by Marie Harte
She only had the one set after all.
“Oh, I’ll do that.” Bailey hustled Kennedy up and into Alex’s bedroom and shut the door.
The guys stared at each other.
“So you’re into this chick?” Gideon asked him.
“What gave it away?” Eli snickered. “The way he growls if you get too close? Or the way she was practically on top of him the whole time?”
Alex glared at Eli.
“See? All I get are death stares anymore. Man. You fuck a hot piece of ass with your bro a few times and get nothing but—”
Alex lunged for him.
Gideon didn’t stop it.
Alex rolled with Eli onto the floor, aware of Gideon and Carter critiquing their scuffle. They knocked into the table, broke a vase, and nearly smashed a lamp Carter managed to save.
“What’s going on?” Bailey yelled through the door.
“Nothing, dear,” Gideon yelled back, grinning. He murmured something to Carter, who laughed.
“Well that nothing better not break too much. If a bottle of water costs ten bucks, you can bet a lamp costs a heck of a lot more!”
Gideon glared at the door and said loudly, “She takes all the fun out of everything.” But Alex saw him wink at Carter.
He should have been paying attention to Eli, because that moment of inattention hurt. Eli elbowed him in the jaw, and he started wrestling the asshole in earnest. Eli was lean, quick, and a champion kickboxer. Plus he was mean. Alex used what he’d learned, in addition to his Circ strength, and let his beast guide him.
It helped that Eli didn’t fight back too hard, but Alex was pissed. “She’s not a piece of ass, you shit. She’s a person.”
“See?” Eli managed through Alex’s chokehold. “He’s into her.”
Gideon snorted. “We all knew that, dumbass. Alex, you know how he is.” He lowered his voice. “Of course she’s not a piece of ass.”
“She is sexy,” Carter said. “And in some circles, piece of ass is a complement.”
“Right?” Eli choked. “Alex, let go.”
Alex wanted an apology. Plus his beast was having too much fun to stop now. All his hormones and emotions were tangled in the woman a room away. Taking out his frustration on Eli would work as well as fucking her out of his system. Not that he’d had any luck with that last night.
No, he wanted her even more. Could taste her deep inside.
And Eli called his beautiful female a piece of ass?
“Ow. Damn it. That hurts. I said let go.” Eli bit his forearm, and a burning flickered through Alex’s arm and up his shoulder. But he ignored it.
“Eli, no venom,” Gideon warned.
Carter shook his head. “Too late. Look.”
Alex didn’t see the trace of black veining along his arm, but obviously the others did. Alex felt the burn in his arm spreading to the rest of his body. That’s going to be a bitch to sweat out. His beast agreed.
Fucking Eli.
They rolled again, this time Eli squirming out of his hold and returning the headlock. But Gideon must have had enough, because he swore and ordered Carter to help break them up.
It took Gideon holding back Eli and Carter too easily restraining Alex—Carter, you monster—to part them.
“I’m sorry, okay?” Eli glared. “Jesus, stop being such a pussy. Yeah, she’s cute and nice and all that shit. She’s also a great lay. And no, I’m not taking that back.”
Eli would always be Eli. Alex rolled his eyes. “I accept your heartfelt apology.” Carter let him go, and he stepped right back into Eli’s personal space. Gideon continued to hold Eli back, and a good thing, because Eli looked ready to throw down again. “But be nice to her, okay? She’s not used to violence like we are. And she’s not doing anything for Lang. I read her, Gideon. She’s real. And she’s scared.”
Like Katie had been scared. But Katie hadn’t had anyone to help her in time. She hadn’t trusted that Alex might save her, because she’d seen her death in a vision. Well, fuck that. The future was always changing, wasn’t it?
He’d help protect Kennedy. And not just for Katie, but because Kennedy needed help. She soothed him, made him feel good. And he liked her. A lot.
Eli relaxed. “You made your point. I’ll be nice.”
Gideon grunted and let him go.
“As nice as I can be,” Eli had to add.
Carter grinned. “Yeah, that’s about as good as it gets with him. He’s venomous by nature, you know. Lang just brought it out so everyone could see.”
Eli flipped him off. When the door opened, and Bailey looked at the room in semi-shambles, he pointed at the others.
She glared at Gideon, but Alex saw the laughter in her eyes. “You’d better fix this, mate.”
Gideon didn’t answer in words. He straightened up the furniture while Alex and Eli picked up the rest of the mess.
“Who keeps eating all the pizza?” Alex asked. “I count eight more boxes than were here last night.”
Carter sat by the computer and started typing once more. “That would be me. Since you guys weren’t here, I ordered you both some pies and ate them on your behalf. You’re welcome.”
“He seems to get hungry when he thinks a lot,” Gideon said. “Good thing he isn’t that thoughtful at home.”
“So not funny.” Carter grimaced at the screen.
Eli smirked. “I dunno. I think Gid’s funny. Not bright, but our jefe has a good sense of humor.”
Gideon didn’t seem too thrilled with Eli after that.
Alex needed a break. He wanted to go into his room, drag Kennedy into bed with him, and spoon her, the way he’d slept with her last night. He needed to touch her again. His beast felt itchy. And this craving for the female was way too soon, and way too distracting. Not exactly what he needed if he intended to bring Myers, Yates, and Sheer to justice.
Now feeling guilty for being too attached to Kennedy, he growled, “I’m going swimming.” He slammed out the door before anyone could stop him…or remind him to take a suit. Hell, he’d swim in his underwear if he had to.
Time to work this hunger out of his system. If he could.
******
Kennedy had heard everything, as had Bailey. One of the downfalls of being Circ, she guessed.
“Sorry about that.” Bailey flushed. “Eli means well, but he’s kind of crass.”
Kennedy felt mortified. “I know Alex told me being Circ is different. But last night I—” How to admit she’d gone hog wild on two men that belonged to Bailey? And the notion of Alex belonging to another female didn’t sit well. At all.
Bailey’s eyes widened as she watched Kennedy. “Whoa. Let’s take this slow.” She sat cross-legged on the bed, looking comfortably at ease, like a queen.
Kennedy wanted to obey but didn’t let herself physically relax. She didn’t feel upset that she sensed Bailey’s energy messing with hers, and she should have. But it wasn’t threatening, so she didn’t know how to react. She sat on the edge of the bed facing Bailey and said nothing.
Before Bailey could speak, thuds and banging from the other room started. She yelled at them, Gideon yelled back, and they ignored the fact Alex and Eli were fighting in the other room.
Over her.
Bailey let out a loud breath. “Look, sex makes everything weird no matter who you are, right?”
“Usually.”
“In my case, I was turned without my knowing. Hunted down by Myers, Yates, and Sheer. And that psycho Caldane.”
They both shivered, then Bailey continued. “While I was on the run, I started having dreams about four sexy men getting it on. Talk about bizarre. I had no idea I was Circ and no reason to connect that way to Gideon and the others. But I did. They saved me from Lang’s ‘B series.’ Next thing I know, I’m having sex with Gideon—who I just met—and the others are watching. And then I’m doing all of them.” Bailey’s cheeks were fiery as she talked. “But you understand what I’m talking about, because you and Alex and Eli got busy last
night.”
Kennedy did Bailey the courtesy of not looking away. Bailey had shared, so Kennedy would do the same. “I woke up after escaping that horrible place. Then Alex was there. He was so sexy, and he smelled so good.” She sighed. “My beast, she wanted him. And then I was having sex against the wall.” Kennedy covered her eyes for a moment. “I want to think I’m adventurous, and I was no virgin, but I didn’t even know him. And Eli was lying on the bed in the same room! Then Eli was watching us, started touching Alex, and we ended up—all three of us—going at it all night long.”
“Congrats and welcome to the team.” Bailey laughed. “The boys like to get freaky fast. Look, you can’t hold onto who you were. Sure, be a good person. Do good deeds. Help the helpless. But let go of any sexual repression or what you think real togetherness is. Being Circ means accepting pack. The guys have sex with each other. With me sometimes, though to be honest, it’s been less and less. We’re comfortable with each other now, and the sex is usually a means to tie us all together.”
“I get that, it’s just… It’s all new. What if I want to leave all this? To go be a florist in New Hampshire and get married and have a bunch of kids with a normal man?”
“Good luck with that. From my experience, even regular humans aren’t normal,” Bailey teased. Then she grew more serious. “Like we said before. We’re not going to hold you captive. There are others like us out there, Circs who have the same needs we do. Maybe you’ll find happiness with one of them. But regular people can’t feed the hungers you’ll have. Yes, you can mate—marry—a Circ and have Circ babies. Or get a human husband and adopt. But from what I’ve been told, Circs can only procreate with another Circ. And having a human boyfriend won’t help you either. Kennedy, you need to know how to handle your beast before you unleash it on the world.
“There’s a solid group up in New Jersey, and another down in North Carolina. The ones in the northeast have a doctor on staff, and he helps Circs adjust and figure out how to deal with their new lives.”
“Did they help you?”
“They helped the guys. I came along after. I met Doc and the others. Doc’s a sweetheart, and the Circs are great people. The men are ex-Marines, now mated up with female Circs and having babies. But they have a lot of friends in the government, and frankly, I don’t trust the government any more. The original Circ strain started with them, so no thanks.”
“It did?”
Bailey gave Kennedy the rundown on Dr. Elliot Pearl, the initial creator of EL12, the first Circe Serum. About how few military volunteers survived the attempt to turn them into supersoldiers, and how the doctor had gone off the rails, creating mutants and rogues after the government had shut down his lab. “So while Doc and his guys clean up Pearl’s messes, which continue to show up all over the globe, we decided to clean up Lang and the mess he made. And by mess, I don’t mean us.” Bailey grinned. “We run a private security firm, and we’re starting to get business. Once Lang is gone, we’ll get back to using our abilities to provide security for people who need it. It’s legitimate work, and it feels good to use our abilities to help others.”
“Wow. How did you guys get started?”
“That’s a long story. I’ll just tell you we started by getting rid of Amelia Norton, one of Lang’s financers and a very, very bad person. She’s dead, and we cleaned her out. A little something for our pain and suffering.” Bailey smiled with satisfaction. “We’re talking millions.”
Chapter Ten
MILLIONS, BAILEY SAID? That explained the amazing hotel suite and fancy SUV.
“Problem is Lang stole even more than we did, so not only is he connected, he’s funded again. We need your help to find Gideon’s friend, Ollie. You ever hear Oliver Torelli’s name mentioned?”
Kennedy shook her head. “I wish I had, but no.”
“But if you were there when we asked Lang or Smith about him, could you rifle through their thoughts and find us the information we need?”
“I could try, that’s if their shields aren’t too high.” She paused in thought. “I connect really easily with Alex. And sometimes he hears me thinking things I didn’t send on purpose.” Which is odd. “I saw Gideon’s images because he projected them to me.” She blushed and fanned herself. “Okay, I admit. They were sexy.”
Bailey grinned.
“I haven’t tried to read Carter or you. But Eli… I kind of brushed my mind past him yesterday and got nothing. But I didn’t want to push, so I didn’t.”
“Really? Sometimes I feel like my empathic ability floats right past him. He acts like I’ve made him feel better, but I think it’s more he takes his cues from the guys.”
“Huh.” As they both pondered Eli, Kennedy realized it had quieted down.
“Be right back.” Bailey returned looking satisfied. “They’ll clean it up.”
Kennedy envied Bailey her confidence and contentment. “You’ve been Circ for how long?”
“Hmm. Close to three months now? Feels like forever. We had our first Circ Thanksgiving two weeks ago. Man, they—we—eat a lot.”
Kennedy smiled, thought about Charlie, and fought the urge to cry. “I spent Thanksgiving with my cousin and the other women at the lab. We had the same meal as always. Then Duane Smith came and took the girls away, sending them to their new mates, as in plural.”
Had Charlie been given to a group yet? Would she survive?
“My cousin told me then what I had to do. She can see small bits of the future, and she saw my freedom with Alex. She’s why I’m here with you.”
“Oh, honey. It’ll be okay.” Bailey leaned forward to give her a hug. “I swear, we’ll find her.” She pulled back. “But there’s no point in sticking around any longer. Dr. Lang cleaned house. There’s no trace of anything at the lab in Red Oak. They moved fast. But we have ways of finding them. And we will. We haven’t given up on Ollie. We won’t give up on Charlie either.”
Kennedy smiled through unshed tears.
“Now I want you to relax, not stress, and think about coming with us. We live near Seattle, but we’re outside the city. We have a lot of land, and it’s safe. Carter’s security is ridiculous. I’ll show you everything I know about being Circ. You can figure out what you want to do, and we’ll pool our info on Lang. I know Gideon will have more questions too.” She paused. “We have to stop Dr. Lang from hurting anyone else.”
“Yes. He’s awful. I don’t think he sees us as people anymore.”
“If he ever did.”
“And we have to stop his breeding experiment.” Gideon had looked furious earlier when she’d mentioned it, and she had to say it again, to remind herself she now had a responsibility to more than Charlie. “He makes Circ babies he plans to dissect and use for parts.” She felt sick remembering what she’d picked up from him. “I read from one of the women there that she was carrying a Circ baby against her will. Bailey, she’d been raped, repeatedly, by her ‘pack’ and couldn’t stop it. And it’s even worse because she felt like she wanted it even though she really didn’t. That’s what she was thinking, I mean. The Circ inside her was crazed. It was bad.”
And something that still scared Kennedy. What if the beast inside her made her do things she didn’t want to? She had enjoyed Alex and Eli, she wouldn’t lie. But she didn’t see herself just being with any Circ. Heck, if left to the human side of her, she wouldn’t have jumped Alex after just meeting the man.
I mean, I’d have given it a few days at least…
“I can feel your stress, honey, but it’s okay. You’re Circ now. Your beast knows what’s best for you both. You feel together to me, two parts of one being, if that makes sense.” Bailey paused. “You weren’t abused by anyone, were you? Like any of the unstable Circs with Dr. Lang? Alex told us about Myers and Yates still being around. I really hate those bastards.”
“No. I’ve only been with Alex and Eli as a Circ. They were great.” She flushed. “I, ah, we all were together willingly.”
“G
ood.” Bailey blew out a breath. “Not that the guys would ever force you to do anything you didn’t want, but Myers and Yates, those two, they’re dangerous and sick. I think rape gets them off. And don’t get me started on Sheer and Caldane.”
“I haven’t met Caldane, but I did meet Sheer. He’s really scary. It’s even worse now. After you left, Dr. Lang apparently paired me up with them. Yates thinks I belong with them.” She wished she could forget the memory of Yates and Myers in her room,
“Oh man.” Bailey made a face. “I’m so jealous.”
Kennedy found herself laughing.
“Okay, my work here is done.” Bailey stood.
Kennedy stood with her, then gave in to impulse and hugged the woman. They stood close to the same height and had roughly the same build, so the hug felt full and real and comforting.
Bailey pulled back with a wide smile. “Oh my God. We’re the same size. I can’t wait for you to come with us. We can share clothes! And speaking of which, I’m going to head out now and get you some things. It is December, and we’re heading to a place a lot colder than Dallas. Your beast will regulate your body temperature for you in extreme cases, but I still get pretty chilled.”
“Thank you so much. Anything you get will be fine for me. I can pay—”
“No, you can’t. We’ll take care of it. You can’t use a bank account or credit cards. Everything is traceable, Kennedy. And I didn’t see a purse with you, anyway.”
“Oh.” She blushed. “Stupid. All my things are at the lab.” And what little of her personal items sat in storage, which had been paid through the following year. She needed to get her financial situation straightened out.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get you plenty of things to wear—nice stuff and for free, too. Consider it an apology from the very dead Amelia Norton. That bitch.” Bailey showed a hint of fang, which looked almost cute on her pretty face, then left.
Kennedy sat back on the bed, feeling better about things. But still uncertain. She had nothing to get back to, considering her job had been working at U-Ground. She had no bills, since she’d timed the end of her lease and quit her old job with starting at U-Ground, and she’d lived in a U-Ground-funded apartment near the facility. Her car was a loss, since it currently sat at that apartment lot.