She nodded and the worry eased from his expression. To be replaced by something far hotter and more feral. He pulled back, the slide of his c*ck in her p**sy, stroking nerve endings she hadn’t known existed, almost sent her over the edge once more. But then he thrust back in and all bets were off. Pleasure hit her again and again, with each heavy thrust and sharp retreat. He built a hard and fast rhythm driven by the wildness and tension mounting between them.
She gasped and held on, which was all she could do. Clung to him and trusted in his strength as he directed their pleasure, moving with him to wherever he wanted to take them. Trusting him to guide them to heaven and back in an erotic ride that took her breath away.
He grunted, and the soft sounds of sex filled the room. The slide of skin on skin, the slap of his h*ps against hers. The liquid melody of pleasure under light feminine gasps and deeper, masculine groans.
Just when she thought it couldn’t get better, he rolled his h*ps to press against something deep inside her and she was there all over again. His name falling from her lips, she paused right on the precipice. Perfect tension and pleasure poised on a knife edge while she waited for him. Opening her eyes, she looked into his and smiled. His nostrils flared, the ring of amber bright in the dark brown but she didn’t care. She wanted him all, beast and man.
He nodded, and drove forward again. Pleasure shattered over her and she screamed his name. Wave after wave of bliss assaulted her and for a moment she was almost swept away by it. He threw back his head, chords standing out in his neck as her body tightened around his. She trembled, moving with him. She searched for control. Gained it and surfed the pleasure coursing through her body while he chased his own release. His thrusts were harder, stronger, the force slamming the bed against the wall. She clung to him. Reveled in the power and his loss of control when he faltered. Thrust once, twice, then roared her name as he came deep inside her.
The guards came for them early, crashing through the door to train rifles on them.
Darce snarled, on his feet and in front of his mate with his claws extended before he was fully awake. They’d get to Toni over his dead body. He flexed his fingers, the claws glinting dully in the low light as he turned his head, picking his targets among the men in the room. Mentally, he tracked a path of devastation through them, a swathe of amputated limbs and organ removal until they were all dead and he was covered in blood.
“Back down, gentlemen. Give the Lieutenant some space.”
Doc Happy breezed through the door, the same smile on his face that he’d had when he’d locked Toni and Darce in the room hours ago. He flicked a glance over them, taking in Darce’s protective stance and Toni curled up in the sheet and huddled at the top of the bed. His heart raced, surging with adrenaline, man and wolf in perfect accord. Protection of their mate at all costs.
She was still pale, too pale, but a lot stronger than she had been hours ago. Another snarl rumbled up from the center of Darce’s chest. She wasn’t up to exchanging blows with this lot though. That was his job.
The guards backed off a few steps, one glancing sideways at the doctor as if to say “Really? There’s a cocked and ready werewolf ready to go off in the room and you want us to back down?” At least, that’s what Darce would have been thinking had he been in the same situation. There was nothing more dangerous than a cornered wolf, unless it was a cornered wolf with his mate.
“Excellent,” the doctor proclaimed and rubbed his hands together, forcing Darce to wonder if he was actually on the same level of reality as the rest of them. “Protective behavior. He’s beginning to bond with her. We’d thought this would happen eventually.”
Darce lifted an eyebrow. They’d suspected the Lycans would bond? Boy, were they behind with current affairs…
“And how are you feeling, my dear? Better now?” Doc Happy addressed Toni directly, moving to step around Darce.
“Stay away from her.” The growl of warning slipped from his throat before he could stop it, his hands up and central in a threatening gesture while the claws on his toes scratched deep gouges in the flooring.
“Yes, yes, of course.” The doctor finally looked discomfited and he backed down, clearing his throat. “Right, give them some room. If she can’t walk, you’ll need to carry her. And you might want to put on some clothes. Sergeant, if you would.”
One of the men threw a pile of garments on the floor in front of Darce. Keeping an eye on the armed guards, he dragged on fatigues and boots quickly, adding a T-shirt as an afterthought. Made no difference. If he shifted, anything he wore would get trashed just the same.
Without a word he turned and gathered Toni in his arms. They hadn’t brought new clothes for her, but she had on her underwear at the least. As an added protection, he wrapped the sheet around her. Trust shone in her dark eyes, a silent message passing between them. Softly, softly.
He’d fed her again during the night, twice, both times leading to the most earth-shattering sex he’d ever experienced. She wasn’t completely recovered, but near to it. And that element of surprise could be the edge they needed when their chance came. Darce nodded at the doctor as he headed for the door, the guards parting like water.
“Lead the way.”
“And this is the main holding area.”
Toni woke from her light doze at the sound of Fitzgerald’s voice. Ignoring the slight edge of nausea that had been present since she woke in Darce’s arms, she struggled to sit up. Darce grunted and pulled her closer, wrapping his larger body protectively around her. A smile curved her lips for a second. When the Bloods had worked her over, she’d thought that was it. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. Cats might have nine lives, but no cat DNA was used to create the Bloods, so she’d be shit out of luck.
When she’d awoken in his arms, she thought she’d died and gone to Heaven. That her dying brain had granted the one thing she wanted most in the world, him, and given her a glimpse of Utopia. His kisses, his body over hers. All sublime. She hadn’t thought it could get better and then he’d cradled her in his lap and offered her his throat. The sight of the blood pulsing under the skin while his arms wrapped around her had set her mouth to watering, then he’d cupped the back of her head and brought her lips to his neck and she’d been lost.
“Darce, wake up.” She shook his shoulder as the sound of footsteps and voice’s got closer.
“I understand you had some issues recently? Last night’s feed was cut abruptly and let me tell you, our investors were not happy. Not happy at all. Can you give us some assurances that the same thing won’t happen again?”
“Huh? Wh—” Darce came awake sharply.
She put her fingers to his lips, cutting him off. “Shhh. We got company.”
He sat up, eyes wide and tension coiled in every line of his body. After hauling them both to their feet, he shoved her behind him when a group came into view at the front of the cage. Led by Fitz in full uniform, it was comprised mostly of men, with only one woman in a power suit which looked like it had come right out of the eighties. All wore badges with the initials VIP emblazoned on them in large blue letters. She knew the system. Each badge had a chip in it that allowed the visitor to certain areas, and lord help any of them if they lost their badge.
“Oh yes.” Fitzgerald nodded, his expression calm but a betraying wash of red was at his neck. “We shut that down quickly and dealt with the instigators. Seemed one of our staff was less than careful when dealing with the stock, one got loose…” He shrugged and spread his hands. “This business is dangerous. Some losses are to be expected.”
The woman’s heels rang out as she approached the bars, peering into the darkness. Darce snarled, claws already out and ready to use. Toni put a hand on his arm and locked eyes with the woman. Slender and blonde, her ice-blue eyes swept over the pair with utter lack of compassion. Toni shivered. She’d never seen such coldness on a human before.
“I see. And this pair?”
Fitz looked past her. “A Blood and a Lycan. Part of the breeding phase. The Lycan has bonded so we have high hopes of conception.”
The woman nodded, but her eyes lingered on Darce’s broad shoulders. “This one has been in the ring?”
Not liking the gleam in the other woman’s eyes, or the purely feminine interest, Toni slid in front of Darce, baring her fangs. Strange, they dropped easier into her mouth than they had before, as though they hadn’t fully retracted. Darce’s hand closed around her wrist and stopped her from rushing the bars. One swipe—that’s all she needed—and she’d open a second smile right along the bitch’s throat. Teach her to ogle Toni’s man.
“He has indeed. One of our more successful fighters.”
“I want to see him fight. If he comes up to scratch I’ll take him off your hands. He’ll be a valuable addition to our stable.” The blonde smiled and straightened up. “Unless of course, your breeding experiment precludes a sale. At our previously agreed rate of course.”
Toni’s heart lurched as Darce’s hand tightened around her wrist. Stable? Sale? Shit, they were going to take him away before they got a chance at escape. Ice washed through her veins and she assessed the guards with the little group. Darce caught her looking and shook his head. There were too many guards. If they tried anything, especially with VIPs in here, they’d be dead before they took another breath.
Fitz’s eyes gleamed for a second but he was quick to mask the expression. He shrugged, expression blank.
“Double it. He’s a very popular subject.”
Blondie wrinkled her nose, but Toni already knew what her answer was going to be. “Done. But I want to see him fight first.”
Fitz nodded and clicked his fingers. “Get him out.”
“No!” The cry escaped Toni’s lips before she could stop it. Whirling around, she wrapped herself around Darce, fear pounding through her system like a battalion in hobnail boots. The worry that if he went out there he wouldn’t come back to her drove its claws deep into her gut and wouldn’t let go.
“Shhh…it’s okay, babe.” He cupped her face, thumb stroking over her cheek while the guards unlocked the cage. Darce leaned in and stole her breath with the softest, sweetest kiss she’d ever been given. “No matter what, I’ll be coming back for you. Don’t you worry.”
She couldn’t do anything but nod, holding back tears as they dragged him from the cage. He snarled, about to lash out until one of the guards to the side turned and aimed his rifle directly at Toni. She swallowed and raised her hands.
“I’m calm, I’m calm.” Darce put his hands out to the side, not responding when two guards moved in and cuffed him. “Just don’t hurt her.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Fuck. What’s going on?”
Toni paced back and forth in the cage before leaning against the bars and angling her head to try and see down the side of the cage opposite. They’d taken Darce that way in cuffs. The blonde bitch following with a smile like the cat that had gotten the damn cream.