Zaire didn’t move either. His chest rose and fell slowly and evenly. He was still unconscious. His neck slashed open. At least the wound had stopped bleeding and looked to have started healing.
Orrick grunted, frowning heavily. Awake, despite the blood that oozed from the wound on his chest. Locke was also unconscious. He was snoring softly.
Cadon looked Worth head-on. “Magnar has threatened to take my female from me, to hurt her and our clutch should I—”
Magnar laughed. It was ear-splitting. He held his belly and went at it for a few long seconds.
Cadon had to grit his teeth.
The Fallen general finally turned serious. “I would never hurt the female. Take her as my own though?” He nodded. “Yes, I would, without hesitation.”
Worth was frowning, shaking his head. “But—”
“You will do no such thing.” Cadon tried to keep his voice even. “We have a deal and I intend to stick to my side of the bargain.”
“A deal?” Worth’s features were pinched. “Have you lost your mind?”
“It is something we will discuss. I had no choice.” He made his voice hard and steely. Wouldn’t hesitate to knock Worth the fuck out if he said anything he shouldn’t.
“There is always a choice,” Worth threw back.
“Not this time. I needed to keep Kerry safe. To keep you all safe.” He looked from one to the other.
“Don’t do us any favors,” Worth snorted. “I would gladly give up my life—”
“It is already done. I made a decision. One you will respect!” his voice boomed.
Worth pressed his lips together and dropped his gaze. Good!
Magnar clapped his hands together. “When do we begin? I know my males are eager to meet females.”
There were cheers all around.
“Not so fast. There are quite a few steps that need to be taken before we can—”
“Like what?” Magnar asked, frowning.
This was going to be tedious and painful. “Like finding clothing for all of you. No-one is permitted to leave this house without being fully clothed.” He pointed to his own attire.
Several males groaned. One grunted.
“Also,” Cadon went on. “You will need to go for haircuts. Shave those beards.”
“I like my face hair,” one of the males said.
“Okay, then a serious trim at the very least. I recommend watching plenty of television. You will learn about humans by watching them interact.”
“What is a television?” Hagan asked.
The device still hung next to the gaping hole in the wall. It might not work though after all the damage that had been done to the house. He found the remote behind the sofa and pushed the on button. “This is a television.” He changed the channel a couple of times. “You can watch movies and—” He had been channel surfing and stopped on a news bulletin that caught his eye. “What the…?”
Cadon turned it up. “It is believed that the group of men were either escaped inmates or…” the female paused and smiled, “that they were acting on a dare and that the whole thing was staged. Let’s face it, fourteen or fifteen naked men arriving at an upmarket restaurant, causing utter chaos and then leaving without a trace. It seems pretty far-fetched to me. Tracey Shrouder was at Hemmingways when the incident occurred.” The camera pulled back, revealing a second female.
The female had wide eyes and very red cheeks. She sucked in a breath and began talking, going at a mile a minute. “It was unbelievable! So, these guys walk in. Butt naked. I thought it was some kind of joke. I kept expecting someone to jump out and show us where the camera was hidden. They were all over six feet tall and packing some serious muscle. My second thought was that a bunch of strippers were in town and giving away a free performance. That they got the venue wrong.” She giggled. “Anyhow, one came up to me, even though I was having lunch with my husband. He walked right over and asked if…” Her cheeks turned even redder. “He invited me to have sex with him but used much cruder language than that. Apparently that’s what they all were doing. Approaching all the women, single or otherwise and…” She huffed out a breath, her eyes sparkling. “Inviting them to…you know.” She giggled. “My husband was none too happy. That’s when the guy picked up Stanley’s steak and bit a chunk out of it before dropping my poor hubby’s lunch on the floor.”
“What happened next?” The other female held an object in front of Tracey Shrouder’s mouth.
“The manager informed the group of guys that the police were on their way. He told them they had better leave. Poor guy, I could tell he was petrified. One of the guys growled at him and he peed his pants,” she whispered the last bit. “Not a word of a lie. Actual pee came—”
“What happened next?” the other female asked.
“They up and left. Gone! Just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “One of them jumped through the window instead of using the door. How crazy is that?” She widened her eyes. “It was like they disappeared into thin air.” Cadon switched the television off.
“You were gone all of a couple of hours and you made the news!”
“What is the news?” Magnar asked.
“That was the news.” Cadon watched as Magnar’s frown deepened. “Everyone has one of these in their house. Everyone watches it. It’ll be on social media as well.”
“What’s social media?” one of the other males asked.
Andy started laughing. He groaned after a few seconds, holding his arm. “And you thought you had your hands full with the five of us.” His voice was strained but Cadon could hear he was smiling.
This was no laughing matter. Not only were Kerry and his five teammates in danger, it seemed as if the whole human race might be in danger too. Those humans joked about something that had the potential to explode. They had no idea. He just needed to find that band of misfits mates, and as soon as possible. No pressure!
Chapter 15
Her hands felt clammy. “You’re very sure there’s no other way?”
“I’m afraid not.” Cadon shook his head.
At least he was wearing pants. They were grey and rode low on his hips, which were narrow. He had that whole V-thing going on. That and a six-pack that could put most male models to shame.
Cadon sat down on the edge of the bed, which dipped. “Nice shirt.” He glanced at her chest, his eyes seeming to linger on her breasts.
She looked down. His shirt was huge on her. It came almost to her knees. “Thanks so much…for loaning it to me.”
“Sure.” He smiled. “Which side of the bed would you prefer?”
Oh flip! She thought she was okay with this. She had been okay with this up until just now, when he’d walked out of the bathroom. It was in that moment that she realized she was attracted to him as well. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t human. It didn’t matter that she was pregnant with another man’s baby and still sporting a split lip. Maybe it was because he had admitted to being attracted to her and the knowledge had sparked something.
No.
That wasn’t it. Cadon was a good-looking guy. That was all! He was hot and she was attracted to him. Having to share a bed with him made her feel uneasy. In a big way.
“I’m not comfortable sleeping with you.” She folded her arms.
“We have to share a bed. If Magnar were to find out that—”
“I know. I know,” she repeated. “We have no choice.” She sighed, squeezing her eyes shut.
“Is it so bad? I will stick to my side of the bed. I won’t touch you. I swear.”
Guilt. That was what was irritating her. Here she was in a dangerous situation ‒ she should be thinking about how to get out of it and she wasn’t. She was too busy noticing Cadon’s abs and how gorgeous he looked when he smiled. She’d had this warm feeling inside ever since he had admitted to finding her attractive. Her. Dammit. She had a sporty frame and a light complexion. Her hair was thin and wispy. She wasn’t the kind of girl the jocks dated…and if Cadon was
a human, he’d have been a jock. He’d be looking at supermodel types and not at her.
Then again, he probably hadn’t seen many women since coming here. That had to be it. “I know you won’t try anything,” she finally replied. Of course he wasn’t going to touch her. There was a very big difference between finding someone attractive and actually wanting…to do stuff with them. “I’ll stay on my side of the bed as well.”
Cadon smiled. “I couldn’t help but notice you had some of your things drying on the railing.
Her cheeks heated. “My underwear.” She scrubbed a hand over her face. “Sorry about that. I don’t have anything clean so I had to wash and hang up the set I was wearing so that it will be dry.”
“I need to understand human females better if I am to help the others find mates.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t sure what this had to do with her lingerie.
“Why do human females wear…underwear?” he said the word like it was new to him.
“I take it you don’t wear underwear where you’re from?”
“No.” He shook his head. “We shift from our animal form back to our human form many times a day, so it wouldn’t be practical. We sometimes will wear a loincloth to cover up.” He gestured to his groin area.
“Women too?”
He nodded. “Yes. Women would go mostly naked as well. Tell me about this underwear. Why do you wear it?”
“That’s a very interesting question.” How did she answer that? “I guess because we find it comfortable.”
“You don’t feel restricted wearing something so tight?”
Right now, yes! “No.” She shook her head. “Not at all.”
His eyes dipped back to her chest for a second. “Why the tight breast coverings?” His eyes locked back with hers. Interest shone inside them.
“Well,” she folded her arms, suddenly feeling exposed, “they offer support and give some protection.”
His forehead creased dramatically. “Why would breasts need support?”
Kerry had to laugh. “I’m sorry. Not that kind of support. The other kind.”
He didn’t seem to understand. Cadon waited for her to elaborate. Kerry cleared her throat. “It’s so that they don’t bounce. It’s to hold them in place. If breasts are not properly supported, they tend to droop later on in life. They also bounce around if we jog or make sudden movements and it’s uncomfortable.”
Cadon swallowed thickly. “Oh,” his voice was deep. “I think I understand. Human females have large mammary glands, so it makes sense that…” he cleared his throat again, “there would be need for support.”
“So your kind…your womenkind, don’t have big…?”
He shook his head. “No! Not at all. Feral females are tall and very muscular. Their chests are very similar to ours.” That made her look at his pecks, which were also well muscled.
“Okay. Well that explains why they wouldn’t need to wear a bra.”
“No need. Thank you for clarifying that.” He nodded. “Which side?” He pointed to the bed behind him, using his thumb.
“I’ll just take this side.” She walked to the opposite end to where he was sitting. “Now remember, no stealing the blankets or trying to spoon with me in the night.”
“Spoon. That is an eating utensil is it not? Do you like to eat in bed?”
“No,” she laughed. “I was just making a stupid joke. Spooning is when…” Why had she brought it up? “One person puts their chest to the other person’s back. If you were to spoon me, I would face that way and you would lie at my back with your arms around me. I was only joking though.”
“Do you get cold at night? If you need me to hold you in that way, you only need ask.”
“Thank you but I’m sure I’ll be fine.” She pulled the covers back and climbed into the bed, trying to stick to her side.
Cadon nodded. “Okay then. We’d better get some sleep. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day tomorrow.” There was a guard at their door and more than one patrolling outside so that they couldn’t escape. This Magnar character was taking this whole finding a mate situation seriously. She shivered just thinking about him.
“Are you okay?” Cadon asked, as he climbed in next to her.
“Yes. I was just thinking about Magnar. He isn’t serious when he says he wants to mate me and all that, is he? I mean, he doesn’t even know me.”
Cadon shrugged. “He doesn’t need to know you. He suspects he would enjoy mounting you and he is feeling the urge to mate, so yes, he is serious.”
“And that’s enough? He suspects he would enjoy…sex. That’s it?” She sounded panicked.
“We are a simple species,” Cadon nodded. “Yes, if we are horny we mount and if we feel compelled, we mate and start trying for a clutch.” His face got this pinched look. “Even when our females were dying from clutch sickness we were still compelled to procreate. You would think we would have stopped, but we couldn’t. If our females were fertile, we mounted them. The guilt has been eating at…” he sucked in a deep breath, “at our males for years.”
“I can’t imagine how terrible it must have been watching people you love die. Your mothers, sisters and wives. Did someone you know pass away?”
He nodded once. “I would rather not talk about it. I’m sorry! It’s better if you didn’t know any details.”
“Okay.” She suspected he lost someone important. “I understand.”
“I will keep you safe from Magnar. I will die before I let him take you. You need to stay close to me at all times. If a fight breaks out though, get out of the way. Find cover.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “I will. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, I got you into this situation, it’s only right I get you out.”
“You were just trying to help me. I still don’t understand why though.”
He shrugged. “I felt compelled. No-one should go through what you have. I am still going to find that male and make him bleed.”
“Jeff isn’t worth it. I’m going to see that he gets a criminal record. I hope he ends up in a jail cell.”
“You are a strong female.”
Another compliment that made her warm inside. She smiled. “Thank you. Let’s get some sleep.” She was so aware of him next to her it was scary.
“Good night.” She felt him move as he spoke, obviously trying to get comfortable.
“Night.” She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and fluffed up her pillow.
Cadon switched the light off, plunging the room into darkness. She lay there for a while, listening to him breathing, thinking to herself that there was no way she could possibly fall asleep. Trying to regulate her own breathing. Trying to keep still. The day had clearly taken its toll on her because she did indeed eventually fall asleep.
Something woke her up. What though? She clutched the covers to her chest, listening hard. The door was still closed. No-one was in the room with them. She knew it must be dawn, because low light shone in through the blinds. The room was dimly lit. Cadon moaned. He thrashed, tossing the covers off himself.
Kerry turned fully. She noticed that he was frowning. Maybe having a bad dream or something. Cadon moaned again, sounding like he was in…pain maybe. He pushed out a breath through his nose. Should she wake him up? Roll over and try to ignore him? Was it a good idea to wake someone if they were having a nightmare?
He made a growly noise and rocked his hips forwards, which made her look down. Good lord! Down at his very erect cock. His sweatpants strained to contain him. This time when he moaned, it didn’t sound like he was in pain. This was a different kind of dream.
Her heart-rate went up. Her mouth turned a tad dry. Other parts of her turned distinctly wet as a zing of need pushed through her. She pressed her thighs together. Kerry knew she should look away. She should turn over, place her pillow over her head and try to block out the sounds.
What she should not be doing was watching in fascination as his hips rocked forwa
rd again. And again. She shouldn’t be listening to his deep, drawn out moans. She definitely shouldn’t want to touch herself right now while watching him. That was just sick. The way her clit throbbed was even more sick. She was so turned on right now though, watching him in the throes of some erotic dream.
What was the dream about? She knew it was sex but found herself wanting to know more. Who was he having sex with? What position were they in?
His thrusts were becoming more urgent. A tiny wet spot appeared on his sweats. Was he going to…?
She had to look away. Had to force herself to do it right now because…it was about to happen. He was going to come. It wouldn’t be right to watch him do it. His jaw was tight. His hands fisted the covers. His hips rocked with more urgency. Kerry couldn’t look away. Could. Not. She was riveted. Her mouth completely dry. Other parts of her had taken all the moisture. She had to watch as he found completion. Had to— His eyes opened suddenly, locking with hers. They widened in shock. Cadon growled, his lip curling away from his teeth. Then he jumped from the bed and ran, the bathroom door slamming behind him.
Busted!
Adrenaline coursed through her. That and need. A raging need with no outlet in sight. Kerry fell back, head on the pillows. She squeezed her eyes shut and rolled over onto her side, hoping she fell asleep before he got back. Her heart raced and her breathing was way elevated. It didn’t feel like she would sleep any time soon. Shit! How could she face him ever again?
Cadon was breathing hard. Panic gripped him. His prick was harder than granite. His balls were pulled so tight they were almost in his damn throat. There was that feeling in the pit of his stomach. An aching need to come that consumed every part of him. So close. He was so very close.
Cadon grit his teeth and growled softly, trying hard to ignore what was happening. Trying to forget the vivid dream. It had been so real. So…With a silent snarl, he yanked down his pants and fisted his prick, turning to the toilet.
So good.
It felt…He squeezed gently and groaned.
A Mate for York Page 12
