Stolen Desire (Outlawed Realm)

by Donahue, Tina

Gritting her teeth, Paige forced herself to stop squirming. The material—or rather substance—flowed over her feet, then up her ankles, calves and thighs like liquid, molding itself to her flesh. It wasn’t too tight or too loose. Nor was it hot or cold. If anything, it was like wearing her own skin.

  The moment it covered her from toe to throat, he pointed to the back of his neck. “You’ll find a seam here.” He turned to show her the one on his garment. “When I tell you to touch it, you’ll do so. Understand?”

  Paige didn’t understand any of this. Still, she nodded.

  “If you don’t,” he added, “you’ll die out there.”

  She regarded the door, then him as he went to one of the guards and lifted the smaller man in his arms. Paige hurried to him and whispered, “What are you doing?”

  “We need him to open the door.”

  Without further explanation, he wrapped one arm around the guard’s waist and gripped the man’s wrist in his free hand. To the side was a metal panel Paige hadn’t noticed before. He pressed the guard’s fingers against it. There were several clicks, then a whoosh.

  He swung the guard to the side and let go. The man’s body fell on top of the others. “Touch the seam now,” he said, doing it with his own.

  Paige stared as the fabric—or liquid, or whatever the hell it was—crept up the back and sides of his head, covering it like a helmet. From beneath it, a clear substance that resembled plastic flowed over his face, clinging to his features, creating a barrier.

  “Now,” he ordered again.

  His lips moved with the word Paige couldn’t hear. The facemask had silenced the sound.

  She shivered uncontrollably. How could he breathe with what looked like Saran Wrap covering his face?

  His mouth moved. The words were impossible to hear. Paige suspected he’d just muttered an oath. He went to her, taking the decision in his own hands as he touched the seam.

  She suppressed a cry of horror as the plastic streamed over her face, blocking her airways. Her chest heaved with her rapid panting. Dizzy, she staggered.

  He grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. Even with the material covering him and her, she felt the heat of his skin. His touch was wonderfully firm, the way a man’s should be, his strength the stuff of female fantasies.

  Too bad she wasn’t dreaming this.

  She choked out her thanks.

  “I’ll do all I can to protect you,” he assured her.

  This time, she heard his words as though there was a microphone built into their facemasks. He sounded concerned about what she was going through. Or about to go through. Whether she’d make it or not.

  God, God, God.

  Unable to help herself, she whispered, “Who are you? I’m Paige Ross,” she added quickly. “What’s your name?”

  “Zekin.” Offering no more than that, he bent to gather her clothes and opened the door.

  Paige gasped at what lay ahead.

  Chapter Two

  Howling winds tore across the desolate, glacial landscape. There were no buildings, roads, trees or a car for them to escape in, simply an endless expanse of bluish-white within the gloom. It could have been twilight or the time before dawn; it was impossible to tell which. Massive snowdrifts pressed against the squat building Zekin had pulled Paige from. The few spots of the structure that weren’t glazed with ice were pitted and rough. In the murky light they were the color of granite.

  Gusts with a faint coppery odor, like coming rain, buffeted her. She had to lean into the gale to keep on her feet. If she fell down, Paige doubted she’d be able to get up. She should have been shivering from the brutal temperature, but wasn’t cold at all. The lightweight material covering her insulated far better than any fur or thermal garment.

  Had her government developed it? Or was it from Zekin’s, because he wasn’t from her country? What kind of a name was Zekin anyway? His first? Last? Where in the hell were they? This looked like Alaska or the Arctic Circle. It didn't make sense why anyone, including those guards, would bring her here. Not to mention, how Zekin could have arrived so quickly to rescue her.

  Candlelight flickered wildly within the guts of the building. As awful as Paige had found the room, it seemed like home now compared to this hellish expanse of land.

  With his hand clasping hers, Zekin made a quick turn to the right, past the opened door. Paige followed at too sharp an angle. Her arm banged the metal. Inhaling sharply at the pain, she stumbled forward until her foot struck something.

  Paige stiffened, her shoulders rising to her ears, at a man dressed in thick white furs that covered everything but his face and one hand. His eyes were open. Frost covered his irises, the same as his mouth and nose, turning his dusky complexion a sickening gray. Although it didn’t seem possible, his features were the very same as the other guards. He’d had his hand pressed to an outside panel, identical to the one within the building, when he’d died. A red dart still pierced his cheek.

  Had Zekin used him to get inside?

  Paige stepped back quickly as the man’s body listed, then toppled over. He hit the frozen ground with a thud she heard clearly, along with the metal clunk of the closing door. Snow swirled around him, followed by snapping sounds as several of his fingers broke off. The digits rolled away from his hand, pushed by the wind.

  Horrified, she watched his middle finger come to a stop near the body of another man…and a woman. As white as marble, their features and naked bodies were as perfect as those people she’d seen in the hologram.

  Escaped pleasure slaves, Zekin had said.

  Beyond them sprawled the body of another female, this one not so perfect, no different from Paige. The woman was ordinary looking, her hips and thighs a bit too meaty. She looked to be in her late twenties, the same as Paige, and possibly from Seattle.

  Until someone had brought her to this place, leaving her out here to die.

  Too terrified to scream, Paige whimpered.

  Zekin plucked the dart from the guard’s face. “Hurry,” he said, pulling her forward.

  Obediently, she followed him, having no other option. Although she wasn’t wearing special footgear, her feet didn’t sink up to her knees in the thick layers of snow. Nor did she slip on the ice. The suit seemed to grip it, somehow keeping the gale from blowing her away. All around them, the sounds of shattering ice competed with the shrieking wind. When it died down momentarily, there was a soft whoosh, the sound snow makes when it falls from a rooftop.

  She searched for the source of the noise, maybe another building Zekin would bring her to, but didn’t see any.

  Thick gray clouds rolled above them, heavy with more snow. A sliver of bluish-white light poured through a gap in the cloud cover, as though the moon were trying to bleed through. Its rays swept across the land, which shimmered in the frail glow, sparkling like thousands of diamonds. The effect lasted only a moment, and then the light receded, with shadows once again taking over the hostile terrain.

  As though that worried him, Zekin increased his already fast pace, pausing only once to shove her clothing into a snowdrift, burying it.

  Why?

  Paige wasn’t able to ask. She struggled to keep up, gulping air. It should have been icy, hurting her throat, but wasn’t. The transparent mask no doubt heated it. How was that possible? Desperate for answers, she cried out, “Where are we going?”

  Zekin looked over. “A colony where you’ll be safe.”

  Paige dug her fingers into his hand. “Where are we? What is this place?”

  “E5.”

  What in the hell was that? A government installation where scientists conducted classified studies and had pleasure slaves on the side? That made absolutely no—

  Wait a sec. Suddenly, Paige recalled Zekin mentioning E1 when he’d first come into her room.

  “I’ll do all I can to bring you back to E1,” he’d promised her then.

  Instinctively, she held back. Just as quickly, Zekin yanked her forward.

 
“Don’t fight me,” he warned, “or you’ll end up like the others you saw outside the guards’ outpost.”

  Paige shivered so badly, her voice shook. “Did those bastards throw the bodies out there after they murdered those people?”

  “Only some. The others they pushed out there to die.”

  “Why?”

  “They weren’t useful any longer.” Again, he glanced over. “When one of the guards found you and brought you here, they got rid of the other woman. That’s what they do when they tire of females from your realm, or the pleasure slaves they haven’t already killed.”

  Paige was about to pepper him with more questions. Instead, her mind snagged on one word—realm.

  “You mean country?” Maybe she’d been wrong about his nationality. It wasn’t Greek or Middle-Eastern but Russian. Could be this was Siberia. In a weird sort of way, that made sense. “Is that what you meant—my country? The USA? America?”

  He regarded the landscape past her. “We have to hurry before the other guards return and see us.”

  Paige couldn’t imagine how that was possible. The material covering them was the same tint as their surroundings, making them virtually invisible…unless the guards had some kind of special eyewear, like night-vision goggles, that allowed them to see what the naked eye couldn’t. “How far is the colony?”

  “Past that body of water.” He gestured toward what appeared to be an enormous frozen lake ringed by drifts.

  As Paige scanned the area beyond it, searching for some sort of building, a flock of birds flew over the lake. At least she thought they were birds. Their thick feathers were an ashy white, their wingspans enormous, like nothing she’d ever seen.

  They flew in an odd formation, not the usual V pattern, but in a perfect circle. Paige couldn’t help but stare at the phenomenon. How in the world did they do—

  A thunderous crackling sound interrupted her thoughts, and the again screeching wind.

  She flinched. Zekin released her hand and moved in front, his body pushing hers back, shielding Paige as something shattered the ice from beneath the center of the lake. Within seconds, a creature pushed through, hurling its milky body upward. The waves that followed it froze instantly in the raw air, the ends of the water curled over like a fine crystal sculpture. As massive as a blue whale, the creature surged from the lake, a horn protruding from its snout, no doubt what pierced the ice. With blinding speed, it penetrated the circle made by the birdlike creatures.

  Shrieking wildly, they scattered, but it did no good. The whale-like thing swung its monstrous head back and forth, gulping several of the creatures before gravity pulled it back down to the water. A thin sheet of ice formed instantly, hiding its exit. Harsh winds toppled the frozen waves as easily as if they’d been a house of cards, then pushed them against the snowdrifts, returning the scene to the relative calm of a few minutes before as though none of the carnage had occurred.

  Paige continued to hyperventilate. What kind of fucking nightmare had she stumbled into? Was it possible she’d been drugged and was hallucinating? If not… Aw crap, she didn’t want to think about that.

  “There’s nothing to fear,” Zekin assured. “The thing has had its fill for the moment. It won’t harm—”

  Her embrace stopped him. She clung to Zekin, her face pressed against his back, praying he wouldn’t push her away. “Don’t leave me, please,” she begged.

  Her fiancé, Johnny, had done that, calling off their wedding after she’d worked so hard on the plans and getting him to want her. He never apologized. He’d just told her the score, saying they could still live together. As if she’d want that. Before he’d bugged out on her, her mother and then eventually her father had also left. She’d had no one for too long and by God, right now, Paige needed the warmth of Zekin’s body, the security and comfort of his size to preserve her sanity. To give her hope that they’d both get through this.

  “Please,” she repeated.

  “I won’t,” he murmured. “It’s all right.” With his hands on her wrists, Zekin gently pulled her arms from him but didn’t step away.

  If he had, Paige would have followed. Out here, she had no shame, no pride, just an unbearable need to be close.

  He turned to face her, then hesitated only a moment before wrapping his arms around her in a sheltering caress. She couldn’t stop shaking. As he ran his hand down her back, he whispered, “You’re safe.”

  No, she wasn’t. Neither was he. Not out here in arctic-land. Deep inside, Paige was terrified they weren’t on Earth any longer. It was crazy to even consider that, but how else to explain all of this? How could either of them survive? Why had he even risked his life to rescue her? Who was he? Where had he come from?

  She pressed her cheek against his shoulder. The transparent material covering her face was exactly like skin, letting her feel his solid frame, his heat. She snuggled, unable to stop herself, indulging in this small, welcome intimacy as the world went crazy around them.

  The wind died for a moment, then picked up again, slamming against her body as it screamed past. Clouds continued to sink, weighted with snow.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  His hand stalled on her back. “For what?”

  Being scared and being a burden, asking too many questions, not knowing how to make this better. All her life, Paige had done whatever she could so people wouldn’t leave her. Didn’t work. They always had.

  “Getting you into this,” she finally said.

  If she hadn’t had those stupid drinks at Rozie’s, if she hadn’t gotten involved with Johnny—a damn fool who couldn’t commit to marriage much less save her ass out here—none of this would have happened.

  “You had nothing to do with this,” Zekin said. “It was my choice to come.”

  Paige lifted her face.

  He’d rescued her because it was something he had to do, not a suicide mission his superiors had sent him on? Why? Paige wasn’t foolish enough to believe she meant anything to him, expect as another human being he didn’t want to see harmed or killed.

  That was enough. Rarely had she been important to anyone, especially a stranger. Gratitude washed through her so quickly, Paige found it difficult to breathe. Her chin trembled with emotion. No matter what came down, she wouldn’t let on how scared she was or make things any more difficult than they already were.

  She murmured, “Thanks for getting me out of there.”

  He nodded, then released her, taking her hand once more to lead her to the colony.

  Before he could turn away, Paige touched his chest lightly and promised, “I won’t let anything happen to you either.”

  He lifted his brows in what appeared to be surprise, then worked his mouth to hide his smile, which he seemed determined to stop. Just as a soldier would. He’d been dressed like one in his camouflage gear. He behaved as one would. Resolute. Fearless. An unemotional rock.

  He was still a man, though, not a machine, with warmth flaring in his dark eyes. Nice. Paige smiled at the unexpected connection between them. Sure, it was small. But it didn’t feel like they were strangers any longer, nothing more than rescuer and rescued.

  The precious moment between them didn’t last. Zekin regarded her as though he didn’t know what to say or do. At last, he mumbled, “We need to hurry.”

  They’d stopped for no more than a minute. Still, Paige wasn’t about to argue with him. “Whatever you say… We can run if you want. I might even beat you to the colony. I’m really stoked to get out of here, so you better keep up.”

  He laughed, then appeared surprised he had. After a quick glimpse of their surroundings, he continued in the same direction they’d taken before the sea creature had crashed through the ice.

  A light dusting of snow now covered the lake’s surface, the worst of the storm heading in their direction. Within minutes, it reached them, offering no chance to outrun it. Flakes as huge as a man’s fist hit them at an angle, with some adhering to Paige’s facemask.<
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  She brushed them away. More fell. Her hand stalled in midair. What she’d thought were snowflakes didn’t melt on contact. The intricate designs began to move on their own. The spokes were actually legs that protruded from translucent white bodies. A faint blue pulse throbbed within, signaling a heartbeat.

  Holy crap, these were freaking bugs. Big, creepy, cruddy bugs. They slithered over the transparent covering on her face and down her body.

  Paige forgot her promise to run or move at all. Her migraine drained away, replaced by stark terror. Bouncing in place, she flapped her free hand.

  Zekin turned to her. The things were crawling over him too.

  “I’m not scared,” she blubbered, then clenched her jaw as one of the insects skittered across her mouth. She shuddered at the feel of it moving on her lips, taking its time before reaching her cheek. She held back a gag and swallowed hard. “It’s okay. Everything’s great. I’m not scared.”

  Quickly, Zekin brushed the gross things from her even as others scrambled over him.

  Paige slapped them from his shoulders and arms. “Are you all right? Are they biting you?”

  “They can’t get through the barrier we wear.” He grabbed her wrist, stopping Paige before she knocked them off his chest.

  The cloud passed as quickly as it had arrived, raining the things on one of the monstrous drifts.

  Thousands of them roamed the ground, in no hurry to get out of the way. After all, this was their gruesome territory. Paige bit her bottom lip at the crunching sounds they made, their brittleness as she and Zekin walked over them. Trying not to retch, she moved faster than she would have believed possible, her full attention on Zekin’s broad back, narrow hips, long muscular legs, rather than the surrounding area. She didn’t want to see anything but him.

  At last, she didn’t want to see anything at all.

  Zekin wondered if Paige had closed her eyes and figured she had, given how she ran into him, her shoulder bumping his back.

  “Sorry,” she cried.

  Zekin nodded in acknowledgment, not certain she noticed or could even comprehend his response given her panic. She huffed as she tried to keep up with him, and stumbled again, her body ramming against his. He staggered briefly before regaining his balance. To keep both of them steady, Zekin wrapped his arm around Paige’s waist to help her across the foreboding terrain.