Akasha 4 - Earth (29 page)

"Picked it up in Virginia; been saving
it ever since." His lettuce wrap was halfway gone.

I passed over the canteen and sampled
our kill. "What if it had rabies or something?"

"Then you'd probably show signs of it.
Was that not dog blood and snot I tasted on your tongue when I
kissed you after?"

I laughed, spewing potatoes out of my
mouth. "Well, romance is a specialty of mine."

"Oh, there is no doubt." He wiped the
corner of my lips with a blanket.

We finished our cold food, washing it
down with much better wine.

"Kaitlyn, I want to ask you
something…about Lucy," Micah said.

I brought the canteen from my lips, a
half smile lighting my face. "Ok."

"Is Lucy – gay?"

Now I was in a full out grin. "What do
you think?" I teased.

He didn't notice. "Look, everyone does
what they have to do to survive. I'm not going to hold anything
against—"

"I'm not a lesbian," I said, cutting
him off. I put the canteen in his hand and scooted closer. "Erika
is a good friend." I took a pillow, hugging it to my chest. "There
are good people in One Less. We need to consider that as we are
figuring out what to do."

He leaned into me, nudging me with his
shoulder. "I told you – we'll talk plans later."

"Okay." I straightened my back, the
smile returning to my face. "What else do you want to know about
Lucy, since we are on the subject?"

He turned the full brunt of his
glowing, green eyes on me. "I want to see Lucy's tattoos. All of
them."

Chapter
45

Control Freak

I took the canteen back from him,
before he even took a drink. I downed the rest of the wine. My head
swam in pure delight. I shifted in front of him on my knees and
removed my shirt, then my bra. When I glanced at him again, he
lifted up to his knees to look me in the eye.

His hand went to my cheek, tracing the
outline of the cherry blossom branches.

"Maybe a little too obvious, don't you
think?" he asked.

"I didn't ask for it – they just did
what they wanted."

"Permanent makeup, too?" His hand
traced over my eyelids and across my eyebrows.

I nodded.

"And your back…" He drifted around me,
running his hand down and around my waist. "Almost all of it is
covered with ink."

I stayed silent, letting him
explore.

"The scar is almost completely
invisible. The tattoo artist really knew how to shade." His hand
hovered over my shoulder.

"Artists," I said.

"Hmm?"

"There were two of them."

His hand drifted up my neck, mumbling
the words, "Earth, air, fire, water. That’s a popular one with
Wiccans."

He came around in front of me again,
pulling me up so we were both standing. He held my good wrist in
the air, reading the bracelet of ink to himself. His lips moved
with the words. He curled his fingers into mine. "I got a tattoo,
also. Want to see it?"

"You did? Yes, of course I want to
see." I looked up at him with wide eyes.

He stepped back, taking off his shirt.
A dark splotch of ink over his heart was just visible.

"It isn't nearly as intricate as
yours…" he trailed off.

I pulled him into the moonlight
streaming through the windows of the observation tower. Light lit
his chest, showing a small, fat bee. My throat constricted as I
placed my hand over the symbol of the daughter I left
behind.

"It's beautiful; thank you." I stepped
in to him, meaning to bury my face in his chest.

Instead, he lifted my chin, guiding my
lips to his. I opened my mouth, allowing him in.

He pulled the rest of me into him.
"You're not going back, I can't let you leave again. Kaitlyn…and
Lucy, stay here with me." His fingers dug into my waist.

"Shut up," I mumbled. "We'll talk
plans later."

His hands moved down, then lifted me
up. I wrapped my legs around his waist. He stumbled forward until I
was pressed against the glass window. His hips pinned me in
place.

"People will see," I
protested.

He held my hands out to the side while
he ran his tongue up my neck. "Let them."

My entire back tattoo was on display.
Shivers raked up and down my body, paralyzing me. Finally, he
released me and my bare feet touched the floor. He unzipped my
pants, slowly sliding them down my thighs until I stepped out. I
did the same for him.

We paused apart, our eyes running up
and down the length of each other's bodies.

"It's been so long," I whispered,
folding my arms over my midsection.

He stepped in. "It's still
me."

"I know." I ran my hand
over the stubble on his cheek, then let it drop. "It's just – I'm
not sure how much of
me
is left."

He took my hand, entwining our
fingers. "I don't have any protection. Maybe we shouldn't. I mean,
what if you—"

"I can't get pregnant again." I
swallowed hard. "At least, I don't think I can."

"Okay," he whispered. "Then let's find
out how much of Kaitlyn is left." He took my arm at the elbow,
guiding me to the pillows. "Lay down."

I obeyed, biting at my lip.

He followed me down. "Stop that. I'll
do the only biting tonight." He ran his tongue the length of my
lower lip, then nibbled at the corner. His knee snaked up in
between my legs giving him access. I melted, relaxing my legs. It
felt good to let someone else be in charge of my destiny;
especially when destiny ended in an orgasm.

His hand made small, teasing circles.
Around my nipples, down my stomach, and in between my legs. He
pressed his fingers in until they came out wet.

"Ready?" he asked, positioning himself
over my entrance.

"Stop stalling." My whole body
clenched in anticipation.

He leaned in slow, pausing just as I
felt his light touch. "Promise me. You have to promise me you'll
stay. Don't go back to him."

I looked up, his eyes were pleading.
So were mine. "Let's not do this now."

"I have to, I can't lose you ever
again."

I lifted myself up on my elbows.
"No."

"What?" He rocked back on his
heels.

I sat up. "I left her,
Micah. Can you grasp how big that is? I abandoned
my
child."

He shook his head. "You
didn't—"

I held up my hand, cutting him off.
"As long as I am close to Shawn, I know she is safe."

He reached out and pulled on my wrist
until I joined him on my knees. He traced my wrist tattoo with the
pad of his thumb.

I am the hero of this
story.

"You can't save everyone,
Kaitlyn."

"You're right." My eyes
flitted over to the window, seeking the glow of the
16
^th
Street Mall. "But I can save her." I looked back at him. "Are
you done bribing me with sex?"

He smiled. "Are you done being a
control freak?"

"Hardly." I pushed on his shoulders
and he fell back on the pillows. I climbed, positioning over him,
and lowered myself. Slowly.

He tried sitting up. I pushed him back
down. "Stay still," I hissed. I lowered myself a few more
centimeters. He was stretching me out unbearably wide.

"Kaitlyn…" He gritted his teeth. "I
can't wait, I need you now."

I lifted myself up a little,
threatening to release him completely. "I waited two years for you.
You can handle this. Now, don't move."

He looked at me, narrowing his eyes,
debating. Finally, he relented and laid his head back against the
pillows.

He was going to pay for his
hesitation. "Put your hands behind your head."

When he obeyed, I lowered myself a
little more.

"Please," he groaned. "Let me touch
you."

"No." I caught the hand he extended by
the wrist, then leaned forward to hold them both down. The movement
opened me up, and I slid the rest of the way down. We both sucked
in our breath. It was almost painful…almost.

I scooted my knees forward, getting
them under me. I raised myself all the way up until we were about
to detach, then lowered again. Four slow counts up, four slow
counts down.

Micah groaned again. Still holding him
down, I turned his head with my chin until his ear was
exposed.

"Shhh," I whispered. Four up, four
down.

"Kaitlyn—"

"Shut up." My lips stayed at his ear.
My tongue snaked in and out. I felt him shiver underneath me. "Do
you know what I had to do without you?"

He didn't answer.

Good
boy
. I moved faster now. Three counts up,
three counts down. "I had to pleasure myself."

He shivered again. I bit down on his
ear lobe. "I did it with our toy rock. I worked it without you."
Two counts up, two down. My knuckles were turning white around his
wrists. My hips pivoted back and forth as I moved up and down his
length. My whole body began to tingle with energy.

"Oh my God." My back arched, head
tilting back. One up, one down. "Now, Micah. Touch me
now!"

As soon as I released his hands, he
was against me – turning me over. Pillows scattered; my back hit
hard floor. His hips went into motion. He thrust forward, faster
than I could do it. I would've been shoved back, if it weren't for
his lips pinning me into place. He forced his tongue into my mouth.
It was my turn to groan.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and
lifted my hips, encouraging him. The energy still flowed. I took it
in, swimming in it. Wine in my head, adrenaline in my
veins.

One final, deep push, and we climaxed
together. Our muscles vibrated with tension, until he collapsed
over me. Full of renewed energy, I pushed him off, then sprung to
my feet. My hands practically glowed with light; I needed to return
the power before I exploded.

I spun in a circle, holding onto it
for one last second, then raised my arm up and out. Akasha burst
out of one of the windows. An unstoppable stream of light. The
glass shattered, littering the pavement 250 feet below.

"Stop! He'll see it!" I felt Micah's
hand on my ankle.

It didn't take long, Akasha expended
in a matter of seconds. I looked down. Micah was still on the
floor, breathing hard.

I bent down next to him. "What's the
matter?"

He shook his head. "Help me to the
pillows."

I put my arms under his shoulders and
pulled until he was on top of blankets, one pillow under his head.
He was much lighter than I remembered.

He was starting to shiver. I threw
another blanket over him, then crawled under, wrapping him in my
own body heat.

"Did I do this?" I asked.

He nodded, finally getting his breath
back. "I think you stole my energy."

My hand went to my mouth. "Oh, man. It
was the Great Rite."

"What?"

I turned on my back, staring up at the
shattered window. Two years of anarchy, and the observation tower
remained intact. Until I arrived. "It was what Shawn did to me on
the Galapagos. It wasn't just rape – he was absorbing my energy; my
magic, through the Great Rite." I sat up. "I can't believe I
just…Shawned you!"

His hand went to my
shoulder, pulling me back down. "You didn't
'Shawn'
me. This was consensual.
Totally different."

"Was it?" I wasn't sure.

Neither of us spoke for several
minutes. The moon crept into view outside.

"It gave you power," Micah finally
spoke.

I nodded. "Instant Akasha."

Neither of us said it in the open, but
the possibility was there. The Great Rite would give us what we
needed to defeat Shawn.

Chapter
46

Giving More

I watched the sun rise from the other
side of the observation tower. All around us, the park was slowly
waking up. Dozens of people exited the park buildings with packs on
their backs and push carts in tow. They headed east, toward the
rising sun.

I heard Micah cough. His heavy
footsteps made their way around the circular tower to
me.

"Did you sleep at all?" he asked,
joining me at the window and rubbing his temples.

"Maybe an hour," I answered. "I kept
seeing Natasha's face."

He put an arm around me.

I leaned into him, "How about you? Are
you doing okay?"

"I feel…hung over. Probably just need
some food." He yawned, then looked at the stream of people leaving.
"Heading to the silo; first group of many. I'm supposed to go with
the last of them."