Emblazed (23 page)

I turned around and pushed the sweat back from my face and through my hair. Brielle
gasped and grabbed my hands, pulling them between us. My knuckles had split from hitting
the bag so hard without any gloves or wraps, and blood spotted the back of my hands.

“Oh, baby,” Brielle whimpered.

She wiped my hands with her shirt before placing soft kisses along each of my knuckles,
healing them as her loving touch calmed my enraged emotions.

As the fog of anger receded, it hit me that she could feel the effects of me hitting
the bag. I grabbed her hands and inspected them for injuries, but they looked normal
except for some slight redness.

“I’m fine, baby. It hurt, but I’m okay. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that. I should’ve
been more considerate of your feelings,” Brielle said.

I shook my head, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just so pissed off—just
the thought of him touching you again or being anywhere near you infuriates me.”

“I know. It was a dumb idea. I’m pretty desperate right now. There is no way I can
sacrifice you for my mom, but I don’t think I can live with myself if I just let Hades
throw her in Tartarus.”

“We won’t let either of those things happen. I’m not losing you again, so Hades can
go fuck himself. Let’s go back inside and see if the others came up with another idea,”
I said before pressing a soft kiss on her lips.

I threaded our fingers together as we walked back inside, where Kimber, Zane, and
Kiera still sat at the table.

I sat back down with Brielle before addressing them, “Any other ideas? Because that
one isn’t going to work for me.”

“We could still try the beach idea, as planned. If that doesn’t work, we could leave
right after,” Zane suggested.

“I don’t think we even have a choice of when to leave. We need the Oracle to transport
us to a portal, and who knows when she’ll show up. Or if she’ll show up,” I remarked.

“Shit, I didn’t even think about that. What if she doesn’t come?” Brielle asked, her
question laced with worry.

“She’ll come. We need to get some more obols before she does. Zane, do your parents
have more?”

“They had one extra, but that’s it. Sorry, bro,” Zane apologized.

“Can you see if they can get any more somehow? If not, we’re going to have to swim,”
I informed.

“Yeah, I’ll call my dad on our way back to the condo. We can stop by their house today,
if he can find some.”

“Alright, be prepared to leave at any moment. When the Oracle shows, we’ll call you
and have you come over. If we haven’t heard from her by midnight, we’ll go through
with the beach plan. Everyone be back here around eleven-thirty,” I instructed.

Kimber and Zane stood as he said, “Alright, bro. See you later.”

Once they left, Kiera announced she wanted to get some fresh air at the beach. Brielle
was unsure about the idea at first, but relented when I reminded her that the beach
would be full of people, and that Hermes probably wouldn’t try anything in public.

We went back upstairs to our room, where Brielle headed straight for the balcony doors,
opening them and letting the crisp, ocean breeze flow into our room. She walked out
and propped her arms on the banister of the balcony railing as she gazed out over
the sea.

I walked up behind her, wrapping my arms around her, placing them on top of hers and
pressing our bodies together. Her emotions were everywhere, consisting of concern,
fear, anger, and guilt. Rubbing her arms, I let my touch wash over her in an attempt
to erase the feelings plaguing her.

She leaned back into me as she sighed, “Jace, I—”

“Shh,
mi amante
,” I whispered in her ear, cutting her off. “Don’t worry about anything right now.
Let’s enjoy this last bit of peace together before we are thrown back into chaos.”

Surprisingly, she didn’t try to argue. Her body relaxed against me and she pulled
my arms to wrap around her waist before laying hers on top of mine. Our bond thrived
as we held one another, the electricity humming over our skin, cocooning us in our
love while drowning out the rest of the world until there was nothing but us.

I dipped my head down before grazing my lips along Brielle’s neck. Every feeling was
intensified with our connection so intricately synchronized, and I could feel our
mutual desire increasing with each intoxicating touch.

My hands traveled to her hips before trailing under her shirt to touch her silky skin.
They moved upwards to capture her supple breasts, her nipples already hardening with
arousal.

Her hands had made their way to the back of my head, fisting themselves in my hair
as my mouth savored her delicate neck. My cock stiffened with desire from the sensations
of touching and tasting her, pressing against her ass as soft moans escaped her.

I trailed one of my hands down her stomach before slipping under the waistband of
her shorts, beneath the lacy fabric of her panties. Her sex was drenched with her
desire, and I let my fingers play within her moist, delicate folds.

I bit her earlobe lightly as I growled, “Fuck, you are so wet for me already, baby.”

She moaned again as I continued to intricately trace my fingers along her pussy. Gods,
I wanted to taste her desire so badly. I spun her around, moving my hands to unbutton
her shorts and pull them off before removing her panties.

She went for my jeans, but I pushed her hands away and shook my head as I rumbled,
“I wanna taste you, baby; need to taste how much you want me before I fuck you.”

I grabbed her hips before propping her on the railing of the balcony and kneeling
before her, gripping her hips to keep her from falling. I pulled her closer, until
her ass was on the edge of the railing before draping each of her legs over my shoulders
and giving her a mischievous smirk, “Hold on.”

My tongue slowly traced the insides of her thighs, which were damp with her arousal.
I greedily savored her sweetness as I slowly inched closer to her center. I took my
time, slowly licking within her folds and nibbling her clit. I pulled and teased it
with my teeth as she writhed against me before plunging my tongue within her core.

She moaned loudly as more of her nectar flooded my mouth, her pussy already pulsing
around my tongue as she neared orgasm.

Moving my hands from her hips to her ass, I gripped tightly, pulling her closer as
she slid down the railing onto her back. I devoured her, my tongue delving deep inside
until she shuddered her release against my mouth. I eagerly suckled the rest of the
sweet juices from her sex, licking it clean before I stood.

I kept my hands supporting her as she slowly eased off the railing and stood on shaky
legs. I was far from done with her. Just in case we might not make it out of the Underworld,
I wanted to savor every second I had with her, and I planned to spend the rest of
the day doing exactly that.

Stripping off her shirt, I tossed it to the deck of the balcony with the rest of her
clothes before inching her back against the railing, pressing my body against hers.
She hurriedly pulled my shirt off before undoing the button of my shorts and sliding
them down my legs, along with my boxer-briefs.

Turning her around, I pushed her down until she was bent over the railing. I spread
her legs apart from behind as I eased my cock to her slick entrance. She groaned as
I slowly entered her, clutching the railing with both hands as I began to thrust inside
her.

One of my hands held onto her hip as the other trailed up her spine to grab her hair.
It curtained over her shoulders and spread down her back as she tilted her head upwards
while moaning my name.

I grunted, “You like that, baby? Like when I fuck you like this?”

Her cries of pleasure grew louder as she moaned, “Yes, baby. I love it when you fuck
me!”

Damn, she was so sexy when she sounded like that. All the noises emanating from her
slowly unraveled my control, especially when combined with the amazing sensations
of our bond.

As I felt my release approaching, I stopped, wanting to watch her face as I made her
come. I carefully turned her over, supporting her body to make sure to stay within
her warmth as her legs wrapped around me and her back flattened against the railing.

Resuming my thrusts, I braced one hand on the railing while the other gripped her
ass as I plunged in and out of her. I leaned down to take her breast in my mouth as
my gaze traveled up to her face. She arched against me, supporting herself on the
balcony with her elbows while moans of pleasure escaped her open mouth, her eyes closed
in ecstasy.

Her pussy throbbed around me as we both neared climax. I pulled her off the balcony
and carried her to our bed, laying her down on the edge and inching her back until
we reached the center of the mattress.

I resumed my thrusts as I claimed her mouth, our tongues joining instantly as we devoured
one another. Our hands frantically roamed over each other’s bodies as Brielle took
me deeper and deeper into her center, taking everything I gave her.

Her pussy tightened around my shaft as she climaxed. The pulsing of her walls against
my cock and her throaty moans sent me into ecstasy, my cum coating her walls with
my release.

I rolled to my side, panting heavily to catch my breath. Brielle continued to roll
us until she was on top of me, keeping my dick still enclosed inside her.

Her hair was wild with damp curls and sweat glistened over her skin. She looked down
at me through hooded eyes, causing my cock to begin to harden again. “My turn.”

After we spent the rest of the day alternating between making love and fucking, we
reluctantly emerged from our loft to grab a late dinner. The fact that we had no idea
what was going to happen within the next few days, and that we might not survive another
trip to the Underworld, had made both of us absolutely insatiable.

I always wanted as much of Jace as I could get normally. Given the dire circumstances,
I wanted him infinitely more, if that was even possible, and Jace reciprocated my
feelings. So much so that we were overtaken by a passionate desperation for one another
that we couldn’t seem to satisfy.

Exhausted and feeling lazy, we decided to order a pizza in lieu of cooking something.
I invited my dad over to fill him in on what had happened within the last few days,
and to say he was pissed was an understatement.

He was beyond enraged about the nightmares and Hermes’ visits, and was equally concerned
about my mom. Even though he was worried about her, he begged me not to go back, but
I couldn’t just leave my mother to rot in Tartarus.

She had lost her life because of me, and I was determined not to let the same happen
with her soul.

As midnight approached, I was about to jump out of my skin from anxiety. I really
didn’t want to go through with the beach plan to trap Hermes, and neither did Jace
or my dad. All I wanted was to get to the Underworld as soon as possible and save
my mom, but there was nothing I could do without the damn Oracle.

The Oracle still hadn’t made an appearance when Kimber and Zane arrived at about a
quarter til midnight.

“Were your parents able to get the obols?” Jace asked.

“Thankfully, yes. Apparently, there is a Greek relics shop hidden in the back of a
small bookstore near their house. Thank Gods because I didn’t want to swim that shit
again. Even though we’ll probably have to swim our way out,” Zane answered.

“No Oracle yet?” Kimber inquired.

“Unfortunately, no. I guess we have to go through with the beach idea,” I replied.

We reluctantly set the plan in motion. Kiera, Kimber, Zane, and my dad headed up to
the balcony as we prepared to leave. Just as we were about to walk out the back door,
the Oracle appeared in our backyard.

“Finally!” I shouted as I ran out to greet her. “We’ve been waiting for you. Hades
has my mother in the Underworld. He wants my soul for hers.”

“I am aware. That is why I have come,” the Oracle responded.

“Great, so can you transport us now? We only have two days left,” I stated impatiently.

“You must first defeat Hermes. If you go to the Underworld without doing so, you will
fail in your quest. You are not yet strong enough to fight multiple Gods at once.
If you venture into the Underworld without defeating Hermes, not only will you have
to face Hades, you will have to face Hermes, Morpheus, and his brothers, as well,”
the Oracle explained.

“Even if I defeat Hermes before we go, won’t I still have to deal with Morpheus and
his brothers?”

“Possibly, but it is less likely since Morpheus would no longer be indebted to Hermes
if you defeat him,” the Oracle answered.

Fuck, I don’t have time for this shit.
Even though I was severely frustrated, there was nothing I could do since the Oracle
wouldn’t transport us without defeating Hermes.

“What if Hermes doesn’t show up? We have a plan to trap him, but what if we can’t
get him to come here?” Jace questioned.