Rebellion (16 page)

She was nearly at the base, just a few hundred yards from the cliffs, when her instincts kicked in. Fear prickled her skin, then she heard it. Rustling in the distance. She stopped and listened. There. Her heart rate quickened as she realized there was more than one of whatever was out there. A lot more. They were to her right so she angled left, which took her away from the cliffs, but she had no choice. She picked up her speed. Anytime she came to an obstruction that would require her to make noise, she simply jumped it using her psi. Nothing drained psi energy faster than levitation so she used it sparingly.

She jumped another fallen tree and landed badly. Falling forward, she crashed into thick bushes and cried out as something tore into her arm. A branch had pierced her forearm. The stick was firmly attached to the bush and too green to break. She said a silent prayer it hadn’t pierced an artery, gritted her teeth, and pulled her arm off. Her head swam with the pain, and she swallowed the scream threatening to give her away. She waited a beat to make sure no blood came spurting out before taking off again.

An eerie howl echoed through the trees. They’d scented her. The hunt was on. She gave up on stealth and ran for it. Pushing her fear aside, she slipped into combat mode and focused on surviving.

* * * *

Ty tossed and turned in bed. Half awake and half asleep, he drifted. He knew what was coming. Since he’d brought her here, it happened every night. Except last night. That had been different. The passion of the dream burned through him. He tried to push it aside, but it wouldn’t go.

She was running.
The mountains were close, but something was wrong. The moons shone above, bright against the rocks leading up to the cliff face.

Ty rolled over and punched his pillow a few times before settling back down.

The woricks outside were on the hunt. Their yapping and howling drifted in his open window, hard to ignore. He grabbed a pillow and pulled it over his head.

She ran fast. But not fast enough. They were getting closer.

Moons. Ty bolted upright. In their dream it was always raining. He flew out of bed and ran the length of the hall. Turning the corner, he used his psi and found her door locked. He stopped outside and caught his breath. Maybe he was wrong.

Outside, the woricks’ frantic hunting cries echoed through the night.

Oh, frack.
He unlocked the door and pushed it open. Her bed lay empty, and the curtains on one of the windows rustled in the breeze. He ran over and looked down. The bars lay on the ground below.

Ty spun around and ran back to his room. He threw on a pair of jeans and shoes and pulled a T-shirt over his head. He unlocked his arms locker and withdrew a dart, grabbed another for good measure, then activated and pocketed three repellers. Normally one would be sufficient, but if they had her cornered or worse, their frenzy could override the pain caused by the small devices.

She stumbled hard, but managed to keep going. The sounds of the pack were close, too close.

Ty shook his head, more and more images of hers superseded his own vision. He smelled the forest. A moment of clarity hit him, and he stopped. This was crazy. He should get help. He moved to call Merek when she cried out.

They were on her.

Ty didn’t waste time navigating the lodge, he jumped from his window and took off running. The pull of her psi guided him through the woods, but he would have found her anyway. The frenzied barking and yapping of the woricks bounced off the mountains.

She stood backed against a dense stand of trees. It was a good strategy. The animals had to come at her head on. One of the beasts lunged, and she slashed at its throat. Its lifeless jaws tore at the skin of her forearm. The smell of blood sent the rest of the pack into a craze. She threw the beasts nearest her against the rest of the pack with psi, but she was weakening.

Ty was close. He recognized the stench of the animals ahead. He broke into the small clearing and lunged between Ria and three attacking woricks. Switching to sword mode, he swung the laser in an arc as he whirled and placed himself between them and her. Screams pierced the night as the creatures fell to the ground.

Ty planted his feet, his back to Ria and a laser in each hand.

The animals barked and whined as the repellers overcame their desire to feed. They turned in circles and made a few feeble attempts to lunge, nipping at each other in frustration. Ty didn’t blame the beasts. This was their territory, and they had to eat like any other animal. He hollered and swung the laser. Finally, after one last attempt to overcome the repellers, the alpha worick snarled and took off into the woods. The others followed suit, anxious to escape the painful repellers.

Ty spun around. Ria stood there, shaking, blood dripping from her arm. He pulled her to him and let their psi caress. She was near exhaustion but gained strength quickly as he fed her his own energy. She rested her head against his chest until they were balanced. He pulled away and looked into her eyes. “That was a really stupid move.”

“I had to get away from you. From us.”

In that instant, he knew he could never let that happen. He shook his head. Her right arm was bleeding. There was a puncture wound that went all the way through her forearm and a jagged tear, or maybe bite marks, below that. “You’re a mess, Red.”
A beautiful fracking mess.

She stood perfectly still as he placed his fingers on either side of the hole, her blood slick under his fingers. The psi connection necessary to heal flowed through them both. He had to place his other hand against the bark of the tree she leaned against to steady himself. Once the bleeding stopped, he placed his fingers over the tear. Another deep connection to stop the bleeding, and they both moaned.

The pleasure caused by their psi connection was overwhelming. This was no mere chemistry. She was his psi-mate. There was no question now. Once the bleeding stopped, he let go of her arm.

Her eyes bore into him, and he was lost. He took her hand and led her deeper into the forest until he found the trail he was looking for. They followed it in silence. She never once asked where he was taking her. Their psi danced, and the tension between them increased with every step. Finally, they came to the small one-room hunting shack he’d been coming to in order to get some distance from her.

Ironic.

As they neared the porch, the moonlight caught her hair, and it blazed red. He reached out and pulled a leaf from her tresses before leading her inside.

He knew she wouldn’t protest. She couldn’t stop this anymore than he could. Their psi were deeply meshed together now and simply awaited their bodies to join. They took off their clothes quickly and finally came together with nothing between them.

* * * *

Ria’s body erupted in ecstasy as he pulled her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She moaned as she ground herself against his erection. He carried her to the bed, and she held tight as he positioned them in the center of the mattress. Every touch sent a world of sensation through her. She explored every inch of him, frenzied and frantic. Part of her wanted to go slow and savor every second, but she couldn’t. Not now. She opened her legs, and he settled between her thighs. He trailed a hand from her neck to her breast. Cupping it, he took the nipple into his mouth. Heat exploded as his tongue teased her. He bit and nibbled his way back up her neck before claiming her lips with his own. He moved his hips, rubbing against her, increasing her need for him.

She cried out with the sensation. “Yes. Oh, Gods, Ty. Please, finish this.”

He growled and leaned down to bite her neck. “You’re mine now, Ria.”

She returned his growl, grabbed hold of his hair, and made him look at her. “And you are mine.”

He took her then, plunging deep inside her. A cry escaped her lips. It wasn’t possible. Two bodies together couldn’t feel this good. He moved faster, and she matched his rhythm. Opposing thrusts as their psi pulsed with each plunge. So close to coming, her psi took over and the world exploded. Her vision turned gray and green. On some level, she sensed her body but stayed focused on their psi.

“It’s ours now.”
Ria was in awe that she could feel his psi like her own. He laughed, and his joy washed over her. Surprising, shocking.

Their psi swirled together, faster, and she thrilled at the sensation. It was as though their psi formed another corporeal body, one they shared. Together they played, dancing on another plane before reality slowly crept in.

Images flashed across Ria’s mind. With each came emotions of who he was. Memories and faces drifted by.

He must be experiencing the same from her.

Then, two faces and a stab of loss so real it took her breath.

Their psi unfurled in an instant, and she was back in her body with Ty wrapped around her. She lay curled against him, her head on his chest. He held her tight, his eyes pressed closed. The rapid beat of his heart slowed, comforting her as the reality of what had just happened sunk in. A conflicted barrage of emotion hit her.

He squeezed tighter but still held his eyes shut.

She’d felt terrible pain. Something that had torn him apart. Something she knew nothing about. She remembered the two faces and had no idea who they were. In truth, she had no idea who this man in her arms,
her psi-mate
, really was.

An incessant buzzing woke Ty. He and Ria had drifted off, and judging by the light outside the windows, it was well past sunrise. He used his psi to retrieve his jeans and pulled his com out of the pocket. Ria looked up at him and took his breath away. She was beautiful, she was his, and she was Sandarian. Rolling from the bed, she grabbed her clothes from the floor before heading for the bathroom. Her body was lean and muscled. Her breasts small and perfect. Ty pulled himself up and leaned against the headboard before connecting with Merek.

“Hey.”

“Where are you? Are you all right? Is she with you? Goddess, what do you think you’re doing running off in the middle of the night? Did you hear the woricks? Was that you? Frack. Tell me you’re okay.”

He heard Trin’s worried voice in the background rattling off her own questions.

“I’m fine. Ria’s fine.” Ty glanced at the bathroom door. It didn’t seem right to blurt out that he’d just bonded with his psi-mate. They’d figure it out soon enough. “She escaped. I had to go after her.”

“Bella took off her psi-bands.”

From his tone of voice, Ty figured he was looking at the teen. He had to smile. “It’s all right. Sorry I didn’t wake you. I was going to but…I heard the woricks and knew she was in trouble. Another thirty seconds, and she would have been gone.” The thought ripped through him. It was difficult to reconcile his need for her and his hatred for Sandarians.

Merek blew out a heavy sigh. “Where are you? I’ll come and pick you up.”

Ty sent their location to Merek’s com. “Give us fifteen okay?”

There was a long pause on the other end before Merek said, “All right then. I’ll see you in fifteen.”

He tossed his com down and waited for Ria to emerge. He was never going to hear the end of this. He’d kidnapped a complete stranger, rescued her in the dead of night, and was about to come home bonded.
My psi-mate.
He reached out to her telepathically, something made possible by their bond.
“Merek is coming to get us.”

“Good,” Ria said, stepping from the bathroom fully clothed. “Because I’m starving, and I need a shower.” She stood there looking like a child, not sure what to do with herself. Probably just as conflicted as he was.

Ty got out of bed and dressed without saying a word. He felt her eyes on him. They were psi-mates, but they hardly knew each other. Not to mention the fact he’d kidnapped her. It occurred to him she must have people she needed to contact. But how could he let her? He ran a hand through his hair and stepped into the bathroom. More to have a moment of privacy than anything else. He went to the sink and splashed water on his face.

What was he going to do? He couldn’t keep his own psi-mate locked up, but he couldn’t exactly let her go either. She was Sandarian military. His gut twisted at the cruel joke fate had played on him. He gripped the rim of the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. He couldn’t stay in here forever, but he had no idea what to do next.

* * * *

Ria paced. The wood cabin was small and rustic. Oddly feminine curtains hung on the three windows. A small kitchenette, table, and an old couch was the extent of it. There was only the one room so she couldn’t avoid looking at the bed. Their bonding had been everything she’d imagined. More even. When they touched, she forgot everything. Forgot he was supposed to be a dimwitted Curzan and a killer. She hadn’t sensed evil in him. Fear descended upon her like a blanket. What if their bond caused her to lose all objectivity? What if she was bonded to a man who stood for everything she’d fought against? She’d left the military when she’d discovered how corrupt the emperor was. Could it be she was now tied to someone just as bad? Was their bond preventing her from seeing him clearly? She wrapped her arms around herself.

He interrupted her thoughts when he stepped back into the room.

They faced each other in silence.

Ty slipped his hands in his front pockets and cocked his head. Long bangs fell across his face, and she had an intense urge to brush them away. “Looks like we have a little problem, Red.”

“You call this a little problem?”

He scanned her body from head to toe and back again. “You’re not very big.”

Rage flared. Why did every male feel the need to make stupid comments like that? “You’re not exactly huge.”

His laughter pissed her off even more. She spun around and headed for the door. His speed surprised her as he caught her arm and spun her around. And there it was. His touch fed her on some impossible level.

He backed her against the door. “You can’t run any more than I can.”