Infinite Desire

by Gayle Donnelly, Robyn MacKenzie

  Oh, shit.

  “Michael, listen to me.” Tre ordered. “What happened between you and Nic? Is there something more going on with you two?”

  Michael stared into Tre’s eyes, lips pursed, refusing to reply.

  “You’d better tell me, pup, and I mean right now. I need to know what I’m dealing with. What happened with Nicolette?”

  Michael hesitated but quickly acquiesced. “Fine. When I arrived in New Orleans, I hadn’t been released for duty yet. I overheard Thea talking about Nic’s bakery and thought I would check it out. Knowing she was Thea’s sister, I thought she had to be someone special. After we met we got to talking, and one thing led to another.”

  Tre closed his eyes and dropped his head. “Fuck, Michael. You didn’t.”

  “I haven’t marked her, if that’s what you’re wondering. But after this, nothing and no one will take her away from me again. She’s mine, Tre. She may be your friend but she’s my mate. Mark or no mark. She’s mine and I’ll do what I need to do to get her out of there.”

  “Does she know about us? Know what we are?”

  It was Michael’s turn to drop his gaze. “Yeah. She knows.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ, Michael! You’re going to get her killed!”

  Tre didn’t know what had hit him. He’d been standing there ready to pummel the stupid bastard standing in front of him, and the next second he was on his ass. It took a second to register, but after the blooming pain started on the right side of his face, he got the hint. Michael had hauled off and belted him.

  He looked up to find Michael looming over him, ready to take him on right there. Tre reached up with his right hand and motioned for Michael to grab it. “Pull me up, shit-for-brains. I’ll pay you back later for that pussy shot but now’s not the time to get into it. We need to get Nic out of here, as well as the two other women.”

  Michael grabbed Tre’s hand and pulled him to his feet. He backed away a step, obviously wary of how Tre would react to being sucker punched.

  Tre waved him off. “Where are the other two women?”

  “Middle of the camp. The main building with small windows on all sides. Where do you want me?”

  Tre smiled and brushed the moss and mud off his ass, appreciating Michael’s attempt at asking for instruction but knowing full well that no matter what Tre said, the man was going after Nic. “Far away from me. Now go get Nic.”

  Chapter Ten

  Seth let out a howl and all hell broke loose. Tre, Dev and the rest of the team stormed the main structure. Michael headed east, straight for the small shack that housed Nicolette. Head down, eyes sharp, he saw every Valta dumb enough to cross his path. And one by one, they all fell. With his two blades in his hands, he sliced and stabbed his way through skin and bone to get to Nic. His mate. His other half. He was enraged. He was vengeance.

  The hot air burned his lungs as he dragged his boots through the water and mud, trying to get to her. The fucking Valta were coming out of the trees like locusts but his brothers had back. Arrows flew past his ears and struck their targets true as Michael watched Valta drop in front of him, hollowing out a path toward his precious Nicolette.

  After clearing all who dared obstruct his path, Michael reached the shack and kicked the door in. Two guards jumped him like lightning, one coming at his legs, the other his head. He went toppling out of the shack and into the knee-deep water. The one at his head tried to hold him under the water and the other twisted his legs together, effectively preventing him from kicking out. Michael struggled to get free but two-on-one wasn’t the easiest of situations.

  The water was thick and hot. His lungs began to burn. These fuckers weren’t giving an inch. Michael tried again to reach out and grab one of them with his free hands but neither was within his grasp. No way was he going to drown in fucking swamp water with his mate ten feet away and in danger. He felt the telltale tingle roll up his back as he began to shift. Let’s see how these assholes deal with a twelve-foot gator.

  Michael felt his legs fuse together, his arms pull into his body and his head elongate. His body mass expanded and hardened into rough, armored hide. The animal strength surged through him like lighting as he let the beast take over. He immediately whipped his powerful tail sideways. Guard number one went sailing through the air and landed against the trunk of a cypress tree, effectively cracking his spine. Michael cocked his large head to the side and rose out of the water, ready to attack. Once guard number two saw his foot-long head, mottled with sharp teeth, his huge jaw gaping open and ready to strike, he tumbled backward on his ass, falling beneath the water line. Michael struck, clamping down on the guard’s leg with enough force to snap the bone in two. The adrenaline of the fight would ensure the Valta couldn’t shift. A gurgled yell came from the water as the guard broke the surface and screamed in agony.

  Michael held on and started a death roll, taking the guard back under the water, drowning out his screams. Blood turned the murky water a dull red and only strengthened Michael’s grip. Listening intently, Michael didn’t let go until he could no longer hear the beating of the guard’s heart. Satisfied with his kill, Michael willed himself back into his human form and crawled from the water to the wooden ramp leading to the shack where Nicolette was being held.

  He reached the doorway and pulled himself to his feet. He stood frozen for a moment at the sight before him. There she was, tied to the bed, eyes wide and swollen from tears, her mouth open in a silent scream. He rushed to her and landed on his knees at the edge of the bed. “It’s all right, baby. I’m gonna get you outta here. Just stay still.”

  Michael flipped out a knife and swiftly cut the ropes from around her ankles and wrists. They were bloodied and raw, making him burn with a rage he’d never known but showing him that his girl had given them hell. He slid his hands under her arms and brought her to his chest. She immediately wrapped her legs around his middle and locked her arms over his shoulders. Face buried in his neck, she squeezed tight and held on for dear life. He ran his hands over her back, checking her over for other injuries. “You all right, baby? Did they hurt you?”

  She didn’t adjust her hold but quietly muttered against his neck, “Just take me home, Michael. Please.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “Hold on, baby. I’ll get you home.”

  Michael turned and bounded out of the shack. He held her to him with one arm and his other hand held a blade, ready to defend his mate against any of the remaining Valta bastards who had taken her from him. He moved past the perimeter of the camp and waded through the water toward the safety of the shoreline of the canal. Once he reached solid ground, he tried to pull her free but she just held on tighter. “All right, baby,” he soothed. “Just hold on. We’ll be home soon.”

  Michael tapped the small com device in his right ear and quickly called for a boat to pick them up. He leaned back against a tree, still holding his precious cargo.

  Again he ran his hands over her, then tried to disengage her from her grip, but she wouldn’t budge. “Nic, baby. I need to check you out to see if you’re all right. Let go, darlin’, so I can take a look at you.”

  Nic didn’t move but dug in tighter against him. “Please. Just get me out of here and then you can look. Not until then.”

  Michael squeezed her tighter, fear coursing through his system at what might have been done to her. “Just let me see your face, baby. Look at me. Let me see your pretty blue eyes. Just that.”

  Nic slowly shifted in his hold and moved her head to the side. She inched her chin upward and finally met his gaze. She was dirty, covered in muck and dried blood and she had a large bruise along her jawline where she’d obviously been struck. But in that moment she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Michael had to force down the rage running through his veins at the thought of her being hurt, afraid. But when he looked into the depths of her blue eyes, he saw her fear but more importantly he saw her strength and a spark of determination. He smi
led down at her. “There’s my girl. You’re safe now, baby. I have you.”

  He lowered his head to brush her full lips with his own, needing the contact. The kiss was gentle, meant to soothe. But as usual where Nic was concerned, his body had other ideas. Their combined fear from the last days, coupled with the subsequent adrenaline rush from the rescue, collided as soon as their lips made contact, igniting a fiery need to reaffirm their connection.

  Michael felt Nic’s legs tighten around his hips as he angled her head to gain better access. They sipped and tasted with their tongues, each taking from the other what they needed. A low growl reverberated through his chest at the taste of her and his dick felt as if it were ready to burst through his jeans. In that moment he didn’t give a damn where they were—he just wanted to be inside her.

  The distant sound of an engine brought him back to reality enough that he was able to pull back and regain some semblance of control over his raging hunger. His hard-on was still prominent—no help for that, given the way Nic was wrapped around him—but the fevered edge had abated enough to allow him to regain his focus. Nic’s bright-blue eyes held a sparkle and a small smile touched her kiss-swollen lips. She slowly placed her head back down on his shoulder and angled her sweet mouth against his neck. He knew she wouldn’t release her hold until she was back in the Quarter and felt safe, and that was just fine by him. But no way in hell was he taking her back to her place. She would stay with him from now on, back in the safety of the Royal house, which no Valta would dare to try to breach. She would be safe and no one would get to her ever again. He silently vowed this to her as he saw the small trolling craft coming up the canal. No one would ever touch her again. And if Tre or Dev had a problem with that, so be it—he was not letting this female go.

  Chapter Eleven

  Dev leaned over the wrought iron railing on the third floor of the Royal house and looked out over the city. The sun was just coming up and the rumble of the cleaning trucks rolled through the streets, stripping the evidence of debauchery left by countless tourists the night before.

  The human women were secured away in a back room, cleaned up, fed, and given a little something extra to put them to sleep so they could regain what strength they had lost enduring the nightmare the Valta had put them through. Talon’s newfound brother Sean, a doctor, had been called in to assist and should be arriving shortly.

  And Nic. Nic was safely tucked in bed with Michael at her side, keeping watch over his future mate. Thea’s relief at seeing her sister the night before had been emotionally draining for both of them. And after their tearful reunion, Dev had tucked Thea back into his bed for some much-needed rest.

  Dev let out a heavy sigh. Two more human women were now being woven into the web of battle and danger that only the Coteri and Valta’s endless conflict could create. He ran his fingers through his hair at the thought. Thea and her sister would now be a permanent part of their lives. And if Nic and Michael should try to conceive, she might not survive the pregnancy or subsequent birth. He prayed that Nic’s gift was strong enough to allow the possibility of a healthy child. He didn’t want Thea to have to go through the pain of losing her sister a second time. Not to mention the hell Michael would be thrown into if she didn’t survive. After witnessing what Mathias and Talon had gone through at the thought of losing their women, he didn’t know whether the young warrior could survive Nic’s demise. And Dev wasn’t even remotely ready to think about the consequences of such a possibility with Thea, so he forced the thoughts out of his mind.

  He had just gotten off the phone with Roderick and had reported what happened the night before. Roderick was sending Sean to NOLA to help out with Nic and the other two women who had been rescued. His medical expertise would be a welcome addition in this situation, even though the recently discovered Coteri hybrid wasn’t completely at ease with his newfound abilities. Sean would try to get as much information as possible out of the humans about the Valta operation, wipe their memories as much as possible, and place them back in their homes. Reconfiguring memories was a neat little trick Sean had recently discovered he had, although only a few of the strongest Coteri possessed such a gift. But the Xavier line was definitely one of the strongest, considering Talon’s capabilities and given how fast Sean was progressing.

  Roderick had latched on to the newly discovered hybrid male and was incredibly impressed by Sean’s willingness to learn his heritage and foster his gifts as a Coteri. There hadn’t been any signs of shifting but hopefully that would come soon enough. Even Mina hadn’t shifted since Vivi’s birth but they had every confidence that Sean would succeed when the time came.

  Dev walked back in from the balcony and shut the french doors behind him. He walked out of his study in search of Tre. One way or another, he was going to find out where the warrior’s head was. Tre hadn’t been the same since he had met Alexandria six months previously, and now that she was here he was wound tighter than ever. Dev had assumed that once Nic was safe, having Alex here and knowing she had helped to rescue the women, Tre would snap out of his funk, but it was the opposite. He had become even more morose and Dev was sick of it. Short of calling Talon down there to beat some sense into him, Dev was running out of options.

  He walked down the stairs to the second level and headed for Tre’s room. When he knocked and no one answered, he opened the door to find Tre standing on the balcony, facing the hot Louisiana sun. Dev walked over to the french doors and tried for a bit of levity. “Hey, I pay the air conditioning bill around here. At least shut the doors behind you if you want to fry in the sun.”

  Tre turned and gave Dev a brief smile. “Sorry, boss. Forgot to close them.” Tre followed Dev back into the room and shut the doors behind him, blocking out the heat. “What’s up? You need me?”

  Dev took the chair at the desk. “Yeah. Something like that. Sean is on his way to work with you and the women you helped to save last night. Roderick thought it would be a good way to acclimate him to our culture outside of Germany. You worked well with him in Washington, right? And then spent some time with him when you went back to Germany when Vivienne was born?”

  Tre walked over and sat on the corner of his bed. “Yeah. He’s a good guy. Talon will be happy to know he’s here, since they haven’t spent much time together. You talk to him about it too?”

  Dev shook his head. “No. He’s busy enough getting used to having his own territory, so I didn’t want to bother him with this right now. I’ll make a call later, since there’s no danger for Sean in this assignment.” Dev grinned. “Last I heard, big brother Talon seems to be a bit overprotective of his new little brother.”

  Tre returned the grin, truly happy for his friend after all the shit his father had put him through growing up. “Overprotective is an understatement. When you want the call done, let me know and I’ll do it. I haven’t talked to Talon in a while. Be good to hear his voice again and flip him shit on how good his new baby brother is doing in the big, bad world of the Coteri.”

  Dev leaned forward, his hands on his knees. “Speaking of good, how you doin’? I thought having Alex here would bring you out of this shit mood you’ve been in for months. Even rescuing Nic and the other women hasn’t helped. So talk. Now.”

  Tre ran his fingers through his hair and huffed out a breath. “She’s Valta, for fuck’s sake. Valencia’s daughter and Luca’s sister. Why would you think her being here would make me feel any better?”

  Dev laughed. “You think I’m blind, pup? That girl has tied you up for months. She helped us locate and rescue the women and now she’s here and you’re still acting like an asshole. Who cares who her family is? She came from a wicked womb but it doesn’t mean she’s wicked too. From what we can tell, she’s been kept oblivious to what her family has been doing over the years, since she’s basically been kept apart from it all.” Dev stood and approached Tre. “After the intel she gave us—is still giving us—she’s proven her loyalty to me and to Isla. That should be good enough
for you, Tre.”

  Tre looked at his general in surprise. “What do you mean ‘still giving you’?”

  “Hell, Tre. She spent the entire evening with Isla while we were rescuing the women. So far she’s given us three separate locations she’s visited over the last six months where she was set to treat women. And although she never saw any women, she confirmed that one of the sites had incubators. Isla and I are working on setting up recon on the remaining sites then sending you and the team in to do recovery or destroy the facilities.”

  Dev reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of wrist irons before tossing them onto a nearby side table. He watched as Tre’s eyes widened as he realized their significance. “That female of yours realizes the mistakes she’s made, the line of bullshit she’s been fed her entire life. Hell, it was her own mother and brother tricking her into doing their bidding and that’s a heady responsibility she’s carrying on her shoulders right now. Alex had no idea of the ramifications of her actions and now that she does, she’s doing the right thing and trying to stop her mother and brother from hurting any more human women as well as trying to prevent forced breeding. Why do you think she’s spent the entire night talking to Isla?”

  Tre leaned forward and stood. “I was told she was secured and with Isla last night after we returned, and I knew I wasn’t ready to talk to her so I didn’t seek her out.” He walked to the far window before turning back to Dev. “She’s not in irons? She hasn’t tried to escape or mind-fuck anyone? She gave you locations? Willingly?”

  Dev let out an exasperated breath. “Yes. Willingly. And no, she hasn’t tried anything, dumbass. You would have known that if you hadn’t been hidden out in your room since returning.” Dev’s brow creased. “Are you telling me you still don’t trust her?”

  “Trust goes two ways, Dev,” Tre said stubbornly. “You weren’t there in the warehouse to hear all the bullshit she truly believes about the Coteri. Fuck, she’s been spoon-fed those lies since she was an infant.” Tre began to pace. “How can she just discount everything she’s ever known or believed to be true without question?”