More Than Life (Arcane Crossbreeds) (8 page)

“Fuck. Oh fuck,” Katya panted.

“I think I like your new words, baby.” His fingers caressed over her hip and squeezed the cheeks of her ass, wrenching her hard against him. “It’s so sexy to hear such dirty words come from those pretty lips.”

Katya jerked as ecstasy whipped through her.

It continued to heighten, pushing through her with a raw fire that burned so hot it was a pain in her throat. Her jaw ached, and her lips parted around a scream that she couldn’t release. It felt trapped inside her, the need swelling in her chest until there was no room for air.

Raife watched her with hungry, dilated eyes, his steady rhythm starting to falter as his hips jerked and surged high into her, raising her shoulders off the floor. With a growl, he gritted his teeth, the tendons in his neck taut as he struggled with himself.

“Let it go, kitten. Breathe your fire on me.” His voice was no more than a growl.

Katya arched her body in panic, the pressure becoming too much. The world around her flared in heated shadows. She felt the strange burning of her eyes again, yet more intense this time. She couldn’t draw air into her lungs. The edges of her vision faded, and she writhed and struggled against him, desperate for air, for relief.

“Don’t fight it.”
His husky voice was a slashing whip of authority in her head.
“Give it to me. You belong to me. It belongs to me. No other.”

One hand spanned between her breasts, forcing her shoulders to the floor as he hovered over her and began to snap his hips into her with brutal force. Gone was the controlled steady pace that had tortured her, compelling her higher and higher in a measured escalation of desire. In its place was raw instinct, unrestrained and consuming.

It filled her, suffocating her until she couldn’t hold it, couldn’t contain it. It burst from her, the rapture so powerful she screamed, and it flowed from her lips. It was a throttled shriek without sound but with texture and substance. It was a devouring rush that burned and relieved her all at once.

Raife’s answering roar filled the room, skidding across her skin, suspending her on that rush of sensation. Her pussy clamped down so hard she surged up with the furious ecstasy that rocked her, her fingers clawing for Raife to steady her. He collapsed on her, his big arms wrapping around her, holding her tightly to him as he continued to power into her until the heated rush of him erupted inside her.

Katya clung to him and buried her face into his damp shoulder as she began to float down, a cold rush flowing over her skin. She distantly heard the murmur of his voice against her ear as she continued to descend into the soothing darkness.

Chapter Five

The light from the small screen flickered over Dr. Rupple’s gaunt features in the darkened room as he analyzed every movement and expression. Fourteen hours and twenty-eight minutes of footage. At his command, the camera had panned and zoomed to capture even the minutest detail of the mating.

And it had been fascinating.

The chair groaned in the dark as he leaned back and shifted his hips. An erection throbbed painfully in his slacks. Inhaling deep, he closed his eyes and reveled in each pulsation. The human body was a magnificent machine full of mysteries just waiting to be revealed, one of which had been uncovered tonight. One involving his stubborn little female subject.

She was the key to the success of his trials. He’d made several attempts to alter her genotype unsuccessfully. She had the target gene alleles and the appropriate environmental factors to make his experiment a success. He’d been unable isolate the element of the trial that was failing. Until now.

The newest research he’d received from the main lab in Europe suggested specific sex hormones contributed to gene expression. He’d known environment was just as responsible as genetic coding for specific characteristics, but with these Arcane species, mating was an integral part of their biological well-being. It stood to reason that sex hormones would factor heavily into genetic expression. He needed to have her in his lab again. Soon.

Gaze riveted to the freeze-frame image of his female subject sitting astride the Drachon male, her head thrown back, her face contorted in pleasure, Dr. Rupple ran his hand over the ridge of his erection and reached for his cell phone.

Flipping it open, he pressed a button. He needed her in his lab immediately.

“Bring me the female subject.”

RAIFE’S BODY CAME awake all at once.

What the hell had woken him? Even now, his body felt heavy with the effects of the mating. A chill rushed over his skin, and he shuddered, pulling the bedding around his body and carefully tucking it around Katya.

Why the hell was it so cold?

Darkness cloaked the small cell, and he glanced over to the large window. The sun had set hours ago, and they’d moved to the bed, where he’d taken her again and again. Finally, the screaming instinct to mate her had eased, and they’d collapsed in exhaustion. He still didn’t feel too far from it now.

So why was he awake if he still felt so groggy? Something wasn’t right. He felt…off. Careful not to disturb the slight weight draped over his chest, he stretched his legs and flexed his shoulders to get his blood moving, but it was difficult. The springs of the wide cot complained at his slow and awkward movements.

What the hell?

Glancing around the room, he could see it in vibrant detail. Hear every nuance of sound. The dull rush of desert wind against the thick panes of glass at the window, the soft sounds of the woman draping him…the hissing of air through the vents.

Frowning, he glanced at the ceiling. The air that curled and drifted down was visible, a heavy white mist that slowly dissipated as it sank. Were they being gassed?

It took a Herculean effort to pull the bedding up to cover her head where it rested on his chest. His breath burst from his lips in a white plume. Not gassed – put on ice. His muscles tensed, and he tried to force more movement from his body. They were dropping the temperature in the room to incapacitate him. That could mean only one thing – they were coming in.

He couldn’t do a damn thing about it, because he couldn’t maintain his own body heat. The cold worked on him as good as any sedative. That Elemental’s source knew his shit. It wasn’t exactly something that was common knowledge. Not one of those little details the entire Arcane world needed to know.
“Tell me you assholes are nearby.”
He directed the thought to Tag
.
Taggart Jennings had been the ideal person to partner him in this case. He worked security for Incog, so he’d be able to fuck with the security system here, but even better, Tag was a Drachon and could communicate telepathically with him. He’d been there nearly as long as Raife had, so he was familiar. Trustworthy.

“What the fuck, asswipe? We were beginning to think you were dead. Tell me something good, bro.”

“We’ve got to abort the operation. Like yesterday. I need an extraction ASAP.”

“What the fuck is going on in there? Any intel on the missing Drachon? It looks like a damn fortress from here.”

“I didn’t confirm the presence of any other Drachon, but whatever they got going on in here, the bastards are well-informed about us. It bears a closer investigation once I get Katya to safety.”

“Wait – Katya? As in that pretty little bloodsucker you used to take care of? What in the hell is she doing there?”

“Good damn question.” One he intended to find the answer to. “I think they paired us.”

“Paired as in mated? She’s Sanguen. Is that possible?”

“I think they altered her somehow. She’s different. She issued a mate challenge. Breathed fire. Now I think they are going to separate us.”
Both of them knew that separating a mated pair this early could risk dissolving the bond.

“The tracking device we planted in your bloodstream allowed us to follow you way out in the middle of fucking Death Valley. Let me consult with the boss man and see how he wants to proceed. We’ll get you out. Both of you. I’ll get back to you with the details.”

Raife lay there for a long moment, straining to hear any sign that the apes were coming back to take one or possibly both of them.

Had the mating been successful? The question cut through his mind again. If, by some miracle, he'd been able to mate Katya, she would carry his child, and separating them now would risk losing it. That meant he stood to lose more than just his last chance at life; it could cost him his only chance at a life with Katya.

A soft sound permeated the growing red haze around his mind. A restless sigh blew against his chest, and warm flesh shifted against him.

Katya.

He ruthlessly reined his emotions in, willing himself to gain control. Katya would be linked to him now, helpless against the psychic flow between them in this early stage of their mating. Both of them would need to remain in constant contact.

Especially her. If everything was as it should be, she would be carrying his child. Her body would abort the pregnancy without his scent to give her body some sign to keep producing the pregnancy hormone. He didn’t know all the particulars, but he knew that the first few weeks were important. It was nature’s way of protecting the woman after fertilization.

As for him, he would need the continued exposure to her scent to maintain his strength. Another little trick on behalf of Mother Nature to ensure the male would stick around and care for his female.

All Drachon were taught this during their coming of age in preparation for manhood. He’d just never thought it would ever apply to him.

The question was, did these sick fucks know it? Would they attempt to split them? That Elemental had wanted them to mate. As informed as they seemed to be on all shit Drachon, the asshole had to know separating them would defeat his goal.

The click of the lock resonated through the room like a gunshot, and a muscle in Raife’s arm twitched as his dragon tried to react to the threat to his mate. Fury flared hotly through him as four men filed into the room with rifles.

“Mission accomplished, big guy,” one of the men said, a snide smirk curling his lips.

Katya moved against his chest. Her awareness poured over him like warm water. For a long moment, he was caught in the pleasure of her mind merging deeply with his. He pulled his fury and burgeoning panic back from her as she mentally shifted into alertness.

“We’ll take it from here.”

“What?” She flipped the blankets back with a swing of her bare arm, and she levered herself up to look down at him in confusion. There was a hissing
pop
, and she jerked, her pale blue eyes meeting his, disbelief reflected clearly in their depths.

And betrayal.

Her emotions flared though him, no more than a flash of lightning before she mentally retreated. It was a total withdrawal, and once again he questioned whether they had truly mated. Mated Drachon were supposed to be deeply connected, unable to be apart. Yet she was absent, leaving a cavernous ache inside him he’d never had before. He still felt the residual from her brief flare of emotions.

Her chin angled up, and she moved awkwardly off the bed. Away from him. Those luminescent eyes clung to his as they slowly glazed. He tried to touch her mind, but she was closed off from him.

Fuck.

She pushed up to her feet and stumbled to the side. He could see the protrusion of a tranquilizer dart in her shoulder. She blinked and stumbled back a step, her gaze sliding away from his as she turned to meet the men who’d just come in.

One of them lowered his rifle and reached out to catch her as she tumbled forward.

“There we go, sweet thing.” His voice raked over Raife, leaving a burning rage in its wake as he watched the dead man walking hoist her limp, naked body over his shoulder. Their eyes met.

The man saluted him with his rifle. “Bail out,” he called to his men as he turned to leave. “This fucker doesn’t have the juice to be dangerous.”

Raife would track him and skin him. Carefully. Slowly. He had dared to touch what was his. His team would be here within hours, and he would reduce this circus down to smoking ash. His nostrils flared to catch and remember the bastard’s scent.

Another scent arced through him with the force of lightning. It was warm and heady. Potent. It swirled through his system. Evocative. It infused his body with fierce vitality. The sound of the door hissing shut dimly registered as his sluggish heart constricted in his chest and his eyes slid shut. Katya was breeding. Pregnant. With his baby.

They’d done it. She was his mate.

She was finally and truly his. He had no intention of letting her slip through his fingers a second time. He didn’t care if she blamed him for every crappy day she had from now until eternity. He was not giving her up. Not even for her sanity. It was too fucking late for that, and he was all out of benevolent sacrifice. She belonged to him. She would have to just accept that. Her life was now inexplicably tied to his, and Drachon were notoriously fierce when it came to their mates.

His people followed a spiritual path with a strong belief in a divine road. One he’d turned his back on twenty years ago, rejecting the faith of his people, because it seemed their destiny was one of extinction. Hopelessness. If they were guided by a higher power, how could it allow them to die out?

Yet here was Katya. She was his future. He just hadn’t known it.

All those years ago, he’d left his people and, within days, stumbled across that damn warehouse. He’d been drawn to it—to her—and so it had been every day since. Even as a child, Katya had captivated him, arousing proprietary feelings. He’d protected her and provided for her. Always.

And she’d saved him.

Raife drew the now faint scent of her deep into his lungs. She’d been through hell, one he could only guess at. She was confused and hurt and afraid, and she’d been seduced into a mating that was impossible to resist. She’d been dragged away while he lay on his back and watched, and she blamed him. He’d seen it in her eyes. Once he got them out of here, they would have a long road ahead of them. He wished he could afford to grant her his patience and time to find a way to accept their mating. To heal. But he couldn’t. His sanity wouldn’t tolerate it. Neither of them had a choice now. They were bound.