Oblivion (The Watcher Chronicles #3), page 6
“Most definitely, Mr. Collier.”
His smile grows wider but falters slightly and he lets out a small sigh. I immediately know something is up.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
He shakes his head, “Nothing.”
Mason walks around me and lifts the straps of the baldric from my shoulders. I turn around and watch him prop the sword against the metal chair by the bathroom entrance.
When he comes back to me, he wraps his arms loosely around my waist and I loop mine around his neck. He leans his head down towards mine and kisses my lips softly. Not satisfied, I pull his head down even further to deepen the kiss, tugging at the bottom of his shirt until it’s released from his pants and running my hands up the bare skin of his back. Mason moans and lifts me easily in his arms to carry me to the bed.
Without breaking the contact of our lips, he gently lays me on the mattress following me down and laying partially on top of me. I feel his fingers nimbly undo the buttons of my blouse and realize he does have dexterous fingers. He tugs my blouse from my pants and I lay there with my shirt open for his further exploration. He rests one of his large warm hands on my stomach.
Mason’s lips leave mine to travel down the side of my neck planting small, wet maddening kisses along the way. He shifts slightly, peeling the left side of my shirt away from my chest to kiss the soft flesh over my racing heart. Tenderly, he kisses the tops of each breast peeking up from my bra and makes a trail of butterfly kisses between them down to the sensitive skin surrounding my belly button.
In an effortless move, he straddles me and leans on his knees and elbows above me. I can feel his arousal and yearn to strip off the rest of my clothes to finally be able to feel him fully against me without anything in the way.
Mason runs a finger against the side of my face as he gazes lovingly down at me, but I can still see something in his eyes that tells me all is not right. Plus, he’s not kissing me, which will not do.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him. “Why are you stopping?”
“You’re going to think it’s silly,” he says reluctantly, letting his finger trail down to my chest and tracing an outline of a heart where my real heart is beating ninety to nothing.
“Tell me,” I urge, because I know if he doesn’t say what’s on his mind we’ll never be able to get back to what we were doing.
Am I being selfish? Yes. But in the long term I think we’ll both gain satisfaction from my selfishness.
Mason’s eyes look around the room. “I just didn’t imagine us making love for the first time in a place like this. I wanted to make it special for you.”
I put my hands on either side of his face and make him look straight at me so he doesn’t miss a single word I say to him.
“You’re here. That’s all I need. I don’t need silk sheets. I don’t need flowers. I don’t need candles. All I need right now is you.”
Mason grins. “But I want to give you the silk sheets, the flowers, and the candles. I need to give you those things, Jess. I can’t believe I’m about to say this,” he says shaking his head. “I want to wait until we go back home. Please let me make our first time together beautiful for you and not,” he looks around the room again, “this.”
With my hands still on his face, I make him look back down at me.
“You…are…killing…me,” I say to him, reminding him of the words he has said to me on more than one occasion.
He smiles and I instantly feel overwhelmingly loved. I know he wants to make love as much as I do. It’s blatantly obvious by the predominant bulge pressing against me, but he loves me enough to stop so our first time together can be a magical moment, something we’ll both look back on one day and smile about. I can’t say I don’t understand why he wouldn’t want to make love in the room we’re in. It does bring to mind a place where an inmate would have a conjugal visit.
“Can we at least keep kissing?” I beg, not willing to give up all contact just yet.
“For a while,” Mason says, “until I need to go take a cold shower or do you think you could work up some tears for me?”
I laugh and grab a fist full of the shirt he still has on bringing his lips down to mine.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I say against his mouth.
Eventually, Mason does have to go take a shower. I watch him as he stands with his back to me and completely undresses in the room, except for his underwear which is a bit of a disappointment.
“What?” I ask as I lay on the bed watching him. “I don’t get to see all of you?”
Mason smiles. “I have to keep some element of surprise for our first time.”
I sigh, completely disappointed my voyeuristic side isn’t going to be satisfied.
“Would you like some company in the shower?” I offer, hoping for a yes but not counting on it.
Mason’s smile grows wider as he looks over his shoulder at me which makes my heart skip a beat.
“I believe that would completely contradict the purpose of the shower.”
I sigh again which makes Mason chuckle. He turns slightly and I see the outline of the bulge peeking out from the front of his underwear.
I begin to chew on the inside of my bottom lip as I study what Mason seems to have to offer.
“What’s wrong?” He asks, seeing my distress.
“Are men usually that…well endowed?” I ask, not completely sure how my body is supposed to accommodate so much of him.
Mason blushes and grabs his shirt from the chair to hide himself from my eyes.
“Are you sure it will fit?” I ask him, not having to elaborate on where exactly it’s supposed to fit.
Mason smiles and rolls his eyes at me all the while growing redder by the moment.
“Yes, you’re body will adjust to me.”
“Ok,” I say, not completely convinced. I cock my head and blatantly stare at him because the shirt is doing nothing but making him look even larger as it makes a tent shape against his member. “I don’t see how but I guess I’ll have to trust your judgment on that.”
“I’m going to take a shower now,” he says seeming desperate to get away from my open leering. He tosses his shirt back on the chair before stepping into the bathroom.
Mason has to turn in the small confines to close the door behind him and I feel my eyes grow larger from the full side and frontal views of him before he closes the door.
I shake my head and lay it back on my pillow, completely paranoid now that my body won’t be able to handle all of Mason.
I do my best to stay awake, wanting to snuggle with Mason when he gets out of the shower but my body has other plans. As soon as I close my eyes, the stress from the day’s events crash into me like an ocean wave reminding me just how tired I am. My mind feels like a piece of driftwood floating out to sea as it searches for the land of nod.
At some point, I wake up and find myself wrapped in Mason’s arms facing his naked chest. Although I’m too tired to do much else, I plant a small kiss in the middle of his chest and snuggle in closer to his warmth, drifting back to sleep.
Sometime later, there is a soft knock at the door. Mason gets out of bed and pulls his shirt on as he walks to the door and opens it.
“Oh, hi. I didn’t know you guys were still sleeping,” I hear Leah say to Mason. “I can come back later.”
“Wait, Leah,” I say, sitting up and buttoning my shirt. “Come on in.”
I reach over and turn the lamp beside the bed on for some extra light.
“I’m going to go see if Brand is up,” Mason tells me, grabbing his socks and shoes from the metal chair.
He walks over and gives me a kiss.
“Good morning by the way,” he tells me with a smile.
“Good morning,” I reply, smiling back because I realize I want to begin every morning of my life with a kiss from Mason.
“Brand’s up,” Leah informs us. “I just came from his quarters. He’s making breakfast.”
“I’ll see the two of you when you get finished then,” Mason says, leaning into me for one more kiss before he leaves.
When he walks out the door, Leah walks towards me. I pat a spot on the bed beside me silently telling her to take a seat.
“Can I get one of those when I go to your Earth?” Leah says pointing to the open door Mason just walked out of.
I giggle.
“Sorry, there’s only one Mason and I don’t share.”
I touch one of Leah’s hands and instantly feel her relax.
“Why does it feel so good when I’m near you?” She asks me.
I shrug. “Our archangels seem to be happy when they’re near each other. At least that’s the explanation we’ve been going with.”
“Will I feel this way when I’m with the other two you’ve found?”
“Yes. Though I should warn you we have a devastatingly handsome rock star in our midst.”
“What’s his name?”
“Chandler Cain. And JoJo Armand is a French fashion designer. You’re going to love them.”
“Do you think they will like me?”
“Leah, they will love you, just like I do. It’s pretty much hardwired into our systems.”
Leah’s uncertainty about how Chandler and JoJo will react to her prompts me to ask her a question.
“Have you had many people in your life? Except for Remy, of course.”
Leah shakes her head. “No. Remy has pretty much been all I’ve had. My mother abandoned me when I was a baby. Remy’s my family.”
I put an arm around Leah’s shoulders and bring her closer to me. She lays her head on my shoulder and I feel a kinship with her beyond just our archangel bond. Unlike Leah, I at least had a mother who gave me seven years to be with her. Even though she ultimately abandoned me, I suddenly feel lucky to have been given that much time. I can’t imagine what Leah has gone through knowing her mother didn’t want her. The heartache of such knowledge would weaken most, but Leah seems like a strong willed young lady who hasn’t let hardship corrupt her soul.
“Who will I live with when I go back with you?” Leah asks.
It’s a question I hadn’t thought too much about but feel sure I know the perfect person to raise Leah. She raised me and Faison after all and we didn’t turn out too bad.
“I think the woman who adopted me would love to have you as a third daughter.”
“You lost your real mom too?”
“She left me when I was seven, but she picked Mama Lynn to be my mother after she was gone. Even if I tried, I don’t think I could pick a better person than her for you to live with. Plus, my house is just down the street from hers so I’ll only be a short walk away.”
“I hope she likes me.”
“Trust me. She’ll love you.”
My stomach growls.
“Did you say Brand was making breakfast?” I ask Leah.
Leah sits up and nods. “Yeah. Sounds like you need it.”
“I’m starving. Let’s go eat!”
I finish getting dressed and strap my sword on remembering God’s chastisement about not just leaving it anywhere. When Leah opens the door to Brand’s quarters, I smell the wonderful aroma of eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and coffee. Isaiah, Baruch and Remy are already sitting at the table digging into their meals. Brand and Mason are speaking to one another in the kitchen area.
All eyes turn our way as we take our first step into the room.
I’m just about to say how good breakfast smells when I see Isaiah and Baruch stand so quickly from their seats the chairs topple over onto the floor. Before I know it they phase and I hear them threatening someone behind me with bodily harm if they attempt to move a muscle.
I turn to see what’s going on and feel my body begin to tremble.
Baruch and Isaiah have Malcolm pinned against the cement wall of the hallway. He’s dressed in his black leather uniform. Malcolm doesn’t try to fight against the two angels holding him back. He allows them to restrain him, and I get the feeling he’s amused by their reaction to his presence in their secret hideout.
But seeing Malcolm again isn’t what makes me tremble.
Faison is standing off to the side staring at me with startled eyes.
Before I know it, my sister is in my arms crying, much like the last time I saw her.
“I’m so sorry,” she sobs. “I’m sorry I left you.”
If anyone knows the pain I’ve suffered from being left by those I love, it’s Faison.
“It’s ok. Everything is ok now,” I say, hugging her tightly to me.
Mason and Brand walk into the hallway.
“How did you know where to find us?” Brand demands of Malcolm.
“Did you really think I didn’t know where you were?” Malcolm counters. “I know everything that happens in my sector.”
Faison lifts her head and looks at Malcolm.
“Why are you doing that to him?” She questions Baruch and Isaiah. “He saved my life. Let him go!”
“Saved you?” I ask. “How?”
“The people at the Watcher station I was taken to were keeping me prisoner. They said Lucifer wanted me for something. Malcolm phased in and grabbed me just before Lucifer was supposed to arrive.” Faison looks at Baruch and Isaiah fiercely. “Let…him…go.”
“Let him go,” Brand reiterates.
Baruch and Isaiah take their hands off of Malcolm but watch him with undisguised distrust.
Malcolm straightens out the leather jacket he’s wearing.
“Why are you here Malcolm?” Brand asks.
“I thought you could use my help in this little rebellion you’re trying to cook up.”
“Why would you help us and what makes you think we would trust you to help?”
“Let’s just say not all of us Chancellors are happy with the way things are going. It’s time to shake things up a bit. I’ve never been too much on uniforms either,” Malcolm says unbuttoning his jacket. “I’m hot natured. Clothing just makes it worse.”
Well that explains the constant open shirts of the Malcolm back home, I think to myself.
“So you want to return control of the world to the humans because of your keen fashion sense?” Brand asks.
“Do you need a better reason? I can tell you which Chancellors will help when the time comes and which will stab you in the back. Do you have anyone who can do that for you?”
“No,” Brand admits reluctantly.
“There you go then,” Malcolm says. “I can be of use to you.”
“How do we know this isn’t some sort of trap?”
“You can tell if I’m lying can’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Am I?”
“Not that I can detect.”
“Then have a little faith in me.”
Malcolm looks directly at me. “Consider us even now by the way.”
“Even?”
“You saved my son’s soul. I saved your sister from a gruesome death. I think that makes us even.”
I nod. “Agreed.”
“You should probably come inside so we can talk some more,” Brand says to Malcolm.
I watch them both enter the room embarking in a tenuous détente.
Mason comes to stand by my side as I turn to Faison.
“God will open the Tear for us to go back home,” I tell her. “Please, Faison, come back with me.”
“I want to,” she says, hesitation in her voice. “But I want to know if John Austin is alive in this reality first.”
I understand what she wants but have no idea if I can give it to her.
“I don’t even know if he exists here,” I say.
“Isn’t there someone here who can find that out for me?”
“Maybe Josh can help with that,” Mason suggests. “If he’s anything like our Joshua, he can probably find out if John Austin exists here. Let me go ask him.”
Mason steps back into Brand’s quarters to find Josh and ask for his help.
“Do you think it’s silly?” Faison asks me. “To want to know about a John Austin I don’t know.”
I place my arm around Faison’s shoulders. “No, it’s not silly.”
Mason soon returns with Josh in tow who is licking something off his fingers which just reminds me how very hungry I am. But, there’s no time to eat. I don’t know how much time God will give me to convince Faison to come home with me. Every second could be precious.
“Josh says he can find John Austin for us,” Mason says.
“Where does he live in your world?” Josh asks.
“Tunica, MS,” I tell him. “He died a few days ago in our reality.”
“Follow me,” Josh says taking a few steps down the hallway, “let’s see what we can find out.”
I take one of Faison’s hands, not willing to lose contact with her because I need her to know I’m there for her. Mason follows behind us.
Josh takes us downstairs to a large cavernous space and I realize we’re in a set of subway tunnels. This space looks like it was once used as a subway terminal with its green pillars delineating the platform from the tracks.
An impressive array of pieced together computer equipment is set up in one corner and Josh goes over to sit down in front of a rudimentary keyboard. It’s a far cry from the high-tech computer system our Joshua has access to.
We provide Josh with as much information as we can about John Austin. It doesn’t take him long to locate him.
“It looks like he lives in Tunica on this Earth too,” Josh tells us.
My heart sinks. If John Austin is alive here, what hope do I have of bringing Faison back home with me?
“He’s alive?” Faison asks, filled with a new sense of hope.
Josh looks at his computer screen. “Yes, he’s alive. He lives in a town called Cypress Hollow. He has a wife named Shelby and a daughter named Abigail.”
“He’s married to Shelby?” Faison asks, in complete shock. “Do I exist here?”
“Full name?” Josh asks.
“Faison Mills.”
Josh pulls up Faison’s information.
“You also lived in Cypress Hollow.” Josh reads a little more. “Apparently you were adopted by a Lynn Mills when you were a baby, but she died in a car crash when you were seven. You were sent to live with your only living relative who was your mother’s brother, Dan Mills.”
