by Cat Miller
“It’s just what?” Lindsay turned to face Kayden. Maybe if she looked him in the eyes when he rejected her this time Lindsay’s stupid heart would get the hint and stop wanting a man who didn’t want her. She was surprised at the look of sheer need and torment in those black eyes. Kayden was in full-on vampire mode. His fangs were extended, his eyes no longer hazel green but obsidian.
“I can’t. You deserve so much more. You’re still not ready for this. I’m not sure you’re able to consent. You’ve been through hell. It’s wrong for me to want you this way. It’s even more fucked up for me to actually have you. I won’t take advantage of you in this precarious time in your life. You’ll hate me for it later when you’re yourself again.” Kayden’s hand shook when he reached out to touch her cheek. “I can’t do this to you, even if I want you more than my next breath.”
“Consent? Are you kidding? I threw myself at you. You have no idea how desperately I needed to feel something other than fear and pain. You are the reason I’m finally getting better. You want me?” Of course, she would focus on that bit, wouldn’t she? Was he really saying no due to a misplaced sense of guilt? He felt like he was taking advantage of a damsel in distress?
Wrapping a hand around Lindsay’s neck, he pulled her into his body. The long, hard ridge of flesh hidden in Kayden’s pants couldn’t be denied. “I want you all the time. Just being around you, listening to you talk and smelling your sweet almost coconut scent now that the chemicals have left your system makes me hard as soon as I enter your room. Yes, I want you, but it’s wrong.” Kayden’s action didn’t match his words. He used his grip on Lindsay’s neck to hold her still for his questing kiss. It was a forceful, claiming kiss that left no doubt that Kayden wanted to be inside of Lindsay again.
She pulled away to catch her breath and asked, “Is it wrong to give me a piece of happiness, a little pleasure when all I know is loneliness and fear? Is it bad for me to want you to hold me, touch me, and comfort me? I don’t think it is. You are …”
“What, Hellion, what am I?” Kayden asked, panting. His hands were twitching, his hips slowly circling and pressing that solid cock into her belly.
“You are mine. You’re all I know. All I want. When you’re away I’m so lost and lonely. I need you.” There, she’d said it. Kayden could freak out and run away like he had before now. He wasn’t the type of guy to belong to anyone, and Lindsay wanted nothing more than to own him. She expected him to pull away from her. She expected Kayden to be horrified by her claim on him. She was surprised when he did exactly the opposite.
“Am I yours, Hellion?” he asked, and lifted her high in his arms and began walking backward. Lindsay didn’t know where they were going because Kayden had possessed her mouth again.
“I’m sorry. I’m not strong enough to deny myself when you’re so damn tempting. I’m sorry,” Kayden said against her throat. He held her against him under her ass with one arm. Lindsay held on tight while Kayden used his other hand to shove down his running pants. Lindsay’s nipples peaked. They were pressed into Kayden’s chest and being abraded by the stiff material of her scrub top. “Put your feet on the bench,” Kayden ordered as he sat on the bench. Lindsay did as directed. “We don’t have much time. Try to be quiet, baby,” Kayden said and pulled down her pants with one quick tug. Before she could take another breath, Kayden had his face buried between her thighs.
He wasted no time delving into her intimate flesh with his tongue, using his big hands to hold Lindsay where he wanted her. Lindsay gasped. Kayden groaned and nuzzled deeper, sucking and licking Lindsay from back to front. Lapping up her juices and sucking on her clit. Lindsay struggled to keep herself upright. Her eyes were open and watching the opening in the trees that faced the rest of the tables and grills that circled the field next to the infirmary. It was quiet, but the threat of being discovered sent an extra thrill through her. Kayden was skilled with that mouth, and in no time Lindsay was grinding her sex against his face while he made noises of approval. When she came, it was a silent scream of ecstasy.
Lindsay leaned against Kayden, trying to catch her breath while he worked off one of her pant legs. He grasped the backs of her knees to lift her and slid Lindsay down his chest until she felt his erection prodding at her sex. She was so ready for him the slickness of her cleft guided him right to her core.
“Are you sure?” Kayden asked. “We don’t have to do this. I’m completely satisfied with giving you pleasure and ending it there. I’ll make you a plate and—” Kayden was unable to finish what he was saying because Lindsay cut him off.
She smiled against Kayden’s lips. “I’m sure. You’re the only thing I’m sure about,” she said and took her weight on her knees. She didn’t want him to feel like he was doing something she wasn’t ready for, so she did it for him.
Lindsay sank onto him slowly all the way to the hilt. At first, she couldn’t move. She held herself still, sharing air with Kayden as they stared into each other’s eyes. Lindsay was overwhelmed by how good it felt to be one with Kayden.
“Fuck, Lindsay. I need …” Kayden groaned.
She knew what he needed because she did, too. Kayden wrapped his arms around Lindsay and a slow grinding rhythm took over their bodies. She met him stroke for stroke, pushing down when he thrust up. It was nearly dark in their little haven. Lindsay leaned back with her face up to the sky. Kayden nibbled her stiff nipples through her shirt. His pace became stronger and deeper until Lindsay could do nothing but hold on and take what he gave her. Being out in the open with stars beginning to pop out above her head while Kayden loved her body was better than any dream she’d ever conjured.
Every kiss of his lips, every touch of his hands, and every thrust of his hips was washing away all of that pain. All she knew was Kayden. All she needed was Kayden. It didn’t take long for her to crash into another orgasm. She cried out in ecstasy, unable to contain her shout this time. Kayden kept going, riding her hard, and chasing his own release. Lindsay clutched his shoulders and leaned back a little farther, changing the angle and taking him a little deeper. Kayden’s eyes were possessive and hot on hers when he climaxed, flooding her with his heat. Lindsay smiled and took over the rhythm when his movements became jagged. His chest heaved, and his face glistened with his exertion. Lindsay held him tight and rubbed his back while they both calmed their breathing.
After quietly tidying up, they sat at the table to enjoy the meal Kayden had prepared for them. She didn’t even question where he got the steak or if the salad was organic. Nope, she just ate the delicious food, grateful that she had this time with him no matter what he fed her. They were cleaning up the area when an alarm began to wail at the infirmary.
Kayden’s head came up, and he smiled at Lindsay. “Looks like they finally realized you’re missing. Lord, you could have been halfway to Canada by now.”
Lindsay frowned, worried. She didn’t want Kayden to get in trouble. What were they going to do to her, lock her in a room alone? Yeah, there wasn’t much they could do, other than not let her see Kayden.
“Hey, don’t worry.” He tilted her face up so he could kiss her bottom lip. “As soon as they know you’re safe it will be fine. I’m Kayden Paris. There isn’t a damn thing they can do to me.”
Lindsay laughed, “Arrogant much?”
“Very much, actually.” He grinned, unashamed. He pulled her into his arms again. “We had fun, right?”
“Yes,” Lindsay agreed with a blush. It was more than fun. Her evening with Kayden was a fantasy come true.
“Then we won’t let the good doctor ruin it for us. She’ll rant a little. Who cares?” Kayden retrieved the cooler and took Lindsay’s hand. “Let’s go face the music with a smile, shall we?”
Ten
Kayden and Hawk, along with two newly minted tactical teams of Horde soldiers, were gearing up to investigate a lead on Sheena’s new hideout. They’d received an anonymous tip. Someone who’d heard Kayden and his boys were still at the South Carolina
Enclave called in with a possible location of Sheena’s current nest. They’d been getting these tips left and right ever since the battle in New York, and they looked into every lead, but Kayden had a feeling about this one. The female was very anxious on the phone. She refused to speak to anyone but Kayden and she waited for quite some time while they located him because she wouldn’t leave a call back number. They traced the call while she waited but it did them no good. She called from one of the small handful of pay phones left in the city.
“What’s your name?” Kayden asked and waited for a response. It was so quiet he thought she might have hung up. When she answered, it was in a shaky voice.
“My name doesn’t matter. I was at Quench the night that guy went crazy and attacked the human. I saw you there. People were talking about you. I’d heard of you before, of course, and everybody knows your father.”
“All right then, No-name, what exactly do you want to tell me?”
“I’ve bought a few times from the dealer.”
“What dealer?” Kayden asked. If she could give him a name, it would make her claim more believable.
“Nick, his name is Nick. I’ve been kind of hanging out with him. They’re doing bad things. Really bad things to humans, and I think there might be a couple of vampires there, too,” she whispered.
“Why are you hanging with Nick?” Kayden asked. His heart sped up. This chick was the real deal.
“Well, I kind of get sick without the Hypno,” she admitted with shame in her voice.
So she was a junky. Kayden hoped the day would never come that their people would get addicted to that shit. They’d been doing everything in their power to take Sheena down and end the production of that poison.
“If you need help, you can come to the Enclave. They’ve treated someone else who was addicted already,” Kayden offered help, but the female cut him off.
“I have to go before he misses me. I’ve been gone too long already. Do you want the address or not?”
“I do,” Kayden sighed. He wouldn’t argue with her about getting treatment. From what he knew about human addiction, they had to want help for it to work. “Aren’t you worried you’ll lose your supply if we take Sheena down?”
“Nick has lots and lots of Hypno. He told me he plans to take over the business—” She seemed to realize she’d said too much and clammed up.
After she had shared the address where she assured Kayden he would find Sheena, she promptly hung up. They couldn’t wait for Nick to lead them to Sheena. The fucker was dealing the equivalent of vampire crack in the nightclubs. Nick couldn’t be one of Sheena’s live-in minions. The man was from a prominent family with lots of money and status in the Vampire Nation’s upper class. The male wasn’t the type to take orders or follow anyone blindly. He especially wouldn’t follow a half-breed human female. Nick was an arrogant prick. He’d actually assumed he would be mated to Brandi Vaughn, based on his family’s position in society and the fact that they dated in high school, even though he’d broken up with her before he went away to college so he could play the field. The guy was delusional and elitist to the extreme. He wouldn’t associate with Sheena unless there was something in it for him. Kayden wondered if it was money or the drugs Nick needed. It was time to suggest that Gage pay another visit to Nick’s parents. His house might be willing to help track him down if they threatened to share Nick’s dealing with the rouge with the public. It would ruin his house in the eyes of the nation.
Hawk listened in on the entire exchange, and they were surprised that Sheena had stayed in the area. Kayden knew she had minions close after the attack on Chase and Dani, but he believed Sheena would have put some space between herself and the threat the Horde posed to her freedom. They were very near the busy Myrtle Beach tourist area. It made sense that she liked access to the many nightclubs and bars where the vampire youth frequented. He could also imagine a resort town would make it easier to find human victims. People could disappear, and it would take a while before anyone noticed they were gone. Even so, Kayden didn’t understand why she didn’t move on. If Sheena knew the Horde and the Wrath were there looking for her, and she did know given they’d almost caught her in the last raid, you would think she’d run far and fast. She hadn’t though, according to their tipster. Sheena was hiding right under their noses in an abandoned warehouse less than ten miles from the Enclave. She had a brand new lot of vampires to test her drugs on, and humans to feed to those vampires. They needed to move in soon before she had a chance to do any real harm to the victims.
Kayden mulled over one sticking point that had been bothering him since he spoke to the informant that morning. How the hell had Sheena set up a new lab so fast? She had to have taken data and the drugs with her, but what about all of that equipment? Did she have multiple facilities? Could this new nest have already been in operation before the raid? The only way to know was to bust the joint. It was time to move in.
He had five guys in the van with him, and there was another five in the other van with Hawk. They’d gone over the plan several times, and he was confident the Horde would do an admirable job. They’d learned fast and worked hard to be the best they could be since Kayden started training them all. The males on this mission were the best of the best, and much to Kayden’s father’s dismay, Kayden and the Horde, led by Hawk, had taken on the task of bringing Sheena to justice. Kayden was proud of these males. He was proud of the females as well, but none of them had shown any interest in participating in dangerous raids. The females were working hard on making their temporary home organized and comfortable. They were a team and everyone contributed where they could.
“I don’t have to ask if you’re ready, I know you are. Do your jobs, gentleman, and we’ll all go home in one piece,” Kayden said to his team. He tapped his earpiece and spoke to Hawk, “We’re a go here.”
“Ready to go on our end.” Hawk and his team were coming to the warehouse from the opposite side of the building.
“Everybody check in. Are we all live?” Kayden listened as each team member responded affirmatively that their earpieces were operational. Then he opened the van door, and they moved out silently into the shadows as evening gave way to night. Each male took his position and spread out toward the warehouse. It would have been a beautiful night to be outside if they weren’t hunting for an evil bitch with a god complex. The temperature was mild with a light breeze. Clouds drifted across the darkening sky, hiding the rising moon.
It was quiet in the woods. That wasn’t an unusual thing. Animals knew when an alpha predator was near. Vampires didn’t feed on animals, except the kind you find on your table, but the wild creatures in the woods didn’t know that. So they got quiet and hid. In most cases, vampires ate food like humans. They didn’t need food to supplement their diet after reaching that magic time when a vampire’s aging process slowed to a crawl. Some ancient vampires maintained a strict blood diet. A young vampire could survive a lot longer without food than a human, as long as they had blood, but most vampires enjoyed food as much as humans. However, they couldn’t get all the nutrient’s they needed to support their brain function without blood.
As the large, dilapidated, gray building came into sight, Kayden held up his fist in a signal for his team to stop. He edged forward to get a better look at the warehouse. There were quite a few busted windows. The stairs that led up to a rusty steel door had collapsed. One of the bay doors was open, and a dark van sat vacant nearby. There was the faint glow of light shining from somewhere inside the tattered building. Everything was quiet. Too quiet. He scanned the perimeter for signs of a security system. When they’d hit Sheena’s last nest someone had tripped a silent alarm, allowing Sheena the warning time needed to get away. They didn’t want to give her that opportunity again.
“The north side is clear.” Hawk’s voice sounded in Kayden’s ear. “There is a door propped open with an old tire. The lack of security suggests they aren’t expecting company. I don’t see any sign of
a functional security system. I don’t think they’ve had time to get the operation fully set up.”
“There are no visible cameras or motion sensors here either. It looks like our informant was for real. We have a parked vehicle and an open bay door on this side. I see some light, which is odd since there is no electricity. There must be generators inside. It looks like somebody is home, fellas. Shall we go welcome them to the neighborhood?” Kayden joked.
“Let’s give this bitch a housewarming party she’ll never forget,” Hawk replied, and the rest of the guys chuckled.
“Wait for my signal to go. I’m going to alert my father. If we have survivors, and I hope we do, we’ll need medical back-up,” Kayden explained.
“You sure you don’t want to wait until we know what we’re dealing with here? Your daddy gets all grumpy when you don’t wait for his approval. Plus, if we’re wrong …” Hawk let the thought trail off.
Kayden knew what he meant. If they were wrong, they’d look like idiots. Kayden was willing to look like a fool in his father’s eyes. It wasn’t the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last. If they were correct and Sheena did have a lab in there, getting medical attention for any survivors was more critical than saving Kayden’s pride.
Hawk was right, Gage Paris did indeed get his shorts in a twist when Kayden and his crew didn’t wait for instructions and support, but Kayden wasn’t a warrior under his father’s command any longer. He respected his father tremendously, but Kayden wasn’t going to sit around and wait for permission. His father’s Wrath teams hadn’t found a damn thing so far. There was something to be said for human instincts. Vampires were alpha predators who didn’t have the natural fear of things that went bump in the night. They were the things that went bump in the night. Just like the animals in the woods, humans often knew when there was danger near. Due to those human instincts combined with the various vampire traits they’d inherited, the Horde was exceptionally good at finding hints of trouble where the Wrath saw none.