Shameless Desire (The Outlawed Realm) (23 page)

“We have many predators there,” Teeko answered. “They attack our kind frequently and—”

“Wait—stop,” Staci cried. “I don’t want to hear it.” She covered her ears with her hands.

Gwen grabbed Kuma’s arms, digging her fingers into his biceps. “I want an answer. How long does your kind live? You mentioned Zule’s mother. How old is she? Is she still alive? Are your grandparents? Great-grandparents? Tell me, dammit.”

Kuma remained calm, fearful of agitating her even more. “We were bred to live longer than your kind.”

“Are you telling me the truth?” she snapped.

He was. “Yes. I wouldn’t lie to you about that.”

“Thank God.” She sagged into him.

“I’ll be all right,” he assured.

“Damn right you will, because I’m not letting you put yourself at risk again.”

“I transformed too fast,” he explained. “That’s all.”

“Bull. Every time you moved in your sleep this afternoon, you groaned like you were in serious pain.”

“I was dreaming about you clawing my hands and shoving your body into mine to knock me off my feet. I like my bed play with you rough, though not that rough.”

She didn’t smile at his joke. “You can’t transform again. You don’t have to. If you insist on going with me—”

“Going with you?” he interrupted.

“If we’re doing this together,” she amended, “then let’s play it the way I did the other night. While I push the guard into the portal, you can watch from the sidelines…in human form. You can even slug the SOB if you want. Just don’t change. Promise me you won’t.”

How could he agree to such a thing if her life was at risk?

“Please, I’m begging you.” She threw her arms around his shoulders and hugged him harder than she’d ever done before.

Her concern moved Kuma in a way few things had. Not that he was of a mind to let it rule him. “I won’t,” he lied.

“You’ll just watch, then?”

“Yes,” he lied once more.

Gwen gripped him even tighter, as though she didn’t believe anything he’d said. Didn’t matter. Tonight would play out on his terms, not hers.

He pulled her arms from him. “Let me get dressed.”

“I washed your stuff,” Staci said. She pointed at his clothes neatly folded on top of the dresser.

“Here.” Gwen handed Kuma his running shoes, cleaned of mud. She turned to Teeko. “Watch Staci, keep her safe while we’re gone, understand?”

Staci curled her upper lip. “Hey, do you mind? I’m not an infant.”

“You’re my family,” Gwen murmured. “I don’t want anything happening to you.”

The girl’s expression softened. She ran her fingers over Teeko’s, taking his hand. “It won’t.” She lifted her face to his. “Right?”

Teeko regarded Kuma with a bit of wariness and bravado, still unused to the fact that Kuma had allowed him to mate on this plane. A privilege he might lose at any moment, if he didn’t behave appropriately. Kuma saw that concern on Teeko’s face.

To acknowledge the younger man’s full claim on Staci for as long as he desired, Kuma inclined his head. Teeko’s expression didn’t change. However, he did lace his fingers through hers.

Kuma pulled on his jacket, the suede also cleaned. It smelled as fresh as his other clothes and nowhere near as delightful as Gwen’s skin. Even with all of the other scents in this house bombarding him, Kuma focused on hers alone.

“Ready?” she asked.

If he’d been truthful, Kuma would have said no. He wanted to stay in this room with her, drinking in her warmth and fragrance, snuggling next to her in a soft bed, leaving it only to eat and bathe. A foolish dream, he knew, as long as the guards still prowled.

Wrapping his arm around Gwen’s shoulders, Kuma led her down the hall to the back door and into the unforgiving night.

Chapter Fifteen

With the damp wind in his face, Etaw crouched behind a stand of overgrown bushes, his body well concealed from the house across the street.

Last night, he’d followed the werewolf and female to this location, watching as they entered the building through a back door. Uncertain as to what he should do next, Etaw had debated running away, staying as far from this place as he could.

Curiosity kept him here and finally got the better of him. With the same stealth the werewolf always used, making certain the wind was blowing his scent away, Etaw had crept closer to the house, at last peering into its windows.

What he saw stole his breath. Next to the tall female with the short, dark hair stood a woman who was smaller, her hair long and blonde…the same as the tall woman’s tonight.

Etaw blinked, then stared to make certain his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. The tall female had just come to the gate that led to the backyard. He looked at her hair, so different from the last time he’d seen her. He regarded her face, noting her features were exactly as he recalled. She appeared to be waiting. For what?

A moment later, the werewolf joined her. Currently, the creature was in human form. Together, they left the yard and moved up the street, upwind of him.

Given their determined strides, they had no idea Etaw was watching. Once more, he regarded the woman’s hair. How had she been able to change its length and color in only one day? Why had she done so? Even with the transformation, she didn’t resemble the smaller woman in the least.

Next to him, Jeete leaned close and whispered, “You’re certain that’s the female who attacked Huatt?”

Etaw was convinced of it, despite the way she’d changed herself. He nodded.

“She’s nothing like what Vakar and our other rulers prefer in a female. Why would Huatt have chosen her?”

Because she’d been available. It had been as simple as that. No doubt, Huatt had planned to transport her to E5, where he and the other guards kept their personal pleasure slaves. Not that Etaw was of a mind to reveal such a secret to Jeete. The man was too loyal to Vakar, never bending a rule, never taking a risk.

“Answer me,” Jeete said, elbowing him.

Etaw whispered, “Huatt feared returning empty-handed. He didn’t want to risk torture and execution.”

“The same as you?” Jeete frowned. “That man with her tonight—how do you know he’s one of the creatures and not fully human?”

Etaw recalled the evening before, the male’s transformation. “I watched him turn. His body shrank at remarkable speed. Fur sprouted on his back and limbs until I couldn’t see his skin any longer. His lips went black and his nose jutted out, becoming a snout. He fell to all fours, panting, as though he was in excruciating pain. His eyes, though…” Etaw paused, recoiling at the danger he’d seen in them. “They were filled with hate and became a strange silver color that glowed with the faint outside light. Not once did he take his attention from Huatt. If not for the female acting first, the thing would have ripped Huatt apart.”

Jeete pushed to his feet.

Etaw grabbed the man’s forearm, terrified Jeete hadn’t believed what he’d said. Etaw had told him the truth. He had nothing else to offer, not even a convincing lie. “What are you doing?”

“We need to follow the creature and female, then attack when they don’t expect it. They can’t possibly escape both of us.”

“No.” With strength born of fear, he pulled Jeete back to a crouching position and spoke quickly. “We have to stay here.”

“Why? To keep safe?” Jeete punched Etaw’s arm away from him. “If we don’t bring a woman back tonight, Vakar will send others to search for us as he sent me to find you. They’ll transport us back to E4. Nothing you say there—no matter how much you lie—will be able to save you from the pain and—”

Etaw interrupted, “The prize we want is inside the building. She’s exactly what Vakar prefers.” Small. Youthful. Initially resistant but eventually dominated. Vakar would spend hours grooming her for his use. He’d whip her when need be, mount her as he pleased, then present her to the other rulers for their pleasure.

After which he’d hunt and dispose of her because she no longer amused him.

The tall woman and the werewolf reached the end of the street, the edges of their clothing and hair whipping in the steady breeze. They hesitated for a moment as if they didn’t know which route to take, then turned to the left, disappearing from view.

“Now we make our move,” Etaw said, reaching into his pocket.

“Wait.” Jeete grabbed his arm, stopping him. “In the alley, you told me there were two werewolves on this plane.” He focused on both sides of the deserted street, eventually glancing at the structures behind them. “Where did you see the other?”

“Inside the building with our prize.”

For the first time, Jeete regarded the house with caution, his previous decision to attack suddenly forgotten. “We should wait until he leaves as the other werewolf did.”

“This one won’t,” Etaw insisted. “I’ve seen how close he stays to the woman in order to protect her, never letting her out of his sight or allowing her to leave the house.”

“Then how can we possibly take her from him?”

“We use surprise as you suggested earlier.” From his pocket, he pulled out the device that opened portals. Months before, he’d heard how some of the other guards had manipulated the instrument to bypass E4 in favor of going to E5. Etaw hadn’t dared do anything like that, too fearful of the consequences. However, he’d listened and learned how his companions had recalibrated the settings.

Not only had they discovered that changing them allowed one to go to another realm, the instrument was also able to take them anywhere within this dimension they desired…without anyone or anything detecting them.

“What are you talking about?” Jeete asked.

“You’ll see.”

Stationed at the kitchen window, Staci regarded the backyard. Its heavy vegetation rustled in the whipping wind. Branches struck the house. The waning moon did little to eat away the ominous shadows. All that was missing was a wolf’s howl to make tonight a real-life horror movie.

“Tell me they’ll be okay,” she said.

Teeko came up from behind. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pressed his mouth to her neck.

Staci released her weight into him, sighing at what he was doing. His lips were soft and warm, his cheeks rough with his coming beard. A delicious combination that encouraged closeness.

What a pair they made. Her with so many brutal scars. Him a werewolf.

If she stopped to think about that, she might feel daunted.

No way. Staci didn’t want to think. She wanted to feel, needing him near. His male allure was certainly part of the attraction. His determination to defend her at all cost, his acceptance of everything she was—especially her flaws, which were far worse than any he had—meant more than all of the rest.

So many guys on this plane whined about not being able to understand women, wondering what it took to get a female’s willing, unguarded response, her undivided loyalty. They should have tried sincerity and tenderness, the most powerful aphrodisiacs of all.

“They’ll be fine,” Teeko assured, his breath tickling her cheek.

She shivered in delight at him running his tongue over her ear. “You’re sure? I mean like totally?”

Teeko murmured, “No guard will ever bring Kuma down. He won’t let anything happen to Gwen. He loves her more than he did Zule.”

“He told you that?”

“He didn’t have to. I see what’s on his face whenever Gwen’s near. Surely, you’ve noticed it too.”

Staci had and envied Gwen for that, wanting the same from Teeko. If she hadn’t been such a coward, she would have asked him about his feelings for her, the ones beneath the surface that had nothing to do with sex. Instead, she turned and slipped her arms over his shoulders. “Hold me, please. As tight as you can.”

He gentled his embrace even more. “I won’t leave you, I promise.”

Staci bit her lip to keep from thanking him, not wanting to sound too needy. Days ago, she hadn’t allowed herself to hope that a man would want her again just as she was.

Teeko didn’t seem to notice her scars at all, accepting them as a normal part of her, even after he’d seen the worst of them.

In her bedroom earlier, he’d turned on all of the lights, then directed her to go to all fours on the mattress, a position they’d never enjoyed before. Every time they’d made love, Staci had made certain she was facing him so he couldn’t see the full extent of her injuries. This time was no different. She hadn’t budged.

“Go on,” Teeko had ordered.

Even a gun to her head wouldn’t have persuaded her to do what he wanted. “I have an idea, you lie down.” She’d offered her most seductive smile. “I’ll be on top this time. I’ll do all the work.”

“No. I want to take you from behind.” He stepped out of his jeans and briefs. His cock was wonderfully rigid, his balls a carnal delight, so plump and tight they made Staci’s mouth water. To say she wanted him was the understatement of the century. Still…

“Don’t you trust me?” he asked.

“What? Of course.” She frowned. “How can you even ask such a thing?”

“How can you refuse to do what I want?”

No way was she going to talk about her imperfections with him. She wanted his passion, not his pity. “Turn out the lights first; then I’ll do whatever you say.”

“After it’s dark in here? I want to see you. Don’t you want to see me?” He looked down at himself, his expression growing troubled. “Is there something wrong with me?”

Staci warned herself not to laugh. She mumbled, “A Calvin Klein model would sell his soul to look that good.”

Teeko frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“You’re perfect.”
I’m not.

He regarded her, then padded to the bed. “Are you afraid I’ll turn into a wolf?”

“No.”

“Then tell me what’s wrong so I know.”

If only it were that easy.

“Please.” He bent down and kissed her with tenderness and respect.

When he pulled back, Staci sighed, defeated by his gentle manner, what appeared to be his genuine affection for her. “Get ready.”

“For what?”

What else? Gritting her teeth, she turned her back to him, picturing how the light accentuated her disfigurement—the skin red and shiny, puckered in some places, gouged out in others. A cratered landscape even she couldn’t look at for long.