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  “It’s okay.” Will’s voice was surprisingly calm and even, all things considered. “If we race out of here we’ll draw attention.”

  But Joey had a bad feeling it didn’t matter. Her eyes searched every car they passed, scanned the passengers, looking for signs they were being followed, signs that someone had spotted them. Fear coursed through her veins as they headed down the road toward the city police department and it didn’t lessen as they drew closer.

  “Joey, you have to tell me what happened.” There was intensity in Will’s eyes when they met hers briefly. His hand was warm as it pulled hers away from the knife, his fingers closing around hers. “The last thing I remember is being in the lab… with you… and…”

  Ducking her head, Joey hid her face behind the curtain of her hair. She knew it would come up, it had to. But as embarrassing as it was to remember fucking him and her crazy boss in the lab the night before, she couldn’t fight the sparks igniting in her body all over again at his touch. Her nipples tingled and drew up hard. Her thighs squeezed against the wet, sensitive lips of her cunt. It was happening again though the need was less urgent and she seemed to have control of herself. At least at this point.

  “Hey.” His fingers lifted to her chin as he turned the truck down another street. He gently tipped her chin up and toward him. His eyes searched her in quick intervals as he kept an eye on the road. “Joey, last night was… strange. I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t… stop myself.”

  Joey nodded her agreement, though her face was still on fire from having to look him in the eye and talk about what happened in the lab the night before. “I think it had something to do with the ritual.”

  Releasing her face, Will captured her hand again. His expression was a study in steely composure as he focused on the road ahead. His fingers tightened around hers, his touch hot. And in that moment she knew whatever the ritual had done to her had worked on him too.

  “Ritual?” Will pushed on with the conversation though it couldn’t be easy with the sizeable bulge of his cock straining the front of his trousers.

  “Will, I woke up this morning in Rafe’s house.” Joey’s fragile control slipped more by the second under Will’s sympathetic glances. Tears stung the back of her eyes. “He told me that you and I were spotted at the ritual last night. He said those that see the ritual uninvited disappear but he promised I’d be safe as long as I stayed with him. And you…”

  A scowl darkened Will’s face. “He planned to kill me?”

  “He said it was my choice. He said that if I agreed to stay with him, you wouldn’t disappear, but you would be given over to them… those people who tied the girl up and raped her on the stage last night.”

  “Jesus, I knew he had a thing for you, but…” Will shook his head, a muscle twitching along his jaw. “So they’re a cult. And they rape girls in their ceremony?”

  Joey nodded. “Rafe’s one of them. He said that girl was chosen and they’ve done this for hundreds of years. He said that the chosen ones were perfected and that they went on to become scientists and politicians and…”

  Will scoffed at that. “What were they going to do with me?”

  “I’m sure they could think of something, Will.” Before they turned him into a super-geek she could just picture Will ass-up on that stage. A cold chill ran down her spine as she tried to wipe her mind clean of that image.

  “He claimed that the victims went on to be great scientists and leaders?”

  Joey didn’t miss the skepticism in his voice. She knew how he felt. “Yes, Will, they --”

  “How have they gotten away with this for hundreds of years, then?” he cut her off. “If they’ve done this so many times, why has no one noticed these people disappearing?”

  “Don’t you understand?” Joey clutched his hand hard. “They don’t disappear. They become just what he said. Great leaders. Blazer-wearing super-geeks. You had to have seen them. They travel in packs and they have no personalities whatsoever.”

  “I know who you’re talking about.” Will’s look was incredulous when his eyes met hers next.

  “God! They could be running the country right now,” Joey went on, thinking out loud. “Have you ever stopped to think about all of these people in positions of power who make decisions every day that affect our lives? People are losing jobs, our health care system sucks. God knows how far this thing reaches!”

  “The whole thing sounds completely fucking insane, Joey.”

  “Sounds? It is!”

  “That’s why you didn’t want to go to campus police.” The disbelief slowly faded from his face.

  She nodded. “They have to be in on it.” Please believe me.

  “Who’s to say the other local police aren’t in on it too then?”

  Will’s question sent a new spike of fear into her heart. “What should we do, Will? Should we even go to the police department?”

  He turned the truck sharply down a narrow alleyway that led to a service parking lot behind a small hotel. Joey hung on as Will brought the truck to an abrupt halt in the back corner of the lot where the only other vehicle was an empty linen service truck. Shutting off the engine, he blew out an exhale and slumped on the seat.

  “Joey, let’s talk about this before we go to anyone,” Will began. “You said you talked to Dr. Bowen this morning and that you woke up in his house. He told you all of these things and that I would disappear unless you stayed with him. And you’re here now. Where is he?”

  Will listened intently as she explained everything that had happened that morning. She read doubt, surprise and maybe a little admiration in his eyes as she told him about her struggle with Rafe, escaping his house and her search for him. Joey was happy to see the bruises around her ankle from the manacle because it backed up her story. The mirror in the sun visor revealed the ugly bruise that Will asked her about when she found him and she was eager to explain that it happened when she hit the floor trying to get away from Rafe.

  “Damn, Joey. I knew he had a thing for you, but he’s obsessed.” Will’s fingers were gentle as they traced the line of her jaw.

  “I think I know why.” Joey yanked up her T-shirt to reveal the faded black and white photograph she’d taken from Rafe’s house tucked into the waistband of the sweats she wore. She’d tossed away the pewter frame on her run to campus. The old picture was still warm from her skin when she held it out to Will who looked as if he dreaded what he’d see next…

  His mouth gaped open as he looked at the photograph. His eyes darkened, shifted to Joey and back. He flipped the picture to look at the back, something Joey had not thought to do, and whistled at what he found.

  “Look at this.” He held the photograph up for her to see the back and Joey’s heart lurched as she read the words written in smudged ink on the back.

  Rafe and Josey. 1937.

  “Josey,” she whispered. “He kept calling me that, Will.” The tears were coming now and she couldn’t do a damn thing to stop them. Panic had her heart racing. “He thinks I’m her. He said if I joined them I would stay as I am now. He said I wouldn’t get sick this time. That he’d joined with them for us. What does that mean? Does he think I’m Josey? That I am reincarnated or something? Is he another Rafe reincarnated? That couldn’t be him in the picture because he’d have to be --”

  “Close to one hundred years old.”

  Will unfastened his seatbelt and hers and pulled her into his arms. His warmth, his strength felt so good to her that she clung to him trembling, wishing the whole crazy damned mess would fade away and leave her right where she was. Will’s heartbeat was strong and steady against her cheek, his touch so gentle as he smoothed her hair.

  “Joey, it’s okay,” he whispered into her hair. “You’ve been through a lot. And I’m partly to blame.”

  Will’s arms loosened only a little when she pulled back to look at him, his hard chest muscles flexing beneath her hands. His expression was grim, his eyes midnight blue as they searched
hers.

  “What do you mean you’re partly to blame?” she wanted to know.

  His fingers moved delicately over the small of her back but she felt his touch over every inch of her body. His deep sigh was the only sound in the cabin of the truck for a long moment.

  “Joey, regardless of what caused things to transpire as they did last night, I… should have been able to fight it.” Will’s voice was thick with emotion. “I should have tried harder. I took advantage of you.”

  Cupping his face in her hand -- oh God, how long had she wanted to do that? -- she shook her head. How could he blame himself for what happened? “Will, how can you say that? It wasn’t your fault. I know you’d never --”

  Will pressed his fingers to her lips to silence her. “But I did, Joey, and I wanted to. Regardless of what got into us last night, I’ve always wanted you.”

  Desire coursed through her body like flames at his words and the craving between her thighs quickly became unbearable. His arms tightened about her, holding her in place so his mouth could capture hers. Joey melted as his lips coaxed hers apart, moaning into his mouth as he deepened the kiss.

  Joey was lost in the feeling of his hands moving across her ribs and up to cup her breasts through the loose T-shirt she wore. Her nipples beaded into rock hard points, straining into his hands, and she reveled in the silk of his blond hair as she ran her fingers through it. She held onto him as his mouth left hers to burn a trail across her sore jaw to the sensitive flesh of her throat.

  “What about last night?” Because it seemed too good to be true that she was here with Will and they were getting busy. “Are you sure it is not just that?” Joey gasped as his lips traveled up to her ear and his tongue and hot breath danced over the inner shell.

  “Whatever had us fucking like rabbits last night is gone as far as I’m concerned.” His voice was rough in her ear. “This is real.”

  Will lifted his head to look into her eyes as his hand grabbed hers, dragged it to the bulge straining his pants. Joey’s fingers tightened greedily around his rock-hard cock beneath her hand. Will’s eyes closed as Joey squeezed him, but only for a moment. They were burning blue flames the next instant as Joey’s fingers unbuttoned his shirt then worked at the fly of his pants.

  Will stopped her before she managed to pull the zipper down, collaring her wrists in his large hands. “I won’t last long if you do what I think you’re going to do.”

  He was twice her size so it wasn’t hard for him to press her down on the seat. One leg dangled over the gearshift and the other was trapped between his body and the seat as he settled himself between her thighs, deliciously lowering his weight on her. Pulling her arms over her head, he held both of her wrists easily with one hand while the other dragged up the hem of her T-shirt to reveal her breasts. Will filled his hand with one, the roughened flesh of his palm teasing one nipple to a diamond-hard point while his mouth closed over the other one, greedily suckling her, lashing her with his tongue.

  Joey’s thighs clenched around his hips and she thrust her pussy toward Will, trying to hurry him. It was insane, after all, for them to be doing what they were doing when they could be caught at any moment but Joey couldn’t stop him, didn’t want to stop him. Instead she urged her breast further into his mouth and Will rewarded her by pulling on her with his lips, with teasing flicks of his tongue. Joey felt that pull all the way down to her wet center and moaned his name.

  Will’s greedy lips tickled the underside of her breast as they teased their way down the sensitive flesh of her stomach. Joey nearly came off the seat when he worked at the drawstring of the large sweatpants because she wanted to grab him, to explore him too. But his grip on her wrists prevented it. Roughly he yanked the pants down just as his mouth reached her navel. It was exquisite torture, feeling the tip of his tongue darting in and out of the shallow indent and she writhed beneath him, her knees pressing against his powerful upper body. When she lifted her hips to grind her aching center against the hard wall of his chest, he growled. Releasing her hands, he pulled the loose pants down just a few more inches, revealing her naked lower body, and dove for her with his mouth.

  Joey’s cries rang through the small cab of the truck as his lips and tongue edged past her outer lips to taste the slick inner flesh that craved his touch. Spreading her apart with his fingers he began teasing her clit with his tongue, worrying the aching nub in a light, steady rhythm that had her blood boiling as she writhed frantically on the seat. Joey pushed her pussy up at him, wanting more. All the muscles in her body tightened as climax neared, tingles of pleasure racing through her limbs, and she welcomed them as she opened her thighs wider to him. When his tongue dipped into her sore passage, she nearly came undone, grabbing handfuls of his hair and holding him to her for all she was worth. The delicate sting of pain as his stiff tongue darted into her again and again contrasted intensely with the incredible pleasure. Within seconds she was coming, crying out as the vibrations shook her, her screams so piercing they could shatter glass.

  His mouth claimed hers as she slowly regained her senses, her own salty taste on his lips as he fumbled with the opening of his slacks. Joey saw the shiny head of his ready cock as he pulled back to look at her and pushed his slacks down his lean hips. Kicking off the sweatpants, she opened her legs wider in invitation. Will grinned at her, lowering his weight onto her -- just where she wanted it. Her body ached to have him inside her, for his possession. Joey gasped in pleasure and pain as his cock slid into her, stretching her already sore walls.

  He began a slow, easy rhythm within her, mindful of the fact that she’d been a participant in Fuck-fest 2004 the night before, and in seconds the soreness faded and she was left only with the feeling of Will’s body pushing deliciously into hers, Will filling her arms. Joey wrapped herself around him, crossing her ankles at the small of his back while her hands slid under his shirt to explore his damp skin. Will groaned into her ear before his tongue began toying with her earlobe, the delicate wet lashes a stark contrast to the powerful thrusts within her cunt that were gaining strength. Joey’s thighs and wet inner walls tightened around him as he drove into her and her senses began to soar again. Joey’s nipples were hard sensitive points pressed against the warm fabric of his shirt, and her clit throbbed from the stimulation it received from each thrust of Will’s cock.

  “That’s it, Joey,” he whispered into her ear.

  Joey dug her nails into his back as he quickened his pace. She’d come any second now. With the hard length of his cock filling her and driving her insane in her lust how could she help it?

  “Let go, Joey. Come for me again.”

  And oh she did. Joey held onto Will for all she was worth as the orgasm hit her like a blast of wind from a summer storm. Will drove on even harder, pinning her lower body to the seat with his own and the contractions went on and on as she screamed his name, carving trails down his back with her nails.

  Will’s weight on her grew heavier, his grip on her almost unbearably tight as he continued to drive into her wildly. Abruptly Will left her, his cock left her, and she jerked up to see the hard planes of his face tighten as he fought climax.

  Scrambling to free her legs, she slid off the seat under the dashboard and moved closer to take him into her mouth. She tightened her lips around his shaft, working her hands and mouth up and down on him while he moaned. His hands slid into her hair, his fingers rubbing her scalp as she slowed him down, played with him. Joey traced the slick surface of his head in lazy circles, teasing him with her lips at turns. Will whispered her name as she worked the shaft of his cock with one hand, while the other played with his balls and smoothed over the hard hairy surface of his thighs.

  When he began to jerk above her, Joey lifted her mouth. His orgasm was powerful and she kept working at him with her hands, wanting to make it last for him as she watched his come spurt in thick, white streams over her hands.

  “Oh, my God,” Will muttered above her.

  Joey s
miled. It had been good for her too. “I know.”

  But Will’s movements weren’t the slow, luxurious movements of a man who’d just had good loving. They were frantic as he yanked up his pants and jumped behind the wheel of his truck. Joey’s heart leapt into her chest as she jumped up from the floorboard to see what gave Will such a start.

  Oh my God! At least twenty super-geeks stood in a circle around Will’s truck. Their blazers were immaculate in the late morning sun, their faces devoid of any expression. One face in particular caught Joey’s attention.

  Maria! No, not you!

  Will hit the ignition and the truck’s engine started instantly. The determined look on Will’s face told her he’d run over them if he had to and Joey hurried to push her shaking legs into her sweatpants and pull them up her trembling body. Throwing the truck into gear, Will mashed the accelerator and they lurched into motion.

  The students in front of the truck linked hands as if defying him to run them over.

  “Shit!” Will yelled but kept on driving, gunning it. The super-geeks in front of the truck jumped out of the way as they sped out of the parking lot, throwing Joey back against the seat.

  Reaching down to the floorboard, Joey grabbed the knife from Rafe’s house and held it close to her heart as Will drove them back up the alley. Her heartbeat was fast and hard against her fingers, the roar of blood in her ears as Will swerved out into traffic and drove like a bat out of hell toward the freeway.

  Chapter Six

  Joey and Will made it as far as Shepherdstown, West Virginia, by evening. The idea of being followed through parts unknown with no destination in the dark didn’t sit well with Joey, so she convinced Will to stop for the night. They’d decided it would be unwise to go to either of their families, well, Will’s family since all Joey had left was her sister and an elderly aunt. The last thing said about where they were going was that they would talk about it later.