Chasing Silver Part 14

The cool porcelain against her hands was warming swiftly, though Remy suspected it was as much about Nathan's proximity as it was the heat of her body. Her eyes flew to his in their reflections, searching, wondering what was going on behind their bright depths.

"Kind of an awkward place to get to." Her head tilted toward the closed door of the bathroom, the offer tumbling from her lips before she asked herself where her earlier fears had disappeared to. "Maybe I should have some help."

"Maybe you should," Nathan agreed, his hands sliding over her bare stomach to the top b.u.t.ton of her jeans. He paused, studying her reflection before freeing the b.u.t.ton and dragging the zipper down. She leaned back as he began to work the stiff material over her hips, not protesting as the jeans fell down her legs.

It was easy to step out of the denim. It wasn't as simple to ignore the hard press of Nathan's erection into her barely covered a.s.s.

Remy whimpered when his hand skimmed back across her abdomen, long fingers splaying against the taut muscles as he held her against him. "How are you supposed to shower with so many clothes on?"

"Good point." He stepped back, pulling his s.h.i.+rt over his head, then pressed his body against hers again. She reached behind her, her hands sliding over his hard c.o.c.k before finding his zipper. He covered her fingers with his, guiding the zipper down before pus.h.i.+ng his pants away. "Better?"

"Definitely."

Her gaze drifted to the broad outline of his shoulders. Though her head and body blocked most of Nathan's chest, she could still see the thin scar at the base of his throat, the tight cording of muscles as his arms came back around her. She could feel his c.o.c.k nestled against the thin material of her briefs, but Nathan did nothing to otherwise move. Instead, his hands rose to deftly undo the front clasp of her bra, the dark lace springing lax to expose her already hard nipples to the air.

Nathan's palms moved over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his skin rough against her. She s.h.i.+vered as he began caressing, his fingers kneading the heavy flesh. His hips moved forward, his c.o.c.k sliding between her thighs, the stiff heat taunting her through her underwear. Remy raised her eyes to the mirror, but his gaze was intent on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his eyes darkening as he brushed his fingertips over her taut nipples, bringing forth a light moan from her throat.

As she rocked back against his hips, allowing his c.o.c.k to glide in and between the tender skin of her inner thighs, she lifted her hands to cover his, molding fingers over fingers as he ma.s.saged her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The promise made her c.l.i.t tingle, and the muscles in her legs tightened in response. But it was the sudden pinch of her nipples that made Remy gasp, eyes flying wide as she stared at their reflections.

Nathan rolled her nipple between two fingers, steadily increasing the pressure until she was writhing against him. She was so distracted by the sharp pleasure radiating from her tight skin she didn't notice his other hand sneaking between their bodies, positioning the head of his c.o.c.k at her slick pa.s.sage.

"Remy," he whispered, gripping her hip.

She didn't know why he was asking. Hadn't their time together proven to him yet that she was his for the taking? She had never known another man who could so thoroughly render her helpless, whether by the simple call of his voice or the gentle touch of his hand.

Still, her tongue darted out to moisten her dry lips, her arm arching back to tangle her fingers in his hair. "Please," she replied, her voice as hoa.r.s.e as his. You know I'm yours You know I'm yours. "Don't stop."

"I won't." Nathan thrust forward. He filled her completely, holding her tightly as he paused inside of her. She caught her breath, studying his face, straining to read his thoughts. His eyes were dilated, and he seemed a little awed, a little dazed. Remy restrained herself, waiting for him to move, even as her thighs began to tremble.

Her blood was pounding in her ears by the time he began to pull out. Carefully, she exhaled, quivering with every jagged second, but it did little to quell her runaway thoughts. If Remy thought Nathan's were inscrutable, hers were a maelstrom of confusion, at once offering answers while in the next moment, posing further questions. The Silver Maiden and her confessions at the beach and his subsequent chase danced to distraction inside her.It shouldn't be possible. There was no such thing as fate. The only one to control your destiny was you.

And yet, here she was. Doing the impossible. Finding both exhilaration and peace in a near-stranger's arms.

Not a stranger. Nathan. You know know this man. this man.

Nathan continued to move, his long, slow strokes pus.h.i.+ng her close to the edge. Her eyes fluttered shut, but his grip on her hip tightened. "Remy. Remy, don't close your eyes."

She obeyed without pause, chin lifting as well as her gaze to find him watching her in the mirror. "Why?" she breathed.

"Because I..." Nathan kissed her shoulder, looking at her reflection through his lashes. "Because I want to see you. I want you to see us."

She did. She could. The words failed her, but the sight of his arms around her, his mouth pressed to her skin, his shoulders bowed to swallow hers, left her surging with the need to tell him. Somehow.

Her fingers left Nathan's nape to ghost along the side of his face. She traced his cheekbone, found the rough edge of the stubble that refused to ever go away, lingered at the corner of his mouth as he continued to rain kisses up to her neck. Still, it wasn't enough. And she knew it.

"Magic."

His mouth paused, but his hips continued the same maddening rhythm, his eyes clas.h.i.+ng with hers in the mirror. "What is?" he asked, his mouth still near her skin. His hot breath sent a s.h.i.+ver down her spine, and she felt the question more than heard it. "This? Us?"

"All of it." Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment at the electric onslaught of sensations but Nathan's tightened grip forced them open again. Any barricade she might have managed around her emotions splintered at the naked need she saw reflected back at her. "I don't know what else to call it. All I know is that ... I don't want it to stop. It can't. You're the first man I've ever thought ... "Remy stopped. That would be too much.

Nathan froze, wrapping his arm around her stomach to hold her against him. Her chest rose and fell with his, and his skin almost burned her. "What?" he asked, his voice faint. "What, Remy?"

Everything was roaring inside her head, caught in the flame of his gaze as he waited for her to speak. Her mouth was dry, and she swallowed in a vain attempt to regain control.

It failed.

"I've always been alone. Even when I had ... family, I guess you'd call them. I would have died for any of them, but that didn't mean they were inside me." Her fingertips caressed his cheek. "You've been there almost since the start. I don't know how. I don't even know what to call it. Because magic doesn't seem strong enough."

Nathan opened his mouth as though he was going to respond, but closed it again. He hesitated for a moment before he began moving, thrusting into her as slowly as before. The silence stretched between them, until Remy felt a flicker of panic. Had she gone too far? Had she said too much? He had asked asked and it wasn't fair if ... ? and it wasn't fair if ... ?

"I know." His tone matched hers. "I know ... me too."

It wasn't the words that released the torrent of emotion through her battered system. It was the unfaltering hold of his gaze with hers in the mirror, the surety reflected within it as he continued to stroke in and out of her body. Remy sagged against him, grateful for the hard wall of his chest. She almost hadn't dared to hope, and yet here he was, professing to feel the same way. Why? It defied explanations, but maybe that was part of its power.

"It scares the s.h.i.+t out of me," she confessed.

Nathan exhaled, in what almost sounded like a light laugh. "Me too. G.o.d, me too." His fingers moved over her stomach, caressing her before sliding between her thighs. She took his wrist, guiding him to her throbbing c.l.i.t. "But we'll have time to figure it out," he added, before he began to ma.s.sage her.

Remy nodded, incapable of anything more coherent with his talented fingers and throbbing c.o.c.k playing her to such a fevered pitch. Her breathing quickened, air coming in audible gasps, but always, Nathan maintained the same steady tempo, in and out and back and forth until every inch of her skin screamed for release from the fire he was stoking. Her nails clawed into his nape, and her head pressed back against his chest. She would fall if not for his strength holding her up.

She almost did when her knees buckled as she came.

"I love watching you come," Nathan said, his voice strained as he thrust into her a final time. His words forced her to focus on their reflections one again, and she watched the relief wash over his face. He gasped, his chest hitching against her back as he climaxed. His muscles immediately went lax against her, and he stumbled backwards against the wall, without releasing her.

They regarded each other in the mirror for a long moment, only their ragged breath breaking the silence.

"Looks like we have an even better reason for that shower now." Her fingers stroked the strong muscles of the arm banded around her waist. There were so many other words straining to come out, like a floodgate had been thrown open inside her heart, but she bit her tongue against them, waiting to see how Nathan was going to act.

Nathan released her, pus.h.i.+ng away from the wall. But almost as soon as he let her go, he was touching her again, his hand light on her arm. "I can think of several good reasons," he said, guiding her towards the bathroom.

She set the taps to a lukewarm temperature, unwilling to bear any more heat than was necessary. Nathan held aside the shower curtain for her, allowing Remy to step beneath the driving spray first before climbing in after her. The first contact against her slick skin made her sigh out loud, and she tilted her head back to let the water drench her body.

As Nathan pressed to her back, the gentle prod of his still half-hard c.o.c.k made her aware of her sticky p.u.s.s.y. "First things first," Remy said. Lifting her leg, she rested her foot on the edge of the tub as she reached for the sponge in the corner.

"Here." Nathan took the sponge from her, "let me help with that." He worked it with the soap until he had a thick lather, then reached between her thighs with two soapy fingers. Bracing one hand on her thigh, he caressed her lips with the other, his fingers gliding along her hot flesh.

Her p.u.s.s.y contracted at his initial touch, her breath hitching as she swayed back against his chest. "I hope you have a lot of hot water. Because if this is the way you clean, I don't think I'm ever going to want to get out of here."

"I just want to make sure you're very..." He slid his fingers down her slit. "Very..." He teasingly pushed his finger into her channel, but pulled away. "Clean." He emphasized that by moving his hand from her p.u.s.s.y to her a.s.s, smoothing his fingers over her curves before sliding them between her cheeks.

"Liar."

But the epithet was lost when his soapy finger found her puckered hole, probing past the tight outer ring to sink well past the first knuckle. There was no burn, the slick from the lather easing his entry, but still, Remy cried out at the invasion, her body arching away from Nathan as her hips pressed against his hand. Her hands flew to the wall in front of her, desperate to brace herself from toppling, and she had to squeeze her eyes shut against the flood of lights dancing before her eyes. It had been a long time since anybody had played as Nathan was, but she didn't think it had ever felt like this.

Nathan began moving his wrist in a slow rhythm, pus.h.i.+ng his finger a little deeper each time he pushed forward. With each small thrust, he gave her a moment to adjust around him. He quickened the tempo, until she was accustomed to the almost stinging pleasure, but he caught her off-guard again when he slid a second finger past the tight ring of flesh. His other hand slid up her thigh, the back of his thumb brus.h.i.+ng against her c.l.i.t.

She clamped down around his fingers at the slight contact, her body locking as Remy struggled to contain the shudders rippling through her flesh. "Am I ... clean yet?" she managed to gasp. The water pelted her skin, but she was barely aware of the rivulets running into her eyes or the barrage making her nipples tingle. All sensation was focused on Nathan and his hands and the deliberate way he seemed determined to make her come again.

"No," Nathan murmured, the word clear despite the thundering water and her own harsh breathing. "Not quite. Not yet." His hands moved down her thigh. "I just sort of skimmed over this area, after all," he added and pushed two fingers into her p.u.s.s.y.

Any attempts to respond dissolved under the onslaught of his touch, her body moving in an eager bid to match his strokes. Remy couldn't think, couldn't speak, couldn't do anything but ride his hands, her fingertips slipping against the white tiled wall as she struggled not to collapse. His name fell from her lips, and somewhere amidst the cacophony inside her head, she was pretty sure other things came out as well, but she was too far gone to worry about what true confessions were escaping her control.All she wanted was to come. All she wanted was that release. All she wanted was him. him.

"I don't think it's magic," Nathan murmured, his accent more p.r.o.nounced. "I think you're some sort of miracle."

Her eyes flew open, her every nerve surging to burst through the surface of her skin as if to escape and catch his words before they were swept down the drain and lost forever. Remy came, not with a cry but with a breathless whimper, releasing her hold on the wall to sink onto the fingers buried inside her, her weight born by Nathan's lean body. She felt his mouth against her neck, lips and tongue tasting and teasing, but it was the echo of his voice inside her head carrying her through her o.r.g.a.s.m.

She was trembling by the time it ebbed.

"Well," Nathan breathed, his voice a little uneven, "I think you might be clean enough."

On wobbly legs, Remy turned in his arms to seek out his mouth, clinging to his shoulders as she kissed him as deeply as she could manage. His hands left her hips to tug her more tightly against his chest, and his c.o.c.k nudged her thigh as it grew even harder. By the time they parted, they were both panting, and she lifted her head at the same time she slipped a hand down between their bodies.

"Your turn," she said, wrapping her fingers around his throbbing shaft.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

Nathan watched Remy sleep, his chest tight. Something was wrong. Not very wrong, but just enough to make him nervous, to make sleep impossible. He had woken with a pressing sense of dread, and now he couldn't shake it. But looking at Remy's full lips and long eyelashes, it was almost impossible to believe anything bad could happen.

What is this? Did I leave the oven on? The car unlocked? What?

In an attempt to comfort himself, he pulled her against him, her back curving against his chest. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling her sweet fragrance, and closed his eyes. She still felt so new, so unexpected. And everything she said still echoed in his mind-each word, each inflection, each breath imprinted on his mind.

But the vague sense of unease continued to plague him.

Nathan eased himself away from her, rising from the bed, too nervous to remain still. Was it something she had said to him? One of the many things he couldn't forget? He looked down at Remy, studying her once again, noting the slight smile on her soft lips. She was too good to be true, and could she have been right? Had she been sent to him? To him, specifically?

Nathan caught his breath, something clicked home. Something Isaac had said. If the Silver Maiden sent her to him, what was to stop it from taking her away again?

He hurried from the bedroom to the living room, reaching for the box at the top of the bookshelf with numb fingers. Nathan fished out the coin, holding it up to watch the light glint off its dull surface. It looked amazing, and yet, so ordinary. Was he crazy for believing Remy? Was he wrong for thinking such a small object could be responsible for something so ... great?

Nathan didn't know how it worked, how it could have happened, or why. But he didn't want to see it work firsthand. The Silver Maiden was far too precious, and dangerous, to leave lying around his apartment.

"You got up." Her sleepy voice came from the doorway, and he almost dropped the box as his head whipped around to stare at her. Remy leaned against the jamb, legs bare beneath the hem of his s.h.i.+rt that she seemed to have permanently appropriated for sleeping. The full mouth that had been smiling only moments earlier in his bed now bowed into a pretend pout. "I thought we were going to have a lazy morning and sleep in."

"We are ... well, we were." The box felt heavy in his hand. "But I couldn't sleep. I thought I'd bribe Isaac with some donuts and find out if he has any new information about Kirsten."

"I suppose that means you're going to make me get dressed for when he gets here," she teased.

"I thought I'd go see him. At the station." He did intend to stop and visit Isaac at the station on his way to the bank. He didn't like lying to Remy, but he also didn't want her to know where he intended to hide the coin. She couldn't reveal what she didn't know.

"Oh. Okay."

Nathan's relief was palpable when she began to turn away to go back into the bedroom. Then she stopped. His heart began to thud again.

"That's going to gyp me out of breakfast, isn't it? Because you know and I know that you don't have a thing in this place that's edible."

Nathan smiled. "Fair point. There's a grocery store around the corner. I could drop you off."

A wicked gleam appeared in her heavy-lidded eyes. "Do we have time for a shower before we go?"

Technically, they had time to do many things before they left, but Nathan would be uneasy until the coin was someplace safe. "No. But I'll make it up to you when we get home."

She smiled, and in that moment before she turned and disappeared down the hall, any doubts he might have had about his decision fled. He couldn't lose her, not so quickly and not because they were so foolish as to leave the coin lying about where almost anyone could pick it up. Better to lock it away until they understood its secrets once and for all.

Her voice floated back to him, snapping him from his reverie. "Last one dressed is the last to come when we get back!"

Nathan located the small key on his key ring and slid it into the tiny lock. The safety deposit box wasn't big, and it was far from full, but it held everything that was important to him. It was the only place safe enough to keep the coin. He didn't think even Kirsten Henryk would have the means or the stupidity to break into a bank.

He placed the small box holding Remy's coins near the back, but he was unable to resist the temptation to look at the Silver Maiden one final time. He slipped the coin out and cradled it in the palm of his left hand, staring at the fine work and the mysterious woman etched into the silver. As he studied it, it began to warm as before, the heat spreading up his arm.

A sudden image flashed in his mind, painful in its clarity. He saw Remy running, but he didn't just see it, he felt it. Felt her fear, felt her pain, the sharp flash of horror, and then, longing so strong it made his chest ache. For a moment, he could see her face. Her eyes were flas.h.i.+ng, and she turned to look over her shoulder, just like the woman on the coin.

The vision was interrupted by a searing pain shooting up his arm. Yelping, he dropped the coin in the box. Holding his injured hand against his chest, he stumbled back from the drawer, too stunned to quite understand the extent of the burn. Tears stung the back of his eyes, and his palm was throbbing. A faint purple light pulsed from the box, and Nathan was afraid to look away, worried the coin would disappear, or worse, make him disappear.

But as quickly as it all began, the light faded, as did the pain in his arm. Tentatively, he stepped forward, peering into the drawer. The Silver Maiden was resting on a tattered, wrinkled envelope, looking dull and harmless again. Nathan considered it for a moment, watching to make sure it didn't burn through the paper. He paused, distracted from the coin by the envelope he barely remembered putting in the deposit box. But the throbbing in his palm stopped him from grabbing the coin again. He decided it was fine where it was. Taking a deep breath, he closed and locked the box with his unburned hand.

Nathan's heart was still hammering when he returned to his Mustang. The image of Remy kept flas.h.i.+ng in his mind, distracting him. It took three attempts to find the correct key and start the engine, the pain in his fingers not helping. The moment he touched the wheel, fresh agony flared through his arm. Sighing, he wrapped a rag around his fingers. Why didn't Manuel's information mention the bit about first-degree burns?

Remy's emotions had been imprinted on his mind, overlaying his own shock at the experience. He could recall them, as though he had experienced it himself, but at the same time, they were foreign and even disconcerting. Even as Nathan navigated into traffic, he couldn't quite push them away and focus on the simple task of driving.

Nathan checked the familiar landmarks, a.s.suring himself he could give in to the temptation to a.n.a.lyze the experience later. When he was at home. The bank was only a few miles from the grocery store, which in turn, was only a few blocks from his flat. Nathan just wanted to pick up Remy and go back to bed. He needed some time to think and- The Mustang lurched forward, yanking him from his thoughts. Alarmed, he checked his rearview mirror, seeing nothing except the intimidating grill of a very large truck. Swearing under his breath, he pulled into the right lane, noting the plate number as the truck pa.s.sed. What the h.e.l.l was wrong with that a.s.shole?

The truck cut him off without warning, its back fender nearly brus.h.i.+ng against the Mustang's b.u.mper. Nathan laid on the horn, signaling to move left, but another truck pulled even with him. They all rolled to a stop at an intersection, and Nathan noticed a third truck slipping into the lane behind him.

The light turned green. Nathan made a sudden right turn, stepping on the gas to pull away from his new friends, but he only got made it a single block before one was on his a.s.s again. "f.u.c.k."

Nathan took a sudden left, then a right, then another quick left, and finally a quick U-turn to double back. For a moment, he was alone on the narrow street. Before he could congratulate himself on his clever driving, the first truck rounded the corner in front of him, bearing down hard. Nathan swerved to the left, the wheel rubbing against his burnt hand.

The Mustang fishtailed, only a few feet between it and the truck. The second one appeared out of nowhere, its tires squealing as it hit the pa.s.senger-side of the car. Nathan slammed against the door, his head hitting the window hard enough to make him see stars. When his vision cleared, he noticed the third truck behind him.

Nathan didn't recognize the two men who approached his car, but he did recognize their colors. He reached for his gun automatically, but there was nothing there. They yanked his car door open, shoving their guns into his face.

"You're coming with us."

"f.u.c.k you."

The man raised his hand and brought the gun down across his temple. Everything went black.