“If
what
came out?”
“Jenna, last night I was watching television, minding my own business and got knocked into next week with a mental shout. I heard it plain as day, as clear as words, almost.
Jenna’s in trouble
. That’s what it said.
Jenna’s in trouble
. Christ, I could almost
feel
you, feel your fright.” He sighed deeply. “I dumped a perfectly good bowl of Jerri’s chilli all over the floor, it startled me so much.”
“Dean, I’m fine.”
“You might be right now, but honey, these things are convoluted sometimes. This could be about the future, something that’s going to happen. And you know….”
She understood his hesitation.
He risked more than simple ridicule and a formal rap on the knuckles. He risked exposing the extent of whatever talent he had.
Jenna marvelled at her own train of thought. From pure cynic to a believer within twelve hours.
I have been changed already
.
Yes, you have.
Rhys’ mental tone caressed her, a warm mental hug.
“You know that the solstice is coming up, don’t you?” Dean said.
“Sunday,” Jenna supplied. “Tomorrow night.”
“Uh-huh.
You’re on a hot spot right there in Banff.”
“A what?”
“Hot spot. There’s all these lines of power that run over the globe and along each line, well, anywhere along a line, you can tap into an extra dollop of power if you go about it right. The ancients knew about it. Stonehenge is sitting right over one. Same with all the other standing stones in England. And all those freaky signs in South America. There’s another line runs up through the middle of the Rockies and Banff is right on it.”
Her heart thudded along unhappily. Had she unwittingly put herself in a place of power.
Was this fate of hers already pushing her around?
“I didn’t know that, Dean. I’ll bear it in mind. If it’ll make you any happier, I’ll be super wary tomorrow, just in case. Okay?”
“Well, yes, now that you’re stuck there. That’s a worry right there.”
“What do you mean?” She put it sharply.
“Why else do you think it took me ten bloody hours to get through to you? The phone lines were down because of the avalanches.”
“Avalanches?”
Dean chuckled. “Honey, I think you’ve been tucked in that hotel room for too long. Go grab a paper or talk to a local. There was a series of avalanches this morning. They cut off all the roads into Banff, along with phone lines and a shit load of other services.”
She gripped the phone hard. “I see.”
“So you be very, very careful, okay? I know you can look after yourself. And this warning I got could be about something as simple as getting stuck in a snow drift.”
“But it didn’t feel like that, did it?”
She sensed his surprise. “No, it didn’t feel like that at all.” He cleared his throat. “Well, it sounds like you’ll take me seriously enough to be cautious. Do you…would you like me to come up there and bring you home? You can stay with Jerri and I and the kids for Christmas—I know you don’t want to be at your home for it.”
“You couldn’t get through anyway, Dean.”
“Shit, I could get a helicopter in there.”
Shock rippled through her. “You’d blow departmental resources on this?”
“Just give the word.”
That frightened her more than any other thing he might have said. Dean was a genuine Scrooge when it came to parceling out money for even genuine departmental needs. That he’d break his own stringent rules to come haul her out of Banff before the solstice spoke volumes about his worry.
“Nah, I don’t think you need to do that.” She made it sound as casual as she could manage. “Although I really appreciate the gesture.”
“He’s that good, huh?”
She smiled. “Something like that.”
“Well, okay. But you know where to find me.”
“Thanks, Dean.”
She replaced the phone, listening to her heart thud unhappily, as she encompassed everything Dean had said.
Then she turned to find Rhys.
He stood at the window with his back to her, staring out at the snow that was still falling in thick, heavy flakes.
“You chose to stay. Why?” he asked.
She went up behind him, put her arms around him and rested her cheek against his back. “I don’t believe in fate, Rhys.
I’m still getting use to these strange new things that I can do.
That you can do. I don’t know that I like them much, except that they have some interesting applications.” She recalled the electric moment in the restaurant when they had revealed to each other the depth of their need to make love
now
, all while the waiter fussed over Jenna’s fingers and a ruined tablecloth, completely oblivious to the heat passing between them.
And her mind jumped to their completely public lovemaking in the dress shop.
Rhys drew in a heavy breath.
“But I do know that with those powers or without them, fate or no fate, I’m drawn to you. I need to see where that goes.”
He let go of a great gust of air, his shoulders lifting and relaxing under her cheek. “Thank you.”
“How much did you hear?”
“I picked up a lot from you.”
“I thought you couldn’t do that unless I willed it?”
“We’re bonding, Jenny. Whether you like it or not, the longer we’re together, the closer we draw to each other. When that happens, all bets are off. There’s no predicting what a unified field will do.”
Her hands absorbed the warmth of his flesh, where they rested over his bare abdomen. She caught a glimpse of a thought/feeling from him, the softness of her hands, the warmth of her arms and the proximity of her hands to the top of his jeans.
He let his thoughts spiral back into physical longing for her, which he couldn’t seem to quench no matter how many times he drank from her flesh. The strength of it frightened him, even while it exhilarated him.
His small enjoyment was contagious, but more than that, the hint of weakness shown by the touch of fear at the strength of his need for her, caught at Jenna’s heart.
She slid her hands down to his jeans and found the button.
She opened it and he gave a gusty and very male sigh. With a smile, she zipped them undone and slid her hand inside.
She touched smooth firm skin lightly covered with hair and felt his lower abs quiver beneath her fingers. She reached further and found the hard length of his cock.
She wrapped her fingers around the velvety hot flesh and ran them lightly upwards to the glans.
He jerked in her hand in response.
Jenna circled around to face him and pushed his jeans down his hips. His cock reared up, beating against his belly. She studied it with a gourmand’s eye. “You’re perfect.”
He gave a gruff laugh. “Hardly.”
“No, you’re just right for me. You—” she gripped his cock, running her other finger around the head and making him groan. “You’re just the right size and a pleasing shape and texture.” She gave him the encompassing thought that explained it all so much more efficiently.
“I’ve never heard it put like that before.” He put a hand out blindly, feeling for the back of the chair, which he gripped for support.
Jenna got to her knees in front of him and took his cock in both hands. He sucked in a quick breath, signalling his anticipation.
The sound pleased her. Quickly, before he could recover, she plunged him into her mouth, stretching her lips over the tip. Then she began to tease him mercilessly, sucking and teasing the glans with her tongue, letting her teeth bump over the head, all the while sliding her mouth up and down the shaft. She strained to take him in as deeply as she could, while she cupped and squeezed his balls gently, massaging them.
She’d done this before for Kevin, but never had it felt as
right
as it did now.
Subtly, she picked up the pace, as his breathing grew ragged and strained. His hand touched her head.
It was a gentle touch, but as she continued to work on his cock, Rhys buried his fingers in her hair with convulsive movements, telling her wordlessly that she was driving him hard.
His growing excitement was contagious. A tingle of pleasure began to grow deep in her belly. There was the added thrill of pleasuring another without thought of return.
When Rhys’ hips began to jerk and his breath had turned to a panting gasp, he pulled himself from her mouth, his hands on her head keeping her from him. “No, not this way. In you. I want to come inside you.” His eyes had become narrowed slits of glittering concentration, the dark irises just barely showing.
He pulled her to her feet and tugged the belt of her gown loose as she rose. The gown, far too big for her in the first place, slid from her shoulders as soon as the belt fell away, leaving her naked.
Rhys grasped her waist in both hands and, astonishingly, lifted her off her feet, the muscles in his shoulders and chest flexing hard. He swivelled and carried her a pace or two and deposited her bottom on the broad desk against the wall by the other window.
It reminded her sharply of the dress store last night and the image Rhys had given her, of carrying her up against the store window.
You liked that
. He kissed her, hard and thoroughly, then pushed her shoulders back, until she lay on the leather desk top.
She was already mentally replaying that scenario, so she gave it to him.
He smiled as his hands moved over her. He stroked her whole body in long caresses, sparing no single inch of her, until she writhed, her thighs restless against the edges of the desk.
Finally he picked up her ankles and rested them against his shoulders and inserted the tip of his cock into her hot, wet tunnel. Just the tip. Then he paused.
Jenna looked up at him. “Tease!”
“Yes!” His hands brushed her body again and fluttered around her pussy. She caught her breath, wishing he would plunge deep inside her with all his strength. Instead his fingers slipped between her thighs and along her vagina, through the slick channel of flesh to her clit.
Her hips jerked hard.
In that moment he slammed into her, driving against her muscles that had contracted in reaction to his stroking her clitoris. He groaned, his eyes closing, as he buried himself deep.
So did Jenna, her insides turning to liquid pleasure around him.
Feel this, too.
It became a mental touch and Jenna gasped again as she
felt
his lips on her pussy. Mentally, his tongue stroked and caressed her clitoris, even as his cock pulsed, buried to the hilt inside her.
On top of that came the sensation of lips and hands on her breasts, stroking and tweaking the nipples and caressing the swell of flesh around them.
Her breath came in sharp gasps as she sunk into the sensual pool. Beneath it all, she felt Rhys’ cock thrust into her again and again, harder each time.
His thumb rested against her clitoris and stroked with each mental kiss of his mouth, slipping down to her vagina with each withdrawal of his cock.
Faster
! she urged him.
Yes
.