Through The Veil (18 page)

“Are you saying I stink?” She raised an eyebrow.

“No, I’m saying I do, but I’m not willing to let you go
while I get clean, so you get to shower with me.”

“Hmm, I do like the sound of that.” She plastered herself
against his chest and groin.

Damn, he wouldn’t last if she kept that up.

He stripped off her T-shirt and quickly set about applying
the waterproof bandages to her sutures that Malcolm had left with them. And if
that brought his hands into close proximity to her delectable breast, well,
never let it be said that he didn’t take advantage of an opportunity when he
saw it. By the time he’d finished bandaging her, her back was arched, her sighs
were long, and her eyes were closed in ecstasy.

Next, she turned him around to apply the same ministrations
to his back. She took the time to lave kisses along his spine above and below
the wound which provided the slightest mix of pleasure and pain and sent
ripples of sensation down the length of his hard cock. He reached down to
adjust where his jeans constricted him.

Slowly she unbuttoned the top of his jeans, her breath heavy
on his back where her face pressed with alternating nips and kisses along his
spine. The suspense of the moment tortured him. His zipper slid prong by prong.
Each little jolt sent a tiny thrill down the length of his shaft. Damn, she
concocted the best sort of torture. He lowered his head against his chest and
tried to control his ragged breathing. Finally, she reached the bottom of the
zipper and his hard length sprang free from restriction. She immediately found
his long cock and stroked it in her warm grip.

“Oh my.” Her exclamation brushed soft and breathy against
his back and sent a shudder down the full, hard length of his cock.
 
The slow strokes up and down didn’t help the
matter either. “Going commando? I must say I approve…of everything I find
here.”

He couldn’t stand it anymore. He swung around and commanded,
“I need your pants off now.” This would be the shortest shower in history.

She saluted him, her eyes lighting up. “Yes, sir!” And
before he knew it, she stood naked before him. He paused in sliding his jeans
down his thighs and prayed for self-control.

Her breasts were high and round, although not overly large.
They were the perfect size to fit into the palms of his hands. His grip flexed
with the need to touch her. Her pink nipples were puckered with arousal, her
breasts swaying in time with her panting breaths. She had curves, flared hips,
and toned porcelain white thighs that met at the juncture of heaven. Even here,
her hair sparkled with the mix of colors. Never had he seen a more perfectly
gorgeous vision of femininity.

He could already feel the burning at the base of his spine,
signaling an imminent eruption and he’d barely touched her yet. So not good. He
closed his eyes to try to gain control, but unfortunately that meant he didn’t
know Lori had moved until she touched him at the base of his balls. He hissed
at the incredible sensation and tried to pull back the contractions of his
orgasm even as he felt them burning up his length. He held onto control…barely.
It had been too long since a woman had touched him.

He couldn’t hold back any longer. He shoved her up against
the wall and reached down to hook her legs back around his waist. He reacted
like a randy teenager, but he couldn’t seem to help it. He didn’t have any
control around her.

Before he buried himself, he reached between them to make
sure she was ready for him. Her folds were drenched with arousal. He teased
lightly before plunging in two fingers. She felt so tight and wet and she
contracted around his fingers at their touch. Thank Mother Earth, she was just
as aroused as him. Her breathing hitched as she moaned out his name. He
continued to caress and explore, paying special attention to her clit with his
thumb. A tremor took hold of her and her hips moved in time to his fingers,
pulsing around him in orgasm.

Just as her orgasm wound down he pushed into her. Her warmth
surrounded him, caressing him tightly, her muscles quivering with the leftover
tremors of her orgasm. Heaven. He stilled for a moment to let her adjust to his
size, but she wanted none of that.

She tightened her thighs and arched against the wall, sliding
up and down his length, once, twice, and then her sex began to pulse and
tighten again as another orgasm overtook her. This time when she did, she
tossed her head back with a silent cry of ecstasy and something reached out
within her and connected with his mind. He heard her feminine cry of,
“Mine.”

That was all it took. His restraint shattered and he could
no longer control his actions. He thrust into her body and with each movement
got closer and closer to ecstasy. When she started pulsing around him a third
time, he jerked and his seed spilled into her moist heat. Over and over again
his body shuddered as he groaned into the crook of her neck. The power of his
orgasm rocked him and it was all he could do to keep his knees locked and not
drop them both to the floor. Finally, his cock stilled although he remained
hard within her. They both panted from their exertions.

Slowly he came back to himself. He kissed her softly at the
edge of her brow before lifting her chin to gaze into her eyes. He spoke very softly.
“You’re amazing. And I agree…you’re mine, too.”

He saw a flash of something in her eyes that unsettled him.
Regret or guilt? Whatever it was, he didn’t like it. He kissed her and slowly
lowered her legs from around his waist as he slid out of her. They both groaned
at the loss, but Lori recovered first.

“I thought you promised me a shower,” she teased.

“I did and then I promise you a better performance than
that.” He grimaced at her. It had been phenomenal, but entirely too fast.

“Better?” She sounded incredulous. “I don’t know if you
missed it, but I had three orgasms. I don’t think it gets much better than
that.”

He grinned at her. “You may be right there, but I think I
can prove you wrong on that account. I’m thinking longer is going to be much,”
he caressed the side of her neck with his tongue, “much better.”

She nodded. “Longer I can handle. I hope you took your
vitamins today. I don’t plan on letting you sleep tonight.”

Damn, he was a lucky man.

* * *

Damn, she was a lucky woman. Watching Marcus’s back muscles
shift as he swung his sword through the air sent tingles sizzling across her
core. How her body had energy for anything more than luxuriating in the
afterglow, she had no idea. Those places should be lying around and recovering
after the marathon sex session from the night before. But as she watched
Marcus’s amazing Warrior’s body flex in a mock battle against
Griff
, she could honestly swoon.

They were at the training field where the Warriors drilled
with the men of the village. A wooden railed fence surrounded the area where
the men drilled and the women were scattered along the rails. Brooklyn planned
to work with the women for gender specific training, but that would have to
wait until she got back from her trip with Garrison. For now, most the women of
the village stood around enjoying the gorgeous view of the men in action. Not a
single one of them would get much done today with all this glorious man flesh
here to enjoy.

Lori’s gaze kept drifting to Marcus. The night before was
everything she’d known it would be and so much more than she’d expected.

Her heart clenched at the thought of leaving him. This
connection between them went beyond anything she’d ever expected. She didn’t
want him to notice her distress.

Already this morning they seemed closer, more in tune with
each other’s emotions. As they became closer physically, it seemed like their
mental bond grew tighter, too. She couldn’t let him feel her upset.

Just as she had that thought, he glanced over at her in
concern and
Griff
dealt him a brutal blow. She
winced. She needed to work harder to hide those emotions from him, especially
as she got closer to leaving.

She glanced up as Bethany slid in to stand at the rail
beside her.

“Aw, I really do love training days.” Bethany murmured with
her gaze on the men. “Definitely one of the best perks of my job.”

Bethany wore another one of the wrap tops which seemed to be
the preferred style for the winged women of the village. Today, the top was
deep green, which emphasized the green tips of her wings. Her dark brown cargo
pants and combat boots were a popular style among the Warriors, as was the
sword in the middle of her back. Even in her battle gear, she still carried an
elegant air about her.

Bethany gasped and Lori turned her attention back to the
men. Aaron had just taken a hard right hook to his temple and seemed to be
momentarily stunned. Bethany had a white-knuckled grip on the railing while she
watched Aaron recover his wits.

When she noticed Lori’s attention, she shrugged. “I know
they’re tough Warriors, but they’re also my friends. I worry they’ll get hurt.
They seem so tough on the surface, but they’re human, too.” She glanced back
over at Aaron as if to reassure herself that he truly was okay.

Hmm, interesting. Did they have more going on between the
two of them than just work?

“Well, I have to say, they may be human, but I think they
fall a bit more under the man-candy heading.” Lori nodded toward the groups of
women all watching the men move around with longing. “I think they’d all
agree.”

They both laughed together before they turned back toward
the men. Marcus showed a group of male villagers how to hold their sword and
swing effectively.

“So you don’t have anything like this in the ES?” Bethany
asked.

“Definitely not.” Lori laughed. “Of course, the weather
there isn’t as temperate, so even if we did, we’d never know. Unfortunately,
our men wear shirts.” She shook her head in disgust. “It’s such an awful
tradition…to wear a shirt. Believe me, you have it much better here.” Both
women turned their attention back to all the shirtless men. Even the ones who
weren’t Warriors were still extremely fit. Was that also a side-effect of the
Veil—better overall physical health? Obviously all this natural living among
the trees suited these people perfectly.

“So tell me about the ES,” Bethany said. “We don’t know
anything about what happened after the Veil fell on your side of the country.”

“Honestly, not much has changed.” Lori considered for a
moment and then as they watched the men train, she explained how the world had
evolved in the ES, ending with Teddy’s betrayal.

“He turned you in?” Bethany sounded outraged.

“Yes, he worked within the government and saw me as a good
stepping stone to prove his loyalty to the new regime.” Lori was proud of how
calm and steady her voice sounded despite the fact that pain tore through her
heart every time she thought about how gullible she’d been.

“I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through, Lori. You said
they experimented on you, what are the odds they uncovered enough about your
ability to do what you do? Will they be able to come through the Veil, too?”

“No. I never let them know the full extent of my ability and
as far as I know, there isn’t anyone else who has it.”

Bethany nodded. “How many Others are there?”

“I have no idea. Not everyone in the ES developed abilities.
Only a few did and most of those have been gathered up for medical experiments
where I assume most eventually died.”

Lori shuddered. “In the labs, they create units. The
scientists use the bonds of friendship to get the prisoners to cooperate. If
you don’t cooperate, then you get to watch while your friends are tortured.”
She swallowed hard against the bile in her throat. “The ES is not a good place
to live.”

Lori looked back over the small group of villagers. Even
with the seriousness of the training, a sense of happiness permeated the group.
“Believe me, I have no desire to subject your people to that. You’ve created a
wonderful society here. I’d hate to see it get infected with the ideals from
the ES government, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up helping my friends. It’s
only because of them that I’ve survived the last six years. I can’t just
abandon them there to die.”

“I understand that and am discussing options with Aaron. Don’t
strike out on your own just yet, Lori. Give us time to see what we can figure
out.”

Lori knew her shock showed on her face, but she couldn’t
help it. “How did you know I planned to do that?”

Bethany smiled at her gently. “A simple look at the mix of
happiness and devastation on your face as you watched Marcus this morning
showed enough to know. You’re falling in love with him. It’s no secret that
leaving him would be heart-breaking enough to cause that expression on your
face. But he needs you, too. Don’t give up on the two of you yet. In fact, I
think you’re going to be a vital part of our village. We want to help, but we
need to be very careful about how we proceed.”