later to find out exactly where they would end up from here. Will pushed out of the pool.
Soaked, he shook his hair, squeezed the excess water out with his fingers and reached for his jeans. He’d told himself to keep his eyes averted, but they slid to Olivia anyway, and collided with hers. She leaned against the ledge again, watching him.
“Sorry, couldn’t stop myself. Gods…” she moaned. “If I ask you to come back in, will you?”
“No.” The word came out strangled, the struggle to decide what to do ended. “You, come here.”
He didn’t move, barely breathed, when Olivia smiled and swam forward, her arms graceful in the water until she reached the center and stood to walk out. She lifted her hands to capture her hair as the water sluiced over her shoulders from the sodden strands and curled down full raised breasts to drip from her nipples. Will didn’t miss a drop. He reached out to snag his fone from where it lay on top of his discarded pants and held it up to capture Olivia at this perfect moment.
“I hope you don’t mind, I couldn’t let this image fade away.”
The water sliding lower and lower as she moved from the pool, it revealed her curved waistline and belly button before she rose from it enough to show dark hair around the V between her legs. No, once could never be enough.
“Biker,” Olivia whispered, standing inches from him, her breasts touching his chest.
“Vampire,” he answered, his refilled cock pressing against her, ready once more.
Will had been standing, then he wasn’t, with no recall when he had gotten there, but he knew how he had. Now lying on the sandy floor, Olivia straddled him, and he was buried deep inside her. She did not move.
Leaning over him, she pushed his hair away from his neck. “May I drink?”
He remembered how sensual it was to feed Brigitte. To feed Olivia, to be inside her while she fed, he couldn’t have refused it to save the world again.
A simple nod had to do, he couldn’t speak since Olivia was already licking him along his neck, grazing sharp lines on his skin, but she hadn’t broken the skin yet. Her hands moved into his hair and dug into his scalp, and simultaneously, she bit into him and raised to stab herself with his cock, feeding him into her core, and feeding his blood into her mouth. Heat soared into Will’s mind and body and his hands went to her buttocks, holding her close, pulling her closer, grinding into her as she sucked.
Feeding Brigitte had been sexy, but this, this with Olivia, he felt like he was on the edge of an orgasm the entire time, his skin and cock on fire. Somewhere deep inside of him he knew, he had no doubt, he belonged to her. If he had ever been searching for his destiny, she was it, she was where he had always been meant to be. He could live inside her!
The transfer of blood from his body to hers fed every nerve ending in their bodies, every sensation heightened beyond belief. When Olivia finally finished drawing the life-giving blood from Will, it felt almost as orgasmic as what his cock was doing inside her.
Lifting away after sealing the wounds, Olivia rode Will, hard, fast, in, out, in, out, her thighs moving on his, her breasts touching his chest when she lowered herself to lick his lips just before ecstasy drove them both to a unified orgasm, Will holding her tight to his loins as he pumped into her, her fingers locked into his chest. Her moan mingled with his groan as the lights scattered through the cave again, this time bouncing off the diamond-coated walls and ceiling to flash radiantly throughout the space.
Spent, exhausted, Olivia collapsed to the ground beside Will and neither moved or spoke. Minutes passed, and although at one point, she started to move, it was all she could do, and she let herself lie still again.
Never, in all the centuries of sex, had she been this drained, this satiated, this turned on. Will was it, the mate she’d been waiting for. The connection they’d shared just now was beyond any normal sexual connection. It was as if the universe had built him for her.
But was it the time to tell him? Finally able to move, she rolled her head to look at him. Had he felt it?
A smile curled her lips. Yes, he had. Would he know what it meant? Maybe.
Olivia rolled onto her side to look at Will, and slid her finger over his lips.
“Well, that might have done it.”
Still lying on the ground, he turned his head to face her. “I think so. If we did that again, it might kill me.”
Unable to read his expression, Olivia let her eyes roam over the big body pressed against her smaller one. She could make love to him for centuries uncounted, but she still couldn’t figure out how he felt. For now, let the life-changing sex just stand as it was, a moment in time between two people who fit perfectly together. But she still couldn’t stop herself from asking.
“Will, are you okay?”
He didn’t answer at first, just searched her face with those eyes that she felt held eternity inside, and then he sighed, reached out and pulled her to him. “I’m better than I’ve ever been. We’re made for this, aren’t we? The second we laid eyes on each other last year, I guess I knew. When I told you I didn’t want you, and you told me I did. When I knew that the reason I didn’t want to be with you was because you were the kind of woman a man falls in love with.”
“I followed you here. Corri told me about you, and I could barely breathe. When she said you were leaving, that you had a journey ahead of you, I felt abandoned. I knew then that I had to come find you, to see if what we were was real, to see if we belonged.”
Sitting up, Will pulled Olivia into his lap and looked into her eyes. “We have something, my lovely vampire. I’m not wrong, am I? You’ve seemed happy with Torin these last few weeks. Brigitte told me that you don’t commit to lovers, that you enjoy them and move on. Am I that to you? A fine fuck? If I am, if that’s what this was about, just tell me. Don’t mislead me, Olivia. If that is how you roll, I need to know.”
“What about Brigitte?”
“You know I care about her, but if we’re talking destiny, that strange idea that people were meant to be together, I don’t think that Brigitte and I have that future.”
Olivia slipped off Will’s lap, reached for his hands and pulled him to the water’s edge. Glancing around the cave, to the waterfall, and back to him, she leaned against the stones. “Look at where the planet has brought you. Will, it brought me too. If we’re talking destiny, then, I agree with you. Biker, I think you and I do have that future. Of course, Destiny is a bitch and she likes to leave us all, vampires and mortals, all alone to figure this shit out.”
“Then let’s figure it out. I think we’re already there.”
“I think we already are. Will, thank you for the most beautiful moments of my life. We will work out the details as they come, but I’m starving. Can we see about getting out of here?”
Will pulled Olivia to him, warm bare skin to warm bare skin, and kissed her. If felt like he needed to feel her breath on him. As she pulled away, he looked around the tight cavern, walls solid, no light other than the one magic created, and had no idea how they would get out.
“Are your magics up to the task?” he asked.
Reaching for her torn shirt, Olivia looked up at him.
“Are yours? This is unknowingly deep, Will. I don’t know how far I fell, but it was long enough that I know it was beyond what I am capable of jumping.”
“Torin and Brigitte will have alerted the others and they’ll already be trying to get us out.”
“Oh. In that case…”
Dropping onto her knees, Olivia lifted Will’s cock, tongued the tip, and nipped. “We have time.”
Will nearly fell onto his knees when she touched him with her teeth. “I was right. You’re going to kill me.”
Hungry now to taste him, Olivia laughed and moved closer to pull him into her mouth when she felt the ground beneath her knees shudder.
Will pulled her up and into his arms, shielding her with his body. “It’s earth magics. I think she’s opening up the chamber for us.”
“How? How can the planet take us up?”
“It brought us down.”
“You’re right. Should we move to the walls for shelter?”
“No, it won’t hurt us. I can feel the magic reaching out and all it’s doing is opening a port to the surface. Steps, Olivia, stone steps built into the cave millennia ago.”
“This is too bizarre. Will, I’m a fourth generation first blood vampire, but I swear, in many ways, you are more powerful than I am. Just by virtue of your connection to this world. You are something that has never been seen before, Willoughby Collins.”
“I can’t imagine. Still, we’re going home.”