“What?” Vaulcron gained his feet in one fluid motion. “Jefferies assured us that Amy would not be harmed as long as Mallory and I gave him what he desired.”
“There did not appear to be a struggle,” Zaureth assured him. “In fact, the young girl that resides next door informed me that she heard Amy leave with a man last night, and they seemed to be on friendly terms. The witness was without sight as well.”
“I neglected to mention that Amy lives in a community that caters to the blind. It would seem the humans do have some good qualities.”
“Tony has taken the others to your location, Vaulcron. They should be arriving soon. What is it that you would like me to do about the girl?”
“I am not certain. If she has been gone since last night, as her neighbor has stated, then she is not likely to return.”
“There is always the possibility that she no longer lives,” Zaureth pointed out.
Vaulcron let that sink in. “I hope that is not the case. It would destroy Mallory.”
The door to the small bathroom opened, and Mallory emerged with a towel wrapped around her hair. Her cheeks were flushed with color, giving her a youthful appearance.
Vaulcron wanted to throw her over his shoulder and run as far from Winchester Industries as he could get. From the States, for that matter.
He envisioned Mallory dwelling with him in Aukrabah, happy and laughing, with a baby at her breast. His baby.
Something shifted inside his chest. He wanted a family with the Great White Shark.
“Is it hot in here to you?” Mallory reached up and snatched the towel off her head before running her fingers through her damp hair.
Vaulcron nodded. “It is warmer than usual.” He paused. “You are incredibly beautiful, Mallory.”
She took a step toward him. “You think I’m beautiful?”
“More than any other female I have ever beheld.”
Wandering closer, Mallory dropped the towel she held and stopped a few inches in front of him. “Do you mean that?”
“I do,” Vaulcron whispered, reaching up to touch a few strands of her damp hair. “You have enchanted me.”
Her eyes grew hooded as she stared back at him with obvious desire swimming in their blue depths. “Kiss me.”
Vaulcron needed no further encouragement. He closed the short distance between them, slid his hands up either sides of her face, and covered her soft pink lips with his own.
A moan escaped her. Or was it him? He wasn’t sure. He only knew that she tasted of surrender and…home.
Mallory’s hands were suddenly everywhere at once. Her mouth formed a suction over his, moving, coaxing, and kissing him with a hunger that matched his own.
He released her face, scooped her up into his arms, and carried her to the bed.
Vaulcron practically tossed her onto the center of the mattress, following her down before she could gasp.
His mouth slanted over hers again and again, devouring her sweetness. He couldn’t seem to get enough.
Breaking off the kiss, Vaulcron dragged his mouth down to her neck, licking, sucking, and nibbling on her intoxicating flesh.
He licked his way to her chest, swiping his tongue across her sweat-covered skin before nuzzling her breasts with his cheek.
“Mallory?” he pleaded, hovering over an erect nipple that strained against her T-shirt.
She gripped the sides of his face and forced his mouth down to her straining breasts.
A growl of approval rose up in his throat. Something primal took him over, something he felt he couldn’t control. “I need you, Mallory. I feel as if I am on fire.”
He immediately reached up and rent her shirt in two, severing her bra with it. His lips opened over her nipple, and he drew it deep into his mouth.
Mallory writhed beneath him, her breaths coming in rapid gasps. She arched her back, pressing her breast tighter against him. “Please,” she begged, gripping his hair in a nearly painful hold.
Vaulcron jerked back and yanked her cotton shorts down her legs, tossing them onto the floor.
Somewhere in the far recesses of his mind, he knew he should slow down, savor Mallory’s surrender, but he couldn’t seem to stop. He wanted her too much.
Heat slammed into his achingly hard erection, ripping a snarl from his lips.
“Vaulcron,” Mallory pleaded, opening her thighs and reaching for him.
He tore his vest off and broke the laces of his shorts in an attempt to remove him. His eyes burned as did his chest, and the need to take Mallory hard and fast suddenly became overwhelming.
Her head rolled from side to side, and her hands slid down her stomach to her beautiful, smooth mound.
The last thread of Vaulcron’s control broke as she slipped her fingers through the slit of her sex.
The room dimmed, sound faded to the background, and nothing remained but the sight and scent of Mallory’s desire.
Vaulcron grabbed hold of her hands and jerked them above her head as his body came down over hers.
“Bite me,” she panted, wrapping her legs around his waist and turning her head to the side. “Oh God, Vaulcron. Bite me.”
The lines between seduction and common sense were blurred for Vaulcron as he stared down at her pulsing vein.
She lifted her hips, pressing her soft, wet heat against the head of his shaft. Vaulcron gave up control.
He dropped his head against her neck and sank his fangs into her flesh before thrusting his throbbing shaft deep inside her body.
Mallory cried out with the force of his entry before going wild beneath him.
Her nails dug into his back, her teeth sank into his shoulder, and her hips rose up to meet his downward strokes.
Vaulcron’s hips pumped uncontrollably. The warmth of her blood sliding up through his fangs was second only to the feel of her vaginal walls milking the seed from his body.
Her cries of release were drowned out by the roar that exploded from his chest as his seed was wrenched from him in a violent climax that took his sight. His world turned black.
Chapter Eighteen
Leon Spivey presented his ID to the camera in front of Winchester Industries. The lock released on the front door with a click.
“Can I help you?” a guard asked as Spivey stepped into the room.
Leon glanced at the guard’s nametag. “How are you, Willie? Do you know where I can find Fredricks?”
Willie nodded. “He’s on the top floor, sir. Would you like for me to page him?”
Spivey shook his head. “That’s okay. I’ll just go on up.”
“I have orders not to allow anyone on the top floor that’s not on this list.” Willie glanced at the list in question.
“Understood,” Spivey murmured. “I’ll wait for him in the parking lot.”
Willie sent him an apologetic look. “Very well, sir.”
Leon returned to his parking spot and propped his hip against the side of his car.
It didn’t take Fredericks long to exit the front door. He glanced around the area until his curious gaze landed on Spivey. A smile touched his lips. “Leon? “What the hell are you doing here, man?”
“Hey, Gary.” Leon extended his hand in greeting. “I came to see you. Is there some place that we can talk?”
“This is fine,” Gary stated, accepting Leon’s palm. “I only have a few minutes.”
“Of course.” Spivey took a deep breath. “Look. I need your help.”
A small indention appeared between Gary’s brows. “Anything.”
Leon filled Gary in on the situation with Mallory’s sister and Jefferies’s role in kidnapping her. Ending with. “Anderson and the girl are in the wind. I’m pretty sure that Jefferies isn’t aware of that yet, but he will be soon enough.”
Gary glanced back at the building before meeting Leon’s gaze once more. “How are you involved in all this?”
“I’m not, and I don’t want to be. I’m only here as a favor for Glenn. I owe him.”
<
br /> “What the hell do you want me to do?”
“Nothing that will get you into trouble. Just relay to Miss Cahill what I just told you. Tell her that her sister is alive, and she’s safe with Glenn.”
Gary paled slightly. “If I get caught—”
“You’re not going to get caught,” Leon persisted. “You’re not helping her escape. Just tell her what I said, and I was never here.”
“Jesus, Leon. You don’t ask for much, do you?” Gary muttered sarcastically.
“Will you do it or not?”
With a slight nod, Gary turned to go. He paused a few feet away and glanced over his shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re mixed up in, but I’d be careful if I were you. Jefferies is not a man to toy with.”
“I am well aware,” Leon quipped, opening his car door and sliding behind the wheel. “More than aware.”
* * * *
Douglas Jefferies sat at his temporary desk, waiting for Kerik’s arrival. The secretary of defense should have arrived the day before, but he’d been held up by an explosion on board one of his ships. Thankfully no one had been killed.
Jefferies picked up the phone situated on his desk and pressed the line to the lab.
Doctor Lambert answered on the third ring. “Lambert.”
“It’s Jefferies. Can you come up here for a moment?”
A brief pause ensued. “I’ll be right there.”
Returning the receiver to the cradle, Jefferies took a sip of his coffee and rubbed at his aching temples. He’d had a headache for two days, without relief.
“You wanted to see me?” Lambert asked, stepping hesitantly into the room.
“Yes. Have a seat, please.”
Lambert sat in one of the vacant chairs, his hands nervously sliding up and down its wooden arms.
Doug took another leisurely sip of coffee. “How long will the ecstasy remain in Cahill’s system?”
“That depends on how much she consumed. If the Bracadyte ate more of the laced food than she did, he will likely be more affected than her. That’s assuming the drug will even work on him.”
Jefferies glanced at his watch. “I want you to take them fresh drinks, laced with another dose. Tell Miss Cahill that you are merely checking her vitals for adverse reactions to her earlier injections.”
Lambert’s mouth dropped open. “You want me to drug them again? It’s too soon, sir. We run the risk of an overdose.”
“Will it kill them?” Jefferies barked, leaning forward in his chair.
Lambert rubbed at his bloodshot eyes. “I don’t know. That depends on a person’s ability to metabolize. It—”
“Just do it,” Jefferies snapped, effectively cutting off the doctor’s words.
Lambert got to his feet and rushed from the room, leaving the door open on his way out.
It pained Doug to bully the elderly man. Hell, he hated bullying in any form. But desperate times called for desperate measures. And they were definitely beyond desperate times.
He picked up the phone and called the president. After Jeffries spoke to Howell’s assistant and spent several minutes listening to elevator music, President Howell’s voice came through the line. “How are you, Doug? I hope you have some good news for me.”
Doug leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. “I may have, sir. The detainees have been drugged with a large dose of ecstasy and something else I can’t pronounce.”
“Ecstasy?” Rueben mumbled in a confused tone.
Jefferies filled him in on everything that had happened since his arrival at the lab. End with, “Lambert gave her enough of the fertility injections to fell an elephant. The ecstasy is merely a means to an end.”
Rueben was silent so long Doug thought he’d hung up.
“Mr. President, sir?”
“I’m here, Douglas. Just taking it all in.
“So, the doctor removed her birth control, injected her with fertility drugs to promote egg production, and then drugged the two of them with ecstasy, to ensure they performed?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s actually brilliant, Douglas. The sooner she becomes with child, the better. One more thing,” Rueben continued. “Does the fetus need to be carried to term?”
“No, sir,” Doug assured him. “According to Doctor Lambert, the unborn child should be viable at five month’s gestation.”
“That’s still a long wait. This virus is going to be responsible for the death of millions.”
“I know, sir, but it’s the best we can do. I tried calling Anderson, but his phone went to voicemail. I left him a message to bring in the blind girl.”
“Call him again,” Rueben demanded. “We’re running out of time.”
Chapter Nineteen
Pain sliced through Mallory’s head as she attempted to roll onto her back. She couldn’t seem to draw breath into her lungs, and a great weight held her down.
Her eyes fluttered open, blinking against the bright lights shining from the ceiling.
A deep groan resounded from next to her ear, leaving no doubt that Vaulcron lay half across her body.
“Vaulcron?” she croaked, attempting to slide out from under him.
What had she done? She couldn’t remember, but the fact neither of them were dressed was a pretty good indication.
Vaulcron slowly lifted his head and peered down at her through red-rimmed eyes.
He rolled to the side, taking his great weight with him.
Nausea rolled through Mallory with the first deep breath she took. Her body ached in places she’d forgotten she had. The tenderness between her thighs came secondary to the stinging pain of her neck.
She dragged trembling fingers up to her throat to encounter a warm wetness.
Mallory brought her hand around and blinked it into focus. A smear of blood stained her fingertips. Blood?
Flashes of memory sparked behind her eyes. The shower she’d taken. The heat of her skin. The longing to be taken by Vaulcron. The pain of his entry into her body. The lust, the uncontrollable need for release. The taste of his blood.
Mallory sat up so fast the room spun around her. Her horrified gaze landed on Vaulcron’s bare ass.
She attempted to slide off the bed. The need to be sick was dreadful and overwhelming.
Vaulcron slowly rolled to his back, gazing up at her in confusion and no small amount of regret. “Did I hurt you?”
“I-I don’t think so.” She continued to inch toward the side of the bed.
He sat up and wrapped his fingers around her forearm. “I do not know what happened here. I can only remember small pieces. Please allow me to make sure that you are all right.”
Mallory opened her mouth to tell him that she was fine, but he pulled her back down to the mattress before words could form.
Horror filled his beautiful green eyes as he nudged her head to the side. “I did that.” It wasn’t a question.
He suddenly slid down her body, gripped her knees, and opened her thighs wide. “I forced you.” The devastation on his face tore at Mallory’s heart.
She attempted to close her legs, but he only held on tighter.
“You didn’t force me, Vaulcron. I think we were drugged.”
He glanced up at her with tears evident in his eyes. “I do not understand. How can this be? I would never harm you, Mallory. Please forgive me. I—”
“You didn’t hurt me,” she interrupted, unable to take his tears. “We were drugged.”
“I am not familiar with the term.”
“Medicated,” she corrected, watching as understanding dawned.
“But I did this to you.”
“I wanted you to take me,” she whispered, her gaze dropping to the small wound on his shoulder. Her stomach clenched.
She reached up and gingerly touched it. “I don’t remember biting him.”
“I do not remember the bite I inflicted on you, either.”
Mallory jerked her gaze back to his face. “How did you know
what I was thinking? You heard me?”
“I am sorry, Mallory. I—”
Fredericks burst through the door, stopping short when he took in the scene before him.
Vaulcron bounded from the bed and had the guard against the wall before the guy could open his mouth to cry out.
Fredricks gripped the forearm pressed against his neck, obviously cutting off his circulation. His mouth opened and closed in a silent plea for air.
“Don’t kill him,” Mallory cried, wrapping herself in a sheet and hurrying across the room. “Please, Vaulcron. My sister’s life is at stake.”
Vaulcron continued to press his arm tighter against Fredricks’s neck, until the guy’s eyes were bulging in their sockets.
“Let him go,” Mallory demanded, attempting to hold her sheet in place.
With a growl of surrender, Vaulcron shoved him one last time and backed away.
Fredericks sucked in a harsh breath, nearly falling to his knees. He staggered to the side, but managed to stay on his feet.
“I have a message for you,” Fredericks wheezed, glancing at Mallory. “It’s about your sister.”
Mallory’s heart twisted. “What about Amy?”
“Anderson ran with her. They are on the lam.”
Mallory couldn’t have heard him right. “He helped her escape. How do you know this?”
Fredricks flicked his gaze toward the door, then back to Mallory. “A friend just delivered the message. Said that Glenn called him this morning from a hotel and wanted me to let you know that Amy is safe and out of harm’s way.”
“Why would he help us?” Mallory hissed, unable to believe Frederick’s story.
“I don’t know, and I’ve done what I was asked to do. You didn’t see me or hear anything from me. They will kill me if they find out that I helped you.”
“I will kill you myself,” Vaulcron growled, “if I find out that you lied to us.”
Fredericks stumbled toward the door. “Fair enough. But it’s the truth.” He disappeared into the hall, pulling the door closed after him.
Mallory swayed on her feet, another bout of heat spreading through her limbs. Sweat popped out on her forehead, and her hands grew clammy.
Vaulcron (Enigma Series Book 3) Page 8
