by Riley Storm
The idea was simple, but she had no idea how she was going to achieve it. He couldn’t possibly keep her tied up the entire way, could he? Someone would notice. What about when they stopped for gas? She would have to pee eventually, how was he going to handle that? There had to be some sort of solution, some way she could affect an escape.
Not yet though. So stay calm. Lure him into thinking that you’re slowly giving up, that you’re coming to accept your situation.
It didn’t take much for the tears to come. The moment she let herself relax, everything came rushing up and in moments she was a blubbering mess, only part of it faked.
“What you do?” Alexi snapped. “Stop it. Stop it now. No cry.”
Kal would have prevented this from happening to her. He would have stopped Alexi. Anne knew it, she just did. He was always there for her, had been from the very start. Everything he’d ever done for her, had been to help her.
Then she’d sent him away.
He’s not human! He’s some sort of superhuman. A mutant. Like in the movies, he probably went to one of those schools where the basketball court is secretly a roof to a hangar and the plane flies out of it and—
Anne shook her head. She’d always had an overactive imagination, but now was not the time for it. She was an adult, and needed to handle this situation like one. It’s not like Kal was going to suddenly appear and save her. She was on her own if she wanted to escape.
The truck bounced wildly without warning. Alexi swore in Russian while Anne screamed and tried to hold on to the handle. If they went off the road she would be trapped in the car.
“Drive in a line!” she shouted. “They’re painted on the road you moron.”
“That not me,” Alexi growled. “I did not do anything.”
Despite everything she hated about Alexi, Anne actually believed him.
“Did you hit something?” she asked, sitting up and looking behind them at the same time Alexi did.
That was when she saw Kal, in the bed of the truck, shirtless.
And mad.
No, not just mad, he was furious.
“Who is this idiot?” Alexi snarled, slamming on the brakes.
Anne was flung forward against her seatbelt. Something—Kal’s body, she realized—hit the rear of the cab hard, and then rolled over the top and was flung free of the truck.
“Stay!” Alexi said, pointing his finger at her, his own eyes alight with anger.
“Cause I can go so many places,” she said dryly, wiggling her hands where they were still tied up.
Alexi flipped open the center console and she gasped in horror as he pulled out a huge pistol and checked the slide quickly.
“Kal!” she screamed as her ex opened the door with methodical slowness, Kal’s body sprawled out on the empty road, captured in the headlights of the big truck. “Kal he’s got a gun! You have to get up!”
Kal didn’t move.
Alexi walked up to the body, kicked at him until he rolled onto his back. Kal was moving a little now she saw, but he must be so out of it after being thrown from the truck like that!
How did he get there in the first place, she wondered, but the thought vanished as Alexi raised the gun.
“No!” she screamed. “Alexi please, no! Don’t kill him! Don’t do it, please no, oh god, no, no, no!”
He didn’t pull the trigger. Instead he waved the gun around while bending over, looking at his feet. Anne frowned, watching as Alexi bent his knees, struggling. It looked like he was trying to take a step, but he couldn’t. Almost as if his shoes were stuck to the ground.
Or frozen to it, she thought, watching as ice flowed up Alexi’s legs.
Maybe Kal isn’t as out of it as he seems, she thought with satisfaction.
One of Kal’s hands shot up as the gun swung back toward him, and Alexi’s arm stopped cold, not moving. There was a tremendous bang, but Kal didn’t flinch as the bullet tore a hole out of the asphalt near his side.
Anne watched as Kal got to his feet. He took the gun from Alexi’s hand like he was a toddler, ejecting the clip. Then he squeezed his hand and Anne gasped as the gun bent out of shape. She hadn’t known he was so strong.
A loud roar reached her ears, varying in level. It took her several long moments to realize it was Kal, yelling at Alexi. Bellowing in his face. Her ex wasn’t cowering though. She saw him shouting right back, pointing at his feet.
“Alexi you idiot. You couldn’t take him no matter what,” she said with a sigh, knowing that her ex was trying to convince Kal to give him a ‘fair’ fight. He likely figured his martial arts skills would save the day.
Kal it seemed, also realized that Alexi wouldn’t give up unless he was well and truly afraid. The ice melted away and her ex was freed. He immediately swung at Kal.
It didn’t surprise Anne one bit to see Kal catch the fist in his palm, holding it still. Alexi couldn’t move it in any direction.
He tried another punch with the other hand, but Kal deflected that calmly. The same happened with a kick. The entire time Kal was still holding the other fist perfectly still, both their arms outstretched.
Then it was Kal’s turn. He closed the distance between the two of them faster than Anne could keep up with. The next thing her mind was able to fix on, Kal had Alexi upraised in the air by his neck, and was in the act of slamming him down onto the hood of his own truck.
“You leave her alone,” she heard him snarl. “Forever. You do not come see her. You do not call her. Nothing. She isn’t yours, Alexi, do you understand? She’s mine. I claim her.”
A shiver ran down her spine at hearing those words, stealing Anne’s breath away as she watched.
She was his.
It felt so right, like everything in the universe simply lined up when she even just thought it.
“I get, I get,” Alexi was stammering. “Please, no kill.”
Kal looked disgusted. “If you so much as think about her again, I will come and hunt you down and kill you. You can see how easy it will be for me. If you leave her alone, and if you swear to never hurt another woman again. I will let you go.”
Alexi nodded frantically. “I promise! I promise! I promise!”
Kal tilted his head to the side. “I mostly believe you.” He frowned. “Mostly. But just to be sure…”
Anne gasped as he grabbed Alexi by the crotch. Her ex screamed so shrilly she wanted to cover her ears.
Then Kal tossed him off the hood and left him in a crying heap on the side of the road. He stormed up to the passenger door and simply pulled it off the car with a screech of protesting metal.
“Sorry that took so long,” he said, snapping the rope that held her to the car with that same casual ease.
“Oh don’t be. That last scream of his,” she said, eyeing the crumpled, sobbing pile of her ex-husband. “Makes it all worth it.”
“Come on,” Kal said, laying an arm around her as he pulled her away. “Let’s go. He’s suffered enough.”
“He tried to kill you,” she pointed out.
“Tried,” Kal emphasized. “He’s an asshole, but I generally try to avoid killing humans if I can avoid it. Not a good look for my kind.”
“Your kind,” she said softly as they walked down the road. “Just what kind is that?”
Kal grinned. “I was hoping you would ask that one day, I’m not going to lie.”
She looked around, realizing they were leaving the truck behind. There were no headlights ahead of them.
“More importantly though Kal,” she said, biting her lip. “Just how are we going to get back into town?”
To her astonishment Kal grinned widely. “I know a way. The same way I got here.”
Anne’s stomach dropped. What was he up to now?
Chapter Thirty-Two
Anne
“Kal!” she screeched. “Stop it! Stop. Fly straight damn you! Straight! Aaaahhh! Noooo!”
She clung to the rope in her wrists as tight as she could, forcing her body f
lat against his scales, trying to get closer to Kal.
Well, one version of Kal. His dragon version. The platinum-white scales weren’t very bright in the night sky, but they were bright enough for her to see them. It helped that she was riding on his back!
“I thought you were like, some kind of mutant!” she shouted. “This is not what I imagined!”
“Well you should have asked me the other night then,” the booming, melodic dragon voice came back, filled with laughter.
“How is there not another way to get home!” she yelped, ignoring his gentle barb about her actions.
She shivered, still trying to accept that this is what Kal really was. A dragon. Not only accepting that, but accepting the fact that she was riding upon his back. Far below them was the town of Five Peaks. She knew, because if she sat up straight and looked over his shoulder, she could see it way below.
Because they were flying.
“How is this real,” she moaned, not sure she wanted an answer.
“Well,” Kal began. “Gravity exerts a downward force on all objects. But when a strong enough counter-force is applied, an object can rise above gravity. We’re then moving because thrust is applied through my wings, which also swoop backward slightly and—”
“Oh shut up!” she shouted, knowing he was just making fun of her. “You know I meant the fact that I’m riding a dragon! A dragon that a few minutes ago was you. A very naked you, I might add,” she said, noting the clothes that were tucked within her shirt.
Kal’s clothes. He’d taken her off the road once they were far enough away from Alexi. There he had stripped down, and told her he was going to show her his true self. She’d already seen him naked, and quipped that he was now performing some sort of ritual of ‘here I am, in all my glory, judge me not’.
Kal had snickered and then abruptly he’d shifted into a massive fifty-foot long dragon.
Apparently he’d been intent on getting the last laugh.
Or scream, because that’s what she’d done as he’d disappeared into the monstrous form.
To both of their surprise however, Anne hadn’t gone running. She’d screamed several times, until she was out of breath. Then she’d just stared, stunned by the sleek beauty of the creature that was Kal.
“It’s really quite amazing to think that you could become something so beautiful,” she shouted into the wind, her eyes squeezed shut.
“Oh please,” Kal shot back. “I saw you check me out. All of me.”
Anne was sure she’d be blushing if it wasn’t so cold.
“How long does this take?” she asked, changing the subject. “I have no concept of how fast we’re going.”
“Not much longer,” Kal replied. “I’m already lowering into the mountains. The wind can change abruptly here, so don’t let go until we’ve landed. We’ll be fine, but I don’t want to risk anything.”
“Yeah, okay.” She clutched the rope tight and lay pressed against his scales, stealing their warmth as best she could.
A short eternity later, she was jolted as Kal landed in a rush of air. His great wings beat several times until they came to a stop.
“You have reached your destination,” Kal said in his best approximation of a GPS unit’s voice.
Anne laughed, partially at his lame joke, but mostly in relief as she slid off his back and onto the ground. Her legs wobbled slightly but she steadied herself, standing up and taking a deep breath.
“You did well,” Kal said from behind her.
She turned to see he had already resumed his human form and was walking toward her. Still naked. Very, very naked. Junk swinging to and fro. She couldn’t help but laugh at the way it flopped around while he walked. So awkward looking.
How did men deal with that on a regular basis?
“Pants, please, if you’re done staring,” Kal teased.
Anne bit her lip, pulling his pants and underwear out from under her shirt where she’d tucked it away during the flight.
“Thank you,” he growled. “Truck is unlocked. Phone is on the dash. Go call Liam.”
Anne nodded. “Thank you,” she gushed, amazed that he had anticipated her next question.
She’d been keeping her worry about her son to herself so far, not wanting to urge Kal along any faster. But Liam must be terrified for her right now and she desperately wanted to hear his voice. Because she was fearful for him. All alone back at the bar, not knowing where she was.
Kal had told her about Liam’s phone call to him, and she held Kal’s phone, trying not to shake as it rang.
“Hello?” she heard Liam say as he picked up.
“Hi baby,” she said, blinking back tears. “It’s mommy.”
“Mom!” he exclaimed. “Did Kal save you? He said he was going to! Did he come in and do a superhero thing and pow bam?”
She smiled, sagging against the car.
A pair of arms came up from behind her, wrapping themselves around her, holding her steady.
“Yeah Liam,” she said with a smile. “He did a superhero thing.”
Behind her Kal breathed laughter through his nose. Anne leaned back into him.
I claim her!
The words shot through her, drowning out what Liam was saying for the moment. She stiffened in Kal’s arms, stunned at the power of the memory. Of what he had said.
“How are you doing?” she asked. “Is everything okay there? Did you lock the door?”
“I’m fine mom. I’m ten, I can take care of myself. I’ll be okay. Are you guys coming home?”
“Yeah,” she said. “It’s a bit of a drive, but we’re coming back. Do you need us to get anything?”
“Pizza?” he asked hopefully.
She was about to say no, but Kal leaned forward first. “What do you like on your pizza?” he asked.
“Pepperoni! Extra cheese!”
“Your son has good taste,” Kal chuckled, then back to the phone. “We can get that.”
“Just stay at home okay?” she said, taking over the conversation again.
Kal’s head stayed next to hers.
I claim her!
Anne bit her lip.
“Yeah mom. I’m watching TV upstairs.”
The TV still worked? She hadn’t tried it, but that was surprising. She’d expected it to be melted.
“Okay stinker. We’ll be back with some pizza soon.”
“Okay. I love you mom.”
“I love you too,” she said.
Liam hung up.
“Sometimes I’m glad he’s still so young,” she said quietly. “He can so easily forget things and accept other things. I thought he was going to be traumatized by what Alexi did.”
“You said he wasn’t even downstairs when it happened. He probably didn’t realize the gravity of the situation. Which is okay. Because it will never happen again,” Kal finished with a growl.
I claim her.
“Back there,” she said, spinning around in his arms, abruptly becoming aware of the fact he was still naked from the chest up.
Thick arms wrapped around her waist, and she only had to tilt her head forward a few inches to rest it on his massive pec’s. He was so big, and made her feel so small. And safe.
“Yes?” Kal said when she didn’t continue, distracted by his physical magnificence.
“You told Alexi that you…you claim me,” she said quietly.
Kal was silent for a moment. “Yes.”
“What did you mean by that?” she asked.
Kal’s eyes met hers, then looked away, then came back. “I meant what I said,” he told her quietly.
“I see. It just seemed like such a, um, powerful statement, from you,” she said quietly.
“I needed your ex-husband to understand that you didn’t belong to him anymore. I had to get it through his skull,” Kal said awkwardly, clearly tiptoeing around what she was truly asking.
“Right,” Anne said quietly, bringing her right hand up and laying it on his chest. “Are you sure t
hat’s all?”
Kal was quiet, but he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “We don’t have to talk about that yet,” he said.
“Mmmm.” Her other hand came up as well. Kal shuddered ever so slightly under her touch. “Then perhaps we can talk about how you saved me. And that I am very thankful for that.”
Kal nodded tightly. “You’re welcome,” he said.
Anne swayed a little closer to him, basking in the heat that rolled off him in waves, warming her up after the flight. She was feeling hot and tingly now. Very warm.
“I’m sorry I was so rude to you the other night,” she said huskily.
Kal nodded again, seemingly his only response. “I’m sorry that you had this all sprung on you the way it was. It can’t have been easy for either of you.”
“Liam thinks you’re a superhero. He’s still not ready to think about you and me, but he thinks you yourself are okay now, I think,” Anne said with a smile.
“It’s a start,” Kal agreed.
“And what about us?” she asked, digging one fingernail into his chest.
Kal flinched. “Anne, listen. You don’t have to do this. You’re running on adrenaline. You’re probably not thinking straight.”
I claim her!
“I heard you,” she said, ignoring him. “You said that you claim me. That wasn’t just to get rid of my ex. That was how you felt. It’s what you want, isn’t it?” she said, all her nails digging into his skin now.
Kal bit his lip. “Yes,” he said at last. “It is.”
Anne trembled at his admission. She wanted him too.
“If you want me,” she said quietly. “Then take me.”
Her permission broke Kal’s restraint. He was all over her in a flash, kissing her hard, lifting her up onto the hood of his truck. She gasped as she thudded down. Strong hands ran over her body.
He was taking her. It wasn’t soft and gentle, but rough and passionate. Desire that had been restrained between them was unleashed like water from a crumbling dam as lust and perhaps something more poured forth.
Anne tore at his pants, undoing the belt and dropping them to his ankles. She moaned and gasped as his mouth lit a fire on her neck, biting, kissing, licking. Every hair on the back of her head was on end.