.Chapter Eight .

Deven took the elbow to his face with a groan through gritted teeth.

"You"re really not focusing. Should we stop training for today?"

His brother was right. It was a waste of time trying to train in this state. He just couldn"t stop thinking about Tessa. Specifically, he kept seeing her laid out on that desk while they fucked. Over and over his senses lied to him, recreating the sensations, the scents, the sounds... It was a delicious kind of torture.

"You know it"s killing me to even offer, but do you want to talk it out?"

He choked back a short laugh. "Yeah, no thanks." If he was going to rely on his little brother who had trouble putting decent emotion into anything other than his mate... If it came to that, he was doomed.

"Glad to hear it."

"Let"s just spar a while longer. I"ll try to get my shit together."

Zeven picked up a spear similar to what they"d seen at the other vampire"s home. "Why do you think Quinn suggested spear training."

"Who knows." He blocked a sweep and parried with a lunge. Considering the way the old man thought, he must be envisioning them facing the other fighters at some point. Or at least the possibility of such an encounter.

"Maybe he has spear envy."

This time, he laughed with his brother. "Don"t let the old man hear you say that."

His phone rang interrupting the next round. He snagged it from beside the door of the training room. "It"s Quinn. Think he heard you?"

"Shit." Zeven continued laughing.

He'd been lying to his brother. The caller ID was hot nerd. He really needed to change that. It was far too accurate now that he knew how hot she really was. He opened the phone and answered, "Yeah, what"s up?"

"There"s been another attack. Quinn wants you and Zeven to head out immediately."

He motioned Zeven to follow, tossed the spear back into the makeshift rack and grabbed his coat. "Any details? Was it Father Time?"

"It was an obvious vampire kill. Several individuals at a rest area. Unconfirmed, but it is likely the one created in LA, who I've been calling Soldier Boy.

"Just two days ago. Isn"t that moving too fast for a baby vamp?" He had to keep reminding himself that this one wasn't the usual newly made vamp. He'd probably been made by a first-generation vampire, probably an old one.

"This one came with far more battle training than most."

Zeven had fallen in behind him and was clearly listening in to the conversation. "The car is ready to roll."

Combining the natural abilities with the military training and then filling the bastard up with uncontrollable hunger. "Dammit. Is there a chance he"s still in the area?"

"Possible, but not likely."

They reached the car and Zeven slid into the passenger seat without question. They pulled out of the covered garage and onto the slow side street that skirted the property around the old Victorian mansion.

Tessa's distracted voice whispered into his ear. "Head for route 40. Go west. The scene is at the Painted Cliffs rest area just over the border in Arizona." He ignored how his body reacted to her. This wasn't the time.

"I"ll update you when we know more." He clicked the phone off and tucked it into his jacket pocket. To Zeven he said, "It"s a two and a half hour trip. I"m going to try and get there in under two. Can you pull out the flashing lights in the glovebox? We"ll need them on the interstate."

Twenty minutes later when they were well onto route 40 and making great time, which was when Zeven attacked. "Now that you"re trapped and we still have almost two hours, care to tell me what has you so distracted?"

"I"d rather not."

"Then let me suggest a few scenarios that have crossed my mind."

This should prove to be an interesting conversation.

"Some of the facts in this investigation include when the events in question transpired. I"ve narrowed that window down to the chapel mission. The other party involved being the attractive techie who you seem to enjoy teasing. She shows similar symptoms as you do, so it must have been something relevant to both of you."

"Stop guessing."

"Then confess."

"Mind your own business."

"If the business keeps my partner distracted, then the business in question might get me killed, which without a single doubt makes it my business."

Unfortunately, his brother"s logic was not flawed. He sighed. "Your concerns are noted. I will address the problem and get my shit together."

"Did you intend it to be a secret? I thought it was rather obvious that you had a thing for Tessa. Are you going to deny it after something already happened?"

"I don"t plan to discuss it with you."

Damn if Zeven wasn't gnawing on the topic like a dog with a bone. "Have you discussed it with her? With Quinn? With anyone?"

"This is going to be the longest fucking two hours in the history of time."

"Agreed."

"Can"t you just let it be?"

"Oh, trust me, I would like nothing better than to pretend you don"t have a love life. But I don"t think I can trust you to deal with it on your own."

"Why is that?"

"Well, my precious little brother--"

Deven interrupted, "You"re the little brother."

"Bullshit."

He"d successfully distracted Zeven. "Are you trying to tell me that you remember being born? I sure as fuck don"t."

Zeven grinned at him. "And that is why I"m the big brother."

"You don"t remember either."

The grin faded and Zeven's voice dropped to just above a whisper. "I remember a lot of things from that time. Those memories of you and our parents were sometimes all that kept me going."

He kept his gaze on the empty road ahead. "I know what you mean."

"I know you said you survived by hiding in a coyote den, but what happened after that?"

"Nothing good." Was this talk about his past any better than sorting out his feelings for Tess?

"Seriously."

He considered the shortest version of the ten worst years of his life. "Eventually, I was caught by a trapper, sold to a backroad zoo, and nearly drowned before a weird old vampire found me."

"That must have been a strange meet cute."

"Not sure what you"re imagining, but you already know what Quinn is like. He literally saved my life, and then taught me how to live. He might be a strange one, but I"d do damn near anything he says no matter the cost."

A few seconds passed before Zeven replied. "I get what you mean. He"s not what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"Some dusty old blood sucker who kept you around as a handy snack."

He snorted at that thought.

"Has he ever fed on you?"

"Of course not."

"Good to hear. I'm not really into becoming snack food. Though I heard once that Valàfrn blood is dangerous for vampires. That it can make them go mad from the magic."

"In all our years, Quinn has always been a good man." Though he'd noticed a few hints that perhaps Quinn hadn't always been so perfect.

"That"s a pretty high pedestal, my brother. Are you sure you"re not expecting too much from the man?"

"You just don"t know him like I do."

"Even if that is true, the way you idolize him can"t be healthy. Does he expect you to worship him forever?"

"It"s not like that." It wasn"t as if Quinn ever asked to be treated differently. The old man had just always been his ideal of what a good man was. He had more honor and strength than anyone else he"d ever met. And he knew how to care for people and protect others.

The silence stretched out for a few miles. Maybe now was the time that he should try to share just how Quinn had saved him. It might help Zeven to understand Quinn better, but it would also show exactly how pitiful he"d become before meeting Quinn. Would it change how Zeven saw him? Would he even be able to look him in the eye ever again?

No, he couldn"t share his tragic backstory even with his brother. It was better to never even think of those days.

"Put the light up." He buried his foot in the gas pedal and the car roared forward unleashed.

* * *

Tessa was stretched out on her sofa trying to catch a few winks. The boys were on their way back and Quinn was sleeping peacefully through the afternoon. Joseph too, she supposed.

Adjusting to an odd sleep schedule had been one of the hardest parts about joining Division Eight. After Quinn had invited her to join them, he"d offered to let her work from her San Fransisco home, or to live independent in Albuquerque. But the moment he"d offered to let her stay in the old Victorian mansion she"d known that was going to be her choice.

The place might not be like anything she"d ever wanted before but it was a gorgeous home. And huge too. It was the first place in her life that she truly felt at ease. Even more so once she"d added some modern touches to her office. She hadn"t changed much in the bedroom that she"d claimed. She didn"t spend much time there. Nearly all her time was spent in the spacious office with all her computers. The sofa was actually a sleeper, but she rarely bothered to pull out the bed part. Instead, she"d just crash and wrap up in the throw blanket.

Today she hadn"t even bothered with the blanket.

But sleep seemed impossible.

Quinn had been very clear about wanting her to resist calling the visions. She wasn"t so weak as to think she had nothing else to offer to the agency. She had mad skills on the computer that the boys couldn"t come close to matching. Even if she didn"t make it into the field often, she was still an asset to them. It wasn"t like she was in danger of being tossed aside.

It wasn"t fear of losing her place that made her anxious, was it?

If it was, maybe she should find a shrink for a long talk.

No, even if she hadn"t been here all that long, this was her home. These people were her family. It was a mantra that she tended to repeat when she started having doubts. She forced a long slow breath.

Was it really that big a risk to use a skill that could provide real support to the people she cared about? It didn"t use to be. But maybe that was changing. The headaches were definitely worse. Even using the phone as a medium didn"t eliminate the pain completely.

Maybe she just needed to tweak the programing. But which line of code would let her use it with less side effects?

She jumped up and settled in at the computer. Pulling up her programming system she started reviewing the code for her vision program. She"d once tried to explain how it worked to Quinn, but to him the code looked like gibberish. Honestly most programmers probably wouldn"t get it either since it included so many extra variables to account for her use of blood and magic.

She cranked up the music to help her concentrate and then dove all the way into the code, looking for that tweak that could do what she wanted.

A steaming cup of coffee slid into her view.

"Wah?"

"Coffee." Deven"s low voice pulled her from her concentration more completely than the smell of the black brain fuel. He was here and looking just as good as she expected.

"Ah, thanks. What time is it?" She forced her gaze back to the code. It didn't stop her from smelling his subtle wild scent. Nor did it stop her body's immediate reaction to him.

"Nearly midnight." He crossed the room and settled onto her sofa, leaning back and dropping his boots onto the glass table.

He looked damn good there, taking up half the sofa with his big frame. Again, she forced her eyes back to the screen. "How"d the mission go?"

"It was just clean up."

"Just clean up..." Another murder scene and no sign of the murderer. "How cold was it? Did we miss him by much?"

"A few hours. If it weren"t for the long drive, we might have beat the locals."

"Shit. That"s not close enough."

"We"ll catch him."

"I know you"ll stop him but how many people will die before you do?"

"Is that why you"ve holed up in here and not had a decent night sleep?"

That wasn"t the only reason. Something about knowing he was just on the other side of a single wall had been intimidating. She wished she could be bold enough to have just strolled into his room to pick up where the chapel mission had ended. But she wasn"t confident of his reaction.

"I"m sure you already have all your tech focused on finding clues."

He wasn't wrong. All her computers were running at full capacity and still... "It"s not enough."

"Quinn told me about how you get your information. Would the visions really offer much more? Would it be worth the risk to your health? Or to pissing Quinn off by not taking care of yourself properly?"

"Maybe."

"How does it even work? I'm not completely oblivious. I know you do more than run the computers."

She'd never really kept it a secret.

"Tell me how it works. I know you can see visions, but I never understood what it has to do with your computer or phone."

If Deven had enough interest to be this insistent, she didn't see any reason to avoid explaining it to him. She spun her seat around to face the computer she"d been working on. "I use a complex computer code to help technology connect to my magic and produce a clearer more complete image of what I need to know." She glanced back to see if he was following.

He was leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees. Feet back on the floor. But his gaze wasn"t on the computer screen. Instead, those smokey golden eyes were intensely focused on her.

The room suddenly seemed far too small. She always thought her office was more spacious than she needed. But because the computers created a lot of heat, she"d appreciated it. Now the heat coming off Deven put her tech to shame.

"Tessa..."

She stood up and took a step toward him. Her body heard his summons before her mind even had time to make the choice.

What was it that he wanted from her? Was it the same thing her body craved? Was it just their bodies and their physical needs that turned them into magnets drawn together? If she did jump him right here, shove him back on the sofa and climb up on top of him... what then? Other than the obvious satisfaction, would their hearts grow closer? Would they be closer to the relationship she wanted from him?

"We shouldn"t."

"Why not?" The words came out as a breathy sigh. Why not indeed? They were both consenting adults. And they damn sure knew it would be fun. She caught his shirt for balance and slid one thigh over his. With a slight shift of weight, she was astride his lap. Her lips only a second from claiming his.

His words blew gently against her cheek. "Why do I want you so damn much?"

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I can"t think about anything but you and your delicious body."

"Yeah." She understood that overwhelming demand from her body that expected her to be with him. She just didn"t seem to be struggling with the desire as much as he was. She wanted him, wanted his everything, and was okay with taking her time to claim that happiness. But if their chemistry sped up the process, then wasn"t it a bonus?

Before she could complete the light kiss, she"d intended, his hands captured her, locked her in place and he closed the distance between them with a crash.

Their need came together in that kiss like TNT. Nothing tentative. All demand and conquest.

He tore away. "Maybe we"re still being drugged." He nuzzled his face into her throat, his breath coming in short, hot puffs.

She couldn"t imagine drugs that could be this powerful after days of no reaction. But even if it was related did it matter? It didn"t change how she felt. How she"d felt since meeting Deven.

He met her gaze, the connection holding them locked together. "Quinn said your visions are dangerous. I came in to make sure you were okay. I didn"t mean to jump you."

"Looks more like I"m the one doing the jumping. And is there anything wrong with that?"

"Wrong?"

She tightened her thighs, bringing their bodies together with a slight grind. "Feels pretty right to me."

He groaned. "You might be evil."

"Maybe. Do you object?"

"I should."

She pressed her palm over his lips. "I was teasing earlier but now I want to know why you would object to this thing between us?"

His lips brushed her palm sending tingles of sensation straight to her core.

She pulled back.

The air cooled around them as he held her gaze and grew serious. "It"s not you--"

"If you really say that cliché it"s not you, it"s me, I am going to hit you."

His eyes danced with repressed laughter. "Let me rephrase it."

She hit her fist against his chest.

He caught her wrist in one large hand. "I like you. I do, but every time we"re together I think about Quinn."

"That"s..." A lot of crazy thoughts crossed her mind. She settled on making light of it. "A bit disturbing. I even shaved my legs."

He chuckled. "That"s not what I meant."

"Did I read the relationship between you two wrong all this time? Am I breaking up your love affair, asking you to cheat?"

"What? No way."

This time it was her laughing. "That was a very good expression. Glad I"m not the side dish. In that case though, I don"t see the problem. Unless thinking about Quinn kills your boner, which I can tell isn"t what"s happening." At least not much. If he"d stayed rock hard while they discussed their eight-hundred-year-old boss, they"d have had a bigger problem than she could handle.

"He"s like a father to me."

"Ah..." She was starting to see where this was going.

"Even if you deny it, he is like a father to you too." He sighed. "It"s like I"m betraying him by targeting someone so precious to him."

"Are you stupid?"

He stared back at her. "I don"t think so."

She cupped his jaw to make sure he didn't even consider breaking eye contact. "You and I are not brother and sister."

"I know that."

"Yes, Quinn is like a father to you. But to me he"s more like a... like a father-in-law. Which makes this kind of behavior perfectly acceptable."

"As if..."

She leaned close and brushed a light kiss over his lips. Why did this silly conversation make her think he was cute? "Yeah, as if we ran off to Las Vegas and got married."

"Tessa..."

"Just like we did." She brushed her thumb over his lower lip.

"It wasn"t real. We did that undercover."

She brushed another kiss, this time over the corner of his mouth where the end of his scar crinkled the flesh just slightly. "I did some checking up on dear old Ferdie. He was ordained."

His hands tightened where they were on her waist.

She met his gaze again and waited for him to focus on this important moment. "Deven, the wedding was real. You and I got married on July 21, 2009."

"Ridiculous."

"Nevertheless... it is true. I have the certificate to prove it."

His eyes closed and he sagged against the back of the sofa. As if he could put space between them while she was sitting on his lap with their naughty bits pressed hotly together. At least he didn"t look as terrified as she"d expected at the prospect of marriage. And he hadn"t insisted on an annulment or divorce. Not yet anyhow.

The question remained, should she give him time to process the situation? Or just let his hormones take the lead long enough for his mind to accept it? Either way, she was not going to let him escape now that she"d caught him.

"Tess, we should--"

She dove forward and reclaimed his lips before they could do any damage. He might feel the need to reject her out of some sense of responsibility. But that wasn"t stopping the chemistry between them from flaring up immediately.

After only a second of her attack he was kissing her back with matching desperation. His hands on her waist pinned her to his hard body.

Her own hands were caught between them until she slid them up around his neck so that their bodies could touch everywhere from chest to thigh. Why didn"t she wear skirts more often? Then she could already have him inside her. But to ditch the pants she"d have to stop the kiss and that just wasn"t going to happen. Kissing him was too decadent, too all consuming.

His hands adjusted, leaving her waist and tightening over her jeans covered ass. He growled and pulled back from the kiss. "Fucking clothes." Then his eyes pinched shut in concentration. Magic burst out around them, tickling over her skin.

And their clothes were gone.

"That"s better." He pulled her back into the kiss. The hand still on her ass tightened. His cock rubbed against her cleft, sliding over her clit.

She gasped at the delicious contact that sent heat burning through her body. She slid her hand down between them and caught his hard length, pressing and guiding while she rocked over him, to repeat that teasing motion over and over. It was so very good... but limited. The kind of torture that would break them both long before they could find satisfaction.

While rubbing his and her fun bits she kissed him again. She timed the attack with the motion of her hips. Good, it was so very good. In a testing her patience kind of way. Thank God she planned on doing this man a million more times, because this time, she was done teasing. She pulled back enough to see his face. Then she rose up to shift him beneath her.

His body locked in place. His heated gaze burning into hers.

She sank over him, taking him deeper and deeper until the ache took her breath. He filled her completely, as if his body had been designed to fit hers perfectly.

His arms tightened fiercely around her, dragging her into another long deep kiss. As he thrust upward. Driving the air from her lungs.

She tore free to gasp at the sweet invasion. As her voice grew, he pulled her back to his mouth, silencing her rising reaction to the pleasure.

He was right of course. They weren't alone in the house. She drew back again. "The door…"

"Locked."

"Now who's evil?" Another thrust destroyed her ability to focus on anything other than Deven.

"We should still keep it down. Bite me if you can't hold back."

Bite him… She didn't need to take it that far. No matter how good it was, surely, she'd be able to at least control her voice.

She caught his jaw and nibbled at his lips until the world contracted to just the two of them again. The throb of her music in the background provided a rhythm that Deven seemed to follow naturally. Her body too, kept time as she rode him.

This was different from at the chapel. Not so out of control but just as wild, just as unstoppable. As if they'd had a moment to decide and both knew it was the same answer. Their bodies came together perfectly and needed the connection as much as any other essential of life. Air, water, food and mind-blowing sex with Deven. Yeah, that about summed up her needs.

The rising tide of passion left her gasping as she drove herself over his thrusts. Like heat but more powerful. Like joy but more exciting. As if her body could scream out just how much she loved everything about Deven.

She broke free from the kiss. Clinging to his shoulders. Gasping through the pleasure. "Ah hell…. It's so fuckin' good."

"Oh…. yeah." He groaned with his head thrown back and eyes pinched shut. His hands had returned to her ass. "Tessa, you're killing me."

"Never, love you too much to kill you."

His body bucked under her. His fingers locking down on her hips, anchoring her against his deep wild thrusts. Each one driving her closer to the edge.

Her panting breath left her desperate for more, just a little more.

One of his large hands cupped the back of her head pulling her against his shoulder.

She wasn't just gasping. She was mewling out some inhuman sound, nearly crying, screaming in ecstasy. She'd been so wrong. She bit down on his flesh where his shoulder met his thick neck.

That was when he exploded beneath her, and her world shattered around her. That wild pleasure echoed back and forth between them in a slow spiral that left her sagging limp over him.