Inferno-Kat 2 (12 page)

Kat let out a small moan as Baruch’s hand slid over her skin and rubbed her nipple.

Hades could stand no more. He took another step forward but found it hard to lift his leg. It was as if he moved in water. Finally, when he was able to put his foot down, he found his entire body growing cold, like ice.

Baruch laughed as Hades froze on the spot, only his eyes able to move and shift.

Another form wavered into view. A woman with long, fiery hair moved into the room as if stepping out of the walls. With eyes glowing like moonlight, she walked toward Hades, her long, flowing, emerald gown blowing behind her as if the wind itself belonged to her.

She stood in front of him and cocked her head to the side while she did a thorough perusal of his form. “Hades. How delicious to finally see you.”

“Satarah.”

“I see our reputations have preceded us.” She smiled. “That will make it much easier to get to know each other, won’t it?”

“Fuck you, lady. You aren’t getting to know shit.”

She gasped in mock shock and glanced over her shoulder at Baruch. “Baruch, he certainly doesn’t have any manners, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t. But I’m sure you can cure him of that, Satarah.”

Chuckling, she turned her attention back to Hades. Her eyes glowed brighter like white flames.

She leaned toward his ear and whispered, “Don’t fight me, Hades, I can help you.” Lifting her long, slim hand, she reached toward him….

Hades jerked awake the moment he felt the hand on his shoulder. He had his knife out and to the intruder’s throat within seconds.

“It’s me, Hades.”

Blinking rapidly, Hades focused on Leucothea’s pale, frightened face. Quickly he withdrew his knife and sat up.

“I’m sorry. I…I was dreaming.”

Backing up, she rubbed at her throat. “About what?”

He shook his head, not wanting to relive his nightmarish images. Seeing Kat in Baruch’s hands sickened him. And he couldn’t help thinking that his dreams were merely his own worst fears realized. But what if they weren’t? What if they were like his dreams before, scenes of possible futures? Premonitions of things to come? If they were, then the woman Satarah had given him a warning.

To hurt or to help? He couldn’t be sure.

“Nothing,” he finally answered while glancing around and up into the sky. “What time is it?”

“It’s midday, I think.”

Hades scrambled to his feet. Pain ripped up his side, and he doubled over, putting a hand to his ribs. “Why did you let me sleep so late? We’ve lost half the day.”

She looked him up and down, and he could see the worry in her face and the way her eyes lingered on his injured side. “Because you need it, dumbass.”

His lips twitched at her words. That was exactly something Kat would say. Shaking his head, he straightened and went about seeing to his gear. “Let’s get going, then. We’ll definitely make it to Inferno today.”

“How are we going to get in?”

“I don’t know.” He set his pack into the saddlebags on the bike and rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. “We’ll have to go in at dark, I would think, so we’re not seen. Other than that, I don’t know a damn thing.” He sighed in frustration.

Leucothea took a step toward him and set a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find her alive. I know we will.”

Nodding, he continued to secure the gear onto the bike. He had no doubt they’d find her. Images from his dream still lingered in his mind. He was just afraid of what they would find. Hell Kat or their worst nightmare.

They came upon the walled city of Inferno a little more than five hours later. Hunkering down behind an outcropping of jagged rocks, they watched the city from a distance. From the indication of the quick, flashing red light on the tracker, Kat was definitely somewhere inside the city.

Hades had no idea how they were going to get in. The wooden wall wasn’t incredibly tall, but the main gate they were staring at was heavily guarded. The guards carried rifles.

He was never any good at silent and sneaky. He had always preferred the direct approach. Guns blazing, fists flying. This slinking-around shit pricked his ass. However, if they were going to live, he supposed that was exactly what they had to do.

Peering over a rock, staying out of sight, Hades surveyed the surroundings. The road to the city was open, with nothing but dirt and rocks covering it. Except for a run-down shack with what looked like a gasoline pump, there was nothing around the city except barren land. It was essentially impossible to go in unnoticed.

Sliding back around to lean against the rocks, Hades went through his pack and took out the shotgun shells. He started loading up.

Leucothea watched him, her newly formed eyebrow arched in question. “So, what’s the plan?”

“We wait till dark. Crawl to the shack, then crawl to the wall, and jump over.”

“That’s it?” She stared at him incredulously.

“Yup.”

“I think—”

Hades put up his hand to stop her words. “Don’t think, kid. Take this time to get some rest and to practice loading that gun.” He motioned to the weapon he had laid next to her. “You’re going to need it.”

She glared at him for a few moments longer and then slouched against a rock and rummaged through her pack, coming away with some dried fruit. She offered him some.

He shook his head. He couldn’t eat. In fact, he couldn’t do much of anything. Pain was his constant companion now. Even breathing was causing him some problems.

Turning his attentions back to his gun, Hades continued to load up. The continual movement of his right arm forced him to cough. He hacked violently as if something had been lodged in his throat. He put his hand over his mouth. The moment he did, and felt the wet on his lips, he knew what was wrong inside.

Without looking at his hand, Hades wiped the moisture on his pants so Leucothea couldn’t see.

Out of the corner of his eye, the blood streak stared back at him in confirmation. He was definitely fucked.

T
he feel of the soft, silky sheets against her skin stirred Kat from her deep slumber. Rolling over onto her side, she gathered the inviting fabric to her chest and took in a deep breath, thinking the decadence of it could be only a dream. The moment the familiar aroma of Baruch entered her nose, Kat’s eyes sprang open. She definitely was not dreaming.

She took in the opulence of the room, the rich, vibrant colors, and remembered where she was.

Inferno City. In Baruch’s possession.

Moving again under the sheets, she noticed quite quickly that she was naked. And by the heat wafting over her skin, also not alone.

Turning onto her back, she glanced beside her. A man she’d never seen before lay sleeping on his back beside her, equally as naked, she assumed, by the way the silky sheets draped over his massive frame. And by the rise in the material at his waist, he was very well endowed and horny as hell.

With a moan, the man rolled over onto his side and flung his arm over Kat, subconsciously dragging her closer to him.

Not in this lifetime, buddy
, Kat thought.

Lifting her arm and bending it, she brought her elbow down nice and hard into his face. That woke the asshole up. Crying out, he sat up in bed and immediately brought his hands up to his face, where his nose suddenly gushed with blood.

He stared down at her as though he’d never been so offended in his life. Kat nearly laughed out loud at his look of indignation.

“Mistress, she broke my nose,” he whined through his fingers.

Clutching the sheet to her bare breasts, Kat sat up and looked around the room. On first inspection, she had missed the redheaded woman lounging in the corner. Kat could barely see her past the posts of the four-poster bed and canopy. Now that she saw her, a shiver of something not quite unpleasant went up her spine.

The woman stood and shook her head, her silky red hair cascading around her shoulders like flames. “Get up, Cal, and go see my personal physician.” She moved toward the bed, her loosely tied, emerald-green robe slipping off her shoulder. “I’ll take care of our rude guest for you, darling.”

Cal slid out of the bed and walked naked across the room to a door in the corner. Not bothering with clothes, he opened it, went through, and closed it behind him. As he moved, Kat noticed she’d been right about his endowment. Even the blow to his nose had done nothing to dampen his erection.

“I see you are feeling better.” Still smiling, the woman sat on the edge of the bed.

Kat glanced down at her arms. She did feel better, and by the bright pinkness of her skin, she was mending rather quickly. Her flesh still throbbed, but it was a healing pain. A good pain. One she’d felt many times before.

Looking back at the woman, Kat grunted, not feeling quite as grateful as the woman obviously wanted her to feel. “Where the fuck am I?”

“In my chambers. Baruch wanted to let you rot in a holding cell, but I talked him out of it. Told him it’d be more fun to break you if you were fully healed and back at full strength.”

“And who the fuck are
you?
”

“Why, I run this city,” she answered, waving her arm around to indicate the room and more.

“Satarah.”

“Mmm, I see my name does travel.” She leaned back on the bed like a cat stretching for an afternoon nap. “Hades must have told you about me, then.”

Hearing his name produced a sharp, stabbing pain in Kat’s chest. “He told me you were a bitch and that you were very powerful.”

Satarah smiled at that.

“But by the looks of you, I’d say he was exaggerating.” Kat cocked a brow. “About the powerful part.”

Satarah let out a loud, throaty laugh that sent little shivers over Kat’s skin. Unfortunately, the woman did possess power. Kat could feel it brushing up against her in various places over her body, like the tentacles of an octopus.

“Oh, my goodness, I can see why Baruch wants you so badly.” She licked her lips. “You’d be absolutely delightful to train.”

“Fuck you,” Kat growled. She wanted nothing more than to jump out of the bed, round the side, and punch this bitch into another world. But she stayed where she was, a little needling thread of desire stroking her where she lay.

“Mmm, we’ll get to that soon…I think.” She grinned, and her eyes glowed. “Surely Hades told you about us?”

“You’re lying.”

“Are you sure?”

Kat swallowed. She wasn’t sure. Hades had told her about Satarah. Warned her, even. But she couldn’t be sure in what context they had known each other.

“Surely you don’t think you’re the only dangerous woman he’s fucked.” Satarah stretched back onto the bed, her robe falling open, and she ran her hands over her body, squeezing her full, globular breasts. “Too bad he’s dead. I was so looking forward to our reunion.”

Kat was up and on her in seconds. She had the woman pinned to the bed, straddling her, and a hand around her throat squeezed tightly.

“I’d watch what you say, or I’ll break your neck with the flick of my wrist.”

Kat expected defiance from the woman, but what she hadn’t expected was laughter. She could feel it bubble out of Satarah like soda pop from a shaken bottle. Her whole body shook beneath Kat as she laughed. Unfortunately, from the way Kat was sitting, the movement was doing more than annoying her. Lusty sensations licked at the insides of her thighs as the woman moved between them, rubbing against her skin ever so slightly.

Satarah must have sensed Kat’s blossoming arousal as her hands lifted and moved over Kat’s legs. Slowly they inched up her thighs and rested at the juncture between them. Kat gritted her teeth and put more pressure on Satarah’s neck.

But that just made Satarah dig her fingers into Kat’s thighs. Jolts of hot, delicious pleasure radiated up Kat’s flesh and gathered into a tight ball of molten lust inside her sex. She could feel the beast inside starting to rise to the surface, eager to play. It was hungry for all sorts of depravities.

“You won’t kill me, Kat,” Satarah wheezed.

“Like hell, I won’t!” Kat dug her nails into the woman’s neck, turning her face purple.

The unexpected blow Satarah delivered to her head was powerful. Enough to loosen Kat’s grip and for Satarah to turn them over so that Kat was on her back and Satarah was nestled tightly between her legs, her weight pressing Kat to the mattress. The woman was strong and was able to pin Kat’s arms down beside her head. Kat tried to buck her off, but that only succeeded in rubbing her crotch against Satarah’s pelvic bone, causing even more flares of passion to ignite deep inside Kat’s sex.

“Let’s not fight, darling.” Satarah leaned down and licked Kat’s lips. “We could use that energy for more interesting activities.”

Kat reached down within her and gathered the dormant power of the DD virus lying in wait and pushed up on the woman and squeezed her waist between her thighs, crushing her as if in a vise.

“That’s it, Hell Kat, use your vampyre powers, succumb to the virus,” Satarah gasped. “Baruch will thank me generously for finally transforming you.”

Kat blinked rapidly as Satarah’s words sunk in. Did she want the beast inside to win? The last time she allowed the virus to get this far, she’d nearly gone insane. She couldn’t let Baruch win.

Not now. Not before she got the chance to avenge Hades.

Slowly Kat released her hold on Satarah and pushed the Dweller hungers back down into the black vault of her soul, where they bubbled and boiled eagerly, waiting their emancipation.
Not
yet
, she told them.
You can’t have me yet
.

When she collapsed back onto the bed, Satarah sighed and rested her head against Kat’s shoulder. “Ah, so you still want to be human.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kat growled.

Satarah pressed her lips to Kat’s skin. Ripples of pleasure surged over her body where the woman touched her. “I might be able to help you with that.”

“With what?” Kat turned her head to the side, eager to get away from the woman but also trying hard to suppress her growing desire.

“Staying human.”

That got her attention, and Kat turned to meet her gaze. “But you’re helping Baruch.”