"Again,” he demanded, thrusting hard, wanting, needing, every ounce from her. Her litany ran over him, through him, exploding glorious heat through their minds. “And I,” he vowed,
“will love you for eternity and never leave you."
Her climax sent him spiralling beyond control and into bliss.
* * * *
"I,” she said, sometime later, “have no energy to move. I think I'll sleep right here in these bubbles."
"Your skin will wrinkle like a prune. Not a good look, let me assure you.” He climbed out of the spa and quickly dried himself. “Up, woman. Bed is where you belong right now."
"My legs have no bones."
He grinned. “Good loving can do that to you."
"That wasn't good. That was amazing . I've never...” she hesitated and licked her lips. For an instant, she looked like a teenager just discovering the wonders of sex. “Let's just say that it has never been that good for me."
"Then it was a first for us both.” He wrapped the towel around his waist, then leaned over the side of the hot tub and grabbed her lax arm, tugging her toward the edge.
She raised her eyebrows and made no move to get out. “I find that hard to believe. In three hundred and eighty years you must have had some good sex."musement fled from her face. “Yes.” She shuddered. “It was awful, though. God, I felt her suck his thoughts dry. It felt like she was sucking mine..."
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, comforting her even though he knew they had to get going. Elizabeth wouldn't hesitate to attack a second time—not if she found them still in this room.
"We only have one choice, Nikki. We can't leave him like this. They'll only continue to use him, and when they've finished, they'll kill him anyway."
"I know.” She hesitated, then pulled out of his arms. “Make it quick." Hands clenched and back rigid, she walked to the door, her back to the room. He turned to the teenager and gently closed the kid's unseeing eyes.
I hope you find peace in death, Matthew.
The words echoed through the emptiness that was the teenager's mind. Anger tore through him. Elizabeth had no right to do this. Not to a mere boy like Matthew. Not to anyone. He wrapped an arm around the teenager's neck, grabbed his head with the other, and twisted sharply, just the once. Human life was all too fragile, so easily taken. He laid Matthew gently on the bed and joined Nikki by the door.
She glanced up at him. There were tears in her eyes and her thoughts. “How could you love someone capable of doing something like that?"
"I don't love her.” It was the truth. He hadn't loved Elizabeth for a very long time—if he'd ever truly loved her. It had just taken him a long time to realize it.
"But you did love her once."
"Perhaps.” He touched her back, feeling the chill in her skin through the dampness of her clothes. She needed warmth, not darkness and death. He guided her past the traps. “Let's move, before she gets back."
She shivered, but he wasn't sure if it was the cold or the thought of Elizabeth returning.
"Will she come after us in revenge for Matthew?"
He doubted very much whether Elizabeth would really even care about the boy. She'd had her fun, and it was Cordell who'd wanted the teenager's help, not her. Besides, if she had really wanted them dead, she would have attacked right away, when she'd had the upper hand.
"I think it's Cordell we have to worry about, not Elizabeth." Doubt ran through the link, as bright as fire. “Don't trust her, Michael. The darkness in her heart is stronger than you think."
Seline had said much the same thing, and he wasn't about to take either warning lightly. “It's Cordell who's pulling everyone's strings, Elizabeth's included.” And it was about time he did something about it. But not before he got Nikki out of this resort and back home to safety.
Chapter Eighteen
Nikki flopped on the bed and closed her eyes. Images ran past her eyelids—visions of fear intermixed with pleasure. Elizabeth had sucked Matthew's mind dry even as she made love to him. And it had all happened in that office, with Cordell watching avidly.
Sick. They were all sick. She swallowed heavily. They might be sick, but they were also very dangerous. Michael had locked all the doors to their room, but she couldn't escape the notion that if Cordell wanted to get in here, he could do so without using the doors. Easily. From the bathroom came the sound of running water. Michael preparing the hot tub for a bath she didn't want. She didn't care about the need to get warm. She just wanted Michael to take her in his arms and hold her. She had a very strong suspicion time was running out for them. She knew, too, that he intended to ask her to go home. But he had a snowball's chance in hell of making that happen. He was going to need her help to survive the battle that loomed, and she had no intention of going anywhere.
"You're not getting undressed."
She opened her eyes. He leaned against the bathroom door frame, dark hair tousled and a warm light in his eyes. “I don't have the energy."