by Milly Taiden
Bryon wiped hair from her face and met her gaze. He was inches from her. The heat from his gaze melted her insides. She wanted him badly, but he was so . . . much. Clearly an alpha male, she wasn’t used to someone so big and sexy giving her his full attention. It was overwhelming and dizzying. Her body heated and her hormones danced like she was a teenager in her first date.
“May I kiss you?”
Instead of a reply, she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled herself closer, her lips meeting his. The sensation was electrifying. The intense pull from him made her press herself as close to him as possible. She couldn’t get enough of his touch. This was new and intoxicating.
Suddenly, the answer to the three bowls was in her mind. “I got it,” she gasped, pulling away from their kiss. “Stay here.” She gulped down a big breath, dove under the water, and pushed off the ceiling. She picked up bowls, filling and dumping. The process took much longer than originally as the pebbles floated in the water, but did eventually settle.
She had reached the point where she’d either found the solution or would have to go back to the top for a breath. There was so little air left when she came down, she doubted any remained now. The water had squeezed its way into every crack and crevice. She stay and finished for Bryon. Maybe there was a chance he would go on if he hadn’t drowned already.
She was amazed how quickly he’d wormed his way into her heart. She hadn’t even felt it. Anger seemed to be the dominant trait in her when he was around.
As she poured pebbles into the final bowl, the air in her lungs depleted. She watched to make sure the big bowl lowered and balanced with the round rock on the other side. She hoped that did something to save Bryon. She fought to get into the position she needed to swim up. There was no way she could get all the way back to the top in time to breathe. Her body couldn’t move that fast.
Her short arms stroking through the water, barely moving her along, she closed her tearing eyes. Her lungs burned so badly, she could no longer fight the need, even though she knew it would be a long, painful way to go. Kari smashed her lips together refusing to give in to what her body demanded she do. Her body convulsed, needing to suck in what wasn’t there.
She could stand it no more. Her mouth opened and she pushed the built-up carbon dioxide from her lungs.
Chapter Sixteen
If he was going to die, this was the way to go. Kari’s lips were soft and warm. She tasted like she smelled, of sunshine and lemons. Refreshing, invigorating. He felt like he had enough energy to run for hours. But he had nowhere to go. Just being beside him, she turned his life around.
The past several months, he had been slipping more and more into a funk that wouldn’t let him go. If not for his mission to take down a group of people who sold and abused others, he had no reason to get out of bed. He realized how much his family gave him purpose. He was born to protect and that’s what he’d die doing.
Suddenly, Kari pulled away. Her words didn’t register in his lust-hazed mind until after she was gone. She got what? Then he remembered the rocks and balance they were working with. Did she really think that contraption was the key out of this mess?
His head bumped against the ceiling. He hoped she was right. If not, it wouldn’t matter in a few minutes. If they died, it was his fault. He’d led her into this cave because he thought his shifter senses could get them out, could save them no matter the situation. Maybe he’d grown too dependent on his animal’s abilities, choosing to use them instead of his brain. Taking risks he shouldn’t, thinking he could get away before the danger became too great.
Maybe he could’ve, but his human mate was fragile. Bad injuries usually killed them. The delicate body didn’t repair itself fast enough. He would always have to remember that. He could rely on his instincts, but he needed to get back to the basics of work: using his brain.
He’d gotten cocky, figuring no one would be able to stop him with his abilities. How did he get caught in the first place? He was depending on his wolf’s sense of smell, but the bad guys used hunter’s scent block to keep him from smelling them. He’d walked right into their trap. Not thinking twice.
His head tipped back to keep his nose above water. If this was it, he wanted his last sight to be of his mate. He’d hold her through the last moments of their short time together. He sucked in a couple breathes to build oxygen in his bloodstream to last him longer underwater. His lungs filled with the last bit of air available. Then a section of rock let loose from the ceiling inches above and in front of him. He jerked his head back to keep his nose from getting bonked.
Access into an upper cavern just opened. He popped his head up through the opening. It was another small room, and it was water free. He gulped down another breath and went for his mate. He prayed she still had air.
He pushed off the ceiling, diving straight for the side where the bowls and rocks were. Her eyes were closed, mouth open. Bubbles trickled out of her mouth. He wrapped his hands around her head and pressed his mouth completely over hers. His tongue slid forward past her lips and her eyes popped open as he breathed oxygen-rich air into her body.
Another breath shared and she nodded she could make it. He took her hand, pushed off the rock and glided them to the hole in the ceiling. They burst through, both gasping in the musty room.
She clung to the edge of the opening. “Where did this hole come from?”
“The ceiling section fell into the water.” He wondered . . . “Did you balance the bowl?” he asked. He examined the edges of the hole and discovered two slots with wooden dowels in them. If he was a betting guy, he’d say the stone chunk that fell also had dual holes. By solving the problem with the bowls, the dowels slid back, releasing the escape route.
“It balanced a few seconds before you showed up. The final rocks had just settled and I—” she choked back a sob, “I was about to—” Her eyes squeezed shut and it was more than water dripping from her hair that ran down her cheeks. He wrapped an arm around her waist and muscled them out of the water, onto the rock floor above. He set her in his lap and scooted back to the wall. Then drew himself around her shaking body.
He held her tightly and gently rocked, whispering reaffirming words until her racking body had quieted to small shudders and hiccups. Hopefully, his body heat was enough to keep her from shivering and going into shock. He knew from experience she would suffer post-traumatic stress. How could you come within a breadth of dying and not be affected?
Fortunately for him, his wolf was able to keep him from dreaming. After so many years of barely escaping death and seeing all the atrocities men do to other men, his dreams became only nightmares waking him in the dead of night in a cold sweat. He didn’t sleep much anymore. Even his animal was having a rough time consoling his psyche. But now that he had his mate, she could help him through the difficult times. He once again looked forward to living.
He rubbed his hands up and down her arms, building friction to keep her warm and knowing he was there. She wasn’t alone. She never would be again. He had to figure a way to break the mate news to her. It’d be really nice if they got out of here without her hating him. First things first. He was going to hold her, right now, as long as she would let him.
After several minutes, she let out a deep breath and settled against him. His wolf, as he, was content with her there. When he’d embarked on the undercover assignment a year ago, his wolf was pissed at him. How would they ever find a mate if he was hiding his ass in a room, spying on men? Maybe that had been the reason he’d taken the job.
If he didn’t search for her, there was always the hope she was out there, waiting for him. If he searched and never found her, then knowing he’d never have true love would crushed him. Was that fucked up logic or what?
She asked, “Where do you think the water came from? That trap was well planned.”
He thought about her question. “I heard the river disappeared underground somewhere. Maybe we were close enough that when the rocks fel
l to block the door, it opened a small channel that flowed through the hole. How did you solve it? What were we doing wrong?”
She sighed and leaned more into him. “I didn’t understand what was going on until I applied math concepts. There were three different-sized bowls. Say the smallest held three pounds of rocks, the middle held four, and the big bowl on the scale needed five pounds. I had to come up with five pounds exactly; any more or less triggered a dump, and I had to fill the big bowl in two trips or it tipped again.”
That was confusing, he thought. “How do you get exactly five out of three and four?”
“I filled the four pound and dumped it into the big bowl. Then I filled the four again, but dumped it into the three bowl, leaving me with exactly one pound in the four bowl. I dumped that into the big bowl to make five exactly.”
“Holy shit, woman. That was brilliant. I would’ve never thought of that.”
She moved in his lap. He smelled a sweet shyness from her. She said, “You really think so?”
“Hell, yes, I know so. If you weren’t there, I would be floating belly-up right now,” he said.
“More like if I weren’t here, neither would you. It’s my fault we’re in this mess.”
He looked at her even though he knew she couldn’t see him in the darkness. “How do you get that idea?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I just feel responsible for everything.”
He leaned her head to his lips and kissed her. “Don’t think that for one moment, beautiful. If not for you, I would be in a much worse place.” She breathed out and settled into him more.
“Do you think the guards are after us still?” she asked.
“Nah,” he replied, “I’m sure they’ve given us up for dead.”
“Have you?”
“You forget, I’m an ALFA, baby. No way I’ll ever give up on this, on you, on us.”
Chapter Seventeen
On you, on us.
She heard his words clearly, but understanding wasn’t so clear. Did he mean he wasn’t giving up because his boss would expect more of him being an ALFA or because he cared? It would be nice if this gorgeous man cared for her, but she wasn’t holding her breath. Shit, she’d almost died holding it minutes ago. It would hurt if she fell for him and he saw her as only part of his job.
But his kiss when she was sure they were going to die . . . she wondered if she had crossed over into heaven. Her body had never felt so alive. Like her nerve endings were being overloaded with sensory details she couldn’t take in. Heat suffused her from head to toes. If not for the cool water, she’d be sweating though her clothes. Then she’d have to take off those clothes and get all naked with this man holding her . . .
She’d better stop that line of thought before he smelled her and broke her heart by telling her she didn’t have a chance with him. That was what scared her the most: rejection. Her self-confidence was never high. Only when she was solving problems, putting her brain to work, did she not doubt herself.
She let out a sigh. “It’s pitch-dark for me. I can’t see a thing. I’m guessing you can see?” she asked. Stupid question, probably. But she wanted to know more about this species. What made them tick? How were they different? How the hell did they shove an animal body inside themselves?
“I can see, but not very well. Our eyes need some light to magnify,” he said. “It’s much the same as night vision googles. There has to be some light to magnify to get it all to work.” He inhaled deeply. “I smell wood and a strange . . . oil maybe.” He moved to get up. “Stay here for a moment.”
“No problem,” she replied. “Like I’m going to walk around in the dark. I can’t walk in the light without tripping, much less this.” She heard him scuffling and then a click. Several feet away, a blaze erupted from the darkness. She covered her eyes from the sudden brightness. “What is that?”
“I’m guessing it’s an old-fashioned torch. The material covering the sticks has been doused in fuel or oil. Whatever it is, it’s flammable.”
“That’s convenient,” she said. Then she thought about all she’d read about the tunnels. The Nazi theory was sounding more viable every minute. If the Nazis knew they had to flood the cavern to get up here, then they knew flashlights wouldn’t work after the batteries got wet. So they made sure to have a supply of torches available. “Is there more than one?” she asked.
“Yeah. How did you know?” he said.
“Lucky guess. Let’s get going.” She was getting tired and who knew how long they’d be in here. The little she had eaten at dinner was about through her system. She’d do cartwheels for a protein bar right now.
Bryon handed her an unlit torch then took her hand in his. “There’s only one way,” he said.
She smiled. “You lead and I follow.” He frowned at her words, but led her out of the cavern. That had been status quo most of her life, especially with the FBI. Men would always lead and the women would follow. But sometimes that was perfectly fine. The bad guy usually took out the first person to enter the room. It was the second person who took out the bad guy.
“That’s not what I meant earlier when I said you shouldn’t go walking off,” he said.
She knew his comments weren’t a simple chauvinistic remark, but was pissed at him at the time she said that to him and the words flowed from her mouth. “Yeah, it’s all right. I really didn’t mean what I said. I was just upset that you thought I wasn’t good enough to work at the FBI.”
He added, “I didn’t mean that either. I was saying that I always figured my ma—” he coughed and cleared his throat, “my rescuer would be from ALFA. I didn’t know we even had a relationship with the FBI. I’d thought someone from the CIA would be the first choice.”
“I agree. It should’ve been the CIA since they are international and FBI are domestic. But I deciphered a code the CIA was working on. Maybe this is a multilayer joint mission. I don’t know. Maybe the generals in the director’s office told him to assign me.”
The tunnel they were in seemed different than those before the water trap. These felt older, more worn, more lived in. The wall’s sides were smoother as if millions of shoulders and hands had quietly sanded them down over hundreds of years. Same for the floor. It was a bit dusty as feet scraped away pointy edges, leaving crumbled rock and granules in their wake.
She wondered how old this tunnel was. Rome was in power long before the common era began. This could easily be over two thousand years old. A sense of admiration and respect filled her. Many people gave their lives in building these underground routes to save more lives in the future. Like hers, right now.
That made her think about what she was leaving behind that would benefit the world when she was gone. Had she done anything worthy with her life? She thought about her job. She had decoded several things that related to war and threats. Perhaps in some way, she had helped calm a volatile situation with feuding countries or stopped a coalition that would have taken over a people.
That was all a maybe. What certain things had she done? Not much. Took the bus to work instead of driving. But honestly, that was because parking spots in the FBI area were few and expensive. The only thing she could leave behind were children that believed in saving the world and being kind to your neighbor.
Did she want a family? She wasn’t afraid of raising children, even as a single mother, though she preferred both parents to help balance children’s mental and sociological development.
“Bryon, do you ever think about having children?” Her words startled her. She really didn’t mean to ask him. “I’m sorry for being so personal. No need to answer. That was a dumb thing to ask.”
He stopped, turned to her, and smiled. Instant panty melt. “No, that’s a fair question. Actually, I’m thinking about starting a family more and more. I’m in my mid-thirties, now. I’ve put in more than my fair share of time at ALFA. It’s time that I put effort into my mate and making a home where we can share love and raise children.”
> Good god, if that wasn’t the most romantically perfect thing to say . . . she’d love to share love with him.
“So you’d quit your job,” she asked, “just like that?”
“Those who work ALFA for years get a pension, but it’s not enough for a great living. I’d probably find a side job I enjoyed. Or maybe my wife will work full-time and I’d take care of the pups. I’d be an official ‘house dad.’”
He sounded so enthused by the idea, she laughed. He would make a great house dad. Those kids would be lucky to have him as a father.
“What about you, Kari? Are you a career woman or do you want a family?”
“I’ve always worked as did my mom. So I wouldn’t know any other type of lifestyle. But I do want children and a family. I’ve never not wanted one, just haven’t thought about it much till now.”
“If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?” he asked.
She knew that answer right away. “Somewhere with forests and mountains would be great. I like being in the woods and in touch with nature. Whenever I get too much city trash in my system, I head toward a park and camp out under a tree for several hours, reading, people watching, smelling the grass, whatever.”
He laughed. “Smelling the grass. I like that.”
“One of my favorite smells is freshly cut grass. I roll down my window in residential areas when folks are mowing. It’s so calming.” She read somewhere that cut grass had the same natural chemicals as men’s semen. Oh god. She must be getting horny again. How could she not, following the scrumptious ass in front of her. He reached back for her hand and pulled her closer.
He whispered, “I meant it when I said I didn’t want you following. I’d rather have you in front of me.”
She giggled, thinking about watching his ass. “What? To see my ass wiggle?” She slapped a hand over her mouth. Her face felt on fire. “Sorry,” she said, hand still over mouth.