Runes (9 page)

Evangeline came awake by degrees. She became aware of the soughing of Will’s breath in his lungs, and the rise and fall of her head with the rhythm of his breathing. Warm afternoon sunlight bathed her naked skin, giving her a divine sense of well-being. Her pussy throbbed from the good, solid thrusting she’d craved.

For days they’d lain together in this bed, and she knew more about him than any other person on earth. All at once she understood that something was horribly wrong. Jerking into a sitting position, she saw Will’s eyes open wide and staring fixedly at the ceiling. But it was what she witnessed in his mind that terrified her. She jackknifed her knees against her bare breasts and covered her mouth with a shaking hand. “You can’t,” she gasped.

In a flash, he’d gained his feet and stood trembling with anger at the bedside. He glared at her like an avenging angel. His golden brown eyes smoldered.“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded through a clenched jaw.

Instantly her anger broke through her haze of fear and the distant arousal. She jumped to her feet and faced him across the king-sized bed, still rumpled from their lovemaking.

“I would have told you in time. I’d never keep my past from you, Will. How could I? But when was I meant to disclose such information? Between the first kiss and the anal finger-fucking?” The past few days had been spent in a bliss of sensation, but now she’d opened her mind to him, and he obviously hadn't liked what he’d seen.

His left eye twitched. “No, Evangeline. No.”

“But you can see my thoughts. You know my father hurt me. How do you think I ended up in Sean’s arms?”

The mention of Sean twisted Will’s features. She could feel an icy path burn through her own heart.

Abruptly, he spun away and stomped to his closet. He threw open the door and began thrusting clothing into a leather duffle bag. Confused, Evangeline watched until a jolt of understanding coursed through her. She threw herself at him, clamping her arms around his waist and trying to shove him into the bed. He was solid muscle and unmovable.

“Dammit, Will Cochran. You don’t have to do this,” she cried, slamming him hard in the chest.

His tone was deadly. “Yes, I do. My job is to protect you, and in this case avenge you. That bastard’s been hurting you for years. He has a fist about your heart, shutting me out to portions of your soul. I want access. I need to have all of you.”

“But Will,” she pleaded. “You can’t go murdering people without some type of personal ramification. This isn’t you.”

His hands tightened upon her upper arms. “You can’t stop me, Evangeline. It’s my right to have every bit of you, and that means unlocking that door that’s keeping me out. You need it too. I’m doing this for us.”

Frantically, she shook her head as tears spilled from her eyes. “It’s not necessary. I’m away from him, don’t you see? I’m safely out from under his rule, with you,” she pleaded.

He stared at her impassively. “Don’t try and stop me. My course is set. Your father pays for the crimes committed against you. And I unlock that damn door to a secret part of your soul. There’s no withholding in this bond, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make it perfect.”

* * * *

Evangeline took the stairs at breakneck speed, barefoot and clad in nothing but Will’s T-shirt which she’d thrown on in her haste. Her thighs were damp and sticky, still bathed in the fluids of their desire. But she shook with fear that he was angry with her.

“Will.” Her cry echoed in the soaring space, and she wished another immortal who lived here would put a stop to his insanity. Could anyone talk sense to him?

At the foot of the stairs, he paused with bag in hand to watch her barrel down the final steps. His hand slashed the air to cut her off, and she flinched. His eyes grew distant, filled with cold fury. Too late she realized that her reaction only strengthened his resolve.

His voice was deadly quiet. She felt the whisper of it in her veins. “I’ll be back in two days. Three at most.”

“No. Take me with you,” she cried, hoping someone was nearby and would hear her.

Will’s countenance shifted, and suddenly the soft glow of love shone through. He trailed his fingers over her throat, sending an unwanted shock of calm through her. “I can’t have you near. I won’t risk you, ever.”

“Don’t I have a right to see it through? I’m the victim of his sick mind, Will.”

He paused, and for a shimmering moment, she hoped he’d relent. But, he shook his head. A tumble of auburn hair fell over one eye, making him appear dangerous and sexy as hell. Seeing the notion in her head, he released a groan. He dropped the bag and grabbed her to him. Her breasts swelled instantly into peaks of desire and fresh cream washed her inner thighs.

Will dipped her backward and plunged his tongue into her mouth. He tasted of desperation and love and the absolute need to avenge her. But he was wrong.

She clung to his neck, grinding her body against his. He moaned and reached back to cup her ass, nude beneath the T-shirt.

“Oh God, baby, you’re so fucking hot,” he growled. He lifted her and drove his thigh between hers. She rocked against his hard muscle. Their tongues mated in a sucking kiss. And when his finger slipped into her wetness, her hips gyrated madly, seeking more.

“If I had two minutes, I’d take you right here, for anyone to see,” he whispered hotly into her mouth.

“You’re taking me with you,” she begged, fumbling with the button-fly of his jeans.

Gently, he removed her hands and pushed her away from him. His hard breathing alerted her to the power she held over him, but her heart quietly broke with his abandonment.

“Dammit, woman,” he yelled, spinning from her. He jammed a hand roughly into his hair. “I’ll be back in two days, and together we’ll build our new life. But I cannot walk this earth with that son-of-a-bitch in it.”

“Well, why not kill every person who’s done me wrong while you’re at it? Let’s start with Jessa, your
ex
. Don’t you see all the damage she’s wrought to my psyche?” Her words broke over him, causing him to wince. “Or how about my drug dealer? Who liked to fuck me in trade for goods? We’ll go after him too, shall we? What do you think you’ll see in this locked portion of my soul, Will? Not good things.”

He stumbled back to her, catching her hard against him. His head bent over hers, and his searing breath tickled her tattoo. She strained onto tiptoe, begging for more.

“All right,” he murmured, lowering his mouth to the star at the corner of her eye. “You win, Evangeline. I cannot deny you. Get dressed and pack. We’re leaving in five minutes.”

Her head lifted incredulously, and then she whirled and tore back up the stairs, her heart thundering with the relief of her victory.

* * * *

The flight to Chicago that afternoon was tense. Will stared straight ahead, and she spent hours studying the workings of his mind. While she found she couldn’t tear down the wall of determination he’d built, she found another way through his defenses.

Hurrying to dress, she hadn’t bothered to slip on a pair of panties but had simply thrown on her skirt. The short, frayed denim barely concealed her ass, and when she sat, the dark shadow of pubic hair was evident. Shoved into the center seat, between Will and a striking young blond man who was flying home from basic training to meet his family for Easter, her juices were flowing. The shift of each muscular thigh, and the strain of their jeans against their apparently hard cocks made her nipples bunch against the fabric of her T-shirt.

By the time her distracted immortal mate detected her restless movements, wetness creamed her thighs. She wriggled, making her skirt ride farther up her hips. The male beside her stared at the dripping curls of her snatch and licked his lips.

Will’s gaze flicked from the soldier to her cunt, and Evangeline felt his strong swelling of desire. Being bound to him so intimately drove her wild. It was as though she felt every pang of horniness twofold.

He likes looking at you,
Will said into her mind. He shifted deliberately, chafing her bare thigh with his rough blue jeans.

I enjoy both of you looking at me.

On her opposite side, the soldier repeated Will’s actions. Evangeline’s heart slammed inside her chest, afraid Will’s possessiveness would rear its head. Instead, he sported a sexy smile.

The men exchanged a look of unspoken permission, and Will twisted in his seat, angling his broad shoulders parallel to the aisle and effectively blocking the other passengers’ view of them. Their back row seat meant passengers and flight crew bustled by regularly, but Evangeline felt safe from their eyes.

She felt a hand curl about her right thigh and was startled to see the soldier’s strong, tanned fingers against her pale flesh. His touch seared her inner thigh, sending a bolt of need straight to her cunt. Her leg was draped over his knee, and Will took the other, so that her pussy was splayed wide. Her clit pulsed, and both of her holes gasped with need.

“God, I can smell you,” Will whispered, and with that, he felt between her legs. He stroked her briefly, and his finger disappeared. He raised his finger to his lips.The man on her right mirrored his actions. His heavy, unfamiliar touch on her clit drove her nuts. She squeezed her eyes shut and rocked her pussy into his hand.

“Taste it,” Will demanded, and his finger vanished again. She watched Will study their new playmate’s face, the fire building in him as this stranger finger-fucked her. And fuck her he did. His long index finger drove into her cunt, dipping and stretching it. The scent of her juices filled the air. Will’s mouth swallowed her gasps, but the juicy noise of the passenger’s finger in her pussy sounded in her ears. She longed for one—or both—of their thick cocks.

Wriggle down in your seat,
Will ordered her, and she did, tilting her hips into the air. At once Will’s finger ran along her swollen labia, gathering the wetness while the other man dug two fingers deep into her sheath. Her head rocked side to side, looking between the beautiful auburn man on her left, and the fair, handsome stranger on her right. She was pinioned on their fists.

And when Will’s finger drove into her ass, she thought she’d faint with pleasure. Chills washed over her and she stared down at her own hard nipples, wishing they would suck them.

On and on their torment continued. Her eyes squeezed shut on the pleasure they were offering. Her womb was tense, aching for release. The burn between her legs grew so intense; she didn’t know how she’d keep from crying out when she came.

“Kiss her,” Will told the man. His eyes flared briefly, and then the foreign mouth met hers in a smoldering kiss. His tongue tasted salty. She wondered if his cock would taste the same.

Into her mind came Will’s dirty talk.
You love his fingers in you, don’t you, baby? See what kind of love I hold for you? I love you enough to give you more pleasure than you ever dreamed. Now think what his cock would feel like, sliding into you. Think about his come, filling you, dripping from your pussy for me to lick up. I bet you want that, baby, don’t you? Picture it. Oh God, I’ve got to see.

And suddenly, sharp, jerking waves of orgasm washed over her. She sucked the soldier’s tongue, driving her cunt into his hand. Will’s finger plunged deep into her ass, pushing her to spasms of heavy pleasure. Sweat broke out over her, and when she opened her eyes, she saw her lovers staring into one another’s eyes.

As if the men had made a solemn pact, they withdrew their fingers, leaving her pulsating for more. And with that Will stood and reached down a hand for her.

Come to the restroom with me,
he said. When she did, she saw the fair stranger following them down the aisle.

Jittery with nerves and excitement, Evangeline entered the tiny bathroom behind Will. With two of them, there was scarcely an inch to move, but when the handsome stranger entered, Will pressed his back against the wall, straddling the toilet. He twisted her, lifted her skirt, and positioned her to accept his cock in her ass.