by C. M. Owens
“I didn’t realize you were engaged,” Hale murmurs while pulling off his tattered shirt.
Wendy giggles more when he hands it to her, and then he leisurely buttons his new one up while keeping the stare-down standoff with Brazen.
“You didn’t see her ring?” Brazen snarls.
“I did, but it doesn’t look much like an engagement ring,” Hale scoffs.
I stare down at the onyx opal with a scarlet red rose in the middle. It was the perfect engagement ring for me, and I can remember how incredibly excited I was to receive it. I smile a little, and I can feel Brazen’s cool touch nearing when he sees my reminiscing moment at work.
“It seemed to suit Araya better than a plain diamond,” Brazen smolders, and my eyes look up to stare into his pale blue ones without waver.
“So, you’re a full blood in the United. Why haven’t I seen you around before?” Hale remarks coldly.
“Because I work exclusively with the Javeline in most matters, and before that I was a liaison for the Minatians up north. Mostly I’ve been solely undercover, so my anonymity was necessary, as you’re well aware. I took a new position a few years before I met Araya,” he answers briskly, and then Clay walks up to interrupt the standoff.
“Thank you for coming, Captain Mordel. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you Araya was going to be here, but it was imperative to keep all phone conversation minimum. Did you bring the information from your side?” he asks Brazen.
“I did. My people are all here if you’re ready, Commander,” Brazen asserts, and Clay nods.
“I believe the humans have assembled already as well,” Hale interjects, and Brazen has to take a deep breath to control his discomfort.
“I see the two of you have already met,” Clay pokes.
“It would have been nice to know he existed,” Hale fumes, and Clay stifles a smirk.
“I tend to stray from conversations pertaining to Araya when speaking to you. I thought her engagement was her own personal business,” Clay answers, and then I roll my eyes before turning to walk away from the ridiculous reunion I’ve tried so desperately to avoid.
“So how far did that interrogation demonstration go exactly?” Brazen growls in a whisper when he joins me at my side.
“You saw how far it went. I didn’t blood fuck him if that’s what you’re asking,” I huff out.
“I wasn’t asking that. I would hope you wouldn’t blood fuck him considering you claim that’s all the two of you ever did. I believe you said it became a drug for the two of you, and you couldn’t stand it anymore,” he scolds, and I roll my eyes.
It was a drug, and we were both emphatically addicted. That was never a problem though, but I dare not reveal that to Brazen. I can’t blood fuck him because I’m the only one who can taste the blood. Mine would kill him, and it wouldn’t be fair to make him watch something he wants to do but never can.
“I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve seen you in two months, and we’re going to fight,” I mumble pitifully.
He halts his stride and pulls me into a room off to the side. He leans to be almost sitting on a table while holding my engaged hand in his.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ve missed you so much,” he murmurs while pulling me into his parted legs.
“I missed you too,” I puff.
I give him a small pout, and his eyes dance menacingly while his lips begin playing on mine. I feel the cool and heat exchanging between our breaths, and he pulls back when my hands stray from the safe zones.
“We’ll have to resume this after the meeting,” he strains out while adjusting his pants.
“You don’t want to go into the meeting fully relaxed?” I seduce, and I daringly begin rolling my lips across his neck to make my way to the base of it.
My tongue plays over his collarbone, and he gasps a little when my hand grips his belt to loosen it. He grabs my hand in his and his lips fold over mine while pulling me into his firm erection begging to be set free inside me.
“We can’t,” he grouses with heavy reluctance. “As soon as it’s over, though, you’re mine,” he promises.
“I don’t want to wait that long,” I seduce, and I begin undoing the fragile buttons on my low cut shirt.
His lips find mine again, and he gently pushes me against the table surface while stripping me free of my pants. I can hear the jingling of his belt being undone, and the obnoxious buzzing of his phone.
“Ignore it,” I plead in a desperate whisper, and his lips suction themselves back to mine when he pulls free his erection.
I slide against him, and then there’s a pounding against the fucking door to interrupt the moment I’ve been dying to feel for two months. Two months!
“Captain Mordel?” a voice inquires. “Commander Jude is looking for you and Ms. Crush, Sir. The meeting is about to begin.”
“We’re coming out right now,” Brazen grumbles, and we both reluctantly begin reassembling ourselves.
“Damn it,” he huffs.
Now I’ve been thoroughly teased twice today, and the throbbing is so absurdly painful. I feel tortured by my raging hormones, and this meeting could take hours.
“You should have fucked me the second you got here,” I grouse.
He chuckles a little at my overly frustrated state, and then his lips softly caress mine once more before taking my hand. We head out into the hallway, and he speaks lowly so as not to let prying ears overhear our conversation.
“I wish I had known you were here. I would have fucked you as soon as I arrived,” he seduces, and my throbbing becomes damn near overwhelming.
“Really? We’ve been together for two years, and you pick now to start talking dirty?” I grumble to the sweet full blood.
“I wasn’t aware you liked dirty talk,” he smolders out, and I have chills flowing over my skin.
His perfect body is hiding behind those fragile clothes, and this stupid meeting is the only obstacle obstructing my path to the torrid throes I wish to beseech.
“I like anything that comes out of your mouth,” I sizzle out, and his eyes darken at my seductive taunt.
“I’ll talk dirty to you when I don’t have a room full of people noticing my arousal,” he gripes, and the bulge in his pants his so fucking hard to let go to waste.
“It’s been too long,” I gripe, and he snickers a little more.
He ushers me into the room, and he makes sure to hide his arousal with my body as he keeps one hand around my waist. I inconspicuously brush my rear against his still pulsing center, and he narrows his eyes at me before finding a seat and pulling his affected area to hide under the very long table in this massive conference room.
“I need ice or something,” he grumbles.
“I’ll give you something wet,” I tease, and he shakes his head with blushing cheeks attached.
“I can’t believe you,” he scolds playfully.
“Sorry. It’s been two months,” I exasperate, and our whispers are almost too low for us to hear in the stuffy room full of refined business suits with a trio of species.
“Here’s what we know,” a human asserts, and apparently we missed the cue where the meeting was starting.
Brazen’s hand tightens on mine, and he leans to where he’s a little closer as he listens attentively to the short, pudgy man addressing the room. I look over to see Hale’s eyes turning from me to find the human’s voice, and chills ensue.
This is so hard to deal with right now. I should be over Hale enough to sit in the same room with him by now. I love Brazen. Hale may be my counter, but Brazen is my soul mate. He’s so much better to me than Hale ever was, but damn… the passion Hale and I always had was undeniably stronger than my passion with Brazen. Damn him for being here, and damn him for looking so fucking good.
“We’ll hear from the full bloods now,” a man announces, and Brazen stands while adjusting his tie.
Shit. I missed the whole human input on the situation. Fuck.
I was
too busy stressing over this foolish nonsense that I completely tuned out everything the human representative was saying.
“For the past two months we’ve been tracking this group. At first, we thought it was our kind due to the scents left behind, but then we found food at the compounds. We thought then it had to be hybrids with a strong scent. There were empty blood packs there to support the theory, but we didn’t find any proof of someone being hurt. Human scents lingered behind later, and it just messed up every theory we had. Whoever it is, they continue to stay a step ahead of us, and here are some of the damages they’ve left behind.”
He dims the lights, and the projector begins the slide show. Hale’s eyes are burning into mine when my focus accidentally strays, and he looks away when Brazen starts talking again.
“This is the Lankton compound. As you can see, it was smaller, but it was still a strong facility.”
I take notice of the large castle-like compound surrounded by intricate mazes of walls for separation. The full bloods don’t usually attack humans anymore, but safety is still an issue to prevent an infectious outbreak.
Full bloods officers in the United are allowed to mingle with them because of their high status and rank. I forget Brazen is a full blood most days, but there’s always that one divide that stands between us - my dangerous blood near his perfect mouth.
“This is what it looks like now,” Brazen says, and I snap out of my trance to see the flattened valley that used to be a proud facility.
Several gasps emerge, and one slips through my lips as well.
“This is after they hit the first arsenal. We believe they did this as a demonstration of power. They’re after something, and this is them showing they’ll stop at nothing to get it before they even start making demands. We’re adding security to all the compounds in the region, and we’ve reached out to the other divisions to do the same. Until we find out what they want, no one without our security clearance can leave the compounds. They may have moles, so this will force them to contact them via phone, email, text, or some other electronic form of communication that we can easily listen in on.”
Brazen removes himself from his commanding position at the head of the room and comes back to take his seat by me.
“The humans are confined to the compounds at all times anyhow in case one of your kind goes rogue and forgets the law,” the pudgy man growls to Brazen.
My eyes darken when I feel my protectiveness burning through my veins. The room threatens to shift, but Brazen pulls my hand back in his to calm me down before I rip things apart, starting with Mr. Pudgy.
“Easy, Cavine. We’re called the United for a reason. Humans with the right gene roam freely,” Clay asserts.
“It should be them that are locked up,” Cavine interjects, and his eyes point to my man.
“No one would be locked up if the humans hadn’t toyed with things outside their realm of knowledge. You created all of us by playing God, and now we all need to work together to survive,” I growl, and the walls lightly begin to rattle, cautioning the pompous man to stand down.
“Easy, babe,” Brazen coos in my ear.
Cavine slinks back into his seat, fear etching itself into his eyes, and then Clay cracks his neck to the side before continuing.
“Araya is right. We all need each other to survive, so let’s stop fighting and start working together. If no one stops rogue full bloods from feeding on a vein, the humans will become infected by the multitudes until they’re extinct. If humans become extinct, full bloods will starve to death. If both species cease to exist, our kind - the hybrids - will eventually fade as well since we’re the only ones incapable of bearing children. There are good and bad people in all of our species. I would like to think the best of all three are in this room right now,” he admonishes, and everyone squirms uncomfortably at our childlike scolding.
I glare at the pudgy man who dared to insult our stronger breeds when he depends on us to keep him safe. He slinks down even farther in his seat as my eyes threaten the blood in his veins. Brazen can’t touch him, but there’s no law stopping me.
“Please calm down, Araya. I don’t want this place to fall apart,” Brazen whispers into my ear, and I sit back while taking a deep, calming breath.
“He shouldn’t have said anything like that to you,” I grouse, and my eyes continue to taunt the foolish bastard on the other side of the table.
He almost snickers at my rage. I can’t believe he’s taking this so casually in stride. This fat piece of shit has the audacity to provoke my full blood, and he’s just going to laugh it off.
“I love it when you act so protective,” he murmurs against my ear as Clay sets up the next slide show.
“I can’t believe you’re finding humor in this,” I huff.
“I love you,” he soothes, and I can feel the anxiety inside me melting away with those three magical words.
I stifle an unwelcome grin, and he sits back in his chair when he sees he has successfully defused me. His hand tugs mine into his lap, while Hale walks up to take his place at the head of the room to join Clay at his side.
“We’ve compiled a list of possible groups of hybrids that could be capable of something like this. The problem with the ungifted ones from our breed is the scorned resentment they incur. It’s a heads or tails toss up each time one of us is born, and depending on which side the child inherits their traits from, they could be completely void of any special talents. This causes animosity and sometimes violence,” Hale asserts while flipping through the mug shots from the chip I brought in.
His eyes catch my drifting ones while Brazen studies the screen. I’m trapped now, and the hand holding mine needs to knock the hell out of me - or knock the Hale out of me rather.
“What happens if or when we do find them? They’ve got our weapons and technology. They’ll have uranium tipped bullets that can shred through your skins. What then?” Cavine inserts.
I’m really starting to hate him all the more.
“We have a weapon they’ll never see coming, and they won’t be expecting her at all.” Clay proudly announces, and Brazen’s hand tightens on mine as a smug smirk appears on his face.
“Her?” Cavine murmurs with confusion.
“Her,” Hale repeats, and he too seems very smug.
“Araya Crush will step in if things get too hazy for us. She’s only to be called in for emergency purposes,” Clay clarifies, and now Cavine’s pompous ass seems terrified for having provoked me.
“What can she do?” one man asks.
“That’s classified. She’s our girl, and no one outside our circle can know of her abilities per her request.”
Except for my full blood fiancé.
Brazen tries to stifle his cocky grin when he thinks the same thing I do, and then the conversation gets shifted again.
“For now that’s our details. We’ll divide and conquer tomorrow. Araya and Hale will stay here to train the newbies to keep the charade going while the rest of us start checking out the arsenals ourselves for clues.” Clay says with a bomb-dropping tone, and now Brazen’s jaw has taken on a clenched position I don’t think it will release from.
“Wouldn’t it be wise to bring Araya along in case we find someone who might know something? Her skills don’t start and end with her gift. Her interrogation ability is far more advanced than anyone else’s here,” he counters, and it’s almost adorable to see him trying to keep me with him instead of leaving me here with Hale.
“I don’t like bringing Araya out into the field without needing her. It’s too risky,” Clay interjects, and I know he’s thinking about what happened to me five years ago when the guilt etches itself onto his face.
Hale’s eyes drop when the guilt weighing them down becomes too heavy, and then Brazen’s jaw tenses again.
“I’ll be there to ensure nothing happens to her this time,” Brazen declares.
Hale seems to be even more burdened now, and he just walks back to his seat as
if he can’t bear to stand anymore. I resist the urge to comfort him, to free him of the guilt he shouldn’t feel.
“We may need her to interrogate, but we’ll wait until we have a lead. If ambushed, they’ll surely take her,” Clay interjects, and then Brazen finally gives up the fight before he pisses of the commander.
“I don’t like this,” he growls into my ear.
“I don’t either, but you don’t have anything to worry about.” I hope.
The meeting adjourns, and Brazen almost rips me free from the room before Hale can try anything else.
“So I guess you weren’t really trying to make peace with the rivaling clans these past couple of months,” I observe.
“Sorry. It was classified,” he tartly remarks.
“So is my gift, but I told you what it is,” I mumble.
“It’s amazing to me the commander of the United happens to be your best friend, but he’s making you - our strongest weapon - stay here with your ex, his other dearest friend,” he explodes.
Whoa.
“Did you really just refer to me as a weapon?” I scoff, and I jerk my hand free from his.
“Don’t act like that. You know what I was saying. I was using his phrasing, not my own. You shouldn’t act proud when he says it, and then act offended when I repeat his words,” he admonishes.
“So we are going to fight then? You come home after two months of being gone for reasons you lied about, even though I have top level security clearance, and then you want to start a fight the only night we get to be together before you’re whisked away again. I’m starting to think I’m engaged to a ghost rather than a full blood,” I snort.
His eyes soften, and then he pulls me into his soft embrace while forcing me to feel his exquisite body pressed against my very sexually frustrated one.
“I’m sorry,” he sighs. “I just wasn’t expecting your ex to be involved so thoroughly. I had a feeling he would be here, but I wasn’t prepared for you to be here. I sure as hell hadn’t thought of you having to stay behind with him. I genuinely thought they would bring you along due to your incredible skills,” he murmurs so seductively soft.
“That’s better,” I utter with a seductive tone of my own, and he gives me his heart melting grin to show me a peek at the man I’m mad about.