Enhanced: Brides of the Kindred 12 (The Brides of the Kindred) (33 page)

“Well, really my dear—what did you think
purging
meant, anyway?” Still grinning, Two ran out a long, pale tongue and
deliberately licked the flecks of blood from his thin, liver-colored lips. “At
any rate, this is good—now you can see exactly what is in store for you.
Sniffers,” he barked. At once, the two mechanical dogs left the body of Malak
to come stand by his side.

“You wouldn’t,” Mei-Li whispered, backing
up. “I’m here because Six claimed me—we have a contract.”

“Which is none of my concern,” Two said.
“I am simply charged with controlling Feel-crime in our fair city. Which, you
are committing right now.” He inhaled again and grinned at her fiercely. “Ah…I
can
smell
your fear. It’s quite delicious—much better than any spice.”
Then he pointed one long, skeletal finger at her and said to the dogs,
“Dispatch!”

Mei-Li stumbled backward, tripping over
Malak’s prone form in her attempt to get away. It was probably the only thing
that saved her. Her sudden fall put her throat much lower than the leaping
sniffers had expected.

She fell, hitting the ground hard on her
back, knocking the breath out of herself. Looking up she saw, as if in slow
motion, the sleek silver body of one of the robotic dogs flying over her head.

And then she saw a huge metal hand catch
it by the throat and squeeze. At the same time, a booted foot kicked out and
caught the other sniffer squarely in the chest. It gave a mechanical squeal,
like a piece of equipment that needed oil, and fell backwards. It tried to get
up but the boot descended on its blood-smeared jaws and crushed the metal flat.
The low slung silver body writhed for a moment and then a grinding sound, like
something breaking, came from it and it lay still. The boot came up and a wisp
of black smoke drifted out of the robotic carcass.

“You dare…” The deep voice was familiar
but so distorted with rage it was barely recognizable.

Mei-Li looked up and saw that both the
boot and the metal fist holding the still struggling first sniffer belonged to
Six.

“Well, hello there, Six.” Two’s long thin
body looked tight as a wire under his blood spattered leather coat but his
voice was still calm and relaxed.

“You dare to threaten
my female.
You
dare try to harm her?” Six ground out, glaring at the other man.

Two shrugged his boney shoulders. “I had
no choice—she was committing Feel-crime. As a member of the Purge Squad, it was
my duty to eliminate her.”

“She has a dispensation!” roared Six.

“Which she had hidden under her cloak.”
Two folded his thin arms over his narrow chest. “It was not clearly visible. I
was perfectly within my rights to have her purged.”

“And I would be within
my
rights to
purge you myself, here and now,” Six growled, leaning forward to get in the
other male’s face.

Instead of jerking back, Two inhaled
deeply and then grinned his awful metal grin.

“Careful, Six, you appear to be committing
Feel-crime yourself right this moment. Is this little female getting to you?
Are you having
emotions?”

“You…” Six took a deep breath, clearly
trying to calm himself. “You are wrong. What I feel is simply my natural
Kindred instinct to protect my female. That is
all.”

“Is that so?” Two inhaled again. “Then why
do I smell so many
feelings
on you? Rage…fear…even…” He sniffed once
more. “Oh my, is that
lust
that you’re feeling for this little one? My,
my—how very
intriguing.”

“You’re wrong,” Six growled. “I feel
nothing but that will not stop me from killing to protect my female.”

He took a step back and held up the first
sniffer which still twitched in his grasp. There was a sudden spasm of his
metal hand and the robotic head with its long, ugly snout and gore-flecked silver
teeth popped off. The body fell twitching and smoking to the ground.

Six threw the disembodied head at the
other man’s feet.

“Touch her again and see what happens,
Two.”

Then he turned and pulled Mei-Li up off
the ground.

“Six,” she began but one look from him was
enough to shut her up. She thought she had never seen so much rage—or so much
conflict—in a face, human or Kindred, before.

“Come, I am taking you home.”

Before she could protest, he lifted her in
his arms and strode out of the market place. Mei-Li didn’t dare to talk but she
shot a glance over his broad shoulder. Two was standing there with the ruined
remains of the sniffers and Malak’s dead body at his feet.

He was still grinning.

Chapter
Twenty-four

Six didn’t know how to master the sensations
that were flooding through him. One moment his chest was burning, his muscles
were tense with the need to tear and rend and punch and all he could see was
red.

Killed—she could have
been killed! Mei-Li could be lying dead in a pool of her own blood just like
the old male if I had been a moment later!

This thought brought a whole new range or
sensations. His throat felt tight and his eyes stung. A desire to hold her
tightly and never let go rushed through him. Thank the Goddess, he had made it
to her in time! If he hadn’t…if Two had done as he wished…

I’ll kill him! The
next time I see him I’ll pull him limb from limb! I should have done it this
time!
The only thing that had stopped him had
been the other male’s accusation that he was feeling. That couldn’t be
right—could it?

Then what are all
these sensations you keep having?
whispered
a little voice in his brain.
Why are you having so many irrational thoughts
and impulses? What’s wrong with you? Maybe it’s time to call these “sensations”
what they really are—
emotions
.

No!

Six tried to push the thought aside, to
still the little voice, but he couldn’t quite manage it. All he could do was
clutch the girl in his arms tighter as he strode through the streets to his domicile
and swear to himself that this time he would never let her go.

* * * * *

Mei-Li didn’t know
what
to think.
She had never seen Six look so wild and out of control, not even when he’d
walked in on her the night before and seen her watching his memories. She’d
thought for a moment that he was going to murder Two aka Mr. Metal Teeth but
the other man’s accusations that he was “feeling” seemed to have put an end to
that.

Mei-Li knew it was wrong but she wished
the big Kindred
had
killed Two. The way he had looked at her as Six
carried her away made her think there was going to be trouble in the very near
future. And after watching the bastard kill poor old Malak in cold blood…

It could have been
you. It almost
was
you. If Six hadn’t come—No, I don’t want to think
about that!
God, she was shaking
all over! She took a deep, breath, trying to regain control.
All right, I’m
all right…

Just then Six pushed open the door to his
house, cutting off her train of thought. He kicked the door shut, took three
strides into the living area, and set her down so roughly her teeth clicked
together. Then he took her by the shoulders and glared down into her face.

“Six,” she began tentatively.

“You could have been killed, Mei-Li. Do
you hear me? You could have been
killed!”

It was exactly what she had been trying so
hard not to think about.

“I know! I know that! I saw what…what he
wanted to…to do to me.” The memory of Malak’s death rose fresh in her mind
again, his choked cries and the horrible ripping sound as the sniffers tore out
his throat…
No, stop it! Stop thinking about it.
To her horror, she
found that tears were very close to the surface. Somehow she managed to swallow
them back down.

“Why were you there, anyway? Why did you go
out into the city alone, without me to protect you?” Six demanded angrily.

“Without you to
protect
me? You’ve
been acting like you don’t want to be anywhere
near
me!” she snapped.
“You made me feel like
crap
this morning before you left. So instead of
moping around the house, I decided to go out.”

“You decided to go out?” His gaze was
burning into her. “To go out to one of the most dangerous parts of the city
alone?”

“I didn’t go out
looking
for
trouble,” she protested. “I made myself a cloak so I’d be less conspicuous.”

“This?” Six grabbed the back of her black,
hooded cloak and ripped it off her in one stroke, revealing her red wrap dress.
“This fucking thing that nearly got you killed because it covered your
dispensation?” He shook it in her face and dropped it on the floor.
“Goddessdamn
it,
Mei-Li!”

“I didn’t know the stupid thing had to be
visible
all
the time,” she flared, waving her arm with its glowing
yellow numbers in his face. “You never told me!”

“I never expected you to go out on your
own looking to be purged!” he shouted. “Looking to get
killed.”

“Why would you care if I got killed?”
Mei-Li demanded. “You have no emotions, right? You’d probably just step over my
body in the street and go on with your business.” She knew she wasn’t being
fair. Six had just saved her life and no matter what the big Kindred insisted
about his emotionless state, it was becoming clear that he wasn’t as cold and
unfeeling as he wanted to believe. But she couldn’t help herself—he had hurt
her deeply and the words just came out.

“Is that what you think?” The look Six
gave her was almost wild. “Is that
really
what you think? That I don’t
care for you at all?”

“Yes.” Mei-Li lifted her chin. “That’s
really what I think.”

“You…I…” He seemed at a loss for words.
Stepping back from her, he raked both hands through his hair. “Do you have any
idea…
any idea
what you do to me?” he demanded in a low voice.

“What…what do you mean?” She watched him
warily as he began to pace back and forth.

“When I am with you, I can’t
think
properly,” Six growled. “My breathing is faster, my heart rate accelerates. All
I want to do is touch you…hold you and—”

“And what?” Mei-Li whispered.

He didn’t answer in words. Instead, he
closed the distance between them in a single stride. Taking her in his arms, he
cupped her cheek and pulled her close, leaning down to cover her mouth with
his.

At the last moment, Mei-Li turned her head
away. “Wait, we can’t. I told you, I don’t want to—”

“No.” His deep voice was nothing more than
a growl as he turned her face back to his. “No, you will not deny me again.”

Mei-Li opened her mouth to protest but he
was already kissing her—taking her lips in a way that was almost brutal in its
intensity.

She gasped in surprise and his tongue was
there, penetrating her. Thrusting inside and filling her mouth with his
sensual, dark chocolate taste. At the same time, his scent filled her
senses—sharp and clean with that dangerous hint of dark spice that made her
dizzy. She couldn’t think, couldn’t form a coherent thought to save her life—she
could only feel.

She moaned as a different kind of surprise
flooded her. He had her bent over his arm, her body flush with his and she
wasn’t trying to push him away. Instead, her hands were in his hair, pulling
him closer, asking for more. Somehow she was kissing him back, sucking his
invading tongue, nipping at his lush lower lip to bring a low, eager growl from
his throat.

Six must have sensed her eagerness because
he kissed her more deeply, exploring her mouth as he rubbed his big, warm hands
up and down her back. It was as though he couldn’t get enough of her lips, as
though he couldn’t pull her close enough to satisfy his need.

Oh God, this is going
too far…
And yet she didn’t want it to stop. She
felt like they were bruising each other with their desire but all she wanted
was more. This was Six as she had never seen him—fiercely passionate and
completely unwilling to let her go.

Then his mouth left hers. He pulled away,
leaving her nearly panting for breath, her whole body throbbing after the intense
exchange.

“What—?” she began, wondering if he had
changed his mind. And then he began to trail hot kisses down the sensitive side
of her neck.

“Wait!” Mei-Li gasped as his mouth found
the hollow of her throat and lingered there. “We…we can’t.”

“We can and we will,” Six growled, meeting
her eyes. “I claimed you, Mei-Li—you are mine. And I intend to take what is
mine tonight.”

“But…I thought…” She shook her head,
trying to form words that made sense as he kissed his way lower. His big hands
found the ribbons that tied her wrap dress together and suddenly it was open,
baring her breasts for him. God, why hadn’t she thought to wear her bra? At
least she had on her panties—for now, anyway. “Six,” she gasped. “I can’t—”

Her words ended in a moan as he captured
one sensitive nipple in his hot mouth and sucked it…long, slow, and hard.

“Oh!” Somehow Mei-Li found that her hands
were in his hair again and she wasn’t trying to push him away. “Six!”

He released her nipple slowly, nipping it gently
with his teeth at the last moment. The tiny love bite radiated through her and
sent a shock of painful pleasure straight to the spot between her legs where
she was getting wet and hot and swollen.

“Yes?” His voice was a hoarse growl.

“I…what…what are you doing?” she somehow
managed to gasp. “I mean, what exactly…”

“Tasting you.” He gave her a meaningful
look and nipped her other tight peak as well.
“All
of you. I’m going to
taste all of you tonight, Mei-Li. Just as I wanted to the first night, when I
healed your knee.” He put one large, warm hand on her thigh, making her shiver.
“I will not fight these impulses anymore—I cannot. I am not strong enough.”

“Yes…yes, you are! I mean, you can fight
them—you
can.”
Suddenly her breath
was coming short and her skin felt too sensitive. “Besides, it’s not our
tasting week yet. Not until tomorrow.”

“I do not care about that.” He sucked her
other nipple, taking as much of her small, tender breast into his mouth as he
could, making her feel completely surrounded by his heat. The whole time, he
held her gaze as though he was daring her to try and pull away. But somehow
Mei-Li couldn’t. The sensation of his mouth on such a sensitive area felt too
incredible to make him stop and her legs felt like jelly. At last he released
her.

“Six—” she began breathlessly.

“You said I would not care if you died,”
he said hoarsely. “I am going to show you how I care…show you now, tonight. I
will
not
wait. I will spread your thighs and taste your sweet pussy. I
will lick you and suck you and pleasure you until you come for me—come hard
against my tongue. Then you will know.”

“You’re going to…oh my God…” Mei-Li felt
faint. He was looking at her hungrily, as though he was going to eat her up and
she could feel part of herself responding to that hot, hungry look. It made her
feel like she was burning up inside.

But another part—the frightened little
voice that whispered fears and doubts in her ear—was scared to death. They were
going too far, this was getting out of control! What would happen if she lost
her head completely and decided to give him everything? She’d read in the
contract something about bonding sex and how if you had it with the Kindred who
had claimed you, you would be tied to them for life. She didn’t even know what
bonding sex meant but it sounded pretty scary—and completely permanent. Was
that what she wanted? Was that what
Six
wanted? She didn’t know—it was
too much uncertainty.

“Six, please,” she began as he swung her
up into his arms again and carried her into the bedroom. “Please, we shouldn’t.
We’re getting way past the whole friends with benefits thing here.”

“A friend is a companion who is mildly
pleasant to be around, correct?” He raised an eyebrow at her as he sat her on
the
sousa.

Mei-Li nodded as he stripped off her wrap
dress and then pulled off his own shirt as well, leaving him bare from the
waist up. He looked mouthwatering…and absolutely huge. For the first time she
realized that his shoulders were fully twice as broad as her own. Oh God…

“Well, that’s one definition of friend, I
guess,” she somehow managed to get out.

“I do not wish to be your
friend,”
Six
growled, sitting on the bed beside her wearing only his tight, black flight
leathers. “So stop referring to me that way. There is nothing pleasant or mild
about what I want from you, Mei-Li. About what I am going to
do
to you.”

“Oh my God,” she whispered again. Then she
had a sudden idea. “But you
can’t
. It says in the contract you can’t do
anything I’m not willing to do. You can’t hurt me.”

“Look at me…” He cupped her cheek with
rough tenderness and looked into her eyes. “I would never hurt you. But I
am
going to taste you—with or without your consent.”

“How can you say that?” Mei-Li demanded.
“Will you
listen
to yourself?”

“No, you listen to
yourself.
Listen
to your body,” he said in a low voice. “I can smell your heat, Mei-Li.” He
nodded at the juncture between her thighs. “I know you are not unwilling.”

“But I’m saying
no.”
She crossed
her legs quickly.