Viper's Hope (Anguis Defenders Book 1) (4 page)

Hope

Drogo's touch was so warm as he examined the small nick on her hand. He was breathing deeply as his eyes roamed her body.

It was one thing to admire his body from afar but now he was touching her. Hope warily stared back as he removed her shoes. His strong hands lingered on her feet.

Drogo's husky growled nonsensical words shocked her a bit. But the rumble of his voice wasn't truly frightening, it was deep almost sensual, causing the bed to shake slightly.

Hope was inexplicably transfixed as the image of him naked played in her mind, mixing with the primal rumble of his voice and his firm touch.

"God, I'm twisted. What is wrong with me?" Hope thought. Was she seriously lusting after her abductor?

Suddenly Drogo snarled and this time it did freak her out, breaking the spell. The shuddered look in his eyes turned into agitation twisting his face in a frightening way. Hope realized again she was trapped at the mercy of a potentially violent alien.

Drogo seemed to realize he frightened her and instantly said something Hope assumed was an apology by the way he held up his hands.

He got up and stalked over to the wall, then spoke angrily into the panel.

Hope was confused. She had no clue what had happened. One moment he looked like he might eat her alive, and strangely for some reason she welcomed it. The next moment he's bristling and growling.

Drogo paced like a feral beast occasionally casting glances in Hope's direction. More than a few times he stepped towards her then stopped, only to resume wearing a path in the floor.

Hope watched him nervously.

After several minutes of this a sound chimed and Drogo let in another man. This alien was darker than Drogo with shorter dreads that only came to his shoulders. He placed a tray on the table. Hope smelled the delicious aroma of food and her stomach grumbled, earning a surprised stare from both men.

As Drogo spoke to the other alien in his baritone voice, the other man's eyes widened and he looked at Hope in shock. She didn't know what they said, but it was clearly something about her. She'd have to be an idiot not to figure that out. The question was, what about her?

The second alien shook his head looking grim as Drogo gestured emphatically. He was unhappy about something. What had she done wrong? She couldn't move for cripe's sake.

The other man said something to Drogo then moved toward Hope. Instantly she was horrified.

"No!" Hope screamed but her voice didn't work.

She couldn't even shuffle back from this new alien.

Drogo may have kidnapped her, but he'd been nothing but gentle with her. He even seemed to regret when he startled her. This new alien wore a scowl that twisted his face, which was far from comforting. The devil you know is always better than the one you don't.

Before the other alien reached Hope, Drogo's hand shot out grabbing him around the neck with a menacing growl.

If she thought Drogo seemed threatening before she had been wrong. He was down right terrifying now.

The man stopped dead in his tracks, yet Drogo's growl deepened. Hope could see long sharp claws that had extended from his gripping fingers. They threatened to tear into the other alien's carotid.

She held her breath bracing for the worst.

Something had caused Drogo to go feral against his own kind. That didn't bode well for her. Hope's heart thundered in her chest as she started to hyperventilate.

Drogo's head swung her way. His brow was creased, his mouth formed a snarl showing his fangs. He turned back the other alien and tightened his grip.

A trickle of blood ran down the man's neck and Hope gasped.

"Oh god he's going to slice open his throat here and now!"

Drogo heard the sound of her ragged breath. He looked at her again, then at his hand wrapped around the other alien's throat. Instantly he released the man.

The man sighed and started to backed up slowly towards the door, all the while talking quietly to Drogo in a non-threatening voice.

He then exited quickly leaving her alone with Drogo and his violent mood swings. The last thing she needed was to be sequestered with a pissed off alien sporting claws and fangs. He'd seemed so calm in the woods.

"This is sheer madness. How can these creatures exist, constantly at each other's throats?" Hope wondered as she eyed Drogo.

Maybe the other man had done or said something to anger him? Hopefully that was it, and Drogo wasn't some unstable psychotic alien. But then why had he gotten agitated while alone with her?

"Oh god!"

Sexy alien or not, she had to get the hell out of Dodge.

Drogo grabbed the platter of food from the table then sat back down beside Hope on the bed. It dipped under his immense weight.

Drogo looked at her and rather than a scowl his expression again seemed concerned. He spoke in that deep gravelly voice.

Hope couldn't move as his long tan fingers came towards her face, the same fingers that just attempted to strangle a man. Thankfully his claws had disappeared, but she still cringed.

Drogo hesitated, his hands hovering over her face, then pulled back with a sigh.

She wondered why he hesitated if he wanted to touch her. That was why he brought her here wasn't it? He had the perfect opportunity while she couldn't fight back. Not that she was complaining.

Drogo spoke again, the words sounding similar to before. They weren't snarled though his language was growly in nature.

Drogo's moods changed so dramatically Hope's head spun. But the relaxed way he sat and spoke now, again had her fears easing. Something about him made it easy to relax when he was relaxed. Maybe it was the pleasant almost piney scent that emanated from him as he sat so close. Or maybe it was because he didn't paw at her even though he could.

Drogo nodded as Hope calmed then turned back to the platter of food.

The plate held some type of meat and vegetables Hope couldn't recognize, but she was hungry enough she really didn't care. She'd only had a latte today and that had been this morning.

Drogo speared a small piece with a two prong fork and placed it at her lips. Thankfully Hope was able to chew. The meat was juicy and delicious as she swallowed.

Hope wished she knew why he took her. Surely his plans weren't nefarious if he acted so concerned and was carefully feeding her. Right? She had so many questions, demands and a few colorful words for her abductor but couldn't voice a single one.

Viper

The second Ophidian approached Lepus, thinking he'd solve this problem by taking her to the hibernation dorm, her eyes widened and her scent turned from mild fear to terror. Viper snapped and nearly tore out Ophidian's throat for the transgression.

Viper apologized as he spoke calmly to Lepus. Eventually she relaxed again. It filled him with great pride as her acrid scent lessened, again turning sweet telling him she was no longer acutely afraid. Viper nearly stroked the tension from her brow till he remembered himself.

He had to resist the pull to touch her. She didn't she understand him, let alone even move yet. It would be unforgivable to take advantage of that fact. Until he could truly communicate with her nothing could be resolved. Then again communicating with her might not help much either. If Lepus she was an Anguis female, she'd understand what he was feeling, but she wasn't. She was human and in her eyes he'd stolen her from her planet. The reason he was compelled to do it probably would come as a shock to her. This was a wholly unexpected complication Viper never expected to contend with. He had to proceed cautiously with the little human.

It was silly how much it pleased Viper that Lepus ate without any cajoling. Many of their past refugees had resisted eating because they were so stressed. He worried she wouldn't trust him, particularly after he'd lost his temper with Ophidian, but Lepus quickly recovered, though she still seemed wary. He couldn't blame her.

Viper intently watched her pink lips wrap around each bite as he fed her and nearly groaned. Her mouth making him imagine what other parts of her anatomy might look like?

Viper grabbed the glass of water and carefully lifted Lepus' back up off the pillows so she could take a sip. A drop ran down the side of her mouth and he wanted to lick it.

That was one poor idea, in a long line of bad ideas. One touch of his tongue to her skin and the spicy pheromones he was secreting would sink into her flesh. It would only compound the craziness of this situation.

Despite the severity of all this, Viper still couldn't believe Ophidian thought to remove Lepus. Did he really think taking her away to join the others would solve anything? Had his friend even been listening?

"To think, just because we're practically brothers, he could approach my female!"

The thought instantly made Viper angry again. It had taken every ounce of restraint not to rip into his friend. Viper was careful not to let his anger surface. It frightened Lepus. She was calm now, and he intended her to stay that way.

Viper finished eating what Lepus refused when she was full. It was surprising how very little she ate. But when she pursed her lips as he brought another bite to her mouth he figured it out.

It was time to get some rest. It really had been an exhausting day.

Viper positioned Lepus, so that she was hopefully comfortable then laid down on the opposite side of his bed before dimming the lights. Even though it was dark, he could clearly see her blink and then yawn. Viper watched enthralled as eventually Lepus' eyes closed and her breathing steadied.

Tomorrow he needed to figure out what to do, at the very least try to learn her real name. He needed to convince her to get the language implant without frightening her. Viper didn't relish explaining to her what was happening to her planet. The thought of Lepus' sorrow upset him already. He worried even more about explaining the other reason he felt compelled to take her rather than putting her with her fellow humans.

Viper didn't know when he drifted off, but when he did a deeply erotic dream invaded his sleep, featuring a pale lush female, with eyes the color of the clearest water. Her delicate arms and legs were stretched across his body, her face buried in his neck. Lepus' small body was so warm as she nuzzled him. Her wonderful scent tempted Viper to take a taste. His tongue snaked out and ran up the length of her neck. Her taste was even better than her scent. Lepus' unique heady flavor was sweet and slightly salty. She tasted unlike anything he'd ever known.

"Mine."

Viper reached the base of her ear and teased the lobe. He wanted to bite the tender flesh when he heard her moan. Instead he continued to taste her noting the texture of her smooth soft skin. Viper's chemical lust sank into her and Lepus shifted restlessly against him. Again Viper smelled the exotic musky scent that came from the apex of her thighs. It drove him to lave the crook of her neck feverishly. Lepus pulled her knee up over his leg spreading her thighs and the delicious aroma increased tenfold.

Viper awoke fully as his eager tongue reached her shoulder again.

"Shit!"

Viper hadn't even been fully conscious of what he was doing as he marked Lepus' flesh with his pheromones. Viper groaned as he pulled away and desperately attempted to go back to sleep while the object of his torment lay inches away.

Hope

Hope was incredibly warm as she awoke. That odd tingling sensation had intensified, making her feel incredibly jittery. But all of that was forgotten when Hope remembered where she was.

The light was dim but she could see that she was curled up next to the sleeping alien. She remembered resisting the pull of sleep but exhaustion from the crazy day had crept up on her.

Drogo's breathing was steady, though she couldn't tell if his eyes were closed or not. If she was ever going to escape, now would be the time.

Hope wiggled her fingers, then her toes. Everything seemed to be in working order so she inched towards the edge of the bed and got up painfully slowly.

Hope paused and looked down at Drogo. It was such a shame their interaction hadn't turned out differently. The man was compelling. Too bad he'd abducted her.

Hope shook her head, clearing the strange notion from her brain.

"I need to get the hell out of here and attempt to warn everyone."

Hope instantly realized that would go over like a ton of bricks.

"One thing at a time."

She couldn't find her shoes so she gave up and headed towards the door. Hope was grateful when it opened without a sound. She slipped into the hall and quickly headed the direction she remembered Drogo travelling.

"It must be nighttime since no one is about." Hope mused as she retraced her path back to the spaceship's entrance.

"There's the portal. I'm home free."

Except the damn door refused to open, and Hope didn't know how to force it. She stared at the control pad next to the door, but it was no help. She couldn't read the strange symbols and there was nothing intuitive that indicated it would make the door open.

"Open sesame." Hope pounded on the door in desperation, tears of frustration leaking down her cheeks. "Let me out you fucker!"