Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Then he was moving. Powering inside her, overwhelming her. Giving no quarter. Accepting nothing but all of her.
What had she done?
A desperate rush of electricity arced through her as he forced her up, hammering into her so hard she could only grab his biceps and hold on. Shutting her eyes, she gave herself over to him, watching wild flashes of light behind her eyelids. His fangs sliced into her shoulder, and his entire body heated to an impossible temperature against her. His hand burned hot against her butt.
The world silenced in one perfect moment, then she exploded into an orgasm so powerful she dug her nails into his arms, tethering herself to him. The waves pummeled her and she rode them out, gasping with each wild crest and feeling his release as his body jerked against hers.
Panting, she came down, noting the rhythm of his heartbeat against hers. In perfect tune.
She relaxed her fingers and rubbed along his ribs, her body going lax. Satisfied. Exhausted. She blinked her eyes open and mumbled his name.
He kissed her nose and tightened his hold on her hair. Desire flared through her again, and she shook her head against the pillow. “There’s no way.”
His chuckle this time was filled with promise. “Wanna bet?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
An hour after leaving Lyrica sleeping peacefully in what he now considered their bed, Vero leaned against the wall in the medical building, banishing thoughts about her so he could do his job. He made a mental note to expand the facility as soon as possible. He had positioned himself near the door. “You still have the second victim in here?”
Dr. Fizzlewick nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been taking more samples of the ink in the wound to send to a colleague, but I think it’s just regular ink.”
Vero’s eyebrows rose. “What colleague?”
Fizzlewick rubbed his square jaw. “Human one. I made friends during my time away. They don’t know anything about our world, so don’t worry.”
Fair enough. Forcing himself to look at the dead female on the slab, covered by a white sheet, Vero pushed down anger. “Your plan with her now?”
“I’ll keep her frozen as we try to identify her. We can send Tekii, the first victim, to a remote location in Alaska to be found. I can make it appear as if she was in a car crash and then froze. There’s no need for her family to know of her brutal death,” Fizzlewick said.
Vero exhaled slowly. “What about the circle with slashes?”
“I’ll remove the skin and make it appear as damage from the crash. We’ll leave Tekii’s identification right next to her so her family can be notified. In her personal effects, I found a wallet she must’ve been carrying when the former regime kidnapped her.” Dr. Fizzlewick pushed his new spectacles up his nose. As a Kurjan, he had perfect eyesight, but he’d worn the gold-rimmed glasses since he’d arrived in the territory. One of the younger soldiers had asked him why he wore the glasses, and Fizzlewick had smiled, noting he liked looking like a doctor. Since he was their doctor, Vero figured he already looked like one.
Jonathan shook his head. “I don’t understand the significance of the circle and slashes.”
“Neither do I.” The doctor gently grasped the female’s shoulder and partially turned her to show the side of her neck. A rough outline of a circle with three slashes through it had been cut into her flesh.
Fury glowed in Jonathan’s eyes. The soldier had quickly become Vero’s second-in-command, and they both trusted the guards left on Lyrica. “That’s so wrong.”
Vero couldn’t agree more. A Kurjan chasing down human females to attack was like an angry grizzly bear destroying a butterfly. “We need to identify her. Now.”
“Agreed.” The doctor reached for a stack of photographs placed neatly on the counter. “Here are some pictures of her face as well as the symbol cut into her flesh. She wasn’t mated, obviously, and she’s not one of the newest rescued females, so I’m at a loss.”
“As am I.” Vero accepted the stack. “I’ll have soldiers go cabin to cabin throughout the entire territory to find answers, even as we’re investigating the bombing and most recent attack.”
Jonathan scrubbed both hands down his face. “She’s human, Vero.”
“I know.” It was unthinkable a human just wandered into camp. “Our computers should be updated by now, and I’ll conduct searches for missing females in the human world.” That did beg the question—how did she end up in the middle of nowhere? “I’ll also go talk to Silas. I’ve kept him waiting and worrying long enough.” Vero’s stomach ached. The thought that the old soldier had brought in the human cracked something inside him. But if it wasn’t Silas, then how did she arrive in the territory? The nearest town was hours away—by helicopter.
He had rotating guards around the entire property, so anybody coming in on snowmobile or UTV would’ve left traces.