With a grin, he increased his speed. He needed to find her before anyone else did, and that thought wiped the smile from his face and the bulge from between his legs like nothing could. Now worry for the female overtook sense, and he plunged through the woods, seeking his mate.
He found her covered in blood just as another Circ readied to attack her. Bas flew between them, acting on instinct, and charged… Only to find Gray in his arms once more.
Chapter Six
Gray swore and disentangled himself from Bas. To his relief, his partner looked no less the worse for wear for his absence. A welcome sight, considering the female looked like a demon covered in blood, her fangs and claws exposed and no doubt aching to sink into his flesh.
Yet for all that Bas looked fine, his scent was different. More…enticing?
Gray blinked hard, his ability to concentrate overtaken by the sexiest, headiest scent. Lavender and spice, a mixture of honeyed sweetness he wanted over his tongue. Just before he shoved his cock in it.
He took a step toward the mutant and found his progression blocked by Bas. Gray’s beast took note of his mate’s good health, reaffirmed their connection, and approved of Bas’s obvious protection of the female. Baffling, especially since Gray had been trained from the cradle to eliminate danger to those he cared for. Bas, like it or not, was his partner. Gray should have been working to dispel the threat to him, but instead he wanted to protect a mutant?
Not partner. Mate. I’ve all but claimed him. And he’s claimed her. If only the stupid human would take notice. Gray stumbled at the insane thoughts of his beast, not pleased to be considered a “stupid human,” and prayed he’d made a mistake. Though he’d speculated on his closeness to Bas, he hadn’t accepted any mating nonsense. And he sure as hell wouldn’t align himself alongside a woman with red eyes and black skin who rolled around in a fresh kill, no matter how sexy she looked when changed. Her coloring could only mean she teetered on the verge of going mutant, if she wasn’t there already. And a monster as a mate didn’t factor into Gray’s planned future.
Yet as she glared at him, he liked the small yet sharp gleam of her fangs. On closer notice, her dark red pupils were surrounded by brown, not black. A slight ring of white kept her eyes from looking completely alien. And her hair. Such glorious strands of white blonde threaded with honeyed wheat and streaks of brown. Long and thick, her hair framed an intelligent face. But her body. Jesus, she had beautifully rounded breasts, a trim waist, and nice, muscular thighs he could all too easily imagine wrapped around his waist as he plowed into her pussy while Bas fucked her tight ass.
“Yeah, she’s lethal in more ways than one,” Bas murmured.
Apparently the woman heard him. “Shut your mouth, Bas. I didn’t take you for that big an asshole. Now move aside.”
So she knew his partner well enough to call him by his nickname, and she wanted him safely out of the way. Interesting.
“But if I move, you two will kill each other,” Bas protested.
Gray glared at him. “I’m not going to hurt her,” he said at the same time she said, “Hell, yeah. I’m going to gut him. He’s a killer.”
“So am I,” Bas argued.
“No, you’re a mediator with fangs,” Gray corrected him.
“Fuck off.” Bas turned and shoved Gray with a strength that still surprised him. “Keep talking, and I’ll let her have you.”
“Let me?” The woman laughed, a deep chuckle that sent shivers up his spine.
He realized the scent that had held him fast before had retreated enough so that he could think. But it was still there, a tempting fragrance that called him to come closer. He tried to shake it off but couldn’t. And then he remembered where he’d experienced that reaction before. Damn. She’d been controlling him with her pheromones, the way a few females on the Circe’s Recruits team, a Circ team he’d once worked with, were able to do. Had she wanted, she could have killed him easily while he lusted, unable to think beyond sex.
Intrigued at the many facets of this female, he kept his beast in check and let Bas lead.
Bas held up his wrists, and Gray saw the metal that had slapped into him when they’d wrestled. “Honey, I hate to break it to you, but if I’d wanted out of my restraints last night, I’d have gotten out. So yeah, let you.”
Gray eyed the cuffs with disbelief. “You tied him up?” he roared at the woman while his beast mentally applauded her. Strong female. Smart, sexy. Ours.
“Yeah. And you’re both lucky he’s still breathing, so shut the hell up.”
He wasn’t used to hearing anyone talk to him like that. Except for Bas, but the aggravating Circ did it all the time.
Before Gray could snarl back at her, Bas interrupted. “Ali, we both know you’re the lucky one. Just who was riding who last night?” He smirked the same way he had right before he’d kissed Gray that first time.
The remembrance shook him as much as Bas’s words shook her. “You had sex with him?” He turned to Bas. “You fucked her while I was marching all over the mountain looking for your sorry ass?”
Bas put on a sad face that didn’t fool Gray in the least. “I was tied up. She forced me.”
A glance at the woman showed her torn between anger and embarrassment. A rogue turning mutant would feel anger, but shame? She reacted like a normal woman would at having her sex life dissected before a stranger, though her looks were anything but ordinary. That being the case, no way would he even think about putting her down with a bullet. Not when he could see she wasn’t the enemy he’d been told to expect. And not when he had to know how she’d taste, just there at the crook of her neck.
But before he could take another step in her direction, Bas had him by the throat.
“What the fuck?”
“What do you want me to do with him?” Bas asked her, his grip like iron.
Alison Ross looked from Bas to Gray and back. She gave Gray a mean smile, and his beast fell in instant and utter love. Gray sputtered and tried to break free from Bas, but his beast took every ounce of his strength and sat on it, letting Gray struggle like a limp worm on a hook.
“Bring him along. But make it easy on yourself. Remember how I handled you.”
Before Gray could ask what the hell that meant, Bas squeezed his neck with both hands.
Gray blacked out.
When he came to, he found himself flat on a mattress that smelled like Bas, the female, and sex. His wrists and ankles were fastened to the corners of the bed in what looked like the manacles Bas had been wearing. They adapted to his size when he changed and changed back. Gray decided to remain in his human form, knowing Bas wouldn’t seriously hurt him.
He’d let his partner play his games. Maybe Bas thought that by pretending to go along with the woman, he’d earn her trust? Or maybe he’d been fucked so thoroughly last night, he’s caught by his cock. The uncharitable thought made a lot of sense, especially when Bas and the female—freshly scrubbed, her hair still wet—entered the room. She looked like a walking advertisement for rough, satisfying sex.
“Her name is Ali. Not the female,” Bas said offhand.
Stunned, Gray sent with his mind, “You can hear me?”
“Yeah. Unfortunately, I can.” The glare Bas shot him reminded Gray he’d thought some ugly thoughts about mating and Bas in particular not too long ago.
“Oh, come on. You can’t hold that against me. I don’t want to mate anyone. It’s not personal. And you can’t be mad that I’m telepathic, not when you used telekinesis on me. Yeah, I remember all of it.” Especially how damn sexy Bas had been.