Was she dead?
Wherever she was, it was very quiet, and nothing hurt. Now why had that thought come to her? Should something hurt? Oh yeah, the crash.
Gwen blinked her eyes open the same moment she felt the hand holding hers.
“Sweetheart? How do you feel?”
Gwen parted her dry lips and an arm supported her while a cool glass was pressed to them. She thankfully swallowed the water.
“How do you feel?” The question came again, insistent and worried.
Gwen opened her eyes fully and looked at Lance. She blinked, because he looked awful. His clothes were torn and she could see dried blood where it had run down his sleeve and the side of his shirt. His face was lined and grey, and he looked, well, like he was tired. But a bone-deep tired, not just that he’d had a few late nights.
Lance followed her gaze down at his clothes. He stood and swiftly pulled his shirt over his head. “I’m sorry, I need a shower. I just wanted to wait until I saw you wake.” He brushed the hair off her face and smiled. “You’re not answering me.”
Gwen wasn’t surprised. Had he asked her a question? As soon as she saw that smooth skin and those hard pecs, all reason and probably any higher brain function left her at the same speed his shirt had been tossed away. She swallowed. Question? Her lips tilted. Her mouth knew how to answer his smile even if her brain wasn’t processing it.
“Like I hit a wall,” she whispered.
Lance’s smile widened fully, his face changing. Yeah, he still looked tired, but the smile had taken, what? A few hundred years off him, give or take.
Gwen also realized something else. She flexed her fingers and toes. She was still wearing the same bra and shorts from earlier and picked at them ruefully. “Actually, no. I don’t feel like I hit a wall, at all,” she said. “I feel grubby, but I’ve actually never felt better in my life. How does driving a car into a De-Vall make you feel this good?”
Lance’s smile immediately left him, and he stood up. She watched the immediate tensing of his muscles as he lifted his arms and put his hands on his head. He strode to the window and sighed. His arms drifted down as he turned back to face her. “How could you?” he asked. “How in the name of anything remotely sane did you think it was a good idea to come to the campus?”
“What do you mean sane?” Gwen scrambled out of bed. She really needed to stand up if she was going to have this fight.
“You were told to stay here. Told to stay safe. Anything could have happened to you.”
“I saved your sorry butt, that’s what happened. Who do you think you are? You don’t tell me what to do or where to go. I’ve been managing fine for years…”
Gwen’s words dried up as suddenly, he was in front of her, and she saw ruefully that standing up wasn’t making her feel any better. This close, she didn’t even reach his chin.
All the fight went out of Lance as she watched. Muscles relaxed and breathing slowed. His large hand rose and cupped her face. She couldn’t help leaning into it a little. He pressed his lips into her hair.
“Cariad—what if I hadn’t been able to get to you in time?”
Gwen smiled a little at that. So, the big man was frightened of feeling helpless? Well, welcome to my world, she thought.
“You don’t own me, Lance. I’m not some pet to be trotted out whenever you feel like it. I’ve been taking—no, I’ve had to take care of myself for a long time now. I’m all grown up.” She pressed a kiss to the smooth skin in front of her. She teased a little, “Just because you’re old, doesn’t make you wise.”
Lance chuckled softly and his arms tightened around her. “I need a shower.” He bent and the air whooshed out of Gwen as she was swung up.
She smiled and shook her head. “Caveman.”
Lance grinned. He dropped a kiss on her hair, then set her very gently on the bathroom stool. He went to the shower and determinedly turned it on. He pulled folded towels out of the cupboard. The gleam in his eyes when he turned around had her catching her breath.
“Err…shower, Lance.”
“Yes. We both need one.”
Gwen felt the little emphasis on the word both, deep in her belly, and her muscles clenched.
Lance felt the water and adjusted the temperature slightly, then turned back to her. He unbuttoned his pants as he took the two strides he needed to reach where she sat. By the time he stood in front of her, they were riding low on his hips. She stood to help him and started sliding them down. Her heart bounced in her chest as his cock jutted out, already hard. He drew her up and said, “See what you do to me?”
Oh, she saw. She saw so much. He started peeling her top off one shoulder, but he didn’t just undress her—he kissed every little part of skin that was exposed. By the time he’d got to her breasts, Gwen’s knees were in danger of giving way. “Stop, I won’t be able to walk into the shower.”
“Then I’ll carry you.” His arm came around her waist as her feet left the floor. “I’ll always carry you.”
The warm water felt heavenly on her back, and she soaped all the dried blood off her chest quickly. She didn’t really have time to wonder why there didn’t seem to be any wound near her heart because Lance obviously felt she needed help with washing.
“Turn around.”
His low command had her doing just that. Firm hands drew soap on her skin wherever they could reach—and there weren’t many places where Lance couldn’t reach.
Her skin was on fire. Trails of heat stung deliciously wherever his fingers roamed.
“Oh God,” Gwen moaned as hot kisses followed each sweep of his hands. She leant her head onto the tiles as it grew too heavy for her neck. Lance moved closer until every part of her back was covered by his body. His hands snaked around to her breasts. Oh. Nipples were teased and pulled. It felt like they had a direct line to her insides as each tug sent an answering ache between her legs. His arm tightened on her waist as her legs sagged, the other reaching lower.
“Cariad. Beautiful.”
“Aghh—” Unintelligible sounds escaped Gwen’s lips as Lance’s fingers found her clit. She saw stars. She leant her head back against his chest as his mouth fastened on her neck. Blood chased by desire rushed to the point he marked.
His fingers slicked her back and forth, gently parting her folds and circling her nub. An ache started inside her with every stroke, swirling, building; pressure so intense it searched for escape. “L-a-a-ance…” Gwen moaned his name. Please. “Please.”
“What, beautiful? What?” Lance increased the speed of his fingers. “Tell me.”
“Aghh.” Splinters of pleasure fell away and broke her apart. She was no longer standing. She was soaring.
****
She was beautiful inside and out. Lance kissed her neck softly again as he turned the water off and waited for her to open her eyes. He kept a firm arm around her as he grabbed for the towel with the other to bundle her up. He tried to ignore his aching cock, so hard it was painful. He could take care of himself later when Gwen was back in bed.
He toweled her dry and set her down on the bathroom stool. Warm green eyes shimmered back at him and a lazy smile tilted her mouth. “You spoil me,” Gwen teased.
She grabbed his hand and brought it to her lips. That first soft kiss on his palm had him groaning as he felt his cock thicken more, if that was even possible. Her eyes widened slightly at the noise and she stood. Keeping hold of his hand, she let her towel drop as she pulled him out of the bathroom. Mesmerized, Lance followed her.
“Sit down.”
He had to; the breathless command went straight to his knees. Oh God, what was she doing? No, he knew what she was doing. He couldn’t believe it, but as that small hand pushed him to lie backwards on the bed, he accepted it.
“Gwen.” The word came out in a strangled whisper as she pulled his towel away.
“You’ve been taking care of me for two days now. Let me take care of you.”
Lance closed his eyes on the most perfect moment of his entire life. Cool lips surrounded his aching cock, and the first tentative swipe of her tongue sent tremors up his spine. Her smooth fingers anchored his base and kept him grounded. The first soft moan he heard deep in her throat had him nearly flying away.
“Gwen,” he tried to say again. He was so hard and she was so perfect, he knew he wasn’t going to last. He tried to move his leaden arms, raise his head, warn her. “Gw—aghh.” His head banged back. Her tongue found his slit and pushed inside. “Can’t last,” he managed to gasp out.
“Mmm…” Answering noises came from her and she moved her hand. Any hope of Lance stopping her or stopping himself ended the second her fingers tightened. The tingle in his balls turned into an avalanche as a hard, almost painful pressure curled within them and shot upwards. The hot spurts of cum going down her throat swept him away. Lance was vaguely aware of being kissed and licked as all the while, he hovered at the edge of unconscious bliss. Heavy breaths ripped from his lungs and all he could do was tighten his arms as she settled at his side. He felt the smile on her face as she kissed his chest before laying her head there.
He wrapped his arms around her some more and grazed her hair with his lips. “Cariad.”
Lance listened to her breathing evenly, out and slow as he dozed some. How had he gotten so lucky? She was perfect—perfect and immortal, though he hadn’t told her that little bit of information yet. Maybe he could get away without having to tell her for a little while, maybe fifty years, give or take? He smiled. Coward. He didn’t regret saving her life, but the life they led should always be offered as a choice. He looked at his watch on the nightstand and his belly growled. They’d missed getting anything to eat when they’d brought Gwen home, and it was past twelve now. Lance eased himself out of bed and reached for his pants. He would go downstairs and see what they could rustle up food wise, but he also needed to talk to Gawain and Kay. The appearance of four De-Valls that night had been worrying. They’d never had so many appear simultaneously before, and if it meant there was a new Tresor, they would have to find her quickly.
Lance let himself out of the room silently and padded downstairs. He could hear voices in the office and headed there. Kay and Gawain looked up as he entered.
“How’s Gwen?” Kay spoke first.
“Alive,” he answered succinctly and looked at the board. “So, what are we thinking?”
Gawain turned back to one of the screens and pulled up a sightings history. “It’s the four at once that bothers me. We didn’t even get that number when Gwen’s existence was acknowledged.”
“Well, five, actually.”
“Five?” Lance looked horror-struck at Kay.
Kay glanced to the board. “The more I think about it, I’m sure my second one appeared before Lucan had dispatched his.”
Lance stood and stared at the computer screen, wishing it could show a minute-by-minute history of appearances. Not that the confirmation of a fifth would make any difference, and they had enough to worry about.
“How could it be anything else other than a Tresor?” Lance voiced what the others were thinking.
“What if it’s a Knight?” They all looked around, hearing Gwen’s softly spoken question as she appeared in the doorway. Lance hurried to her. “Didn’t you say there’s another five out there?”
Lance looked at Gawain. She had a point.
Gawain’s hands flew across the keys. “We weren’t as diligent in our recordings a hundred years ago.” Lance knew he was checking the time when Lucan was found. Gawain had spent some time sorting it out from their memories and he’d kept written notes as soon as he had been able. It was as if he knew he would have to transcribe them someday. He rubbed the point above his eyebrow and eyed Gawain. “What about you?”
Kay shrugged. He’d been the most recent one of them to be found until Lucan, but that had still been years ago.
“It’s possible, I suppose, though we have no way of knowing until someone turns up,” Gawain said, gazing at the screen.
Lance turned to Gwen and thumbed her cheek. He couldn’t stop touching her. “You should be still in bed,” he whispered.
“I think I need to run into De-Valls more often,” she giggled. “I feel fabulous.”
Kay opened his mouth and Lance shot him a glare. He closed it and instead, just looked amused. Lance was going to tell Gwen soon, not precisely that minute, but just as soon as he worked out what to say to her.
Lance turned to the others. “Kay, you’re on the board tonight. Gawain and Lucan, keep an eye on the campus area. I’ll join you later. As of tomorrow, we’ll set some sort of schedule up.”
Lance turned back to Gwen and said, “Go get ready. We’re going out to dinner.”
Gawain stood up and rubbed his hands. “Mine’s pepperoni and I’m ordering. What does anyone else want?” The other guys grinned and followed him out to the kitchen.
“Mmm, so where are we eating? It’s going to have to be somewhere that allows wearing shorts. I don’t think I’ve even got a decent pair of jeans to wear.”
Lance grinned. “There are some packages for you in the hall, and I’m sure there’ll be something in one of them.”
Gwen’s face lit up. “That was fast.”
Lance used the shower first while Gwen was unwrapping her packages.
“What sort of restaurant is it?” she said, holding up a green dress in one hand and a pair of jeans in the other.
Lance came over to her and cupped her chin. He took one look at those laughing eyes and couldn’t resist lowering his head to hers. God, she had an amazing taste and she smelled like spring. It reminded him of when the fields had first been cut every May. He and his brother would pretend they had trusty steeds to gallop over the fields of stubble and race around the hay stacks. His ma would have sent them out with some crusts and a little fat spread on them, maybe some of the fallen apples. They’d felt like kings.
Gwen broke away.
“Wear the dress,” Lance said firmly before leaving the room so that Gwen could get ready.
The guys were in the kitchen eating enough pizzas to feed a small army. Gawain managed to speak around a mouthful. “Mel just left with Tom. They’ve both got classes tonight and then they’re seeing a couple of friends after. I said we wanted Mel home. Tom has a study session then he’s staying over with one of their friends.” He nodded to a box on the table. “I swung by Gwen’s apartment. It’s been cleared out, but a Mrs. Jackson was holding some of her things. Apparently, someone had already been in there looking for her.”
“Someone?”
“Yeah, nice kid from the bottom apartment told me they all used to look out for Gwen. She helped his older brother get his high school diploma online last year. They didn’t get a good look at the guy, but they got the plate. I checked. Registered to a Michael Durham.” At Lance’s raised eyebrow, Gawain nodded. “Yeah James’ father. From the description, it was James that came looking.”
“What did they tell him?”
“Nothing. They will tell him she has gone to stay with relatives if he comes back.” Gawain smiled before adding, “I promised you’d get her to call them so they can see she hasn’t been kidnapped.”
Kay gave a low whistle, and Lance followed his gaze. Breathless and stunning, Gwen stood in the doorway. Her dress scooped and hugged every delicious curve on her body. The green of the dress made the green in her eyes dazzle. Her black curls were just long enough to tuck behind her ears. God, even her ears were cute. Cute? Listen to him—she wasn’t a puppy for God’s sake. He smiled just as the aforementioned ears were turning pink at his steady gaze. “My Lady,” Lance said, then held his hand out and half-bowed. He’d seen Gawain do it as a joke when Gwen had first arrived, but this time, he meant it. Every instinct in him screamed to honor his lady. If he could have found a white horse…
Okay, so by her giggle, he knew he was getting a tad carried away. He held his arm out further and Gwen blushed again, but she took it. He carefully tucked her into his side, his favorite place for her to be. Well, no. Not strictly true—there were some other positions. Lance coughed to cover his sudden discomfort and resisted the urge to tug at his pants.
Moments later, they were in the garage. Lance carefully placed everything he would need in his car. The cars, thanks to more of Gawain’s tricks, were completely impenetrable. He had a special hole in the floor for his sword. He wore the amulet anyway and made sure Gwen had hers. “You must always keep it on whenever you are away from the house,” he said.
Gwen nodded distractedly.
He eventually pulled in to a valet parking area for the Italian restaurant he was taking Gwen to. A uniformed valet held Gwen’s door open for her, then offered his hand to help her get out of the car.
Lance didn’t like it. Yes, it was totally illogical, but he zipped around the car so fast that Gwen hadn’t so much as set a foot outside. He dropped the keys into the hand that the startled valet held out for Gwen. Lance helped her stand, trying not to ogle at the expanse of creamy thigh that flashed as she stood.
They were met by a very proper maître d, who showed them to a sheltered little corner table.
“This is beautiful,” Gwen said, glancing nervously around her.
Lance held out his hand for hers as they sat opposite each other. “Well, that’s a good thing, because so are you.” He liked the way her eyes shone when she was pleased. He also liked the way they darkened when she was aroused, and he promised himself he would see about that when they got home.
Once the waiter took their orders and left, Gwen smiled at Lance, her eyes twinkling. “So, how long have you all been together? You can narrow it down to within a couple of hundred years or so, if it makes you feel better.”
Lance toyed with his water glass. “I found Gawain first. I’d just worked my passage to America. He was in the business of freeing slaves.” Lance smiled. “He always has a cause.”
Gwen picked up his hand and threaded her fingers through his. “So do you.”
They sat back as the waiter brought them their salads and Lance approved some wine.
“Then Kay?” Gwen asked.
Lance nodded. “Although he was fairly recent.” He shook his head slightly in amusement. They had found Kay amidst the battlefields of the Somme in 1916. So, Lance supposed the twentieth century could be counted as fairly recent.
“Gwen?”
They both looked up at the immaculately dressed guy stood with a bemused expression on his face. “I thought you’d gone to stay with relatives? I tried calling.”
Gwen stood flustered, and Lance nearly growled in annoyance. Of course. James Durham.
“James,” exclaimed Gwen and tipped her face as he placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. Lance’s hands curled into fists under the table. “I, um. There was a gas explosion. The apartments had to be emptied out.”
James looked put out. “You could have called. I even went to the café. Apparently you gave them no notice, either.”
Lance didn’t like the fairly petulant tone that was creeping into the man’s voice. Then he remembered what Gawain had found out about Professor Durham. They hadn’t sorted that out yet. In his experience, predators didn’t stop at just looking at pictures. This man had to be stopped.
James had all but turned his back on Lance, dismissing him, but Lance stood slowly. Drawing himself up to his full height got most people’s attention.
James’s frown deepened as he took in Lance. Lance was glad he didn’t offer to shake hands.
“Umm…” James was beginning to look less confident. His eyes had widened as they took in Lance’s height and stance. Lance immediately regretted not being able to wear his sword. He would never have been without it in his day. The probable reaction from James would have been immensely satisfying. It was, however, unlikely the local NYPD would have been thrilled.
James glanced back at Gwen. “You must call me.”
They both sat and watched James scurry back to his table.
Gwen gazed at Lance, a half-smile on her face. “You wanted your sword, didn’t you?”
“How did you know?” Lance said in amazement.
Gwen’s eyes twinkled. “Because your right hand went to your left hip. That’s where you used to carry it, wasn’t it?”
Lance smiled. “Maybe.”
Gwen chuckled, and picked up her salad fork.
Lance stared at Gwen’s face. “You have a tiny scar above your eye. How did that happen?” He wanted to know everything about his lady.
Gwen’s hand flew self-consciously to her eyebrow, but she still smiled. “Eric Hernandez, that’s what happened.”
Fury took Lance by surprise. She’d been hurt? Some man had dared laid a finger on her? He would seek him out. Make him regret ever touching his lady. How dare he?
“In fourth grade, we’d decided to build a racing cart.” Gwen laughed. “It didn’t even make it to the bottom of the hill.”
Lance chuckled. Well okay, maybe he wouldn’t be asking for a duel quite yet.
Just then, his phone interrupted them and he scowled. As it rang, he felt the amulet vibrate on his wrist. Gwen glanced down at her arm; hers had clearly started too.
Lance withdrew his phone quickly.
“I’m sorry,” gasped Kay on the other end. “Lucan and Gawain are in trouble. They are by the campus again. There’s four of them.”
Cursing, Lance stood up. He threw some bills on the table next to their half-eaten dinner.
“What is it?” Gwen had stood at the same time.
“It’s the campus again. We’re only a couple of blocks away.” He wanted to scream in frustration as they headed out the restaurant, totally ignoring a flustered maître d, who wanted to know if their meal was less than satisfactory.
Lance strode up to the valets and just handed over a bill in exchange for his keys. While the valet fetched the car, Lance grabbed Gwen’s hand. “You have to promise me to drive away. As soon as we get to the campus, you head back to the house.”
“But—”
Lance’s thoughts raced. He knew she would never go home to safety unless he gave her a valid reason and not just his desperate urge to keep her safe. “I need you home to man the board. We need Kay to help us fight.”
Gwen nodded quickly.
They reached the outskirts of the deserted campus within a few minutes. Lance brought the car to a hurried stop before reaching for his sword. As they both opened their doors to swap places, the eerie screams of the De-Valls echoed in the night.
“Lance?” Worry and fear was etched on Gwen’s face. Lance’s fingers itched to smooth it away.
“Quickly, we need Kay.” He brushed a hasty kiss on Gwen’s cheek as she slid into the driver’s seat. The car moved away and Lance turned, running towards the screams. Four? God help them.