by Harte, Marie
She nodded.
“He kidnapped and experimented on the guys. On all of us, really.” Alex sighed. “So much wrong he got away with.”
“Not for long,” Gideon murmured. “We’re not done with him yet.”
She appreciated that threat, agreed with it wholeheartedly.
Gideon continued, asking, “Were you at U-Ground when that supposed fire broke out?”
“No, I was at home.” She blinked. “That was your rescue operation, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Alex bit his lip. “My sister helped set it up. They killed her because of it.”
She looked at him again, and when he made eye contact, her world tilted. “Katie. You’re Katie’s brother. She has—had—the same eyes.”
He nodded.
“I’m so sorry.” She hugged him to her, startling him, she could tell. His stiff hug back slowly warmed, and he sagged in her embrace. She swore she felt moisture dampen her shoulder and hugged him even tighter. “Katie saved me.”
She stroked his hair as he let out a shuddering breath, then let him go when he gently pulled back to get some space.
“Tell me,” he said, his voice raw.
She explained in detail what had happened to make her flee from the company. How Katie’s email had helped her evade those sent to capture her.
“It’s all in the file.” She pulled the wad of paper from her bag. “I have some of it here, the rest on a thumb drive. I think that’s why they want me back. That and I guess I’m like you guys.” She frowned. “But I don’t know how I can be. I never went in for any experiments or anything. Never went below the main level, ever.”
Alex shook his head. “They must have drugged you, like they drugged me. Because I never signed up to be Circ either. But I’m different.”
“Not all the way Circ,” Gideon added. “Strong, psychic, but the eyes don’t lie.”
She noticed what he meant. Alex had round pupils. “Are my eyes different?” She opened them wider.
Alex leaned close, and she caught the hint of his scent, like a fine cologne of safety, compassion, and dampened desire. She did her best to keep herself closed off, so he wouldn’t read her sudden—inappropriate—sexual response.
“Your eyes look normal.” He stared, and she saw his pupils lengthen.
“Wait. Your eyes, they just changed. Went Circ.”
“Yeah?” He blinked, and the change vanished. “Still?”
“No. It’s gone. That’s odd.”
Gideon laughed. “That’s nothing. Wait until you see the first version of the Circs. They seriously turn into something not human.” He turned around to watch her, then his gaze shifted to Alex. “So what the hell happened to you back there”
Alex sank lower in his seat. “I saw something.” He paused. “Myers and the others killed Katie.”
“Damn,” Carter said softly.
“I’m so sorry.” Bailey wiped her eyes. What a terrible way to die.
“I don’t know if I did enough damage to kill Myers, but I’m going back to find him,” Alex promised, meeting Gideon’s gaze. “I’m going back to kill them all.”
That sounded like a challenge. He didn’t look away from Gideon, and the air in the SUV filled with tension.
Bailey should have been totally freaked out by discussions of killing and death. But such talk of vengeance satisfied the beast inside her. The tension continued to build, and part of her wondered who would win if the men in the SUV battled.
Gideon flashed a fang, then shrugged. “I was going back even if you weren’t. You calling dibs on Myers if he’s still alive? Okay. But Smith is mine.”
“Hey now.” Eli frowned at them in the rearview. “I want a piece of him too.”
“You can have Lang.”
“I want Lang,” Carter growled, showing a layer of violence she hadn’t seen in the big man yet.
“What about me?” she asked, wanting to be a part. “If you guys get all the scientists, then I want the money lady. Amelia Norton.”
Alex froze. “Myers mentioned a Norton. She’s bankrolling this thing?”
Bailey nodded. “And she’s got some pretty deep pockets. They have oil money. Her family’s big into politics. Her father is a retired senator.”
“With connections to the federal government,” Gideon said. “No way we can trust this to Circe’s Recruits.”
“Yeah. No way,” Carter seconded.
“I agree.” Eli nodded.
“Whoa. Hold on.” Alex sat up straight. “Circe’s Recruits are the good guys.”
“Yes! Circe’s Recruits.” Bailey knew that name. “That’s who Katie told me to find. And the locker. She left me information, stuff I’m supposed to get to you guys and Circe’s Recruits.” Her gaze wandered from Circ to Circ and settled on Gideon.
Shadows flickered over his face, the moonlight overhead trying to hide his expression, but she saw it plain as day. Satisfaction, possession, and a need for violence. “You’ll give it to us, Bailey. Because you’re gonna be pack real soon.”
She swallowed. “Pack?”
“Feels right. But weird, too,” Carter said.
“The, um, Myers said I was made for his pack.” Something she wanted to, but couldn’t, forget. “Are you saying you’re all going to maul me or something?”
Eli chuckled. “Or something.”
“Shut up, Eli,” Gideon warned. “No, Bailey. We aren’t going to maul you. But I can feel it. Hell, we all can. You’re pack. Wake that beast inside you and she’ll tell you. Probably why Hayashi pointed you out to us in the first place.”
“Who?” Had she fallen down the rabbit hole or what?
Yes, pack. A strong mate here. Her beast chuffed, and Bailey felt everyone around her tense. Fuck me sideways. Now what?
Gideon had been doing his best to ignore the sweet scent of Bailey growing more potent in the confines of the SUV. He wondered if the others felt it as well. A glance at Eli showed him no different than he had been. Not sporting an erection the way Gideon was.
Alex felt better, more like himself. Carter didn’t seem to like chicks, sexually. Though as Gideon had been told, sexuality came in second behind being Circ, so anything was possible.
But the question was, what did Bailey need?
He had no intention of ever joining law enforcement. He didn’t consider himself a good guy, and he liked getting paid for a job. Altruism be damned. But he’d never, ever, forced a woman into sex. Hell, he hadn’t forced the guys into it either. His beast has connected with theirs, and they’d succumbed. No matter how animalistic Gideon became, he’d never amount to no more than a rapist and murderer.
He made mistakes, but he’d rather die than turn into the fuckheads they’d just fought.
Gideon squirmed in his seat when her pheromones went haywire. Eli sucked in a breath. Alex groaned, and Carter started panting.
“Pull over at that KOA sign.” A camp ground. The perfect place to get the hell out of the SUV and run off some steam.
“What? What’s wrong?” Bailey sounded scared.
“Nothing,” he growled, and cleared his throat, trying to sound human. “We need to let some tension go without killing each other. You stay in the SUV while we run this off. The fight boosted our adrenaline.” That sounded like a legitimate excuse for a surge in desire. If she didn’t look too closely at any of them, it might work, too.
Eli whipped the vehicle into an open space and turned it off. In the sudden silence, they heard no one near. Eli looked a little wild around the eyes. He darted from the vehicle, followed by Carter.
“Stay here,” Alex ordered Bailey, his voice hoarse. “We’ll be back. But lock the doors behind us.”
She nodded, her eyes huge. Gideon waited for Alex to leave, then opened his own door and closed it softly behind him.
He dragged in deep breaths, trying to relax. He’d never felt this kind of need before. Sure, he’d bonded with the guys, but their beasts had been prodding at his, and they’d al
l been more than happy to fuck. Carter had been right about Alex. The guy loved being a bottom.
Noise in the wood line told him Carter and Eli had found each other. And they weren’t fighting.
“Yeah, Carter. That’s nice. Fuck. Suck me harder. I swear I’ll do you. Just…” Eli gave a low growl. The bushes around them rattled as something scurried away.
“Just a deer,” he heard Alex say. “Oh hell. You two are at it already?” More groaning, the sounds of sucking and kissing.
Gideon felt hard as a rock, standing there, keeping a wary eye on the SUV while knowing he needed to take the edge off. Anything to relieve his aching balls. Fine time for his beast to want to get it up.
The car door opened.
“Christ. Get back in the SUV.”
She ignored him, and he clenched his claws into the palms of his hands, drawing blood.
“Did you cut yourself?” Bailey asked.
He turned to her, and she gasped.
“Get back. In the car.”
“Your eyes… They’re glowing.” She frowned at him. “You look bigger to me.”
He gave a harsh laugh. “Sweetheart, I am bigger. And harder, and ready to fuck anything that moves. So get your sweet ass back in the vehicle and wait there.”
Just his luck, she didn’t move. “Are you going to have sex with the others like you did before?”
He blinked. She sounded…aroused. “What?”
“I saw you. In my dreams. All four of you touching and kissing and—”
He slammed her up against the SUV, his hands on her shoulders, and used everything inside him to stop from forcing himself on her. “Sorry.” He closed his eyes. “Need a Circ. Get…away.”
But the temptress didn’t back away. She didn’t act put off by his roughness. No, Bailey Duncan yanked his face close and kissed him, slicing into his lip with a fang that drew blood. When she wrapped a powerful leg around his waist and pulled him closer, he lost all control.
Chapter Ten
Bailey needed to get closer. She growled into Gideon’s mouth, warning that she didn’t like the clothes separating him. When he didn’t do anything to remedy the problem, she clawed at his clothing, not caring if she took a bit of flesh too. He rumbled back and gripped her hips tighter, keeping her where he wanted while he ground against her.
He’d gotten that part right. He’d found her sweet spot, and his thick erection dug into her sex. But it wasn’t enough.
Frustrated, aroused beyond thought, and furious he wasn’t giving her what she wanted—what she deserved after so much craziness the past week—she shoved him back and planted her feet on the ground. Ready for a fight or a fuck. Since he hadn’t helped with the clothing issue, a fight it would be.
Gideon had the nerve to grin at her, his fangs sharp. But she had them too, and she snarled, showing them right back.
“Strip,” he ordered, as if he had the right to tell her what to do.
“Fuck you.” She let the beast overtake the human side of her, still merged with the creature though, and dove for his waist. She planned to tackle him to the ground, then take what she wanted.
Except Gideon didn’t move. She hugged his hips, pushing and getting nowhere. She felt foolish because she must have looked like an idiot shoving against an immovable mountain.
When he dared laugh, she raked her dagger-like claws over his ribs. That ended his amusement. And his patience.
He took her to the ground and put his all of his weight on top of her, making it hard to breathe. “What do you want, Bailey?” He continued to grind that massive cock against her, and frustration rode her hard.
Not worthy… Not…
He kissed her, taking charge of her mouth, her body, as he shoved her arms above her head and held them there with ease. Every time she tried to move, he added more weight, keeping her still. But his lips, his tongue… He continued to ravage her, his kisses going straight to her head. Straight to that needy place between her legs.
“So wet,” she moaned. “Need it inside.”
“No. You need me inside.” He surprised her by jumping to his feet, away from her. But that didn’t last. He ripped through her shirt, threw her sneakers right and left, and yanked off the rest of her clothing. She would have fought back, but her beast wanted to help, finally getting what it wanted—a strong, fit male to take charge.
Bailey wanted him too, yet she didn’t. Her world had changed so much in so little time. It was all so overwhelming…
And like that, the beast took over, shoving the frightened woman to the back of her mind.
Gideon tore off his own clothing while she stood there, naked, staring at him. Then he picked her up and carried her back to the SUV. She kissed him all over, leaving teeth marks to show a claiming. Good mate. Smells right. Like fire and light, pure power.
He slammed her against the vehicle once more. She didn’t feel the cold, her epidural cells shifting, tightening, rebuffing all sensation but what she wanted to feel—Gideon, finally, deep inside her.
Wrapping her legs around his waist, he positioned that massive cock at her dripping core. So focused on finally having what she wanted, her beast tried to take charge.
“No. Look at me,” he said in thick voice, one deeper than she’d heard before.
She glared at him. When he remained still, she let him feel her wrath, cutting into his sides, enjoying the sluice of blood over her fingers, the scent of his power lingering, mixing with the sexual need in the air.
“I want to see Bailey. You want a fuck? I see her.”
The beast froze, blinked, then smiled, ecstatic Gideon saw the real her. She eased back to let Bailey come out, poised to take over once more as soon as he was satisfied.
Bailey stared at Gideon, felt him nudging her clit, his strong chest brushed up against her sensitive nipples. He felt so good. Yet a fear lingered, and she wasn’t sure why. She’d been content in the dark, protected by her beast. Protected from this?
“Yeah, there you are.” Gideon looked wild. His pupils had expanded, desire on his taut face visible to see. “Let me in, Bailey,” he murmured and kissed her, softly, not at all like the grabby Circs who’d tried to force her before. And his smell…
She inhaled and sighed, loving the scent of authority, of power. He’d keep her safe, but more, he’d respected her enough to ask for permission. She pulled back. “What if I don’t want to let you in?”
He groaned, his fangs hotter than hell. “Then you’d better get that ass back in the SUV the minute I let go. And don’t let me in. I gotta—”
She toyed with the nape of his neck, and he tensed, his powerful shoulders bunched, his thighs clenched. She eased over his cockhead and licked her lips. “I said ‘if.’” She drew his face closer and kissed him, licking a fang. “I need you.”
He didn’t blink, staring into her eyes before giving a small nod. Then that wicked grin returned. “Yeah, okay, but I’m still in charge.”
He yanked her down, impaling her in one swift, hard surge.
She gasped as he started pumping, then could do no more than moan when he kissed her again. She sucked his tongue, mirroring the way her body gloved his shaft. He grew more excited. So did she. Unable to help herself, she clawed his sides, reopening wounds that had already healed. But her beast liked it, and so did his.
Every glide of her claws had him hammering harder.
Worries about the future paled next to the carnal need swelling like a bomb inside her.
He broke from the kiss and shoved his face into her neck, sucking before biting and drawing blood. He’d ground against her clit for too long, and her body coiled to spring.
“Gideon,” she keened and exploded when he shoved so hard he felt as if he’d joined her as one.
The orgasm took her from everything, bonding her with the male so deep inside her. More than sexual, the connection gave her insights into this strong yet vulnerable creature giving her such joy. He’d lost so much, felt rudderless at times, bu
t vengeance drove him now. That and an affection for strangers he’d come to think of as his new family. Alex, Eli, Carter, and now her. They were pack.
She hugged him tighter and continued to seize, her ongoing climax another gift from the beast within her.
She’d stabilize the group, she knew that. She had a place if she’d take it. Her mind made the leap while Gideon pumped inside her, his seed taking root, not physically—there would be no conception from an initial joining, her beast had decided—but mentally, emotionally. She had a way into him now. Not anyone’s second, Bailey and her beast were the female alpha. And this joining was glorious.
Stroking his shoulders as Gideon continued to come, panting and moaning as his release calmed him, she heard him purr and felt an answering need to rumble.
They stood, together, a mess of fluids under the moonlit black sky. And Bailey had never felt closer to anyone in her life. Her beast agreed, and this time they settled into a partnership, one they knew would only get stronger with Gideon and the others by their side.
***
“Do you think the female has copulated yet?” Edwin Lang asked Duane as they studied an unfortunate mistake on the exam table.
Amelia Norton’s secondary lab far exceeded the one they’d used at U-Ground. Edwin wondered why she hadn’t allowed them to use it in the first place. Most likely because the annoying woman liked keeping secrets. And she liked power.
She loved having Duane under her thumb. Stupid woman. Lang shook his head. Sad that so much money had fallen into the hands of such an inferior female.
Duane looked up from the dissected mutant, holding the creature’s secondary heart in his hands. “I do think Bailey’s been sexually compromised. And I wonder how long she’ll last. We know that Circs, particularly the new ones, don’t bond like the first batch Dr. Pearl created. Most of them act like competitors when it comes to bringing in a female. Look at Sheer’s group.”
Edwin nodded. “Good point.” Sheer and the others took females for their own, with no care for the female’s health. A few fetuses had developed, but not enough to protect the species as a whole. He’d seen the same competitive courtships in most of his other successful Circs as well.
