© ItalRT4u, 2012

     What does he mean ‘succeeded’?  I asked myself as he stared at the pair of us with a smirk, as if knowing a joke that Cane and I had yet to catch on to. 

     Between hearing Cane’s brothers arguing downstairs, their mother trying to put an end to their feuding, and feeling frustration and anger with my empathic abilities, I was beginning to get a headache.  Cane didn’t seem like he was fairing so well either.  He was growing pale and his fists were balled; knuckles white with the pressure of his own grip as he tried to deal with whatever he suddenly found himself being overwhelmed with.  Cane’s eyes found mine as I looked at him with worry.  He reminded me of myself when I had first come into my empathic abilities and I knew from things Cane had told me about his abilities that what I had found myself dealing with was similar to what gifts he had been born with. 

     But it couldn’t be, could it?  Shaking the thought off, I had realized that I wasn’t hearing Andy and Patrick arguing anymore and that in itself graced me with enough peace to gather my thoughts and begin processing all of this. 

     I got up and rushed to Cane who seemed like he was now about to start crying.  I myself was feeling the emotion, but being too flustered with the rush to my other senses, I couldn’t quite pinpoint where it was all coming from.

     “Look at me.”  I said as I stood in front of him, grabbing his face between my palms.  He did as I asked.  “Breathe deeply and try and shut your mind from everything around you.  Picture yourself building a wall between you and what you’re feeling.”  He closed his eyes and concentrated on it for a moment using every trick I had given him; tricks I had learned from my supposed father – the only one I've ever known.  In the meantime, Sandra had come into our room; hugging Will from behind.  The air filled with a scent. 

     What the-?  Was that arousal? 

     I looked wide-eyed to Will and Sandra and my core began to warm slightly.  I used my empathic abilities to feel exactly what I had smelled; yep, arousal. 

     Ugh...  Seriously?  Who could be turned on at a time like this?

     I looked back at Cane and found him smirking at me as it appeared his struggles had calmed down; everything was in check.  Sandra stood in front of her husband who now had his arms wrapped around her, hugging her tightly to him.  I was still aware of the smell in the room which was growing heavier and more pungent and try as I might, I couldn’t make its stench dissipate or ignore it in the slightest; as a matter of fact, the urge to jump Cane was growing with each and every passing second.  To give you an answer to my earlier question, apparently I can be turned on at a time like this.  Cane lightly rubbed my arms soothingly in an up and down motion as they hung limp at my sides; I was slowly melting and the last thing I needed was to go feral on this gorgeous piece of man that stood in front of me while his parents stood there.  I felt like a bitch in heat.

     My head snapped at Will who was now chuckling and Sandra noticed the look in my eyes and immediately tapped his arm so he’d stop.

     “Explain.”  I told him in a slightly harsh and demanding tone.  Under any other circumstance, I'd have said that my eyes were deceiving me but I could have sworn that Will stood a little straighter at my command.  I’m sure some day I’d laugh about all of this but right now, I was freaked out to say the least, not to mention slightly insulted that we hadn’t been made aware of this happening.

     It just so happens that a Royal and her Royal Match exchange their abilities and share them once they’ve succeeded at the bonding.

     “I knew it had worked when I came in and saw your eyes.”  Will stated.  “You have the royal coloring in them now.”  Cane and I looked at each other over my shoulder as I sat on his lap, on the edge of our bed.

      “A little warning about this power swap would have been good.”  I mumbled as I felt Cane’s lips on my shoulder, breathing heated air through the satin of my bath robe.

     “This is part of what I mean about you getting stronger.  Upon completing the bonding, you and your match share each other’s abilities.”  He explained.

      “I’m not sure I’m enjoying this whole new scent, hearing and sight thing but I can see how handy they are for you guys.”  I smiled, feeling awkward.

     “How you deal with this whole empathic thing is beyond me.”  Cane said, into my neck.  If he didn’t stop, I’d be forced to turn around and take him there, in front of all to see.  My raging hormones hadn’t let off from smelling the arousal in the air earlier and I knew that Cane was able to smell mine now.  I squirmed a little deeper into his lap as I tightened my thighs together – a feeble attempt at stifling this internal flame that was slowly being fanned within me.  I should simply just get up and off of his lap but I couldn’t help but notice that the overwhelming senses relaxed some as soon as we had made physical contact; at this point, in a last ditch effort to remain semi clear-headed, I chose to stay where I was.

      “Here.”  Will walked forward and dropped keys in Cane’s hand.  I looked at the two men and Sandra in confusion.  “You two clearly need some more time to get adjusted.  The boys have left and Sandra and I are due for some time alone.  If you head out now, you can get to the cottage before midnight.”  With that, he followed Sandra out of the bedroom; some of the arousal scent left along with them, some of it remained.

     Half an hour later we had found ourselves in Cane’s car, driving God knows where.  I had no clue where we were headed; just the intended destination – Cane’s family cottage.  We were warned that there were watchers around the property to keep watch over us.  So long as they stayed away from earshot, I was fine with it and made it known.  I had plans for Cane and I and the last thing I needed was to be disturbed.  My breathing hitched at the thought of a few naughty things I wanted to try on him upon our arrival; my mouth watering at the fresh memory of his heated flesh on mine.  A hand rubbing up my thigh was what brought me back to reality.  I turned to look at Cane who eyed me curiously with an arched brow.

     “You need to stop the thoughts you’re thinking.  You’re driving me insane right now.”  He said in a husky tone and suddenly, I had a picture invade my mind.  My eyes, still trained on Cane, I felt my blush wash through my entire body and that internal flame of mine growing ever so slightly.  It was exactly what I had pictured doing to him but with his very own twist added to it.  He laughed mischievously at my reaction.

     “What the hell was that?”  I asked him, my core throbbing with want; my breath nearing a pant.

     “I think we just found something new.”  He chuckled.

     “I wonder if your father knows about this one.”  I smirked and flashed a scene from earlier tonight of me wreaking pleasuring havoc on his body and cut it off as quickly as I heard the growl forming in his throat; I giggled.  The more I sat here thinking about this whole royal business of sharing each other’s abilities, the more I thought we could have fun with this whole thing.  The mind link we now shared was definitely an interesting plus.

     The moon shone bright and high in the sky by the time we reached the cottage, nestled in the woods.  Cane had almost missed the dirt road that led up to it as he veered quickly to the right, causing rocks, dirt and other road debris to kick up and a cloud of dust to float up in the air behind the car.  I’ve never seen a man run as quickly as I had just now when he got out of the car, grabbed our bags and tossed me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.  He paused at the door to unlock it and dropping our belongings inside, locking the door behind us, he rushed us up the stairs to one of the bedrooms as I giggled hysterically at his behavior.

     “I can’t help myself.”  He said as he hovered above me, once he had flung me onto the bed.  “That had to have been the longest drive of my life.”

     “Ditto.”  I whispered, electrical currents running down to my toes with the scent of him filling my nose, causing images to flash through my mind, the throbbing in my core intensifying, begging me to let go and let him quench this thirst that only he can quench.

     I felt like I couldn’t simply get enough of him – Cane was no better.  Other than showering and food, we spent the entirety of the next two days in bed, satisfying each other repeatedly although, not entirely in a physical way per se. 

     Cane had come up with an idea yesterday morning where he’d see how powerful our mind link would work.  Let’s just say that I woke up screaming his name in a fit of carnal bliss which left me speechless when I had realized that it had all been in my head.  My body begged to differ afterwards when I found myself having to satiate my needs with his body seeing as my core had throbbed and demanded for physical release.  I had returned that same favor when, to my delight, he was still sleeping when I woke this morning.  His little friend stood at attention for me as I began to pleasure him, sending him sexy images through his mind.  Yep, I was taking him to the next level – pleasuring both mental and physical all at once.  He woke on the verge of exploding and all he could do was lay there, his eyes wide with blissful shock, looking into mine as he throbbed in my hands, moaning my name; me, watching the whole thing, biting my lower lip, impressed with my handy work.

     We had been heading back to the Nottingham residence when all hell broke loose.  At first, we had driven by a black SUV that had been pulled over to the side of the road; some guy fixing a flat.  A few minutes up the same road, something struck me as odd – I had seen that SUV before.  Sure, there are loads of black Chevrolet Suburban’s with black tinted windows out there but something about this one looked familiar.  I immediately wracked my brain trying to figure out what exactly it was that struck a chord with me and all I came up with was the license plate; it read b8Davis.  It wasn’t the vehicle per se, it was the damn plates on it that caused this sudden bundle of nerves to unravel and twist my stomach into a multitude of knots.

      “Everything okay?”  Cane looked over at me as I tried to avoid his gaze by looking out the window.  I nodded.  “I can smell fear, Payton.”

      Damn.  These abilities are killing me right now.

     “I heard that too.”  He chuckled.  “What’s up, Baby?”

     “Drive faster.”  I tell him.

     “Why?”

     “Because I think we’re being followed.”  I tell him, this time, meeting his eyes with mine.  He took a quick look in his rearview mirror and then I heard a deafening crash which shot my head back into the headrest before I jerked forcefully forward toward the dash, my seatbelt being the only thing keeping my body from flying out of my seat.  The rear windows to the car shattered as Cane struggled to speed up and maintain control of the car, the tires squealing on the pavement.  The smell of fear was overwhelming inside the car.  Thanking some higher power up above, I was glad when Cane’s sports car jetted quickly forward and as I looked in my mirror, the Suburban had begun to fade further behind us.  And then that’s when I had seen Cane’s cell phone, sitting in the console between the seats.  My fingers fumbled over the keys to find his parents’ number for an attempt to contact them.  Never in my life had I been more thankful when someone picked up at the other end.

     “Help us!”  I screamed and that’s when a mix of colors waved across my vision, the feeling of weightlessness overcoming me as the car Cane and I were driving in was sent careening across the highway, onto the opposite side of the road, tumbling over and over again; heads over tails, into the ditch.  The deafening sound of metal, plastic twisting and scraping on asphalt buried my screams of fear for my life; for Cane’s life.  The phone I was holding was now knocked out of my hands and lay somewhere lost and out of reach.

     When everything came to a stop, I looked over at Cane to find him with an immense gash on his forehead, his eyes closed but his breathing still detectable by the pulsing of a vein I saw on the side of his neck.  The smell of smoke and gasoline was slowly making me feel nauseous.  I heard the sound of car doors opening and closing in the distance; panic began to settle in again as I attempted to will it away with a few seconds of deep breathing.

     I nudged Cane and heard him groan.  Unbuckling myself, I tried to turn my body toward him in an attempt to wake him up.  Nothing prepared me for the blinding pain that seared through my right leg.  After a heart wrenching howl of pain, I looked down and saw the monstrous gash on my thigh with a piece of glass sticking out of it.  I knew I was in trouble.  I began punching at Cane, pleading with him to wake up.

     “Cane!”  I yelled at him, my strength feeling like it was escaping me – perhaps it was the blood loss.  The crunching of gravel and dirt underfoot dominated my hearing, I knew there was more than one person.  No sooner than that, I felt two sets of hands gripping me by the arms and ripping me out of the passenger side window.

     “NOOOO!  CANE!  Please!  Please Cane!  Wake up!”  I shouted as loudly as I possibly could.  I turned to face one of the owners of those sets of hands and the blood rushed out of my face; ice filled my veins.  I had been right the whole time.  One of Matt’s guys had me by the arm.  The only thing I remember from this point on is seeing Cane’s eyes open and his head turn toward me, our gaze meeting for a split second as they shut the back hatch to the Suburban; a hit to the head later and I was lights out.

     I woke up, my leg burning, feeling like it was on fire, my head was pounding and I hadn’t a clue as to my whereabouts.  The only thing that I couldn’t figure out was that I could have sworn that I had heard Cane calling my name attempting to wake me up but when I opened my eyes, I didn't need anyone telling me that he wasn’t here.

     As I took in my surroundings, I realized that I was in a beautiful room with floor to ceiling windows and thick velvety navy blue curtains.  The bed I was currently laying on was comfortable and covered with silk sheets that were extremely soft, the comforter, a dark navy that matched the curtains; the four posters looked hand-carved.  I heard the slight clicking of the doorknob turning and decided to feign sleeping so that I didn't have to deal with Matt or any of his minions.

     I listened as I heard very soft rustling of feet stopping directly beside me.  Dainty hands had pulled the sheets away from my body and my eyes snapped open to see who it was that was now delicately touching my thigh; my injured thigh at that.  I flinched and saw her jump a few feet back as I eyed her precariously.

     “What are you doing?”  I hissed at her, venom dripping from every syllable.

     “I-I…”  Her voice trailed meekly.

     “You what?”  I snapped at her, demanding an answer from her.

     “He asked me to change your dressings.”  She said, trembling with obvious fear that she reeked of.  I couldn’t help but think of how handy this whole newly acquired sense of smell was becoming; it literally was quicker to pick up a scent than trying to read someone with my empathic abilities even after years of experience with them.

     “He?”  I eyed her.

     “Master Davis.”  She mumbled keeping her black irises trained to the floor submissively, avoiding eye contact with me whatsoever.

     “Master?  He seriously makes you call him that?”  I sneered, disgusted at the gall of this creep.

     “That’s right!”  My head snapped up to the bedroom door where Matt Davis himself stood, arms crossed at his chest and a smug look on his face.  “Nice of you to finally join us.”

     “Not by my own volition.”  I eyed him icily.  He reeked of confidence but most of all, of danger; the alarm bells were going off in my head non-stop.  I knew I had to get out of here – but where was here?  His house?  A cottage?  For all I knew, I could have been in a makeshift bedroom inside a freaking warehouse.

     “You might not be here by choice now, but you will stay and do as I ask and in time,” he paused as he came up beside me and tried to brush a strand of hair away from my face and I snapped my head away from him.  He smirked at my effort and the look of death I was giving him.  “In time, you’ll have forgotten about your dearest Cane and his followers and find your rightful place with me, at the forefront of this whole mess and in my bed.”  He grabbed my hand in an attempt to kiss the top of it but I ripped it out and gave it my best try as I swung into him for a punch he so aptly dodged.  Laughing, he turned his back on me and walked back to where he had come from.  Pausing at the door, he looked over his shoulder at me.

      “I look forward to you screaming out my name.”  He chuckled eerily as he exited the room and shut the door behind him.

     In your fucking dreams, bastard!

                                          *************************************

If you've enjoyed what you've read, please vote and comment on every chapter.  I enjoy the feedback and support.  Thank you!