The other Outsiders had all been so good, so upstanding until now. But they weren't always the good guys and her arrival meant it was finally time to get things moving. She could be as badass as Zane when it was called for.
"If you can fix her"—Leonardo ran his hand
through his hair—"then do it."
She nodded and walked past him into the room. Alexa slept on her side, her hair falling over her face. The other woman was out cold, which Raquel would have to guess was how she spent most of her days—out cold with the demon's evil eating at her cells. Enough was enough.
"Raquel."
Zane's voice called out to her from behind. She wasn't surprised he'd found her. He was a tracker, whether he knew that yet or not. He'd always locate her.
"I've come to fix her. We can't progress forward
until it's done."
He walked up behind her, placing his strong hands on her shoulders. His breath warmed her shoulder and she leaned back into him. "Does it have to be tonight? You've been unconscious for two days. Alexa is sleeping. Could we start first thing?"
She opened her mouth to argue and then closed it. Having woken up with her memories suddenly intact all she could think about was moving forward, pressing into the mission, doing what needed to be done.
"Um. Could be I'm a little gung ho here."
He pressed his nose to her hair. "Come with me. I need to hear about what happened to you. I have to…see that you're fine."
She took his hand. "In the morning then."
"Yes." They walked together past Leonardo and back toward Zane's room.
Their leader nodded at them before he spoke. "I'm glad you got your memories, Raquel. It'll be hugely helpful, I'm sure."
When Zane led her back into their living space and closed the door, he finally spoke again. "When I woke up and you weren't here, I really got scared."
"It's like my recollection of previous times has given me energy I'm afraid I'm going to lose."
"Or maybe it was the hours and hours you slept like the dead. Perhaps that had something to do with your sudden burst of go-get-it-ness." He pulled her to him. "I have to kiss you. It's a must."
His lips met hers and Raquel gasped. He'd hardly given her any warning and the suddenness of his tenderness surprised her. She paused for a second before she melted against him. Zane's mouth was hard and the kiss was a claiming. Or in their case, a reclaiming. Even if he didn't remember it yet.
"Zane." She breathed into his mouth. "Too long
apart."
He pulled her back to stare into her eyes, his hands pressed on both of her cheeks. "I don't know what you remember. I'm sure eventually I will. But, I do think you brought light to my life, beautiful. Where everything else was dead."
She leaned forward and bit down on his lower lip. His body jolted against hers and he moaned deep in his throat.
"You don't have my memories. Fine. Let's make some new ones."
Chapter Five
Zane had to breathe. He had to slow down, take this more gently. They barely knew each other yet. But then her hand stroked down the front of his jeans and his cock jumped to life. With shaking hands, he twirled her around until he could push her down on the bed.
She had to keep her hands to herself or he'd embarrass himself. "Hands over your head."
Raquel's cheeks turned pink. "Really?"
He bent over her until their noses touched. "Something wrong with your hearing?"
She shook her head and did as he'd instructed. Zane lay down on top of her, keeping most of his weight off her by leaning on his elbows. Her breasts were soft pressed against his chest. He breathed her in.
He was drunk on Raquel. He'd watched her for hours, unsure what was happening, not knowing if she'd wake up. Then he'd opened his eyes and she'd been gone. Zane was done. Terror was exhausting and had left him frayed. He needed to be inside Raquel.
His mouth met hers. Raquel had the softest lips. He cupped her chin, bringing her closer. Zane was never going to be able to get over his hunger for her. He knew it. The need would be forever. He touched the side of her face, stroking his thumbs down her cheeks.
Raquel moaned, squirming beneath him. Her hips pushed up against his and his cock, which had been behaving for the most part, sprang harder to life. He groaned, pushing his erection toward her hips. The need to claim her rode him hard.
She was his destined soul mate. He'd never been so happy to have fate fuck with his life. "Have we done this before?"
He kissed her neck, just behind her ear, and she shuddered.
"Many times."
"I hope I live up to the memory of me."
She snorted. "You're so ridiculous."
"Am I?" He laughed, her response so unexpected. "I'm going to show you ridiculous."
He tugged off her shirt throwing it to the side. Her breasts splayed out before him drawing his immediate attention. She was so beautiful.
Zane captured her nipple between his teeth and bit down. Her body jolted. "Sshh, beautiful baby. I've got you. You're going to come a couple times tonight."
She tasted like honey and he decided it was his new favorite flavor. Her skin was smooth. She was soft and she fit against him perfectly.
"Zane." She didn't say anything else but reached out to stroke the side of his face.
"Hands above your head. Hold onto the headboard." He scooted down and tugged at her pants, pulling them down to her ankles before he discarded them altogether. She could find them later or not. Maybe if he kept her pants-less she wouldn't go and do something stupid like try to fix Alexa all by herself.
He pushed the thought from his mind. They'd have later to deal with her putting herself in harm's way when she didn't need to. Now he got to pleasure her until both of them couldn't think at all.
Zane got rid of her panties and let himself take a good, long look at her sweet pussy. His mouth watered.
He pressed a finger inside. She was warm, wet, and waiting for him to make her night. He couldn't wait.
Zane stroked a finger inside of her, finding the bundle of nerves he sought before giving them a pinch. She jerked beneath him, more of her juices coating his fingers. She liked it. He grinned. That was just what he wanted to give her. If pleasure came from a little pain he'd make sure she got what she needed.
All he needed was her.
"Like that?" He pinched her again and she arched off the bed. "I want to know all your places."
"You do." She reached up to run her hand down the side of his cheek. "I belong to you. I always will."
Her words were as much an aphrodisiac as anything he had ever experienced. She was it for him and to hear her say she felt the same way? It filled a space inside of him that had been empty his whole life.
He was so hard it was painful. His balls were rocks and every nerve ending on his body was alive with both pleasure and longing.
"You have too many clothes on." She tugged at his clothing and he moved back to help her undress him. Her eyes travelled down his body and it felt like a caress, like she'd stroked him with her hands instead of only her gaze alone.
"There you go. You are like a giant muscle. Life has kept you hard, hasn't it?'
He pressed his nose to her neck, needing to smell her. The skin was so soft and he planted a kiss right in the center of it. "You smell like roses. Do you put something on your skin?"
She sucked in her breath. "And he ignores my
question."
Her hand travelled lower until she cupped his cock. With a squeeze she nearly made him come.
He hissed in his breath. "Oh, wow, baby. Not so
much. I'll never get inside of you."
He pushed her hand away and she laughed. So the little vixen wanted to play? That sounded good to him. "Roll over."
Raquel grinned and did as he instructed. When she was on her knees in front of him, he pulled her against his chest, giving him easier access to her pussy. Zane pressed another finger inside of her. "You'
re so tight."
She leaned her head against his chest. "By all means, loosen me up."
He bit down on her shoulder, gently but enough to hear her gasp and to leave a mark where he wanted one. "Done this before?"
"Not in this lifetime but my memories of the last few lives are still pretty strong."
With every second that passed, his need for her grew exponentially. This woman belonged to him. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't." She shook her head. "Don't hold back over some kind of misguided fear. I'm an Outsider woman. I can take whatever you dish."
He pressed against her opening, trying to stay as slow as he could manage. Inch by inch he filled her up holding her against him as he did. She cried out, her muscles clenching around his cock. This was the sweetest torture.
"More." She panted. "I can fit you all the way inside. Please, more."
Who was he to deny her? Zane pressed in and out of her, picking up speed, slowing down based on the cues her body gave him. He reached between them. Taking her from behind gave him better access to the parts of her he wanted to play with—namely her clit. He could press as deep inside as he wanted, too.
He stroked her bundle of nerves until she panted and then he pushed himself balls deep until she cried out. Yes, that was what he wanted. She needed to know he could do this for her, he could make her scream his name. She belonged to him.
Her breasts fit perfectly in his hands and he squeezed them, pulling her against his chest to nuzzle her neck. His cock grew inside of her, filling her even tighter. Her pussy was like a vice around him. If she moved at all, he might spill himself a lot sooner than he intended.
She ran her hands through the hair on top of his thighs and he groaned. He'd never known he was sensitive there but apparently he had a spot. Or maybe everywhere she touched him would always be a turn-on from then on.
She pressed back on him and he couldn't stay still any longer. They found their rhythm quickly, like he'd always known how they would move together. The thought didn't surprise him—this was only their first time together in this lifetime.
Presumably he'd gotten her off many times.
She stroked the side of his cheek. "More. Now."
"Yes, ma'am." He was happy to give her what she wanted however she needed it. Zane lost himself to their movements. Every plunge, every push brought him closer to completion but he would not come until she did.
Her pleasure was and would always be paramount to him.
She sighed, a deep sound before her body shuddered. Raquel made the sweetest sounds he'd ever heard. He clenched his teeth, wanting to draw out her pleasure as long as possible even as the urge to spill himself deep inside of her played on him hard.
His balls ached and his blood pumped loudly, sounding in his ears.
"Come, baby." Her voice was low, sultry. "Please, I want you to. I need you to."
His body responded even before he could think. Zane spent inside of her. Tears he'd pretend he didn't shed spilled out of his eyes and he batted them away. Being with Raquel was the greatest pleasure in the universe—and such a damned relief.
She had made what was cold inside of him warm, for the first time in his life.
He took a deep breath, kissing her shoulder when he did. There would be no life without Raquel in it, not ever again. She couldn't bring him peace for the first time ever and then take it away. He closed his eyes. The future they had seen couldn't be allowed to take place. If the others even felt a portion of how he did, it would be too awful to endure. He'd been going through the motions of commitment to the battle—but shit had just gotten real.
*****
Raquel slept next to him, breathing in and out, but Zane hadn't been able to turn his brain off. There was too much to do and too little happening to make any of it occur. Zane slipped out of bed. He hated to leave her but considering Raquel's own get down to business attitude, he kind of thought she'd understand.
"I'll be back later." He whispered the thought in her mind, wanting to plant it there but not to disturb her at the same time.
Zane had to get out the caves, which meant he needed a transporter. Relying on others to take him places really sucked. But if he didn't want to crawl out of the cave and then find transportation to take him thousands of miles away, he was going to need some help.
After a quick shower, he threw on some new clothes and made his way out into the hallway. What were the chances either Drew or Gabriel were awake? Probably low. They'd be happily asleep with their soul mates. He shook his head. What the fuck was he doing? He should be wrapped up in Raquel and getting ready to make up for lost time inside her sweet pussy.
"Hey." He swung around at the sound of Gabe's voice. The other man leaned against the cave wall eating an apple. He took a bite before he spoke again.
Half-chewing, half speaking, he addressed Zane. "I can't sleep. I had this ridiculous need to get up and see if I could find you."
"I had to get up, too." Zane rubbed at his temple. He hated when it looked like forces outside themselves played on them. Both he and Gabe suffering from insomnia at the same time? It wasn't coincidental. There was no such thing in his life. "I think I need to get into that safe. Today. There's no time to waste."
Gabe tossed his apple into the garbage next to him. "You officially mated now?"
"We doing this? Like the women? Going to talk about it? Yes, fuck, we're together. What the hell?" He shook his head. "Can we get out of here, now?"
Gabriel held up his hand in front of him. "I don't want the details, jackass. I'm asking because if you've officially done the deed than you might have found your second power. You can open safes. That's number one. You can talk to ghosts—well fantastic, most of us can do that.
So what's your second power?"
He shrugged. "I have no idea."
"Don't you? What am I doing up and waiting for you?"
Zane stopped breathing for a second. "I assumed it was an ancestor thing. Like they wanted us to do this so we're both up."
"Maybe." Gabriel shrugged. "Let's test it. What else do you want? Maybe you'd like to tell Leonardo about your plans to get the safe open."
"I really don't." The last thing Zane wanted was a conversation at four in the morning with their leader. The man needed to get his head out of his ass. "Although I wouldn't mind taking Colin along if he was up. He can become invisible. I think it would be really useful to have someone prowling around outside the scribe's house unseen."
The last thing Zane wanted was Sebastian showing up unseen while he lost himself in opening the safe and…
A door banged open as Colin appeared in front of him, tugging his shirt on as he did. "Are you two going somewhere? I think I should probably come. "
Gabriel exhaled loudly. "Zane, you are one powerful fucker. We're going to have to figure out how you can stop doing that. Or at least not do it except on purpose. Otherwise we're all going to be puppets to you. Like zombies."
The other man's words froze him in place. Like zombies? The creatures who roamed around outside, who threatened his life and the lives of those around him, who had plagued him most of his existence in one way or another.
Who had never bothered the others until he came along…
"I think I need your brother, Colin, to read me the prophecy again. I think I need to hear exactly what it says about us."
A door banged in the distance and Zane groaned. He'd bet money it was Christophe suddenly on his way with the prophecy. They were in a lot of trouble. If this was his second power, he'd love to give it back. Immediately.
*****
Raquel rubbed her eyes as she walked down the hall of the caves toward Alexa's room. There was commotion further away and it involved Zane. She could feel his irritation but he wasn't scared or in danger. If they were going to get through the next bit of the battle, they were going to have to survive on their own without constantly being in each other's company. Much as she would have preferred otherwise.
<
br /> He held half of her soul and always had. Standing in his vicinity while he argued with whomever had pissed him off wasn't as important as getting Alexa back on the path she should have been on. Oh, hell. She stopped moving. Who was she kidding? From the moment she'd opened her eyes, she'd ached to see him, like some kind of codependent ninny. This was so unlike her.
"You okay?" His voice in her head was soothing.
"I was just going to ask you the same thing. I'm having a hard time staying away from you. Like you're some kind of addiction. Not that it's a bad thing but I'm not used to needing anyone so much."
She could hear his smile in her mind, which was a weird sensation. How was it possible to actually hear his amusement before he said a word? "You tell me, honey, you're the one with all the past life memories. Isn't the constant need for one another typical in the beginning? I hear that Kal was practically feral. Should we be concerned? Are we abnormal?"
Raquel rolled her eyes, which, considering she could hear him grin, she would bet he could hear her doing, as well. "So then you miss me too."
"Completely. But I'm in a bit of a situation here. Seems I can kind of make people do what I want. I've seen Gia do it but this is a whole other level. Leonardo is working on getting me some control of this."
Raquel paused. "I'll come to you right now."
"There's nothing you can do here. Go to Alexa. I'll catch up with you shortly. I think my plan to go see that safe again may have been sidelined. I assume I've handled this in the past?"
She thought about it. "It's never been a problem before but then again we've never been so badly prepared for what's happening to us."
"What the fuck else is new?"
Her soul mate had always had the ability to control people. Generally speaking, he didn't use the power—at least not toward other Outsiders. She shook her head. Things were so complicated. Goosebumps broke out on her arms and she rubbed them away. They'd had so many lives. Why was she frightened? If they lost this one, they'd have another go against another demon.
Unless this was the last…