And that was all it took.
She shattered.
The pleasure was incredible, but what was even more so was that she felt him with her all the way. And when she opened her eyes, it was to the openly pleased curve of his lips, his arms holding her tight. “Magnificent,” she whispered, teasing him because she’d learned he liked it. So did she. “But I would rather have you inside me.”
Feline delight in those blue depths, the dark edge of sorrow and rage pleasured away. Ashaya was no expert at passion, but if that was what it took to keep Dorian from the edge, she’d play with him night and day. Because he was hers to care for, as much as she was his. “Please, Dorian.” She smiled. “Come inside me.”
He chuckled. “I like the way you say please. I think I want to hear it again.”
“Please, Mr. Christensen.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hooked one leg over his waist. “Pretty please.”
He scowled. “It’s not begging if you smile.”
She leaned in until her lips brushed his. “You make me want to crawl all over you.”
“That’ll do.” He was inside her an instant later, a hot, hard intrusion that was somehow the most perfect of joinings. “Up.” His hand went to her bottom, urging her to wrap her other leg around him. The second she did, he backed her against the smoothness of a moss-laden trunk.
Then he proceeded to show her exactly how magnificent he could get. There were no hard, fast thrusts, nothing that might cause her back to bruise. No, tonight, he was determined to drive her insane with slow rotations that touched her every sensitive spot over and over… and over again. The orgasm hit her hard, and rode her in long lush waves, wringing her dry. Her bones turned molten.
It took a while to find the brain cells to say, “Mind-blowing.” His oh-so-satisfied smile of pure male delight followed her into her dreams.
And perhaps it was that smile that unlocked the knowledge in her mind.
She woke at dawn to find her cat watching her. He was on his stomach, the sheets barely covering his buttocks, all golden hair and bright blue eyes. “What?” he asked when she stared at him.
She went to tell him, but stopped herself at the last instant. Until she was sure, she had to keep this to herself. “Blondie?” she asked instead.
He grinned. “That was her revenge for me calling her Carrot. What’re you going to call me?”
She took a moment to think. “Mine.”
He gave her a startled look. “Possessive.”
“So?” She stole the answer he’d given her so many times.
“Nothing.” A meek look but his voice was filled with laughter. “I’m not going to argue with a sexy woman who wants to make me her poor, overworked love slave.”
She found herself laughing, even as part of her mind obsessively considered the implications of what she’d discovered in Dorian’s genetic structure. She was still working on the problem that afternoon as they drove to Talin’s home. It seemed the—
“Mommy, look!”
She glanced into the backseat to see Keenan making the strangest face. “That’s very interesting, baby.”
Satisfied, he nodded. “I’m a leopard.”
“Of course you are.” She looked at Dorian to see him biting back a smile. “Are you excited about seeing Noor again?” she asked Keenan.
“Yeah! We’re gonna play tag.”
She was excited herself—Jon was going to be there today, too. Turning to the front when Keenan became engrossed in a handheld game, she touched Dorian on the arm. “Are you sure Jon won’t have psychological issues with seeing me?” She’d been part of the lab where the teenager had been tortured.
“Kid isn’t ready to be your best friend,” Dorian said bluntly. “But he knows you got him and Noor out and he wants to say thanks.”
“I’m—” Ashaya never got to finish her sentence as gunshots came out of nowhere, hitting both the engine casing and the tires in rapid-fire bursts. Belching smoke, the car spun out of control. She turned to grab Keenan, but he was too far to reach. “Get down!” she told him, trying not to panic. “Baby, listen to me. Get down.” She reinforced the vocal command with a telepathic one.
He curled low in the seat, eyes huge.
“Good boy,” she soothed, just as Dorian managed to get the car straightened and said, “Hold on, kiddo.” He activated the hover-drive.
The vehicle lurched drunkenly but kept going. “Come on, come on.” He raced down the road and swung into a heavily forested area the instant before the car’s computronic engine began to splutter. “Get out.” Braking to a complete halt, he reached into the backseat to release a silent Keenan from his child seat. The boy wrapped his arms and legs around him as Dorian got out of the car and ran around to her side.
“Where?” she asked him, fear making her brain act with cold efficiency.
“Telepath Sascha,” he ordered as he gave Keenan to her and opened the trunk to take out his rifle, stuffing extra ammo into his pockets. “Tell her we’ve been ambushed.”
Ashaya didn’t tell him she wasn’t a strong enough telepath. Instead, as Dorian took Keenan again, and told her to follow him as he ran into the trees, she opened her mind to the Web of Stars and sent out a generalized distress call. She would’ve never done the same in the PsyNet, but this web was much smaller, filled with… family.
Amara’s mind responded first, though she was living and working in Sierra Tech’s mountain headquarters.
Unable to hold the contact, given the intensity of the run, she dropped back out and tried to match Dorian’s pace. It was brutal, but she knew he was holding back so she could keep up.
He stopped just as she was beginning to fear she’d be unable to go any farther. They were in the midst of a grove of sorts but from the low density of the trunks, she had the feeling civilization lay not far ahead.
“Here.” Dorian’s voice was a command as he walked around a tree and nodded at the hollow created by its massive roots.
She sat down inside, holding out her arms for Keenan. Dorian’s eyes met hers as he bent to hand Keenan over. “I’ll be on the other side of the tree, in the branches. You’re safer here—whoever it is will expect me to stash you above.” He nodded at Keenan.
She understood the message—if anything happened, Keenan would hear it. So she’d have to ensure he didn’t. Using the maternal bond, she wrapped him in a cocoon that promised safety. He relaxed immediately. “The Council?” she dared whisper.
His mouth was a grim line as he shook his head. “Human.” Bending, he brushed his lips over hers in a fleeting kiss, his hand lying protectively on Keenan’s hair. “Don’t move.” He took a small gun she hadn’t seen him retrieve and put it in her hand behind Keenan’s back.
She slid her fingers through the grip. “Be careful.” Pressing her back into the tiny cave created by the roots, she curved her body over her son’s, aware of Dorian moving away. She heard a footstep or two, and then nothing.
Her leopard had gone hunting.
Dorian was furious with himself. He’d been so focused on the Council that he’d forgotten the other threat. No, he’d
Lying in the branches of a tree only a small distance from the one where he’d hidden the two most important pieces of his heart, he calmed down his heartbeat and focused, eliminating everything from his consciousness except his awareness of the intruders. The first thing he realized was that they’d planned this very carefully.
Ashaya looked up in surprise when he returned. He took Keenan, holding a finger to his lips. “Grab on to me, K-Man.” When the boy obeyed, Dorian quickly scaled the tree and put him in the crook of a branch. “I’ll be back with
