Within the Realm (The Gifted Realm Book 1) Read online

  “Aww, geez, someone really needs to tell them ten is enough! What are they trying to do...replace us as we move out?” Emily and Rainer laughed as Logan turned and jogged to the barn. They watched him pull the Mustang out and head down the gravel path.

  Rainer took the steps up to the porch two at a time.

  “So, I take it parents aren’t back yet?” he teased as she shook her head.

  “No, I put the boys to bed, a while ago. Patrick came home with Lucy.” She rolled her eyes and made him chuckle. “They’ve been up in his room this whole time, so I came out here to wait on you.” He sat on the swing beside her.

  She turned to lay in his lap with a contented smile. He pulled his fingers gently through her auburn tresses and smiled down at her. She was wearing one of his Ioses t-shirts with a pair of extremely short knit shorts. The Auxiliary Order crest was in block print letters on the bottom. He smiled; she’d always worn his Ioses shirts more than he had. That was the way it was done. The only guys who wore their own Predilect’s t-shirts were the sub-freshman who hadn’t quite gotten the inner nuances of The Academy down yet. Well, them, and Fergus, he thought with a slight chuckle.

  Though he’d seen her in it dozens of times before, the sight always took his breath away. She was his, and he longed to show her that. He might have been nervous about the way that would happen, but his longing far outweighed his nerves. Desire swam in his energy, especially when she was laying in his lap, in the calm, cool, evening air. When he soothed her with the rhythmic movement of the swing as she gazed up at him sweetly, the love between them became palpable in the air.

  She pulled a quilt off of the side of the swing. It was one of many Mrs. Haydenshire kept there, in case someone wanted a nap on the porch, or one of the twins wanted to snuggle underneath it. Rainer took it and draped it over her as she let him cradle her in his lap. She yawned, and her eyelids grew heavier.

  “Want me to take you to bed, baby?”

  “Is that an offer, Mr. Lawson?”

  Every fiber of his being wanted to say yes. He longed to scoop her up and carry her to her room, a place where she felt safe and comfortable. He could show her just how much he loved her, be with her, feel her around him and make her feel him.

  He just chuckled and swallowed down his need for what felt like the millionth time. Her parents would be coming home soon, as would Connor and Logan. He assumed, at some point, Patrick and Lucy would come up for air, and he would take her home. All of this would be a problem if someone should come looking for either of them.

  “Friday night, sweetheart,” he promised.

  She trembled slightly in his arms, and Rainer willed Friday night to come quickly.

  “Mom said it was fine for us to stay at the beach house for a few days.” His heart hammered as he nodded. As he smiled down at her, he felt his body seize in anticipation. He slipped his hand under the quilt and caressed her side. He used his other hand to move her hair from her face.

  She let her eyes close. He knew she could feel his energy rhythms, and she wanted to feel more. A gentle breeze tempted Rainer with Emily’s heavenly scent. She was concentrating as he felt his energy mingle with hers in the crisp night air. He pulled the t-shirt up to expose her midriff, but kept her covered under the quilt.

  He wanted to touch her skin and let the energy pass between them. As he wrapped his fingers around her waist, she smiled and opened her eyes as they darkened. Her gaze beseeched him. He slid his hand higher; she panted as his fingers grazed her ribs.

  She wasn’t wearing a bra, and she felt the strain in his jeans. Her breaths came faster; Rainer began to ache. She turned and slipped what he wanted in to his hand, and a slight moan escaped him. He kneaded her breasts and felt her nipples as they pebbled between his fingers.

  She sat up, but kept herself covered in the quilt as she let it drape over his lap. He used one hand to guide her mouth to his as he kept his other groping her, feeling her, as her energy began to fill him. It passed in tantric waves from her breasts into his hand.

  As headlights came over the slight hill along the gravel path, she backed away quickly. Rainer gasped as he tried to catch his breath. Emily rapidly folded the quilt and laid her head on Rainer’s shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and righted her shirt as they continued to swing.

  The Haydenshires were giving each other longing glances. They were holding hands as they glided from the barn, up the stairs, to the porch.

  “How was Norfolk?” Mrs. Haydenshire inquired.

  “Same as always,” Rainer sighed. He was rather impressed with how normal he sounded when his heart was still pounding, and his jeans were still quite restrictive.

  Governor Haydenshire smiled at Rainer, and slapped him on the shoulder.

  “Your dad would be proud of you for looking after him, Rainer.” Rainer smiled and nodded hesitantly. He was fairly certain the Governor wouldn’t have been so proud of him if he’d known what he was just doing to his daughter.

  “We’re heading on to bed,” Mrs. Haydenshire sighed. “Did Logan go after Adeline?”

  Rainer and Emily both nodded.

  “We’re going to have to insist that she move in here,” the Governor dictated. This mandate seemed to delight his wife. “I cannot imagine treating your own child the way that woman treats that precious girl.”

  “Well, that would certainly make Logan’s day,” Emily pointed out.

  “Yes, well, unfortunately, I don’t quite have the pull over Candy Parker as I did over Stan Lawson,” he chuckled and winked at Rainer, who smiled his appreciation.

  “Rainer, are you certain you want me to come along with you Friday morning? I understand if you want to go alone or if you’d like Logan or Emily to go,” Governor Haydenshire offered for the third time that week.

  Rainer smiled. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d kind of like you to come. I think Logan was planning on coming along, as well.”

  The Governor was visibly touched.

  “I’d be honored, Rainer. I just don’t want to intrude.”

  “No,sir, I really would feel better if you were there.” He wasn’t certain he should have admitted that, but the Haydenshires gazed at him proudly.

  “Of course, son.”

  “Well, like I said, we’re going to go on to bed. Don’t stay up too late. You have graduation practice in the morning,” Mrs. Haydenshire reminded. They nodded and continued to swing.

  “Rainer?” Emily turned her pleading gaze on him, the one he’d never been able to resist.

  “What, baby?”

  “Will you come upstairs with me and stay in my room, for just a little while, please?”

  This had been happening with more frequency in the past few months. Turning her down on the swing, on the side porch of her parents’ home was nothing compared to the sheer amount of will power it took to turn her down while lying beside her in her bed. The feeling, the all-encompassing magic of holding her to him, of feeling her beside him, was irresistible. He leaned and kissed her forehead.

  “Yeah, come on.” After helping her up, he stood and took her hand.

  They moved quietly up the stairs to the room at the end of the long hallway. She turned the pink glass knob on her bedroom door. Her mother had placed antique glass knobs on all of the many bedrooms in the farmhouse.

  Rainer took in the room. The moon shone softly through the large bay window that sat in the center of the back wall, complete with a cushioned bench seat. The wrought-iron double bed sat in the center of the rubbed oak floors. It had a warm block quilt, in soft pinks and yellows, spread neatly across it and several of Emily’s favorite stuffed animals from her childhood or that Rainer had won for her were on her bed.

  Three large, white bookshelves were along one wall and contained Emily’s favorite books along with small mementos. There were several pictures of formals she and Rainer had attended, and of the two of them at the beach. There were keepsakes of her charity work with Auxiliary Order. The purple AO flag hung
over her headboard.

  Rainer smiled, and then let his hands drift over her curves and graze her backside as she walked away from him. The room was thoroughly her, and he loved to be there.

  Her perfume and jewelry box stood on her dresser. Her schoolbooks were stacked neatly on her desk, though she wouldn’t need them anymore. She’d been studying nightly for the past few weeks in preparation for their exams.

  She spun and watched him as he began to pull off his shirt. He gazed at her hungrily as she slid out of her knit shorts. His breath caught in his throat.

  She moved to him then helped him finish removing his shirt. He realized he’d halted abruptly with his t-shirt up around his arms when she’d shimmied out of her shorts.

  She slid her hands down his chest, and he shuddered in palpable need. He threw his shirt on the floor, and she took his hand and led him to her bed. He caught a glimpse of the slight, white, cotton thong she was wearing as she leaned to toss pillows and stuffed animals off of her bed. After throwing the quilts and sheets back, she crawled in.

  “Just hold me, please. That’s all I’m asking for.” She seemed to know how hard this was for him. He nodded and slid into the bed beside her, as he wrapped his arms around her and he settled her on his chest.

  “I want to do so much more than hold you, Em. I want to feel you. I want to be with you.”

  Her stomach clenched in sweet anticipation. He could feel her heartbeat pick up pace as her breath stuttered.

  “Friday night,” she whispered.

  The only problem with Emily’s room was that her parents’ bedroom stood between it and Levi’s old room. Emily frequently complained, disgustedly, about noises she heard coming from her parents’ room. They knew that meant that her parents could hear her, as well.

  He moved silently and cradled her to his chest as he felt her bare legs tangle with his. He brushed a tender kiss across her lips, but that was all it took to catch the essence of her, and he wanted so much more.

  She began to grind her hips against him, and he moaned. He clenched his jaw quickly to quell the noise. He devoured her mouth with his own to keep them both silent. He slid his hands over her and moved them up her shirt easily; it was much too large for her small frame.

  Her breasts swelled in his hands as he pulsed against her crotch. He traced his right hand down her back, until he grasped her bare backside and massaged hungrily. She shuddered; her breath came in quick gasping pants. He pulled her waist closer and let her feel how hard he was as he grinded his body against the damp cotton between her legs. He moved his hands to her inner thighs, and a moan escaped her. He halted abruptly.

  “Baby,” he panted. “I think I’d better go. If we keep going, I don’t think I’ll be able to stop,” he forced the words out. She whimpered, but then nodded. She looked on the verge of tears and his heart pricked as he held her. He wanted her so badly he could taste it.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he tried to soothe her. “Believe me, getting out of this bed and walking to Logan’s room, will be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

  She gave him a sweet smile.

  “I know,” she lamented in a heartfelt whisper.

  She nuzzled her head under his chin, and he held her until she fell asleep. He moved from the bed and covered her tenderly. As he gazed down at her in the moonlight, he brushed another kiss across her cheek.

  After summoning a faint orange glow, Rainer sealed heat in the fibers of the quilt. He grabbed the t-shirt he’d been wearing and tiptoed to the door. He eased it open, and prayed Governor Haydenshire wouldn’t suddenly decide to leave his room. He pulled the door closed and eased hesitantly down the hallway.

  Logan was in his room, lying on his bed, looking furious.

  “Do I even need to ask where you’ve been?” he huffed indignantly.

  “Fight with Adeline?”

  Logan nodded, then turned suddenly to sink his fist forcefully into his pillow. “She gave her mom all of her tips?” Rainer already knew the answer.

  “Yes.”

  Rainer never knew what to say when Logan and Adeline had this same argument week after week.

  He moved to the bathroom between Connor’s room and the room he and Logan shared. He hoped that he wouldn’t wake Connor, if he was even home yet.

  Cold showers had been Rainer’s answer to lying in bed with Emily, half-naked and grinding against him. He closed and locked both doors then turned on the water. After shedding his clothes, he stepped into the water, and let it rid him of the emotions of his day. The good, the bad, and the desperate desire, that consumed him whenever he was in her presence, washed down the drain.

  Forty-eight hours from now, he’d be with her, completely alone. If he didn’t stop thinking like that, he was going to have to take another shower. He chastised himself as he turned off the faucet and grabbed a towel. He didn’t bother to warm it first, though he was shivering from the frigid water.

  He fell into his bed. Logan was whispering into his cell phone as he apologized to Adeline. Rainer shut his eyes tightly and let his mind revel in Emily, until he fell asleep.

  Decidedly Guilty

  Rainer slid into his usual seat at the Haydenshires’ large kitchen table. Mrs. Haydenshire plied everyone with gigantic blueberry muffins and heaps of scrambled eggs.

  Logan had left early, before anyone else was up, and retrieved Adeline. She was devouring her breakfast.

  Emily fell into Rainer’s lap at the table. He beamed, but her father studied her with an incredulous smirk then pointed to her own chair. She rolled her eyes as she seated herself, and began pulling a few small bites off of her muffin. She ate them without much enthusiasm. Connor greeted everyone with a grin, and then began loading his plate with eggs and helped himself to two muffins.

  “You were home late last night,” Mrs. Haydenshire drawled. She raised her eyebrow as she tousled Connor’s hair.

  “Worked late, and then went to Veronica’s for a little while,” he informed his mother. Before either of his parents could comment on that, Patrick came down the stairs. He looked decidedly guilty.

  “Uh,” he stammered. “So, everyone’s up?”

  Emily giggled as Rainer figured out what was going on.

  “Yes, son, we all have somewhere to be in a little while.” The Governor studied his son. Patrick was almost four years older than Logan.

  “Right,” Patrick nodded as he glanced around uncomfortably. He looked at his watch and grimaced.

  “Why don’t you just go get her, and she can have breakfast before you have to leave early to get you both to work?” Connor goaded as he figured out the problem, as well. Logan and Emily cracked up while Rainer and Adeline tried very hard not to.

  “Patrick!” Mrs. Haydenshire huffed with her hands on her hips. Although the Haydenshires were well aware of that most of their children had sex, it wasn’t something they wanted thrown in their faces. Rainer’s stomach twisted uncomfortably as he thought of Friday night.

  Patrick and Lucy had been dating for a couple of years, but were both just beginning at the Senate offices as aides to the Senteon. Neither had moved out of their parents’ homes. They’d both done well at the Academy. Lucy had been one of the heads of Adminis order, and was climbing the ranks of the Senate quickly.

  “Go get her!” Mrs. Haydenshire demanded shrilly. She was clearly furious with Patrick as she flung her arm out and pointed up the stairs.

  “We fell asleep,” Patrick pled, as he returned upstairs.

  “Yes, well, we will be discussing that later,” Mrs. Haydenshire huffed before she turned on Logan and Connor. “You will say nothing to her about this. Do you understand me?”

  Logan and Connor shared a smirk, and then nodded as they tried hard not to crack up once again. A large piece of blueberry muffin landed in the Governor’s coffee mug. Keaton clapped delightedly. He was obviously extremely pleased with himself.

  “Ok, now I’m angry with two of my sons, and it’s not even
eight o’clock in the morning,” Mrs. Haydenshire spat as she moved to Keaton and scolded him for throwing food. He shook his head back and forth, and spit as she tried to wipe off his hands and mouth. She released him from his highchair while Governor Haydenshire fixed himself more coffee. He cupped his hand and moved it over the mug. The slight orange glow of the heat cast warmed what he’d poured. Everyone ate in uncomfortable silence as Lucy seated herself at the table. Her face was a solid shade of crimson throughout the entire meal.

  “I, uh, guess we should go. Can I help you do the dishes?” Adeline offered in a barely audible whisper. Mrs. Haydenshire melted.

  “No, sweetheart, you all head out. Have a wonderful day. Are you coming back here after practice?” Adeline nodded and looked genuinely excited.

  “We’re going to Em’s last challenge tonight,” Logan reminded his mother. His phrasing had his mother feeling nostalgic once again. She nodded, and gazed at Emily as she blinked back tears.

  “Yes ma’am,” Adeline urged before her face fell suddenly. “I... think Mom’s busy tonight, so she said I could stay over with Emily, if it’s alright with you?” Adeline blushed violently as she stared down at the table.

  The Governor visibly held back his fury. Whenever Adeline’s mother wanted her out of the house it meant she was entertaining men for money, a practice Governor Haydenshire despised. His jaw clenched as he forced a smile and patted Adeline’s hand.

  “Adeline, sweetheart,” he soothed. “Lillian and I would really like it if you would consider moving in here.” Logan and Emily nodded adamantly.

  “Thank you,” Adeline was on the verge of tears. “I just worry about my mom. She kind of needs me. I make sure the bills get paid, and you know...clean up and stuff.”

  “Yes, dear,” the Governor huffed, “but your mother is a grown woman and needs to behave as such. She is not your responsibility. Now, I know that’s a lot to handle at twenty-one, but please, Adeline, I would really like you to consider our offer.”