Читать книгу The Virgins - Complete Boxed Set - Grace Goodwin - Страница 13

Maddox

I rubbed her back with my hands, my gaze scanning the surrounding land for any sign of my prey, but I knew it was too late. I knew now who had approached her and my hands fisted. Neron. He’d be long gone by now. He was born and raised a Hunter of Everis, just as I was. The fact that he’d gotten so close to my mate before I could reach her made my heart rise into my throat until I felt as if I would choke on the damn thing. I’d never felt this sensation before, and was not happy to feel it now.

Fear. I’d not tasted it since Maddie had gone missing, and the bitter tang did not sit well on my tongue.

What technology had Neron acquired that blocked my retinal scanner? Had he somehow acquired a Hunter’s Cloak after his escape from prison? The suits were very valuable and extremely rare, as they made whoever wore them invisible to the eye and undetectable on most scanners. They were reserved for elite Hunters, those who worked for the Sevens. Anyone else caught in possession of one was fined and placed on probation, or worse, sent to the mines.

Was this how he’d escaped Incar’s prison mine? How he’d escaped me these last few days? And if he were in possession of such an advanced technology, how and where had he discovered it? Did the other criminals have this as well? If so, Thorn, Jace and Flynn could be in grave danger.

As was my mate.

My judgment had been clouded by my need to see my mate happy. I should never have let her out of my sight. She’d been open and exposed. Vulnerable. The worst had happened. Neron was here and knew of her. Fury and panic coursed through my veins. My mark pulsed, burned from something new.

Worry. Not for me, for her. My Cassie.

“What was this message?” I tried to keep my voice even, calm. She was cautious enough of Neron to seek shelter from me. I did not intend to frighten her further.

“He said to tell my mate that Maddie was just the beginning.”

Rage, red hot and nearly uncontrollable rolled through me and I choked on it, stilled my hands on Cassie’s shoulders to be sure I would not hurt her with my anger. “Did he say anything else?”

She squirmed, uncomfortable or embarrassed and I looked down into her face, shifted my hands to cup her jaw and lifted her gaze to mine.

“Tell me.”

She bit her lip and I ached to kiss it, but did not. My every sense was tuned to the surrounding wood, to listening and learning the sounds of the wild creatures so I would hear the smallest snap of a twig, so the jagged breath of a man would be out of place. If I could not rely on my scanners, I would have to hunt for Neron the old-fashioned way, with wits and strength and patience.

“Tell me, Cassie. Please.”

With a sigh, her gaze dropped to my lips, then darted back to my eyes. “He said—he said I was very beautiful and that I smelled like roses. And—”

I leaned over and breathed in her sweet scent. Roses. He’d been close enough to scent her. Long hours of the hunt, of training and discipline, held me still as I waited for the rest. “And?”

“And he asked me to walk with him.”

A thousand shards of glass splintered in my mind at the thought of Neron touching my mate, but I could not stop myself from asking the next question, the answer to which might destroy me.

“And did you want to, Cassie? Did you want to walk with him?”

I stared into her eyes, daring her to speak the truth, to deny my mark, deny the pull between mates.

“No. He made me—”

“What? He made you—?”

She licked her lips, her hands twisting in my shirt in a subconscious gesture I was sure she wasn’t aware of making. “Anxious. He wasn’t. He didn’t.” She sighed, her cheeks turning an enchanting shade of pink I hadn’t seen before. “He wasn’t like you.”

I couldn’t resist running my palm over her hair, to feel the sleek softness of it. I hoped it was a soothing gesture for her, for it eased something in me. “And what am I like? Do you fear me?”

“Yes.”

I stiffened and she must have felt my withdrawal, for her hands flew to my shoulders, her fingers gripping me with vigor.

Her eyes widened, the flare of desperation and confusion filling them. “But not like that. It’s not the same.”

I took a deep breath. “Then explain it to me. I don’t want you to fear me, Cassie. You are mine, my mate. I would die to protect you, kill for you.” I looked in the direction Neron had fled. “That man, he’s dangerous. And the next time I give you an order regarding your safety, you will obey, or I will spank your bare bottom until you can’t sit for a week.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

She shoved at me and stepped away. “I don’t think so.”

Knowing Neron could be anywhere, I did not have patience for this argument. Grabbing her by the arms, I pulled her close enough that our lips touched. “If you ever refuse to obey me when your life is in danger, I will spank you, Cassie. If you lie to me, I will lift your dress, bend you over my knees and spank your pretty round bottom until it’s as pink as your sweet lips.”

She frowned at my words, but her eyes flared with desire, with a want I did not have time to address. But I would, soon. I would wrap her wrists in gold and make her mine.

“We must leave this town, leave these people behind. You aren’t safe here.”

Her mouth fell open in surprise. I felt her little fingernails dig into my shoulders. “I do not understand the word ‘mate.’ Why did he use that word? And what do you mean leave town? I can’t leave. I have a job. Mr. Anderson needs me.”

I had conveniently forgotten she knew nothing of her mark. I’d wanted to ease her into the truth, for it would be hard for her to leave this planet, her entire life behind. I could feel the heat of her birthmark against my shoulder, but it meant nothing to her and that was the crux of the problem. She didn’t understand the importance of our marks, the extraordinary blessing it offered, the risk. Especially now that Neron had found her.

She needed to know the truth. All of it. Deep down, she knew that Neron was deadly. She’d sensed it, come to me for shelter, but that was not enough. I had to get her away from him and to safety where the others could protect her as well. The ship was genetically coded to the DNA and retinal scanners of the four hunters who had flown her to this planet. Me, Thorn, Jace and Flynn. No others could get on board. The ship’s hull was impenetrable to any weapon that existed on Earth, and to most from my own world. The Sevens took their security very seriously and our ship, though small, was one of the strongest, safest vessels in the entire Coalition Fleet. If I could just get her on board, she would be beyond Neron’s reach forever.

“If Neron has found you, he will try to possess you. Once he tires of that game, he will kill you.”

“Kill me?” Her voice quavered and she gripped my shirt even tighter.

“I won’t let that happen. We must go to my ship.”

“Ship? What ship? Where are you from? Seattle? San Francisco? I don’t want to go on a ship. The swaying of a carriage makes me ill. I don’t think I could survive on the ocean, swaying and tilting. I’ve read about the sickness in books. No ships.”

“You will survive with me. Trust me, Cassie. Please. Let me take care of you. It’s not safe for you here. You can’t go back to that town.”

A deep V marred the smooth skin of her forehead. “Why? What aren’t you telling me?”

“That man is a criminal, Cassie. A murderer who escaped from prison. I was sent here to track him down.”

“You’re a bounty hunter?” Her words were filled with surprise.

“I am a hunter, yes.” I nodded once. “But I will not collect a bounty, not this time. I gifted my bounty to Thorn. I am here to avenge my family and nothing more. Maddie was my sister. That man, his name is Neron, and he killed her.”

She released her hold and stepped back, stumbled. “He… that man killed your sister?”

I thought of Maddie, of her dark hair, her quick smile, and the usual pain filled my chest. “Yes.”

“And he came to me… here.” She waved her hand in the air to show the desolate spot by the water. “He could have, I mean if he wanted, he could have—”

She couldn’t even speak clearly. Her fear was palpable to me and I rushed to reassure her. “He’ll never get that close again. I won’t allow it. I underestimated him, Cassie. I relied on my new scanners and not enough on my natural senses. For that, I am very sorry. But he won’t get near you again. He’ll have to get through me first.”

I hooked an arm about her waist and pulled her forward, returning her to her rightful place in my arms. Her hands came to my chest, pushed at me, but I would not relent. She would run no more.

She couldn’t look me in the eye, but stared at the buttons on my shirt instead. I could see she was thinking too hard, that she did not receive any comfort from me or my words. “I… have to go back. I have to warn Mr. Anderson.”

“No. I can’t allow you to go back there.”

“Can’t allow? This is my home! If there’s a murderer wandering about, I need to let Mr. Anderson know so he can take precautions. There is a rifle above the kitchen door, Maddox, and I know how to use it.”

“It is too late for that. Neron knows who you are, where you live. The rifle will not protect you. You will not return to that house.” I changed my words to a command.

“Watch me.” Cassie pulled away and shoved her feet into her flat brown shoes. She whirled then, and started running in the direction of the boarding house.

In two strides my arms were around her, locking her to me as I made my intentions clear, as I staked my claim. “You can try to run, Cassie, but it changes nothing. You are mine, my marked mate, and I won’t allow you to go.”

She kicked and fought, but I held her as easily as I would a small child. Finally, she grew weary and fell limp in my arms. “Please. He’s my father. He adopted me when I was four and I had no one, no family, no home. We have to warn him. Please, Maddox.”

Her pleading should have fallen on deaf ears. Returning to the house was a risk I did not wish to take, but I could not bear the idea of her pain. If I forced her away now, would she ever forgive me? I had not realized her relationship with Mr. Anderson. Her father.

On Everis, family was all. This, I understood, despite my desire to deny it.

“All right, Cassie. But we will go together. Once he has been warned, we will leave this town and travel to my ship. I won’t leave Earth without you.”

She stumbled forward, out of my arms, and turned to face me, her eyes round as disbelief filled her gaze. “What did you just say? What do you mean, you won’t leave Earth without me?”

Cassie

“I am not from here,” Maddox said, placing his big palms on my shoulders. My right shoulder heated along with the birthmark on my palm.

“Of course, you’re not,” I countered, a little afraid of the answer. While I was eager for his touch, I was also overwhelmed and confused. It was difficult to keep a clear head with him about, when he looked at me with his pale eyes, searching and seeing far deeper into me than anyone had before.

He spoke of murderers and mates and marks and not leaving me on Earth. I was a little fearful of him, even though my instincts insisted that he was safe. I’d even run to him, grabbed hold of him after that man—Neron—approached.

Neron. An odd name for an odd man. He’d been big, as large as Maddox with hawk-like features and a long, pointed nose. His eyes had been dark, unnaturally dark, like the ink that filled Mr. Anderson’s quill with almost no whites around the edges but his hair had been pale, but dull, more like aged paper than the sunny gold on the children’s heads at church. His clothing had been normal enough, pants and boots and a brown cotton shirt. But his deep voice had made goosebumps race up and down my spine, and he’d stared at my hand as if he expected to find the answers to the universe on my palm.

Or he wanted to bite me. I’d seen something feral in his eyes; not desire, for I recognized that now, but something darker. Fascination? Anticipation? Obsession?

I had run to Maddox, trusting that he would protect me. But now… now I had to wonder if the man was insane. Perhaps they were both insane. Not from Earth?

It was as if Maddox read my mind.

“I am not from the Montana Territory or your United States. From any place on this world. I am not from Earth. I am from a planet called Everis.”

His face was close, so close I could see the dark whiskers on his cheeks, the little sliver of a scar by his right eyebrow, the darker blue flecks in his eyes. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Putting a hand to my mouth, I tried to stifle it, but I couldn’t. His eyes widened, for this probably wasn’t the reaction he was anticipating, but how else could I react? He said he was from some other planet. He was insane. And for a moment, that thought broke my heart.

The first man I’d truly desired, the first man I’d allowed to touch me, and he turned out to be crazy. God, wasn’t that just my luck? As if being an orphan and a widow wasn’t bad enough, now I’d allowed a madman to seduce me.

But there would be no more touching, or kissing, or—anything. No more.

Tears gathered in my eyes as I stepped back once, twice, and held my hands out in front of me. “Mr. Maddox, I’m just going to go back to the boarding house and go about my day. I’ll forget we ever had this conversation, that you think you’re from… somewhere else.”

“I speak the truth,” he replied.

That validation did nothing to sway me. “All right, say I believe you. How are you speaking English? I haven’t been outside of the territory, but I know people from different countries speak other languages. You can’t tell me that people from… from—”

“Everis,” he added for me.

“—Everis speak English.”

He shook his head, then turned his head and pointed to a small button, no larger than a ladybug, behind his ear. He tapped it and a strange language I’d never heard before filled the air between us. He tapped it again and I heard French, a language I recognized from some of the trappers and miners who passed through town. One more tap and silence returned as he lowered his hand and turned to meet my gaze. “It’s called an Osteo-Communications Implant. We call it the O-C. The rest of the Fleet is using new tech called a Neurostim Processing Unit, but on Everis we’re slow to adapt. We’re an ancient race with even older customs and we don’t like change.”

“What is it? I don’t understand.” I lifted my hand toward his ear, lowered it to my side. Did I want to touch it? Touch him? No.

“It’s a translation device that allows me to communicate with any known species in the universe. With it I can speak and understand all the known languages of Earth and every member planet.”

A translator? He could speak English or any other language on Earth? Any language in the universe? I bit my lip to keep from laughing again. “What you say is completely unbelievable. I can’t decide if you’re being cruel or if you truly believe your words.” I pointed to the sky, which was now quite bright. “Either way… I have to go. Mr. Anderson is surely wondering where I am by now. I should have had the coffee brewing and the biscuits baking.”

I spun on my heel and started walking away. I didn’t dare run, for he would know that not only did I doubt him, but feared him, too.

I made it to the top of the slight rise in the prairie when he called out, “The mark on your palm, Cassie.”

Rubbing my fingers over the spot that even now tingled, I stopped, but did not turn.

“It’s a mating mark. When I came here, when I got close to you, it came to life.”

I started walking again, not wanting to hear this. Not wanting to consider what he was saying might be true.

“Five days!” he shouted. “Four dreams.”

The images of those vivid dreams flared to life.

“I have them, too. The dreams, the mark on my palm. I know you have a little mole on your right hip. There’s a small scar on your left elbow. I know the sound you make when you come all over my cock.”

I gasped at his intimate knowledge. My skin heated at the truth of his words. I knew what his cock felt like as I came around him.

“You can try to run away from the truth, but the dreams will continue to come. And so will I.”

I fled then, grabbing the hem of my dress and running up and over the rise, not stopping until I came to the back door. I knew he followed me, and as much as I hated myself for it, I slowed to make sure I would not return home alone. If Maddox’s crazy words challenged me, Neron’s too-bright gaze unsettled me in ways I didn’t even understand.

I stood at the back door and stopped to arrange my hair, which had fallen, bouncing around my shoulders as the few pins holding it met their fate, scattered and lost across the prairie. I twisted my hair into a knot at my nape. I was sweaty and breathing hard. Looking down, I realized the top buttons of my dress were not fastened. Hastily, I set myself to rights before stepping into the kitchen. I didn’t want Mr. Anderson to know about anything that was occurring with Mr. Maddox. It was a secret that I was not prepared to tell. How could I? Even I didn’t believe his wild tale. I could not explain what he knew and how he knew it.

Taking a deep breath, then another, I went into the kitchen. Strangely, all was quiet. The stove was still cold, the coffeepot dry. I knew Mr. Anderson was not a cook—he could burn water—but he knew how to brew coffee.

I could hear the clock on the mantel above the fireplace in the parlor. “Hello?” I called out. Pushing open the swinging door to the dining room, the table was bare, the room empty. I went around the corner and saw that the front door was open and I went to the entry to close it to find Maddox there before me. He stepped inside and I turned away, headed back to the kitchens. Just before I went out of the dining room, I caught sight of a man’s booted foot in the hall. I took another step and saw the leg as well. It was as if he were asleep on the floor at the base of the stairs. Had Mr. Anderson fallen down? The older man was frail. Had he taken a tumble?

I drew closer and placed my hand over my nose as the thick, metallic smell of fresh blood assaulted me. Mr. Anderson had not fallen down the steps. There was blood, so much blood it was like a blanket beneath him. His eyes were wide open and unseeing, his head twisted at an unnatural angle and his throat had been cut, a vicious slice that revealed the gaping hole in the center. The murder was brutal, his head hanging backward as if on a hinge. Blood continued to ooze from the sides of his neck and run down his flesh to merge with the dark stain already on the hardwood floor.

The man who was like a father to me looked up at the ceiling with sightless eyes, his skin gray as ash, the wrinkles on his face flat and his mouth open with a soundless scream.

“Oh, God. Mr. And—”

My throat closed up and I couldn’t get out the rest of his name, not that it mattered. Someone had done this. Someone had come into the boarding house and attacked Mr. Anderson. Murdered him.

“Oh, no,” I gasped. Whipping about, I ran back through the dining room, sensing more than seeing a blur of movement beside me. I pushed open the door to the kitchen and bumped into a hard body. A strong pair of arms circled me, holding me tightly.

I pushed and punched at him. “No! Get away! Leave me alone!” I screamed. I was going to be killed, too. Sliced open and left on the floor. “No!”

“Cassie,” the man said. “Cassie!” he repeated, his voice deep. He grabbed my shoulders, shook me. Lowering to my height, I saw his eyes, his pale blue eyes. “It’s Maddox. And we have to go.”

I shook from head to toe. “How did you get here? You were at the front…” I dropped the thought, not caring about the details as my stomach revolted at the remembered sight of Mr. Anderson’s throat. I’d seen a cow slaughtered once, a long knife used to quickly slice the neck and kill it. Let the blood drain out. That had stuck with me and I’d refused to eat beef for an entire winter after that. But this…

I couldn’t speak, so I pointed, with a very wobbly hand, over my shoulder. “He’s dead.”

“I’m sorry.” Mr. Maddox’s gaze roved over my face before he lifted his head as if scenting the air like a bloodhound. His eyes narrowed and he pulled me along behind him. “Stay behind me. Don’t leave my sight.”