“Please,” Utopia sobbed. “Please don’t.”
Liam flinched. With their nakedness, he could only assume that Utopia was having other fears now. He couldn’t blame her for that, either. “I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. I’ll let you up so you can put your clothes back on, okay?”
Utopia squirmed beneath him, pressing her face into the dirt as sobs ripped through her.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Liam reassured her again, his gut twisting.
“Don’t stop me!” Utopia made an attempt to lunge away from him. “Let me go back. Take me back, please. Please! You can’t take me with you, I have to go back. I have to go back!”
Liam closed his eyes briefly before he released her. This time, she didn’t try to run. She curled in on herself, sobbing. Liam watched a moment to make sure she wasn’t going to try to run before retrieving her clothes. When he tried to hand them to her, she swatted them away angrily.
“I told you to take Aiden! I told you to get him out! I never said you should take me. God, if anything happens to him, I’ll kill you!” With a screech, she lunged—toward him, hands stretched for his throat.
Liam fell back with a grunt, keeping his neck out of her reach. She clawed at him even as tears fell down her face, and he fended her off as best he could. When finally he caught her wrists again as she straddled him, he jerked her to one side.
Utopia collapsed back to the forest floor, sobbing. Liam’s heart clenched as he retrieved her clothing once more. This time, he silently handed her the underwear and shirt and took a closer look at the pants. It took tearing open a few seams, but he managed to fashion himself a loincloth of sorts. The lab coat was too tight, but once he ripped off the sleeves and turned them into a belt, he was able to cover himself decently enough.
By the time he was done, Utopia had donned the rest of her clothing. It was much less awkward for them not to be sitting there completely naked—Liam did not need to notice just how real all of Utopia’s curves were. He’d thought that Maura and Fiona had desirable figures, but Utopia—she was curves from head to toe, all soft and beautiful. Not to mention he’d noticed just how firmly her plump thighs could grip him when she’d been trying to claw out his eyes.
And any sort of thoughts or feelings like that were completely inappropriate. Liam knew that it was mostly due to the stress of the situation. He’d just escaped the enemy; adrenaline was running high and it was only too real for endorphins to get in the way of clear thinking at these times.
“Utopia, I know you want to go back. I know that you’re scared for Aiden—”
“You don’t know,” Utopia whimpered. “They’re going to do it to him. The Alpha was very clear. He’s going to use my son for those experiments.”
Liam didn’t know how to respond. The thought of anybody, especially a child, being experimented on—it made him feel sick. Knowing what it was like, having been through it himself… And he hadn’t even gone through the worst of it. If he had his way, he’d have gone back and ripped the Alpha limb from limb.
He was too weak for that, though. He was too alone.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Utopia whispered.
“Do you?”
“You’re thinking that I have no right to be so worried… when I’ve done the same to others.”
Liam shook his head. He wasn’t going to let his mind go there. It would only cause himself and Utopia trouble. “What I’m thinking is that I can’t go back for him. I need to get you to the Academy. You’re the best bargaining chip we’ve gotten so far, and I can’t weigh one life more than the others we might be able to save.”
“But I’m not. I’m not as big a bargaining chip as you think I am. He’s got someone else working on my research. Performing experiments. I’m not irreplaceable.”
Liam got to his feet, testing his balance. His head was still spinning a bit, but some rest would help with that. If only he could ensure that Utopia wouldn’t run away while he rested. “Doesn’t matter if the Alpha has got someone else working on that research. You know more about it than anybody else. You’re the one he had working on me, aren’t you? I’m sorry. I am not going back for Aiden. I have to get you to—”
He braced himself as she came at him again. Instead of attacking him, she surprised him by doing something else entirely.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, and her mouth was against him. The kiss was so rough and unexpected that Liam toppled back. He hit a tree, and Utopia pressed him to it. Her body, those delicious curves, pressed hard against him. His fires roared. Liam couldn’t stop himself. Desire swept through him, heating him to the tips of his fingers. He hardened, feeling himself tighten throughout his body.
Utopia’s hands were all over his body, and Liam responded in the like. Eagerly. Greedily. He broke from her mouth to delve into her neck, and she let out a heady moan. Liam inhaled her scent, tasting every inch of her that he could. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew this was wrong. Knew he couldn’t do this.
It wasn’t until he returned to her lips and tasted the salt of tears on them that he remembered why.
Liam broke away, pushing Utopia back hard enough that she stumbled. He flinched, steadied her, and then dropped his hand. He shook his head hard as she stood there, looking lost, disoriented and confused.
“Whatever you’re trying to do, no.”
“Liam—”
“Either you’re acting out because you’re scared and confused, or you’re trying to trick me into letting down my guard.” Liam shuddered, the desire still strong in him. He struggled to keep his brain straight. This was not going to happen. It would be wrong on so many levels and stupid on so many others. “I am going to take you back to the Academy.”
Utopia shook her head. “Liam, please.”
“I’m sorry. I really am. But you did what you had to do, and I have to do what I have to do.”
“I need to have something to hold onto,” she whispered, sinking to the ground. “Please. Please, I don’t… if you don’t take me back… then we have to get to the Academy as soon as possible, so they can get a message to the Alpha. To stop him from hurting Aiden. Please. Please, I am begging you.”
Liam rubbed his forehead. “And how is sex supposed to—”
“The endorphins and chemicals it releases into the brain. It helps shifters heal faster. A lot faster. Please. I can see you want to—” she glanced at the makeshift loincloth. “Please. I’ll do anything—”
“Maybe my body is confused right now,” Liam snarled, “but I’m not the kind of person who goes around having sex with women who aren’t in their right state of mind. Especially not women who are now my prisoners. I just need to rest a few minutes. It’ll take less time than sex, anyway.”
He sat on the ground. Even as he did so, a wave of nausea and exhaustion came over him. His head pounded something awful. Great. This was going to take longer than he thought…
He wasn’t aware he’d closed his eyes until he heard Utopia’s breath near him. His eyes sprang open to find her so close it startled him. He jerked back and she jumped. Her eyes were locked on him, though, so she hadn’t been trying to run away.
“I could give you a blowjob if you don’t want to take the time for sex.”
“Same thing. You’re my prisoner and I’m not going to—”
She swung suddenly. Liam barely saw the branch before it collided with his head and everything went black.
Chapter Eight
Utopia winced as Liam collapsed. She threw the branch aside, quickly probing his skull to make sure she hadn’t cracked it. He moaned and Utopia sighed in relief. He’d recover—he was a dragon after all. She quickly put him into recovery position and then headed off into the woods once more. The forest bit at her clothes and skin as she pushed her way through the branches. It was all so thick and green she didn’t really know where she was going.
It occurred to her that she was just going to get lost in these woods and starve to dea
th, but she shoved those thoughts aside. She had to get back to the Pack. Had to throw herself on the Alpha’s mercy, do everything she could to save her boy.
If she didn’t get back… if she was too late…
No. That didn’t even bear thinking about. No, she was not going to be too late. She was going to get back. Aiden was going to be fine. Soon enough she would be back where she belonged. The guards had come to attack the Alpha and had helped Liam get away. Maybe she could use them as excuses; say that she wasn’t the one that had let Liam free, they had. Maybe the Alpha would believe her.
She stopped, panting as she looked around. Everything looked exactly the same. She couldn’t even tell where she had come from. Desperation clawed at her chest as her snow leopard yowled. She was a shifter! She was supposed to have some sort of sixth sense about these things! They’d been flying north, right? That just meant she had to go south.
Or had they been flying east?
Utopia stared upward at the sky, not even knowing which direction was which. She couldn’t see the sun. Only clouds. Maybe if she climbed a tree—
A branch cracked nearby. Utopia shifted without thinking and sprang upward, scrambling up the tree. Her heart pounded as she watched for Liam. Could he have recovered so quickly? How did he follow her?
She cursed herself for having such a stupid question. He was a dragon. He could just sniff her out!
The sound of movement came closer, and then a wolf came through the bushes. It bent toward the base of the tree, then let out a short bark. Soon, a half dozen others came bounding into sight. They were bigger than regular wolves. She thought she recognized one of them.
Still, she stayed where she was until one of them shifted and looked up at her.
“You might as well come down. We know you’re here.”
Utopia climbed back down the tree, digging her claws into the bark until she was back on the ground. By then, the rest of the wolves had dressed. They pulled shorts on, so they weren’t naked. All of them glared at her. Her clothing had become askew due to her shifting, but when she shifted back to human form, she was still covered. She adjusted the cloth to be more comfortable as she gazed at the nearest wolf.
“Thank god you found me,” she blurted, her legs weak with relief. “I knocked the dragon out and tried to find my way back, but I am lost. Please, you have to take me back to the Alpha.”
One of the wolves twirled a set of handcuffs on his fingers and grinned. “Turn around, kitty. The Alpha wants you back, and we’re not taking the chance that you’ll run away.”
Utopia’s stomach twisted. She turned without a word; she wasn’t going to fight them. She knew she was in big enough trouble, but if she cooperated, then maybe she would have a better chance at convincing the Alpha that none of this was her idea. She inhaled deeply, trying to center herself as her hands were bound behind her.
“I don’t know where I’ve been wandering around,” she continued, hating to give up Liam, but she had to do whatever it took to keep her boy safe. “But I’m sure that you can follow my trail and recapture him.”
The wolf turned her back around and grinned at her. “Trying to lead us into a trap there, are you?”
“Trap?”
“Going to send us to get snapped up by the dragon?”
“No!” Utopia shook her head hard. “No, that’s not what I’m doing. He kidnapped me. I didn’t want to go with him.” Not without Aiden. “I want to go back to the Alpha. He wants a dragon, and Liam is—”
“Liam?” The wolf pressed her against the tree and laughed. “You know, I’ve always liked you, Utopia. Such a pretty kitty.” His hand traced the curve of her hip, and her lungs seized up. “Maybe if you’re a good girl, we’ll tell the Alpha you cooperated—that you were trying to get back.”
The other wolves laughed. Utopia’s throat was so dry it hurt to speak. “But I am trying to get back.”
Another of the wolves came forward, his hand at his groin as he licked his lips. “And if you do what we want, we might even tell the Alpha that. I’ve always said cats are only good for one thing. Now, are you going to do what we want, or will we just have to tell the Alpha you tried to run?”
Utopia could hardly breathe. Ice flooded her veins as she glanced around at the wolves surrounding her. Not one of them looked uncomfortable. All of them had faces lit with cruel amusement and varying levels of lust. Her thoughts started to slip away. She couldn’t seem to feel anything except the bite of the cuffs around her wrists.
If they tell the Alpha I tried to run, what will he do to Aiden?
She could feel her mouth and throat working, but couldn’t hear what she was saying. Darkness pulled in on the corners of her vision. Nothing made sense. Her ears were stopped with wool, her mind floating somewhere far beyond her body as the lead wolf leaned in, his breath on her face.
A deafening roar made her heart jump. Suddenly she was back in herself, aware of the feel of the wolf’s hands on her hips. He jerked back, the rest of the wolves turning to greet the flames that burst out of the tree. Utopia tripped over the roots of the tree as Liam charged through the flame and rammed into the first wolf.
They howled, shifting, and attacked him. Utopia turned her face away, struggling to regain some sort of equilibrium. Her stomach churned, but a flash of light caught her eye. The key to the cuffs! She twisted herself over the ground, her head bent as she tried desperately not to see the battle.
The howls and roars of pain were impossible to block out. Was Liam strong enough to stop them all?
She managed to grasp the keys and pulled back. A wolf hit the tree next to her and she scrambled to her feet, awkwardly pushing through several bushes before she lost her balance again. She fell hard, a rock bruising her jaw. There she lay, trying to feel her way around the cuffs.
After several missed attempts, she finally got the key in. The cuffs sprang free, and Utopia let out a cry of relief. She quickly pulled them off, tossing them as far as she could.
A roar made her turn back toward the battle despite herself.
Flames rose up all around Liam’s figure. Smoke belched into the sky. The wolves were on him. Three tore into his wings while a fourth was on his back, biting at his neck. Liam turned rapidly, let out another blaze of fire. It caught one of the wolves and the wolf howled in pain and fury, taking off through the forest, leaving a trail of black smoke behind.
Utopia clenched her hands. She wasn’t a fighter. She knew it. But if Liam hadn’t come when he did—she knew what the wolves wanted. Knew what she would have given them.
But Liam was the reason her boy was in danger now. If he’d just left without her, if he’d just have waited until she could get Aiden back, if he’d gone back to the compound for him… She would do anything for Aiden’s sake. Anything. What those wolves wanted in exchange for taking her back to the Alpha and telling him she cooperated? It was nothing. Aiden was everything. There was nothing she wouldn’t give up for him.
She grabbed a branch and charged forward. One of the wolves saw her coming and broke off, leaping at her. He knocked her down, the branch going flying. Utopia rose her arms to block the savage bites aimed at her face.
Stupid! I know I’m not a fighter!
The wolf’s jaws clenched on her arm, and she let out a scream of pain. Agony laced up and down her arm, spreading into her shoulder. The wolf shook her hard like a ragdoll. She clawed at it, her lungs empty even as she tried to scream more.
Another burst of flame bit at the air above the wolf’s head. He let out a yelp as he released Utopia, starting to turn. Liam fell over them in his dragon form, blood around his muzzle. His jaws grabbed the wolf’s head. He yanked back, and Utopia closed her eyes. The crack that rang through the forest made her stomach rebel—she flipped over and vomited. A whimper sounded somewhere behind her, then a howl, then nothing but the crackling of the fire.
Smoke curled into her nostrils, and Utopia shot off before she could think about what it meant. She charge
d away, thinking of nothing more than getting as far from Liam Young as she could. She wouldn’t be able to get away from him again, and after this, if he brought her to the Academy—
The Alpha would never believe she wasn’t in league with him.
“Utopia!” Liam shouted after her. “Wait!”
No!
Utopia stumbled over her own feet, the violence and everything else making her vision blur. Her lungs still wouldn’t work properly.
She hadn’t gone far before she was back on her knees. Sobs tore through her chest. She couldn’t outrun him. Even if she could, what was she supposed to do? Wander around the forest? Hope she got back to the compound? Hope she was able to convince the Alpha that she was loyal to him? He already knew she wasn’t. He already knew she was the reason his treasured dragon had escaped.
Liam knelt beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder. His touch was so gentle she wanted to launch herself at him again. She knew it was wrong. He had been her prisoner for how long? She had experimented on him despite his protests. The only reason she’d helped him escape was because she thought he could help her.
Utopia knew she had no right to want anything from Liam. Had no right to even want him to touch her. Had no reason to expect sympathy.
But when she looked up, that was all she saw. There was something so deep and true about him. Her snow leopard batted her chest, wanting to wrap her in Liam’s arms.
“I know why you’re trying to go back,” he said. His hand slid down her arm and wrapped around her bicep. Blood trickled from his nose. Her lab coat had been ripped, but his loincloth was still intact. “I can’t let you. Now come on. That was a nasty blow you gave me, but we have to get back to the Academy before more of those wolves show up.”
Numbly, Utopia nodded. She didn’t resist Liam as he pulled her to her feet. She leaned into him as his arms wrapped around her. He shifted, keeping her tucked in close to his chest. Utopia closed her eyes as he leapt into the air, and prayed that somehow, this could end with her son still alive.
Dragon's Frenemy (Dragon Blaze Ops Book 2) Page 5
