Surging forward, Lucien pulled Tana’s wrist up and released one band. Before he could reach the other, the world tilted and he found himself flipping over the log beside her. He grunted as he struck the ground hard. Royce stepped on his hip and leapt for the cuff device skittering across the dirt. His wild eyes and locked wrists revealed the reason for the unexpected attack.
Lucien roared in fury and scrambled to his feet. He grabbed the man’s boot and tugged backward. Royce squealed in fear and kicked back with the other one. Lucien tried to dodge to the side, but took a nasty clip to the thigh. He sucked in a breath when Ulixes pounced on the human’s back and began pummeling him on the head. His gravelly words broke Lucien from his stupor.
“Help your mate. They’re here.”
Swinging around, Lucien felt his gut dive into a freefall. Tana was leaping over a fallen tree with a Dar Kan hot on her heels. He watched in amazement as she blindly swung her arm backward and clipped the bastard in the eye with a tray. She never looked back. The male yelled out, clamped his hand over the injury, hesitated for a brief moment, and then continued the pursuit. She’d bought herself some time, but not nearly enough.
Lucien sprinted after the duo and focused on her red hair bobbing through the tall grasses. She dodged and weaved around the smaller trees and kept the male frustrated at his inability to simply reach out and snatch her. Lucien felt an abundance of adrenaline dump into his system. It was the same male that had tried to crack Tana’s head open. He still carried the deep gouges of her nails and the bastard was too close to his female. This had to stop.
Lucien quickly caught up to the Dar Kan and lunged forward. He snagged the knotted hair trailing behind him and jerked him off his feet. Rolling in midair, Lucien lifted his arm high and knew he had one shot at devastation. Balling his fist, he brought it down and shattered the Dar Kan’s face. It was dead before either of them hit the ground. Grunting in pain from the hard landing, Lucien rolled to his back and tried to catch his breath. It wasn’t the long excruciating death he’d promised, but he was still pleased with the outcome. Rolling to his side, Lucien heard Tana crashing through the forest until nothing but silence met his ears. Staggering to his feet, he fought the urge to shout her name.
Looking back to the clearing, he saw that all had escaped, except Royce. He was flat on his back with a large knife rising from his belly and a Dar Kan holding on to the hilt. His stupidity had ensured the end he had dreaded. Glancing to the left, Lucien caught sight of Ulixes’s brown hair just before he faded into the camouflage of the forest.
Close to twenty blue bodies lay scattered across the clearing. He’d expected a few, but this was an outstanding outcome for something that had become a clusterfuck at the end. He frowned and wondered why there hadn’t been a wash of Dar Kan pouring into the forests to exact revenge. Perhaps their culture required attending to the dead before they planned their next step? Whatever it was, he was just glad it gave his warriors time to acclimate to their surroundings. Once they learned the terrain, they would be lethal to any foolish enough to pursue.
Leaning back against a tree, he opened his mind and called to his warriors. As each one of them reported in, his shoulders relaxed. As planned, they had separated and spread out as soon as they’d hit the tree line. The immediate goal was to zigzag through the forest and confuse any pursuers. All would meet up at the bend of the river by nightfall tomorrow. Lucien gave them the location of Ulixes’s last sighting and Altair volunteered to track him down. He could feel their collective fear as soon as he told them of Tana’s plight. Bidding them a safe journey and promising to join them soon, he closed his mind and turned to the forest.
Shaking his head to straighten his thoughts, Lucien began searching for her trail. He hoped she’d stay in a relatively straight line or at least find a secure spot. Glancing up to the sky, he judged he had at least four hours to find her before the sun sank below the horizon.
* * * *
Tana folded her body into a tight ball next to a tree and begged her heart to return to anything resembling normal. She immediately thought of Basilius and wondered if he was pissing himself right now. Night had a death grip on the forest and she was pretty sure it had its nasty little fingers wrapped around his throat right now. She’d never been afraid of the dark, but she was calling an exception at the moment. This ceaseless blanket of doom was hiding all the weird things that called this place home. After dodging bugs the size of a small bird and things that looked like monkeys on crack, she was ready to stand up and beg for someone to come get her. She hated to think of what she hadn’t met up to this point.
Lucien. That’s who she wanted right now. Something as simple as his big hand on her knee and she’d be able to breathe right again. God! She hoped he was okay. Fucking Royce! He’d rushed Lucien so fast she didn’t have a chance to warn him. The last she’d seen was Lucien grabbing the idiot’s foot before he could snatch up the cuff device. Ulixes’s shout had given her enough time to dodge a huge blue hand and haul ass.
Tana blinked back a few unwanted tears and cursed the Dar Kan that had chased her from the clearing. She was still trying to figure out how she’d lost him. Maybe she’d hurt him more than she’d thought. All she knew was that she’d run until her legs gave out. She’d barely had the strength to roll over and see if he was going to give her a “lights out” moment. Her feeling of victory had disappeared as soon as she’d spotted the first “bug.” Hell, for all she knew the damn things were birds. Fuck! She wanted off this goddamn planet. Crickets and spiders weren’t looking so bad to her right about now.
Tana glanced up and gasped when weak light filtered through the thick canopy. Finally! The moon was now high in the sky and giving her a brief respite from the pitch black. Pulling up from the ground, Tana took a deep breath and hoped her internal compass was still working. She’d tried to stay in a straight line so she could retrace her steps back to the compound. She desperately needed to get her pouch. If she was going to trek it out to the river, she was going to need food and a weapon. Tana was suddenly thankful Lucien had urged her to finish lunch.
Fifteen yards into her slow return trip, Tana shook her head in disgust. The Dar Kan must have died. No way could he have missed the glaring trail she’d left behind. Now she knew why her arms were burning. She must have cracked every small sapling on her mad dash to freedom. Well, if they were hunting for her, she wasn’t going to make it that easy for them. She quickly removed traces of her presence leading back to her last spot. Let them think she climbed the trees and joined their demented monkeys. Taking a sharp right, she moved out another twenty yards. Parallel to her original trail, she’d still be able to find her way back.
What felt like hours passed slowly by as she inched through the thicket and prayed she wasn’t really heading to a remote area of the forest. Whenever she heard any movement of the forest residents, she flattened to the ground and prayed it went away quickly. Eventually, she stumbled out of the growth and stared at the outline of the compound bathed in the glorious light of the moon. She never thought she’d be so happy to see the damn place again. Hunching low to the ground, Tana scurried through the tall grasses until she was situated a few yards from the kitchens. She was surprised to see only two guards meandering around the mystery shed. If they stayed at their current spot, she could easily slip around the side and be at the root vegetable crate before they noticed her.
Drawing on her long-unused training, Tana melted into the shadows and slid along the shed wall. Peeking around the corner, she was relieved to see the guards hadn’t budged. Either they were still lethargic from the recent rut, or it never occurred to them that their escaped prisoners would return for a visit. Tracing along the edge of a deep shadow, she held her breath until her shoulder touched the compound wall. Crouching lower, she slid behind the root crate and allowed herself a few minutes of self-congratulation.
Reaching out, she tapped her hand around until the rough fabric of the pouch announced its
location. Lifting it was another thing. Tana figured she must have been pumping loads of adrenaline when she stashed the damn thing. Spider-crawling backward, she pulled the pouch around the corner and took a breather. She was going to have to chunk half the roots if she wanted to carry it out of here.
The thought had barely left her brain, when a hand clamped across her mouth and pulled her deeper into the shadows. Fear shivered through her system like a runaway train and she fought from passing out. It was the low, husky words close to her ear that had her body melting into instant relief.
“Hey, baby.”
When his hand moved away from her lips, Tana swiveled around and plastered herself against Lucien’s chest. Her arms locked around his thick neck and she buried her face against his warm skin. She felt his big hand rubbing up and down her back and she wanted to cry. Knowing they needed to get the hell out there fast, she forced herself to pull away from him. God! His smile was a beautiful sight.
Lifting one finger to his lips, Lucien tilted his head to the left toward the forest. Tana nodded and let him lift her from the ground. He grabbed the pouch and slung it over his shoulder like it weighed only ounces. Damn! He was such a badass. Her heart fluttered like a trapped bird when he linked his fingers with hers and started leading her away from the compound. They were back in the shadow of the trees within minutes.
Lucien sat the pouch on the ground and pulled her close to his body. A warm hand cupped her jaw and he tilted her head up and just stared at her. She was about to say something when he leaned forward and placed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. His voice was shaky and deep.
“Whatever the hell is in that damn pouch better have been worth it, or I’m going to paddle your ass for scaring the shit out of me.”
Chapter 18
Tana snorted and patted Lucien on the chest. “Holster your hand there, hotshot. It’s not like I went back for my makeup and favorite perfume. That’s food and weapons.” She loved that she’d surprised him.
“When did you place the pouch back there?”
“The night Nox Ton tried to skewer Shu Tak’s boyfriend. They had other things on their mind besides what the hell I was up to.” His grin made her stomach quiver.
“Have I told you that I think you’re a brilliant female, Tana?”
“No, but I won’t stop you if you want to tell me a few more times.” She wasn’t expecting his frown.
“You could have escaped that night. Why didn’t you?”
Tana swallowed hard. “I’m not going to lie. I had one foot out the door and I couldn’t do it. You guys wouldn’t have left me. I thought about stabbing Nox Ton to death, but hell, another one would’ve just popped up and taken his place. I got lucky when I spotted the cuff device. I would’ve pulled a Laura Croft and sprung you from the cells, but I couldn’t find a Dar Kan willing to stand still long enough so I could clonk him over the head and get the keys. I figured getting you fed was the next best thing.”
Tana knew she was rambling but couldn’t seem to stop herself. He helped her out with a finger against her lips. It traced languidly along the bottom one then trailed over her chin before stopping just below her jawline. Chills skittered down her spine and slammed a ball of fire into her groin. Her pussy fluttered and she knew her eyes had gone wide from how close she was to orgasm. Damn, even his fingers were lethal.
His eyes were hooded and practically glowing as he searched her face. She licked her lips when he leaned forward, only to feel immediate disappointment when he halted and hovered just out of reach. His breath was warm and caressed her skin like fluttering butterfly wings. When her knees buckled at the sound of his husky, divinely accented voice drifting to her ear, he palmed her lower back and pulled her closer. Her skin crackled and shivered from the contact.
“My beautiful, courageous woman, you have no idea what you’ve done to me. I have no control around you.” His lips pressed close to her mouth and she instinctively turned toward the kiss she’d been fantasizing about since she’d laid eyes on him. Suddenly, his muscles tightened and he immediately pulled back. Just as quickly, his face was all business and the erotic cocoon they’d been wallowing in dissipated into the air like smoke. He dropped to a knee and dumped the pouch contents on the ground. Pulling a knife from the pile, he glanced up and smiled.
“This is excellent, Tana. There are enough knives for every warrior and the food should last until we get to the river.”
Tana didn’t know what to say. He’d flipped scenarios so quickly she was having a hard time keeping up. Shit! Focus.
“Uh…yeah. Glad to help.” Damn. This sounded familiar. She had to quit bringing him gifts or she was going to get whiplash from the mood swings. Squatting next to him, she started repacking the pouch. She refused to look at him. It was just too confusing.
“Those were the biggest ones I could get my hands on at the time.” His soft chuckle helped relax her shoulders.
“They’re plenty big enough. However, I’d kill to get my sword back. Knives will do damage up close, but a sword would cut their damn arms off from a good distance.”
Tana gasped and grabbed his forearm. “I saw a lot of swords back at the compound. Shu Tak sent me into the cellar for some flour and they were piled up in the corner. I tried to pick one up, but it was too heavy to do me any good, so I stuck with the kitchen knives. I can take you there.”
Lucien lifted her from the ground and stared at her with wide eyes. “This is wonderful news, Tana. Tell me how to find them.”
Frowning, she pulled away from him. “Why don’t I just show you?”
He drew up to his full height and narrowed his eyes. Tana smirked at him. He wasn’t fooling her. He wouldn’t harm a hair on her head and she told him as much.
“You can cut the mean look, buster. I’m not buying. Besides, we need to get more supplies while those idiots are still half beat to hell and back and you know it. I’m an extra set of eyes and ears, not a nuisance. Now let’s go.” He grabbed her arm when she turned away. Glancing back, she saw that his gaze was much softer this time.
“You’re right. I apologize. I just worry for you. To purposefully take you into harm’s way doesn’t set well with me.”
She grinned at him and batted her eyelashes. “Aw, you say the sweetest things.”
Lucien pursed his lips and started heading back to the compound. “I’m serious, Tana. Stick close to me. Your safety is paramount.”
Tana ran to catch up with his long strides. “Okay, okay. Chill out. I’ll try to keep from getting myself killed.”
“Good.”
Tana hoped he couldn’t see the stupid grin plastered on her face. She loved how he got all snarly and overprotective of her. Her heart melted when he grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers. She held on tight as he ducked and pulled her through the tall grasses. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t kissed her. Was he was worried that it’d lead to another session like the showers? Yep, wouldn’t be too good to be rolling around on the ground and have a Dar Kan sneak up on them. Satisfied with her assessment, Tana didn’t even complain when he positioned her next to a tree and told her to wait while he assessed the guard positions around the compound. She was amazed at the gracefulness of his big body. The way his muscles moved as he twisted around corners and ducked into the shadows had her sighing. Eventually, he disappeared around a corner and she couldn’t catch sight of him again.
Shaking her head, Tana realized she’d moved away from the hiding spot in her overzealous attempt to keep an eye on him. Swiveling around to hightail it back to the cover before he caught her mooning over him, the toe of her boot struck something. Bending down, she squinted in the dim light and realized it was a board. Looking around, she noticed several small boxes filled with roofing nails and two more boards. Underneath those were large burlap bags and scrap sheet metal. She figured this might have been the staging point where they dumped material while the compound was built.
Pulling one of the bags out, Tan
a studied it for a few minutes and an idea popped into her skull. Gleefully, she dragged her find over to the tree and worked furiously on her project. Minutes later, she stood back and admired her work. Satisfied, she pushed it behind the tree and waited anxiously for Lucien’s return.
* * * *
Lucien knew his little minx was going to be pissed, but she’d just have to get over it. He’d stumbled upon the cellar attached to the far side of the compound and took advantage of the unlocked door. Just as she’d stated, all of the swords were stacked in the corner. He sighed in relief when he’d discovered the leather sheaths on a table directly across from them. Glancing around, he found that the cellar didn’t contain anything that could pass for edible food. Sliding the leather straps onto his forearm, he grabbed four swords and made his way back to the door. He took note of a small cooking pot with a broken handle before he exited the building. Sprinting back the way he came, he was relieved to see Tana peeking around the side of the tree. She had a huge grin on her face until she spotted the swords. Quickly, he laid them at her feet and held up his palms in surrender.
“In my defense, I stumbled on the cellar and double checked to see if it was safe to enter. I brought these back in case I needed to defend myself. You’re going with me on this next round.” He was happy to see her smile return.
“Well, I can’t really be mad. I needed to see one of the swords anyway, so this is a good thing.” She frowned and pointed at his arm. “What are those?”
Fueled by Lust: Lucien (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 15