Bull Protectors

by T B Mann

  Anger burned through his veins. She’d had her first orgasm at his hands and Kai had ruined it. How dare he interrupt them?

  “Are you okay?” he asked Sarah as he righted her shorts and lowered her to the ground.

  “Yes.” But he could tell she wasn’t. Her body shook, but not just from residual post-orgasmic bliss. Even her lips quivered and her eyes filled with tears.

  “I’ll take care of it, okay?” He brushed his lips against hers again and again until she nodded. He didn’t care how long Kai stood there, he’d take care of his mate first before dealing with the ass.

  As soon as she nodded, he pulled away, spinning to face Kai and forcing Sarah behind him. There was no way he’d subject her to an angry Kai. Not that Kai had a reason to be angry.

  Kai stood just inside the room, fists hanging at his sides, with the door open behind him. “Are you finally finished manhandling my mate?”

  “Your mate? What the hell are you thinking Kai? She’s mine. I know you’ve liked her since the beginning, and I tried to stay away, but I couldn’t any longer. I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to step aside.”

  Kai took two giant strides into the room. “I’m not stepping aside from my mate. It’s you who’ve overstepped. You know the sanctity of mate bonds.”

  “What the hell are the two of you yelling about? I could hear your voices a few bungalows over.” Dylan stepped into the room, moving off to the side, but in the middle of the two.

  Zale crossed his arms over his chest. It was the only way he could keep himself from shoving his fist into Kai’s face. “I was kissing—”

  “More like assaulting,” Kai threw in.

  “—Sarah, my mate, when Kai walked in and yelled at us.”

  Dylan’s eyebrows rose. He hands turned into fists, hanging at his side. “Your mate?” His gaze hardened as it bounced between the two. “She’s my mate. So neither one of you should be touching her.”

  They stood looking at each other. Chests heaved as they took in each other’s words. They were all her mates? Impossible. But as Zale watched his two best friends, he knew that the impossible was possible. Each of them reacted the same. It all made sense now. He understood why Kai and Dylan had been drawn to touching her. That pull that he’d fought against. He’d watched them and laughed, never dreaming that they’d found their mate.

  He dropped his arms, walked to the edge of the bed, and sank. They needed to talk this through. Sarah must have been freaking at all this talk. Not having any knowledge of the paranormal and now to have not one but three men claiming to be her mate. If she even knew what that meant.

  “Sarah?” He looked back to the doorway. His heart sank when he found the area empty. He jumped. “Where’d she go?”

  “Who? Sarah?” Dylan looked at them both. “She wasn’t in the room when I walked in.”

  “Fuck.” Kai shoved his hand through his hair. “It’s all my fault. I should have known you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me or my mate. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

  “Hey, it’s not just your fault. I’m at fault, too. I knew something was going on between you and her, and Dylan and her. I shouldn’t have done anything without talking to both of you first.”

  “Hate to break up this little love fest, but we have something bigger to worry about. Where the hell is Sarah?”

  “You’re right, Dylan. We can talk about all this later. We should find Sarah first. She can’t have gone far.” Kai motioned toward the patio doors. “She most likely slipped out there. I’ll head left. Zale, you take right.”

  “And I’ll wait here since I didn’t see her when I walked up, so we know she didn’t go toward the main house.”

  Zale spun toward the door.

  “You dropped something, Zale.” Kai motioned to a folded piece of paper on the floor at Zale’s feet.

  He snatched it from the floor. Sarah’s name printed on the outside sent a bolt of fear through him. With shaking fingers, he unfolded it. His eyes devoured the words as disbelief filled him. How could they have been so wrong?

  “What is it?” Strong hands shook him.

  He looked up into the concerned faces of his friends. Without a word, he handed it to them. Fear filled every cell. This was the eighth letter.

  And she wasn’t with them.

  Sarah ran down towards the water and then cut to the right back toward the centre of the resort and the pool. She needed to get away. To be alone and think. How could she have gotten herself in such a situation? Didn’t she tell herself right from the beginning that she needed to choose one to be with, but only before they were about to leave?

  Of course she hadn’t followed her own rules. Not with the way her hormones rode her. It would have taken a nun to keep her cool around those men. And Sarah wasn’t even sure if a nun would have survived unscathed. So how was she supposed to?

  Only the sounds of crashing waves could be heard over her laboured breathing. The moon and the stars, her only light this close to the water. She didn’t know how long she had before they discovered she’d run.

  And they’d come after her. That she knew.

  If they wouldn’t leave her alone in the city before she’d kissed each of them, they certainly weren’t going to now. Even if it was only to yell at her for leading them all on.

  That was if they managed to stop yelling and fighting.

  At first it had just been Kai and Zale—that had been bad enough—but then she’d heard Dylan’s voice after she’d bolted from the room. Now they’d know the depth of her deception.

  She slowed to a walk, trying to catch her breath and giving herself a chance to make a decision. Where could she go that they couldn’t find her immediately?

  A bright light flashed in the corner of her eye. She turned to face the direction it came from. A golf cart materialized from around an outbuilding near the docks. She stood still, hoping it would turn away, but instead it veered toward her.

  She stepped closer to the water, but it stopped short. A well-dressed older man with close cropped silver hair and a matching goatee stepped from the cart. A man she’d seen in pictures, but never met before despite the stay on his island.

  “Miss Jones, it’s nice to finally meet you.” He held out his hand but didn’t move, allowing her to take the first step.

  A quick glance over her shoulder towards her room revealed shadows exiting her patio doors. Without hesitation, she walked toward her host and his cart. If anyone could find her a place to hide out, it was the man who owned the island.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you. And thank you for inviting me along. It’s absolutely gorgeous here.” She shook his hand before falling in step with him as he returned to his cart.

  “Not a problem. To be honest”—he motioned for her to climb into the back of the cart—“I’ve been a fan of your work for years.” He settled in beside her. “Can we give you a ride somewhere? It’s not often we encounter a woman such as yourself out late at night without shoes on. I hope whatever drove you from your room wasn’t serious?”

  Over the shoulder of the driver, she saw one of the shadows start down the beach in their direction. They needed to move if she was to avoid them. “Ah no, just decided it was such a nice night that I needed to get out into it instead of passing time in my room.”

  Mr. Vodnikski sank into the seat next to her. “Well, in that case, would you like a private nighttime tour?”

  “Oh, I couldn’t possibly impose.”

  “Nonsense. I’d been meaning to search you out, but work has kept me busy.” He tapped his driver on the shoulder. The cart turned around, heading to the far side of the docks, back the way it had come.

  She leaned back against the leather seat, allowing the warm night to relax her and to take away her thoughts about what had happened with the guys.

  “Have you seen much of the island or the resort?”

  She’d seen lots, but mainly out on the ocean instead of the island, so she him told so.

  “Well, then I s
hall show you some of the private or restricted areas.”

  “Like the club room where the party was held tonight. I heard about the aquarium windows.”

  He laughed. “So, Laguna told you about it, did she?”

  “Um, no.” She wiped her hands on her thighs. “Zale stopped by to inform me that Laguna was safely back in her room and what she’d done.” She placed her hand on his thigh to stop him from speaking. “Not that I don’t trust your security or secrecy. It’s just…”

  “What makes you so good at your job,” he finished for her as he patted her hand. “It’s one of the things I admire about you.”

  She pulled her hand away, clasping it with her other, and she knew he pretended not to notice. Something she was grateful for. She needed a moment to compose herself. It wasn’t every day that she got to meet one of the world’s wealthiest people, let alone have him say that he admired her. It had been hard enough to believe his assistant, but to hear it from his own mouth… wow.

  The cart made a right turn onto a path behind a manicured hedge that separated the bungalows on this side from the wilds of the island. Not that anywhere near the resort could be considered wild. The road was smooth and lit with small flood lights near the ground to keep from polluting the night sky with unnecessary illumination.

  “I think the aquarium room would be a perfect place to start the tour.” He leaned forward and spoke to his driver who nodded. “Relax. We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”

  The cart pulled up in front of the main building. The main room was deserted with only dim lighting. With his hand, he held her elbow, leading her toward a long wooden wall. He placed his hand on the wall and a panel slid open, revealing a hidden elevator.

  “Wow. I would have never guessed.”

  He led her in, put a key into the keyhole and turned it. The door slid shut without a sound. “That’s the idea. This is my personal one.”

  She tapped her bare toes against the cool marble on the floor of the elevator. Goosebumps rose on her skin. Heat blossomed on her cheeks. For the first time, she realized what clothing she wore and their lack of coverage. Great. Meet the richest guy in the world and I’m dressed in my pyjamas.

  “Cold? I’ll get you something to put on, although the club room should be warmer.”

  “Thanks.” She chewed on her bottom lip. But didn’t have long to wait as the door slid open into another dim room. This time the light wavered since it came predominantly from the lights placed on the ocean side of the windows.

  She stepped out of the elevator without prodding, walking over to the closest window. “Wow. That’s so amazing.”

  A jacket dropped on her shoulders. “It really is. I love the ocean and the sea creatures that make it home.” She caught him looking shrewdly at her from the corner of her eye. It didn’t match the tone of his voice or his mannerisms raising a small red flag, but she shrugged it off. Maybe it was just him. He needed to be shrewd and a good judge of character to have made so much money.

  He slid a little closer. “I think you’re someone that loves the ocean as well. Feels more alive in its presence.”

  She nodded. He was correct. She’d felt more alive than she could remember since stepping on his island.

  “Want to see more? The view from my private office is even better.” He gripped her elbow again, leading her back to the wall with the hidden elevator. He pressed his hand against the wall, but this time another panel slid open, revealing a lit tunnel and another smaller cart. “Hop on board. This will be faster.”

  She climbed into the vacant seat beside him.

  The drive took only a few minutes in the direct tunnel, but the speed at which they travelled boggled her mind. It drove faster than any golf cart she’d been on before. In fact, she couldn’t even begin to guess the distance they’d gone.

  When he helped her from the cart, her knees wobbled, not wanting to support her body weight. Whoa. What happened?

  Another door slid open. This time, instead of motioning her through first, he pulled her behind him. The door slid shut the minute her feet crossed the threshold. It was only then that he stepped away to reveal a large room surrounded by windows, but not all of them were filled with the ocean. Some of them were more like zoo enclosures with both land and water. Many of them contained a woman or female creature within them.

  “What?” Horror filled her veins with ice. What was this place? Who was this man?

  “These are my pets. I’ve searched the world over for them. They are the special ones in my collection. The ones I keep for myself… and maybe a few trusted others.” He strode into the middle of the room. “Come. Let me introduce you.”

  She couldn’t move. Wouldn’t move. Nothing in her wanted to walk closer, to see the women or whatever they were up close. From where she stood, the view was horrific enough. But her feet moved anyway. Her mind was unable to comprehend what she was seeing. A mermaid? A half human half octopus? She shuddered. What was this madness?

  “What? Who? I don’t understand.”

  “I know.” He sat on the couch in front of a bank of windows. “I’ve been searching the world for you. The minute your mother got away from me, I knew I needed you, but your parents hid you well. That tattoo on your hip kept you from my reach, but then your father had always been one of the most powerful witches.”

  Her mind wheeled from his words. Witch? Her father? And he’d had her mother? She sank to the floor. What was he saying? None of this made sense.

  A hand touched her shoulder, but she didn’t look up.

  “I know that this is all new to you. And we’ll talk more later. But for now—” She felt a stabbing pain in her neck and then a coldness seeped through her body. “Sleep. We’ll get you all set up in your new home.”

  Two sets of arms picked up her unresponsive body and carried her from the room. The last thing she saw was the triumphant grin on Mr. Vodnikski’s face.

  Dylan paced inside Sarah’s room. The letter clutched in his fist. Every time he reached the door, he read it over again, hoping that with the next read it would change. That it wouldn’t be a letter directed specifically towards her. How could they have missed it? How did they not realize she was the target?

  Reviewing everything they knew, it now seemed so obvious. All the letters arrived at her place of work. None of them went through the post. The person even used her food delivery man. Why did they not see it? Some mates they were. Losing her just when they’d found her.

  Fuck. He paced back toward the door. With each step, he prayed that Kai or Zale would find her. Bring her back to them where they could finally explain all. Tell her about their shifter abilities. Tell her they’d been the dolphins she swam with. Tell her how much they’d all fallen for her. It may have been only a few weeks, but that was how shifter relationships worked. Once they met their mate, they didn’t wait.

  He ran into Kai at the patio doors. Empty handed. His heart sank. Shit. This wasn’t good.

  “Anything?”

  “Nothing? What about you? Was there anything that you could see in the note? Anything that matched with the others?”

  He moved back into the room with Kai following. “Nothing. Except to feel stupid that we didn’t see it sooner.” He stopped in front of his open laptop on the desk. “See. None of this makes sense. As far as we know, she has nothing to do with water creatures or the paranormal even if she is our mate. Nor should the letter have been able to make it through the island’s security.”

  Kai shoved his hand through his hair as he dropped into the chair, studying the computer screen. “Anyone suspicious on the island?”

  “Not that I’ve been able to figure out, but there were a lot of new people that arrived tonight. I’ve tried to snoop, but…” He shrugged. Not setting off any alerts on a topnotch security system like the one here was difficult. Maybe with all his equipment at home he could do it, but not with the equipment he’d brought. At least not with any certainty, and the risk had seemed too
great. But now that Sarah might have been taken… maybe they wouldn’t hide any longer.

  “Nothing?” Zale walked into the room with slumped shoulders. “I went past the docks but didn’t see her footprints anywhere.”

  Kai spun back to face the room. “Not to bring up a sore spot, but why were you in Sarah’s room tonight?”

  It was a good question. One he wanted to know the answer to as well. He’d been surprised to find Zale in the room when he’d stopped by. Kai, on the other hand had almost been a given, much to his dismay. Although now he understood why. Kai had most likely felt the same pull to be with Sarah whenever he could.

  “Actually, I came looking for you.” His gaze landed on Dylan before moving to Kai. He fiddled with his button cam, pulling it off and holding it out. Kai took it from him but didn’t do anything with it. “I took as many pictures of the new people as I could. We were down in the club room. And by down, I mean down. We were in an underground room which contained the windows you saw during your scouting mission.”

  Kai raised an eyebrow but didn’t say a thing while he chomped at the bit to know more. He knew it would be better for Zale to say everything as his brain recalled it before they began to question him further.

  “Almost everyone in attendance was male except for the scantily clad female servers, Laguna, and a couple of other wealthy women that I’ve seen around the island. But one man in particular came up and spoke to me.” He nodded toward the cam. “He told me that Laguna would make a fine addition to anyone’s stable of women. And a lightbulb went off. Did anyone ever consider that the kidnappings were part of a sex ring, maybe an underground prostitution scenario?”

  The thought made him sick to his stomach. It was bad enough to think of Sarah in the hands of a sick serial killer, but to be kept as a sex slave… He wanted to throw up. Because he knew it was true. The minute Zale mentioned it, things snapped into place. It would explain why so many women just disappeared without the bodies being found. And why not all of them were water paranormals either in the case files. Maybe whomever operated it had something special for water creatures? Or maybe they were one themselves?