Alcandian Soul (3 page)

So it was going to be his hand that pulled her into a wormhole—and escape. Right and wrong really didn’t matter when you had to place the safety of others before your own feelings.

Shit
.

Chapter Two

Cassandra glared at Rinehart’s card the next morning as she waited for her coffeemaker to brew up some quick salvation. She’d kicked around the bed more than slept, and her head was aching with what promised to be a splitting migraine in a few hours. Despite her brain wrestling with her options for most of the night, she was no closer to figuring out what to do. All of her options looked bad. For once she was looking forward to a boring day of warehouse work among men who wouldn’t talk to her.

A vicious smile parted her lips. She’d be more than happy to tell anyone who tried to dress her down today just where to shove his cock. Self-righteous bastards! She’d followed Rinehart’s orders to the letter and this was the reward. She glanced around the stark, cell-like apartment. She hadn’t even been allowed to order a kitchen rug from a catalog. It stunk that she’d been reduced to asking to place that order in the first place. They were even whitewashing her personality, just like they did to new recruits reporting for boot camp. You were stripped of everything in order to teach you the value of the team you were going to become a part of. You wore the clothes they gave you, slept when they told you, and every single personal item was shipped back to your next of kin until you proved yourself by graduating.

Well, screw them all. She wasn’t picking up the phone to lick his boots. So what if she remembered being abducted? There wasn’t a whole lot anyone could do with old information like that. It wasn’t like she was on speaking terms with Cole Somerton. The man was long gone and he hadn’t left her his card.

Too bad
.

Her eyes rounded with anger as she slammed her coffee mug down onto the tile countertop. She needed to kick that little voice in the ass before she went down any road that included even being polite to Cole Somerton. Her nipples tingled and she looked down at her breasts like they belonged to someone else. Lusty dreams were one thing but she was wide awake. She rubbed her palms over her chest and shivered as sensation shot down her spine.

Oh Jesus! She needed a vibrator. Maybe she should ask Rinehart if she could order one!

But she looked again at the front of her shirt, at her raised nipples, and frowned. The really scary thing was the way she could feel each nipple, and exactly how uncomfortable the fabric of her bra felt against the puckered tips. It should be impossible to be that aroused just by thinking about Cole Somerton. The man had never even kissed her. Yet her body was reacting to him.

Cassandra shook her head and picked up her coffee. She wasn’t thinking clearly. Having just remembered her abduction, she was still in shock. That at least made sense, even if it ticked her off once more. She had never gone through the steps of healing needed after an abduction, so she was still emotionally drawn to her kidnapper. Maybe she hated that, but it was logical.

She turned and moved towards the front door. At least she could spend the day introducing her mind to the fact that Cole Somerton was a bastard who had tied her up and stuffed her in a trunk. He’d also messed with her mind and was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a major asshole.

Hey, it was a good place to start and she was already in a lousy mood.

* * * * *

He really had been on Alcandar too long. Cole felt a self-satisfied grin curve his lips as he surveyed the traffic at the main entrance onto the base he used to call home.

He could feel Cassandra, like she was a favorite scent his nose was identifying because he enjoyed it so much. The awareness of that fact twisted through his brain as he moved past the gate, his brain working the problem of just how to enter the restricted area. Instead of becoming frustrated, his instincts rose to the challenge of outwitting the security he’d once helped to design. Defeat wasn’t even considered as his eyes closed and his mind filled with the feeling of being close to Cassandra once again. A soft growl shook his chest as his eyes opened and the instinct to hunt took control. Cole let it carry him away from any further consideration of right and wrong. What mattered was the hunt…

And the prize.

* * * * *

Cassandra burned her hand while cooking. She yelped as she jumped away from her two-burner range top. She’d only tied her cooking apron around her waist, and the top portion of it hooked the pot as she moved, slinging her dinner onto the kitchen floor. The dark red spaghetti sauce was a stark contrast to the dull white of the floor, making the mess look humongous.

Well, that placed the cherry on top of her day.

She chucked her apron aside before turning to grab a dishrag and begin cleaning up the mess. She indulged her temper as she worked. But it left her emotionally spent by the time she filled a bowl with cold cereal. Anger only lasted so long, and despair was often right on its heels. There was only a single chair in her living room, so she took her cold meal into the bedroom and curled up against the headboard. A small television sat on top of her dresser, which was the only other thing in the room.

She left the room silent as she ate. Fending off depression took up most of her attention, and she sat the bowl aside before emptying it. Something had to give. All she needed to do was wrap her fingers around the right crowbar to pry open the box she was in.

Maybe Rinehart.

The problem was she didn’t trust the man. Getting up, she paced around the room. What she needed was someone on her side. She wanted to call her dad, but her brain rejected that idea. He’d worked hard all his life, and this mess could drag him in as fast as it had her.

So who?

The answer sprang to mind as she looked at the bedroom window. Her blinds were closed but light flickered against the sealed slats. Right across from her housing was the entertainment and relaxation depot. A sort of unwinding spot for the Special Forces coming in. Any team fresh from a mission was restricted to this section of base for a few days in order to reintroduce them to civilian life.

Sure, the men who were around heard the stink about her, but right over there were guys fresh in from the field. All she had to do was snag herself an officer equal to Rinehart. That wouldn’t guarantee freedom but it would drag the mess into a larger forum.

In the bathroom, Cassandra pulled out a small makeup bag. She eyed her face as she unpacked the bag. It’d been weeks since she bothered to critique her appearance, but tonight she was going to bait her hook and catch an officer. If that meant playing dirty and dangling sex appeal in front of a bunch of newly returned Rangers…well, no plan was perfect.

The club was full of smoke. Apparently, none of the Special Operations guys had heard all the scientific data linking cigarettes to cancer. Or maybe they just figured their lives were far too dangerous to worry about something that might kill them thirty years from now.

It wasn’t hard to grab their attention. The moment she arrived, Cassandra became the instant beacon of every set of eyes in the place. Her father would have been proud at the way she walked right through the press of hard, muscle-packed bodies to the bar for a drink. Her eyes slipped over chests and shoulders, looking for a pair of oak leaves instead of stripes. Wrapping her hand around the drink the bartender produced, she turned and lifted the glass to her lips so that she could stare over the rim of it at her companions.

They weren’t staring at her. No, these sorts of men were more practiced in the art of observation. They continued to talk in soft tones as their eyes cut away from their companions to inspect her. It was a waiting game. They waited on her and she searched the room, looking for the officer who had to be there. Ranger units were tighter than many families. Their commanding officers always unwound along with their men. Segregating themselves by using their superior rank upset the team mentality. That translated into survival for men like these. There was a major in the place, more than one by the number of men lounging around.

Cassandra caught her first high-ranking officer as the man was leaving. Despite the smoke filling the place, the man was stepping outside to light up a new cigarette. The front door of the club stood open and she watched him lean back as he lit the end and enjoyed a long drag off it. He rested against the side of the building as he looked at the night sky. The bond between him and his men kept him there, she was sure of it. There was something in his body language that told her he wanted to be anywhere but in the club.

A little twinge of guilt hit her, but Cassandra pushed it aside. She didn’t have enough options to be soft. She needed the man and she was the only female in sight, which was the only card she had in her arsenal to play. Besides, he was a Ranger, it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to get him to lend weight to their case.

She was finished waiting on Rinehart.

Turning around, she walked towards the back of the club where the restrooms were. She walked right past and ducked out the back door. The night had turned dark, the base lights turned down, so that everything was in shadow. Her eyes hadn’t adjusted, so she paused for a moment along the back of the building. A breeze blew her hair and she grinned as the strands floated and swayed. It had been a long time since she’d left her hair down. A really long time, and a little ripple of sensation moved down her spine as she felt the silky-soft strands against her cheek. Maybe it was the hope of changing her circumstances that was firing up her spirit. Cassandra didn’t know and she didn’t much care. All that mattered was the surge of possibility rising in her. That need to climb back onto her feet and demand her fair share.

She was going to get it, but the face that unfolded inside her mind wasn’t Rinehart’s as he went down, it was something far more addictive. Cole Somerton paraded through her thoughts like he owned her. That shiver shot down her body again and this time it went straight into her nipples. The tender flesh tingled before each one tightened into a hard point beneath her shirt. She bit into her lower lip as she felt that zip of sensation moving lower until it touched her clit. She was acutely aware of the spark of arousal as it moved through her flesh. She shuddered as she felt a soft throb from the top of her sex. The sensation was deep and completely real. No dream-spun lust that she could attribute to normal, healthy hormones. This was need, and it stemmed from a man she was never going to see again.

To hell with it! Maybe she’d just see if the major wanted to join her in a quick round of hot sex. That would take care of her Cole-inspired lust.

“You will not do anything of the sort.”

Cassandra jumped away from the voice but a large hand jerked her to a halt. Strong fingers curved around her wrist and turned her towards a huge man. She knew him, recognized his scent. Her body shivered as he turned her and bound her to his body. The throb in her clit increased as Cole Somerton emerged from the night like a demon sent to snatch her soul while the world was at the mercy of night creatures.

She shook her head as her body bucked against the hold on it. His hand clamped over her mouth as she tried to let out something between a demand and scream. Ten feet away was a group of Rangers. It was insane to think that she was being captured so close to them.

Cassandra shook her head violently as she struggled for freedom. Somehow, she knew that Cole wasn’t just playing with her. The note in his voice had been too commanding. Like an order that she’d regret disobeying. There was no logic to her thinking, only response to the hard body holding her against it.

“Stop.” Cole offered her another command in his firm tone. His lips were so close to her ear she felt the brush of his breath against the skin of her face. His head moved so that he was staring down at her face once again and his eyes flashed with a blue light. Cassandra froze as she stared at him. Her mind was playing tricks on her, people’s eyes did not have electric currents running through them. At least not in real life.

“You need to delay this until we are back on Alcandar.”

She jumped as the second voice came from over her shoulder. Another hard body moved behind her and kept coming until she was sandwiched between both men. Her head didn’t reach either pair of shoulders and a spike of true fear went through her as she strained against them but didn’t gain even a millimeter of space.

“Until later.” Cole whispered the word as he stroked his thumb down her cheek while keeping his hand firmly over her mouth to keep her silent.

Two more hands grasped her head as something touched her bare neck, right over her carotid artery. Cole watched her as that crazy blue light went through his eyes again. Cassandra stared at it as her body became light, so light she was floating through air. A little sigh got caught as Cole’s hand trapped it against her lips. She pressed a kiss into his palm as the tender surface of her lips enjoyed the warm press of his skin against her own. Her eyelashes fluttered as the hand over her mouth moved and Cole stroked her cheek. She floated right into contented slumber as he caught her sagging body.

Cole savored the feeling of Cassandra’s compliance. Something surged though him, and it felt a whole lot like possessiveness. He bent one knee and lowered his shoulder to take her collapsing body. Dyne replaced the syringe he’d used to administer a sedative inside his pocket to hide any evidence of their presence. Cole listened to the sounds of the men inside. His senses were keener than when he’d last been on Earth. He detected more scents, heard tiny details as his body responded to new skills the Alcandian diet had unlocked. Every human held the capacity—accepting that was the first step.

Moving away from the building, he laid Cassandra in the cargo space of a flatbed Hummer. A quick jerk of his wrist sent a tarp over her body before Dyne used his wristband to override the electronic ignition system. The engine purred to life as Cole took the driver seat and pulled onto the road. Their stolen base identification cards barely gained a second glance from the sentry on duty at the restricted border before the gate opened and they drove through onto the main base.

Cole kept his hands on the steering wheel but he wanted to be in the back stroking Cassandra. Being in contact with her was strangely comforting as they proceeded towards the main gate of the base. He should have been tense, more concerned with making it off base and off Earth. Instead, his brain was focused on the fact that he was going to succeed, almost like he was able to will it into reality.