~~~
Just hearing Reno speak those words sent shivers through her and Brandi struggled to hide the fact. It had been so long since Langstaff—over two and a half years—but she vividly recalled the feeling of being possessed by him. In her mind’s eye she could still see Reno lying on the bed; how his tanned skin, still showing evidence of the previous night’s battle, had contrasted with the white sheets. He’d looked like a warrior; proud and strong, yet vulnerable too, and a feeling of love had welled up inside her.
She’d done nothing to stop his advances. In fact, she’d urged him on, caressing her fingers along his shaft, rejoicing as he grew harder. And then, she’d guided him into place and impaled herself, the feeling of fullness almost enough to send her over the edge…
Suddenly the cool dampness of the underground room seemed to disappear and warmth flooded through her. She swallowed hard and tried to regain her composure, hoping he couldn’t scent her arousal.
“We are not going to have sex down here in a mining tunnel. That kiss in the cellar was just… Well, it was… ” She furrowed her brow and thought for a moment before planting her hands on her hips. “Why did you kiss me, anyway?”
It was Reno’s turn to look confused, the playful grin fading from his face. He worked his jaw and looked about the room, before sighing. “Hell if I know. It just seemed the thing to do at the time.”
Brandi huffed at his answer. She’d wanted him to confirm the emotions she’d seen passing over his face, but being a typical man he’d taken the easy way out. For a moment she considered letting the matter ride but then she came to a decision and set her jaw. No. He’d kissed her. Even after all the awful things she’d said to him, he’d kissed her. And it hadn’t been a punishing kiss or a ‘getting even’ type of kiss. It had felt hot and real and full of emotion.
He must feel something for her, and even if she was wrong—if it was just lust—she wanted to know, needed to know. For all that she might say she was moving on with her life, little episodes like this kept kindling hope inside her and she wouldn’t allow the spark to linger. Either it was extinguished now by his declaration that he felt nothing or…
“Reno… ?” She took a tentative step towards him—it was easy to think about confronting someone, but actually doing it was a different matter entirely—then cleared her throat. Her wolf, pleased with her decision, pushed her to take another step.
“Yeah?” Reno darted a glance at her and a wary look came over his face. With her eyes, she followed the movement of his throat as he swallowed and wondered what it would be like to trace that path with her tongue. “Listen, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that kiss meant something and… ”
His voice trailed off as she stepped even closer and heat flared in his eyes making her stomach twist in nervous anticipation, though why she didn’t know. They were just going to talk… right?
“We really need to talk. To clear things between us.” By now she was close enough that, in the relative coolness of the room, she could feel the warmth of his body. The expanse of his chest was even with her eyes, his dark t-shirt outlining the musculature beneath. Her palms tingled with the need to touch him and she slowly raised her hands, allowing them to hover mere inches from the desired destination.
“Between us? There’s… uh… ” He stuttered to a halt.
She could hear the change in Reno’s breathing, see the rise and fall of his chest speeding up. Raking her teeth across her lip, she lowered her hands until they touched the soft material. Actual contact had her closing her eyes, absorbing the moment, feeling nerve endings flaring to life.
It was difficult to gather her thoughts, but she forced her eyes open and tried to continue the conversation. “Yeah. Us. Sometimes we seem so close and then… ” She broke off when she felt his muscles contract under her touch.
A rumble rose from deep in his throat, and he slowly lowered his head. His nose brushed her temple… Skimmed her cheekbone… “And then… we aren’t.”
She drew a shuddering breath and began to gently move her hands over him, exploring his body as he explored her face. His lips brushed her ear. She traced his collar bone. He followed the line of her jaw as she moved her hands to his shoulders. Palms on his bare skin, she absorbed the feel of supple flesh over bone and muscle. All thoughts of conversation fled.
He slid his hands from her hips to her waist before moving down again to clutch her rear. He kneaded her flesh and slowly pulled her closer into full contact with him.
He was hard. She could feel the length of him pressed against her stomach and cursed the barrier of denim that kept them apart.
To be one with him, to join with him. We need this, her wolf insisted and she knew it spoke the truth. At this moment, she had no will-power. She wanted this man and there was no excuse.
She wasn’t a co-ed grabbing a onetime chance with a heart-throb, nor was she offering or seeking comfort from a traumatic event. This was desire to be with the one she loved. To share herself with him, to give and receive pleasure. To be joined in the most intimate physical way possible. Later she’d deal with the regret, but for now, this was all she could think about.
Brandi leaned infinitesimally closer and brushed her nose over the hollow of his throat. With the tip of her tongue, she licked the small indent and inhaled deeply, savouring the taste and scent of her mate. He slowly rocked against her and she clutched his shoulders tightly while sliding her lips up his throat to his jaw. Rough stubble abraded her lips, sensitizing them until they felt tingly and swollen. She nipped his chin then slid a hand around his neck and urged him to lower his head.
For a long second they stood poised, lips but a hair’s breadth apart, little puffs of breath dancing over the waiting surface. Brandi raised her eyes and stared into his. Expectation filled the air and, of one accord, they closed the distance and their lips made contact.
Soft and sweet—so different from their earlier kiss—they touched and retreated only to brush back and forth again, testing and teasing, drawing out the moment despite the desire inside that clamoured for more. Slowly, reluctantly, they pulled apart and softly exhaled. Twice now they’d come together frantically, but this time…
Brandi slid her hands up to bury them in his hair, and slowly brought their mouths into full contact. Lips parted and tongues tentatively touched, stroking, exploring. Reno flicked the tip of his over the roof of her mouth and she clenched her fingers tightly in his hair. He murmured his approval and pulled her closer, caressing her back, her hips, her rear.
Sliding his hand down her thigh to her knee, he lifted her leg up. Willingly, she wrapped it around his hip, aligning their bodies more intimately. He rocked against her and desire shot through her. She clutched at his back. A floodgate opened inside her and she became desperate to feel his skin on hers, to have him touch her where she needed it the most.
“Reno, please… ” Brandi panted. “I need… ” Exactly what she couldn’t decide. His taste? His touch? To explore his body?
“I know… ” Reno pressed her even closer. “Me, too.” He shoved a hand up the front of her t-shirt and she almost cried out in relief when he pushed her bra aside and stroked her breast. Work-roughened fingers played over her tender flesh, sending more waves of desire spiralling through her.
She worked his shirt free of his waistband, and then fumbled to undo the button on his pants. Sliding her hand inside, she gasped as she came in contact with hot hard flesh. He was commando!
Reno groaned loudly and roughly thrust against her hand. It thrilled her to pleasure him and she caressed the silk encased shaft, feeling him grow ever firmer under her ministrations.
He teased her nipple while lightly biting on the chord of her neck. White hot needles shot through her going directly to her core. God, she couldn’t take any more! There was a roaring in her ears; the ground felt like it was shaking under her feet.
Reality crashed down around her as bit of rock began to fall and dust filled the
air.
“It’s a cave-in!”
As one they dove towards the table and huddled underneath as the world seemed to crash down around them.
Chapter 24
Dust swirled around them and soon they were both coughing, choking on the microscopic debris that filled the air.
How long it took for the world to settle, Brandi had no idea for just when the first round seemed to be subsiding a second roar had filled the room. While it seemed like hours, it was likely mere seconds. One minute the room was filled with noise and the next there was only the light clatter of the occasional stone settling into place. Slowly, she released the death grip she had on Reno and looked at him, blinking rapidly to free her eyes of dust particles.
“Are you all right?” She managed to choke out the words.
“Yeah. You?” Reno was coughing as well. His eyes were red rimmed in his grime coloured face. Brandi assumed she looked no better.
“Fine.”
Carefully, they clambered out from under the table, pushing away the small rocks that were in their way. Dust still filled the air, millions of particles floating in the dim light of the remaining lamps. Fits of coughing overcame them both, tears streaming from their stinging eyes. Reno ripped off his shirt and tore it in two.
“Masks.” He said curtly. “It would be better if they were damp—they’d filter the dust better—but it’s the best I can do.” Spinning her around, he tied it behind her head covering her nose and mouth and then she returned the favour.
Able to breathe somewhat better, they stared at their surroundings. Surprisingly enough, the room was basically intact. A few of the lights were broken and filth covered everything, but otherwise it appeared much as it had just minutes before.
“I guess we were lucky.” Brandi slowly turned in a circle, assessing the situation.
“Damn lucky.” Reno agreed, doing up his pants. The passion of moments ago had been thoroughly doused. “There’s no damage here, so the cave-in was… ?” He looked towards the tunnel they’d originally used—the maze Klaus had created—then the tunnel the others had taken.
“Let’s check that one.” She pointed to the latter and, with a nod, Reno picked up a flashlight and headed that way. Brandi grabbed his hand, both for reassurance and because she remembered Katie saying Reno didn’t like the tunnels. Had the girl been right?
She gave him a sideways glance. Above the mask, he did look rather tense, small furrows showing between his brows. For a moment she debated about opening the bond between them, but decided not to. No. All these years she’d tried her best not to invade his privacy. This was no different. Giving his hand an extra squeeze, she walked along beside him.
They didn’t have far to travel—barely a hundred yards—before they came to a blockage. Brandi stared at the tumble of rocks. Broken pieces of wood were intermingled with the stone that created a wall blocking what used to be a passageway. It was plugged almost to the ceiling with just the smallest of openings showing. Of course, how far the opening went she didn’t know, and there’d been two cave-ins, so possibly another blockage existed on the other side of this one.
Just in case, she scrambled over the debris, getting as close as possible to the opening before calling out. “Hello! Anyone there?” She waited a moment, listening intently before trying again. Still nothing. “Damn. Reno, do you hear anything?”
“No.” His curt answer was followed by a pause and she noted his fingers clenching and unclenching around the flashlight. “What do you think happened? I thought Klaus just said the roof was stable.”
She carefully climbed back to stand at his side. “In the cave, yes, but tunnels are unpredictable, especially the old ones. The timbers that help shore up the tunnels might have given out or the rainy weather this year might have weakened the shale. It could even be Victor’s fault. Peter said there’s been lots of new excavation going on. If Victor didn’t have an engineer do a mining report on the stability risks, his project might have compromised this whole area.”
Reno stared at the wall of stone. With only his upper face visible it was hard to determine how he was feeling but his tone was clipped when he spoke. “You’re the one who grew up in this area, what do you think we should do?”
Brandi considered the situation. Her knowledge of the mines was all from overheard conversations. She’d never interested herself in them when she was growing up, being too intent on leaving. Now, she wished she’d paid better attention. “Well, we can try to move some of the stone and see if we can create a crawl space near the ceiling, but we’ve no idea how thick this pile is or what lies beyond. And, if we start moving things, it could become unstable and cause another cave-in.”
“So the alternative is to stay down here.” He exhaled loudly. “Isn’t this just fucking grand?”
Reaching out, Brandi took Reno’s hand again and held it as she stared at the wall of stone. The warmth and strength of his palm pressed to hers was comforting as she fought her own demons. Fear was rising inside her, tightening her chest and causing her skin to prickle. “I never knew my dad; he died in the mines when I was a baby. The roof caved in.” She felt tears welling in her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. “People always said I was like him. It made me feel closer to him, sort of proud. I… I just never thought we’d be the same in the way we died.”
“Hey, we’re not going to die.” Reno pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Resting his chin on her head, he rocked her back and forth. “We’ll be fine. Peter or Katie or one of the others will go get help. They’ll dig us out.”
The warmth of his body seeped into hers and she snuggled closer, inhaling his scent and feeling inexplicably safer in his arms even as she expressed her doubts.
“But Peter and the others can’t show their face. And Klaus doesn’t control the pack, Victor does. Klaus might have a few wolves he can count on, but he can’t just appear back in town and expect the rest to fall in line with him.” She shook her head. “No, it’s up to us to get out of here.”
“Then we will.” He spoke with confidence, but there was the faintest hesitancy in his voice “Let’s head back. It’s sort of… stuffy… in this tunnel.”
Brandi leaned back and looked up at him. In the dim light it was hard to make out his face, but under the grime she thought he looked pale. She chose to say nothing though and they made their way back to the room where Klaus had left them.
Once there, they pulled off their makeshift masks and sat side by side on two crates, their backs against the rough stone wall. It was hard to believe that just a short time ago they’d been in the throes of passion. Was death just around the corner now? She cursed the cave-in. If it hadn’t happened then perhaps she and Reno would have made love. He might have confessed his true feelings and she could have told him about the blood bond. Maybe Reno would even have bitten her and at least she’d have been able to leave the world knowing what it was like to feel whole again.
The lights flickered and Reno jerked beside her. She could hear him cursing under his breath. “Don’t do this to me.”
“Don’t do what?”
“The lights. I… er… ” He paused and looked at her sheepishly. “Look, don’t laugh, but I… um… just found out a little while ago that I don’t do well in dark, underground places.”
“You’re scared of being in the tunnels.”
“Not scared,” he responded quickly staring straight ahead. “Just… uncomfortable. Sort of shaky and sweaty.” He rubbed his palms over the legs of his pants and flicked another glance at her. “Pretty stupid for an Enforcer, isn’t it?”
“No. Not stupid.” She hugged his arm and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, pleased he was confiding in her. “Everyone’s different. I don’t like spiders.”
He snorted. “Not even close to the same thing.”
“Hey, a fear is a fear.” She leaned away and hit him lightly on the arm. “I can’t bear to even look at the things. And just t
hink of how silly I look running through the woods in my wolf form only to take off yelping when I see a daddy-long-legs… She folded her arms and looked affronted. “It’s very embarrassing.”
“I suppose.” He gave a brief huff of laughter.
“And besides, even though you say you’re scared, you’re holding up pretty good. A little pale, but good.”
“As long as the lights don’t go out, I’ll be okay. Down in the cellar, I froze up the first time. I had to really talk to myself to keep moving.” He reached up and rubbed his head and Brandi frowned briefly wondering what the connection was before continuing to try and bolster his spirits.
“But you did keep moving. That shows guts. Continuing on when you’re afraid is a sign of true bravery.”
He rolled his eyes. “Thanks for the lesson in Psych 101.”
“You’re welcome.” She grinned up at him, enjoying the camaraderie.
The lights flickered again and this time Reno shot to his feet. “If the lights go out completely, I don’t know if I can stand being down here.”
“What else can we do?” she pointed out. “Unless you want to chance Klaus’ maze and see if we can find the tunnel that leads back to the town hall.”
“God… what a choice. Stuck underground in a black hole doing nothing, wondering if anyone will ever dig us out, or wandering lost forever in a maze of old tunnels.” Reno ran his fingers agitatedly through his hair. As the lights flickered and stayed off for several seconds before coming back on, a growl escaped him. “What’s going on with them?”
Brandi shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose they’re hooked up to a generator. Maybe it’s failing or perhaps the cave-in damaged the wires.”
A desperate look was starting to fill his eyes and he darted his gaze around the room as if looking for a means of escape. “What did Klaus say about the tunnels? That they had arrows and symbols that showed which way to go?”
She nodded. “But I don’t know if we’d be able to find the markings or not. When he was pointing them out, they were easy enough to see, but on our own… ” She shook her head. “They were pretty well concealed.”