Rinse [manxman]

Chapter Twenty-One

Sunrise was two hours away. I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the collar of my black turtleneck to hide the scars. Even if everyone knew, I didn't want them on display. I didn't want anyone to see them, and no one wanted to.

Underneath my turtleneck was a bodysuit of flexible, black armor that Lebeaux had spent the past few days developing. He'd made one for everyone going on the mission. The armor could withstand anything from bullets to energy attacks to vampire fangs. Apparently, Wyatt had been the one to suggest it.

A pair of black jeans, matching boots, and a black bandana to hide the lower half of my face finished off my attire. I slipped the soft black fabric over my lips, letting it rest just under my nose. The entire picture was something that transported me to the past, but even as I felt the memories brewing, I didn't feel an ounce of the apathy I needed to summon my magic.

I'd been trying since Dakota and I had put the kids to bed. Instead of reveling in our intimacy another night, I opted for making him stay on his side of the bed while I forced myself into the right mindset. Little did I know, that had all been for naught, because I wasn't even an inch closer than I was last night.

I sighed, dropping my eyes as I tried to push back my annoyance with myself and feel the burn of magic, the numbness of apathy...

The small piece of concentration I'd had vanished as Dakota put a hand on my shoulder and spun me around to face him, letting my back rest against the wall.

"Shit," I gasped, glaring at him. "You could have warned me."

Dakota shrugged. "You didn't give me warning about last night being sleep only until we got into the bedroom, so I'd say it's fair." He braced himself against the wall with one hand, giving me an escape route if I needed it by keeping his other hand at his side. "Are you still not having any luck?"

I shook my head. "It's mostly little bursts of emotion throwing me off, but the few times I've pushed them back, I just can't do it. It's like the numbness isn't even there."

"Maybe your magic is changing triggers," Dakota said, frowning.

"Well, I need to figure out how to access it before we get to Xeniden. This is going to be a lot harder without some persuasion to back me up."

Dakota tilted his head, eyes roaming over my face as he leaned forward. He brushed his lips over my clothed ones. The dark fabric felt hotter against my skin, and as he parted his lips, mouthing at me through the cloth, the heat of him struck me. Dakota pulled back, resting his forehead against mine as he slipped a thumb into the bandana, slowly slipping it over my lips, down my chin, and letting it fall at my throat.

He stroked my cheek, settling his lips on mine as he stole a kiss. The hand that had revealed my face cupped my cheek, holding me in place as he deepened the kiss and ravished my mouth. I had my hands at his waist, fingers in his belt loops, keeping him pulled tightly against me. The sensation of his hard, warm body was enough to remind me that I wasn't alone, while the tongue that was probing me ensured I stayed exactly where I was by keeping me at the edge with anticipation.

The beginning haziness of lust started to numb my mind, and when Dakota broke away, brushing his nose against mine, I could do little more than stare at him blearily as I tried to push the desire down. That was not what I needed to access my magic.

Dakota stared at me for a while before taking a deep breath and saying, "You're going to go after Boone, aren't you?"

I tensed; I hadn't expected him to ask. In fact, I hadn't even thought that he'd come to that conclusion, which was stupid of me. Dakota knew me, he wasn't the commander of the top unit in the Xeniden military for nothing either. But, if he bothered asking, then it stood to reason that he already had a pretty good idea of what the answer would be. Lying to him wouldn't do me any good. Even if he argued with me, he wouldn't stop me.