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  Green checked Missy’s vitals as her convulsions slowed. He glanced up at Roi and didn’t have to say a word. Missy would be dead soon.

  Roi sat on his knees, next to Missy, rocking back and forth with his arms wrapped around his own body. Afraid to touch her, for fear of hurting her in his unchecked state of mind, he just watched as Green worked hard to stabilize her. Every ounce of him wanted to pick her up and take her home with him. He could hold her there, as she was meant to be held. She was his. His responsibility. His charge. She was his, damn it, and he’d failed her.

  The idea of never seeing her again, never hearing her quick-witted responses to him tore at his gut. How this little woman could come out of nowhere and turn his world upside down was beyond him but she had.

  Missy drew in a sharp breath and then went still. Roi grabbed her and drew her tiny, lifeless body into his arms. “Missy, doll baby? Come on. Come on, sugar. Get up now. You need to wake up and yell at me some more. I promise to say something asinine just for you. Just look at me.”

  Green tried to take her from him, but he wouldn’t let her go. Smacking Green’s hands away, he kissed Missy’s forehead gently.

  “I’ve got you, Missy doll. It’s okay, I’ve got you now. I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

  “Roi,” Green said softly.

  He shot his longtime friend a nasty look as he brushed Missy’s long black hair from her face. She was so beautiful, so full of warmth and goodness, why would anyone want to hurt her?

  “Roi,” Green said again.

  “I just want to hold her for a minute, okay?”

  “You’ll have to ask them if it’s okay, first.”

  “Huh?” Roi asked, glancing up for the first time to find that a group of men wearing ski masks surrounded them. They were the last thing he wanted interrupting his chance to just hold Missy before someone forced him to give her up. They were also the reason she was gone now.

  “Fuck, now that’s original. Hey, Green, why didn’t we think to dress like we were knocking over a liquor store too? It’d have been nice to coordinate the night’s outfits. You get Bubba, I’ll get the pick-up truck and we can all have us a rootin’ tootin’ good ol’ time.” He let his voice run cold. “Now, if the rest of you would be so kind as to fuck off, I’ll be along soon enough to rip your still beating hearts from your chest.”

  “No, I believe that we’ll stick around for just a bit more,” a man said, stepping from out of the shadows, his voice was laced with a British accent. He apparently didn’t feel the need to hide behind a mask, or black ninja-like garb because he wore neither. His long white-blond hair blew softly in the breeze and it was then that Roi knew where the smell of a vampire had come from. The vampire narrowed his gaze on him and smiled callously. “Major Majors, I presume.”

  Roi glanced over at Green, shaking his head slightly. “He didn’t just say that, did he?”

  Green gave a cock-eyed grin. “In his defense, you are a major and your last name is….”

  “Yeah, I get it. Thanks for clearing it up for me,” Roi said dryly.

  Lukian, where are you?

  Moving in behind them. Keep them busy.

  I’m the one who gets to deliver the killing blow to each and every one of these fucks.

  I know, brother. I know.

  Roi smiled at the men, unafraid of them. In fact, he prayed one of them would be stupid enough to charge him. The need for blood was overpowering. They taken his mate, he’d take each and every one of their lives. “I’ll give you two seconds to get the hell out of here before I kill each and every one of you.”

  Several of the men laughed. The one who’d addressed him as Major Majors didn’t. “How, may I ask, are you planning on killing each and every one of us? You see, you are in no position to be making threats.”

  “Yeah, one would probably think that, wouldn’t they? But, here’s the thing, Dick Dickless, I’m thinking that if you wanted us dead, we’d be dead already. And, since you’ve eliminated the only leverage you would have had against me,” he set Missy’s body down on the ground gently, inwardly screaming out and wanting to pull her back to him, “I’ve got nothing to lose.” Roi stood slowly, watching as the men pointed their weapons at him. “You, on the other hand, do.”

  Green stood too and moved his head back and forth, letting his neck audibly crack. The man looked intimidating as hell and he knew it. Problem was, short of Green boring them to death with a detailed description of quantum mechanics, he wasn’t sure how much help Green would be. Two of the masked men took steps back and Roi smiled. They were actually scared of Green. This was too good.

  Shit, they hadn’t seen anything yet.

  “If you move, we will be forced to kill you and that would be most unpleasant since our employer wishes you alive to study.”

  Study? Roi’s eyebrows rose quickly. He wanted a name and he wanted it now. Sensing Green’s agitation at the mention of studying them, Roi feared that he’d make a move and get himself killed.

  Dick Dickless tapped his AK-47 gingerly. A vampire packing was never a comforting sight. “Care to take a guess at what type of bullets we are carrying?”

  “I could, but I’m thinking you’d get pissed at my comment, so I’ll pass,” Roi said sarcastically. “However, shooting blanks does come to mind. Green, you with me on this?”

  “You won’t be so eager to make smart remarks once you are strapped to a table being experimented on, will you?”

  Green huffed. “You don’t know him very well. He lives to be tied up and the comments fall out at random. I think he may have Tourette Syndrome.”

  “We shall see if you retain your sense of humor after we are through with you.”

  Roi watched carefully as red dots appeared on two of the men’s heads. That meant one thing. Jon and Wilson were nearby and had marked their targets. They’d wait until Green and Roi were ready before shooting, the I-Ops had worked together long enough to know how the other team members would react.

  Dick Dickless motioned to one of his men and set his hard gaze on Roi. “Keep an eye on him and grab the girl.”

  “What, you collecting dead chicks now?” Referring to Missy as dead and a chick turned his stomach to the point that he bit back vomit, but he had to buy Lukian time to be in position.

  The man tossed his head back, letting out a methodical laugh. Roi imprinted it in his mind, not wanting to forget it. “Ahh, she is far from dead, wolf. From what I gather, when she wakes she will feel more alive than she ever has and will be begging for us to fuck her.”

  Missy was alive? The thought sent hope surging through him. The vampire watched him with a careful eye, no doubt waiting to see if Roi tipped his hand. Roi shrugged, not wanting to look as though he truly cared for Missy. “Isn’t that dandy? She’ll live another day to tell me to eat shit and die. I can hardly wait. Hey, think you could revive her now? I sort of miss her loathing looks.”

  “You know what I am, yet you try to deceive me with your words when your heart speaks mountains of truth. You care for her--no, you love her,” Dick Dickless said, sounding shocked by this news.

  He wasn’t the only one that the news took by surprise. Roi sat there for a second in a stupor. Yes, he knew that vampires had an amazing ability to sense truths in others, that wasn’t what he was surprised about. It was the part about him loving Missy. There was no way he could possibly be in love with that little pain in the ass--could he?

  Red dots dances across the other men’s heads and Roi knew that it was now or never. Putting his head down pretending to laugh at the absurdity of the idea of loving Missy, he glanced over at Green to see if he was armed. Sure enough, he was. With lycan-like speed, he snatched Green’s silver Desert Eagle from his back. He fired two shots off, hitting one shifter directly in the chest as he leapt over Missy’s body, knowing that Green would drop down to cover her.

  Instantaneously, shots rang out from behind him. Two other men dropped as Roi zeroed in on a forth thanking the gods
that Green was anal about carrying silver bullets. Roi fired again, taking another man with him. Lukian’s scent was strong and Roi knew that he was close. Not wanting to let Dick Dickless escape, Roi scanned the area for him. He was nowhere to be found.

  Lukian! Find the vampire.

  He took flight. He’s gone. I’m sorry, brother. We’ll find him again. See to your mate.

  She’s not my… He stopped, realizing there was little point in denying it. Missy, whether she liked it or not, was his mate. The fates obviously had a sense of humor, and apparently, it was “dick with Roi week” on their viewing screen.

  Chapter Seven

  Missy blinked, unsure where she was. Warm grey walls and a weathered mirror greeted her. She tried to sit up, but her body was too sore to cooperate. Glancing to the side of the room, she noticed a low table that ran along the length of the wall. It held a television, DVD player and a rather large collection of movies--all of which appeared to be adult films. A beautiful white vase full of yellow roses sat on the end of the table, in stark contrast to the rest of it. A mound of tiger-striped throw pillows and a pair of men’s blue jeans lay on the floor next to it all.

  Instantly, a large, heavy arm wrapped around her. She froze, unsure who or what was next to her. Glancing down, she noticed the obscene amount of muscle on the arm and gulped when its owner moved closer to her body. Fire shot through her inner thighs as a large warm body snuggled up against her back, spooning her perfectly, as though it had been created for her and she it.

  Whoever was behind her pulled her back against them more, leaving nothing to her imagination as she felt a rock hard erection pressing deep into her back. She wiggled slightly, and the man behind her moaned.

  Missy’s eyes widened. She knew that voice. “Roi?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Mmmhmm,” he murmured, snuggling his rough, stubble covered chin into the crook of her neck. She wanted to be mad and throw him off her, but in truth, it felt good having him hold her.

  Her mind screamed at her to run, but her body wanted to be near him, needed to be near him. The last thing she remembered was being injected with something then thinking she was dying. Roi had held her during the worst of it. She’d known he was there, cradling her in his arms, wanting her to get up, to yell at him, to just live. He’d been what had kept her mind off the pain.

  Roi shifted a bit and she realized then that nothing was between them. He was as naked as she was. Heat rushed to her cheeks and her stomach tightened, part in anticipation and part in embarrassment. Just when she believed the situation couldn’t get any more humiliating, her stomach growled loudly.

  Roi chuckled and placed a tiny kiss on her bare shoulder. “Good afternoon, sleepyhead. You hungry?” he asked, like he didn’t already know the answer to that question.

  “Afternoon?”

  “Yeah, we had a long night.” His voice was laced with suggestion and Missy wondered how much they’d done. The fact that they were lying together, naked in a bed gave her a good idea of what must have went on.

  Groaning, she covered her eyes and shook her head. “This was a mistake.”

  Roi stiffened, but didn’t pull away. “Why do you say it was a mistake?”

  Shit, double shit. Deny that we did anything … put my mind at ease.

  “I didn’t mean mistake. I meant…”

  He pulled his arm off her, taking his warmth and the feeling of safety with him. Instinctively, Missy turned around and slid her arm under his, leaving her facing his hard, tawny chest. Before she knew what she was doing, she planted a tender kiss on the center of his breastbone. Roi’s pecs seemed to have a mind of their own as they twitched slightly under the weight of her lips. Feeling stupid for her sudden display of affection, she began to pull away.

  Roi caught her and pulled her against him, sighing deeply as their bodies meshed together. His hot erection pushed hard against her stomach, causing a torrent of cream to flood her inner thighs.

  No, no, no, don’t fall for him, Missy, don’t.

  Scolding herself did little in the way of stopping the desire that now ran through her. Needing to be touched by him, Missy kissed his chest again and held her mouth to it. She felt safe in his arms and secretly hoped he’d never let her go.

  Snuggling in tighter to his body, Missy’s eyes widened as she gauged just how large Roi’s cock truly was.

  Holy shit, that managed to fit in me?

  * * * *

  Roi chuckled softly into the top of Missy’s head as he held her tight. After Green had taken all the blood samples he needed and had assured Roi that Missy would indeed live, he’d insisted on bringing her home with him.

  The Colonel and Green had been adamant that Missy be held at the I-Ops headquarters, but Roi wouldn’t hear of it. They’d been attacked on headquarter grounds. The enemy knew enough about them to slip past security there, what was to stop them from doing it again?

  Finally, Lukian had come to his aid and pressed the others to leave him alone. It was Lukian who suggested that he not take Missy to his personal home, but rather to one of the other locations that each I-Op set up throughout the years to use as needed. It stood to reason that since the enemy had found I-Op’s headquarters, they may very well know where each op lived personally.

  This particular safe house, as they all liked to refer to them, was one of Roi’s favorites. It wasn’t one that was shared with the team, but rather one he’d found on his own. It reflected a good deal of his personality and acted like more of a vacation spot for him than a safe house.

  Missy slid her hand down his back and stopped just above his butt. He could smell the fragrant cream that oozed from between her legs and the urge to lick her, taste her, drink her down was great. Lying beside her naked body all night long was too much. He’d burned to bury himself inside her tiny body and seek pleasure in her, but refused to do it. To his own surprise, he’d done nothing above undressing her that could be construed as taking liberties and that alone had damn neared killed him. Her petite frame was toned, tight in all the right places, yet soft and smooth where needed too. Seeing her breasts bare, exposed to him had left his cock raging. The moment he found the mound of her pussy was covered in a well-maintained tiny strip of hair, he’d almost lost control.

  Yep, death by erection overload.

  Missy kissed his chest again and his whole body jerked. “Missy doll, you need to stop that. I can’t take much more of it.”

  Snuggling her smooth body against his, she sighed. “Can you at least hold me?”

  Hold her? Had he just heard her right? Missy, his little hellcat who’d just as soon kick him than kiss him had requested he hold her? He wanted to do a hell of a lot more than just hold her, but the fact that she sought comfort in his arms meant something to him.

  “Doll, I’ll hold you forever if you want me to.” Exhaling deeply, he wrapped his body around hers.

  The tickling in his mind began again. Somewhere during the course of the night, he’d picked up on her thoughts almost as easily as he did Lukian’s. At first, he was slightly taken aback by it, but then he realized why. Missy was indeed his true mate and that meant they could communicate telepathically if need be. They were in the early stages of this all. Reading one another would become easier with time.

  Roi had gathered enough of her thoughts to know she believed they’d had sex and as selfish as it was, he wanted her to continue to think that. She’d let her guard down because of the assumption, didn’t seem as hostile to his advances. Hell, she’d asked him to hold her and hadn’t, as of yet, killed him for getting her naked. The only problem was, if he didn’t get to sink his cock into her silken depths soon, he’d burst or worse yet, shift forms into a wolf. That always seemed to happen when his sexual urges were left unchecked for too long and Missy had them working overdrive.

  Yep, death by erection overload.

  He wanted to take her now, to roll her over and push himself deep within her, but he couldn’t. At
least not yet. First, he needed to wait for Green’s analysis of Missy’s blood. She carried the scent of a shifter but that didn’t necessarily mean she was one. The guiding point that made him question what she was had been the fact that she’d not ended up losing her eyesight after he’d foolishly triggered the enemy’s weapon.

  Green had checked Missy the second Roi demanded it and assured him she was fine. He did indicate that her body was healing damage to the area but he believed whole-heartedly that it would clear all the way within days. She’d sliced her hand open without a second thought to assure that should the enemy trigger the weapon that could destroy his hearing, he would be safe. That alone said something about her. A human wouldn’t have healed as fast as she did when he licked her wound closed. Missy was certainly more than human, but how much more was still in question. If he spilled his semen into her and she didn’t have enough supernatural blood in her, it could kill her. That wasn’t an option for him. The brief time he’d spent believing she was gone had felt like an eternity and had done things to him he never wanted to experience again.

  Planting tiny kisses on the top of Missy’s head, Roi held her tighter to him. Her tiny, five foot three inch frame didn’t come close to being as long as his body was on the bed but that didn’t matter. She fit him in a way that was more than perfect. He liked how her tiny feet automatically sought warmth between his calves and how the top of her head pressed against his neck. It allowed him to wrap his body around hers, protecting her from whatever wanted to harm her all the while leaving his body longing to be in her.

  God, I’m going to die if I don’t get to make love to you soon, woman.

  Missy purred against his chest and his insides clutched tight. That was a shifter purr if he ever heard one. “So, what’s stopping you?”

  “What do you mean, what’s stopping me?”

  “You just said that you were going to die if you didn’t get to…” Her voice trailed off, and he could sense her embarrassment.