Lawful Claim

by Marie Johnston

  “Pregnancy does that to a body.” She moaned, the throbbing between her legs increasing in urgency. “How can I feel like this after what we just did?”

  Intent on her breasts, he dropped one hand to stroke her center. “Vampires and shifters are horny bastards anyway, but there are many tales in both species of the sexual frenzy after mating.”

  “And you’re a little of both?”

  “I’m neither, just finally with the only the woman I’ve ever wanted to be with.”

  Melting into him, she shifted and parted her legs, allowing him more room to stroke. “I should be sore. I shouldn’t be this turned on,” she gasped, between pants.

  Drawing her close and raising both of them to their knees on the bed, he continued the circles with his thumb and inserted two fingers into her throbbing channel.

  “Ana,” he breathed, her heat clamped onto his fingers.

  Ana grabbed onto his shoulders to keep from toppling back, not that it would matter, but he was making her feel so exquisite, she didn’t want to change anything. Only grab onto his shaft to stroke in a matching rhythm.

  A deep rumble emerged from his chest. “So do you like to be spanked?”

  “Mmm. What?” Not realizing her eyes had closed as she rode with his movements, they flew open as the question sunk in. “If you try it, you might lose a hand.”

  E chuckled and hugged her close. “I prefer to grip your sweet ass as I pound into you from behind.”

  Instantly, he released her, flipped her to her hands and knees, and slammed into her, filling her completely. Her hands grabbed fistfuls of fabric from the bedding to hold onto as he thrust into her. The climb to the pinnacle of euphoria that he had started with his hands was quickly reached as he worked her from behind. Just like before, she reached her peak and toppled over at least two times, her mind too numb to count, before E joined her for the last time, finally emptying himself inside her as her inner muscles milked him completely.

  Instead of collapsing on top of her, he climbed off the bed, taking her with him by swinging her up into his arms into the bathroom. He set her down only to turn on the shower.

  “I thought we’d get cleaned up. And maybe, if you aren’t too sore, our new selves can recreate that night we spent in the hotel after your senior prom.”

  Her senior prom. God, that felt like it had happened to a different person, in a different lifetime, and in a way, it had. That night, they’d had sex for the first time in the bed, and before she had to be home for curfew, when she was cleaning up in the shower, he’d joined her under the spray and made her an hour late. She’d been grounded for a month by an irate, but resigned Nana.

  It had been completely worth it.

  “I’m not sore at all.”

  Chapter Ten

  Agent E’s defection damaged Madame G’s reputation, bruised her pride, and dragged her ego down to the gutter. Dani Santini hadn’t been an Agent, but close enough, and she escaped, ruining one of Madame G’s greatest accomplishments. Then to have Agent E turn away from Sigma and shed Madame G’s taint? That was an event that caught many Agents’ notice. A chink in Madame G’s armor meant promotion time to some ambitious Agents who sought to take her place and uncloaked a never-before-known retirement option to other withered and worn Agents.

  Even recruits, those gossipy bastards, started speculating. Suddenly, they were questioning: did they continue training and being her lackeys if she couldn’t even keep her own Agents in line? They had thought that by signing on with the reputed evil master, they’d share in her omnipotence.

  Idiots.

  Unfortunately, E’s escape also put a spotlight on X since, like E, she wasn’t recruited but captured and forced into submission. Where before Madame G had little doubt and much use for her two prized steeds, when one broke the fence and bolted, she now had much doubt and limited use for the one left behind.

  Now every assignment given to X would be a test. Like sending X to a colony with clans that contained a lot of shifter children. She was under strict orders to capture a few innocent children, albeit temporarily, and encouraged to be brutal enough that the colonies would have to ask for outside help getting their young back in good health. Her actions were meant to draw Guardians away from their headquarters, leaving E and his family vulnerable.

  Madame G knew X would balk as she had before when it came to innocents until Madame G had to choose between killing her most prized Agents or finding other uses for them. Her dark mistress suspected X would resist further to aid E’s escape and sought to test her allegiance. So X swore to draw the Guardians out from their protective circle. Of course, Madame G sent two sadistic bastards along with to make sure X got the job done.

  Now sitting in the car E usually drove, Agent P was at the wheel and Agent A rode in the backseat.

  “So Agent X, Agent A and I have a bet,” Agent P drawled. He was douche, and she could practically feel his arousal at the prospect of attacking a colony full of young families, anticipating the hunt of terrified females.

  “Please tell me PeeWee. I’m dying to hear.” X maintained her thousand-yard stare out the window, her mind working on how not to destroy herself during this mission.

  Agent P’s lip curled at her nickname for him. Score. She always knew what could piss a guy off. “We think that you got your letter name because you cross your feet around E when he’s nailing you.”

  “Or Demetrius,” Agent A piped up from the back.

  Duuude, never heard that one before, or something along the lines of, “You can’t have sex without X.” The jokes were only made once. She ensured the same person, and any witnesses, never made them again.

  But they were in a moving vehicle, and she’d kill them eventually. “Good one PeeWee, but you got it wrong.” She turned to him and in her most seductive purr said, “It’s because when I’m done with you, the shape of your dick is an x.”

  Agent P shifted in his seat, and Agent A cleared his throat. Their tendency for violence against females was legendary. Let them think on that awhile and leave her the fuck alone to figure out the crap stew she found herself in.

  She sensed his intention before he made his move, the arousal was almost suffocating in the enclosed space. A hot hand spread across her leg and squeezed down to her inner thigh.

  “There’s a park up ahead. I think we should stop and you let me and Agent A back there make an x inside of you.”

  Mental eye roll. Another one she’d never heard before. Pursing her lips as if she was thinking about being the filling in their cream sandwich, X pondered a moment. Agent P just solved one problem for her.

  Before he could even move his hand off her leg, she’d drawn her gun from her shoulder holster and fired a shot, point blank, into his head. Agent A yelled and clawed for his own sidearm, but Headshot had been driving and the car was swerving all over the place.

  Since they were on a deserted road, X reached over to shove open the driver’s door and push the Agent’s limp body out. Distant thumps could be heard as the body rolled across the pavement. X calmly crawled into the driver’s seat and brought the car to a stop.

  “What did you do, you crazy bitch?” Spittle flew out of Agent A’s mouth as he clambered for his weapon when he stilled, noticing X still held her gun, and it was pointed at his forehead.

  “Respect the X.”

  Blinking in disbelief, he nodded dumbly, not saying a word. X climbed out, strode toward the prone Agent and hauled him to the trunk of the car. Releasing the latch, it popped open and she dumped the body inside.

  Agent A’s mouth fell even more agape at her show of force. Stupid Agents. She didn’t parade around in her wolf form, rarely changed into it lest Madame G get more ideas for using her, so most Sigma personnel forgot that she was a shifter with shifter strength. P’s body was nothing more than nuisance weight.

  Silence filled the car as she drove toward the park Agent P had mentioned and parked in the empty lot. Agent A watched from the backseat as
X retrieved Agent P’s body from the trunk and dumped it in one of the large metal garbage cans at the edge of the parking lot. Agent P was starting to twitch so X made quick work of getting his clothes burning. Then she went back to the car, grabbed her coffee, and as the rest of the perverted Agent’s body burned, she held her cup over the flames to get her morning brew nice and hot again.

  Overkill?

  Perhaps. She sensed Agent A’s shock and trepidation at being stuck with her for the next few days. At least she would be able to truthfully report to Madame G that Agent P accosted her, thinking the assignment was permission to use her body at his will, completely disregarding his duties. X could defend herself because she had an important mission to carry out to get E back. Otherwise, her mistress wouldn’t care.

  Sipping her coffee, she climbed back into the driver’s seat and turned back to stare at the pale Agent.

  “You gonna ride back there, A-Team, or get in the passenger seat?”

  “Wh-where do you want me?” Aww, poor wittle guy. He’s never met a female he couldn’t throw around before.

  She cocked her head and gave him a teasing look. “If you’re going to be a good boy and keep your hands to yourself, you can ride up front.”

  Reluctantly, but rapidly, he got out and slid into the passenger seat.

  “There ya go, A-Team. Let’s go raise some hell.” She flashed him an impish grin, then took another drink of her steaming coffee.

  *****

  “Come on! It’s a game. Who can get to that hill first?” X challenged the two little boys she’d lured away from the small village that was tucked deeply into the wooded hills. “Once you get there, wait for me.”

  As the brothers ran ahead, competing with each other to see who was the fastest, X treaded steadily behind. They were safe enough, for now.

  X and her new partner had arrived late in the afternoon of the previous day after a very peaceful drive. Agent A listened to her plan, and she sensed his excitement as she outlined his duties, which were basically to go in and terrorize the place. He was a fairly new Agent and still brainwashed into thinking shifters were the lesser species after humans. X had to trust the clan leaders could handle the iniquitous Agent before he caused too much damage. And well, if they didn’t, tack another load to her already burdened conscience.

  Meanwhile, she was to capture children because nothing drew the Guardians faster than threatened young. Protective buggers they were. She had mad skills to keep from being found by the clan members. Because once they were found, she would capture their gaze and turn them right back around, hypnotically convinced they had looked everywhere, the children were lost to them.

  She did that all night long as the children slept, turning away five males and one terrified mother. Unfortunately, the terror worked in X’s favor and she did nothing to soothe the frantic female, just sent her back to the clan leaders.

  Inhaling deeply, X rolled her shoulders and swung her arms before reaching into her pocket and putting some putty in her ears. The male she sensed that was on his way would not be turned away so easily and would relish the fight with her.

  “About time you made it, Boo.”

  Jace Stockwell pulled up short, his pale blue eyes alight with distain, his gleaming ebony gun drawn and trained on her. “Where are they?”

  “I’m sorry, who? I’m just out for a walk.”

  Jace’s mouth twitched, animosity pouring off him in waves. While he may have heard she was the aunt of Bennett’s mate, and may have suspected she wasn’t full-on evil like she wanted everyone to believe, he still held a mighty grudge against her for kidnapping him and his mate, Cassie, then drugging her, and just kinda being a bitch.

  “Are they alive?”

  X threw him an irritated look. “Ass.”

  “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sensitive, Agent X? Tell me where they are.”

  She shivered against the vibrations from his powerful voice. Shaking her head, she pointed to her ears and spoke loudly and obnoxiously. “Sorry, I can’t make out what you’re saying.”

  Before, she’d been mostly reading his lips, his words, muffled. Now, she filled her head with her own static, letting the clay balls do the rest of the work, keeping Jace’s resonating voice from influencing her.

  Narrowing his eyes, she focused on his nose, or forehead, anywhere but his ice-blue peepers. “You’ve really grown in power!” She shouted at him, sensing his irritation spike.

  “Hand over the kids.”

  Rolling her eyes skyward, she started singing, her hips shaking. “He-ey Macarena!” Hopefully the little boys didn’t hear the ruckus and stayed where she told them to.

  Jace practically had to yell over her singing. “Commander Fitzsimmons will finish dealing with the other Agent and be here shortly!”

  Relief poured through her and she cut that shit short. Jace didn’t need to know she was insanely relieved to hear the clan leaders had captured Agent A and were holding him until a Guardian could come interrogate and terminate him.

  “Let’s do this then.” Lunging for the massive male, she wasn’t worried he’d shoot. He didn’t know where the kids were and wouldn’t risk a stray bullet. The boys were shifters and would likely heal just fine, but no one wanted to shoot a kid. No one decent, anyway. Despite his sinister looks with his diamond eyes and shaved head, Jace Stockwell was a solid male.

  He had barely holstered his gun before bringing up an arm to throw off her kick. With a solid oomph, he staggered back, but recovered quickly, stalking toward her, sliver glinting off the knife he held.

  She pulled her own and engaged in a knife fight with the determined male. It could have qualified more as sparring to keep up their skills, than intent to destroy. Apparently he got the memo that no one but Commander Fitzsimmons was to deal with her. The others did only to spare themselves some extra scars, which Jace was doing now.

  As she was coming in low for a slash across his side, he managed to surprise her by kicking out and landing a solid blow to her abdomen, flinging her onto her back. A quick back roll and she was up, ready to defend.

  But he wasn’t advancing and she sensed why. Rhys Fitzsimmons was almost to their location. There they stood, chests heaving, facing each other, waiting. Jace was bleeding from minor cuts on his forearms, and she had a nice gash along her side.

  She felt her side to gauge the extent of the cut. Like her, his knife was laced with silver; one more scar to add to her collection. “Huh. I didn’t have an autograph from you yet.” Digging in her belt, holding her knife ready with her other hand, she tugged out a small bottle and dabbed the wound with saline before the silver toxicity weakened her. Jace’s face clouded with consternation, but he followed suit since there was nothing left to do but wait for Rhys.

  “Feel better?” she asked sweetly.

  He snarled at her before replying. “Yes.”

  She studied her fingers like she was looking for a broken nail, making sure to only look up to watch his lips move. “It wasn’t personal, me kidnapping you and Cassie. And you did save her.”

  A low growl vibrated off him. “And then she stabbed me in the back thanks to your influence.”

  X rolled her eyes and huffed. “Ungrateful much? Did it, or did it not, save your ass?”

  He flashed some fang at her, too irritated to answer because he knew she was right.

  Rhys’ masculine scent became much stronger. When he arrived, X and Jace were standing like they were brawling high schoolers waiting for the principle to show up.

  “Hey, look who came to the party?” X called to him.

  Jace’s boss finally came into view. Gawd, he was a stud.

  Rhys Fitzsimmons exuded manliness, from his piercing hazel eyes to his strapping stature. If he was a girl, his short, cropped hair would probably be described as deep strawberry-blond, but he was too brawny for that term. His jaw was always tight, the muscle constantly flexing like he was always pissed off—or around her he always was, anyway. His skin took on the red
dish-bronze tone gingers often got working in the sun, creating a roughened appearance that was aided by the wide carriage of his shoulders, tapered waist, and heavily-muscled thighs. She was a tall female, six-feet without boots, and he was still half a head taller than her, and she loved it.

  She loved the idea of him. The thought that if things were different, she would’ve had a respectable mate, an honorable male who spent his life defending his species. Then he’d come home and turn that intensity toward her. Those kinds of thoughts could make a red-blooded female go weak in the knees. Too bad Madame G’s black blood flowed through her veins.

  “Agent X,” Rhys replied in his standard clipped tone.

  “Two against one, then? Not bad odds.” X wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of her lip where Jace’s elbow had caught her during their tussle.

  “X!” A little voice cut through the trio. “X, did you see it? I won, I won!” One of the boys popped through the trees, skidding to a stop, his eyes going wide at the large males he hadn’t known were there.

  The second boy appeared, skidding to a halt behind his brother. His eyes went just as wide. “Whoa…Guardians.”

  Both Guardians looked from the boys to her. She quirked an eyebrow. “This is where I bow out, boys.” Granting a stunned Jace a wink, and blowing a somber Rhys a kiss, she trotted away, giving the boys a final wave. “We’ll have to hang another time kiddos.”

  She headed back in the direction of her car, knowing the males wouldn’t follow so they could get the boys back. If she torched her wheels and blamed the Guardians, she wouldn’t arrive at the compound for at least another day on foot. Another day she wouldn’t have to face Madame G’s scrutiny. Then she could claim Agent A was too impotent to carry out his duty without getting killed, leaving her to face two armed Guardians alone. After a short battle, she got away, figuring mission completed, and voila, she’s an awesome Agent.

  Sensing his presence following her, X pulled to a stop. “Can I help you, Rhys?”