Chapter 19
By the time I make it through a shower and redress the wounds, I’m fairly certain I’m already dead. I’m also willing to do anything to make the pain stop and go back to some level of functionality.
“You look like shit,” Luca says as I shuffle out of the bathroom.
“So nice of you to say,” I grunt.
He crosses the room to take my arm and help me toward the bed. So fucking humiliating.
But no one looks amused, and their obvious concern eases my tension. Even Analise looks like she has no desire to gouge my eyes out at this particular moment.
“So how are we doing this?” Luca asks once I’m leaning against the bedpost on my own accord.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” I search his eyes for any sign of hesitation.
A large scar from his recent trauma runs down the left side of his face, but honestly, it works for him. He already had a seductive alpha broodiness about him. The scar just reminds you it’s not an act, that he’s a fucking warrior who’s survived hell and then some. All three of them are, and now I need to be too.
“Well, I know I don’t want you hanging around for months like a flashing neon sign for all of Slate City’s underground to find,” Luca quips. His late smile draws one from me. “Yes, I want to do this. Seriously. You saved my life, man. It’s the least I can do. Plus, come on, it’s not like I’ve never thought about it before… What, like you haven’t?” he laughs out when Analise smacks his arm.
Fair enough.
I glance at Matteo and Analise who are reclined on the bed. Other than Analise’s fresh glare for Luca and Matteo’s general amusement about their never-ending tiff, both seem okay with the plan.
“It’s going to be different with me than with Matteo,” I say when it occurs to me, they’ve probably never had cross-species sex with anyone besides each other. They probably don’t even know it’s a totally different experience when you’re not emotionally attached.
“Obviously.”
“I’m not talking about the romance shit. The actual physical sensations and connection will be different.”
Luca frowns. “What do you mean?”
“The whole lifeforce transfer thing is a lot less powerful when it’s only physical versus when there’s also an emotional and spiritual connection. What you feel when you’re with me won’t be as strong as with him. Gabi and I kind of, uh, learned that the hard way.”
Analise’s expression softens as she studies me. “Now, I get why you’ve always been so casual about relationships. Until Gabriela you didn’t know what it could be like.”
My fingertips dig into the tall bed post. “I almost killed her.”
“Been there,” Matteo says with a smirk.
“So, the risk of you killing me is less, got it,” Luca says. “Sounds like a win to me. Is that the only concern? Any other terms and conditions to discuss?”
Analise waves a finger between us. “This is a one-time thing. And no more than you need.”
“That goes without saying,” Luca says. “With protection or without?” he asks me.
“Doesn’t matter to me. We’re not susceptible to human illnesses, and therefore don’t pass them on.”
“I’m aware. Just checking for personal preferences.”
“The transfer will be easier and faster without, right?” Analise says. We look at her, and she shrugs. “What? That’s what we’ve found in our research.”
“Your research?” I ask.
“Only on each other,” she explains, as if that was my concern.
“Good to know,” I mumble. Love is so weird.
“Great. So, we’re ready?” Luca tugs off his shirt.
No one moves as we watch his sculpted, inked body flex in delicious coordination while he strips down. Damn, he is beautiful.
Blood is already rocketing through me, and I just hope it stays in my dick instead of spurting out the chest holes. Thinking that might be a dealbreaker.
“Well, that’s it for me. You kids have fun,” Matteo says, sliding off the bed. He pulls Luca in for a quick kiss and cups his cheek. “Thank you.” He searches his eyes, and Luca returns a soft smile.
“Happy to help.”
“Not too happy,” Analise grunts. She climbs off the bed as well and relocates to an armchair nearby.
Matteo kisses Luca again before nodding to me and exiting the room.
“You good?” Luca asks me.
“Yeah.”
I’m still not sure how to proceed when Luca approaches me. His gaze locks on mine, and I decide to let him take the lead. He knows what the three of them are comfortable with, and I’m happy with whatever they offer. Anything is better than nothing at this point. I just have to get back to Gabi.
Gabi.
I’m not sure if it’s better or worse that it’s her sweet face in my mind when I’m about to be with someone else. It’s never been an issue before. This entire situation is new territory for me.
Luca steals my attention back when he smooths his palms up my neck to lock my head in his hands. He leans in, and his tentative kiss triggers a strange sensation I haven’t experienced before. It’s not the fiery explosion with Gabi, but not the tickle I get with other humans, either. This is somewhere in between, and the instinctive hunger quickly takes over.
I take a firm grip on his dark brown hair as our tongues brush together in teasing hints. The trickle of healing warmth feels good, and I’m quickly straining for more.
My hold tightens on his hair to anchor our mouths as our tongues glide in more deliberate strokes. He tastes divine. Surge after surge of delicious warmth makes me desperate to plunge deep into his mouth and suck him dry. Holding back isn’t going to be easy.
He pulls away, and I think he’s going for the lube on the bed until he drops to his knees and rips the towel from my hips. Oh fuck.
My eyes clench shut as he licks along my shaft and takes me into his mouth. His tongue massages the swollen head before a burst of suction sends a streak of fire through me. Then another. And another.
“Fuck,” I breathe out, grasping the bedpost. My other hand slips into his soft hair and I don’t miss the smug look in his eyes when they lift to me. The bastard is almost as cocky as I am.
And he has every right to be. I inhale sharply when he takes me deep into his mouth. Fuck, he’s going to have to ease up to make this last long enough to heal me. This injury will require a long-game strategy, but I can’t exactly bring myself to tell him not to swallow my cock like a pro—especially when he looks so pretty doing it.
But a second later he pulls off and pushes to his feet.
Right. I keep forgetting he understands the mechanics of our situation. He probably knows what I need better than I do.
Now he gets the lube.
He’s almost my height, so our bodies line up well when he returns. I wonder how this is going to work until I feel his slick hand sliding over my painfully hard cock. Up, down, firmer and firmer until I’m hot and aching for release.
I drag him in for another violent kiss. Taste, touch, smell, it’s all so intoxicating. Just the relief of feeling pleasure instead of pain is enough to make me forget everything but these carnal sensations.
He lets go and arches into me, replacing the friction of his hand with slow, deliberate thrusts of his dick against mine. It feels like an electric current is surging from my groin to the wounds on my chest. The harder we grind, the more relief I feel everywhere else.
Behind him, Analise is slouched in the chair, her eyes burning with arousal as she watches us. Her fingers play between her legs while her chest moves in rapid breaths.
That’s as far as my investigation gets before Luca regains my full attention with a fist on my shaft.
Fuck that feels incredible.
He takes us both in a firm grip and slides up and down our lengths for another swelling rush. The pressure of each stroke increases in speed and intensity until we’re both groaning from intense pleasure. It feels so good I can’t think straight, and when he grasps my hair with his other hand to yank me in for another deep kiss, I’m completely lost in desire.
His hot lips suck. His warm hand drives harder and harder until we’re tumbling into oblivion.
“Do you want to come?” he growls through our kiss.
“Fuck yes,” I breathe out.
He responds with swift strokes, squeezing with just enough force to send me gasping toward an explosive release.
Fire rips from limb to limb as I explode over his hand. For several more seconds, the gentle pressure continues as he finishes me off in lazy movements.
Damn.
Still breathing hard, I lean forward and rest my head on his shoulder.
“How do you feel?” he asks with a chuckle. “Any better?”
“I don’t even know,” I mumble.
I don’t. I’m not in pain, which is weird. Also unusual is the fact that I don’t feel like I need to go find more partners to satisfy a lingering hunger that seems more agitated than sated.
I guess this sensation supports our theory about intimacy and emotional connections. I’m not in love with Luca, but he means something to me. According to the theory, I’d feel exactly how I feel now. Somewhere in between everything and nothing.
I also need to quiz them on how to handle sex when love comes into play. It would be awesome not to kill Gabi every time we fool around.
Fuck, I wish she were here, that it was her lips on me and her hand slick with my cum. She’d look so sweet, and taste even better. There are so many things I want to do to her, with her, for her.
If you ever even see her again.
Well, that’s a mood killer.
Luca appears damn proud of himself when he steps back and scours my body. I’m standing tall again, without assistance or debilitating pain.
“Did it work?” Analise asks, approaching us.
We never even made it onto the bed. That entire thing happened standing next to it, but I guess any other position would have been hard with my injuries. Not to mention Analise’s rules.
“I think so. It definitely helped,” I say.
Luca’s eyes are locked on my torso as I peel back one of the bandages.
“Nice,” he says with a cocky smile. “Still got it,” he tosses at Analise who playfully swats his chest. He grins, and she pulls him in for a long, penetrating kiss. I can’t exactly blame her. After watching what just happened, I’m sure I’d want a taste as well.
Luca digs his fingers into her hair and backs her onto the bed. It’s then that I notice the wet tissue crumpled on the floor.
Guess he cleared off round one and is going for round two.
“It’s annoying how irresistible I am, isn’t it?” he murmurs to Analise.
“So annoying.” She moans as he drags his still-hard cock over her center. He must have waited to finish with her. How sweet.
I shake my head with a smile and check on myself while they do their thing.
Both wounds are fully closed now, and the smaller one is almost healed. The flesh around the larger one is still angry and scabbed, but it’s much better and will probably be healed in a few hours.
Luca and I are definitely even now. I’m going to try extra hard not to be an asshole to him.
When I check back in with them, Luca is driving into Analise while Matteo hovers in the doorway watching with hooded eyes. I frown, wondering if that’s their usual dynamic. Maybe Matteo can’t be fully intimate with them because it’s too dangerous. God, I hope that doesn’t mean I can never be with Gabi the way I want to.
It’s on my tongue to ask when I decide now might not be the best time. Once they’re finished, though, we’ll be having an extremely weird-ass post-coital debriefing session.
“I don’t like it,” Matteo says as we survey the Wells’ mansion from The Translucence. “Why the added security?”
Great question. Equally concerning is the haphazard makeover Celeste must have commissioned since I left. The place is bustling with contractors and filled with evidence of the recent changes. The aesthetic is all wrong for her, which tells me this isn’t a coincidence. It must have something to do with me, but I have no idea what. Maybe she thinks if she makes the place unappealing enough, I won’t come back.
I’ve had plenty of bad breakups, but none ever resulted in interior design abominations.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Matteo says.
“Yeah, that clunky sideboard. Why would you even put a piece that large in this space?”
Matteo gives me a hard look, and I suppress any more jokes. He’s never gotten my humor like Damon does.
“I promise to be careful,” I assure him. “I’ll wait until everyone’s asleep, then I’ll be in and out as soon as I have Gabi. No one will even know I was here.”
“Until they check the security cameras.”
“We didn’t see any in Gabi’s room. Besides, what does it matter? I’ll be gone before they can react.”
Matteo’s brow creases as he studies the activity in the main floor of the home. We’ve been over every inch of it twice, so I’m not sure what else I can say to put his mind at ease. Since he worries about every minute detail, probably nothing.
I thought it would be good to bring my brother as backup, but now I’m regretting it. He’s spent more time trying to talk me out of rescuing Gabi than actually helping with a plan. Sure Celeste has some extra muscle around, but as long as no one sees me, it doesn’t matter how many armed guards she packs in the place.
“Is that Gabriela?” Matteo asks.
“Yeah.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“I know.”
My heart speeds up at the image of her petite frame sprawled on a couch in a cozy den, watching TV. Her dark, shoulder-length hair is pulled back in a short ponytail, and she’s wearing loose-fitting sweats like it’s just another day. If I didn’t know better, I’d believe she only cared about the activity around her to the extent the noise was interrupting her show.
I’d give anything to cuddle up with her now.
That incredible day at the park was the moment I knew I was fucked. For the first time I could remember, the interaction wasn’t about an activity or selfish end. I wanted to be with her for no other reason than being with her. It didn’t matter what we did or what came next, just her presence was enough.
“You’re going to figure it out,” Matteo says gently. “I promise.”
“I know. Like I said, I’ll wait until everyone’s sleeping.”
“I’m not talking about the rescue.”
I glance over, and sure enough, he has his sympathetic Matteo face on. I’ve seen a lot of that over the last couple of hours, particularly during our sex QA.
“For the record, your seminar on love and intimacy wasn’t exactly inspiring,” I mutter. “You might want to workshop that a little more before hitting the global circuit.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “I said you could have sex with her.”
“Yeah, if we’re very slow, very careful, and use your custom condom jewelry.”
He snorts a laugh. “Condom jewelry?”
“That’s basically what it is, right?”
“No one said you have to wear it on your dick. In fact, I strongly advise against it. The iron just mitigates the effects of the connection.”
“Yeah, the science doesn’t make it more appealing.”
“Hey, it’s better than killing her or not having sex at all, right?”
True.
“Maybe I’ll just find another human so I can have two like you.”
“Also, an option.”
His mischievous smile isn’t helping, and I focus back on Gabi. She and I are a hell of a long way from worrying about that shit.
For now, she’s doing a great job of looking unfazed by everything going on.
Inside, she must be scared. I can’t imagine how hard these last few days have been for her. Her life has been uprooted in unimaginable ways. Yet, she’s as calm and confident as ever on the outside. As usual, I’m awed by her strength.
My mood immediately shifts when Rob enters the room.
He drops to the other end of the couch with an entitled air that has my blood boiling. She casts a bored glance in his direction before focusing back on the TV.
“Who’s that?” Matteo asks.
“Rob. That’s the dude who shot me. Sounds like he’s involved in this somehow.”
“Is he Celeste’s lover?”
“I don’t think so. I think he had some link to the dad. I don’t know why the hell he’s hovering around Gabi so much.”
My jaw is tight as I fire visual arrows through multiple dimensions.
“Easy, brother.” Matteo lays a hand on my shoulder. “You need to wait for the right time. You can’t risk getting shot again.”
“Might be worth it,” I growl through clenched teeth.
“Aden…”
“I know. I’m joking. I won’t do anything.”
Yet.
Waiting will be brutal, though. It’s probably hours before nightfall. What if this idiot is planning something for her? Ever since his confession about wanting to turn Gabi over to The Shadow, I’ve been in fight mode. I will obliterate anyone who even looks at her wrong.
Art isn’t my only skill. I’m damn good on the battlefield when I need to be.
But Matteo is right. It makes no sense to let my temper turn what could be a simple, clean escape into a messy bloodbath. I can wait. I have to, and once she’s safely with me, it’ll all be worth it.
Besides, I’m still not back to my full strength. Hopefully, I have enough to get Gabi and me to safety.
Guess we’re about to find out.