“You got me to safety.”
He relaxed and the strong hands holding him down released. “Where is Justice?”
“I’m here.”
Fury turned his head to stare at his best friend. “Protect my Ellie while I can’t. I want a full team guarding her. Only New Species. I only trust our people to make sure no one hurts her. She’s priority, Justice. Swear.”
“You know it’s being done without you having to ask. Heal and don’t think about anything but getting better. She’ll have around-the-clock New Species officers guarding her and no one will get near her. I give you my word.”
Fury’s gaze drifted back to Ellie and he moved his arm, reaching up to caress her cheek. His thumb brushed at the tears that slipped down her face. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Fury. I was so afraid you’d die on me.”
“You won’t get rid of me that easily. You’re stuck with me forever.”
He loved seeing her smile through her tears. She was safe, he’d taken the bullets instead of them striking her, and that’s all that mattered to him.
“Good. They gave you some heavy medication to help you sleep but I’m right here, okay?”
“I love you. Did I tell you that?” His voice slurred and he fought to keep his eyes open.
“I love you too and you did tell me. Just get better. I’m fine.”
He relaxed, let the pain take him, and blackness came quickly.
Chapter Seventeen
Ellie watched Tiny, the small brunette, scrub the hallway floor as she laughed. Ellie had to hide her own smile. She glanced at Breeze.
“You’d think washing the floor is cool, to see her do it.”
Breeze chuckled. “You should see the joy some of them get scrubbing a toilet. Kind of crazy. I hate to clean them. The chemicals smell bad.”
“You guys do tend to have oversensitive noses.”
“No kidding. How is Fury doing?”
“Great. He’s angry that they are keeping him so drugged up. They had to. He kept trying to get out of bed, demanding his clothes. You should have seen the poor nurse who walked in on that one. Imagine Fury butt naked and snarling for his clothes. She screamed when confronted with that. I think they finally got her to stop running by the time she reached the parking lot.”
“Why would that send a woman screaming?” Breeze looked confused.
Ellie chuckled. “He’s a big guy, Breeze. He was angry and all that blood of his pumped everywhere. I mean everywhere. Now imagine being some timid woman who walks into a room with a big, muscular naked guy with a major erection and he’s snarling at you.”
A grin spread across Breeze’s face. “Our men are impressive that way.”
“Yes, they are,” Ellie agreed with a matching grin.
“She wasn’t turned on?”
“She was scared for her life.”
“What a dumbass.”
Ellie laughed. “Where did you pick that one up?”
“I’ve been watching more television. I’m down these days. What a dumbass. A twit. A brainless floosy.”
Laughing harder, Ellie shook her head. “You still need work. You were doing well until you called her a brainless floosy. A floosy is a woman who sleeps with a lot of men. This woman saw a naked one and bolted from terror.”
“Got ya.” Breeze winked. “I’ll watch more television.”
“Oh boy. I do have a question.”
“Hit me,” Breeze smiled. “That is slang.” The smile died. “Don’t really hit me though. You couldn’t hurt me but I might hit you back and that would injure you.”
“I understood.” Ellie tried to hide her amusement. “I’m sure you could hurt me if you did. My question is, where do you guys come up with your names? They are great but what do you have against regular names like Mary or Tina?”
“That’s simple. We aren’t regular people. Some of us are named for our best skill and some of us are named for our favorite thing. Some of us go with names we think describe us best. I picked Breeze because I enjoyed the breeze upon my face most of all after I knew freedom.”
“My name was picked for me,” Halfpint said as she walked to the couch and sat down by Ellie. “When they took me to the medical hospital where they were treating New Species, one of the doctors looked right at me and said that the other women could make two of me. They started calling me Halfpint while I recovered and it stuck.”
Ellie fought a laugh but managed to smile instead.
“The doctors who treated us had only seen our experimental prototype females. Halfpint was one of the first of her kind to be treated,” Breeze explained.
“Tiny is smaller than I am so when they brought her in, the doctors called her that name.” Halfpint beamed.
“Justice picked his name because he wanted it for our people,” Breeze informed Ellie. “He is from a testing facility up north and he chose that as his last name.”
“I thought most of you didn’t have last names.” Ellie glanced at Breeze for an answer.
“No. We don’t. We’ll work on that eventually. When we need one, we’ll pick something. Justice has offered to share his last name with anyone who wants it. What do you think of Breeze North?”
“It’s catchy,” Ellie admitted.
“I like it too. It has meaning and I’m from the same testing facility as Justice.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Yes. They used to try to breed Justice and me often. He is a good man.”
“I know he is,” Ellie agreed. The image of Justice and Breeze together shocked her. She was unable to picture them being intimate.
“When you have females and males from the same testing facility chances are we were forced together. The scientists wanted to see if we could have offspring. They thought if one male and female didn’t produce, if they switched us, maybe we could conceive with another male.”
“We were never given to any of our males,” Halfpint whispered in a soft, sad voice. “I wish we had been.”
Breeze reached over to pat Halfpint on the arm. “I am sorry. They were always kind and gentle with us. We shared respect and dignity. I wish you had known that as well but if you are ever ready, you will know it one day.”
Ellie wanted to ask but didn’t. Halfpint looked at Ellie. “I’ve been one of the luckier ones. They only gave me to an older man who didn’t share me. Tiny…” Halfpint blinked back tears. “The man they gave her to happened to be young, strong, and hurt her more. He also made her available to some of his friends. The one who had me was frailer and his strikes weren’t very painful. The last few years he wasn’t able to use his man part. It failed with age. He became angry when he tried and hit me but he didn’t hurt me much. He mostly yelled near the end.”
“I’m so sorry.” Ellie resisted the urge to try to hug the other woman, to give comfort. “Do you know how they found you?”
“The financial records were traced,” Breeze answered. “Anyone who made really large deposits into the Mercile Industries accounts had warrants served on them when we realized some of our women were given away. They found Halfpint. That’s how most of the gift females were retrieved.”
“It was terrifying,” Halfpint whispered, almost seeming afraid someone would overhear. “I heard loud noises and then all these men with guns broke down the door. I thought they’d come to kill me. That’s when I saw a woman behind them and she told the men to leave us alone. She talked to me while she removed my chains and led me safely out of where I’d been kept. She promised to take me somewhere I wouldn’t be hurt anymore.”
“A New Species woman?” Curiosity filled Ellie.
“No,” Breeze shook her head. “She’s a full human. I forgot her name but she goes on all the raids when a new warrant gets issued. She is the one who takes charge of our females when they are found and brings them to us for care and treatment.”
“Her name is Jessie.” Halfpint smiled. “She has fire-red hair and really blue eyes. She is sma
ll like us. She has the softest voice.”
“Ellie?” One of the New Species women drew her attention.
“Yeah?” Ellie stood.
“You might want to go home. I just got a call on the dorm phone saying that Fury left the hospital. He’s heading there.”
“But he shouldn’t to do that until the day after tomorrow.”
Breeze snorted from behind Ellie. “Our men don’t always do what they are supposed to.”
“Oh hell,” Ellie sighed. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. I hope he didn’t hurt anyone,” she muttered under her breath.
* * * * *
Ellie pushed and pulled Fury toward the bed even though he didn’t want to go there. She shot a dirty look at Tiger, the NSO officer who smiled, highly amused at the situation. His arms crossed over his chest and he refused to help Ellie make Fury get into bed. He did back up, making his intention to leave clear.
“I don’t want to lie down. I’ve been doing that for a week,” Fury growled.
Ellie shook her head. “You are going to rest or I swear I’ll borrow a Taser gun, shoot your ass, and tie you to the bed.”
Fury growled viciously at her and his dark eyes narrowed. Ellie growled back at him and tugged harder. “Don’t snarl at me. I will do it right back. Now let’s get you undressed.” She glared up at him. “You are supposed to be in the hospital still. Don’t give me any shit, Fury. I love you to death but if you don’t lie down, I will borrow his Taser gun. I mean it.”
Fury stopped fighting. He suddenly showed his sharp teeth as he grinned. “If I get into bed naked will you take off your clothes with me?”
Ellie gasped at him. “There won’t be any of that. You just had surgery a week ago, were at death’s door, and you’re not cleared for that yet. Now behave.”
“I’ll be in the next room.” Tiger laughed.
Ellie spun to watch the security officer leave. Her gaze flew back to Fury. “You knew he hadn’t left and said that on purpose.”
He chuckled. “He’s gone now. Take off your clothes and I’ll strip too. We’ll both go to bed. I can look and touch at least.” He turned and wrapped his arm around her. “I want to feel you against my skin. That will make me heal faster.”
“I didn’t know touching skin to skin helped your healing process.”
“It doesn’t but I’d feel better.”
Ellie laughed. “I’ll make a deal with you. You get undressed willingly, climb into bed, and I’ll make you some lunch. After you eat, I’ll come lie down with you.”
“Naked?”
“No. You’re supposed to be resting but I might scratch your back and play with your hair. You’ll enjoy that.”
He softly growled. “Sweetness, I’d lie down on a bed of nails if you wanted to touch me and play with me but it’s not my back or my hair I want you to put your hands on.”
Ellie licked her lips, thinking, and decided it might not hurt him if she just rubbed him with lotion if he held real still. Fury growled, pressing his body closer to hers. She nodded.
“I’ll get lunch. You get into that bed. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He released her. Ellie moved toward the door. She heard material tear and turned her head to look over her shoulder to discover Fury watching her. He’d torn his shirt open instead of taking the time to carefully pull it over his head and the bandage on his side. She laughed.
“In a hurry?”
“Run to the kitchen and back.”
Ellie opened the bedroom door with a laugh and nearly walked into Tiger. The man inched back, grinning. He looked highly amused.
“Don’t tell me. Great sense of smell and keen hearing?”
“I’ll guard him from the living room. That way, I have enough rooms between us not to hear what he wants you to play with.”
Ellie fixed Fury a turkey sandwich and grabbed a soda. She also took him a bag of chips when she headed for the bedroom. Even if he arrived home days early Ellie was thrilled to have him with her. She’d wanted to stay at the hospital full time but the hospital staff didn’t want her there. The media had become a circus and it made it worse when she was with him.
She closed the bedroom door firmly. There wasn’t a lock but she didn’t worry about it since Tiger knew not to come in. Fury was on the bed, obviously naked under the sheet, a happy grin on his handsome face, and he had pushed pillows behind his back to comfortably wait. The sheet tented over his lap. Ellie saw that and laughed.
“A little excited to see me with lunch?” She teased. “I know you like turkey but geez, Fury.”
His dark gaze sparkled. “Are you really going to make me eat that first?”
She perched on the edge of the mattress and handed him the plate. Her attention lowered back to the impressive pole keeping up the “tent”. “I’d put this on your lap but there’s no room.” She chuckled. “Eat up, sweetheart.”
With a groan, Fury grabbed the sandwich and took a huge bite. He barely chewed. Ellie laughed and opened his soda to hold out to him. He took a drink but kept his gaze fixed on her. Ellie stood and headed toward the bathroom.
“Where are you going?” Fury growled at her as his smile faded.
“I’m coming back. Patience.”
“I have none.”
Ellie opened the cupboard inside the bathroom and found lotion. She grabbed a hand towel. She returned to the bedroom brandishing both for him to see. “How does a massage sound?”
“Don’t tease me. It’s been a long, lonely week.”
Ellie sat on the edge of the bed and uncapped the bottle. She poured lotion into her hands and used her elbow to shove the sheet away from his lap. Fury groaned and arched against her palms the second she touched his hard, aroused cock. Ellie leaned forward, licking at his chest. She had to avoid the tape that kept his bandage in place. He’d taken one shot to the back near his side and another shot to the back near his shoulder. He had been lucky his shoulder blade hadn’t been shattered by the bullet.
“I love you,” he groaned.
Ellie stroked him slowly, loving every second of touching the velvety skin that wrapped around his steel-hard shaft. She teased him with her mouth from one nipple to the next while her hands massaged him from the crown to the base of his cock. Fury growled and swelled to a substantial size. She looked down. This time she wanted to see him come.
Fury snarled her name as he tensed against her. His entire body quivered when he started to come. A lump formed on the underside of his cock just above his balls at the base of his shaft. That’s what she felt when he was buried deep in her pussy at the end of sex. The sight fascinated her as it continued to bulge.
She remembered his claim of being a hard shooter. She curved one of her hands over the top of his cock head while she stroked his shaft faster, fisting him a little tighter. Hot jets of his white semen blasted hard against her palm and she realized he hadn’t been kidding about choking her if he was really excited. She lifted her gaze to watch his face.
He threw his head back and shouted her name as she milked him of every drop of semen. Ellie smiled as she continued touching his oversensitive flesh until Fury grabbed her hands to make her stop.
Ellie kissed Fury on his lips. Her tongue teased his bottom lip. He groaned her name as his hands reached for her breasts.
“Do you feel better? More relaxed?”
He growled in response.
Ellie pulled away from his exploring hands to clean him up with the towel and threw it toward the bathroom. She put a little distance between them. Fury’s gaze locked with hers.
“I want you,” he growled.
Ellie squealed in surprise when Fury lunged suddenly, grabbed her arm and gave her a hard yank that sent her sprawling on top of the bed. Her back hit the mattress and Fury came down over her to cage her to the bed under him. Ellie stared up at him.
“You’re going to open up your wounds, Fury.”
“I won’t.” He reached down to grab hold of Ellie’s skirt, fisting
it with his hand. He pulled hard to jerk the material up Ellie’s body to her waist.
“Fury, stop.”
His dark gaze met hers. “I’m still having lunch. You’re on the menu.”
Desire seeped right through to Ellie’s bones. “But your stitches―”
“I’ll be careful not to pull on them.” He smiled. “I’ll keep to the high ground so I don’t move much. What is that you call it? Your button? I’m in the mood to lick a button, Ellie.”
“I should say no but I can’t,” Ellie rasped, her entire body coming alive with the promise of what he wanted to do. She pressed against Fury’s hand as he wiggled his fingers into the edge of her panties. He hooked the center section of them and yanked hard. He threw the torn material away from the bed.
“You know you should stop wearing those things,” he growled. “They just annoy me.”
“Okay.”
He chuckled. “No argument?”
She shook her head. Fury’s fingers massaged her clit, teasing her, and driving her passion higher. He shifted lower on her body. She opened her thighs wider so he could settle between them. “I’ll burn all of them if it makes you happy as long as you don’t stop touching me.”
“Burn them,” he urged softly, sliding down the bed even lower over Ellie. He used his free hand and jerked her shirt up to her breasts. His mouth brushed her lower stomach and his tongue traced her bellybutton. “Burn the bras too.”
“Anything,” Ellie moaned, ablaze with passion. She’d missed his touch so much she already hurt to come though he’d barely started. She moaned. “I love your thumb and the way you torment me.”
Fury inched lower, his mouth sweeping over the material bunched over her hips to find skin again. He pushed her thighs apart wider. Fury growled and then lowered his face. Ellie clawed at the bedding and moaned his name, arching into his mouth when he licked her pussy.
“I missed your taste,” he rasped. “I’m addicted to you.”
His tongue wiggled, found the exact spot that drove her mindless, and she moaned to let him know how amazing it felt. He pressed tighter against her, keeping the flat of his tongue there to rub back and forth over her clit.