Brawn

by Laurann Dohner

  Brawn didn’t move as Randy unwrapped the chains and unlocked the cell door. Becca was tense, ready for an attack, but it didn’t happen. Randy opened the door a few feet and shoved Becca inside. She turned to face him, watched the bastard slam the door and secure the chains again. He backed away.

  “Clear. He’s secure.” Randy grinned at her. “Enjoy your time with him.”

  Becca resisted flipping him off. “There’s a special place in hell for you.”

  He winked. “When I die, I’m going to take that fucking place over. Remember who is out here and who is in there, bitch. That’s all that matters.”

  A big hand touched her shoulder, making her jump. She swiveled her head and peered up at Brawn. One arm wrapped around her waist, pulled her against his tall frame and tugged her away from the bars.

  “In a few hours your girlfriend is going to do what we want.” Randy licked his lips and his voice lowered to avoid being picked up by the camera’s audio equipment. “Remember how you learned not to trust humans? Don’t forget she’s one.” His gaze fell to Becca. “Please make my day and refuse. I want to watch you suffer.” He brushed a finger over the bandaged injury on his cheek to make it clear he hadn’t forgotten who had put it there, then spun away. “Move out. Let’s go eat breakfast.”

  The men disappeared through the double doors. Becca didn’t watch them go, instead stared up at Brawn’s handsome face. Anger still darkened his features, worry curved his mouth and he lowered his chin.

  “You can trust me. He’s just trying to cause shit between us.” Those words were hard to get out, worried he’d believe that asshole. Becca turned in his arms, reached up and gripped his shoulders. He lowered when she pulled on him enough to get the message across that she wanted him closer to her mouth. She turned, her lips nearly brushed the shell of his ear and she whispered, “Do you think the cameras can hear us?”

  He nuzzled her nose with his cheek. “Not if we speak this soft.”

  “The woman doctor running this place is insane and wants sperm samples. They are freezing them to sell to some vile bastards in Europe. They took that Species who paced inside his cell, hung him upright by his limbs and hooked him to some fucked-up machines to…” Her voice broke and she shuddered against the large, warm body pressed close. “It was awful what they were doing but I couldn’t stop them.”

  His body stiffened against hers and a low growl rumbled from his throat. It made her jerk her head back enough to stare into his eyes. He avoided her gaze and pulled her tightly into his embrace again.

  “What else did you hear?”

  “That doctor is wanted by the police, she’s stuck here and desperate for money. They offered her a lot of it to, um, hell, I don’t even know how to say this.”

  “Just speak. Tell me.” His hands lightly brushed her back. “I need to know.”

  “They want your sperm. They don’t have any Species like you and she was offered three times as much money if she could freeze and sell yours without any drugs in your system.” Her cheeks burned, telling him what those monsters planned. “They want me to help with that.”

  He turned his head and so did she until inches separated their faces. He didn’t appear shocked but anger still burned in his gaze. “Give sperm without the need of breeding drugs?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “I’m supposed to help you get turned-on and give a sample.”

  His eyes closed and he tilted his head back. A sigh passed his lips and she stood there grimly watching him. It was a bad situation but she needed to make it clear so he had all the facts she knew.

  “Some scientists want to figure out a way to make Species sperm live longer—I guess it dies fast from what I was told—and use human surrogate women to have Species babies. Rich sickos want to buy them. I’m sure a half New Species baby on the black market would raise a hell of a lot of bids.” She felt bad for even saying it. “You’re exotic and some people are just totally screwed up. She also plans to sell all of you when she doesn’t need you anymore. They have a guard at Homeland working for them, they paid him to say when you were leaving and followed you to my house. They need to kidnap a primate Species to have all DNA types—a complete ‘set’. She plans to sell you to the people who want to buy Species.”

  “Exotic animal collectors.” His voice deepened.

  “Yeah or other freaks.”

  “Why were you screaming after they took you away?” He sniffed her and opened his eyes. “Where are you hurt?” One hand released her back to gently cup her injured face, avoided touching her cheek, but studied it. “You were stuck.” His hand dropped to her waist.

  “One of the bastards bruised my thigh. They think they can use me to control you because it made you mad enough to roar the first time I screamed. I also kind of attacked one, trying to free the Species guy so I got nailed in the face.”

  He wrapped both arms around her and lifted—surprised her with that move—and carried her to the cot. He adjusted his hold, sat down and put her across his lap. One arm remained behind her back but his other one gripped the hem of her nightshirt, tugging it up to expose her thighs.

  She didn’t protest, saw he was intent on examining the red marks and he pulled the material down quickly. His gaze met hers and silence stretched between them.

  He finally sighed and lowered his focus to her mouth. “We need to talk.”

  Shit. “I know.” She whispered, hoping it was soft enough not to be overheard. “They think we’re sleeping together already and I didn’t tell them otherwise. I just let them keep assuming. It seemed the smart thing to do at the time but now they expect me to um, help you donate sperm.” She rushed on before she lost her nerve, “You should have seen what they did to that other Species guy. I would rather do whatever it takes than let them hurt you that way.”

  “What did they do?”

  She dropped her gaze to his bare chest, unable to look him in the eyes as she muttered a description of the machines and how they worked. His arm tightened around her waist but he remained silent until she stopped talking.

  “Look at me.” He took a deep breath and peered into her eyes when she did.

  “What?”

  “You know what needs to happen if a rescue team hasn’t found us by the time they want those samples. I don’t want them to do that to me.” Anger tensed his jaw. “It’s too much to ask of you, isn’t it?”

  A blush warmed her cheeks and it was her turn to study his mouth. It was a plush one, full and tempting. “Any other time I’d probably be happy to, um…yeah. This isn’t exactly romantic, is it?”

  “Becca.”

  She stared into his blue eyes. “I know. It was a sad attempt at a joke.”

  “I won’t force you to agree to this. Say no and I’ll go with them willingly to avoid putting you in danger if I fight.”

  She hesitated, her mind working and made a decision. “I was attracted to you the moment we met and I still am so touching you to help turn you on wouldn’t be a hardship. I just wish we weren’t here under these circumstances. I’m not an exhibitionist so that’s going to make it worse.”

  “What is that?”

  She grinned, glad for the humor. “It’s someone who enjoys having sex or committing sexual acts in front of other people. They get off on it. It arouses them more that other people can see what is being done to them.” She glanced at the camera and all her bravo disappeared. “There are probably cameras in that room too. I forgot to look, too horrified by what was happening. Shit. I hope they aren’t keeping recordings of any of the feeds. My dad is going to have a massive heart attack if I end up being featured on some porn site with you.”

  He gripped her jaw, turned her face until their gaze met and kept hold of her. “I will make this up to you somehow and we will survive this.”

  The sincerity in his voice assured her that whatever they had to face, they would do it together.

  “You can trust me. I hate these bastards.”

  Rage filled Bra
wn as he tried to console Rebecca Oberto. She tried to be brave but he couldn’t miss the fear lurking in her eyes as he stared into them. All the things he’d said to her about why he’d never touch a human replayed in his mind, he inwardly winced and knew he’d only made things worse with his candor.

  “I won’t hurt you if there is physical contact involved between us,” he swore. “I do trust you.”

  She relaxed a little on his lap and it encouraged him to continue.

  “They are the enemy and we are a team.”

  The small smile made him hope she feared him less. The human male had tried to cause contention with his warning not to trust Becca but he refused to fall for that. Tim Oberto was highly trusted by Justice, the Species leader.

  Brawn wasn’t sure who at Homeland had betrayed his kind but he’d bet his life Becca wasn’t a part of it. She had expressive eyes he could read easily and would be lousy at deceit. She’d been a victim in this nightmare as well due to her exposure to Species through her father. Tim wouldn’t have endangered his only child.

  He wanted to kill something desperately over the injures to her frail body and the obvious embarrassment she suffered at telling him things that didn’t surprise him in the least. Species were objects to Mercile, products to be used and sold as they saw fit, but he regretted that she’d have to endure worse soon. Her attempt to save the Species male could have gotten her killed instead of just a red cheek. That showed him how good a person she was as well.

  He hesitated over telling her the true reason he didn’t want to be hooked to machines that forced seed from his dick. He’d gladly suffer any pain to spare her being a participant in gaining the samples but he worried she’d be killed if she wasn’t useful to their captors. The bastards murdered anything they deemed ineffectual. A plan to help her formed in his head. She needed hope and to feel comfortable that he wouldn’t harm her.

  “I have a tracking device on me and they’ll find us,” he rasped, not saying he suspected that their captors had somehow blocked the signal and help wouldn’t be able to find them.

  She nearly bumped his chin with her nose as her head whipped up and she gaped at him. Her lips parted but no words came out.

  He took her hand and moved it to his side, pressed down until she could feel the coin-sized object inside his sweatpants pocket and brushed his lips against her ear again. “We keep them on us when we leave Homeland or Reservation in case we’re taken. They will find us, Becca. Just hold on.”

  Tears filled her eyes when she looked at him and her arm lifted to wrap around his neck. She curled against his chest, her cheek softly pressed against his skin and tucked her head under his jaw.

  “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” she breathed. “I was really worried and freaking out. I wish I’d known sooner. Maybe we’ll be found in time.”

  He breathed her scent in, his arms held her yielding body and the thought of sexual contact wasn’t a hardship. Guilt swelled inside his chest because he half hoped rescue wouldn’t come before the deadline passed. She’d offered to touch him and the idea made his cock hard. It was trapped between his thighs where she wouldn’t feel how aroused he’d become. Shame came next.

  His desire for her was stronger than the alarm of being captured and kidnapped. It gave him an excuse to hold her in his arms and if the rescue team didn’t show up soon, he’d have no choice but to do a lot more with her.

  Thoughts of her had kept him up after he’d walked her to the bedroom the night before. Holding her in his arms, the fact that she admitted she found him attractive, had made him consider what it would have been like if they were still free and she’d come to him willingly.

  A bad idea, a disaster in the making and wrong. He had taken the assignment to help his people, not harm them by making an enemy of Tim Oberto. It was clear that Tim didn’t want his daughter getting too close to a Species and he’d eavesdropped on the conversation held inside her bedroom yesterday with her father. They may have closed the door but that hadn’t done much to prevent his keen hearing from picking up most of the words. Tim believed he was dangerous to Becca, would attack her if she flirted and end up hurting her.

  “It is going to be fine,” he bluffed, not sure of that outcome at all.

  A hundred things could go wrong but he kept those thoughts to himself. His gaze traveled the roof, sought any signs of explosives and he sniffed. He didn’t glimpse or smell them but that didn’t mean they weren’t hidden somewhere. Their captors could blow up the building if the rescue teams were able to locate them and breached security.

  “I know my dad will find us,” Becca whispered and clung to him a little tighter.

  Every protective instinct inside him surged to life. She needed him to be strong, supportive and she wasn’t used to being at the mercy of others. He’d do whatever it took but the bottom line couldn’t be ignored. The human guards had dart guns that could render him unconscious. They could take Becca away while he was down, do anything to inflict pain upon her and he wouldn’t be able to protect her unless he made her necessary to them. They wanted her to help him give sperm and he’d give as much as they wanted to keep her safe.

  He bit back a groan when his cock stiffened even more. You are becoming as sick as the ones who enslaved you. The human on his lap would be horrified and disgusted if she knew his thoughts or how aroused he was at that moment. He’d read the report about the humans who had grabbed Valiant’s woman. They’d wanted her to breed with a Species male. Would they order Becca to do breeding tests with him?

  He bit back a growl of excitement at the thought of actually mounting her. The memory of her ass bent over the bed in front of him in the guestroom flashed through his brain and he furiously tried to get a handle on his desires. The stress brought out his animal side.

  “Are you okay? Do your legs still hurt from where they shot you?”

  His dick hurt, not his thighs, but he just shook his head. “I am well. I heal quickly.”

  “Good.”

  She petted his bare chest, her touch featherlight and he squeezed his eyes closed, knowing it wouldn’t take much from her to release his seed if she were to help him. It reminded him that he wanted her to feel at ease with him. He was a sick bastard, he acknowledged, when he decided how to do that.

  “Becca?”

  “Yes?”

  “Look at me.” He pulled back enough to stare down at her upturned face. She was beautiful, even with her auburn hair flowing in disarray over her shoulders. “They will probably ask you to touch me.”

  Her cheeks turned pink and her blue eyes widened. “I figured that.”

  “I want you to feel comfortable with me. It might be a stressful situation. I don’t know if they will treat us the way they did inside the testing facilities. When they wanted us to breed they put us in a room alone but there was a camera. They’d monitor us.”

  “Great.”

  He lifted an eyebrow.

  “Sarcasm. It’s how people react when they are trying to be brave about something.”

  Her response made him smile. “I see. I won’t harm you if they don’t restrain me. I’m not sure if they will or not.”

  “They restrained 919.”

  “I know. You described in detail what they did to him.”

  “Right. Yeah. I did.” She licked her lips. “I trust you. I really do. I know you’re not going to hurt me so you don’t need to keep saying it.”

  “Good.” He paused. “I wish to be honest with you to lessen the horror of what might happen.”

  She blinked a few times and just waited for him to continue.

  “I heard that a lab technician once was ordered to take a sample from a male and she manipulated his dick with her hands to get it.” He didn’t want to mention Fury and Ellie by name. “It might be what they ask you to do.”

  More heat rushed to her cheeks. “I figured that out on my own unless they want to hook you up to that machine without the goggles on and I’m supposed to d
o whatever it takes to turn you on.”

  Brawn’s raging hard-on throbbed and it took everything to hold still to prevent him from shifting to ease the pain of keeping it trapped between his thighs. “They believe we are in a sex-sharing relationship and I am afraid if they learn the truth it will put you in danger.”

  “Okay. Do you really think it matters?”

  “It might. They brought you to control me. I agree with your assessment on that matter. As long as they continue to believe you are my female they will not harm you as long as I comply. I just want you to be as comfortable as possible with my body but I don’t want to upset you by sharing the only way I can think of to make that happen.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  He took a deep breath. “You could kiss me and become accustomed to my body while we are alone before they take us wherever they will.”

  Becca let Brawn’s suggestion sink in and had to swallow hard. Kiss him? Oh shit. Her gaze widened as she stared at him before she glanced at his mouth. It sounded reasonable and she’d wondered what it would be like.

  “I’m not very forward.” Her gaze lifted to his. “You kiss me. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  That made his eyebrows arch. “You are inexperienced with sharing sex?”

  No hole opened up under her so she could disappear but she wished one would. “I’ve had it with a few guys but I’ve never initiated a kiss before. Guys always made the first move.”

  “I understand but it is surprising. Your males seem so docile that I assumed the females were the aggressors during intercourse.”

  “We’re just kissing, right?”

  “Yes.” He took a deep breath. “Close your eyes and just focus on me. Pretend we’re alone in your bedroom or mine. I can see your nervousness and you need to relax.” Arms wrapped around her middle and Brawn tugged her against his chest more firmly, bent his head and nuzzled the side of her face with his own.

  His beautiful gaze searched hers, she knew he had to see her hesitancy, but then his hands lifted to cup her face.