Merrick's Maiden (10 page)

Merrick groaned as he came awake. Memories flooded his mind and he rolled unsteadily to his feet. He frantically reached for Addie.

Addie! Addie! Where are you? Answer me!
Merrick demanded.

He stumbled to the metal door of the cell he had been placed in. It was very similar to the one they had him in back at Keiser before they moved him to the cage. Pounding his fist against the metal framed door, he tried to clear his vision so he could see through the narrow window.

Addie!

I’m okay,
Addie’s shaky voice replied.
I think… I think they are bringing me down to you. Doctor Rockman told them to return me to your cell.

Merrick didn’t reply. He bowed his head and rested his arms against the door as he drew deep, calming breaths. He felt like his mind was splintering. The last few months of captivity, combined with the constant drugs and tests were bad enough, but to know that he had a mate that he could not protect was almost too much for the fragile strand he held on to.

His head jerked up when he heard the sound of footsteps coming down the long corridor. Relief swelled through him when he saw Addie’s curvy figure. Her hands were bound in front of her and she looked very pale and tired.

“Get back,” one of the guards demanded. “We’ve got orders to kill the girl if you try anything.”

A low snarl escaped Merrick, but he stepped away from the door. The men only opened it far enough to push Addie through. The moment she was clear of the door, he crossed back to grab her, twisting to put his body between her and the guards.

“Doc says if you behave, the girl lives,” the guard stated.

Merrick kept his back to the men, refusing to acknowledge them. His arms held Addie’s trembling body close to his. He finally heard the men joking as they walked away. Only when the sound of their voices faded, did he release Addie. Leading her over to the long single bed against the far wall, he gently turned her so she could sit down.

He knelt in front of her and tenderly cupped her chin. A dark frown creased his brow as he studied the bruise on her cheek, another on her forehead, before he touched her lip which also had a small dark discoloration.

“Tell me what happened,” he demanded in a low voice. “Did they hurt you?”

Addie studied his lips even as she heard his words in her mind. She shook her head, touching her cheek, then forehead. A small wince escaped her when she licked her bottom lip.

“My cheek was already bruised from where Weston hit me earlier. I got a new one when I head-butted one of the guards. He grabbed my arm and it hurt,” Addie said with a crooked grin. “I kicked him in the shin too.”

“What happened to your lip?” Merrick asked, tenderly rubbing the dark spot.

Addie rolled her eyes. “Weston kissed me. I guess he didn’t like that I didn’t respond. The guy is an asshole,” she muttered. “He’s nothing but a big bully. He wanted to intimidate me, I think.”

Merrick closed off his mind, not wanting Addie to hear his murderous thoughts. Weston would be the first one he killed. Markham second if he was here, if not, he would hunt him down after he killed every other human that had held him captive.

“What did Doctor Rockman do to you?” Merrick forced out over the sick feeling in his stomach. “Did she… hurt you?”

“No,” Addie replied with a puzzled frown. “Except for asking me a bunch of questions and taking a blood sample, she was actually pretty reserved. I was just glad when they put the plastic ties on me again, they put them in the front instead of the back.”

Can you try your communication device again?
Merrick asked.

It won’t work. There is still no signal. I think it is because of all the metal. I only had a brief moment to check it when I used the bathroom outside of Doctor Rockman’s office,
Addie replied with a sigh, glancing around and wondering if there were any cameras or listening devices in the room.

I will look to see if there are any,
Merrick replied, brushing Addie’s hair back from her face.
I am sorry you are in harm’s way, Addie.

You aren’t the one who did it, the others are,
she reminded him with a crooked grin.
But, since you’re feeling so guilty about it, I’ll let you figure out how to get us out of this in one piece, okay?

It took Merrick a moment to understand that she was teasing him. A low, rusty laugh escaped him and he shook his head in wonder. Yet again, Addie was proving to be a surprise.

“You are a beautiful mate,” Merrick murmured, stroking her bruised lip with his thumb.

Another smile tugged at his lips when she rolled her eyes and looked at him in disapproval. He could hear her automatic denial, just as he knew she could hear the determination in his ‘voice’. She shook her head, pulling away from his caress and glanced around the room. He knew she was trying to avoid looking at him.

“What do you think is going to happen to us?” She asked in a suddenly husky voice.

“I will try to protect you, but….” Merrick paused as he thought about what happened back in the cage when they arrived. As much as he wanted to promise her again that he would protect her, he was defenseless against their drugs. He turned his head away from her. “I will do everything I can to protect you, Addie. I wish I could promise you more.”

He turned his head back when he felt Addie’s fingers against his chin. She touched his lips, then the corner of his eye, before she laid her hand softly against his cheek. It was a gentle reminder that she needed him to look at her when he spoke. He had shut her out part of the way through his sentence.

“But…?” She asked.

“I do not know if I will be able to,” he admitted.

Then, we’ll have to figure out a way together. I have my cell phone. I’ll try again the first chance I get. Oh, and I took a set of keys from the guard back at Keiser. If they try to lock you up with the same locks, we can use that,
she whispered into his mind.

Sit here while I check the room,
Merrick ordered, rising to his feet.

*.*.*

Addie watched as Merrick explored every inch of the small room they were locked in. She scooted back until her back was against the wall and pulled her legs up. The room was cold, but that wasn’t what was causing the goose bumps on her arms.

She might be in danger, but she wasn’t dead. The man roaming the room was totally hot, even if he was an alien. His long, black hair hung down well past his shoulders.

Correction, massive, muscular, delicious shoulders,
she thought, making sure she had a firm wall around her thoughts.

A sigh of relief escaped her when he didn’t stop what he was doing to glare at her. She felt pretty sure her thoughts were confined within her own head. Feeling more confident, she let her eyes roam over the rest of him.

He was tall, but nothing that would be too unusual for a human. He had to be at least six foot five, maybe a little taller. Hell, two of her older brothers were almost that tall. The difference between her brothers and Merrick wasn’t in height, as much as, in build. Neither Zach, Colin, or Brian had muscles like that, no matter how much they worked out.

Addie’s eyes lit up when he bent over. She couldn’t help, but admire the way the loose fitting pants he was wearing suddenly grew taut over his ass. A blush rose in her cheeks when he straightened and turned. She glanced away, pretending to be studying the door.

After several seconds, her eyes moved back to him. His eyes were a dark silver with black pupils that appeared to shimmer in the center. His nose was a touch broader, but if anything, it made him even sexier. Overall, it would be hard to tell from a distance that he wasn’t human. The biggest difference was his muscular build, his eyes, and the fact that his teeth did that weird up and down thing.

Okay, so even that was sort of hot in a horror movie kind of way,
she thought, glancing at him under her eyelashes.

“Are you a Vampire?” She asked suddenly, wincing when she bit her lip again. “I mean, you look like one when your teeth do that thing…” Her voice faded when he turned to gaze down at her. “I’m just wondering.”

“What is a Vampire?” Merrick asked.

“They are a… Well, they’re dead and they suck people’s blood and…,” her voice faded when she saw the amused look on his face. “I don’t know. They’re Vampires.”

“I do not drink blood,” he replied, walking to where she was sitting with her knees drawn up.

“Oh,” she whispered when he sat on the edge of the bed. “It was just that your teeth… they kind-of, you know, they…” Addie opened her mouth and wiggled her fingers in a downward motion.

“It is natural,” he chuckled. “A warrior’s teeth elongate during battle and during…” His voice faded and his eyes lit with amusement and something that looked a little like mischief.

“During what?” Addie signed as she spoke.

“Mating,” he replied with a grin, capturing her hands as they fluttered in front of her. “What is this you do with your hands? It is very beautiful.”

Addie’s cheeks flushed when he lifted first one, then the other to his lips. She tried to pull them free, but he tightened his grip on them, refusing to let her go. Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned into her.

“It is the way I speak to others who can’t hear. Merrick, I don’t think this is such a good idea,” she whispered, straightening her legs when he tugged her forward.

“I think it is a very good idea, Addie,” he whispered, lowering his head and pressing his lips against hers.

For a moment, everything faded away. They were no longer in a cell, in a strange place. He wasn’t an alien male. There was just the two of them.

Addie responded tentatively to Merrick’s gentle kiss. It was different from the first one he had given her. That one had been hot and intense. This one was more exploratory, as if he knew he needed to go slow. He released her hands and tangled his fingers in her hair, deepening the kiss when she opened to him.

For a brief second, doubt started to cloud her mind, but she pushed it away. Life was about the adventures, both good and bad, that you encountered in it. Sometimes the two crossed paths at the most unexpected times.

Addie let her fingers explore the contour of Merrick’s chest. A shiver of need flashed through her at the hard muscle under the thin shirt he wore. Her fingers skimmed over them to his shoulders.

She didn’t protest when he suddenly turned her until she was lying on the narrow bed. The vague thought that danger made people react in unexpected ways they normally wouldn’t, swept briefly through her mind, but she pushed it right back into the little box it popped out of. She was enjoying this too much to quit just yet.

Her arms wound around his neck as he covered her body with his. A shaft of unexpected need pierced her. It was so sudden that it made her gasp.

“Addie,” Merrick whispered, pulling back to look down at her with blazing silver eyes. “I need you.”

The flames were back in them. This time instead of being frightened by it, she was curious. Sliding her right hand up to his cheek, she rubbed her thumb against his high cheekbone.

“I…,” she whispered. “I don’t understand this. I’ve never felt this way before. This is crazy.”

*.*.*

Merrick could hear the confusion in her thoughts and her rationalization of why she was reacting the way she was. He wanted to deny every reason she was coming up with, but something told him it was important for her to accept that they were going to be together on her own. Well, he would give her as much time as he could. Once they were free, all restrictions were off. He would take her back to the Eastern Mountains and she would be his forever.

“You are tired,” he said, noting the dark circles under her eyes. “Rest for now.”

“Thank you, Merrick,” she whispered, knowing deep down that he could sense her confusion.

Merrick bent and pressed a brief, hard kiss to her lips before he pulled back again and rolled onto his side. He wrapped his arms around Addie when she rolled onto her side to give him more room and pulled her back against him. A smile curved his lips when she snuggled back against him, before it died on his lips as he looked around the small area.

Except for a toilet, sink, and the bed, it was devoid of anything else. He pressed a tender kiss to the top of Addie’s head as she relaxed. Her soft teasing words echoed in his mind.

You aren’t the one who did it, the others are. But, since you’re feeling so guilty about it, I’ll let you figure out how to get us out of this in one piece, okay?

There has to be a way to either escape or use the communications device Addie had to contact Cosmos’ people. Now more than ever, he had a reason to fight back. He just needed to do it without putting Addie in any more danger than what she already was, he thought in frustration.

A sense of peace settled over him when Addie unconsciously moved her hand to curl around his. Even though he knew she did it in her sleep, it gave him hope that she would accept her fate as his mate. Forcing his body to relax, he slipped into a light sleep, visions of him and Addie back among his people giving him hope and comfort.