Page 5 of Liberating Water

“Nope, you’re going to make good on your promise to do whatever I ask. So you are going to be bundled up in here with me until I am warm enough to know I’m not a eunuch,” Parker pouted, snuggling his head against my neck.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I resigned myself to my situation and relaxed.

“You know, there is something you could do to help me warm up faster,” Parker said, sliding his icicle hand under my sweatshirt.

“I am not getting naked and letting you grope me like some frat boy,” I said, tweaking his nipple.

“Ah! Damn, Trouble, that wasn’t what I meant, but I should have thought of that first,” Parker grumbled, twisting so he was wrapped around my body, pinning my arms to my sides. “I was going to say we could make out, but now I don’t think I’m going to ask. You owe me after that titty twister.”

“Is it still called a titty twister if you’re a guy?” I asked, getting totally sidetracked. “Isn’t it a purple nurple?”

Parker pulled back just enough so we were nose to nose. “God, you really are the perfect woman, aren’t you?”

Not letting me answer, he captured my mouth with his, and I hummed against his full, kissable lips. Parker nipped, catching my bottom lip between his teeth and pulling me closer to him before he released it. I chased after him and wiggled one of my arms out of his hold to wrap around his neck. I let my fingers scrape along the back of his neck, making him shiver with pleasure. He grabbed my ass with both hands and pulled it flush with his pelvis so I could feel the swell of his dick. I couldn’t hold back—I moaned into his mouth, feeling how thick he was. Now that I had been introduced to good sex, I craved it.

I knew for sure that Parker was no longer cold, as his skin heated under my touch. His lips were hot as they ran down along my neck and nipped at my jaw. He slid his hand under my shirt again, letting his wide hand trail along my ribs until it stopped right under my breast. I arched into him to be closer, not that it was even possible with how close we were already. My power hummed in delight at the contact, his power reaching out and swirling, caressing me. His power was emotions, and there were a hell of a lot of them flying around right now.

“Sorry to interrupt, but just checking if you still wanted to go to France. If we want to be there in time for Christmas, you’re going to need to come up for air,” Brayden called from somewhere in the bedroom.

My answer was to shove Parker away from me and fling off the blanket. Rolling away and off the bed, I landed on my feet and ran over to Brayden, who caught me with an oof when I flung myself at him.

“Let’s go to France!” I cheered as Brayden grinned at me.

“Damn, I’m not sure if I should be offended that that’s all it took to get her to drop me like a hot potato,” Parker muttered as he followed Brayden out of the bedroom.

“Just wait until she finds out we are taking the helicopter back up to the cabin,” Micah said with a smug expression.

Wiggling, Brayden set me back on my feet so I could face Micah. “Run that by me one more time?”

“Oh, you mean the part about us taking the helicopter back? Let’s hope you don’t have an episode and try to crash this aircraft too. It’s less forgiving,” Micah tossed over his shoulder as he walked into the back bedroom.

My jaw fell open at his comment. “Not cool, Micah!”

“Come on. My father called and said they are waiting on us to have breakfast with them in their suite. Seems he has gathered all the parents so we can share what’s going on,” Brayden explained as he took my hand and led me out of the room.

* * *

I was seatedat the large dining room table in the equally giant suite that Brayden’s parents were staying in, a plate of food piled high in front of me. Jay had promptly sent me to sit down as he made up the plate for me, saying something about replacing the calories I used last night. My stomach growled, but I waited until everyone was seated at the table before I started. Jay sat on my left and Hudson was to my right, following my lead and waiting for the parents to be seated.

I was thrilled to see Adriana here with us, her hazel eyes bright and clear just like Brayden’s. Her silver-gray hair was tucked behind her ears, and she seemed so much more relaxed than the last few times I’d seen her.

“Lailah dear, the boys tell me that you’re off to France. I’m sad that we won’t get to spend Christmas with you, but there is always next year. Let’s hope that things will settle down by then. I have a feeling there is a lot that I’m going to find out I missed and will need to deal with. Please let me know if there is any way that I can help with the current situation. I already sent my research to the Elementi HQ, so they have that data,” Adriana said as frown lines creased her brow. “I can’t believe I allowed myself to be manipulated in such an awful way.”

Reaching across the table, I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m just thankful that we were able to help. We will figure this out, I promise.”

“That’s a hefty promise to make, girl,” Makoto interjected. “You might be careful you don’t make a promise you can’t keep.”

Bristling at his words, I turned my gaze to Jay’s father. Today he was wearing a dark burgundy yukata, and I wondered if he only wore traditional Japanese clothing. His salt-and-pepper hair was swept back from his face in a neat and orderly fashion, and his wrinkled face showed that the scowl he was giving me was a normal expression.

“I couldn’t agree more—I don’t make promises I can’t keep,” I stated and turned back to my food, ignoring the cranky old man.

Jay’s hand found my leg, and he gave my thigh a gentle squeeze, causing me to look up at him. His slate-gray eyes watched me intently as if he was checking to see how upset his father had made me. I gave him a smile, stretching to place a kiss on his cheek.

“I’m fine,” I whispered, wanting to set him at ease.

Jay’s shoulders relaxed, and he picked up his fork and started eating. Looking around, I saw everyone was seated and digging into their own meals.

“It seems that we all have been keeping things to ourselves, and I feel like if we are going to have any chance figuring things out, we need to come clean,” Tobias announced once the meal was underway.

“That better not have been directed at me, Tobias Jones,” Makoto snapped.

This was going to get us nowhere.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed my seat back and stood up, drawing everyone’s attention. “I appreciate all of you trying to start us out on the right foot for this investigation, but I think it’s best if we go into it with no preconceived notions. We know a member of the Dark Army was in the lab and took the serum. This is more than enough to go on, and the more time we waste here, the more information we will lose. It has been a pleasure to meet you all, and I truly wish it had been under different circumstances.”

With that, I started for the door, knowing that the boys would be following after me in a moment. There was too much at stake and not enough time to get ahead of it.