Python's Embrace (Bitten Point Book 3) (3 page)

BOOK: Python's Embrace (Bitten Point Book 3)
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Chapter 4

N
o sleep for me tonight
.

Constantine, despite his claims to the contrary, found himself much too attracted to Aria to feasibly manage any kind of sleep.

It made no sense. He’d not lied when he told Aria he preferred bigger girls. Taller girls. Women who could handle a man his size.

Aria didn’t have an extra ounce of fat on her anywhere. Then again, since she belonged to the avian family of shifters, staying slim wasn’t just a necessity, but a fact of life. In order to have the ability to actually fly, bird species needed to remain light.

Everything about her was slim, even her little butt. Little but not unnoticed where it pressed against his groin.

Hisssss.

Talk about pure torture. Never before had an erection of this magnitude plagued him, and without her doing a thing.

What kind of perv lusted after a woman when she was so evidently exhausted and chilled from her ordeal? Sure, he’d climbed into bed with altruistic intentions, but altruism didn’t stop the dirty thoughts in his head.

Wrap around her. Squeeze her.

His reptile really didn’t see the problem. The man, however, didn’t let his baser self dictate his actions.

As warmth returned to her limbs, her body relaxed.

He heard more than saw as Princess hopped onto the bed, a bed with a lower frame so she could make the leap. He opened his eyes and noted his dog’s big eyes fixated on Aria’s face. Princess let out a small
grr
and
yip
.

“Shh,” he hushed. “She’s sleeping. Don’t wake her.”

His tiny dog didn’t seem to care. She growled again. Someone didn’t like her spot being usurped in his bed.

How cute. His little puppy was jealous. “Come here, baby. Come snuggle with Daddy.”

Since he’d gotten Princess a few years ago, rescued actually from a pet store that caught fire, lots of folks eyed their pairing with incredulity. But that was because they just didn’t understand. From the moment those huge eyes caught his where she stood in her cage, barking with the ferociousness of a rabid pit bull but the size of a hamster, he’d fallen in love.

His friends mocked his choice in pet only once, unless they had a good dental plan. Some guys loved their cars. Others collected shit. Constantine doted on his dog.

He also pretty much lived by the motto on one of his T-shirts that said, “If my Chihuahua doesn’t like you, then neither will I.”

As Princess crawled under the blankets and snuggled up against his spine, he couldn’t help but wonder if he might have to revise that stance, though, because, while Princess might not like Aria, he quite did.

Attraction, though, didn’t mean he ignored the weirdness about her re-appearance. What did she run from? Where had she spent those missing days?

He and his friends had combed the town, yet no one had seen any trace of Aria after her last visit to Bitten Pint, the local bar.

They did eventually find her things in Bedbug Bites, a bed and breakfast thought closed down. Within that B&B they’d discovered not only her abandoned personal items, but also the body of the owner. More importantly, they’d found some old smuggler tunnels under the house.

However, forget any clues or directions to Aria or the culprits terrorizing their town.

A crooked sheriff set fire to the place and left them back at square one.

But they might now finally have an advantage.
I found Aria.
Actually, she’d found him, but either way, he’d bet a lot of the answers were inside her head. Questions that would have to wait until morning when she woke.

Forget her fatigue.
I should wake her up and demand answers.
While she rested, their town was being stalked. Friends and families fought off attacks, and those who failed went missing.

Who was behind it? Dinoman and dogman, mutant creatures, were at the heart of the conflicts, yet they hadn’t come out of nowhere. Someone had created them.

The owner of Bittech, a medical institute that did experiments on shifter blood and genes, claimed innocence and that all their work was sanctioned by the SHC—Shifter High Council, the governing body for their kind.

Should the blame go to Sheriff Pete, whose son, Merrill, appeared involved?

Who could they point the finger at? Who could they punish?

Every trail they followed had led to a dead end. Until now. He couldn’t help but inhale the scent of Aria and wonder if, in his arms, slept the missing piece of the puzzle.

What had Aria seen? What did she know? And the bigger question, could he protect her from what she ran from?

Like duh. Of course he would.
I’ll crush anyone that lays a hand on her.
And, if they were tasty, eat them.

Chapter 5

T
he hunters chased her
, with raucous calls and murderous intent. Through the woods she sprinted, arms slapping away branches, spitting out the cobwebs that clung to her face as she ran into them.

But she dared not stop or slow down.

They’ll kill me if they catch me.
Or, worse, they’d do to her what they’d done to countless others.
Make me into a monster.

She burst free from the foliage and found herself teetering on the edge of a cliff. Arms windmilling, she strove to keep her balance. Down didn’t look like an option with its steep incline and sharp rocks. Behind her, a creature bayed, a thing that had once been a man but now was lower than an animal.

I can’t go back that way.
That left her only one option.

Up.

She flung herself into the air, arms spread, calling forth her eagle. The pain proved excruciating but fleeting. Arms turned into wings. Feet into claws. Her face pulled into a beak while her eyes got razor-sharp vision.

With a mighty pump of her wings, she soared, emitting a laughing caw as the hunters spilled out onto the cliff she’d just perched on, howling their disappointment into the air.

Ha ha. Miss me, miss me. Now you get to—

The heavy weight slammed into her, shocking the breath from her lungs, and she went plummeting down, down, down, in a deadly spiral. The ground rose to meet her and—

“Wake up.”

The shaking of her body and barked words had her eyes springing open. For a moment, disorientation assailed her as she cast her gaze frantically about. “Who are you? Where am I?”

“It’s okay, Aria. You’re safe. It’s me, Constantine, remember me? I helped you after you crawled out of the swamp.”

Ah yes, the big snake man with the little dog. She recalled him, just like she recalled she’d yet to put a call in to let anyone know where she was.

She struggled to sit up, but didn’t make it all the way before dizziness had her clamping her eyes shut and slumping back down.

“What’s wrong with me? Why is it so hot in here?” She managed to thrash her legs and push off the covers.

A chilly hand pressed against her forehead. “You’re burning up.”

Burning with desire. Through slitted eyes, she regarded Constantine. The man proved quite attractive in daylight. “You’re cute.”

His brows rose. “Excuse me?”

“And polite. Do you have a girlfriend?” She squirmed on the bed as fire coursed through her veins.

“I really don’t see that it’s any of your business.”

Aria’s lips curved as she stretched out. “I hope you don’t because she wouldn’t like it if she knew I was sleeping in your bed.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend, so you needn’t worry.”

“Me, worry?” She giggled, a bubbly sound that went with the floating sensation inside her head. “I’d kick her ass. I don’t share.”

“I think you’re delirious.”

“I think you’re right,” she mumbled. It didn’t take his remark for her to realize her thinking seemed off.

“We really should call a doctor.”

“No doctor. No one can know where I am. Not even Thea.” She flailed her hands and gripped his loose T-shirt. “Promise me you won’t tell. Promise.”

He blew out a breath. “This is crazy. You need a doctor. You’ve got the swamp fever.”

“So give me some pills. Just swear you won’t tell anyone I’m here. You’ll be in danger. Everyone is in danger.”

“I’ve got some antibiotics from when I cut myself on the job. I didn’t need them, but the emergency room doctor was a normal dude and didn’t know that. I’ll go grab them. Don’t go anywhere. Princess, guard her.”

As if Aria could go anywhere. Her limbs felt weighted, concrete filling her bones.

Something blew hotly in her face, and she opened eyes she didn’t realize had shut to see a tiny furry face glaring at her.

“What do you want?” she muttered.

Grrr.

“Don’t worry, squeaky toy, the feeling is mutual.”

And she was obviously more delusional than she realized, seeing as how she conversed with a dog, if something that wouldn’t even make a meal could be called a dog.

Something wet and chilly slopped onto her forehead. “Open your mouth.” Fingers probed at her lips, and she spread them enough for him to slide some pills into her mouth. The bitter taste had her grimacing and complaining.

“Oh, gross.”

“Drink.” The stern command came as he lifted her upper body and pressed the rim of a glass against her lips.

She swallowed. She didn’t have a choice. It was that or drown.

“You’re mean,” she muttered.

“Says the girl I’ve done nothing but help so far.”

“I need a phone.” While her body seemed determined to melt into a puddle of useless goo, her mind got moments of clarity.

To her surprise, he pulled a cell phone from his pocket. She grabbed it with shaking hands that dropped it.

“Fuck.”

“Not now, you’re kind of sick,” Constantine retorted.

“You are not funny. But you’re still cute.” Ugh. Someone shoot her. It seemed she couldn’t trust her mouth to keep her inner thoughts secret.

“So cute I’ll help you dial. What’s the number?”

Number? Dammit. She didn’t remember her boss’s number by heart. It was programmed in her phone, and she no longer had that sucker. Which again sucked because it was only a few months old. It would cost her a fortune to buy out her stupid contract.

Fingers snapped in front of her. “Earth to Aria, come in, Aria.”

She turned her gaze back to him, trying to focus but having a hard time. “Would you stop moving?” she complained.

“I’m not. You’re sick and need to lie down.”

“Not until I call Thea. I need to know she’s safe. I worried her the last time I called, and I shouldn’t have done that. But I had to. Just in case I didn’t come back.”

“You are back now. You’re safe.”

“Safe?” Again, the hysterical laughter burst free. “No one is safe. I have to stay away from her. I should stay away from you, too.” She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, only to have them immediately moved back onto the mattress.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

“You don’t understand, they’re looking for me.”

“Who is?”

“The monsters.” She slapped a hand over her mouth. She shouldn’t have told him about that.

“I know about the monsters, Aria.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “I’ve been looking for them for a while now, but have not had any luck. Do you know where they are?”

“Yes.” They were in cages. A whole row of them.

“Where, Aria?”

She opened her mouth, but instead of spewing words, she spewed water.

In other circumstances, she might have been appalled that she’d tossed the meager contents of her tummy on the man trying to help her, but given her limbs chose that moment to go spastic, she concentrated more on not biting her tongue off.

But uncontrollable spasms didn’t mean she didn’t utter a very apt, “Fuck!”

BOOK: Python's Embrace (Bitten Point Book 3)
7.64Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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