Stygian

by Nashoda Rose

  I’d never leave her, at least not willingly, and if fate decided I’d leave this earth, then she was strong enough to stand alone. She wasn’t her father. She’d survived torture and drowning, for Christ’s sake. She may not see it, but Danni was strong as hell.

  I sighed as I twisted the gold bands on my wrists. A sharp pain clutched my chest at the thought of another guy in Danni’s arms after I was gone.

  “Like hell,” I muttered.

  “Balen?” Danni asked, coming up beside me and taking my hand in hers.

  Nothing much, just thinking of you with another man. “You need some sleep,” I said with too much force in my voice. I squeezed her hand and kissed the tip of her nose, which was already scrunching up.

  I was all fucked up and tense with this waiting and being uncertain where the hell Kilter was or what he was doing. The guy was blocking Danni from his mind; she’d tried several times to reach him with no response. Either he was dead or he was blocking her.

  She managed to contact Ryker, but he’d given them no new info.

  Danni leaned into me, her body blocking the others from view as she slid her hand down my chest to my jeans, and then . . . holy shit. Her hand slipped inside the waist band and the tips of her fingers touched the head of my cock.

  “I want you, Balen,” she whispered in the sexiest husky voice I’d ever heard.

  I was frozen, unable to move as her hand wrapped around my cock. “Jesus.” There was nothing like a chick, a chick I loved, asking to get fucked. It was the single hottest thing ever.

  Keir, who was on his cell talking to Anstice, looked over at me. He frowned then turned away. I chuckled.

  Danni pulled her hand out of my pants and walked toward the adjoining room. She stopped, looked over her shoulder, and then stuck her finger that was just on my cock in her mouth. Jesus.

  I groaned as Danni disappeared.

  “Your girl needs you,” Keir said. “If I had Anstice here, I’d be kicking all your asses to the curb.”

  I nodded. “Wake us in two hours.”

  I went in the other room and locked the door.

  Danni stood by the foot of the bed, her hand resting on her hip. “Love your body, babe.” It had substance, so I could grab her and hold her, feel like she wasn’t going to break when I fucked her. “And I’m going to have it.”

  I couldn’t wait to sink my cock into her again. We’d been too busy running from this bullshit and all I wanted to do was explore every crevice with my tongue for the next month. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a month. I didn’t even know if we had more than a day.

  She approached with slow, seductive strides as she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it on the floor. My eyes trailed down her collarbone to her chest where she had on a red lace bra with a black bow in the center. Ripping the thing off with my teeth sounded like a damn good idea.

  It looked like I wasn’t getting the chance though as Danni unclasped the bra and it fell to the floor. My eyes went to the bra on the floor, up over her abdomen, and to her breasts.

  Christ. My cock strained against my jeans.

  I was losing it. Just seeing her nipples erect and ready for me to taste sent my heart racing. I fought the urgency to grab her and push her face first into the mattress and fuck the hell out of her.

  I took a step toward her to do just that when she slowly shook her head. “Not yet.”

  I grinned. “You trying to change the rules here, little one?”

  She shrugged and smiled. “Maybe.” She unbuttoned her jeans, slid her hand inside her pants and touched herself.

  Holy fuck. I nearly blew my load right then.

  “You can’t do shit like that and expect me to stay standing here.” I took a step toward her. She stepped back, her hand still in her pants, except now I could see the movement beneath her jeans.

  “I’m so goddamn wet for you right now, Balen.”

  I groaned and made a dive for her, but she was ready and leapt to the side. She removed her hand from her pants and then held up two fingers that glistened with her moisture.

  “Baby,” I groaned.

  She caressed her lips with the moisture, and then her tongue darted out and licked. I swore I had a mini-orgasm as everything in me tightened. I was trying to keep my shit together but Danni was doing everything she could to sever all my control.

  “I don’t take well to teasing.”

  “Didn’t think you would.” She wiggled her ass as she slipped out of her jeans, taking her red panties with them.

  My hand went to my cock as I stared at her and rubbed myself, trying to find some sort of release from the ache. But the second I touched myself, control broke and I groaned loud just before I went for her.

  She screamed, one leg still stuck in her jeans as she tried to dart away. She would’ve crashed to the floor except for my arm locking around her waist and hauling her up against me so close that her ass was pressed into my cock. “You finished having your fun?” I made sure she wasn’t going anywhere by tightening my hold.

  Instead of answering, my little minx reached between her legs and started playing with herself again. Her head went back to rest on my chest and she moaned, her legs trembling.

  “No fuckin’ way.” I grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away, then forced her closer to the bed until her knees were up against it. “You want to play? I’ll play. Bend over.”

  At that, she jerked and so did my cock.

  “Balen?”

  I pushed her onto the mattress, keeping my hand on the small of her back. “And I know you’re okay like this. You said so yourself. Only lying on your back bothers you.”

  “Well—”

  I smacked her ass once.

  “Balen, stop.”

  “You need to get off; my fingers can do a way better job than yours can. All you need to do is ask.” I kept pressure on her back while my other hand undid my jeans, and then I shoved them off my ass and my cock sprang free. It never felt so fuckin’ good.

  “Balen, I’m not sure—” I smacked her again, a little harder, but only enough to get her attention and she moaned. It was a good moan and it made the blood drain from every part of my body and go straight to my cock.

  “I’m going to fuck you now, little one. And it’s going to be hard. You good with that?”

  She nodded, her cheek pressed into the mattress and I could see the desire whirling in her eyes. I ran my fingers down her back then grabbed my cock, slid it between her moisture and then up her ass crack.

  She tensed for a second as I played a bit around her ass, knowing she was uncertain whether I was going to fuck her there or not.

  “Not this time.” I pressed at the tightened puckered spot. “But we will. And Danni,” I leaned over her and kissed the back of her neck, “it’s going to hurt and you’re going to love every second of it.”

  I pressed my hips hard into hers and she arched, pushing back. “Would you stop fucking around and put that beautiful cock inside me?”

  I chuckled and it was the first time I’d actually laughed while in the middle of sex. Damn, I loved this woman. My eyes hit the gold bands and I froze. She must have felt the sudden tension in me because she titled her head up to look at me.

  She reached for my one hand resting on the mattress. Her fingers interlocked with mine and squeezed. We both knew what was coming. We’d fought against it. We’d run from it. We’d fought together over it.

  I’d asked her to fight. Fight what? The gold bands were my prison.

  Her soft whisper leaked into me and it wasn’t what I expected. “Baby. Cock. Now.”

  Those words from her mouth snapped any control I had left. I pressed my tip to her wet entrance then grabbed her by the hips, and with one hard shove, thrust deep. She screamed, her body tensing and her hand linked with mine, curling.

  I knew my fingers were bruising her hips, but I couldn’t help it. I slammed into her, loving the sound of her ass and my pelvis slapping together over and over
again. She moaned and pressed back into me. I drove harder. I let go of one hip and slid my hand beneath her and found her clit.

  I grinned when her breath hitched and she moaned.

  “Not yet.” I played back and forth while I continued to thrust into her, the bed creaking from my hard thrusts. “Wait for me,” I ground out.

  Not that I was lasting much longer.

  “Balen,” she cried. “Please. Now.”

  I should’ve made her wait. I wanted to make her wait, but I was losing it and . . .”Now. Fuck, now.” I groaned and my cock lurched.

  Her muscles tightened and clenched around me as we both came. Her back arched and fists pulled at the sheets. I rolled my hips, keeping her ass tight to me.

  I leaned over and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back so I could reach her mouth. Then I kissed her, slow and hard, taking what she was giving me—all of her.

  And yet, I couldn’t have all of her, could I?

  I roughly pulled back and slipped my cock from the heated moisture. I looked down at myself. Fuck. No condom. Jesus.

  I never did it without a condom. Even though we were Scars, we could still get a woman pregnant, human or not.

  She flipped over onto her back and I could tell by her expression that she knew exactly what I was thinking. She reached out her hand, smiling.

  I curled my arms around her and kissed the top of her head. Fuck, if she got pregnant and I wasn’t here . . . that was so not a cool thing to do.

  “It would be a gift, Balen.” Danni snuggled her ass back into me and I heard her sigh as I slowly stroked her abdomen.

  Fuck, my girl had just read my mind.

  I HAD TO TAKE a piss and I suspected so did the chick, so we crawled down the tunnel where both of us could relieve ourselves. That was a fuckin’ joy considering the chick wouldn’t piss unless I moved further down the tunnel. She had the fuckin’ nerve to tell me to turn my back. I told her to piss or get her ass back down the tunnel. I won.

  We’d spent sixteen hours hiding in the bloody air duct, and still, men searched for her. I guessed the little toothpick was more important than I thought. The funny thing was, if a worker went AWOL it was thought she went home or quit her job. These guys were racing around like she was the goddamn Queen of England.

  “They’ll never stop looking for me,” she said.

  “They will if you’re dead,” I shot back. Two men went running past the vent and down the corridor. I heard the outside door open and close. It wouldn’t be the last of them, but sundown was crawling up my ass and we had to get a move on.

  “We’re leaving,” I said. “Out. Now.”

  I slid to the end of the duct and put my feet up against the grill. I gave one kick with both feet and the cover gave, flying across the hall and crashing into the adjacent wall. I’d wasted enough time and refused to wait another night to get Ryker out. I was getting this shit done now.

  She crawled out after me and I quickly put my knife to her throat and pushed her across the hall where the camera would miss us.

  I never hesitated to kill before. I did whatever was necessary, period. And she was a liability. She had to die. But questions had to be answered first.

  “Where are they keeping Ryker?”

  “Who is Ryker?”

  “Don’t play stupid, girl. The Scar, he’s in this building. Where is he?” I yanked backward on her hair. “Answer me.” I yanked harder on her hair and she winced.

  “I’ll take you to him, but promise you’ll take me with you.”

  I was rarely surprised, but I was shocked as hell. There were no chains or devices on her. Why would she want to leave? Was she going to try to infiltrate the Scars? Lead her friends to them? Fuck that.

  “No.” I didn’t do deals. It was my way or nothing.

  “Then kill me,” she said.

  I tensed. “Why?”

  “Because I’m a coward and I can’t do it myself,” she said matter-of-factly.

  I turned her around so her chest was up against mine. She met my eyes and I saw the one tear slide down her cheek. “Jesus Christ. Why the hell are you crying?”

  “Kilter, I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Thirty minutes until sundown, and then those sensors will be turned on. Have you found Ryker?”

  Fuck, Danni.

  The woman in my arms remained unresponsive, almost as if she was dead already. A corpse with tears. Shit, if I didn’t need her, I’d gut her and forget about her haunted deep-brown eyes.

  “Working on it,” I replied.

  “I suggest you get a move on then. We’re in position.”

  “I suggest you get the fuck off my case,” I shot back. “Why?” I had no time for this shit, yet here I was asking about her life story.

  “I hate him,” she said. She raised her hand to the knife and I let her, knowing I could react a hell of a lot faster than she could. One move and I’d slit her throat or snap it; either way would get the job done.

  “Who?” I asked. Why the fuck I cared, I had no clue, but the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  “My husband.”

  Shit, she wanted to die because of a crappy marriage? Suck it up; you did it. Live with it, princess.

  She put her fingers on the blade and pushed it into her neck. A red trickle of blood slid down her skin. She pressed harder and I reacted, grabbing her arm and wrenching it behind her back. Okay, so she had a death wish.

  “Take me to Ryker.” Threatening to end her life had no effect, so I used another tactic—lying. “I’ll take you with us. But don’t come crying to me when you suddenly miss your husband.”

  The relief that emanated from her body was overwhelming. Her eyes closed, muscles relaxed, and she sagged in my arms. I had no use for crying, pathetic females. I pushed her away from me.

  “Where the fuck is he?”

  She nodded to the door next to them. “In there.”

  I cursed under my breath. Across the hall from the vent, all goddamn night, and I never even felt him. Walls had to be a foot thick in steel. “Open the door.”

  She approached, putting her hand on the code box. “As soon as I open this door, they’ll know. The door is linked with a main security station, and they’ll—”

  “Open the fuckin’ door, woman.”

  She hesitated again, and if I didn’t need the goddamn code to get through the steel, I’d make her wish come true. “What now?”

  “If we’re caught, kill me.”

  “Fuck, woman, you sure have a death wish. Yeah, I’ll rip out your jugular, okay?”

  She stared at me a second, then turned and pressed the code and the steel door unlocked. She entered first and I followed. I was unprepared for what I saw. Ryker lay sleeping or unconscious, hooked up to a million monitors, tubes, and needles. An intravenous bag filled with clear fluid dripped into his right arm. Another was filled with blood. Three straps held him to a table, one on his neck, another around his chest, and the last on his calves.

  “As soon as any of these are disconnected, they’ll come. My guess, one minute.” She stared down at Ryker, expression calm and accepting at what was being done to him. Cold bitch.

  I began disconnecting the tubes and needles. Monitors began to beep a loud warning bell. “Just don’t stand there, get this shit off him.”

  She was methodical as she helped him, but I did notice her avoid touching Ryker’s skin. “Afraid of catching a disease, babe?”

  She ignored me and I cut the straps with my knife, then picked Ryker up and threw him over my shoulder. “Let’s go.” Without waiting for her, I ran from the room and contacted Danni.

  “We’re clear. Take the amulet, unwrap it and put it around your neck. Place it between your palms when I tell you. Don’t you dare question me. Just do it, and for fuck’s sake, no matter what happens, don’t let it go or Ryker’s dead.”

  I heard footsteps running up from the basement.

  “The roof. Get me there.”

  Sh
e nodded and went ahead of me to a door at the end of the corridor. She pressed in another code and I heard a click. She pushed the steel door open and started running up the stairs.

  Ryker was still unconscious and his limp body felt like an ice cube; however, his heart pumped slow and steady, and his respiration was stable. I followed her up five flights of stairs until we reached another door. She repeated the process, punching in a code and pushing open the door. Sunlight came pouring into the stairwell.

  “You better have that bloody amulet ready. When I say, think of Ryker and Hannah. Understand? Nothing else. No other fuckin’ thoughts.”

  I sure as hell hoped the bloody thing worked, or we were fucked. Becoming a lab rat was not my idea of a good day.

  Hannah, you better have loved this guy.

  There were footsteps—a herd of them. It was now or never. I went through the door and ran across the rooftop, the woman close at my heels. I stood at the edge of the building.

  People shouted.

  The door opened.

  I heaved Ryker off my shoulder.

  “Now!” I shouted to Danni.

  I released my hold, and Ryker’s limp form fell over the edge of the building. I watched. Waiting for it to happen. If I believed in praying, now would be the time, but I didn’t, so instead, I swore a few curses.

  And then it happened—halfway to Ryker’s body landing as a pile of broken bones on the unforgiving ground, I saw the image.

  Hannah. Her arms wrapped around his body, encasing him, protecting him with her celestial form. An aura of blue light swirled around them, circling like a shield, as Hannah lowered Ryker to the ground, her translucent form holding him as if he were a feather.

  Her finger grazed his lips and then over his eyelids; she caressed him with the softest touch, like he was made of crystal. One tear slid down her pale left cheek and landed on Ryker’s neck, seeping into his skin and vanishing.

  “Get him out of here, Hannah.” I was uncertain if she was capable of hearing me.

  Hannah peered upward and our gazes locked. She smiled with a slight nod, then wrapped her arms around Ryker and floated off the ground, his body vanishing within her embrace. In a flash of brilliant light, they were gone.