Lover Mine (Blood Brothers 1) (9 page)

"I am NOT a dog, and I will not STAY!" she
screamed, scrambling off the side of the bed toward the French
doors.

Kayne grabbed a slim ankle just as she made
to slip off the bed, dragging her back under him. In one move he
covered her slight body with his heavier one, making sure to keep
his bulk off of her. He could feel the tremors and anger vibrate
from head to toe no matter how Chayle tried to hide them.

"I want to keep you safe, mate," he
whispered in her ear, licking behind at the tender spot he had
discovered the night before. "I cannot breathe when you are in
danger, can you not understand that?"

"There was no danger, Kayne." She shoved at
his shoulders, trying to move the mountain of muscle holding her
down, knowing it was impossible to do so. "You can't wrap me in
cotton and lace and expect me to stay there now. I have to fight
this my way."

He felt wetness on his shoulder and looked
down. Silent tears streamed down her face and Kayne's heart
melted.

"Ah Corazon," he crooned. "I do not want to
coddle you, just protect you."

He kissed each tear, licking them away and
feeling his heartbreak with each one that slipped down. Chayle
shuddered in his arms and he pulled her close.

"I want you to use the facilities. Train,
but go slowly. I want you strong, and I know you think you can
usually defend yourself but I just need to make sure you are safe."
He pushed back the bangs hanging her in eyes and forced her to look
at him. When she finally, did he smiled. "I cannot live without
you, Chayle. You may not realize it and I know you do not
understand yet, but you are my heart now, and I will not give you
up. Not to any monster out there. Not to anyone!"

"Oh Kayne," she whispered. "What am I going
to do with you?"

"Let me love you," he growled, and began to
show her just what he meant.

Their loving was slow and tender. Kayne took
his time stripping their clothes, licking and touching every inch
and spot as it was bared, making a slow game of pulling each piece
away from her body. It was as if he discovered a new treasure and
wanted to investigate every inch, memorizing and mapping it with
his fingertips and tongue.

When Chayle was insane with need, begging
for him to take her, he finally spread her thighs and entered her
in one swift arch. Kayne's earlier revelation that he and his men
could not transmit any kind of STDs, and were immune to most human
diseases because of all of the genetic experimentation that had
been done had been an interesting discussion. To say the least.

Basically, they were a new species of homo
sapiens, created by Chayle's own government in a misguided attempt
to create the super solider that could be ordered to follow any
commands once they were reprogramed. Faster and heartier, deadlier.
Totally alienated from the population they were created to protect
and kept secret from most of the government. Now, she was just
thankful, because she could feel him skin to skin and it was
glorious.

Kayne sank into the warmth of the woman who
held his heart, mentally reached for his lover, hoping she was
ready to experience all that they would have together. There was no
way he could not hold back, not now, not anymore. He mentally
reached out for Chaley, and the connection snapped into place like
an umbilical cord between them. Kayne could feel every emotion,
every rise and fall of Chayle's chemical makeup and love as she
stared into his eyes, and it was glorious. He knew the exact
instant she realized he was there, inside her emotions and she
inside of his.

"Kayne?"
she whispered softly, her
mind-voice quivering with need and shock.

"Yes baby, feel me!"
He pushed deeply
inside of her, holding still as he watched her eyes round and her
breath catch as his emotions twined deeply with hers. He wove an
intricate web around them that looped their emotions and sexual
desires back and forth until neither of them could feel where one
began and the other ended.

"Oh God, Kayne, so good . . ."
she
managed to say just before her world exploded into a thousand stars
and Kayne's arms held her safe and warm as she fell deeper under
his spell.

"I've got you, baby,"
she heard just
before her world went dark.

.

Kayne lay in the dark, listening to his mate
sleep while going over the last details in his mind for the short
mission he was taking the next day. Merc and Rafe had agreed to
shadow Chayle while he was away, but with so many others onsite,
Kayne had doubts that anyone would be stupid enough to try to get
to her on their home base.

"Kayne, did you confirmed the location of
the drop today? Is the mission green?"
Merc silently asked him,
a touch of annoyance coming through their link.

"Of course. What's wrong?"
Kayne
waited but his friend refused to answer.
"Merc, what has you so
riled?"

"I went to check on the other female and
she's not doing well. The doctors' cannot get her to talk, so they
have no idea of her name or age. It just . . ."
the annoyance
and frustration that filled Merc bordered on rage.
"She is
terrified of me so I cannot get anything from her but doe-eyed
terror and curled into a ball."

Kayne knew what most people saw on the
outside was the first impression, and with Merc that was a hardened
giant with dark eyes and scary profile. Few got close enough to see
the softness that actually filled the man with tenderness inside
that hardened shell.

"Send Rafe to talk to her. Maybe his
special gifts can reach across and calm her enough to get her to
talk. It will also give him something to do to keep him
occupied,"
Kayne chuckled, knowing his brother's
temperament.

"Not a bad idea."
Merc's agreement
eased Kayne's anxiety for his twin.
"Just keep your head down,
bring the team home in one piece tomorrow, and don't do anything
stupid! We'll keep your mate safe."

"My thanks, brother,"
was all Kayne
could say, emotions filling him as he pulled Chayle close to his
chest.

The Master stood before the Saint
Andrew's Cross with the custom-made whip much like the age-old
cat-of-nine
easily held in his left hand. Cold black eyes
watched as two minions strap Davis onto the Cross, naked and facing
him instead of presenting his back, as was the usual custom. This
wasn't as a simple exhibition or a lesson. He couldn't allow
failure from his followers because that would make him look weak
and weakness was NOT allowed.

Davis finally groaned, waking from the drug
it had taken to knock him out so he could be stripped and hung from
his arms, chained by wrists and ankles. Once he realized where he
was and what was happening fear filled his eyes instead of
anger.

"What the hell?" he yelled. "Master, why?
I've done everything you asked." Davis' whine grated on the
Master's nerves, sealing the man's fate like nothing else
could.

"You of all people know I do not tolerate
failure," he whispered, but everyone in the room heard him and it
raised the hairs on the arms and neck of all standing around the
room. Some made a move to leave, but the Master stopped them with a
raised hand and one phrase.

"Leave and you take his place when this is
done!"

Everyone froze in place.

"I did as you asked, Master," Davis begged.
"There was no way to follow them, no way to find where they
went."

"Your failure to complete your mission is
unacceptable, no matter the reason. I cannot allow that to
continue." He raised the whip, slapping the space between Davis and
where he stood like the professional he was. The hiss and snap
caused everyone in the room to jump A small, thin line of blood
began to trickle down from across Davis' taunt stomach.

"No Master - please, just kill me," Davis
continued to beg, his eyes now wild as the full reality of the
situation settled on the room. This man would only leave after the
Master had stripped ribbons of flesh from him. It wouldn't matter
where the flesh was taken, only that it caused as much pain and
prolonged his agony as long as possible.

"Your death will show the others what is
expected. Now either take it like a man or scream like a child. I
care not!" the Master growled, bringing the whip down across the
other man's groin and upper thighs in a viscous strike that ripped
all the way to the bone.

The screams and torments of the damned were
only part of the hell that the Master visited upon Davis as he
reminded his followers what he expected of all of them the next
time he sent someone out on a mission. Failure was NOT an
option.

Each strip of flesh pealed from the man's
body fed the Master's need for revenge, the need to reclaim that
which that had been taken from him. The women belonged to him, he
had allowed them to survive only because of the need to test the
waters of his opponents, never expecting them to actually escape
the traps he had set for them each time.

The whip sang through the air, satisfying
his need for a taste of blood and pain against animals no better
than those who served him now. Those who should not be allowed to
roam free instead of caged and tested, taught to serve their
Masters as was their design.

Silence finally filled the room except for
the whip, and the Master slowed the whip, focusing on what was left
of the man hanging on the rack.

"Take that thing down and dispose of it, and
clean this mess up." He turned, handing the whip to the naked
servant standing behind him without notice.

"Yes, Mater." The automatic answer was
whispered, barely audible in the hushed room.

He would find his subjects and bring them
back, and he would teach the animals that they were still nothing
more than that - just animals. If it was the last thing he ever
did.

Chayle stretched, her eyes still closed as
she felt her muscles ache but moving easier than they had a week
ago. Reaching toward the other side of the super-king-size bed she
felt the empty warmth where Kayne must have been not long ago. The
man could move like a ghost when he wanted to, and she was
beginning to think it was a natural thing for him rather than
learned.

Closing her eyes, she moved her body like a
contented cat, remembering the night before after Kayne had dumped
her on the bed. By now the entire complex must know that she and
Kayne were sleeping together but that was not what bothered her.
His autocratic, tyrannical attitude was something she just could
not tolerate, her independence fighting it at every turn. With a
sigh, she pushed from the warmth of the bed and headed for the
massive shower, determined to find the training facilities for some
serious workout time before Kayne returned from wherever he had
disappeared.

When she finally walked into the training
facilities an hour later the first thing Chayle did was let her
curiosity loose and investigate. It held the standard weight
training and running equipment, but the rooms off to the left
caught her attention. She knew from their previous visit that the
showers and dressing rooms were to the right so her curiosity took
over as she started opening doors. A Janitors' closets, a small
kitchenette, and storage room were the first doors she found.

It was the last one that had her
mouthwatering, dropping open in awe.

A state-of-the-art holographic cave sat
silently beckoning her to enter and explore. A console displayed
various screens, easy enough for her to figure out once she was
sure what she was looking at, and Chayle found the system complete
with pre-programmed workouts that had her drooling. The blackout
walls inside the room were cavernous, giving the perception of
going on indefinitely so that many of the programs were
interactive, learning and intuitive. She scanned the huge selection
of programs to find everything from laser targets to hand-to-hand
combat opponents. Finally, she made a selection, took a deep
breath, and stepped into the cave, and another world.

So lost in the program, it was a couple of
hours later Chayle felt the hairs along the back of her neck
prickle, awareness seeping into her consciousness at being watched.
Sweat stung her eyes and wisps of hair had sprung loose from where
she had braided it to keep the long tresses out of the way. Her
trainer had once told her the long braid could be used as a tool
against her in a true fight and the smart thing would be to cut it
short, keep it that way. However, Chayle was vain enough about her
hair that she refused to cut the length that fell just below her
shoulder blades. Now she brushed the moisture from her damp face,
reaching over to push a pause button on the wall next to her. The
action figure she had been sparring with instantly froze in the
middle of throwing a punch that would have killed most unsuspecting
victims.

Breathing hard, Chayle cocked one hip and
propped a fist on it, turning to look back over her shoulder at the
blackout screens where the control room sat. For some reason she
knew it was not Kayne who was watching her, and it pissed her off
that someone had interrupted her workout.

"If you're going to stand there and act like
a voyeur then you can leave!" she spat, eyes flashing with
annoyance. A deep voice came over the intercom, vibrating through
the room.

"You're pretty good." She did not recognize
it, but refused to show anything other than distain for the
interruptions.

"Go away. I'm busy and if you keep bothering
me, Kayne will kick your ass!"

"Really?" There was a moment of silence,
then the side door clicked open and a very large male slithered
into the closed space.