“Hey.” He wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “It’s okay to be fragile, Doc. I won’t allow anything or anyone to break you. Right now, I’m going to go make sure this base is secure.” He kissed her nose. “You’re in my heart, in my blood, whether you want to be there or not.” He smiled as he leaned back. “I shall return shortly to finish what we started.”
Her body couldn’t take another unfulfilled night. “Bring a big lock and something to bar the door,” she muttered.
“You have my word.”
* * * *
Ronan finished scouting the outside of the compound. Ivar was correct. Footsteps lined the edge of the property. But perhaps the interloper had just been a lone hiker who’d come upon the area by chance.
Or…the Kurjans had found the base. It wasn’t impossible to believe they’d been looking for years. Now they might be waiting to strike. The evidence wasn’t conclusive, so he followed Ivar’s directions and set land mines in designated areas.
Faith was still sleeping in their bedroom, and his cock was still hard. To have been inside her without reaching completion was a torture he’d never imagined.
Grumbling, he walked to the end of the hall and rode the elevator up to the top. It opened onto a wide valley of grass, trees, and a rushing stream under a full moon. The purity of nature hit him, and he breathed in, his entire being unsettled. He wanted to return to bed and take his woman. Several times.
“For a guy who just got laid, you look cranky,” Benny said from a wooden table hidden in shadows beneath a couple of tall pine trees.
“Almost laid.” Ronan turned toward his friend.
Benny winced. “Shit, man. That sucks.”
Ronan snorted. It had been so long since he’d talked to another person, he couldn’t quite remember the right way to begin. Maybe just with the truth. “I’m struggling.”
“No shit, buddy. I just finished setting traps on the north side and decided on having a drink before starting on the security system.” Benny gestured toward a seat on the other side of the table. “Have a seat.” He pulled a bottle of tequila across the table and held it out. “Don’t tell Ivar. He gets pissy if anybody takes a small break. Fuckin’ Vikings.”
The grass caressed Ronan’s feet as he strode toward Benny and grabbed the bottle, taking a healthy swallow and handing it back. “Fuckin’ Vikings,” he agreed.
Benny tipped back his head and drank, then handed back the bottle. “Sit.”
Ronan dropped into the chair and stretched out his feet, allowing the moonlight to calm him. “It is good to drink with you again.”
“Ditto. What was it like in the shield, anyway?” Benny’s eyes pierced the darkness.
“Lonely. I was alive, but not living. As I told you, I talked to you often.” Ronan rubbed the back of his aching neck. “There was a day and a night like here, but several moons in the sky. In the morning, I performed the ritual to keep the shield strong, and in the evening, I repeated the same ritual—moving to the poles of the place every two months or so.” There were rocks he would configure and reconfigure that somehow polarized the shields, or magnetic fields, and kept the prison world secure. It was monotonous…but something to do, at least.
“That kind of blows,” Benny said, gulping down a healthy portion of the tequila. “Did the shield ever come close to shattering?”
“Not until it did,” Ronan said. Was Ulric free? Somehow, Ronan thought he’d feel the infusion of evil into this realm. “I do not like this new world.”
Benny chortled. “It’s the same world you left. Just older and wiser.”
There was nothing wise about the world he’d seen so far. “We immortals are a secret, the Keys are lost, Adare is missing, and my mate doesn’t want to be my mate, although she’d like an orgasm.” Ronan took a deep drink, and the sharp alcohol landed in his gut and heated him throughout.
“Ah.” Benny reclaimed the bottle. “Maybe you suck in the sack.”
Ronan fought the urge to smack his oldest friend in the face. “I do not suck.”
“Maybe that’s the problem.”
Ronan snorted and half-heartedly punched Benny in the jaw.
Benny laughed out loud. Then he sobered. “You need to find yourself, my friend. Get centered.”
No shit. “Exactly what do you mean?”
Benny rested his elbows on the table and stared out at the darkened trees on the other side of the meadow. “The Ronan I used to know, the guy I shared a calling with, never would’ve left a Kurjan alive. You would’ve torn off his head and left his blood burning a hole in the floor as you walked through it.”
“Dayne back at the hospital in the closet?” Ronan sat back, studying the rock formation behind the trees on the other side of Benny. “Yeah. I know.”
“So?” Benny asked.
Ronan exhaled, reaching for the bottle again. “He had a kid with him. His kid.”
“Again…so?” Benny shook his head. “A Kurjan kid grows up to be a Kurjan warrior who tries to kill us. Or tries to force Enhanced women into matehood.”
Ronan took a healthy swallow and warmth spread through him again. “I’d hoped maybe that had changed. That they had…evolved.”
“No. No evolution.” Benny’s gaze narrowed. “And hope? You weren’t a guy who had hope.”
Maybe that was the problem. “I figured my life was over when I entered the shield,” he admitted. “Now, I have returned to this plane. I’ve lost one brother, maybe both of them, and I’ve found my mate. I know my duty and I’ll do it, but how can there not be hope now?”
“Speaking of which. Your mate is here, you just had a night because I can smell her all over you, and yet you’re not mated. That’s not like you, either.”
Ronan pushed the alcohol toward Benny. “Like I said. This world has changed. She doesn’t want to be my mate, and the old ways of negotiating with family, of arranging these alliances already decreed by fate, no longer exist. I am employing strategy as always.”
“Huh?” Benny took another drink, nearly emptying the bottle. “The taking of mates has not changed. You’re just not on your feet yet, or you would’ve already taken care of business.”
Probably also true. “This is like any campaign. I have been gathering intel, and now we’ve created a home base.”
Benny paused. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Benny chuckled. “You’re treating your mating like a military strategy.”
“Of course.” It was all he knew.
“Man, you’re a moron.” Benny held up a hand. “This is going to backfire. I know you. You gather intel, create safety, and then attack. But you can’t just take her over.”
“I might have to at some point. The woman doesn’t know how to trust. She’s been alone too much of her life.” A gentle and steadfast approach would be best with Faith, but it might not be enough in the end. For now, he had the patience to ease her. “Earning her acceptance will take time.”
“You don’t have time,” Benny said bluntly.
Tonight had been a good start. Those walls around Faith’s heart had started to crumble. Finally. “I’m aware,” Ronan agreed.
“Enough talk about your crazy plan.” Benny leaned back. “Tell me more about the shield world. I’m so curious.”
“It was empty of people,” Ronan said. “It was a dimension with animals and water and peace. A lot of quiet. I could eat and sleep and explore and reconfigure the stones to protect the magnetic field…but that was all.”
Benny blew out air. “That does sound lonely.”
“It was.”
“How did you go on, even speaking to imaginary me? Day after day after day?” Benny asked.
Ronan shrugged. “There was no alternative. The world was tied to my energy, so if I died, it ended. The shield was needed to contain Ulric in hi
s dimension, so I did my job.”
Benny lifted his head. “There’s more.”
Ronan looked up at his old friend. Many people thought Benny was crazy, but in truth, it was an act. Mostly. The guy was incredibly insightful when he wanted to be. To know that one fact was to be Benny’s family. “Yeah. There’s more.”
“Well?”
Ronan eyed the bright moon. “Faith. I saw her in my dreams. Felt her touch. So I thought, maybe…that the shield world wasn’t the end for me. I tried not to hope, and I did my job, but thinking there might be something else someday helped me go on.”
“And now she won’t mate you.”
Ronan barked out a laugh. “Yeah. Exactly.”
Benny snorted. “Stop being such a romantic. She’s obviously willing to sleep with you. Next time, bite her and mark her. Then it’s a done deal.”
Sometimes Ben was a moron. “Right. Because who wouldn’t want to spend eternity with a mate who’s been forced into matehood?” Ronan asked drily. “Especially an independent, educated woman who has put her trust in science and has no fear of the immortal world?”
“Jesus, Ronan. You can’t shield her from reality like that.”
Sure, he could. That was his job. “I won’t allow her to get into danger. When I need to mate her to protect her, I will.” Her response to him showed she’d be more than willing. When it came to life or death, saving her trumped all other considerations.
The elevator door opened and Ivar crossed into the moonlight. “We have another problem.”
Ronan shoved to his feet. “Well?”
Ivar gave him a look. “Satellite feed came up, and there’s movement toward Denver by the Kurjans. Or Cysts. Or both. They’re coming from Arizona and should land in about an hour. It’s an impressive force.”
Ronan’s body chilled. The Kurjans were going after Grace. He’d thought it would take them longer to create a plan. This new world was just pissing him off now. “How far away are we?”
“Thirty minutes by helicopter.” Ivar held the door open. “The armory is on the other side of the communications room.”
Ronan jogged for the elevator. “I need one of you to stay here and cover Faith. Please.”
“Not me,” Benny said, right behind him. “I would love a good fight.”
Ivar sighed. “I’ll cover comms here and keep you updated. But Ronan, you’re putting yourself in a helicopter with Benny flying. Sure you want to do that?”
Benny grinned as the elevator doors closed.
Ronan paused. He hadn’t gotten to all vehicles yet in his study of this new world. “What exactly is a helicopter?”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
It had to be early morning. After a very quick shower with rather chilly water to quell her still-aching arousal, Faith drew on her jeans and shirt, surrounded by quiet. The entire world was silent so far underground. She moved into the attached bath and tied back her damp hair, brushing her teeth. Her body was empty. Aching. Her arms chilled. Where was Ronan?
The mountain pulsed around her, giving an aura of safety. Odd. She flashed back to the scene of a waterfall she and her family had climbed to while on vacation. She had been ten and Grace had been five. Their dad had carried Gracie part of the way, and the girl had chirped on about birds the whole time, her eyes sparkling.
Their mom had pointed out fauna, her pretty eyes alight with fun. Faith had held her hand and pretended to touch poison ivy, making her mom laugh, the sound gleeful. She’d already memorized all of the local trees and fauna, but it was fun listening to her mom, so she didn’t say anything.
The day and the surrounding area had been safe. Secure and beautiful.
Faith returned to the present and looked at the stone walls around her. Ronan made her feel the same way. Mountains and safety. Just like when she’d been young and her whole family had been alive and well.
She walked into the hallway and followed the passage to the communication room. Lights glowed from the ceiling, making the trek easy.
Ronan stalked out of a room on the other side wearing full combat gear. Black cargo pants with pockets, gun strapped to his thigh, knife strapped to his calf. The bulletproof vest widened his already huge chest, and he had a pair of what appeared to be night-vision goggles in one hand.
Wow. Just holy wow.
Benny walked behind him in similar attire.
Both men stopped at the sight of her.
Benny smacked Ronan on the arm. “I’ll go help Ivar get the helicopter ready. It’s been a while since we flew it.” He nodded at Faith, his usual smile absent.
Her legs went weak. “What’s happening?”
Ronan moved toward her, looking like an ancient warrior about to jump into battle. His hair was still damp from a shower. “We’ve spotted Kurjan movement toward your sister, and we’re going to fetch her. She’ll have to be moved sooner than we’d hoped.”
Faith’s stomach dropped. They couldn’t just move her sister. The woman had been in a coma for two years. “Let me get my shoes. I’ll be ready in a second.” She turned to run back to the room.
“You are not coming.”
She halted and turned. Her chin dropped. “Of course I’m coming. Don’t be ridiculous.”
He stood there, so tall and broad, his expression veiled. An impenetrable wall. “I understand you believe the Kurjans might be good guys, and that’s sweet, but I can’t allow you to discover the truth the hard way. You can have all the freedom you want except when it comes to immortal fights. Those are mine. You are staying here.”
She went to him then, having to tilt her head back to meet his gaze. His scent and heat rushed over her. “Absolutely not. I’m going and that’s final. So get out of my way.”
He changed subtly. Not in a way she could identify, but tension cascaded from him, overloading her senses. “Faith. I’d prefer you return to bed and catch up on sleep. Alternatively, you may stay in the control room with Ivar and track our progress. I promise I will bring your sister to you.” He turned to go.
She grabbed his arm, digging her nails into his skin. “What the heck, Ronan? I’m going.”
He turned so suddenly she almost fell over, and only his hand on her arm prevented her from landing on her ass. “I’m not allowing my mate to go into a battle with the Kurjans.” His nostrils flared, and he loomed over her with an intensity she could almost taste.
She shoved him and he didn’t move a centimeter. “I knew almost sleeping with you would change things.”
“You’re right.” He stepped right up to her, forcing her to tilt her head even more to hold his gaze. “It did change things, but not in this way. Even if I hadn’t tasted you, known your touch, I would never allow you to put yourself into a battle with an enemy when I could keep you safe somewhere else. I fight. You do not.”
“That is not your call,” she said, her back teeth grinding.
“I am trying so hard to be patient and give you time,” he returned evenly—maybe a little too evenly. “And I’m willing to continue that path. But this is nonnegotiable. It would’ve been the same on day one of our meeting—if I had a safe place for you, which now I do. So sit your butt down in a chair and wait for Ivar.”
“Or what?” She poked him in the chest, her temper flying free.
He lifted her so suddenly, she lost her breath. A second later, maybe less, her ass was in a chair and he was leaning over her, trapping her in place. “Until now, I have been willing to allow you time to adjust because I had the space to do so. Do not mistake my willingness for weakness. Do not misread me, mate.”
Holy shit, had she misread him. Gone was the simple guy waxing on about fate and feelings. This guy had a hardness to him he’d hidden. Or perhaps this was the first chance he’d had to show his real face. “Who are you?” she wondered out loud.
“I’m who I’ve always bee
n,” he said, his eyes burning. “This new millennium is unable to change that.”
What in the world did that mean? “Ronan—” she tried to keep her voice level and not start screaming at him—“it’s my choice, not yours, to put myself in danger or not. To go and save my sister or not. Surely you understand that.”
If anything, he drew nearer to her, caging her. “No.”
Her head jerked. Fury caught her. “No? Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Where was the vampire who’d worn goofy shoes and shared his feelings? His concerns? “That’s not okay.”
He lifted one strong shoulder. “I don’t care. Immortal fights are mine, not yours. Especially since you’re still human. You can die, Faith. That I will not allow.”
Anger rushed through her so quickly she almost choked. “You’re saying that if I mated you, if I became immortal, then you’d be just fine with me coming and challenging other immortals?”
“God, no.” He leaned back, disbelief crossing his chiseled features. “Are you crazy?”
Getting there. Definitely heading into furious nutjob land. “Listen, buddy. The foreplay was nice and all that, but you have no claim on me. You certainly can’t tell me what to do.”
His hand was suddenly around her neck. Her entire neck.
Her eyes bugged out in shock. He wasn’t hurting her, but the warning was there.
His eyes morphed to a deep blue with a bright green ring around the iris, proving once again he was nowhere near human. “Foreplay and sex should never be nice, baby.” His mouth took hers, hard and fast, sending flames to burn her nerves. He raised his head. “I’ll show you what I mean. Later.”
Seconds later, he was out of the room, leaving her mouth tingling, her body wanting, and her temper blowing.
* * * *
Ronan’s mind wandered to his furious mate’s face—again—and he banished all thoughts of her to prepare for battle. He studied the lights on the dash. Helicopters were much better than jets. Perhaps it was because he was up front with the stick and more in control. “You must teach me to fly,” he said through the headset to Benny.