The Calling (23 page)

He took her hands and pinned them into the seat, holding her down by the wrists. In one forceful thrust, he dove into her, crying out in rapture, drunk from the feel of her warm, wet heat.

“Come with me,” he demanded, pumping her full to brimming. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, his lips grazing her skin as he pounded into her. Mandy fought to get her hands free and, when she succeeded, she dug her nails into his ass. He kicked his head back; his body tensed, the muscles of his abs going rigid along with his arms and back. He couldn’t hold on any longer.

“Now!” he growled. “Come, now!”

His orgasm barreled down on him, making him blind to everything but her. She writhed beneath him, her face drawn in stark concentration. And then he felt her tip over the edge, her hips jerking beneath him. With each contraction, she clenched him hard, drawing out his own orgasm. Together, they cried out, their bodies tensing, releasing, tensing, releasing. On and on, they rode the crest, the pleasure flowing between them as if more than just their bodies connected them. When the last trembles of bliss rolled through them, he collapsed on top of her, his chest pressed to hers, her legs still wrapped around him. They stayed like that, neither of them moving, too content and satiated to break the connection.

The silence between them was beautiful, too full of love and understanding to taint with words. She stroked his hair as he drew deep pulls of air, trying to catch his breath. The smell of sex hung thick in the air, and the windows of the SUV had fogged with their passion. The moment was perfect, made only more complete when Mandy lifted a finger and drew on the cool glass. As she finished her art, bringing her index finger down to connect the bottom of a heart, his body stirred again.

He lowered his head, his teeth grazing her earlobe and gently pushed deeper into her.

She moaned when his full width cleaved her. “Really?” she gasped.

“I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered.

She rolled her hips forward, meeting him halfway as he thrust all the way inside her. “Then, have me as many times as you want.”

And Justin did. His soul bared to her, his heart forever in her hands.

Chapter 16

Mandy played with the dark curly hairs on Justin’s chest as they lay in bed. Her gaze focused on the black and white surfboard leaning by the window. A serpent, matching his bicep tattoo, curled around the front of the board, its slithering tongue touching the tip. On the other side of the window hung a painting of the ocean with a green-sailed boat gliding through the sea, its bow cleaving the frothy white water. She’d never thought about it, but everything in his room echoed the sea, from the deep blue drapes to the collection of shells and sea glass in a jar on his dresser.

“You can’t ever move away from the ocean, can you?”

His hand snaked down her back to her bare bottom and patted her gently. “Nope.”

If their relationship was heading toward marriage, like she thought, then she would always live by the ocean, too. That suited her just fine, because she couldn’t imagine surviving without the roar of the wind and the waves, the exhilaration of diving beneath the sea or feel of the sand between her toes. Maybe she wasn’t as indelibly tied to the sea as Justin, but she needed it all the same.

As she continued to stroke his chest and study his room for more hints of his oceanic heritage, she bathed in the knowledge that they were made for each other, like two halves of an oyster shell, except one half of the shell had an insatiable appetite. “Can we talk now or are you gearing up for another round?”

He moaned tiredly and turned his head to the side, his eyes pinning her with a satiated look. “I’m spent.”

Thank God
. She’d wanted to start quizzing him about his demi-god status as soon as she’d arrived at his house, but he’d had only one thing on the brain. Not that she minded three orgasms in a row.

She sighed contentedly, nestling into the crook of his arm and peering up at him. “Why didn’t your mother believe your dad’s story?”

“The same reason you didn’t.”

“But, I do believe.”

“Because I showed you.”

“And your dad couldn’t show your mom?”

“Nope.”

He scooted down until his nose touched hers. So close, his chocolate eyes looked as big as an alien’s. She stifled a giggle.

His lips twisted into a cocky grin. “Face it, woman. No one’s as awesome as I am.”

Mandy rolled her eyes.

“Don’t give me that look. You know you’re lucky to be with me.”

She curled a chest hair around her finger and tugged—hard. It plucked right out. “Sorry!”

“Ouch!” He bolted upright, rubbing the small patch of hair between his pecks. His eyes narrowed, but mischief sparkled behind them. “I’m going to teach you to leave my poor hairs alone.”

“I didn’t mean to—” Before she finished her apology, Justin pinned her to the bed, wrapping his hand around her wrists and restraining them high above her head.

“Get off me!” she demanded, but instead, he ruthlessly tickled her ribcage. She giggled uncontrollably. “Stop!” she yelped between gasps for breath. “I’m sorry! I won’t pluck any more hairs!”

“Not good enough,” he said with an ornery grin. “I expect a heartfelt apology.” He lowered his lips to her stomach and blew air bubbles just above her belly button. “And groveling.”

Her giggles turned manic. “Stop!” she begged, hardly able to speak as he continued to tickle her tummy. Desperate for a reprieve, she said, “I’m truly sorry for taking one of your precious hairs from your manly chest!”

“What else?”

“No one’s better than you in the sack!”

His tickling moved to the inside of her arms, her most giggle-inducing spot. “And?”

“You have the biggest Mr. Winky this side of the Mississippi!” That wasn’t a lie.

A satisfied smile lit up Justin’s face, and his fingers stopped tormenting her. “You’re getting good at this.”

She should be. It was the second time in a month he’d traded a tickling truce for an ego boost. As soon as he released her, she rolled over to the side of the bed and grabbed her T-shirt off the floor.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

She peered over her shoulder at him. “Putting clothes on.”

He cocked a dark eyebrow in disapproval. “Why?”

“As your punishment for using brute force on me.”

“No clothes in my bed,” he said in a low authoritative rumble. “If it wasn’t a rule before, it is now.”

Mandy sat up, facing away from him, and brought the shirt up over her head, making as if she were about to put it on. “I’ll tell you what.” She laid the shirt in her lap. “If you answer all my questions, I’ll stay naked.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her toward him. “It’d be a real shame to hide that body of yours.” His teeth nipped at the back of her neck.

“Then you accept?”

“How could I not?” He nestled her into the crook of his arm and pulled the sheet up to their waists. “What do you want to know about?”

“Your family.”

His grin fell away, replaced with a solemn expression deeply marking his furrowed brow.

Even though he’d made a deal, she felt cruel pushing him, given his mother’s recent death. “Do you want me to leave it alone?” Her heart sank even as she asked the question because she wasn’t sure she could.

He brushed a lock of hair from her forehead and tucked the strands behind her ear. “If you need to talk, I’m not going to say no.”

Okay, where to start? She bit her bottom lip and began at the beginning. “So your mom didn’t believe your dad because he couldn’t manipulate water?”

Justin nodded.

“And you have no idea why you can and he can’t?”

He nodded again.

“You have to have a hypothesis.”

His expression became introspective as if he were peering into his soul for an answer. When his eyes came back to her, he said, “The night of the Calling, I was desperate to save my sister.” He drew out each word, as if his mind still processed her question, trying to find the best way to explain. “The energy on the beach was as thick as mud and, somehow, I latched onto it. I would have tried anything, and I think the hopelessness of the situation made me realize that I could use the energy.”

“How’d you use it?”

“I made a wave and threw it across the beach at Cecelia. If I couldn’t bring her to the water, I thought maybe I could bring the water to her.”

Like a lingering lightning bolt from a storm long passed, everything that had seemed mysterious about Justin fell into place. With each child he plucked from the ocean, he sought forgiveness for what he deemed his most poignant failure. His drive wasn’t so much a choice as a need to redeem himself.

She took his hand in hers and kissed his palm, then brought his hand to her heart, aching for the man who could do so much for others but nothing for his own family. “I’m sorry about Cecelia, Justin.” She peered up at him, and the sadness in his normally sparkling eyes made her want to latch onto another subject to ease him. “So, your father had no powers at all?”

“He can sense things in the water.”

“Really? Like what?”

His expression relaxed. “One time, when my family went to the beach, my mom forgot to take off her jewelry. She lost a silver bracelet in the waves. A few minutes after she told my dad, he dove into the water and found it. When he gave the jewelry to her, he winked at me. I knew it hadn’t been an accident he’d snagged it so easily.”

He squeezed her tighter, the sparkle in his eyes returning. “Come to think of it, my mom once told me that Pops could wade into the surf and bring up shells the size of his head. She lined them up on a shelf in our bathroom. My favorite was a giant conch. It was old and gnarled, but I could still hear the ocean when I held it to my ear.”

“Did you keep the shell?”

Justin shook his head. “Pops or Aunt Grace probably threw it away.”

“Surely, you have some keepsakes from your family.”

“I’ve got a couple of my mom’s necklaces and her wedding ring.”

“Maybe you’ll have a daughter someday, and you can give the pieces to her.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Maybe.”

Mandy stretched, warding off her sleepiness. She had too many unanswered questions to doze off now. “Can you tell me more about your abilities? Like, can you make giant whirlpools or raise sunken ships?”

He chuckled. “I’m not that awesome. I can use waves to move ships around, if the seas aren’t too high. But when a boat’s sinking, the water inside is too much of a force to overcome.” His expression dimmed, his gaze locking onto the painting of sailboats. “If I could keep a ship from going down, there’d be about ten more people in this world right now that wouldn’t have needlessly died.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s about a hundred people in this world right now who would have died without your abilities.”

“Maybe.”

“And a hundred more to come.”

“That’s why I do it.”

“See, you are that awesome, even if you can’t make a giant whirlpool. Although, that would have been cool.”

For a moment, she went quiet, thinking of his job and all the times he had braved high seas and gale force winds. Yesterday, finding out about his gift had been comforting to her, as if she never had to worry about his safety again when he was at work. But he wasn’t a superhero capable of freeing himself from every bad situation. He was a man with an amazing gift, but that gift had limitations.

“You okay?” he asked, eyeing her with too much scrutiny. She felt like he could read her mind, and for a moment, she wondered if mindreading was one of his super powers. But if that were the case, then he’d know the answer to his question.

“I’m fine.” She smiled to ease his worry. “Tell me more about Triton.”

“I don’t know much about him.”

“You have to know how the Calling works.”

“I get the urge to jump in the water, so I do. If I don’t, I die.”

Mandy shook her head. Pulling a hippo’s tooth would’ve been easier than coaxing an answer from this man. “But why does Triton need you in the ocean?”

“To count his descendants, I guess.”

“There has to be more to it than that.”

“My dad said once that the Calling had something to do with Triton’s soul. I was too young to understand what he was talking about.”

“How do you know so little about your family’s godliness? It’s kind of a big deal.”

“Well, let’s see. My dad and I don’t talk, and I was never close to any of his family. Plus, most of my family on the god’s side is dead.”

“That’s kind of sad… that no one can tell you more.” She breathed deep and readied herself for the next question. “Do you think you and your dad will ever reconcile?”

Justin’s shoulders snapped tight as if his muscles were spring loaded. “It’s been twenty years, Mandy. I doubt anything’s going to change between us.”