by Susan Bliler
The thought vanished, and the truck rocked to a stop as a loud sound blasted down the mountain and sent chills skittering up her spine.
***
Now, sawing in a breath, she looked down at where Marko’s hand was currently clamped around hers as he hauled her with him up the mountain. Inexplicable indignation flared, and she jerked her hand back. This isn’t how it was supposed to be.
When he stopped and turned to frown at her, her delicate brows dipped down. “I-I don’t need you holding my hand. I can do this.”
His expression darkened as he studied her.
She hated that. Hated the way people studied her like they couldn’t figure her out. It reminded her that she couldn’t even figure herself out. One second, she’s all drooling and crushing hard on the Sentry, and two seconds later, she remembers that he’s a man and men use women. God, she was so fucked up! She was always looking for someone to make her whole and then like bi-polar Betty, she flips her switch and vows to never trust again.
Watching Marko watch her, she knew that even if he were interested, it’d never work. Barbed wire wound so fully and firmly around her from head to toe that there’d be no hope of him ever getting close enough to her for any type of real connection. Finally, after all these years, she was able to admit that the defense system hadn’t been installed by her ex. It was self-rigged. She was alone and she hated it, but she just didn’t know how to let another man in.
Tearing her eyes from Marko’s, Thea lowered her head and stepped around him. “We should get going.”
She took a few steps, and when none sounded behind her signifying that he followed, Thea turned to find him standing stock still, staring up at her. She wondered what he saw, wondered what he was thinking. She didn’t have to wonder long.
Marko canted his head, his eyes narrowing on her. “You’re strange.”
SNAP! Oh God, not now. They seriously didn’t have time for this!
That unwanted, yet all too familiar, pressure started squeezing her chest. Breathe, breathe, breathe!
Thea forced her eyes from his as her temperature skyrocketed and sweat broke out on her forehead, cheeks, and nose. Maybe if she didn’t look at him, he wouldn’t see that she was seconds away from losing her shit.
Turning, she focused on the silver-white winter that smothered the forest around her. She knew how the forest felt. The pressure grew in her middle, and it felt like a great ball of ink that was pushing all the light out of her. It crushed her from the inside out. She hated it, hated her anxiety. Clenching her hands, she focused on one thing and sought out five things to describe it.
Tree! Its bark is…rough, and it smells like, like… my Montana, all earthy and sweet. It’s… Her focus faltered when her gaze skittered up to an out-of-place shape just beside the tree.
Someone was standing there watching them. No, not watching, and not someone. Her mouth fell open. It was a…thing! The shape mirrored a human, but it had pasty skin nearly as white as the snow and a bald head. It opened its mouth to reveal rows of sharp shark-like teeth an instant before the creature lifted a weapon and aimed it at Marko.
Chapter 3
“NO!” Thea threw herself at Marko and just as her body crashed into his, a loud noise sounded, and a searing pain blossomed in her chest.
Marko took the brunt of the impact as their bodies hit the ground. Without stopping, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled them down the hill until their bodies were tucked behind a thick patch of buck brush.
He got to his knees, and the loud, ‘SSSSSK’ of his katanas being unsheathed filled the air. He crouched over her, scanning the area before his eyes dipped to her and quickly lowered to her chest. “Shit, Thea!”
If the pain hadn’t done the job, then the alarm in Marko’s voice would have let her know that she’d been hit.
“Fuck!” Marko hissed, and she felt a cold hard pain as he reached down and jerked something from the wound just below her collarbone. Pain exploded with the movement, but she didn’t look down. She couldn’t. She knew she’d go into a full-blown panic attack and that couldn’t happen right now. They were under attack and in serious trouble already, and their very survival depended on her keeping it together.
In the next few seconds, everything happened too quickly. Marko’s head snapped up, and he growled before he spoke almost too quietly for her to hear. Almost.
“One of the female staff has taken a hit. It’s Thea Kinsey. I need help.”
It took her a second to realize his fingers were pressed to the subvocal mic at his throat that all Sentries wore when on duty.
He tore his eyes from where they scanned the forest intently to look down at her, and he spoke just as quietly again. “I can’t leave her!”
Thea’s heart galloped at the thought of him taking off and leaving her bleeding there in the snow all alone. Out of fear, one of her hands curled around his leg where he straddled her prone body.
“Where?” he barked and she wondered what whoever was on the other end of the transmission said.
A noise had his head jerking up, and he growled low and fierce before sheathing his katanas, snatching something up off the ground, and reaching for her. She was hauled up and over his shoulder so fast that her belly dipped. Nausea swamped her from the movement, or maybe it was from her injury. She didn’t know. All she knew was that she felt like she needed to puke and Marko racing down the mountain at an impossibly rapid pace wasn’t helping.
Pinching her eyes shut, Thea concentrated on simply breathing. She took a deep breath in for a slow five count.
One, two, three, four, five. Then she gave a slow push out for another five count. One, two, three, four, five. Repeat.
Finally looking down to eye her wound, she was startled when her eyes found no gaping hole. Smearing the blood away, she focused harder. There was a small wound like she’d been stabbed with an ice pick. Her mind raced as she considered what it was she’d been shot with.
A dart or a fat needle of some sort?
Her eyes tracked to Marko’s fist where it pumped back and forth as he ran. There was an object clutched tightly in his grasp, and it took her a second to realize it was a tranquilizer dart. With a long thick needle at one end, the bright mass of feathers at the opposite end was separated by a clear cylinder, one that had just a little bit of neon blue fluid left in it that was being shaken up as Marko raced them to safety.
Oh God!
She’d been injected with something, but what? It wasn’t a tranquilizer because she wasn’t going out.
So what then? Poison?
Her gut clenched, but it wasn’t in fear. She tried to slow her breathing and gauge her vitals as Marko rushed her away from the battle.
He carried her through the forest, in the opposite direction of the guard house and the manor. Hitting a clearing, he stopped in front of a truck and hoisted her into the passenger seat before forcing her over.
“Stay down!” He slammed the door and disappeared, and Thea heard shots ringing out, but was too concerned about the drug or poison coursing through her system to care. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe just a placebo to scare them. But that thing that shot her didn’t look like he’d waste his time with merely trying to scare anyone. Worse, there was a full blown attack happening. Her thoughts slammed to a halt when she suddenly grew very warm.
“Hang on!” Marko shouted as he climbed into the truck and twisted the key in the ignition. Jamming the truck into gear, it lurched forward even as panic hit.
Her hope that the dart had been a placebo, meant to terrify instead of doing any real damage, faded a quick death as her overheated body and suddenly sensitized flesh told her they’d definitely injected her with something. Moaning, Thea curled in on herself.
“Thea, hang on!”
She couldn’t formulate words, so she lifted a shaky hand and grabbed the empty tranq dart beside Marko’s thigh where he’d dropped it onto the seat.
His eyes shot down, and he cursed. “Fuck! What
is it?”
She could only shake her head as her belly clenched hard, shooting pain to her sex that was frighteningly strong. She breathed through the round of agony and only caught bits of Marko’s words as he spoke into his comm.
“I don’t know what the fuck it is, but she’s in pain! Yes, I know she’s a SW friendly. I’ve read her file!”
Another wave of agony hit, and she breathed deep and slow, embarrassed that her clit suddenly chose this moment to come to life and find the friction of the denim bunched between her legs enticing.
“We can’t come in! They’re on us. I need help!”
Thea heard him say someone was on them and she struggled up with a groan to peer out the back window. The movement was a mistake. On her knees, the material of her pants pressed tighter against her clit and had her rocking forward and backward. Why did it feel so good? What in the hell is going on?
“Thea, stay down!” Marko’s large hand on her back flattened her to the seat before he went back to his conversation. “Someone just took ‘em out. We’re making a run for it. We’ll hole up and wait for you to come to us.”
Thea slid to the floor and squeezed her legs tighter, rocking quicker until to her utter mortification, orgasm seized her. She breathed through it and prayed Marko couldn’t tell. Huddled on the floor of the truck she moaned and wanted to cry when the pain returned full force and then some. Her orgasm only gave her a brief respite. Oh no!
“I don’t know,” Marko barked. She peeked up from where she hid her face in arms resting on her knees to see him snag the dart from the seat. He held it to his nose and inhaled deeply. “I smell…” He paled and didn’t respond.
Slowly, his eyes left the road and slid to her. His mouth fell open and his eyes rounded in horror as he stared at her in complete shock.
In the silence of the cab, they stared at each other for long minutes before Marko’s expression morphed into one of rage. A rolling rumble left his chest as his brows snapped down before he jerked his gaze back to the road.
Embarrassment filled her as she realized he scented her state. Thea ducked her head and remained frozen in her position on the floor, afraid to move lest the movement sent her looking for release again.
What is wrong with me? She was in agony and humiliated and hornier than she’d ever been in her life. The idea of clambering up off the floor and straddling Marko was all consuming. Just the thought of impaling herself on his hard cock had her pinching her eyes and clenching her thighs as her nails clawed into the flesh of her arms. Her breathing grew even more ragged, and when she could no longer take the pain, she hissed, “Markoooo?”
She wasn’t really sure what she expected him to do, but something needed to be done.
“No!” he barked into his comm. “I can’t get a scent, there are other more…powerful scents drawing my beasts’ attention.”
She cringed at his revelation and tucked herself tighter into a ball. Oh God, just let me die now!
She could pick up loud roaring from his comm before he growled, “Just more powerful scents! I’m not… Just get me a fucking medic!” Marko was silent a moment before he asked in a serious tone. “What injuries? Who else is hurt? How many?”
The thought of help being deflected from someone who was truly wounded had Thea balling her hands into tight fists and forcing herself up from her crouch. It was agonizing, but she managed the climb up into the seat before leaning heavily on the door, her face pressing hard into the cool glass. “It can…” she hated to say the words. “I-I can wait, Marko.” She didn’t even try to hide the tremor in her voice or the convulsions that wracked her body.
“She’s in bad shape, Delain. I need someone now!” Silence then, “NO! She’s not bleeding out, but she’s in serious fucking…” He snarled and ripped the comm link from around his throat and then the receiver from his head and threw it on the dash. “Fucking prick!”
Thea knew what it meant. It was typical triage for war. The most critical were treated first. If there were others injured—and it sounded like there were—then help would be sent to them first. She’d have to wait. Hell, she wasn’t even bleeding, not really, but God did she hurt.
“Thea, I’m gonna get you to a safe place and then we’ll get you help. Just hang on.”
She couldn’t even nod. Instead, her arms squeezed tighter around her middle, and she breathed through the ache in her womb that demanded attention. Marko’s attention.
The truck sped down the road, turning here and there. One road, in particular, was an abandoned back road that was rutted out and bumpy as hell. The jarring ride was torture.
By the time they hit the highway, Thea was crying outright. The material between her legs was soaked, and she knew she hadn’t pissed herself. No, she needed to be fucked. Looking up she eyed the road and gasped, “How…how far?”
“Twenty minutes.”
She could hear the fear in his voice, and she wanted to reassure him, but no way was going to happen. Thoughts of hot wild sex were all-consuming, even thwarting the feeble attempts of a panic attack that kept trying to creep through. Sucking in a breath, she stammered, “I-I’m not… I can’t, Marko.”
“Can’t what, honey?” He hadn’t meant to let the endearment slip, but his mind was distracted. His tone was more urgent when he asked, “What do you need?”
“S-someplace cl-closer!”
The words had barely left her lips when the vehicle jerked, and they were off on another bumpy ass dirt road. She could have killed herself for the request.
“Oh, God!” Straightening, she unzipped her coat and dropped it on the seat. Trembling hands gripped both sides of her shirt and jerked hard. Buttons flew as her shirt was torn open revealing a lacey bra underneath. Seconds later, her shirt joined her coat on the seat of the truck.
“Thea?”
“Hot!” she whimpered. “So fucking hot!” She lifted a leg to untie a boot, but it only served to force the material at the apex of her thighs into her sex, which had her arching in the seat and crying out. “MARKOOO!”
Chapter 4
Marko was two seconds away from coming in his BDU’s. Whatever in the hell had been shot into Thea was nothing he’d ever experienced in battle before. He was having a hard time controlling himself with the scent of her needy pussy filling the cab. It was powerful, overwhelming, and the most decadent thing he’d ever smelled in his life; the scent was more than mere arousal, it was pure sex. Thea smelled like heady lust and Marko had to get her someplace where she’d be safe because he had to be away from her. It wasn’t a need, it was a goddamn demand. If he stayed near her for another five minutes, he was going to pull the truck to the side of the road and fuck her raw, and that couldn’t happen.
For the past two years, he’d worked hard to avoid the affectionate glances she’d thrown his way. He wasn’t blind, or a fool and Thea had made her interest quite clear. Still, beautiful as she may be, Thea was a human. Sure she happened to be one of only a handful that were aware of exactly what he was and what was really happening at StoneCrow, but she was human nonetheless, and the Walker in him couldn’t abide even considering a relationship with her when he knew what kind of demons hunted his kind. That didn’t stop him from admiring her froma afar though and admire he did. Each Tuesday, she pulled up to the gate with bright expectant eyes. He only got quick glimpses as she lowered her gaze to produce her work badge and as he gave her his attention to wave her onto the estate grounds. It was enough, and yet it wasn’t.
He’d memorized the honest clarity of her baby blue eyes. He marveled at the flawless translucence of her skin. His hands actually itched to touch the shiny golden waves of hair that cascaded down past her shoulders and reminded him of silken honey. Honey. It was the name he called her in his head.
His stoic façade gave nothing away though. Showing even a hint of interest would be a disservice because nothing could ever happen between him and Thea, regardless of the fact that each day a part of him wished he’d drop to hi
s knees while ethereal light blasted from his halo and that high-pitched wail called out cementing her as his. But, with each passing day, no affliction hit.
Rumor was that it was being delayed in StoneCrow Skin Walkers and he wasn’t privy to why. Like all the other Walkers, he was simply forced to wait it out. If Thea were his, the Grandfathers would let him know. But, as it stood, she was just a woman. A woman that wasn’t his.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and his gaze darted between the road in front of him, and Thea’s sweat slickened, half-naked body as she arched violently then slowly melted in the front seat. Even in her dire state, he couldn’t keep his eyes from dropping to the swell of her ample breasts, barely contained in a scrap of white lace that caressed her the way his hands ached to. Tearing his eyes from where berry pink nipples peeked at him through the fabric, he licked his lips involuntarily as his eyes skipped to Thea’s. Relief hit hard when she doubled over in the seat and hid her body from his view. Part of him hoped she’d passed out, but when he felt her hand slide over his hard cock he jerked, nearly driving off the road before he quickly reached down to still her hand. What the fuck? “Thea, no!”
She was relentless, and he couldn’t drive and fight her off. He needed to get to a cabin or tent, or even a damn cave would do. Cave! Fuck, why hadn’t he thought of it sooner? There was a canyon near the river that was known for its extensive expanse of caverns.
He took another turn and was eyeing the road when his foot jerked off the pedal and his body hunched violently.
Thea moaned and buried her face in his lap. Even through the fabric of his BDU’s he could feel the heat of her mouth over his erection. “Fuuuuuuck! Honey, don’t do this to me. I can’t take it.”
