Torrent shook his head to try and clear it. His ears were ringing. His prize … he had to stay focused on his prize.
“The dark-haired one is mine,” Coal barked as Torrent leapt to his feet.
Like hell. “I want her,” he growled. His ears still rang from the fall. His shoulder felt stiff and his jaw ached. Torrent was so irritated and frustrated with himself that he wanted to roar. Anger surged through him. Who did this little prick think he was? Unfortunately, they were evenly matched. The male was a fire dragon. That gave him the advantage. More heat energy coursed through a fire dragon’s veins, making it a simple fact. Fire versus water.
Torrent’s mind was reeling. He felt dizzy. The fall had been hard, as he was moving quickly. Coal had used his momentum against him. Fuck! Coal’s closed fist came at him from out of nowhere. There was nothing Torrent could do to avoid the blow completely. He took a step back to circumvent the worst of the force.
Torrent could hear footfalls behind them. It was of no concern to him. The approaching male would take the sun-haired female. It would buy him time to defeat the fire prince.
Perfect.
Torrent decided to give Coal one chance at surrender. “That female is mine,” he snarled, his eyes locked with the prince’s. “You may as well give up now. Take this one,” he said in the most commanding tone he could muster, his eyes stayed on Coal’s. A non-royal would cower and drop to their knees. Coal flinched.
Good!
The little prick huffed out a breath. His shoulders slumped and any sign of fight fled from him. “Fine.” His gaze dropped to the downed female.
Good. At least he knew his place. Insolent little fucker. Torrent began to move towards his human. He had to stop himself from shaking his head. Coal might be fire but he was merely a prince and Torrent, a king. How easily the prick had allowed himself to—
Torrent heard his trachea crunch beneath the male’s fist in a move he didn’t even see coming. Next, the male gripped his neck in what felt like a vice. There was only one prick in this situation. Torrent himself! What the fuck had he been thinking? He hadn’t. Not one bit. He had been too damned eager to win a human. Suddenly all those weeks he had abstained from sex seemed stupid. He’d convinced himself that it was in preparation for the hunt. His thinking had been that it would make him hone his skills and make him hungrier for a female, a mate. In the end, it had made him think with his little head instead of his big one. Actually he hadn’t been thinking at all.
Zero air passed through his damaged throat and Coal maintained his hold. His lungs burned and pain consumed his trachea like a wildfire. Torrent could feel his eyes bug out from his skull.
Thank fuck, the male finally released him. Not that it helped much. Air still would not find its way down his throat. The pain went from grossly unbearable to plain unbearable. A slight improvement. He’d take it!
Torrent could hear the sounds of battle over the roar of his heartbeat in his ears. Coal was fighting the approaching male. What? Why? Why didn’t he just go and claim his prize? It would take a few minutes for his throat to heal enough to get air to move through it freely. The extra time would have put Coal well ahead.
Instead, he was choosing to waste his time by taking out the lesser. There was a crunching noise as the fire prince punched the other male’s face. Over and over. He pulverized the poor male. Torrent couldn’t help but feel a grudging respect for the bastard. Fast, strong and clever. The male was also a prick, and if there were even an ounce of strength left in him, he would fight him.
The poor bugger finally fell into a heap and Coal walked back to Torrent. It was only when he had to look up to maintain eye contact with Coal that he realized that he had fallen onto one knee. He managed to draw the tiniest wheezing breath. Thank Claw. The dark patches in his vision cleared, but only marginally.
“The others are a few minutes behind.” Coal glanced to the horizon and Torrent could barely make out the grunts and growls that gave credence to his words. There was a large group approaching at a speed. “You still have time to claim her.” The male glanced at the human who was just a few feet away from him.
Her eyes were wide and filled with fear. Something in him clenched. A need to protect rose up in him. She was so small and fragile. Not the female that he wanted but she would do. What did it matter anyway? The female was fertile. Their kind had watched a number of females for months before making final decisions about who they were going to take. The females needed to meet various criteria. Amongst other things, they needed to be destitute, not easily missed by loved ones and fertile. That meant that she would have gone into heat at least once while they observed her.
Coal was going to get the dark-haired one, whether he liked it or not. Either he could take this one or wait for the next hunt.
The fire prince narrowed his eyes on Torrent. “Take her,” he said. It might be another trap, though to what end? Torrent was still pretty much fucked. At least he could get some air through his broken windpipe. It wouldn’t be long and he would be back on his feet. Right now, he was no threat.
The human whimpered. “Don’t come near me,” her voice shook. It was filled with fear and panic, but there was also a hint of anger there. Good! At least she had some fire in her human veins.
“Do it,” Coal urged as he turned and ran.
The sound of approaching males was growing louder. Boisterous grunts and groans. He only had two or three minutes at best. Torrent needed to claim her right now. He forced air through his throat. Fuck! It hurt like a ballbag to an open flame. He rose to shaky legs and took a staggering step towards her.
The female’s lips trembled and even though she looked as if she was weak as a newborn lamb, she began to crawl away from him. Her fingers dug into the earth and her legs didn’t work very well, leaving deep grooves. The small grunts she was making spoke of determination. Maybe she would do after all.
Chapter 3
Oh God!
Oh God!
He was coming for her. She could hear him wheezing behind her. Could hear his uneven footfalls as he staggered closer. The guy was an animal. A straight up animal. He should be dead. Why wasn’t he dead?
She’d watched what the other one had done to him. How he’d pulverized his windpipe. Pulverized! She’d heard the revolting crunching sound. Just thinking about it turned her stomach.
Her legs still prickled but at least they were moving. There was no way she could stand or even crawl very well but she would damn well drag herself along. There was no way in hell she was making this easy on the asshole.
Her only small consolation was that he was hurt. She’d seen the look of pain in his eyes. Maybe he couldn’t force himself on her if he was hurt.
The footfalls grew more even and faster. He was right behind her. She moaned in both anger and frustration, her hand closed on a rock. On impulse, Candy turned and hurled the thing at him, surprised when it hit him in the chest. He was closer than she realized.
His eyes widened and he made something between a huffing and a groaning noise as the air was forced from his lungs. He fell to his knees. The wheezing grew louder as he struggled to get air into his lungs.
Within a second or two, he was back on his feet and towering over her with a menacing look on his face.
One hand went to his throat and he grimaced. Candy wasn’t waiting around, she rolled back onto her belly and clawed the ground. She forced her legs to obey and managed to half pull, half crawl forwards. It felt like she was hardly moving. Tears of frustration coursed down her face. Wet hair clung to her cheeks.
Big hands closed around her waist and pulled her over onto her back. It happened with zero effort. His legs were on either side of her. Veritable tree trunks. Did his mother put steroids in his milk as a baby?
If only she had strength. If only her body would listen to her because she’d kick his balls so hard they’d fly right out of his mouth. She’d flatten them to the point where he’d never think about sex again. She bit
down on her lip to keep from moaning or whimpering, mostly though to keep herself from begging for mercy.
His pale eyes were devoid of any, so why bother? He slumped over her, putting his whole weight on her. His breathing was choppy. He still wheezed, but it wasn’t as bad as before.
Lucky asshole. At least he could breathe. She couldn’t move. Definitely couldn’t breathe. The only thing that would end up flat at this rate, was her.
Then he pulled most of his weight off of her as he leaned onto his elbows. Relieved, Candy sucked in a deep breath. She tried to move the lower half of her body to kick him. To do something, anything, but he was pinning her down with his big-ass body.
She was making noises. Little grunts and moans that showed how hard she was trying. “Off. Me,” she managed to grunt. “Now,” she ground out.
His breath was hot against her ear. “No.”
She got an arm free and hit his back with her closed fist. The action hurt. Her. Certainly not him. She may as well be hitting a brick wall.
“I need to kiss you now,” he rasped directly into her ear. It caused her to shiver … from the revulsion.
“No!” she half-shouted.
“Yes,” a rough rasp.
Candy hit him some more. She tried to squirm out from under him.
He was still panting. “Stop,” a low vibration.
For a second she was tempted to obey his commanding tone. What the …? She even stopped fighting but soon managed to shake it off and picked up where she had left off. This time, with even more vigor. Asshole!
“Stop,” he repeated. “Listen.” He pulled back a smidgen and cocked his head.
Again, she did as he commanded. Why the hell was she even listening to him let alone …?
Wait just a minute.
Growls. Roars and snarls. The sounds were still soft but growing louder by the second.
“Let me kiss you and you will be mine.” His voice sounded fractured and pained. Good!
“You can go to hell. I’m nobody’s. Do you hear me? I want to go home.” Her voice shook.
“I am a king. I have much to offer you.”
Another rich bastard who thought he could buy her. Fuck that! She heard many feet thumping against the hard ground. Her heart-rate went into overdrive and she whimpered. “Please,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be raped.” She said it more to herself than to him.
“I will protect you. I will ensure that no harm comes to you.” He pulled his head back, staring deep into her eyes.
“Please don’t force yourself on me.” She was appalled at how her voice trembled. “Please don’t let them …” A sobbing noise was torn from her at the thought of being passed around … torn to pieces.
The large group of shifters was right there now. Seconds away.
The beast of a man cupped her cheek. His touch was soft and careful. What? It shocked her to her core. “Trust me and do as I say, do everything I tell you and you will be safe. Do we have a deal?”
“Yes,” she blurted as one of the shifters roared. It sounded like a battle cry.
“Kiss me now,” he commanded.
His lips were only a few millimeters away. What choice did she have but to kiss him? To trust him?
None.
Zip.
Zero.
She was out of options. Candy reached up and touched her lips to his. They were warm and soft. So soft. Surprisingly soft. Her eyes were open, so she watched as his drifted shut. His lashes fanned his cheeks.
She made a noise of surprise as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. Shit! His hand tightened ever so slightly on her jaw, he tilted her head and plundered her mouth.
Oh God!
This monster could kiss. He could seriously freaking kiss. Not that she was enjoying herself. Forget that. She only prayed that he had told her the truth, that he would protect her from the rest of them. Although she struggled to understand how he would get that right. There was a whole group of them and only one of him.
There was no way he could keep his promise. Candy turned her head, breaking the kiss. He stayed just above her like that for a few seconds, his eyes still closed. His chest rising and falling against hers. Then his eyes opened. Those unnaturally pale orbs locked with hers. His eyes narrowed, like he was trying to tell her something. A warning perhaps.
There was a sound of feet shuffling. Of breathing. She slowly turned her head. It was a group of about twenty of them. Twenty more of these huge giants. The bastards stared down at them. They looked pissed. Each and every one of them looked beyond angry. The one closest to them snarled, his lips curled away from his teeth which looked abnormally sharp.
Candy turned her head and buried it into his chest, which was as soft as it was hard. His skin was soft and hairless. The muscles underneath made it hard. A bright golden tattoo covered his torso. It had flecks of turquoise green intermingled in the gold. All of the others’ chests had silver markings. Maybe he wasn’t full of BS when he told her he was a king. It seemed significant somehow. Not that it mattered to her. His promise mattered and that was it.
“She is mine,” the warrior king on top of her rasped, his voice barely a whisper. His throat seemed much better though. The guy didn’t seem interested in moving off her. She almost didn’t want him to. She felt safer sheltered underneath him like this.
The closest guy with the long teeth actually flinched as the king-guy spoke, and took a small step back before his features hardened with determination. “I challenge you for her then.” His hands curled into fists.
“Why bother? This female has chosen me as her mate.” He turned his attention back to her and her mouth dried up in an instant.
What the …?
What was this big ape on about? She started to shake her head but he covered her mouth with his before she could speak. It was a quick blistering kiss that caused her practically lame toes to curl. They wouldn’t move when she needed them to earlier, but right now, she could almost be termed a ballerina. It was because she was sickened by his touch. Yes, that was it.
He pulled back and gave her a ghost of a smile. She sighed … with relief. “Don’t play coy, human. The sooner you tell them that you have chosen me, the sooner they will leave us in peace.” He sniffed at her. Sniffed!
Shit! These beast men weren’t normal. Duhhh Candy, they are dragon shifters. Normal didn’t factor at all anymore.
“Um …” She kept her eyes on his for a moment before turning to face the group.
Oh shit! The guy looked even more pissed. His eyes looked weird. Scary!
“Yes,” she mumbled.
“Yes … what, human? Speak up,” the scary one asked. He narrowed his slitted eyes at her. That was it, his eyes looked distinctly reptilian. A shiver ran up her spine. It felt like someone had just played hopscotch on her grave.
She looked back up at the shifter on top of her. His pale eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched.
Shit.
Her choice was either to take her chances with the likes of him or … she looked back towards the throng. They grew more restless by the second. She didn’t really have a choice, did she?
“I have chosen him. He’s telling the truth.” She tried to sound confident. Like she really meant it … but failed dismally. Her voice came out as a soft, shaky whisper. Was she making a mistake? Please let her not be making a mistake.
Please.
The big brute gave her a cocky smile and nodded his head in approval. “I will keep my promise.” He winked at her. Winked! This had to be some terrible dream. At least he seemed to genuinely have her best interests at heart.
The big shifter turned his head to the crowd. “You heard the female. She is mine. I command you all to leave right now so that I can fully claim her.”
The other guy’s shoulders slumped in defeat and several of the men looked like they were grumbling. One even cursed loudly. Most of them moved away. All but one or two stragglers.
The big beast’s pale gaze was on the rem
aining men. “Suit yourself,” he growled; it was a terrifying sound that caused his chest to vibrate against hers. “You can stay and watch. See if I care.”
Then he did something at total odds with their agreement. He hoisted her legs up around his hips.
Candy whimpered. Her gaze was still on the shifters. Their eyes widened and they turned. “What? Wait? What?” She sounded like an incoherent idiot.
“Don’t argue,” he whispered as he pulled up her dress. All the way up, till it bunched around her hips. She wasn’t wearing underwear.
Candy began to hyperventilate from the shock. “Oh God!” she yelled as he settled over her. She could feel something massive, something rock hard against her and had a good idea of what that something was. Thank God he was still wearing his pants. There was a thin barrier of material between them. It wouldn’t take much for him to free himself.
She should’ve known that this was too damned good to be true. Humiliation welled in her. If he expected her to just lie there and take it, he was sadly mistaken. She knew that there was very little she could do. She was so weak, so tired. The last of the adrenaline was leaving her system, her body too exhausted to make any more.
She sucked in a breath to scream ‘no’. To call him a couple of choice names, but he slipped a hand over her mouth. The dickhead gave a small shake of the head. His jaw was clenched. She was breathing hard through her nose. The whole length of his body held her down. She could feel him there. Throbbing against her. Any second he was going to rip into her. Claim and take and destroy.
She moaned against his hand, hearing the air as it moved frantically in and out through her nose. She could hear the sound of her own heart thudding in her ears. The man on top of her blinked in and out of focus.
No.
She was losing it. She was about to faint. All those hours of running, all that time she had spent in the freezing cold water, it was catching up to her. No! Not now. No. Maybe it was a blessing. Maybe he wouldn’t hurt her as much if she was unconscious. No! She couldn’t live with not knowing exactly what had happened. Her vision became even more blurred. There was nothing she could do to stop it. Bright lights winked and then everything went dark.
The Bride Hunt Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 24