Jaci's Experiment (10 page)

Together they crested the highest wave she’d ever climbed, drowning in pleasure as he held her. They flew up and over, then down the other side, and all the while, he was with her, protecting her, loving her.

Jaci understood then what it was to be cherished.

She felt replete when he lifted away with a final lingering kiss, but then she saw Michael, standing there, watching them. The expression on his face stole her breath. It 86

was hot, hungry and somehow noble. She realized he’d held off his own pleasure to allow them that moment out of time while he used his amazing psychic gift to keep them all here in the dreamstate. She decided it was his turn to fly, even if it meant she’d lose this spectacular dream. She’d have the memory of it when she woke. One perfect memory to hold against the uncertain future. Now she wanted to give the same to Michael.

“Come here, Michael.” That was all she had to say.

In the blink of an eye, the elegant golden bedroom was gone, replaced by black silk and red satin. She looked around with interest.

“What’s this?” She offered Michael an uncertain smile.

“In the old world, this kind of décor was pure sin. I’ve dreamed of your pale skin against this kind of backdrop for weeks now. I hope you don’t mind.” A flush stained Michael’s cheekbones.

“Mind?” She sat up, holding out one hand to him. “I want whatever you want, Michael. I don’t know much about your culture’s sexual practices, but I’m willing to learn.” She looked around again and realized David was gone from the dream. “Where’s David?”

“You blew his mind, cupcake. He’s gone too deep into sleep to stay here with us in the dream realm.

Do you mind if it’s just us?”

“No, I don’t mind.” She caught his hand and drew him forward, onto the bed. “Show me what you want, Michael. Teach me what you like.”

“Oh, baby. Another time and place, I’d enjoy giving you detailed instructions, but right now I’m so hot for you, it’s going to be hard and fast. I have no finesse left.”

“If you ask me if I mind again, I may have to penalize you,” she teased him and was heartened when he laughed.

Michael climbed over her. “As tempting as that sounds, we’ll have to hold it for later. When we can be together outside of dreams.”

He positioned himself and sank into her, filling her emphatically with his wide, hard cock.

“Oh, Michael, do you think that day will ever come?”

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He stilled and propped himself up on his elbows so he could look into her eyes. “I have to believe it, Jaci. I can’t live without you. Somehow, we’ll find a way. Believe that.”

“I want to believe, but I’m scared.”

He surged forward, making her gasp. “Then believe this. I love you. Nothing on Earth will keep me from you now that I’ve finally found you. I know Dave feels the same. When we work together, there’s nothing we can’t do. Believe in us, baby.”

He punctuated his words with hard thrusts of his hips, distracting her. But his message was clear. She had to believe. She had to. These men—and their love—were the only things that mattered in her life anymore. All the years she’d lived to this point were gone in the blink of an eye. Irrelevant.

“Oh, Michael!” He moved so forcefully, she thought she felt the Earth itself move beneath their straining bodies. He moved almost violently within her, but she felt no pain, no apprehension. What she did feel was a reawakening of the amazing pleasure David had given her—just as intense, but slightly different in flavor.

As she rose with Michael, her senses were flooded with his masculine scent, his hardness, his almost animalistic need, all focused on her. It was a heady feeling and one that drove her closer to the edge.

With short, sharp digs, he set her on fire so that she cried out on every deep pulsing thrust.

“Michael!” She screamed his name as she came, feeling him tense a moment later and spurt within her.

She blacked out for a time and hours later, when she woke, it was with a smile on her face.

Out of the dream and back in their cell, the cousins spoke telepathically as they lay in their lonely beds.

“It’s no good, Dave. I’m afraid for her. She’s so unprepared to deal with her new emotions. If her people find out, she’s toast.”

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“We just have to help her as best we can and have faith that there are other people involved now who have more power than we do. Harry will keep an eye out for her. He promised.”

“I know, but I’m not entirely sure about the kid yet. I mean, he’s one of them.”

“I hear you, cousin. But he’s also half human and was raised by humans. I think his loyalties are on our side.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Me too, cuz. Me too.”

Jaci blushed as she walked into Mike and Dave’s cell the next day. Memories of the night before were clear in her sparkling eyes. Michael loved the flush of excitement he knew their shared dreams had put in her cheeks. She was so breathtakingly beautiful.

A tall woman, she was still shorter than he and his cousin. She fit between them as if she were made to do so. She had a body that didn’t quit and a sharp mind that both men liked. In fact, she was perfect for them.

She shut off the monitor and walked straight into Dave’s arms. Well, he’d been standing closer. Mike would be sure to be right next to the damn monitor next time. He wanted the kiss she was giving to his cousin. Tomorrow it would be his turn to go first.

“How are you, sweetheart?” Dave asked her when he let her up for air.

“Still scared, but doing better. I believe the emotions are starting to integrate better inside my mind and I’m better able to hide my reactions the longer I practice at it.”

Dave laid his hands on her temples and Mike felt the slight surge of energy that always accompanied the use of Dave’s mindhealing power. He gave her a small jolt of healing energy, but she stepped back.

“Don’t do it, David. I don’t want you to be weakened on my account. I’m feeling much better. I assure you.”

“Please, sweetheart. Let me do this for you. I want to give you every chance of succeeding and this is the only thing I can really do for you while I’m stuck down here in this cell.”

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Her face reflected her compassion. She was such a beautiful woman, inside and out, even if her emotions had only been awakened a short time before. She’d always been nice, but now that her inner core was free, she was blossoming into a kind, sympathetic and considerate woman.

She hesitated and Dave moved closer to her. “Let me give this to you. Just a touch to be sure you’re in balance.”

“Only a small amount, David. I’m serious. I don’t want you drained from helping me. I can handle things much better now, thanks to your earlier help.”

Dave took that as permission and touched her temples again. Once again, Mike felt the pop of his cousin’s energy—a much larger blast this time. Dave was giving her a lot more of his energy than she realized. Good thing he was such a deft touch with that rare power he wielded.

Dave finished the burst of treatment with a kiss, probably to distract Jaci. He pulled back and sought Mike’s eyes. Mike knew it was his turn to distract their woman while Dave took a moment to recover.

Mike stepped up behind her, whirling her around into his arms. He dipped his head, enjoying her dazed expression as he claimed the kiss he’d wanted since the moment she walked into the room. He was vaguely aware of Dave sinking down into a chair. Mike knew he’d need a minute to regain his balance after shooting so much of his power into Jaci’s healing, so he let the kiss go on until they were both breathing hard.

When he pulled back, he still didn’t let her go. A glance over her shoulder told him Dave was still sitting, but looking a lot less pale. Another few seconds should see him back on his feet.

“You have something for us, Jaci? That data crystal Caleb gave you?”

“Oh!” She pulled one hand from around his neck and released the catch of her shirt. “I put it in here.”

“Never thought I’d wish I were a data crystal. What a nice hiding place.” His teasing words elicited a small smile as she put two fingers into her cleavage.

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Alvian women didn’t wear bras, per se, but they did have a formfitting garment that served the same purpose. Jaci pulled the crystal out from between her breasts and handed it to him. It was warm from her body, and he couldn’t resist lowering his mouth to place a few nibbling kisses on her cleavage before she closed up shop.

He hated to see her creamy flesh covered up, but the clock was ticking. They only had a few more moments before the cameras would have to be switched back on.

“You should pop that into the viewer now while the monitor is off. Don’t let them see you putting it in or taking it out. You’re not supposed to have any crystals at all, but Hara assured me this one was undetectable without physical inspection. He got it from Chief Engineer Davin himself and there is no better crystallographer on the planet.”

Jaci followed him over to the viewer station and watched as he opened the crystal port and inserted the untraceable storage device Caleb had sent. He actually heard her sigh of relief as the crystal went into the machine and was hidden from view.

“We’ll take a look at this tonight, Jaci. Thanks for bringing it.”

“I want to help you.” She clutched at his hand, swiveling her attention between him and Dave. “Anything I can do, I’ll do.”

“I know, sweetheart.” He pulled her into hug, rubbing her shoulders to comfort her. “You’ve already done more than you’ll ever know, just by being you.”

“It’s not enough. It won’t be enough until you’re free to walk out of this prison.”

“Amen to that.” Dave walked up to them, touching her shoulder and drawing her attention. “We’re almost out of time for today.”

“I know. I wish we had more time. There’s never enough time with you both.”

Mike and Dave surrounded her with their warmth, enclosing her in a hug shared by all three.

“It is what it is, sweetheart. For now, we just have to deal with it.” Mike stepped back and let Dave take her in his arms.

“We all have to believe that the day will come—soon—when we can be together. Believe in it and it will happen, Jaci, my love.” Dave kissed her while Mike did the small chores Jaci usually did to keep their cell habitable.

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“Who knows?” Mike tried to raise their spirits. “Maybe your precognitive friend Caleb O’Hara will have some good news for us once we get a look at that crystal.”

Dave drew back, giving another small pulse of energy to Jaci that she seemed unaware of, though it seemed to help her regain composure. Mike leaned in and gave her peck on the cheek, handing her the small items he’d collected for her while she’d been in Dave’s arms. All she’d have to do is switch the monitor back on and she could leave without anyone in the city above being the wiser about the emotional upheavals taking place inside the cell and its inhabitants.

“We love you, Jaci. Just keep doing what you have to do to survive and like my cousin says, just believe in that love. Our people have a saying—love conquers all. And with love, we’ll conquer this situation.

Maybe not today or tomorrow, but sometime soon we’ll be able to be together.” 92

Dave lay down on his bed, weary from giving Jaci so much of his energy in such short, intense bursts. He had to give her a boost to balance the turmoil in her mind—the new chemicals and synapses firing through her brain as emotions came on line. It was imperative she be able to handle the confusion of all the changes happening to her as smoothly as possible to avoid detection.

He lived in fear of her being caught by her people. She’d said they might kill her and would most certainly imprison her. Dave couldn’t let that happen. If a little fatigue was the price to pay for helping her keep it together enough to pass in her emotionless society, so be it. He’d rest up today and be ready to give her another treatment tomorrow. In the meantime, his cousin was busy at the viewer, reading the information Caleb had sent. He talked telepathically to Dave when he found interesting tidbits to pass on.

“Listen to this one, Dave. Caleb wrote that ‘People of many talents will gather around a blond giant named for Hickok, who is an angel in disguise.’”

“Hickock? Like Wild Bill Hickock?”

“Beats the hell outa me. Caleb goes on to say, ‘Former enemy, he’ll become the father of the resistance.

Tell those who manage to escape to seek him out in the high places.’”

“So there’ll be an escape?”

“He says ‘Escape is possible, but not until two love days from now.’ I guess he didn’t want to give dates the aliens would be able to easily track down. There’s a lot of that kind of thing in here. Stuff humans would understand, but probably not the aliens.”

“Probably a wise move. But ‘love days’? You think he means Valentine’s Day—February fourteenth?”

“My thought exactly.”

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“We’d better keep track of the calendar. We let that slip in the past few months.”Dave observed.

“Get this. ‘By twos and threes, captives will be given the chance to move south. Take it. Go south when offered and if you can’t get south, bide your time. The day will come. And when it does, seek refuge in the high places with our angel. By then, he’ll be ready to step into the role he’ll play for our future. Learn from him. Listen to him. And be ready to follow his lead when the time comes. Remember my boy too.

He’ll help, though it won’t seem so. When the time comes, remember.’”

“So ‘his boy’ Harry’s got a bigger role to play. No surprise there.”Dave mused.

“This Wild Bill Hickok-angel guy sounds like he could be one of the aliens.”

“You mean that bit about being a former enemy? Could be. But maybe he was a jihadist or something.

We are still in North America and Caleb’s frame of reference is American.”

“Yeah, you’ve got a point, but how about that ‘blond giant’ bit? To me that sounds like one of the Alvians. Not many Jihad Jamals fit that description.”

“Okay. I’ll give you that one. But it seems improbable.”

“Stranger things have happened. Like our very own blonde bombshell.”

“Got me there, cuz.”

Mike read more of the Book of Caleb—a title it had been given as a joke, but seemed like it fit too well not to stick?but Dave slid into sleep, unable to keep his eyes open after the draining healing a few hours before.