Escape

by Laney Kaye

  Bonded to a Glian?

  For some reason, my brain stalled on the thought for a moment, then I shook my head. Hells, no. I wasn’t about to be tied down by anyone.

  The effects of the first bond were bad enough. In my quarters fifteen minutes earlier, shooting the breeze with the guys, Maya’s scream had pierced my consciousness like a knife.

  “What’s up, Herc?” Sprawled across a lounge, Leo looked up questioningly as I jerked upright.

  “Maya.”

  Jag ripped open a beer, tossing the cap toward the compacter. “Dude, seriously, that’s about the tenth time you’ve mentioned her name in the last half hour. Something you want to tell us?”

  I’d slammed from the room and tore across the compound. The guard at the reception desk of Smithton’s residential unit didn’t stop me. Smart guy.

  And now Maya was in my arms. More than that, she was pressed against me, and no way could she not notice my cock nudging against her belly, despite the confines of my camos.

  But maybe she was only thanking me for rescuing her, in that weird way Glians had, where they’d plant their lips on a stranger, instead of reserving the caress for a mate. Or perhaps it was the remnants of the moodar talking.

  Or, gods forbid, had the first bond affected her as intensely as it did me, making her crave my touch?

  Whatever, I mustn’t respond.

  Except…she didn’t move away and her kiss wasn’t a fleeting brush. She stood on tiptoes, her breasts pressed against my chest, the twin mountains of her nipples peaking hard and hot against my torso.

  Maybe I should’ve left her shirt off. Her bra had been plain, industrial, as though she sought to combat the revealing low cut of her uniform neckline, but there had been something stirringly virginal about the white synthfab. Stirring enough to make me want to shift and tear Smithton’s head from his shoulders.

  Damn, I wouldn’t even need to shift to do it.

  I wasn’t finished with that bastard yet.

  “Maya,” I drew my head away before I spoke, making sure she couldn’t reach my lips. Because I knew I couldn’t trust myself not to kiss her back. “You need to get inside.”

  Her face tightened, but her voice cracked. “You’re right.” Her gaze flew to the compound wall and beyond. “Gods, I loathe this place. Sometimes it’s hard to remember why I’m even here.”

  I shrugged. “Same reason as me, I guess. You work here.”

  One eyebrow lifted, and the frost in her green eyes rivaled the ice floes of Scalia in our upper pole. “Of course. Why else would I be here?”

  Those words sure as beetric shit meant she was hiding something. Did I want to know?

  I growled. I was here to do a job, not to get involved with anyone, especially a female Glian. Sure, if she hadn’t made my skin burn with the first bond, I’d be more than happy to give her what she was asking for. Respond to her kiss. Taste those gorgeous breasts with my fingers, my tongue. Back her against the wall and make her scream out my name.

  Because, looking down at her, so small, so fragile, so Glian, no way would she not scream.

  Somehow, my fingers edged beneath her shirt, settling on her naked waist, the current flowing continuously through both of us.

  No reason for me not to do that; the first bond was established, there was no taking it back. We could enjoy the thrum of electricity which, I suspected, stirred her in precisely the same way it did me. Hells, I could already smell that the simple touch had her juices flowing. She wanted me.

  She peeled my hand off but held it. “Come inside with me.” It wasn’t a question, but a demand.

  My fingers interlaced with hers, even though I forbade them. Her hand was tiny in my massive paw, so delicate I probably shouldn’t touch her.

  Though the desert temperature plummeted at night, still I wished for a cool breeze. Containing my lust was sparking my urge to shift, as the adrenalin sought an outlet. I’d release it, but not in front of her. No point terrifying her. “No. I have to go back.”

  “You can’t. The C.O. will have you arrested.”

  I shrugged. “I’ll persuade him otherwise. You need to go inside, where it’s safe. Double lock your doors.”

  She pressed up to me again. “I’m safe with you, Herc. Aren’t I?” The question sounded like a challenge, rather than an entreaty. Almost as though she assessed my willingness to protect her. Yet I sensed there was a bigger question hidden in her words, a secret lurking behind the helpless façade.

  I’d already seen her take charge. I knew she wasn’t helpless. But she was female, and the Felidaekin always protected our women. “You’re safe with me.”

  I felt the bond between us strengthen with the words, vibrating and growing, meshing us closer. Urging me to assure Maya that I’d protect her with my life.

  Forest-soft now, her green eyes gazed up at me. A frown appeared between them. “How did you know I needed you?”

  “I heard you scream.” A fraction of the truth would do. But I didn’t miss the fact that she said she needed me. Not anyone else. Not help. She’d screamed for me.

  Because we were bonded. And there was no undoing that.

  She nodded slowly. “Like you could hear in the soundproof treatment room.”

  “Something like that.” Dammit, my fingers would not uncurl from hers, and, even though I’d told her to go, still I stood over her, protecting her from the probing eye of the security cameras as she leaned back against the low building that housed her room.

  Her room. With her bed.

  Shit.

  I growled with lust at the thought of her stretched upon that furniture, then shook my head and repressed the surge that indicated my fangs were about to show.

  “Your eyes.” She straightened, her palm on the side of my face to hold me still. It was all I could do not to lean into her touch. “They just changed.”

  Yeah, because I’d come too close to shifting. Where the hell was my self-control? I wasn’t some teen who needed to prove himself to a lover. And she wasn’t some female Felidaekin, ready to be impressed by my size.

  An armatote scrabbled in an adjoining alleyway and, far out in the desert, a night vultrex keened as it circled prey. I tried to focus my hearing on them, rather than on the too-fast beat of both of our hearts.

  The perfectly synchronized beat.

  Stubble rasped against Maya’s palm as she ran a hand down my jaw. “I’m glad you came for me, Herc. I wanted you…to.” She waited a hellishly long time to say the final word, making the innuendo clear.

  Apparently, my stoic no lip-contact stance wasn’t enough to put her off because, hand still on my face, she rose to her toes again.

  This time she didn’t kiss me but spoke with her lips close to mine. The warm brush of air was worse than an actual kiss, all promise without the pressure that would break the tension. “And now, I want you to come up to my room.”

  I forced myself to free my hand from hers. Only to move it to her hips, jerking her closer. Not at all what I intended.

  The need to kiss her, to seal the second bond—dammit, to do so much more with her—surged through my body, tearing at my muscles, shredding me, worse than the pain of shifting.

  Sweat trickled between my shoulder blades as I restrained myself. “I can’t. The moodar—that might still have you screwed up.”

  She shook her head decisively, all nurse, now. All hot fucking nurse, that was.

  Somehow, my knee had found its way between her legs, and I could feel her moist heat as she pressed deliberately against me.

  Her hand stroked down my chest, toying with the buttons on my shirt. “That stuff’s potent, but it doesn’t last long. I would’ve asked you up to my room, anyway. I need to talk to you, but not here. The cameras—” She jerked her chin over my shoulder, to the cameras mounted on every street corner.

  She was driving me crazy. Her touch, her words, her nearness. I kept my voice clipped, afraid I’d betray myself—like my body hadn’t already, pressed
hard against hers, my cock a rigid bar against the soft curve of her stomach. But hell, if those lips came any closer, instead of drowning in the eyes that reflected the moons above us, I’d dive into her mouth. “The cameras can’t see you past me. Talk here.”

  She leaned back a little and flashed a grin. “In which case, they’re filming you humping a wall.”

  My hands tightened on her hips. I should be embarrassed, but gods, her teasing just made me hotter.

  I drew her more firmly against my thigh, rhythmically tensing it beneath her. “Are you sure it’s me doing the humping?”

  She gasped, pushing her heat down on me. Her hand went around the back of my neck, her mouth seeking mine.

  Our mouths must not meet. I couldn’t kiss her as instinct urged me to do.

  But there was no reason I couldn’t pleasure her.

  Shifting the heavy fall of her golden hair aside, my teeth found her neck, biting at the sweet spot below her ear, then kissing in apology. I licked to the delicate hollow in her throat and then kissed my way back up her neck, dragging in her scent. Unable to help myself, I closed my teeth carefully on her jaw, a show of dominance, and tugged gently.

  She moaned with excitement, and a low growl rumbled from my throat as her pupils dilated and her mouth opened, begging for my tongue.

  How could it be that she wasn’t Felidaekin, yet our mating rituals turned her on?

  She pulled my shirt free from my camos, and then jerked the fabric apart, the fasteners clattering to the paved street. Third uniform ruined for the day, and I couldn’t give a fuck.

  Leaning back for a moment, she unbuttoned her own shirt and shoved it aside. She met my gaze, then slowly pressed her almost-naked torso against mine. The contact jolted both of us, and she gasped, her hands quickly shifting up to push against my pecs, as though the sensation was too intense, and she needed to create a little space between us.

  With a growl, I dropped my hands to the curve of her ass, planting my knee against the wall as I lifted her to fully straddle the hard muscle in my thigh. If that was the only muscle I could give her, by the gods, I’d give it willingly.

  “Yes!” she gasped, sinking her weight fully onto my leg, her thighs gripping me. Her head tipped back, and her eyes hooded with pleasure.

  My tongue found her ear, darting in as I spread the cheeks of her ass, feeling her wetness seep through her pants and my own as she ground against my leg. She’d seemed so controlled only seconds ago, but now she was wilder than any female I’d ever mounted. She wasn’t about to protest or to say she didn’t want to get off without me. She was fully into the moment, chasing her own climax. Demanding what she wanted. Taking control.

  Fuck.

  I’d never wanted to kiss a woman so badly in my life.

  “More,” she gasped. “Your fingers.”

  Yeah, I might be a shifter, but our position and clothing made that move frustratingly impossible. Gods, I longed to touch and taste her in so many ways, but I could sense she was close, and first I’d watch her come.

  I freed one hand, tugging the cup of her bra down. Her plump breast filled my hand, hot and heavy, and I flicked my thumb across her engorged nipple, watching in amazement as it doubled in size.

  Her hand moved between us, squeezing the thick bar of my cock through my pants and I groaned, bending to lave her nipple with my tongue.

  “Yes,” she moaned, arching back. “Do it to me.”

  I grazed the delicate flesh with my teeth, then teased with my tongue, matching the rhythm she used to grind against me.

  “Ah!” She panted, her hands in my hair now, forcing my face into her breast as she jammed herself down on my leg. “Yes, that’s it. Gods, it’s been so long!”

  I could feel the tension thrumming through her body like a live wire, so I paused a heartbeat, then took her nipple into my mouth, suckling harder.

  “Ohhh! I’m coming!” Maya’s long hair swept toward the ground as her back bowed, every ounce of force from her tiny body concentrated into one last thrust against my leg. Her eyes glazed, and her body jolted.

  Trusting me to keep her safe, she gave herself to the orgasm, her lids closed, perfect lips parted. Completely abandoned.

  Lucky the security cameras didn’t have sound. Or smell. Gods, I wanted to taste that muskiness.

  If I’d expected her to be embarrassed, I’d have been disappointed.

  She righted herself, swiped one hand across her glistening chest, and slanted a grin up at me as she buttoned up her shirt. “So, now can we talk?”

  I’d proved to myself I could hold back, that I wouldn’t kiss her, let alone do more than that.

  So, I’d be safe going to her room. Right?

  Nope.

  Not the way I was right now. Because she might be sated, but I needed a way to release my pent-up energy. I nodded. “Okay. Talk. But I have to do something, first. Give me your room code and number, I’ll be back.”

  Her eyes narrowed on mine. “Don’t go there, Herc. He’s not worth it. We have bigger eelon to fry.”

  Her words made no sense, but then, there wasn’t a hell of a lot of oxygen getting to my brain. And there was only one way, short of sex, to release my tension.

  I set her aside, jerking my head at the panel. “Your code?”

  She grumbled, but relented.

  Five minutes later, outside the C.O.’s building, I took a moment, eyes closed, concentrating on all around me.

  The complex rustled with the settling sounds of the evening. Music played in quarters across the road. The sleaze-easy spilled early drunks onto the street a few blocks over, their slurred protests and the shatter of breaking glass banging against my ears. The smell of the inadequate septic-works flared acrid, overlaid with the more palatable odors of roasted beetric and fried eelon.

  Eelon. My brow furrowed. What had Maya meant about the C.O. not being worth my time?

  Whatever, she was wrong.

  Damn right in so many other ways, though.

  The security guard half-rose from his seat as I entered, but subsided quickly. His gaze darted away from mine, and he fiddled with the spine of a book he’d dropped on his desk when I appeared.

  “Good man.” He knew how to pick his battles. A pissed off C.O. or an enraged Ligerkin? I knew who I’d side with.

  In the elevator, I stripped, trying to ignore my reflection in the mirrored cube. Would Maya be terrified if she saw me completely naked, all my scars revealed?

  Maybe not, as she’d not shied from me in the med center.

  Regardless, I planned to find out.

  My decision was as swift as a viper strike.

  The woman was undeniably hot, and I wanted her. As long as we didn’t kiss, I could have her.

  Would have her.

  We’d skip the second bond, move straight to sex, and it’d work out fine. No risk of a life sentence.

  The familiar sensation rose along with the elevator, a mixture of anticipation of the pain, and eagerness for the heightened awareness the shift would bring. And a new urgency to have this done with, so I could get back to Maya. To her bed.

  I shook my head and then dropped down as my spine elongated, my limbs stretching and thickening with extra muscle. Usually silent, this time I roared my pain. Because I wanted Smithton to hear. To know that I was coming for him.

  I wanted him to be afraid.

  This time, I wanted to hunt my prey. Slowly.

  As I slammed open the door, I swung my head from side to side, quickly assessing the environs. No Smithton.

  A single bound took me across the room and I slammed a paw against a control pad. Double doors retracted smoothly into the walls, revealing a massive bed. Fit for a Ligerkin, not for the runt who’d ordered it prepared.

  Fresh anger filled me at the sight of the neatly turned back lavender sheet, the bed set up so that this bastard could brutalize Maya. The woman who’d willingly given herself to me had been this sick animal’s prey. And I wanted vengeance.

>   I inhaled deeply, opening my mouth to draw the scent over the muscle that enabled me to memorize and track prey.

  The stench of fear instantly gave Smithton away. My ears twitched, locating the coward’s panting breaths of terror. It was too easy. Maybe I should prowl his room longer, let the dread strike deeper.

  As Smithton shifted nervously on the balcony behind me, I deliberately crossed to an open doorway, pretending to search for him.

  A dressing room the size of my entire quarters housed a circular steel rod hung with uniforms, dress maroons, and opulent silky dressing gowns. A pheromone-based perfume wrinkled my nose as I swatted with one huge paw, clawing the fabric from the hangers so that shreds hung to the floor. On the far side of the rack were costumes, dresses constructed of too little material and too much lust. Feather boas, leather straps, tiny laced corsets and shoes with towering, needle-thin heels that could pierce a man’s chest.

  Had Smithton intended to dress Maya in those?

  Right after he’d finished undressing her.

  I snarled and swung around. Enough play time. He needed to pay.

  My paws silent on the thick pillion hide rug, I stalked to the windowed balcony. One of the narrow, glass-filled doors partially open, the sheer white curtains billowed softly in the first breeze of the deepening night. A breeze I’d wished for only half an hour ago, but one I now cursed. I didn’t want anything to dispel the scent of Maya on my skin.

  A clatter, as Smithton bumped into something out there, and sharp ammonia filled the air, telling me he’d pissed himself.

  I loathed a coward.

  Even more, I loathed a fucking coward who attacked women.

  Gathering my hind legs beneath me and hunching my shoulders, I contracted my pupils, checking the distance between me and Smithton, calculating my leap. The drifting fabric messed with my view, but I could make him out as a dim shadow in the gloom.

  With a roar, I leaped through the door, the shattering glass obscuring the sound of his gun. I grunted as the laser blast slashed across my stomach, but he didn’t get chance to fire again. My aim true, I landed just short of Smithton.