Abandoned (19 page)

Allie moaned. Her eyes rolled back. She couldn’t hold his gaze.

“You ready for me?”

“Uh huh.” She nodded. How could she not be? He was already impaling her. What she needed was for him to move. Now.

Changing the pace from lazy and slow to hot and passionate, Daniel released her breasts to grab her hips. He held her still on the edge of the table and withdrew his cock only to thrust back into her. Again and again. His grip was tight
,
and she loved the sensation that he was keeping her from escaping.

Her arousal rose with each thrust, his cock nudging her G-spot with every entrance from this position.

“I’m. Gonna. Come,” he said as he plunged deep and held himself against her cervix. His hand flew from her hip to her clit and pressed hard.

Allison’s entire sex reacted as she came with him. She came hard, as if she hadn’t just come from her own hand on the couch.

And then she lay like a noodle on the table, her arms still above her head, but limp. She couldn’t lift herself if she had to. She’d be content to nap right on the hard surface naked.

Through the post-orgasm haze, she heard Daniel chuckle. He lifted her body against his again and carried her to the bedroom. When he laid her on the mattress, he disappeared.

She couldn’t move. In fact, she was almost asleep when she felt a warm wet cloth against her thigh. She sighed as he washed her and curled onto her side when he pulled the covers over her and kissed her temple. “Sleep, baby. I’ll be in the other room.”

She might have nodded or moaned. She wasn’t sure.

Daniel felt his mate easing up behind him before she’d even entered the room. He’d grown to sense her every move in the last few days. He didn’t flinch, knowing he had things he needed to tell her as she wrapped her arms around his middle and stared out the front window alongside him.

She wore one of his T-shirts again. He stood in nothing but his jeans, the heat of the day keeping him from wanting to put on a shirt after Allison had fallen asleep earlier.

The cabin was air-conditioned, but it was working overtime lately to keep up with the temperature outside.

He waited, his heartbeats aligning with Allison’s as she held him tighter.

Finally she spoke, her voice hoarse from just awakening. “Mind telling me why there are wolves circling out front?”

He smiled down at her and squeezed her against his side with an arm around her shoulders. “What? You’ve never seen a wolf before?”

She didn’t respond. He was stalling. She wasn’t stupid.

He let his gaze wander back to the window. “It’s weird. We never shift this close to the ranch. There are always humans on the premises.” A slight chill went down his spine.

She set her head on his chest and watched with him. “Do you normally have full humans working on the ranch?”

“Yes. We have several. Most are shifters, but some are human. We gave them the month off with pay when we decided to take in the women. Plus, most of our guests are usually human.”

“I see.”

Did she?

“So where’s the fire? Suddenly the Reserves are prancing around shifted. I’m not dumb, Daniel. If these men are in wolf form, they must be needing all their heightened senses.”

He nodded, holding her tight.

“You can’t prevent every eventuality, Daniel. And I wouldn’t expect you to. Just talk to me.”

He glanced back down at her face as she tipped her head up to meet his gaze.

He stepped back a few paces, taking her with him, and sat on the couch with her at his side. “Evan got a call from Seattle. It seems the man who held you for the last year turned himself in.”

She gasped and sat up straight. “Are you serious?”

Daniel nodded. “Apparently his uncle is Steven Wightman, a member of the head council. His name is J.T. He’s been in questioning for a few days. He knows a few things, including the fact that whoever took you isn’t happy about you being rescued.”

“What’s different about me? Does he know?”

“No, but the people who run that place where you went for medical testing call themselves the Romulus. They called J.T. for many days after he left you
,
trying to bring him back into the fold.”

“He left me for dead then.”

“Well, it could have been worse. His instructions if he ever had to abandon his post had been to kill you first.”

Allison inhaled sharply. “I don’t think he had that in him.”

“Apparently not. And the Romulus aren’t happy about it
,
either. Either they’re afraid you know too much or they aren’t done with you. Either way, they want you back.” He stroked a hand up and down her back. He hated having to tell her this, but keeping it from her wasn’t fair, and it was becoming impossible under the circumstances.

“We can’t hide out here forever keeping your family’s ranch like a fortress.”

“No. We can’t.” He reached a hand to brush a lock of hair away from her face. “We have to go to Seattle.” He waited for her reaction, his heart beating.

She swallowed hard, keeping a brave face. “Of course.” She looked back toward the window. “If we don’t
,
we’re putting the other women at risk.”

God
,
he loved her.

“Exactly. In Seattle The Head Council can keep you safe and hidden.”

“Me? What about you?” She hesitated, about to say more, and then clamped her mouth shut and jumped to stand in front of him. She crossed her arms. “You’re going to join the fight.”

He nodded, leaning his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. “I don’t have a choice. And even if I did, I wouldn’t take it. But the only way for me to do my job well is if I know you’re safe.”

Allison walked away, her hands falling to her sides.

He watched her pad to the sink, grab a glass, and fill it with water. She drank the entire contents and set it on the counter without turning around. “When do we leave?”

“We have a flight in about three hours.”

She nodded, keeping her back to him, and left the room.

Daniel set his head in his palms. This wasn’t how he ever envisioned mating. When he pictured himself with a mate, it always involved the ranch, the horses, this cabin filled with her laughter. Not a race across the country when all hell was about to break loose for shifters everywhere.

She was angry. He knew that. But she was strong. And she would pull it together.

When he heard the water running in the bathroom, he stood and headed toward his mate.

He leaned against the doorframe for a moment, watching Allison through the glass shower door as she lifted her face and let the water cascade down her body. She wasn’t as skinny as she had been a few days ago. Even in that short time, she was gaining strength.

Daniel pushed off the edge of the door and unbuttoned his jeans. He lowered them to the floor and stepped out. Allison didn’t flinch when he entered behind her and wrapped his arms around her body, holding her tight against his chest.

He kissed the top of her head, her shampoo leaving bubbles on his face. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“I know you hate this arrangement, and I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

•●•

Two hours later, Allison held Daniel’s hand as he led her through the airport toward their terminal. He tried to look nonchalant as he scanned the area around them every step of the way, but she knew him well enough to recognize the stiffness of his steps and the way his eyes shifted back and forth with every move.

When they reached their gate, they sat. He squeezed her hand. “It’s going to be okay.”

She grinned at him. “Who are you trying to convince?”

He moaned and kissed her gently. “Both of us
,
I guess.”

“Where are we going when we get there?”

“I don’t know. Someone will pick us up at the airport.”

Allison slumped into the seat. “I can’t believe this is happening.” She kept her voice low. “The last week has been like I’m in a blender or something. I’m getting pulverized.”

Daniel brought her hand to his lips. “I wish there was something I could do to make it better for you.”

“You’re doing it.” She set her head on his shoulder.

Minutes later their flight was announced
,
and they made their way to the plane. When they took off, the low hum of the engines soothed Allison’s nerves. She hadn’t flown in over a year and hadn’t been willing to only a week ago. But things had changed since then. Necessity forced her to get over herself in a hurry or put herself at risk for worse than she’d been through so far.

There was a fate worse than spending a year in a log cabin with little food and only one silent man for company. If this strange group called the Romulus got their hands on her again, they would surely kill her or subject her to worse.

Allison closed her eyes
,
and when she opened them again, they were landing. Daniel still held her hand. She knew he had never released her.

The next hour was a whirlwind of activity, grabbing their luggage, meeting their driver, and being shuffled to an undisclosed location.

Allison stared out the window of their room when they were finally settled in a military facility outside Seattle. She didn’t know for sure where they were since it had been dark when they’d arrived. The base’s location wasn’t public knowledge, not even to the shifter community.

The man who’d driven them had said very little and had not introduced himself. He nodded after seeing them to their room and shut the door behind him.

Allison folded her arms as though hugging herself. Seattle weather was a far cry from Texas. Even though it was dark, she could see the rain falling outside
,
and both times she’d dodged the raindrops to get to and from the car, she’d felt the chill in the air.

Daniel wrapped himself around her and set his chin on her head. She could see his expression in the window.

Allison swallowed. She didn’t know how much time she had with Daniel before he would go. She didn’t want to ask. She just wanted to enjoy whatever she could get. She knew he would leave her here soon, a place where she would be safe. And she would do it—for him.

The last thing she wanted right then was to be left alone. For some reason she felt lonelier about the prospect than she had for the last year. Now that she’d met her mate, separating from him was unimaginable, especially after such a short time.

But he would worry less knowing she was safe
,
and stressing over a situation she couldn’t control wouldn’t help either of them. She needed to be strong now. She couldn’t even call her parents. She’d spoken to them cryptically earlier in the day before leaving for the airport. They understood the basics, but any other information would have to wait. Lives were at stake.

“I need you,” Daniel whispered. His arms tightened around her, his hands on top of hers wrapping her in a cocoon.

She needed him too, as bad as her next breath. Just hearing those words from him made her belly clench. Already the room they were in had filled with his scent.

She turned in his arms and lifted her lips to his. The solemnness of the situation only heightened her arousal. The clock was ticking. Urgency filled her
,
and she grappled with his shirt, tugging it haphazardly to get it over his head.

Daniel helped her before he stepped away for a moment to pull the blinds closed. He was back seconds later, his hands working as feverishly to divest her of her clothes as she was with his. Finally they both let go in unspoken agreement and stripped out of their own jeans. When they were naked, she watched his chest rise and fall with each breath.

She stood transfixed as he circled her, gazing at every aspect of her body. It would have made her uncomfortable, but not today. She knew he needed to memorize her as she needed to do with him.

When he returned to her front, he held his cock in his hand, stroking it lightly as he watched her. “You’re so beautiful, Allie.”

She didn’t flinch, her hands remaining at her sides, fisted loosely as she waited for his next move.

He inhaled slowly, tipping his head back and sucking the air from the room. “Your arousal humbles me every time. I love your scent. I’ve memorized it.” He dropped his cock and led her to the bed. She’d paid very little attention to the room. It was a standard hotel-type room with a kitchenette and a love seat. A place someone could stay indefinitely. The colors around her were bland beiges that caused her to notice nothing.