It hit X that she was leaving a heavy burden on her family’s shoulders. Honestly, she wasn’t much older than each of them, but it felt like decades.
“I’ll call John tonight,” she said quietly.
Bennett didn’t reply right away. If he was surprised by her offer, he didn’t show it. Finally, he nodded. “Don’t screw over the commander. If he goes down, I’ll have to lead this team, and then I’ll be really pissed at you.”
Bennett started walking away when X called after him. “Hey Benji.” She’d heard Mercury refer to him as that once, so X did, too. Mostly because it irritated him. “You realize I’m your aunt now, right?”
She sensed his irritation spike and it made her laugh. He didn’t stop to acknowledge the point she made. Suck on that, Benji.
“I need your phone.”
Rhys had just stepped into his cabin. X lowered the book she was reading to look up at him through her hair. He liked the new cut, but it covered more of her face than usual.
“Okay.” He tossed it to her.
“And there’s a number I need.”
When she told him, he shouldn’t have been as surprised as he felt. He had the number ready, just in case. Her brother’s number changed frequently, and he always knew the latest digits in case Sarah or Ronnie needed to get hold of their parents.
Then she went out to the back deck for some privacy.
Rhys set the bag he brought home on the table. He had a strong hunch that X wouldn’t want to eat at the lodge with the rest of his pack, so he grabbed some burgers and fixings, and packed them to go.
He waited to eat until X came back twenty minutes later. Her face was ashen, shoulders not as square. No tears stained her cheeks, but he wished they did. Then it would mean that she let some emotion through.
“Have a seat.” He warmed up some food and set it in front of her.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, and went about eating like a robot zombie.
Rhys didn’t even bother with conversation, just cleaned up the meal when they were done.
“Will you…” Her gaze landed on the floor, her brow creased deep. “Can you…lie with me? Like you usually do?”
She wasn’t asking for sex. She wasn’t asking for anything more than spooning on the bed.
He took off his gear, kicked off his boots, and followed her lithe form into the bedroom. Crawling into the bed, he wrapped his arms around her, angling his hips back so she wouldn’t feel the ever-present erection he had around her. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel pressured into anything intimate she wasn’t ready for.
But that day, over a month ago in the woods, before she helped E escape Sigma, that day would get him through many nights. It already had. The feel of her lips wrapped around him, cupping his—
Yeah, so not the time.
Occasionally, he would feel her blink where her head lay on his arm. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep, and he followed her in to protect her dreams, anticipating a more nightmare-filled sleep than usual.
“It’s been two days, Commander. What do you have?” Councilman Seether rasped into the monitor.
Rhys smoothly rattled off his reply while Bennett observed. He figured he’d better have another Guardian clued in to what was going on with the council. Later, he would bounce ideas off Master Bellamy, since he was commander before Rhys, and might have more insight into how to handle the crusty bastards.
Telling them nothing more than how X was captured, he described the scene. He’d seen it enough in her dreams. He detailed what he knew of her time with Sigma and how she partnered with E, in hopes that they could work together to defeat Madame G.
“That’s what I have for now,” Rhys concluded. “I’ll work on getting more details.”
“Don’t you have a family name?” Councilmen Hargrath asked, with too much interest for Rhys’ liking.
Rhys was even more grateful Bennett was with him. The other Guardian needed to know what his own mate might face—the too avid interest from the council.
“It’s coming. She’s working on remembering the details of her history.”
Several members of the council shifted in their chairs. A few exchanged unreadable looks.
“And Agent E. Has he shown any penchant for malice?” Councilman Seether asked.
“None. I fully believe he is in his right mind.”
Councilman Hargrath leaned into the camera. “Why is he of sound mind and Agent X is not?”
“E was a grown man when he was abducted and converted into an Agent. X was still a teenager, and she was put through rigorous…efforts…to make her agree to become an Agent.”
Harrumphs and throat clearing could be heard as they digested that. It was a good sign, a sign that they were seeing E and X in a different light, and not just as Agents.
“How long do you anticipate this,” Councilman Seether waved his hand, “amnesia?” His tone was almost a sneer. Rhys wished he could reach through the camera and wring his wiry little neck.
“Unknown. Give me another week to work with her and report back.”
More looks were exchanged before the council grudgingly acquiesced.
Clicking off and shutting down the computer for good measure, Rhys turned to Bennett.
“What are we going to do?” Bennett asked.
Rhys knew the male’s fear was for Sarah, and with good reason. Keeping X a secret was risky. If they discovered her and started digging into her past, they’d figure out Sarah used to go by Spencer and is X’s niece.
“For now, keep stalling.”
“Does X know they know about her?”
Rhys sighed and scrubbed his face. He slept like shit, constantly being roused by X’s nightmares. He left his lovely mate sleeping in their bed this morning so he could come answer to the council.
“No. It’s not really on her mind right now, with everything else.”
Bennett remained ominously silent.
“What?” Rhys demanded irritably.
The blond male threw his hands up in a helpless gesture. “What is right. We need to tell the council something, like X’s entire family is dead and she wants to be your little mate and live happily ever after. Make up some bullshit last name, forge some records, whatever. Or, we need to own that we’re hiding hybrids—a whole family of hybrids—and deal with the fallout. This isn’t just about X.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Tension coiled tightly in his gut, and Bennett was standing on the release lever.
Both males felt strongly that they couldn’t trust the council to have X and her family’s best interests in mind. Not with a strong suspicion that the shifters on the Lycan Council had interfered with several packs, possibly killing members in the name of protecting bloodlines.
“You know it, but you’re letting X cloud your duties as pack leader.”
Before a coherent thought formed in Rhys’ mind, he had Bennett hauled up out of his chair and shoved up against the wall. The male’s eyes blazed blue fire, while Rhys’ own burned with his anger and frustration.
“Think about what she’s been through. Think!” Rhys shoved at Bennett, again wanting to shake the male. To the blonde’s credit, he didn’t fight back, sensing he’d pushed his commander too far. “When your first mate turned on you and you were tortured for her betrayal…remember? That was nothing compared to what Alexandria King was put through. Hell, it was nothing compared to what she went through as an Agent. So, yeah, if she needs some extra time to get her shit together and figure out what the hell she’s gonna do in this world, then I’m going to make sure she gets all the time she needs.”
Rhys abruptly let go and stepped back, his body coiled, ready, in case Bennett reacted.
Bennett warily regarded Rhys as he straightened his clothes. “If that’s what she needs, so be it. But after dealing with X and E for the last however-many years, I’m not ready to assume now that Madame G’s gone, they’ll be picture perfect citizens. I can’t trust that they’re not sittin
g back, waiting to see which way the wind blows, and forming a plan in their minds where the end justifies the means.”
Anger spiked in Rhys again, but he forced himself to remain still. Bennett was allowed his opinion, and dammit, he was watching out for the pack. Up until a few weeks ago, X and her partner had been the bad guys.
He glared at Bennett. “We have a week. You can at least give her that.”
Chapter 7
Silence.
That’s what X had gotten on the other end of the phone when she had called her brother. Her end of the conversation was basically, “Hey bro, guess what? I’m really alive. After two years of torture, I became one of the best Agents ever so I could finally kill Madame G. Wow, the kids have really grown, right?”
John hadn’t stuttered, sputtered, or bombarded her with questions. There was silence, followed by an even, “Whose body was in the car with Mom and Dad?”
“Probably a recruit who wasn’t performing. Sigma loved the old switcheroo trick.”
It’s how Madame G faked E’s death. It obviously worked. Since her family couldn’t call the cops and forensics wasn’t an option, she could see how three bodies burned beyond recognition would be pretty convincing.
“Anyhoo, I’m laying low. Why don’t you give Sarah or Ron a call?”
“Alexandria—”
X had hung up before listening to anything more and sat gazing out at the night after that. She hadn’t known what John was going to say, but honestly, she couldn’t take suspicion from him. Not after what she’d been through.
Then she went inside and, in a moment of weakness, asked Rhys to damn near rock her to sleep. Ugh. Three days out of Sigma and she was already a gigantic pussy.
Her mate had kept her nightmares at bay and she’d gotten a ton of sleep. But now she was restless, edgy. Again.
A whole day of wandering the cabin did not make for a happy X. She was tired of reading and it felt like the walls were closing in on her. But it was better than heading out the door and running into anyone. She just didn’t want to deal with that shit right now.
Rhys stormed into the cabin, his face clouded, looking like he’d had a shitty day at work. The door slammed behind him. They both stared at each other, their primal need for each other flared strong. She found an outlet for her restless energy, and her only source of comfort was in his arms.
Without saying a word, she floated over to him. He watched her advance, letting her set the pace.
When she reached him, she snaked her arms around his neck. His smoldering hazel eyes lit with more green than brown, gaining intensity as the scent of desire increased.
She let her fangs drop and nipped at his lip, liking his groan as she lapped at the drop of blood that the sharp point drew.
He tried to hold back, but she felt his resistance crumble as he bent his head down and captured her mouth, pulling her tightly against him. The steel length of him pressed into her belly and she enjoyed the delicious feeling of his solid body and warm, hot mouth.
It was her first real kiss.
She’d used her mouth for a lot of things over the years, but kissing passionately had never been one of them. Before life with Sigma, her teenage years included only a few chaste pecks with the gangly boy who took her to homecoming.
This was hot, it was intoxicating, and the intimacy was almost too much to bear.
As if sensing she was about to freeze up, he drew his mouth down her neck, laying sweltering kisses on her sensitized skin. He lifted her shirt to get his hands onto her bare skin while she worked his shirt up above his shoulders. He broke away from her only to shrug out of his shirt and toss it to the side.
She loved the way his muscles bulged and flexed as he leaned down to cup her bottom and lift her. X wrapped her jean-clad legs around him, wondering how decadent it would feel to have no clothing separating them. Burying her face into his neck, she clung to him, deftly licking the skin she planned to bite.
“Fuck, yes,” he rasped.
Turning her until her back hit the wall, he pressed into her and she ground into him. She struck, her fangs sinking in to find his sweet vein. He hissed, but it was far from agony. His rigid length pulsed against her abdomen.
She only took a few mouthfuls before she was overwhelmed, the power more than she could handle. The scent of his arousal, the heat blazing through her body, the pulse between her legs—she needed more.
Sensually licking over the puncture wounds, she gave them a little kiss. He groaned and undulated his hips into her, seeking some release to the pressure building inside him.
X lifted her head, looking up at him through her lashes. His face was tight with desire, his breathing heavy. Beneath her touch, muscles quivered from holding himself back.
“I want more,” she whispered.
His eyes flared, but instead of rushing to strip them both down, he proceeded with care, giving her plenty of time to call a time-out.
Lifting her shirt higher, he pulled it off and dropped it beside them; his stare ate up the view. She wore a standard black bra, nothing fancy, but the way his gaze burned made it seem like it was the most expensive scrap of lace.
With deliberate slowness, he slid his hand behind her. She arched her back for him, pressing her breasts into his chest. He unhooked her bra and dropped it to the floor, next to the shirt. She pressed against the wall and he leaned back, seeking an unburdened view of her assets.
“They’re perfect.” His hands cupped each breast, his thumbs brushing her nipples. A shiver traveled down her spine.
“They’re big.” She arched into him, his hands were so warm and doing the most wonderful things.
“I know. Perfect.”
Rhys bent his head, licking his way down to one nipple, then pulling it into his mouth. X ran her fingers through his short, russet hair, a moan escaping her when his teeth gently tugged at her tender flesh.
He turned his attention to the other breast and she used the opportunity to stroke his muscles. He was a male in his prime, a warrior, and he had the scars to prove it. His skin was hot and solid, like steel lined his bones. How long had she admired his broad, muscular shoulders? Now she could touch them to her heart’s desire.
Her body needed even more, his blood ignited every nerve ending in it. Unwrapping her legs from his waist, she placed her feet on the floor and gently pushed at him until he lifted his face to her. His eyes were hooded, dangerous in their smoldering intensity.
X ran her hands down his chest, enjoying every inch of rippled flesh along the way, until her hands ran over a pale rigid scar that crossed his right side.
He froze. Her fingers played over the ridge. It was a knife wound, one that ran deep, with scarring that could only be caused by silver.
“I didn’t mean to cut so deeply,” she admitted.
It had been their first meeting, their first fight. She and E were more than a little concerned facing Guardians, so when the ripple of awareness that the mighty male she faced-off with was her destined mate…well, her reflexes took over and she shanked him. With a silver-lined blade, no less. She was only barely able to pull back so she didn’t completely puncture his liver, causing him to bleed out before healing could begin.
“I wear my scars from you with pride.”
His said it so openly, so completely honest. She knew exactly what he meant. Her scars were minimal, any silver-made wounds not scarring as badly thanks to her vampire half, but she earned every one. Each one she earned from a Guardian, especially Rhys, was one that hadn’t killed her.
Her fingers played over the twisted flesh.
“Does it cause you pain?” she asked.
There was a hitch in his breathing, and she knew the answer.
Again, he was honest. “Sometimes it makes itself known.”
“I’ll have to make up for that.”
Leaning down, she ran her tongue down the length of the pale scar. He drew in a sharp breath and dug his hands into her hair.
Not
stopping at the end of the long scar, she kneeled as she ran her tongue down to the waistband of his black cargo pants.
She grinned wickedly up at him, undoing the buttons. “Remember the last time I was like this?”
“Fuck. Yes. The image of you, down on your knees, your mouth around me, was going to keep me sane for centuries.”
His eyes darkened as he watched her shove his pants down around his knees and take his massive length in her hand. Idly running her hand from base to tip, she enjoyed his reaction.
“You like this?” She ran her tongue along the same path her hand had just taken.
“Yes,” he grunted, his hands tightening in her hair.
“How about this?” She ran one fang along an engorged vein that lined his shaft.
“Especially that,” he rasped.
Using the sharp tip of that fang, she nicked the vein just enough for a drop to leak out.
Rhys jerked, his breath leaving in a rush. “Do it again.”
She complied and he jerked a second time. Then she licked the wounds closed and took him as far as she could into her mouth.
Rhys groaned and let his head drop back. “That mouth of yours is heaven.”
She tried not to smile as she sucked up and down his length, swirling her tongue along the way.
When his hips thrust with her motion, she knew he was close. Increasing the pressure and speed, she worked him into an explosion.
With a roar, Rhys went rigid, only his hips wrenching back and forth as he spilled into her mouth. She kept up her ministrations until he was well spent, his taste just as addicting as his blood.
Before she thought he had recovered, he was drawing her to her feet.
“My turn to taste you,” he growled, kicking his pants off the rest of the way. His mouth captured hers and he ripped her pants apart as he devoured her lips.
He lifted her and carried her to into the kitchen. Setting her butt down on the table, he snagged a chair behind him with his foot and broke off the kiss to sit down.
The Sigma Menace Collection Page 76