Beneath the Fallen City - Jamie A. Waters (large ebook reader .txt) 📗

Kayla could feel everything he was experiencing and understood he was able to do the same. Curious, she reached up to touch his face and marveled how she was able to experience the duality of the sensation of touch. She could sense his thoughts and emotions and knew her touch affected him deeply. She felt his desire and realized he knew exactly how she felt in return.

“Shit,” she thought in alarm. “Okay, fine, I think you’re incredibly sexy and the thought of jumping you is pretty damn attractive. Okay, it’s a lot more than just attractive. But I have a thing for Carl. I’m not going to act on it.”

She sensed a combination of amusement and irritation emanating from him. He cleared his throat. “Do you want to continue?”

Kayla hesitated briefly. “There’s more to this?”

“Quite a bit. If you’re ready, I’m going to send you some energy. When you receive it, I want you to try to send it back.”

“I’m ready.”

He sent a small pulse of energy toward her, and Kayla laughed in delight as the energy tickled her senses. Alec smiled at her, and she carefully returned the pulse.

“Good,” he said in approval. “In order to accomplish what you’re talking about doing with the bracelets, we have to establish a steady flow of energy. I’m going to send you a larger stream of energy so you can see what I’m talking about.”

More prepared now, she said, “Okay, go ahead.”

He sent a steady stream of energy toward her, and she marveled at the feeling as it washed over her. She felt as though she was showering in the clearest of thoughts and colors. She had never felt so safe or as alive as she did at that moment.

Kayla explored the way his energy poured through to her and noticed she felt a slight pull toward him. She wondered if she was depleting his energy and supposed she should probably return some to him.

“Kayla, wait,” he urged. “Don’t close the circuit.”

His thought came too late. Following his example, she sent her own stream of energy toward him. She gasped when their energy linked together and rushed through both of them. Kayla couldn’t help but close her eyes and simply feel the exquisite sensations rushing through her. She’d never felt so connected to anyone before and wanted nothing more than to have him touch her and claim her.

The foreign thought surprised her, but it felt so natural and right that she was confused for a moment.

“Break the circuit if you can,” Alec instructed.

Bewildered by his request, she wondered why he would ever want this feeling to end. She wanted his hands on her more than anything else. She reached up and pressed her lips against his and felt his desire match her own. It only made her want him more. She wanted more energy from him and increased her flow of energy in an effort to entice him into responding.

“Stop the flow of energy, Kayla. I don’t think I can resist much longer.”

She hesitated a moment before pulling her energy back from him. She felt him shudder at the sudden withdrawal. He looked at her with such an aching need that she wanted to return the connection.

“No, don’t. Just give me a minute.”

Alec closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. She felt him carefully withdraw his energy from her. She winced at the sudden intimate and painful loss. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him.

“Take your time,” he suggested. “You can still feel the connection, just not the energy.”

Whimpering slightly, she leaned into him and rested her head against his chest. She heard and felt the beating of his heart in sync with her own.

“When you’re ready, go ahead and take your energy threads away.”

Kayla shook her head, unwilling to break the connection.

He said gently, “You need to do it, Kayla. I know it’s hard, but I won’t go away. I promise. You can always reach for me, I’ll be here for you.”

She felt the truth in his thoughts. He felt the same way she did. She also knew he was worried about her. He was concerned he had taken her too far too quickly. Reluctantly, she pulled the energy threads away.

Alec released her, and she stepped back, trembling slightly.

“Are you all right?”

She looked up at him and blushed at the intimacy they’d shared. “Yeah. I, um, see what you mean now.”

He gave her an understanding smile. “I wasn’t expecting to show you quite that much.”

Kayla bit her lip, unsure about this whole energy thing. “Is it going to be like that when we fry the bracelets?”

He shook his head. “No. You’ll be the one sending your energy toward me. As long as the energy flows in one direction, it’s fine.”

“What happened just now?”

“Ahh, well…” He cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. “Mutually sharing energy is usually only done between two people who are seeking a stronger bond than a physical one.”

Kayla stared at him. “Are you trying to tell me in your polite Omni way that we just mind-fucked each other?”

Alec’s mouth curved into a grin. “I think that qualified more as mind-foreplay. That’s why you didn’t want to stop.”

“Holy shit.” She dropped down on the couch, completely stunned.

He nodded. “It’s a powerful thing. That’s one of the reasons we tend to keep to our own kind. It’s not only our regular abilities. You could easily have a physical relationship with someone else, but you won’t find that complete connection outside of the Circle.”

“You mentioned bloodlines and our unique heritage before,” Kayla recalled. “Why are we different?”

Alec smiled and sat next to her, taking her hand in his. “Do you remember the dragon statue you discovered in the ruins?”

“Of course. What about it?”

“The dragons have had countless names over the centuries. But here, in the towers, we usually refer to them as the Drac’kin. Thousands of years ago, when our world was still linked to other worlds, the Drac’kin were a dominant force. They waged a war in the Otherworld which nearly destroyed this world and several others in the process.”

Kayla looked at him skeptically. “This sounds like a fairy tale.”

“I suppose it does,” he agreed. “But regardless, during this battle, one of the Drac’kin betrayed her kind. She gave others the knowledge to close the rifts between the worlds. They followed her instructions and some of the Drac’kin became trapped here on this world. Their descendants lived on. Some intermingled with the humans while others tried to keep their bloodlines pure.”

“You’re saying we’re related to these Drac’kin?”

He nodded. “The most powerful talents usually have the purest bloodlines. OmniLab was created to try to preserve as many of our kind as possible.”