Chapter 11
Guardian Compound, Earth Realm
Alex’s body reformed a mere second before she was thrust into a cell.
She heard the deafening clank of metal shutting behind her and whipped around. She’d been so busy fighting the roaring growls violently echoing in her skull that she struggled to focus on her surroundings. She registered the metal walls and knew that was a bad sign.
Holding her head, she tried to tune out the rage coming from Uri. She knew instinctually the animalistic fury was his, but she desperately needed it to stop so she could focus. It was painful as hell and only allowed a small amount of sanity to come through. What was wrong with her? She was a fighter; she’d never have allowed herself to be teleported against her will. She would have fought it, but it was like her mind and body weren’t in sync.
Her functions felt awkward, not her own. Again, she wondered if she’d been drugged, a good erotic drug… one that ended with getting her ass imprisoned.
She took a deep cleansing breath. Oh, Gods, Erik. He needed her; what was wrong with her? How could she have ended up so far from her plan? Her stomach clenched at the thought of failing the brother that had always had her back and continued to love her, no matter what.
Her body ached more than she ever thought possible. A spot deep inside actually hurt, and she couldn’t seem to dial back the sound of Uri’s angry snarls. Something had to give.
Looking through the bars, she saw Drake, head of the Guardians and the cousin she’d never met. Aphrodite and Hades were the only siblings her mother, Athena, had associated with, but all her mother’s dealings with them had been in private neutral areas.
“Are you even listening to me?” he growled. Drake was even bigger than Uri. The male was huge up close. Those striking green eyes, the color of emeralds, had probably made many a female swoon over the centuries. She nearly snorted, the women probably didn’t even care about the smoke that emitted from his lips, which was likely from his dragon half.
Somehow those fumes smelled sweet and a little earthy. Not like cigarettes or campfires, more like ancient wood and rich soil? Familiar as if from different times. It was oddly comforting… something she remembered from her childhood but couldn’t quite place.
He’d asked her something. “Sorry, distracted by the whole sitting-in-a-prison-cell thing. You were saying?” She infused the words with as much sarcasm as possible with the pain in her womb and the snarls beating at her mind. Did she detect a hint of guilt in his eyes before he briefly looked away? Doubtful.
“Cousin, what the fuck is going on? Answer me.”
She’d obviously missed something else he said. Her head felt as if it was going to explode; Uri was going crazy. What had they done to him?
“…said what did you do? Until I decide you haven’t done something to him, you can sit your ass in here.” Drake stood outside her cage, arms crossed. In other circumstances she might feel slightly intimidated, Drake was a powerful being, but right now her focus was on the snarling that threatened to crack her skull. She had really hoped to avoid Drake until she’d gotten that blood oath from Uri. Dealing with him now just sucked. Especially with how much pain she was in.
Just then her body was racked with another sharp pain followed by mind-bending arousal… Alex pulled in a deep breath. She’d never encountered anything like this. It was agonizing. They had to have been hit with a spell or something to magnify arousal.
“You’re kidding, right?” she ground out. “Whatever hit us, hit us both. I’m not so stupid as to spell myself!” She needed relief, now, as she bit the inside of her cheek to focus her mind on anything but the pain.
She paced back to where the cot was. Where was Uri? She could hear him in her mind. Had he been fighting his brothers the whole time? Or had he been tossed into a cell, too? Alex felt as if she only had moments before she lost her ever-loving mind as she listened to him. Her chest ached. Why was she so worried for him? Not knowing what was happening was another frustration she couldn’t process at the moment.
And Erik… how could she be so selfish not to have even thought of her brother? She bit off a curse.
She tried to rub the tension from the back of her neck, using breathing exercises to get through some of the pain to focus. Her head pounded, and the arousal wasn’t going anywhere, and she was sure her cousin could smell it. Wasn’t that just awesome? If she could just get a moment’s reprieve, she’d figure a way out of this.
If she could focus, she knew she could get Erik help, and screw it, she’d try not to get them exiled, but it only mattered that her brother got better.
The throbbing in her womb was rapidly escalating. She fought doubling over; she’d hold out as long as she could. The thought of looking weak in front of Drake made her want to throw up, or maybe it was the dance show currently holding auditions against her pelvis. Moisture started popping out on her forehead as her sight started blurring.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Just not loving my warm welcome. Shouldn’t family get a comfy guest room?” she ground out through a clenched jaw. She was starting to worry she might actually vomit.
A sharp, piercing sensation hit her so hard that she did double over this time. She knew in some fundamental part of her being that she needed Uri, that he was the only one that could take the pain away.
“Cousin?” she heard Drake snarl, although it felt like he was far away. Uri was growling and snarling so loud that she held her head, as if that could quiet the noise.
“Tell me what the fuck is going on?” Was that concern she detected? He’d opened the cell and was kneeling in front of her, looking into her eyes. Yep, he indeed looked worried.
“Need Uri,” was all she could manage through shallow gulps of air.
“Fuck me,” he ground out as something undecipherable flashed in his eyes. Moments passed; then Drake moved back from the cell, and an animalistic Uri was hauled through a metal doorway that slid quickly closed behind them. Uri fought to get to her. Jax and Gregoire held him on either side, not easily, it appeared.
She still held her head. “Uri, too loud.”
The second the words were out, the sound cut off and she staggered as her mind buzzed. Thank the Gods. All she felt was the agony in her womb while her brain processed the sudden silence. “What’s happening?” she demanded as she gazed into Uri’s eyes. He continued to fight his brothers to get to her, his predator eyes never leaving hers.
“What the fuck is going on, Drake? He can’t even form words, just fights us. What did she do to him?” Jax ranted.
“Put him in the cell with her.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Incredulous words from Jax again.
“Put. Him. In. The. Cell.” Drake’s bellow sent the room shaking. The toilet, sink and cot were all secured or else they would have cracked with the power in the Guardian leader’s command.
Alex had a second to stand before Uri was let in and his big frame was pinning her against the far wall. It was so good to feel the warmth of his skin again.
Instant relief. Yes, that was what she needed. He took her mouth possessively, his tongue plunging deep to touch hers, then retreating to do it again and again. She had an instant of disorientation as the agony in her womb abated, releasing her muscles from the vise that had tightened them down. She was left with only the delicious feel of his body as he crowded her against the back of the cell.
The bliss was so strong, she heard herself whimper, her mind and body completely centered on Uri.
He aggressively commanded her mouth while ripping the front of her shirt to palm her breasts one at a time, plumping them and pinching the tight nubs through the lace of her bra. His fingers provided such sweet relief as her breasts swelled further against him. The rough feel of his fingers, relentlessly abrading the sensitive skin, had her coming unglued in his arms, bucking closer as she pushed her flesh into his hands. He groaned low in her mouth and gave a firmer squeeze. She moaned while his tongue dueled with hers.
Alex was so lost in the sensation she wasn’t sure if she’d heard the others exit, and she didn’t care. Her skin was riddled with the gooseflesh Uri’s touch left in its wake as one hand moved to make circles against her hip. Her body ached with the desire to taste and savor every hard plane of his chest and rock-hard stomach; she wanted to lick the vee that led to paradise. She felt so small, caged by his bulk. His hips anchored her writhing frame against the wall as his herculean erection bumped demandingly against her. Gods, it felt so good; that seam in her jeans hit her clit so forcefully. The friction caused her to cry out in need. He ripped at the zipper of her jeans. She heard the tearing of fabric before he tunneled his hand inside. Her clit pulsed; it was so sensitive. When he pushed a finger inside her entrance, she cried out. She was wide open as her legs straddled his hips.
Fucking bare and so wet around me, he groaned in her mind.
She touched and caressed his arms and back, mesmerized by the feel of him invading her as he added another finger. She whimpered, was lost. “No,” she protested when he pulled his hand up and away from her. Instead of going back where she needed him, he ripped her bra from her body with a feral growl. She shrugged her shoulders to get free of the torn garments, feeling the cold cell wall against her hot skin.
She submerged further into sensation, drowning in his strength and the feeling of rightness. Everything narrowed down to his hot, wet mouth latched to a swollen breast while his hand slid down the back of her jeans. The feel of his fingers on her flesh was too much. Nothing else mattered. How could anything be so all-consuming? It was incredible, but not enough. She pushed her hand between them to his hard heated flesh, silk over steel, reaching up to his belly button. So different from the plastic toys that were her only experience. She stroked him between their bodies, feeling his intake of breath at the action. Her mind melted as he stroked her between the cheeks of her bottom and further to her wet pussy.
He groaned deep and loud in the small confines of the room. He nipped at her taut peaks, not enough to break the skin, just enough to make her want him to. The primal action created a similar reaction in her. Suddenly, she wanted to mark him. Her head banged against the wall as her cries grew frantic. She wanted to claim him.
Hers…
She was sure that line of thought led to disappointment. Alex knew his habits. Never had he been with a woman twice, at least that she’d seen. But her body didn’t care how her heart would feel later. Instead she held on, running her fingers through his silky hair.
He growled deep, moving to her neck and nipping harder, as if in warning. She felt the sharp edge of fang, and her pussy wept. She wasn’t sure she could take much more. She needed him to fill her, had to feel what it was liked to be possessed fully by a male, this male, her male.
His fingers were driving her wild. She was gushing in need. But it wasn’t enough this time. “More,” she panted out. She needed him naked. All she could hear besides the ringing in her ears were groans as he worked his way back up to the other side of her neck and behind her ear, tearing tremors from her body.
Alex reached for his waistband, pushing it below his erection. He popped free into her waiting hands. She had seen him bared, felt him even moments before, but seeing the solid length up close was enough to make her pussy clench. He pulsed in her hand and she licked her lips, imagining taking that thick length inside her mouth.
He must have guessed at her intentions for he groaned, then growled, “No. Pants. Off.” Immortal speed and excitement had her boots and what was left of her jeans and panties on the floor in barely enough time to stand before she was laid out on the small hard cot. Her breathing was ragged. She was beyond the point of no return. She was actually going to do this. Her ache of desire was too much to withstand. She would do anything to be filled by him… possessed by him. She could force herself to hold off orgasm until after he came, to avoid hurting him. Right now, she wanted more than anything to feel his cock inside her. To finally feel what it was like to have a hot male deep inside, as opposed to firm rubber or hard glass.
“Fuck.” Uri groaned as he spread her wide beneath him. Holding her knees up over his forearms, he hovered above her opening. His body was strung tight, tendons straining as a muscle twitched at his jaw. Why was he holding back? Gods, she couldn’t take it anymore. She tried to move up to him, but he held her almost immobile.
Finally, Uri guided the thick head inside, closing his eyes tight. Her passage clenched around him, desperate to feel him deeper. Then, with a loud groan, he slammed all the way inside her, his control finally lost. Her entire body bowed with the impact, so incredibly full and warm. He was so much thicker and hotter than any toy she’d ever accommodated.
His mercury eyes opened, glazed as he assessed her features. It felt so right, consuming. A claiming. His shoulders were taut, and his chest heaved above her. She couldn’t wait to feel it against her aching breasts. She could still see a hint of fang showing just over his lower lip. The sight was more erotic than her brain could handle. He was watching her, the eyes of a predator. She was aching and needed to feel him moving inside her. “Are you trying to torture me?” she managed to say on a whisper. That was all the encouragement he needed. He pulled out slowly as she savored the glide. Almost all the way to the tip, then back in, touching so deep into a spot only he could hit. In and out with measured strokes until she was begging.
Her body writhed against him. Her mind was gone. She gasped for breath and was barely given a second before he started pumping faster, harder, just like she needed. She heard his low growl, “Mine.” The possessiveness had her heart tightening with thoughts that she wouldn’t let form.
“Such a tight little cunt, all hot and wet for me. It’s strangling my cock.”
Her entire body tingled, and she felt light-headed with arousal so deep and demanding her walls clamped down on him. His lids lowered on a deep moan. Wriggling, she tried to meet his increasingly forceful thrusts.
“Pinch your nipples,” he demanded. His firm jaw ticked along with the muscles straining all along his neck and shoulders. His thick dark hair was in wild sexy disarray, and the picture he made was too much.
She complied without hesitation, plumping her breasts up and together, pinching the tight tips as she arched higher. His gaze fastened on her hands, and he groaned. He thrust harder, looking between them to the point where her body took him inside. He let out a low hiss as he closed his eyes. Then she heard mewling sounds come from her lips as slick wet flesh smacked together in combined pleasure. Circling her hips, she knew she was going to go over. It was then she realized what she was doing and stopped touching her breasts. She stilled her hips in an effort to stop the tide coming to take her down.
Her breathing was out of control. “Uri, wait, you need to come before I do.”
His eyes opened, and he growled at her. “No.”
“Can’t come first. My shield. Won’t be able to stop. You need to come, then get away. Now. I can’t hold it back…” Alex groaned out. She bit the inside of her cheek. If he kept pumping, she’d be lost. She closed her eyes against his male beauty and waited, trying to hold back. She’d never felt so full, so possessed. She wanted to feel it all, but it would hurt him.
“Come,” he demanded before thumbing her clit, thrusting again and again. The overwhelming tremors hit as his pulsing cock bathed her womb. Her release hit with the force of a tsunami and she heard his groan of satisfaction, but she couldn’t move or speak to warn him. She was so caught up in the mind-shattering climax. She heard the moment of impact as her shield threw him. Then her world went dark.
When her vision returned, she quickly retracted the shield. Fear for him had her popping off the cot. “Uri?” Crap, he was sitting against the cell wall, one knee up, an arm resting on top. His chest was rising and falling hard, but he didn’t seem hurt. His head rested against the bars at his back as his eyes tracked her movements. Relief hit hard, collapsing her back down. She lay there so that she could catch her breath and gain some strength back.
Alex, what the fuck? What did you do? I hit one motherfucker of a protection spell teleporting to your location, Vane telepathed. The anger and fear she felt from his mind’s voice brought back the ache in her head.
Shit, her shield, she’d been so lost she’d forgotten about her brothers’ link to it. How was that even possible? She never forgot their link. Her eyes shut tight.
She should have at least warned Vane what was happening; instead she’d lost her freaking ability to reason. Which happened practically from the moment she showed up outside Uri’s home. Although, lucky her, it looked as if her failure and idiocy was coming in crystal clear at that moment.
She bit the inside of her cheek with regret. Vane, you need to get out of here. I’m fine. I’ll come to you and Erik the moment I have everything worked out. Sitting up, she put her head in her hands; she had to push back the guilt and deal with it later. She needed a real plan, one that didn’t include prison cells and a naked Uri silently staring at her. This wasn’t awkward at all.
She was exhausted, not only from the mind-blowing orgasm, but from everything else in the last few hours. First trying to heal Erik and now her shield engaging mixed in with not having re-energized after hopping to Sam’s mind. She bowed her head, it was like she’d turned into an imbecile.
Not going to happen, sis. It appears we’re going to have a meeting with our cousin. The steel infused in Vane’s comment held a world of not-good for her.
What? What are you talking about? You are not meeting with the Guardians. You need to get back to Erik. I’ve got everything covered! Gods, how she wished that were true. She was once again failing her family if she didn’t suck it up and come up with a plan, soon. Erik needed her, and she would not be the cause of them all getting exiled. If she got herself exiled, so be it, but not her brothers.
She heard the click and slide of the door being opened, awesome. She was naked, not to mention that the room was undoubtedly monitored, something she should have thought about before. Woo-hoo, her first real sexual experience with an actual male and it was most likely being edited for porn at the moment. She had no doubt Conn would relish using this to get back at her brothers for all their hacking into his systems. She’d watched and laughed and now it seemed Karma was coming for her.
Uri was up and had his workout pants covering her important parts in the moment it took for Drake and Sirena, the healer Guardian, to get through the door. It was actually sweet, considering he’d still yet to utter a word. Not that she’d been talking, either.
Sirena, the gorgeous blonde Guardian, looked thrilled out of her mind for some reason. She practically beamed at Alex when she came in, wringing her hands, in the very fifties-inspired dress she wore. The female passed what Alex hoped was clothing for her through the bars. Uri took the fabric and nodded to her before setting it on the cot. As grateful as Alex was, she wasn’t getting up now to put them on.
Drake cleared his throat. “Sirena is going to need to run some tests on both of you.” Another clearing of his throat made her almost smile. She wasn’t the only one completely uncomfortable as her cousin continued, “Get dressed. We have a meeting with your brother. We’ve given him the basics. And he’s out for blood.” Drake said the latter directly to Uri, indicating he was the one whose blood Vane wanted.
Alex felt heat rise to her cheeks, anger the main emotion. The long-ago memory of Vane and Erik popping in after she’d climaxed in her cave caused every part of her skin to flame up in embarrassment. Were her momentous sexual experiences forever going to mortify her? Why did they have to tell her brother? She wanted blood of her own now, dragon blood, but agonizing over it wasn’t going to change a thing. She willed the heat from her cheeks after she heard Uri growl low in his throat. She had no clue why he was growling.
Wait, tests? “What tests? To determine what we were drugged or spelled with?” She looked to Sirena for answers.
Both Drake and Sirena looked to Uri, sharing some telepathic details, which pissed her off. Why wouldn’t they just speak out loud? Did they still think she was responsible?
She raised a questioning brow to Uri as Drake said gruffly, “You’ve got five minutes. We’ll be in the war room when you’re done talking.” With that, Sirena and Drake both exited, but the freaking cell doors were all still locked. What. The. Hell?
She stood to look at her cellmate. “Well, do you wanna clue me in? You obviously know what’s going on. And for your information, I didn’t do anything to cause what happened to us.” She was flustered, irritated at being stuck in the cell, embarrassed, and naked.
She leaned over to grab what Sirena had left while avoiding looking at Uri. He was obviously unconcerned with his nudity since he didn’t make any moves to try to dress. It was unnerving that he hadn’t said a word since they’d had sex. Was he angry about getting hit with her shield? Maybe he thought she’d done it on purpose. Or was he blaming her for the situation in general. For all she knew, she just didn’t measure up to the human females? She shook her head, frustrated and infuriated that her brother was now in the mix.
Alex heard Uri hiss out a breath, but still nothing. She swore she’d engage her shield and throw his ass again if he didn’t speak, now. She was so flustered, her movements proved uncoordinated as she tried to cover herself with his pants while trying to figure out the garment in her hands. She quickly turned and bent to pick up the shredded remains of her tank top, thinking it was the best she could use to clean up. The thought of going to a meeting, which included her brother, smelling like sex… she closed her eyes, feeling embarrassed frustration all over again.
With a deep groan, he finally spoke. “First of all, your broadcasting is fucking distracting all on its own, but bending over in front of me like that is killing me.” His voice was raspy in the most delicious way. Another groan slipped from his lips as he added, “This is not something I’ve experienced before. Your body is driving me insane, but the situation is a hell of a lot more complicated than that.”
He was pulling at his hair without any care, and it had to hurt. She absently noticed his fangs had retracted.
She needed to take care of the evidence of their coupling. She wet the material in the little sink and cleaned the best she could, her face heating.
Alex kept stealing looks at his body when that was the last thing she needed to do. What was wrong with her? All she could think of was licking him from head to… head. Not now, not while still playing porn star. She heard him groan deep before shaking her head at her own ridiculousness; she’d practically shredded the garment Sirena provided before his comment registered.
Turning around in surprise, she said, “I am not broadcasting! I haven’t broadcasted since I was a child!” She was insulted that he’d think her so inept.
Focusing to get the dress on—yes, dress—that Sirena brought her, she just barely heard him bang his head on the wall.
This was just awesome; she had sky-high, fuck-me boots, and a short, black, fifties-style dress with a flared skirt, which was shorter on her than it would have been on Sirena. It ended just above her knees while the black patent boots with their stunning red soles ended just below the knee. She looked down, disgusted. Great outfit to try to fight her way out of a Guardian compound in, but she would.
She struggled to get the zipper up the back before turning to glance at Uri once again. Her underwear had been shredded, which meant she also got to go into the meeting commando. “Could you please get to the whole test thing and tell me what happened to us. Your vocal cords are still working, correct?”
Finally, he got up, avoiding looking at her as he grabbed the discarded workout pants. “We weren’t drugged or spelled; we are in the mating frenzy, which is why I can hear your thoughts, I’m assuming… and it’s why Sirena will want to test us. Sirena’s been researching the mating bonds for centuries and logs all information she can on anyone going through it,” he bit out as if in pain.
His features were tense, but his eyes practically snared her in their seductive clutches, such intense… possessiveness? And blatant desire?
“What?” Her breath seized in her lungs when she processed what he’d said, making her question come out strangled. Her libido was so on board with the promise in his eyes, but the words… “A mating, like the mating-spell mating?” Alex knew of the spell; it had come right before the Great Exile. It was said to have been created by the Immortal Charybdis, who’d sacrificed her own life force to create the spell so that Immortals could no longer breed Apollo’s army. Only those who were destined for one another were deemed mates. Her mind was spinning, trying to process that information.
“Wait, you can hear all of my thoughts? If it’s the mating, why can’t I hear yours?” Could she have another flawed power?
Alex felt a connection to him, but had chalked it up to how a female must feel the first time she allowed a male inside her body. Hearing his deep intake of breath, she knew he’d heard that. Feeling for her mental shields—they were all holding—she didn’t see any breaches. But Alex wasn’t hearing anything from him.
Was he listening to her now?
“Yes, I’m listening now,” he growled. “I’m trying to block, but it’s not working. And you did hear me. When we were separated and my more… primal side was unleashed. I was little more than a beast in those moments, but the minute you said it was hurting you, somehow I blocked my mind from yours.” His voice was a deep annoyed rumble as he shook his head. “It was instinctual; one minute the mental shield was just there. It had to have been formed from the need to protect you. I’ll have to check it out to find a way to help you with yours, but for now there isn’t time,” he said as he ran his hand back through the mussed strands at the back of his neck again, making it stick out in sexy disarray.
Gods, how she’d love to know what he was thinking, because, in this moment, he looked the opposite of happy that they were mated. Not that she knew what to think of it, but the last thing she needed was to feel like some kind of disappointment.
“No! Just give me a minute. I’m processing. Son of a bitch, I’m far from fucking disappointed, and I’m sure as hell not rejecting the idea of you. I’ve been obsessed with you for centuries. I’m just shocked and trying to wrap my head around it.” He was shaking his head, pacing now. The strong lines of that big body were so enticing with its incredible grace, like a panther or some other graceful beast.
He growled, “We have to see how to create a block for you soon. I had no idea a female’s mind could be filled with so… much.”
His frustration had her hackles up. It wasn’t as if she was doing it on purpose, nor was she enjoying the damned outcome. She tried again to see if there was a breach in her shields that was allowing the thoughts to break through. Nothing… Her mind was spinning with the implications of what he’d said. So much so that she found it difficult to focus on the shield. It seemed she had not been alone in her obsession; the thought made something inside her pulse.
Did she dare hope that this could end well? She didn’t know him, other than his sexual proclivities. And he didn’t know her. No doubt she’d never be able to hold his attention permanently; he was a sexual creature who liked variety. He didn’t even seem to have a type.
In the span of a single second, Uri was on her. Taking her mouth hard. Demanding her complete submission as he caged her against the cell. His entire body connected to hers, and she felt the tip of a fang, which made her shiver as she rubbed her tongue up against his, tangling and retreating in the most delicious of dances.
You are mine. Mine, and I fully intend to keep you. I never thought I’d be gifted a mate. But if you think to get away from me now, think again. And if you want me to show you just how “mine” you are, I gladly will. He sent the thoughts directly into her mind; the dominant nature of the words made her breathless.
The intensity of her desire was even stronger after having had him inside her. All that warm, solid forcefulness coming from such a powerful warrior made her lose her mind. One of his big hands grasped her hip tight while the other was on her bare bottom under the dress. His lethally talented tongue probed the recesses of her mouth, making her wild again. He took utter control of her. Holding her firmly, he explored her teeth and tongue. Then he slowly circled his hips, pushing her further into the wall. So good. She was light-headed and weak with the onslaught of renewed desire. She wanted that tongue on her, licking and stroking. Alex’s body arched, rubbing against the solid jut of his cock.
Uri groaned as if in pain; then just as quickly, he was on the opposite side of the cell, leaving her panting and alone, barely standing with the help of the sink. “No more. We have to get to that fucking meeting.”
Yes, the meeting. Damn. Before that, she needed to get a block up. She used another scrap of material on the sensitive flesh between her thighs as she took deep breaths.
“No time for the damn shield. Let’s get up there before Drake torches something, like your brother. Now that the jackass is my in-law, I’m guessing I shouldn’t let that happen,” Uri snapped. His irritation was probably due to the thought of being in a family that included Vane and Erik. She sighed, her brothers were trouble, but she adored them. And she needed to get to Vane now.
He grabbed her hand and led her through the now open cell doors into a hallway. They went up one level, which was secured by two sets of voice- and code-activated exits, before reaching another hallway; this one had less metal and tile but still had the dim lighting that was in the holding area below.
Alex couldn’t quiet her mind, so she tried to think of soothing things. Anything innocuous enough to get her mind off heavy thoughts, things that would showcase her inexperience in blinding spotlights or share too much. Her brothers needed her.
Shoes—she began cataloging what she’d need for summer, maybe some more strappy…
Uri groaned.
Okay, Alex changed her thoughts, going to reality TV and the team she hoped to win…
Uri growled and she gritted her teeth, guessing it was a big fat “no” to those thoughts too. Why did she even care? Because everything about him distracted her.
He gritted her teeth and forced her thoughts to stay on the mundane and not her brothers. If she got deported, she’d never see her shows again. Somehow she doubted they had access to any TV in Tetartos. She would probably be ecstatic just having a shack and a cave. Oh Gods, what if they still used pallets, could she get a real bed? She was starting to get depressed. What about bug spray? Indoor plumbing? Suddenly she began mourning her jetted tub and multiple shower nozzles?
She heard his deep male laughter cut off by a cough at her narrow-eyed glare.
She didn’t think she was ready to discover just how primitive it would really be. She had enough on her plate, figuring out what happened in a mating. She already felt overloaded.
His big hand engulfed hers as they walked the hallway, making her tingly. She’d seen humans doing it for centuries but had never experienced holding hands. Her face heated at how ridiculous her thoughts were, how childish, that holding hands with her mate would make her feel fluttery. Her mate. She bowed her head; this fishbowl that was her mind was truly humiliating her.
Uri didn’t speak, just gave her hand a gentle squeeze and brought it up for a light kiss that should not have been arousing but somehow was. Better to seem a naïve child than divulge more than she wanted…
A song. She could think of something…
She started singing in her head about “milkshakes” and how they bring all the boys to her yard. The lyric ran through her head as she hummed the beat out loud until she realized Uri had slowed almost to a stop and was staring at her. Then, throwing his head back, he bellowed with laughter. She stood stunned at the sight and sound of him before she was able to shake off the thrall. It’d somehow made him even more beautiful.
“What?” she responded indignantly. Before she could think the next thought…
“Get your asses in here. Now!” Drake’s bellow shook the walls. That male really needed some dragon-strength Xanax. She shook her head as Uri’s laughter barked out once again while they entered the room. She walked in with him, distractedly thinking that she enjoyed the sound of his laughter too much.
Then she got a good look at the room. A few seconds scanning the space was all it took for her vision to blur red.