Tactical Magik (Immortal Ops) (8 page)

“I’m going to get you out of here and then I’m going to feed you.”

She grinned. “Sounds like a plan. But I did have a banana before you so rudely walked in on me getting cleaned up.”

He flashed a wicked grin that screamed sex. What was with him? Every action he did in some way made her think naughty thoughts. “I’d say I was sorry but… And I saw your work with that apple. Impressive,” he said.

She laughed and it felt good to do so after so long of finding little joy in anything. She understood their circumstances were not a laughing matter, but it beat crying her eyes out. That wouldn’t fix anything. As soon as she thought about tears, she found some wanting to come. She looked away, hoping Eadan’s eyesight wasn’t good in the low light.

He held her hand tighter. “Inara?”

“Hmm?”

He caressed her hand with his thumb. “Tell me about your sketches.”

She froze. He knew about them? How? “I don’t want to talk about them.”

Eadan kissed the back of her hand and warmth continued to spread throughout her. Now wasn’t the time to develop wet panties for a guy she’d just met. Now was time to hold her shit together, figure a way out, and go to ground again. As Eadan planted another kiss on her hand, she got the feeling she wouldn’t go anywhere without him.

She pulled on her courage and leaned her head against his shoulder. “I don’t know why I draw you. I just do.”

“How long have you been doing it?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Since forever. What does it mean?”

He said nothing.

She groaned. “I sold a few. Naked ones.”
 

“There are naked drawings of me out in the world?” he asked.
 

She shrugged and was about to comment but decided against it. Didn’t seem important now considering the mess they were in.

He put his head to hers and they sat in silence for a while. She was upset he didn’t answer the question, but got the sense she might not like what he had to say if he did, so she left it alone. Besides, it felt good to be near him. She ran her other hand over his shackle. “The lead, it stops you from being able to use your magik?”

“Yes.”

“And it burns you, doesn’t it?” she asked, seeing his skin now looked raw where the shackles touched.

“I’m fine.”

Guilt assailed her. She opened her mouth and words came flooding out, “When you were out cold, I was petting your chest. I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.
You
try not touching you.”

Chapter Six

It took all of Eadan’s control to avoid laughing at Inara’s obviously sincere apology. She’d touched him that way? He was pissed he’d missed it. The very idea of her hands on his body made his cock stir to life again. Eadan had to fight to keep from kissing the back of her hand. It was enough she was permitting him to touch her. He didn’t want to push too far.

He should stop and look for another way out, yet he couldn’t seem to pull himself from her side. For the moment, he was where he needed to be.
 

“Are you mad?” she asked. The vulnerability in her voice moved him. “That makes me one of those creepy people, doesn’t it?”

“Tell you what,” he answered, looking for words to set her mind at ease. “Let’s get out of here and you can pet me as much as you want, okay?”

“Promise?” She blinked. “I mean, um, I’m good. It’s all good.”

Hell yeah, it was fine with him if she petted him. She could rub him all over. He’d welcome it. But as much as he wanted to remain in contact with her, they needed out of the container and fast. Helmuth knew enough to put him in lead-laced chains and a lead-lined box. That meant he fully understood who and what Eadan was—that he was Fae.

And that meant PSI had a mole. Helmuth’s men shouldn’t have been expecting him. Yet, clearly they were.
 

Dammit.

Inara tugged on his hand, returning his full attention to her.

“When you were out cold, and I was petting you, it suddenly felt and sounded like hundreds of bees were buzzing around us.” She turned her face away from him. “And your head healed when it happened.”
 

Eadan gasped. Her Fae side had responded to his, as a mate would. She’d healed him without realizing what she’d done.
 

She is my true mate.

“I’m your true what?” she asked.
 

Eadan grinned. She could read his thoughts. As a mate should be able to. Though, she didn’t seem to have registered she had. He’d seen this happen to couples before. Sometimes, they tried to rationalize what was happening before admitting to the strange and wonderful.
 

Grabbing her and holding her close before claiming her as a Fae male would was all he wanted to do. Their current predicament demanded he postpone that desire, however difficult that may be. It was especially hard because Eadan’s line of Fae derived power from sex. It intensified their gifts.
 

She looked at him and tried to pull her hand free from his. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why it happened or even really understand what happened.”
 

He kept hold of her hand, bringing it to his lips once again. He kissed it and noticed she closed her eyes, leaning in to him more. That was a good thing. It meant they trusted one another on a baser level. It was elemental, as it should be. “Inara, you healed me. Like a mate would.”
 

“A mate?” she asked.
 

“We can talk about that later.”
 

A confused expression covered her face. “How could I heal you? I’m not magik.”
 

“You’re more magik than you realize,” he responded.
 

Skepticism entered her green gaze. “No. I just touched you and then…then there was a buzzing. It increased when—” She looked to the floor, seeming entirely too interested in it. “Never mind.”
 

He fought the urge to grin. She was sexually shy and he found that endearing as all get out. Since his line of Fae were sexual by nature, it was refreshing to have a woman like Inara near him. There was an innocence about her that made him question Jack’s statement that she might be romantically linked with James Hagen.
 

His temper began to rise but he held firm, refusing to allow it to ruin the small exchanges between them. “The buzz grew when you were aroused, correct?” he asked, already knowing the answer to his question.
 

She groaned. “Yes. Fine. It did. What does that mean?”
 

“That we can heal one another through sexual energy.”
 

She jerked her hand free from his and stood. He made no move to go after her. She needed to feel safe with him. He understood that. He’d read what little had been in her file. She’d had a rough go of it. Life hadn’t been kind and he was guessing he’d probably never get all the gritty details out of her. He’d give her all the time he could, considering their situation, to come to terms with everything. He sat still, watching her move, memorizing the sway of her hips, silently wanting them swaying above him as she rode him.

She twisted and looked at his wrists. “The lead, it hurts you, right?”
 

“I said I was fine.” Eadan didn’t want her concerned with him.
 

“You lied,” she corrected. “You’re not fine.”
 

She had him there. He nodded.
 

Inara approached him slowly, as if she were prey nearing a predator. Her actions were cautious. He remained in place, knowing it helped her feel in control of the situation. She moved to her knees and reached out a tentative hand to him. Her fingers skimmed his wrists and her bottom lip began to tremble. As moisture coated her green eyes, his chest tightened. The struggle within her was evident. She wanted to help him but was scared of what helping him might mean. It was too much for anyone, especially someone her age. He couldn’t blame her.
 

“Inara, I’m fine. I’ll heal this on my own at some point. I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.” He meant every word he said. He’d rather have his hands fall clean off than cause her a moment of emotional or physical pain.
 

Because she’s your mate and that is what mates do for one another.
 

“I could heal you though, right?”
 

He pressed his lips together a moment. “I don’t want you doing anything you don’t want to—”

She launched herself at him, knocking him backward. He fell with her in his arms. He absorbed the impact of their bodies hitting the floor. The feel of her body pressed to his caused him to gasp, opening his mouth to hers. Her lips met his and Eadan’s eyes widened as she thrust her tongue into his mouth. He gave up trying to reason with her and simply gave in to her kiss.
 

She purred and the sound drove his lust into overdrive. Power began to build around them. It shouldn’t have been able to, with the lead chains and lead-lined container, yet it was.
 

True mates.
 

The power latched on to Eadan’s and blended with it, intensifying everything on his body, making him feel her even more. Her hands were everywhere at once, tugging at his shirt before pushing it up his torso as best she could. The fucking chains restricted both their movements.
 

Their tongues intertwined, driving the sex lust onward. Grinding himself up against her mound more, he could sense her nearing culmination. Damn, his woman was fiery and responded to touch beautifully.

Magik continued to beat at the air around them. Had Eadan been free from the chains, he knew his power would have removed their clothing already. It could do that and so much more.
 

Inara pushed down on him, her jaw going slack. “Ohmygod!”
 

He knew then she was coming. The power around them grew to epic proportions. Eadan tried to control it in some fashion but couldn’t. The next he knew it felt as if tiny strings were threading between them. Try as he might to stop it, he was powerless in the face of the sex magik. They were true mates and they were doing what true mates did when they shared power—they were forever cementing the bond between them. Should he actually slip his cock into her and share his seed with her, they would be husband and wife in the eyes of the supernatural community. It would be an unbreakable bond. Already they’d laid the groundwork for it. Already they would forever be tied to one another.

Slow down. She needs a say in this.
 

Eadan’s pulse raced with each caress of her hands over his torso. Her kisses came faster, more desperate than before. He knew then the power building was affecting her as well. The faerie in them both craved this, craved sex and stimulation.
 

Growling, he flipped her onto her back gently, his body moving over hers. He had to have more of her and fast. Taking the lead with the kiss, he circled her tongue, drawing tiny moans of passion from her. His cock, ready for sex, was painfully hard. Inara wrapped her legs around his waist, biting at his lower lip and moaning a moan that screamed sex. Her sweet taste and eager kisses spurred him onward as he ground against her mound. Each swipe, each rotation of his hips, elicited gasps from her. As she dug her fingers into his upper arms, she pressed her mouth to his ear.
 

“Please.”
 

His lips found hers once more and he smiled against them. It was good she wanted him too. Good that the gods had selected right for them. Eadan wanted to stroke her face and feel his way down her, undressing her slowly, but the chains prevented that.
 

Dammit.
 

There was too much clothing between them. He needed in her and soon or he’d burst like a teenage boy. She pushed against him, her movements as hungry as he felt. If she kept rubbing on him like that, he’d come in his jeans and embarrass himself.

She grabbed his backside and squeezed. “I need you.”
 

He needed her too. She’d already begun to fill the void he had in his heart. The hollow pit he thought would remain empty and fester with angst and bitterness. In the short time he’d known Inara she’d already began to chase away the loneliness, push back the darkness and heal the damage that had been done to his heart so long ago.
 

Her tongue danced around his. Fuck, the woman could kiss.
 

The power continued to build. She’d been close in her saying it felt like bees buzzing around them. It did. Energy and strength poured into him. He knew it was doing the same to her. She needed it. She’d been so drained when he’d first met her.
 

His system jolted as she put her fingers down the top of his jeans. Raw need bore through him but it brought with it something else—the knowledge this was too much, too soon. He was about to take his mate on the floor of a container.
 

Like an animal.
 

He stopped everything and pulled off her, careful with the chains as one caught in her hair. He worked it out gently and eased back, shaking his head. Eadan took large deep breaths. “Inara, no. We can’t. Not like this. Not here.”
 

“Oh, we can,” she protested, and made a move to tackle him again. He had to hand it to her, she was motivated, for sure. She grabbed the top of his jeans, her fingers skimming his skin and making him second guess the higher road he was attempting to take.

He wanted to slide into her, to take what she was offering, but he couldn’t. Not under these circumstances. More importantly, not without her knowing the truth. That if they did, she’d be his wife. He nearly kicked himself for having morals as he said, “No.”

She paused in her mission to get his jeans fully undone. Confusion knitted her brow. “You don’t want me?”

“I fucking want you so bad I can’t even begin to put it into words, but this isn’t how I want you. I want to take you when we’re not locked up. When it’s safe. When I can spend hours upon hours pleasing you.”