Like hell I don’t.
She scratched the monkey’s stomach and offered up a soft smile. “At least I know they can’t use my likeness to attack him.” She nodded. “Yes, when it hit me, it cut the inside of my mouth open.” The monkey actually looked as though it were trying to get her to open her mouth. “Che, it wasn’t that bad. It bled a little. Enough that I was able to assure the colonel tasted my blood. He knows my scent now. He won’t be fooled if they try it with him.”
Alejandro drew in a sharp breath. She’d actually given him her blood willingly? That wasn’t something taken lightly in the supernatural community. It was a sign of trust, protection, loyalty. For a female to offer a male her blood meant even more. It meant she was giving herself to him unconditionally, unless stated otherwise. Every ounce of him wanted to read more into it than he should but he knew Deryn was human. She couldn’t possibly understand all of their ways. She didn’t recognize the growl he’d made, staking his claim on her. Perhaps she didn’t understand the significance of offering her blood to him willingly.
The monkey went nuts.
Deryn patted its head. “Stop worrying. I do trust him. That’s why I wanted him safe, too. He’s a good man, Che. The idea of them using me to hurt him was all I could think about when he appeared and I realized it was really him. He wouldn’t see me as a threat. He’d have let it get close enough to him that it could rip his heart out before he knew what hit him. Hell, had it not smacked me across the face for telling it no I’d have probably handed myself over to it willingly--never knowing it wasn’t him.”
Alejandro’s eyes widened. Hearing that Deryn would have let him, the real him not the imagined one, touch her was not only shocking, it was confusing. She had Kane in her life. He’d never do that to his friend even though touching her was all he could think about.
The creature touched her forearm and she gritted her teeth. “I know it’s bad. But they aren’t done here yet today and I’m with them. I figure I’ll either blister to the point I pop or burst into flames at some point soon. Either ends the same way so I’m not holding out much hope of a pain free evening.”
Someone tapped his shoulder and he jerked to attention. Turning a bit, Alejandro found Ondrea with her hands on her hips, giving him a rather pointed stare. “Do you like what you see?” she asked, barely above a whisper.
“Yeah. I do.”
“Do yourself and Deryn a favor. Don’t act on the way you feel. In the end, it will only leave her in tears or dead. Neither are things I want to see.”
“I would never harm her.” Alejandro didn’t bother to hide his disgust with Ondrea’s assumption that he would.
“You aren’t the first man to claim that and you won’t be the last. Unless,” Ondrea stared at him, “you succeed where the others failed--then she’ll be dead and it won’t matter. I should tell you that Kane and I will hunt you down if that happens. Though, I’ll warn you, Deryn shouldn’t be underestimated.”
A fire in the pit of his stomach began to burn as he thought about anyone harming Deryn. He clenched his fists as his breathing grew shallow. “Who dared to hurt her?”
Ondrea looked a bit surprised by his question. “Don’t you want to know why they tried?”
“No. There is no reason to ever harm her. Ever.” He wanted to hit something, anything to get his built up aggression out. The frustration from doing nothing during her hallucination still ate at him. He should have stepped in. Done something. Anything to help her. To stop it.
“Hmm, interesting,” she mused. “Ignorance causes many people to lose their minds and forget whispered promises made between the sheets, Colonel. Deryn knows that better than anyone else I know. Kane is the only man in her life that hasn’t ever questioned her loyalty. The only man who has never tried to harm her. Many have claimed they never would but in the end, they do. They either harbor hatred or succumb to peer pressure. Regardless, they try to harm her.”
Just hearing Kane’s name mentioned with Deryn’s made him see red. “Is she fucking Kane?”
“I couldn’t answer that even if I wanted to. Deryn and Kane have been through hell together. I’m not exactly sure what, if any boundaries, they have with each other but I can tell you that she will never cut him out her life. They are beyond friends. If anyone were to try to make something work with her, they’d need to understand that. They also need to know Kane is extremely overprotective of Deryn. To the point he has attacked men over her in the past. He ended up in the doghouse with her for weeks but he did it all the same.”
“Why are you being so open with me about this?” he asked, fighting the urge to rush to Deryn and lay claim to her before Kane arrived. Kane was on a four day trip on Earth side, gathering supplies needed and was due back the following day. Alejandro remembered how upset Kane seemed to be when he learned he wouldn’t be back in time to greet the doctors that were coming to join the project. It made perfect sense now. He knew them well and he was scared for Deryn’s safety.
“I’m telling you this because I want to believe Deryn can find happiness. She’s earned it. She’s lived through hell more times than I can count. One of those was a betrayal she will never be able to forget or forgive. I hate knowing that. I hate knowing someone I love was treated that way.” She locked gazes with him. “I also get a vibe from you that I’m questioning. It’s telling me to trust you. I never get those types of vibes off the men that pursue Deryn.” She laughed softly. “You’ll either end up being another asshole wanting to sink his cock into her for all the wrong reasons or you’ll be different. Let me just say that so far, only one man has been different, Colonel.”
Needing to get off the topic of Kane, Alejandro stared at Deryn’s reddening arms. “She looks as though she might be starting to blister. What’s wrong with her?”
“If Deryn spends too long in direct sunlight it, at best, will leave her sick and in bed for several days.”
“And at its worst?” Alejandro asked, unsure he wanted to hear the answer.
Ondrea forced a smile to her face, drawing attention to her cocoa-colored skin and tiny features. “She’ll not recover.”
“What?” His heart beat fast as the idea of something happening to Deryn hit him hard. He went to march to her and demand she return to base when Ondrea seized hold of his arm. Being a cat shifter afforded her the strength needed to call his attention but if he wanted free, he could easily make it happen.
She shook her head. “I know what you’re thinking but she won’t stay back at camp. Not without us. Deryn’s been having weird dreams about this mission for months before the general contacted her and requested she join on.”
“Weird dreams? What does that have to do with her dying from too much direct sunlight?”
Ondrea grinned, clearing knowing more than she was letting on to. “Nothing at all and everything.”
“Okay, no cryptic talk. Save that for Kane when he arrives tomorrow. His job is to decipher shit like that.”
“I just mean that Deryn puts the lives of everyone else ahead of hers. She always has. There is no way she will go and stay gone so long as she believes we’re all in danger.”
Alejandro laughed. “We’ve been out here all day and we haven’t seen anything above two birds and several of those monkey-like things she’s been having a one-sided conversation with for the last twenty minutes. They don’t look deadly. Ugly, yes. Deadly, no. In addition to that, the base has been set up here for close to seven months. Nothing has happened. I think it’s safe to say that we aren’t in any danger.” Even as he said it, he knew it was a lie. He’d been trained to expect the unexpected. The work he did with the government had taught him long ago that nothing was predictable but he didn’t want to scare Ondrea. He didn’t even want to touch upon what had occurred over lunch with Deryn and the mysterious nothing.
“Please don’t bother to lie to me, Colonel Vargas. Besides, even if I did believe we were safe as could be out here I’ve known Deryn long enough to trust her
gut. If she says be on guard, I do it. If she refuses to leave someone’s side, I don’t force her to.” Ondrea looked him over slowly. “It doesn’t help that she explained you to a tee before she even agreed to come on the mission, Alex-V. She was right. You are hot.”
Only his team members called him Alex-V and even that was rare. Kane tended to call him Alex more than anything. “Wait? What do you mean she explained me to a tee? Do I know her?” The vague feeling of familiarity surfaced again.
Ondrea shrugged. “That you’ll have to ask her about but I can tell you this much, she won’t leave your side if she believes her dreams are true.”
“Listen, lady,” Alejandro said, his patience wearing thin. “I’m responsible for your lives while you’re out with me. I don’t have time to play guess why games and I sure the hell don’t want to report back to the general that one of the two civilians I was charged with is dead. Somehow I don’t think he’ll give a rat’s ass about her dreams. She’s human. That in itself should have kept her off this mission.”
Ondrea gave him a smile that screamed she knew more than she was letting on. The feeling of being watched came over him, preventing him from calling her on it. Instead, Alejandro stilled and listened closely for signs of company.
“If you’re done talking about me like I’m not here, I could use a hand cleaning up my equipment,” Deryn said, looking up from her spot with the monkey. She locked her blue gaze on him and smiled slightly, bringing attention to her now chapped lips. It was clear that the sunlight was hurting her at an alarming rate. She moved her attention to Ondrea and hardened her gaze.
How in the hell did she hear us?
“Don’t give me that look, Deryn. The man has a right to know more about you than he does,” Ondrea said, not seeming to care Deryn had heard their entire conversation. “Maybe, if he did, you could tell him about the other stuff. He might listen and believe you.”
Deryn turned her attention back to the creature. “Che, go now. I’m fine. I promise.” She nodded. “I sense it, too. I know to be careful and I can warn the ones I’m with. And I might be changing my mind about letting you hurt their leader.” She stared directly at Alejandro. “It’s none of his business who I do and do not share my bed with. He is not my keeper. As much as I appreciated his assistance earlier it doesn’t mean he has a right to be that way.”
“Deryn, don’t be....”
Putting her hand up, Deryn pointed at Ondrea. “No. You have no right to discuss my personal life with a stranger. I’m assuming if the general thought the colonel could handle all of the details of my life, he would have presented him with them. Since the colonel didn’t even know my first name this morning, I can guess that wasn’t the case.”
She stared down at the monkey-like thing and removed Alejandro’s hat from her head. “Che, please return this to their leader. Maybe if something is sitting on his head it will help keep his mind from racing with notions of me being crazy or that I’m a little too white to take home to mommy. Though, he had no problem envisioning me with his children, did he? You know what? Aim for his head next time you throw fruit to warn him of danger.”
Shocked by her statement, Alejandro took a step back. “How the hell do you know what I’ve been thinking about today?”
Ondrea gasped. “Deryn?” She looked up at him. “Colonel, you thought about her having your babies?”
Deciding avoidance was the best policy, Alejandro directed the conversation back to Deryn. “How did you know?”
“I don’t know. Can you guess what I’m thinking right this minute?” she asked, glaring at him like she wanted to personally oversee his castration.
He gulped. “I have a funny feeling it isn’t good.”
The creature ran towards him with his hat in hand. It tossed it at his feet and snapped its jaws in warning. His eyes widened and he chanced a glance at Ondrea. “Holy shit, she really can understand and communicate with it?”
“Deryn, I’m starting to think all men are morons and should wear labels telling the degree to which they are so women know who to pass on.” Ondrea rolled her eyes. “I really think they should have given you a report on her, Colonel. I’d tell you to ask her about herself but I’m thinking you’ll end up missing vital pieces when she’s done with you.”
“Hey, Doc, you gonna finish rubbing this wall?” Fulk called out. “You can rub me when you’re done.”
Ondrea laughed. “Oh, look, a moron who would get a consistent ten rating.” She turned and headed towards Fulk leaving Alejandro and Deryn alone.
There was an awkward pause. He thought of trying to fill it with conversation but there wasn’t anything he could say to make it better.
Say you’re sorry.
Ignoring his inner voice, Alejandro glanced up to find Deryn staring at him. She winked. “Apology accepted.”
Alejandro sensed something watching them again. Something that wasn’t friendly. He also sensed it had death on its mind. The memory of seeing Deryn fight with nothing hit him. What if something had been there? What if it wasn’t done with her?
Deryn!
The need to see to Dr. Deryn Murray’s safety left him rushing towards her. He put his body in front of hers and backed her into the thick line of large foliage. Something akin to ribbon-like fern leaves cascaded over them, providing them some form of camouflage, not that it mattered. Whatever was out there was good enough to sneak up on them almost undetected.
Taking a step back, he reached behind him to make sure Deryn was blocked by his body. As his hand ran over her arm, heat flared from her body straight into his. It was enough to cause serious burns and he knew that but he also knew it wasn’t hurting him. She gasped and tried to break his hold on her but Alejandro held tight.
“Colonel, stop,” she whispered. “Please. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Something deep within Alejandro told him not to let go and he went with it. The heat continued to move from her body to his. Every ounce of him wanted to turn and check on her but the threat was still out there, still watching them.
“Colonel.”
“Shh.”
Instantly, Deryn pressed her body against his. The heat decreased leaving the need to wrap his arms around her in its wake. If they’d have been alone, he would have done just that. The feel of something coming straight at him left him staring ahead at the nothingness before them.
“Åfau,” something whispered through the dense jungle greenery. It didn’t sound even remotely human or friendly.
Alejandro brought his M-16 up fast and watched with his preternatural eyes for signs of the enemy. He saw nothing but the jungle. The second Deryn laid her hand on his shoulder, he calmed.
“Tell it that we’re not thieves.” She caressed him gently.
“What? How do you know what it said?”
“Colonel,” she whispered, sliding her arms around his midriff and holding him tight. She fit him perfectly. “It’s trying to trick you into a challenge. Don’t let it. Trust me like I trusted you earlier. Please.”
Alejandro did as she requested, unable to tell her no and hurt her feelings. “We aren’t thieves,” he called out.
The pending sense of danger lessoned to a degree. Instantly, his gut told him he was no longer the main target, Deryn was. A low growl emanated from deep within him. It was on the lines of the one he’d used in front of Ondrea earlier.
“Taimar?” the thing asked.
Deryn gasped and tried to move out from behind him. “No.”
“No, what?” Alejandro pinned her in place.
“It thinks you’re my,” she swallowed loud enough for him to pick up on it, “my husband.”
“Taimar?” it asked, again, this time with an urgency that was easy to note.
Deryn ducked down fast and moved around him before he could stop her. She stood tall and took on an almost regal pose. “He is my head warrior. My head guard. Question me no further on this.”
“Your head guard?” Alejandro asked,
lost as to what was going on.
Turning her head slowly, Deryn locked gazes with him and gave him a hard look. “If,” she whispered, “you are my husband then it will challenge you to the death because it has taken an interest in me. If you are my head warrior then it will most likely leave you to fight another day since I one upped it earlier.”
“It?”
“A spirit tomb guard, Colonel. And before you go off shouting about how very impossible that is, please keep in mind we’re currently working from a base not on Earth as we know it. If that doesn’t do it for you, take a moment to do a partial shift. I’m sure were-jaguars aren’t considered the norm by everyone.”
How does she know I’m a were-jaguar?
Alejandro blinked several times and didn’t attempt to argue with Deryn about the spirit tomb guard even though he highly doubted some form of ghost existed. Sure, he felt something but a ghost? No.
“Åricus?”
Deryn stiffened and appeared to hesitate. Alejandro growled, unable to hold it in. Deryn smacked him. “Would you shut-up? Whatever you’re doing is pissing it off more.”
“Taimar?” it asked again, sounding agitated.
“What the hell is it asking now? I get the one about me being your husband and in about two seconds I’m telling it I am. This is bullshit. If it thinks I’m gong to stand here and let it attack you again its dead fucking wrong!” Another growl came from him. Deryn was his and he’d be damned if anything, even a figment of his imagination tried to take her from him.
“Taimar?” The feel of imminent danger increased tenfold.
Deryn put her hands out and shook her head. “No. No, he’s not my taimar. Yes.” She nodded. “Åricus. Yes.”
“What did you just tell it I am?”
“Not you, Colonel. Me. I told it I’m an Åricus.”
“Åricus?” it asked, not sounding very convinced.
Deryn leaned back and put her hands out. “You dare to question me?”
It said something Alejandro couldn’t make out and Deryn laughed, sounding deadly. It shocked him to the point he just stood there watching her. She put her arms out wide. “Then by all means, test me. We’ll see who walks away from this. Do you need more proof? That’s what you were after earlier when you hid behind another’s guise.”
Shifter Fated Mates: Boxed Set Page 60