Marcun (Sky Warriors Book 1) Page 17

  “Marcun, please. Please.” She was happy she’d managed to remember how to speak. “I can’t take any more. Please.”

  For a moment she thought he was going to ignore her. Then he drew her down his body and rolled. Spreading her legs, he thrust inside her.

  She didn’t think she had another one in her. She’d thought she was spent. But as he drove in and out of her pussy, rubbing against that spot inside her, she felt another orgasm spark to life.

  He rose above her, his jaw tense, his eyes almost sparkling with his need.

  “Come again, Eden.”

  “I can’t,” she panted, although she figured that was a lie. She clenched down around him and he groaned.

  “You can. You will.”

  Well, she was glad he had so much confidence in her. He pulled back, paused then thrust forward. Faster. Faster. And it almost caught her by surprise. She threw her head back, her cry filling the room and mingling with his own shout of release.

  13

  She could barely move.

  She’d like to blame it on the lack of sleep. They’d barely managed an hour. But that wasn’t what made her muscles ache. It wasn’t a lack of sleep that had her pussy throbbing. She limped around the bakery, trying to set up for the day. She moved with her thighs apart, as though she’d been straddling a horse for hours.

  Close, she thought with a smug smile.

  At least she’d gotten some sleep, even if it was just an hour it was better than nothing. And he’d made her forget. For a few hours, her mother’s betrayal hadn’t felt like a knife stabbing her heart. Marcun was right. She would have to turn her phone back on eventually and face Priscilla Summers.

  But not today.

  She whistled, surprised she could actually feel happy after everything that happened. She guessed she owed this giddy feeling to Marcun.

  “Feeling happy, bitch? Guess what? That’s about to change.”

  She froze as she heard the low, menacing voice behind her. She turned but someone grabbed her, pulling her back against his body. The smell of garlic and stale beer hit her nose, nearly making her gag. She wriggled and pulled her leg forward, ready to kick back. Her mouth opened on a scream when something dug into her side.

  “One noise, one movement, and I pull the trigger. I mean it.”

  She glanced down and froze as she saw the gun pressed against her side.

  “That’s better. Just stay quiet and do what you’re told and I won’t hurt you. Much.” He laughed and her heart skipped a beat. She realized now that she recognized the voice. The man she’d hit with her stinger. Oh God. What could she do?

  Marcun. She had to get rid of this guy before he came out of the supply room and found them.

  “Oh, and if you’re worried about your friend, don’t be. My friends are taking care of him right now.”

  What? No. No, he couldn’t get hurt. She had to do something. But what? He had a gun. She looked over at the bag of flour. She been scooping some out into a bowl to mix up some brownie batter. If she flicked it into his face, maybe she could wrestle the gun away from him. Then she could go help Marcun.

  Right, because she’d just come into her super powers today. Who was she kidding? She was a baker. She knew nothing about fighting.

  She heard some noises. Something smashed. There was a loud yell.

  The guy who held her laughed. “Sounds like they’re having fun with him. They left you for me. They understood we had some unfinished business. We were going to leave this place alone. One of my boys, he has a fondness for your cupcakes, thought you wouldn’t make any more if we robbed you like we did those other places.”

  So he was part of the gang who had been robbing other businesses in the neighborhood.

  “That was until you and I had our little encounter. Now I owe you for shooting me.”

  “I didn’t shoot you. It was a stinger,” she managed to get out.

  He tightened his hold on her, digging the gun even further into her side.

  Way to go, Eden. Antagonize the man holding the gun.

  “I pissed myself, bitch,” he said with an angry snarl. “I owe you for that at the very least.”

  A huge roar rumbled its way from down the hallway and both of them jumped, turning at the same time.

  “What the hell was that?” he asked, a tremble in his voice.

  She didn’t know. But whatever it was, it sounded enraged and like it was headed their way.

  Suddenly Marcun appeared in the doorway. Her eyes widened as she took him in. His eyes were filled with thunderous fire. Menace oozed from his every pore. He seemed enormous. She just stared at him for a moment and then it clicked.

  He had wings?

  Where the fuck had those come from?

  The male behind her trembled.

  “Let her go.” His voice was almost inhuman, such a low rumble that it was hard to understand.

  “What kind of fucking monster is he?”

  She had no idea what it was. And yeah, he did look like a monster. But he was her monster.

  “He’s the fucking monster who is going to kill you,” she said. “I’d run if I were you.”

  “Yeah, well, he might be some kind of psycho but he doesn’t have one of these.”

  The guy held up his gun, pointing it at Marcun. No! She reached for the gun and he turned, aiming it her way. There was a loud noise then white-hot agony engulfed her.

  A loud roar of agony filled the room.

  She lay on the ground, unsure how she’d gotten there and tried to remember how to breathe. Pain threatened to pull her under. She watched, feeling almost detached from her body, as the male who had threatened her fell to the floor next to her. His head lay at an odd angle, his eyes lifeless as he stared at her.

  And then someone else filled her vision. Marcun crouched next to her. His eyes were filled with fire, his face so scary that if she could’ve moved away from him she probably would have.

  Agony filled his face.

  “I t-think I’ve been s-shot,” she said.

  “You will be all right. All will be fine.” There was a note of desperation to his voice.

  “His head is at an odd angle. I don’t think it is meant to be like that.” She tried to point at the guy behind him.

  Marcun turned to look at the man who had held a gun on her. “I snapped his neck.”

  “Oh,” she said. “That will do it I guess.”

  “Marcun, I don’t feel very well.”

  “Shh, I will take care of you. Trust me.”

  “Who are you? What are you?”

  “It does not matter right now. Just hold on, Eden. Don’t leave me. You cannot leave me.”

  The fear was real and raw and she found herself reaching for his hand.

  “I won’t,” she told him. “I love you.”

  She closed her eyes, succumbing to the darkness.

  Marcun paced back and forth across the room. He looked through the glass panel at the female lying so still and pale on the bed.

  “I must go to her.”

  He moved towards the door but Tecan moved in front of it, blocking him. He shook his head. “You heard what Nax said. We are to stay out here.”

  “She is mine. And you will not stand between me and my mate.”

  “Mate?” The question came from behind him and he turned to look at his leader.

  “She is my mate.”

  “She is a mission,” Ioin told him. “You were supposed to watch her. Not mate with her.”

  “She is innocent. She had nothing to do with what Barry did.”

  “She told you that?”

  He ground his teeth together at the skepticism in Ioin’s voice.

  “She tells the truth.”

  “She knows about us?”

  He shook his head. “No, today is the first time she has seen my true form. I did not tell her who I was or why I am here.”

  He did not know if she would remember everything when she woke up. After killing the male
who had dared to lay hands on her, he had contacted his pack mates then transported her to their ship so she could go into the regen chamber.

  “You broke your cover,” Ioin said in a cold voice.

  “If I had not she would have died.”

  Why wasn’t she waking up? She had been in the regen chamber already. She should be fine.

  “Nax said she lost a lot of blood,” Tecan said quietly. “It may take her some time to wake up. Especially after such a shock.”

  “I have never known you to react this way to a female,” Ioin said.

  “Because she’s not just any female she is my mate.”

  “We take a mate together.”

  Pain filled him. He had known this was coming, but he hadn’t been prepared to tell them so soon. “I cannot share her. And she would not want to be shared. I’m jealous even when another male touches her. It would not work.”

  “What are you saying?” Tecan asked.

  “I wish to formally leave the pack.”

  Silence filled the room. His pack mates stared at him in shock. He turned back to her. It was a wrenching pain in his stomach. Leaving the pack was something he never thought would happen. But he had to. For her.

  She would never fit in with the pack. And he could never share.

  This was the only way to keep her.

  “If that is what you wish,” Ioin said in a quiet voice.

  14

  Eden opened her eyes and for a moment everything was blurry. She blinked a few times to clear her vision. Where was she? There was some weird beeping noise. Was it the smoke alarm? But that was usually more obnoxious. Besides, this wasn’t her bedroom. If possible, the bed she lay on was even more uncomfortable than hers. More like a table than a bed. The ceiling was gray, and as she turned her head and looked around, she discovered she was lying in the middle of a gray and white room. To her left there was some sort of machine that was the source of the beeping. Then she realized the beeps were in time with her heartbeat.

  Was she in hospital? It didn’t smell like a hospital, and the beeping was the only noise. But it kind of looked like one. Why would she be in hospital, though? She didn’t feel ill. She moved her feet, legs, her hands and arms. All fine. No pain anywhere.

  Then what happened? Where was she? How had she got here?

  Panic started to fill her and she let out a low whimper.

  “Female?”

  She screamed and sat up. Turning, she saw him. He was sitting in a chair behind her head, able to watch her without her spotting him. That was really creepy. He stood and she realized that wasn’t the only scary thing about this situation. He was tall, really tall. With cold blue eyes. Over his chest he wore some sort of rusty-red plate. His arms were muscled, there was no doubt he was strong and dangerous. Black pants completed the outfit.

  Again, none of that was particularly alarming. What was terrifying her was the huge black wings springing from his back. Covered in feathers, they definitely didn’t look like they were part of an outfit.

  “It’s just fancy dress,” she whispered to herself. Had to be.

  And the silver skin was just dye.

  But if he was on his way to a fancy dress party then what was he doing here? And who was he?

  “I am Ioin,” he said.

  “Can you read my mind?” she asked.

  His eyes widened. “No. Can you read mine?”

  “No.”

  They stared at each other for a moment and as she got past her fear she realized he looked familiar. In fact, if you removed the wings and silver skin and softened his face a little then he would look remarkably like…

  “Marcun,” she whispered. “You’re related to Marcun, aren’t you?”

  “I am the leader of his pack.”

  Pack. Marcun had talked of a pack. She had thought it a strange word to use. She’d thought he had meant a gang. But then, he hadn’t told her he was a goddamn alien.

  “They’re real, aren’t they?” She gestured to the wings. “And Marcun has them too. What are you?”

  Flashes of memory came back. Marcun with wings. His furious face. The gun rising in his direction. White hot agony.

  “We are Sky Warriors. You would call us aliens. You are on our ship.”

  “And I’m guessing by ship you don’t mean that one that goes on water.”

  “Why would I mean that?”

  Why indeed?

  Holy crap.

  “I was shot. I thought I was dying.” She reached for her shirt only to realize she wasn’t wearing what she’d dressed in this morning. Instead she wore some sort of nightdress made of a soft, warm material. It was emerald green. Her favorite color.

  And it smelled like Marcun. Had he bought it for her? Where was he?

  “You would have. If Marcun had not brought you back here and got you into the regen chamber when he had.”

  “A regen chamber?”

  “Does your world not have them?”

  “Yes, but they’re expensive to use. I can’t afford one.”

  He frowned slightly. “It costs money to use one?”

  “Yes.” And she would have died without one? That thought terrified her. “My clothes?”

  “Your clothing was bloody. Marcun did not want you to awaken in them. He said you would want to be dressed when you awoke so he found you that dress at somewhere called Walmart?”

  He’d gone to Walmart, just to get her a nightshirt? Because he knew she wouldn’t want to wake up in bloody clothes. That was so sweet. Unexpected from a man who had been deceiving her this whole time. Who had slept with her without telling her who he truly was.

  Her mind spun. She grabbed onto one thought only for it to spin out of her grasp and then she grabbed another.

  “Where is he?” Why wasn’t he here?

  “He is busy at the moment.” Too busy to be with her? Hurt filled her. She’d been shot and he couldn’t even be bothered sitting with her. But he’d gotten her a nightshirt in her favorite color. He’d gone to Walmart when he’d sworn never to return.

  “Why didn’t he tell me what he was? That he was an alien?” Why hide himself? Was he scared of her reaction? She guessed that was it. But why was he here in the first place?

  “Because he was sent to watch you.”

  She froze, her blood growing cold. “Me? He was sent to watch me? Are you joking?”

  “I do not joke.”

  No, he looked like he never even cracked a smile.

  “Your mate told us he sent you a package. In that package was something he had stolen. We were hired by the rightful owner to find the package and return it to him.”

  Wait. What? She stared at him incredulously. “Mate? Do you mean, Barry?”

  “Yes.”

  “He stole something and sent it to me. You were hired by the owner to find what he stole and so you came here to spy on me.”

  “Yes.”

  “Marcun has been spying on me this whole time, hoping to get to the package through me? That’s why he became friends with me.” Why he’d slept with her. She felt ill.

  It explained so many things. Why he didn’t understand simple things. Why he wouldn’t take off his shirt. She’d been so stupid. So naïve.

  He’d lied to her. Over and over. She felt herself close in. She wanted to scream, to cry, but she wouldn’t give Ioin the satisfaction of seeing her break.

  She licked her dry lips. “I haven’t received any packages.”

  “We know. Before Marcun moved in, he searched your apartment for the package. When he did not find it, he installed cameras in your living quarters then acquired the accommodation next to yours. When you offered him a job that made it easier for him to stay close to you.”

  “Oh God, this just gets worse and worse.” She rubbed her stomach. “He had cameras in my apartment?”

  Ioin tilted his head. “This upsets you.”

  “Well, duh.” She was done with being polite. They had invaded her privacy. Sure, they’d saved her li
fe but it was nothing less than what she was owed for being used like she had been. She wanted to go home, but she had a couple of questions she wanted answered first.

  “How would you like it if I’d been spying on you while slept, ate, drank, worked? Tell me, why didn’t you just knock on my door and ask? Didn’t that occur to you?”

  “We thought you could be part of the scheme to steal this item.”

  “You thought I knew what Barry was doing? That I was a part of it?”

  He nodded. “Marcun no longer believes this.”

  Well, good for him. Was she supposed to feel good about that? She could tell he wasn’t so sure. “What happens with the wings? How did he hide them?”

  “I will show you.” He reached up and undid the plate of armor, revealing a strong, muscular chest that didn’t interest her in the slightest. There was only one male she was interested in seeing naked and he had betrayed her.

  The wings drew back and despite herself she watched in fascination as they almost seemed to disappear into his skin. All that remained was a black outline that looked slightly raised. Almost like a tattoo. Was that why Marcun had been so interested in that woman’s tattoo? Because he thought they did something like this? His wings reappeared.

  “I sent in Marcun because he is the best at holding his alternate form,” Ioin told her. “Usually, I would not send him for such a mission. He does not have the temperament to act as a spy. He is the member of the pack I send when I need someone intimidated or threatened.”

  Wow. That was just wonderful.

  “Should I be grateful you didn’t send him to threaten me?” she asked, wishing her voice didn’t shake so much.

  “Yes.”

  Asshole.

  “I do not know if you have heard of our race?”

  “I haven’t.”

  “We travel in packs of six. The pack is everything. The pack is family. We only work for the good of the pack.”

  “Sounds like a commune.”

  “What?” He looked at her, puzzled.

  “Doesn’t matter.” She waved her hand in the air. “Continue.”

  He stiffened. As though he didn’t like her giving him orders. Well, tough. She didn’t like being spied on.