Warriors of Ryon: Bayden (7 page)

“You’ll pay for that. I was going to make it nice and painless for you, but I’m thinking you’re one of those litas who like it rough.”

“Who are you?”

“You shouldn’t be worried about who I am. Now what I’m going to do to you? That’s the thing you should be worried about most.” He trailed a fingertip down her cheek, and when it reached her neck, his fingernail bit into her skin.

“Let her go.” Sarek said.

“I don’t think so,” her captor responded. “And if you come any closer, I’ll kill her.”

He bent and put his face close to her neck and inhaled. His breath singed her skin like a hot poker, and her knees nearly buckled.

“Mmmm. You smell good enough to eat.”

She scrunched her nose. “I can’t say the same for you.” Rotten egg farts didn’t make it on the list of her favorite scents.
Probably not a good idea to taunt the vampire about to suck me dry. No. He’s going to eat my soul
. “Please, let me go.”

He threw his head back and laughed, and she wanted to scratch his eyes out. His amber-eyed gaze scorched her, and she gasped.

“I don’t think so, lita.”

“Do you really think you’re going to get away with this, vampire?” Sarek asked. “You know very well who you’re dealing with.”

“Oh yes. I do. It makes it that much sweeter.” He bent his head toward her, mouth open, fangs exposed. She closed her eyes. His fetid breath fanned her skin again, and she kneed him in the crotch. She ran toward the tunnel, but he was too quick. He grabbed her by the arm, and she fell to her knees. She slapped at him with her free arm and struggled for freedom. Suddenly, the vampire was jerked away. She looked up to find Stryder and her attacker facing off.

“Go to the fucking compound! Now!” Stryder pointed to the entrance.

Getting to her feet proved difficult. She stumbled on her way to the entrance. Sarek hit the button and they both dived through the door as it slid open. Molly was on the other side. Ellie collapsed as the door closed behind them. While she lay on the floor trying to catch her breath, Molly ran to her.

She looked up into Sarek’s pale face, and the light purple of his skin had a green tinge to it. “Bayden’s going to kill me.”

“Are you okay?” Molly pushed the errant strands of hair from Ellie’s face.

“Yes.” She glanced up at Sarek. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“He won’t see it that way.” The door slid open again. Sarek jumped, and Stryder limped in.

Stryder grabbed Sarek by the throat and pinned him against the wall. His toes barely touched the floor. “You stupid son of a bitch. I ought to rip out your throat. You better be glad we got back when we did and that I happened to be heading outside, or she’d probably be dead now. Bayden’s in the control room. When he hears about this, he’s going to skewer you, you dumb shit.”

Molly began to sob, and Ellie sucked in a sharp breath.

“Enough!” Still trembling, Ellie got off the floor, gently pushed Molly away, and grabbed at Stryder’s arm. “Let go of him.”

Stryder let Sarek loose and turned on her so fast she fell right back to the floor on her butt with an
oomph
. Wincing, she glared up at him. “That hurt!”

“And you. Of all the—”

Molly jumped between them. “Leave her alone, you big meanie!”

Stryder gaped at Molly, and if Ellie hadn’t been so shaken, she might’ve laughed at his reaction. She grabbed Molly by the waist and pulled her back. “Stop. All of you.” She got up once again. Her legs were shaky, and it took a moment to get her balance. “I’ll go talk to Bayden and tell him what happened.”

“No. I’ll do it.” Sarek said, head down.

“No.” Ellie pushed Molly toward Sarek. “Take her back to our room.”

Stryder glared at her, and she glared right back. That’s when she noticed his lip was split and his nose was bleeding. He’d gotten hurt because of her, and no matter how big of a jerk he was being, she could understand his anger.

“Thank you. I’m sorry you got hurt. A-and you don’t smell like rotten egg farts at all.”

“Probably because I fucking shower.” He glared at her and walked away.

Way to go, Ellie. Way to go.

* * * *

“He did what?” Bayden’s face turned red, and a vein throbbed in his forehead.

Ellie bit her lip. “Everything’s okay. We’re all fine.”

“Son of a bitch. I told you and him that neither you nor Molly was to leave the compound without one of us. One of us,
not
including Sarek.”

She’d never seen him this angry or worried. “I’m sorry Bayden. I swear, I didn’t realize the danger. We’ll never do it again.” She’d
so
never do it again. Maybe not even if Bayden was with her.

He hit a button on the panel in front of him. “Sarek! Get your ass in here. Now!”

“Bayden. Please.” When he pinned her with a stare, anger dancing in the depths of his lavender eyes, she took a step back. He looked fierce, scary, and…sexy as hell.

“Don’t ‘Bayden, please’ me. Sarek knew better.”

“Yes, but Molly and I both pouted until we got our way.”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. He knew better. You two could’ve been killed.”

“But we weren’t,” Ellie said.

“Not this time. Lucky for you Stryder showed up, or I guarantee, you’d be dead now.”

Amber eyes, fangs, and fetid breath assaulted her senses. Her hands became damp with sweat. Her scalp throbbed and her shoulder ached. She shivered. She closed her eyes for a moment, scrubbing her attacker from her brain.

“The point is, Stryder did show up, and we’re all okay. Sarek got Molly to safety and came back to help me.” She went on tiptoe and kissed him softly on the lips. He remained still but didn’t pull away. When she leaned back, the ferocity she saw burning in his eyes stole her breath. “I’m sorry, Bayden.”

“Go to your room, Ellie.”

Okay. She’d screwed up, but she wasn’t a child. She took a step back, and pointed her finger at him. “You’re not my father, Bayden. Don’t treat me as though I’m three years old.”

He closed the small gap between them, and they stood toe-to-toe. She had to crane her neck back to look up at him.
Uh-oh. You seriously pissed him off now
. She wanted to argue, wanted to stay and defend Sarek, but deep down she knew Bayden wouldn’t hurt him. She nodded. “Please don’t be too hard on him.”

Bayden snorted. “I’ll deal with you later.”

She refused to let him see how much he intimidated her. “Who are you to
deal
with me?” She poked him in the chest.

“Don’t push it right now.” His words somehow squeezed from his clenched lips.

Suddenly, the adrenaline from her scare only moments earlier turned into need. She felt more alive at that very moment than she had in months. “Or you’ll what? Spank me? I’m not afraid of you, Bayden.”

His hand snaked out in a blurring speed, fingers tangled in the hair at her nape, and his firm, full lips slammed down on her mouth. There was no playfulness. No lazy exploration. This was meant to be punishment, but she reveled in the kiss. His tongue pushed at her lips, and she immediately opened to him. She breathed his scent in deep and tangled her tongue with his as they dueled for supremacy.

She melted against him, and he growled low in the back of his throat. The sound vibrated inside her mouth. A rush of hot moisture gathered between her thighs, and she squirmed at the nearly forgotten sensation. It’d been much too long before she’d met Bayden since she’d enjoyed kissing a man. There hadn’t been time for anything other than survival after the meteor. She moaned again when he slanted his mouth and deepened the kiss further.

No. This isn’t kissing a man. This is being consumed by him
. Suddenly, she realized she was falling in love with him. She placed her palms on his sides and rubbed them along his hips, then around to his ass. Her knees nearly buckled. His body was rock hard, and she wanted to see him naked. True, she’d seen most of him that day she’d walked in on him in the bathroom, but she wanted to see
all
of him. Every…single…inch.

“Sorry.”

Sarek’s voice had barely penetrated the fog of her brain when Bayden jerked away. She caught her breath as his lavender eyes blazed down at her.

“I’ll come back later,” Sarek said quietly.

“No. You stay,” Bayden said without taking his gaze from her.

She swallowed hard. He was still furious, but the bulge in front of his pants told her he was as turned on as she was.

“I’ll
deal
with you later,” he repeated yet again.

This time, she flashed him a big smile, shrugged her shoulders, and turned to make her way back to her room. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed to keep her wobbly knees under her.

Chapter Eight

On the way back to his room, Bayden kicked an empty crate, smashing it against the wall. Fury and terror weren’t emotions he’d felt since he was a young boy. His heart lurched at the thought of something happening to Ellie. He’d chewed Sarek a new asshole, a guarantee that the creeper wouldn’t dare show his face around Bayden for a few days, but he could also be certain that the kid would never be careless with Ellie and Molly again.

After undressing, he stepped under the spray of the warm shower, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, allowing the massage of the jets to soothe him.

He was aware Sarek would never intentionally put Ellie or Molly in danger, but the kid needed to start thinking about those kinds of things instead of only his experiments and computers. He loved Sarek, but it was time for Sarek to grow up and start acting responsibly. Bayden stepped out of the shower, dried off, and then dressed and went to his room.

Stryder had killed the vamp that had attacked Ellie. While most enemies didn’t dare wander too close to the compound—knowing threats were dealt with swiftly and usually with deadly force—there was an occasional idler here and there.

Bayden had never let anyone get close enough to hurt him. Rohoman, Stryder’s brother had made that mistake with his wife, Faylinn, and had been singed by that bitch. If any one of them let a woman into his heart, she would have the power to destroy.

The closest people to him were his team. Yet, if something happened to him, he held no misconceptions that any of them would be unable to pick up and go on without him. They loved one another as much as they were capable, but shit happened.

If that were completely true—no one was close enough to him to hurt him—why had it felt as if he’d go insane with fury after he’d learned what had happened today with Ellie, Sarek, and Molly? Just thinking about it made him wish he’d been the one who’d killed the vamp.

Realization hit him like a ton of space debris. Ellie already held his heart in her hands.

He’d never intended to give it to her. But this was one of those moments—an epiphany—where he realized he couldn’t control everything that happens in life…even if that
thing
is his own heart. That still didn’t change the fact that she deserved better than him, and he’d rather die than tie her to him. His enemies wouldn’t hesitate to kill or torture her to get to him. She and Molly were his only weaknesses. While he wasn’t close to the girl, she was important to Ellie, which made the kid important to him. If anyone outside the Reapers found out about that…

He shook his head. He’d keep them safe. He’d never let anyone hurt them. And anyone who tried? Kodo have mercy on their soul because he sure wouldn’t.

He had to talk to Ellie. Had to tell her what he was, and why there could never be anything between them. He opened the door and walked down the hall. He could go through the bathroom to her room, but he wouldn’t betray her privacy like that. He tapped lightly on the door several times, but there was no answer. He glanced at his time meter. Ten. Maybe she’d already gone to bed. She did have a trying day. Then it hit him. He’d never asked her if she was all right. He’d been too furious, too scared, too relieved that she was okay. He was an asshole. He bunched his fists.

He was too wound up to try to sleep and started down the hall to the entertainment room. He’d watch a fight movie. That always relaxed him. He passed Thad on the way. “Where are you heading?”

Thad pulled the towel from his shoulder and wiped the sweat from his face. “Going to shower. I just beat the shit out of the bag. Then I have a date with Ryon Blue.”

“That stuff’s going to kill you,” Bayden said.

“We can only hope… We can only hope.” Thad made his way down the hall where Bayden had just come from, but turned left to head for his own rooms.

Ryon Blue was a potent alcohol, and Thad’s favorite. Thad hadn’t coped well with his wife’s death, and Bayden knew the man was only half joking about the alcohol killing him. While he didn’t condone self-destruction, he understood it.

When he made it to the entertainment room, the lights were out, but one of the big screens flickered with some type of sappy, love-shit story. He walked to the couch intent on finding a remote and turning the movie off but stopped when he saw Ellie curled up, sound asleep. She was on her side, and her hand was propped under her cheek. She looked like an angel. He sucked in a breath when she moaned, and his cock twitched which caused him to curse under his breath.

He sat at her feet, and her lids slowly opened to reveal sleep-glazed eyes. She stretched, smiled, and sat up. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I must’ve fallen asleep. I’m sorry. Did you want to watch something?”

He shook his head. “We need to talk.”

ELLIE’S SLEEP-FOGGED brain cleared instantly. “Yeah. I think we do.” She started to sit up, but Bayden put one hand on her shoulder, staying her.

“First of all, I’m sorry I didn’t ask if you were all right earlier.” He watched her from under half-closed lids.

Damn the man for being so gorgeous
. “It was kind of obvious that I was.” She cleared her throat. Maybe he was here to tell her that he was going to carry her to his bed and have his wicked way with her.
Don’t I wish.

“Doesn’t matter. I should’ve asked. I was simply too angry over the situation. I was an ass.”

She tried not to grin because he was serious as hell, and she didn’t want him to think she was belittling his apology. “You were definitely an ass, but not asking if I was okay when it was clear that I was isn’t what you should be sorry for. Thank you for realizing you should’ve asked, but I think the apology should focus on you being an ass and treating me like a child.”