by Flesa Black
Harm’s eyes scanned the dim area and he barely bit back a growl. She had banker’s boxes stacked along the walls, bulging with papers and files. The desk to his right was scattered with documents and teeth-scarred pencils, the small reading lamp on its corner topped with a shade that was askew. A tall, old-fashioned chalkboard had been rolled in to stand on his left. Its surface was strewn with scrunched up numbers and letters, all written at a slight downwards angle. A small icebox had been set up just beside it, a distinct hum telling him that she’d managed to hack into an electrical current. But the most ominous of all was the table at the far end of the area. It held a myriad of bottles and tubes, a Bunsen burner fueled by a nearby tank and several Petri dishes. All he could think was that she only had the two small pop-out windows behind her for ventilation. The fire extinguisher was a damn bloody trinket that didn’t have as much power as his piss.
“I have something that I need to show you.”
He clamped down on the desire to shake her, but just barely. Instead, he nodded and watched as she moved to open the refrigerator. A few seconds later, she was holding up a large, clear bottle, the red-tinted liquid inside sloshing against the sides. He felt his stomach muscles constrict as the muscles along his bones and the nerves circling his spine tightened and tingled. The scent of the red liquid seeped through the glass, the smell of it slightly sickening to his sensitive nose.
His reaction must have shown on his face, because when she spoke her voice was low and soft. “It works. It reverses the damage without harming the human genes. It’s the antidote, Harm.”
“Wh-what?”
She held the bottle out towards him and lifted an eyebrow. “It’s the cure. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you. I tested it on crossed blood. What was it you said they called you? Partial?”
He swallowed back his reaction as he watched her. “Yes.”
Her lips lifted in a small smile. “I decided to work on some mixed strands, just in case my father was right. I’m glad I did. The human genes that were bonded to the partial Shifter anomalies were actually protected. Even if I poured this full strength over your head, it wouldn’t affect you.”
Harm felt his nerves go taut as he fought the wild surges that were raging through his blood. “You did this…here…alone.”
“My father was an excellent teacher.”
He shook his head and tried to sort through what she’d told him. “An excellent teacher?”
Hesitantly, she put the container down on the table. “He knew he couldn’t send me to school, not after he’d published his paper, and especially not after he began spreading his information through the underground. We had to keep our identities a secret. My dad homeschooled me, made sure I could defend myself by taking me to karate classes, kickboxing, track… No matter where we moved, we looked and acted like a perfectly normal father and daughter.”
“And the whole time he was grooming you to take over.” He could hear the anger in his voice but couldn’t control it.
She gave him a curious look and wrinkled her brow. “Who else would he trust with his work, Harm?”
“Did you ever play dress-up, Diana?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sleepovers? Overnight camps? Damn it, Diana, were you ever a kid?”
Her mouth fell open, held for a moment, then clicked closed. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He ground his teeth together and flexed his hands into fists. He looked around the room again as he tried to regain his composure, but it only fanned the flames of his fury. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew there was no logical reason to be this angry. He knew he was acting like a right arsehole, but he couldn’t seem to stop it.
“Does it have to stay cold?”
Her face became a mask of confusion. “Does what have to stay cold?”
“The antidote,” he ground out. “The bleeding antidote. Does it have to stay cold?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He grabbed her around the wrist and pulled her around with a gentle tug. “Get it secured.”
She gave him a weary look but nodded before she used extreme care to tuck the bottle into a soft, padded container. Once he was sure she had the liquid packed away to her satisfaction, he took her hand and pulled her out of the building.
“But…wait, the paperwork…. I have to lock—”
He stopped abruptly, keeping his back to her while she secured the door. The second he heard the click of the lock, he was pulling her again, dragging her to the SUV. He was grateful she didn’t speak. He wasn’t quite sure what would come out of his mouth if she dared to say a word.
He drove with deliberate ease, pushing his temper as far down as he could. The haze of red that played along the edges of his sight never eased, though. He wasn’t sure of their destination when he’d slid behind the wheel, but as he made the hard right turn towards his flat their direction seemed natural.
He pulled into an open space and switched off the motor, the sudden stillness allowing the heavy silence to settle around him.
“Millicent Wright?”
Harm turned to look at Diana and found her gazing up at the brick building. “No. This is my place.”
Her head jerked around, her blue eyes wide with questions. It was badly done of him. If he weren’t so brassed off he might have told her where they were driving. As it was, he was too busy fighting the desire for violence to be soothing.
She didn’t speak when he came around the truck and opened her door, picking the serum up from her lap. She was still silent when he motioned her up the walk and unlocked the security door.
She finally spoke when they reached his door. “I don’t understand.”
“You will.”
He opened the door and gave her a gentle push inside, watching as she took in her surroundings. His utilitarian flat was a far cry from her cozy one. There were no books crammed in corners, no age-worn, comfortable couch. He had necessities and little else. It had never bothered him until today, until he’d spent time with Diana. Biting back an annoyed sigh, he unhooked his gun belt, balancing it carefully in one hand as he slid the serum onto the seat of the leather couch.
She eyed his small living space before turning to him. “I thought there’d be camouflage.”
“Don’t joke,” he gritted out.
She cocked her hip and stared at him, pursing her lips. “Okay, I don’t know what your problem is, Harm, but we don’t have time for this.”
“There’s time. We’ll make the bloody time.”
“Harm—”
He brought his mouth down on hers, hard and fast, cutting off her protest with effective precision. He felt her shock, though her soft lips responded to him. When she began to melt into him, he stepped away.
“Diana, be quiet.”
She blinked up at him, her gaze filled with puzzlement. He saw her mouth tremble, as if she wanted to say something, but she tucked her lips together and held the words to herself.
He turned and took two steps away, inhaling deeply as he battled back his fierce rage before he exploded. “Bloody hell, do you have any idea, any idea, how off your head…in a small room…no security…by yourself…damn it, Diana…”
He tightened his jaw and spun on his heel, his body reverberating with fury and fear. The fury he could deal with, but the level of fear weighing on his chest was something he wasn’t accustomed to. Worse yet, the fear was mingled with something deep, something he couldn’t quite name. It created a vortex that was coming dangerously close to swallowing him whole.
He slammed his fingers through his hair and tried to keep his voice level. “What the hell do you think would have happened if a Shifter found you out there? What if they had found out what you were doing? Who you are? You could have been killed.”
“But I wasn’t—”
He cut her excuse short with a hard wave of his hand. “All those bloody chemicals around open flames and hacked electricity. The whole damned place could have gon
e up!”
“It didn’t!” Her temper flared into her face, darkening her cheeks and eyes. “Just where the hell was I supposed to go, Harm? What, do you think I should have walked into a laboratory, announced who I was and taken over a corner spot?”
“You should have come to me.”
“I didn’t know you.”
A part of his mind registered the sensible remark. The other part, the one that was taking control, felt anything but reasonable. “You’re a headcase if you thought setting up shop in a self-storage unit was a brilliant idea.”
Her eyes narrowed as she took a slow, deep breath. “You’re the one with a screw loose, Harm. We have to get to someone who can distribute the antidote. We can hash all of this out later.”
She turned and he knew she was leaving. He couldn’t let her go, not yet, not until she understood. Understood what, he wasn’t sure. He only knew she had to stay. His hand moved so quickly he didn’t know he was reaching for her until his fingers closed around her wrist.
She turned her head and her gaze skimmed down to where he held her. “What are you doing?”
How could he explain something to her he didn’t quite grasp himself? Instead of replying, he pulled her behind him through the living room and into his bedroom. Tossing his weapon belt across the nearby chair, he maneuvered her towards the bed. He didn’t pause as he slipped the handcuffs from his pocket and snapped one end onto Diana’s free wrist and the other onto the post of the wooden headboard.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m making sure you don’t walk out until I’m done.” He gently pushed her back until her bottom bounced down on the mattress.
He studied her, watching for any sign that she might be frightened. No matter how angry he was, he intended to live up to his promise never to scare her. But he didn’t see fear. He saw frustration, confusion and, shimmering beneath it all, concern for him. That more than anything helped to calm his raw nerves.
“I understand that your childhood was…different, and I understand why it had to be. But you’re an adult, and you had to have known that what you were doing was dangerous. Bloody hell, Diana, you had to know that if you’d died…if you’d been killed…” Dark emotions roiled underneath his skin, bubbling in his blood. When she would have interrupted, he held up a hand. “You have to give me the chance to settle down. You have to—”
But nothing was going to ease his tangled feelings, not with the macabre scenes that were playing through his head. He had the sudden urge to touch her, to feel her warm skin underneath his hands, to hear her sigh and moan. To convince himself she was safe and whole and his.
His mouth crashed into hers, devouring, taking, demanding a response. If there had been hesitation, if she had pulled away even a fraction, he might have stopped. But she fell into the kiss, following where he led, clinging to him with her free hand.
He climbed into the bed with her, straddling her hips as he eased her back. He held her mouth with his as their tongues battled in sensual tangles. He wanted more, wanted her to bend to him, wanted to prove to her that he could be trusted, that he was the only one that could make her complete.
He pulled back for a moment and stared down at her, taking in her flushed skin and her swollen lips. When he met her eyes, he held her gaze, asking her silently to trust him, to let him give her everything that was reverberating through his body. The flame of surprise that flared inside of him was only eclipsed by the spark of desire, and he knew he had her.
Leaning over, he pulled his spare set of handcuffs from the top of his side table. He held her eyes with his as he slowly lifted her hand from his shoulder and shackled it to the headboard.
She didn’t protest. Instead she gave him a look that nearly melted his control. He took her mouth again, savoring her taste with hectic swipes of his tongue. His blood was pounding, deafening him as his cock pressed against the zipper of his jeans. The memory of her tight walls, of the scorching moisture that had engulfed him, constricted his testicles and drove him harder.
His hands skimmed under her shirt, pushing it up, gliding up her ribs. He paused at her breasts, his fingers playing along the slick material of her bra. She wriggled her body, enticing him with her curves as she moved. He cupped her breasts, kneading the delicate flesh, groaning when he felt her nipples harden against his palms.
She bit his bottom lip, hard, and he felt the thrill electrify his nerves. His lips slid from her mouth, following the flow of her blood to the racing pulse just under her jaw. He scraped his teeth along the delicate flesh, pushing into her when her hips jerked upwards.
His hands ripped at her bra, pulling the thin cups down over her soft skin. He wanted more, needed more, and as she bowed into him, he knew she was feeling the same blistering desire. He heard her strain against the metal restraints and reveled in her heated gasp.
“Do you like this, Diana? Do you like me touching you?”
“Y—yes,” she replied breathlessly.
“I’m the only one who can make you feel this. I’m the only one who can give you what you want.”
She let out a short, high gasp in response. He felt the tension tighten the muscles of her stomach and trailed his hand down her trembling torso. She pulled at the cuffs again. Her body shivered and her voice rose on a whimper. The shockingly erotic sound nearly made him come.
He latched onto one protruding nipple, sucking harshly. Her taste here was different from the creamy sweetness of her neck. It was subtle, alluring in texture and scent. And yet it wasn’t enough. He had the terrifying thought that it would never be enough.
He absorbed her warmth with his hands as they wandered down her slick flesh, sliding between her fragile skin and the worn denim of her jeans. Her body writhed underneath his, her rounded curves pressing and pushing into him.
He let go of her only long enough to rip his shirt over his head and toss it aside. He laid over her again and the wild pleasure of her skin against his tore at his control. His fingers dug into her hips as he shoved the hard ridge of his cock against her heated crevice. She pressed her hips up into him, beginning the mock act of sex. Even through her jeans, he could feel her heat.
He didn’t want to wait, couldn’t wait if his life depended on it. He jerked at her pants, yanking them down quickly as he heard her gasp. Her boots… Her boots were in his way. Growling, he pulled his small military commando knife from the back of his belt, and reached down to cut her shoestrings.
“Have extra…. Later…” he muttered harshly.
With an efficient jerk, he threw her jeans to the ground, her high-cut cotton panties cradled inside the denim. He paused to look down at her, his gaze taking in her breasts that pooled over her bra, the rapid rise and fall of her rib cage and the trembling of her thighs. The springy curls at her apex were sodden with her moisture, her aroma wafting up to tease his senses.
He leaned down and took her mouth again, enjoying the way she attacked him. He let her lead for a moment, then took the power back. Pressing against her shoulders, he eased her away, taking in her heated expression, her flushed cheeks, her swollen lips. He watched the blue irises of her eyes flare, saw the excitement and desire spark and glow. No, he wasn’t doing anything she didn’t want. The thought that she would let him take control, that she knew he would give her what she wanted, sent throbbing lust through his loins.
His eyes stayed on hers as he watched her sensual struggle. She pulled at the cuffs, as if she wanted to touch him. Her face filled with annoyance, then with a wild passion that made him want to skip preliminaries and slam into her.
He stood and deliberately kicked off his own boots, then peeled off his jeans. He saw her swallow spastically. The scent of her arousal thickened the air. His shaft twitched and he had to bite down his urge to groan.
“I’m going to take you and you’re going to scream for me. I’m going to make you beg me for an orgasm. Do you want that? Do you want me to ride you until you come around me?”
/> She nodded at him, her features set in stunned excitement.
“No, you have to tell me. If you don’t tell me, I can’t touch you.”
She snaked out her tongue to wet her lips as she took a deep breath. “Yes. Yes, that’s what I want.”
He didn’t need any more encouragement. He eased down on top of her, letting out a long, silent sigh when his skin slid over hers. But he didn’t stay still for long—it was impossible to be still when her flesh was temptingly bare.
He laid his mouth over her nipples, licking and sucking at the hard peaks. He heard the rattle of the handcuffs blend in with her moan, savored the surge of lust that raced down to his heavy cock. Her body moved, her back curving up as she pushed her breasts closer to his mouth.
But her scent was pulling him down, drawing him past her ribs, over her belly button and to her swollen slit. He hovered over her, anticipating her flavor, drawing out her desire in his hesitation. She lifted her hips to him, asking for his touch with more eloquence than any words could have.
“Tell me. Tell me what you want.”
“Your mouth,” she gasped. “Please. Please…”
The pleading in her voice was shocking and enticing, enough so that he reached his tongue out to swipe at her lips. She hissed her pleasure and his shaft jumped in reaction. He moved faster, lapping at the moisture that had gathered along her slit.
Her hips lifted involuntarily, moving with his mouth. He felt her clit harden as he tongued the pulsing nub and he knew she was close. She pushed into him, begging for more, but instead of complying, he slowed his pace and eased back.
She growled in frustration and yanked at the handcuffs. “No…no, please, don’t stop.”
“I want to be inside of you when you come. I want to feel every little ripple.”
Her glazed eyes widened as her mouth formed an amazed O. He slid between her creamy thighs, felt her heat seeping from her engorged slit on to the head of his laden cock. He ran his hands up her legs in long, slow strokes, then lifted them to rest her ankles on his shoulders. She stared at him, her eyes intense, her breathing jagged, as she waited.