Vision of Seduction (33 page)

He cursed and tossed the gun away. It skittered over the charred hood of

his car before falling on the ground.

"Damien!" Rita sounded panicked but not hysterical.

A tall blond man jumped onto the hood of the car and knelt to look inside

the now broken windshield. "Well, it's the half-breed detective. Thanks for

bringing my fiancée."

Blue energy filled Damien's vision, and then ... nothing.

***

Grayson slammed his fist into the wooden bookcase in the queen's archives

and cursed in frustration. Sharp pain lanced through his knuckles as his

skin split open, and the impact jarred his entire arm.

"Did that help?" Alyssandra asked with a raised eyebrow. He scowled at

her, but she only motioned for Sasha to tend to his hand. "No," he said as

he flopped down in an empty chair. "I've never felt so helpless in my entire

life."

Stone and Ryan shot sympathetic glances toward him, but remained silent.

Grayson winced as Sasha smoothed some ponga over his injury. He knew it

would disinfect the wound, but it would also cause arousal to generate the

sexual energy his body needed to heal. That only brought home the fact

that Katelyn was gone. "Maybe there are some places we haven't checked—

"

The queen interrupted him. "About a gazillion, but we went to every single

place I knew the Cunts owned when I lived among them. We have to find

another way to pinpoint where they've taken her."

Ryan rubbed his thumb absently over his scar. "Too bad you two don't

have a psychic connection like Alyssandra and Stone, Gray. That would at

least let us talk to her."

Gray cursed under his breath as his cock hardened uncomfortably inside

his breeches from the ponga. He shifted to find a more comfortable position.

"Wait." Alyssandra sat forward in her seat, her lavender eyes snapping

with barely suppressed excitement. "Maybe we do have a way to contact

her."

"How?" Grayson tried to sit forward, but his aching cock protested being

bent at that angle.

"Do you remember when you and Stone caught Katelyn and me in the

baths?"

The memory of that scene rose up as if seared into his mind. Katelyn's pale

body laid out on the platform, her waterfall of red hair streaming down to

be teased by the roiling water, Alyssandra's face buried between his Seer's

thighs, Katelyn's pink nipples tight and straining as she moaned out her

orgasm.

Grayson's balls tightened, and he knew the tip of his cock would be leaking

pre-come. He nodded, not sure if he could speak past the surge of heat

pulsing through his body.

"And didn't you say you entered her dreams, and that's how you healed

your shoulder and helped her heal her wound?" Alyssandra's voice shook

with eagerness.

"Yes, but how can we combine those two things to help us now?" This came

from Stone, who had followed the conversation with a scowl.

The queen huffed out a breath, frustrated with them all for not keeping up.

"Wait." Ryan smiled and pointed toward Alyssandra. "I get what you're

saying. But if you're right, they are going to try to perform her coming-ofage ceremony. And if they do it their way, she won't ever be able to

participate in the triangle with us. She'll be bound to them."

Anger, laced with fear for Katelyn, ran a line of cold through Grayson's

body, quieting his unruly cock. He started to protest, but Ryan held up a

hand.

"Give me a second to explain before you turn into the protective

Neanderthal."

Grayson scowled, but remained silent.

"Have any of you ever seen the Cunt version of the coming-of-age

ceremony?" When everyone shook their heads, Ryan smiled. "My mother

told me about one she saw before the Cunts were banished from Tador.

Their ceremony is a perversion of ours, and their coming-of-age ceremony

combines some of the same elements from our ascension, but it's almost

backward. They always start with the contribution small contribution of

blood, then of essence, and then they move on to the blood sacrifice as they

consummate."

Grayson glanced at his hand, not surprised to see light scabs already

forming over the injuries. His cock throbbed, and he knew he needed to

come soon, and he didn't relish the thought of doing it here while they

were discussing how to save his Seer. "I'm not getting how this is going to

help us."

Alyssandra gazed directly into his eyes.

An extremely vivid, full-color vision of the scene in the baths rose up inside

his mind's eye, though this time Ryan and Sasha stood beside him as well

as Stone.

Katelyn's hips arched off the platform, and her fingers gripped the gelcovered sides as she screamed out her release.

The pressure inside Grayson's balls broke, and he grunted as he came, his

eyes slipping closed as the very intense orgasm ripped through his system.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring again into the queen's

smiling face, and the front of his breeches was soaked with his come.

"Damn." Ryan's voice sounded strained, and his erection was obvious,

tenting the front of his breeches. "That was one of the most erotic things

I've ever seen." His voice held awe and wonder. "If we get to see things like

that for this triangle, I'm totally in."

Grayson swallowed hard and stood, cursing as the warm wetness stuck

against his skin. "Point taken, my queen."

She inclined her head. "That should heal your knuckles. We have about a

half hour until the sun has fully set on Earth and they'll start the ceremony.

Let's go to the private baths to try to connect with the Seer. The water as

well as the balda is more conductive and might help us funnel energy

better."

"Group sex with the queen," Ryan said with a smile. "I think I'm going to

like this."

Grayson could only agree—especially after that reminder of what he'd

seen.

Stone still scowled.

"That's what the triangle will be anyway, Stone." Ryan stood, entirely too

pleased with himself. "Get used to sharing."

Grayson shook his head. "Wait until it's your woman you're sharing, Ryan."

Ryan's face clouded as that last point hit home. He looked at Stone and

then at Grayson. "You may have a valid point there."

Fast, heavy footsteps pounded toward them, and Grayson tried to hide his

wet breeches with a nearby book.

Gavin, the captain of the Royal Guard, looked flushed as though he'd been

running. "Zack knows where they're being held, and now the Cunts most

likely have Rita and the detective. It will take Zack and his men about an

hour to get there."

Everyone started moving toward the door except Stone. "Wait."

When he had everyone's attention, he continued. "If she completes the

coming-of-age ceremony with all our energy and then decides not to go

through with the triangle, we won't be able to replace her with another

Seer." He glanced at each one of them in turn, and Grayson's heart

constricted inside his chest.

Leaving Katelyn to the Cunts wasn't an option—it would give the Cunts

power over the triangle. Even worse, he would lose her. He tried to

imagine another woman in his arms, another woman taking her place by

his side in the triangle, and he winced against a sharp pain that felt as if

someone had stabbed him through the heart.

"If Katelyn doesn't choose the triangle ..." He looked at each of them in turn

and spoke his feelings even though they burned his throat, "then I can't

either." He shook his head. "I'm so sorry ... I can't—"

Stone smiled grimly. "You know I understand." He placed a comforting

hand on Grayson's shoulder. "I wasn't suggesting we leave her. I only

wanted everyone to be aware what's on the line if we do this."

Ryan spoke up. "Tador is a part of Katie-Cat. I'm willing to take the

gamble."

Alyssandra smiled. "We're wasting time. It sounds like we're all agreed.

Let's go before Grayson's breeches dry to his thighs."

19

Katelyn's awareness slowly returned, but she couldn't seem to will her eyes

to open or her limbs to move. She expanded her senses, but even those

were sluggish and slow. Her steady heartbeat echoed in time with her

throbbing head, but it seemed as if her blood had become too thick to move

fluidly through her veins.

A fuzzy thought occurred to her that she must've been drugged.

Her mind told her she should be terrified but apparently her body had no

surplus energy to entertain that emotion.

A cold breeze fluttered across her bare skin, and she realized she was

naked. A small trickle of panic broke through her haze. With supreme

willpower, she moved her fingertips on one hand, and they brushed

against rough stone.

The altar!

Shit! Katelyn would bet that if she were able to open her eyes, there would

be a large, crudely painted triangle on the wall—the one she had seen in

her vision.

Just as she decided that she should muster enough energy to feel some

despair, she sensed a familiar tickle at the edge of her consciousness.

It felt like …Grayson ... and Alyssandra …and others.

Those must be some strong drugs they gave me!

She suddenly found herself in the private baths on Tador where she and

Alyssandra had been caught together. "Wha—"

Grayson's arms closed around her, and she groaned at the feel of his naked

body pressed against the length of hers. "Don't talk, Seer. The Cunts still

have you. We've come to you in a vision."

"How?" she whispered.

"Shhh," he soothed, and she collapsed against him, her chin resting on his

shoulder while he held her.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she noticed King Stone, Alyssa, and Ryan,

also nude and inside the baths.

The queen smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't speak or they'll hear you. Just

nod."

Grayson nipped her earlobe, causing a fresh surge of energy to snake

through her body, which chased back the lethargy swimming inside her a

little. "You have to trust us, Katelyn. Do you trust me?"

She nodded. "Sorry ..." she said so softly she wasn't sure he heard it.

"It's all right. I should've told you earlier." He tightened his arms around

her, and she pursed her lips together to keep from speaking again. "None

of that matters now. We think we can get you out of this if you trust us.

You'll have to go through the coming-of-age ceremony, but the choice of

the triangle will be up to you."

He pulled back and took her chin in his hand, his gaze locked with hers

until she thought she might drown in the amethyst depths of his eyes. "Do

you understand?"

She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. If she could speak, she

would tell him how angry and hurt she was. But for now she would settle

for whatever it took to get out of this situation—even if it meant sleeping

with the entire planet of Klatch.

Grayson brushed a kiss over her lips, causing another surge of energy to

snake through her. "Just like in the dream vision you and I had the first day

you were here, we can complete your coming-of-age ceremony with just

you and I. However, because you aren't physically here, Alyssandra is

going to pull everyone inside that chamber inside one of her visions. They

will think they are carrying out their own ceremony, but I promise you it

won't be real."

"We'll use the energy of Tador to power the vision so you'll be linked to the

planet and its effects, but by the time the Cunts figure that out, it will be

too late for them to do anything about it," Alyssandra added.

"Remember, love, it's not real, but try to act as if it is." Grayson's thumb

feathered over her cheek, but she barely felt it. "No matter what you see.

All right?"

Warmth curled around her heart, and her eyes widened. Had he just called

her "love"?

The word resonated inside her and took root. Was that what she felt for

Grayson?

She studied him. His eyes held a possessive warmth she had never noticed

before; along with concern, and, if she wasn't mistaken, a trace of terror.

At least, that's what she was feeling at the thought of never seeing Grayson

again. The intense emotion nearly ripped her in two.

When had it happened? Somewhere in the last handful of days, it had

snuck up on her and captured her unaware.

Love ... that's what she felt for Grayson. She was in love with him.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Katelyn nodded and hugged him tight. She took a last glance around, only

then realizing that at least twenty hunky Klatch men also sat in the private

pool with them. Her brow furrowed in confusion. What exactly did this

ceremony entail?

The scene abruptly changed, and she was strapped naked to the altar she

had seen in her previous vision. The crudely painted triangle symbol

marred the wall at her feet. She stiffened.

"Remember... not real." Grayson's deep voice feathered against her ear, and

she instantly relaxed, trying to appear as if the drugs hadn't worn off at all.

A few naked Cunts milled around the room, and the entire scene had a

surreal feeling, like a nightmare of being strapped to a dentist's chair—