Absolution of Fate (Fate Series Book 3) (12 page)

“I suppose I did,” she replied, spinning to grab a red loofa and Ethan’s body wash. He smiled when he saw the familiar bottle and looked around the room for the first time, noticing all of his things commingled with hers. She’d set it all up as if he’d been with her all along.

She worked up a good lather with her hands, and then moved meticulously slowly as she carefully washed Ethan from the top of his head to his feet. It was all she could do to stick to the task at hand as her fingers traveled over every sculpted inch of his powerful body. She didn’t mention it because she wasn’t sure what kind of feelings the changes would bring up for him, but in addition to being broader, which was even more evident without his clothes, Ethan was at least two inches taller. Even in a room designed with the typically large Elite soldier in mind, Ethan was too tall to stand directly under the nozzle and had to crouch for Alexa to wash and rinse his hair.

Alexa stopped and moved back, pretending to survey her work when in reality she just wanted to take a moment to admire the masculine beauty of her mate. Ethan took the opportunity to do the same, biting his lip and flashing some serious fang as his gaze fell to the small thatch of curls between her shapely thighs.

“I think my work here is d—”

Alexa squealed as Ethan stopped her mid-statement by grabbing under her thighs and hoisting her up to balance against the wall, a feat which made her grateful for the high ceilings, while he slipped her legs over his shoulders. He looked up at her and grinned, his expression so sexy she was afraid she would come before he even touched her. Ethan swiped his tongue up the length of her tender flesh and sucked her already-swollen clit into his mouth, making her cry out with pleasure.

As much as she wanted to close her eyes and focus on the sensation of Ethan’s skilled tongue working over her delicate skin, she couldn’t pull her eyes from the view of him looking up at her with water spraying sideways behind him and running down her trembling legs. Unable to hold on any longer, Alexa gave in and let her head fall back against the wall. The waves of a climax were building quickly, but just before they reached their peak, Ethan stopped and growled low as he turned and licked the inside of Alexa’s thigh. Her eyes popped open and she fisted her hands in his hair as she pulled him towards her again, desperate for release, but he resisted and licked her thigh again.

“Ethan, please; don’t stop,” she moaned, urging him back to her core with her hands.
 

“I want to try something; I want to taste you here,” he husked with another lick up the inside of her thigh. Alexa’s fangs dropped lower when she realized what he was asking. “Oh, God; yes, do it!” she moaned, feeling ready to explode with the thought.
 

He didn’t need any more encouragement. He shifted her leg over onto his shoulder to get better access then placed his mouth over the spot, but didn’t bite down. He continued to tease the skin with his tongue, pushing lightly with his fangs, building her anticipation and his own. Alexa squirmed beneath his ministrations, trying to push him to pierce her flesh, but he resisted for a moment longer before finally pressing down. The instant his fangs pierced her skin, Alexa came apart and the climax only grew with each gentle pull on the intimate vein, her body trembling so hard it was a miracle he didn’t drop her. Ethan slid his fangs from her skin and swiped his tongue over the punctures and Alexa’s orgasm finally topped off and ebbed as he lowered her down the front of his body. He held her tight against him with the tip of his steel-hard cock resting against her warm aching flesh. Despite the earth-shattering orgasm she’d just experienced, Alexa needed Ethan inside her like she needed her next breath. She tilted her hips back and forth, rubbing her moisture on his crown as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She inclined her head and tongued his carotid as she tried to push her hips down further, but he held her up even though he was practically vibrating with need for her. He tilted his head, giving her better access to his neck and she couldn’t resist, quickly sinking her fangs and pulling hard on his artery. He growled out, finally lessening his hold and letting her body sink down over the head of his cock. With each pull on his vein, he inched her further down over his shaft. When he was finally buried to the hilt, Alexa reared back, releasing his neck as another orgasm rushed over her and her pussy clenched around him like a fist. Ethan watched in awe as Alexa fell apart in his arms, her fangs flashing and a stray drop of his blood dripping down her chin and onto her breast. He leaned down and licked it up before pulling her head forward and devouring her mouth as he moved inside her with slow deliberate strokes.

When the last tremors of her climax subsided, Alexa broke their kiss. Ethan gritted his teeth as he struggled to stop moving. “I want to move,” Alexa said, licking over the marks she’d left in his neck. “Put me down,” she whispered and he immediately obeyed. Alexa put her hand on his chest and moved him back a step so she could turn around. Ethan’s heart nearly jumped from his chest as he took in Alexa’s heart-shaped ass while she bent over in front of him and put her arms up on the wall. She looked over her shoulder and him and grinned mischievously. “What are you waiting for?” she asked, swaying her hips from side to side. His cock jumped in response before he grabbed her hips and pushed inside her in one motion until he was completely buried. Alexa cried out, the sensation of him filling her from that angle both pleasurable and a little painful. Apparently, something else had grown as well.

Ethan held her hips tight as he rocked into her again and again, pushing her toward another climax as his own quickly approached. Knowing he couldn’t hold on much longer, he let go of Alexa’s hips and slid his hand around her waist and between her legs. He moved his finger in slow circles, applying the perfect amount of pressure as his cock slid in and out of her and she found yet another release. Her walls clenched around him, and Ethan lost the battle and tumbled over the edge, his cock pulsing inside of her as her body continued to squeeze him.

Alexa sagged against the wall, her breathing ragged as Ethan slipped from inside her. She’d forgotten that the water, which had mainly been hitting Ethan’s back, was still running until it stopped. Ethan placed a towel over her shoulders and pulled her back. She lifted her arms and he proceeded to wrap it around her body, tucking the end on her side to hold it in place. She turned and reached around him to grab the other towel, slinging it around him and catching the end on the other side of his ass. She looked down at his length, still at half-mast, before she covered it with the towel and tucked the end at his hip, securing it the same way he’d done with hers.

Ethan smiled down at her, then moved in a blur and scooped her up in his arms with one arm under her knees and the other behind her back. He kicked open the other side of the double door to make room and carried her out of the shower and to the bed where he set her down on her feet. “Thank you,” he said, pulling her to him and kissing her forehead. “Thank you for loving me, for saving me, for being the most incredible woman I’ve ever known.”
 

Alexa didn’t respond, she couldn’t over the lump in her throat, but Ethan could feel her reply through their bond and the gentle kiss she stood on her tiptoes to give him.

Ethan tugged his towel and let it drop to the floor before doing the same with hers. “I just want to lay here and hold you with nothing separating us, está bien?” he asked.

She replied by pulling back the sheet and crawling into the bed, holding it up in invitation for him to join her.

✧

“I can’t believe it; he’s really going to let this slide, isn’t he?” Cami said, looking to Martinez, then Rachel. After leaving the Commander, Martinez had gone immediately to his quarters, finding Cami, Jared, and Jasmine waiting there with his wife.
 

“I think so, if we stick to the story,” Martinez replied, squeezing Rachel a little tighter while he rested his hand over her stomach. Though he’d understood they were only trying to protect him, he’d been pretty irate about what they’d done to Rachel. All of that dissipated when she whispered in his ear and told him they were expecting. His friends did what needed to be done to keep his family together, no matter what they decided to do when the baby came.

“I just wish we knew what’s going to happen to Dante,” he continued with a touch of sadness.

“I knew we shouldn’t have let him in there,” Cami said, starting to pace.

“There was no keeping him away; he made his choice and there isn’t one of us in here who wouldn’t have done the same for our mate,” Jared replied. There was no arguing that point.
 

“Jared’s right,” Jasmine chimed in. “I don’t think even the full force of my ability could have persuaded him to stay away. I can’t say I really understand it, but all of you mated folks act pretty crazy for each other under the calmest of circumstances,” she teased.
 

“No doubt,” Martinez said, nuzzling Rachel’s neck for a moment. “But even if everything works out and they find a cure, there’s no way the Commander can let Dante skate. He’s Elite and he disobeyed a direct order, with plenty of witnesses who know it. The fact that he did it to help a friend or because he’s in love won’t slide, so he’s either heading down South for God knows how many years, or he’s out,” Martinez added with frustration.

“Heading down South?” Jared asked, looking at Cami, whose expression turned guilty for a moment before she glared at Martinez. Jared knew the soldiers could be punished for their disobedience, but he assumed it would be in the form of crappy assignments on the compound or extra training.

“Oh, shit, sorry. I thought he knew.”

Jared zeroed in on Cami and pulled her into his arms. When she wouldn’t look at him, he put his fingers under her chin, but she still resisted as she spoke. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it wouldn’t have changed anything and I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Okay, so tell me now,” Jared pressed.
 

“This kind of disobedience, if substantiated,” she added to stress that it probably wouldn’t happen to her, “is typically punished with a mandatory term at the compound in Antarctica.”

“So we would have to live in the South Pole for a while?”

“Not exactly. I would have to go alone.”

“For how long?”

“I was there for five years the last time.”

“Five years? What the hell did you do?” Jared asked, his tone growing angry.

“I went out on a mission when I was ordered to stay on the compound, but it was a stupid order because the Commander is a chauvinist!”

“Jesus, Cami! Five years for that? What were you thinking? We could have done this without you, to keep you safe!” Jared yelled.

“No, you fucking couldn’t because someone who wouldn’t raise suspicion had to distract the guard and we couldn’t risk telling anyone else. I had to do it, Jared. Ethan’s my brother and Alexa’s your sister and Chloe is our niece. I couldn’t just sit back and let them go it alone just so I could keep my job.”

“Wait; what do you mean?”

“Instead of doing my time down South, I could leave The Elite, forever.”

“You would do that? For me?” Jared asked, stepping closer and taking Cami’s hand.

“It wasn’t even a choice, Jared. I can’t lose you.”

Jared wrapped his arms around Cami and held her tight. Being Elite was everything to her; the fact that she was willing to give it up for him meant more than he could ever say. “I love you,” he whispered, kissing her hair. Cami glanced awkwardly at Rachel and Martinez who were watching with surprise and curiosity, then at Jasmine whose expression was almost sad.
 

“I love you, too,” she replied, pinning Martinez with a stare, daring him to say something; a challenge he apparently couldn’t resist.

“Well, damn, Jared. It appears you’ve assisted in freezing hell over, or making pigs fly, or some shit like that,” he teased, ducking behind Rachel playfully.

“Fuck you, Martinez,” Cami replied, feigning anger. She wasn’t pissed; how could she be? She’d never been happier in her life and, after seeing everything her brother and Alexa had endured for their love, she was grateful.

✧

Alexa had only been sleeping for a couple of hours when she bolted up in bed with the feeling you get when waking up from a terrible nightmare that you can’t quite remember.
 

“I’m sorry, Amor. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Ethan said, already sitting up beside her. She couldn’t remember the dream because it wasn’t hers. She’d been feeling Ethan through their bond.

“What is it, Ethan?” Alexa asked, though she already knew. She was a mother, after all.

“I think I could find my way back to Lucias’s facility. I know he took Chloe there.”

“And what would we do if we found it? He has an entire army protecting him.”

“I know, yo sé, but we can’t just leave her there. Alexa, I watched her go with him. I just stood there; I couldn’t even speak as he snatched her away from us.”

“Ethan, my love, please listen to me. Chloe is strong, she’s so much stronger than you can imagine. She got the best of both of us and more. Going with Lucias was her choice.” Alexa took his hand. “I want to try something. I need you to lower your shields as much as you can. My ability isn’t as strong as Chloe’s but I think maybe with you, because of our bond, I can show you my mind if I focus.”

Ethan did as she asked, leaning back against the headboard as he relaxed and focused on opening his mind to her. Meanwhile, Alexa concentrated on the images from Chloe’s vision that she’d shared and pushed into Ethan’s mind. Scenes passed of Ethan returning to the compound, of them renewing their blood bond in the cell, of what would have happened if Chloe hadn’t gone with Lucias.

“We have to trust her and her choices. She sacrificed to save us and it’s up to us to make sure it wasn’t in vain. The Elite are preparing; your sister is making damn sure of it. They are training around the clock and every available soldier from the other compounds has made their way here to help in the fight. When they are ready, we will go for Chloe, if Lucias doesn’t bring the fight here first; but until then, there’s nothing we can do.”