JoshuasMistake (7 page)

Her eyes sprang open and she screamed. “Yes. Oh God, yes.”

He circled that sensitive spot again and she bucked, leaned
forward and clutched his shoulders. Just the tip of his finger pressed the
tight muscle. She came so suddenly and her body wrenched so hard he almost lost
his grip on her. Her pussy convulsed around his cock. He didn’t stop thrusting
or move his digit. Her orgasm continued to pulse until he couldn’t hold on any
longer. He came in a shattering rush. Jerking inside her while her body still
shook.

Tessa slowly dropped one foot to the floor and then the
other as his hands slid up her back not yet willing to let her go. Reluctantly
he took half a step back and kissed her cheek.

“Wow,” she said.

He smiled and went to dispose of the condom before
returning. She’d slid into the bed, but her eyes were wide open, watching him.

That look alone had him semi-hard again. He got under the
covers and pulled her against his side, kissing her temple.

She was muscular, but in a feminine way. Her well-defined
arm splayed sensually across his chest.

He had kept her from experiencing him during sex, but he
didn’t block her aura. He loved the harmony it created with his own. They
probably should have slept. They both needed the rest, yet her lips found his
taut nipple and sucked to the point of near pain. His cock jerked under the
covers as if calling for equal attention.

Her name pushed from his lips of their own accord. His
fingers traced a path from her shoulder blades down the curve of her spine to
the swell of her ass. She was perfect. He kept his other hand behind his head
and allowed her to explore his chest and abs with her tongue and lips. The
dichotomy of wanton desire emanating from her and her gentle touch was driving
him mad. He gritted his teeth to keep a rein on his passion and allow the
experience to continue.

The arm he’d been admiring a moment before slid down and out
of sight beneath the covers. The first tickle of her touch slid along the tip
of his cock. His rod jerked away from her attention, but settled back for more
an instant later. As if it were her breath and not the pads of her fingers she
tickled and traced her way from base to tip and then repeated the action.

He had no idea such a whisper of a touch could drive him so
insane with desire. She gave his balls the same attention and he heard his
breath catch followed by a low moan.

“Tessa, that’s so fucking good.”

She smiled. Her index finger traced a path up the ridge of
the vein running up his shaft.

The first time had been too quick. If he let her continue
this time would be just a fast. Grabbing her hand and his cock in one fist, he
stopped her attentions.

“You don’t like it?” The knowing smile on her lips told him
she knew he did like it very much.

“You first.”

He loved the confused look on her face. He moved her hand
away from him and used his weight to roll her onto her back. Using his forearms
to keep his weight from crushing her, he looked down into perfect crystal-blue
eyes.

Her tongue poked out, wetting her bottom lip and another
groan pushed up from his chest. Devouring her mouth, he pressed his hips
forward so his cock pressed along her mound.

Tessa lifted her hips to increase the pressure and moaned
along with him while their tongues swirled together.

Breaking the kiss, he slid down, trailing light kisses
between her breasts. He leaned on his elbow and bent his head until he could suck
one hard bud into his mouth and worried the other between his thumb and
forefinger.

Tessa arched her back, gripped his hair with one hand and
the bedding with her other. A small cry escaped her lips.

Sliding his hand down and through the folds of her pussy
revealed slick, wet desire. His shaft jerked in response to her readiness to be
filled again. Her pleasure first, he reminded himself and his organ swelled
even more at the idea of making Tessa come.

Giving her nipple one last tug made her cry out again.
Joshua slipped lower down the bed, leaving a trail of kisses along her abdomen.
He kissed her hip, thigh and down to the sensitive skin behind her knee. With
each attention she squirmed as if needing more.

Kneeling on the floor at the end of the bed, he reached up,
gripped her hips and pulled her in one movement so her ass was at the very edge
of the mattress. He positioned himself so her thighs hung one over each of his
shoulders. The scent of sweet, musky desire filled his head and her glistening
pink folds called for more attention.

He remembered how sensitive her anus was and pressed his
tongue to just above that small, puckered hole before licking his way along her
crease. Her body jerked and a muffled cry filled the room.

Joshua looked up the length of her body and found she had
turned her face to one side and buried her mouth in the pillow. He was sure he
was grinning like an idiot. He repeated the ice-cream-cone lick and her hips
bounced again. His lips settled over the small bud and he sucked gently before
swirling his tongue around the sensitive cluster. Her body jerked so violently
he had to grip her hips to keep her in place so he could continue his
attention.

Juices gushed from her pussy and he lapped up the sweet
nectar as if it were his last meal. Pressing his thumb into her tight canal
while he sucked harder on her clit left her writhing and calling out into the
pillow.

He lightened his touch. Teased the sensitive bud and swirled
his tongue around it while holding her hips in place. Her heels pressed
violently into his back and her hands gripped his head. He didn’t know if she
wanted to push him away or pull him closer and he had a feeling she didn’t know
either.

He slipped his thumb from her pussy while continuing to suck
her clit then ran the wet digit down along her crease to her sensitive anus.
Her body lifted and then pressed down as if trying to gain more than a light
touch. Joshua applied firm pressure, filling the tight hole.

Tessa screamed and her body convulsed violently. The orgasm
tightened her hole around his thumb, juices flowed from her pussy, and his cock
stretched his skin to the point of near pain.

She was fantastic.

Slowly he slid his digit out. Another smaller orgasm shook
her. “I love how sensitive you are.”

She leaned up on her elbows and looked at him. Biting her
bottom lip in an irresistible way that was both innocent and sexy as hell, she
smiled, put one foot on his shoulder for leverage and pushed herself onto the
bed.

Tessa’s gaze fell on his cock as soon as he stood. He was
uncomfortably hard and her look engorged him even further. Unbelievably she
rolled onto her stomach, pushed up on her elbows and knees, lifted her hips and
looked back at him. “Fuck me, Joshua.”

He wanted to say a dozen clever things. He knew five
different languages, but he’d forgotten how to speak all of them in the moment.

Grabbing a condom from the discarded box, he tore open the
foil and rolled it on. As if her pussy was a magnet he knelt behind her
perfectly round ass and thrust inside her. The muscles of her canal wrapped
tightly around him and he froze in place. Tessa rocked forward and slid back,
taking him deeper.

Small pants and cries filled the room as she continued to
work herself along his cock. She was slowly and methodically driving him
insane. His balls were tight with the need to come.

Joshua gripped her hips and quickened the pace, slamming
forward with more force. She met each thrust, slamming back against him and
rounding out the sounds of heavy breathing with a grunt or cry.

He felt her body shift slightly, but was too engrossed in
the sensations of her warm, tight pussy to pay attention to what she was doing
until her fingers lightly tickled his balls.

It was too much. He thrust harder and faster. Her orgasm
pulsed around his cock and sent him over the edge. He reared back and slammed
into her one last time while pulling her ass tight to his hips and trapping her
there.

* * * * *

It was close to dawn when she shook in his arms again.

“Tessa, you’re magnificent.”

A sleepy smile pulled at her full lips and he kissed her
forehead. He knew the moment she’d fallen asleep. Everything about her mind
became an open book he was privileged to delve into if he chose. She hadn’t
been this open when she’d slept in the back of the plane. He was honored by her
trust though he wouldn’t invade her privacy.

Pulling her close, he closed his eyes and hoped to get a few
hours of sleep. It didn’t take long for him to doze. He perceived a familiar
danger at the edge of his mind and he was instantly awake.

Troth Banta.

He thought he’d sensed Banta in New Jersey, but it was
impossible. Banta was in prison. Yet it was most definitely the deadly
mercenary’s aura Joshua felt.

Untangling himself from Tessa, he searched the darkness
outside the windows. Nothing. He opened the bedroom door and walked into the
common area of the house. The danger ringing in his head lessened the farther
he moved from the bedroom. Walking back, his heart was racing. How could the
danger be inside the room when he knew only Tessa was there?

He opened the bedroom door and she was still asleep. Her
face was a mask of pain as some nightmare gripped her. Joshua sat back down on
the bed and brushed an errant hair off her cheek. She flinched.

It was impossible. Troth Banta was in a cell at a high-security
lockup for his part in the events of the year before. The same events had
nearly caused Joshua’s brother’s death and his sister-in-law to lose her mind.
How could the maniacal mercenary be in Tessa’s head invading her nightmares?

He touched her forehead and let his mind flow into hers.
“Tessa,
I know you’re afraid, but if you let me in, I will help you.”

“Joshua?”

“Yes, beautiful, it’s me. Let me see what haunts you.”

In a stunning act of trust she shed her barriers and
Joshua passed through to her dream. Inside her mind and behind her eyes he felt
the body of her dead friend lying atop her. His face a few feet away was all
she could make out of the destroyed tent and shattered furniture. Some other
structure, maybe the large table, buried her even more completely in the
aftermath of the attack.

There was movement nearby. It might be a rescue party or
it could be the enemy coming to finish the job.

Joshua immediately detected Banta as the man walking
through the rubble. Troth had always been just shy of nuts but Joshua could
feel the insanity had grown in the past year. If he could have screamed at
Tessa to stay still and keep cloaked he would have, but this was her memory,
her nightmare.

The shutters of her mind sealed, blocking Banta from her
mind. Someone leaned down, obstructing the minimal light left in the tent and
then a hand gripped the dead man’s face. Mere inches from Tessa those dark-skinned
fingers drew something from the lifeless man. Even in death his expression
contorted as a silver glow surrounded him. His skin turned gray as if he’d been
dead more than a few minutes. The hand released him and boots blocked her view.

It took every ounce of energy she had to keep her barrier
in place. Whoever it was would scan the room for auras. The boots moved off and
all the other noise stopped. She lay perfectly still for so long her body
screamed for relief. Her efforts failed and she lost consciousness.

Then she was in a helicopter with search and rescue.
Banta was nowhere in sight.

How was any of this possible? Banta was in prison. Even as
Joshua thought it he knew there were a dozen ways the sociopathic mercenary
could have bought his way free. Whatever he’d done to Tessa’s friend was even
more troubling. If Joshua’s guess was right they were in big trouble and he was
going to need some backup.

She knew Joshua had been inside her dream. It was strange
she hadn’t remembered that part of the night they’d been attacked. Even in her
nightmares she had managed to block the worst of the memory. Now she’d shown it
to Joshua she remembered the horror of seeing Jake’s mind defiled after they
had already killed him. What had that guy been doing to him and why?

The bedroom was empty. After what he’d seen, she wouldn’t
have been surprised if he’d left her, but he was at the edge of her mind,
quieter than before, but definitely there.

She pulled on her clothes from the day before, wishing she
had time to do some laundry and walked to the bathroom. Once she was a bit more
presentable she made her way into the common rooms. It was eerily quiet, but
she found Joshua sitting cross-legged on the floor in the middle of the living
room. He was wearing a pair of khaki cargo shorts and no shirt. Even relaxed
his chest and abs were impressive. His eyes were closed and his palms rested on
his knees.

She quietly admired the way his arms bulged with muscle. Her
nipples hardened against the inside of her shirt and her clit pulsed. He was
beautiful. Of course he knew she was there, she had not shielded her mind. His
eyes popped open and he smiled.

“I’m surprised you didn’t leave me,” she said.

His mouth turned down though his gaze never left hers. “I
won’t.”

“You’d be safer.”

“People like us don’t look for safer.”

She found herself nodding her agreement. She sat down on the
floor in front of him.

“Where’d you get the clothes?”

“I keep some stuff of mine here for emergencies and
vacations.”

“What are you doing?”

“Meditating.”

“You didn’t strike me as the New Age or Eastern philosophy
type.”

That smile turned her insides to jelly. “A long time ago I
realized if I didn’t find some way to keep the world at bay I was going to end
up in an insane asylum. I spent a few years traveling around the Asian Pacific
learning how to compartmentalize and block out the constant drone of thousands
of minds. I’ve spent even more time studying with a shaman in Nevada.”

“Does it help?”

“I could show you.”

She shook her head. “Another time. I don’t think I could
quiet my mind right now.”

“Okay.” He got up in one smooth motion and reached his hand
down to help her up.

Taking it, she noted both smooth skin and rough calluses as
opposite and strange as the man himself.

He kissed her cheek. “Do you remember the dream?”

“I do now. I must have blocked that part out.”

“I can understand why. Banta is a pretty scary guy.”

Her heart raced. “You know him? Who is he? What did he do to
Jake’s body?”

“His name is Troth Banta and yes, I know him. A long time
ago we served together and then he took one path and I took another.” Joshua
moved toward the kitchen, running his fingers through his cropped hair.

“Maybe you’d better start from the beginning.” She sat down
at the table and watched him pour coffee and grab an apple from the fridge.

“Do you want coffee?”

“No, I don’t drink coffee.”

“Tea, water, vodka?”

“You’re stalling, Lakeland.”

“I know, but the fact that Banta is involved takes this to a
new level, Tessa. He’s all the way bad.” He sat down adjacent to her at the
long table and sipped his coffee.

“I’m a big girl. I can take it.” The words sounded
confident, but his demeanor and reluctance left her heart racing and her palms
clammy.

He gave her a crooked smile, leaned forward and pressed his
lips to hers. Tenderness and intensity shot through the kiss. He was both of
those things and he had given her only a taste of what being part of his world
could be like. In spite of their insane situation she wanted more of Joshua
Lakeland and if there was a price maybe she was willing to pay it.

“Troth was a great soldier. He and I were assigned to the
same team. We were young and enthusiastic about whichever mission the powers that
be might send us on. After a while you learn not all missions are for the
greater good. Sometimes it’s just greed or worse. Anyway, Troth got himself in
a jam with a crooked politician and nearly got the entire team killed. It wasn’t
really his fault. He was a pawn in a game he was too ignorant to understand at
the time. Once he realized he’d been used and not in a good way he started to
change. He was angry and power-hungry. He stopped using good sense with regard
to danger.

“I was promoted and he stopped getting assignments. About a
year later he went off the grid and started taking high-paying jobs from the
private sector. His ethics plummeted to nonexistence. He didn’t care who he
hurt or who got killed as long as he was making money and gaining power.”

“What kind of power?”

“He uses fear to control people. He’s one of the most
skilled psychic probes in the world. He’s fast, telekinetic, telepathic and
audiopathic.”

“I’ve never heard of an audiopath.”

“He can create and move sound. It’s a rare talent and very
effective for throwing your enemy off the trail.”

“What happened last year that landed him in jail?”

“He was working for a guy named Oscar Thorn.”

Tessa knew the name though she’d never met the man. “The
millionaire who went to prison for insider trading?”

“That’s the guy.”

“What was Banta doing for him?”

“He was his muscle and when his ex-wife needed finding and
probing he sent Banta after her.”

“He must have really hated his ex.”

Joshua nodded. “Thorn is a dowser. He gathered up power. One
of the things he gathered was Lena and her gifts.”

“Didn’t you say your sister-in-law’s name is Lena?”

He was smiling again, maybe because she had remembered his
family or maybe at the thought of his brother’s wife, Tessa wasn’t sure. “The
very same. My brother Kane is a bounty hunter. He was contracted to bring her
in after she escaped prison. She was being held on a trumped-up charge, but she
knew her ex would get to her, so she ran. Banta found them both and probed
Lena. He came close to having Kane killed.

“Banta had avoided capture when Thorn was brought in, but he
just couldn’t leave it alone. He couldn’t stand that Kane had won. In the end
he landed in jail with a cracked skull.”

“I guess your brother got his revenge.”

A wicked grin turned his lips. “I guess, but it was Lena and
her floor lamp that bashed Troth’s head in.”

She couldn’t help laughing. “I have got to meet your
sister-in-law. I like her already.”

“You would like her. If we live through this I’ll introduce
you.”

The idea that he might want to keep her in his life beyond
their current situation started something bubbling in Tessa’s chest. It might
have been joy. She shook her head. Better not to get ahead of herself. The fact
still remained they were likely going to be killed and the future might be a
pipe dream. “What was Banta doing to Jake?”

She saw him tightening as if he were a rubber band pulled to
its limit. All the joy of talking about his family washed away. “I don’t know.
I suspect he was taking something from your friend, but I’m not sure.”

“Jake was dead. What can you take from the dead?” Her voice
rose higher when she was scared. Controlling her fear was part of her job, but
she could never keep her voice even.

He shook his head and downed the remainder of his coffee
before getting up and putting the mug in the sink.

“What aren’t you telling me?” she asked.

With both his hands on the countertop he hung his head and
for a long time she didn’t think he would respond. When his head came up and he
looked at her the intensity in his eyes terrified her. “Back when Troth and I
were working together we had a job in China. It was straightforward. We were to
assassinate a Chinese Psi Agent who had gone rogue. The guy was powerful. He
killed two of the people on my team but worse than that, once they were dead he
gathered their psi abilities and became stronger and harder to kill. It was no
wonder his government wanted him taken out.”

“Did you kill him?”

“We did, but afterward Troth became obsessed with what we
had seen.”

“You think he’s learned how to do that?”

“Gathering is…unusual, but that’s what it looked like.”

The idea that anyone would steal the aura from her friends
made her blood boil. Was that why she was being chased, why she’d been
arrested? Was Banta trying to collect her psi energy? “What else?”

“Look, this guy was strong before, but I could take him.
Maybe I was the only person on Earth who could. Now, I don’t know. If he’s
learned how to gather he might be unstoppable.”

She couldn’t help smiling. Something about the great Joshua
Lakeland feeling fear just the same as everyone else made him more human. A
crazy happiness filled her chest. “Then we better find ourselves some help.”

“We might be better off getting you someplace safe. Is there
any chance you would go for that?”

“No chance in hell.”

He raked his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, that’s what I
thought you’d say.”

* * * * *

When Will arrived home a short time later Joshua filled him
in on what he suspected. The happy-go-lucky flushed right out of Will and his
mind hummed with worry. Though not as much as Joshua’s did. She wondered if it
was because Joshua was worried about her as well.

In a moment Will shook it off. His grin returned. “I brought
you some clothes.”

“Thanks.” She looked down at the contents of the bag he
dumped out on the dining room table. It was a colorful array of fabric. She
tugged on a scrap of red and a very short, slinky halter dress unfolded.

When she looked up at Will he blushed.

Laughing, she rummaged until she found a T-shirt and a pair
of shorts. “How’d you know my size?”

“Lucky guess.”

Her expression must have conveyed her doubt.

“I also asked Joshua to take a look at your tags,” Will
said.

“Well, these are great. Thanks again.” She grabbed the
bundle of ladies’ clothing and went back to the bedroom to change.

She might be a battle-trained Psi Agent, but she was also a
woman and what woman didn’t love new clothes? She put on the shorts and shirt
and rejoined the men at the table.

Will was speaking when she sat down. “I’ll see what I can
find out. Banta is bad news, Josh. I know you two go back, but you must know you
can’t save him. You know that right?”

Joshua’s frown deepened. “I know.”

Her gut clenched. “Save him, why would we want to save him?
If he’s stealing psi powers, we have to stop him. And if he’s as psychotic as
you said we had better do it before he gets too powerful for us to handle.”

“I’m sure we won’t have to wait long,” Joshua said.

“Wait for what?” she asked.

“For Banta to find us. No sense running around trying to
locate him. He’s obviously looking for you, so we’ll wait him out here.”

She was starting to get worried. She’d never been to Key
West before, but it was an island with very few means of escape. “You want to
stay here? Do we have resources?”

Will laughed. “You may think this is a party town for
vacationers, and it is, but it’s also one of the number-one places Psi Agents
come to either retire or get away for a while. The island is the perfect place
to make a stand and nobody knows it better than Josh. Well, maybe nobody but
me.”

She relaxed marginally. She still wished she knew the area
better. “Okay, I’m going to need a tour of the place, a map, and a weapon or
two would be nice.”

Will grinned even wider than usual. “Follow me.”

He walked toward the side of the house where she knew his
bedroom was and she followed. Joshua walked behind her as if he didn’t want to
let her out of his sight. They entered the neat but sparse room. The bed was
made in military style and he had only an army trunk for his belongings, no
dresser. On one wall there was a small metal bookshelf and Will approached it.
He pushed aside some books, revealing a keypad, punched in several numbers and
heard a loud click. He took a step back and rolled the shelves to the left,
opening a doorway.

Florescent lights flickered to attention and the three of
them walked into what could best be described as a gun vault. She’d never seen
a private collection of weapons so extensive. It included racks of machine
guns, grenades, several high-powered rifles, well over a dozen handguns and a
full array of knives both for hunting and throwing. He even had a small missile
launcher.

“Jesus, Will, what are you expecting, World War III?”

“It’s just my little insurance policy if the world goes to
hell.” He shrugged as if he were talking about a few extra cans of beans.

“This is a crazy amount of weaponry. Do you have ammunition
for all of this?” she asked.

He pushed a button on the side of a wall rack and several
drawers slid open all filled with various kinds of ammo. “Take whatever you
need. I have more.”

“More? You’re kidding.”

Joshua laughed. “He’s not kidding. Some people collect art
or cars, Will’s collection is just as expensive and probably more practical in
the long run.”

“If you’re planning to take over a small country.” She
stared wide-eyed at the insane amount of armament kept in a home in Florida.

“Are you telling me you don’t keep a few weapons at your
home?” Joshua asked.

She went over to the knives and picked up a medium-size
blade. Sliding it out of the sheath, she gripped the handle and admired the
balance. Sheathing it, she tucked it into the back of her shorts and pulled her
shirt down over it. “I have my fair share of weapons, but nothing compared to
this. This is an armory that rivals the one at headquarters.”