by Billi Jean
“Hunter, damn, woman, you’re making me insane here,” he said with such feeling she smiled in complete agreement. “Yeah?” he laughed. “You like making me insane?”
“I kinda do.” She pressed against his chest to get him to move back, not to stop him, but because she wanted to see him, all of him she could. He moved back a fraction of an inch, but it was enough. His body was cut, with a solidness that came from being a warrior. She stroked down from his rounded shoulders, past the hard plank of his chest and over his brown nipples to the light sprinkling of golden hair in the middle. Unable to stop there, she touched the scar tissue left behind by the horror of Washington. The line was thick, the memory of how he’d gotten it clear to her, but she didn’t shove it away—without it, she might not have ever met this amazing man. Not that she ever wanted him hurt like that, but fate had somehow brought them together.
“See? I have a few scars, too,” he murmured, brushing a kiss to her scarred face. “Hidden, but still there.”
She nodded, not willing to go there. “But you have this, too,” she whispered, running her hands over his hard chest. “I kinda like it.”
“Yeah?” Not missing a chance to copy her actions, he caressed her breasts. “Sparky, the things we could do with these. When you’re healed,” he added, and sighed heavily.
“Oh, do that again.” She tickled her fingers down his hot six—or eight—pack.
“You go lower and Little Rickie is joining the fun,” he warned.
She laughed. Meeting his blue eyes, she saw he was thrilled by that idea. He leaned in to brush a kiss to her lips. Immediately he drove inside her mouth, switching his grip so that one hand was behind her head—as if she might stop him.
Obeying his rules, she circled his neck with her good arm, and pressed closer. He was so very hot and his kiss was so good. He wasn’t pressing her for sex, but he was driving her to beg for it.
As soon as she thought it, she relaxed against him and simply kissed him. Sex wasn’t always the answer, and this was something she’d never experienced. Fucking was always hot, fast and over too soon. Kincaid wasn’t going to let that happen. She could tell.
He got all hot and worked up again. So did she, but he pulled back and, breathing deeply, shook his head.
“Gotta slow down, crazy woman. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were torturing me.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, why all of a sudden kiss me like a woman—”
“You kissed me.”
“Yeah, best decision I’ve ever made, outside of watching your friend undress you.”
“You what?” she cried, hitting his shoulder then wincing as her side pulled.
“Ouch, watch it. Here, let’s get this wrapped up again, but I’ve got to clean it. I let it bleed a bit to get some of that shit out but we have—”
“You kissed me to waste time so I would bleed?”
He froze, caught her eyes with an intense expression, and moved in so close that his minty breath warmed her face.
“I kissed you because you need to be kissed and I’m the man to do it. Don’t get me wrong, Sparky, as soon as this is gone, you’re under…hell, on top, or on the side of me, doesn’t matter at this point, but we will be testing out every possible position and adding a few of our own.”
She swallowed, hard. That sounded good—better than good, fantastic.
Who cares about keeping him away? Or what my face looks like? He doesn’t. He wants me. I want him. Simple.
“I heal pretty fast,” she offered.
He winked. “I was hoping and praying you did.”
With that, he went back to work, easing the now not-so-freezing water over her injury, then grumbled and warned her he was going to have to rub a bit harder. He did, but she manned up and only fisted her hands instead of crying out at the pain. After what seemed a pretty long time of that, he straightened, and examined the area. “Now just to put some antibiotic on it and you’re good. Gunshot wounds are dangerous, even flesh wounds. Bullets are messy and—”
“Kincaid, I get it. I’m fine. Go ahead, really. It’s cool.”
He shook his head. “Don’t ever get shot for me again.”
“Don’t make me. Watch your back next time, okay?”
“Deal,” he grumbled, but she could tell he was half serious, half amused. “Just don’t take a bullet for me—”
The piercing sound of an alarm going off had Kincaid covering her mouth, even though he was the one carrying on. A second later it stopped.
“Shit, that means what?”
“We’re not alone. Hurry with this,” she whispered.
He grabbed the tube of antibiotic and smeared a huge amount on her side, then quickly wiped away the excess, peeled open two butterfly bandages, and finished off by wrapping her again. This time when he tied the knot, he leaned in to whisper, “Hunter, if you get shot again, you know that means Little Rickie is going to be upset with you, too.”
“He’s not now?” she asked and rubbed her hand over the very, very impressive length of Kincaid’s ‘Little Rickie’. “Are you sure this isn’t Big Rickie?” she whispered, stroking down and down until she found the rounded head and squeezed it. She also kissed him this time.
Kincaid froze, but surprised a squeal out of her by cupping her pussy and pressing down just perfectly on her clit. She nearly climaxed.
“Woman, if that alarm wasn’t—”
“And I wasn’t hurt—”
“Right, right,” he sighed, but removed his hand. “Get some clothes on while I remind Rickie of what shit is happening and not happening.”
She laughed. What more could she do? He was so handsome, so clearly in a dilemma of wanting her and not wanting to hurt her and now faced with someone coming into the compound.
“We have five minutes, tops. We should get me to a keypad so I can see if I can’t find out who is joining the party. There should be one in here.”
He was still bare-chested, and all hot and naked for her to admire, but his smile dazzled as he said, “Right.”
She slipped a shirt on, gently over the wound again. Maybe she needed to be more careful. Maybe Aubrey was wrong. Maybe she wasn’t immortal.
The thought had never bothered her before. She hadn’t known if she was or wasn’t, but now, she wondered. If she were mortal, maybe she and Kincaid—
Another alarm went off, which freaked her out. “Why another?”
“Hell if I know, hurry, Sparky. Not the time to get all hot over my body, okay?
“Brat, you’re admiring mine, so—”
“Obviously.” He came over and helped her ease the shirt down past her bandages. “There, now, try to not get hurt.”
“I’m trying, I’m trying.”
Chapter Eleven
Kincaid shook his head again, trying to knock some of his brain cells back up from Rickie’s domain. The sway and rock of Hunter’s gorgeous butt in front of him made that harder than anything else he could remember. He’d been seconds away from dropping to his knees and sampling the paradise he knew he’d find between her thighs. She’d taste amazing, just like her mouth. Sweet and hot.
“Here,” she murmured and stopped.
Of course he bumped right into her, and yeah, she was soft in all the right places.
“Careful, mister.”
“Rick. You can drop the mister now that you’ve said hello to Little Rickie.”
She fought a smile, but got to work without laughing. He liked that about her, how she could juggle him and business.
“Tell me what you’re doing,” he reminded her.
“Oh, yeah, sorry.” She smiled sheepishly. She’d put her hair up in a ponytail again but dropped the Red Sox hat. He’d let her rest on the way back from their hike, but he doubted it had been adequate. The beefed up vehicle was excellent, but the road had been bumpy. She didn’t appear tired, though. He guessed she was running on adrenaline, but maybe that was good enough for now. He’d guzzled two Red Bu
lls and eaten a few granola bars, so he was good to go for a few more hours.
“I’m searching for the cameras through the lines.” Her attention was on what she was doing, which left him free to think.
She hadn’t been holding back, but he sensed more to the story than she was saying. She’d thought she’d killed her sister. That shit must have hit hard. He already knew Hunter gave more than a hundred percent in a fight, especially when her friends were in danger. She’d scared the shit out of him in Washington when they’d gone head-to-head with a guy they called Gerald. The nasty fucker had nearly managed to kill Jaxon and Agni. Hunter hadn’t held back like he’d assumed the girls would. She had stood toe to toe with Aubrey against Gerald, and both girls had probably saved them all.
So why did Hunter seem to be trying to warn him she was to blame, and even worse, had betrayed her friends?
“Thoughts?” Kincaid asked, trying to keep his eye on Hunter, and the hallway and stay alert for any sounds at the same time. For some insane reason, having Hunter down here, possibly in danger, was seriously messing with his ability to think.
It made no sense. He’d seen her kick butt. She could and would get them out of here if things got whacked.
But the image of her, so small and frail, with dirt and blood mixed with bruises, filtered through his cerebral cortex and wouldn’t shut off.
He didn’t want to see her like that again—in fact, he could admit he never wanted to see another scratch on her. And she’d just taken a bullet meant for him. She was tough, but she scared the living shit out of him.
“My thoughts are that alarm means we aren’t alone, but I’m hoping it’s not another surprise. Maybe it’s the changelings. That door, right? We never closed it, so…”
“Agreed. Let’s try to get this done,” he muttered, as in save his men, find the cure for the changelings and give Hunter back her life. Those three things might not happen in one easy swipe. Already nothing was going as planned. “What do you see?”
She didn’t say a word for a long, drawn-out minute, then went into minute number two, since he was counting, and finally sucked in a shocked breath.
“Oh no, I think… Yeah, I think more of those creatures, maybe changelings. Near the door. Not the same ones, though. I think. I mean, I hope.”
He took that in and accepted it. “That means we can’t call it a night. We’re going to have to check the lower levels.”
“We weren’t going to call it a night.”
“Well, I was giving it some thought,” he teased.
“Kincaid, I’m okay.”
“You sure?” he asked, not a hundred percent about that. It felt as if they’d been working together for years, not…a day. There was something there that made him easier around her than anyone else he’d ever known. And that something warned him her side hurt one hell of a lot more than she owned.
But when she walked off, there was nothing left but to follow. He’d just have to keep her safe—or safer because he wanted more of those wild kisses and more time to explore why she felt so damn right next to him.
At the elevator he checked his weapons and made certain he had his kit. He wore his pack, but he’d taken her things out of hers and added them to his. Well, all she’d let him. She still wore hers, but it was much lighter. He wasn’t sure what else she had in there, but whatever it was must have been personal. He bet on tampons or something like that.
“You okay? I mean…” He thought about all he’d read about Hunter’s ability and realized he didn’t know much more than what she’d already shown him. Gating, powerful electric charges and wicked smart—that was Hunter. “Really, are you good to go, even with the magic touch?”
She glanced at him and tilted her head, examining his face to see if he was on the up and up.
“Yeah, I’m good. I think that’s the Midas touch,” she added, just because she was so damn amazing. “But, I don’t know if I want down there, especially if more of those red-eyed freaks are waiting for us. But if you insist, sure, let’s go, because if not now, then we have to later, right?”
“Right,” he muttered. So her attitude was back, that was good. Hunter quiet was the bad signal he needed to watch for more closely. Still, he felt like something was off.
Maybe going in blind with a woman by your side and not your team, that’s what’s wrong?
It wasn’t that. He felt like he’d always worked with her. He trusted Hunter. It was… He exhaled heavily. It was gut fear for her.
“This isn’t an elevator I’ve been on,” she said suddenly.
“No?”
“I wasn’t taken down this way, only that way.” She gestured to the far end of the hall. The doors opened and she stepped in, glancing at the buttons, and frowned. “Yeah, I had no idea.” She kicked the inside wall—not a move she’d normally stoop to, but he could tell she was keyed up. “They kept a lot from me. I guess I was just stupid and wanted out of here so bad I didn’t think straight.”
“Calm down and explain what’s got you all worked up.”
“There, these floors. I had no idea there were so many below this one.”
He studied the keypad, then her. She was angry all right. He could get why. If he’d been brought in, then kept in the dark like that, he’d have been upset, too. Surprises were never welcome, but they had to be anticipated.
“Well, now we’ve seen this one and this one.” He gestured to the floors they’d been on then the one they’d seen on camera. The ones below those were an unknown. “We can’t cover this much in one night. We check out that door and come back up. If there is more down there, then we have to hit it later.”
“How big is this place?”
“I’m guessing the size of a small town, all underground.”
That settled between them and she seemed to take it in slowly. “We sleep here?” she asked.
“I say we do, but we can discuss that when we need to.” Kincaid took out his gun, ready for the door to open.
“Okay.”
He glanced at her profile, a little amazed that she easily accepted his lead.
“Your side, if it hurts—”
“I’ll let you know.”
The doors opened and he had his gun at the ready. Nothing and no one waited. After a few minutes of listening, and seeing nothing from the dim hallway ahead of them, he stepped out of the elevator. He held up a hand for her to wait and she did.
“Just be cautious. We go slow and we go silent. If you need my attention, whisper, or better yet, grab my left shoulder. Got it?”
“Yep, left shoulder.”
He checked on her but she was already scanning the area.
“Nothing so far,” she said when she met his eyes.
“All right, follow me,” he ordered, feeling more and more off with this mission.
She was a step behind, trusting his lead that easily, down a hallway barely wide enough for them to walk side by side as soon as he moved.
“Stay a step behind,” he added.
She did what he’d asked and he continued on. That way he could get hit with whatever was ahead of them first, and she’d be safer. She was wicked fast, but he didn’t want her out front or hurt.
Within minutes he was faced with a left or right turn, and neither choice was good.
“Feel anything about our choices?” he asked, scanning both options.
“I got nothing but creepy.”
“Yeah?” he murmured, impressed by her spunk. The place was beyond creepy. It was right out of one of those apocalypse movies where everyone had died of some disease—even the mad scientist. Still, he could keep up the humor. It was better than going all hardcore on her. “Me, the situation or the left hallway, more than the right?”
She shook her head, but didn’t relax. “All three. Both choices of hallways in particular are creepy. You, not so much, but I’ve only spent the one day with you.”
And taken a bullet meant for him. And kissed him as if she’d never wanted to
stop.
“We have no idea what we’re walking into. The trip after the changelings proved that,” she muttered. “This compound could still be in operation for all I know. Maybe they make them here and release them. Who knows? Not me.”
“Are you whining?” he asked, just to get her back into the game.
“That doesn’t work on me,” she snapped. “But I have a feeling that alarm meant we missed something on those camera feeds.”
“Right. Why didn’t it go off before, right?”
“Right,” she agreed, not sounding happy about doing it.
“If there was a crew still down here, we’d not have made it past the front door. If there is anything here, it’s been left behind—including the creatures you saw. Now, focus on what we do know.”
She took it better than he’d expected, merely exhaled and kept her guard up. Finally she said, “I wasn’t down here. That means…” She paused and glanced behind her then up at him. “That means someone had some major skill at hiding things.”
“Computer skill, like you?” he asked for clarity.
“Yes.”
The low growl behind them ended their little talk. It also saved his life and hers.
He spun and was knocked to the side by a creature easily the size of a black bear. It snapped its jaws near his head, thankfully missing him, but went right for a shocked Hunter.
To her credit, she landed hard on her butt, but kicked out and caught the scrambling, snarling beast on the snout with her boot, crawling backward at the same time so she didn’t lose the foot.
It snarled and dove at her again. He barely had time to fire a dart before the thing turned and came at him. He dropped the tranq gun and grabbed his rifle, bringing it hard down on its head.
Hunter cried out a warning. He spared her a glance and saw her dodging another beast’s snapping jaws.
