by Helen Scott
"We have to test your abilities," I say.
"What? What do you mean 'abilities'?" she demands. The sass in her makes her drop her voice to try and match mine when she says abilities. I know it’s probably a self-defense mechanism, so I don't hold it against her.
"You were given something in your food last night--"
"Dragon, don't," I caution my brother before walking farther out into the quarry. The place is abandoned and has been mined of its usefulness, so now it sits, forgotten, the perfect place for us to test out new recruits. There’s very little they can hurt out here. The rocks have already been pulverized into dust for the most part, and what’s left isn't up to whatever standard they need to sell the shit so it just sits around in piles.
I know Dragon won't listen to me, which is why I walk away. Plausible deniability and all that, since we, technically, aren't supposed to explain anything to her. Although, how you test someone's magical abilities without telling them they had magic is confusing to me. Plus, this isn't how we normally do things.
I haven't gone quite far enough so I hear what he says, even though he’s trying to whisper, which he, apparently, isn't very good at. "We aren't just an MC. We are hunters. We hunt monsters like the ones that attacked, looking for you the other night. In order to do so we are given something at our initiation, something that helps us know when they’re near. We think that was slipped into your food last night. Women don't survive taking it, which was why we were all surprised when you did."
"So someone at the compound tried to kill me?" she asks, her voice getting higher than normal, like she’s starting to freak out.
"Easy, sweet tits. If that is what happened we'll figure out who and they will be punished accordingly. That being said, it's important for us to find out what you can do. You know how I was turning you on and calming you down? You might be able to do something like that. Or you could be more like Phoenix and catch glimpses of the future or past."
"What can Striker do? Wither people's souls with just a glare?" she asks.
I turn further away to hide the grin that I can’t stop from spreading over my face and hear Dragon say, "Something like that."
His words sober me. It’s cute and funny when Dani says it, but Dragon knows exactly what I can do, and how bad it is. I glance down at my gloved hands. They aren't to be trusted.
"So what is it that they give you during initiation?" she asks.
"You really don't want to know," Dragon says as I hear him start walking toward me.
"You expect me to not want to know what someone poisoned me with? You're joking right now, right?" Angry footsteps stomp after Dragon.
I move even farther out into the center of the rubble, maintaining the distance between me and the two of them.
"Don't freak out, okay?" Dragon replies cautiously.
Yeah, she’s going to flip out if he tells her, I just know it, even though I can hear her promising not to.
The stupid idiot believes her. "Demon blood."
"I'm sorry, what?" Her voice sounds shaky again and I have to fight the urge to go back to her. I’m not sure what it is about this woman that has the four of us tripping over ourselves to help her, but it has only gotten worse since she'd ingested the blood. When I'd gone to the Prez to tell him what happened, I felt like a rubber band being stretched to its limit. The thought made me wonder how Phoenix and Crash are doing and if they feel the same way.
"Demons are real. We take a small amount of their blood and use it in the initiation to trigger any latent abilities that we might have and to help us sense supernatural creatures."
I hear a gagging sound and turn to see Dani bent over. Nothing comes up, because she has nothing in her system. The woman really did need to eat. With a sigh, I walk back toward the two of them, passing them and heading to the bikes. I know that Dragon's bike will have some food in it, since Crash had been so determined to feed her. Which is exactly what I’m talking about when I say she’s dangerous. Crash doesn't care about whether or not the sweet butts eat or drink anything.
I open the flap of the saddlebag and grab the crackers and a bottle of water that had been tucked inside. There is probably more on the other side as well. The guy is sweet on Dani. I’m sure of it.
The thought makes my stomach sour. I hope like hell I don't have to kill her.
When I walk past them again, I toss the crackers and water at Dragon, who catches them effortlessly. "You need to fuel up so we can get started," I say with a grunt as I continue back to where I'd been standing before.
"He's right," Dragon says quietly. "This is going to be draining for you, but we need to find out how the blood affected you."
"Fan-fucking-tastic," she mutters a moment before I hear the packaging of the crackers crackle as she takes a couple out and crunches down on them.
"Are you two lovebirds going to take all day?" I call back.
"Fuck off," Dragon growls at me.
"Or what?" I challenge.
"I'll have you meet me in the pit on Friday night," he replies with a completely straight face.
I raise an eyebrow at him. Any of the council officers going to the fighting pit will set the others talking, but two of us fighting each other? Isn't good for morale let alone anything else. For him to suggest it means I've not teased him as intended but I've hit a nerve like a blacksmith's hammer on an anvil.
"Try me," he says. As though I didn’t understand his response the first time.
Without directly responding to the challenge I say, "You need to get your shit under control. We both know how this could play out today."
"You ready yet, sweet tits?" Dragon asks, ignoring me and turning back to Dani.
I hear a few words mumbled around a mouthful of crackers but don't turn to look. The less I look at Dani, the less I think about her as a person, as someone who my brothers are becoming attached to, the less attached I am. I look down at my hands again and slowly pull my gloves off, shoving them in my pocket for later.
Finally, she walks past me into the center of the circle of rubble. "What do I do?" she asks.
"One of us is going to attack you. All you need to do is let your body respond and defend itself. Got it?" Dragon asks.
The words have barely finished coming out of his mouth before I’m running toward her. Her eyes go wide and her mouth drops open. Why is it people never think I can move quickly? Every time we do this the recruit is surprised. Sure, I’m tall, muscular, maybe carrying a tiny bit of weight I don't need, but I’m not some meathead that only lifts weights and doesn't do any cardio.
As soon as my body connects with hers, my arms circle around her waist and I launch us off the ground. Her hands land on my shoulder mid-air and I scream. Me. Screaming. Like a little bitch.
Pain shimmers through me like nothing I've ever felt before. I feel her struggle against me, only making the pain more intense, a moment before the two of us hit the ground. I intended to roll so she didn't take the brunt of it, but I hadn't expected her to have my gift. No one should ever be cursed with my gift.
The impact knocks the air from my lungs and no doubt hers as well. We lay there for a second before I try to get up, still struggling to get my lungs to cooperate. If she’s feeling the same, the last thing she needs is me on top of her.
As I look down at her and the wide eyes she’s watching me with, her face framed by her icy blond hair, I can’t help but see her beauty. If her only gift is pain then we won't have to kill her, but there are times when members of the Sons of Helsing are blessed with more than one gift, which means that one test isn't enough.
Dragon knows that and it’s why, as Dani gets to her feet, he’s there, attacking her. I wait for the scream of pain like I'd expressed, but it never comes. Instead, I watch as the fear she was obviously feeling is reflected on his face. She twists her body and squirms against him as he holds her around the waist, lifting her high off the ground. The more she squirms the more Dragon's expression changes from fear to lu
st, and her expression mirrors it.
Why isn't Dragon screaming in pain? Surely if she has my gift he would be in agony right now. So why does he look more like he’s about to come in his pants?
When he drops her to the ground and follows her down, their mouths colliding in a kiss that looks like they are trying to devour each other, I know I’m going to have to step in unless I want to watch them fuck. As entertaining as the prospect is, I'd rather watch Dani writhing under me than someone else. Not that I really feel any jealousy toward Dragon, which is strange.
Usually I’m a possessive sonuvabitch. After getting my "gift" I found only certain women were able to withstand my touch, which means that I have to be extremely careful who I take to bed. And if I took a woman to bed and she could stand my touch then she had better be prepared for my demanding ass to keep her there, day and night, as I took my fill.
Whatever had caused me to scream in pain from Dani's touch didn't seem to be affecting Dragon though. As hands start exploring under clothes, I walk over and jerk on the back of Dragon's cut and t-shirt, forcefully pulling him off Dani.
She lets out a whimper of pure need that has my cock hardening in my jeans. Fuck, she’s sexy.
"What the fuck is going on?" I growl, forcing my thoughts away from fucking Dani and to the task at hand. Hell, I still might have to kill her, and it’s that thought that kills any kind of hard-on I’m getting.
Dragon struggles against me as though he needs to get to Dani to survive, meanwhile her hands are down her shorts and her body is writhing on the ground.
"Dragon, focus. Is this your power?" I ask, letting the words wash over him like ice water.
He blinks.
"It's more intense than that," he pants, finally looking at me and not the woman on the ground. When his eyes glance at her again they go round and I automatically glance over my shoulder. The shorts she is wearing have been pushed down enough so that she can play with herself, which she’s doing, putting that delicious-looking pussy of hers on display. It doesn't escape my notice that she hadn't been wearing panties either.
The thought of her riding behind me with only those shorts protecting her is enough to bring my cock roaring back to life. As soon as I feel it begin to throb I look away, grabbing Dragon's chin and forcing him to do the same.
"What do you mean more intense?" I demand, trying my best to ignore the sounds coming from behind me.
"Like my power, but doubled. At first I felt terror like I hadn't felt in a long time, then she was squirming against me, and you know how that goes. The next thing I knew, I wanted her so badly I could taste it, taste her."
"So there was no pain?" I ask, needing to be sure.
"No. But you screamed?" Dragon says as though suddenly remembering.
"I felt my gift."
His face drops, realization settling in that this isn't normal. Having multiple powers is rare, but a recruit having the same exact powers as the two people testing them is unheard of. None of the Sons of Helsing have the same gifts. Whatever ability is gained is as unique as a fingerprint. One person having the same gift as two people? It’s beyond strange. Whatever is going on with Dani is like nothing we've ever seen with a new recruit before. Something isn't right.
19
Dani
I’m stroking myself faster and faster, so turned on that my vision seems to be nothing but shooting lights, and then I come. I come so goddamn hard that I swear my body breaks into a thousand pieces. I can hear the sound of someone screaming Dragon’s name over and over again, but I’m only distantly aware that it’s me.
And then the waves of my desire finally dissipate, and I’m left floating. My panting fills my ears, and I slowly come back into my body. I can feel the hard earth beneath me. My hand is buried in my pussy, and I feel both more relaxed and more tense than I’ve ever felt in my life.
I blink several times and realize I’m looking at the sky. A low murmur of voices comes from somewhere to my side, and I let my head roll toward them. It takes me a long minute to realize that Dragon and Striker are staring at me like some live porn woman just for them, which is when I look down and everything hits me at once.
Pulling my hand free, I button my pants and slowly sit up. “What the hell was that?”
They both stop talking.
“What the hell was that?” I ask again, climbing to my feet, my hands in fists.
They exchange a look.
I point one hand at Dragon. “You did this to me? You used those damn powers to make me your fucking plaything, didn’t you?”
Those hazel eyes of his narrow. “Watch your mouth—”
“I’m not watching my mouth! How dare you use some demon incubus shit abilities on me!”
He takes a step toward me, his jaw working. “You used your powers right back on me, sweet tits, so if someone’s to blame here, it’s you.”
“Me?” I’m outraged.
“Yeah, if Striker hadn’t pulled me back, you and I would be fucking right now. And the last thing I want to do with some mutant sweet-tits is drop my load in her.”
I march up to him and slap that chiseled jaw of his.
A low growl emits from his throat. “That was a mistake.”
I go to slap him again, but this time he catches my hand and yanks me against him. Suddenly, all I can feel is his hard erection, and it makes my inner muscles clench. I’m panting against him, my heartbeat filling my ears. Suddenly, I just want to wrap my legs around him and fuck him until he releases that hot cum into my aching body.
He springs back from me. “You’re doing it again!”
“What?” I toss at him, the word dripping with attitude.
Dragon marches away, and my jaw drops open when he stops twenty feet away, turns his back on me, and I see him undo his pants. It’s all too obviously the way his hand moves and hips thrust that he’s jerking himself off. I start toward him, wanting to kneel down and suck that cock of his more than I’ve wanted anything in my life.
Striker grabs my arm when I go to walk past him. “Give him a minute,” he tells me, his voice leaving no room for argument.
My nipples feel hard. They’re aching to be touched. I don’t realize I’m plucking them until Striker’s hand closes around mine.
Our eyes lock.
“Using your powers and feeling ours is new to you. You need to gain control of yourself.”
It takes far too much effort to drop my hand, and then his words cut through the fog in my mind. “My powers?”
After a second, he draws his gaze from me and releases my hand. “Yeah, I think you can mimic our abilities.”
“What?” My jaw drops open.
He nods sharply. “Yeah.”
“Is that…a common demon thing?”
He shakes his head. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
But there’s something in his voice. Something that tells me he isn’t telling me everything. “What aren’t you saying?”
He stiffens. “Nothing.”
I change tactics. “What power do you have?”
He hesitates. “I can cause pain.”
“Pain?” I look at his gloved hands. “That’s why you wear those?”
He gives a curt nod.
“Will I need to wear gloves too?”
“I have no idea.”
I hear Dragon groan, and my gaze clings to him. The need to move closer and watch him coming is overwhelming. Hell, the desire to take a good peek at that big cock of his makes my legs tremble. But a minute later, he zips up his pants and heads back toward us like jerking off in the woods is a normal as hell thing to do.
“We should get back and tell the Prez,” Dragon says, not meeting my gaze.
Striker turns and heads back to the bikes. For some reason, I don’t move. I just keep staring at Dragon. As he passes me, our eyes meet and hold, and then he’s looking straight ahead and the tense look he shot me feels like something I imagined.
We get back on Strike
r’s bike, and I wrap my arms around his waist. He turns on the bike, and the vibration makes my arousal flair to life inside of me again. I want to blame it on Dragon, but it seems like I only have myself to blame.
And whatever bastard apparently fed me demon blood.
The guys might be telling me they are going to handle the person who’d tried to kill me, but I’m not about to let it go. I will find out the truth, and no one is going to stop me.
Especially if my new powers can help me find the answers.
20
Dragon
We stop at a gas station to use the restroom, clean up a bit, and grab a drink. Striker grabs a water and goes around the building to make a call, and I lean out front with the bikes, waiting for Dani to come out of the bathroom. An SUV full of assholes pulls up a short time later and they head inside for some snacks. I watch the clean-cut bunch, clearly a group of friends driving through on a vacation to be douchebags somewhere else, with little interest. Finishing my drink, I go toss it out, then head back to our bikes.
On the way, I spot the guys inside. One of them is talking to Dani. He leans over her, an arm pressed against the glass of the refrigerator cases, and grins down at her. His gaze isn’t looking at her face though. No, it’s looking at her nearly see-through tube top and those jeans that leave nothing to the imagination. My teeth grit together, and I wait for her to send him on his way.
But she doesn’t. Instead, she laughs.
I don’t know what I’m doing when I head for the door to the gas station, but I toss it open and head toward her and the asshole.
“You ever ridden a jet ski?” he asks, grinning from ear-to-ear. “I swear there’s nothing like it in the world.”
“I don’t doubt that,” she says, smiling back at him.
“Actually, I think my bike is a hell of a lot better than any jet ski.”
They both spin around, and the guy’s eyes widen as they run over me. I keep my face a mask of stone. Hell, I know I’m scary, even when I smile, but with no expression at all…it’s usually enough to make people take a couple steps back. The problem is, this guy has clearly had a few drinks, which means he isn’t running from me the way he should be.
