The Power: Building the Circle - Book 2 Page 12
"So beautiful, so brave," he muttered against her ear as his fingers gently circled and touched, following the same pattern circling her nipple.
"Adrian?" She breathed as her body tensed, close to climax, hips moving in rhythm with his hands.
"Almost, love," he muttered, moving the hand from her breast down, between her legs and slowly inserting a finger.
"Oh!" Lucy cried.
Adrian paused, unsure if that was a good or bad sound.
"Don't stop!" Lucy scolded, making him laugh just a bit as he aligned the circling of the finger outside with the motion inside.
Breathing hard, body tense with need, "Please," she whispered. As quick as a tiny increase in pressure, Lucy was soaring again, rolling through another orgasm quickly.
Before long, she flipped herself over to kiss him, hands roaming free around his torso.
"You were right about the bath," she said.
He smiled. "Yeah?"
"Yep. It's fun. It definitely feels good. And there's exploration," she said, closing her hand around his dick without warning, slowly, firmly, stroking.
"Oh, my God," he breathed. "I almost embarrassed myself there. Lucy, ugh, wait-" he groaned again as she cupped his balls and rubbed her teeth on one of his nipples.
The energy exploded through him without warning, mixing with lust and longing. And rage. Rage, battering at the inside of his mind, screaming to be free as the lust and other energy combined to raw power. "Lucy," he said, voice echoing through the room, heavy with power.
We need to stop. This needs to stop. I don't have control. Say the words. Say the words. Stop. Pause. STOP! Adrian's conscious mind screamed.
Lucy moaned. Unsure how it happened, he was inside her, shifting with her as she moved, power slamming through both of them.
"Oh, God. Adrian. Adrian, I don't, I can't-" She breathed as she orgasmed.
Adrian tried to slow down. Tried to pause. Tried to give her a minute. The energy continued to pound at his control, demanding an out. Completely baffled by where it came from so suddenly, Adrian fought the rage back and let the other power flow.
Shifting her with him through her orgasm, picking up speed, sloshing water over the edge of the tub, Adrian came with her when Lucy exploded again.
✽✽✽
Hours later, Adrian lay awake in bed with a peacefully sleeping Lucy tucked alongside him. He was unable to account for the rage. He'd been thinking about it for hours.
The angry energy, the rage, was never a part of sex. Never. He would never take a woman that elicited anger from him to bed. That energy was not allowed to be loose during intercourse. Ever. Adrian locked it down and had literally walked away once, mid-action when it broke free.
The other energy that had surfaced on Friday night seemed to be something else. It wasn't hurtful. As Lucy said, it made things tingly and enjoyable. There was a power to it, but it didn't seem to be like the rage.
The problem with the other energy came from it interfering with Adrian's control of the rage. The other energy seemed to be trying to pull the rage forward, and rage did NOT belong in sex. Between the physical pleasure, the mental battle with the rage, and trying to understand that other energy, Adrian wasn't sure what happened. Or, at least, he wasn't sure of the order of events.
He thought Lucy initiated the sex. She had been touching, the non-rage energy went haywire. He let it free because he couldn't control it and the rage at the same time. Then, they were joined. She didn't seem upset or surprised afterward, didn't make any comments about it escalating quickly.
What if I hurt her? What if the power did it, and I hurt her? I will not hurt her, Adrian swore to himself. What did I say? Did I say anything? Did the power slip into words? What did I say?
Adrian continued to rehash things, over and over, throughout what would be one of the longest nights of his life.
✽✽✽
Lucy woke up alone early Sunday morning, the sun coming in through Adrian's front windows. The clock said it was 6:13. After a quick trip to the bathroom, Lucy threw on yesterday's clothes and headed downstairs to find Adrian.
He wasn't in the kitchen, living room, or bathroom. Ree was still fast asleep, and probably would be for hours. Did Adrian go somewhere? His car was still in the driveway. His keys and wallet were on the shelf. He wasn't in the backyard.
Oh, wait. The basement. There's a basement, she thought.
As she opened the door, she could hear the sound of a punching bag being hit. She headed down the stairs to find him shirtless, drenched in sweat, hair stuck to his head, beating against a heavy bag hanging from the ceiling with practiced ease and power. There was a well-worn treadmill and elliptical, along with some weight-lifting equipment as well.
Wow. This is why he's so ripped. How long has he been down here?
"Hi," Lucy said, over the sound of the bag.
Adrian started, grabbing the bag before it could swing back at him. "Hi, everything OK?" he asked, coming toward her.
"Yeah, good," Lucy said with a blush. She had aches in unusual places, but she felt good.
"Why are you up?" He asked.
"The sun coming in the windows woke me. I'm glad to be up, though. Saves awkward Ree questions."
Adrian looked confused. "What time is it?"
"About 6:30 now. How long have you been up?" Lucy asked.
"I'm an early riser," he said as he pulled off his gloves and began unwrapping his hands. "Come on, I'll take a quick shower and make some breakfast. I'm starving."
"Are you OK?" Lucy asked. "You have dark circles under your eyes like some bitch hogged your bed last night."
"I'm great, Lucy. Sweaty. Hungry. Thirsty. Ready for a good morning smooch, but way too sweaty and nasty for it," he said with a half-smile.
"I'll risk it," Lucy said with a smile, stretching to touch her lips to his.
"Brave woman. Upstairs!" He demanded, swatting her ass.
✽✽✽
Fifteen minutes later, they were both clean and dressed.
"How are you, really?" Adrian asked while cracking eggs.
She lifted her eyebrows. "Tender in interesting places, extremely relaxed, and thinking that I should go to school to be a massage therapist."
That surprised a laugh out of him. "Why a massage therapist?"
"So I know how to do lovely things to your neck and back, too. I had no idea you boxed, that has to be hard on the joints," she said.
"It hasn't bothered me yet. Orange juice or just coffee?" He asked.
"How long have you worked out like that? There was a full-on gym down there."
"High school. Maybe a little earlier with lifting weights, but boxing started in high school. Long time."
"Did it help to keep all the brothers in line?" She asked with a smile.
"Bah. I'd never swing at them. That's Will's job. And he only does it when things are serious."
Lucy chuckled. "I appreciate that you used the present tense as if Will still beats the crap out of you guys."
Adrian smiled. "He does. This only surprises you because you haven't met Noah yet."
They fell silent while starting to eat. Lucy watched him as he worked on his eggs.
"How are you, really?" She asked, a bit on edge. "You look tired. Regrets?"
His eyes snapped to her. "No, Lucy. Absolutely no regrets, unless you felt rushed. I'm not entirely sure how things escalated so quickly, but I don't regret it unless you do."
Lucy gave a rueful little smile. "I may have gotten a little carried away. I think. I'm not sure, either. I'm just worried about you. You don't look good, Adrian."
"It's a fuel thing, Lucy. I worked out too long, that's all. I'll eat my pile of breakfast, drink some fluids, maybe raid the fridge some more. I don't know. I'm OK," he said.
Lucy shook her head.
"What?" he asked.
"Weird feeling of deja vu," she said with a laugh.
 
; ✽✽✽
Henry wandered into the kitchen a few minutes later, still yawning. He climbed up into Adrian's lap without invitation, settling in for his morning wake up cuddle session.
Adrian readjusted in the chair, leaning back to give Ree more room. "Well, good morning, sleepy. How are you?"
Henry made a sleepy little grunt.
"Not yet awake?" Adrian asked.
No response.
Adrian took a moment to assess things. The rage was utterly silent. He could still feel it, sitting in the center of himself. But it was not pushing at anything. That was unprecedented. Even when happy and at peace, the rage still lurked just under the surface.
The other energy did a little happy dance through his body when Ree crawled into his lap, just like it did a short race around him at Lucy's good morning kiss. It didn't lurk. It wasn't centered, like the rage. It just existed. It was just there.
Adrian pulled the other energy forward, without the rage. "Lucy?" He asked.
She looked up immediately, smiling at him.
"Do you want more coffee?" He asked.
"No, thanks. Here, I'll get yours. You have a snuggly Ree in your lap." She went to pick up his coffee. "Your cup is already full. Why'd you want more coffee?"
"I didn't want more coffee. I wanted to know if you wanted more coffee," Adrian said, kicking himself for not thinking of something else to ask her.
Her name didn't feel or sound different when he said it with the other energy. Maybe it wasn't the same sort of thing. But, it acted like the same thing. The energy behaved just like the rage, with the way he could push and pull at it. And it definitely tried to influence his actions - using actual words and commands.
As he had a thousand times before, he wished he could talk to someone about this crap. But this was not something anyone else would understand.
"Are you hungry?" Adrian asked Ree.
Head shake.
Adrian pulled the other energy forward. "Are you hungry if I make waffles?"
"I love waffles!" Henry exclaimed.
Chapter 10
"You're really not going to dinner with me? Really?" Adrian whined.
"Adrian, look at my face. I can't go like this. Your brother just got engaged, and you'll be celebrating and all that. I don't want to be a downer," Lucy said. Again.
"Henry, are you going with me?" Adrian asked, looking into the living room. Ree was asleep on the couch.
Adrian sighed.
"Lucy! Please come to dinner. Please! Darla's gonna be pissed if you're not there," Adrian continued.
"Adrian, why is this such a thing? We'll go next week," Lucy said, puzzled by his insistence.
He shrugged. "It occurred to me earlier that I've never actually brought anyone to Sunday dinner before. Friends, yeah. Buddies and whatnot in college. But, never a girlfriend."
"Oh," Lucy said, cheeks going a little pink. "I can go find something to wear and wake Ree up-"
"No, it's fine." Adrian laughed, realizing he was being ridiculous. "Next week. He's out like a light. Stay here and order things. Clothes, Lucinda. Girl stuff. Little kid stuff. Random crap you've always wanted to buy. Make that a reality. You should not have that panicked look when considering what to wear to a family dinner."
"I'm guessing Darla would not approve of a stained t-shirt and ripped shorts," Lucy said with a little smile.
"She has nine kids. At least one of us is a mess each week. Usually Jake. Clothing wouldn't bother her. Plus, you come with a little kid. You'll immediately be her second favorite person, with Ree being her favorite person. But still, you looked decidedly uncomfortable for a minute there."
After a pause, Adrian continued. "Probably better to wait for next week. Hank will be agitated by the stitches."
"See, they look terrible!" Lucy agreed.
"They do not look terrible. Hank gets very… concerned about his people. You'll see. Battered Matty is probably enough for one week," Adrian admitted.
✽✽✽
Adrian was the last to arrive for Sunday dinner. The dog didn't even greet him. "Well, fine, Roscoe. Be like that. I don't mind at all," he muttered with a frown. But, it made sense when the big room was empty. Everyone was getting settled around the table.
Jake was the first to notice him and came over for a hug, Matilda close behind. Just because he could, Adrian picked Jake up off the ground mid-hug and swung him a bit. "Congratulations, little brother! It's about time! More than a year in the making. Horse-shit, man. Horse-shit."
Matilda was next; she was tiny. Barely five feet tall. A foot-swinging hug was mandatory. Always. "Awww, it's my soon to be teeny, tiny sister. Congratulations, Matty. You look much better than the last time I saw you. The meds are working OK?"
"Yes, Adrian. But I need the ability to breathe, you know," she muttered into his chest. "Honestly, you're worse than Will, just quieter about it."
As they made their way to the table, Adrian watched Matty move. She was just about back to normal. The bruising was better; the stitches were out; the vertigo was gone. She was doing fine.
Adrian shook his dad's hand, kissed his mom's head, and smacked the brothers he could reach. Beth was in the far back corner, between Hennessy and Matthew, so he blew her a kiss rather than trying to get to her. He found himself seated in Sam's usual chair between Matty and William. Looking down the length of the table, he saw Sam sitting with Luke.
"I'm mixing shit up," Sam said. "Just for fun."
"Samuel," Darla said in a chiding tone.
"It's part of the fun, Mom. I'm trying on Jake's fucking foul mouth, too," Sam said with a straight face.
Darla glared at him as she tried, and failed, not to laugh.
"Where are Lucy and Henry?" Darla asked when the table chatter died down.
"Yeah!" Matthew said. "What's this I hear about you living with someone?"
Adrian turned his head to glare at William.
"What day is today?" Will asked.
Adrian continued to glare.
"Today is Sunday, big brother!" Beth called down the table.
"Beth, what day was it that we watched him carry the lovely battered blonde into the back bedroom?" Will asked.
"Tuesday!" Beth called gleefully.
Adrian shared his glare with her.
"Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night," Will counted off on his fingers. "I count FIVE nights they've been at your house. Wait. They're still at your house, right? You haven't fucked that up?"
"William," Hank said.
"Dad, I really feel like we should get a swearing pass this week. Jake's getting married and Adrian's living with someone," Will said.
There were unidentified snorts of laughter from around the table.
"Hey, wait a second," Adrian said. "You're the oldest. Jake's getting married. I'm living with someone. Where's your significant other, William?"
"We've talked about this. I'm ruined till the end of time," Will said, not missing a beat. "We're talking about you. The doctor. The one Mom wants to play matchmaker for so very badly."
"What? He's a wonderful person and painfully shy!" Darla said, indignant, as the table exploded in laughter.
"Is Lou still at your place?" Will asked.
"You know the answer to that question," Adrian replied.
"I do, but we need to establish it for the table at large. Is Lou still at your place?"
"Why do you know that?" Hank asked, confused.
"There's a security detail assigned to Lou," Will said without pause. "Answer the question, little brother."
"What was the question?" Adrian said, laughing.
William smacked him upside the head. Not gently.
"Yes, they're still staying with me. Henry is terrified of leaving."
"And?" William said.
"And what?" Adrian said.
"Don't make me fucking beat you," William said.
"Mom, William swore at the table," Adrian snitched.
/> "Oh well," Darla said to rampant laughter.
"Jake and Matty had sex on the pool table in Jake's office," Adrian yelled as he ducked away from Matilda.
"ADRIAN! WHY WOULD YOU BRING THAT UP?" Matty yelled back, horrified.
"Matty, it's times like this that it is painfully clear you grew up as an only child," Noah laughed.
Without warning, Will twisted Adrian's arm up behind his back, holding it in a way that would dislocate the shoulder if Adrian tried to pull away.
"Really?" Adrian asked, unphased.
"Answer the question," Will coached.
"What was the question?" Adrian asked as Will twisted more.
"Are you hooking up with Lou or what?" Will asked. "He's completely indifferent to this. Noah cries like a sissy when I do this to him."
"Hey! You twist that shit hard on me. It fucking hurts!" Noah bitched.
"Whatever, man. If I twist his arm any more, I'll rip the shoulder socket apart," Will said, letting Adrian go. "Answer the question, Adrian! There are bets to be settled."
"Oh, well, in that case, I'm not answering. Let the pool roll forward," Adrian said with a laugh.
Matty turned in her chair to look at him. "Really? Not going to play along?"
"Nope," Adrian gave her a grin.
Matilda smirked at him, reached over, and poked the only ticklish spot on his body.
Adrian jumped out of his chair. "Woah, not fair! Don't do that."
"What the fuck did you just do?" Jake asked with a laugh.
"He's ticklish in the same spot you are," Matty said as the table exploded in laughter again.
"That's just evil, Carrots. I love it," Will laughed.
"Lucy is healing, I think both mentally and physically," Adrian answered without answering, once the table settled down.
Will snorted.
"What the fuck happened? She got pistol-whipped or something?" Jake asked. "Mom told us you met this woman at the hospital. Somehow, you ended up at her apartment on Saturday because the kid was scared. They were going to stay in a hotel or something on Tuesday, but she got injured."
"She didn't get pistol-whipped," Will said. "Her face got broken when some jackass tried to use a .38 special as brass knuckles."