by Tina Donahue
She smiled softly.
He tended to her for minutes, neither of them speaking. It wasn’t necessary. Serenity replaced their previous ardor, this new feeling as wondrous and possibly more powerful.
At last, he finished and tossed the cloth into the bath. It smacked against the tile floor.
Gwen looked over. He’d scooted to the edge of the bed, too far away. Dropping to her side, she faced him and spoke fast. “I have the next week off from my job. I work seven and take off seven—days, that is. I want you to stay here with me. I don’t want you out there.”
With his forearm across his thigh, he leaned toward her and eased a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.
She turned her face into his hand
“I need to kill the guards,” he said.
He’d announced it with such troubling ease, Gwen stopped kissing his wrist and frowned. “What about the others in your pack? You said one of them had killed the guard I saw in the emergency room. How many of your pack are over here? Don’t you communicate on a regular basis with each other? Why can’t you tell them to take care of the rest of the guards?”
He brought back his hand. “You’re talking too much again.”
“And you’re not talking enough.” She pushed up and sat cross-legged on the bed.
His attention dropped from her face to her breasts to her pussy, remaining there.
Thank God some part of her had his full consideration. “Answer my questions.”
His brows inched up. “There were so many.”
Yeah, sure. He wanted to dodge the issue. “Start with the first I asked and work your way through the others.”
He sighed loudly, as all guys do when they can’t BS women. Falling to the mattress, he rested his arms above his head, revealing the dark brown hair in his pits.
It was too much of a temptation for Gwen to resist. She bent over and pressed her face to that part of him, as she had in the shower, inhaling deeply of his soapy, musky scent.
Kuma chuckled as she tugged on several strands with her teeth. “What are you doing?”
She kissed his pit and straightened. “Waiting for you to talk to me.”
He looked like a man ready to bolt. Considering his talent for turning into a wolf, he wouldn’t even have to pause long enough to pull on his clothes.
“Please,” Gwen begged. She ran her fingertips down his taut belly.
His muscles quivered. He murmured, “Five.”
“What?”
“Five in my pack followed me into the portal. Only Teeko and I managed to survive in your realm. The last time we spoke, he said he smelled a ruler here. I told him it was impossible, but he insisted. We don’t know why someone like that would be on this side or if he was responsible for the two slaves escaping E4. Not that it matters. We’ll have to kill him as we’re doing with the guards that keep coming over.”
Gwen snatched back her hand. “Oh, fuck that. You can’t keep murdering people.”
“Guards,” he corrected, his expression growing dark. “And a ruler. Both abuse the pleasure slaves without a thought to their pain. I’ve seen them force slaves out of the Palace when the rulers want to hunt them with crossbows. They do that to women younger than you because the rulers feel they’re too old. I’ve heard them speak of it. Some slaves are murdered simply because they didn’t obey quickly enough.”
She shook her head, not wanting to hear it.
Didn’t stop him. “That’s now the fate of females from this realm, unless the guards take them to E5. From the stories my ancestors passed down, it’s a dimension of ice and fire, so far from what you call your sun, it’s always dark there, the land frozen. However, there are pockets of heat from the planet’s molten core. It’s within those rings of warmth that the guards are bringing the women they abduct and doing whatever they want with them. Rape, murder, both. It depends upon the female, whether her appearance pleases them for long periods or not. Whether she’s perfect or—”
“Okay, okay, I’ve heard enough.”
He brought down his arm and rested his hand on hers. “Then you know why I have to do this.”
“I didn’t say that.” She turned her palm to touch his. “You could get hurt or…” Gwen shook her head. She leaned into him and whispered, “What if the guards hit you with one of those darts and bring you back to E4? They’d torture or kill you, probably both. Are your parents still alive? Do you have siblings? Brothers? Sisters? Do you have children?”
With each question, he’d pushed into the mattress as though to put distance between himself and her. “Why?”
“Do you want them to witness your return to E4? You getting tortured and—”
“My mother died giving birth to my brother, who didn’t last the day. The guards took down my father when I was still a boy. Zule was pregnant when they murdered her.”
Shit. She shouldn’t have asked. He was right; she talked too much, not that it stopped Gwen from continuing. “I know you want to get back at them for what they did to your father and Zule. I know you want to protect the women over here, but surely there has to be another way.”
He pulled his hand from hers. Gwen brought it right back, holding it to her chest. He might have been ready to die in this realm, but she wasn’t about to allow it, not without one helluva fight.
“There is no other way,” he argued, “unless you’re willing to let the guards harm women from this dimension so that I’m protected. You can’t have everyone’s safety.”
Of course she could and would prove it to him, no matter what it took. They didn’t even know each other, but dammit, there was a connection, and not only because he’d saved her. It had more to do with the kind of man he was. Already Gwen had allowed herself to get closer to him than she had any other guy. With him, she didn’t feel diminished or demeaned. What if he was the home she’d never had? The family she’d longed for? What if he was her future? A long, wonderful future.
There had to be a way to fix this.
Her thoughts raced, pausing on one possibility. She could go to the cops she’d met while working in the ER and tell them she’d been attacked, show them the wound on her neck. She’d lie and say other women had come to the hospital with tales of similar assaults. She could convince them to put out an alert to the media. The newscasts would warn Seattle that there was another murderous nut in their midst.
It could work.
Unless the cops started asking questions of her coworkers, who’d say they didn’t know what Gwen was talking about. The officers would wonder why she hadn’t reported her assault immediately to them or at least gone back to the hospital after she escaped the maniac who’d attacked her. They might start investigating her background. They’d come here and would see Kuma.
No. Couldn’t happen. She wouldn’t put him at risk…nor could she allow the women here to be sitting ducks for creeps from another dimension.
“Do the guards ever attack during the day?” she asked.
Curiosity and a touch of caution flashed on his handsome face. “They’re more comfortable in the dark, as my kind are.”
“Because there’re fewer people outside watching? Or because the sun’s so faint on your side? They can see better at night.”
His frown deepened. “Why are you asking about the guard’s habits?”
“Because it’s nearly dawn.” She gestured to the clock. “My guess is, they won’t be active when it’s light outside. We’ll have until tonight to make a plan.”
Somehow, Gwen was going to ensure that no guard abducted another woman and that Kuma didn’t get hurt or killed.
Chapter Nine
Behind Nikoli’s chair, Regina paced. Watching her from his computer screen were Meelo and Damir, their expressions as neutral as Nikoli’s despite what was happening on this side…what it could mean to all of them. Their absence of emotion was a vestige from their days on E2 and made Regina nuts.
She stopped at the edge of Nikoli’s table and leaned against it,
trying to find comfort in what had happened minutes earlier. After trying for two solid days, Nikoli had finally located his father in a remote lab the older man used on occasion. Using his device, Nikoli opened a portal. Where their kitchen wall once stood, a gateway appeared, its barrier as clear as glass and more impenetrable than steel to keep all intruders out of E2. Domm Zorr had regarded his son with no surprise or affection. Except for their age difference—with those years turning Domm’s hair white and lining his face—he and Nikoli were identical in appearance.
With maddening calm, Nikoli had told his father about the guards and werewolves coming to Regina’s realm.
Domm said nothing. He didn’t even blink.
It was more than Regina could bear, and so she’d told Domm the score. “Vakar must know Nikoli’s here. That’s why he sending guards to this plane. He must also suspect that you helped Lukan and the others to escape. Please, you have to come to this side where we can protect you.”
Domm regarded her as one would an obnoxious child or a future daughter-in-law he didn’t much like. “The guards are collecting women from your side for the rulers to use as pleasure slaves on E4.”
“Are you serious?” she blurted. “How can you be so sure?”
“They’ve invited me to join them in enjoying the newest of the women.”
Revolted, she backed away from the portal.
If that offended Domm, he didn’t let on. Calm as could be, he continued, “I declined, of course, telling them I had important work to do for the realm.” He paused, then added, “Their invitation assures me that I have their trust. They don’t know Nikoli’s still alive.”
“Maybe not now,” she argued, “but they’ll figure it out soon enough if one of the werewolves leads a guard to him. At that point, Vakar will guess what you’ve done. The longer you stay over there, the more danger you’re in.”
“I can’t leave. It’s my duty to remain so I can do everything possible to stop what they’ve done.”
Regina fought the urge to scream. This wasn’t the time for him to play Rambo and possibly fuck things up even more. “Talk to him,” she insisted to Nikoli.
He conversed with his father in their language. Whatever they discussed, their voices remained monotone, betraying none of their feelings. Only the speed of their words told Regina they might be arguing.
At last, Domm held up his hand. Nikoli fell silent. The older man spoke to Regina. “I can do more good here than I could by hiding on your side. I won’t leave. Vakar will never know what I’ve done or what I continue to do.”
Regina wished she could be as certain. She returned to the monitor. Like statues, Meelo and Damir waited for her to speak.
“I know you guys are as worried as I am,” Regina said. “So come on—think.” Their intellect was far more advanced than even the most celebrated genius on this plane. While her kind had been living in caves and discovering fire, Nikoli’s people had already located the portals between the realms and had banished the vampires to this dimension, which caused no end of grief, much as E4’s guards and werewolves were managing now. “There has to be something we can do.”
Damir glanced at Meelo. He could have been Nikoli’s father or Domm’s twin, they resembled each other that closely, even with the brutal scar on the side of Meelo’s face. A reminder of his perilous journey to this plane with Lukan and Damir. She was an exact replica of Sazaar, Nikoli’s former mate who’d fallen under the vampire Andris’s spell. Like all of E2’s women, Damir had the same delicate features, long blonde hair, dark eyes, pale skin.
At their continued silence, Regina sighed. “Help me out here.”
“We’re trying,” Damir offered, “but we don’t know of any way—”
“Wait,” Regina interrupted, having a sudden thought that should have occurred to her earlier. It was such a damn simple solution. “Can’t you close the portals they’re coming through? That would keep more guards or werewolves from entering this realm.” She turned to Nikoli. “We did it with the vampires. We can do it again now, right?”
He ran his hand over his mouth and shook his head.
“Why not?” she pressed.
“We’d have to be in the same vicinity as they are to do so. Even if we did manage to run into them in such a large city, the guards would use the devices Vakar’s giving them to find another area of entry.”
Damir spoke. “Are you certain you saw one of the werewolves in human form the other night? Couldn’t it have been one of your neighbors?”
“No.” Regina frowned. “They don’t stand on their front lawns in the dark, staring at this place. Right now, we can’t even leave the house.”
“You won’t let us,” Nikoli said beneath his breath.
“You’re right about that,” she countered. “No way are you going out there and getting attacked or drugged and dragged back to E2, no matter how confident your father is that it’ll never happen.”
As she paced past him, Nikoli turned in his chair, slinging his arm over the back of it. “You can’t keep canceling your patient appointments.”
Regina waved her hand in dismissal. “I’ve only been out for two days. Carly’s rescheduled them. I’m not leaving you here alone until I’m certain you’re not going to be shot with a tranquilizer dart as Lukan was when he…”
She paused, her thoughts interrupted by something else she hadn’t considered. Returning to the screen, Regina spoke to Damir. “Is there an antidote to what the guards use on the darts? Something’s that fast-acting? Let’s say instantaneous?”
“Yes.” She paused, a bit of shame registering on her lovely face. “I should have provided it to Lukan when he crossed back over to E4 for Arez. I didn’t think of it. I didn’t consider that Vakar would have the guards follow them to the cave. I should have, but I—”
“It’s all right,” Regina said, “we were all under a lot of strain at that time. Now, about the antidote.”
“Yes, of course. You’ll have to prepare it.”
“Not a problem.” Regina grabbed a pad and pen from Nikoli’s desk. “Tell me the ingredients, portions, what to do, and I’ll do it.”
Nikoli cut in. “You’d have to leave the house to get the materials.”
Regina gripped the pen even harder.
“You’re going to break that,” he said.
“Do the guards only hunt at night?” she asked Meelo.
He exchanged a glance with Nikoli. “I can’t say for certain, but it’s probably likely, given that they’re used to the subdued light on E4. Any brightness, like that from the sun, would disturb them as it does Lukan and Arez. Even now, they’re not able to withstand its intensity for extended periods of time.”
“Arez is still doing okay, isn’t she?” Regina asked. “Her pregnancy’s going well?”
Damir grinned, the kind seen on this side, not the stoic, sterile smile from her people on E2. “She and Lukan are at a bookstore, buying instructions on how to raise their baby.”
Regina fought laughter and tears. They’d been through so damn much, she wanted nothing except their happiness, which brought another worry. “Do you think the guards could be searching for her and Lukan?”
“Not here,” Meelo said, his outrage protective, the same as a father’s. “We’re in the land of Arizona now.”
“They couldn’t possibly guess where we’ve gone,” Damir added. “They’re not perceptive and cunning like the werewolves. They follow Vakar’s orders, nothing more. Vakar knows very little about your realm.”
Regina hoped it stayed that way. “I need those ingredients,” she said, putting pen to paper. “And I need all of you to keep thinking about how we can get rid of those SOBs for good.”
He needed to hunt. He needed to kill. The urge for revenge pounded in Kuma’s blood even as the rest of his body reacted to Gwen’s mouth on his throat, her womanly scent and heat.
On a helpless groan, he gathered Gwen to him, his length pressed against hers. She responded by suckling hi
s neck, marking him again as she’d done the past two days, unwilling to let him out of her sight.
The first evening when he’d tried to leave, she’d stood in his way, blocking the bedroom door.
“You’re not going out there,” she’d said. “I’m not letting you get yourself killed.”
She was naked and so defenseless against his strength, Kuma warned himself not to smile or to sigh at how her concern moved him. To reassure her, he tried to reason. “The guards are too stupid and slow to catch much less kill me.”
He ran his hand down her arm. She made a low, purring sound. With as much gentleness as possible, he took her wrist to ease her aside.
Gwen sighed, then pushed all her weight against him, using surprise to knock him back. His breath huffed out. He flapped his arms to keep from falling to the floor. Once he’d regained his footing, he gaped at her.
She smiled. “I’ve taken self-defense classes.” She sobered. “Hell, I give self-defense classes at the hospital to women whose boyfriends and husbands have used them as punching bags. Trust me, I would have beaten the crap out of that guard and blasted him with pepper spray if he hadn’t shot me with that dart.”
“But he did,” Kuma growled. “That’s why I have to go out there and see that he doesn’t do it to another woman.”
“No fucking way. I won’t let you.”
He laughed. “You think you can stop me?”
“I already have, and I’ll do it again.” She put up her hand as he approached. “Not only do I have a gun, I have handcuffs. I’ll cuff you to the damn bedpost to keep you here if I have to.”
She was talking too much as she always did. Saying things he didn’t understand. “What are handcuffs?”
“Restraints made of metal. They go around a man’s wrists to keep him from escaping.”
Kuma regarded the pleasant room, so snug and warm, protected from the night’s dampness, scented with her fragrance and his. He didn’t comprehend any man not wanting to be here or why she would have found handcuffs necessary to make him stay. “You’ve used them in the past to imprison men in this room?”
