by Kali Argent
“Don’t stop,” she demanded, releasing her hold on his neck to press his hand firmly against her core. “Keep going. Keep going.”
“Open your eyes, cara mia. Watch me.” Goddess above, he couldn’t get enough of her, and there was no greater joy that watching her in the throes of passion. “Come for me,” he growled. “Come for me now.”
“Nik!”
Eyes closed, head back, she bucked and thrashed, riding the waves of orgasm as her inner walls clamped around him. Then, with a fierce growl, she lunged at him, tangling her fingers in his hair to hold him immobile as she embedded her canines in the side of his neck.
Calling her name, Nikolai pumped faster, his rhythm faltering as need consumed him. When Kamara fell back again, tilting her head to bare her throat in offering, he couldn’t wait any longer. Growling, he closed his mouth over the creamy skin along the curve her throat, sliding his fangs through her smooth skin as he rode the waves of his own orgasm, spilling himself into her slick core.
She was his, always and forever, and with his claim on her reestablished, he floated weightlessly in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Extracting his fangs from her neck, he drew his tongue over the mark, then kissed up her throat, along her jaw, and finally, captured her lips.
“I love you, cara mia.”
“Mmm,” she hummed, “and I love you.” Smiling, she brushed his damp hair back from his face and cradled his cheek. “Thank you.”
Her words made no sense to him, and he turned them over several times in his mind before giving up and shaking his head. “Why are you thanking me?”
“For trusting me.” She brushed their lips together chastely. “You’re right, you know. You don’t always have to be in control. I’m happy to take the reins sometimes.”
“As I am well aware.” And he did trust her. He trusted her with his life, with his future, and more importantly, with his heart. “You are a warrior, a survivor, and perfect in every way. How could I not adore you?”
“Oh, yes,” she teased through a bout of giggles. “Flattery me, my sweet prince.”
Nikolai nipped at her bottom lip and growled. “You are trouble.”
“Which you knew the moment you met me.” Still grinning, she rested their foreheads together and sighed. “I guess we should get cleaned up and find some clothes.”
“We will.” He was sated, but not nearly satisfied. “In a minute.”
“Nik!” Laughing breathlessly, she slapped at his shoulder when he tried to kiss her again. “Come on. The guys probably think we killed each other.”
“So?”
“Nik!”
Grumbling under his breath, he eased from her body and slid her down the wall to the floor. “Fine, but I am not nearly finished with you, cara mia.”
Retrieving the blanket from the floor, she wrapped it around her middle, hiding her nude body from his gaze. Without a word, she sashayed across the room, her hips swaying hypnotically, but she paused at the mouth of the hallway and looked over her shoulder with a sexy smirk.
“I’ll hold you to it.”
Nikolai had been surprised to find that the house they were in had not only running water, but hot running water. His mate had rolled her eyes when he’d suggested they shower together to conserve such a precious commodity, but when he’d brushed his lips across the mating mark on her neck, it hadn’t taken long for her to change her mind.
He loved how responsive she was, and he looked forward to learning all the ways he could unravel her, but unfortunately, that would have to wait.
“Where are we anyway?” Kamara asked when they were all gathered in the living room around the fireplace again.
Seated next to him on the sofa, she curled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder. After their shower—and some good-natured teasing—the Valkyrie had offered them fresh clothes, food, and water. Nikolai’s long-sleeve shirt and cargo pants fit well, but he couldn’t say the same for Kamara. She’d had to roll the sleeves up several times, and it had taken a piece of rope threaded through the belt loops to keep her pants from falling off her hips.
He already knew most of the answers to the questions he guessed she’d ask. He also anticipated her response to said answers, which would probably lead to an argument, and he was in no hurry to get there.
“Still in Oklahoma,” Izan answered, lounging back in the armchair across from them. “About forty miles west of where we found you.” He stared at her with a furrowed brow. “We thought you were dead.”
Kamara fought back a giggle when she remembered saying something to Nikolai only twenty minutes ago.
“I think he means the Ravagers,” Nikolai whispered into her head.
Oh, right. Sobering, sat up a little straighter and nodded. She owed them not just her life, but Nikolai’s as well.
“I might have been if you guys hadn’t shown up when you did, so thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but that’s not what I meant.” Pulling a rubber band from the pocket of his cargo pants, he used it to tie his blond curls back from his face. “St. Louis,” he elaborated. “We looked for you, but the pack was dropping us like flies. Only four of us made it out.”
Kamara sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and winced. Damn fangs. “The kids?”
“We got them to Kansas City. They’re okay.”
Her happiness was marred by the knowledge that so many of the group had died, but they’d all known the risks when they signed on, just like she had. She’d have gladly given her life to get those kids to safety, and she knew the others felt the same. Even if no one else knew what they’d done, even if no one knew they existed, they’d died heroes, and she’d never forget them.
“You said four made it to KC.” She searched the room as if expecting someone to pop out from behind the curtains, but of course, she didn’t see anyone. “Who else is here?”
“Fischer and Webber. They’re on patrol. They’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
Maybe it should have, but it didn’t surprise her that the core group—the founders, so to speak—had survived. Jai Webber was built like a damn linebacker, and he was just as lethal with his bare hands as he was with a gun. Kellen Fischer, while just as deadly, was probably the most compassionate of the four, and his baby blue eyes always held a hint of emptiness, no matter how much he smiled.
“Okay, so why the hell are you guys in this godforsaken state in the first place?”
Grim and Izan looked at each other, then to Nikolai, who rubbed a hand over his face and sighed.
“You might as well tell her.”
“Tell me what?” Dropping her feet to the floor, she scooted to the edge of the cushion and glared. “What’s going on?”
“Nikolai says you know a little about the Abraxas slave auctions,” Izan answered when no one else spoke.
Kamara didn’t like where the conversation was headed. “A little. Two of our friends were sent there.” She missed Duncan, and she hoped he’d found what he was looking for in Kansas. As for Abby, well, they’d find a way to get her back, then work on healing her as well. “What about it?”
“Short version?” Folding his arms over his chest, he looked her in the eye, his gaze intense. “We’re taking it down.”
Unflinching, Kamara stood and mirrored his pose. “When?”
“Slow down.” Reaching forward, Nikolai took her wrist and pulled her back down on the sofa beside him. “You aren’t going anywhere.”
“The hell I’m not.” They couldn’t save everyone held by the Abraxas vampires, but if they had a chance to free even a fraction of them, she’d take it. Exacting a little revenge on the coven was just a bonus. “When do we leave?”
Sitting forward in his seat, Grim rested his elbows on his knees and shook his head. “I know why you want to go.” He nodded at Nikolai. “Your mate filled us in on what happened to you at the Abraxas compound, and normally, I’d say you have more of a right than anyone to go along on this.”
“But?�
�� she demanded.
“You’re a liability, Kamara. You’re too emotional.”
“Who says I’m emotional?”
Grim arched an eyebrow at her. “You were held there for months, and you’re telling me you don’t have some strong emotions about the Abraxas coven?”
She understood what he was saying, but it was bullshit. “The only strong emotion I have about that place is a desire to burn it to the ground.” Besides, as the only vampire in the group who wasn’t royal, and therefore, recognizable, they needed her. “So, what’s the plan? You’re just going to storm into this auction blind? You don’t know how many guards will be there, or how many people you’re trying to save. The Coalition will sniff you out a mile away.”
Sighing, Nikolai leaned back on the sofa and shook his head. “I told you,” he said to the other males. “Didn’t I tell you?”
“I’m a vampire,” she pressed when no one else spoke. “I can get in, get the intel, and no one will suspect anything is wrong.”
“No,” Nikolai growled. “You aren’t going within a hundred miles of that place.”
Kamara closed her eyes and counted to ten before looking up at him. Not that it did much good. “Nik, you know I love you, but you’re not going to talk me out of this. So, you can either get on board and help, or you can sit there and be pissed at me.”
“You know the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“Fine, then be pissed, but help me.”
Izan shook his head. “I don’t think you’re going to talk her out of this.”
“Nik, you know it’s the right thing to do.” Okay, maybe she was a little emotional, but she could do this. They could do this.
“I do,” he answered, surprising her. “I just don’t want you to do it.”
“You’d go and leave me behind?” Pursing her lips, she glared at him. “That’s really shitty.”
“I’d hogtie you and throw you in a closet if I thought it would do any good.”
“It won’t,” Grim confirmed.
“Not even a little,” Izan added.
Rolling his head on the cushion, Nikolai stared at her and sighed. “You’ll need a backstory and some new clothes.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Oh, my god,” Kamara breathed when they stepped into an old abandoned middle school in a small town south of Dallas.
“Quit gaping,” Jai whispered from the corner of his mouth. “You’re here to buy a blood slave. Act like it.”
She knew that, of course, but she hadn’t been able to help herself. A thousand times, she’d imagined what they’d find inside the auction, but it hadn’t prepared her for this. Hundreds of cages, stacked on top of each other, all filled with humans, shifters, vampires, and the odd werewolf. Some of them were unconscious, and some looked close to death. A few growled and gnashed their teeth at anyone who came close to their cages, while others—humans she assumed—coward in the corners of the wire crates, trying to make themselves as small as possible.
They’d spent the entire night working out her backstory, just in case anyone asked. She was to be Lady Hana Saito, a wealthy, but very private business woman, looking for a companion for her current blood slave. Obviously, that blood slave had to be human, taking Nikolai out of the running for the position, which had led to a turbulent and heated argument. In the end, he’d grudgingly agreed, and it had been decided that Jai would accompany her.
Honestly, she’d have preferred it to be Kellen. Not because she liked Jai any less, but she felt Kellen’s kind nature would have played a better to the role of a submissive. Every inch of Jai’s six-feet-seven frame oozed with confidence and dominance, and she worried about his ability to hold his tongue if someone pissed him off, but it was too late to turn back now.
The morning had been all about dressing her for the part of a rich and snobby vampire. In an old shopping center about sixty miles from their safe house, they’d found her a stunning green dress that complemented her natural skin tone. The strapless gown clung to her minimal curves and accentuated her cleavage, a fact that had sent Nikolai into a spiral of alternating appreciation and possessiveness.
Once she’d chosen her dress, they’d scoured every store, shop, and boutique within twenty miles to find her a suitable wig. All the males had debated against the snowy white, angled bob she’d chosen, but she liked it. No, it didn’t look remotely natural, but she thought it gave her a certain flair and just a smidge of eccentricity.
A little makeup, the perfect pair of matching heels, and she’d been all set, or so she’d thought. The entire four-hour drive to the deserted town of Broken Ridge, Texas, she’d been grilled by not just her mate, but every member of the Valkyrie. They’d made her repeat the same information over and over until she was pretty sure she could recite it in her sleep.
She was a wealthy heiress whose parents had died in the aftermath of the Purge. Before that, her family had made their money in the pharmaceutical business after introducing a groundbreaking infertility drug for human women. She currently maintained an estate in a highbrow neighborhood on Houston’s north side, but she was originally from the sunny shores of San Diego. Her hobbies included gardening, tending to her horses, and basically being a spoiled, pampered, self-absorbed dimwit.
After the tiresome task of memorizing all the information, she’d been a little disenchanted when she’d strolled right through the doors of the junior high with nothing more than a brief pat down to check her and Jai for weapons. Inside the cavernous room that she assumed had once been a gymnasium—or maybe a cafeteria—no one paid much mind to her, either.
“Are you sure they can see us?”
Taking her hand, Jai placed it in the crook of his elbow and led her deeper into the room. “No, but they can see what you see.”
To allay some of Nikolai’s anxiety, the Valkyrie had worked their magic, digging up a complete surveillance kit at an electronics store in the strip mall. Once they’d had the gear, it had been a simple matter of rigging a tiny camera inside her audacious, bejeweled neckless. The feed connected remotely to a tablet without the assistance of Wi-Fi, making it possible for her mate to watch her every move.
Two blocks away from the school, they waited and watched, sitting in an SUV parked behind and old, rusted factory. Their location was much too close for Kamara’s comfort, but she’d been able to dissuade them. Partly because her camera wouldn’t transmit any farther away, but mostly because they insisted on being close in case things went sideways.
She did appreciate their concern, but it made it much harder to feign indifference when she constantly worried about their safety.
“Heads up,” Jai muttered. “Incoming at twelve o’clock.”
Removing her sunglasses, she passed them to her companion, and stretched her lips into what she hoped was an ingratiating, yet bored, smile that showed her fangs.
“Hello,” a skinny vampire with graying hair and a chipped fang greeted. He stepped forward, his hand outstretched, but pulled up short when Jai slid in front of her.
“Excuse him,” she said to the vampire, peering at him around Jai’s massive body. “He’s very loyal.”
“Yes, I can see that.” The male’s lips turned down at the corners, and his eyes narrowed. “Normally, we don’t allow humans in here, not outside of their cages anyway.”
“Understandable.” She patted Jai’s arm and smiled at the stranger. “Down boy.”
It took everything in her to maintain a passive expression when Jai immediately stepped to the side and knelt at her feet. Okay, maybe he was better at this than she’d originally thought.
“I am Lady Hana Saito,” she said in the haughtiest tone she could muster. “My human stays.”
The vampire took her hand and brought it to his lips. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Saito. William Ashford, at your service.” He glanced down at Jai. “Since your human male seems to be well-trained, I think we can make an exception this time.”
Pulling her han
d back, she placed it on Jai’s head and caressed his long, ebony locks. “Yes, he is a good boy, isn’t he? Which is why I would like to find him a suitable companion. Not anyone too willful, but not too broken, either. I would like to be able to feed from her, of course.”
“Of course. Someone obedient?”
“Obedient is a good word.”
William bobbed his head a few times as he scratched at his jaw. “I think I have just the thing. If you’ll follow me.”
“Very well.” Kamara snapped her fingers. “Come, pet. Let’s go meet your new plaything, shall we?”
“Where did you say you were from?” William asked as he led her between a long row of stacked cages.
“I didn’t.” Pausing for effect, Kamara waited several heartbeats before she continued. “I have an estate north of Houston.”
“Oh, of course, lovely area. Forgive me, but I don’t detect an accent.”
He was shrewd, and smarter than he looked. Suddenly, Kamara was grateful for the hours of endless badgering as her mate and their friends drummed meaningless details into her head.
“My family is originally from San Diego. Have you been there?”
Her answer seemed to appease him, and some of the tension eased from William’s thin frame. “No, I’m sorry to say that I haven’t. I hear it’s quite beautiful, though.”
“I miss it sometimes, but since the virus, I’m afraid the sunshine doesn’t agree with me any longer.”
Sadness and longing filled the vampire’s eyes. “I do miss the sunlight.”
Kamara frowned. She couldn’t spend hours outside during the day like she could as a human, but her transition hadn’t regulated her to the shadows like in the myths and stories.
“Forgive my bluntness, but why do you say that? It isn’t as though we can’t go outside at all.”
The vampire smiled. “Ah, to be young again. Age, my dear. Us old vampires aren’t quite as resilient as we used to be, and the sun affects us much more strongly than it does the young.”