Calm Before the Storm (13 page)

Fingers caressing her sex, Tyr lightly
brushed the tip of his thumb across her clitoris. Irina’s murmurs became
whimpers of need as electrical pulses shot tingling sensations spiraling
through her core. Her whole body turned weightless. She was floating, the fire
of ecstasy rampaging through every cell, every part of her flesh. He began to
press harder, circling the sensitive nerves and rubbing them until the pressure
was almost too much to bear, her body shivering with every warm breath that
stroked her soft folds.

When his tongue began a soft invasion,
licking and sucking the evidence of her desire, Irina succumbed to the bliss
that was driving her to climax. “Tyr! Please, I need more!”

“You taste so good, Irina! Come for me
baby. I want to hear you scream my name as you come!” His praises singing to
her soul, her body shuddered beneath him.

Tyr carefully pushed two fingers into her
core, gently delving, probing, and enticing every nerve to a frenzy. The white
flag abandoned, her body a total capitulation, his fingers became more urgent
as they worked a magical miracle. Irina arched her back as the spasms of not
just one but a multiple of orgasms flooded through her leaving her senseless
and gasping, the rippling sensations unlike anything she had ever experienced
before.

“Tyr! Oh my god!” she cried, clinging to
him in helpless desperation as the last tremors dissipated, leaving her liquid
and melting into the sheets.

Still caressing the soft curls between her
legs Tyr slid up her body until his eyes were level with hers. He wore a
self-satisfied grin. “I’ve been waiting to do
that
forever,” he said,
“and I can say without doubt it was worth the wait.” Irina gazed into those
stormy black eyes that would forever be imprinted on her soul.

“Glad you enjoyed it,” she said shyly. “I
wonder what I can do now to oblige you.”

“You don’t have to do anything; just this,
being here with you is enough.” Such gentle words that warmed her body as she
realized there was no pressure from him to do more. He kissed her again, deep
and wet, inciting the warmth that licked across her flesh to a flaming to heat.
The burn magnified. Could she ever get enough of this?

Irina thought of her few sexual encounters
at university. She had made out, had a couple of boyfriends but had never felt
the urge to go all the way. Nothing had ever prepared her for the intensity of
the feelings she was experiencing with Tyr. None of her previous boyfriends had
ever gone down on her and it was something she had never done for them. The
compulsion to touch and caress Tyr in the same way, to do for him what he had
done for her was overwhelming. She
would
do it for him. Another
imperative. Irina pushed against his shoulders to roll him over.

“You’re overdressed,” she said straddling
him, hands skimming his erection as it pushed against the fabric of his jeans.
“Take them off!” His erection sprang free and her heart stuttered at the beauty
of his male form. She took him in her hands and lowered her mouth.

Irina could not believe her first taste of
Tyr. The salty tang of the little beads of moisture at his head, the satiny
texture of his skin over a rock-hard shaft and the sheer size of him almost had
her coming again from pure shock, his erection a visual feast of masculine
virility. She gave in to the adrenaline that sent her heart racing, wanting to
give the same ecstasy to him as he had given her.

Her hand clasped his erection, gripping as
much as she could of it whilst continuing to suck and lick. Pumping the soft
flesh up and down reveling in the solid strength, Irina wriggled up to rub his
shaft between her breasts and over her nipples. It was her turn to play.

Tyr fumbled to oblige when she ordered him
to strip, staring up at her in awe. He couldn’t believe his little dove was
taking control. And was she really going to? Yes…yes she was! Christ almighty!

His whole body shuddered as she practically
ripped his jeans off, cupped his balls in both hands and lowered the sweet
perfection of her warm, wet mouth to cover completely the head of his cock,
causing twitches of anticipation as Irina sucked and licked, her tongue a
revelation that sent the blood pumping through his veins. He groaned for mercy
as her wicked tongue began to tease up and down the length of his shaft, little
flicks of pleasure sending tremors from base to tip. Her small hands continued
to fondle and work his heavy sac as it tightened in expectation. She had him so
wound up he felt like a coiled spring moments away from unraveling.

The frantic friction had Tyr’s whole body
jolting in abandonment. She returned her warm mouth to encircle the tip her
tongue wild and hungry as she continued to suck, working Tyr to a climax that
threatened to consume his whole body.

“Irina… Christ, baby! I can’t hold on.” He
bucked again. Tyr tried to hold back, not wanting to come in her mouth but she
was insistent and his orgasm burst forth a torrent of semen that gushed into
her throat and had her lapping it up greedily.

Irina felt such elation as Tyr’s large
frame shuddered finally into stillness and the last spasms of his orgasm
ceased. She had loved watching him break apart because of her, loved the taste
of him so much that she could easily become addicted. Loving the texture of his
skin against hers, she continued to caress his shaft which remained semi-erect.
Her boy had good recovery time. Her boy?

God! Irina could not put into words how she
felt about him at this moment. Tyr had hijacked her soul and it felt as if her
whole existence would be called into question if this man were not by her side.
As she lay sated and happy against the smooth hardness of his torso and
wondered again at the glory of this man she couldn’t help but adore, his arms
enclosed her, inching her up closer so he could rest his cheek against her
hair. “My god, Irina.” His voice was a throaty rumble dripping with sex and
passion. “That was…” He appeared dazed. “I have no words,” he finally said,
“but this should tell you everything that’s in my heart.” Tyr’s mouth closed
over hers in another kiss of such scorching intensity that Irina thought she
would never breathe again. Just as she was about to confess what was in her own
heart, the bedside phone burst into life with a shrill tone that shattered the
bubble that had surrounded them for that brief moment in time.

Tyr rolled over to answer. “Okay. See you
then.” He turned back to Irina. “Cassi’s almost here, ten minutes she said. Do
you want to freshen up?”

Irina nodded, grabbed her clothes and made
a dash for the bathroom. Moments later, staring into the mirror, Irina was
confronted by an unknown reflection gazing back at her. Cheeks flushed, eyes
sparkling.
Who is this person? It isn’t really me. I can’t believe what just
happened! Did I really just do that?

An overwhelming wave of panic engulfed her.
A near-death experience can induce wild behavior. Perhaps what had happened was
a reaction against the circumstances of the last two days. What did she really
know about Tyr anyway? Yes, she conceded, he had saved her life as a child, but
he had still been there, with them, a gang of murderers. He was involved with
Abrasax and those creepy aliens she had somehow pushed to the back of her mind.
What the hell were they? What the hell was going on? Tyr had said that Merak
and Cassi would have some answers, so she would reserve judgment for now. And
him? What about Tyr? His motives and actions were still questionable.

Irina couldn’t deny the insane attraction
she felt toward him and oh god did he make her feel good! But that was just
physical. Wasn’t it? He was wickedly gorgeous after all. Who wouldn’t be
attracted by him? But she didn’t know yet if she could trust him with her
heart, a fragile heart that already had pieces missing because of her family.
But what if she couldn’t resist? The truth was she had already started to fall
for him in a big way, and if she let herself fall any further, she didn’t think
there would be a safety net.

Irina had no time to discuss with Tyr what
had happened between them. As soon as she exited the bathroom there was a sharp
rap on the door. Tyr, still shirtless moved stealthily over to stand behind it,
proving to her that he was taking no chances where her safety was concerned.
She couldn’t help but stare in fascination at the honed beauty of the muscles
that flexed with tensile strength as he stalked into position.

“Irina, it’s me, Cassi. Are you in there?”
a muffled voice said. Tyr lifted an eyebrow and Irina nodded toward him. “It’s
her,” she said. He opened the door, remaining behind it as Cassi all but
charged into the small space. She hugged Irina to her chest. “Thank goodness
you’re okay!” she cried. “I was so worried!”

Before Irina had time to notice what was
happening, Tyr had pounced on the lean figure following Cassi blithely into the
room, and her eyes widened in alarm as she realized Tyr’s hands were
practically choking Luc to death. She had no time to respond as he rammed Luc
face first into the wall, grabbing one arm behind his back. Luc tried to fight
back, kicking his legs backward but Tyr just intensified his grip. “Who’s
this?” he growled, his voice vibrating with anger. “I thought you were alone.”

Irina struggled from Cassi’s embrace. “Let
go of him!” she cried, panicking as Luc fought for breath. “That’s Luc. He’s a
friend!” Pulling Tyr off him, Irina put herself in front of Luc who was
coughing and gasping for air. Pushing Tyr away, she turned to Luc, her arms
going around him as she soothed, “Luc, are you okay?” She brushed a lock of his
hair away from his eyes. “Do you want some water?” Luc waved his hand in a
gesture that said, “give me a minute.” Turning back, she faced Tyr, not hiding
the anger in her voice. “Do you always act before thinking?” she cried. “This
is not a boxing ring, you know!”

Tyr stood back, bristling with barely
contained rage, held immobile by the fiery glint in her eyes. He didn’t usually
jump in at the deep end, and during his career had always been respected as a
clearheaded fighter of great tactical skill who used strategy over brute force.
Boxing clever as Sal used to say
. His greatest asset was his innate
ability to size up his opponents and prey on their weaknesses. He never charged
in like a reckless hothead. This overwhelming compulsion to protect Irina had
him losing focus, muddling his thought processes, tying his brain up in knots.

As Irina continued to hold Luc, Tyr’s blood
heated, seething with the need to claim her and announce she was his and his
alone. He was still feeling the effects of the time they had spent together and
the primitive urge to possess, to own, couldn’t bear to see her so close to
another man. Those urges viewed Luc as a possible threat and every fiber of his
being screamed a warning. He began to understand how he
could
be War. He
certainly wanted to declare it here and now on Irina’s friend.

“What the fuck was that for?” cried Luc,
finally able to speak. “I think you need to keep a leash on him. Does he always
attack innocent bystanders? Maybe you want to take it outside and we can do
this properly!” Luc’s blue eyes flashed with anger as he glared at Tyr and
forced his way past Irina to confront him.

“Now, now, boys, time enough for you to
play fight later, let’s not go to the dark side yet, Luc. And you,” warned
Cassi, pulling Luc back and eyeing Tyr censoriously, “try to play nice for a
moment. You can check out who’s got the biggest toy in the sandbox later.”

Irina stood by, ignoring Tyr and turned to
Cassi. “The
boys,”
she stressed the word, sarcasm evident in her tone,
“can attack each other later. Right now I want to know what this is all about,
Cass, because I think I’m going completely crazy and I’m not sure I can handle
much more.”

Tyr tried to relax as Cassi smirked,
appearing to take delight in the situation. “How to begin?” she mused. “Well,
let’s see, first off how about this. I’m not from Earth, there are other worlds
that exist in the universe, bad alien creatures want to cause chaos, I and
others of my kind try to stop them and you three are chosen Esseni, which
basically means you have to help.”

She looked around at the three of them with
a grin of satisfaction. “There you go. You’re all up to speed now and we can
get on with saving the universe.”

Irina’s expression was furious. “You call
that an explanation?” she said. “I’ve been through a bomb blast, kidnapping,
near rape by huge monsters with claws and fangs, broken up a fight between two
rutting stags,” her eyes darted between Tyr and Luc, “and that’s all I get? ‘Irina
I’m an alien and you’ve got to help save the world!’ Well excuse me for being
just a little pissed off!”

“Let’s just all calm down and take a
breath,” said Cassi placatingly. “Think happy thoughts. I can see it’s going to
be a long night.”

“Cassi,” said Tyr, trying to clear his head
and ignore the fact that Irina still had her hand on that bastard Luc’s arm,
and that Luc was glaring at him with open hostility. “Abrasax told me some
story about me being an Esseni. Are you saying that Irina is one too?”

“Yes, and Luc is one also, so this is like
an Esseni convention.”

“And Esseni are containers of particular
essences that are important?” Cassi nodded that he was correct. “So which
essence does Irina contain? Abrasax told me I’m War. Is that right?”

“That’s right.” Cassi raised her eyebrows
as if impressed. “Top marks to Abrasax. He’s obviously been doing his
homework.”

“And Irina?” Tyr was insistent.

“Look it doesn’t really matter at the
moment. We basically need to get moving and get you somewhere safe. Abrasax
will be looking for you and because your auras are now visible, the shielding
we had in place is not fool-proof protection.”

“Our auras…what do you mean by that?” Tyr
asked with a frown of confusion.

“Every Esseni has an aura that is a
manifestation of their essence. That’s how you are identified although it’s not
always strongly visible but now yours and Irina’s are.”

“What does it look like?” asked Luc. “I
can’t see anything around them.”

“It’s hard to explain. It’s like a glow of light
that leaves a signature trail but only trained beings can see or sense it.”

Irina’s anger was dissipating. She was
still confused with all the revelations Cassi was throwing at her, but one
thing had hit her with awful clarity. “Have you and Merak been shielding me
since my parents died?” Cassi inclined her head. “And…and is that why they
died? Abrasax was looking for me because I’m this…Esseni thingy?” Cassi nodded
again. “Did my parents know?”

“They must have,” said Cassi. “When we
found you in the orphanage we found traces of shielding protection over you.
You are half Lyrani, Irina. We know your father was Earthani but we were unable
to trace your mother. She probably changed her name but we believe she was a
very powerful wiccani, what you would consider a witch. She had powers drawn
from light magick but somehow the protections she put in place were breached.”

Irina felt her legs nearly give way and she
had to sit down on the bed to stop herself from falling over. It was true then.
Just as she had always suspected. It
was
her fault that her family had
died. The guilt sat heavily on her shoulders, hot tears burning her eyes. She
couldn’t even begin to comprehend the other stuff Cassi had mentioned—other
planets, witches, aliens and Esseni. Her whole family was dead because of her.

Luc and Tyr both moved toward her but she
held up her hands to stave them off. “This is too much,” she whispered, her
gaze focused on Cassi, an agonizing plea in her eyes. Cassi bent to her knees
in front of her, clasping her hands in a gesture of comfort.

“You’ve been so strong for so long,” she
said gently. “Just hold on a bit longer. I need to get you to the safe place.
We need to go now. When we get there it’ll be easier to explain everything.”

Irina swallowed the lump in her throat. She
glanced at Tyr and realized he looked as devastated as she felt. Instinct urged
her to soothe him, wipe the pain from his eyes but the shock of Cassi’s
revelations had shaken her to the core. Everything she had understood about her
life was being challenged. It was as if she were no longer the same person she
had been twenty-four hours ago. She needed time. Time to discover the truth
about herself and her family.

“We had better get going then.” She spoke
with determination and stood up, shakily taking Cassi’s arm as Luc took her
other one. She would talk to Tyr later, once she understood more about what had
happened in the past and what was happening now. The emotions of the last
twenty-four hours were a knotted tangle in her chest. Untying them was a
complication she wasn’t yet ready to handle.

Tyr felt completely bereft watching Irina
turn away from him on Luc’s arm. Cassi and Luc were giving her the comfort he
wanted to provide. Ached to provide. But Irina had shut him out. His hands fisted
with the need to punch something or someone. Preferably Luc. He knew that
wasn’t an option. Irina obviously had feelings for Luc and she was hurting
right now. If he attacked Luc like some jealous stalker, it would only hurt her
more and he didn’t want that. After what they had just shared, it was now his
mission in life to make sure Irina was happy, safe and warm. Preferably in his
arms.

Luc had ushered Irina to his vehicle, a
two-seater sports car, so Tyr had no alternative but to go with Cassi to Stonehenge,
which she claimed was the closest starportal to Lyra. Apparently starportals
were to be found all over the world at places connected to the stars, planets
or the worship of the gods of the sky. These starportals contained high
concentrations of temporal energy that when harnessed properly, opened gateways
to other planets in the universe. The pyramids, ancient stone circles and
temples dedicated to Apollo were some of the best access points and beings from
these other realms had been using these portals for millennia, living among the
Earthani and sometimes procreating, so that many humans were unknowingly of
alien origin. Cassi explained that Earthani who were gifted with special
talents they often hid, such as precognition, mindreading or telekinesis had in
fact genetically inherited these gifts from their otherworldly ancestors.

Other Earthani myths for supernatural
creatures, vampires, witches and werewolves also stemmed from the visits of
Lyrani, Ophiuchi or Eridani, some of whom had extremely long life spans and
could wield magick. Cassi’s species from Auriga, she informed him, were
directly responsible for angel myths as some of them had wings and were pretty
much immortal unless decapitated and then burned. When she explained that she
was in fact nearly three thousand years old, Tyr had to agree that she didn’t
look half bad for someone who could be his great grandmother sixty-seven times
removed.

Tyr listened to Cassi with half an ear as
he followed Luc’s Porsche, all his thoughts centered on Irina.

He had felt her withdrawal as the thread of
connection that had sparked with life during their passionate encounter was
once again muted and dull. She was blocking him out, his anger indefensible. He
battled with himself to give her space, his logical brain telling him she
needed time to adjust to the new information, but the thought of her with Luc!
His illogical heart warred against himself urging him to force her to his side,
beat the shit out of Luc and kiss her senseless. God! She had made him burn.
And having tasted her sweetness, he was already craving more.

“So what did Abrasax want you to do for
him, Tyr?” Cassi broke into his thoughts. “I know him of old and he likes
playing with people. Divide and rule is one of his tactics. How much did he
tell you?”

“He told me that I am the essence of War,
that he wants me on his side and that your side fights against his.”

“Did he tell you why we fight them?”

“Not really.” Tyr shrugged. He didn’t want
to give away too much at this point.

“Why have you jumped ship then? I’m sure he
offered you something in return for your services.”

Tyr could hear the hint of suspicion in her
voice. Cassi didn’t trust him and that would usually be fine. He trusted no one
but himself. To reach his endgame, however, he needed to gain her trust and
that of the Eunomi Alliance. He shrugged again. “I didn’t want Irina to get
hurt and I’m not sure I want what Abrasax has to offer. I thought I’d find out
what you guys can offer me instead.”

“Ah. A mercenary,” said Cassi. “Great. Now
that I know where you stand it will make things so much simpler.”

* * * * *

Irina sat in the passenger seat, head
resting against the window, staring out into the dark. She knew Luc wanted to
talk, had caught his curious glances reflected in the glass and knew it
couldn’t be avoided. “So,” he began slowly. “You and the champ… Anything you
want to tell me?”

She sighed and shifted position to face
him. “I’m not sure what to say. It’s complicated.”

“It always is, darling,” he scoffed
lightly. “He’s accused of murder and mixed up with a bunch of crazies, plus we
are, the three of us, apparently very special unique beings who have to save
the universe. It can’t be any more complicated than that.”

“What exactly did Cassi tell you about it?”
she asked. Luc glanced over at her with a wry smile. “I’m not sure I understood
much of it. She told me it’s all about yin and yang and maintaining some kind
of balance. The essences we hold help make that possible.” Irina frowned back
at him. “But how exactly do we
do
that?”

Luc grimaced at her. “Well that’s the
million-dollar question,” he said, “and the bit she didn’t get around to
explaining. So let’s hope we’re not in for a nasty surprise.”