It’s all that needs to be said. Storm stays still for a long time, still watching me ardently. “I’ve…thought about them,” he admits after a long moment. “And I’ve thought about you. I…” He fidgets, looking suddenly self-conscious. “I realise I haven’t exactly made the best case for myself in this regard,” he says stiffly. “I haven’t been kind to them. Hell, I’ve hurt them.” He licks his lips, clearly unsure of himself, so I give his hand a reassuring squeeze. “What I didn’t realise was that when I hurt them, I was hurting you, too,” he tells me quietly.
“Storm…,” I say, hardly daring to believe it. “Are you saying…?”
The weather god clears his throat. “I’m not saying it will be easy,” he admits. “And it will take…time. But the only thing I hate more than the idea of sharing you, Karma, is the idea of bringing you pain. So if that means letting them love you the way I do…” He takes a deep breath. “I’m willing to try.”
I swear, you can hear my heart melting. “Storm,” I murmur, wrapping my arms around his neck, “I love you too.”
That seems to do it for him, as almost instantly he’s rolling me over, pushing me back on the bed as he peppers me with frantic kisses. I bask in his touch, the catharsis a hundred times more spectacular than I could have ever expected, and soon we’re a mess of pawing hands and lips, murmuring things to each other as we come undone in each other’s arms. Somehow he gets my clothes off, and I help him with his, even as his hands are on my breasts, on my hips, easing down to that place between my thighs and coaxing sounds out of me that I didn’t even know I was capable of. He takes his time with it, nudging my legs apart with his thigh as he allows his fingers to continue their work, sending waves of pleasure through my body with even the slightest movement. I’m like clay in his hands, coming undone at his touch, and from the sounds the storm god is making, he’s feeling similarly.
I buck my hips instinctively into Storm’s hand as he gradually increases his pace, the thumb on my clit working in tight circles while he palms my breast with his free hand, his purple eyes boring into me. His lips muffle my desperate cry as my orgasm hits me full force, leaving me trembling in his arms as he shelters me with his muscular body.
“I love you,” I tell him again once I’m finally able to articulate, and that seems to set him off.
Storm growls my name and settles between my legs, a hand on my thigh as he pushes into me with a long stroke that leaves me gasping. He gives me some time to adjust before he starts to move, his mouth pressed to my neck while I tangle my hands in his hair. His pace is quick and intense, every shift of his hips feeling like it’s lighting me on fire as he pulls my body against his. I can already feel another orgasm on the heels of my last one, and before long I’m seeing stars, moaning breathlessly against his lips as he makes love to me like there’s no tomorrow. I come again moments before he does, his hips stuttering as he finishes inside me and buries his face in my shoulder while we catch our breaths. Dazed, I run my hands through his hair as I stare up at the ceiling, for once without words.
I shiver when he pulls out of me, collapsing next to me on the bed and allowing me to nuzzle my face into his chest. “Please don’t go,” I implore him when I feel him move. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“You’re not alone, Karma,” Storm murmurs, pressing a kiss to the top of my head while his hands run absently up and down my back. “You never were.”
Chapter 63
“We need to talk,” dad announces that evening as we sit down around the dinner table. He’s addressing all of us, and I can tell by the tone of his voice that he means business. Hugo and Damien quiet down at their end of the table, while Peyton puts a comforting arm around Mads’s shoulders, squeezing her tightly once before letting her go. I’m seated between Storm and Killian, with Seth in the spot across from me; the guys’ proximity gives me more strength than I thought possible. In the aftermath of my time with Storm, it seems like some of the tension has eased up between them, and I have to give the weather god credit for the effort he’s clearly putting into this. It’s heartwarming, and even if they haven’t gone to being best friends overnight, there’s an air of tentative compromise between the three of them that I recognise without them needing to say anything. Granted, it’s only been a day, but still…progress is progress.
“Go ahead, honey,” mum says, setting her silverware aside to look at dad.
“I’m not all that familiar with…you know, magic,” he says, making a vague gesture towards the assembled supernatural beings. “It’s a little weird being the only human here, actually.” He grins self-deprecatingly. “But that’s not the point. The point is, sooner or later we’re going to have to decide what to do. About this Neritous situation.”
It’s something I’ve thought about, myself. We’ve only been here a few days, but I’m already starting to get anxious, and I can tell I’m not the only one. We’re all waiting for the next development, the next catastrophe, and the air of tension that’s permeated the house hasn’t managed to dissipate entirely. It’s yet another reminder of the fact that there are other people involved in this.
Seth clears his throat. “Mr. Kismet has a point,” he agrees, still sounding absurdly formal, but I know better than to expect any different. It’s charming in its own way. “It would be naive to expect him to leave us alone, especially when we’re camping out at your childhood home, Karma. We’re like sitting ducks in here.”
“Not exactly,” mum puts in. “I’ve put anti-magic wards on all the doors. Nothing super fancy, but it’s the best we can afford. The barrier should keep all but the most powerful gods away from the house.”
“Unluckily for us,” I reply grimly, “Neritous is one of the most powerful gods. And Seth is right. As much as I hate to say it, they’re going to have ways of tracking us down sooner or later.” One glance at Killian, who gives me a curt nod, is enough to tell me I’m right. The justice twins weren’t even high ranking in the godly hierarchy when they came after me, and they were still able to track me down in no time flat. It would be naive to think we’re out of the woods, and it makes me go crazy with worry.
“If I may,” Storm speaks up, resting his hands on the table, “I think it would be prudent to consider all our options. We need to pick our priority. Whether that’s hunting Neritous down or getting as far away as possible, we can’t stay here much longer.” His eyes meet Seth’s, and he nods at the justice twin in silent support of what he said earlier. Am I fucking dreaming, or are they actually getting along?
“There’s also the question of Mads,” Peyton pipes up. “She needs—”
“I can speak for myself,” Mads interjects teasingly, giving him a playful nudge with her elbow. “I’d like to see about getting rid of these powers, if we can. And if not…” She takes a shaky breath. “Then I guess I’m going to have to learn to use them. Really use them, I mean, not just channel them like I did the day that I…” She clears her throat, dropping her gaze. “The day that I fought you, Karma.”
“You weren’t yourself,” I remind her and then glance over at Ruby, who is picking at her food on the other side of the table. “We can’t forget about the little one, either. Jade’s name needs to be cleared.”
“So we have a lot of loose ends and no idea where to start,” huffs Damien, crossing his arms. “Sounds about right, actually.”
Hugo elbows him. “You’re supposed to be the optimistic one, here.”
Damien snorts and waves him off. “So what do we do?”
“I can reach out to some of my contacts,” Seth suggests, leaning back in his chair. “No guarantees, especially now, though. I’m not sure how many of them will be on our side, or if Neritous has already poisoned them against me, but it’s worth a shot. In the meantime, we need to figure out a way of getting back to England without drawing attention to ourselves.”
“Easier said than done,” Killian remarks dryly, “and that’s without the talking goat following us.”
“I’ll look into it,” mum promises. “But no more shop talk at the table, guys. Neritous might have ruined our lives, but I’m not about to let him ruin dinner hour, too.”
I guess I should know by now that nothing is ever as easy as it seems when you’re making a plan. I should probably have figured out, as well, that it’s always when you start getting comfortable that something horrible happens. That’s been the story of my life these past weeks, and I was an idiot to ever get complacent. Yet, somehow, I manage to sleep well that night, between the justice twins, secure in the knowledge that no matter what else happens, the trio is working out their differences.
That’s where the relief ends, though. I’m in the midst of a lovely dream about hiking in the mountains with Mads when my sleep is brought to a screeching halt; the sound of an explosion, nearly deafening in its volume, shatters the fog of dreams, sending my heart racing. At first my sleep-addled brain convinces me that, too, was part of the dream, and I roll over, snuggling deeper into Killian’s arms…but then the sounds of the guys stirring has me coming to my senses, and I realise with a jolt of dread that this is no dream. I bolt up into a sitting position, eyes wide as I wonder what the hell just happened, and that’s when a second, louder blast sounds, close enough to us that I can feel the vibrations of it rumbling through the floor.
“Guys,” I begin, but Storm is already sitting up, and Seth has swung his legs onto the floor. Killian is the last to wake up, and it takes some nudging for me to get him to open his eyes. “What’s going on?” I hiss, glancing frantically around at the others. Elsewhere in the house, I can hear the voices of the others as they get up; lights are coming on in the corridor as we all try to make sense of what happened.
“I have no idea,” Seth replies. “Maybe—”
But that’s when a third, final blast, this one even more intense than the others, explodes all around us, shaking the foundations of the house and nearly bowling me over with its sheer force. I jerk instinctively to the left, rolling over Seth and off the bed before I’m even aware that I’m scrambling to get away from…whatever it was. The world is upside-down for a moment, and part of me wonders if this is it, if the whole house is about to go up in flames at any time, but a cautious whiff of the air doesn’t alert me to fire, which is good. As for the rest of it, though…
A strong hand grips my upper arm, firm but gentle, and helps me to my feet. I turn to see Storm peering down at me. It’s still dark outside, and the light is limited to the moonlight streaming in through the slats of my window. “Are you all right?” Storm demands, his eyes searching mine in the darkness.
I nod, realise he probably can’t see me, and struggle to find my voice. “I’m fine,” I reply. “Are you okay? What about the others?”
“I’m good,” Seth replies, standing up with a low groan, “although you hit me pretty hard in the chest back there.”
“Sorry,” I murmur, still on edge. My body is flooded with adrenaline, and I’m expecting another explosion any second. “Killian…?”
“Good, fine,” the other justice god mumbles, his voice still sounding bleary with sleep. “Was having a nice dream, though.”
“You and me both,” I inform him grimly. “We need to get out of here. Where’s the rest of my family?”
