Mine, he thought, his heart still racing.
And she was missing.
Twisting more, he sniffed the air again, forcing himself to filter out everything but her scent. He caught it then, faint but there. The smell of strawberries and mint.
Alice!
The wolf continued to beat at him, and he let it peek through slightly, enhancing his senses even more. He dropped to where he’d just been and saw her then, lying there, not moving. He grabbed for her as gently as he could with his state of mind. The wolf reacted, clawing at his gut, demanding he do something because she wasn’t breathing. It wanted him to do the unthinkable and claim her. For a moment, he feared his wolf would win and he’d do just that.
“Alice!” he shouted, lifting her and cradling her against his frame. He held her with one arm and grabbed for her face with the other. He cupped her mouth and was about to do a bastardized form of CPR when she gasped and laced her fingers through his hair, drawing him closer to her as her lips collided with his. Her tongue darted past his tongue and he growled, low and deep as need slammed through him.
Try as he might to control himself, he couldn’t. He’d spent too long being pumped endlessly with drugs that made him desire sex, and his wolf was too close to the surface. Need poured off Alice and Brad couldn’t deny her, even if he’d wanted to, which he did not. His tongue moved around hers in expert fashion as if the two had years of practice together rather than mere seconds.
It felt as if someone had tied a rope around his waist, connecting him to Alice. He’d had a similar sensation when, after his last beating with silver-coated chains, he’d had fleeting images of a pale redhead in need. His jaw sagged in disbelief as he put it all together, who the woman from his vision was—Alice.
He knew he should back away and make sure she was safe and sound, but he couldn’t seem to gather control or stop kissing her. He took their kiss to another level, his tongue delving deeper. He yanked harder on her, trying to kiss his way through her. The feeling of being tied to her increased to the point he actually thought he might have managed to fuse to her.
His cock responded to the idea, liking it very much. So much that it seemed to have a mind of its own. He couldn’t recall a time he’d ever been this hard, this desperate to have sex. He didn’t care about anything other than her and being one with her.
Her eyes snapped open and she pushed on his chest, breaking their kiss, a look of sheer terror on her face. The sight ripped at his gut. He didn’t want her afraid of him.
“Alice,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. You kissed me, and well, I couldn’t stop myself from kissing you back.”
She kept her hand on his chest and began to caress it. “Did I hurt you?”
His brows met. Was she serious? Sure, she’d hurt him if she thought giving him a raging hard-on equaled pain. In all honesty, it sort of did. He had to reach down and adjust himself in an attempt to alleviate some of the pressure in his cock.
“No, baby,” he said softly. “You didn’t hurt me. Whatever you did actually made me feel better.”
“It did?” she asked, confusion coating her beautiful face.
Baby?
Did I just baby her?
She blinked several times and then coughed. Blood shot out of her mouth and trickled down her chin and neck. The false sense of relief he’d gained from her speaking to him vanished and he realized just how hurt she was. She’d clearly sustained internal injuries during the explosion.
Her eyes widened and she gripped his hand. He bent and kissed her forehead gently. “I’ll get you to help.”
She shook her head and tugged on him, forcing him to lean. “Succubus.”
He’d heard Ezra refer to her as such already. Why was she bothering to tell him again? Did she not think he knew better than to take her to a human hospital? He’d reach out to his contacts underground as soon as he knew it was safe and find her medical help that catered to supernaturals. “I know, baby.”
Cringing, he realized he’d given her the same pet name once more.
She shook her head, her eyes wide. She winced and additional blood came from her mouth. “Need sex energy.”
It took Brad a moment to wrap his mind around what she was telling him. When it hit him, he lifted his brows. “Where do I find that?”
The look Alice gave him was a cross between annoyance and amusement. She ran her hand over his cheek in a sweeping motion, as if they were lovers. “You. Need you.”
She needed him?
The knowledge rocked him to his very core.
She coughed and then cried out before her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She passed out in his arms and he lifted her carefully. He’d get her to safety and he’d figure out a way to see to her needs, though he was pretty sure she’d been delirious when she’d suggested she needed him.
He held her to him closely as he made his way through the rubble in the direction he could only hope was out. With as disoriented as he was he half-feared he’d walk straight into the enemy’s hands. The further he went, the more he got his wits about him. When he exited out into open air and found himself standing in what used to be a parking lot, the building he’d come from engulfed in flames, he backed up more, holding Alice protectively. Everything in him wanted to run with her, far and fast, but he couldn’t risk hurting her more.
He’d get her somewhere safe and he’d see to her medical needs as best he could. And if he absolutely had to, he’d reach out to some of his old SEAL buddies. He had to be careful. Trusting others had landed him where he was—a prisoner. He wouldn’t jeopardize Alice’s safety. He spotted a vintage muscle car off a ways in the parking area. There was no doubt in his mind the car belonged to a guard. Men like them went for muscle cars.
He went straight for the vehicle. If he knew the guards like he suspected he did, the car would have a stash of weapons and cash in it in the event a quick getaway was needed. With great care he set Alice on the hard ground and then proceeded to break into the car. Once he’d gained access he placed Alice in the passenger seat. He then rushed around, assumed the driver’s seat and proceeded to hotwire the vehicle. The skill was one he’d picked up during his squandered youth, but one he was happy to have.
Chapter Nine
Brad drove as fast as he could, and for as long as he dared with the condition Alice was in before he pulled down a one-lane road and found a secluded spot to park off to the side. They were far enough from the highway that no one would think to look for them there. He needed to check on her.
She hadn’t moved since he’d put her in the car, and he’d spent the last hour listening to her breathing as he drove, scared beyond words that she’d give up the fight and die. That just wasn’t an option. He needed her.
He stilled, trying to understand where the feelings had come from. Had he developed them because he’d been held so long and she represented something to him—freedom maybe? Or was it something more, something deeper? Whatever it was, he wanted her safe.
“Alice? Baby?” He touched her cheek with the back of his knuckles. When she didn’t respond his chest tightened. Had he done the right thing by taking her from the holding facility? They were bastards, but they would have seen to her medical attention if for no other reason than to ensure they’d get top dollar for her or possibly be able to breed her. Had he put her life in more jeopardy by removing her from a location that had doctors trained for supernatural care?
His hand shook as he touched her face gently once more. “Alice.”
Her eyes flickered open, and she sucked in what sounded like a painful breath. “B-Brad?”
“Shh, baby, we’re safe. We’re out of the place, but you’re hurt. Bad.”
Her hand moved over his. “Need to feed.”
He tensed. Did he trust himself enough to give her what her body required? When his mind screamed “hell no” he knew the answer, but that didn’t change the fact Alice was a succubus and from what he was quickly beginning to recognize, she
needed sex to help her heal.
Man up, Durant, he thought. She needs you to pull your shit together.
“Yes,” Alice said, a lazy smile moving over her beautiful face. “She does.”
He stared at her for a moment before realizing she’d picked up on his thoughts. “You can read me?”
“Couldn’t before,” she whispered, wincing and shifting slightly in the seat. “I can now after we kissed. Weird. Your thoughts aren’t like others.”
He lifted a brow. What the hell did that mean? Had the doctors broken him mentally too, like they’d broken his wolf?
She touched his hand. “They don’t fill my head and make a lot of noise. They feel good. Right.”
He touched her lower lip, wanting to kiss her again. “Tell me how to help you. I know you need sex. What can I do to help you with that?”
The look she gave him was priceless. “I doubt I need to explain to you what to do with a woman, or do I?”
His cheeks flamed nearly as red as her hair. “No. Believe it or not, baby, I was once considered a ladies’ man.”
It was her turn to cock a brow in disbelief. “Sure.”
Brad smiled, and it felt good to have a happy moment after so many miserable ones over the past months. His happiness was short-lived as Alice coughed and more blood trickled down her chin.
Brad reacted, jumping out of his side of the vehicle and racing around to hers. He opened her door, reached in, lifted her out, and then moved her instinctively to the hood of the car. He set her on it gently. “Alice, tell me what to do.”
She grabbed his face and tugged, drawing his mouth close to hers. Their lips met, and Brad shut off everything but the taste and feel of the woman in his arms. Her blood coated his tongue, enticing his shifter side in ways that both worried and excited him. His wolf beat at him from the inside, wanting him to be more aggressive, to take her and pound into her until he was fully spent and she was fully claimed. The thought should have sobered him. It didn’t. It excited him, and that worried him.
She wrapped her legs around him and yanked his body over hers. Brad went willingly, grinding his lower half against hers as their kiss took hold. He felt it then, her magik again, moving up and around him. His dick responded in kind, lengthening, readying itself for whatever she wanted and needed. The drugs the guards had been putting in his food were still in his system, and that worried him. He was already on edge, his wolf bigger and more aggressive than it ever had been. He didn’t want to harm Alice.
“Alice,” he said, breaking the kiss for the briefest of moments. “I’m so fucking scared of hurting you.”
She bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood from him and let out a sultry laugh. “Pain can be fun, Bradley.”
He slammed his hands on the hood of the car and ravished her mouth, going at her hard and heavy, his hips moving as if he was making love to her, rather than merely grinding against her. It didn’t matter. It all felt so good, he didn’t care. Her magik made him feel whole again, and he could sense the burning need running through her for more of what they were doing.
She ran her hands over his bare chest and then reached up and cupped his face. It was Alice who broke the kiss, looking him over closely, turning his head left and then right. “Am I hurting you?”
“No, baby. I told you before, whatever you do makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt.”
She panted. “Tell me if I start to hurt you, please.”
“I will.”
She put her lips to his, and he caught her chin, holding her back from kissing him full on once more. He eased his tongue out and over her lower lip slowly and then licked the dried blood from her chin. The act was so erotic to his shifter side that Brad thought he might come where he stood. Alice wiggled beneath him, pushing her mound against his distended flesh. He reacted, moving in a way that left him drawing tiny moans of pleasure from her. He kept going, kept dry fucking her on the hood of the car he’d stolen.
Alice grabbed hold of his arms and cried out, her magik hitting him harder, giving him more energy. Before he could register what was happening his seed shot free of him, filling the scrub bottoms he was wearing. Alice’s blue eyes filled with black for a second and then returned to normal as a lazy smile spread across her face.
“Thank you,” she said, drifting off in his arms.
Her breathing was no longer labored, and he couldn’t sense her pain anymore. Manly pride welled in him and he lifted her, placing her back in the passenger seat. He buckled her in once more and then stood and looked around the area. There was a grazing cow in a pasture not far from them, chewing on grass and giving him a look that said she knew what they’d been up to.
Brad smiled wide and drew in a deep breath, enjoying the smell of freedom, even if it came with the added aroma of cow manure. Glancing down at himself, he took note of the wet spot all over the front of his bottoms. He grunted and then went to the trunk of the car to look around. The guards were crafty bastards. They’d want a quick exit strategy and would need to be able to go on the run for extended periods with ease.
He’d been around the block enough to spot hidden compartments. By the time he was done taking inventory of what was in the trunk and several other compartments he found in the backseat area, they had a good stockpile of weapons and ammunition, enough cash to start new lives and a decent amount of men’s clothing and shoes. There wasn’t anything for a woman. As much as Brad hated the guards, they were predictable and clearly paid well for their nefarious acts.
Without hesitation, he removed the bottoms he’d been wearing and tossed them aside. The damn cow made a noise, reminding him he was being watched. He dressed in a pair of jeans that fit his frame now, but wouldn’t have fit his frame prior to being taken. Brad, while still toned and fit, wasn’t as bulky as he had been. His exercise had been limited to what he could do in a cell, but he’d been sure to take every opportunity he could to stay in tiptop shape. He slipped on a T-shirt and a pair of work boots that would do for now.
Chapter Ten
Brad finished refueling the car and put the pump back in place before looking again, making sure they weren’t being followed and hadn’t been found. He’d had to leave Alice sleeping in the car long enough to go into a store and get some personal items for them and clothing for her. He’d grabbed some fresh fruit and bottled water as well, unsure if she’d be hungry when she woke. He needed to find a safe place for them to spend the night. Ezra’s safe house was an option, but Brad didn’t want to take it just yet. Not until he knew for sure Ezra could be trusted. He wanted to believe the man could, but he’d been fooled before, and he wouldn’t risk Alice.
They were hours from the holding facility, but that didn’t take from Brad’s paranoia. While he didn’t want to go back and be under the thumb of madmen, the idea of allowing them to get their hands on Alice again did something to him that he couldn’t explain. He’d rather be locked away for the remainder of his immortally long life than permit harm to come to her again.
Deep down, he knew she was a liability. That he should reach out to his old network for her, for help, and then walk away, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t fathom the idea of simply stepping out of her life.
You barely know her.
As he took his spot behind the steering wheel, his gaze returned to Alice. She was resting at an angle that appeared uncomfortable. He reached back in a bag on the seat behind him, withdrew a shirt and rolled it before placing it gently under her head. She moaned lightly, her lips so close to his face that he could have kissed her.
It took all of him not to.
“Keep sleeping, baby,” he said in a hushed tone, wanting her to get as much sleep as possible. It would help her heal fully. At least he hoped it would.
He got back on the road, wanting more distance between them and the facility they’d been held at. He ate a banana as he drove, but found he was only able to take a few bites. His stomach wasn’t used to whole foods. As the sun set, B
rad pulled to the side of the highway, thankful they’d been the only car on the isolated stretch for nearly an hour. He had to stretch his legs, and he wasn’t entirely sure the little portion of the fruit he ate was going to remain down.
He put the car in park and was about to open the driver’s side door when Alice stirred once more, hissing, her eyes snapping open. He expected her to scream, to fight, to be afraid and unsure of where she was or who she was with. She met his gaze and reached for him as the vehicle filled with the smell of her desire. Her eyes swirled with liquid black.
Brad gasped, understanding it was Alice’s succubus. That, like in the hall after the explosion, she needed to feed it. And if her eyes were swirling to black he suspected she was pretty far gone on the control side of things. A pang of guilt hit him. She’d said she needed him to feed her hunger before, but he’d been reluctant to do so.
She ripped at the seatbelt holding her in place. Brad reached around her and undid it before she either hurt herself or managed to tear it to shreds. She moved up and over the center console in the blink of an eye. She straddled his waist, and he thumped his head backwards, wanting to be a gentleman and avoid taking her while she was under the influence of her succubus, but his wolf didn’t really give a shit. It wanted her and didn’t care what was driving her.
He did his best to hold her, but she was damn strong in this state. Brad’s wolf rose to the challenge, surging forward, stealing his control. She ran her hands into his hair, her lips finding his. The second her tongue found its way to his, he felt invigorated. His stomach stopped protesting the small bit of food he’d managed. Alice ground her hips on his lap, his cock hardening at once, wanting free from the jeans he’d put on. She undid his pants and shoved her hand down, finding him hard and ready for her.
She stopped the kiss and moved back, freeing his cock from the jeans. It twitched in her hand, and she grinned a grin so sexy that Brad reached out and touched her lips. He stared up at her, taking in all of her beauty. Tiny freckles were sprinkled over her nose and upper cheeks. He wanted to kiss every single one of them. She was stunning and there was something so familiar about her.
Wolf's Surrender: Part of the Immortal Ops World (Shadow Agents / PSI-Ops Book 1) Page 7
