Pursued(8)

Merrick couldn’t play it cool anymore. “Fucking hell, Sylvan!” he growled, running a hand over his skull-cut hair. “She’s got a male. One she neglected to mention the entire time we were together.”

“I know she does,” Sylvan held his eyes, not allowing Merrick to look away. “But he’s not the one she needs right now. She needs you, Merrick. You’re the only one who can save her.”

“Goddess damn it!” Merrick pounded a fist against the side of his ship, making a hollow clanging sound that echoed in the docking bay. His insides felt like someone had taken a blowtorch to them. On the one hand, the need to see Elise again was an almost physical ache in the center of his chest. On the other, the idea of going down to get her and seeing her hanging all over that rich bastard of a fiancé made him grind his teeth in frustration. “I can’t wait to hold you again.” That was exactly what he said, the way he ended their conversation, he thought. Nobody oughta be holding her but me! She’s mine—mine!

It was irrational, stupid, and untrue, but he couldn’t deny the way he felt. Couldn’t lie to himself about what he wanted. And at that moment he knew—knew that no matter how angry and hurt he was, he couldn’t stand by and let Elise die—not if he could save her.

“Merrick?” Sylvan made his name a question and Merrick knew what he was asking.

“Fine,” he said roughly. “I’ll go. What do you want me to do, just bring her straight back?”

“Yes.” Sylvan nodded. “But there’s one more thing.”

“What?” Merrick was in the act of swinging into the cockpit of his star-duster but he stopped to hear his friend’s last words.

“Touch her.” Sylvan looked at him seriously. “If you want to save her, you have to touch her.”





Chapter Three




During the trip down to Earth, Elise felt more and more unwell. She told herself uneasily that it was just motion sickness. It always happened to her if she got into a moving vehicle on an empty stomach, and she hadn’t eaten a thing since the night before. And though the Kindred pilot was flying with smooth, professional precision, the vehicle she was in was capable of pulling more Gs than a roller coaster—a hell of a lot more. It was no wonder her head was pounding, her heart was racing, and her stomach was rolling. Right?

I’m just hungry, she told herself grimly as the blue and white globe of the Earth raced toward them in the viewscreen. As soon as we land I’ll get James to take me someplace for breakfast. Not that she really wanted to eat right now. What she really wanted was to crawl off somewhere and lick her emotional wounds until she felt more like her old self again. Instead, she would have to play the part of the happy fiancée for James, who would no doubt expect her to be overjoyed to see him.

I should be overjoyed—I love James. What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I get Merrick out of my mind? Try as she might, all she could think of was the big Kindred’s dark, animalistic scent—like fur and musk and smoke. All she could remember was being held in his arms, the feel of her cheek pressed against his chest, the sound of his heart beating in her ear. Making her feel safe, making her feel protected…

Stop it, she shouted at herself mentally. Just stop it right now. We’re landing—it’s time to leave the dream world behind and get back to reality.

It was true, the blue curve of the Earth filled the viewscreen and she could clearly see the continents now. North America shot toward them, the long peninsula of Florida their obvious target.

“Coming in for a landing now,” the pilot said in a pleasant, even voice. “You might want to close your eyes and hold on tight. This is the part that usually makes you Earthers sick.”

“Oh,” Elise said faintly. “I…thank you for the warning.”

“Not a problem,” he said cheerfully. He did something to the controls and the little ship lurched in a most distressing manner. Elise’s stomach lurched right along with it and she had to fight to keep herself from throwing up.

She won the fight with her rebellious stomach—just barely—and was extremely relieved when the ship leveled off and touched down behind the HKR building in Tampa.

“Here we go—domicile, sweet domicile.” The Kindred pilot grinned at her. “Isn’t that what you Earthers say? My mate taught me—she’s from the region you call Kansas.” He sounded proud, as though he was announcing his wife was from Buckingham Palace.

He loves her—loves her so much that he’d be proud no matter where she came from, Elise realized. The thought made her sad for some reason and she was glad for a minute for her rolling stomach. At least it was harder to cry when you were trying not to puke.