Guild of Truth 01 - Silent as the Grave (22 page)

“Come on, Cali,” he urged. “Come for me.”

Her inner muscles clenched around him as she climaxed. He rode her through it, thrusting harder and harder until he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. His balls tightened, his cock jerked, and he came with a roar.

He couldn’t move for a long moment. And he didn’t want to. Cali’s hands slid along his body at her leisure, as if she were trying to memorize every inch of him. She was positively glowing beneath him. She looked like a woman well loved. Pride filled him.

One of her hands slid through his hair, and he tilted his head into her palm. “Am I crushing you?”

She relaxed further into the couch and shook her head. “Feels nice.” As if to make sure he wouldn’t leave she wound her arms around his back.

“Don’t worry, Cali.” He nuzzled her neck. “I’m not going anywhere. You really like me, remember?”

He could feel her grinning.

She pushed him off her. He rolled into the back of the sofa.

“I meant I’m starting to really like the rest of the guild. Not you.” Yet, despite her words, she snuggled into his chest and spent the rest of the night in his arms.

An alarm sounded at three
A.M.

Felix.

Cali was going to kill him.

The blaring ringtone came from the coffee table. Cali’s thoughts were consumed with needing to stop that horrible noise. She dragged her body from the warmth of the couch with one mission in mind. Pound the crap out of his phone.

Felix grabbed her around the waist and spun her away from the coffee table before her fist could drop. “Whoa, Cali. Not the phone. Not the phone.”

She relaxed back into the solid warmth of his body and noticed with some interest that he was already hardening. She rubbed against him.

Felix swallowed a growl. “As much as I’m loving your sleepy and cuddly morning attitude, I have to get ready for work.”

It was too early to even think about working. Cali turned in his arms and tried to rub the sleep from her face on Felix’s chest. It didn’t really work. It was too damn early. Cali hadn’t even known this hour of the morning existed.

“Okay,” she mumbled groggily and pulled him down for a good morning kiss. It started out innocently enough but slowly gained heat. The sleepy fog that clouded her mind cleared as arousal peaked. It didn’t help that both of them were still naked. It only made it easier to crush her body against his, to rub herself against his rapidly growing erection.

Felix broke away. “I have to get ready for work,” he repeated though it sounded as if the sentence pained him.

Cali kissed him again. “Morning sex first,” she mumbled against his lips.

Felix groaned low in his throat. “Work can wait.”

They fell back onto the couch. Cali wrapped her legs tightly around his hips and thrust to meet him. Her body was already wet and ready for him. He slid in to the root.

Cali dropped her head back. He felt so good inside her. Last night had been wonderful — raw, passionate. This morning Felix took her slower, his hips working at an agonizing rhythm as if he thought she were sore from the night before.

She wasn’t, but the way he worked against her built such a delicious ache that she didn’t dare tell him to move faster. The more time she could steal with him the better.

That sweet tension within her grew. Layer by layer. Each smooth thrust taking her higher.

Despite the slower pace her breathing still increased. She was so close. She tightened her hold on him, driving her hips up so he filled her completely with each forward thrust.

She was right on the edge of climaxing when he kissed her. His tongue tangled with hers. He rolled his hips, and she cried out with the pleasure of it. Felix came a few seconds later.

She kissed along his collarbone, his heart thundering under his skin. She placed her hand over the harsh beating, marveling at how rapidly she was falling for someone like Felix.

She’d never felt like this before. She’d never had morning sex with anyone because she’d never really spent the night with anyone. She always left after the sex or in the morning before her boyfriend would wake up, or before her boyfriend’s friends woke up.

Felix kissed her long and deep. “I’m going to be late for work.”

“Maybe you should call in sick.” She rotated her hips. He was still inside her and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head.

“I … ” She repeated the motion. His jaw bulged. “ … can’t.”

She tried to pout but a huge yawn ruined her. “Fine, fine, but bring me back my cherry pastries?”

“For you, anything.”

• • •

Cali woke eight hours later covered with one of Felix’s fleece blankets. She didn’t remember falling asleep with it, which meant he’d covered her before he’d left. Her heart warmed just as her stomach grumbled. She needed to feed herself after all that physical exertion, but Felix wasn’t home yet. She took a shower to waste away the time before dragging herself to the kitchen table. She pulled out her sketchpad and froze when she saw her nearly completed project.

It was the piece that was to pay for her rent, the one she’d forgotten all about in her haste to win over her fake job interview.

The happiness she’d woken up with evaporated as she dropped her head in her hands. She was going to lose her apartment.

The front door opened. “Cali? You awake? I brought breakfast.” Felix caught sight of her in the kitchen. His bright grin dimmed a little when he saw her. “What’s wrong?”

Stop being such a downer.

She swallowed her self-pity. There was no need to drag Felix into it. He and the guild were already doing enough for her. It still amazed her that they were willing to fight against Vander to help keep her safe. Granted, they were doing it to help any others like them out there as well, but the underlying concept was that they were behind her all the way.

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do for a job, is all. You know, since my last option was some psycho-ass CEO who was only interested in kidnapping me.”

He dropped the white bag of baked goods on the table and stood behind her to knead her tense shoulders. “From what I’ve seen of your art, you’re not going to have trouble selling anything you create.”

“Your flattery isn’t going to get you anything, you know.” She took a large bite of her new favorite cherry pastry.

When he spoke his voice was right next to her ear. “Are you sure?”

She suppressed her shiver of delight and instead shoved some pastry into his mouth. “Yes. Now I’ve got work to do.” And lots of it. She wasn’t going to let Vander Donahughe screw up her life. She was going to finish this latest project and make her rent. No psycho asshole was going to ruin her success.

Cali worked straight into the evening. Felix took a nap sometime during the afternoon and woke up to make her dinner. She could get used to this kind of treatment. She didn’t think she’d ever been made dinner before.

Felix set a plate in front of her and took the seat opposite. “Joel called while I was in my room sleeping. They want us to come by the clinic. He sounded really excited about something. I was too afraid to ask.”

Cali bit into her ravioli. Delicious. “He probably thought up some crazy name for our guild.”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t ask.”

• • •

“Aletheia,” Joel proclaimed proudly once they set foot inside Sydney’s clinic.

Cali and Felix shared a look. “What?”

“The Guild of Aletheia. It’s Greek … you know, for truth? You guys don’t like it?”

“No.” They denied his claim simultaneously.

“It’s great, man,” said Felix. “Quite a mouthful though.”

Cali nodded. “I like it. It sounds … strong.” She couldn’t think of a better word but the name did remind her a bit of Athena.

“That’s what I said.” Sydney came out of one of her patient rooms. The clinic was closed and she was busy cleaning up.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” said Niella. “But as long as we’re not giving out business cards with the name on it, I guess it’s okay.”

“That’s the spirit,” said Felix jovially.

Joel looked as if he didn’t know whether or not to thank Felix for his little remark or punch him for it. He chose to ignore him. “I also found a title for that Jente guy you were talking about yesterday, Cali.”

“What’d you get?”

“You said his power was invisibility, right?”

“Yeah, by the way, Sydney are you using your powers?” Cali called.

“Yes.” Her yell came from somewhere in the back. “I’ve been using them all day, and I can tell you personally that I’m getting a little crabby because of it.”

“Anyway,” Joel continued eagerly. “I figured when he turns invisible it’s like he’s pulling a veil over himself, so why not call him a Veiler?”

Niella shook her head behind the reception desk. Joel didn’t seem to notice — he was too invested with Cali’s reaction. And when she really thought about it, the name did fit him. It was pretty cool too.

“I like it,” she told him honestly.

Joel beamed at her.

“Is Veiler even a word?” asked Felix.

“Nope.” Niella stuffed some papers into a file.

“Perfect.” Felix slapped Joel on the back. “We’re defining our own words.”

Cali took one of the seats in the lobby. “I have a question. You guys made up all the terms, right? So where did the term Mirror Mate come from?”

Joel and Felix stared at each other for a few seconds before sharing a shrug. “It just makes sense,” said Felix. “If you really think about it, souls that truly reflect one another are destined to find each other eventually.”

The way he looked at her with those blue-green eyes left her breathless. She knew he was thinking about her.
Them
. Being Mirror Mates.

But no one in their guild knew very much about how they were supposed to bond. Or when it would happen. Was it possible they weren’t soul mates? The idea made her sick.

Car doors slammed outside.

Everyone turned toward the front of the clinic. “What was that?”

Felix raced to the glass door and swore. “Everyone up. Now! Sydney!” He called to the back to warn her then swiveled back to the rest of the group. “Joel, Lock this door. Hurry.”

Joel was seated next to Cali. He tried to rise but his chair got caught with hers and he nearly fell. He cursed. Cali jumped out of the way but it was too late.

The door shook.

Sydney came hauling ass from the back of her clinic, hair tied back, a flimsy hospital mask pulled down around her neck. She’d obviously been busy cleaning. Her green eyes spotted whoever was on the other side of the door and she screamed.

Glass shattered.

“Felix,” Sydney cried, motioning for everyone to make a run to her. “They have weapons.”

“I’m on it.” Instead of heading to the back of the clinic like a sane person would, he stepped toward the assailants as they came through the door. They were dressed as regular people, probably so they wouldn’t draw attention, and even had a large stuffed dog. Cali tried to get to Felix but Joel pushed her toward the back hallway and Sydney, forcing her to move. She could only catch glimpses of their attackers, but she saw enough to know they were armed with guns. A chill made its way down her spine at the sight of the weapons, but she needn’t have worried. One second they were there, the next the guns were gone.

Felix.

Sydney must have dropped her Shield. Felix had started disarming the men as soon as he saw what they were packing. They didn’t look all that startled to find their weapons magically gone, which meant they had to be Vander’s men.

Sydney practically pulled Cali’s arm off as she dragged her toward her office. “Come on,” she yelled.

Cali hesitated. She couldn’t leave Felix.

“He’ll be fine,” Sydney reassured. “He’s just waiting to make sure all the weapons are disposed of. Now head down the hall toward the kennels. There’s a back emergency exit. These guys are after you, remember? Not us.”

Joel hung back in the lobby, and before her view was completely blocked she saw him throw a punch.

“Wait.” Cali stopped Sydney. “What about Niella?”

They’d left her by herself behind the reception desk.

Sydney looked pained. “She’ll be okay, Joel and Felix will protect her. She has the counter to use as a shield. You’re our first priority.”

The emergency exit at the end of the hall flew open. Sydney screeched to a halt, Cali running into her. Two more men must have run around the back of the building to block them.

“Shit.” Cali backpedaled, bringing Sydney with her.

They made their way to the front where Felix and Joel were engaging two combatants each.

Joel caught sight of Sydney. “There you are. Turn off your powers. These guys were trained for hand to hand.” As if to prove his point he got clipped in the jaw and went stumbling.

Sydney called out. “I’m not using my powers.” She turned to Cali, her look beseeching. “I’m not using my powers,” she repeated in a low, scared voice. Her brilliant green eyes were wide as saucers.

Shit.

What to do, what to do?

Was it possible Sydney really was using her powers and she simply didn’t know it? Cali remembered during her training sessions with Felix that when emotions ran high, it was harder to control them.

It was worth a try. She grabbed Sydney by the shoulders. “Listen, just take it easy. Try and calm down. You might be using your powers without even knowing it.”

Sydney’s blonde ponytail swung as she shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. I’m not using them. I’d know. I get this sensation.” Her hand fluttered uselessly behind her neck.

The tingling at the back of the neck. Cali knew all about it.

There went that idea. So if Sydney wasn’t using her powers that had to mean one of the men had an ability.

“There’s another Shielder,” Cali told Sydney.

“You think?”

“Has to be.” She tried to think as they stayed huddled between the main hallway and the lobby. Then it hit her. The men at the emergency exit. They weren’t coming after them. “Chill here,” she told Sydney.