Katie's Hellion (Rhyn Trilogy, Book One) (22 page)

He drew away with a satisfied growl. She
wanted to be angry at him but was too dazed, too surprised at the
sensations running through her. He’d pursue her like a predator its
prey, and he’d consume her. All of her.

They gazed at each other for a long moment.
She sensed he was reading her thoughts, and she wondered what he
was thinking.

"You’re not wearing any underwear."

Then again, maybe she didn't want to
know.

"Aren’t you supposed to take us somewhere?"
she snapped, face hot.

He bared his teeth in a grimace, then turned
her so her back was to him. She didn’t know why until she felt the
fog of the underworld and then the warmth of wherever it was they
went this time. He tensed as they stepped through the portal,
clutching her against him with one arm, and she blinked.

Only to find herself staring at the bubbles
of blood forming from within his fist, which was clamped around the
blade of a knife a few inches from her face.

"Jade, no!" Kris shouted too late.

Silence surrounded them, not the good kind,
but the heavy kind that made her want to hold her breath lest she
break it and all hell erupt. There were many still forms around
them, with only Kris moving. She saw Ully, Jade, Ileana,
Gabriel…and a dozen more she didn’t know. The walls were made of
uneven, massive stones, the same kind beneath her feet. The air was
chilled, still and damp, like she imagined a castle dungeon would
feel.

"Rhyn is our…guest," Kris said, as if eating
glass shards. "And Katie."

Rhyn tossed the blade back to Jade, who
caught it with a look that made Katie want to hide. The tension in
the room ratcheted up a notch.

"Katie," Ully hissed, as if they were kids
hiding under the porch and not in the obvious line of sight of
everyone in the room. "C’mon."

He held out a hand, motioning toward the
door. She went. Rhyn refused to release her, and she sighed,
leaning her head back against his shoulder in defeat. His arm
loosened, and she hurried to Ully, who grabbed her hand and pulled
her from the room.

He shoved the massive oak door closed.

"I do
not
want to see what happens
next!" he said, breathing out hard. "Kris told us you both were
coming. I think they have some things to discuss with your…"

His gaze went to her neck as he fell
silent.

"As long as he’s okay," she said with a
frown.

He gave her an odd look and started down the
hall, waving for her to follow.

"You don’t know much about us yet, do you?"
he asked.

"Nope."

"Rhyn’s mother was a powerful demon, and his
father is the same as Kris’s. There isn’t an immortal out there
who’d face off against Rhyn now that Andre’s gone. Have you done
much to civilize him?"

"There’s no civilizing a man like him."

Even as she spoke, her thoughts went to what
Gabriel told her. Compared to how Rhyn had been, she
had
made him civilized.

"Probably not," he agreed. "I’ll show you to
the women’s wing. I’d stay there if they let me!"

His step grew quicker, and his face
brightened as they wound their way through the compound.

"Are we underground?" she asked.

"No. This is just a really huge place. It’s
pretty easy to navigate after a few decades of trying."

"
Only
a few decades?"

He didn’t catch the sarcasm in her voice; his
gaze was trained on a woman clad only in a towel and trailed by
steam, emerging from a door along one wall. Katie heard the sounds
of laugher and talk from behind the closed door. They followed the
woman, who looked like a fitness warrior if she ever saw one. The
black-haired woman had dark Mediterranean skin and tattoos down her
back and across her shoulders. She was barefoot.

"Ully, you’re not supposed to be down here!"
she called without turning in a distinct British accent.

"I have a reason," he said quickly. "I’m
showing a new member to her room."

The woman turned, interest then puzzlement on
her serene, chiseled features. Her eyes were almond shaped and
clear amber.

"Not a warrior," she said, her questioning
look lingering on Katie’s neck. "Wow, really?"

"Yeah, really," Ully said. "Megan, this is
Katie. Katie, Megan. Megan is one of the chic fighters."

"Female warriors," she said, raising an
eyebrow in warning.

"I’m too wimpy to beat up," he reminded
her.

"Right. I’ll take her from here."

"But I --"

"Out."

Katie almost smiled at his fallen face as the
stern voice of the Amazonian-size woman before them. Ully was too
harmless to be angry at, like a kid brother. He turned and smiled
at her, then retreated, lingering at the door to the shower
room.

"You’re…" Megan trailed off, as if debating
what to say while trying to figure out what was standing in front
of her.

"Short? Human? Disrespectful? Not accustomed
to the rules of this world?" Katie supplied with no heat. "You can
say it --Kris won’t let me forget I’m a square in a round
hole."

"I was going to say you look like a living
doll," Megan said with a half smile.

Katie smiled in return, deciding she liked
the Amazon with the British accent and wild tribal tattoos.

"Nearly all of us girls here are warriors.
None of the Ancients have mates, though some other immortals do.
C’mon. I need to change, then I’ll show you around."

The women’s wing was a beehive of activity.
They crossed through a common area with a kitchenette and large,
flat-screen TV, past a gym, a library, and a few other common
rooms, and into the barracks area, which bustled with activity.

Katie crossed her arms, self-conscious with
the looks the others gave her. Her arrival silenced conversations
and made most everyone do a double take. Even if not for Rhyn’s
name scrawled across her neck, she’d draw attention. None of the
other immortal Amazonian warriors were below six feet. They came in
all colors and complexions, some slender and graceful like dancers
while others were muscular. She heard several different languages
spoken before those she passed fell silent.

"This room’s empty. Go ahead and make
yourself at home. I’ll come get you in a minute," Megan said,
pushing a door open near the end of the hall.

The room was more welcoming than she
expected, the stone walls covered and smoothed with Sheetrock
painted a light green and edged with pumpkin orange. The room
contained two full-sized beds and two large wardrobes along with
military-style trunks at the foot of each bed. She had yet to see a
window. She sat on the bed, placing her small satchel of belongings
on the nightstand. The room smelled of vanilla mixed with some
other exotic scent, the beds covered in soft white duvets with
pumpkin-colored pillows.

She looked at her belongings and then at the
room around her. It was nice, but
eternity
?

She felt a deep sense of loneliness and
longing. For the first time in years, she wanted her sister around.
Tired and conflicted, she lay back on the bed, taking great
satisfaction out of a real bed after the few days on the flimsy bed
at the Sanctuary.

"You need to rest, or do you want to see more
of this place?" Megan asked, chuckling as she leaned against the
doorway. "I’ll show you where to go for logistics."

"Logistics?"

"Clothing, bathroom stuff, anything. They
have all kinds of good stuff. You can order things out of magazines
or from your favorite stores or pick from what they’ve got."

Megan led her again through hallways that
fell silent when she passed. They crossed more intersections,
descended to the level below, and stopped outside of double
doors.

"Clothes, rations, gear," Megan said with a
toss of her hand down the hall toward several other open double
doors. "Cafeteria’s on this level, too, all the way down at the
dead end. This is the women’s clothing department."

Katie braced herself for a storage room full
of military uniforms and was surprised to see what looked much like
a women’s department section.

"Cold weather, transitional, summer weather.
In the back they have more exotic clothing, like Indian saris and
the like. Pajamas, underwear, socks, bras in that corner. You know
what hemisphere you’ll be in when you leave?"

"No idea."

"It’s always chilly here, more so now that
it’s autumn. We’re in northern Europe, so you can’t go wrong with
sweaters."

Megan wandered, looking through piles of
sweaters and pants. The walls were lined with blouses, formal wear,
business wear, jackets, and other kinds of clothing, while displays
of knit shirts, sweaters, jeans, and slacks spanned out before
her.

"Megan, how much do these cost?" Katie asked,
lifting a cashmere sweater.

"Free. One of the perks of our job."

She replaced the sweater and began hunting in
earnest. She selected a few items, enough to get her through a few
days in the new world. Light sweaters, long-sleeved shirts, a
couple pairs of jeans. Megan helped and stacked socks and underwear
in her pile and then brought her a light wool jacket, leather
gloves, hat, and scarf. The Amazonian picked out a couple of
T-shirts, her thick upper arms exposed in the tank top and
jeans.

Katie gathered her clothes into a wool
satchel and slung it over her shoulder. Megan led her down the hall
to a room dedicated to shoes. Most were either boots of various
kinds or running shoes, but there were a few more stylish pairs.
Katie chose a pair of wool-lined clogs, shower sandals, and
waterproof ankle boots.

She almost felt normal. Next Megan took her
to what looked like a large drug store, where she plucked a few
items from a shelf filled with top of the line skincare products.
Katie’s eyes widened in surprise as she recognized a brand of
moisturizer that cost a few hundred dollars.

She grabbed the moisturizer and its cleansing
counterpart and eye moisturizer. When she’d gathered everything she
needed for bathing, she trailed Megan through the maze of hallways
back to her room. Megan left her alone, and she unpacked. Then she
grabbed her shower gear, sandals, and a plush towel and headed to
the showers.

Steam and dampness clung to her as she set
foot in the bathing room. No less than twenty showers separated by
waist high walls lined the area before her. Another door led to a
chamber with several bathing tubs. Still another door led her to a
locker room with mirrors along two walls and another door to the
restrooms. The final door led to a sauna. Several women bathed in
stalls, the easy banter between them marking their camaraderie.

The hot water pounded over her body. She
sighed deeply as it beat against her sore muscles. They responded
and began to relax. She stood for a long time, letting the hot
water pour over her, before she lathered herself up from head to
toe. When she finished, she felt refreshed for the first time in
weeks. She shut off the shower and wrung out her hair, then wrapped
herself in the thick towel. She turned and gasped.

"Rhyn, you ass, how long have you been
there?"

He looked her up and down in approval from
his position leaning against the wall nearby. His glance went to
the other women in the showers, who either ignored him or weren’t
going to say something to someone whose mother was a demon.

Exposed, irritated, she pointed to the door.
He didn’t budge. She tossed her hair over one shoulder and walked
to him, pushing him toward the door.

"This is the women’s locker room!" she said.
"Give me ten more minutes of peace, and leave these poor women
alone!"

She didn’t notice the amused glances the
women gave her, but she did see their appraising looks at Rhyn. He
made no attempt to hide his perusal of the tall, athletic women
around her.

"Missed a spot," he said, looking pointedly
at the tattoo around her neck. "Might come off if you scrub hard
enough."

"Jackass," she muttered, pushing him
again.

She told herself he’d gotten there after
she’d wrapped the towel around her. She didn’t want to think of him
watching her bathe naked; the idea made her body thrum with
something she didn’t want to feel.

He left, though she sensed he sought her out
for a reason and wasn’t about to grow patience. Determined to enjoy
her first relaxing experience in a few weeks, she watched to make
sure the door closed behind him and went to the locker room. She
hadn’t thought to bring her clothes. It was, after all, the
women’s
wing. Her clothing from the Sanctuary was in a
garbage can. She’d taken great pleasure in stuffing it there. Left
with her towel and her toiletries, she took her time applying the
thick moisturizer and lotion over her entire body, then finished by
combing through her hair.

"
That’s
the Ancient Rhyn?" Megan asked
in disbelief, appearing through the door leading to the hall. "The
girls wanted me to ask since they haven’t met you yet."

"Unfortunately," she grated.

"Wow. Not what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"A demon or something. He’s quite a looker.
You are one lucky woman to go to bed with that one."

Katie ignored her, irritated. She looked at
the tattoo on her neck and slathered lotion on it, wishing it were
paint.

"I’ll tell Aisha not to hit on him," Megan
said.

"She can have him."

"Trust me, if he weren’t an Ancient and he
looked that good, she’d snatch him up, even if he had a mate,"
Megan said with a laugh. "That girl knows no bounds and can land
any man."

Megan’s words pissed her off. She didn’t want
to feel attracted to Rhyn. She wanted him to find someone else, but
the thought of that happening made her furious. No one else would
share his incredible kiss…or anything else that might happen
between them. Her heart fluttered at the thought.