Fallen Captive

by Aliya DalRae

  Jessica stepped to him and kissed his cheek. “Text me when the pilot gets here,” she said, and waddled to the door. He was in so much trouble.

  To cover his bases, and mostly just to make himself feel better, Merlin contacted Allon. He explained the situation and could practically hear the doc’s frown over the phone.

  “She’s quite far along,” the Doc told him, “and with the complications she had before, I’m not entirely comfortable with this. However, if you feel she will be integral in bringing our people home, then I will sign off on it. When I examined her earlier, other than being in shock from the fear she felt through the familial bond, she was fine. But if anything happens, I’m telling Raven it was your idea.”

  Merlin sighed. “Yeah, I’ve already reconciled with the fact that I’m a dead man.”

  “Just keep in touch with them, Merlin. Don’t lose the chopper, too.”

  Merlin ignored the twinge of guilt, made what assurances he could and hung up as Martin walked into his office. He hadn’t set eyes on the male since he’d told him to stay away. Oz had been dropping off the nightly reports while Martin and Perry alternated between babysitting the twins and patrolling the streets of Fallen Cross.

  The Soldier dropped into the one empty chair in the room and slid down until his ass was barely in the seat, his neck resting on the back of the chair. “What a night,” he said. “Sorry for turning up here, but I needed to make this report personally. There must be a new hoard of ferals in Fallen Cross. They had us running from one end of town to the other. One male actually—what’s wrong?”

  Merlin wasn’t listening. He was going over the details of the rescue mission in his head as he tried to calculate the time left before the pilot arrived.

  “Merlin?”

  “What?”

  Martin sat up straight in the chair. “Something’s happened. What is it?”

  Merlin turned back to the control panel, tapped a few keys and studied one of the monitors which now displayed a live satellite image of the area where Harrier’s last transmission originated. He searched the screen, hoping to see something, wreckage, people, anything, but saw nothing but dark water.

  Merlin didn’t realize Martin was at his side until the other male touched his arm. “You’re freaking me out, Merlin. What’s happened?”

  Merlin tucked his hair behind his ears and fell against the back of his chair. “The plane’s gone down.”

  Martin’s quick air intake echoed Merlin’s emotional state. “Mason?”

  “I don’t know. I left the room for a few minutes, it should have been fine, but…”

  Martin raised an eyebrow.

  “I know, what are the odds? If Jessica hadn’t been there I might still be in the dark. I let them down, Martin. I fucking let them down.”

  Martin laid a hand on his shoulder. Merlin should have shrugged him off, should have told him to go, but selfishly, he needed the support just then. So many things he should have done differently, but in this one thing, the thing he’d been fighting for months? He simply didn’t have the energy or the desire to push him away.

  “You’re being too hard on yourself,” Martin said. “You can’t be on duty twenty-four/seven.”

  Merlin stared at the satellite image, searching for a glimmer of hope as the guilt ate away at him. “That’s just it,” he said. “Until this week, I was.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  T he shrapnel in Nox’s belly had hurt like a son-of a bitch, no doubt. However, it was nothing compared to the pain in his groin caused from drinking Rachel’s blood. Though she’d donated to him on previous occasions, this was the first time he’d been fully conscious, and so the first time he experienced the effects up front, so to speak. He was feeling better, so much better, and with the fresh supply of her hemoglobin running through him, it was the most powerful aphrodisiac created by nature.

  He shifted to a sitting position after Rachel gave him the thumbs up and backed himself against the cave’s wall. To top it all off, his injuries were healing at an exponential rate, and he was itching like a son of a bitch.

  He glanced at Raven, whom they’d settled near the back of the cave, his injuries much worse than Nox’s. He had yet to regain consciousness since drinking from Rebecca, which was probably a good thing. Given Nox’s reactions, Jessica would be right pissed if Raven had had a similar reaction from another female’s blood, and with witnesses.

  Speaking of Rebecca, she sat off to the side, as far from the others as she could manage in the small space the cave afforded. Rachel was going from patient to patient, checking wounds and making sure everyone was comfortable. Nox would have preferred she stay with him, care for only him, but that was selfish. Definitely selfish.

  Aaaand so what?

  But her Florence Nightingale routine wasn’t the only thing keeping them apart. With Nox throwing off pheromones like Mardi Gras beads, he was getting his share of odd looks from the others.

  Harrier growled for the fifth time, and Rachel sighed. “For gods’ sake, Harrier, he’s had my blood. Give it a rest, why don’t ya?”

  That didn’t stop Harrier from shooting threatening looks at Nox, or from giving him the two-finger I’m-watching-you sign. Nox leaned his head back against the wall and closed his lids. There were too many people in this cave by about four, but with the sun still up and Harrier standing guard over Rachel like a Doberman, there was nothing to do but rest.

  But only until sundown. Once the sun slipped below the horizon, all bets were off. Nox had every intention of carrying out his promise to take Rachel out into the jungle where they would play Tarzan and Jane for the better part of the night. And that didn’t mean swinging from vines. Or maybe it did.

  Nox smiled at the image that thought generated, absently scratching at one of his healing wounds.

  Can you hear me?

  Nox’s smile widened as her sweet voice tickled his mind. Of course. I’ve been wondering what you look like naked.

  From across the cave he could feel her blush, but in his mind she sent a girlish giggle. I wish I could take these clothes off now. I’m starting to chafe.

  Nox growled.

  Patience, Nox. Once the sun sets, I’m taking you into the forest where I can have my way with you.”

  Nox shook his head. There you go sweet talking me again.

  You have no idea.

  NOX!

  He sat up straight and stared around the room. Rachel was giving him what-the-hell eyes, but no-one else seemed to notice his reaction. That voice in his head was a whole different kind of sweet. Jessica Sweet, to be exact, and wasn’t that awkward. He pushed himself to his feet and walked to the mouth of the cave, still well shadowed by the canopy of trees, and darker yet with the sun lowering itself on the horizon.

  Jessica? he sent, afraid to hope. The range of their connection was measured in feet, maybe yards, though to be fair they’d never actually tested it. If it truly was her voice in his mind and not some odd hallucination, then she had to be close, which meant…

  Nox, are you there? Please tell me you’re there!

  Rachel, he sent. I’m afraid wild monkey sex is going to have to wait. It appears our rescue is imminent.

  “What?” she said aloud, then whispered “Sorry.”

  Wild what? Jessica sent. Nox, are you okay? Are you there?

  Nox threw up a mental shield between himself and Rachel before he replied. I’m here, Jessica. Where are you? This party line thing would take some getting used to.

  We’re flying over a little island. We have to be close. I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. “They’re here,” she was speaking the words and thinking them to him at the same time.

  Can you tell me where you are, exactly?

  Nox had not wanted his connection with Jessica to come out like this. Hell, he hadn’t wanted it to come out at all, but well. Life and death, right? He would deal with his brother’s wrath later.

  “Harrier,” Nox said aloud. The Warrior ste
pped around Rachel and joined him at the mouth of the cave. “Any idea what our coordinates are? If not, how far are we from where the plane went down?

  “Why?”

  “I believe we’re about to be rescued. Any approximation of our location would be helpful.”

  Harrier babbled a bunch of nonsense and Nox transferred it to Jessica. Before long, the sounds of a helicopter engine broke the island’s stillness.

  They watched as the chopper descended, presumably to land on the beach. When the engines powered down, Nox gave Jessica directions to the cave. She was there in record time, but when she got a look at Raven, she came to a screeching halt. Only now did he rouse from his daylong sleep, his eyes dazed, and his hair crusted with blood. She rushed to his side and smothered him with kisses and concern. He was so happy to see her—and probably still a little woozy—he didn’t even question the where or how of it. It was only a matter of time before he went all territorial, but Nox would take the temporary reprieve.

  Harrier greeted the pilot, who followed Jessica into the cave, making the cramped situation even more sardine-y. With her brother occupied, Rachel inched her way to Nox’s side, and placed her hand in his.

  “I guess we’ll have to postpone our little walk after all,” she whispered.

  Nox tugged on her hand, pulled her into his arms and held her. He knew he should be glad that rescue had come so soon, but he couldn’t help it. He’d really been looking forward to Tarzan sex.

  “So,” Rachel whispered, “can Jessica hear me through you?”

  “I don’t think so,” he said. “I suppose that’s something we’re going to have to play with.”

  “Maybe,” Rachel said. “Right now, I’m not overly interested in sharing my toys.”

  Nox raised the eyebrow above his good eye. “Your toys?”

  Rachel looked up at him, and her eyes sparked a brilliant emerald. “Yes. Mine.”

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  T he flight to the mainland was uneventful, and that was all the same to Rachel. Once the sun had officially set, they all climbed aboard the Sikorsky S-92 Search and Rescue helicopter—one of Harrier’s toys—which whisked them away from the tiny island. They ended up at a Vampire friendly bed and breakfast on the coast of Maine.

  With Raven and Nox still recovering from their injuries, Mason once again determined it best that they stay a couple of days to rest and heal. The Vampire who ran the B&B was more than happy to have some of the Legion’s finest in his establishment, and he bent over backwards to accommodate them.

  Once he was feeling better, Raven did grumble about Jessica having flown over the ocean in a helicopter looking for him, but Jessica was tenacious as a badger, and wasn’t about to take any crap from him. Rachel had to laugh at their bickering, but it was a blessing that they were both alive and able to carry on like that.

  As for her and Nox, they were still trying to find a moment to themselves. With so many Vampires in the inn, it provided only slightly more privacy than the cave had done. Their proprietor assured them that the rooms were soundproof, but if that were true, then Raven and Jessica were breaking some kind of decibel records in their joyous reunion.

  Call her old fashioned, but Rachel preferred for her first time with Nox to be something experienced by only the two of them. That being the case, and much to Nox’s consternation, she had requested a private room at the top of the Victorian home, as far away from his room as possible. Sun-proof drapes covered six-foot high windows during the day. At night, however, with the drapes pulled wide, moonlight streamed into the room giving the space a soft, golden glow.

  On their second night, Rachel lounged on her bed with a replacement novel the proprietor acquired for her. When a knock sounded at her door, her heart tripped over itself as she sensed the male on the other side. She unlocked things and opened up to find Nox standing on the threshold, a blanket in one hand and a picnic basket in the other.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hello.”

  “I, um. Would you be interested in taking a walk?”

  “With you?” she said. “Absolutely.”

  He made an awkward attempt at transferring the blanket to his other arm, then offered his elbow to Rachel. She slipped her arm though his, and they made their way down the stairs and out into the night.

  In late September, the New England night air was on the brisk side, but with Nox’s arm around her she absorbed his warmth as if it were a balmy July evening.

  He led them to the back of an impeccable garden, and down a path practically hidden by a large staghorn sumac shrub, heavy with bright fuzzy fruit. They stopped several times for Nox to hold back a branch for her or help her over a fallen log. She was beginning to wonder if they would hike the entire night away when the path opened into a large clearing. A marble fountain stood proudly in the center of the space, water bubbling cheerfully from the tilted ewer in the hands of a naked nymph.

  The path changed from dirt to pebbles and led right up to the pool, then circled it in stones that shone white in the moonlight.

  Well-tended grass carpeted the glade, with a couple of marble benches near the fountain, and several decorative Japanese maple trees dotting the plush turf.

  Nox led them to the edge of the clearing, near one of the maple trees, and spread the blanket on the ground. He offered Rachel his hand, which she eagerly accepted, and helped her to her knees before joining her with the basket.

  “What is all this?” she asked, but he only smiled and opened the hamper.

  He first withdrew a bottle of wine and two glasses, along with a corkscrew that he put to immediate use. He opened the bottle, and poured for them both, handing a glass to Rachel.

  “I suppose this is where I propose a toast or say something equally cheesy.”

  Rachel took the glass offered to her and laughed. “How about, to life.”

  “I think I saw that movie. Musical, right?”

  “One of my favorites, but I was referring to our survival.”

  Nox’s smile faded as he reached into the basket. He removed several containers filled with cheese and fruit, a lovely foie gras and a variety of crackers. “The proprietor’s wife was sympathetic when she heard Raven teasing me about your private room. She told me about this place, prepared this meal for us, and commanded me to bring you here for a little alone time.”

  “Well, I’m going to have to thank the proprietor’s wife personally. Really, Nox, this is perfect.”

  Nox swirled his glass, appeared hypnotized by the bloodlike liquid that clung to its sides before slowly sliding back into the scarlet pool. “You said something to me, back at the Primeval’s in my…cell.”

  Rachel smiled. “I said a lot of things that day.”

  Nox nodded. “True, but there was one thing that struck a chord with me. You said that I was meant to be here, that the world would know if I were gone.”

  “I did. And I still believe that.”

  “Well, I’m not so sure. And the truth of it is, I honestly don’t care if the rest of the world would feel my absence or not. It would be a fleeting thing for them, I'm sure. One of those odd, déjà vu moments that makes you stop for a minute and scratch your head before going on about your business. More than likely they wouldn’t even remember the moment had occurred, and that’s fine with me.”

  Rachel moved the containers to the side and scooted over to stretch her legs beside Nox’s while still facing him. She laid her palm on his leg, and he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.

  “You said the world needed me.”

  “I did.”

  “You said you needed me.”

  “And I do.”

  Nox looked over at her, searching for something that she hoped he would find. “When I was alone in the ocean, waiting for Harrier to come back for me, I was ready to die.”

  “Nox!”

  “No, listen. Everyone I loved was safe, Harrier had seen to that, and I thought, if I died right then, it would be oka
y. I thought about you, and yeah, there was regret. I thought it would have been nice to share a life with you, but then it hit me. In that one moment, in those few words from you, I had my purpose. Because you needed me, my life had meaning, and I was content with that.”

  Rachel turned her hand over and laced their fingers together, placed her other hand over his as he continued.

  “When Harrier pulled me from the water, I thought he was an angel, come to carry me off to some sort of afterlife. In a way, I think he did. You’re my afterlife, Rachel, my heaven. The humans have it all screwed up. Heaven and hell aren’t places you go after you die. They’re what you experience here on earth. I’ve lived through hell, seen more than my share of it. But this, right here? This is heaven.”

  ~~~~~

  N ox leaned forward and claimed her lips, pulled her close to him so he could feel as much of her as possible. She crawled onto his lap and wrapped her arms and legs around him, pressed her breasts to him as their kiss deepened.

  He threaded his hands into her hair, held her to him as their tongues danced, her lips hot against his skin.

  “I want you naked,” he whispered against her mouth.

  “What if someone sees?” she asked, licking and biting her way across his jaw, his neck.

  “Private property,” he breathed. “She said no one comes here unless she tells them about it. It’s all ours.”

  Rachel threw her head back as he kissed her throat, working his hands inside her sweater where he found her breasts free from the confines of a bra. He groaned as she wriggled on his lap, his cock hard and ready for her.

  In one motion he removed her sweater, barely breaking skin contact to do so. Her nipples were hard and tight in the cool air, and he greedily sucked at one, then the other, her moans beseeching him to pull harder as he dragged his tongue across the rosy tips.

  She reached for his waistband, deftly worked the button and zipper, and he gasped when she slid her hand inside. She wrapped her long, graceful fingers around him, squeezing as she slid her thumb across his head. “What must I do to divest you of your clothes?” she gasped.