Styx's Storm (8 page)

A hard, desperate throb in his shaft echoed through her flesh, as though his cock were pulsing, threatening to swell harder, wider insider her. The pleasure of that additional pulse against the sensitive walls of her pussy became almost overwhelming.

It was a good thing breathing was natural, because anything that took thought was impossible. Anything but riding the waves of rapture wasn't happening.

And when it was over, she collapsed beneath him, snuggled against his heat, and let another need have her.

Exhaustion.

Satiation.

Warmth.

She just wanted to sleep in his arms now.

"Ahh, lass," he whispered as his lips touched her shoulder, his voice filled with regret. "My sweet Storme. If only the world were different ..."

CHAPTER 3

She was caught.

Storme sat in the sitting room glaring at Styx as Breeds filled the room. The contents of her duffel bag were spread out on the table, every item in it thoroughly examined by the Breeds that had arrived after she dressed.

Styx stood to the side of the room, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her with an inquisitive expression. As though he were trying to figure out a particular problem.

Lips thinned, anger burning inside her, she stared back at him.

He had played her. Him, Navarro, Rule, Lawe, and Jonas Wyatt.

She turned her gaze to Wyatt.

She'd never seen him dressed as he was now, all in black, weapons strapped to his thigh, his eerie silver eyes so hard, so cold they were deadly. Of all the Breeds Storme had fought to avoid over the years, the director of the Bureau of Breed Affairs was almost at the top of her list. He was damned scary.

Perhaps Styx was scarier though. He'd managed to get beneath her defenses, to play the perfect game without once arousing her suspicions. And she could be a damned suspicious person.

Hands clasped tight in her lap, she tried to think, to force her brain past the exhaustion and fear to find a way to escape. There had to be a way to escape; she had always found one before.

Admittedly, she hadn't allowed herself to be in this position before though. In the ten years she had been running, since she was a young, tender, fourteen, never had she allowed herself to be surrounded by Breeds.

Now here she was, no weapons, no way out, and she was surrounded.

"I want the data chip."

She flinched at the sound of Wyatt's voice. It was razor sharp, cutting, and merciless.

"People in hell want ice water too," she sneered back at him. "You're going to get about as lucky as they are in your wants."

"You don't want to fuck with me over this, Ms. Montague." The latent violence in his tone had the hairs at the back of her neck rising.

"I'll tell you what I've told you for the past ten years, I don't have your data chip."

Two factions chased her. The Bureau Breeds and the Council Breeds, and to look at them, it was impossible to tell which was which.

Jonas contacted her often through the old email account of her father's that she checked regularly. It was always the same. When she was ready to give him what he wanted, then he could protect her.

Her answer was always the same. She didn't have what he wanted.

It seemed he was tired of playing nice.

"Ms. Montague, the time for lies is over." The growl in his voice was frankly terrifying.

As he stepped toward her, Styx moved as well. His action surprised her. It appeared as if he was placing himself in line to protect her against what might well be the most powerful Breed in the world at the moment.

Jonas's gaze flashed to the Wolf Breed. "She's not yours," he bit out, his tone icy.

"Doesn't matter," Styx growled back. "I pulled her in, I'm responsible for her."

A mocking smile curled her lips. He had fooled her once; she wouldn't allow him to fool her again. No doubt this fake protection was no more than another game to draw her in.

Jonas glanced back at her. "She doesn't appear to want your protection, Styx."

Storme sat up straighter. "By all means, Styx, protect me." Mocking and sweet, Storme kept her tone even, hoping to hide the fear rising inside her.

His gaze flashed back to her, irate and glittering with a warning.

"She knows what she has, Styx," Jonas growled back as he stared back at Storme. "She knows, and she's holding on to it for a reason."

Because she had sworn she would hold on to it. Because it was the only thing her father had ever asked her to do. To protect that information.

"I'm not holding anything ..."

"Breeds can smell a fucking lie," Jonas snarled back. "And you, Ms. Montague, are lying. Tell me what the fuck you want for it and we can conclude this piece of business before the night is over."

She had always known she couldn't lie to their faces. She was too aware of what she was holding, too aware of the fact that their sense of smell would betray her.

There was no doubt Jonas Wyatt was enraged at this moment as well. It was there in every controlled inch of his body, in the glitter of his silver eyes.

"Storme, this has gone beyond whatever you believe you're protecting that information for," Styx stated quietly. "We can protect you, but we have to have the data chip."

"So you fucked me for it?" she sneered with a harsh laugh. "Tell me, Styx, are you one of those Breeds that were trained to be gigolos for the Council?"

His gaze narrowed, and for just a second she could have sworn she saw a flash of confusion mix with the anger that ignited in his gaze.

"Are you one of those humans that believes we're nothing but animals that don't deserve to live?" Jonas accused her, the rabid fury in his voice at odds with the cool control she knew he was famous for.

She didn't flinch, she didn't cower back in her chair, but God she wanted to. She did flinch though as Styx jumped between her and Jonas, a fierce Wolf's snarl vibrating from his throat.

"Back off, Jonas!"

Navarro moved slowly into position to jump between the two Breeds if necessary.

The other Breeds moved behind Jonas, as though flanking him, protecting him.

"I want that chip, Styx," Jonas snapped. "The implications of this have gone beyond one woman's life. Don't doubt for a second I won't do whatever it takes to force what I want from her."

"Jonas, enough."

All eyes turned to the woman who had stepped into the room.

Rachel Broen. "Hell, all we need now are the Breed alphas and a few Council members to complete this little meeting," Storme stated, forcing the mockery in her voice as Rachel stepped forward.

Jonas's assistant and new wife looked concerned as she moved to her husband's side. What Storme saw then had her chest clenching in some emotion she didn't understand.

Jealousy perhaps? Envy? Storme knew whatever it was had regret flaying her and a hunger rising inside her that she couldn't control. An emotional, overriding hunger she didn't understand and refused to look too deeply into.

For a second, the icy fury in Jonas's eyes was replaced by worry, pain, and a split second of agony that was gone just as quickly as it had come.

His wife walked to him slowly, her gaze focusing on Storme, her navy blue eyes heavy with concern.

"You shouldn't be here, Rachel," he grated, though his hand settled at the small of her back with the utmost gentleness as she neared him.

Rachel Broen was human. There had been several articles in major newspapers about the marriage of the Bureau director and his assistant. The woman had a child if Storme remembered correctly, an infant. There were rumors in the underground anti-Breed networks that Phillip Brandenmore, a silent partner with the Council, had found a way to use this woman's child to get something he wanted.

What Brandenmore had wanted no one seemed to know, but Storme knew what Brandenmore had been doing. He had been trying to replicate a project from the Omega labs and had actually believed the girl would want to see her father's work resurrected.

"It seems that perhaps I should have been here earlier," Rachel said softly. "What are you doing, Jonas, trying to terrify this young woman and fight with one of your best Enforcers?"

There was an edge of chastisement in his wife's voice now, one that had Jonas staring back at Storme with a promise of retaliation.

Yeah, retaliation. She could see who wore the pants in this family, and it sure as hell wasn't Jonas Wyatt. Though the thought was mocking, Storme was still fascinated with it. Rachel wasn't more dominant; it was more that Jonas seemed to be that attuned to his wife, perhaps that much in love?

Could a Breed love? Didn't one have to have a soul to love?

"Ms. Montague." Rachel stepped around her husband, then the hulking form of Styx. "I'm afraid you're going to have to come to Sanctuary ..."

"Haven." Styx moved between them again as Jonas stepped closer to his wife.

"Sanctuary would be better, Styx," Jonas stated harshly. "We can sneak her easily into the underground cells ..."

"The hell you will. She goes to Haven," Styx stated again. "She goes with me."

"She's not yours, Styx," Jonas stated again.

At this point, enough was enough. "I'm not a bone between an oversized cat and dog," she informed them all bitterly. "Why don't I just settle this little argument myself? I'll just be going on my merry way if you all don't mind."

She rose from the chair, until Styx turned so suddenly she came to a hard stop. Hands braced on the arms of the chair to hold herself up, she stared up at him in surprise.

His expression wasn't furious, but rather so dominant and intense she sat back down in her chair slowly. A primal sense of self-preservation seemed to kick in. It wasn't the same warning sense that kicked in when she knew she was dealing with a dangerous animal. It was different.

"Maybe I'll just wait a minute," she stated calmly.

"Maybe you'll get ready to take another ride," he stated, his voice harsh. "We're going to Haven."

"She's needed at Sanctuary, Styx," Jonas argued again. "We have to have that data chip."

"Then it seems you'll be coming to Haven for a while," Styx stated.

The brogue was gone. There was no accent, no tonal shifts.

Jonas's jaw clenched as Rachel turned back to him. "We'll go to Haven, Jonas."

"Like hell," Jonas growled. "Rachel, this isn't the plan."

"Then it appears the plan is changing," Styx informed him coolly before turning to the other Breeds. "Get her stuff together. I'll be transporting her to Haven. Navarro, get the Range Raider ready to roll and have one of the wolves outside pick up my cycle."

"My, aren't we the dominant Breed here." Crossing one knee over the other, Storme smiled back at Styx mockingly. "Why bother, Styx? You performed well. You captured the dangerous little girl, you can run back home now, little Wolf. I don't care to take a trip to Sanctuary. I hear the Felines can be very sociable when they want to be."

Sanctuary had its vulnerabilities, ones she was aware of and knew hadn't been detected by the Breeds. A vulnerability such as a hidden exit built into those underground cells. An exit she knew Brandenmore was slowly being maneuvered close to by a Council Breed spy in Sanctuary.

Styx's lip lifted in a silent snarl as a flash of blue fire lit his gaze.

"Ms. Montague, antagonizing Styx isn't the route I would take," Rachel advised her softly. "This situation will become difficult enough for you ..."

"She isn't his," Storme heard Jonas mutter.

"What is it with this 'his' crap? Sorry, guys, last I heard this was a free country and I'm not a Breed. I pretty much belong to myself. Right?" She was fighting back the fear.

Anger and mockery were always her defenses against that fear, but this time it wasn't working as it usually did. There was something about the look, the wary caution in the Breeds as well as Rachel's eyes, that warned her that this situation could become even more serious than she imagined.

"It doesn't matter what he means, and freedom, Sugar, is an illusion. You haven't been free a day in your life and you're not going to be free until this is over." Styx watched her with cool purpose as he spoke, determination echoing in his voice.

Her freedom was an illusion?

She stared at the Breeds, at Rachel. "So what am I, Mr. Wyatt, another of your little pets like Dr. Amburg and Phillip Bradenmore? Do you think there aren't those who are aware of the fact that you're holding them?"

Jonas's eyes narrowed.

"It doesn't matter what anyone is aware of," Styx snapped. "It doesn't change the fact that you're coming back to Haven with me until we have this little problem resolved."

"You call this a problem?" Storme laughed in disbelief. "We've far surpassed the problem stage here. You are not kidnapping me."

Styx's brows lifted. "I believe that's exactly what we're doing, Storme. Kidnapping you. You let yourself be caught, and that tells me all I need to know about the fact that you can no longer protect yourself. I've been chasing that pretty ass of yours for more than two years, did you truly think I didn't know everything there was to know about you, right down to your very unique scent?"

She could feel herself shaking, feel the shuddering realization of what he was saying striking to the very heart of her.

She had known Styx Mackenzie was chasing her several months, perhaps a year, before, but she hadn't realized it had been for two years. Someone was always chasing her, always right behind her, waiting to pounce, but she'd always known who they were before, whether they were Breeds or Council soldiers--until Styx.

And still, she had played right into his hands, just as he said. For the first time in ten years, she hadn't protected herself as she should have.

"Ms. Montague, you have information that is imperative to the Breeds," Rachel stated then, compassion and determination in equal measure filling her gaze. "Information that could possibly save my child. Trust me, Jonas isn't going to allow you to escape, and neither will anyone at Haven until they have that data chip. There is no other option but to relinquish it."

"I don't have it," she lied again. She would always lie.

She had no idea what was on that chip. She had never been able to break the encryption on it, no matter how hard she tried. What she did know was that whoever was supposed to collect it had never found her.

She couldn't fail her father. He and her brother had died to protect whatever was on the chip. They had died to save her, so she could protect it.

And she had lived a life of hell ever since.

"And once again, I'm calling her a liar," Jonas's voice was deeper now as he broke into her thoughts, the latent edge of danger in it causing the hairs to rise at the back of her neck.

"The Range Raider's ready, Styx," Navarro stated as the tension began to grow ever higher in the room. "Haven's Enforcers are waiting outside the hotel ready to escort you and Ms. Montague as well as the director and his wife back to Haven."