Resistance (5 page)

Heck, who was he kidding? He hadn’t had a proper night sleep
since seeing her that first time. Why he hadn’t taken more time pleasuring her
eluded him—fucking her up against the door, pumping fiercely into her, her
cries of arousal undoing the cold tight lid on his emotions. He hadn’t been
able to tie up the fact he wanted to take her again and again. That’s why he
needed to kill her and get some peace.

He stood behind a tree, his finger on the trigger of his
rifle, keeping an eye on Reena Wilde and Cade Outlaw as they spoke around a
fire. His last encounter with Cade was still fresh in his mind, despite it
being several weeks ago. Cade had made it clear he would kill Blade if he went
near Red again. He might have to take out Cade as well tonight.

He’d been floored when his boss Bev White had given him the
assassination assignment against Red. Not because he had to kill someone, but
because Reena was Red, the notorious leader of the Resistance.

He’d known she was different. Her strength showed in the
defiant way she’d carried herself when he’d first seen her at the Pleasure
Palace, and then again when he’d met her at the safe house after she’d been
rescued.

Blade shook his head and tried to remember back to a time
before the Wars. To before the X-virus. When a normal evening meant taking a
woman out to dinner and then to his bed. Where a regular work day meant performing
pap smears, breast exams and informing a patient of her pregnancy, then moving
to the adjoining examination room to tell another patient she had stage four
ovarian cancer.

Fuck, his life had all been so normal. So routine he’d even pondered
the idea of settling and marrying a sweet, quiet nurse he’d been dating. And then
the X-virus had come along and screwed his world. Hell, it had screwed everyone’s
world.

Yet even in this crappy new States there were still jewels.
Sexy women like his boss Bev and Tyler’s woman Laura…and now Reena.

Reena. Or maybe he should call her Red. That had been his
nickname for her. He’d never imagined the Resistance called her Red, too.

Red, with the flaming red hair and gorgeous hazel eyes. Red,
who’d proudly worn gold rings on her large pink nipples and teased him with a
bellybutton ring, and made his knees melt when he’d seen her labia rings.

She hadn’t shied away from showing off those rings. Maybe
she’d had them removed since their meeting? Or had she accepted them as part of
her body?

The first time he’d entered the safe house where the SKULL men
had taken her, his pulse had picked up speed as her moans echoed from one of
the bedrooms. When he’d peeked into the open doorway and spied her lying spread-eagle
on the bed, his body had tightened in awareness, his cock and balls tensing and
swelling like a son of a bitch.

She’d been naked and moaning. Damned irresistible too with
her tangled red hair billowing around her face while she thrashed beneath the
mouths of two men—one tending her breasts and one lapping between her thighs.
She’d begged them to fuck her.

Oh man, he’d wanted to undress. Wanted to take her. To claim
her for his own.

But she was only pleading because of the drugs. He wanted
more than just fucking a woman pumped full of sex drugs. He didn’t know how
long he’d watched those SKULL men fucking her. Could have been minutes. Could
have been hours. But the imprint of her naked and writhing beneath the erotic
handling of the men was forever etched into his mind.

Sexy woman.

And she would have to die.

Here. Now. Right in front of Cade Outlaw.

Lifting the assault rifle, he peered through the night-vision
scope and took a bead on Red. She sat on a fallen log in front of a small fire
that fully illuminated her. Vulnerability flickered across her face in the
waves of yellow firelight.

One shot to the brain and she wouldn’t feel a thing. His
finger tightened on the trigger. He held his breath.

Hesitated.

Man.
This was harder than the last time he’d tried to
pull the trigger. Cold sweat popped out on his brow as he took aim. He hoped
she would forgive him for this.

Many women preferred death as opposed to the virus they
carried. Would she welcome death? Would she thank him for putting her out of
her misery when they met in heaven or wherever people went after they died?

He continued to hesitate. Stiffened as a cold blade of death
cut painfully into the skin of his neck.

“Déjà vu, dead man.” The voice exploded through the
stillness of the snowflake-drenched night air, much the same way it had several
months earlier when Cade Outlaw had stopped Will from killing Red. Just as he
planned tonight.

“This knight-in-shining-armor fetish you’ve got regarding
saving this chick’s ass is getting to be a real pain in
my
ass,” Blade
replied. He didn’t ease up on the trigger.

If Cade followed through in killing him, Blade would make
sure Red joined him in the afterlife. It almost seemed sweet and fitting. To
die with the woman he’d been lusting after for months.

“I’m glad you still have your humor, Blade. I’m sure it’ll
keep you warm in your grave,” Cade growled quietly.

“Just as Red will keep me warm in my grave when I pull the
trigger,” Blade warned.

The harsh press of the skinning knife against his neck
loosened. A warm trickle of blood dripped along the side of his neck. The cut
couldn’t be deep or he’d be dead. It appeared Cade had other plans for him.

“I made myself clear what would happen if you came near Red
again.”

He sounded pissed. That was a good sign. It meant Cade had
feelings for Red. Will would have to play those emotions to keep himself alive.

“I guess you should have killed me. Then and now. You’re
getting soft in your old age, Outlaw.”

“The ladies don’t think so,” Cade retorted coolly.

Sex. Always on the mind of a man these days—especially with
so few women around.

“Drop the rifle…nice and easy…and I’ll let you live,” Cade
instructed.

“You already let me live, and because of it you’re at a
disadvantage.” Blade slightly jerked his assault rifle up in acknowledgement. Tension
zipped through the air from Cade.

“Or maybe that’s an advantage, Outlaw. Depends on how you
look at it. A group of hunters are tracking you…and the female. About four
miles west. They’ve made camp for the night. You’ll need an extra hand if you
don’t outrun them.”

“I know. Now drop the rifle, Blade. Then drop any other
weapons you have on you and we can join Red at camp.”

It was the truth. There were several men following Cade’s
trail. Will just hoped Cade believed him. “I’m serious, Cade.”

“I know, Will.”

Okay, so the guy was keeping his enemy alive in case he
needed help? Will had to give it to Cade, he was either an idiot or he had the balls
to trust that Will would help when the chips fell. The trust probably came
because Blade was Colter Outlaw’s good friend.

Fuck. He should kill Cade and take Red for himself. He just
might be sorry if he didn’t.

Blade sighed. He surrendered his rifle and allowed Cade to
search him for his other weapons.

* * * * *

The handcuffs that bit into Reena’s wrists and the shackles
lacing her ankles did nothing but cause sensual images of having sex with Cade
to whirl around in her mind.

Men! She’d come out here alone for a reason. To de-stress. Instead
she wasn’t getting anything
but
stress. Where the hell was Outlaw,
anyway?

Desperation shifted through her as she stared into the snow-swirling
darkness. Nothing moved except snowflakes. They were coming down hard,
spiraling out of the night like tiny demons and covering the ground in a white
fluffy blanket.

It was getting colder, too. Crisp air chilled her cheeks and
every time she breathed another plume of mist shot from her mouth, blinding
her. Despite that, a fevered neediness raced through her.

Her pussy throbbed. Wetness had drenched the area between
her thighs and her body had tightened with sexual tension when Cade had secured
a plastic sheet over the small lean-to on the other side of the fire pit.

He hadn’t spoken anything more while he’d set up the sleeping
quarters, but she’d caught him casting her glances. Hungry and hot looks that
made her very aware he hadn’t been with a female in awhile.

Damn him!
Where was he anyway? He’d taken off to
search for the plate she’d whipped into the forest and to take a leak more than
ten minutes ago. More than long enough. If she’d thought he would be gone this
long, she could have masturbated, had an orgasm and been good to go. It would
have been tough with her hands shackled, but the rough bark of the fallen tree
she sat on would cause enough friction. Maybe she could start…

Footsteps echoed in the dark perimeter outside the warm glow
of the firelight and her pulse pounded with alertness. Maybe Cade had been gone
so long because someone had killed him? Her people? Or someone else?

Regret slithered through her like a snake. She didn’t like
the idea of Cade being dead. She liked his brother Tyler and didn’t want harm
to come to Cade, even if he was a lowly bounty hunter. Besides, her attraction for
him when he’d first caught her on the ice wasn’t totally the virus. It was
feminine instinct. She sensed he wouldn’t hurt her. No matter how bitter the
Terrorist Wars had made him.

When he first caught her, she had been pissed, but there had
also been an attraction similar to what she’d experienced with only one other
man. The man she knew as Will Blade. He was raw lust and powerful arousal
rolled into one hot explosion.

Just as she thought of Will, his image drifted out of the
darkness like a ghost. For a moment, she could do nothing but blink in shock
and wonder if perhaps she was experiencing a fantasy of him. But when he threw
her an amused smirk, emotions sizzled inside her. Happiness, confusion, need,
want. Arousal.

What in the world was he doing here?

Behind him, Cade appeared. Concern ripped through her over
how Cade held a rifle pointed at Blade’s back.

Cade’s mouth was twisted in anger and his eyes were narrowed
with suspicion. In contrast, Blade seemed calm as a cucumber. Except for the
smirk on his face when he gazed at her, he appeared as cool as the night she’d
approached him in his bedroom.

Immediately she knew why he was acting so composed. The
attraction between them still existed. The need of wanting him hit her like a searing
arrow the instant his familiar pine-and-mild-soap scent whispered against her
nostrils.

A man wouldn’t look at her coolly, dispassionately, yet his
eyes so full of fire unless he was trying to run from his attraction to her. Or
hide from it, which—on the surface—he appeared to do quite well. Yet beneath
the surface, he was doing a piss-poor job. He held himself tensely, awareness flaring
in his eyes as he studied her like she was the untamed mate that had gotten
away.

“Sit down on that stump. I don’t need you snapping her
neck,” Cade instructed.

Snap her neck? What in the world?

She drew her attention to Cade. His fierce gaze was fixed on
Will as he sat down a good six feet away from her. Cade warily eyed Will as if he
were her mortal enemy. Boy was he ever wrong.

Blade’s scent increased in intensity as the wind whipped
against her, making her body tighten in hyper awareness. Making her breasts
ache with a need to be held in his large hands. To have both men licking her
body. Touching her. Kissing her. Making love to her.

Reena tried hard not to moan at the sudden burst of
submissive need welcoming her into its embrace. But she
did
moan. It was
a sultry sexy sound that made Cade and Will Blade snap their gazes to her in
full-awareness mode. Reena closed her eyes and broke the erotic-magnetic
connection.

Both men remained silent, except for their breaths lashing
the air.

Cade—harsh and erratic.

Blade—coolly even. Forced. Too even.

They were both fighting their reactions to her. Just as she
was fighting them.

God only knew how long she could hold out.

* * * * *

Secrets. They zipped between Red and Blade like sparks of
electricity. Cade saw their awareness of each other in the way their eyes sparkled
with lust amidst the violent swirls of snowflakes. The storm was picking up
intensity. Somewhere, far off in the distance, the wind roared. Once it hit them,
it would be a damned cold night.

Unless…

He shook away the visions of naked feminine skin and
concentrated on remaining professional.

“I can see SKULL wants Red dead,” Cade said. He may as well
let Red in on what was happening. That Blade was an assassin. Here to kill her.

Reena’s sharp inhalation and Blade’s eyes narrowing in anger
encouraged Cade to continue. If there was something between these two, an
erotic connection or whatever the hell it was, he’d squash it right now. No
woman would want a man who had been sent to kill her.

“It beats what you seem intent on doing to her. Taking her
back to them alive. They’ll torture her until they get the information they
want. And they will succeed. You should know that more than anyone, especially
with your background.”

Cade grimaced at the taunt about his past. He wasn’t proud
of what he’d done during the Wars, but his acts had been a necessary evil. He’d
extracted plenty of good intelligence to help fight the terrorists.

“Besides,” Blade said. “My way will save her a whole lot of
unnecessary pain. Unless she’s into pain,” he whispered.

“You…you’ve been sent to kill me?” she asked, but the
hostility and anger Cade wanted to see didn’t accumulate in her eyes. She
seemed stunned and maybe even a bit fascinated at having Blade here.

Blade nodded and she frowned in disappointment. Yes,
something was going on between them. Hell, what had she expected with Blade
showing up? That she would free him and then her and Blade could have a
frolicking good time in the snowstorm? Streaks of jealousy and anger slammed
through him like battering rams.