Hostage to Pleasure

CHAPTER 50

Dorian had decided to keep being rational—hell, he wasn’t going to throw away the miracle of his mate and child—but his cat wouldn’t settle, even though it appeared that Ashaya was now untouchable as far as the Council was concerned. In fact, according to Anthony, the Council was actively protecting her, and had even reined in Pure Psy on the matter.

The irony of it might’ve been rich had Dorian’s cat not been so aggravated at having been cheated of a target on which to vent its rage. Dorian had always known he was a little more leopard than other changelings in human form—his cat seeking to get out whatever way it could—but he’d expected the savage nature of his need to lessen after mating.

It had only gotten worse—as if the cat knew it would never be stroked by its mate, never be admired as was its right, never even be seen by the woman who was everything to it. The leopard was dying a little each day and all that distressed anger was now being channeled into a pounding need to blame someone.

His meeting with Anthony Kyriakus didn’t help matters. The rebel Councilor was blunt in his choice of words. “Ashaya needs to stay out of the limelight. Anything she does from here on out would just put her in danger, while contributing nothing to the cause.”

“Because she feels?” He barely kept his tone civil.

“Yes.” Eyes of cool brown met his. “Silence is beginning to crumble at the edges, but the ones who’ve broken the chains make our imprisoned state far too obvious—people aren’t ready to see the truth, to go out into the unfamiliar darkness.”

Dorian looked at Anthony, and wondered at the strength it took to play the double-edged game the other man had been playing for longer than any of them knew. “So, they’re all safe?”

“Yes. Amara’s been written off—she was already unstable and if they get a chance to hit her, they will. But she’s not an active target.”

“Keenan?”

“Was only useful as a way to control Ashaya. He’s not a uniquely powerful Psy in his own right, and no one seems particularly concerned about what happened to him.”

Dorian’s hackles lowered. “Thanks for the intel.”

Anthony gave a slight nod. “If I ever find out who ordered the hit, I’ll tell you.”

“Good. I can’t wait to tear his heart from his chest.” Even if it took years, Dorian would finish this. Patience was simply another side of stubborn, and Dorian had stubborn in spades.

But now, as he stood outside the cabin while Ashaya and Keenan slept inside—Ashaya in his bed, Keenan up above in a hastily but carefully erected addition to his home—his cat was anything but patient. It wanted to make someone pay. For being trapped, for being unable to protect its mate, for being goddamn latent. Claws shoved inside his fingernails, cutting and tearing. But never coming out. It fucking hurt. Until the pain and the anger left him unable to think.

And then the enticing scent of wild honey and woman heat wrapped around him. An instant later, he felt Ashaya’s cheek press into his bare back as her arms slid around to lie palms down over his chest. The man leaned back into her hold and even the cat settled a little under the petting. The pain faded.

“This bond,” she said, “it’s so deep, I can hear you in my heart.”

Smiling, he put his own hands over hers. “Good.”

Lips on his skin, soft, gentle, possessive. “No more blood, Dorian.” A whisper. An order. “The need for vengeance in you—it’s destructive.”

He turned to tip up her chin. “It’s who I am. The cat wants retribution.”

“No,” she said, passion in her eyes, “you’re a beautiful, charming, dangerous leopard. But you’re not ugly in your anger. I’ll allow you to keep us safe—I won’t get in the way of that—but if you begin to obsess over this until it burns a hole in your psyche”—she stabbed a finger into his chest—“I’ll tie you up and teach you exactly what an angry M-Psy can do to the man she loves.”

He blinked, taken completely by surprise. The leopard, too, was chastened enough to retreat from trying to dig its way out of Dorian’s skin. “Shaya—”

“No.” She kissed him. And kept doing it until he groaned and thrust his hand into those incredible curls of hers. “Enough,” she said. “The threats have all been neutralized.”

Something niggled at him, something he’d seen. A flicker of an image—a dark car with opaque windows. “I’m not sure that’s—”

She nipped at his lower lip, breaking his train of thought. “Forget vengeance. It’s time for us to learn each other.”

He retaliated with a kiss that left her breathless. “I already know you.” In his heart, in his core, to the depths of his changeling soul. “I just want to play with you now.” It was another kind of bonding, a kind that spoke to the cat even as it seduced the man. Maybe it would even be enough to heal the leopard’s broken heart.

“Why are you sad, Dorian?”

He couldn’t lie to her. “The leopard wants you to see it.”

“I see it every time you look at me, kitty cat.” A kiss pressed to the hollow of his throat. He shuddered under the caress. “But I’m working on the DNA. Give me a little more time. Tonight, let’s play.” A husky whisper that spoke of sex and hotter, richer things.

He slid his hands under the tails of the shirt she’d pulled on to cup the smooth warmth of her buttocks. “What about—?”

“Keenan sleeps like a log, and I’ll know the instant he wakes.” She nibbled at his lips. “Don’t you want me?”

He knew when he was being handled. He decided he liked it when it came from his beautiful mate. “You’re definitely a fast learner, Ms. Aleine.” Grinning, he tugged her away from the cabin and into the dark blanket of the trees. “Now, where was I?”

She shivered as he cupped her bottom again before trailing his fingers down to stroke over her cleft. “That’s… nice.”

“Nice?” He rubbed lightly, gratified to hear her moan. “I think you need an education in how to talk to me in bed.”

“Oh?” She was standing on tiptoe now, trying to escape his fingers but rubbing back against him at the same time.

“Hmm.” He nipped at the line of her neck, taking his time teasing the dampness of her. “Lesson one—use words like ‘magnificent, ’ ‘amazing,’ ‘mind-blowing.’ ”

She pretended to bite the line of his jaw. Almost purring, he slipped a finger into her. “Be good.”

“Make me,” she gasped as he pushed one hand up under the front of her shirt to cup the heavy weight of her breast. Ashaya was shaped like a woman should be, he thought, all curves and softness. As far as he was concerned, she was his own personal sensual banquet. And right now, she was hot and wet around him. He moved his finger with slow precision, coaxing her to ride him.

Her muscles clenched as he stroked a second finger into her liquid heat. He grazed her ear with his teeth. “Now would be a good time to use ‘mind-blowing.’ ”

She was melting around him but she didn’t surrender. “You have a high opinion of yourself.”

He brushed his thumb over her nipple. “The truth’s the truth, beautiful. Let me teach you all about it.”

Ashaya had seen flashes of Dorian’s charm during the course of their unusual courtship, but that night, out in the soft dark of the forest, she found out exactly how indulgent he could be with a woman he considered his. There was husky male laughter as he teased her, lashings of the most incredible pleasure, and tenderness, such exquisite tenderness.

When he withdrew his fingers from inside her, she whimpered. It got her a kiss. Then he opened her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders and to the forest floor. “Mmm.” A sound of complete satisfaction as she stood bathed in moonlight.

He licked the curve of her collarbone, making her shiver.

“Did I tell you I want to see you naked in the sun?” His hands squeezed her buttocks. “All smooth and pretty and mine.” Those strong hands stroking up over her back, then sliding down again. “Definitely mine.” Another bite along her neck, this one with a teasing flick of tongue.

Her breath was already coming in gasps, but she somehow managed to speak. “You seem to have a strange fascination with seeing me naked in daylight.”

“It’s my fantasy.” He shrugged, unrepentant. Then he dipped his head and bit her nipple.

She jerked, her hands clenching in his hair. “Stop that.”

“Why? You like it.” He did the same to her neglected breast.

Her heart felt as if it would thud out of her chest. “Dorian, I don’t have your control.”

“Baby, as I recall, I came with a single touch,” he said, between nibbling kisses. “It’s your turn.” Making a sound incredibly akin to a purr, he bent his head to suck at the pulse in her neck, even as he thrust two fingers deep inside her. Once. Twice.

And that was all it took.

She shattered.

The pleasure was incredible, but what was even more so was that she felt him with her all the way. And when she opened her eyes, it was to the openly pleased curve of his lips, his arms holding her tight. “Magnificent,” she whispered, teasing him because she’d learned he liked it. So did she. “But I would rather have you inside me.”

Feline delight in those blue depths, the dark edge of sorrow and rage pleasured away. Ashaya was no expert at passion, but if that was what it took to keep Dorian from the edge, she’d play with him night and day. Because he was hers to care for, as much as she was his. “Please, Dorian.” She smiled. “Come inside me.”

He chuckled. “I like the way you say please. I think I want to hear it again.”

“Please, Mr. Christensen.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hooked one leg over his waist. “Pretty please.”

He scowled. “It’s not begging if you smile.”

She leaned in until her lips brushed his. “You make me want to crawl all over you.”

“That’ll do.” He was inside her an instant later, a hot, hard intrusion that was somehow the most perfect of joinings. “Up.” His hand went to her bottom, urging her to wrap her other leg around him. The second she did, he backed her against the smoothness of a moss-laden trunk.

Then he proceeded to show her exactly how magnificent he could get. There were no hard, fast thrusts, nothing that might cause her back to bruise. No, tonight, he was determined to drive her insane with slow rotations that touched her every sensitive spot over and over… and over again. The orgasm hit her hard, and rode her in long lush waves, wringing her dry. Her bones turned molten.

It took a while to find the brain cells to say, “Mind-blowing.” His oh-so-satisfied smile of pure male delight followed her into her dreams.

And perhaps it was that smile that unlocked the knowledge in her mind.

She woke at dawn to find her cat watching her. He was on his stomach, the sheets barely covering his buttocks, all golden hair and bright blue eyes. “What?” he asked when she stared at him.

She went to tell him, but stopped herself at the last instant. Until she was sure, she had to keep this to herself. “Blondie?” she asked instead.

He grinned. “That was her revenge for me calling her Carrot. What’re you going to call me?”

She took a moment to think. “Mine.”

He gave her a startled look. “Possessive.”

“So?” She stole the answer he’d given her so many times.

“Nothing.” A meek look but his voice was filled with laughter. “I’m not going to argue with a sexy woman who wants to make me her poor, overworked love slave.”

She found herself laughing, even as part of her mind obsessively considered the implications of what she’d discovered in Dorian’s genetic structure. She was still working on the problem that afternoon as they drove to Talin’s home. It seemed the—

“Mommy, look!”

She glanced into the backseat to see Keenan making the strangest face. “That’s very interesting, baby.”

Satisfied, he nodded. “I’m a leopard.”

“Of course you are.” She looked at Dorian to see him biting back a smile. “Are you excited about seeing Noor again?” she asked Keenan.

“Yeah! We’re gonna play tag.”

She was excited herself—Jon was going to be there today, too. Turning to the front when Keenan became engrossed in a handheld game, she touched Dorian on the arm. “Are you sure Jon won’t have psychological issues with seeing me?” She’d been part of the lab where the teenager had been tortured.

“Kid isn’t ready to be your best friend,” Dorian said bluntly. “But he knows you got him and Noor out and he wants to say thanks.”

“I’m—” Ashaya never got to finish her sentence as gunshots came out of nowhere, hitting both the engine casing and the tires in rapid-fire bursts. Belching smoke, the car spun out of control. She turned to grab Keenan, but he was too far to reach. “Get down!” she told him, trying not to panic. “Baby, listen to me. Get down.” She reinforced the vocal command with a telepathic one.

He curled low in the seat, eyes huge.

“Good boy,” she soothed, just as Dorian managed to get the car straightened and said, “Hold on, kiddo.” He activated the hover-drive.

The vehicle lurched drunkenly but kept going. “Come on, come on.” He raced down the road and swung into a heavily forested area the instant before the car’s computronic engine began to splutter. “Get out.” Braking to a complete halt, he reached into the backseat to release a silent Keenan from his child seat. The boy wrapped his arms and legs around him as Dorian got out of the car and ran around to her side.

“Where?” she asked him, fear making her brain act with cold efficiency.

“Telepath Sascha,” he ordered as he gave Keenan to her and opened the trunk to take out his rifle, stuffing extra ammo into his pockets. “Tell her we’ve been ambushed.”

Ashaya didn’t tell him she wasn’t a strong enough telepath. Instead, as Dorian took Keenan again, and told her to follow him as he ran into the trees, she opened her mind to the Web of Stars and sent out a generalized distress call. She would’ve never done the same in the PsyNet, but this web was much smaller, filled with… family.

Amara’s mind responded first, though she was living and working in Sierra Tech’s mountain headquarters. I’m calling for reinforcements. A message sent through the Web.

Unable to hold the contact, given the intensity of the run, she dropped back out and tried to match Dorian’s pace. It was brutal, but she knew he was holding back so she could keep up.

He stopped just as she was beginning to fear she’d be unable to go any farther. They were in the midst of a grove of sorts but from the low density of the trunks, she had the feeling civilization lay not far ahead.

“Here.” Dorian’s voice was a command as he walked around a tree and nodded at the hollow created by its massive roots.

She sat down inside, holding out her arms for Keenan. Dorian’s eyes met hers as he bent to hand Keenan over. “I’ll be on the other side of the tree, in the branches. You’re safer here—whoever it is will expect me to stash you above.” He nodded at Keenan.

She understood the message—if anything happened, Keenan would hear it. So she’d have to ensure he didn’t. Using the maternal bond, she wrapped him in a cocoon that promised safety. He relaxed immediately. “The Council?” she dared whisper.

His mouth was a grim line as he shook his head. “Human.” Bending, he brushed his lips over hers in a fleeting kiss, his hand lying protectively on Keenan’s hair. “Don’t move.” He took a small gun she hadn’t seen him retrieve and put it in her hand behind Keenan’s back.

She slid her fingers through the grip. “Be careful.” Pressing her back into the tiny cave created by the roots, she curved her body over her son’s, aware of Dorian moving away. She heard a footstep or two, and then nothing.

Her leopard had gone hunting.

Dorian was furious with himself. He’d been so focused on the Council that he’d forgotten the other threat. No, he’d disregarded it because the threat came from mere humans. If he survived this, he’d have to fucking shoot himself for his arrogance. Hadn’t Tally taught him anything? One small woman and she’d managed to put fear into the heart of a Psy killer. Humans might not have changeling strength or Psy mental abilities, but they were no less strong… and had the capacity for as much evil.

Lying in the branches of a tree only a small distance from the one where he’d hidden the two most important pieces of his heart, he calmed down his heartbeat and focused, eliminating everything from his consciousness except his awareness of the intruders. The first thing he realized was that they’d planned this very carefully. Shit. He was moving back down the tree even as the curse passed through his mind.

Ashaya looked up in surprise when he returned. He took Keenan, holding a finger to his lips. “Grab on to me, K-Man.” When the boy obeyed, Dorian quickly scaled the tree and put him in the crook of a branch. “I’ll be back with your mom.”

A nod, not as much fear as he would’ve expected. Trust, he thought, his heart clenching, the kid trusted him. Going back down, he found Ashaya already halfway up. She let him help her the rest of the way. Once beside Keenan, she put her arms around their son’s tiny figure, and gave him a questioning look.

He made a circle with his finger. Surrounded. Unlike the Psy, these humans weren’t so egotistical as to come into leopard territory expecting easy prey. They’d brought a small army.

He watched as Ashaya settled Keenan more firmly into his little spot, then put her back to him so he’d be protected by her body. Holding the gun awkwardly in one hand, she lifted the other to show Dorian three fingers, then five.

Fifteen minutes until backup arrived.

Dorian mentally counted his ammo, the number of hunters out there, and knew he couldn’t take them all out, not with his gun alone. It might come down to hand-to-hand combat. He bared his teeth—no one was getting up here. Nodding to Ashaya, he moved quickly away and lower down the tree.

Finding a good spot, he lay along the branch, put his rifle in position. And waited.

The first man showed his head a minute later. His brains exploded over the forest floor an instant after that, the shot silent, the kill precise.

Everything stilled and he could hear them break their radio silence and talk for several seconds. Then nothing—as if this army was organized enough to get itself under control. They were more careful after that, but he was a cat, and this was his territory. Despite their camouflage gear, he picked off three more before getting up and moving.

Ashaya’s worried eyes met his as he climbed up to take a position along her branch. He took out four more men before they realized he’d changed position. They got wary after that, and his job got harder. He moved again, only managed to take out one.

He knew they were going to be able to pinpoint which tree he was in, very soon.

He put his lips to Ashaya’s ear. “Regrouping. Few minutes’ grace.”

She nodded. “Ten minutes.” It was more the shape of her lips than sound.

He gritted his teeth, knowing he wasn’t fighting amateurs. These people wanted Ashaya, and they clearly wanted her alive. If they rushed the tree, he’d certainly manage to kill most of them. But not all.

Not all.