Red Run (3 page)

“Hello, Sophie.”

She swallowed. “Hello,
T’bir
. Glad to see you made it out of the fight with the other wolf intact.”

“You could have just run to safety. You didn’t need to keep going,
or
did you forget that you were supposed to accompany me back to the holding area?”

She cleared her throat as he frowned at her with a mocking expression. “It did escape my thoughts. I merely wanted to get as far away from that place of death as I could.”

“It wasn’t all death. That boy had the blood of a farm animal on him. They may have hunted your people, but they weren’t killing them.” He nodded and stood, stepping over the stream and lifting her to her feet.

“Are you sure?”

“There was no human death in that town. It is most likely that your grandparent was simply rounded up and is at the holding
centre
.” His hand threaded into her hair. “Now we have another matter to discuss.”

She licked her lips nervously, her body humming at his proximity. “What would that matter be?”

“Why you are never going to run from me again.” His mouth took hers in a heated possession and she wove her hands into his clothing, pulling him tightly to her.

His hands pried her dress from her body and swept her panties off her thighs. She was wearing nothing but her boots when he placed her on the grass on her hands and knees.

A fever of lust was running through her, his scent surrounded her and she bit her lip as his hands caressed every inch of her, never quite sliding between her thighs. The moisture her body was generating was causing her to blush as he inhaled while he nipped his way down her spine. When his lips trailed over her tailbone, instinct took over and she lifted her hips and widened her stance in invitation.

His laugh wasn’t unkind, but his fingers sliding to test the heat and wetness that
signalled
her readiness made her moan and flush with embarrassment. She tried to move away, but his hands on her hips and the low growl from his throat froze her in place.

When the blunt presence of his cock made space in her channel, her body shifted in an effort to escape the pressure. She whimpered when his fingers held her tightly, he worked himself into her with ruthless determination until he was fully seated.

The feeling of a male inside her wasn’t foreign, but the heat pulsing from
T’bir
was.
Her own
flesh caught fire when he started to move. They rocked together in a slow harmony that took on notes of high passion. Tension
spiralled
tightly in her core as the scrape and slide of his body within hers sent her to her elbows as she fought to come.

Her voice drove off all the wildlife in the area as it took on a high and breathy pitch. Each thrust and pounding of his hips brought her closer and closer to release until he lifted her in his arms and in a move that sent her shrieking into orgasm, he bit her.

Her scream of release hadn’t died in the air when he groaned against her neck. His hips shoved against her and she felt him flex within her. A spill of heat coursed inside her and she rocked her hips in response which sent a fluttering reaction through her channel once again.

Sweat coated her torso. When he released her neck, he lapped at the salt and a high pitched whine came from him. “I apologize. I didn’t mean for it to be so…fast.”

Sophie was slowly reassembling her thoughts. “It’s fine, but…why are you still in me?”

He chuckled. “I will be stuck here for a few minutes.
A species peculiarity.”

T’bir
took her hand and led it to the point of connection between them. He was swollen and tight inside her opening.

“Are you serious?” She was shocked. In her limited experience, this was not something that had ever happened before.

He nuzzled at her neck and shoulder, licking at the wounds he had left. “Very. It is a difficult moment when another male tries to interrupt so we usually mate in as much privacy as we can obtain.”

“Mate?”

“Yes. You sing out to me with your scent, your presence and that obviously red dress. Why are you wearing such a thing?”

She cleared her throat, unable to look him in the eye due to their connection. “I was on my way to a fancy dress party. There was a headset and a
sceptre
and then the house was shaken by the first strike. We listened to the demands on the com and then ran as far as we could as your people tried to round us up. I never had time to change.”

“It’s a lovely
costume,
it made it very easy to spot you in the forest.”

“That was not my intent.”

He chuckled and slid his hands up to cup her breasts. “I am sure it wasn’t. If it makes you feel better, aside from a few casualties in the initial attack before we knew you were only colonists, no others have died. We thought you had taken over our breeding world.”

She jerked against him and winced as the movement tugged him sharply. “
Your
what?”

“Our breeding world.
This planet is and has always been a
Sethen
breeding planet. Men and women of appropriate age come here and create the next generation. In fifteen years, we will have the start of a new population and a ship will come to take them to a training world.”

“Why here, why this world?”

“It is wild, unspoiled. We can plant our prey species here and live lives of quiet reflection, hunting and planting for our future.”

He shifted, testing their connection. She flinched in response. “Your people prefer to live in the wild?”

T’bir
chuckled. “No, we have an underground city here, maintained by bots and systems. When the landing craft are ready, we will send the signal and call the city to the surface.”

A feeling of dread came over her. “And your city is under ours.”

He smoothed a hand down her torso from shoulder to hip. “The attack that your people spoke of was not an attack at all. We merely sent the signal to the city and began waking the systems. It shifted under you and caused building collapses.”

She leaned her head back against his shoulder and closed her eyes. It made horrible sense. “What about the wolf that tried to attack me?”

“A rogue teen.
They have been hunting and hounding your people into the evacuation sites. It is a test of manhood for them.” He slipped free of her and a rush of their combined fluids ran down her inner thigh.

She
gasped,
a hot blush ran across her face and upper chest. “Does that always happen?”

He laughed and helped her to her feet. He turned her and gave her a kiss that had her clinging to him again. “You will get used to it.”

Sophie licked her lips, taking the taste of him into her. His body was as naked as
hers
and aside from some unusual musculature, he seemed very compatible to her own body.
“Why me?”

He smiled and cupped her jaw line.
“Why not you?
You eluded capture, made it cross country in a dress designed for the bedroom and still kept your wits about you when confronted by a creature who threatened your life. I am guessing that you have all the requisites for a
Sethen
mate or my body would not react this way to yours.”

“Do I get a choice in the matter?” Her plaintive voice sounded whiney even to her own ears.

“You already made your choice. If you were not attracted to me, your body would not have been sending signals to draw me to you. It was most insistent.” He nuzzled her neck, behind her ear and down her torso.

She shivered as he sucked on each nipple in turn. He certainly seemed to know what he was doing. As he drew at her breast, he pulled away and she saw the flash of fangs. He was careful with them, but she touched her shoulder and found the marks he had left behind. They could go through skin as easily as a knife.

She was rocking with his suction, the grazing of his teeth adding to her sensual haze.
T’bir
stroked his fingers against her opening before sliding them inside and stroking her with two fingers and her clit was rubbed by his thumb.

Her body was still sensitive and she screamed when her clit throbbed and a heated release took her. Her knees gave way and she fell against him.

“Commander!” a voice came through the woods. “Agent
N’lien
has sent a skimmer for
you,
they are waiting five hundred
metres
to the north.”

T’bir
groaned and pressed his forehead between her breasts.
“Acknowledged.
We will be there in a few minutes.”

“Oh God.
They know…” Heat ran through her skin, dying her pink.

“You are very vocal and very red.” His smile was pure devilish male. “Get dressed and we will find your grandmother.”

He dressed himself and helped her into her clothing after she had rinsed away the residue of their first coupling.

T’bir
wrapped his arm around her waist and led her through the forest to the humming skimmer full of
Sethen
and humans. The humans were dirty, battered and scared, but a few managed a sneer for Sophie as she entered the skimmer.

One even muttered, “Fuck your way to freedom, why didn’t I think of that?”

Ashamed, Sophie stood against the rails and watched the landscape slide by. There was the spot she had been hauled out of the
water,
there was the river that had transported her, the bridge that she had jumped from and the buildings that now showed obvious evidence of earthquake.

T’bir
kept his arm around her and his hand stroked her hair in a soothing manner.
“Soon.
You will be safe soon and nothing they say can change the one fact that you are mine and I am yours.”

His low murmur calmed her, buoyed her spirits. He spoke in low tones to an officer who used the com to issue some directives. Soon they were landing in the front yard of the evacuation
centre
and a beloved and familiar face was walking out of a crowd toward her.

“Gran!”
She went from dejection to elation in that moment. As the door to the skimmer opened, she bolted down and flung herself into the arms of the woman who had raised her.

“Sophie! Oh I am so happy to see you.” Agatha Redding hugged her granddaughter tightly and Sophie couldn’t have been happier. “Dear, what are you wearing?”

Sophie blushed and then felt a familiar presence behind her. “Agatha Redding, this is Commander
T’bir
. He brought me here to find you.”

When
T’bir
snaked an arm around her waist, she almost crawled into the ground. Gran’s eyes widened and she nodded with understanding, a small smile playing around her lips.

T’bir’s
voice rumbled through the enclosure. “I am pleased to meet you, Madam. Sophie has been most worried on your behalf.”

“And what is your interest in my granddaughter?” The older woman raised one eyebrow.

“I wish to take her as my mate.” His blunt honesty won her approval, that much was certain.

“Sophie, what do you think of this?”

She looked from her grandmother to the man who held her as delicately as a flower and soothed her with his touch. “I am still working it out, Gran.”

Agatha grinned. “Good girl. Always figure things out before making a decision.”

She laughed lightly as
T’bir
squeezed her waist. “Madam, would you please accompany us? I have a meeting with your mayor and colony council.”

“One moment, Commander.
I want my granddaughter properly attired before anything else. This costume is not appropriate for matters of state.” Agatha had spoken and Sophie smiled as
T’bir
inclined his head.

“Of course, Madam.
Please come with us.” He gestured for her to accompany them and led Sophie away.

The ship that they approached was huge and well-guarded. It had been blamed for the attacks, but knowing what she now knew, it made sense that their shuttles had been monitoring the activation.

“First we will get a dress from storage,
then
we will join them in the conference room.” He walked with her and several men saluted him and bowed to her.

When Sophie looked around, Gran was right behind her, eyeing the men with the wistful indulgence of age.

The section marked
storage
was under guard, but
T’bir
brought them through without difficulty. He stood at a kiosk and brought up a selection of clothing. “Pick what you like.”

She fiddled around until she got the hang of the screen and then quickly selected a dress. He struck a few buttons and pressed his palm to the plate. Down the endless halls, a robot whirred and came scooting toward them with a flat plastic case in its arms.

“I didn’t select red.” She frowned.

“I did. Until things settle, I want to keep an eye on you. This seemed the most obvious way to do it.”
T’bir
had a small smile playing around his lips.

Shaking her head, she pulled the dress over it and, as the skirt covered her, she removed the strapless gown underneath, a skill honed in gym class. The red gown was fitted around her rib cage and the neckline gave her delicate cleavage. The skirt fell to just above her ankle and flared and swirled as she walked.

“You look lovely, Sophie.” Gran was smiling. “Red is your
colour
, but I can’t imagine you sprinting through the woods in that other thing. You must have been determined to get to me.”

“There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Gran. You know that.” She took her grandmother’s hand and kissed the weathered cheek.

“Time to meet your people, Sophie.”
T’bir
took her hand and they walked as a group to the conference room.

“Commander.
Glad to see you in good health. Who is the lovely lady at your side?” A male with dark brown hair and darker eyes greeted them while the rest of the room fell silent.