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Christmas Eve~
No one was in the mood to drive back to Ashland after the Taylor party ended. It was well after midnight-into the small hours of Christmas Eve, when those who’d requested overnight stays began to make their way to various sleeping quarters.
Gib had decided he and Nica wouldn’t stay inside the house, but in the small apartment above his grandparents’ detached garage. The construction was about 50 yards from the main house.
The gruesome news Prin delivered had thankfully not circulated among the other party guests. Still, the occurrence had taken its toll. Nica was glad Gib had seen the need for her to have distance from the crowd. In silence, they took the walk from the house to the garage.
“How do your grandparents handle this distance just to get to their cars?” Nica asked while following Gib up the steps to the apartment level.
“They don’t drive much anymore, but they’re country folk-born and bred. For them, a fifty yard hike is nothin’.”
Nica laughed despite her mood. Faintly, she noted Gib hadn’t so much as smiled. Additionally, it hadn’t gone unnoticed that he’d been decidedly subdued since Prin’s news had hit. She’d apologized to Samuel and Deleigh for casting a shadow over their party, but they refused to accept the gesture. The party hadn’t been shadowed. Nothing was her fault. Nica wished she knew if their grandson felt the same.
Her worries took a backseat once they reached the apartment and Gib ushered her inside.
Nica’s eyes widened when she saw the loft apartment. Its style was at once warm and appealing. Thickly cushioned sofas and armchairs were situated around a grand futon. All faced an impressive entertainment center consisting of an elaborate sound and gaming center with a wall mounted plasma screen above it all. The kitchen occupied a far wide corner and looked to be equipped for the most talented of cooks.
Nica decided against teasing Gib about his culinary skills. He didn’t look to be in a teasing mood. With that in mind, she also decided against commenting on the California King bed that held court along an entire wall. He didn’t look to be in a mood to discuss the bedroom either. Therefore, Nica made her observations in silence and kept the compliments to herself.
“You can have the bed. I’ll take the futon.”
Nica processed Gib’s words as she surveyed the book selections on the wide row of shelving just beyond the living area. Battling past her resignation then, she faced him.
“Look, I’m sorry about tonight, alright? I told your grandparents the same before we left-”
“Nica, goddammit!”
The curse exploded with such force, she retreated, stricken. She retreated a few more steps while taking in the menacing scowl he wore.
Gib murmured another oath, then bowed his head to rub the bridge of his nose. “Forgive me for that,” he said.
She could only manage a nod.
Gib grimaced when his eyes met hers again. “I hope Mema and Big Pop refused to accept your apology?”
She had to smile then. “Yeah, they seemed pretty annoyed by it actually.”
“Good.”
Nica watched Gib head to the kitchen where he pulled open the fridge door and peered inside. She assumed the silent treatment was still in effect.
“You don’t want my apologies Gib, but it’s clear you’re upset with me.”
His silence held for another few seconds and then he was shutting the fridge door. He met Nica’s gaze while resting his towering frame against the appliance. Hands pushed deep in his trouser pockets, he studied the floor.
“Tell me who hurt you,” he said.
“I-” Nica couldn’t have been more stunned. “I told you it was a long time ago.”
“Not so long ago for him. He killed someone tonight, didn’t he?”
She couldn't look at him then and turned away.
Gib didn’t require eye contact and kept talking. “The victim was one of the inn’s housekeepers- cousin of the owner.”
Gasping, Nica whirled to face him. “How-”
“I’m a cop, Nica. Cops talk.”
Speechless, she waited for whatever else he might share.
“The killer left a message on her. On her, Nica-written in her skin. ‘Coming For You’-that’s what it said.”
Nica dragged herself into the living room and sat in the nearest chair.
Gib followed, sitting as well. “Will you tell me about the crazy fucker now? He’s hunting you, isn’t he?”
“Gib-”
“Honey, let me help you. Talk to me.”
Despair fueled her sigh. “If I tell you about him, I’ll have to tell you about me. It would sicken you to know about me.”
“Honey, why do you think that?” He looked as though nothing could be further from the truth.
Exasperated, she pushed to her feet. When she passed Gib’s chair, he reached for her hand.
“You’d be disgusted because you’re a cop,” she tugged her hand free. “Cops are supposed to be disgusted by people like me. I’m no lady, Gib. I meant it when I said that. I’m about as far from being like Prin, Miss Del, Miss Sama or your mom as anyone can get.”
“Dammit to hell...” Gib felt his temper reheating. “Would you please stop comparing yourself to them?”
“Gib, I was a prostitute,” she waited for the disgust to rise in his unforgettable eyes.
“His name is Benjamin Haahs,” she continued when he said nothing to her admission. “I met him on the job. He took things seriously. I didn’t.”
“How does he know you’re here?” Gib’s deep voice was sandpaper rough.
Nica paced the small living room, wringing her hands in the process. “There’s a picture of us. Prin’s staff. Everyone had a copy on their desk. Mine was gone-taken from the frame so I’d know it was done on purpose. It wouldn’t have taken much investigation for him to find out we were here,” she steeled herself against the guarded look now radiating from his eyes. Gone was the lover. Only the cop remained.
“Did you know he was part of the GAN when you met him? Is that why you went to work for Prin? On his order?”
“No Gib, no never,” Nica shook her head in vehement denial. “It wasn’t like that. I knew him a lifetime ago. I was barely twenty the last time I saw him. I went to work for Prin because I owed her.”
Gib stood now. “Owed her?”
Pleading intensity held Nica’s bright eyes. “What she, Lu, Bear and Tee did in Las Vegas...killing The Ten...it saved other girls-girls like me and my friends.”
“Nica...” his gaze narrowed with skepticism. “You’re not making sense-”
“I knew Ben was part of the GAN because I was part of the GAN.”
“Nica-”
“Me and my friends, we-we’re like Mercuri, Slayte, Pope and Rutger. Enhanced, I guess,” she gave a ghost of a smile that was closer to a grimace.
Instead of a grimace, Gib grinned. “Why does that make perfect sense?”
Shock stopped Nica’s pacing and fidgeting. “You believe me?”
Gib punctuated his grin with a light chuckle. “Women who are six feet tall with no aversion to sleeveless dresses in twenty degree weather, are something of a rarity in my world.”
“Gib I-”
“Please don’t apologize.”
“I never set out to deceive you.”
“Ah baby, I know that and you didn’t.”
“I should’ve told you.”
“Why exactly? I had no right to expect that.”
“I should’ve told you what I was before I slept with you,” she began to pace again. “I’ve had no sex life to speak of in nearly nine years, but I’m tested regularly.” She shrugged. “Aside from a bit of anxiety, I’m in perfect health-”
What remained of her explanation was smothered by Gib’s kiss.
“I think that’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard,” he said when he finally released her mouth.
She smiled miserably. “I can top it.”
“Later,” he said and proceeded to kiss her all over again.
“Gib, Gib wait,” she just managed to put a breath of space between their lips. “Remember what I just told you.”
“I remember everything you’ve said to me since I met you,” he took her mouth again.
Her plans to pull away were quickly evaporating. “There’s more I need to say-”
“Later.”
Kissing her, he proceeded to slowly pull off her dress. Nica’s heart plummeted to her stomach when he set her back to study her in nothing but the lacy panties that hugged her waist.
Gib found her to be as gorgeous out of her clothes as she was in them. Much of his heating temper had been his dick’s fault. His brain was trying to process the ugliness of her story. Meanwhile, his hormones were in the state of frenzy they’d grown accustomed to since she’d entered his world.
Nica barely had time to murmur his name before he took her off her feet. Instantly, she nuzzled her face into the base of his throat at the open collar of his shirt. Men didn’t take her off her feet. Ever. Of course, she rarely met men with that capability.
Gib didn’t so much as exert a deep inhale as he carried her the distance to the long, wide bed across the loft. His strength was as erotic as the thrill of being nearly naked while he was still fully dressed. He followed her down to the center of the bed. Nica’s legs parted instinctively, twining with his while her fingers clutched his jacket lapels. She arched for his kiss, but Gib was more interested in dragging his mouth along her collarbone to intermittently nip and suckle. Perfect teeth bit gently into the delicate skin before grazing the swell of her bosom. He palmed each of the high, generous globes weighing them then choosing one to be granted more of his attention.
His name drifted from her lips on a throaty chord. The soft, dark waves crowning his head pampered her palm as she pushed more cleavage into the famished, talented mouth paying homage to her nipple. Nica relished the lengthy, patient pulls he put to the dark caramel tips and she felt him shudder as though he were as overcome as she was.
Gib knew there was more Nica needed to say to him, but all he wanted in that moment was to forget the night’s upsets and lose himself in her exquisite body. The way she moved in his hands, her response to all he did, it was as though she were especially attuned to his touch. The reality ignited every possessive tendency he owned. He heard her begging him quietly, sweetly to take off his clothes. Gib obeyed only so far as to rise up to shrug off his jacket.
He descended again, lavishing his talents on her breasts once more. His mouth skimmed their undersides, then moved on to her torso. He took his time with her navel, tonguing, tickling. He pressed her wrists to the bed when she tried to topple him off.
“Stop please!” she laughed and only then did he grant her mercy.
He moved on, focusing his efforts on the scrap of lace at her hips. “Quit squirming,” he ordered half-heartedly. Hands flexing at her waist, his teeth took on the job of unveiling the part of her he wanted most.
She gasped when she heard a small rip. “Gib please don’t,” her eyes widened innocently when he looked her way. “I can’t say goodbye to your grandparents tomorrow without my panties.”
Grinning with unadulterated sinfulness, he obliged. Bracing on an elbow, he watched her wiggle free of her underthings. He helped free the material from her calves, ankles and the spiky heels she wore, then he pounced to feast on her in a ravenous display. Nica shuddered her pleasure, hips partially lifting from the bed before Gib cradled them.
He secured her like a vice, but Nica still tried to arch from the covers. Gib finally took hold of her upper thighs, keeping them parted wide for his pleasure. She reveled in the attention. His tongue probed deep, combining clockwise and counter rotations before subjecting her to maddeningly slow thrusts at times, swifter ones at others.
Nica took great delight in all of it. She massaged Gib’s silky hair before running her hands up her torso and on to her breasts. She only slightly cupped them, but Gib apparently disapproved. Casually, he reached up to swat at her hand and then covered a breast under his palm. Using his thumb on her, he molested its hard peak. Not once, did he let up on the attentive intimate kiss he favored her with. Her gasps turned into sobs wrapped around his name. Gib didn’t stop, until he felt the steady streams of her need coating his tongue. He withdrew even as her sex desperately squeezed his tongue.
Breathless, Nica curled into a fetal pose to savor the lingering effects of the climax she’d nearly reached. Gib watched her there as he finished undressing. He adored the image she cast with the covers twisted about her limbs. She was still writhing among the fabrics on the immense bed when he returned as naked as she was. He took her legs, spreading them wide to receive his broad frame and generously endowed sex. Nica winced, her lips parting yet emitting no sound when he claimed her, stretched her, filled her beautifully.
Gib rested his head on her shoulder and claimed his satisfaction with unrelenting vibrancy. Yet again, he vaguely acknowledged that he’d neglected the use of a condom. Somewhere in the depths of his subconscious, he admitted that getting her pregnant was a possibility he would thoroughly enjoy. Each thrust was an experience that overwhelmed every part of him. He could honestly say he didn’t see himself ever getting enough of her. She had already climaxed twice and was well on her way to a third occurrence. The sheets were soaked with her need, yet she seemed to want more.
It was a need Gib was all too happy to fulfill.
~~~
“The GAN tested its product on my mother,” Nica said.
It was much later when the only accompanying sounds were from the electric heaters strategically placed throughout the loft. They were set automatically to keep the outdoor chill from freezing the space. The subtle howl of wind could be heard along with the gentle tapping of newly fallen snow against the loft’s window panes.
Nica trembled as long buried memories made their way to the surface of her conscience. Gib gathered her closer, his arms securely enfolding her. The subtle power of his embrace caused her lingering unease to fall away like rusted-through restraints no longer capable of enslaving her.
Content in the belief that his concern for her was real, she snuggled in tighter against the sleek plane of his chest. “Have the others told you how they were...made?” she asked.
“Their mothers were given some kind of drug,” Gib said and felt her nod against his jaw.
“The same happened to my mother, only she didn’t have the luxury of being given her own home-a chance to leave and build a life for herself and her child. My earliest memories are of people around us nearly everyday before we ran. GAN personnel, I guess.” Fighting another chilly spell, she burrowed in closer to Gib. “I don’t know why they chose her for this,” she continued, “maybe because she was already pregnant with me and they needed a guinea pig for their serum. Young black girl with no family or prospects... an offer to be taken in, cared for...if only for a short while, it must’ve seemed like a blessing.”
“What about your father?”
Nica shook her head in first response. “I never knew him. I don’t even know if she knew him-she never said. I honestly can’t even remember asking. We never stayed one place long enough for me to get to know other kids so I never really knew what it was like to grow up...normal. After that, thinking about why my dad wasn’t around, just wasn’t a big thing.”
Gib pressed a hard kiss to the top of her head. “I’m sorry you had to grow up that way. It had to be lonely.”
“I had my mother. For a while, anyway.”
“What happened to her?”
“We went to Las Vegas. I think her plan was to get a job in one of the casinos or something. I know she was looking for work when we got there. She’d never worked or even talked about working before. Whenever I look back on it, I think the GAN must’ve given her money-had to be a lot. I can remember having her with me everyday until I was eleven or twelve.”
“What happened then?” Gib felt her shiver in his hold again. “It’s alright,” he soothed, pressing his cheek to the top of her head. “It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it.”
“No, no I want to,” she squeezed her eyes closed for a moment before continuing. “She worked as a prostitute-said it was better money than what she’d make at the casinos and she didn’t have to work on the street.”
“An arrangement like that’s not easy to find.”
Nica’s abrupt laughter carried a rueful undertone. “I remember her saying that. I think she thought it was another blessing that came her way especially since there was room and board for us both.”
“That was a nice offer,” Gib’s manner blatantly indicated that he really didn’t think so.
“Yeah,” Nica agreed in the same cool fashion. “I was already pushing five ten when I was twelve. Dorinda knew a potential cash cow when she saw one.” Nostalgia took root in her eyes.
Gib pushed up slowly beneath the covers and Nica mimicked the action.
“You’re talking about Dorinda Patterson?” he asked.
Nica nodded.
“Did you know about Prin and-”
“No. All that happened much later. My time with Dorinda had come and gone twice by then. Second time was by way of the GAN.”
“And that’s where you met this idiot who wants to find you.”
She hid her face in her hands and took a moment. “I only booked the room at the inn when Prin asked me to fly out with them. I never thought Miss Sama would insist on me staying at the house.”
Gib smirked. “She wouldn’t have had it any other way,” his features tensed once more. “So you went to work for Prin as a...courtesy?”
“Something like that I guess...We only changed our last names-my mother’s last name was Taft. We used certain...connections to secure new birthdates, social security numbers...Gib, what Prin and her girls did made it possible for us to stay gone-it never would’ve worked otherwise. Mercuri’s rebellion wasn’t about freeing us. There weren’t even that many who knew about us.”
Disbelief flavored his expression. “How is that possible?”
Nica’s mouth curved into a sublime smile. “I’m afraid that part of the story is above my pay grade.”
“What about Pope?” Gib probed. “He’s got the connections, right? His dad was one of the founders.”
“And the founders are dead now, aren’t they?” Nica pursed her lips and sighed. “No one really knew about us, Gib. We were seen but no one outside of a select few knew we were products of those experiments. We were never given a chance to be soldiers, but when I heard that Prin, Tee, Bear and Lu were all working and thriving, I just wanted to be around them, watching, protecting if necessary.
I watched from afar for so long before I decided to get closer. Plus, I needed the work. I didn’t have the education to be more than a receptionist so...I tried my luck.”
“Prin believes you’re a genius.”
Nica’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Thank the GAN.”
“What about your friends?”
“They all left the country. I could call and get anything I needed from them, but I just wanted to make it on my own, you know? I thought if I could do that and look out for Prin and the others, things would be damn near perfect and they were and then...Aviva...” an anguished sound climbed from her throat. “If I’d gotten there sooner-”
“Then you’d both be dead.”
“That could happen anyway,” helplessness filtered her eyes. “Ben Haahs won’t stop until he has me.”
“That won’t be easy,” Gib declared.
“No,” Nica agreed, “but he’s insane, so he’ll do whatever it takes to cut through what stands in his way.”
“He’s never had me stand in his way.”
Her eyes widened suddenly and she began to shake her head. “No, Gib, I won’t let you do that-”
“Let me.” Menace returned to shadow his impossibly beckoning features and he leaned in to search her eyes. “That crazy shit came to my cousin’s place and took one of her people. Who knows what they would’ve done to her if she’d been there. Now he’s here for you. No, Ms. Sloane. I’ll do anything I have to. Anything.”