Page 7 of Custodian

Damn, he was one lucky bastard, he thought to himself. He had been a miserable, temperamental, sorry excuse for a human being for years before Max had stumbled upon him and turned his whole world upside down. She had arrived and offered him everything he swore he would never want or need. He believed he had fought valiantly ... for a pathetic couple of weeks. Hey – he had tried, but she had pulled him in with her brutal honesty, her compassion, and her promise of hope. Now, almost a year later, she was his and he was hers.

She hadn’t turned his way or given any indication she was aware of his presence, but she knew he was there. Not only would the Order bond share everyone’s locations at all times with merely a thought, but she was just as attuned to him as he was to her on a purely primal level. And what a gift that was. Even from here, he could see the way her breath seemed to catch as his eyes roamed south to the swell of her generous breasts under the basic tee shirt she wore. He couldn’t help smirking as small beads appeared under the white fabric. Oh yeah – she knew he was there alright.

“Will you stop smirking and get over here already?” Bright, beautiful eyes of blue and green looked his way.

He grinned at the look of forced patience on her face – Max was not a patient person. “What makes you think I was smirking?” He crossed his arms over his chest and preened a little when Max’s eyes traced over the muscles of his biceps. Not that he would ever admit that out loud. He was a paladin. He did not preen. But damn if it didn’t fill him with pride to know this amazing creature desired him.

She rolled her eyes – a rather frequent habit of hers. “Please, you’re standing over there molesting me with those chocolate eyes of yours.”

He laughed at her choice of words, for molesting was definitely his intention very soon. And there was magic even in that too – that he could laugh and mean it. He had literally gone years without feeling any hint of mirth or even a small measure of happiness. Now, well, he laughed every day. Figuring his retrospection was now complete, he walked briskly to the hammock, giving it a decent uneven tug just to have the amusement of listening to his woman screech and clutch at his arms.

“Dammit, Ry! Why do you always do that?” She grumbled, punching him pathetically on the arm.

“Because you’re so sexy when you’re mad.” He smiled and ignored another eye roll and grumble as he leaned over and captured her lips with his own.

Perfection. She was pure perfection, he thought as he plundered her lips, groaning when her hands gripped the fabric of his shirt tightly, pulling him forward. So lost in the heat they generated within seconds, he forgot their precarious position, as he pushed her flat and attempted to follow her down. The hammock swung crazily, completely overbalanced, and he found himself cursing ripely as he forced his body under Max’s to cushion her from the ground as she came tumbling down. Heoofedout a breath when a pointy elbow made contact with his sternum and a hard knee came dangerously close to his manhood.

Max was laughing freely on his chest, clearly not feeling as amorous as before.Smooth, real smooth, he thought sarcastically.

“Smooth moves, pal.” Max giggled, poking him in the chest.

He forced himself not to wince when she parroted his thoughts almost exactly. Although they could all communicate through the Order bond, Max also had the rare ability to read minds. Given she was essentially a goddess, it probably wasn’t that unusual. However, he knew for a fact that Max hadn’t read his mind just moments ago. She very rarely did so actively nor on purpose. She found it an invasion of privacy and she also didn’t fully understand how to control it yet either.

No, what he found disconcerting – along with the others, he knew – was the fact that she seemed to know what people were thinking, or feelinginstinctively. That she didn’t need to tap into her powers or their vitality in order to access the ability. Such a thing was unheard of. Wardens were miraculous beings, having powers to control and communicate with the elements, and although it was inherent since birth, they still had to work at it. But Max appeared to come by it naturally, unconsciously, and completely ignorantly. She had come a long way in controlling and understanding her abilities – which was fantastic. But just when they believed they had her powers figured out, something new would pop up.

She was evolving.

For some reason, that scared the shit out of him. It was the same feeling he got when she mirrored his thoughts like a few seconds ago. Because such a thing, done with no effort and no intention, only added weight to the theory of a grander plan. Because if she could feel and know one’s thoughts without consciousness, then what did it mean for her other feelings that also seemed to come to her unwittingly?

Like the chades.

Like an uprising.

Like war.

Fate. Revolution. Providence. Many such words had been thrown around since they discovered Max and her Custodian status. Hell, he had been one of the first to suggest it. Now, with all those things hovering at the edge of their reality, he sometimes wished he could take it back. Not because he feared battle or violence. In fact, he truly believed their society was in desperate need of a good revolt. No, what he feared was what the whole thing meant for Max. Because she was pulling away from him – from all of her Order. Her old habit of blocking her thoughts and feelings from them was returning and it was something he was not going to tolerate. He knew she was scared, but he was damned if he was going to allow her to shoulder her burdens alone anymore. She never had to be alone anymore. Never.

“Hey, you okay? I didn’t really hurt you, did I?” Max’s concerned voice broke into his inner musings.

She had pushed herself up and was now straddling his waist, her hands checking him over for injury, even as her eyes shone with concern.Damn, he must have spaced longer than he thought. Capturing her hands, he flattened them over his chest and smiled when her fingers seemed to flex of their own accord, as if seeking as much surface area as possible.

“You didn’t hurt me.” He assured her, “I was just thinking.”

She cocked her head – much like that darn mongrel dog did – a gesture he secretly thought was the cutest fucking thing ever from the both of them. Not that he would ever admit it. If he did that, he would also have to admit that he adored the be-speckled dog almost as much as his master.

“Thinking about what?” she asked.

“You.” He replied, simply.

She narrowed her eyes, smoothing her hands over his chest in the direction of his pierced nipples. He barely restrained from bucking his hips and seeking some friction. His woman had an unholy obsession with his piercings and could reduce him to a quivering mass within minutes when she started playing with them. Not wanting to worry her – or himself for that matter – he decided to go with what he had been thinking when he had first seen her swinging lazily in the breeze, hair glinting in the sunlight like a living flame.

“I was thinking about how every time I look at you, I can’t believe you’re mine.”

***

“Ryker …” It was the only word her vocal cords would allow her to whisper.

The sheer emotion shining from his eyes and the reverent way his rough hands now rose to shape her face, clogged her throat. He loved her, she knew. With everything he was and everything he would ever be. The miracle of it swamped her, as it always did, whenever he allowed his poetic soul to surface. But she knew that wasn’t what he had been thinking – not completely anyway. She didn’t know how she knew – just that she did.

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