Crux (The Aurora Lockette Series) (17 page)

One corner of her lip showed a hint of
a sexy smile that made me all twisted up inside. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You’ve had a big day, too. I’m...”

The slight smile slipped back down as tension returned to her face.
“I’m not human, Gavyn. Like, way, way not human.”

“
Don’t do that.” I put my water bottle down. “Don’t you dare do that. I know what you are. I love you, Aurora. I love all of you.” I pulled her from the windowsill until she was standing in front of me. Her lips were so full and beautiful. I ran my finger across them then kissed her.

AURORA

He stared at me with his perfect eyes, then his lips melded with mine, drowning all my concerns with his kisses.

He pulled back a bit and stroked my face. I bit down on his finger and sucked
on it.

His breathing became loud and jagged.
Just knowing that I had that effect on him excited me.

He moved
us towards the bed, backing me up one gentle step at time, pushing his firmness into me with every single step. “Aurora Lockette, when you are ready, and only when you are ready, I’m going to make love to you.”

I rocked my hips into his so I could feel how much he wanted me.
“Right now, Gavyn. We’re here right now and all we have is now. I need you.”

My words flipped a switch
in him. His whole stance changed. He grabbed the water bottle out of my hand and threw it roughly in the corner. He pushed me onto the soft bed, catching my fall with one strong arm. I laid back and watched him hover over me. His eyes traveled up and down my body like he wanted to eat me.

He pulled off his shirt while I watched, and
oh God, I’d almost forgotten how perfectly sculpted his body was. His muscles flexed as he crouched over me, very slowly. The moonlight hit his perfect, smooth, tan skin.

He mouth was hot
as his tongue danced with mine. I pushed my body against his, desperate to feel his skin against mine.

He pulled back, leaving
an empty, cold space between us. I sat up, too, but he clucked his tongue and gently pushed me back so I was lying flat on my back. “Let me,” he insisted.

Very slowly, he unbuttoned my jeans, pulled them down my legs, and threw them behind me. He left a trail of kisses up my leg
, all the way to the top of my panties. He bit down on the top hem of my panties, gently nipping my skin in the process. I heaved under him, barely able to contain myself. He pulled off my panties with his teeth, working them down to the bottom of my thighs before ripping them away with his hands.

He left one hand at my apex, massaging my hot, wet core while he kissed me on the mouth. I tangled my hands into his hair, letting his familiar smell soak into me. He grunted and pulled down his jeans and boxers with
the other hand.

I flipped him over so I was on top of him.

He looked up at me from his pillow, black hair a wild tangled mess around him, his amber eyes glowing in the dark.

He loved me. Just the way I was.

Slowly, I pulled off my shirt and bra while he watched. His eyes burned and his hands flew up to caress my breasts.

I leaned into him, stomach to stomach. He pulled my
taut nipple in his mouth, and it was all I could do to keep from screaming in pleasure.

He sat up, scooting back against the pillows and headboard.
He pulled me onto him so I was straddling him.

We
faced each other and met soft, hot flesh into flesh as I sank onto him. He was inside me, and I felt so alive. We moved together, our gazes locked. His hands roamed over my body: cupping my breasts, smoothing my hair, gently kneading my back.

I exploded first,
wave after wave of pleasure ripping through my body. I tipped my head up and leaned back as the aftershocks continued to move through me.

He ran his fingers down my body, starting at my
cheek, down my neck, between my breasts, and all the way down my stomach. Then he pulled me close, so we were chest to chest and found his release.

We slowly unwound just enough to lie down. He rested his head on my breasts, leaving one hand splayed across my chest. I cradled him against me, soaking every second of his perfection.

Tears of joy slipped from my eyes.

In that moment, I was not a monster. I was not a freak who
could fly or change into Spirit. I was not responsible for saving the world.

I was just a woman, hopelessly and
irrevocably in love with a wonderful man.

Then all was still, and I
fell asleep.

GAVYN

I lay against her soft, full breasts, my fingers splayed across her
ribs. I felt her chest rise and fall beneath my fingertips with each breath and her heartbeat thrummed in my ear.

Her breathing evened out, long and smooth, and I knew she was asleep.

I gently raised my head and relocated to the pillow next to her. I was inches away from her face: dark shapely eyebrows, ski-slope nose, full lips, and thick lashes resting against her cheeks.

My eyes flicked down to the smooth skin of her body, her soft curves stood out against the white sheet.
Her ribs were already a little less visible with proper hydration and nutrition, thank God. She was going to need her strength.

I pulled up the blanket to cover us both and closed my eyes.

* * *

When I woke up, her eyes were open and
she was watching me. She smiled, and it lit up her face. “That was the best,” she checked her watch, “five hours of sleep I’ve ever gotten.”

We laughed together. My resilient fiancé still had her wicked sense of humor
, and it lifted my heart that in these moments, we were still us.

“
And last night was…” She ran her fingers down my face.

“
Yeah, it was.” I held her close against me.

“
Today is going to be a big day. If not today, then tomorrow. I don’t know what’s going to happen to us,” she said.

“
I don’t either, but I’ll be with you no matter what.” I pushed some of the long dark hair out of her face.

She flipped over on her side so we were facing each other.
“I know. I wish you didn’t have to be involved in all of this, and I—”

“
Shhh,” I cut her off. She smiled, and we kissed again.

Her fingers ran light trails down my arm. Her breasts were against my skin and I needed her again.

I rolled on top of her, keeping the full weight of my body off of her with my arms. I could watch her this way

And I really wanted to watch.

She slid her hand down my abs and guided my hardness into her. We moved together, slowly and gently at first, then built into a passionate rhythm.

I was lost in her, watching her move, watching her pleasure build.

She grabbed my biceps, bucking her hips into mine and moaning my name. She arched her back, which displayed her perfect, round breasts. That spectacular visual was my undoing. We finished together, collapsing back into our little oasis.

AURORA

I lay against Gavyn, my heart still racing against my ribcage, my breathing rapid. I wanted to stay here all day and make love to him over and over. I wanted to show my love and passion over and over, in every single way, because soon, I’d have to get up and go fight.

He was dreading it too, judging by the way he was holding me so close, kissing my temple, and stroking my skin.

I had no time to process anything; my kidnapping, the horror of Keith’s death, the fact that I could become non-corporal. All of that new, crazy crap was packaged into little boxes and shoved somewhere deep inside my mind to be dealt with at a later date, if I survived.

But Gavyn was not packaged or shoved aside. Gavyn made my soul sing. I could enjoy him now, feel this now, without any regrets or guilt or anger. Just love.

I reluctantly detached myself from him, pulled myself out of the bed and walked into the shower. I let the hot water run over me, my mind racing with two million things on my to-do list for today. 1. Save the world; 2. Not die; 3. Not let anyone else die; 4. Figure how to do all of the above. I was laughing at myself when I stepped out.

Gavyn was waiting
for me with a towel. He had some fresh clothes for himself draped over his arm. I guess he’d dug those out while I was showering.

He was in the shower as I left. In the room, he’d put a plate with fresh fruits and doughnuts on my nightstand next to a steaming cup of coffee. I smiled at his sweetness. I dropped the towel, hopped into bed naked, and enjoyed a moment of solitude while I ate my breakfast.

He came out of the shower a few minutes later, stubble on his cheeks and chin, wet hair raining drops onto his clean shirt. Yummy.

“
You found breakfast?” he asked.

“
Yep,” I sucked the crumbs off my finger. “Thank you.”

“
Sure,” he said.

I stood up
and enjoyed watching his jaw drop open. “You’re naked,” he said huskily. “I like it.”

“
Don’t get used to it. I should have been downstairs a while ago.”

“
I know.” He licked his lips but kept his hands to himself and watched me while I got dressed. I found some clean underwear and a sports bra. After digging through my decidedly sparse selection, I settled on a dark t-shirt with rugged jeans and sneakers.

I drained my coffee.
“You ready to save the world?”

His eyes were sad, but he still smiled at me.
“Just you.”

I followed him down the hallways because he seemed to know where he was going. We
went down three flights of stairs to the main entrance. This house was packed now. People were splayed everywhere: sitting on blankets on the floor, eating food and drinking coffee, talking, cleaning firearms.

They were all waiting, probably for me and Dennis to figure out how the hell to handle this
situation.

The war room door was open
, and it was packed to the hilt inside. My mom’s armory had been moved to the corner of the room, where it was now sectioned off with several long tables. She was there, surrounded by men in paramilitary fatigues, her blond hair wet and pulled back in a ponytail, nursing a cup of coffee, and bossing everyone around.

Dennis was in the middle, drawing a map on a chalkboard. He was flanked by Konstantin
, Carmen, and a few others.

Gavyn detached himself and moved over to a stack of maps
, where he was the night before.

I walked up to Dennis.
“Sorry, I’m here.”

He glanced up.
“Good, I was getting ready to wake you. We’ve got news.”

“
What?”

“
Look at this.” He pushed the local newspaper to me. He’d highlighted a small column on the bottom of the third page.

I scanned it quickly.
“Small earthquake, outside the city, not near a fault line. What the heck?” I put it down. “Let me guess. Near the rock formation where Asag is.”

“
Yes. And kidnap attempts were made on thirteen of our members worldwide last night. He was targeting specific people.”

“
Like me, one’s that he believes have both bloodlines.”

“
Yes,” Dennis said. “We need eyes in there. Now. We can’t really plan an attack aside from storming the rock and hoping for the best before they release whatever the hell they’re going to release.”

“
I can do that. Sam can do that.” I stood up. “Is everyone else in position? What have we got?”

“
We’ve got fifteen hundred right now mobilized, fed, and ready within eight miles of our target, with more coming in by four. They’re all fighters ready to go. We’ve got people pouring in from all over the world.”

“
Good. I’ll be back soon.

“
Where are you going?” Carmen asked.

“
To spy, with Sam.”

She glanced at Dennis, but he didn’t object.

“Take a small team with you,” Dennis said.

“
No.” I said “We can go there in Spirit and fly. It’s much safer than bringing a team.”

“
All right,” he said evenly. “I’m sure Gavyn will be content to wait here while you walk into enemy territory.”

He turned back to his battle plans, leaving me to deal with my fiancé on my own.

Gavyn was still hunched over a map—looked like the mapped sections of the caves underneath the rock formations. I approached him gingerly.

“
I already overheard that you want to go in there,” he said.

“
I’m kind of invisible and stuff. It’s the safest way.”