StrategicLust (14 page)

Kate’s finger continued to thrust into Josh’s ass, but the
rest of her body was laid completely open and bare, without thought, only able
to struggle and keep up with the sensations bombarding her. Oxygen deprivation
burned in her lungs and as Kate sucked down a deep breath it seemed only to ignite
the fiery, passionate conflagration moving through her system.

All at once the tingling, burning, mind-spinning pleasure
exploded and Kate came apart. Starbursts ripped behind her closed eyelids as
her head felt back onto the tiled wall. She felt as if she lost complete
control of her body as she both contracted and expanded, her pussy clenching
like a hot vise around Josh’s cock.

She came with a scream of surprised delight, the sound
reverberating around the small, steam-filled bathroom. Pleasure washed over her
and seemed almost to shoot magical energy from her body as she exploded. Wave
after wave of hot, intense joy slammed into her and Kate had the dizzying
sensation that she was about to pass out.

Josh followed only seconds after her, his shout of release
mingling with her screams as he slammed into her, pressing her back against the
tiles as he thrust into her like a demon possessed. His ass clenched down again
around her finger, milking it even as her body milked him in strange mimicry.

Josh rammed into her body over and over, his cock emitting
thick, hot gushes of seed that filled her body and branded her his for all
time. Kate could feel the excess trickling down her thighs as he still pumped
hot cum deeply inside her pussy.

Kate continued to shudder in small aftershocks, even after
the main bulk of her orgasm passed. So intense had her climax been that her
body seemed not to recover as quickly as usual, small tremors of pleasure and
her pussy walls continuing to milk Josh’s cock even after the actual orgasm had
passed.

Her body felt open, splayed wide and ready for anything Josh
could think of or dream up. Kate slowly and gently pulled the tip of her finger
from his ass and let the steaming hot water still falling from the shower head
rinse it. When she was clean, Kate wrapped her arms around Josh’s shoulders and
rested her head against his chest, her hair soaking wet and plastered to her
neck and his body.

They stood like that for a moment, each lost in their own
thoughts as they regained their breath and as their bodies calmed down. Kate
loved the sensation of Josh still inside her, filling her and making her feel
complete.

“I love you,” she said softly, not wanting to spoil the
moment or make Josh feel cornered or trapped. Josh huffed out a soft laugh and
held her closer. She lifted her head and they kissed softly, tenderly.

“I love you too,” he replied. Kate stared into eyes the
color of amber and filled with love for her. She had never been more at peace
in her entire life. They kissed again. This time it was soft and exploratory.
Teeth nipped with varying hardness and lips were suckled.

They roamed eager, curious hands over each other, dipping
into curves, seeking out new areas to touch and stroke. After a few minutes,
Kate squirted some liquid soap into her palm and began to wash Josh with long,
smooth strokes. He eagerly returned the favor.

Playfully, they cleaned one another, finally breaking apart.
Kate felt a little forlorn when Josh fell from her body, but when he tickled
her she giggled and quickly realized the sensual, intimate fun they could have
together without his cock needing to be inside her.

It was only as the water began to cool down that they rinsed
themselves and each other in earnest. Kate climbed from the shower first, the
water too cool for her liking but still acceptable to Josh. She picked up one
of the thick, extra-large towels from the vanity and wiped off most of the
water from her body.

Wrapping herself in the towel, she leaned over the sink to
twist and squeeze her shoulder-length red hair, removing the bulk of the water
from her locks. A minute or so later, Josh turned the faucets off and the sound
of running water disappeared. He stepped from the stall and Kate picked up the
other fluffy towel and handed it to her lover. He took it with a smile and
began to dry himself off, Kate leaning back against the vanity and enjoying the
hell out of the view.

Steam filled the room, though it had slowly begun to
dissipate after the shower had been turned off. It still felt to Kate as if
they had transported themselves magically to another time and place. She loved
the feeling as if the rest of the world didn’t exist, but sadly she knew it did.

As Josh dried himself she began once again to think of the
things still left unfinished that they would need to take care of. Josh clucked
his tongue and gave her a mock glare. The laughter in his eyes told the real
story, but his face was quite convincing.

“Don’t you dare think about all that,” he insisted firmly.
“Tonight will be just for us. All that crap can wait until tomorrow.”

“Well,” Kate insisted with a mock-firm look of her own. “Not
all
of it can wait. We still have to call Melissa and Daniel. And we
should call Morgan and let him know we’ve survived the interrogation intact. He’s
probably worried about us.”

“Morgan never worries about me,” Josh insisted with a slight
shake of his head as he continued to dry his body. “He knows I always land on
my feet. It’s Kiera he usually worries and fusses over.”

Kate eyed Josh, trying to gauge whether the wizard was
clueless or serious. She decided after a moment Josh really
didn’t
seem
to know.

“Are you kidding me?” she retorted and crossed her arms over
her towel-wrapped breasts. “Morgan worries far more about you than Kiera.
You
are the one usually getting into strife,
you
are the one who leaps
before he even looks to see what is beneath him. Morgan might be more
demonstrative with Kiera, but who is it he always checks up on first? Who is it
he tries to protect more?”

Josh’s look of astounded surprise showed Kate that her words
had not only been accurate but also hit the mark precisely. She smirked, not
needing to say another word.

Kate finished drying herself then wrapped her hair up turban-style
in the towel to get the rest of it as dry as she could manage. Leaving the door
open behind her, she went through into the bedroom and slipped into a clean,
warm robe. She was digging in her closet looking for something clean Josh could
change into when her lover followed her into the room.

“A T-shirt that fits won’t be any problem,” she commented
without turning around, “but you might need to deal with some sweatpants, if
that’s okay. Unless you want to just get back into your spare pair of jeans?”

Josh had been wearing the same half a dozen outfits since
she had forced him to pack just the one duffel before moving to the motel. More
than a few of their initial arguments had been about his restrictions and lack
of freedom. Clothes, while insignificant, had been a prominent and obvious restriction
against which he had struggled.

“I’ll wear my jeans,” Josh replied. “It won’t be for long
and just a clean T-shirt will make me feel fine for a few phone conversations.
Frankly, I’m thinking happy thoughts about some food. Can we cook before we
make all these calls? The grapevine will have let Melissa and Daniel know we’d
be out of communication for a few hours. I’m starving.”

Kate tightened the sash of her robe and pulled a few shirts
out of the far reaches of her closet. Josh had pulled on his jeans and his hair
was still damp and finger-combed back. She sashayed over to him and offered the
T-shirts for his choice.

Seeming to pick one at random—which more than amused her considering
their earlier arguments—Josh pulled it on. Kate tossed the other shirts onto
her bed, rubbed the towel-turban over her hair again and pulled it free. A
quick trip back to the bathroom to hang the damp towel up, and she glanced in
the mirror, deciding after a moment to finger-comb her own mess of hair as
well.

When she returned to the bedroom, Josh opened his arms and
she walked eagerly into them. They were enfolded together and shared another
perfect kiss. Kate hummed happily and her eyes fluttered open as Josh lifted
his head.

“I think we can have some food first. These discussions
might go on for a while and a full belly might assist us in thinking better,”
she conceded happily. “But we really should get a few hours of good rest.
Tomorrow we will more than likely spend the majority of the day in the Enforcer
headquarters, signing statements, being scolded for not coming to them with our
minor problems, blah, blah. I don’t want to do all that on no sleep.”

Josh looked at her with mock outrage, his face so amusing
she giggled.

“You think
I
would destroy your rest?” he gasped,
outraged. Kate laughed harder and nudged her elbow into his stomach. He
released her and she led him out of the kitchen and toward the kitchen.

“How remiss of me.” she struggled to sound apologetic but it
wasn’t very convincing considering the laughter in her tone. “Please accept my
apologies, Josh. I should never have been so rude as to suggest such a thing.”

They shared a speaking glance before Kate waved her hands
toward her fridge and the kitchen at large.

“Make yourself at home. Cook whatever you like. I trust you
to make something tasty and I’m hungry enough that’s my only current
requirement.”

Josh opened her fridge and peered in with interest. Kate
slid onto a stool behind the kitchen island counter and settled in for a very
interesting time. She loved watching people cook and she knew this would be
something she’d not soon forget.

Kate whisked the salad dressing she had created while Josh watched
the grilling steak like a hawk. While they were both hungry, they had decided
on a light dinner, promising themselves a big, elaborate breakfast the
following morning when they got up.

“Do you think we should call Morgan first?” Kate asked,
thinking aloud. “I know he’s aware we’ve been released from the Enforcers’
interviews, but maybe we should call him before Melissa and Daniel.”

“Well, he’s already spoken to us today,” Josh hedged as he
turned the steaks over. “I was never more relieved than when he backed up our
story with the Enforcers. When you actually insisted they call him I thought
you were just digging our hole deeper. But he worked a near-miracle.”

While questioning them, the Enforcer agents had eventually
come around to asking Kate and Josh exactly
why
he needed a Guardian to
protect him. Neither of them felt able to talk about the grimoire or the
suspected traitorous Tribunal member. Without that background, their
explanations appeared weak and flimsy.

As the questioning probed deeper, Kate had the brainwave to
pass their inquiries on to Morgan. Many people knew of him, and his word
carried far greater weight than either Kate’s or Josh’s. While the Enforcers
might feel comfortable probing their privacy, they would think harder before
pressing the point with Morgan.

And so Kate had given the Enforcer agent Morgan’s number and
discreetly tried to listen in to what she could of the conversation. It had
appeared to go as well as she expected. While she couldn’t hear Morgan’s words,
the dark-skinned wizard had allayed the Enforcer agent’s concerns as to why
they had connected with Sharni, and confirmed that Morgan had been very aware
of the potential danger the witch might be to them.

Kate had had a moment’s worry when the agent had asked
Morgan why, if they had known Sharni wished them harm, he had condoned Kate and
Josh trailing her to Sharni’s home. Kate was not positive what response Morgan
had given, but the agent’s skeptical “So you
knew
this might end with
violence?” had Kate assuming Josh’s mentor had backed him all the way.

The agent had returned after a number more “uh-huh”s and
further questions, and it had been barely half an hour later that they had been
released under strict orders to return for further statements the following
morning.

“Morgan always seems to have our back when Kiera and I fall
into rough territory,” Josh replied thoughtfully.

Kate served up the salad onto two plates and put some cling
wrap over the bowl of leftovers and placed it in the fridge. When she turned
around, Josh was already slicing up the steak and placing the pieces neatly on
each of their plates. Kate put the leftovers onto a smaller dish and covered
that with cling wrap and placed it into the fridge as well.

Josh carried the two plates to her table. Kate gathered the
cutlery and joined her lover. As they sat down, Josh looked at the food,
grinned and let his gaze linger on Kate’s face.

“Let’s eat then check in with Melissa and Daniel. I’m not
sure when they’ll turn in. If they had as much trouble with Elijah as we had
with Sharni, I’d hate to wake them up,” Josh said logically. “We can call
Morgan after that and before we turn in ourselves.”

Kate pondered the wisdom of that before nodding, agreeing to
his suggestion.

“Okay, that sounds reasonable to me,” she replied. The smell
of the steak had her mouth watering and without further speech they dug into
the meal.

* * * * *

“Hey, Daniel,” Josh said into the phone approximately half
an hour after they had started their dinner. “It’s Josh—how are you both?”

Kate stood by the sink rinsing their scraped-clean plates.
Josh had offered to make the call while Kate loaded the dishwasher. He knew she
could hear his side of the conversation and would keep her abreast of their
discussion as best he could.

“I’m good, thanks, Josh—bit of excitement but nothing Mel
and I couldn’t handle,” Daniel replied smoothly. The Assassin never appeared
perturbed or the least put out by any turn of events, so something he described
as “a bit of excitement” had Joshua deeply curious.

“Excitement? Really?” Josh repeated for Kate’s benefit.
“There seems to be a fair bit of that going around. What happened? Are you both
all right?”

“Oh, we’re fine,” Daniel reassured Josh. A small, feminine
snicker sounded on the other end of the line and Josh assumed Melissa was
listening in.

“I can’t say the same for Elijah, however,” Daniel finished
after a small shuffling sound suggested that Daniel and Melissa were
rearranging themselves so they could both listen in.

Josh watched as Kate closed the door to the dishwasher, put
it on and came over to him. He wrapped his arms around her so their ears were
both close to the receiver and they could listen together.

“We…uh…had a few similar issues with Sharni. Sadly for us,
the Enforcers had to get involved in the cleanup.” Josh explained as best he
could. Kate snorted lightly and Josh had to resist the impulse to kiss her bare
neck. “There was no mention of either of you in a similar situation to ours.
Did you manage your own…erm…issues yourself?”

Daniel laughed. “You can speak in plain terms,” he reassured
Josh. “Mel and I tried to speak reasonably with Elijah but he wouldn’t have a
bar of it. After we subdued him, he refused to give us anything even remotely
helpful, since torture isn’t exactly in our repertoire—neither of us has the
stomach for it. he only words that fell from Elijah’s mouth were effectively
threats, recriminations and promises of retaliation. It became obvious he took
these sorts of jobs because he enjoyed it and he was working very knowingly for
the people behind these dark magics and corruption within our systems. It
seemed prudent to deal with the situation, so he’s no longer on anyone’s radar,
let alone going to be a problem for you, Kate, Hayden or Kiera.”

Josh felt very faintly queasy but in all honesty he
understood the need for what Daniel and Melisa had done. There was a brief
moment of silence and Josh took a deep breath before answering.

“Thank you,” he said softly, his voice low. “I know you and
Melissa were doing it for us, and I appreciate it, even if I loathe the
necessity of it.”

Quickly he summarized the situation with Sharni that he and
Kate had fallen into. Melissa and Daniel interrupted with a few questions he
and Kate answered as best they could.

“So for all we know this should be the end of it?” Daniel
finished.

Josh tilted his head so Kate could be closer if she wished
to jump in again.

“I’m not sure if it’s merely optimistic of us, but yes,
Sharni seemed unaware of more groups after us,” Josh replied. “But the contract
will still be out there until the Tribunal member—we presume—removes it. I’m
hesitant to tell Hayden and Kiera it’s safe for them to return until we’re
certain one way or the other.”

There was a brief pause in which a few whispered words were
exchanged between Melissa and Daniel.

“Well, we both agree we’re involved on the fringes now,”
Daniel said after a second. “If the two of you need anything—help, backup or
just a sounding board—you let us know, okay?”

“Thank you, Daniel,” Kate replied. “And I know Melissa
supports this too. We’re lucky to have you as friends, and on our side in this.
We’re pretty sure, for now at least, we’ll be okay.”

“We’ll definitely keep you in the loop,” Josh promised.
“Tomorrow we’ll likely be spending most of our time at the Enforcers’
headquarters finishing up the paperwork—though as I mentioned, Morgan saved us
a lot of grief from that quarter. After that we’ll probably just lie low for a
while and see how the dust settles.”

“It sounds as if you might need all the help you can get
with this rogue Tribunal member,” Daniel mused in that quiet, deceptively
placid tone of voice he had. “Mel and I will be rather insulted if you don’t
count us in the team.”

Josh smiled, a small huff of breath passing down the
receiver to help convey his silent amusement.

“I would never leave either of you out of such a mission,” he
promised. “And we’ll keep Hayden and Kiera in the loop as well. Hayden might be
on a leave of absence, but he’s still Special Ops. No telling how useful the
wizard might be. Not to mention that Kiera would kill me if we cut them out at
this late stage.”

“Tell you what,” Kate interrupted before either man could
continue. “Why don’t you and Melissa come over for dinner tomorrow night?”

A short, pregnant silence followed this cheerful but
surprising invitation. Josh looked down at his lover, who beamed with a happy
smile. Even though the silence was weighty, Josh could tell it stemmed more
from the spontaneity of the invitation than dread or revulsion.

“We would love to,” Melissa stammered hastily. “Sorry for
the pause—I can’t remember the last time I was invited to dine with friends and
just have fun and chew over an interesting mission. Daniel and I would love to
come over, wouldn’t we, Dan?”

Josh had to smother his laugh—even without being able to see
it he could very well guess Melissa had either given him the evil eye or jabbed
her elbow into his stomach. Something along those lines.

“Sure,” Daniel replied with what could have been a smile in
his tone.

“We can bring dessert and a bottle of wine if you like?”
Melissa offered, and the two witches started organizing the finer points. Josh
happily let them do their thing, fairly certain a warm and close friendship had
begun to blossom between the vibrant witches.

“Assume we can meet around seven. Josh and I should
definitely be finished with the Enforcers long before then and ready with the
meal. If we meet around that time we can get any business discussions out of
the way before we sit down and eat,” Kate finished..

“Yes, maybe we can have a pre-dinner drink, get all that out
of the way and then we can relax,” Melissa concurred. “Thank you so much for
the invitation. We’re looking forward to it.”

Kate gave her address and some brief verbal instructions on
how to find her home. The witches both insisted how much they would enjoy a
night in together and said their farewells.

“Looks as if I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, Delamere,” Daniel
replied with definite amusement in his tone.

“Certainly does,” Josh agreed. “I’ll help fill you in on how
the investigation is going, both from Morgan’s perspective as well as how
things pan out with the Enforcers.”

“If you run into trouble over there, I have quite a few
contacts,” Daniel offered. “Let me give you my work number. If I’m not there,
either the receptionist or possibly a man named Captain Will Allcott might
answer. Explain you’re trying to contact me and you’re a friend. They’ll track
me down.”

Surprise and a warm pleasure had Josh’s eyebrows rising as
Daniel recited his number and Josh memorized it. He felt pleased the friendship
was not merely one-sided. It was a little difficult to tell with Daniel.

“Thank you,” Josh replied warmly. “I hope it won’t come to
that, but I appreciate it nevertheless.”

“Don’t thank me,” Daniel replied, genuinely amused. “If you
happen to stumble across Will, he’ll more than likely try to recruit you—steal
you right out from under Morgan’s nose. The man runs a tight ship and he
doesn’t yet have a Strategist. He can be a persuasive bastard. Trust me.
Anyway, I can fill you in on all that tomorrow night. Be safe.”

Josh smiled and nodded, even though he knew Daniel couldn’t
see him. The intimate farewell touched him and he blessed his friend in return.

“You be safe too—both you and Melissa. We’ll see you
tomorrow.”

Josh hung up the phone and turned to Kate with a wicked
smile. “Looks as if you have a new friend, love,” he teased her.

Kate grinned impishly at him and threw her arms around his
neck. Josh loved how expressive Kate could be in private. It was such a
contrast to the studious, serious Guardian side to her. It came as a constant
surprise.

“I’m looking forward to a fun evening,” she replied happily.
“So don’t you dare sit there and drink Scotch and discuss nothing but cases with
Daniel.”

“I think you’ll find Daniel would be more than happy for you
two witches to gossip your hearts out and for us to exchange old missions with
one another,” Josh replied, clearly amused. “Though admittedly Daniel will have
a bunch better stories than I could ever compare to.”

Kate snorted. “Your stories will just be different,” she
insisted. “I bet you any boon you wish that you’ll discover Daniel is just as
interested in your magic and the work you perform as you are in his ‘more
exciting’ work.”

They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed slowly.

“How is it,” Josh murmured as he pulled away only far enough
to speak, “that you can support me, cheer me up and be so damn logical all in a
few brief sentences?”

“I suppose it’s all just part of my charm,” Kate replied
with a satisfied grin.

“Mmm,” Josh agreed as they kissed again. He allowed his
hands to roam over Kate’s silk-clad body, his erection growing beneath the
zipper of his jeans. Kate pulled away slightly this time and Josh groaned, knowing
they couldn’t quite yet relax fully.

“You need to call Morgan,” she reminded him. Josh sighed but
capitulated, punching in the numbers for his mentor’s home phone with barely a
glance at the buttons.

“Hello?”

“Morgan,” Josh replied, recognizing his mentor’s voice
immediately.

“Joshua,” Morgan answered in a rush. “Where are you? My
contact insisted you’d been let out almost two hours ago. I was beginning to
think you had become…
distracted
again.”

For the first time, possibly only because Kate had pointed
it so clearly out to him, Josh could hear the worry beneath the slightly gruff
words. He felt faintly ashamed he had not picked up on it sooner.