Familiar Desires: 5 (Protective Affairs) (29 page)

“Where is the bastard, or was that son of a bitch who
attacked my mate the doctor?” Alana asked. Her muscles were tight, but some of
it was because she was still angry with herself.

“The bastard isn’t here. That was one of his assistants and while
he’s not the mastermind, it doesn’t make him blameless.” Mark shook his head in
disgust. “We’ll get a description from them, but he’ll hear about this and be
gone.”

“All the missing accounted for?” Alana focused her mind on
the captives, because thinking about the doctor wasn’t going to calm her.

“The people we expected are here and more than we knew of.” Mark
heaved a heavy sigh. “It’s a good outcome.”

“When we debrief, you’ll want to talk about the search and
how one person was missed. I should have searched more before I began to help
free the people, but there were others in the room with me and before me.” She
took a deep breath and did remind herself that overall the mission had been a
success.

Mark nodded. “We’ll cover that and it will be addressed in
training.”

Alana wasn’t satisfied. Damn it, they hadn’t stopped him. He’d
go somewhere else and start up there. If they could find his fingerprints or
DNA and he was in the system, they’d know his real name and likely catch him
quickly. Finding a picture would be better. With facial recognition, they could
probably catch him within a week. It was all well and good to get those who’d
worked with him and some of the witches, but the doctor had plans and he needed
to be stopped. Preferably before he thought he’d succeeded. He might just come
upon a man or woman meant to mate with a shifter. Alana thought it might be
possible he could get lucky that way, although they’d have to consult a shifter
doctor to confirm that.

“Let’s get these people to the hospital and start learning
everything we can about this Doctor Garces.” Captain Noble Parker said as he
entered the room. “Maybe we can get an actual name for whoever purchased this
equipment.”

Alana looked around the room. There was plenty of medical
equipment here, but somehow, she didn’t think it would give them any connection
to the man behind the experiments. He hadn’t been careless up until this point.
It was probably stolen. Regardless of how he got it, the man had access to
money. This amount of equipment, not to mention paying the workers and expenses
for this place, wouldn’t be cheap. The money should lead them to him or maybe
someone who was helping him hide the trail the payments should leave.

Alana had fallen onto the bed when they finally returned
home. It had been a long day and most of the night. She’d needed to stay to see
what was discovered at the warehouse. For the last couple of hours of the
search and the mission debriefing, Michael and Kane had been acting strange.
She was too tired to work out why that was and they seemed just as exhausted.
They’d eased in on either side of her. In moments, they were all asleep.

She woke slowly, coming to consciousness when she heard
movement. Her hands were stretched above her head, but it wasn’t too strange of
a sleeping position for her. She moaned and tried to jerk her arms down. They
moved a little, but jerked to a halt while her elbows were still above her
head.

The tug tightened something smooth around her wrists. She
looked up and saw a white rope or cloth snug to her skin and thin cords leading
to the headboard. She tightened her muscles to test the bindings and while it
stretched a bit, it held fast.

“It’s not going to tear, Alana.” Kane’s voice drew her
attention back to what had drawn her from sleep. The sound of movement in the
room.

This morning, they seemed as stressed as they had last
night. There were those expressions again. Determination mixed with something
she couldn’t quite identify. Maybe anxiety. She didn’t know what was bothering
them and they hadn’t said a word about it yet. That wouldn’t last though. Hell,
if they didn’t get it out, she was going to confront them. She had no idea what
caused this mood, but it had to stop.

She lifted her head a bit and eyed both men. They’d
obviously been awake for a little while. Kane’s hair was wet and slicked back.
His broad chest gleamed as if it might still be a little damp. Her eyes lowered
to the fly of his jeans. Damn, he filled out those jeans deliciously.

Michael was dressed in a blue t-shirt and black jeans. His
hair looked a little mussed, as if he’d combed his fingers through it.

Why were they dressed? There was nothing to do, but wait and
see if any of the technicians and guards they’d captured talked. She wanted to
cuddle and savor the time. Soon enough reality would intrude. After they’d
learned everything they could from the people they’d arrested, she’d have to go
to Protectorate headquarters for debriefing about her part of the mission and
the finalizing of her resignation. She wanted it all over with so she could get
on with her life with them.

“So what’s wrong?” Alana tilted her head and watched them while
they continued to stare at her.

“Wrong?” Kane raised a brow.

“You two are looking kind of grim, determined. So what is
behind the serious, almost somber, expressions? Is it what happened on the raid
or something after?” She tugged at her hands. While she knew they enjoyed
playing and control, this was something different. “I’m sure there’s something
behind you tying me to your bed, especially since you’re not in it with me.”

“There are a few things we want to make sure you understand
and to hear from you.” Michael smiled at her.

Suddenly, she realized they were plotting. The two devious
wizards wanted some reassurance and were making sure they got what they wanted.

“You’re staying here,” Kane said flatly.

Alana blinked. That came out of nowhere. The intensity in
his voice caught her attention. He couldn’t think she’d still walk away now
that the mission was finished. She’d claimed them. A leopard didn’t walk away
after she’d fully claimed her mates.

“Long term, yes, I plan to stay here. Everything that
matters is here, but in the immediate future, I will have to leave for a short
while.” She decided she’d better make it clear from the first that she wasn’t
planning to leave them.

“No.” Michael walked over to the bed.

What was it with the monosyllabic statements? “Can you two
tell me what’s on your minds? I’m kind of lost here and don’t know why you seem
so stressed about me leaving town for a short while, especially since you’ll be
coming with me.”

They looked at her blankly and then each other.

“Uh, well, we didn’t want you leaving Devoe without us. The
last time that happened, you disappeared for years. At first, we thought you’d
be back after you had time to think, but it didn’t happen.” Michael sat on the
bed beside her. A blush darkened his cheeks. “We know the way the Council
forced us together pissed you off, but don’t let that delay our happiness.”

“It wasn’t too long ago you were saying you’d be leaving
once the mission was complete. That statement stuck with us. We’re not letting
you go again and we’ll kidnap you if we have to do it to keep you.” Kane strode
over to stand in front of her.

“Did I ever tell you I’d decided to retire from the
Protectorate even before I received this mission?” Alana looked up at them. She
should have explained all this after she’d completed the mating with them. She
was sure of them and hadn’t thought they’d have any doubts either.

“No, you didn’t.” Michael cocked his head to the side.

“Before I received the mission, I’d decided to come back
here to see if I’d misconstrued what I’d seen. The letter I’d already begun to
have doubts about. When I received the mission, I thought I’d do the mission
and then come back to town to see you. I didn’t count on the Council or how
long the mission would take.” Alana frowned. “I wanted to be able to put my
full focus on you two and maybe building a relationship.”

“So, what you said about being here only for the mission?
That was merely you trying to stick to your plans even though it was obvious
they’d need to change.” Kane’s eyebrows drew together as he stared at her. “Even
if the mission had been a few days, it wouldn’t have worked. We’d been waiting
to get close to you for years and wouldn’t have settled for the distance.”

She shrugged and grinned. “I really wasn’t thinking about
the interference of others. That was merely my plan. I didn’t want you in
danger while I was investigating and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to
focus on the disappearances.”

“So you said we’d be going.” Michael trailed his fingertips
down her side.

She wriggled and tried to turn and twist into those teasing
fingers. When he lifted his hand away, she groaned. She relaxed back onto the
mattress. Not that she minded the teasing, but she’d really like to tease back.

“Uh, yeah, do you really think those interfering busybodies
are going to take the spell off me until they’re damn sure I’m going to stay
and be a good little Familiar. Hell, it makes me want to drag you both off on a
long trip just to mess with them. Maybe have calls forwarded from different
locations to make them wonder if we’re together. I have to give a full report
and go through the bureaucratic crap involved in resigning.” She rolled her
eyes, but the idea of getting Michael and Kane away from Devoe and staying away
to mess with the Council had appeal.

“Calling the Council busybodies isn’t nice.” Michael wagged
his finger at her.

“I wouldn’t if they didn’t act like nosy old ladies. They
stick their noses everywhere.” Alana gave another tug at the rope around her
right wrist.

“It won’t break, baby. We spelled it to keep our kitty where
we want her.” Kane leaned in and licked her neck.

“You now know, you don’t have to keep me anywhere. I’m
staying with you.” She widened her thighs hoping to tempt them into either
touching her pussy or releasing her so she could touch back.

“Well, now, we’re just enjoying having you all stretched out
and at our mercy.” Kane brushed his fingers along the outside of her thigh.

“You’re not really touching me and you both still have too
many clothes on to give me too many thrills.” She let her gaze slide over Kane’s
chest then met his eyes in challenge.

“That’s a dare I’ll gladly accept. I told you we had a few
things we wanted. Well, there’s this certain phrase that you haven’t said to
us. I admit we might have not mentioned it ourselves. You’re going to say those
words to us.” Michael’s hand cupped her breast.

“Maybe, maybe not.” She grinned. Oh yeah, she’d give them
the words, but not too easily. She had to make sure they said the words she
needed to hear.

“A little cocky for someone who’s tied to the bed.” Michael
tugged at her nipple.

“Not really. You want this pussy.” Alana rolled her hips in
blatant offering to them. “And words or no words, I know I’m going to enjoy
what you do to me.”

Kane gripped her thighs and moved between them. “Tell us
those words.”

“You’re my mates. Nothing matters more than that.” She
watched as Kane knelt on the bed.

His hands stroked up and down her thighs. “Don’t try to
bluff us, kitten. It matters to you. You want to hear those words.”

“Why don’t you tell me and then untie me. Maybe I’ll tell
you after I hear the words.” She hooked her leg over Kane’s shoulder.

He deliberately placed her foot back on the sheet. “You don’t
get loose until you tell us what we want.”

Kane’s mouth lowered. Her eyes locked on what he was doing
and her mind focused on the pleasure she knew he could give her. His tongue
trailed up her inner thigh. Alana shivered. Her hands clenched, her arms tugging
at the ties. She wanted to pull his head right to her pussy.

“Give me some incentive. I don’t have much of an urge to
talk right now.” She eased to the side, trying to bait Kane into giving her a
firmer, more intimate touch.

Kane’s right hand clamped onto her waist and the other gave
her a light swat on her thigh. “Be still. You’re going to tell us what we want
to know. We have ways of making you want to tell us.”

She laughed at the raised eyebrows and grin on his face.
Although his tone was demanding, the look negated most of its effectiveness.
She wriggled against his hold and arched her back to show she wouldn’t be so
easily controlled. She loved the feel of his tongue tracing across her skin and
the thrill of being bound though and wondered how long she should hold out.

“Prove it.” She met Kane’s eyes.

“We will, kitten.” Michael turned her head gently with a
palm at her cheek.

Alana nipped at his fingers just to show she wasn’t some
tame, little house cat. He chuckled and wagged his finger at her.

“Don’t bite the hand that makes you scream in pleasure,
baby.” He leaned down and skimmed his lips across hers.

“Then it better start living up to all those promises you
made,” she said with more than a little attitude.

“Maybe this?” His hand cupped her breast, before sweeping up
and pinching the nipple.

She hissed at the delicious sting. Her back arched, lifting
her breasts toward the touch. He flicked his finger across the hardened peak.
He drew his finger around the peak and down the curve.

“If the way you’re turning into my hand is any indicator, I’m
giving you just what you want.” Michael’s voice held a smug satisfaction.

Part of Alana wanted to prove him wrong because of the note
of male arrogance she heard, but the other part enjoyed his touch too much to
stop him because of a little irritation. A tongue traced over her inner thigh.
It sent all thought of responding to Michael’s provocation right out of her
mind.

“Do you know what we’re going to do to you?” Kane asked. He
rubbed his cheek over her leg.

“Fuck me together after I say what you want to hear?” Alana
couldn’t hold back the hopeful tone in her voice.

Kane chuckled. “That’s a good idea, but not this time. This position
gives me some definite ideas.”

“You seem to like doing this to me.” She didn’t try to hide
the smug grin on her face. She enjoyed this too much and didn’t mind if they
knew it.

“Because it’s going to be rare when we have this much
control of you.” Michael plucked at her nipple, drawing her attention away from
Kane.

Kane’s tongue glided over the lips of her pussy drawing a
gasp from her. Michael’s head lowered, tearing her attention in two directions.
Half was on the man between her thighs, but the other part centered on Michael’s
mouth near her breasts and how much she wanted to feel his lips on her.

“When we do, we’re going to make sure you find all the
pleasure we can give you.” Kane drew his fingers over the slick lips of her
pussy.

Alana’s breath hitched in her throat. His fingers parted her
folds. The puff of a breath provided a moment to prepare before his tongue flicked
from her entrance up and over her clit. Her legs tensed and her back bowed. The
erotic onslaught almost had her out of her mind with urgency. Kane’s hands gripped
her hips, holding them in place while his tongue lapped at her.

She moaned and her hands fisted and jerked at the rope, but
it didn’t budge. Michael’s lips closed around one nipple and his hand cupped
the other breast. He drew hard on the stiffened peak and his fingers plucked at
the neglected nipple. Prickling sensations streaked to her core. The building
tension tightened with every suck and lick.

Two fingers eased into her pussy as Kane’s tongue continued
to flicker over her clit. Her entire body tensed. She wanted to rock into the
slow glide of his fingers and that tormenting tongue, but she couldn’t move.
The inability to touch them drove her wild. She moaned and her back arched,
pressing her breast deeper into Michael’s mouth. Her pussy clenched, trying to
draw the fingers within her deeper. She could feel the wild sensation coiling
and tightening. They kept her so close to the explosive release that she
trembled.

Kane’s lips drifted away after a last teasing scrape of his
teeth over the hood of her clit and his fingers glided free. Alana screamed in
frustration. Her body coiled tight, hanging on the edge of a fierce climax.
Michael drew back. His mouth and hands left her breasts, leaving her awash in
frustrated confusion. Her mind fogged with pleasure and anticipation and she
wondered why they’d leave her when she was almost there.