Savage Hunger: Savage, Book 1 (2 page)

Her heart slammed in her chest like a caged bird and a sound of disbelief erupted from her throat, again to be caught against the calloused palm of the man above her. But not any man. Warrick Donovan.

She’d gone from getting felt up by some kinky burglar in black, to discovering that the man on top of her was no stranger.

This wasn’t happening. This had to be some kind of weird, messed-up dream. Maybe she’d fallen and hit her head. She blinked, then blinked again. But he still didn’t disappear. Okay, not a weird dream.

“Sienna?” he repeated again, harder this time.

She gave a jerky nod.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph,” he muttered and looked up toward the ceiling before turning his frustrated gaze down to her again. “I don’t believe this.”

Yeah, well, that made two of them. She stared up into familiar gray-blue eyes that were narrowed with incredulity and something else. Something so hot it sent a shiver of awareness through her body. That look…she’d seen it before. Though that had been a long time ago.

He lowered his head a bit, so their faces were just inches apart. “Okay, I’m going to remove my hand. But you need to promise me you won’t scream.”

She nodded again. He slid his palm off her mouth and she gulped in air. Her throat was so damned tight she probably couldn’t have screamed if she wanted to.

“Okay, now will you please tell me what in the hell you’re doing here?” he bit out harshly. “Did your father send you here?”

“My father?” she repeated in dismay, shocked by his anger. “Why in the hell would my father send me? I work here. Maybe we should talk about what
you’re
doing here?”

His mouth tightened and his gaze narrowed again. “You work here? Not exactly the answer I wanted to hear, kid.”

Her emotions, already running on a pretty short fuse, exploded. She made a choked cry of anger, her body bucking beneath him as she tried to free herself.

Kid?
Six years had gone by, but nothing had changed.
Nothing.
She was still just Daniel’s little sister to him.

Unfortunately she realized her mistake in trying to get free of him, when her movements brought the apex of her thighs into hard contact with a certain part of Warrick she was trying
very
hard to ignore right now.

“Sienna,” Warrick hissed in warning, his mouth tightening almost as if he was in pain.

She stilled, acutely aware of his tall, heated and muscled body trapping hers against the cold concrete floor of the building. Heat sizzled through her body and it became harder to drag in a breath.

“I’m not a damn kid.” Her cheeks heated as she realized the adolescent protest made a mockery of her words.

Warrick gave a harsh laugh as his gaze slid to the swell of her breasts above the strapless blue gown. “No, of course you’re not.”

The unusual gleam in his gaze had her eyes widening.

“What you are is a shitload of trouble,” he muttered, his head lowering slightly.

In that moment she felt it. The memory of what his mouth would feel like on hers. The firmness of his lips. How he’d taste again. But Warrick didn’t kiss her. Instead, his sensual mouth, just inches from hers, twisted into a scowl and the muscles in his shoulders coiled.

“I’m here.”

Sienna blinked, arousal and confusion slowing her ability to think as she glanced around but saw no one.

Her brows drew together. “What—”

Warrick lifted his hand to silence her, and angled his head so she saw his finger touching his ear. “Everything’s fine. Just had a bit of a…distraction.” His lips curled into a grimace. “
Shut it
, Larson. I’ll bring her out in a minute.”

Seriously?
How had she not noticed the tiny little microphone running along his jaw? How much had the people listening on the other end heard? Ah crap, probably way too much.

“Get off me,” she whispered.

She’d had a purpose tonight. Dammit, while her teenage crush had been groping her on the floor, the creatures locked in the cell continued to suffer. And she was doing absolutely nothing to help them now. What in the
hell
was Warrick even doing here?

Though a tiny part of her—and she hated to acknowledge it—welcomed his sudden presence. Knowing that she wasn’t in this building alone with those things. Because, truth be told, the unknown scared the living hell out of her. And those creatures were about as unknown as it got.

“I said get off me,” she repeated with more force, pushing her hands against his chest.

Warrick moved off her, his jaw flexing and his gaze not quite meeting hers as he grabbed her hand to haul her to her feet beside him. He seemed taller and broader than he’d been years ago and another shiver of awareness slid through her.

Sienna moved away from him and smoothed her dress back into place, a wave of unease running through her as she discreetly confirmed the items in her bodice were still there. Before she could take two steps away from Warrick, strong arms wrapped around her waist.

“Sorry, kid.”

Sienna shrieked as the hallway tilted and the ceiling swung into view. The air whooshed from her lungs as her stomach slammed into his shoulder in a fireman’s lift. His hand slapped down against her bottom to hold her still. The floor of the hallway wavered beneath her stunned gaze as he started jogging as if she weighed nothing at all.

“Warrick! Put me down!” She clutched the bodice of her dress with one hand so the phone and jump drive she had hidden didn’t fall out, and used her other fist to beat against his back. Her pulse raced with panic and confusion. “What are you doing?”

“We need to talk.”

“No. We absolutely do not—” Her words died out as he turned a corner and the holding cell swung into view, even as he moved away from it.

Holy crap!

Her jaw nearly hit the floor as she watched two more men dressed in black break open the cell door and rush inside. But that wasn’t what had her insides twisting with horror. She blinked, unable to connect what she’d discovered on the jump drive earlier with the reality in front of her.

Chapter Two

The creatures inside the cell continued to howl and scream as their bodies contorted. Fingers splayed out at awkward angles, stretching longer and longer, while joints grew thick and gnarled. Hair poked through the human skin covering the—
oh God, it was a wolf
. The smell in the hall was rancid with sweat and human waste…animal waste.

Her heart stuttered at the sickening scene, and she wasn’t even aware that she’d stopped fighting Warrick, but was now clutching his shirt in fear.

Unable to close her eyes, Sienna watched as another creature appeared to shift back into human form, the fur on its body retracting as smooth, dark skin appeared. And the change kept happening to all the creatures. Obviously uncontrollable, inexorable and agonizing. They were human, and yet they were animal.

Her gaze landed on one of the creatures—a woman—inside the cell, and the glaze of pain in her stare had everything inside her clenching with compassion and helplessness.

“I’m taking the tango outside to the van,” Warrick said.

Her body jerked as he kicked open a door, his shoulder digging into her stomach. Then the door swung shut and the inside of the lab disappeared. But what she’d seen had been burned into her mind—she couldn’t get rid of the image.

Warrick’s grip on her tightened as he lowered her back over his shoulder and to the ground. Before she could get her balance or take note of their surroundings, she was forced up against the side of the building.

She welcomed the rough brick surface against her bare shoulders. It jarred her back to reality a bit. The slight chill in the night air would’ve added to the goose bumps that already covered her, but the proximity of Warrick’s hard body radiated a heat that reminded her this whole situation was entirely too real. What she’d seen was real. She swallowed against the nausea that now threatened.

Warrick’s arms came down on each side of her head and his face closed in on hers, his expression fierce, any trace of softness from earlier long gone. She blinked, trying to familiarize herself with her surroundings, to calm down, to form a clear thought.

“Tell me, Sienna. What the hell are you doing here tonight?”

Her heart couldn’t seem to slow from its erratic pace. In a daze, she shook her head, trying to breathe. “It’s not possible… Things like that just can’t exist.”

He laughed mockingly, even as something hard—frightening—flickered in his eyes. “To the rest of the world, they don’t.”

“I…oh my God, Warrick, I don’t feel so well.” Her body started to tremble and she shook her head. “I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here! Warrick, let me—”

“Hey.” Warrick caught her chin in gentle hands and forced her to look at him. “Look at me, Sienna. Come on, look at me. There’s a good girl. You’re all right.”

She stared into his eyes, almost hypnotized at the intensity and firm conviction in his gaze. The reassurance and calm that Warrick had always been so good at giving. He stroked his thumb in a gentle caress down her cheek.

“You’re all right, Sienna. Okay, sweetheart? Take a couple deep breaths. You’re fine.”

And suddenly she was. His familiar, gentle voice and reassuring words sucked the fear and anxiety right out of her. It was the closest she’d been to a panic attack in years.

Her muscles lost the tension she’d been holding and with each slow breath she dragged in she became more aware of everything. The smell of freshly cut grass and the scent of Warrick’s soap. The sound of the suffering creatures inside, mostly muted by the thick brick walls of the building.

“Better?”

Sienna gave a heavy nod to Warrick’s soft question. “How did you find out about them, Warrick? Those creatures? Are your friends going to hurt them?”

“Are my friends going to hurt them?” The gentleness in his expression vanished, replaced instead with disbelief as he leaned his face closer to hers. “
My friends
are on a damn rescue mission from whatever the hell kind of evil
your employer
was behind.”

A flush of guilt stole up her neck and she averted her gaze. She couldn’t exactly deny his accusation. But what did Warrick mean by
rescue mission
? And who were the other guys he was communicating with?

Feeling much calmer now and a little more in control, she asked, “How did
you
know they were here, Warrick?”

Warrick stared at her, his gaze narrowed with consideration. The intensity of his stare had her squirming and her gaze shifting away from his.

“You didn’t answer my question, Sienna.”

“I’m here for the same reason you and those men are. To set them free.”

Her admission was met with silence. A sliver of unease moved through her and she turned her head to glance back at Warrick. If his gaze had been intense before, it was downright intimidating now. Even though they’d grown up together, and she knew instinctively he’d never hurt her, a shiver of fear ran down her spine.

“You don’t want to lie to me, Sienna.” The low threat rumbled from his throat.

Was failure to disclose the jump drive between her breasts lying? Her throat dried up. “I’m not lying.”

“Aren’t you?”

Yes. She probably was. The unease inside her tripled. “This is ridiculous. You know what? I’m just going to leave. Nice seeing you again, Warrick. Or not.” She moved to slip beneath his arm but he wouldn’t let her. “What now?”

Warrick tilted his head and arched an eyebrow. “Say you really were trying to set them free. Then what?”

She stared at him.
Was this a trick question?
“What do you mean?”

“What did you plan to do after you set them free? How were you going to get them off the property?”

“Well, they’d be free,” she blustered, then saw where he was going with this line of questioning.
Shoot.
“Okay, I admit that I…hadn’t exactly planned that far.”

His mouth opened, but he didn’t say anything, just continued to stare at her. “Jesus Christ.” He shook his head. “You’re serious. You could’ve been killed.”

She glared at him, feeling more than a little insulted at his genuine shock. She’d been
trying
to help. “I would’ve been fine, Warrick.”

His hands slipped to her shoulders, his strong fingers biting into her flesh as he glowered down at her. “No, you wouldn’t have. What the hell were you thinking? You’re so damn impulsive. God help you if your brother knew what you were up to.”

Even as her flesh burned where his fingers touched her, it was anger that heated her belly now. “You know, if those things are friends of yours, you could
try
being a little grateful that I was attempting to help them.”

“Grateful?” he repeated. “Have you seen the state they’re in?”

“They’re a little…”

“They’re damn near
feral
, Sienna. They have no control over themselves right now. You have no idea what they even are, do you? Never mind what you were getting into.”

Oh, she had a decent clue what they were after reading the files earlier today. Accepting it came a little slower. But now having seen them…