Ceric Read online

  Getting up, I adjust my hardness as I make my way towards our meeting. Most of the guys are already sitting when I arrive. As Cassius and Brandr are staking out the bar and can’t make it to the meeting, they are facetiming. As I approach my chair, I see a cup with ice in front of where I sit. What the fuck is the ice for? As I sit, I notice that all the brothers are looking at me.

  “What?” By the smirks on their faces, they are up to something.

  “We thought you might need to cool off,” Bjarni commented from in front of me. I grab a piece of ice and throw it at his head, laughing with them.

  “I think you’re mistaking me with you. With the number of times your balls get handled, I’m sure they need some cooling down.” All the brothers laugh. We all joke around about how Bjarni is a glutton for food and how Gabriela is a glutton for him.

  “Okay, let’s settle down. We have business to discuss,” Draco calls from the head of the table. When we’re all quiet, he continues. “As you know, Ceric here has found his mate, Nova. I had a talk with her earlier, and she had a few interesting things to say.” Draco updates the guys on what happened to Nova and how she managed to get away.

  “Does she know where they are keeping her friend?” Brandr asks.

  “That is one of the issues. Nova will not tell me where her friend is unless she can go with us.” At his words, my heart constricts in anger. Darn woman doesn’t know when to quit.

  “I will talk to her,” I say roughly.

  “I told her she can come,” Draco replies.

  At his words, everyone quietens. “Why the fuck did you do that?” I roar. There is no way I am going to let that foolish woman get herself into danger again.

  “Mainly because she asked me to, and she still isn’t your mate. As far as I know, you two haven’t bonded, or did I miss something?” Draco’s eyes shine dangerously, but I can’t give a fuck. How can he send my woman into danger? “When she was held captive, she acquired information that she will not share unless she accompanies us. She will also not tell us what her friend looks like.”

  “Foolish woman,” I say in anger. “She doesn’t know what’s good for her and has no sense at all.” I continue to grumble until I hear Draco confess to the men that he only allowed her to accompany us if she stuck by me and did everything I told her to do.

  “Jasmine had a vision this afternoon,” Wulf reveals suddenly. “She says we’re going to need Nova to persuade one of the guys to give us the code to the door where her friend is held captive. She also suggested that maybe someone take a camera, so Aria can read what they’re thinking.”

  “You know, guys,” Brandr says, “if you think about it, one of these days, we will be staying at the compound and our women will do everything for us. We won’t have to lift a finger.” The women have been trying to persuade their men to let them help us. I actually think the men enjoy fighting with them, as they disappear for a long time right after their disagreements.

  “It’s a good idea,” Caelius says. Caelius doesn’t talk much, but when he does, we all listen. “We have them; they are dying to help, so why not utilize them?” I see Wulf tense at Caelius’s words; Bjarni shakes his head in denial.

  “No fucking way my woman is going to be put where there is danger,” Wulf growls in aggression. Wulf is a fierce fighter, but when it comes to Jasmine, he loses all sense.

  “I’m not saying they must go into danger, but think about it. If you have Jasmine see the danger before we go, and Gabriela see if anything bad is going to happen, we can then have Aria read their minds from wherever she is. I might be wrong, but Nova will probably be able to persuade people from afar once she bonds with Ceric.” At his words, my gut tightens. If she is able to persuade people from afar, there will be no stopping her. The woman is already incorrigible as it is. Fuck, but I love her spunk.

  “Wulf, what do you think?” Draco asks. Wulf doesn’t respond for a few minutes, but finally, he nods in agreement.

  “Bjarni?”

  Bjarni looks unsure as he continues to sit on his chair with his arms crossed. When Bjarni found out that Gabriela was expecting their child, he went a bit overboard, wanting to carry her everywhere. Gabriela being Gabriela didn’t let that go on for long. There was a massive fight between them, ending with Bjarni picking her up and carrying her to their room. They were locked in there for a whole day before they made an appearance. Gabriela had a big smile on her face and was walking by herself, with Bjarni frowning behind her.

  A month after that, they found out she was having twins. That freaked him out completely, but after long conversations with Bion assuring him that she was fine, he finally calmed slightly. “This is a fucking bad idea, but Gabriela will be happy,” he grumbles.

  Draco looks over at the screen where we can see Brandr and Cassius. I see Brandr nod in agreement. He then looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

  “It’s not as if I can fucking stop her,” I grumble. There are some snickers as the men hide their amusement.

  “Hey, Ceric, so what does your girl think about your room?” Brandr asks.

  “She hasn’t seen my room.” I need to get rid of some stuff before she goes into my room, or she will definitely give me a hard time.

  “Actually . . . I kind of took her to your room to get comfortable,” Bion reveals reluctantly. “She is your mate, after all; I thought you would want her there.”

  “Fuck, she is definitely going to think I’m a man whore now.” My room is littered with sex toys. Mostly presents from the guys to tease me, but others I bought.

  “I wonder what she’s going to think about the inflatable doll of that guy we gave you. Is it still hanging from your ceiling?” Draco asks with a twinkle in his eye. My eyes widen slightly, as I forgot about the doll. Even though I see it every day, it has just become one of many things in my room. On one of Draco’s birthdays, I gave him an inflatable doll, teasing him about it. A week later, I enter my room to find a male version on my bed.

  I groan in dejection. I don’t know how she’s ever going to believe a thing I say after seeing my room. The guys laugh uproariously at my dilemma. I lift my hand, showing them the finger as I slump back in my chair.

  “Okay, guys, now that we have had our fun.” Draco smirks, looking over at me. “Bion and Celmund have found something interesting about the women’s energy levels. They think that they have finally found the way that the Keres are finding our women.” Draco nods at Celmund to continue.

  “When we finalized the testing on Jasmine, as you know, we were more confused than before.” After Jasmine had Orion, she did tests to see her energy level, but her results were different from the other two women, confusing Bion and Celmund and throwing their theory out the window. While Gabriela and Aria’s energy levels increased when they had an episode, Jasmine’s were constantly high.

  “After further testing, we have concluded that Jasmine is what they would call a level five. That’s why they were so anxious to find her. She has the highest energy level, which explains why she’s overwhelmed with visions sometimes.” He looks around at us to see if we follow what he’s saying. “Gabriela is a level three, as she will only have a vision if she touches someone or if someone touches her, and Aria is a level four, as she is able to hear everyone’s thoughts all the time unless Brandr is with her or unless she’s in the compound. In Jasmine’s case, even if she’s in the compound or with Wulf, her gift doesn’t diminish.”

  “Now that we have Nova here, it would be great if we could test her too,” Bion suggests, looking over at me.

  “That is, of course, if she hasn’t run away after seeing your room,” Brandr teases.

  “Or maybe she likes his toys so much she won’t need him,” Bjarni jokes.

  I get up slightly from my chair, grabbing myself. “The only toy she will be playing with is this, and soon.” Even though I have used sexual toys before when with a woman, I don’t intend to start off with them when it comes to my woman. Maybe in a few years when I
get her used to the idea, she might consider experimenting.

  “Settle down,” Draco calls. “Let’s continue. Ceric, you keep an eye on Nova and try not to bond before we get back to the compound, okay?” The guys snicker at that comment. I simply grin. Now that the surprise of having finally found my mate is wearing off, I’m looking forward to our bonding. “Brandr, I want you back for this fight. Gunner, you take off after the meeting and take over for him. Caelius, you will be carrying the camera. Make sure you focus on someone long enough for Aria to be able to read what they are thinking.” Draco continues laying out the plan until we know what our tasks are.

  “Katya also contacted Wulf. Apparently there is a situation brewing in Zambia that she thinks might require our help. It’s something about a terrorist group that’s popped up there,” Draco reveals gruffly. As an FBI agent, Katya has been helpful when we need information, but sometimes they need our assistance to neutralize situations like apparently this one.

  “Does Jas know that you are talking to her?” Cassius teases. When Wulf and Jas first bonded, they had a huge fight about Katya, but with time, Jas has accepted that Wulf doesn’t want anything to do with any woman except her, but Katya’s name when mentioned still gets her angry.

  “Fuck off,” Wulf growls, scowling at Cassius on the screen. “She doesn’t get the message and continues to contact me.” Even after Wulf told Katya to stop contacting him and liaise with Draco, she continues to be stubborn and only talks to him.

  “We need to find ourselves another agent; she’s starting to become a pain,” Burkhart states.

  “I will talk to Benson, see if he will have a word with her,” Celmund suggests. Benson is Katya’s superior, and we usually don’t communicate with him unless absolutely necessary. I see Draco nod to Celmund in agreement.

  “Vlad phoned. He wants to meet. Apparently they have information about Merdor,” Brandr informs us. After shooting Merdor when we were collecting a supply of weapons for Alexey, we haven’t had any information about him. As the Bratva mafia boss, Alexey has a wide reach. Because the Keres got involved with Salazar, the Castilian mafia boss and Alexey’s biggest enemy, he has promised to help us end the Keres MC.

  He has also gone out of his way to try to find where Salazar and the Keres are taking the women they’re kidnapping. For now, we’ve only had the one lead, and that’s the bar we’re staking.

  “When does he want to meet?” Wulf asks.

  “Tomorrow at noon at the old factory.” The old factory is an abandoned paper mill about an hour’s ride from the compound.

  “Celmund, you and Ceric accompany Brandr tomorrow.” After asking if there’s anything else to discuss, Draco dismisses everyone, giving us two hours to get ready.

  NOVA 4

  After leaving the computer room, Bion guides me to the room I’m supposed to rest in while I’m here. On our way here, we see Ceric talking to Celmund, but I ignore him. The thought of Ceric warms my blood; his presence fills me with such lust that all I want to do is jump his body.

  “Here you go, beautiful. I’ll call when we need to leave. Try to rest. You are safe now, and no one will get to you in the compound.” With that, he leaves, allowing me to enter the room. The first thing I see is an inflatable male sex doll hanging from the ceiling. What the hell?

  Looking around, I see one wall covered with sexual toys hanging from hooks or placed on shelves. What kind of room did they give me? Is this some kind of joke? I look towards a king-sized bed that looks inviting, but the thought of what has been happening on it holds me back. A huge-sized mirror on the other side of the room takes up most of the wall that faces the bed.

  Whomever this room belongs to has some weird fetishes going by the blow-up doll with the handcuffs. Curiosity draws me closer to the items on display. I don’t even know what most of the things are used for. There is a long leather belt with two buckles on each side. I wonder how they use this one? Walking along, I reach the shelf filled with all different types of dildos. Wow, this looks more like a sex store than a bedroom.

  I move towards the bed. I can’t sleep on this sheet—who knows what has been happening on it? Looking around, I see two doors. Moving towards one, I peep in, finding a huge bathroom with a Jacuzzi and a massive shower with various showerheads in different places. What the hell do they need so many showerheads for? Otherwise, the bathroom is beautiful, with black tiles and a light grey marble counter.

  I move towards the other door and find a walk-in cupboard. Here, I find only men’s clothes, and right at the end, there are some sheets for the bed. As I walk in, a smell assaults me. I know this smell—it’s leather with a tinge of sweet smoke. It can’t be his room, but the more I look around, the more I’m convinced it’s his.

  “Oh, hell no!” I shriek. Walking towards the bed, I tear the sheets away, throwing them on the floor. I walk towards the wall full of his perverted toys and start to toss everything onto the open sheets. Darn it, he’s a real man whore! How can I even be attracted to someone like that? The idea of him using these toys on other women is fuelling my rage. If he even thinks to touch me, I will cut his hands off.

  As soon as the sheet is full, I drag it to the door. I struggle to get it through the door with everything in it, but I persevere. If he thinks I’m going to sleep in a room full of toys that he has been using on others, he has another thing coming. I walk back into the room, banging the door behind me. Looking up at the disgusting doll, I wonder how I’m going to get it down.

  Looking around, I don’t see anything that I can use to climb up and bring it down. I walk back into his cupboard, trying to find something that will help me bring that thing down. On one of his shelves is an engraved wooden box. Opening it, I see a beautiful set of small knives engraved with different symbols.

  Perfect. I take the box and walk back into the room. I throw one of the knives at the doll, and the blade goes right through the doll’s eye and buries itself deep. That was fun. Taking another one, I aim for the doll’s dick. Damn, I missed, hitting it in the thigh. The doll is deflating rapidly; I continue to throw the blades until I don’t have any left. There is a total of six blades hanging from the doll.

  Breathing in deeply, I look around. Now that I’m calmer, I dread his reaction when he comes in and sees how I’ve destroyed his room. Darn, I should really start to think instead of reacting in my anger.

  His wall is nearly bare—there are only a few objects hanging. I shake my head in dejection as I make my way into the cupboard. I may as well make his bed now that I have thrown the other sheets outside. I hope they don’t retract their offer of helping me get Sam back because of this, but how can they expect me to stay in a room that is so obviously decorated for sex? Huffing, I grab the first sheets on the shelf. “Of course, he would only have black silk sheets. How surprising,” I grumble as I start to make the bed. I’m about to divest the one pillow of its cover when his essence wafts up to me.

  Bringing it to my nose, I inhale deeply. Why does this man make me so crazy? I swear, I have never been so taken by anyone as I am by him. Since I met him at the bakery, all I can think about is him. I tried going out with a friend of Sam’s, but I kept comparing him to Ceric. I understand that I’m supposed to be his mate; the Keres explained that Elementals can only bond with one woman. I think in that he must have been mistaken, because looking around, I sure would say that Ceric has been dipping his dick into plenty of women.

  The asshole. If he even thinks he’s going to come anywhere close to me after I have seen what a man whore he is, he must be dreaming. I throw his pillow angrily on the bed. Who am I kidding? He just has to come near me and my brain stops functioning.

  Climbing on the bed, I bring his four pillows close to me. His essence engulfs me, calming my anger and lulling me to sleep. I didn’t sleep last night, as I was too worried that the Keres somehow would find me.

  The next thing I know, I’m waking up to a bang. Jumping up in bed, I look around, startled. “You hellcat
, what did you do to my room?” Ceric growls as he charges into the room, Bion and Bjarni right behind him. All three men stop and stare at the deflated doll hanging from the ceiling with the blades still attached to him.

  “What the fuck?” Ceric states as the other two men start to laugh uproariously.

  “You will notice . . .” Bjarni starts, and then stops with another fit of laughter, “all the blades are near his crotch.” Suddenly, Ceric throws his head back, dissolving in a fit of laughter. The others and him laugh so much that tears run down their cheeks.

  The worry that engulfed me when they first entered the room disperses. I suddenly see the humour in the situation and also laugh. “Oh man, this is so bad. I really trashed your room,” I stutter out between peals of laughter, especially when Bion walks towards where all the sex objects had been hanging and picks up a rubber dildo from the floor. It immediately flops in his hand.

  “What the hell, Brother? Why the fuck would you hold on to a limp dick in your collection? I hope this has no reference to yours,” Bion teases, throwing it at Ceric.

  Ceric sidesteps the dildo, showing Bion the finger. “Oh my, are you saying this was some kind of perverted collection?” I thought he was using these toys; I never imagined he collected them. “What kind of a freak collects sex toys?” Damn, there I go again. Instead of apologising, I’m snapping at him.

  “What’s wrong with sex toys?” he growls as he glares at me.

  “Oh, nothing, except when you have a room that looks more like a sex store than a room,” I answer sarcastically. “You couldn’t possibly expect me to sleep in here with all those things you’ve been playing with, could you?” I know I’m pushing him—after all, this is his room and I’m only visiting—but when I’m near him, I can’t contain myself.

  Suddenly, his frown disappears and a mischievous smile lights his face. “You were jealous. That’s why you destroyed my room,” he says smugly.

  “You wish!” But even to my ears, my answer lacks conviction. All I need is for him to know how much I want him and I will never hear the end of it, I’m sure.