Chapter 3
“NO!” Thea threw herself at Marko and just as her body crashed into his, a loud noise sounded, and a searing pain blossomed in her chest.
Marko took the brunt of the impact as their bodies hit the ground. Without stopping, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled them down the hill until their bodies were tucked behind a thick patch of buck brush.
He got to his knees, and the loud, ‘SSSSSK’ of his katanas being unsheathed filled the air. He crouched over her, scanning the area before his eyes dipped to her and quickly lowered to her chest. “Shit, Thea!”
If the pain hadn’t done the job, then the alarm in Marko’s voice would have let her know that she’d been hit.
“Fuck!” Marko hissed, and she felt a cold hard pain as he reached down and jerked something from the wound just below her collarbone. Pain exploded with the movement, but she didn’t look down. She couldn’t. She knew she’d go into a full-blown panic attack and that couldn’t happen right now. They were under attack and in serious trouble already, and their very survival depended on her keeping it together.
In the next few seconds, everything happened too quickly. Marko’s head snapped up, and he growled before he spoke almost too quietly for her to hear. Almost.
“One of the female staff has taken a hit. It’s Thea Kinsey. I need help.”
It took her a second to realize his fingers were pressed to the subvocal mic at his throat that all Sentries wore when on duty.
He tore his eyes from where they scanned the forest intently to look down at her, and he spoke just as quietly again. “I can’t leave her!”
Thea’s heart galloped at the thought of him taking off and leaving her bleeding there in the snow all alone. Out of fear, one of her hands curled around his leg where he straddled her prone body.
“Where?” he barked and she wondered what whoever was on the other end of the transmission said.
A noise had his head jerking up, and he growled low and fierce before sheathing his katanas, snatching something up off the ground, and reaching for her. She was hauled up and over his shoulder so fast that her belly dipped. Nausea swamped her from the movement, or maybe it was from her injury. She didn’t know. All she knew was that she felt like she needed to puke and Marko racing down the mountain at an impossibly rapid pace wasn’t helping.
Pinching her eyes shut, Thea concentrated on simply breathing. She took a deep breath in for a slow five count.
One, two, three, four, five. Then she gave a slow push out for another five count. One, two, three, four, five. Repeat.
Finally looking down to eye her wound, she was startled when her eyes found no gaping hole. Smearing the blood away, she focused harder. There was a small wound like she’d been stabbed with an ice pick. Her mind raced as she considered what it was she’d been shot with.
A dart or a fat needle of some sort?
Her eyes tracked to Marko’s fist where it pumped back and forth as he ran. There was an object clutched tightly in his grasp, and it took her a second to realize it was a tranquilizer dart. With a long thick needle at one end, the bright mass of feathers at the opposite end was separated by a clear cylinder, one that had just a little bit of neon blue fluid left in it that was being shaken up as Marko raced them to safety.
Oh God!
She’d been injected with something, but what? It wasn’t a tranquilizer because she wasn’t going out.
So what then? Poison?
Her gut clenched, but it wasn’t in fear. She tried to slow her breathing and gauge her vitals as Marko rushed her away from the battle.
He carried her through the forest, in the opposite direction of the guard house and the manor. Hitting a clearing, he stopped in front of a truck and hoisted her into the passenger seat before forcing her over.
“Stay down!” He slammed the door and disappeared, and Thea heard shots ringing out, but was too concerned about the drug or poison coursing through her system to care. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe just a placebo to scare them. But that thing that shot her didn’t look like he’d waste his time with merely trying to scare anyone. Worse, there was a full blown attack happening. Her thoughts slammed to a halt when she suddenly grew very warm.
“Hang on!” Marko shouted as he climbed into the truck and twisted the key in the ignition. Jamming the truck into gear, it lurched forward even as panic hit.
Her hope that the dart had been a placebo, meant to terrify instead of doing any real damage, faded a quick death as her overheated body and suddenly sensitized flesh told her they’d definitely injected her with something. Moaning, Thea curled in on herself.
“Thea, hang on!”
She couldn’t formulate words, so she lifted a shaky hand and grabbed the empty tranq dart beside Marko’s thigh where he’d dropped it onto the seat.
His eyes shot down, and he cursed. “Fuck! What is it?”
She could only shake her head as her belly clenched hard, shooting pain to her sex that was frighteningly strong. She breathed through the round of agony and only caught bits of Marko’s words as he spoke into his comm.
“I don’t know what the fuck it is, but she’s in pain! Yes, I know she’s a SW friendly. I’ve read her file!”
Another wave of agony hit, and she breathed deep and slow, embarrassed that her clit suddenly chose this moment to come to life and find the friction of the denim bunched between her legs enticing.
“We can’t come in! They’re on us. I need help!”
Thea heard him say someone was on them and she struggled up with a groan to peer out the back window. The movement was a mistake. On her knees, the material of her pants pressed tighter against her clit and had her rocking forward and backward. Why did it feel so good? What in the hell is going on?
“Thea, stay down!” Marko’s large hand on her back flattened her to the seat before he went back to his conversation. “Someone just took ‘em out. We’re making a run for it. We’ll hole up and wait for you to come to us.”
Thea slid to the floor and squeezed her legs tighter, rocking quicker until to her utter mortification, orgasm seized her. She breathed through it and prayed Marko couldn’t tell. Huddled on the floor of the truck she moaned and wanted to cry when the pain returned full force and then some. Her orgasm only gave her a brief respite. Oh no!
“I don’t know,” Marko barked. She peeked up from where she hid her face in arms resting on her knees to see him snag the dart from the seat. He held it to his nose and inhaled deeply. “I smell…” He paled and didn’t respond.
Slowly, his eyes left the road and slid to her. His mouth fell open and his eyes rounded in horror as he stared at her in complete shock.
In the silence of the cab, they stared at each other for long minutes before Marko’s expression morphed into one of rage. A rolling rumble left his chest as his brows snapped down before he jerked his gaze back to the road.
Embarrassment filled her as she realized he scented her state. Thea ducked her head and remained frozen in her position on the floor, afraid to move lest the movement sent her looking for release again.
What is wrong with me? She was in agony and humiliated and hornier than she’d ever been in her life. The idea of clambering up off the floor and straddling Marko was all consuming. Just the thought of impaling herself on his hard cock had her pinching her eyes and clenching her thighs as her nails clawed into the flesh of her arms. Her breathing grew even more ragged, and when she could no longer take the pain, she hissed, “Markoooo?”
She wasn’t really sure what she expected him to do, but something needed to be done.
“No!” he barked into his comm. “I can’t get a scent, there are other more…powerful scents drawing my beasts’ attention.”
She cringed at his revelation and tucked herself tighter into a ball. Oh God, just let me die now!
She could pick up loud roaring from his comm before he growled, “Just more powerful scents! I’m not… Just get me a fucking medic!” Marko was silent a moment before he asked in a serious tone. “What injuries? Who else is hurt? How many?”
The thought of help being deflected from someone who was truly wounded had Thea balling her hands into tight fists and forcing herself up from her crouch. It was agonizing, but she managed the climb up into the seat before leaning heavily on the door, her face pressing hard into the cool glass. “It can…” she hated to say the words. “I-I can wait, Marko.” She didn’t even try to hide the tremor in her voice or the convulsions that wracked her body.
“She’s in bad shape, Delain. I need someone now!” Silence then, “NO! She’s not bleeding out, but she’s in serious fucking…” He snarled and ripped the comm link from around his throat and then the receiver from his head and threw it on the dash. “Fucking prick!”
Thea knew what it meant. It was typical triage for war. The most critical were treated first. If there were others injured—and it sounded like there were—then help would be sent to them first. She’d have to wait. Hell, she wasn’t even bleeding, not really, but God did she hurt.
“Thea, I’m gonna get you to a safe place and then we’ll get you help. Just hang on.”
She couldn’t even nod. Instead, her arms squeezed tighter around her middle, and she breathed through the ache in her womb that demanded attention. Marko’s attention.
The truck sped down the road, turning here and there. One road, in particular, was an abandoned back road that was rutted out and bumpy as hell. The jarring ride was torture.
By the time they hit the highway, Thea was crying outright. The material between her legs was soaked, and she knew she hadn’t pissed herself. No, she needed to be fucked. Looking up she eyed the road and gasped, “How…how far?”
“Twenty minutes.”
She could hear the fear in his voice, and she wanted to reassure him, but no way was going to happen. Thoughts of hot wild sex were all-consuming, even thwarting the feeble attempts of a panic attack that kept trying to creep through. Sucking in a breath, she stammered, “I-I’m not… I can’t, Marko.”
“Can’t what, honey?” He hadn’t meant to let the endearment slip, but his mind was distracted. His tone was more urgent when he asked, “What do you need?”
“S-someplace cl-closer!”
The words had barely left her lips when the vehicle jerked, and they were off on another bumpy ass dirt road. She could have killed herself for the request.
“Oh, God!” Straightening, she unzipped her coat and dropped it on the seat. Trembling hands gripped both sides of her shirt and jerked hard. Buttons flew as her shirt was torn open revealing a lacey bra underneath. Seconds later, her shirt joined her coat on the seat of the truck.
“Thea?”
“Hot!” she whimpered. “So fucking hot!” She lifted a leg to untie a boot, but it only served to force the material at the apex of her thighs into her sex, which had her arching in the seat and crying out. “MARKOOO!”