“Well, I am sorry about that.” Baruch wrapped his hand around hers, squeezing his cock even tighter in her palm. “But I couldn’t have him coming after my prize, now, could I?”
Sitting up, she smiled down at him, amusement in her pale eyes. “Do you fear him that much, darling?”
“I fear no one.” His blood was starting to boil. The woman was treading on soft ground. If she weren’t careful, Baruch would bury her in it. Magic or no magic.
“Mmm, I think otherwise.”
Baruch slapped her across the face and pushed her hand away from him. He would not have her talking to him as such. She would learn to watch her words.
Giggling, she rolled off the bed and stood above him. Her wild red hair started to flutter around her thin, pale face as if blown by an unseen wind. “I believe I have hit a nerve.”
Baruch jumped off the bed and glowered at her. “You have hit nothing, witch. Be careful where you tread.”
“Oh, don’t be angry with me, darling. We all have our fears.”
“And what do you fear?”
She grinned, her eyes almost glowing like twin moons. “Nothing yet. But I believe I would enjoy finding one.”
Her defiance made him hard, achy with hearty lust. In a way, she reminded him of Katarina.
Strong, independent, feisty. Someone he would so enjoy breaking. To have her whimpering at his feet, begging for his pleasure.
As quick as the wind, he was on her, pushing her back into her trophy wall. With a thud and a groan, he pushed her up against the hard cement between one of her pet’s legs. He crushed his mouth to hers, nipping and tugging at her warm, plump lips. Sighing, she opened for him, and he plunged his tongue into her mouth, tasting her. She tasted like sex, sin, and fire. Flames and smoke.
Wrapping her hands around her pet’s legs, Satarah lifted herself up and wrapped her legs around Baruch’s waist, giving him all the access he needed to slake his violent lust.
With one powerful thrust, he was buried inside her. Soft and wet from their previous fucking, she felt like liquid silk around his cock as he rammed into her again and again.
Grabbing hold of her ass, Baruch bent his head and feasted on her breasts. He nipped and bit on her nipples, tugging them with his teeth, laving them with his tongue. He couldn’t get enough of her flesh as he sucked her rigid peaks into his mouth.
Her strangled cries of passion urged him on. He increased his tempo and slammed into her repeatedly, not caring if she found pleasure. It was his desire he cared about. His own release he sought. This woman was his vessel and nothing more.
Moving his fingers down, he slid them to where they joined, relishing in the sensations of his cock slamming into her sex. Lubricating his fingers with their combined juices, he slid his fingers to her anus. Without pause, he pushed two fingers into her opening, enjoying the feeling of the tight flesh squeezing around his digits. That was the sensation he needed, what he craved.
Sliding his fingers out of her, Baruch moved his hand up and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her forward and tilting her pelvis up. She must have instinctively knew what he wanted because she moved her legs up his body and wrapped them around his chest. Baruch slid her over his cock until he could feel the tip of him pushing at her anus. Steadying her, he inched into her slowly. Although what he wanted was to ram into her, he knew that would injure her. He didn’t want that—not like that, not yet.
Gritting his teeth, he could feel every inch of his cock going in. Her flesh squeezed around him like a velvet fist. It took all he had to move slowly. Only, once he was completely sheathed inside her ass did he start to move. Slowly, at first he thrust. He was very close to coming. So close, he swore he could smell his semen.
Satarah moaned and groaned with each quick thrust of his pelvis. Her little whimpers drove him insane with need. Digging his fingers into her hips, he started to move faster, harder. Thoughts of Katarina, the defiant Hell Kat, ran through his mind as he fucked Satarah. Kat on her knees, her perfect, hard, round ass spread open for him. Kat begging him to slide his cock into her tight anal opening. To fuck her until she screamed his name over and over again in ecstasy.
His fantasies fueled his hunger, and he closed his eyes and fucked Satarah hard. With each cry from her lips, he plunged into her. With each moan he wanted to bury himself so deep she would be able to taste him in her throat.
Finally, as the sound of Kat’s voice pitched in a scream resonated in his head, Baruch rammed his cock into Satarah’s ass and came. His whole body rocked with convulsions as he emptied himself into her. Sweat dripped down his body and onto the floor. The sounds and smells of sex enveloped him in their blissful embrace. Baruch could almost believe he had found true happiness, until he opened his eyes and realized it was not his Katarina he had just fucked hard and raw.
Taking in a staggered breath, Baruch let his cock slide out of Satarah, and he pushed away from the wall. He went back to the bed and wiped his cock clean with the soft satin sheets. No, he would never find true happiness until he had Kat on her knees. The bitch would scream until she lost her voice when he finally had the chance to show her just how unforgiving he could be.
W
ithout much ceremony, Hades had his bike packed and ready to go by noon. The marshal provided him with fresh water, food, a can of gasoline, and plenty of ammunition for his two newly acquired shotguns.
Mary had come to see him off. She had hugged him and wished him well, but gone was the quiet, naive woman he had first met. She had seen too much in the past twenty-four hours to keep her naïveté intact.
Now that she had wandered back to town, there was only one more thing he needed to take care of before he could leave. Leucothea.
“I’m coming, Hades, whether you like it or not.” Leucothea stood in front of him, her petite hand on her hip and a defiant glare in her eye.
Obviously she had learned more than just self-defense techniques from Kat.
“You’re staying here, or you’re going home.” He slid his gun into the holster on the saddlebags.
“I don’t have the energy to be looking after you along the way.”
“I can take care of myself,” she snapped.
He spun around and glowered down at her. She had the good sense to take a distancing step backward and to cringe. “No, you can’t. You proved that already by coming here, allowing Dwellers to track you.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and Hades looked away. He wouldn’t feel guilt. He had intended to make her cry. To make her understand the consequences of her actions. That wanting something alone did not make things happen. He knew that all too well. He wanted Kat safe in his arms. But she wasn’t. She was one hundred clicks away, imprisoned by foul creatures that would sooner rip out a person’s throat than spit.
“You’re not the only one who has feelings for her, you know.” She sniffled. “I love her, too.”
He sighed but didn’t turn around. “Don’t you see, Thea, that loving her isn’t enough to get her back? Your love will mean shit when faced with ten bloodsucking Dark Dwellers.” Hades put his hand on top of Leucothea’s head. She was still crying with her head tilted down, and he could feel her sudden intake of breath as she tried to stifle her tears. “Be safe, kiddo.”
He dropped his hand and turned to mount his bike. It had been a long while since he had ridden.
But as soon as his legs molded around the familiar shape of the metal skeleton, a rush of adrenaline shot through him. It would feel good to be back on the road with the wind whipping his face.
He glanced at the girl one last time. Leucothea raised her head then and glared at him, the last of her tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I swear to the gods I’ll follow you, Hades. You can’t keep me here.”
Sighing, Hades rubbed a hand over his face. Somehow he knew it couldn’t be this easy. Nothing in his life had been easy. Especially when it came to women.
“Bloody hell, Thea,” he remarked. “Don’t you see that there might be no coming back? This is a one-way ticket to hell.”
“I don’t care. I’m coming. Kat is my friend, and I won’t let her die.” She slid her hand into the pocket of her cloak and came away with the small metal box. “Besides, I know exactly where she is.” She held it up for him to see. The little red light blinked back at him, confirming her claim.
“You little…” Hades growled. “When were you going to tell me you put a tracer on her?”
“When you agreed to take me with you.”
He shook his head, but what he really wanted to do was wrap his hands around her neck and squeeze until some sense popped into her brain.
“How did you get it on her?”
“Before you guys left to fight the Dwellers. When I hugged her I stuck it on the inside of her jacket.”
He smiled despite himself. The kid had smarts. He sniffed, “You’re a surprise, kid.” He offered his hand. “Get on.”
She took it, and he helped her small frame onto the seat in front of him. Once seated, she took hold of the handlebars, gripping them so tightly her knuckles turned white. He knew she hadn’t ridden many machines. People of her village preferred to keep their feet as close to the earth and the ocean as possible.
“Do as I say, when I say it. If you fall behind, I will not wait. Kat is my goal.” He grunted, making sure she completely understood. “I will let nothing stand in my way of reaching her.”
She nodded but remained silent.
Wrapping his hands around the plastic grips, Hades pumped his foot and started the bike. They could make good time on the vehicle. Time was wasting, and he knew they didn’t have much of it left to be able to save Kat. In his heart, he could feel her starting to drift away. It wouldn’t be long before they wouldn’t be able to reach her, no matter how close the tracer told them they were.
The transport stopped after driving in the unrelenting, blazing sun for an hour. Kat suspected that none of Dwellers could go on any farther without substantial damage. Including her.
Sweat poured down her body. The sun’s penetrating rays already seared the skin not completely covered by fabric. She’d have the sunburn to end all sunburns soon enough. It would take weeks to heal from such exposure.
The vehicle pulled off the main dirt road and into a clearing surrounding by tall evergreen trees, starting to yellow from the constant heat, and large jagged rock formations.
Sar slid out of the vehicle and started barking orders to the remaining few Dwellers to make camp and pitch the tents. Within minutes, three large male vampyres grabbed the rolled canvas in the back of the transport Kat had been lying on and tugged it out from under her. She rolled onto the metal bed, still exhausted and drained from her crying jag and from the fight she had put up in the village square. Her wrists throbbed from the gouges she’d made in them, trying to break the shackles that held her prisoner. It would be another day before those wounds fully healed. Another day before she would be strong enough to fight back and find revenge.
Lifting her head, Kat watched in disinterest as the Dwellers erected three large canvas tents.
Large enough for three times their numbers.
Sar marched to the vehicle and grabbed her chains, pulling her over to the side. “Are you going to be a good girl, or do I have to leave you out here?”
Kat made no motion of answering him. She just glared. When she saw fear flash across his ugly pinched face, she wanted to smile, but she was so tired she couldn’t even lift the corners of her mouth.
“I’ll take your silence as a yes.” Producing a key from his pocket, Sar unlocked the chains from around the roll bar. He put the key back in his pocket but kept his hold on her bindings. Coming around the back, he pulled her toward the tailgate, forcing her to slide down the metal bed. When she reached the end, he yanked hard on the chain, and Kat rolled off the tailgate and landed in a heap on the dirt ground.
Sar laughed, as did a few of the other Dwellers strolling over for the sideshow.
Fury bubbled in Kat. She raised her head and glared at Sar, wishing poison darts could fly from her eyes and render him immobile and swimming in agonizing pain.
Bending down, he grinned maliciously at her. “Not so tough now, are you, Hell Kat?”
Licking her dry lips, Kat spoke, her voice raspy from lack of water. “If it weren’t for these chains, little man, you’d be pissing your pants just being near me.”
The other Dwellers, now circling them, started to laugh.
Whirling in a semicircle, Sar growled at the others. “Shut up!” He turned back to Kat and sneered down at her. “I’d be careful, bitch, what you say to me from now on. I’m in charge, and I will make you pay.”
“When I escape, rat man, you’re going to beg me to stop killing you, just like a little girl begging for a new dolly.”
Sar lifted his leg and kicked her in the midsection. The impact lifted her off the ground. When she landed, all the muscles and joints in her body screamed with agony. Especially her abdomen.
It felt like someone had hammered her there with a mallet, like tenderizing a steak. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she struggled for breath.
Sar took a step closer and leered down at her again, his tiny pointed teeth visible between his pale, thin lips. “Got nothing to say now, do you, bitch?”
Gathering all the moisture in her mouth, Kat spit at him. The gob of saliva landed on his thin, pointy nose.
Outraged, Sar wiped the spit from his face and clenched his teeth together. The grating sound made her smile. He was so easy to anger.
Turning to one of the Dwellers near him, he grunted, “Strip her.”
Within seconds, three Dwellers were on her, tearing away her cloak and her clothing. One of them tried for her boots. She raised her legs and kicked at him. But the effort was pointless. She didn’t possess the strength to fight them off. After a few minutes she lay on the ground, naked, vibrating with fury and already baking from the brutality of the sun’s rays. They had even taken her goggles.
She lay unmoving with her eyes squeezed shut. Even through her eyelids, the sun managed to inflict pain on her eyes. White spots formed in her vision behind her lids. With direct exposure to the sun, she’d be rendered blind.