by Tawny Taylor
Undress? Her ass! Oooh, she was seeing red.
She shoved at his chest and sprang to her feet. He straightened up which left mere inches between her face and his bulky chest. Toe-to-toe with a man who was close to two feet taller than her. And probably a hundred pounds heavier.
She poked him and her knuckle cracked. “Go ahead, you big, ignorant piece of shit. Scare the little girl with the big mouth, if it’ll make you feel like a man. Pathetic.” Tipping her head to look him in the eye, she cranked on her meanest glare.
“She needs rest.” Cayne nudged Ronan, eliciting a grunt.
She waved at Cayne. “Not a problem. I’d rather settle this now. I probably won’t sleep anyway. I’ve been kidnapped, carted off to some freaky place, held prisoner and lied to. Hardly the kind of events that put a girl in the frame of mind for sleep --”
“We haven’t lied,” Ronan snapped.
“Just give it up. I might be more willing to play along if you told me what’s really going on. Living out the story in a romance book? Puhleez! Now, if you told me someone hired you two to play some naughty games… that I might believe. Although I can’t imagine anyone I know doing such an asinine thing. Hey, maybe there’s been a mistake! How about you come clean with the truth? You do that, I might even decide not to have you arrested.”
“She’s just scared.” Cayne gave Ronan’s shoulder another tap. “We’ve both been prepared for this, we knew the brides tend to resist at first.”
She waved her arms. “Hello, I’m right here. I hate it when people talk about me like I’m not in the room. By the way, if this kidnapping thing is a regular gig for you two, what would you expect?”
Ronan’s jaw ticked. “She needs to learn to respect us.”
She barked a “Hah!” and shook her head. “Respect is earned, pal. Not taken. You’ve done nothing to earn squat from me.”
Ronan’s body tightened until she could practically see his muscles ripple. The air around him seemed to crackle, as if millions of little jolts of static electricity were bouncing off him.
“Ronan.” After Cayne waved an arm, a draft of hot air fanned over her face. His hand landed on Ronan’s shoulder. “Come on.” He tipped his head, motioning toward the door.
Ronan gave her one more blistering glower and then turned. “Tomorrow, bride.”
“I’m nobody’s bride,” she spat to his retreating back. “Especially no spineless bully like you.”
The minute they were gone, she plopped onto the cot and cried, just like she always did when she was furious.
Why was this happening? Who were these guys? And why were they acting out some stupid romance book?
One thing was for sure -- those stories might be just fine and dandy to read. Pure fantasy.
But living one for real… it was hell!
Chapter 2
They were back.
Even though Kaitlin was so starving she felt a little shaky and nauseated, she pretended to be asleep, hoping they’d leave.
No such luck.
A set of strong hands caught her upper arms and pulled, dragging her to her feet.
“Hands off!” She jerked, wrenching her arms free and spun around to give her manhandling kidnapper a glare.
Ronan glowered back.
Obviously, neither she nor he was in a better mood.
She tipped her head up and growled, “Don’t touch me again, asshole.”
Cayne reached around Ronan and scooped her hand into his. “This way.”
She jerked away from him too. “I’m not going anywhere with you, unless you’re taking me home.”
Cayne nodded, his smile slightly suspicious. “That’s what we’re doing, taking you home.”
“You… are?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Not one hundred percent sure she could trust either one of them, she shuffled toward the door. “You could’ve told me that before.” Sending Ronan one last scowl, she followed the seemingly more reasonable Cayne out the door and down the familiar corridor, hoping he was telling her the truth. “So, what’s the deal? Is this some kind of kinky fantasy club, where women pay to be kidnapped and seduced by big, sexy men?”
Things were looking promising. A few turns, left and right. Yes, this was good. Thank God they’d finally realized they’d made a mistake.
But then they made a left turn and stepped into a large space with towering ceilings. This space she didn’t recognize.
Something was up. “Hold on.” She dug in her heels. “You said you were taking me home.”
Beside her, Cayne answered, “We are.”
“I don’t remember this.”
“That’s because we aren’t taking you to the portal.” Ronan bumped into her from behind, forcing her forward. He pressed a hand against her nape. “We’re taking you home, like you asked.”
She stumbled forward, completely out-muscled -- reminding her that there was no hope of fighting her way out of this situation. Desperate, she took a good look around, searching for some way to escape, alert someone, get to a phone to call for help. But the building they were walking through was quiet and empty, eerily so. It was totally unfamiliar to her, although in some strange way it reminded her of an airport -- without the gift shops and hordes of people rushing to and fro.
Where was everybody?
Where was she?
The walls were plain white, lacking any clues. No signs. No posters. Not even any artwork.
At the end of the cavernous room, they stepped through a set of doors and into a smaller corridor with glass ceilings. Above, the sky was a crystal clear blue, cloudless. A couple of turns and they were at the end. Kaitlin glanced around Cayne’s bulk to see out the glass door.
Her heart stopped.
How? Where?
The world outside that door was green and lush and… nothing like the grey winter world she’d left behind.
“We will carry you from here.” Cayne reached for her, but it was Ronan who swept her into his arms. Dazed, she stiffened but didn’t fight him.
This was too impossible. Too confusing.
As she was carried outside, into a world that smelled sweet and clean and fresh, with lots of green trees and hills covered with grass, she struggled to recall the details of the book they were supposedly living out.
It was almost conceivable that she had somehow been magically transported into a romance novel. Why the hell not? It was crystal clear she wasn’t anywhere close to Detroit, Michigan anymore. Alyria, Paris, whatever, who the heck knew?
Ohhh, her head was spinning. The world was sort of sloshing back and forth. She tried closing her eyes but that made things worse. Instead she focused her eyes straight ahead, on the forest in the distance. “I feel funny.”
“Our atmosphere is a little different from yours. The dizziness should end soon,” Ronan explained as he ducked beneath a low hanging branch.
Their atmosphere? Were they even on Earth? God, this was insane!
She coughed to clear the boulder that had wedged in her throat. “I don’t know if I want to hear the answer to this, but… uh, what planet are we on?”
“Earth.”
Big sigh of relief.
“But it’s not the Earth you know,” Cayne clarified. “The best way to describe it is that our world, our Earth, exists simultaneously with yours, in another dimension.”
Ack. What did that mean? “I knew I didn’t want to hear the answer.” Slowly, as she was carted through fields and forests, she slowly adjusted to the possibility that this was for real, that she’d been swept away to another dimension -- just like in the book she’d devoured last night -- and that she was now the possession of two enormous paranormal beings who looked like gods.
A world far from her own.
If this was true, all hope was lost. There could be no escape. She was alone in a strange world with air that made her head spin.
“What’s going to happen to me?” she asked, bracing herself for the answer.
/> “We will train you, and then, in the next day or two, we will perform the claiming, taking you as our bride.”
“And then what?”
“We will tell you more when you’re ready.”
Feeling more than a little defeated, powerless and overwhelmed, she nodded and continued to stare straight ahead.
This was nothing like the future she’d always imagined. A year ago, she’d been looking forward to a long and thrilling life as another man’s wife. Mrs. James Walker.
Jim was nothing like these two burly beasts. He was fit and trim and attractive, but hardly the drool-worthy muscular behemoths Ronan and Cayne were. And he was strong but certainly couldn’t haul her around for miles without breaking a sweat, like Ronan obviously could.
But Jim had been her high school sweetheart. Even when they’d decided to take a break for a few years, while he went to college, he’d still been her friend. Her confidant. Trustworthy and rock-steady, he’d been the one constant in her life, the only person she’d ever allowed herself to rely upon.
The day of his college graduation, they’d gotten back together. They’d been living together since, planning their future. Months passed. Years. But then, after all that time, he’d decided he needed more from a relationship. More what, he’d never explained in detail. He simply ended their engagement, told her to keep the ring, and moved out of their apartment. Out of the state. Out of her life.
Just like that, the most important person in her life was gone. Her life was in ruins. Plans completely obliterated. Hopes crushed. Dreams shredded.
Heart shattered.
That wretched day had been just over a year ago. Since then, she’d managed to drag herself to her feet and go on with life. She’d even dated. A little. But most of her time was spent alone, at home, reading romance novels by the box load.
Thank God for used bookstores!
She was lonely, no doubt about it. But at least when she’d been alone, she’d been safe. No one else would chip away pieces of her heart again. She wouldn’t give anyone that much power over her. Not until she fully understood what had gone wrong with Jim.
To this day, she didn’t understand how he could walk away from his soul mate. She’d been totally powerless to stop him.
Ironically, she was a victim of her circumstances once more. She had absolutely no control. Heck, as dizzy as she was, she couldn’t even stand on her own two feet.
She would retreat into herself. It was the only way to protect herself. Whatever these men expected, it was likely she’d fail, but she didn’t care. They’d torn her away from her sanctuary, taken away her freedom, her choices, her stability. She owed them nothing.
Sinking deeper into her dark thoughts, she barely noticed her surroundings. They were still in a forest. The thick canopy of leaves overhead shut out most of the sun, creating deep, cool shadows all around them. Ronan’s and Cayne’s every footstep produced a soft swish of dry leaves or sharp snap of twigs.
They stopped suddenly. Ronan’s arms tightened around her body, and she felt his heart jump against his breastbone.
Something was wrong.
He lunged to one side, ducking behind a tree and turned to pin her between his body and the trunk.
“What’s happening?” she whispered, sensing danger. She turned her head, looking to the side. Her gaze hopped from tree to tree, shadow to shadow.
“Don’t move. Don’t speak.”
She practically held her breath, waiting for something to happen. Had the police found her? Was she going to be rescued?
No, rescuers would announce themselves, demand her release.
Duh, she was in another dimension. No one was going to rescue her.
Did they sense a wild animal stalking them? A bear maybe? Eee, bears had sharp teeth. And claws. Suddenly, she was very grateful to have Ronan’s hard body crushed against hers.
She tried to look for Cayne, but her sight was limited.
A sound, then more. Scrambling. Crackling leaves, a huffing cough. A man’s shout.
Ronan cussed then left her. She spun around, catching sight of three black-cloaked figures wrestling with her captors. Were they trying to free her? Or were they more dangerous than the men who’d taken her prisoner? How could she know?
While two of them kept Ronan and Cayne occupied, the third raced toward her.
Scream? Run? What to do?
She had roughly ten seconds to decide. “Oh God!”
* * *
Blades of white-hot pain razored through Ronan’s body. Everywhere, there was pain. Burning. Sharp. Piercing. He couldn’t even tell where he was injured. Head, back, arms, stomach, he hurt everywhere. His vision had narrowed to a pinpoint, focused on the being in front of him, battering him with fists that felt like concrete blocks.
He dodged a blow and shook his head to try to clear the stars from his vision. Dammit, what were the Others doing here? So close to the city? There’d never been an attack in this region.
In his peripheral vision, he could see their bride, still cowering by the tree, hands cupped over her mouth, eyes wide. An Other was heading toward her.
Dammit!
Desperation sent another blast of adrenaline whipping through his body. The pain eased. His vision sharpened. His reactions quickened. He kicked, knocking the Other back, then went into a full assault, using the Other’s delayed reaction to his benefit.
For the first time in centuries, he regretted the loss of his preternatural powers.
Once, a long time ago, he’d been a mighty warrior, gifted with strength so great, no other being, good or evil, could match it. But no more. Now, he was strong, but the wiry assailant in front of him was more than capable of defeating him.
It had come to his -- a matter of timing and dumb luck.
He pounded the Other’s face with his fist until his adversary stumbled backward. Then he turned and raced to their bride’s rescue.
She was running, but the effects of their atmosphere were making her clumsy. Her steps faltered. She tripped over a fallen sapling, and landed on all fours. The Other tailing her leapt forward and yanked her to her feet. But their bride started kicking and clawing like the little hellfire he knew she was, and in this instance, he was more than grateful for her fighting spirit.
Ronan caught them with no problem and the second Other was defeated within minutes. Their bride threw herself into his arms then, trembling like a daisy in a cyclone.
Cayne stumbled up to them as the final Other sagged unconscious against a boulder. “What are they doing this close to the city?”
“Don’t know. But we’d better head back to the city and report the attack. Quickly.” His gaze swept over Cayne’s battered form. “They damn near had us. You okay?”
“Yeah. Just a little sore. You?”
“Yeah. Fine.”
“Who or what were those things and why’d they attack us?” Kaitlin asked, tightening her grip around his waist.
“Others.” He scooped her off her feet and started back toward their house in the city, but with every step, the pain in his leg and shoulder intensified until he was sweating and dizzy. He couldn’t go on.
Dammit and hell.
They still had a long way to go, and he knew they were in danger staying in the forest. Where there were three Others, there were bound to be more. And there was one thing the Others hunted ravenously -- unclaimed brides.
He would die before he would let them take his bride. But, even charged up on adrenaline, endorphins surging through his system, deadening the pain, he couldn’t take another step. His knee buckled and down he went, twisting to take the impact. His head slammed against a rock. Kaitlin tumbled to the ground, landing sprawled over his chest, her slight weight intensifying the pain in his shoulder.
Damn, he was hurt worse than he thought. His body would heal fairly quickly. But not fast enough.
Their bride scrambled off him, rolling to her knees, watching wild-eyed as he struggled to his feet. “You’re
hurt.”
“I just need to take it easy. Can you walk?”
“I think so. As long as we go slowly.”
“Good.” The world tilted and spun. He leaned against a tree and tested his knee. It felt loose, and he didn’t trust it. “I need a crutch.”
“I’ll find something.” Kaitlin lurched forward but staggered and dropped back to her knees again.
Cayne rushed to her side, pushing on her shoulders. “No. Stay here. I’ll find a crutch for Ronan, and then I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”
“But I want to walk. I’m okay. Really.”
Bending down to pick up a large fallen branch Ronan could use as a makeshift crutch, Cayne shook his head. “No. It’s too dangerous. We need to travel as quickly as possible, or we could risk another attack.”
Their bride ceded with a little pout and a nod. “Fine.”
Cayne tested the strength of the branch then hurried to Ronan with it. “This should hold up, at least for a while.”
“Thanks.” Using the tree limb to take some of his weight off his knee, he trailed behind Cayne and Kaitlin, frustrated by his body’s failings and wishing he was the one carrying their delicate and frightened little bride. He hated seeing the worry etched into her sweet face, especially knowing she was concerned about him.
He would be fine. He was strong. More than capable of recovering from such a minor injury. He didn’t need anyone fussing and fretting over him, especially their bride. He needed her to look upon him with respect, not anxiety. He wanted a bride, not a caretaker.
This side of their new bride he hadn’t been prepared for. She’d been rebellious and strong willed, intelligent and curious, fiery and sexy. This softer, more vulnerable side had been hidden beneath all those other layers.
Soft was fine, as long as she still respected him. As long as she didn’t doubt his ability to provide for her, protect her.
This injury was one hell of a kick to his pride.