The Protectors Series Bundle (A superhero romance anthology) (8 page)

With tiny deliberate snips, she cut away his shirt, careful of his shoulder. She'd been around men half her life, but never enjoyed this kind of closeness. She tried to fixate on his shoulder and not how good he smelled, despite the blood. His stomach was flat with a hint of six-pack abs, but With his slim frame and hard, lean leg muscles, she could tell he was more a running guy not one of those muscle-heads on television.

“Did you ever try to escape?”

His question caught her off guard. “Every once in a while when I complied with his tests and took my medication without complaint, he used to let me out of the labs so I could have friends over to the house. One time I snuck out to see a boy. Harmless teenager stuff. When he discovered me climbing back in the window, he grounded me, and told me I wouldn’t be spending my free time with anyone he didn’t approve of. Then he assigned me a caretaker. Only the guy was more refrigerator-sized James Bond than Nanny McPhee.”

“I don’t understand. How does Symcore play into all of this?”

“I’m getting there. The second time I ran was when the telepathy abilities started to manifest. I thought I was losing my mind. At the very least becoming schizophrenic or something. All those voices all at once. When I told Peter, he wasn’t surprised. More like thrilled. He wondered what had taken so long for them to manifest as my brain scans were off the charts.”

She shuddered at the memory. “I was already stronger than his best projections. He didn’t realize until later that I’d read him and knew what he planned. The drugs he gave me weren’t to help me, but rather part of his sick experiments to make human beings faster, stronger, more agile.
He planned to sell the technology to Symcore.
Their research on lab animals had been marginally successful, but only on the youngest ones. My asshole of a brother needed human subjects, but what parent in their right mind would sign their child up for risky experiments?”

Seth frowned, but he used his good arm and reached over to the bedside table for his recorder. Clicking the record button, he asked, “Do you know what he was giving you? Do you have access to any samples?”

“You mean besides what’s in my blood?” She shook her head. “On the night of my second escape, I stole a sleeping pill from the lab and slipped it into my bodyguard’s coffee. I made it thirty miles before Peter’s men found me. After that, I was moved to the labs full time.”

Seth narrowed his eyes. “How long ago was that?”

“Five years ago. I've been locked in the labs ever since.” She met his eyes and wanted to shrink back at the kindness in his gaze. The man
she drugged,
Peter made her watch as his men killed him.

“I assume that wasn’t the last time you ran.”

She smiled. “I never made it very far. Peter has all his employees wear these special earphones. They emit a frequency I can’t get past to read or push minds. They’re a mandatory part of the uniform. Plus only those on a need-to-know list ever had contact with me. Didn’t stop me, though. My father always said I was stubborn.”

Seth cursed under his breath. “How did you manage to get out this time?”

“This time I had help.” Her voice softened at the thought of Annabel. She didn’t want to concentrate on the destiny waiting for her friend. “Peter’s had a deal with Symcore for months. I’m part of the deal. Symcore gets me, and if they like how I perform, they’ll supply Gentech with more lab subjects. When I found that out, I knew I had to get out or die trying.”

The frown lines on his forehead were deep as he scribbled. “Do you have any proof with you to back up your claim?”

“Besides being a walking freak show? No. The only thing I was able to sneak out of there was a file of potential lab locations. I’m not the only person my brother has done this too. He had Annabel’s son, promised to fix his blood disorder like he fixed my heart failure. But also like me, soon after Jeremy started to recuperate, Peter isolated him. I promised Annabel I’d get him out.”

Seth scrubbed his good hand down his face. “That’s some story.”

She sighed.  “It’s okay. You don’t have to believe me.” She shrugged. “Your wounds look like they’ll heal well. I’ll be out of your hair in no time and I can become one of those bizarre stories you tell your friends.”

He tapped the pen impatiently on the notepad. “Occam’s razor, Honey. From the outside this sounds like a tale spun by a mentally disturbed woman.”

Cassie tied off the stiches at his shoulder and inched back from him. “Every time I overuse my powers, I get drained. That's my Kryptonite, I guess.” She shrugged. “As it stands, today, I’m surprised I’m still functional. I didn’t have to push too many people, but the physical exertion and my attempts to push you have depleted me.” She touched her shoulder. “That’s why I wanted to make sure the chip was disabled before we settled. Destroying it bought us some time.”

“And what makes you think I won't sell you out the moment you're asleep. For all I know, you're a crazy person who watches way too many X-Men movies.”

She wondered the same thing. “Because I saved your life. Because you're a reporter and you know there's a story here. Because you're not a complete asshole, even though you
may
think you are.”

He snapped his jaw shut and tapped his temple. “Do us both a favor and stay out of here, okay?”

Cassie cleaned up the bloody gauze and screwed on the cap of the whiskey. “Don’t worry. Not only would I not breach someone’s privacy like that, but you’re too thick-skulled for me to read. Forget mind pushing you altogether. I don’t need that kind of migraine.” She shook her head. “Pardon my attempt to psychoanalyze. Seems easier in the movies.”

He barked out a laugh. “You’re telling me I'm an unreadable son-of-a-bitch. You and my ex-girlfriends would agree.”

“Not unreadable exactly, but every time I've tried, the resistance causes me a good deal of pain. I’m not anxious to repeat the experience. Your mind is strong. And the stronger the mind, the harder it is on me. Those soldiers in the woods were easier. Although, the higher the rank, the more they exert free will.”

Seth let out a long breath. “I want to close my eyes and pretend none of this is real. But I saw you take down that guy tonight. I watched as he picked off his own guys. I stood there while you levitated my car off the edge of the road. For now, I’m clinging to my dream scenario, even though I'm in too much pain to make that believable.” He reached toward her and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I have to tell you, as hallucinations go, you’re beautiful.”

Cassie wanted to hold onto the beautiful part of his statement, but she couldn’t. She had to concentrate on healing him. The sooner she started, the sooner they could both get some needed rest, and the sooner she could search out Jeremy and the others. “I’m going to try and heal you, but I'm not sure it'll work.”

Seth’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, heal me? How many powers have you got?” He held up a hand. “Wait. Never mind. This is all kinds of complicated.”

She sighed. “It's been a while since I took inventory. Different powers showed up for a while then would disappear as they changed up the cocktail. The powers that stuck are the mind pushing and mind reading. Those are the strongest. I'm also mildly telekinetic and have some healing ability. The base skills are increased strength, agility, and keener senses. But that's about it.”

His brows smoothed out and he smiled, as if playing along with the crazy lady. “Are there others like you?”

“Peter’s definitely done this to others. Sometimes I can hear their screaming in my dreams.”

Seth stared at her. “Okay, let’s just say I believe you.  I have seen your serious Buffyesque fighting skills after all. What's your plan?”

“You mean besides putting more distance between me and those labs? Once I know you’re safe, I’m going after the others. But right now
,
I'm mostly thinking about sleep. We both need the rest. If you lie down I’ll do my best to heal you. If I can’t, then we'll need to take you to a hospital.”

He eyed her, his gaze level. “They will ask questions at a hospital.”

She eased off the bed to change into the T-shirt she commandeered from his duffle bag. “I won’t let you die because of me. Even if you are a pain in the ass.”

Seth registered the scent of heaven as he woke. Citrus and something sweet.
Maybe vanilla?
Feminine. His searching hands met warm, silky-smooth skin and he wrapped his whole body around the satin softness. Her skin scorched him like the hottest kind of fantasy. But as he stroked her skin, he knew this was different.  More substantive.

He dreamed of long raven hair and icy green eyes that bored into his soul. In her eyes, there was no duplicity, no treachery. Only strength and caring. The urge to hold on tight was fierce.

She nuzzled him as he trailed kisses along her forehead to her jaw. He cupped her cheek and turned her face to him. Her lips had that permanent bee-stung look women paid thousands for. He wanted to taste them the moment he bumped into her at Gentech.

He stroked her hip in gentle, unhurried motions.  She had the softest skin. Smooth to the touch, but she had hard muscles beneath—the epitome of a contradiction. He snuck his hand under her T-shirt and she rocked her hips against him. With his thumb he teased a circular pattern around her belly button. She clung to his shoulders—drawing him closer.

He could spend hours touching her, savoring every inch of satin skin, but her breathy moans urged him on. When his hand grazed the underside of her breast, the rest of the blood in his brain migrated south, making his cock like iron steel. He throbbed. She was bliss in his arms.

He closed his palm over her full breast and she ground against him, riding his thigh, working her moist core against him. With every tilt of her hips, more of her slick juices dampened the fabric of her cotton panties.

He teased the tip of her full breast to a hardened peak. Dipping his head, he kissed her. He didn't dare to think she would taste like he imagined. But then her lips parted on a sigh and her tongue peeked out to meet his. The answering roar of his boiling blood made him forget to go slow. His head swam with the heady scent of citrus and vanilla, the way her body bowed against his as she rocked with him. How her nipples tightened at his touch and her breasts swelled in his palm. How she tasted like the sweetest honey dew of the summer season.

Cassie moaned and his whole body jerked. The way she said his name sounded like chocolate lava pouring over ice-cream. She rocked her body against his—lift, retreat, lift, retreat—made his brain fog. All he thought about was the droplet of fluid easing from his erect cock. He craved more. Needed more. His hips jerked of their own volition, desperate to get closer, be inside her and possess her. He needed to be buried so deep inside her neither of them would know where he ended and she began.

Reluctantly, he released the perfect full globe of her breast and smoothed his palm back down to the edge of her panties, where the elastic met her inner thighs. He wanted to spend years exploring her body. He dotted kisses down her stomach, until his lips joined his questing fingers.

He kissed along her panty line then paused as if asking for permission. When she shifted her legs to allow him access, he assumed her acquiescence. Seth slipped his hand past the elastic, loving the way she parted her thighs for him. Her hips rose again, bringing her damp panties and slick core closer to his fingers. Sliding his fingers under the fabric, he found her welling center overheating and ready for him.

He slid his fingers in to the hilt, exploring her slick channel first with one, then two. He varied the pace, smiling as she gripped the sheets and moaned. He imagined his questing finger was his cock, throbbing and aching as it slid inside her velvet home. With each catch of her breath, he traced lazy circles around her clit with his thumb. As gently as he could, he parted her tender flesh, preparing her to take him. Her body yielded as if she were made for him.

Trailing kisses up her smooth belly, Seth’s sought out her nipple. Through the thin cotton fabric
of her T-shirt
, he suckled and drew her in deep with his tongue and lips. With the barest hint of teeth, he grazed the turgid tip.

Her whole body went rigid, and Seth murmured to her, “Just let the orgasm happen. Don't fight it.” Her inner walls quaked and he increased his tempo. Faster, faster, faster. With his fingers buried deep, he angled them to find the hidden bundle of nerves inside her. As he stroked, the quivering in her core increased, until she clenched, grasping his fingers in an attempt to keep him a part of her.

“Seth!”

He froze. His body buzzed with desperation and need as his heart thudded against his ribs. He was frantic to hold onto the dream. Hold onto Cassie. But something told him to open his eyes. He peeled his lids open and blinked several times to get his bearings. The only illumination in the darkened room was the dim light of the moon from the window.

The scent of long-forgotten nicotine and an intoxicating citrus vanilla filled the air. But mostly, the scent of sex wrapped around them like a summer breeze.
Sex?
On that realization, his cock jerked painfully against a smooth, bare thigh.

“What the—”

Cassie’s brows were furrowed and her lips were parted in what looked like the throws of orgasm. And he was wrapped around her like a spider monkey, the fingers of his right hand buried deep inside her.
Oh holy shit
. “Cassie, I—”