HeartStorm (HeartFast Series Book 3) (21 page)

            "See? That's what you do, and for the life of me, I can't understand why. If you're so dead set against any of us getting closer to you, why did you apply for membership anyway? Why petition to become one of us, when you never intended to actually join us? At least, not in body?"

            Destiny kept her head bowed. "It's difficult to explain."

            "What's difficult?" Seeker challenged.

            "The rest, they're angry at me. They want to lay part of the responsibility for the kidnapping on my shoulders. And I don't blame them. But there are things I can't reveal."

            "For fear of changing the future," Seeker finished for her. "Yes, we know that, but we're not asking you to divulge your secrets. We're just asking for you to be...I don't know...more accepting of us. More willing to be one of us. Yes, we're Guardians, but we're also human. We do manage to have lives outside of the job, although it's rare and infrequent." She bent over the table until less than a foot separated them. "If we're going to risk our lives for each other, we need to be able to trust one another. We need to be willing to share our hopes and dreams, as well as our fears, our little idiosyncrasies, and all those little things that make us unique and special."

            She watched as Destiny appeared to digest her words. After another minute, the woman rose from her seat.

            "I'll consider what you said," she quietly said, and started to go around the table, when her foot caught the bottom of Seeker's chair. She threw out her arms to keep from falling onto the floor, when Seeker grabbed her arm to prevent her from hurting herself. The cup landed on the hard ground and shattered, throwing shards across the room.

            A blackish-purple heart beat in her head and sent thick tendrils outward, filling her nostrils and ears with an acrid stench. A slick, almost oily film covered her eyes. Before Seeker could react, scenes flashed inside her head with vicious intensity.

           
Blood.

            Screams.

            The baby. Crying.

            Pain.

            DiMackerlyn's angry, twisted face.

            Excruciating pain.

            Blood.

            A stranger's face. Wide pink eyes.

            A baby wailing.

            Warm blood.

            Pain-infused blackness.

            Unending blackness.

            And in the end, absolute silence.

           
Seeker jerked her hand away, but she had seen. She finally understood, and she could not shake the horrific images. Her heart squeezed in agony for the woman. As tears flowed down her cheeks, she tried to focus on the slight woman now standing beside her. A woman who wore the most angelic expression on her face. Her silver eyes were soft, as was the smile tenderly gracing her face.

            "Now you know, and you cannot tell," Destiny whispered. "Whatever happens, what
will
happen, neither you nor I can stop. It is...destiny. And it's my future. Your future. Our future."

            "But...but..."

            "No, Ana. What you saw is foretold. It is an event whose outcome cannot be altered. You must accept it, as I have learned to accept."

            Seeker tried to breathe, but her chest hitched with the effort. The images continued to float in her mind like ghosts. "I...can't..."

            "Yes, you can. You must." Incredibly, the psychic placed her fingers under Seeker's chin and lifted her face to make direct eye contact. "Listen and learn, Ana. You cannot say a word about what you saw. You cannot reveal anything. Not even the slightest hint."

            "Bu-but you said it would happen anyway."

            Destiny nodded. "It will. But if you say anything prior to it happening, there could be worse consequences. Much worse. Trust me. Believe me. I've made that mistake too many times in the past, and I've suffered for it."

            Taking a deep breath, Destiny removed her hand and turned to leave. Seeker watched her slowly walk away, until the woman paused in the doorway and turned around one last time to address her.

            "You are now burdened with keeping my secret. You cannot tell anyone, not even your sister, until...afterwards."

            "Did... Did you know I would find out? Is that why you were here?"

            Amazingly, Destiny shook her head. "Surprisingly, no. But maybe that was foretold, too. Ana. Please. May I have your word?"

            Seeker nodded once, and the woman slipped out the door. Left alone, she crossed her arms on top of the table, laid her face upon them, and cried.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Want

            Star was standing in front of the window wall of their apartment when Hunter emerged from the shower. Without having to look at him, she knew he remained paused in the doorway for some time, gazing at her. She wondered what he was thinking, what he was feeling.

            "By all the heavens, you're never lovelier than when I see you reflected in that moonsglow. Seeing that light shining within you." His voice sent warmth washing over her.

            She turned to see him go over to their closet and slide the panel to one side. He pulled a pair of his old comfy pants from an inner drawer and drew them on. They were torn and worn soft to the touch, and he liked to wear them on their rare down times in lieu of his uniform. Once dressed, he walked over to embrace her.

            Brushing aside her long, black hair, his hands slid around her waist and seemed to adhere there. His fingers didn't roam, didn't spread out over her belly or abdomen. But he did nuzzle that sweet spot behind her ear, knowing how much she enjoyed it.

            "I hate that your parents had to leave. I wish they could have stayed longer."

            "There wasn't any sense in them staying," Hunter murmured. "Don't worry. They'll visit again once we have Callie back with us."

            "But isn't the SPF due to arrive in a couple of days?"

            He nodded. His close-cropped curls tickled where they brushed along her temple. "You know Dad. He didn't want to be in the way when DiMackerlyn arrived."

            His attention to the back of her neck erased any further comments she wanted to make. A little shiver went through her.

            "You're going to catch cold," he teased. Yet, it wasn't a tease. She could hear the whispers of much more in his voice. Saying what he did was his way of asking her to put on one of those little nightshirts she sometimes wore to bed whenever she felt chilled. She got the impression he wasn't so much concerned about her health as he was about the consequences they were trying to avoid.

            "Don't worry about me. I'm fine," she blithely replied, and waited for his reaction.

            He kissed her shoulder, then rested his scratchy chin on it. "Other than that, how do you feel?"

            His question always made her laugh. "Udo Vosstien, you can read me better than I know myself. You know how I'm feeling, physically and emotionally."

            "Maybe I need to hear it from your own mouth," he gently rebuked her. His arms tightened around her waist, to the point where she could feel where his swelling erection prodded the cleft in her butt cheeks through the thin material.

            She lifted her face toward the moons' radiance. "I'm feeling anxious. I can't wait to hold our little girl in my arms again. To feed her again. I'm anxious to confront that man and find out why he took her. I want...justice." At the mention of her father, her anger began to simmer again. Carefully, she tamped it down to where it was mere embers, yet accessible and quick to flame when she needed it.

            Leaning her head back against him, she closed her eyes to savor this moment of closeness, of intimacy. He was a wall of strength supporting her. A warmth she'd missed these past few days, since the birth of their daughter.

            "Fair's fair. Tell me what you're thinking," she challenged him.

            There was a slight hesitation, and she thought she knew why. He dropped another kiss on her shoulder before responding.

            "I'm upset over this entire mess. Guess I shouldn't be, considering."

            "Considering?"

            "Our jobs. Our lives. I think I'm finally learning to accept the fact that nothing we do can ever be taken for granted. Every morning we awake, we face an uncertain future. There's no planning for any kind of life. Not a normal one. Not like the one Mom and Dad share. Here, what we do, each hour could be our last. But there are days when I wish that sometimes we could have... I don't know. A break? A few days or weeks when we can at least try to have a normal life, with love and kids and uninterrupted happiness."

            "We shouldn't forget that what we have now is a blessing in itself," she murmured. "You and me. We're each other's strengths and weaknesses. When you begin to break, I'm there to patch you up. When I start to fall apart, you hold me together." Opening her eyes, she glanced up again at the heavens shining down. "We must be satisfied with what we have and be grateful we have it, when life could have turned out tragically different."

            His soft laughter puffed warm across her bare skin, and his arms gave her a little squeeze. "My beautiful, philosophical wife. When I least expect it, you... Oops! Looks like you're leaking."

            Star dropped her eyes down to her breasts to see him holding out one hand. The back of it glistened whitely. Another drop of milk trembled at the end of her nipple.

            "Do you need to pump?" he asked.

            "No. Not yet." She felt herself filling, but not to the point where she had to express herself.

            She watched as he lifted his hand to his nose and sniffed the pale liquid. To her surprise, he licked the droplet, then gave her a quizzical look.

            "It's warm."

            She smiled. "Silly."

            "No, no. I mean..." Hunter made a face. "Guess that did sound rather stupid, didn't it?"

            She moved slightly, and he loosened his hold on her, enough to allow her to turn around. Placing her palms on his cheeks, she leaned in to kiss him. He returned the kiss, placing his own palms flat against her back to press her closer to him.

            For a long moment she reveled in him, in the taste of his mouth and the way his lips nearly devoured hers. As his tongue delved past her teeth and captured hers, the burning ache between her loins brightened in intensity, and she moaned softly. She rubbed her breasts over his warmth, luxuriating in the short mat of soft hair that covered his chest.

            He was breathing heavily when he broke away, but his erection was fully extended, tenting his pants and pushing into the juncture of her thighs. Involuntary muscle spasms made it jump and quiver with anticipation.

            "Udo."

            "Your... Your..."

            "I'm what?"

            His dark blue eyes were depthless in the shadows. His hands roamed her back, savoring her bare skin. Fingertips tickled the tops of her buttocks. She saw him glance downward.

            "Your milk is, umm, all over me."

            He turned to where the outside moonslight reflected over his bare chest. Traces of her milk shone with an opalescent gleam across his pecs. Impulsively, she bent over and ran her tongue across one coated, copper-colored nipple.

            "Mmm. Not bad."

            His eyes remained riveted on her breasts, which were fuller and rounder since the birth of their child. He reached to cup them, and his hands were warm on her flesh. Gradually, another drop of milk emerged to dangle precariously at the tip.

            "Terrin." His voice was rough. Ragged, and edged with emotion. Tinged with the sound of lust and desire she hadn't heard in weeks. It was almost enough to make her weak in the knees.

            "Soon, Udo, my love. Soon. But not yet. Not until I'm fully healed." It hurt to tell him. It hurt worse not to allow him to sink into her body. She felt ready. She felt well enough to make love to him once more. Still, she knew her ability to heal quickly had been severely curtailed since her brush with death after the Ombitra strike. She had disregarded Doctor Perlakian's orders once before, and suffered for her stubbornness. After that, Star swore she'd never disobey again. When it came to making love to her husband, she would wait.

            And yet...

            She reached down between them and grasped his length. It was rock hard and hot to the touch, even through the pant's lightweight material. Hunter inhaled quickly, but his hands never left holding her breasts. Closing his eyes, he pressed his forehead to hers.

            "That feels...so good. But, Terrin...."

            "Shh. I know it's been hard," she whispered, disregarding the unintentional pun. "It's been difficult for me, too, but we have no choice. But it doesn't mean we both must suffer."

            Before he could answer, she carefully disengaged his hands, then knelt before him. She tugged the pants over his hips, past his erection that jutted perpendicular to the floor, leaving her staring at the tiny pearl of moisture crowning its head.

            Reaching up, she gripped it behind the flushed, rounded tip and gently squeezed. Release, squeeze, release, squeeze. Then lightly slid the velvety skin across the engorged muscle. Stroking the pulsing veins that stood out along its length.

            "Terrin, stop." He bent to grab her wrist, but she batted it away.

            "No. I want to do this. I need to touch you and taste you."

            She leaned forward and put the bulbous end into her mouth, just past her lips, to where she could tease him. Gnaw on him. Taste the saltiness of his fluid as it leaked onto her tongue. Hunter's fingers dipped into her hair but he didn't try to stop her again.