Page 27 of Her Eternal Mate

Here, in this anonymous neighborhood where we were staying for one night, I didn’t mind letting myself go and moaned loudly, truly equating my vocality to the pleasure that I was experiencing. It was something that I’d never been able to do in Fiddler’s Green.

I let myself come as he thrust himself hard into me one last time. There I lay, splayed, tired, sweating, orgasming as Will gushed into me, his ramrod cock pulsating inside my pussy.

After everything that had happened—the appearance of the emissary, the sudden travel to New York, that exciting dinner, and the passionate sex—I was too exhausted to stay awake.

The last thing I remembered was being cradled in his arms as sleep lulled me off into the world of the unconscious.

***

“Hurry, Lexie! We’re going to be late.”

Those have always been the worst words to wake up to, but coming from Will, the harsh implication of those words was lessened. He was only looking out for me.

I took a shower and got dressed at warp speed. The next thing I knew, we were both in our Jeep, racing down downtown Manhattan.

“Where exactly is the Clandestine Order located?” I asked, feeling hunger pangs clamor in my stomach. Perhaps they were panic pangs, but there was no way of telling.

“All the way to the top of the Empire State Building. On the 103rdfloor,” Will said, his entire focus on making it past the deluge of traffic clogging the roads.

“But the Empire State Building only has 102 floors.”

“That’s what’s known to the public. There’s a secret floor at the top, one that has been concealed by great magic. After all, it wouldn’t be the Clandestine Order if they didn’t exhibit the first part of their name in everything that they did.”

At nine sharp, we reached the Empire State Building, where in front of the parking, a disappointed-looking Rogelio was standing, looking at his timepiece. He resembled some gothic character that had popped out of a Bram Stoker novel, wearing his gigantic top hat, wielding a cane, sporting jet-black bifocals, and wearing a long coat that went beyond his knee-high leather boots.

“Late,” he said, shaking his head.

“Not late,” Will said. “We were supposed to arrive at nine. It’s nine.”

“Moving on, the Order will not tolerate such tardiness,” Rogelio said. “Now, please follow me to the Convergence of the Order.”

“The Convergence?” I asked, feeling out of the loop.

“It’s what the Order calls their headquarters at the top,” Will looped me in.

We followed Rogelio as he took us to the lobby, then pressed an invisible button nowhere near the panel, causing the elevator to shoot upward at breakneck speed. I held onto Will for support.

Suddenly, the elevator came to a halt, and we came out into a hall made of pure white marble. The roof was at least a hundred feet high, with everything about the place spelling luxuriousness and grandiosity. At our right was a receptionist behind an ornate alabaster desk. She smiled at us and then winked at Rogelio as we headed toward her.

“This one has a court appearance in less than ten minutes,” Rogelio said, pointing at me.

“And the other one?”

“The other one has to wait until his mate gets done with her hearing.”

“So we were on time,” Will said, a victory in his voice.

“Well, here at the Convergence of the Order, early is on time, and on time is considered late,” Rogelio said, his tone completely disaffected.

It was now—when I was led to a giant black door—that I felt the grip of panic stifling my throat. Will let go of my hand after squeezing it once. I looked at him.

Nodding slowly at me, he said, “Whatever happens, know that I’m with you on the other side of this door. I shall wait. And after this, everything will be okay.”

I gave him a brief kiss as Rogelio let me in through the door. As the door closed behind me, I caught a glimpse of Will one last time. He was smiling at me.

Turning my attention to the room I was in, I saw an elevated platform at the far end with five seats on it. I could not see the people seated there on account of their faces and bodies being covered by a luminescent white shield. Will was right. They were really big on being secretive.

“Alexis Richards appears before the Clandestine Court,” Rogelio called out, then bowed, and then walked out of the room.

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