“A whole lot,” Saxon said as his temper calmed. “We should get out of here.”
He’d always been slow to anger and quick to get over it; he was glad to discover he still got over it fast, but how long would that last? He was already starting to unravel a little, and the longer they remained unmated, the more control he would lose.
“Elyse, this is my friend, Lucien,” Saxon said as Lucien pulled away from the side of the road.
“Hi,” she murmured.
Lucien glanced at her in the rearview mirror and grunted a response. Elyse tried to remain calm as she gazed between the two vamps, but her heart was going too fast, and they would be able to hear it. She was trapped in this car, and soon they would take her somewhere else.
She’d never really considered what would happen when she escaped the cabin; never thought about finding herself surrounded by vamps again. It was all so daunting that she could only focus on one thing at a time. If she considered the fact she had no money, no transportation, could end up imprisoned again or dead, and had no way of getting to her father, she would sit down and cry.
Hell, she didn’t have any shoes! What could she possibly do now?
A lump clogged her throat as she turned to stare out the window. You never believed you’d get out of the cabin either.
That was true, and yet, here she was. Granted, that was mostly due to Saxon, but still, she was free. Maybe it was time to trust him with everything; she didn’t exactly have many options. If he turned on her, then so be it. If she survived, she would deal with the consequences, and if she didn’t, then what would it matter?
And what about Dad? Her stomach churned as she tried not to think about him somewhere, surrounded by monsters, brutalized, and probably with no hope. If she did, she’d start crying again, and she couldn’t do that.
If she were dead, then her father was as good as dead anyway, but she had no idea how she would get to him. She could steal a car, but then what would she do for gas money and how could she possibly get him free of the Savages?
Saxon had said he would help her find her dad. He was her only hope, but still, she found herself recoiling from the idea of telling him everything. She didn’t know how she would handle the disgust and hatred that would follow her revelation.
“How is everyone else?” Saxon asked.
“Fine,” Lucien said. “Concerned about you, but I think they’ll understand now.” He glanced at Elyse in the mirror before hitting a button on the phone clipped to the dashboard.
“I found the cabin,” Saxon told him.
Lucien’s gaze flew up to meet his in the rearview mirror. “And?” he prompted; at the same time, Declan said, “Hello,” through the phone.
“I’ve got him,” Lucien said to the phone. “I found him wandering the road with a woman.”
“Of course you did,” Declan muttered.
“He says he found the cabin,” Lucien said.
“Good. I’ll call the others and meet you at the hotel.”
The line went dead, and silence descended over the car. Unable to stand her tumultuous thoughts anymore, Elyse watched the farms and snow-covered mountains rolling past. She squinted against the sun beating off the pristine surface of the snow on the beautiful yet stark landscape.
“Was she at the cabin?” Lucien asked.
“Yes,” Saxon said. “With some Savages.”
When Lucien looked in the mirror again, Elyse saw the distrust and malice glimmering in his eyes. Saxon might help her, but this guy would definitely issue a kill vote.
“What were you doing with Savages?” Lucien asked her.
“Playing Monopoly,” she replied. “They’re great at board games.”
She hadn’t realized Saxon still had his arm draped around her shoulders until he gave a small chuckle and squeezed her. She didn’t know why she was meeting Lucien’s antagonistic tone with sarcasm; this guy could squash her like a bug, but she was so tired of being scared. If they were going to kill her, fine, but she’d spent months bowing to the depraved demands of the Savages, and she would not back down anymore.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Lucien asked Saxon.
“When we’re all together. I don’t feel like telling this twice.”
Lucien focused on the road again, and as the heat of the car started to seep into Elyse’s frozen extremities, she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Seeming to sense her discomfort, Saxon took her hands and gently massaged them. She closed her eyes as thousands of pins and needles pricked her flesh, but it wasn’t as bad as the first night Saxon slaughtered his way into her life.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.
“Yes. Aren’t you frozen too?”
“I am, but I’ve had centuries of learning to tolerate pain.”
Elyse lifted her gaze to find Lucien watching them with a furrowed brow.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“Don’t,” Saxon cautioned.
Elyse gazed between the two of them; she was missing something here. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” Saxon assured her as he continued to rub her frozen extremities. He wasn’t ready to tell her she was his mate; he was hoping she would come to trust him and care for him before he made such a revelation. She might be more willing to join him if she had feelings for him.
Elyse didn’t believe him. Something had passed between the two of them, but she had secrets of her own, so she decided to drop it and let them have theirs.
“Oh, by the way,” Lucien said, “nice pants.”
Saxon gave him the finger.
Chapter Twenty-One
Saxon carried Elyse into the motel room he’d spent one night in before discovering her. He set her on the faded yellow bedspread covering the mattress. She tossed aside the blanket and rose as Lucien followed them into the room. Though Saxon knew Lucien wouldn’t harm her, he kept himself between the two of them.
Elyse glanced around the room with its dark, paneled walls, scarred wooden bureau, and TV stand. The TV on the stand was small but newer than anything else in the room, including the mini fridge next to the TV stand. A Formica table with a single chair sat beside the open bathroom door. It was old, but the room smelled clean, and she didn’t see a speck of dust anywhere.
“Where are your shoes?” Lucien asked her.
“I don’t have any,” she said.
Lucien didn’t get a chance to reply before three more men filed through the door. Despite her resolve not to back down anymore, unease churned in her belly as the men filled the room with their large bodies and powerful presences. The room was far too small for all of them, and were they all vamps? Would she ever break free of this screwed-up world? Probably not, she realized and almost sank onto the bed again.
She resisted edging behind Saxon as the one with auburn hair turned and closed the door. The click of it sounded so final that the hair on her nape rose. She’d been freezing, but now she felt stifled and unable to breathe in the cramped confines. What would they do with her or to her if they learned the truth?
“Elyse,” Saxon said, “this is Asher and Logan; they’re hunters. And this is Declan; he’s a vampire like me.”
“She knows about us?” Logan asked.
Elyse studied the man who looked to be in his mid to late twenties. His light brown hair was cut short, and his pine green eyes were filled with distrust as they studied her.
“She was living with Savages.” Lucien smiled, but he didn’t look amused.
“What?” Asher asked as he ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. “Why?”
“It wasn’t by choice,” she said.
“Then why?” Lucien asked.
“They were holding her prisoner in the cabin Kadence led us to,” Saxon said.
“Who’s Kadence?” Elyse asked as unexpected jealousy knotted in her chest.
Saxon rested his hand on her shoulder when he heard the tension in her voice. “A
friend.”
“Why were the Savages keeping you?” Lucien inquired.
Elyse shifted uncomfortably as all their eyes bored into her, but she kept her lips together.
“Saxon?” Declan inquired.
“I don’t know why,” Saxon admitted.
Elyse kept her chin up as she met each of their wary stares. Her gaze lingered on Declan as the vamp surveyed her. His eyes, so pure a gray they were silver, didn’t convey the hostility of the others. Instead, he looked curious and a little amused.
“She won’t tell you?” Lucien demanded.
“She is right here,” Elyse said and kicked herself as she recalled he could break her neck with a flick of his wrist. “And no, I won’t tell him.”
“Why not?” Logan asked.
“Because it’s none of his or your business,” she retorted.
Lucien took a step toward her. “It is our business if you’re working with them.”
“Back off,” Saxon warned and rested his hand on Lucien’s chest.
A muscle twitched in Lucien’s cheek as he gazed from Saxon to her, but he edged back again. “If she’s with them, she’s dangerous,” Lucien said.
“She’s not with them,” Saxon said. “At least not willingly.”
Declan leaned against the wall and dipped a hand into his pocket to remove a lollipop. “Interesting,” he murmured as he unwrapped the candy and stuck it in his mouth.
Elyse frowned at him; she’d never seen any vamp eat human food before, but maybe they liked candy or something.
“For fuck’s sake,” Lucien muttered and rolled his eyes at Declan. Declan smiled back. “It’s not interesting; she’s a danger until we learn the truth about her, and we should treat her as such. We should lock her up or at least tie her up. We should compel her to tell us the truth.”
“You’ll treat her with respect,” Saxon growled. “And no one is going to mess with her mind. I’ll kill anyone who tries.”
Declan lifted an eyebrow at Lucien as if he were daring him to say more. Lucien glowered at Declan and Saxon before turning his ferocious stare on her; she somehow managed not to flinch away from the pissed-off vampire. Logan and Asher didn’t speak as they leaned against the wall, studying her.
“What use could the Savages possibly have for a human?” Asher asked.
“I’m assuming she has an ability they found useful. What were you doing for them?” Lucien asked.
Elyse gulped and dug her fingers into her sweaty palms as she tried to maintain a calm exterior, but Lucien was hitting too close to the heart of the matter, and his antagonism unnerved her.
“That’s enough,” Saxon said and rested his hand on Elyse’s shoulder. “Savages kept her imprisoned for nine months, and she’s been through hell. Give her a chance to rest.”
Before we start interrogating her again; Saxon didn’t say those words, but Elyse heard the rest of the sentence in her head. They wouldn’t relent, which left her with only two options: reveal the truth or make a run for it.
With no money, no car, and no shoes, running for it wasn’t the most brilliant option, and while she’d done some pretty stupid things in her lifetime, she didn’t consider herself a moron.
“We deserve answers,” Lucien said.
Lucien had a right to demand answers, but Saxon would fight his friend before he ever let Lucien imprison her or tie her up.
“Enough, Lucien,” Declan said. At some point, he’d taken out his phone and was gazing at it while he typed a message.
Lucien remained tensed for a fight before his shoulders slumped and he stepped back.
“If Elyse needs time, then we’ll give it to her. It looks and sounds as if she’s been through a lot.” Declan slid his phone into his pocket and turned to Saxon. “Ronan wants to speak with you.”
“I lost my phone.”
“Come to my room later and use mine.”
Saxon nodded, but if Ronan were insisting on speaking with him now, Declan would have given him his phone. He suspected Declan meant to talk with him in private, which could wait.
“We have to get out of this town,” Saxon said. “They’re going to come looking for her.”
“We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready,” Declan said.
“She needs shoes.”
“I’ll find her some. What size are you?” Declan asked her.
“A six,” Elyse answered.
“We’ll get you some supplies while you two rest.”
Declan walked over and opened the door. He stepped back and waited for the others to file out before turning back to her. Elyse tried not to shift as he stared at her with an unnerving intensity that made her think he saw far more of her than she wanted him to see.
“It’s nice to meet you, Elyse,” he said.
When he left the room and closed the door, she couldn’t help questioning if she’d just become a prisoner again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Elyse exited the shower and wrapped the towel around her. When she stepped before the mirror, she wiped away the steam coating it to gaze at her reflection. The circles under her eyes were darker, but after the events of these last few days, she couldn’t expect anything less.
She ran her fingers through her hair to comb the tangles from it before letting it fall freely down her back. She glanced at the clothes she’d tossed on the floor, but she couldn’t bring herself to put them back on yet. They smelled too much like the cabin.
She’d plotted how to escape the cabin and find her father for months, and now that she was free, she felt just as trapped.
Tell Saxon the truth.
But she was afraid. She had no idea what he would do with the truth. He was protective of her, she couldn’t deny it, but that didn’t mean he cared for her. More than likely, he felt sorry for her. And even if he did care for her, if she’d inadvertently put his friends at risk, or if they deemed her a threat to them, he might not try to protect her.
What does it matter? You have no other options. Trust him, and if it blows up in your face, then so be it. Things can’t get any worse than they were at the cabin.
Dead could be worse.
That was true, but she couldn’t see Saxon killing her. Besides, she couldn’t go after her dad on her own; she didn’t stand a chance against a group of Savages.
Elyse held her pruned hands out before her and turned them over. They looked like normal hands, but she wasn’t normal. She was cursed with a gift that would haunt her for the rest of her life. A gift she’d found gross and frightening for years, but now it would also reduce her lifespan.
Sighing, she held the towel together as she opened the door and stepped into the room. Saxon was sitting on the bed with his long legs stretched out before him while he leaned against the headboard with his eyes closed.
He’d shed the sweatshirt, and she stopped to take in the chiseled muscles of his torso as he remained unmoving on the bed. Desire bloomed in her stomach, and her gaze returned to his face. She’d believed him asleep, but he was staring at her with a ravenous gleam in his eyes that made her throat go dry.
Saxon watched Elyse release her towel and prowl toward him. His eyes latched onto her breasts as they swayed with every step she took before sliding lower to the triangle of hair shielding her sex from him. His mouth watered as her delicious scent strengthened.
Stopping beside the bed, she trailed her fingers down his chest to play with the trail of hair leading toward the waistband of his sweats. When he started to reach for her, she caught his hand and kissed his knuckles before placing it against his chest.
Gripping the waistband of his sweatpants, Elyse tugged them down his narrow hips, and he lifted himself off the bed so she could pull them down easier. She tugged them off before removing his socks and tossing them aside. The wiry hair on his legs tickled her palms as she ran them over his calves and his thighs.
His swollen cock jutted out from a nest of curls as she climbed onto the bed in sensual movements meant to tease. She
was aware of his gaze hungrily watching her every move as she straddled his thighs. When she settled over him, she ran her hands across his chest. She reveled in the feel of his smooth skin and taut muscles as they flexed beneath her palms.
“You feel amazing,” she murmured.
When she bent to lick him, the rigid evidence of his arousal fell between the hollow of her breasts. Ripples of pleasure slid over her as the feel of him sent currents of electricity through her body.
Her tongue fell into the indentation cutting up the center of his abdomen when she licked her way up it. She felt almost drunk on the salty taste of his flesh and the sensation of her body rubbing against his. She ran her tongue around one of his nipples before lightly drawing it between her teeth.
The heat of his shaft burned against her belly, and wetness spread between her legs as she pictured taking him inside her, but she made herself wait. She would savor this as much as possible as it could be their last time together. When she gripped his erection and stroked it, his low moan made her ache more as his hips rose to meet her hand.
Saxon saw the dazed passion in her arctic eyes as he gripped the back of her head. For a second, he couldn’t think as he found himself lost to the beauty of her crystalline blue eyes, and then she smiled.
She leaned forward to kiss him, but before he could deepen the kiss, she broke away and slid down the length of him. She bent over his dick and ran her tongue across the head of it. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her as she took him deeper into her mouth while she continued working him with her hands. Pressure built in his shaft, but he was determined not to find his release yet. He had far better plans for her first.
Leaning up, he gripped her waist, but when he started to turn her, Elyse stopped sucking him. “Keep going, love,” he instructed.
Elyse didn’t know what he was trying to do, but she allowed him to turn her, so she lay flat against him lengthwise. When she realized what he intended, she smiled as she slid her mouth back over him. Anticipation built in her as he parted her legs and stroked her sex before bending to place his mouth against her.
Bound by Passion: The Alliance Series, Book 4 Page 12