New Species 06 Wrath (33 page)

“Are you really well, Lauren?”

She nodded against him. “I am. I’m just glad it’s over.”

“You are very brave,” Shadow stated. “We found the male you killed inside your home. I was proud.”

Her stomach rolled at the reminder and she wasn’t sure what to say to that. Her silence stretched until the front doors of the SUV opened. Two human task force members climbed inside and both glanced back. A familiar face grinned at her from the passenger seat.

“Hey, Lauren,” Brian greeted. “We’re glad to have you back. How are you doing?”

“Much better. How are you? You were bleeding and out cold the last time I saw you.”

“I’m fine. What’s a little concussion and blood loss? That’s why I’m not driving you today. I heard what was going down, who was taken, and I wasn’t going to miss this assignment.”

“Thank you.” Emotion choked her voice. “Please thank everyone for me who was here today.”

“Let’s go home,” Wrath roughly snarled. “Now. Lauren needs a shower. Start the engine and return us to headquarters. I don’t know how much longer I can keep in control.”

Lauren’s gaze flew to Wrath. It surprised her at his blunt intentions to get her naked but she was amused by it too. “You missed me that much, huh?”

He growled instead of answering but he didn’t appear turned-on. His angry expression confused her as she watched him in the dim interior of the vehicle, hoping it wasn’t because she’d talked to Brian. She remembered that he thought the guy was flirting with her before.

“You reek of another male,” Shadow explained. “He’s already agitated because he was worried that we wouldn’t get you back alive and well. He had all kinds of horrible scenarios running through his mind of what those assholes could do to you. He’s highly stressed and the smell of another male on you makes it a lot worse. You’ll need a shower before he can calm down. It’s a Species trait. We don’t enjoy smelling another male on the female we have feelings for.” Shadow chuckled. “Sharing sex with him after ridding your body of the other male’s scent would probably put him in a much better mood too.”

Lauren stared into Wrath’s eyes, not sure she really understood the reason for his distress. She could accept that he wasn’t like other men. “He just kept me warm and nothing happened between 140 and me. I’m sorry you’re upset. I’ll let you wash my back, okay? It’s only temporary.”

“I know. I hate that I wasn’t there to protect you.”

She wasn’t sure how to comfort him. He was really upset and she just curled back into his body. His arms wrapped around her tightly.

Shadow answered a cell phone when it rang and listened for a few minutes. He hung up. “Our new people are on the helicopter safely. The on-flight doctor is looking over the female but it doesn’t look good. They are going to do everything they can.”

Sadness crept through Lauren.
Poor 140.
She lifted her head and met Wrath’s eyes.
If I lost him forever…
She pushed the thought away. She didn’t even want to contemplate a life without him.

“I could smell the sickness on her,” Wrath admitted. “Will it never end, Shadow? Will those assholes never stop hurting our people?”

“We’ll find them all,” Shadow swore. “We captured the humans and they’ll tell us what they did to the female.” Shadow paused. “By the way, you are brilliant, Lauren. I wanted to compliment you on your intelligence. We are all very proud of how you manipulated the human into calling Homeland. Wrath would mention this himself but he’s too emotional right now.”

“I was scared and Mark was desperate enough to go for any plan to get him out of that mess. He said he used to work for Mercile and ended up working for the woman running that hellhole. I’m sorry about the lies I said about being Wrath’s mate and the way I implied I could make deals for the NSO.” She met Shadow’s eyes. “I had to say a lot of things to survive and try to guide you and get you to come for us.”

“You did very well and the lies you told were good ones.” Shadow chuckled. “You amused and impressed Justice North. I’m sure he would like to meet you, Lauren. He said you are a very brave female.”

“That’s good to hear. I’ve seen him on television a lot. He seems really nice.”

Shadow grinned. “He is unless he deals with someone who worked for Mercile or betrayed our kind. Then, not so much.”

“We’ll speak of all this later.” Wrath brushed his fingers through her hair, stroked her cheek and pulled her tightly against him. “I need to hold you to assure myself you are really here.”

Lauren settled against him until they arrived back at headquarters. She still had no idea where it was located, had forgotten to pay attention again. Wrath helped her out of the SUV, scooped her into his arms and strode for the elevator with Shadow at their side.

“I can walk.”

Wrath ignored that and turned his head to talk to Shadow instead. “Could you please bring her food? Her stomach is growling.”

“Of course. I’ll send out someone to get her something good to eat. It shouldn’t take long and I’ll knock to let you know it’s outside the door.”

“Thank you.” Wrath stepped into the elevator when the doors opened. “I’ll put her clothes in the hallway. Will you dispose of them for me?”

“My clothes?” Lauren’s eyes widened. Why did he want her clothes thrown out? They needed to be washed but they weren’t torn or stained that she could see.

“I will,” Shadow agreed, pushed a button on the panel and spoke to Lauren. “He never again wants to see what you’re wearing. It will only remind him of how close he came to losing you.”

Shadow followed them all the way to Wrath’s room and opened the door for his friend since Wrath was determined to carry her everywhere. Lauren watched him close the door firmly behind him. She glanced at Wrath. They were finally alone.

He avoided her gaze, carried her into the bathroom and lowered his body enough to set her on her feet. The room wasn’t very big, Wrath was, and it was cramped as he bent to turn on the shower.

“Undress,” he urged, his voice gruff, as he adjusted the temperature of the water. “Hurry.”

“I’m really okay, Wrath. You’re being so sweet but you can relax now. We’re here, together, and everything is going to be fine.”

A snarl tore from his throat. He spun around and his hands gripped her arms. It didn’t hurt but he could move fast. His size was intimidating and it shocked her when his fangs were displayed.

“Don’t be afraid of me. I’d never hurt you. I’m enraged at myself for allowing you to come to harm. You are trying to make me feel better but nothing will do that. I never should have allowed you out of my sight. I should have made certain everyone at Homeland knew that I didn’t want to come back to find you gone and I should have insisted that they bring you to me immediately. I let you down, left you vulnerable to my enemies and you could have died.”

Tears filled her eyes. It broke her heart to see him so distraught and to realize how deeply he cared about her. “It’s not your fault, Wrath. Please don’t blame yourself. Do you know who you should be mad at?”

His hold gentled. “Who?”

“The assholes who took me but I’m glad it happened.”

Rage tightened his features.

“We never would have known about those five New Species if I hadn’t been kidnapped. I was scared, hungry, and it really sucked, but let’s not forget the bottom line. Five of your people are at Homeland now because I was taken. That makes it all worth it to me.”

“Your life is more important to me.”

Her heart raced and tears filled her eyes. “You mean that.” Hope flared that he was in love with her as much as she loved him. The words rose in her throat but she didn’t have the chance to tell him how she felt.

He glanced away, let go of her arms and took a step back. His hand shot out and slammed the bathroom door, closing them inside. “We’ll talk of this later. I need his scent gone, Lauren.”

“Okay.”

He stared into her eyes. “Don’t fear me.”

“I’m not afraid.” She wasn’t.

His hands tore at the shirt. He jerked it right off her body. She didn’t protest when he dropped to his knees, frantically removed the rest of her clothes until she stood totally naked before him. He rose to his feet, gripped her hips and she grabbed his upper arms to keep her balance when he lifted her into the spray of warm water.

He paused while half in, half out of the shower stall. Material tore when he shed his clothing quickly and discarded them to the floor. Lauren appreciated every beautiful inch of perfect skin he bared and her heart raced faster when he finally stepped completely into the small space with her. No guy had ever been in such a rush to get buck naked in a shower with her before and it left her a little breathless.

Wrath was sporting a major erection as her gaze lovingly examined him. His raw masculinity made her feel even more feminine, and even tiny, compared to his size. He pressed closer, peered down at her and growled in that deep, sexy voice of his.

“I need to wash every inch of you.”

Lauren pressed her back against the tile and spread her arms and legs apart to give him total access to the front of her body. “I’m all yours, baby.”

The hot desire that flared in his dark-brown eyes nearly melted her where she stood. His hand shot out to the built-in shelf, grabbed the bottle of body wash and dumped a bunch of it into his palm. The bottle hit the floor and made her jump from the loud sound but Wrath’s hands were suddenly all over her. Big hands gripped her shoulders, slid down to cup her breasts, and kept exploring down her hips.

She had to remember to breathe as she leaned against the tile, his hands leaving soapy trails from her throat to her waist. It became harder to do when he lowered to his knees and those hands trailed down to her feet. The rough texture of his calloused fingertips turned her on.

“You weren’t kidding about getting me clean, were you?”

“No,” he growled. “Turn around.”

Wrath battled the urge to howl. He’d nearly lost Lauren, another male could have claimed her and the knowledge that she’d been touched by one lingered even after he’d washed away 140’s stench.

She is mine!
That thought drove him to slide his hands up her legs to the vee of her thighs, part them, and explore her sex. Lauren’s small gasp urged him on. His knuckle teased the seam of her pussy and his gaze focused there. He needed to remind them both who she belonged to.

He pressed her legs farther apart. The urge arose to bury his face there and lick her until she begged him to take her. He snarled from the overriding desire to taste the arousal that would assure him that she wanted him too.

Mine!
A feral emotion gripped him and he pushed her tighter against the wall. He nuzzled her stomach with his face as his fingers explored the tempting seam of her pussy. He knew he was losing control but at that moment it didn’t matter. He needed her and he would take her.

His enhanced hearing picked up the sound of the outer door to his room opening and frustration struck fast. A growl rumbled from his throat as he hoped they’d go away. It didn’t happen though and it took every ounce of his control to pull away before he forced Lauren to open her thighs wider to allow his tongue to delve inside her warm, enticing pussy.

Chapter Eighteen

Someone knocked on the bathroom door and it startled Lauren. Wrath stood, grabbed Lauren and spun her around to face the tile before she could do it on her own. His body pressed against hers, pinned her there, and he turned enough to hide her behind his body from anyone who entered the room. She couldn’t miss the hard length of his cock trapped between her lower back and his hips.

“Come in.”

Lauren jerked her head up and gawked at Wrath over her shoulder. They were naked in the shower and he’d just invited someone to come in.

“Relax,” he urged. “It’s Shadow. He’s taking your clothes away.”

She had to wiggle enough to see the door. Shadow didn’t even glance toward the shower when he picked up all their clothing off the floor. He turned away, closed them inside once more, and Wrath backed off her. Lauren turned to face him and Wrath shrugged.

“Sorry. I forgot to take them out to the hallway. He knows I’ll want that male’s scent removed and it lingers on our clothing—yours from being with him and mine from holding you.”

Lauren remembered the advice Shadow had given her in the SUV about improving Wrath’s mood and inched closer to him. She was all for sex and so was he, judging from the condition of his body. Her hand reached for his cock but his fingers gripped her wrist before she could caress him there. He spun her back around, pinned her facing the wall again and she gasped when his free hand fisted in her hair.

He didn’t hurt her but he gently forced her head back. She stared into his eyes but he looked away and released her wrist. He yanked the detachable showerhead from its holder and water soaked her hair as he aimed it there. She closed her eyes to keep out the water.

“I need to wash your hair. I can smell him still,” Wrath growled.

“Is it that difficult for you?” It amazed her that he could still detect any traces of 140 on her.

He released her hair and the water stopped pouring down the back of her head. “Yes,” he admitted gruffly. “I can’t stand smelling another male when I breathe in your scent.” The shampoo was cold as he poured a generous amount on her hair and worked it in with both hands, from her scalp to the ends, lathering it well. “My scent and only mine should be on your body.”