Through The Veil (9 page)

Marcus nodded, worried about Malcolm’s concern. He couldn’t
let anything happen to Lori.

“But before I go,” Malcolm continued, “we need to figure out
what’s going on with the telepathy.”

“That will have to wait. Bethany wants to meet Lori first
thing and she hasn’t had anything to eat yet.” Marcus moved into the kitchen
and started mixing batter. He glanced back over toward Lori. “Go ahead and take
some medicine.” He pulled the fruit platter out of the fridge from the night
before and sat it in front of her. “You can eat some of this while you wait.”

He didn’t know what else to do to help her get better, but
knew nutrients would help.

Malcolm left with a promise to check back later and they
settled into breakfast like it was just a normal start of the day.

“I’m taking you to meet the leader of our people this
morning. Her name is Bethany. She’s going to want to know more about how you
got here and the ES.” Marcus tried not to flinch at the wary look that came
over her face.

“Tell me about her.”

“She took care of us when our world fell apart.”

“How old were you then?”

“I was sixteen. Malcolm was only eleven. We were in North
Carolina visiting our cousins
Griff
and Brock. At the
time, our family lived in Texas.
Griff
was fourteen.
Brock was seventeen. Brock couldn’t handle all of us counting on him after the
Veil and he took off after a few months. The three of us learned how to survive
together.”

“What about your parents? Did any of them survive?”

He looked at her in surprise. He’d just assumed all the
adults died in the ES, too. That obviously didn’t happen. “All the adults died.
And as far as my parents and family in Texas, we have no idea what happened
there. It’s gone. Where the Mississippi River used to be, is now ocean.
Anything west of the Mississippi is completely gone.”

She gasped in surprise. “How is that possible? All those
people…” She reached across and laid her hand on top of his. “I’m so sorry.”

“It happened a long time ago. We’ve adjusted. But are you
saying the same thing didn’t happen in the ES?”

She shook her head. “It was similar. A hell of a lot of
people died and yes, most of them were adults, but within a few months, adults
began to reappear. I don’t know if they had some sort of insider knowledge and
somehow protected themselves or what, but members from our government slowly
started filtering out and taking control. There were others like scientists and
doctors who showed up, too.” She shuddered and the blood leeched from her face.
“Somehow they were protected from whatever the Veil did.”

She obviously had an issue with doctors and scientists. Were
they somehow to blame for her injuries? Why? But of further interest was how
some of them survived when no one did here. “Interesting. You think they had
some sort of warning?”

“They had something because they stayed safe in those months
after the Veil dropped. What about the wings?” She gestured toward his back.
“I’m guessing you haven’t always had those?”

He shook his head ruefully, “No, definitely not. I got mine
about ten months after the Veil fell. We all had them within a year.”

She stood up. “Do you mind if I look closer at them?”

“No, that’s fine.”

He stood by the sink and his muscles tightened as she
approached from behind. He could feel her elevated heat as she drew nearer and
both his wings and his cock twitched in reaction. Her warm breath brushed on
his bare back and her gentle fingers touched the sensitive area where the wings
joined the sides of his spine. He dropped his head and fought the urge to
groan.

She quickly withdrew her hand. “Does that hurt?”

“No,” his voice murmured low with arousal, “but they’re
sensitive to touch. It actually feels really good.”

“I noticed Malcolm’s have a bit of the same color as yours.
Is that because you’re brothers?”

“Yes. Everyone’s wings are unique, like fingerprints, but
siblings usually share one or two colors that are the same.”

“Hmm.”

Her fingers reached up to touch his back again and this time
he couldn’t hold in the groan. What was this woman doing to him? She examined
the area where the wings joined his back closely before reaching up to brush
along the feathers. “They’re so beautiful and soft.”

As she brushed her hands over his wings, it had the same
effect as brushing her hands over his cock. Never before had they been such a
sensitive arousal zone. He couldn’t help the spasms of movement that went
through either his wings or his cock as he succumbed to her ministrations.
Damn, if she didn’t stop he would come in his pants simply from her touch.

“Did they hurt when they grew in?”

“Um…What?” He couldn’t concentrate with her doing this.

She ducked underneath his right wing and came around to the
front of his body to come face to face with his very obvious erection. Twice in
less than twelve hours now. Damn, he had to get his randy body under control.
She stayed crouched there for a moment and looked up at him with visible humor
and a touch of interest showing through her eyes.

“Um…” He could feel the blush suffuse his face. “I mentioned
they were sensitive, right?”

She stood, ducked her head, and chewed on her lower lip.
“Sorry, I guess I didn’t realize exactly what you meant.”

He brushed his thumb along her abused lip and smoothed it.
“Quite honestly, they’ve never been quite that sensitive with anyone else
before.”

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and accidentally
touched his thumb. As her violet eyes darkened, the color on her cheeks rose.
Their eyes met and a surge of desire shot through him. He couldn’t ignore his
arousal anymore. He groaned as he lowered his lips to hers. Damn, she tasted so
good. So sweet. So perfect.

Quickly his body crowded hers so she leaned back against the
counter. She threaded her fingers around behind his neck and pressed her body against
him. He lifted the hem of her shirt and found her skin felt way too hot.

It was as good as a cold shower. Slowly he pulled his head
back and looked into her fevered eyes filled with desire. He didn’t want to
stop this, but he had no choice. He refused to take advantage of her.

“Sweetheart, we can’t do this. Your fever’s gotten higher.”

She looked up at him with a slightly confused, wary
expression.

“Besides, we need to go see Bethany. I’ll touch base with
Malcolm on the way to let him know. Then you need to get back to bed so you can
heal.”

Disappointment and hurt momentarily flared in her eyes, but
he tried to ignore it. This was the way it had to be.

She drew herself up, her expression cleared, and she stepped
back around him to gain control of her space. She gave a terse nod. “Okay,
let’s go.”

* * *

Lori couldn’t believe what a fool she made of herself this
morning. First, she’d brushed the guy’s wings so he became completely aroused
and then she’d thrown herself at him. Her cheeks flamed in humiliation at the
remembrance.

In her defense, what was a girl to do when faced with that
much masculine, toned flesh on a constant basis?

She was such an idiot. What was she thinking? Yes, it had
been a few years since she’d had sex, but she needed to concentrate on how she
planned to get the Others out of their captivity in the ES. She sure as hell
didn’t have time to mess around with some guy.

She couldn’t leave her friends there to slowly die. She
didn’t know how she would achieve it, but she hoped she could gain some support
from the WS. Having Marcus barge into her room last night with his sword ready
to go had given her the idea. Actually, she’d obviously had too many ideas
about how to use both swords, but she needed to concentrate on how he could aid
her.

After flying her down from his home, they set to walking
across the village floor. While most the homes were in the trees for safety,
Marcus explained to her that daily life happened on the forest floor simply
because that made it easier. They only took to the trees after dark.

As they walked along, she marveled at the enormous size of
the trees. “We’re still in what used to be the western side of North Carolina,
right? Along the Appalachian Mountain chain?”

He nodded. “Yes, why?”

“I visited here the year before the Veil and the trees
weren’t near this size then. How did they grow so fast?”

“We don’t really know. Obviously, it has something to do
with the Veil.” He waved his hand up into the sky. “The mist never fades and
it’s created a rainforest environment. And it’s not just here. It’s this way
all the way to the ocean. The entire ecosystem has changed since the Veil.
That’s how we’re able to have things like coffee here. The environment is
perfect now for many crops that we weren’t able to have in the U.S. before.”

He halted their forward momentum and looked up. “We’re
here.”

She reached up gingerly around his neck so he could fly her
up to the platform. She tried to ignore the little thrill which went through
her system at the feel of his hips meeting hers and his hard chest against her
breasts.

An elegant woman with amazingly colored wings met them
outside. This had to be Bethany. She was beautiful and had an extremely
confident air about her. Dressed in a flowing skirt, she wore a top which creatively
wrapped and wove around her body to encompass her torso. Like Marcus, she also
wore a sword, but hers was strapped to her waist rather than her back. Lori
realized Bethany looked similar to Brooklyn. Reexamining her wings, she saw
they also shared the turquoise blue in them.

Marcus made the introduction. “Bethany, this is our guest,
Lori. Lori, our leader of the WS, Bethany.”

Bethany had been watching Lori closely as Lori examined her.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Lori said. “Forgive me if this is too
forward, but are you related to Brooklyn?”

A wide smile lit up her whole face. Lori could see how she
became their leader. She appeared very charismatic and hadn’t even spoken yet.
“Yes, she’s my little sister, even if she does tower above me now.”

“She is very tall isn’t she?” Lori was 5’6” and Brooklyn had
several inches on her. Appearing just slightly taller than Lori, Bethany
probably hit 5’7”.

 
“Lucky for us, she’s
equally efficient as a Warrior as she is medical assistant to Malcolm. Come in
and let’s chat. Marcus, you may stay out here. I’ll call you when I need you to
return.”

For a moment, panic zinged through Lori. She didn’t want him
to leave her side. Something about the man made her feel secure. Even though
he’d reverted back to the hard man she’d met yesterday as they approached
Bethany’s, there was a level of comfort and safety with him.
 
She knew she was being silly. She meant
nothing more than a job to him and he’d put his professional face back on and
she needed to do the same.
No weakness.
Not even with him.

He gave a quick nod to Bethany, before he turned back to
Lori. “Are you going to be okay without me?”

He brushed her forehead with his lips. She knew he was
sneaking in a check of her temperature before he left. “
She’s running a fever
so don’t let her get too worn out.”
She heard him in her head, although he
obviously spoke to Bethany, not her.

Her gaze flew to his, at the same time she heard Bethany
respond. “
She’ll be fine. I’ll take good care of her. Don’t worry, Marcus.”

“Damn, you heard that didn’t you?” he observed.

She nodded, wondering what this meant. Her telepathic
abilities were normally pretty wretched, but Marcus seemed to boost her
perception somehow.

Bethany’s eyebrows quirked up. “Well, that’s interesting,
isn’t it? I think your appearance in our little village is going to make life
very exciting.” She linked her arm through Lori’s and waved off Marcus, who
seemed reluctant to leave.

Lori gave him a reassuring smile and sent him a mental
message,
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
She’d never spoken to him
directly through their link before.

She could hear the surprise in his voice as he answered
gruffly,
“Just call to me if you need me. I’ll be close by.”

Entering Bethany’s house, she found it to be much like
Marcus’s although slightly larger with more fabrics and color to give it a more
feminine feel. A tall, muscular, brooding man with midnight black wings stood
in the corner scowling at her. His upper arms were huge and covered with
swirling tribal tattoos.

Her footsteps faltered and Bethany came back to pull her
into the room. She scowled at the man. “Don’t let Aaron bother you. He’s the
head of my Warriors and he’s here to make sure you don’t murder me.” She tilted
her head and looked seriously at Lori. “You’re not going to kill me, are you?”

“N…no, I definitely didn’t plan to.”

Bethany gave a short nod like that settled everything and
turned toward Aaron. “See? We’ll be fine.” She waved him off like a pesky
puppy. “So, you can go join your buddies in sword practice or something.”

He practically growled. “I don’t think so.”

She just looked at Lori and rolled her eyes. Lori couldn’t
help the giggle that escaped her. She liked this woman.

“Would you like some warm tea?” Bethany asked her.

“Yes, that sounds nice. Thank you.”

Bethany suddenly clapped her hands at Aaron. “Chop-chop. If
you’re going to be here, make yourself useful and make the tea.”

“Yes,” he bowed low, “whatever I can do to serve you,
madam.”

Lori could feel the corners of her mouth twitching at his
cheeky response. Bethany appeared to be having the same issue.

“Damn man. Come sit and talk. I don’t want to get into
trouble with Marcus for wearing you out before you’ve had time to recover
properly.”