hidden talents (19 page)

Her voice had gone husky. Adam gathered her hand in his and rested both on the tub rim. “Could you not do it?”

“I managed not to where anyone could see. In private, though ... It was like an itch. I had to let it out sometimes.”

She shivered, but that might have been the cold water - and the fact that she still wore the short fringed dress. Adam"s thumb caressed her knuckles. Touching her seemed to relax him, which certainly relaxed her. “How did you end up on the street?”

Ari let out a long sigh. “I had a friend. Her name was Liv, and we"d been best friends since kindergarten. We did everything together, even got dumped by our first boyfriends on the same day.”

“Did she know about your gift?”

“No.” Ari fell quiet, and Adam didn"t push. He still looked tense, so after a moment, she continued. If he"d wanted a happier story, he should have asked for it. “Liv and I were in our senior year of high school. She was way more popular than me. Straight A"s. No trouble with the principal. But she always stuck by me anyway. I was meeting her after cheerleading practice. I wasn"t on the squad. I was kind of a Goth by then. She was teasing me because she claimed the

quarterback had a crush on me, and that was going to put this other cheerleader"s nose out of joint. We were crossing the grass outside the practice field, laughing, when out of nowhere this tree fell on her.

“There must have been too much rain, because it hadn"t looked sickly. The trunk pinned her underneath. There were a few other kids around. One called 911, but a branch stub had gone into her and she was bleeding bad. She was so scared.

And paper white. She held my hand the way you are. She couldn"t talk, but her eyes were locked on mine, like she was pleading for me to do something. I thought maybe she
knew
. And then I realized whether she did didn"t matter. She was my friend. I could help.

“I"d never moved anything that big, but I moved that tree. I healed for the first time too. Blood was pouring out of her where the branch had gone in. I closed my eyes, and I made it stop. It was like that adrenaline strength they say mothers get who lift cars off their children. I needed to help her so badly somehow I could.”

“Did Liv survive?”

“She did.” Ari blew out her breath. “She walked again and everything. And she never spoke to me after that.” She saw from Adam"s expression that this surprised him. “We were a little God-fearing community. Football and God, in about that order. What I"d done frightened people. I suspect most of them approved of my parents kicking me out.”

“That"s - That"s just wrong,” Adam said, clearly having forgotten his own troubles. “Your parents were stupid, but that girl Liv was your friend.”

Ari stroked Adam"s still-warm cheek. “I like to think she still is. I like to think she only stopped talking to me because other people put so much pressure on her. Iowa isn"t Resurrection. The things I can do aren"t normal there.”

Adam"s mouth quirked unexpectedly. “You said you were from Kansas.”

“I lied. Habit. There were a couple stories in the local papers. I didn"t want to risk anyone connecting them to me.”

“So your friends in New York ...?”

“Are the only people who know the truth. To be honest, they"re my only

friends in the world.”

His eyes flared softly. “Not your only friends. Whatever you do or don"t feel for me, I am a friend to you.”

∞

Ari might not love Adam back, but he could tell seeing him hurt upset her.

When his body cooled from the shower at last, she helped him out of the tub, dried him gently with a towel, and bundled him into bed with the blankets Darius had brought. She made him take the antibiotic before she crawled in too, curling herself carefully next to him. Her presence was as comforting as if she"d been pack. She found an uninjured spot on his arm to nestle her head against.

He was childish enough to enjoy all of it. Exhausted from the whipping as well as fighting off his change, the mightiness of his yawn shook him. He was lucky he wasn"t human. The energy the demon stole would have taken much longer to restore itself.

“Sleep,” she said, stopping herself from patting his wounded chest at the last moment.

“I need to tell you something,” he said, knowing he couldn"t rest just yet.

“Before the watching spells go back on.”

She went up on her elbow, one hand coming up to stroke his hair. That was almost too soothing, but he fought past the languor rather than ask her stop.

“Blackwater thinks you"re a pureheart. He wants to sacrifice you to a

demon.”

If he hadn"t been running on fumes, he"d have put this more delicately. Ari sat straight up and stared at him. One side of her spiky platinum mop was wilted, where the shower spray had doused it. White showed around her eyes. “A

demon?”

“He"s been summoning one in the basement. He"s got a balloon payment

coming due at the next full moon, which is also when he must be getting whatever prize he bargained for.”

“And I"m the balloon payment.”

“It sounded that way to me. It would explain why he wanted you to injure Mariska Andoor. Purehearts can only be sacrificed after they"ve been led into sin.”

Ari coughed out a laugh. “If Blackwater thinks I"m pure, he hasn"t been paying attention.”

“It doesn"t mean
pure
as in virginal.” Adam pulled her nearer hand into his.

“Pureheart refers to someone who"s true to their own sense of right and wrong.

It"s about personal integrity, not a particular moral code. You could sleep with every man you met, but if you didn"t think that was wrong, it wouldn"t sully your energy. You being a Talent and a believer on top of that makes you the trifecta of tasty demon treats.”

Ari was shaking her head. “I"m sorry. Me pure? Or a believer? That sounds like the opposite of who I am.”

“Does it? Despite what your parents told you about your gift, your password is Godlovesme2. You came here to face down a dangerous crime boss because you didn"t want to kill people. Even threatening your best friends couldn"t make you harm Mariska.”

“My friends wouldn"t have wanted me to. They"re the goodhearted ones.”

“Ari, you said yourself Blackwater"s gift is finding valuable people. He"s betting his own life that you"re this thing.”

Ari tried to pull away from him, but he kept her hand firmly caught in his. He needed her to take this seriously. After a bit, she stopped tugging.

“If I"m so valuable pure, which I"m not saying I believe, why does

Blackwater want me to sin?”

“There are different theories about why, but sinning seems to gives a demon magical permission to take the pureheart"s soul. Too many sins, and your soul loses its mojo. If there"s only one big transgression, you supply a demon with so much juice he might jump a couple ranks among his own people. Demons are no different from other species that way. They enjoy being top dog.”

Ari shuddered, and he decided not to tell her this particular demon siphoned off power through pain - a drug Blackwater seemed to be encouraging it to crave.

Ari shifted uncomfortably on the futon. “What does Blackwater get out of this?”

“I don"t know yet. Probably a spell only a demon can do. Maybe being

kicked up to Level Two in power wasn"t enough for him. Whatever he wants, he"s burning through an awful lot of resources to accomplish it.”

Ari gnawed her lower lip.

“I"m sorry,” he said. “I don"t mean to alarm you, but you should be

forewarned.”

“No, you"re right.” Her eyes focused down on him. “I needed to know this.”

“It"s important you don"t give in. No matter what or who he threatens you with.”

“Right,” Ari said, nodding.

“Even if it"s me, sweetheart. This demon isn"t the kind any reasonable person would want to get more power. If it got loose in this realm, it would be bad. Lots of people would die in very unpleasant ways. I wouldn"t want to be the one who had to catch it.”

A look crossed her face that touched his heart and made him uneasy at the same time. She did care about him, maybe more than she was prepared to admit.

He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Promise you won"t do anything you know is wrong just to protect me.”

Her eyebrows puckered above her nose. “I can"t promise,” she whispered.

Her words jolted him. They had to be both the best and the scariest anyone ever said to him. The temptation to reach through their moon bond to read her emotions proved too much to resist. The love and worry he found inside her knocked him on his metaphoric ass.

She cared so much it frightened her.

“Ari,” he said, breathing her name in awe.

He sat up, ignoring the pulling of the healing wounds on his chest. His own love had swelled big enough to drown him. When he cupped her cheek, she tensed.

“What?” she asked warily. “Why are you staring at me like that?” Her pretty little face took on a look of horror. “Were you snooping inside my head?”

He smiled and brushed one fingertip along her soft cheekbone. “Don"t be afraid, darling. Your heart is safe with me. I"d break my own before I hurt yours.”

She shrank away in alarm. “Adam ...”

He caught her jaw and kissed her softly.

“Adam, don"t -”

Evidently, if she was still talking, that last kiss wasn"t good enough. He slanted his head, covered her lips, and slipped his tongue in too. She moaned as it cozied alongside hers. Encouraged, he massaged her neck and went deeper. After suffering so much pain, his nerves were ready for pleasure. Waves of lovely sensations rolled through his body as her mouth tentatively answered his. When he"d gotten out of the tub, she helped him drag off his wet jeans. Now he was naked under the warm blankets. His penis rose freely as the kiss drew out, stiffening in delicious little surges until it stood straight up. Adam groaned and pushed Ari backward, knowing exactly where he wanted to bury the aching rod.

“You"ll hurt yourself,” she gasped as she toppled back.

He reached under the short fringed dress to pull her tiny panties down her strong legs.

“Adam ...”

“You just keep saying my name,” he teased.

Her legs spread as he crawled forward over her, her body telling him what she wanted no matter what her mouth said. She started to put her hand on his chest to stop him, then remembered his injuries. The feelings that fought for precedence in her expression were comical - concern and annoyance being the biggest two.

The story she"d told him was very fresh in his mind. This girl deserved much more than she"d been given.

“I love you,” he growled. “You"re my mate whether you want to see it or not.

I need to show you how much I care.”

Her gaze settled on his mouth where his upper fangs had dropped. His cock throbbed hard when her tongue snuck out to wet her lip. The ache in Adam"s chest shifted to amusement once more. His mate had a nice little wolf fetish going there.

“I don"t want you to start bleeding again,” she said.

“I won"t if I"m on top. I know how to be careful.”

He knew her sense of humor had returned when she let out a muffled snort.

“You like being on top regardless.”

“I like doing everything with you. Every fucking goddamned thing.”

Her eyes widened at his fierceness, their lust mingling together in the most wonderful aroma. To him, the smell was better than faerie dust. He dropped his head to nuzzle her neck. Her hands tangled in his hair.

“
A-dam
.”

Oh yeah, he liked hearing her saying his name. Balancing on one elbow, he followed his cock"s pussy radar straight to the hottest, creamiest part of her. He knew this was where they both wanted him to be.

Her back arched as he pushed the head in. Bliss closed his eyes, but only for a second. He wanted to watch her, but God she felt good. Tight. Hot. Her inner muscles rippling in reaction. He was big compared to her, but the generosity of her wetness meant he didn"t have to stop, just take his time pressing into those satiny clinging depths. Halfway in, her nipples tightened. Not wanting to miss that, he tugged the top of her dress down to admire them.

She moaned as he seated himself balls deep. Her legs moved restlessly with pleasure, her hands fisting in the blankets to either side of her.

Adam thought he"d never in his life seen anything so hot.

“You can touch me,” he panted. “Only my front was whipped.”

Her eyes were dazed when she opened them. “You fill me,” she said. “Like nobody ever has.”

It wasn"t
I love you
, but right then it was close enough.

“Touch me,” he repeated hoarsely. “I need you stroking me.”

She put her hands on his back. Something in her face stilled him where he was. “Thank you for loving me,” she said shyly.

That was it then. He had to move, though he thrust in and out as gently, as tenderly as he could. They both groaned at how incredible the slick friction felt, their bodies joined in that intimate spot, their pleasure twice as intense for being shared. He wanted it to go on forever, to fuck her just like this till the end of time.

About ten minutes into nirvana, he remembered he needed protection.

Oh ... fuck
, he thought, wanting to groan aloud. He knew he ought to pull out.

He must have been seeping precome since before he entered her. He certainly would be now. He was way too worked up for his dick not to be leaking up a storm. Weres had great immune systems and weren"t prone to STDs, but the very vitality of their constitutions insured even small amounts of semen might hit a bull"s eye.

Naturally, since he was at
that age
for baby hunger, the mere thought of impregnating his beloved hardened him even more.

I will pull out
, he swore to himself.
Just five more thrusts. Nice
long
slow
ones. Or ten. Or maybe -

Ari nearly shattered him by shoving her hand in between their groins.

“Sorry,” she said, her middle finger working hard on her clit. “You"re so sexy it"s killing me. If I don"t come soon, I"m going to die.”