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Days passed, and I stayed with Rhett the entire time. The guys came by to check on me, but they were kept busy enough with the aftermath. Each night, I stayed busy cleaning and reorganizing Rhett’s house.
He didn’t care. I asked.
I barely spoke, too annoyed when words escaped me. At night, I fought against nightmares. I kept seeing Henzie’s death, trying to piece together how it happened. I kept seeing Ami’s anguish. I’d only had one phone call with her, but she’d been avoiding everyone. And I kept feeling Padraig’s touch in my mind. Those were the worst nightmares.
So I was up again before the sun, staring at the window while Rhett slept behind me. His body was curled around mine, and I gripped his forearms, using them as an anchor to stay awake. My mind kept feeling the scrape of that man’s touch, the way he easily broke through any barriers I created, how he used my own mind against me.
When I exhaled, it came out shaky as the memories bombarded me.
“You’re okay,” Rhett whispered, his lips near my ear.
“No.” My thick voice, the brokenness in that one word did me in.
I broke, I shattered. I cried.
I mourned.
Henzie was dead because of me. Because I threw magic at that shadowsmith and caused that explosion. Because I did too much and yet not enough. He shouldn’t have had to die. It was preventable. And yet, he was gone. The world was without a gifted being and it didn’t even know it. Not yet. Not when the possibilities he held were now gone.
“Shhh. I’ve got you. I’ve got you. It’s okay,” Rhett said as he pulled me closer to him. I turned in his arms so I faced his chest.
My body shook as I sobbed into him. He kept telling me it was going to be okay and I desperately wanted to believe him.
But it wasn’t.
Henzie was dead. So were six others. Six souls gone because of my project. Because I was an idiot. Because I wanted to do good and it came back and bit me in the ass. Ami was suffering, in mourning, because of me. Because I wasn’t good enough.
I was never good enough. I was always falling short and Henzie paid the price.
“Make it stop,” I said.
“I can’t. Only time will.”
“You can.” I tilted my head up and kissed underneath his jaw. He went completely still at my touch. “Please,” I said.
“Laila,” he whispered. “This isn’t a good idea.”
“It’s the best one I’ve had all week. Please. I need to forget. Please.”
He groaned. “Not like this. You don’t want to forget like this.”
“I do,” I sobbed. “I want to forget. Make me forget.”
“But you won’t. When it’s over, the emotions will just come back.”
“I’ll at least have the reassurance that I’m not alone. That someone is here with me.”
“You have that now.”
I shook my head. “Please. I need this. This is me begging.” I bit back a sob and pounded my head against his chest. “Please. I want to forget, just for a little while, I need to feel something other than this pain. Please.”
“Oh, Laila.” He pulled me close, and our lips melted. I groaned under the feel of him. His energy seeped into me, reached into my core, and lit me on fire. His kiss was slow and steady. I didn’t want that. I wanted fast, hard, dominant.
“Please.” I pulled on him and he finally caved, deepening his kiss and giving me exactly what I wanted. His kiss screamed ‘Mine!’ as he controlled it.
He shifted so I was on top of him. I parted long enough to tug his shirt off and then return to kissing him. My lips went down his jaw and along the edge as I rocked against him, feeling him grow hard underneath his pajama pants.
He wanted me. Needed me. Just as much I needed him. His hands went to my hips to still me.
“Please. Please don’t. You promised. You said you’d hold me until I’m whole again. Please.”
That seemed to do it because he yanked my shirt off, exposing my skin to the cool air. He reached behind me and unclasped my bra, releasing my breasts. My nipples pebbled at the feel of the air, and he cupped them in his hands. I groaned, loving how his energy danced along my skin.
I pulled away from him, standing up on the bed, my feet on either side of his thighs. Slowly, I lowered the sweats I was wearing, along with my underwear, baring myself to him. His eyes followed the movement, taking in everything as I exposed it all. His eyes were nearly black, and he looked like an angel of death, lying on the bed, his curly brown hair spread out against his dark gray bedding, his pale skin popping. His eyes blazed with emotions as they focused on my naked body. My hair fell over my shoulders and down to my breasts. I went to my knees, almost straddling him. I tugged on his pants, and he lifted his butt so I could pull them down.
His hardness strained against the briefs he wore, the fabric molding to the shape of him. He was dangerously big. I traced the shape with my finger, and he moaned against the touch and the fabric barely contained the jump his cock made. I slowly pulled down his briefs and licked my lips when he was finally revealed. There was a slight curve to his cock, and I knew exactly what that meant for me. He’d have no trouble finding that intimate space deep within me that would easily send me over the edge.
He was built for pleasure and tonight, that pleasure was mine.
“Laila,” he said in a dark warning as I trailed my finger up the vein underneath that pulsed against my touch. When I got to the tip, I swirled around the precum, amazed that this was all because of me. I did this to him. And I wanted to keep doing this to him.
I leaned forward, wrapped my lips over the tip and his hips bucked underneath me. I wrapped my hand around the base of him to control how much went into my mouth and sucked down, allowing my tongue to wrap around him and get him wet. He groaned.
“I’m supposed to be the one to make you feel good,” he said.
I released him and smiled at the man, loving that I had complete control over him. “This makes me feel very good,” I said. I pulled him into my mouth again and bobbed my head, amazed at how long he was. My hand pumped him at the base as my mouth brought him to the brink of release.
“Condom. Nightstand,” he said.
I nodded when I released him and leaned over to find one. His hands went to my hips and held on tight. I was on birth control and I knew vampires couldn’t catch anything, but that was a conversation for another time. Right now, I desperately needed him inside of me. I needed to feel him, to feel alive and whole again.
Once I got the condom, I carefully rolled it over him and then lined us up. He didn’t force me down, he let me do what I wanted. My body was ready for him. Had been since he’d agreed to have sex with me. Once he was exactly where I wanted him, his tip just at my entrance, I slammed down hard on him and groaned as he completely filled me up, with a bit of pain, considering there wasn’t much preparation. I reveled in the pain, needing it. My insides squeezed at the sudden intrusion, and Rhett grunted. I waited a moment, letting my body adjust. Once I was ready, I moved, lifting myself up and then going back down.
I bit back a moan as his cock did exactly what I’d expected it to do, finding that spot inside of me that drove me crazy. My pace picked up as our bodies coated with sweat, the air around us filling with our magic and energy. They danced together the same way we did, and I couldn’t contain it in anymore. I moaned as it all built up inside of me, going up and up, ready for the last thing to push me over.
As if sensing what I needed, Rhett reached up and grabbed my breasts, giving my nipples a little tweak. I fell forward, and he wrapped his arms around me, taking over and moving his hips so he moved deep inside of me.
“Rhett,” I panted.
“I have you,” he said. And I believed him. I finally believed him. My body finally gave up, hotness surging through me as I went over. Pleasure built until I reached my breaking point, and had no choice but to ride the waves that took over my body. I screamed into his shoulder and bit down on him as I squeezed him tight. He groaned and thrust one last time before he came too. I kissed him and his tongue slid into my mouth. The taste of him had me wanting another round. His touch was so gentle as he rubbed my back and we lay there in post-coital bliss, sharing slow kisses.
All possessiveness was gone, and while I wanted more out of it, he forced me to bask in the gentleness of a slow kiss. I pulled away from his lips and buried my face into his slick shoulder, loving how my scent wrapped with his, and we smelled of sex.
“We can’t stay here,” Rhett groaned. “I’d love nothing more than to stay here with you but it’s today.”
I sighed and closed my eyes.
“I know.”
“We have to get ready.”
I turned my head to see the sun peeking through the curtains. I hated mornings. I really did. I wanted to bask longer in the darkness.
“I know.”
He rubbed my back slowly, going low, nearly to my ass and then all the way up to my neck. He gave the best back rubs.
“Laila?”
“Hmm.” If he wasn’t going to move, then neither was I.
He didn’t respond, and I rested my chin on my hand on his chest. He was looking down at me with a contemplative expression.
“Rhett?” I asked.
He shuddered and closed his eyes. “You scared me. I’ve not been so scared in a long time, not since...”
Realization dawned on me.
“Not since your family,” I whispered.
He nodded. “You were so close, and yet I couldn’t get to you. I hated being so powerless.”
“I’m alive,” I said.
“But you’re not fine.”
Silence fell between us, and I didn’t say anything for the longest time. He was right and there was nothing to say. I wasn’t fine, and he knew it. Any other response would just have been a lie.
Closing my eyes, I let reality fall back around us. “We need to get ready.” I pulled away from him, hating that I had to.
“You can take the shower first. I’m going to go get an update from the guys,” Rhett said.
I nodded.
We had a memorial service to attend.
~*~
With the supernaturals, we all believed in something different. We had those who believed in being buried to be sent back to earth. Other believed in a funeral pyre to send the spirit off to the heavens, or being sent off into the ocean. With seven deaths, we couldn’t just do a burial. They didn’t hold the same beliefs, and it would have been disrespectful to not follow them.
With deaths, their bodies were returned to their families. I wasn’t there, but I heard about Henzie’s father coming to retrieve his body. The anger he felt, the blame he placed, and the amount of energy he gave off that overwhelmed some of those around him. Some of the guards had fainted from the intensity.
I was glad I wasn’t there, and at the same time felt like a coward. I liked Henzie and he was a fellow labbie.
Now we were down one and today, I needed to honor what he’d done for us.
Biomystic Security decided to hold a memorial service for the seven lives lost. We all gathered at the company, and I had to do my best to keep the memories at bay. Funny how I suffered with them scrambled and now that they were together, I still suffered. Ami’s face was pale and her expression blank.
She was in mourning. She admitted to not understanding what she was missing until he was already gone. That was a shock for her and a regret I couldn’t take away. I wished I could, but that was beyond my ability.
We all gathered in the garden, portraits of each employee on an easel with an exorbitant amount of flowers all over. Even the garden pixies were helping, making sure the flowers surrounding each lost soul stayed alive and healthy, the colors of the petals glowing.
The service was nice. People who knew the deceased took turns telling a story meant to celebrate their lost fellow’s life. And there were a lot of people, ranging from pixies, leprechauns, humans, to shifters, vampires, giants, and even a cyclops. The enforcers were there too, along with a council member I hadn’t met yet. I avoided both of them, sensing some hostility aimed at me from both groups.
When my turn came up, I told the large group about the time I borrowed a toy plane from Henzie so I could test one of my prototypes. I had used the plane to fly a ball high up into the sky and then let the ball drop. When the ball hit the ground, it had created a small crater despite the ball itself being soft. Henzie was furious, claiming I stole his plane. I’d returned it to him and since I did, I technically borrowed it. My story got a few laughs.
Ami told them about the time she was stuck in the infirmary because of a stomach wound, and Henzie had brought her a meal, and then they spent time playing silly card games.
There were so many stories to go around about all seven people, and I got to see how loved they were and how much the other employees cared about each other. Even Abram had a story to tell about one of the guards, and he was the least liked employee in the company. That didn’t matter. We still laughed.
Once it was over, I was drained, exhausted, and ready to curl up in a bed and hide from the world.
“You’re with me tonight,” Elliot said, coming to my side.
I nodded, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder as he led me toward the parking lot.
“Laila!”
We stopped and turned to watch Dwight and Shanton walk over.
“Shanton, you’re still around?”
He nodded. “Of course. I’d never leave in a time of need like this. Besides, I still have some business to resolve here.” He glanced at Dwight before giving me a small smile. “I’m looking into moving my home base here.”
I stared at him for a moment before I finally understood what he’d said.
“You’re going to move to Springer?”
He nodded. “There are more opportunities here for me.” His eyes darkened and only a nudge from Dwight broke the spell that had built between us from his look. “I’m also helping in the hunt for Padraig since he’s one of the ones I’ve been trying to hunt down for years now.” He scowled at the name, his lip curling in anger. He shook his head and blew out a breath. “Laila, I just wanted you to know we’ll find him. He won’t get away with this. For hurting you.”
Warmth filled my chest, and I gave him a shaky smile. “Thank you, Shanton.”
“Please, at this point, call me Cyril.”
“Cyril.”
He grinned wide. “I’ll see you around.” He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “Take care of yourself. Your health is important to a lot of people.” His eyes met Elliot’s briefly before he turned around and strolled back to the memorial service.
“I’ll check in on you later,” Dwight said, giving me a brief kiss on the lips.
“Bye,” I said and watched as he headed back too.
“Come on,” Elliot said. “To my home.”
I gave him a shaky smile.
“Sounds good to me.”
