But…that wasn’t true. Her steps faltered as she realized that she’d been wrong.
Her sister Lacey had made a place for herself in her community just as Cara had on a smaller scale in the enclave. They weren’t animals. They didn’t attack unsuspecting men and force them to have sex. And if Michael lived through this, they could probably lead a somewhat normal life. Together.
“Cara…” Teo’s disembodied voice whispered in her ear.
“I’m fine,” she said. And she was.
Squaring her shoulders, she walked up to the building. She sensed the wards surrounding the building as she mounted the steps. An etera walking up to this building would have the unconscious sense that they weren’t welcome here, that they should turn around and leave. Immediately.
She knew the wards also alerted the guards inside to the presence of someone at the door. They’d be coming for her now.
She couldn’t see them through the smoked glass door but she knew they’d let her in.
Drop the wards. Drop the wards.
It became a mantra.
And damned if the stupid bastards didn’t do just that.
The two men who opened the door dropped the wards and waved her through.
Cara’s mouth dropped open in shock.
Way too easy. As if they’d been expecting her.
Then her breath caught in her throat and she started to tremble as she recognized the two large men flanking the door, staring at her. Kendall and James.
She knew them from before. They had liked to take her together. They’d never harmed her—none of the men Bennett invited to the apartment had been allowed to harm her or Lacey—but that was a time of her life she’d worked so hard to forget.
And now it slapped back in her face.
“They’re waiting for you upstairs, Cara.” Kendall stepped aside so she could enter. “Nice to see you again.”
That voice made cold shivers run up her spine. She knew she wasn’t alone but she felt like she was being served up on a platter.
Michael would never do that. He would never turn on her. She knew that in her heart. He must have a plan. He would never expect her to walk in here like a sacrificial lamb if he didn’t have a way to get her out.
Taking a deep breath, she didn’t say anything to Bennett’s muscle. Let them think she was terrified. And she was. Just not only for herself.
In silence, the men escorted her to the elevator and took her to the ninth floor.
She spent the entire ride trying not to hyperventilate. She wasn’t alone with these men. Cam and Teo stood next to her, dissolved into shadow.
When the wards had dropped, they had walked in with her and no one would be able to see or detect them unless they chose to be. Linchetti made excellent bodyguards for that reason. And Teo and Cam were two of the best.
If Bennett had only these two men with him, Cam, Teo and Michael would have no problem.
But when the elevator stopped and the door opened, her heart dropped. Three more men stood there, waiting. All men she remembered.
Fear hit her like a ten-ton weight on her chest as she saw Michael standing next to Bennett near the window. They looked as if they were sharing business secrets. Only the bruises covering Michael’s face displayed something less pleasant.
He’d taken a severe beating. His upper lip was cut and fat, and he had the start of shiners.
And when he turned cold dark eyes her way, she wanted to run screaming.
He’s playing a role. Play along.
She didn’t have to fake her fear when she pointed at Bennett. “Michael, what’s going on? Why am I here?”
“Welcome back, Cara,” Bennett said, as if she were an employee returning to work after an extended vacation. “Your presence has been missed but Michael has assured me he’s taken good care of you in my absence.”
Bennett motioned to the men at her sides who each grabbed one of her arms as he turned back to Michael. “I see you’ve kept her in perfect condition. That works in your favor. Your recovery will probably require months but our deal holds.”
The men began to draw Cara away to the back of the apartment. Toward the room she and her sister had spent so much time in. Used by strangers, feeding off their energy while they drove the men toward great heights of pleasure just by their very nature.
Bennett had traded her as a commodity. He’d used her own nature against her and made her believe that was all she was good for. She knew better now.
And she wasn’t about to let this monster rule her life any longer.
She wanted Bennett dead. And she knew Michael was waiting until she was out of the way and locked in a room, somewhere safe, before he made his move. But that would split their resources, forcing either Cam or Teo to come after her.
With a jerk, she twisted out of the hands of the men holding her and yelled, “Cam, Teo. Now.”
She ran for Michael as the de Feo brothers rematerialized, two swords in each hand. Teo threw one at Michael, who caught the hilt out of midair and held it to Bennett’s throat.
Teo stood in front of the two men who’d been holding her, while Cam held the three near the door at swordpoint.
“Cara, behind me,” Michael said though his gaze never left Bennett’s.
Bennett barely looked surprised, his only change of expression a slight elevation of his eyebrows. “I see you came prepared. I underestimated you again, Michael. I’m impressed. Too bad you also underestimated me.”
Bennett disappeared and Michael turned to reach for her but he wasn’t fast enough as Bennett wrapped a hand around Cara’s throat and held a knife under her chin.
Cara froze, knowing he would kill her if he had to, to save himself.
“Just because I’ve risen to a position of power where I have people to do most of my dirty work doesn’t mean I don’t know how to handle myself,” Bennett said. “Or work my own spells. It’s something of a lost art for the Mal but one I managed to maintain over the years. Not bad if I do say so myself.”
Bennett began to move toward the door, taking Cara with her. When she dragged her feet, she felt the knife slice her under the chin, warm blood dribbling down her neck. Where he’d pulled the blade from, she had no idea but it was shorter than the swords Michael and the de Feos had but longer than a pugio, the Roman dagger she was more familiar with.
She watched Michael’s expression turn even colder and his hand tighten on the hilt of the sword. “I’m going to kill you, Bennett. You’re just prolonging it. You won’t get far. Give her back and I’ll allow you to live. I’ll offer you the same bargain you made me.”
“But see,” Bennett said, “I don’t have an emotional attachment to the girl. If I kill her, I lose a business asset. A valuable asset, yes. Perhaps an irreplaceable one. But not one I will give my life for.”
“You’re wrong, Bennett. She’s been amusing for the past few years but I’m not willing to risk my life for her any longer.” Michael smiled and the sight sent chills down Cara’s spine. He looked…evil. Whatever he was selling Bennett, he was selling it well. If Cara didn’t believe in him so completely, she would think he’d just sold her out.
She knew he hadn’t.
“Don’t you realize it’s never been the girl I wanted,” Michael continued. “It’s your company. You’ve built a rather nice one and you’ve just handed it to me on a platter. You thought five men would be enough to contain me and a reasonable amount to sacrifice to keep your secret.”
Cara felt Bennett tense behind her. “And what secret would that be, Michael?”
Michael shrugged. “That I had outwitted you. That I made off with one of your prized possessions. That I had defeated an attempt by your men to retake her last year. That I stole your money and you have no idea where it is.”
Cara swore she felt a blast of cold radiate from Bennett and the knife in his hand trembled again, causing more blood to run. Michael never glanced her way.
But she knew he was poised to attack.
She felt it, like a gnawing ache in her stomach. She felt his tension level increase as if it were her own, felt his muscles tense though he made no betraying movement.
And in the split second before Michael lunged forward, she jerked to the side and flung herself to the floor.
The clang of metal on metal repeated throughout the room as Michael and the de Feos engaged Bennett and his men.
Back-crawling, she looked up in time to see Michael swing his sword at Bennett’s head. Bennett brought his short blade up at the last moment and blocked Michael’s blow. Metal clashed against metal and Michael pressed forward but Bennett shoved him, forcing Michael to retreat a few steps.
Bennett moved fast on the attack, getting a few quick jabs that Michael’s longer sword stopped before it got anywhere near him.
A surreal feeling made her feel as if she were watching a film. People didn’t fight with swords in the world today. They used little blades to stab or cut each other open or guns to shoot.
There was a deadly beauty to a sword fight that mesmerized.
Michael and Bennett did not look evenly matched, not with Michael’s lean grace against Bennett’s squatter, rounder body. But what Michael had in grace, Bennett matched in skill. The man must have logged a lot of hours with the weapon. Even at a disadvantage because of his shorter blade, Bennett managed to hold Michael at bay.
Metallic pings filled the air with a discordant melody. She spared a second to check on the de Feo brothers, holding their own against their attackers.
She turned back in time to see Michael nick Bennett on the cheek , drawing blood in a thin line.
And that’s when she realized…Michael was playing with him.
Michael had become a skilled fighter in the past three years since they’d left this building. She’d watched him practice, watched him become as much a brilliant strategist with a sword as he was with numbers and money.
Michael was letting Bennett think he might win when Cara knew there was no way her mate would let him leave this room breathing.
She saw something she’d never seen in Michael’s eyes before—a hard, cruel expression that made her heart clench in her chest. He looked Mal.
One of Teo’s assailants fell to the ground, catching her attention, and she realized Cam had already laid out two of his men and was about to finish off the third.
She rose slowly to her feet, not wanting to startle Michael or draw his attention away from Bennett. But she wanted him to stop. She wanted him to finish this. Now. So they could leave and return to their son.
Bennett pressed forward again and Michael allowed him to get close enough to cut his arm.
Please, Michael. Please end this. I want to go home.
She didn’t say the words aloud but she knew Michael heard them through that same bond that allowed them to share their pain and their emotions. The expression on his face eased and for a split second, he caught her gaze.
“Michael, watch!”
Bennett took that moment to thrust his blade at Michael. A second too late to completely block the blow, Michael caught the blade in his side but grabbed Bennett before he could pull back and, lifting his sword, sliced right through Bennett’s neck.
The man’s face went from triumph to disbelief to the knowledge that he was going to die in the space of seconds.
Blood began to pour from Bennett’s neck and he fell to the floor, losing his grip on his dagger and clutching at the wound with both hands. Michael watched him fall, watched him struggle to breathe and, finally, watched him seize one more time until finally he went still.
Cara couldn’t take her eyes off Michael, couldn’t decipher his expression.
“Michael.”
His gaze lifted to hers and his eyes softened. “I love you, Cara.”
Then he crumpled to the ground, a puddle of blood leaking onto the floor at his side.
And Cara started to scream.
Chapter Eight
Michael knew there had to be a reason he was surprised to be alive when he woke.
But he just couldn’t seem to care because Cara was warm and naked next to him in the bed. Wrapped around her back, he had a pretty decent erection and a faint pain in his side.
It only took a slight movement to rub his cock into the crease of her silky ass, the friction causing his blood pressure to rise and his heart to pound.
As his hand began sliding from her hip toward the soft mound of her breast, she sighed and snuggled back against him.
He moved closer—and sucked in a breath as sharp pain lanced through his side and up to his chest.
“Oh shit.”
Cara gasped and turned as he rubbed a hand along the still-healing wound.
“Michael, thank the Gods. You’re awake. How are you feeling?”
Eyes wide, she looked into his for a split second then shifted down to look at his side.
What—
Oh yeah.
Her hands settled on his chest as she pushed him back to lie flat on the bed then sat up next to him. Naked. Beautiful.
The pain started to subside as his erection returned, drawn by the warmth of her hands as they feathered over his chest and down his stomach. She stroked over the already healing scar from the hole Bennett made with his blade. Someone did a damn fine job of healing that wound.
“Michael, are you okay?”
He winced, hating to hear the fear in her voice. “He’s dead, Cara. Right? He’s dead and gone and you’ll never have to worry about him again.”
Her gaze lifted back to his, her eyes wide. “Michael, you almost died! Yes, Bennett’s dead, but if I had lost you, I would have been furious with you!”
Seemed she was furious. So angry, he felt her emotions like waves of heat coming off her body. Heat that was driving out his pain and replacing it with passion.
He wanted her.
She was free of Bennett and he wanted her. And he had a momentary flash of fear that she would no longer want him.
He caught her gaze and she reached out and smacked him on the side of the head. Hard.
His mouth dropped open. She’d never hit him. He didn’t think she had it in her to hurt another living thing, unless their child was threatened. Then he could see her fighting like a mother bear to protect her young.
“Cara…what—”
“Oh no you don’t. You don’t get to play stupid male right now. I’m so angry with you for letting him hurt you. You could have died. And you were playing with him, Michael. I know what you were doing.”
Ah. Shame rose up then but not enough to conquer the heat of having her naked body right there.
“I wanted him to pay, Cara. I wanted him to die in agony and I didn’t want it to be slow.”
Her eyes dampened, as if she were hurting. “I know that, Michael. But I don’t want to lose you. And I nearly did.”
He held up his hands in classic surrender. He didn’t want to fight. “But I’m still here. Bennett’s gone and I’ll make sure my parents never bother us again. I’ll talk to them and if that doesn’t work, we’ll find a spell to block them. Everything will be okay. And I want you.”
She dropped her gaze to his throbbing erection then quickly met his eyes again. “You’re not healed. I can still feel your pain, Michael.”
His eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”
She took a short, sharp breath and bit her bottom lip, classic Cara distress signs.
“Cara?”
Finally she sighed. “It means we’re tied together more tightly than we first thought. I’ve noticed that I can feel some of what you’re feeling. Strong emotion, physical pain. Sometimes, if you’re thinking about me, I get a sense of what you’re thinking.”
Well…shit. He had the sense he should be worried that she could read him so well. And staring into her river-blue eyes, he knew she was worried that he would be angry about his.
Hell no. A fierce satisfaction lit through him, firing his desire even harder.
Another tie binding her to him. And him to her, but he knew he welcomed the binding. Did she?”
“Ooh, you stupid man.” She huffed and the disgust on her face made it clear she’d read him. Again. “If I can feel your emotions, you can feel mine. You just have to try. And if you did, you’d know I love you. And I don’t want to live without you.”
His mouth curved in a smile that made her eyes widen. He imagined he looked pretty much like a marauding beast. And he was about to pounce.
“You’re going to have to be very sure, Cara. I’m not an easy man to get rid of.”
Cara’s hands went to her hips, drawing his gaze down the length of her naked body. “Well then, I guess it’s a good thing I don’t want to get rid of you.”
He grabbed her around the neck and brought her mouth down to his, crushing her against him, sliding his tongue between her lips so he could taste her.
He hadn’t expected her to fall on him and take over the kiss as if she were starving for him. But he certainly didn’t push her away. It wouldn’t matter if he were dying. He’d give her whatever she wanted.
As he pulled her closer, her body stretched to lie along his, soft flesh warm against his harder body from chest to thighs. Her kiss gentled but her hands took up the cause, stroking and firing his nerve endings with pleasure and heat.
His.
His arms wrapped around her, pressing her even closer, hands flattening on her back then stroking down to her ass and shifting her until she lay on top of him. Her legs falling on either side of his, she rubbed her mound against the throbbing length of his engorged cock.
His eyes closed as he absorbed the pure pleasure of her lips on his, her sex against his.
Cara shifted above him, breaking contact with his lips. He opened his eyes to see her plant her hands on either side of his head and lift her upper body away from his. Staring down into his eyes, she deliberately set about easing her wet lower lips up and down his erection. Her juices coated him, her expression tightening as a flush suffused her cheeks.
“I love you, Cara.”
Her eyes widened and she paused for a brief second. Then her lips curved in a breath-stealing smile and she slid onto his cock.
Seduced by Danger Page 10
