Captive (14 page)

A knock at the door startled both of them. Janis hugged Sam tight to her chest and opened the door. The young woman called Ayala stood there.

“Will you come with me please?”

Sable and the men started to argue, but Janis broke in. “It’s okay. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I hope.

Janis followed Ayala out the door and watched her lock it. “How can you live with yourself?” she asked Ayala. The woman remained silent and led her down a complex system of interconnecting hallways. They all looked the same with their white walls and tiled floors.

Janis tried to get her bearings, but she felt like a rat in a maze. They descended a few steps, then an incline, more steps.
They were taking her to a dungeon, keeping her separated from her family. She wouldn’t even have the comfort of a last night with them.

Janis grabbed Ayala’s arm. “Where are we going?”

“To the baths. So you can clean up before bed.”

“I don’t want to clean up. Just take me to my room,” Janis insisted.

Ayala wouldn’t look at her. “I was told to bring you here.”

“Told by who?”

Ayala shook her head and kept walking.

It had to be the Alpha. What did he have in store for her? Whatever it was, she deserved it. How could she have been so stupid to get mixed up with
Roy
?

They finally
stopped before a heavy wooden door. Ayala opened it, and Janis stepped cautiously inside. The cavernous room, dimly lit by sconces on the painted adobe walls was like no bathroom she’d ever seen. In the shadowy center, steam rose from the bubbling water of a rectangular pool.

The setting, although calm and serene, frightened her.

“Ayala?” The girl was already gone. Janis ran to the door, not surprised to find it locked. Did they mean to keep her here? She turned and looked around her prison. From the corner of her eye, she spotted movement along the far wall. Her breath caught in her throat, and she backed up against
the door.

It was only shadows, she told herself. She didn’t see anything else. Janis let out a breath and took a few steps toward the pool, a hot spring. A stack of thick towels and a white robe, neatly folded, were laid out on the side.

The water looked hot. Janis kicked off her sneaks and dipped her toes, surprised to find it pleasantly lukewarm. A bath might not be such a bad idea. Sighing, she shimmied out of her jeans and slipped off her shirt.

Two submerged steps ran around the perimeter of the bath. She stepped down and sat at the edge with her feet in the water. The mosaic tiles at the bottom caught her attention. She leaned forward and tried to make out the design. The mist tickled her nostrils, and the earthy smell of sulfur made her lightheaded.

She felt so far removed from the city, like she’d been transported to another planet. Would this be her life from now on? Living among animals? Trying to coexist with the monsters that destroyed her family?

Were they all fiends? She suspected
Roy
and the Alpha were the perpetrators. She wanted to believe they’d coerced Noah and Wade into going along with their plan. But what difference did it make? They hadn’t tried to stop it, so they were just as guilty as the others.

She had no choice but to comply. If she didn’t, the Alpha might chain her up or worse. Didn’t he say he would give her to the men as a pet? He hated her and everything about her, especially her blonde hair. Oh God. She might very well end up on a leash.

Somehow the thought of wearing a collar and sitting at Noah’s feet didn’t bother her as much as it should have. Seeing him and Wade put all those erotic fantasies back in her head. And even worse, they had stirred up all kinds of emotions and feelings she didn’t want to revisit.

Damn them. Her men were too sexy for their own good. No, no, no. They were not her men. It was more like she belonged to them. Suddenly her body felt hot and heavy, her breasts achy. Her body betrayed her. How could she think of sex when she was being kept prisoner? Her fantasies were becoming her reality.

She pinched her nipples—hard—to wake her from this dreamy lethargy she found herself in. It didn’t help. In fact she liked it way too much.

Her vulva, soft and swollen, seeped, and her own fluid wet her thighs. Janis slid a finger into the hot, wet slit of her sex. Her pussy lips parted, and her little bud stood erect and wanting attention. She circled it with her thumb, again and again. She leaned back, supporting herself with one hand, while the other tried to assuage the ache between her legs.

Lost in the pleasure, she imagined Noah’s fingers in her cunt, Wade’s hands on her breasts. A whimper escaped her throat, and she shut her eyes, teetering on the brink of release. She was so, so incredibly wet, and her thumb finally made contact with her clit and the spasms of orgasm made her shudder.

She opened her eyes and screamed.

The wolf sprawled by the edge of the pool and watched her intently. It pinned her with its golden stare.

Fear made the breath hitch in her throat, but the eyes held her enthralled. They were slightly slanted and closer together than a dog’s, and they shone with human intelligence. Her fear melted. They were still Noah’s eyes.

After a moment he nodded his massive head and laid it on top of his paws. What did it all mean? Why didn’t he shift and do whatever he intended to do to her? The man kept his thoughts to himself, no matter what form he took.

“What do you want from me?”

He crawled closer. She moved back. He whimpered and stretched his head so his nose barely grazed her thigh.

Her gut told her he wanted to be touched. Janis had never touched a wolf before.
If I play along, maybe he’ll help me escape.
Her hand hovered over Noah for a long moment before she lowered it. She patted his head for a brief second then jerked her hand away.

Noah whined and buried his head in her lap.

Janis gasped. He could nuzzle and sniff her sex all he wanted, but she wouldn’t let him take her again without a fight. No. He and Wade would have to tie her down before she let that happen. More fluid leaked between her legs, and Noah growled. Not a scary growl, but the growl of a wolf who wanted to mate. She had no idea how she knew that, but she did. The hair on the back of her neck prickled.

“I don’t know what you think is going to happen here,” she told him, “but forget it.”

He looked up her with soulful eyes that begged for acceptance. Could she? Her brothers loved Sable unconditionally and fathered children with her. Janis didn’t feel any differently toward her. Of course she’d never seen Sable change into a wolf. That made it less real.

Janis slid her hand along Noah’s back. She’d thought
his fur would be like dog fur, but it was different. Up close, the rich color and lush texture of his coat was stunning, like Joseph’s coat of many colors.

She stroked Noah’s fur, loving the feel of it under her fingers. A contented rumble sounded in his chest.

“He’s beautiful. Isn’t he?”

Startled, she looked up at Wade. Her eyes went wide, like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She jerked her hand away from Noah’s back and used it to cover her breasts. “Yes, he is.”

“You don’t have to stop.” Wade crouched down next to her. Their nudity made her uncomfortable. It was different with Noah. It didn’t embarrass her when he looked at her through wolf’s eyes.

Wade was comfortable in his skin. Understandable with a body like his, but she didn’t share the same comfort level with her body. She wondered if living here meant going without clothes most of the time.

Wade pulled her hands away and held them. “So are you, Janis. So beautiful.” He released her hands and sat.

Janis turned away, not sure she believed him. “When I look at him like this it’s hard to imagine him as Noah,” she said softly.

“But he’s still Noah. He sees you, feels you, understands what you say to him.”

“Why doesn’t he change?”

“He wants you to get used to him, like this.”

Her heart sank. “Then you intend to keep me here.”

She heard a noise like cracking twigs and turned. The fur receded, and Noah’s human body emerged in a blur of shifting limbs and backbone. He sat back on his heels, stretched his neck, rolled his shoulders and flexed his fingers. “Do you like this better?”

She frowned at him. “I like when I can talk to you.”

“You’ll learn to understand me in both my bodies.”

She shook her head. “Never.”

Noah sighed. “Janis, I want you to know where we came from. Why we act as we do. My people were slaughtered by humans. We lost our families, our
homes, everything. Your people were always the enemy.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Would it have changed anything? Probably not, but at least she would have known they confided in her.

“I couldn’t. We pledged our loyalty to our Alpha. We owe him everything. He’s the one who kept us alive after the massacre and led us to safety and our new home.”

“And now he leads you to kidnap women and children,” Janis spat.

“He wanted to increase o
ur numbers.” Noah looked away. “We were all afraid our race would die out. We’d been told we couldn’t breed with human females, and of course, we couldn’t reveal ourselves to the enemy.
It was
Roy
’s idea to concentrate on finding others like us and study ways to improve our fertility. And when
Roy
discovered the she-wolf, he convinced the Alpha that she belonged here with her own kind.
But deep down our leader is a good man.
His wife and baby were taken from him. He couldn’t do the same to someone else. He planned to send her home before you and your men even got here.”

Janis stared at him. “Is this true?”

Wade answered for him. “Yes, I heard the Alpha say it myself.”

“Then why is he keeping me here?”

“He’s not.” Noah smiled wistfully. “We’re not.”

“But the deal?”

“There is no deal,” Wade said. “You’re free to leave with your family tomorrow. I’ve already told them we wouldn’t force you to stay. Our Alpha liked your feisty ways. He thought you were very brave to come here and fight for your family. He thinks we made a wise choice and wanted to give us some time alone with you.”

“Choice?” Janis’s brow furrowed.

“There really was no choice,” Noah said. “Not for you. Not for us. It’s destiny. We marked you as ours.” He traced a finger over the scar of his bite mark, then Wade’s. “The Alpha thought we should have a chance to convince you to stay.”

“Stay?” Janis couldn’t wrap her head around it all, but one thing echoed in her head. She was free to leave. She wouldn’t have to give up her family or her home. “I can leave? Tomorrow? For real?”

Noah frowned. “If that’s what you want.”

Janis threw her arms around him. “Oh, I do.”

Noah held her tightly and looked into her eyes. “So be it.”

She heard Wade slip into the water. Noah released her. He slipped his hand under the towels and retrieved a bar of soap and a sponge. He tossed the soap to Wade before he entered the bath. They both looked up at her. Their eyes glittered with hunger.

Janis’s heart hammered against her chest. She felt herself slipping under their spell again, and she didn’t want to fight it. Her body so attuned to theirs, it seemed as if they were already connected on some level. It was at once exciting and alarming.

“You’re not our captive,” Wade said softly. “You have nothing to be afraid of. Let us bathe you tonight.”

The deep rumble of his voice made her cream flow. Of course they wanted more than a bath. So did she. Why shouldn’t she enjoy them one more time? She would never find men like these back home. They were the stuff of a woman’s wildest fantasy. A dream to lull her to sleep on lonely nights. She stepped into the water. Noah held out his hand, and she placed her palm in his.

* * * *

Noah stood in the bath and waited to see what Janis would do. When she took his hand, his heart fluttered wildly, and he took a deep breath to try and still it. At least she would leave them with this memory.

He’d never seen such an erotic sight in his life. Her skin was flushed, and her dilated pupils made her eyes darker. Currents of sexual desire seemed to float on the water between them.

They were connected on some deep level, as if she’d been created just for him and Wade. When she left there would be a void in their lives that no one else could fill. She wasn’t immune to the magnetic link between them. She’d responded to it the first time they met in her office. Their bond couldn’t be denied.

He studied her, wanting to preserve her beauty in his mind forever. He didn’t blame her for wanting to leave. Not after what he and his people had put her through. After tomorrow, he wouldn’t see her again. He had no illusions that she would come back and visit.