The Kimil were drawn to their Atans for a different reason. The Kimil trapped in this world millennia ago had mutated. Starved of the natural energies that surrounded their worlds, the creatures had been driven mad and digressed into a primitive state. They were known as chupacabra and slaughtered innocent creatures by inhaling their life energy and drinking their blood, leaving nothing but a mutilated husk behind. The natural energies that were stored within an Atan’s body would make a Kimil almost unbeatable.
Thankfully this untapped energy source would remain dormant until she met her warriors. It was then their job to keep her safe and happy for the rest of her days.
“We spoke about it then. You and I both know we were better off trying to track down the Kimil in the area and destroy them in hopes of making the area safer.”
“A lot of good that did. We still haven’t found their colony and now we’re out of time.”
Storm stood in front of Derechos and held out his hand. His warrior brother stepped closer and clasped his arm at the elbow. The intricate markings on their arms lined up and they glowed with a low golden light. Storm felt the energy of their world rush between the two of them, calming their nerves and centering their thoughts. The lengthy periods of time they spent on Earth drained them, but standing together this close to the portal gave them a kick they weren’t expecting. Or it was because their intal’oox, their third, was in close proximity to them. Their day had come to claim their woman. “She came to us and we’d be fools to avoid her any longer.”
Derechos nodded and resumed his pacing. Storm sat back in a chair and resumed flipping the arrow around his fingers. The repetitive motion helped to keep him calm for the time being. He could hear the tempo of the music increasing as Puma’s routine came to a conclusion. One more man and it was Derecho’s turn. Storm would walk in the shadows around her and wait for the perfect moment to approach her. They had come up with the plan that one man would dance while the other watched the women in the room to see if they could spot anyone affected.
Storm didn’t need to scan the room because he knew exactly who he’d be watching. Her name was Dawn. He heard by accident one day and they continued to listen for any news of her when they happened to be in Mystique picking up supplies. That’s how they learned she ran a cattle ranch outside of Mystique. There were men on the property that worked for her. He appreciated that she wasn’t completely unprotected but didn’t like the fact that he and Derechos weren’t warming her bed and keeping her safe like they should. He’d come across a mutilated creature on the outskirts of her property line. It was a warning to other Kimil that a colony had claimed her lands as its territory. He and Derechos had tracked it up into the mountain yesterday before losing the trail. He drew detailed maps for the warriors remaining behind so they could continue the search for the time being.
He and Derechos had watched the struggle their friends had gone through when they met their Atans. Both Rock and Jag and Falcon and Wolfe had followed the traditions of capturing their Atan and taking her back to Lu’um and seducing her there. He and Derechos had wanted a more peaceful union but it looked like they weren’t going to get their wish. With the Kimil encroaching on her home and her arrival here tonight, Storm wasn’t about to ignore such obvious signs. Dawn was going home with them tonight. He needed to find the perfect moment for them to take her.
“We need to talk to Eddie. Get him to watch her property and make certain nothing happens to it.” Derechos headed for the doorway but Storm stopped him with a hand to his arm.
“I’ll tell him, Derechos. You concentrate on seducing our Atan and proving to everyone that she is meant to stand between us.”
Derechos smiled. “Not a problem.” The music changed, signaling that Puma was finished and Blaze was heading out for his act.
Puma came through the entrance and grabbed a small towel to wipe the sweat from his face. “Watch out for the group of women on the right side of the stage.” He lifted his arm and ran his fingers over the scratches that had reddened his skin. “And stay away from the one with golden hair and silver nails. She’s mine and Bear’s tonight.”
Storm felt a primal anger rush his system. Dawn had golden hair that shone like the rocks they picked up along the water’s edge at home. “Touch her and I’ll make certain you regret it.”
The words were out of his mouth before the thought completed in his head. Puma’s gaze snapped up and his pale-green eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them. “You’re kidding me? Your Atan is out there? The scratcher is yours?”
Derechos looked at Storm and slapped him on the shoulder. “Yes, she is out there, but considering the number of woman with light-colored hair, we can’t be certain our Atan and your scratcher are the same.”
The logical comment helped Storm to pull his emotions back into focus. Of course there were lots of woman out there with the same hair color. In their world, black and dark brown were the dominant hair colors but there were a few exceptions to the rule, like Puma with his almost-white hair and Blaze, whose hair resembled a burning fire. Genetic throwbacks from the first time his ancestors had come to Earth and had brought back women and children with them.
“Was the woman wearing a cowboy hat and jeans?” Storm nodded to the scratches on Puma’s ribs. He’d seen Dawn walk in with another woman earlier.
Puma shook his head. “No, ours is all dressed up to perfection and begging to get messy.”
Storm smiled and slapped Puma on the shoulder. “Then I wish you and Bear all the luck, my friend.”
Bear entered the room and shook his head at Puma. The big man looked relieved, and Puma clasped arms with his warrior brother. “Our time will come but for now we can learn from the mistakes these two are about to make.”
“Oh, really?” Bear’s eyebrow cocked up. “You’ve found your Atan?”
“As soon as Blaze gets his ass off the stage we’ll know for certain,” Derechos commented as he paced past them again. “How long is his routine?”
Puma grinned and then lifted his arm and showed Bear the marks along his ribs. Bear’s second eyebrow cocked up to the same height as the other one and his eyes darkened. “Where is she?”
“Give me a minute to get out of this and into a pair of jeans and we’ll introduce ourselves.”
Bear slapped both him and Derechos on the back. “Good luck with your intal’oox my friends. May the gods take their time blessing us the same way.”
Storm laughed and nodded to Derechos before heading out of the back room and down the hall that lead to the main room. The only two warriors who were less likely to accept finding an Atan, other than Bear and Puma, were Shadow and Raven. Those two had started to avoid coming to Earth in hopes that they wouldn’t have their Atan fall into their lap.
They could avoid it all they wanted, but as Derechos had learned tonight, once the gods decided it was time, you didn’t stand a chance of hiding.
* * * *
Dawn hadn’t been certain what to expect when she came here tonight, but the incredible moves the men on stage had been doing were impressive. She’d thought they’d be like the dancers her girlfriends had taken her to see on her twenty-first birthday. Those men had dance routines that centered around them flexing their well-oiled muscles. These men had white paint on their skin highlighting some of their muscles and the intricate markings up their arms. It had to be some sort of makeup they all used because there was no way she would believe they would all allow themselves to be branded over their arms like that.
Their dance routines were a combination of acrobatics and something that looked like martial arts. Blaze was the name of the man dancing at the moment. He commanded everyone’s attention by flirting wildly with the women who stood at the edge of the stage, allowing them to almost touch him before pulling away in an intricate flip. That move earned him another chorus of screams and whistles that Dawn worried might break her eardrums.
Three years ago she would have been up there with the
m, screaming without a care in the world. That was before taking over the ranch and learning all the things that she’d taken for granted. Feeding the cattle was easy. It was balancing the bills that was hard. She needed more help but couldn’t afford to hire anyone on. She was closer to letting a couple guys go, which would break her heart. The people that worked for her counted on the money to help support their families and she didn’t want to let them down.
A tingle danced along the back of her neck almost like an electrical current raising the hair on the back of her arms. She lowered her beer and looked around, but after the bright lights of the stage she couldn’t really make out anything in the shadows. A sense of anticipation fell over the crowd with the pause between dancers. The lights fell and eerie music pumped through the speakers, rising in intensity to a bursting crescendo, as the next dancer surged up through the floor, landing with a catlike balance, straddling the opening below him.
The explosive reaction from his dramatic entrance faded into the background. Dawn watched the fascinating man as he flipped and moved to the beat of the music. To say he was gorgeous was a complete understatement. The lights reflected off his silky black hair. It was long enough to flip around but not so long that it covered his eyes. He was muscular, not bodybuilder muscle but a man who was used to using his body as a tool. A light dusting of hair ran down the center of his chest and disappeared into his skintight pants. He looked strong and powerful and the thought of that body under her hands made her pussy throb and every nerve in her body jumped up screaming, “Me first.” She watched every bit of him as he moved. The flexing of the muscles in his back and the roll of his hips had her panting with need. She’d never imagined she could become so aroused so quickly in her life.
He did a series of aggressive backflips and landed in a crouch on the stage, nearest to where their party was. But he didn’t look at her sister or her sister’s friends. His gaze fell directly on her and she felt like she’d been scorched. His eyes looked black and more intense than she’d ever experienced before. A scruffy beard covered his jawline but didn’t hide the fullness of his lips. God, those are lips made for kissing. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt a man between her legs, but damn if she wasn’t tempted to jump on the stage and ride him in front of everyone here. A secret fantasy she hadn’t told a soul about or thought about too often herself.
She’d been to an extra-wild party once where a couple started having sex on the table in front of everyone. Their exhibitionist streak fascinated Dawn, but she’d never found a guy willing to follow through that fantasy with her.
The dancer paused and stared at her long enough that her sister and friends started pawing at him. Dawn felt her temper spike and got to her feet with every intention of smacking the shit out of each of them. He moved away from their grasping fingers and broke eye contact with her. The sensations of the room snapped back against her like a slap. She felt like she’d been brought to the edge of an orgasm and then left hanging, aching for one more touch. She clenched her hand and realized she had a hold of her own breast. The nipple was hard enough pushing against her T-shirt that she could feel it against her palm.
She let go quickly and grabbed the glass of beer in front of her, taking a long swallow, but couldn’t take her eyes off the man dancing for more than a moment. She felt her cell phone ring. The vibrations trembled along her hip bone where it was tucked into the front pocket of her jeans. She had a crazy moment where she considered pushing the flat device down the front of her jeans and letting them call her back. She felt so aroused it would only take a moment of attention to get her off.
The number displayed belonged to her foreman, the only reason she answered it. “Lucas, I’m allowed to have a night off.” She answered the phone but continued to watch the man in front of her.
His voice crackled and she couldn’t make out what he was saying due to the music. “Lucas, I can’t hear you. I’ll talk to you when I get home.” The dancer was working on a series of moves that had him moving back in their direction. She was going to climb on the stage this time.
“I found another one,” Lucas shouted through the phone and she felt her blood turn to ice in her veins. There could only be one thing that he found that would have him calling her like this.
“Goddamn it, I’m on my way.” Dawn got up and made her way through the crowd of women behind her, moving quickly for the main doors. She didn’t waste any time saying good-bye to her sister. Sam would only pout and make a big deal about her leaving. All the women had moved closer to the stage when the dancing started and weaving though the shrieking crowd was like trying to swim against the current. As soon as she saw a clear path, she ducked through and headed out the main doors to the parking lot.
* * * *
“According to Blade she tore out of here like there were a dozen Kimil on her heels.” Storm paced across the room he and Derechos shared. “I lost her in the crowd when she got up.” Destiny had intercepted him to tell him she’d seen a woman completely mesmerized by Derechos. He’d appreciated her excitement but that was when he’d lost sight of her in the crowd. “The last place I expected her to be heading was the front doors. Did we make a mistake?”
“Not in the slightest,” Derechos answered. He remembered the moment he met her gaze. It was his memory that filled in the details of her soft green eyes and golden skin. The stage lights had reflected off her light hair in a rainbow of color. He’d almost lost his footing at that moment, knowing their Atan sat a few feet away from him. Raw lust shone in her eyes and he would have sworn he’d been able to taste her arousal on the air. She’d stroked her neck and then palmed her own breast. The feeling of a hand stroking up his thigh had distracted him. At the same time he felt her anger spike. “For a moment I was tempted to jump from the stage and snatch her up right then and there.”
“I wish you had and to hell with those damn rules Rock and Jag came up with.”
There was something to be said for traditions. Falcon and Wolfe had already made things more complicated by almost getting caught abducting their Atan. Rock and Jag, their leaders, had warned all the Midnighters not to bring any more attention from law enforcement to the club. Easy for them to say. They were the first to find their Atan when she literally fell into their hands.
Storm threw his brother a towel as they quickly packed up their things. They’d decided to head out to her ranch and take her now. There was a curse that came with finding their Atan, the one woman the gods chose for them. Now that they’d had contact with her and woken the dormant energy within her body, she’d be a beacon for any Kimil in the area. She’d been safe while they kept their distance but everything changed the moment she became aware of them. She’d watched Derechos dance and stared into his eyes. They hadn’t had any skirmishes with the creatures lately but he knew they were still out there waiting. Dawn would attract them like a moth to a bonfire.
“How are you feeling?” he asked Derechos. They’d been on Earth for almost six of their weeks. Time passed differently on Earth and three weeks here equalled six in his own world and the long absence was draining on them. While dancing an ook’at they threw out their energy-like enticements, knowing only their true Atan would be able to recognize the draw. Their home world of Lu’um was rich with a natural energy that saturated everything there and the Midnighters could draw on it whenever they needed. The dwindling energy on Earth they’d learned was concentrated through small areas called ley lines. The portal sat directly on a cross section of one of them.
“Tired but not so tired that I can’t fight off a few dozen Kimil if I need to.” Derechos pulled on a thick cotton jacket over his T-shirt.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Storm slipped his quiver over his neck so that it sat comfortably on his back. Holding his crossbow, he held out his arm. Derechos gripped it at the elbow and he felt a familiar flare of energy behind them. The hint of gray around Derechos’s eyes vanished and he took a deep breath.
> “Let’s go get our woman.”
* * * *
“Not again.” Dawn felt her heart sink as she came across the body of one of her cattle. She driven home from the club and then taken one of the horses out to investigate. The terrain out here wasn’t friendly to large vehicles. A chill skittered up her back and she lifted the flashlight and shone it around.
The heated arousal she felt at the club was frozen out by the horror in front of her. One of her cows lay on her side, covered in claw marks that were oozing blood. Dawn moved closer to see if the animal was still alive but a quick glance at her neck made her gag. The last time this happened the animal had been completely drained of blood. She flicked the light up to the cow’s face and saw a similar mutilation to the eyes.
What the hell was doing this? She remembered the ranch hands whispering about chupacabra when they thought she wasn’t around. Dawn wasn’t certain if she believed in all those myths any more than she did in aliens and flying saucers on the other side of the state. If it is the same creature then why is there so much blood left this time, unless…
A low, inhuman growl came from the darkness around her. Dawn spun around and shone her flashlight into the darkness but didn’t see anything. The hair on her neck stood up as she searched the darkness for the source of that sound. The reason there’s so much blood left is because it wasn’t done. She cocked the shotgun in her hands and held on to it as she moved. Shooting from the hip wasn’t the safest but she needed to see where she was going and frankly all she was interested in was getting to her horse in one piece.
Corralling Dawn [Midnighter Seductions 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 2
