Looking up, Deryn found Fulk standing there smiling. “Nice.”
“Thanks. Can you get untangled?”
“Yep.” His eyes widened. “Whip guy, ten o’clock.”
Kane and the group moved in from the shadows, attacking the tomb guards from behind, taking them by surprise. Deryn didn’t see Alejandro with them. The second she spotted him slamming into the man with the whip her breath caught. They rolled, locked together.
Fulk moved in close to her back and struck out at something. It was then that Deryn realized she’d been so worried about Alejandro that she hadn’t sensed the danger moving in from behind her.
Fulk touched her shoulder. “He’ll be okay, I’m sure of it. He’s a hell of a lot stronger than any other guy I know.”
“But....”
“If you get in the way, he’ll get hurt worrying about you. Is that what you want? Do you want your husband hurt?”
“Husband? Oh, gods, not you, too.” She went to yell at him and found him grinning from ear to ear. “Very funny.”
“Oh, it’s funny all right, in a ‘wait until you figure it all out’ kind of way, Bookworm. Now, I think I need to go free Vonni. Though, it’s tempting to leave her there.”
Deryn snorted. “I had the same thought. But, you’re right.”
* * * *
Alejandro let the beast within rise up enough to extend a clawed hand. He swept it out, caught the man’s neck and severed his head. The man caught fire almost instantly. Rolling off him fast, Alejandro came to his feet and looked for Deryn. “Decapitation works!”
The moment he’d first watched Deryn spring into action and the panther coming for her, he’d tried to get to her, only to find Kane, Ondrea and Issac all pinning him to the ground. He’d lost control of himself and told them that he and Deryn had technically been intimate. He also made an official claim on her, stating that she was his true mate--his soon to be wife and gods willing, the mother of his children. The shock of it was too much for Kane. He let his hold up enough for Alejandro to break free.
Ondrea ran past him with a tomb guard on her tail. Alejandro took its head off with ease and Ondrea turned, panting and nodded. “Thanks.”
“Where’s my mate? Where’s, Deryn?”
“She’s doing fine,” Ondrea said, pointing in the other direction. “Deryn is an amazing slayer. I mean it.”
He spotted her, fighting hand to hand with a tomb guard. She was beyond skilled. Deryn moved with a speed and grace he’d never seen before. His cock hardened at the very sight of her. When she’d wandered into his tent and woken him, he didn’t know what to do. Every part of him wanted to flip her onto his cot and fuck her. His dreams had been filled with her image. It had been her body that his mind had left him exploring in his sleeping hours. Waking to find her standing there, in a see through top that his shifter eyes easily picked up and a tiny pair of barely there panties was almost too much. It had been all he could do not to pull those thin panties down and taste her pussy, lick her cream.
She was so open, so talkative thinking it was Kane with her that he let her go, hoping to be allowed just one touch, one taste of her. The shock of learning what she was had been nothing compared to the shock of hearing just how many things in their lives overlapped. Alejandro was positive the woman his mother talked about often, Nava, was Deryn’s grandmother.
Most importantly, the locket Deryn had talked about was indeed in his possession as it had been from the moment he’d spotted a vampire boasting about the hot little thing he’d just sampled. He’d recognized the locket the second the vampire pulled it out to prove his story. She’d been so innocent, so unexposed to violence that she radiated it. It was easy to see why Kane’s friends had teased her about being a virgin goodie two shoes because she oozed it. There was nothing wrong with that.
He chastised himself for not doing more to keep her from going. Had he taken more time he might have been able to prevent it and he might have met his mate fifteen years ago. They could already have lots of little ones running around if he’d have just focused.
It still sickened him to think about what that vampire had boasted about doing to his victim--to Deryn. Her allergy to the sun made perfect sense now. She’d survived a brutal attempt at turning her into a vampire. His heart ached for her. He’d been so close to preventing it from happening but had thought it best not to follow a young girl home, even if his intent was to assure her safety and nothing more.
Rage and regret ripped through him. He wanted to shout out and change history. Mostly, he wanted to revive the vampires so he could kill them yet again. The vampires had told him that they’d killed the girl they attacked or he would have gone looking for Deryn himself.
“Heads up!”
A flash of blonde hair appeared in front of him a second before something struck him. He hit the ground. Glancing up, Alejandro spotted a tomb guard holding a sword. It said something in a language he didn’t understand. From the looks of it, the guard would have taken his head off had he not been knocked out of the way. He watched in awe as Deryn kicked out, catching the guard in the chin before he even had a chance to swing the sword at her. She artfully disarmed him and spun in a circle, taking the guard’s head clean off. He burst into flames.
Rolling to his side, Alejandro pushed off the ground and got to his feet. “Thanks.”
Deryn stared at him with wide blue eyes. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” he said, unable to help his smile. She cared. That meant something to him. “Are you?”
“Kiss and get it over with.” Fulk moved up next to Deryn. Alejandro wanted to smack the grin off his friend’s face but held back. “You know you’re both ecstatic that the other one is unharmed so kiss and get it over with.”
“Rodriquez,” Alejandro said in warning tone.
Ondrea joined them. “We got all but two.”
“Which way did the other two go?” Deryn glanced at him, her eyes wide with worry. “What are you, really?”
Confused, Alejandro shrugged. “I’m a man, first and foremost. A man who can shift into a were-jaguar but you already knew that.” A sickening thought occurred to him. “Don’t tell me that you’re not okay with that. You aren’t so fine with supernaturals after all. Are you, slayer? It’s one thing to want them in your dreams, it’s another to want to share their bed in real life.”
Deryn jerked back as if she’d been slapped and he instantly regretted opening his mouth. Her gaze hardened. “For your information, Colonel, I have no problem with your being a shape shifter. I just wanted to know what else you are. It’s obvious by the way you cut through the tomb guards that you are something more than just a shifter.” She snorted. “Sorry I asked. It’s plain to see you’re an asshole in addition to being a shifter. My mistake. I thought it was something else.”
“Yeah well, you aren’t just a slayer are you, Dr. Murray?”
Shut up, you idiot. What are you doing? Apologize to her. Get down on your knees if you have to. This woman is your mate. She’s the mother of your future children.
Ignoring his inner voice, Alejandro found himself taking a defensive stance. “Pack your things. You’re going back to Earth tonight. You don’t belong here. You aren’t one of us.”
“Colonel, you’re pissed off about something. Don’t take it out on....”
Alejandro glared at Fulk, daring him to continue. He didn’t. Glancing back at Deryn, he found her standing with one hand on her hip and the other still holding the sword she’d taken from the tomb guard. “You understand that by sending me back you are most likely dooming everyone here?”
She was right and he knew it but that didn’t stop him from wanting to win the argument. “You want to play that card? Fine. You can stay but you’ll be placed under guard during your stay with us.”
Ondrea gasped. “What for? Deryn hasn’t done anything but help your asses.”
“The way I see it,” Alejandro stared at Deryn, “she brought the problem. All was fine u
ntil she showed up.”
He was lying through his teeth but the need to assure she was out of the line of fire consumed him. If he couldn’t get her back to Earth then he’d damn well be sure to keep her safe and away from anymore tomb guards. “Lt. Rodriquez, take Dr. Murray to the stockade.”
“Sorry, sir but I can’t do that.” Ondrea tried to push past Fulk but he caught her around the waist. “I can’t let you kill the colonel either, Dr. Harris.”
“Are you disobeying a direct order?” Alejandro asked.
“She risked it all for me, Colonel. Hell, Bookworm even took a lash that split her wide open to save me from it. I won’t have any part in locking her up. In fact, if you try to have her confined you’re going to have to lock me up, too.”
“Me, too,” Issac said, brushing past Alejandro. “Sorry, Colonel, but if Deryn goes, so do I. I’ve seen into her soul. She isn’t a threat to any of us and you know it. You know exactly who she is and it’s scaring the living hell out of you but not for the reasons one would think.”
“You lay one hand on her and I’ll rip it off.” Ondrea glared at him, letting her eyes do a partial shift. “That girl has not slept in months because of you. I’ve held her hair while she’s vomited over shit she’s seen in dreams about you and now you’re talking about having her locked up? You heard Issac, you know that it’s your....”
“Enough. Onnie, its fine.” Deryn bent down and tipped her head to the side. “You can come out now.”
The monkey-like creature she called Che came rushing out from the tree line. It ran up her arm and sat on her shoulder. She let out a soft laugh as it began to carry on. “Don’t mind him, I expected this. Why should he be any different than any other man I’ve met?”
If cutting him to the quick was her goal, she succeeded. Alejandro clenched his fists. The need to hit something, anything was great. He’d done exactly what Ondrea had warned him not to. He’d turned on Deryn after he found out she was a slayer. It didn’t matter that he only wanted to protect her. In her eyes, he was punishing her for what she was.
“Onnie,” Deryn reached out for her friend, “keep your promise to me, please.”
Ondrea shook her head. “Oh, no way am I watching over his sorry ass. Hell, I might be the one that kills him. How can you even care what happens to him after what he’s pulling?”
“What’s going on?” Kane asked, running up from the sidelines. “Is everyone okay?”
“Colonel Asshole is trying to have Deryn locked up or kicked out of here,” Ondrea said, her gaze narrow and her rage radiating off her.
Kane arched a brow. “Oh, really?”
“Do you have a problem with that, Captain? It would appear everyone else does.”
Deryn took a step towards him. “Kane has no problem with it. Neither do I. Do what you feel is right, Colonel.”
Chapter Eight
Deryn sat, staring at the wall and shaking her head. Alejandro had held true to his threat. He’d personally escorted her to the cell the night before. He’d been nice enough to permit her to shower and get dressed but that was it. Footsteps approached and she glanced towards the cell door expecting to see Kane or Ondrea. When a set of emerald green eyes fell upon her, she snorted. “Oh, you. Great.”
“Don’t sound so happy to see me, Dr. Murray,” Alejandro said, his voice clipped.
Opting to stare at the wall instead of him, Deryn shrugged. “Have no fear, I’m not.”
He unlocked the cell door and tossed it open. “You’re free to go.”
“Uh, thanks but I’ll pass.”
He looked stunned. “What? You want to sit in here?”
“I’ve played this game before, Colonel. I’m not in the mood nor do I have the strength so if you want me dead, kill me now and save us both some time.”
His brow furrowed. “What game? I don’t want you dead.”
“Cute.” Deryn, brought her knees up to her chest. “Do you all practice your ‘you can trust me’ faces and speeches or do they come naturally?”
“What are you talking about? This isn’t a speech. I said you can go, so go.”
“And the minute I set foot out of here I become the hunted. You and all your buddies shift and stalk me until only one of us is left?” She shook her head. “I’ll pass. Like I said, I’ve played this game before.”
“Someone did that to you?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.
Deryn almost let her guard down but knew better. “Yes, someone has done that to me before.” She glanced around the cell. “Though, he claimed that he was locking me up for my own protection. He was worried that someone would attack me. Rather, he used the time to succumb to peer pressure. That was quite a fun weekend in the mountains. I not only got to try to evade attack from men who were born to be one with nature but avoid the sunlight as well because he made sure I was vulnerable to it.”
“Give me his name,” Alejandro said, his voice deeper than normal.
Glancing up, she found him clutching the bars of the cell so tight that his knuckles were white. She snickered. “What? Upset that someone already thought of this or upset that you didn’t think to fuck me first? At least he was smart enough to get that out of me before he pulled this.”
“Tell me,” his gritted his teeth, “who did that to you. Was it Dean? I heard you and Ondrea discussing him outside of my tent.”
Of course he did.
“Why? Dead men can’t talk. If you’re looking for helpful tips on how best to tear the slayer down you’ll have to find someone else.” Deryn locked gazes with Alejandro. “I killed him and every one of his friends. Dean got exactly what he wanted--a fight. Funny, Onnie said you’d end up just like him.” She glanced around the cell. “Aside from the fact he was a Sheriff, everything else fits. I love being wrong--dead wrong.”
“I’m not trying to trick you, Deryn.”
Resting her chin on her knee, she let out a soft laugh. “It’s Dr. Murray to you, Colonel, and you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe you. I’ll wait here. You can send Vonni and whatever henchmen she gathered up in here. See this way, I don’t have to deal with the sun or try to figure out how to survive on my own in the wilderness in another realm.”
Alejandro growled. “Do not lump me in with something like that guy. I did put you in here for your own safety, Dr. Murray. You refused to go back to Earth and I was worried something would happen to you.”
Deryn couldn’t hold her laughter in. “Oh, this is too good. Could you please humor me by getting on your knees, asking me to marry you and spend my life with you? It’s the only thing missing from the equation. Must be a cat-shifter thing. He was one, too.”
“He asked you to marry him right before he...?” Alejandro’s shock seemed genuine. That caught her off guard.
“No. He asked me to marry him about three months before he pulled that stunt. I have to say that I never saw it coming.” Her bottom lip began to tremble but she refused to give into tears. “When I walked out and found the noon day sun up I tried to go back inside, he didn’t let me. He was nice enough to pull his gun on me and make sure the rest of his buddies had a trail of blood to follow. It’s really fun to try to run and climb in the wilderness when you’ve been shot in the upper thigh.” Taking a deep breath in, Deryn calmed herself. “No biggie. Par for the course they tell me. Ondrea was right. I need to stick with human men.”
Alejandro rubbed his palms over his face and then through his black hair. “I really thought I was doing the right thing, Deryn ... err ... Dr. Murray. I wanted you safe.” He shook his head. “There is nothing I can say or do that will prove I’m different, is there?”
“Nope.”
His eyes lit. “Wait.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled her leather case from it. “Kane gave me this to make sure you had your shot for the day. I also brought you a long sleeve, light shirt and a hat.”
Trust him.
Deryn mentally batted at her inner voice. Narrowing her gaze, she watched Ale
jandro as he approached her. Taking her case from him, Deryn opened it slowly. She withdrew a syringe and a vile of serum.
Trust him.
Sitting on the end of the cot, Alejandro kept a close eye on her. “What exactly does that do for you?”
“It took me awhile to perfect it but it boosts my immunities and my cell count. My body reacts to the sun the same way a vampire would. It’s easier for me when I’m not hiding what I am. I can tolerate the sun without any real problems but that doesn’t do me any good or allow me to live among others undetected. They tell me that if the vampires would have come back and forced their blood into me, I’d have fully changed. I don’t know if that’s true. I don’t want to find out either.”
Alejandro touched her leg and fire raced through her. She hissed and tried to pull away. He moved with her, shadowing her just right, leaving himself settled between her legs while she was flat on her back. “Do you feel that?” He shifted a bit, rubbing his erection against her lower abdomen. “I don’t mean that. I mean the way something flares between us when we touch?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, Colonel.” Deryn tried to focus on anything other than how close his lips were to hers. Her breathing grew shallow and her nipples hardened. “This happened last night when I wandered into...” She stopped in mid-sentence and thought about the events that transpired. Her eyes widened. “It was your tent. Not Kane’s.”
The slight nod and curve of his smile sent Deryn’s blood pumping at an alarming rate throughout her body. Alejandro put his forehead against hers. “You do feel it.”
Wiggling, Deryn tried to get out from under him but only succeeded in grinding her clit against his clothed cock. A moan escaped her lips. Alejandro moved his hips and in turn, rubbed her swollen bud just right, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her lower region. Without thought, Deryn slid her hands up the backs of Alejandro’s muscular arms and countered his pelvic movements.
Shifter Fated Mates: Boxed Set Page 74