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  When she drank from Duncan, he now tasted just like his scent, a spicy ale, a gift of the breh-hedden. She would need his blood soon as well. But for now, feeding him seemed so much more important.

  She could feel his saliva on her neck, a sure sign the strike would come soon.

  He paused in the thrusts of his cock for a brief second, then bit with his fangs and began to suck. The thrill of having him drinking from her, swamped her with another layer of exquisite sensation. When he put his hips back in motion, his pistoning cock and suckling lips sent shivers chasing all over her body.

  But it was something more, something almost spiritual as he took her blood: she nourished him with her life-force.

  She began to pant and moan, her body on fire once more. In this position, her aching breasts swayed freely, adding a new layer of physical sensation.

  Her well clenched as she drew close to yet another orgasm.

  You’re hard inside me, Duncan. So hard.

  I love doing this with you. His deep voice within her mind made her clench once more. I love your body and you’re so tight, Rachel, stroking me just right. Your blood is an elixir down my throat. It’s making me stronger. Have I told you as much? Even my muscles feel fired up. Here. Drink from me as well.

  She felt him shift, though still sustaining his thrusts, and the next moment he pressed his wrist to her mouth.

  He was definitely strong enough to support himself on one arm as he held his wrist in position. He paused in his thrusts again and she groaned heavily as her own fangs descended. She struck the waiting collection of veins.

  When his blood hit her mouth, she cried out.

  If he moved, she wouldn’t be able to sustain a proper seal, so he grew very still and let her have a good long drink. She sucked greedily, having missed his blood during the month of their separation. He sucked on her neck at the same time.

  Her sex grew hot, swollen, and so needy all over again. He moved his hips in slow circles once more so she could feel him inside her.

  Duncan, my God. I need to come. She released his wrist. “Take me hard, Duncan. Please.”

  He released her throat as well and rose up, gripping her hips in his hands and began to drive toward the finish.

  That’s when the real magic began with his cock working her deep. Using one hand, he stroked one of her wing-locks and she gasped. Duncan knew how to work her body.

  The orgasm built and she opened up for it, letting the motion of his body drive the moment. He went even faster, grunting now, all man, all hard muscle and stiff cock as he pushed toward his release as well. His fingers pinched one of her wing-locks and for some reason, that brought the ecstasy flowing.

  She cried out, all her attention fixed on the feel of the sweet, intense pleasure that began to release between her legs, rippling through her. At the same time, her wing-locks swelled and before she knew what was happening her wings-released, carrying her orgasm up through her abdomen and chest, flooding her heart with unbearable pleasure. She screamed her ecstasy.

  She felt Duncan’s hand between her wings, pressing her down in the middle of her back, keeping her grounded.

  When he began to roar as he, too, released, all the sensations coalesced in yet another firestorm of pleasure that kept on rolling.

  Shivers raced once more over her body. As her wings beat just at the tips, sensation upon sensation flowed up her back then down, gripping her between her legs. Wave after wave of pleasure rocked through her.

  Finally, Duncan’s thrusts began to slow and the intense cresting of passion gentled down. She grew very still, her wings resting to either side of her body. Her mind felt clouded and beautiful, her body finally satisfied and at ease. Still on hands and knees with Duncan connected from behind, she smiled. A feeling of peace descended over her like a warm blanket.

  She knew Duncan had mounted his wings as well because a gentle breeze moved all around her.

  Rachel, floated through her head. I love you.

  I love you, too. She’d never doubted Duncan’s love for her, only his ability to be in a relationship with her.

  Right now however, she refused to get bogged down in any of their past issues. Instead, she focused on how wonderful she felt. Even her breasts didn’t hurt nearly as much, which made her wonder if the lack of sex had contributed to their fiery ache.

  After a moment, she drew in her wings and glanced back to watch Duncan’s wafting in a slow, gentle rhythm.

  She smiled. “My arms are about ready to give way.”

  He caressed her back with one hand. “Let me draw in my wings. I want to stay with you.”

  She knew what he meant. He didn’t want to lose their intimate connection.

  She nodded, her arms trembling. She could feel the movement of Duncan retracting his wings.

  “All done,” he whispered. “You can let go.”

  When Duncan surrounded her hips and abdomen with one arm, she lowered herself slowly. He stayed with her, keeping his cock buried deep. It would have been easy to glide out, but he’d always enjoyed staying inside her, something she’d loved about him.

  When she stretched out her arms, he spread his on top of hers, as though they were flying together. Tears bit her eyes. She was so grateful to have had the release she’d needed, but her heart already ached, knowing the close connection couldn’t last.

  The viper living inside of Duncan would strike again soon.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The future smiles

  When the vision arrives on a swift-moving stream.

  Collected Proverbs, by Beatrice of Fourth

  Duncan’s veins flowed with Rachel’s blood; he was still connected to her, and he’d taken care of her needs. For this brief moment, the world spun though the universe on exactly the right course. He even breathed more easily.

  The terrible serpent, living in his gut, swam steadily but remained below the surface of the waters. He couldn’t promise Rachel anything and she knew it. She didn’t pressure him, either. But the lack of pressure carried its own force, pushing him to do better, though causing him to feel guilty when he didn’t live up to expectations.

  In a small way, his relationship with Rachel had changed. She no longer fought against him when he retreated. And he’d made an effort to help her understand what it was like for him, the devouring nature of the feelings that lived inside him, preventing him from moving forward.

  Yet somehow, this morning he’d overcome the pain enough to do what needed to be done.

  When he felt Rachel drifting off to sleep, he gently pulled out, tucked some tissues between her legs and covered her up. He knew she was exhausted.

  She mumbled her thanks, even gripping his hand and kissing his fingers.

  His heart pulled into a knot as he stared down at her. He didn’t withdraw until the grip on his hand grew lax, her breathing evened out, and he knew she was falling asleep.

  He stood over her for a long time, wishing he could fully understand what the hell was going on with him. The best he could figure was that his father’s abuse coupled with his mother’s forced abandonment, had warped him, had essentially made him feel broken and unworthy.

  He pressed a hand to his stomach. The viper had already started moving again. All he had to do was invoke his father’s memory and the serpent showed its fangs.

  He shifted his focus to Rachel, the sex they’d shared, the blood, her patience with him.

  Maybe Merl was right and he should seriously consider his relationship with Rachel in a new light. Was it possible the cessation of his visions had something to do with his inability to connect with her?

  He thought about joining her in bed, but he wasn’t ready for that. Instead, he showered again, returned to his guest bedroom and fell hard asleep.

  When he woke up at dusk, he realized he’d slept better than he had anytime during the past month. He definitely needed to do whatever he could to move in Rachel’s direction. He’d told her a few weeks ago he’d try and right n
ow he made a new commitment to do just that.

  As he sat up, however, a powerful dizziness overcame him and he flopped back down. He stared up at the ceiling, but the room moved around and he had to close his eyes.

  He wasn’t even sure he could get out of bed.

  When lights started flashing over his eyelids, he knew he had to do something. At the very least, he needed to understand what was going on.

  He opened his eyes once more, yet found it hard to breathe. He held his stomach; the viper was moving fast. But he couldn’t let the old ways win anymore. He had to try. He couldn’t let Rachel down again.

  He forced himself to an upright position, supporting himself on one hand. The room still spun, but he had to get to Rachel.

  Though the dizziness got worse, he struggled to his feet. He held onto the dresser and forced himself in the direction of the master bedroom. Fortunately, the more he moved, the better he felt. He crossed the living room and only had to pause once to keep his balance.

  When he finally reached the master bedroom, he stopped inside the doorway and folded his sword into his right hand.

  The dizziness increased to the point he thought he might fall. Had Yolanthe’s wreckers finally found him?

  “Rachel,” he called to her in a strong voice.

  She lifted her head and because she was lying on her stomach, she had to twist to meet his gaze. “Duncan, what’s wrong?” She then rolled onto her back and pushed herself quickly to a sitting position.

  The sheet fell away, revealing her full breasts. The male part of him took a long look, but he couldn’t act on his ever-present desire for his woman. Instead, images began moving inside his head, one after the other in quick succession.

  Then he understood. He was having his first vision in a month, though this one had come on stronger than anything he’d yet experienced.

  But even as the images began to coalesce, he realized he didn’t want another vision, he didn’t want the gifts given to him. It was all too much, all at odds with his deepest beliefs of worthlessness. Then he understood how right Merl had been when he’d said Duncan had been holding back.

  He just hadn’t seen it until this moment.

  As he stood with sword in hand in the doorway of his master bedroom, with Rachel looking beautiful and vulnerable on his bed, he knew he had a decision to make.

  From the time Yolanthe had held him in a trance and he’d broken free in order to keep Rachel safe, he’d been building to this moment. Having a vision descend on him a few hours after making love to Rachel proved Merl’s theory — Duncan’s powers were connected to his relationship with Rachel.

  He shifted slightly to meet her gaze. His fucked up life had always been about his love for Rachel and his inability to allow her in.

  “Are you okay? What’s going on?” She’d pulled the sheet up to cover herself. Her long, blond hair was in disarray and concern filled her blue eyes.

  Could he go forward?

  The viper lifted its head, fangs dripping with poison once more. And as doubt filled him, the approaching vision began to recede.

  He made a quick grab for it, unwilling to let it disappear entirely, but his hold felt tenuous.

  The snake within his gut moved swiftly now.

  Rachel called out, “Duncan, you’re scaring me.”

  He couldn’t respond; he could only reach deep inside and press the snake’s head down beneath the waters, trying to subdue it.

  One of his father’s favorite taunts rolled through Duncan’s mind: You’re not good enough, my son. You’ll never be a real warrior. Your test will come and you’ll fail. Then you’ll remember I was always right about you. You’re weak like your mother.

  But Duncan was a warrior, a powerful one. And he’d exceeded his father, who’d never reached Warrior of the Blood level. Yet Duncan had. For this reason alone, he knew his father’s words were a lie.

  He glanced at the sword which he still held aloft. The bright metal glowed. His gaze ran down his body and a slight trail of smoke with a faint bluish hue began to rise into the air. Holy shit, he was looking at grayle power, a Third Earth ability. Somehow he’d accessed it or maybe having a vision at this level had opened up his grayle ability.

  Still, he held back. He didn’t know all he’d be facing once he embraced the powers that seemed ready to flow within him.

  Turning toward Rachel and ignoring the terrible pain that lived inside him, he knew he had to choose. Should he embrace the vision and move forward, or should he retreat into a life he understood, of repressing the pain of his growing up years and of never getting close to anyone?

  But as he peered into the future, one thought rose above all others: he didn’t want to be a slave to the past. He wanted to be more than he was and apparently, every other part of his life was ready take the leap. All this power had come to him unbidden and a beautiful, worthy woman loved him despite his flaws.

  He knew then he couldn’t go back and as painful as the future promised to be, he wanted to be part of the team, to have visions that could aid in battle, and dammit, he wanted to share his life and his bed with Rachel.

  With that, he lifted his sword higher still and let the vision come.

  ~

  Uncertain what was happening, Rachel stared at Duncan. “Duncan?”

  No response.

  Oh, shit, what now?

  She listened for the faint rumbles of an approaching grid incursion that would usher in the sudden presence of Third Earth wreckers and their sawed-off shotguns. But she didn’t hear anything.

  Just in case Duncan’s current state meant the wreckers had a bead on them, she slipped from bed and folded a wrecking gun into her hand. As a quick after thought, she added a box of ammo from Duncan’s weapons locker. She quickly loaded the gun, then moved to stand in front of Duncan. She faced into the room, with her back to Duncan and listened hard for the enemy. But no sounds returned to her.

  “Duncan?”

  Still no response.

  Whatever had caught him up, she’d just have to wait it out.

  After a couple of minutes, she stepped several feet away from him and turned to face him. They were both completely naked, yet somehow the absence of clothes seemed fitting after great sex, a good night’s sleep, and now some kind of ascended phenomenon that held Duncan in a trance.

  She thought of Yolanthe and a dart of fear raced through her. Had the woman found Duncan again and set up another mind-link?

  Rachel doubted it since the last two times she’d seen Duncan entranced, he’d been knocked to a prone position.

  Right now, he stood upright, shoulders back, his sword held high. He had a magnificent physique, his pecs thick and muscled, his arms bulked, hips narrow, thighs heavy and ripped, his stomach a true six-pack. Something from Greek mythology, maybe.

  And he glowed.

  A warm light emanated from his entire body. He also had a stream of grayle smoke, with a bluish hue streaming from his body.

  As she took in the signs, she knew he had to be in the middle of a vision.

  Her heart set up a noisy racket, thumping loudly in her ears. Duncan hadn’t had a vision in a month, now here he was, caught up in one and bearing his sword.

  She took a moment to settle into herself and to calm her heart. He would need protection in his current state. As powerful as he was, the enemy could still strike him down.

  Her shielding instincts kicked in. She could have drawn close to release what Merl had told her was her Fourth Earth ability. Given she heard no warning rumbles, she decided to take the opportunity to practice and instead moved twelve feet away from him.

  She let her power flow and a warm vibration of energy moved through her, extending quickly toward Duncan. She knew the split-second he was completely covered by her shield. She felt very secure with her power and with her shotgun in hand, she stood guard.

  ~

  Duncan knew he was caught in a vision and that he stood fully exposed to attack. But he had
a profound sense of peace, which probably meant Rachel had shielded him.

  Within the vision, he levitated and travelled slowly through the Third darkening grid. The vision had a dreamlike quality yet every detail was sharp and clear.

  Within the vision, the grid had a familiar feel, as though he knew it well, especially when he reached an arched portal that glowed. He glanced down at what he could see was a wrist scanner and watched as his fingers punched in a series of numbers. These, he memorized, knowing they were a secret code.

  The portal opened and he passed through, still levitating. He moved into a dark space made of gray stone blocks, and he knew exactly where he was; Sharav had tortured him in this place.

  To the right was a curved stone staircase leading to a ground floor and to the left a long row of prison cells. The first one was empty. Here, he’d been jailed and tortured, his powers brought forward from the effort of battling Sharav’s mind-control.

  He knew now that Sharav had purposely hurt him, intending to jump-start his Third Earth powers.

  The vision took him momentarily into the past and he was back in the cell, his body on fire. This time, he was able to open his eyes and he could see Yolanthe. She’d been present through part of his torture, her pale blue eyes lit with a fanatical light. She looked different back then because her hair hadn’t been in braids.

  Yolanthe drew close to Sharav, caressing his arm. “His powers are expanding, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, like Samuel’s. But I haven’t brought his grayle power forward yet. Given time, though, I know I will.”

  Within the vision, Duncan blinked and he pulled out of the cell. He shuddered at the memory of so much pain. Though Yolanthe had been there from the beginning, this was the first time he’d actually seen her as part of the torture process. She must have forged her mind-link during this period since he would have been unable to withstand her in such a weakened state.

  So, he’d been in her plans for some time and it was all about finding Rapture’s Edge.

  He began floating down the hall. Most of the cells contained powerful, warrior-like men, each with long braids at the sides of their face. The men were shackled and in despair. How long had they been there?