Dealers of Light (34 page)

He squeezed
her body against his, and she rested her head on his heaving chest. The clean smell of scented soap mixed with the musky scent of his skin invaded her senses. She skimmed a hand around his neck and her fingers caressed the tender skin. He gasped and took three strides to the bed, placing her on the comforter.

H
is jaw twitched as he stared at her, then he tugged off his shirt with an impatient jerk. The bronzed muscles of his chest glowed in the lamplight. He slowly pulled the ankh over his head, stared at it a moment, then opened a drawer of the night stand and dropped the necklace inside.

He lowered himself to the side of the bed and
Cara sat up. She took a deep breath, removed her camisole and tossed it on the floor, releasing her breasts. She fell back to the mattress, heart racing.

Rolf’s eyes widened in desire
. “Cara, you’ve bewitched me.” Heavy and warm, he lowered himself to cover her body with his.

“I’m no witch,” she whispered,
dusting his face with tender kisses. “I’m a real woman who can love you. Let me…love you.”

His lips trailed
heady warmth over her shoulder, up her neck, and locked to her lips. Hungry, their tongues thrust together, moving in sensuous swirls. She tasted a hint of red wine. Snaking her hands about his neck, she massaged his shoulders, tracing the hard texture of his muscles. Her hands traced the chiseled curves of his muscles and her fingers met a patch of scored flesh. A scar no doubt. She deepened her kiss. If only she could kiss the centuries of suffering and fighting away. She wanted to take care of him, love him, and make up for all the years of love he had lost. If only he would let her.

He
rolled her to his side, so they lay face to face, and enfolded her in his arms, a tender, cherishing gesture. His eyes searched hers and she met his gaze, steady and sure of her love. They lay like that for a minute, his heart pounding inches from her own. Water slapped against the hull of the boat in a rhythmic, soothing sound. Liquid throbbing pulsed between her thighs. She threw a leg over his hips, and pressed her hand against his back, wanting more.

Needing more.

“Cara,” he murmured, his lips met hers, responding to her fervor, warm and insistent. He shuddered and slid his hands down, grabbing her hips, pushing his pelvis against hers. “May the gods forgive me if this is wrong, but I want you. I need you. I need love.”

She felt his urgency, a thousand years of pent up frustration and guilt slipping away on a tide of passion. A sob rose in her throat, but she swallowed against the constriction. Instead
, her heart soared with the ancient call of a woman to comfort her man. The strong warrior who could only lower his guard and allow tenderness in the arms of the woman who loved him. 

“I need it, too, Rolf. We have a bond. You know it.
It formed when we joined for the shield, and there’s no way to deny this attachment.” She rolled on top of him, hands pressing against his shoulders, and leaned over to kiss him tenderly. “Admit it.”

H
e reached up, cupping the sides of her breasts with his hands. She reared back, and he was able to put his hands around them, squeezing the softness. She didn’t even try to restrain her moan.

“I admit it. I wanted to deny
our bond, thinking it would protect you. But it’s true, gods help me.” He grasped her waist and pulled her back to him. She rested on his chest, breathing heavily. He softly stroked her skin, up and down her spine, then nibbled her neck and shoulder, his lips warm, insistent.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” he whispered against her ear, his breath warm, tickling the hairs on her neck.

She snuggled into the crook of his arm on one side, luxuriating in the hot skin and closeness of him, the strength that resonated beneath her fingers. She knew there were difficulties, but she didn’t care. Emmie told her to follow her heart and her heart led her to Rolf. Even if they only had this one night of joy, she was willing to risk it. “Yes, for as long as we have, I want this. I want you.” She hugged his chest and draped one leg over his.

“So be it,” he said.

Shivers
crawled through her as his fingers explored her abdomen down to the drawstring of her pants and untied it. He tugged the waistband loose and slipped his hand inside, his fingertips teasing the tender skin. She gasped and raised her hips so he could pull the pants off, leaving her naked body gleaming in the low light.

He
twisted to sit on the side of the bed, unzipped his pants, and tossed them to the floor along with his boxers. He rolled back to face her, already hard, and she took him in her hand. He groaned and grasped her waist with strong hands as his mouth found hers, sucking her tongue in to meet his.

“Rolf
.” She drew back, hands on his chest.

“Yes?” He
touched feather light kisses to her eyelids, one at a time.

“I
…I do want you.” She cupped his face between her hands and looked into his wanting eyes. “This is right, I know it.”

“So
right it’s almost unbearable,” he whispered, face flushed.

He kissed her again
. A deep, penetrating kiss full of promise. He grabbed her buttocks, pressing her against his body as she wrapped her legs around him. His entrance was a smooth thrust of pure pleasure. A joining she’d wanted for so long.

He sucked his breath in
, and she moaned as they moved together. Slow luxurious thrusts increased in intensity, and they gazed into each other’s eyes, the throbbing between her legs now a sharp ache. His breath came out in a rush as she moved her hips in time with his thrusting.

“
Ohh, yes,
” slipped from her lips.

His
gaze never strayed from her, despite their actions. “Gods, you’re so beautiful, Cara.” The blue of his eyes morphed into liquid sapphires, and she fell into their depths. Inside her, a glow of Light burst forth from her center and the tendrils of energy uncurled. Rolf’s Light surged as well, and she could feel the coils of Light entwined with each other like hot golden cords, binding the lovers in bonds of radiant power. Every sensation was heightened.

She gasped at the intensity, her skin tingling.
“What’s happening?”

“It’s the Light,” Rolf said. “This is what it’s like for Dealers. Didn’t you know?”

She shook her head, unable to speak and, despite the urge, unable to burst into tears of joy. She’d never made love to a Dealer, never imagined such a connection could exist.

She saw the strands of Light in her mind, and
floated in the glow of passionate energy. They stroked each other like fingers, swirling energy whipped into a frenzy of desire and need. Arousal burned like hot coals needing to be quenched. Her hips moved faster, and he followed, both of them consumed now with the race to release.

He
squeezed his eyes shut and stiffened. Her answering passion was a burst of fiery rapture, carrying her in waves of swelling pleasure until it bordered the edge of painful in its intensity. Her body bucked, but he crushed her against him. Their bodies trembled in unison for several seconds, then the tension eased. The Light recoiled inside her, retreating back to her inner core. 

Cara
released a deep breath and lifted her head. Sweat trickled down her face and back as the tingles in her skin subsided. She sucked in air and met his gaze. So many complications and emotions swirled in the depths of his eyes. Was there still a twinge of guilt? She wasn’t sure. So much about his relationship with Sakhet became clear after that amazing interaction of Light during their love-making. It was a binding, so complete, so powerful there was no escaping it.

She stroked his face, hoping to ease his inner turmoil. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s going to be okay.”
God only knew what sort of memories were running through his head.

He
rolled to her side, closed his eyes, and pulled her to his chest. “Gods, Cara. I hope I have not put you in any more danger. I can’t bear the thought of losing you.” He whispered in her ear, voice catching. “I’m…afraid.”

“What?” Ice gripped her heart. He was Rolf, an ancient, powerful Light-dealer. How could he be afraid of anything?

He didn’t answer for several seconds, and she held him close, stroking his back.

“What if your closeness to me puts you in danger?” His voice was so low she could barely hear it. “What if I can’t protect you?”

“
Shhh
,” she said as she would to calm a child. “What happens from now on is fate. You can’t control it. Be happy for what we have.”

He clung to her, pressing his face into her hair, and she continued to rub his back until his breathing calmed. Cara’s mind raced from one worry to the next until
Emmie’s face appeared in her mind. The old dear would tell her to “Stop her frettin,” no doubt. With a sigh, she closed her eyes.

They fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
Safe, for the moment.

Chapter Thirty-One

“Can you hack it?” Rolf leaned over Sean’s shoulder.

Sean’s
fingers sped over the computer keyboard. “I can hack anything. But the military will take a little longer than a civilian site.”

Rolf
drank from his cup of espresso and walked to the control panel of the boat. He pictured Cara as he had left her in his bed this morning, all warm and tousled from their love-making. His groin tightened. How wonderful it had been to love her, to have his Light mingle with another Dealer for the first time in thousands of years. But still, guilt surged through him every time Cara’s image rose in his mind. The distraction of love was powerful, tugging on his heart, making him weak with craving her.

From the pilot house window
, he had a clear view of the marina in the early morning mist. Occasionally, a car crept by on the nearest street and a few pedestrians walked along the sidewalk, like rusty robots. Things were only going to get worse if they didn’t stop Desmond. The priority was clear.

“Let me know when you acquire the satellite
.” With a last glance out the window, he walked down the steps to the salon. He had to face Cara sooner or later. Somehow, he had to find a way to continue this mission. Diving into a relationship with Cara made both of them vulnerable. If only Cara had put off her confrontation until this was all over, then he might feel differently.  

The group
had coffee and munched on bagels, croissants, and fruit salad for breakfast. He found it strange his eyes skipped over Cara with her new brown hair. But he always located her eventually. She sat on the couch beside Amber with her back to him. He wanted to kiss her and touch her warm, soft skin again.

“Good
morning,” he said to the group. Cara turned. The glow in her eyes set him on fire, and he lost his train of thought.

Damn
. This was just the sort of confusion that could get them all killed.

“Hey, something new happened.” Tor pointed the remote toward the flat screen TV on the wall and turned up the volume.

“Sources say the planes collided due to errors made by air traffic controllers at Raleigh’s International Airport. Records show the controllers on duty were slow to respond to the emergency landing situation which led to this disaster. Now, over two-hundred people are dead with many more injured. The FTC has already launched an investigation into the alleged oversight,” the announcer said. “This, two days after a major train mishap just outside Richmond, Virginia killing ninety-eight also blamed on conductors unable to deal with a rapidly changing situation.”

Tor turned the volume back down and pivote
d toward Rolf. “Effects of the Net?”

“Possibly,” Rolf said. “But it
might be a coincidence.”

“If it isn’t, I don’t understand how Desmond hopes to get away with this.”
Marc shook his head.

“A lot more incidents
of this nature and people outside the areas may start asking questions.” Alistair polished his glasses.

“Yes, but what can they do about it?” Rolf paced over to the bar and
refilled his cup. “There’s no way for anyone to discover what’s going on. They can’t even imagine what’s happening.”

“Even if we had records of the officials being bribed?”
Tor asked.

“
Such a route would be difficult to prove, and we don’t have enough time,” Rolf said. “We have to stop them before they expand any further. That’s the only way this disaster will go away.”

“Um, can we talk?” Cara came to her feet and motioned to the outside door. The others continued discussing the long-term consequences of Desmond’s plan. Only Amber’s gaze
tracked them out the door.

Rolf followed Cara to the stern of the boat, his mind jumbled with thoughts. He didn’t want to hurt her but
, at the same time, he knew getting rid of the Takers had to be their main concern.

“How are you this morning?” Cara went to the rail and he joined her. The brush of her arm against his made his skin tingle.