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"More," she said. It had been too long. Far too long. Despite the openness of their surroundings, despite any danger, waiting even a moment longer seemed silly. "Nothing you do to me is shameful, swear to God. Well, besides letting me suffer from withdrawals. You gave me a taste of you, then took it away. "
He gave a hoarse chuckle. "Well, the first taste is always free. You have to pay for the rest. ”
“Name your price. "
"You. Just you. " His hands lowered, working at the harem pants. Didn't take much. He had them at her ankles in seconds, and ripped open his own pants. His erection sprang free. Then he was gripping her thighs, shoving them apart, anchoring them on his waist and plunging inside her. Her head fell against the cold stone, her back arching to take him even deeper.
One of his hands kneaded her breast, thrumming the nipple through the fabric of her bra. "Never deny me this again," she said. "Understand?"
He nipped at her chin and pumped into her, in and out, fast. . . faster . . . "You're all I think about. All I want anymore. "
Every forward glide took her to new heights. Every backward slide spun her mind out of control. He was touching her everywhere, even her soul. "Devyn," she moaned.
"You're. . . you. You make me hot, you make me laugh, and you make me angry. You look at me with those emerald eyes, and all I want to see is happiness inside them. You confuse me, you arouse me, you make me want to be better. "
"There's no one better," she said, and hurtled over the edge, groaning, gasping, crying out his name again, holding on to him, determined never to let go.
And when she leaned up and scraped her teeth over his neck, he shuddered, and his grip tightened. She wouldn't do it, wouldn't take his blood and weaken him when they were within a hundred yards of the auction house. But she couldn't help but rasp his skin, laving it with whatever chemical she produced. Just like that, he came, sinking to the hilt, propelling her over again. .
"Bride. My Bride. "
She tangled her hands in his hair and forced him to look at her, to see the truth in her eyes. "Yours. " But for how much longer?
The shudders left him and he stilled, continuing to pant, to hold her close. "I'm not ready to let you go. "
"Then don't. We can stay here all night. ”
“Hear footsteps. "
That got her attention. Yelping, she jerked from him, separating their bodies. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
As she shakily righted her clothes, she blushed at the wetness between her legs.
" 'Cause I didn't want to. " More leisurely, Devyn fastened his pants. He remained in front of her, blocking her from anyone's view. He was grinning, back to his usual cocky self.
"McKell," he said with relish, and then he turned, clearly ready for combat.
McKell reached them. His violet gaze took in their rumpled clothes, her swollen lips and quickly rising chest. His nostrils flared. If his sense of smell was anything like hers, he scented the sex wafting from them.
"I should cut you down where you stand," the warrior told Devyn.
As he spoke, an army of vampires arrived, surrounding them. Gasping, Bride moved forward and held out her arms to shield Devyn. Without her razors, she felt naked, but that didn't mean she was helpless. "No one moves," she commanded.
Devyn was having none of that, and shoved her behind him. She was having none of that, and moved beside him.
"Figured you'd follow," he told the vampire. His grin became all the more evil. "Glad you did. "
McKell gave Devyn an evil grin of his own and moved forward, closing the distance between them. He stopped after only three steps and frowned, then scowled. "Bastard. Using your ability against me. Well, let's see if you can use it against us all. Incapacitate him," the warrior growled to his men. "Leave him alive, though. My female needs his blood. For the moment. "
The vampires, too, moved forward. They, too, froze.
"Does that answer your question?" Devyn asked smugly. Then he surprised her. Rather than strike and kill, he said, "I will let you and your men live, McKell. And in return, you will take us to your king. If you can guarantee that she won't be punished for living on the surface. Since you planned to take her with you, I'm assuming you've already thought of a way to bypass the death sentence. "
McKell blinked, clearly startled—and just as suspicious. "I don't understand. "
Neither did she. "Yeah, what's going on?" Here was a man who could and did kill without hesitation or regret. A man who clearly wanted to do so now. Yet he didn't. He was demanding to be taken underground. For her.
"She belongs to me," he continued, "and yet you feel she is your property. " Devyn raised his chin, the picture of a determined male. "I don't want you chasing her for the rest of your too-long life, and she wants answers about her people. So let's take care of both matters at once. We'll petition your king and allow him to decide. You can tell her what she wants to know along the way. "
And if the king decided in McKell's favor? she wondered. Hell, no. "I'm happy to go underground, but there won't be anyone deciding my fate for me. "
"She will not be sentenced to death," McKell said, ignoring her. "As she was born here on the surface, the daughter of captured vampires"—his gaze shifted left and right to his men, pleading with her and Devyn not to contradict him—"her time here could not be helped. "
Devyn nodded. "It's settled, then. "
"Settled," the vampire said.
"It's awesome that you two are in agreement, really it is. But do I get a say in this?" she snapped. "Did no one hear me say that no one picks my man but me?"
Again, neither paid her any heed. Jeez. Was it the sequins? Put on a slave costume, and suddenly no one took you seriously.
"I'll go underground, because I want to go, but that's it," she said. "That's all I'm promising. "
Devyn must have released the vampire from stun, because the warrior stepped backward and nodded, saying, "Do not think this will end happily for you, Targon. "
CHAPTER 20
The buzzing of his phone woke Dallas. Blinking against the harsh morning light, he lolled over and blindly reached for his cell. He knocked over a glass on his nightstand. When his fingers finally scraped the cell, he latched on and dragged it to his ear. "Agent Gutierrez," he rasped.
"Get your lazy ass up," Hector proclaimed from the other end. "Nolan escaped. "
Blood freezing in his veins, Dallas jackknifed up, the urge to sleep hammered out of him with the agent's words. "How?"
"Seduced one of the female agents sent to watch him. "
"That shit bag. " He popped to his feet and strode into the bathroom. His still tired muscles screamed in protest. "She sick?"
"Not yet, but she's been locked up and is being watched. I've got Nolan's location, and I'm on my way to get you. Can you be ready in ten?"
"Make it eight. " Though he had questions, he hung up and took care of business. He brushed his teeth, dressed, grabbed his shades, and was out the door in five. He'd planned to spend the morning thinking about his vision of Devyn, and how McKell, whose face he had indeed seen in it, had managed to stab his friend. If he had to, he'd plant himself at the pier and wait for the vampires to arrive.
The moment the idea struck, he nodded. Yes, that's exactly what he'd do. Once Nolan was taken care of, he'd find a spot and camp out. He wouldn't have seen Devyn's death if there was nothing to do about it. Dallas was as certain of that as he was that without intervention, Devyn would die. He refused to believe the visions were simply to prepare him for what lay ahead.
The way he'd botched the vision about Jaxon and Mishka was proof things could be changed—and for the better. If he worked them right.
The streets were lined with morning traffic; the sun was bright as people cruised the sidewalks at top speed. A few were carrying cups of syn-coffee, and the scent wafted to his nose, making his mouth water. His stomach e
ven rumbled. How long since he'd eaten?
Hector pulled to the curb and stopped.
Ignoring his hunger, Dallas slid into the kind of sedan every AIR agent used and shut the door with a push of a button. "How do you know where Nolan is?" was the first question he voiced.
Hector programmed the car, and it eased onto the road before kicking into high gear, weaving in and out of traffic. "Remember how your friend Devyn injected himself with that isotope tracker?"
"Yeah. "
"Well, get this. The vampire drank from Devyn, and Nolan drank from Bride, who was also injected, so had mice the normal amount. It's like that old game my grandparents used to play, degrees of separation or something like that. They've all got the tracker in their system now, and we've pegged all three. " He motioned to the laptop resting in the back seat. "See for yourself. "
"We tried the tracker on Nolan once before," Dallas said. "The virus inside him ate the isotope. We were never able to pull him into the system. "
"Proof the virus is gone, I guess, 'cause we've got him now. "
Finally, something in their favor. Dallas snatched it up and studied the blue screen above the keyboard. There were three black dots. Two were on the move, together, and one was stationary and in the opposite direction. Wasn't hard to figure out who was who. It was a relief to see that Devyn and Bride were still alive, though God knew what they were doing. After last night. . .
Never had Dallas seen the Targon more pissed. There'd been none of his usual charm, none of his nonchalance. He simply hadn't liked other men looking at Bride. And when the McKell had staked a claim on her . . . shit. Bastard was probably already dead.
Who would have thought Devyn the Seducer would fall for one specific female? Not Dallas, that was for sure. But no longer did he think Devyn would tire of the vampire. Not when his features softened every time he looked at her. Not when he sought her comfort above his own.
"As suspected, the little shit lied to us," Hector said. "He's not headed to the location he gave us. "
"Of course not. " But was he intending to help his queen or kill her? They'd soon find out, he supposed. Right now, something else weighed heavily on his mind. "So have you been to AIR this morning?"
"Yeah. "
"See the new vampires?"
"Oh, yeah. Both are alive and healthy and regaining their strength. "
Good. He'd thought he would have trouble with McKell, Devyn's new nemesis, after the auction, but no one had tried to stop him from taking the two vampire slaves. The moment he'd gotten them in the car and out of the parking lot, Ghost and Kitty, also AIR agents, had flanked him and escorted him into headquarters. No one had given chase, or even seemed to follow.
More shocking, the vampires hadn't complained. Hadn't fought him or tried to run. Their eyes had been glazed, though, so he supposed they'd been drugged. At the station, they'd been placed in lockup, separate cells, and given bags of plasma. Unlike Bride, they'd drained the bags and hoarsely begged for more.
Dallas had been the one to enter the male's cell. The vampire had been weak and shaky, but hadn't made use of the cot, the room's only piece of furniture. He'd stood in the corner, better able to see every angle of the cell, his white hair hanging in his face, parted only enough to give Dallas the barest glimpse of hate-filled blue eyes.
How you doing? he'd asked.
How do you think I'm doing, human? I'm in a cage. We aren't going to harm you.
Bitter laugh. That's what my last owner said, just before his guards held me down. And just so you know, I'll slaughter you and your people the way I did him and his if you think to make me your whore.
As Devyn had told him how Bride camouflaged herself before bursting into tiny bits of mist, he'd been half afraid the warrior would do something similar, but it hadn't happened. Be at ease. That's not why you're here, you have my word. There's a virus being passed around my people, one that only vampire blood seems capable of defeating. We just want to take a little of yours and test it.
The explanation was ignored. Tell me about Starlis. It was a command laced with need. Certainly. Tell me who that is first. That pale jaw clenched. The female you bought. Starlis. Pretty name. She's fine. Next door to you. He shouldn't have admitted that, but wanted the warrior to relax. Not that he would have been able to do so, had the situation been reversed. Nothing will happen to her, either.
It better not. Because if you hurt her . . . Claws curled into a fist and cut the warrior's palm. Were they lovers? Brother and sister? Like I said, we only mean to test your blood.
That desire will cost you. You should have spoken to our king rather than purchase us. The word purchase was sneered.
Your king is hidden from us. We don't know how to find him. Red lips had lifted in eerie amusement. Don't worry. He'll now find you.
It was a threat everyone at AIR had taken seriously. Security was being beefed up, the black ops and field agents called in.
The sedan eased to a stop, and Dallas pulled himself into the present. He'd hated leaving those vampires locked up, but hadn't known what else to do. AIR needed their blood. Hell, mankind needed their blood.
Hector exited without a word, and Dallas quickly followed suit. Warm morning air enveloped him. There were several cars around them, agents outside them and staring into a government-protected forest. The same one Dallas had been next to last night, just on the other side. Coincidence?