The Sigma Menace Collection

by Marie Johnston

  In an incredibly sweet gesture, he kissed his way up her thigh to her center, where she wanted him the most. Tunneling her hands through his hair, earning a little rumble of pleasure from him, she held on while his licked and kissed and nipped her to a peak of ecstasy she’d never reached before. Drawing her knees higher, she was afraid she would rip out his hair when she came more powerfully than ever before, crying his name.

  He rose, sporting what could only be described as a wolfish grin, and drove himself deep into her.

  “My mate liked that?” he asked with false innocence.

  “Your mate liked it a lot.” She gasped, still catching her breath while he stroked her to another peak.

  The grin faded to an intense heat as he dropped his lips to hers. They explored each other’s mouth, dueling tongues vying for every scrap of pleasure the other could give.

  She held him tightly, their mouths locked together as they moaned their release into each other.

  Letting the shudders subside, he kissed her tenderly as if this was the last time they could be together. And he was right. She would have to go to keep those she loved safe. And she loved her mate. No doubt about it.

  Tears pricked the back of her eyelids. He released her mouth, but their bodies remained locked together.

  Opening her eyes to soak in the depth of his navy blue stare, the tears fell free when he reached up to tenderly wipe dry the corners of her eyes.

  “I haven’t made love to anyone for over a hundred years.” The insecurity in his look almost advanced her to fully sobbing. “I haven’t let anyone touch me or kiss me, let alone lay in a bed to make love in the traditional sense.”

  “It’s okay, Bennett. I understand.” She did, but her heart broke just a little at his confession, wishing that she had time to wait for the day he trusted what was between them. “We can take it slow.”

  It was an odd offering considering they were still locked in an embrace with him still half hard inside of her.

  “I don’t want to take it slow.” His voice became harsh, determined. “I don’t want to be friends. I want to be your mate. I want to run with you in the woods, and I want you to drink from me and not from those damn cows.”

  The tears kept rolling at his confession. Her heart shattered. “I want it all, too,” she cried. “But I can’t stay here and you can’t leave.”

  Tenderly wiping the tears from her cheeks, he shushed her until the hiccup-sobs subsided.

  “This is what we’re going to do.” He withdrew himself from her and swept her up into his arms to head toward her bedroom. “I’m going to make slow, sweet love to you, while I’m on top, even.”

  Spencer allowed herself a small self-satisfied grin, snuggling into him more.

  “Then we’ll talk, because I have an idea.”

  Bennett strolled into Pale Moonlight shaking the rain off himself. Dipping his chin toward the imposing owner of the club, Christian, he settled himself at the bar. He could see his clean cut, clean shaven reflection in the mirror across the bar.

  His usual Belgian ale slid in front of him and he tipped his head to the female bartender, a member of Christian’s pack who had worked there for years.

  Drinking deeply from his mug, he swiveled on his stool to eye the dance floor. Another member of Christian’s pack, a male named Weston, roamed the dance floor catching women’s attention.

  Weston glanced up at Bennett and lifted a questioning brow. Bennett passed him a knowing nod and finished off his beer as he watched Weston work the crowd.

  The muscular male was turning enough female heads, but he zeroed on one, a woman with long, dark hair and barely any clothes, except see-through leggings and a sheer top. She pressed into the male as he whispered in her ear. She searched the bar area until her eyes landed on Bennett.

  He calmly gazed back at her, awaiting her decision. He saw the hitch in her breath, the moment of indecision, and Weston murmur seductively in her ear while stroking her hips. The woman bit her lip and leaned back into him giving her acquiescence.

  Putting his mug down, Bennett kept his eyes on the couple, following them to The Den. Weston entered a backroom Bennett was very familiar with.

  “Hey,” the woman said breezily, eyeballing Bennett’s designer label clad body while she was glued to Weston’s. “What’s your name?”

  “Bennett Young.” He gave his full name. And for good measure, “Say it.”

  Her pupils dilated and her cheeks flushed with desire. “Nice to meet you, Bennett Young.”

  She glided toward Bennett, but Weston pulled her back into his embrace, kissing her deeply while Bennett closed them into the room.

  A tall form moved out from the darkened corner of the room, and Bennett stepped back to make room for the sinister-looking male.

  Weston let the girl go, spinning her to face where Bennett once stood, but now Jace waited calmly.

  She gasped, fear permeating the air, but Jace quickly calmed her, locking his ice blue gaze on her. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not even here.” His mesmerizing voice captured the woman’s attention, hypnotizing her. Bennett had to admire how much the Guardian had grown in his power. “When you leave here, you will think, you will remember, having sex with Bennett.”

  She nodded mindlessly.

  “You want to have sex with these guys?”

  She nodded again.

  “Go to it,” Jace finished, stepping aside.

  Bennett moved to hang out behind the woman when Weston pulled her leggings down her thighs. As he sat down, she kneeled and unclasped the male’s pants.

  It was critical that Bennett remain behind the woman, at least during this part, Jace had said when they were making plans for tonight. But it didn’t mean it was comfortable. It was not like he wasn’t used to being around others having sex, but he usually had a role. This felt…weird, just standing here, waiting for her to finish blowing Weston.

  Jace settled in next to him, speaking low enough so the woman with her human ears couldn’t hear, “Everybody in place at the house?”

  “Yeah, the boss said we do this for a few nights. If Sigma doesn’t hit us now, they’re planning a different move.” And that would be bad. An attack on Spencer and her house was something they could plan for, but he couldn’t hang out at the club each and every night. Bennett couldn’t come here each night putting on a show or eventually they’d get busted. “Cassie pissed about you doing this?”

  “Nah, she gets it.” Jace blew out a breath, trying not to look at the couple while the smell of desire filled the air. “Besides, she has some continuing education to do and claims I keep distracting her.”

  Bennett snorted. “What? She can’t study on her back?”

  Jace chuckled wickedly. The male’s human mate had transitioned into their world pretty well, but it didn’t matter what the species, living with an alpha male shifter could be physically demanding.

  “No man, her sitting there, with that studious look on her face, intent on the laptop…gets me going every time.” Jace directed his attention to the woman, using his mesmerizing voice to describe what she would remember Bennett doing to her, while Bennett himself never laid a hand, or any other body part, on her.

  “You said you’re going back to school to get your master’s in finance. Does watching you study have the same effect on her?” Bennett’s tone was laced with humor, but he fought an all-out grin at Jace’s reaction to his question.

  “She likes ’em smart. Why do you think I’m still taking classes?” Jace didn’t bother fighting his own grin, his fangs lengthening slightly.

  “Dude, I’m so good, I don’t even have to touch her,” Bennett joked about the woman moaning.

  “Right, only cuz I’m telling her how good you should be.”

  Weston’s withdrawn groan signaled his finish and the high-pitched whine signaled the woman’s. Staring at the ceiling, out of the corner of his eye Bennett could see Weston pull the woman onto his lap, pull her leggings all the way
off, and settle her on his length.

  Most of Bennett’s role was done, but he couldn’t leave. Simultaneously, he and Jace turned around to stare at the other wall to give the couple a modicum of privacy.

  “How many girls we gotta go through tonight?” Jace asked.

  Bennett exhaled, thinking about his long, long talk with the commander. “At least two, but if we can do three, it would be best. Weston’s up for it.”

  The commander’s phone call to Christian solved the dilemma of who would help thoroughly scent the girls with sex. Commander Fitzsimmons grimly said he would step in, but hated taking another Guardian from Spencer’s protection detail. Bennett suspected his commander just wasn’t interested in random sex and would’ve dragged his feet to the club out of a sense of duty.

  Thankfully, the phone call to Christian planning this charade ended with him offering up a member of his pack who would be willing to play and could be trusted. Jace, having been a member of Christian’s pack before he met Cassie and was recruited by the Guardians, vouched for Weston.

  When Bennett frequented The Den, he was known for going all night. Now he just wanted to go home. But in order for Sigma’s spies to question any assumption the hybrid they were searching for might be Bennett’s mate, he needed to act like a single Guardian.

  “I would tell her to walk out like her legs were numb, but from the sounds of it, I think Weston is taking care of that,” Jace said wryly.

  The piercing, deep shriek of climax, followed by Weston’s grunts, signaled the end to this woman. Bennett would have to be seen walking her out and recruiting the next candidate.

  Gritting his teeth and gutting through it, he accepted the woman’s arm after she got her leggings back on and helped her back out to the dance floor. He quickly caught the next female’s eye but skipped over her. She was a shifter and their ruse wouldn’t work as well with her. Next up, a short, dark haired female he didn’t think he’d had before was looking his way.

  Picking her up next, she followed him into the room. Putting the night on repeat, Jace wove his magic, Weston worked the girl, and hopefully any Sigma plants in the club would report back that Bennett was still hitting up the back rooms of the club so when Spencer died, they left her dead.

  Chapter 12

  There’s movement, get back here. Commander Fitzsimmons sent his mental thought to Bennett as soon as he felt the faint vibrations in the air. Rhys was sitting on front deck of Spencer’s house staring out into the night while she was stationed inside with her trusty shotgun. The light rain had quit before making the ground soggy, and that would be good in case there was fighting.

  Bennett convinced Apollo to stay at the cabin babysitting the kittens. They couldn’t plan the dog’s nature to rescue Spencer into this set-up. Apollo was too unpredictable in a scheme of events that were already a giant unknown as it was.

  Kaitlyn was positioned at the edge of Spencer’s land, Mercury was camped on the back porch, Ronnie was waiting in the tree line, and Doc Garreth was on standby at the infirmary. Spencer’s brother had taken quite an interest in Doc’s business, and as for the healer, he seemed to enjoy researching the latest must-haves in research equipment and brainstorming ideas to obtain materials with Ronnie.

  Dani said there’s at least seven bodies roaming the woods, three fast moving, possible vamps or maybe only enhanced Agents. Mercury’s voice drifted through the commander’s mind. After Dante’s birth, Dani lost the ability to talk with the rest of the Guardians, but at least her connection to Mercury remained. Maybe over time it would grow stronger again. Until then, she normally texted, but silence was golden for this mission so she sent her messages through Mercury.

  Seven. Damn. They expected as much. Two failed missions striving to take Spencer in her house would cause Sigma to attack heavy. They didn’t waste their vampire Agents. The human Agents were getting to be a dime a dozen. Madame G was growing more frantic in her search for Spencer so she had no problem throwing away their lives due to lack of training.

  Dani spotted Agents X and E, boss.

  Fuck.

  Just fuck.

  Location? Commander Fitzsimmons couldn’t lose any more Guardians to the Agents and while he couldn’t see either X or E killing Spencer outright, they could cause enough of a problem that could end up getting her killed. Or maybe they’d capture her and let someone else do the dirty work.

  A thought occurred to Commander Fitzsimmons. It had been awhile since he’d crossed paths with X and some things had changed. It was worth a shot.

  Nice of you to join us.

  A throaty, surprised laugh drifted through his mind making his shaft tighten and that was a shitty problem to have with the Agent.

  My, my Rhys, you have a shiny, new talent. She always called him by his first name. He hated the intimate feel to it. And he hated that it was probably the reason why she did it.

  What are you up to? Mind-speak wasn’t a new trick, just one that didn’t work until recently.

  I’m about six feet tall. Another husky chuckle at her own joke rolled through his brain straight down to his cock. He really didn’t need this tonight.

  How’s Demetrius? Commander Fitzsimmons could get his digs in, too.

  Silence followed for several seconds. Do you think you can keep this girl from getting killed? There was no hint of a taunt, she posed a serious question.

  Yes.

  You do that then. It was like a mental door slammed between him and his connection to her.

  Commander Fitzsimmons rubbed his face and sighed. He should give up trying to figure out what X and her partner were up to, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was critical, to all of them.

  Spencer was shaking in her cowboy boots. The Guardians kept her in on their mental transmissions and she heard how many Agents were out there. Was this going to work? Where was Bennett?

  The lights in her house were off, darkness settled deep into the corners this far out of town. There had been no need for Sigma to cut the power, but it was meant to unnerve her and distract the Guardians. The problem with human Agents was that they strategized like humans. She could see as well as a full-blood in the dark. The Guardians took it all into account and it became part of the plan.

  She walked out the back door carrying her shotgun, passing Mercury who was sitting on the back porch. “I’m going to fill the generator and start it up.”

  “You should get back inside. I can do it.” He moved in a half-hearted effort to get up.

  “No, I got it, just keep protecting me,” she reassured him, sticking to the script.

  Leaning her shotgun against the outside of her house, she went over to the red gas cans and picked one up. Making a great show of filling the generator by the back corner of the house, utilizing her unique cussing method while creating a spectacle of spilling gas while trying to get the generator filled.

  “Aw, heck, Mercury. I spilled gas all over myself. I need to go get changed before I start this thing up.” She attempted to make her announcement loud enough without being terribly obvious.

  Mercury just grunted, facing out into the night.

  Just as she was about to enter the backdoor, Mercury popped up with his gun raised, firing into the trees. “Get down, Spencer!”

  She dove into the house, landing on her belly and rolling into the wall, knocking the breath from her. Dazed, she struggled to her hands and knees trying to get her bearings.

  Sounds of gunfire surrounded her house. Commander Fitzsimmons ambushed from the front like Mercury was from the back.

  Trying not to panic, Spencer strained to keep her breathing even, reminding herself that this was part of the plan, and these males and lone female were trained for this.

  Spencer released a shriek that was more nerves than fear when a round of bullets shattered the kitchen window, destroying the decorations she’d hung on her wall. Not having much time to resign herself to losing everything, she certainly didn’t want to witness the destruction
of her items. Not that she had much that was sentimental having lived a transient life, but this run-down house had been hers, and the items inside, while purchased used and well-worn, were also hers.

  Keeping low, Spencer scooted against an interior wall. She didn’t know yet if she’d leave through the front door or the back, so she centered herself as best she could in the house waiting for the commander’s signal.

  Oh, fudge! She’d forgotten her shotgun out back by the generator. It was more for show, but what if their plan took a detour and she found herself facing an Agent?

  Spencer! The fear in Bennett’s voice shot through her head.

  I’m okay. I think there’s a lot of them out there.

  We’re almost there. Keep your head down.

  The mental communication was shut down, and Spencer couldn’t wait for Bennett and Jace to arrive. She was onboard with making a scene of dying in front of all these Agents, but not if it meant one or more of the Guardians getting killed. With these odds, it wasn’t looking like one could happen without the other.

  I’ve lost track of the vampire. A woman’s voice mentally warned everyone, including Spencer. Son of a gun, a vampire! That one would be harder to kill and its heightened senses might be harder to fool about her faux death.

  The commander’s voice filtered in, strong, but grim. That makes eight Agents total, one’s a vampire, X is a shifter, and X’s partner E. The other five might not be so highly trained. I took down one in the tree line but I don’t know if he’ll stay down.

  I’ve hit two, but one’s started twitching. We need to roast ’em soon before I have to put them down again. This time it was Mercury.

  Injuries?

  Nothing serious, boss. You?

  Superficial, the commander responded. Kaitlyn, you got eyes on the side of the house Mercury and I can’t cover?

  That’s where the vamp was stalking. I can’t see him anymore. I’m moving closer. The female Guardian was concealed deep in the trees, and apparently the vampire was closer to the house than the rest thought.