Roane

Chapter Eleven

“What a fucking mess.” Hale pushed two bodies aside as they stepped gingerly through the bloodbath inside the house.

Apparently, in the week it had taken them to pinpoint her newest location, Sherry Thomas had done some damage. There were a dozen bodies littering the floor, all mangled and bloodied. It looked as if an animal had ripped through them. Computer equipment and recording devices were blinking and sizzling, courtesy of what looked like an acid that had been thrown over them. Great. The PPA hadn’t left anything to chance, except for their lives.

Roane studied the poor woman on the ground in front of him. In death, she’d resumed her normal form, no longer able to sustain the energy her inner beast needed. Looking as she did, an innocent young woman, no one would place her as the butcher behind so many bodies. Yet she’d taken them all out, savagely so.

The bullet between her eyes had been a merciful death.

She’d begged him to end it while ripping a PPA agent in half. Which had made it all the sadder. She’d retained enough of her sanity to know she was a monster.

“Shit. Roane, come here.” Derrick signaled the others over as well.

Ace whistled. “Hell. Maybe something good did come of this.” Vincent Hoff stared sightlessly at them from his position on the floor. His neck was broken, his body ripped in half. A trio of hunting knives stabbed his groin.

“I don’t think it would be a far guess to say Sherry didn’t like Hoff much.” Hale shook his head. “I wouldn’t put rape past the bastard.” The thought that Hoff had violated this woman, that he might have done the same to Caitlyn, stirred the beast to rouse. “Good riddance,” Roane rumbled and clenched the pistol in his hand.

“One less PPA asshole to deal with,” Derrick agreed. “By the looks of things, Sherry did the organization some damage. I count eleven other bodies.”

“Plus the ones I found in the bedroom,” Zack said, reappearing from the hallway looking somber. “This place wasn’t hers. It belonged to the Foyer family, as we knew from our surveillance and research. But they never had a chance to finish moving out.” Much of the small house’s furniture was gone. A few pieces remained in the garage and at odd places throughout the house. “How many?” Roane asked.

“Four bodies.” Zack paused, his eyes bleak. “One was a kid.” Silence fell over the room.

Roane cleared his throat. “Call it in, Hale. Let Doc know our status.” He leaned down over Sherry Thomas’s body and closed her eyes.

“Doc’s notified the local authorities.” Hale nodded to the remaining PPA agents they’d subdued. “We just need to finish dumping the PPA bastards she didn’t get to out in the woods. Another hour and these four will be up and running.” Though they had no love for Elliot Pearl and his PPA madness, they refused to kill outright unless in self-defense. Roane took pride in that. It made them one more step above the dicks that hunted them.

“Let’s wrap this up, then. I’ve got an itch to get home.” An itch with honey blonde hair and emerald green eyes.

“Just keep us out of your ‘scratching’ from now on,” Derrick grumbled.

“No problem.” Roane felt a burst of humor, a welcome respite from the grim reality around them. Since the night Caitlyn had bonded with the squad, her desire for the others had faded. Doc was right. Once the connection had taken, her sexual urges remained fixed to him and only him. Thank God. He didn’t know if he could share her again.

The nagging worry that the squad’s next mating heat might push her into needing them once more tugged at him, but he’d decided to cross that bridge when he came to it. No use worrying about that shit when he had other, more pressing matters to attend. Namely, this bloody chaos…and a woman who couldn’t commit.

Tired of waiting, he made a decision. When he returned, he and Caitlyn were going to discuss her feelings to his satisfaction and hopefully hers.

Except when he returned home, no one was there. Two notes were tucked under magnets on the refrigerator. Doc and Diego had gone shopping for food. So Diego was back.

Kelly and Caitlyn… Gone to the beach. Back soon.

Roane saw red.

“Hey, where is everybody?” Hale asked as he entered the kitchen. He saw Roane and froze. “What? What happened? Are they okay?”

The others filed into the room, staring from Roane to the fridge. As Hale read the notes aloud, everyone relaxed. Except for Roane.

Derrick had the gall to chuckle. “Trouble. I told you, man. With a capital T.” Zack and Ace shared a glance. They hadn’t sniped at one another the entire time they’d been away from the compound. A new record. And one Roane could care less about as he envisioned Caitlyn in danger.

“Someone’s here.” Hale looked behind him at the sound of a car coming up the drive.

After a minute, the door opened, and feminine laughter filled the silent house. “Oh, boy. You know, I’m hungry. Anyone want to join me for a burger at the diner?” A chorus of “hell, yes” followed the others out the kitchen.

“Kelly.” Hale grabbed a hold of her arm as they passed. “You hungry?”

“Hey, Hale! Actually, I just came from lunch but…” Her gaze lit on Roane glaring at Caitlyn. “You know, I am. Um, Caitlyn? See you later.” She left in a hurry.

Roane said nothing. He waited -- always fucking waiting for this woman -- as Caitlyn took wary steps toward him. His beast wanted out, to punish his mate for disobeying. For scaring the shit out of him. Roane tamped it down. Barely.

“Roane. I missed you.” Caitlyn ignored his anger and stood on tiptoe to kiss his chin.

Her hands stroked his chest, running over his nipples with a zing that had him hard and aching in seconds.

Crafty little thing. The woman had nerve, he’d give her that.

The touch of her lips and waft of her scent distracted him, as his hellcat had known it would.

“So you want to play?” he snarled, wanting to paddle her ass, but not until he’d fucked her into submission.

He kissed her, dragging out her moans of pleasure with his tongue and his hands. She was so soft, so rounded in all the right places. And she wore too many clothes. He smelled her creaming and stripped them both, ripping through their clothes with a clawed hand. The press of her naked skin against his shattered what remained of his control. He planted her ass on the counter. In one smooth, hard thrust he seated himself inside her and groaned at her perfection.

“Roane.” She gasped, clasping his neck tight. “Oh, more. More.” She arched, and he took her nipple in his mouth, sucking and biting with stinging pressure while he pounded into her. Her pussy gloved him, the suction so incredible, he was on the edge and cresting over in seconds. One hot race to the finish line.

Caitlyn quivered around him, so close to finding satisfaction.

“I don’t think so.” Roane glared and pulled out. Tossing her over his shoulder, uncaring of their clothes, he stalked to their bedroom and threw her onto the bed. Then he turned and locked the door.

Facing her once more, he caught his breath. Her eyes glowed, the pupils slitted. Her beast stared out at him, not compliant, not sorry, but challenging.

“You could have been hurt. They could have taken you.” He fought to maintain his normal form, afraid that changed, he might actually hurt her with his rough urges to teach her a lesson. She needed to know her place -- deep in his heart, under his control.

Caitlyn arched a brow at him, and he pounced with a curse, landing on top of her. He knocked the wind from her and took advantage.

Thrusting another killer hard-on inside her, he resumed a hard pace while asking his questions. “Why did you go? Was having fun so much more important than your safety?” He penetrated so deep, he felt the tingle at the base of his balls. God, she was so hot. So wet.

“Roane. Roane, please.” She was so beautiful, it took his breath away.

Wanting to please her even as he knew he shouldn’t, he fought for control. Roane pulled out and shoved her onto her hands and knees.

Angling higher, he pushed inside her ass. Slowly stretching her, he continued to glide until he was all the way in. Then he stilled.

“Tell me why. Why couldn’t you wait for me to come back? I’d have taken you into town.” He withdrew and rammed hard, causing her to gasp. “You didn’t obey me. You didn’t listen.”

With her head bowed, her long, golden hair sweeping the bed beneath them, she held the ultimate pose of submission. Roane began to fuck her in earnest, barely aware of what he said as he sought release.

“Don’t you know what it would do to me if anything happened to you? Don’t you know how much you fucking mean to me?” he roared.

She moaned and twisted, but he wasn’t done.

“I found a Circ in a houseful of dead bodies. And one of them was the dickhead who assaulted you. He could have raped you, Caitlyn. Could have taken you and hurt you.” Roane was spiraling out of control. He began changing as he pounded into her, unaware of the point when she changed too. He only knew he had to chain her to him. To tie her so tightly, she’d never be free of him. “I love you, Caitlyn. I can’t lose you.” He groaned and shot, again and again as he filled her with so much more than his seed.

Reaching for it, he rubbed her plump clit, so wet with her need. She spasmed around him and came in an instant, a tinder on fire from his touch.

“Roane,” she yelled and bucked, drawing him in farther.

Roane didn’t know how long they remained glued to one another, or when they changed back, when she murmured, “You’re making one giant wet spot beneath us. Let’s go clean up.”

Shocked at how violently he’d taken her, Roane gently withdrew and remained silent as he followed her into the shower. Stepping into the warm water behind her, he wanted to apologize. He wanted her to apologize, to give him a declaration of intent, of why she’d been playing with her safety when she could have --

“I love you,” she whispered and kissed him.

Roane buckled and dragged her down with him, so that she straddled his middle on the sizable shower floor. “Say that again,” he rasped, raining kisses down her cheeks and throat.

“I love you. Is that what you’ve been waiting for?” The tears in her eyes undid him.

“God, hellcat. I’m so damned sorry. I didn’t mean to be so rough. But I --” She smacked him in the chest, hard enough to make him catch his breath. “You idiot.

How could you not know I loved you? I’ve been sleeping with you for weeks. I moved into your untidy, nasty room -- which needs a makeover -- without complaint. I fucked four of your best buddies,” she whispered and blushed, “because I’m so connected to you, I have to be connected to them. We damn well mated, you jackass. And you thought I didn’t love you?”

Her voice rose. “And when the heck were you going to tell me you loved me? Because taking me up the ass and shouting it out for the world to hear is a little short of romantic!” Roane stared at the intensity in her dark green eyes and the beast rippling under her golden skin, and he lost it. He laughed so hard and for so long, she had to hit him to make him stop. The water ran over them like gentle rain, soothing and cleansing his fears away.

“Hellcat, you are so much my heart, it won’t beat without you. You’re my world. The air I breathe.” He wiped the tears from her starry eyes.

“And if you tell any of the guys what I just said, I’ll paddle your ass for weeks. I’m already getting shi -- crap -- because I gave you flowers and candy. I even asked Hale for advice in dealing with you.” He rubbed his eyes. “Big mistake.”

“I could have told you that.” She smiled and stroked his chest, playing in the slick slide of her hand over his pecs. “Why didn’t you tell me you loved me, Roane?”

“Honey, I was so into you, so in love with you, it didn’t occur to me you wouldn’t know. And with so much on your plate recently, I wasn’t sure I had the right to demand you admit your feelings for me. I thought if I hinted at it enough, you’d tell me.”

“No, you were afraid of the answer, weren’t you?” Her eyes twinkled.

“Hell, yes.” Roane cupped her cheeks and brought her mouth to his. “You’re it for me, Caitlyn. I don’t care if it’s been a day, a month, or a year since we met. I know what my heart tells me. I love you. And I’m keeping you.” She sighed and kissed him again. “Now that’s romantic.” She pressed his lips and pushed her tongue inside his mouth, licking at the cavern of his mouth while stroking his tongue with the promise of more. Not surprisingly where she was concerned, his cock stirred. “I think someone needs a good wash. Then we need to get back down here and see to this.” She grabbed him hard, and he groaned.

They stood, and she took her time lathering them both.

“I have no complaints about this master bathroom.”

“Just my room?” he said into her mouth, devouring every inch of her he could reach.

“Our room,” she breathed. “I’m making changes. I can work from the compound. I’ll live with you. But not in a puke green-colored room.”

“Whatever. Paint it pink if you want.” He sucked the mark on her neck that refused to fade. “Mine,” he purred.

“Yours.” She knelt before him, cupping his balls with a firm hand.

“Forever,” he demanded.

“Forever,” she agreed. “So long as we know who’s really in charge.” He opened his mouth to argue, but all that came out was a groan. “Yes, hellcat. We both know who’s really in charge.”

“You are, my bossy lover,” she teased. “When I say you are.”

“I love you, baby. So much.” He ended on a groan as she showed him who was boss.

Diego and the promise of good food returned. The team added a new member to its ranks for the first time in three years. And Evan’s recent discoveries about the female he’d been tracking excited him to no end. All valid reasons for Evan to ignore his private, rarely used e-mail account for days.

Finally free to simply relax, Evan decided to catch up with the rest of the world. Hale had called to let him know the squad was back in town and that it might not be the best time to interrupt Roane and Caitlyn upstairs. The pair had things to settle.

Positive progress toward a bright future. Evan hummed as he sat in one of his labs in front of his computer. He entered his password to access his mail and scrolled down his many messages. Office gossip from a few of the labs he contracted, trustworthy sorts from whom he regularly ordered medical supplies. A few jokes from his favorite biochemist at Hopkins. Some more news from the military friends he kept in touch with.

And a note from Elliot Pearl.

Scowling, Evan deleted the brief message after a quick read. When would Elliot learn he wanted nothing more to do with the man? Their relationship, such as it had once been, was over. Despite his interest -- purely scientific -- in what Elliot might be working on, Evan refused to reply. He would not get sucked down that hole again. Not after dealing with that cold-hearted bastard before.

Still, Evan couldn’t help wondering. Why Caitlyn? Why so many brutal failures on Elliot’s part? Why haven’t you tried to take me out of the way yet, Elliot? What the hell are you up to?

Kelly sat in a booth between Hale and Derrick, across from Zack and Ace. “Do you think Caitlyn will be all right?” She forced herself not to cover up. She wore a half shirt and shorts over her bikini, but the way the Ace and Zack kept looking at her, she felt naked.

“She’ll be fine.” Hale patted her arm.

Zack frowned.

“Why the hell did you two go to the beach?” Derrick asked, confusion on his arresting face. “You know what’s out there, Kelly. The PPA might not be an immediate threat to you, but they want Caitlyn bad.”

“No, they don’t.”

The others stared at her.

“We ran into Simon Dunn on Monday, the day you guys left.”

“What?” Ace bit out in a voice so menacing, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

“Explain.” Zack didn’t change expression, but his gray eyes darkened.

“Look, you can all sit there like big men, expecting Caitlyn to sit pretty and wait on you guys to live her life, but it’s not going to happen. She’s an independent woman. She needed to get out. Come on, guys. You locked her up for a month with no parole. Besides, with what she can do and my gun, we were safe.” Hale grunted. “There is that. You’re Annie Oakley with that thing. But it might have been a better idea to wait for us, as backup.” Kelly shrugged. “You can’t watch over her twenty-four-seven. And hey, it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission -- especially around you guys. Gimme a break. We went shopping. We took the ferry into Delaware and had fun. You remember that concept?

Everything was fine. We just happened to run into Simon Dunn on the way.”

“I want details.” Ace drummed his fingers on the table. His fingernails lengthened, and she swallowed, growing nervous even while a part of her was fascinated. She’d never seen any of the guys change.

Ace dug his nails into the tabletop.

“We were in a mall,” Kelly said quickly. “We were looking at some clothes in a store, and there he was. Simon glanced at Caitlyn and waved. He said ‘Nice to see you.’ If Caitlyn hadn’t dragged me away, I wouldn’t have known who he was. He seemed so pleasant, so normal.” So handsome, she didn’t say, but the look on Ace’s face suggested he was aware of Simon’s appeal.

“I’ll kill him.” Ace’s quiet announcement worried her, so much so that she reached across the table and took his hand in hers.

“It’s okay, Ace. He didn’t do anything more than that. He and his buddy saw us. They made sure we saw them. Then they walked away. I had my gun. Caitlyn had her claws.” Kelly frowned. “But they really didn’t want us. I felt his indifference.”

“What?” Ace ran his fingers over her hand, and the heat that traveled through her body would have knocked her on her ass had she not already been sitting down.

She swallowed hard and jerked her hand free. Ace’s tension, thankfully, abated.

“I just meant that you could tell he was sending us a message. They don’t want Caitlyn.

At least, not now.”

“Then what do they want?” Hale murmured.

Kelly wished she knew. Though Simon had breezed by them with little fanfare, later, on the ferry, she’s met his friend again.

While Caitlyn used the restroom, she’d waited outside by the railing, taking in the summer breeze off the Delaware Bay.

The same male who’d walked with Simon earlier suddenly stood next to her. Brown hair. Even features. Nothing out of the ordinary, save he was tall and obviously muscular in jeans and a T-shirt.

Then he sniffed her. Like a dog. He smiled and turned into six feet, three inches of blatant intimidation that she was savvy enough to beware.

“You take care, Kelly Malloy,” he said in a low rumble. “I’ll be seeing you later.” He licked his lips and bent to whisper in her ear. “Count on it.” Frozen in fear, she’d stood there like a damned idiot when he sniffed her again.

The bathroom door opened and caught her attention. Caitlyn came out with a frown.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s…” No one stood by her. “Not a thing.” Kelly forced a smile. “Can’t wait to get back and see the look on Roane’s face when he sees what you bought him.”

“Kelly?” Hale looked concerned.

Forcing yet another smile, Kelly shook her head. “Wish I knew what they wanted. But you know, I’m kinda glad I don’t. I figure if I stick to policing Doc and his bad habits, some of my cleanliness might rub off on you guys,” she directed around the table.

They laughed, but Zack and Ace watched her carefully, as if sensing there was more she hadn’t told them. Admit to this booth full of testosterone that she’d been threatened by one of the PPA? No way.

Kelly had no intention of giving up her independence any more than Caitlyn had. She knew how to use a gun, and she’d be damned if she’d let those jerks with the PPA scare her into kowtowing to cheap threats and intimidation. So the guy who’d sniffed her had freaked her out. Sniffing wasn’t illegal. Zack and Ace did it all the time.

“What?” she asked when Zack smirked.

“For a woman who wasn’t hungry, you nearly ate all my fries.” She had a bad habit of eating off his and Ace’s plates. “If you two weren’t so slow, I wouldn’t be able to do this.” She took his last fry, dipped it in ketchup, and tore it in two.

“Now, Derrick. I believe you owe me fifty. Hale, we’re even. And you two…” She paused when she caught the intense look the “boy toys” shot her. “Twenty each.” Derrick swore. “You did something. There’s no way Caitlyn fell for Roane’s sorry-assed gifts. Flowers.” Derrick snorted. “Gimme a break.”

“I still say it was the sex.” Hale grinned. “Hard for a woman not to fall for a man who can ring her bell. Right, Kelly?”

Feeling more than uncomfortable at being the center of attention, Kelly scowled. “I wouldn’t know.” She glared at Zack and Ace. “What are you two smiling at?”

“So I guess you and Stephen are on the outs? That’s too bad.” Ace sounded way too hopeful to be sincere as he and Zack slapped their money on the table.

Kelly didn’t bother to reply. She had no explanation as to why such a nice man bored her to tears. Stephen was tall, handsome, and charming. He didn’t curse in front of her, and his kisses were warm and pleasant.

He was dull.

“Stephen’s very nice.” Her defense sounded pitiful, as evidenced by the knowing grins passing around the table. Yeah, Stephen’s nice. He’s just not either of you. She stared at Zack and Ace, hungry for the two men she wanted with her last breath. Was Caitlyn right? Did they both feel for her, even a little bit, what she felt for them?

“So, Kelly.” Zack paused. “You want to hit a movie tonight?” The others stared at him, and if she wasn’t mistaken, the large male flushed. “With the rest of us. We were thinking of seeing the new Bond movie.”

Ace glared at him. “Bullshi -- I mean, that’s crap. We’re going to that horror flick.” Hale sighed. “I thought we’d agreed on that political thriller.” Then Derrick added his two cents, and the intimacy of the moment passed. Kelly didn’t feel left out, though. She belonged to this odd group, who felt more like a real family than her father back home. Kelly’s heart eased when around these men. They might not realize it, but they needed her to keep them real. To keep them organized and human, aware of what living around a female entailed. And she finally admitted to herself how much she might really need them.

Her gaze lingered on Ace and Zack. The pair noticed and smiled, their eyes glowing with the promise of something special, something just for her.

Maybe I need to take control of the situation with these two. Something inside her cheered at the notion. A flare of aggression took Kelly by surprise. It was with some effort that she swallowed down the demands building at the base of her throat.

“Tell you what, guys. We’ll see the political thriller tonight and the horror flick next week. Zack, I already saw the Bond movie with Caitlyn, so I’m out.” He sighed. “Now, how about we go double or nothing? I say Caitlyn’s pregnant within the next six months.”

“Three. You’re on.” Derrick gave her the fifty he owed her and bet another twenty.

As the others scrambled to catch up, Kelly scratched her arm, smoothing the itch under her skin, and downed another aspirin.

“Headache?” Ace asked quietly as the others argued.

“It’s nothing.” Nothing some hot sex with you and Zack won’t cure. She started. The low growl resounding in her mind was very much not her own. Ace shifted, and she caught his scent, like warm vanilla and an unidentified spice, one she could never mistake for anyone but him. Her fingers suddenly tingled, as if something needed to come out. She stared at her hands, alarmed and trying desperately not to show it.

It was definitely time to see Doc again.

Soon.