Fury

  Chuckling, Ellie nodded. “Yeah. It kind of does.”

  “They believe it shouldn’t be a problem. They were hoping no one would find out until after we were married if you agreed to be my wife. Now I’m afraid someone will think of it and try to protest our right to do that.”

  “I don’t think they can. You have rights, Fury. They can’t give New Species the right to live as all citizens live then tell you that you don’t have the same rights as other people. It would just be too wrong for words.”

  The phone rang and Fury lifted Ellie off his lap and gently placed her onto the couch next to him. He got to his feet to get the phone. Ellie leaned back and tried to relax. She could hear Fury’s voice but not the words.

  He wants to marry me. She grinned.

  * * * * *

  “The calls are already coming in, Fury.” Justice swore softly. “I just got off the phone with the president. He fully backs us but I hear the worry in his voice. I assured him things are fine and that the news reports were purposely grim.”

  “Good. I called our teams and they are on standby to assist the human forces at the gates in case we get an influx of protesters. I’m expecting that to happen. It’s going to drive those nut jobs insane that their worst fear has come true and that a New Species officially lives with a human woman.” Fury paused. “I’m sorry for the trouble but I wouldn’t change it. She’s worth it to me, Justice.”

  “You have made that clear and as I said, we are happy for you both. We back you.” Justice paused. “I know we need to address this issue with the press. They are imagining the worst—that she was injured by abuse from one of ours, and we need to clear this matter up.”

  “Agreed but I refuse to put Ellie in front of them to answer questions. They will verbally attack her and say mean things that will hurt her feelings. I won’t allow that. It’s my job to protect her. We need to allow the humans to deal with their own kind. They are getting paid to handle the press. Let them do it.”

  “It’s also your job to protect Species and our image. We may have to allow them to see Ellie to assure all humans she is fine. We need the public on our side, Fury. The last thing we need is more humans hating us and showing up outside the gates. The president can’t back us if he’s getting slammed by everyone for doing so.”

  “I can do my job and Ellie is New Species. She’s mine to protect as well. I won’t risk one for the other because it won’t come to that.”

  “Good. I will call a meeting with Tom next and he’s the best public relations person we have. He’s heavily into politics and has a vast amount of experience in dealing with the public. He’ll tell us the best way to handle this.” Justice sighed. “I wish these anti-New Species humans would just go away.”

  “I wish it as well but we’re free. This seems to be the price of it. We realized it wouldn’t be easy from the start. We’ll get through this. Our security teams are prepared for the worst and you’ll handle the humans. You’re much better at dealing with them than I am.” A chuckle escaped Fury. “I don’t envy you that job today.”

  “Is there any way you’ll allow the press access to Ellie?”‘

  “No. She’s waiting for me to end this call and I’m going to her. She’s worried. I need to soothe her.”

  “Did you just say you needed to soothe her?” Justice laughed.

  A flash of irritation tore through Fury. “What? She gets upset and I can’t stand to see her that way.”

  “Soothe?”

  “I get to run my hands all over her.” Fury chuckled. “I distract her and as her mate it is my job to keep her mind on more pleasant things. Are you really going to give me shit about doing that? If you had a woman waiting for you, you would want to soothe her as well.”

  “Go. I envy you right now. I have no one waiting for me.” Justice hung up.

  * * * * *

  “Justice is going to hold a press conference tomorrow. He’s decided we don’t have to talk to them unless we want to. I told him we won’t.” Fury said when he walked out of the kitchen without the phone.

  Ellie arched an eyebrow. “You might have asked me.”

  Dark eyes narrowed. “I am not going to put you up on display and allow humans to say hurtful words to you.”

  “Don’t get angry. I’m trying not to get mad myself. You need to ask me things though. It’s just the right thing to do.”

  Fury growled. “You’re mine to protect.”

  Ellie sighed. She loved him. He was naturally dominant, it being his nature, and he wanted to protect her. She could either fight him every step of the way or just accept that he was prone to that behavior. She knew he loved her as deeply as she loved him. She nodded and his anger eased.

  “I just want to shelter you.”

  “I know, Fury. I just like to be asked. All right?”

  “I’ll try. Do you want me to call Justice back and tell him that we will be there for the reporters to question?”

  “You’d do that for me? Go with me if I wanted to?”

  He sat down next to her. “If you go, I go.”

  She loved him even more for saying that. “Don’t call him back. There’s no way I want to be there.”

  “Women,” Fury growled but he smiled.

  Ellie leaned toward him and softly brushed a kiss on his lips before pulling back. “Get used to it if you want to marry one.”

  “I do.”

  The phone rang again. Fury cursed. “Damn it. It’s not going to stop.”

  Ellie silently agreed. “I guess I should call my family on my cell phone while you take that call. It would be rude not to give them a heads up before they see it on the evening news.”

  Fury’s expression darkened.

  “I don’t care if they aren’t happy about us. You’re my life now, Fury. You’re all that matters. I should call them though so they hear it from me.”

  “Maybe I should just tear the phones out of the walls.”

  Ellie was tempted to let him but then reality set in. “Then they’d come to the door.”

  “Good point.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I’m really sorry that I had to make you be here.” Director Tom Quish appeared sincere as he glanced between Ellie and Fury. “Justice is furious with me but I have more experience handling the press and the public than he does. Most people love a good romance. We need those people on our side. They want to see you together and it will squash all the nasty rumors circulating in the tabloids.”

  “Do we want to ask what those rumors are?” Fury arched his eyebrow.

  Tom shook his head. “Not really, unless you really do have Ellie locked up, living inside a doghouse and chained with a collar to get revenge on humans for what was done to you. It’s crap like that.”

  Ellie turned her head to smile up Fury. “That sounds kind of kinky.”

  He laughed. “Maybe I’ll build a doghouse.”

  “That’s what I need,” Tom encouraged them. “You are both taking all this really well.”

  Fury shrugged. “I got angry but Ellie told me it only made it worse. She cried when I swore I would kill them all.”

  Tom’s smile faded instantly. His eyes widened in horror.

  Ellie chuckled. “He’s kidding.”

  “Thank God.” Tom smiled again.

  “I didn’t cry when he said that. I told him I didn’t like seeing blood.”

  Fury chuckled. Ellie winked at him. Tom groaned.

  “You two are going to kill me out there if you act this way. People won’t know what to think of you. I’m hoping that was a joke.”

  “They think I’m a savage animal who is forcing Ellie to be my sex slave.” Fury’s teeth clenched. “Am I wrong?”

  “Calm down.” Ellie moved closer to him and touched his chest to caress him with her hand. “Anger isn’t our friend. Remember our talk this morning? I know how mad you are but that’s what they want to see. You need to keep control of it. Laugh at them. If you get accused of crap like
that by some reporter, just think of this.” She moved closer to him. “I would love to be your sex slave any day.”

  Fury smiled wide enough that his canine teeth showed. “That won’t stop me from being angry. That will make me want to take you home.”

  “One hour, Fury. That’s as long as you have to keep your cool. You can control your temper. You need to do this,” Ellie assured him. “You can yell later and be angry then if it gets hairy out there.”

  He cupped her face. “I promise to try, Ellie. I would do anything for you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “But if they insult you, I might get angry. You know my temper is short when it comes to someone harming you or saying bad things about you.”

  Ellie groaned. “They will insult me. I’m pretty sure of that. I can handle it so just keep calm.”

  “What kind of male would I be to sit there while they say bad things about you?”

  “A smart one,” Tom snapped. “The world is going to be watching this, Fury. You two are huge worldwide news. You have no idea how much coverage will be out there. If you charm the press they will love you. They will totally back you having a relationship. If this goes bad then it could get ugly. We really need the incoming money, Fury. Think of all the New Species and Ellie even. What would happen if support got pulled and the funds stopped coming in that keep Homeland open? It would close down and then where would everyone be? Our legal staff is working hard on those lawsuits to get cash inflowing but I’ve been assured it won’t be too much longer before Mercile Industries is going to pay for what they’ve done.”

  “Fine,” Fury sighed. “I understand. I will sit there and be calm no matter how much I want to hurt someone.”

  “Thank you.” Tom sighed. He shot Ellie a grim look and crossed his fingers. The man walked around his desk and yanked his jacket on. “Let’s go.”

  Fury took Ellie’s hand. She tried to fight down her nervousness. She’d never had to talk in front of a bunch of cameras and reporters before. For security purposes the press conference would be held in front of the main gates. That way it kept everyone out of Homeland but next to the security walls to help them control the area.

  “I’m here,” Fury assured her. “I won’t allow anyone to harm you.”

  Ellie flashed him a weak smile. “I just hate being around a bunch of people but I’m going to be fine with you at my side.”

  Fury kept a firm grip on her hand and pulled her closer against his body when they walked outside the gates. Ellie realized immediately it had turned in to a media circus of the worst proportions. Flashing cameras blinded them when they drew closer to the area set up for them.

  Justice and Tom walked ahead of Ellie and Fury. Fury released her hand and put his arm around her waist. His body shielded her from a lot of the cameras. The press shouted out questions they purposely ignored since Tom had prepared them well.

  Ellie took a seat between Fury and Trisha Norbit. Ellie was grateful to be next to the woman. Trisha squeezed Ellie’s hand under the table and flashed a brave smile. Ellie squeezed Fury’s hand. His other hand covered hers so he held it between both of his. He rubbed her skin gently to assure her. Tom stood and tried to quiet the press. Good luck, Ellie thought. A shouting madhouse had broken out.

  Tom was able to silence the crowd after a few minutes. Ellie listened while Tom spoke to the press.

  “The rumors circulating about Fury harming Ellie Brower aren’t true.” His voice rang out clearly. “They are a couple who live together inside Homeland. The video you saw on television happened after Ellie had a simple accident. She was treated by our doctor. This is Doctor Trisha Norbit. She will verify that for you.”

  Trisha leaned forward to the microphone, introduced herself, and immediately a volley of questions were shouted out by reporters. She had to wait until their voices died down to speak.

  “Of course the rumors aren’t true,” Trisha shook her head and looked angry as she glanced around at reporters. “It was a simple accident while Ellie cleaned the kitchen,” she lied. “She hit her head on the edge of the kitchen island when she stood from sweeping the floor. She had a bump to her head. Mr. Fury wasn’t even home at the time of the incident. He came home and found Ellie. All you saw was him carrying Ellie out to the car after I treated her. It was that simple.”

  “Ms. Brower,” one of the reporters rose to his feet. “Is that true?”

  Ellie forced a smile and tried to slow her erratic heart rate, caused from being in the spotlight. “Unfortunately. Trust me.” Just smile and lie, she told herself. I can do this. “Imagine how mortified I am. I bumped my head and it’s on the eleven o’clock news.”

  “Are you and Mr. Fury having sex?” Someone else rose and asked.

  Ellie hesitated. “Are you having sex? That’s kind of a personal question, isn’t it?”

  “I’m not.” The male reporter smiled. “But I would be if I were dating someone. Come on, Ms. Brower. Are you and Mr. Fury having sex?”

  Ellie squeezed Fury’s hand to assure him she was fine when he tensed. “My sex life is not up for public discussion but I will say that Fury and I are living together, as Tom let you know, and we are involved in a serious relationship.”

  The man nodded and sat down. Another man popped up. “Mr. Fury, do you bite Ms. Brower? We heard rumors that there is biting during sex.”

  Fury’s hold on her became intense enough that she had to hide a flinch. Ellie used her thumb to rub the back of his hand. Fury relaxed and shook his head.

  “I would never hurt Ellie.” He suddenly pulled back his upper lip to show his teeth quickly. “It would hurt if I bit her.”

  Questions started flying. Ellie fought back a laugh at the absurdity of some of them. Tom yelled for order. He repeated his instructions of one question at a time or the interview would end. Silence reigned again and one person stood.

  “How do you two kiss with his sharp teeth?”

  Fury opened his mouth. Ellie bumped him with her shoulder and answered. “How do you kiss someone with an overbite? Or someone with buck teeth? Or someone with missing teeth? You just do. That’s a silly question.”

  “So you two do kiss?”

  “Of course I kiss him. Look at him.” Ellie turned her head and smiled at Fury. She looked back at the reporter. “Teeth aren’t a problem.”

  A female reporter rose next. “How do you feel about being with a man when you know he can’t have children with you?”

  “Doctor Norbit,” a male reporter shouted out of turn. “Are you doing research on them?”

  “No,” Trisha denied. “They are people, not lab rats.”

  “How do you feel about being with someone that you may never be able to have children with, Ellie?”

  Ellie stared at the same female reporter who asked again about kids. She hesitated. “There’s never a guarantee, no matter who you are with, that you can have children. There are plenty of couples in this world who are together and then discover for whatever reason they can’t have them. That’s why we have surrogate mothers, sperm banks, and adoption available for those couples. I don’t think anyone meets someone and judges if they like them or not on the basis of how well their reproductive system works and how many children they can get out of that person. That’s just unreasonable and stupid. I’m not concerned in the least about that. I don’t even think about it.”

  The reporter sat. The next one popped up and it went on. Ellie tried to keep her calm. They were asking stupid questions for the most part. They wanted to know if Fury helped with household chores and if Ellie treated him as if he were a regular person. Fury kept his cool, laughed at a lot of the questions, and never lost his temper. Ellie watched him, really proud of how he took it all. He could be charming when he wanted to be. He met her gaze and smiled back at her.

  “Ellie?” A man in the back suddenly yelled.

  Ellie turned her head, trying to find the source. “Yes?”

  “How does it feel to betray your
own race by allowing an animal fuck you?”

  Shock tore through Ellie at the sudden verbal attack. Just as she found the jerk who’d asked that question, a thin, tall man in a business suit suddenly shoved at the people in front of him, flashing a gun clutched in his hand. Screams erupted around them and gunfire exploded. Ellie froze in horror before someone slammed her into the ground and something heavy crushed down on top of her.

  Ellie’s eyes flew open. Fury sprawled over her, covering her body with his. Shots continued to ring out along with panicked screams and shouts from the crowd. Fury crawled higher to cover her better, twisting his body to put himself between her and the source of the attack.

  His arms dug underneath her and then he lifted her, shoved her knees into her chest to force her into a tight ball inside his arms, and staggered to his feet. He sprinted for the gates with Ellie clutched in his arms, hunched over her, still shielding her body with his.

  Fury jerked hard, his hold on her slackened, but then tightened again. He kept moving and yelled out words she didn’t catch. Ellie was too shocked to understand him and she couldn’t breathe. He had her crushed within his arms and her knees and legs were shoved against her chest, compressing her lungs. The pounding impact of his body as he ran didn’t help either. Ellie couldn’t see much with him wrapped around her and the way he held her so tightly.

  She knew they cleared the gate, saw a section of the wall flash past them just as Fury collapsed onto his knees. He groaned loudly but somehow kept hold of her inside the cradle of his arms. Then his grip eased. Ellie moved in his arms, lifted her head, and she saw pain twisting his handsome features.

  “Fury?”

  He shifted her and put her on the ground in front of him. She looked up at him and watched his eyes roll back in his head. He just crumpled sideways, crashing onto the grass next to her. Ellie ignored the shouting, the screams, and all the other sounds going on around them. She frantically crawled to huddle over his still form. That’s when she saw the blood.