Lilly's Torment(40)

He turned so his back was to her, but didn't move until she'd put her  hand on his waistband again. Only then did he signal her forward. They  moved slowly through the house. Every now and again, Ax would pause,  tilt his head, and then continue onward. They found a door finally,  thankfully. But he didn't head out right away. He pulled her close to  him and pressed her back to the wall, his lips pressed to her ear. "I  don't want to move until the others arrive, if we can help it. It's  pretty exposed out there and we'd be sitting ducks."

Lilly nodded and wrapped herself around him as tightly as she could.  Just holding him, being held by him was what she needed. "We wait,  then." Her weapon was still up, her eyes still watching everything  around them as she did so. "Swear to me when we get out of this we will  bond so that you can keep me from being programmed or whatever it is  again?" she whispered against his ear.

"Fucking right we will," he said quietly. He squeezed her closer and  pressed a kiss on her jaw. "I almost couldn't find you. It was just the  faintest of threads I found," he said with a sigh. He nipped at her jaw  and then soothed the small sting with his tongue.

"Good," she whispered. "How long until they get here? Please tell me  that it will be soon. I need to be with you both. Gods, I want to be  with you both. I want to complete our bond. I want to stop this whole  programming thing, and when we find who did this to me I'm going to damn  well beat the shit out of them myself."

"Shh," he whispered. He looped his arm around her neck and pulled her in  closer to him. "They are coming, I can feel Gavriel's energy. A few  more minutes. Take a few deep breaths, Lil. We'll be getting out of here  soon. But you still need to be focused here, right now. One mistake  could cause you harm, and that I won't stand for."

She nodded and did as instructed. Focusing, she turned her attention  back to the shadows, back to the danger that lurked there, determined to  keep both herself and Artaxias safe. She would do this, she could do  this. A few more minutes, her mind latched onto. A few more minutes.

He tensed suddenly. "They're here." Turning her around, he put her back  to the wall. Digging in his pockets, he pulled out his new cell and sent  off a text. "Gav and the others are coming in, slow sweep. We're to  stay put until they clear the grounds and the rest of the house."

"Sounds good." She took in a deep breath and nodded. "We will do this.  We will get to safety and then somehow, we will find them," she  promised. Somehow, some way they would find whomever had tagged her, and  they would punish them.

"We're going to break their tie with you and have them come to us, on  our terms, on our turf. And we'll make them pay for all they've put you  through. Period." He kissed her hard, a light scrape of his teeth  telling her just how pissed off he was behind the calm facade.

"Good," she growled right back at him. "Because that's what I want as  well. I want them to pay for what they did to me, to us. I need for them  to pay for it. And I want the tie with you and Gav. Need it. So we need  to hurry before I lose control and attack your beautiful ass right  here."

Chuckling, she saw a small flash of his fangs. "You are rather saucy in  dangerous situations, aren't you? I rather like it. But we do need to  wait until we get home for what you have in mind, my dear. And I think  you should have a nice long, hot shower first." His lips twitched  slightly, but otherwise he told her that with a perfect straight  expression.                       
       
           



       

"I think that sounds like a very, very good idea. I really and truly  believe that we need to finish this up, get home as soon as possible,  and yes, a shower is a good idea." She felt disgusting right now and  wanted to be clean. "But not alone," she added. "I don't want to be  alone for a very, very long time, please," she admitted to him softly.  "Promise me that I won't be alone for a long time?"

"I would handcuff you to me if I didn't know for a fact you'd use it to  your advantage at every turn. And some of us do have reputations to  uphold. But yes, you will not be left alone for even a second until we  catch these assholes. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is going to happen  to you again. We screwed up once, we won't do it again." He turned his  head slowly, his body predator-still. "They're coming, gun up in the  air, finger off the trigger." He moved his own to point at the ceiling  and lifted his other hand into a surrender position.

Lilly did the same thing, weapon up in the air and coming out in a  surrender pose. When she saw Gavriel exit the vehicle and come toward  them, she didn't even hesitate. She raced to him and wrapped her arms  around him and held onto him tightly.

"I've got you, darling." Gav hugged her tightly. She felt his entire  body shudder when he buried his face in her neck. "You had me scared,"  he whispered softly, squeezing her closer. "I have never been that  terrified in my entire life."

"I had me scared, too," she confessed but didn't lessen her hold on him.  If anything, she tightened her hold on him. "I'm never letting you go,"  she whispered in confession. "Neither of you. I want us to bond  tonight, as soon as we can, because I never want to be vulnerable like  that again," she whispered with tears freely flowing from her eyes. "Can  we go home, please?"

"Yeah, love, we can go home," he said, pressing kisses to her cheek.  "The captain will understand, I'm sure. We'll just do the write-up  tomorrow, early. Ensure he's kept happy so we can stay happy. Come on."  He loosened his hold enough to turn slightly. Walking her toward the  truck, he kept her tight at his side. "We'll get in and wait for Ax to  join us, and then we're going home, locking the doors, and not coming  out until after you are ours."

"Good," she whispered and nodded. "Because I refuse to leave before we  have all three bonded. I refuse to leave before we are able to all have  our forever. Our happiness and our well-being hinges on it. And I never,  ever want to be taken again. I mean it."

"I know darling, I know," he said. Opening the passenger door, he urged  her into the front seat of the SUV and slid in with her. Lifting her  into his lap, he wrapped his arms around her. "I should have been there.  If I hadn't been running late I'd have been there and this wouldn't  have happened."

"No, it would have still happened," she whispered. "I might have hurt  you if you had been with me," she whispered. "And that's not something  that I ever would have been able to survive, if I had harmed you in any  way at all."

"You wouldn't have," he said, his voice very confident. Pressing a kiss  to her cheek, he let out a shuddering breath. "But we'll never know, I  wasn't there and you never had to test yourself. It matters little now.  We have you back, we will bond and we will break whatever this damned  tie is to these freaks. No one takes you and gets away with it. No one  hurts you and lives."

"I agree," she whispered and leaned into him. Sighing heavily, she  rubbed her cheek to his chest. "I love you, Gav. I need you and Ax both  in my life, for now and always. I'm never letting you go and you are  never letting me go. We will break this bond, and then we will go for  the sons of bitches that did this to us." Because it was to them, not  just her.

Gavriel just nodded and hugged her to him again. The driver side door  opened and Artaxias slid in. After starting the engine, he reached over  to touch her hand and gave it a squeeze. He stared at her for a long  moment before he got them moving.

Lilly found herself reaching out and touching Artaxias as they drove.  She needed the connection to both men. She had to touch both of them,  because they were hers and she was theirs. It simply was the way that it  was. She didn't watch where they went, she simply rested her head on  Gavriel's shoulder.

Gav's fingers stroked her arm, Ax's were tangled with hers and the  silence was heavy in the cab of the SUV. It wasn't tension from what  they'd left so much as what they were driving toward. She knew that both  men were more than ready to be with her, tie their lives to hers, and  the closer they got to the house, the more the sensation grew. Artaxias  was throwing her looks, hot, heavy, and telling looks. Gavriel was  starting to run his fingers over her thigh, higher each time and curling  a little closer to her pussy with each stroke. Then they were at the  house and getting out.