by J. R. Ward
God, he had such a weird way of putting words together sometimes. “Were you adopted into the same family?”
He shook his head. “Are you cold?”
“Ah, no.” She glanced at her hands. They were dug into her lap so deeply, her shoulders were hunched forward. Which explained why he thought she was chilly. She tried to loosen up. “I’m just fine.”
She looked out the windshield. The double yellow line down the center of the road glowed in the headlights. And the forest crowded up to the edge of the asphalt. In the darkness, the tunnel illusion was hypnotic, making her feel as if Route 22 went on forever.
“How fast does this car go?” she murmured.
“Very fast.”
“Show me.”
She felt his eyes dart across the seat. Then he down-shifted, hit the gas, and sent them into orbit.
The engine roared like a living thing, the car vibrating as the trees blurred into a black wall. They went faster and faster, but Hal remained in complete control as they hugged the turns tightly, weaving in and out of their lane.
When he started to slow, she put her hand on his hard thigh. “Don’t stop.”
He hesitated for only a moment. Then he reached forward and turned on the stereo. “Dream Weaver,” that seventies anthem, flooded the inside of the car at earsplitting levels. He stomped on the accelerator and the car exploded, carrying them at breakneck speed down the empty, endless road.
Mary put her window down, letting the air rush in. The blast tangled in her hair and chilled her cheeks and woke her out of the numbness she’d been in since she’d left the doctor’s. She started laughing, and even though she could hear the edge of hysteria in her voice, she didn’t care. She stuck her head out into the cold, screaming wind.
And let the man and the car carry her away.
Mr. X eyed his two new prime squadrons as they marched into the cabin for another meeting. The lessers’ bodies absorbed the free space, shrinking the size of the room and satisfying him that he had enough muscle to cover the front line. He’d ordered them to come back for the usual updating reasons, but he also wanted to see in person how they’d reacted to the news that Mr. O was now in charge of them.
Mr. O was the last inside, and the man went directly to the doorway of the bedroom, leaning against the jamb casually, his arms over his chest. His eyes were sharp, but there was a reserve to him now, a reticence that was far more useful than his anger had been. It seemed as though the dangerous puppy had been brought to heel, and if the trend continued, they were both in luck. Mr. X needed a second in command.
With the losses they’d sustained of late, he had to concentrate on recruiting, and that was a full-time job. Picking the right candidates, bringing them on board, breaking them in—each step in the process required focus and dedicated resources. But while he was refilling the society’s ranks, he couldn’t allow the abduction and persuasion strategy he’d laid out to lose momentum. And anarchy among the slayers was not something he would tolerate.
On a lot of levels, O had good qualifications for being a right-hand man. He was committed, ruthless, efficient, clear-headed: an agent of power who motivated others by fear. If the Omega had managed to suck the rebellion out of him, he was close to perfect.
Time to get the meeting started. “Mr. O, tell the others about the properties.”
The lesser started in on his report about the two tracts of land he’d visited during the day. Mr. X had already decided to purchase both for cash. And while those transactions were closing, he was going to order the squads to erect a persuasion center on seventy-five rural acres that were already owned by the Society. Mr. O would ultimately be in charge of the place, but because Mr. U had overseen building projects in Connecticut, he’d headline the center’s construction phase.
The objectives of the assignment would include speed and suitability. The Society needed other places to work, sites that were isolated, secure, and calibrated for their work. And they needed them now.
When Mr. O fell silent, Mr. X delegated the new center’s erection to him and Mr. U and then ordered the men out to the streets for the evening.
Mr. O lingered.
“Do we have some business?” Mr. X asked. “Did something else go wrong?”
Those brown eyes flared, but Mr. O didn’t snap. More proof of improvement.
“I want to build some storage units in the new facility.”
“For what? Our purpose is not to keep the vampires as pets.”
“I expect to have more than one subject at a time, and I want to keep them for as long as I can. But I need something they can’t dematerialize out of, and it has to shield them from sunshine.”
“What do you have in mind?”
The solution Mr. O detailed was not only feasible, but cost-effective.
“Do it,” Mr. X said, smiling.
Chapter Eighteen
When Rhage pulled into the Excel parking lot, he drove right past the car attendants. Even if the GTO didn’t have a finicky clutch, he wasn’t about to leave his keys with someone else. Not with the kind of weapons and ammo he had in the trunk.
He picked a spot around back, one that was right next to the side door. When he flipped off the ignition, he reached for his seat belt and…
And did nothing with it. He just sat there, hand on the clip.
“Hal?”
He closed his eyes. God, he’d give anything just to hear her say his real name once. And he wanted…damn, he wanted her naked in his bed, her head on his pillow, her body between his sheets. He wanted to take her in private, just the two of them. No witnesses, no half-assed shield of his trench coat. Nothing public, no quickie hallway/bathroom action.
He wanted her nails in his back and her tongue in his mouth and her hips rocking under his until he came so hard he saw stars. Then he wanted to sleep with her in his arms afterward. And wake up and eat and make love again. And talk in the dark about things both stupid and serious—
Oh, God. He was bonding with her. The bonding thing was happening.
He’d heard with males that it could be like this. Fast. Intense. Nothing logical. Just powerful, primordial instincts taking over, one of the strongest being the urge to physically possess her and mark her in the process so that other males would know she had a mate. And would stay the fuck away from her.
He glanced over at her body. And realized he would kill any member of his sex who tried to touch her, be with her, love her.
Rhage rubbed his eyes. Yup, that whole marking urge was definitely at work.
And it wasn’t his only problem. The odd hum was back in his body, egged on by the explicit images of her flashing through his head and the smell of her scent and the soft sound of her breathing.
And the rush of her blood.
He wanted to taste her…drink from her.
Mary turned toward him. “Hal, are you—”
His voice was like sandpaper. “I need to tell you something.”
I’m a vampire. I’m a warrior. I’m a dangerous beast.
At the end of this evening, you aren’t going to remember you ever met me.
And the idea of not even being a memory of yours makes me feel like I’ve been stabbed in the chest.
“Hal? What is it?”
Tohr’s words echoed in his head. It’s safer. For her.
“Nothing,” he said, releasing the belt and getting out of the car. “It’s nothing.”
He went around and opened her door, holding out his hand to help her up. As she put her palm against his, he lowered his lids. Seeing her arms and legs uncoil made his muscles twitch and a soft growl come up into his throat.
And damn him, instead of stepping out of her way, he let her come up close so their bodies were almost touching. The vibration under his skin grew tighter and stronger along with his roaring lust for her. He knew he should look away because surely his irises were glowing a little. But he couldn’t.
“Hal?” she said thinly. “Your eyes…�
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He closed his lids. “Sorry. Let’s go inside—”
She pulled her hand from his. “I don’t think I want to have dinner.”
His first impulse was to argue, but he didn’t want to bully her. Besides, the less time they spent together, the less there was to erase.
Hell, he should have just scrubbed her the moment he drove up to her house.
“I’ll take you home.”
“No, I mean, will you walk with me a little? Through the park over there? I just don’t feel like getting stuck at a table. I’m too…restless.”
Rhage shoved the car keys into his pocket. “I’d love to.”
As they meandered out onto the grass and walked beneath a canopy of colored leaves, he scanned the environs. There was nothing dangerous around, no threats he could sense. He glanced upward. A half-moon dangled in the sky.
She laughed a little. “I would never do this normally. You know, go out into the park at night. But with you? I don’t worry about getting mugged.”
“Good. You shouldn’t.” Because he would slice up anything that tried to harm her, human or vampire or undead.
“It seems wrong,” she murmured. “Being outdoors in the dark, I mean. It feels a little illicit and a little scary. My mother always warned me about going places at night.”
She stopped, tilted her head back, and stared upward. Slowly she extended her arm to the sky with her hand out flat. She closed one eye.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Holding the moon in my palm.”
He bent down and followed the length of her arm with his gaze. “Yeah, you are.”
As he straightened, he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her back against his body. After a moment’s stiffness, she relaxed and dropped her hand.
God, he loved her scent. So clean and fresh, with that slight hint of citrus.
“You were at the doctor’s when I called today,” he said.
“Yes, I was.”
“What are they going to do for you?”
She broke away and started walking again. He fell into step with her, allowing her to pick the pace.
“What did they tell you, Mary?”
“We don’t have to talk about all that.”
“Why not?”
“You’re going against type,” she said lightly. “Playboys aren’t supposed to handle the unattractive parts of life well.”
He thought of his beast. “I’m used to unattractive, trust me.”
Mary stopped again, shaking her head. “You know, something isn’t right about all this.”
“Good point. I should be holding your hand while we walk.”
He reached out, only to have her pull away. “I’m serious, Hal. Why are you doing this? Being with me?”
“You’re going to give me a complex. What’s wrong with wanting to spend a little time with you?”
“You need me to spell it out? I’m an average-looking woman who’s got a below-average life span. You’re beautiful. Healthy. Strong—”
Telling himself he was ten kinds of stupid, he stepped in front of her and put his hands on the base of her neck. He was going to kiss her again, even though he shouldn’t. And it wasn’t going to be the kind he’d laid on her in front of her house.
As he lowered his head, the strange vibration in his body intensified, but he didn’t stop. The hell he was going to let his body dictate to him tonight. Clamping down on the hum, he muscled the feeling around by force of will. When he managed to suppress it some, he was relieved.
And determined to get inside her, even if it was only his tongue in her mouth.
Mary stared up into Rhage’s electric blue eyes. She could swear they were blazing in the darkness, that teal light was actually coming out of them. She’d sensed a similar thing back in the parking lot.
The hair on the nape of her neck stood up.
“Don’t worry about the glow,” he said softly, as if he’d read her mind. “It’s nothing.”
“I don’t understand you,” she whispered.
“Don’t try to.”
He closed the distance between them, dipping low. His lips were soft as suede against hers, lingering, clinging. His tongue came out and stroked over her mouth.
“Open for me, Mary. Let me in.”
He licked at her until she parted for him. As his tongue slid into her, the velvet thrust hit her right between the thighs, and she eased into his body, heat spearing her as her breasts met his chest. She grabbed onto his shoulders, trying to get closer to all that muscle and warmth.
She succeeded for only a moment. Abruptly, he put a space between their bodies, though he kept in contact with her lips. She wondered whether he still kissed her to hide the fact that he’d retreated. Or maybe he was just trying to cool her out a little, like she was too aggressive or something?
She turned her head to the side.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You’re into this.”
“Yeah, well, not enough for the both of us.”
He stopped her from stepping away by refusing to let go of her neck.
“I don’t want to stop, Mary.” His thumbs caressed the skin of her throat and then pressed into her jaw and angled her head back. “I want to get you hot. Hot enough so you don’t feel anything but me. So you don’t think of anything but what I’m doing to you. I want you liquid.”
He dropped and took her mouth, going in deep, taking her over. He searched all her corners until there was no interior place he hadn’t explored. Then he changed the kiss, retreating and advancing, a rhythmic penetration that got her wetter and even more ready for him.
“That’s it, Mary,” he said against her lips. “Let yourself go. God, I can smell your passion…You are exquisite.”
His hands drifted down, going under the lapels of her coat, on to her collarbones. Good lord, she was lost to him. If he’d told her to lose her clothes, she would have stripped. If he’d told her to get on the ground and spread her legs, she would have hit the grass for him. Anything. Anything he wanted, just as long as he never stopped kissing her.
“I’m going to touch you,” he said. “Not enough, not nearly enough. But a little…”
His fingers moved over her cashmere turtleneck, going lower and lower and—
Her body jerked as he found both of her tight nipples.
“So ready for me,” he murmured, plucking them. “I wish I could take them into my mouth. I want to suckle on you, Mary. Would you let me do that?”
His palms flattened and he took the weight of her breasts.
“Would you, Mary, if we were alone? If we were in a nice warm bed? If you were naked for me? Would you let me taste these?” When she nodded, he smiled fiercely. “Yeah, you would. Where else would you like my mouth?”
He kissed her hard when she didn’t answer. “Tell me.”
Her breath left in a wordless rush. She couldn’t think, couldn’t speak.
He took her hand and put it around one of his.
“Then show me, Mary,” he said into her ear. “Show me where you want me to go. Lead me. Go on. Do it.”
Unable to stop herself, she took his palm and put it on her neck. In a slow sweep, she brought it back to her breast. He purred his approval and kissed the side of her jaw.
“Yeah, there. We know you want me to go there. Where else?”
Mindless, out of control, she drew his hand down to her stomach. Then over to her hip.
“Good. That’s good.” When she hesitated, he whispered, “Don’t stop, Mary. Keep going. Show me where you want me to go.”
Before she lost her nerve, she put his hand between her legs. Her loose skirt gave way, letting him in, and a moan broke out of her at the feel of his palm flat against her core.
“Oh, yeah, Mary. That’s right.” He rubbed her and she gripped his thick biceps, her head falling back. “God, you’re burning alive. Are you wet for me, Mary? I think you are. I think you’re covered with honey….”
&n
bsp; Needing to touch him, she shoved her hands into his jacket and onto his waist, feeling the raw, somewhat frightening power of his body. But before she could get far, he pulled her arms out and held her wrists in one hand. He clearly wasn’t stopping, though. He pressed her backward with his chest, until she felt the solid trunk of a tree against her shoulder blades.
“Mary, let me make you feel good.” Through her skirt, his fingers probed and found the pleasure spot. “I want to make you come. Right here, right now.”
As she cried out, she realized she was on the verge of orgasm and he was utterly detached, an engineer of her lust who felt nothing himself: His breathing was even, his voice was steady, his body was unaffected.
“No,” she groaned.
Hal’s hand stopped the rubbing. “What?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Instantly, he backed off. And while he stood calmly in front of her, she tried to catch her breath.
His easy acquiescence hurt, but she wondered why he’d done what he had. Maybe he got off on the control. Hell, making some woman pant all over herself must be a terrific power trip. And it would explain why he wanted to be with her and not those sexy types. A not-so-attractive woman would be easier to remain distant from.
Shame constricted her chest.
“I want to go back,” she said, about to start crying. “I want to go home.”
He took a deep breath. “Mary—”
“If you even think of apologizing, I’m going to be sick—”
Suddenly, Hal frowned, and she started to sneeze.
God, for some reason, her nose was tingling like all get out. Something was in the air. Sweet. Like laundry detergent. Or baby powder, maybe?
Hal’s hand bit into her upper arm. “Get on the ground. Right now.”
“Why? What’s—”
“Get on the ground.” He shoved her down to her knees. “Keep your head covered.”
Wheeling around, he planted himself in front of her, feet wide apart, hands up in front of his chest. From between his legs, she watched two men come out from a stand of maple trees. They were dressed in black fatigues, their pale skin and hair gleaming in the moonlight. The menace they threw off made her realize how far into the park she and Hal had wandered.