Revealed (51 page)

Merrick
watched over Elise as she slept. She was curled on her side in the healing cot, her cloud of black hair obscuring her face. For a moment she was restless, twisting in her sleep and moaning.

Bad dream,
Merrick
thought and it was no wonder. She’d packed away what had been done to her by the AllFather as quickly as possible. He’d watched her do it and he knew there was no way she’d been able to process her pain before she shoved it to the back of her mind and locked it up. It worried him but at the same time he understood. Some things didn’t bear remembering—some pains went too deep. Toxic memories could incapacitate you if you let them and Elise had simply made the choice not to let that happen.

We’re a lot alike,
he thought. No one would think so to look at them but it was true—despite their very opposite looking exteriors, inside they were both survivors.

Elise moaned again, something that sounded like a plea. Reaching down,
Merrick
pushed the cloud of hair away from her face and stroked her soft cheek. She quieted at once and cuddled against his hand, murmuring something that might have been his name.

Merrick
felt a strange stirring in the region of his heart. What was this feeling which had crept up on him so suddenly? Why did he want to touch her all the time? Why did he hate to leave her, even for a moment?

And what was he going to do when she left the Mother Ship and went back to her old life on Earth?

Don’t think about that,
he told himself uneasily.
Besides, all you’re feeling is a male’s natural protectiveness toward a female he has sworn to keep safe.
It was a Kindred trait, one that apparently, not even his mixed heritage could breed out of him. He was going to have to get over it, and very soon too. Elise was healing remarkably fast—much faster than was normal for humans according to Olivia.

“She’ll be ready to leave in a day to so,” she’d told
Merrick
earlier. “Maybe even sooner. Do you want to escort her down to Earth?”

“I don’t know. Let me think about it.” He’d shifted uneasily from foot to foot. The thought of taking Elise back down to the small blue and white planet and just
leaving
her set off all kinds of alarm bells in his head. It was stupid and foolish but he couldn’t help feeling that she wouldn’t be safe there. That something might happen to her the minute he left her.

Don’t be a fucking idiot,
he’d told himself.
It’s her home planet—she’ll be fine. Better off, probably, once she sees the last of you.
But no matter how much he lectured himself, the idea that he would never see her again tied his stomach in knots.

Olivia had left him to consider his decision hours ago but he’d been unable to do so. He just wanted to spend the time they had left watching over Elise, memorizing her delicate features, soothing her when a bad dream troubled her sleep, and hearing her soft voice when she called his name…

Listen to me,
he thought, withdrawing his hand. He slumped heavily on the chair beside her cot, frowning.
I sound like a fucking love-sick bride hunter—one of those pure blooded idiots pining for their one true love or some shit like that. That’s not me—I’m strong. I don’t need
anyone
.

Well maybe she needs you,
whispered a little voice inside his head.
Did you ever think of that?

Merrick
pushed the thought away uneasily. Elise Darden had a very successful life and career down on Earth. From what he could gather, she was busy from morning until night working in the planet’s legal system—mostly on the behalf of children who had been wronged or abused in some way. There was no way she needed him—no way she had room for a hybrid giant who was scarred both inside and out in her busy life.

Elise turned over again, showing her lovely profile and
Merrick
sighed. It would be easier to leave her and go back to his own life if he didn’t feel any kind reciprocal affection from her. But he
did.
It was there in the way she looked at him, the way she said his name when she was awake. Also the way she kept
touching
him.

It seemed that every minute they were together Elise had to have a hand on his arm or her fingers entwined with his. Once or twice when her nightmares were especially bad,
Merrick
had scooped her up and held her close to his chest. That, he found, was best of all. Elise rubbed her cheek against him and nearly purred when he held her—like a feline begging for a caress.
Merrick
couldn’t deny he loved that, just as he couldn’t deny the way he felt when he held her close.

Complete. I feel complete.
It was true. He felt complete and happy in a way he hadn’t been since he was a very young child and his mother hand held him in the same way. In fact, if he thought about it, that early time in his life was the last time he’d experienced any kind of prolonged physical intimacy with anyone.
Back before the bad times started,
he thought.
Before my real father died.

Not that he had strictly paternal feelings for Elise Darden. To the contrary, every time he touched her, he got hard. Even the lightest brush of her hand would make his shaft thicken and the mating fist at its base throb with desire. There was a mixture of innocence and sensuality about her that made him crazy. It aroused a protective heat in him he couldn’t understand.

You don’t have to understand it,
he told himself as she stirred again and her eyelids began to open.
You just have to get over it. Look at her—all her bruises are healed and her wounds are nothing but barely visible scars. She’ll be leaving soon—maybe even today. It’s time to let her go.

So why did he feel sick at the thought of losing her?

Her eyelids fluttered again and then opened, showing her warm brown eyes fringed thickly with black lashes.

“Mmm. Hi,” she murmured, looking up at him. “Have you been watching me sleep?”

“Yes,”
Merrick
admitted hoarsely, unable to lie. “Just wanted to make sure you had good dreams.”

She frowned. “If I had bad ones I don’t remember them. You must have chased them all away.” She reached for his hand at the same time
Merrick
was reaching for hers and their fingers entwined automatically. Elise sighed contentedly. “That’s nice,” she murmured, squeezing his hand. “I don’t know why but it is.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Yeah, it is. So…” He cleared his throat, not wanting to say what came next.

Elise seemed to catch on to his mood at once. “What is it?” She sat up in the cot, looking at him anxiously. “Is everything all right?”

“Better than all right,”
Merrick
said gruffly. “Olivia says you’re good to go home soon. Back down to Earth,” he added unnecessarily and then kicked himself.
Don’t be a fucking idiot—of course she knows where she lives!

“Back to Earth, huh?” Elise gave him a weak smile. “Sounds like a science fiction movie or something.” She sighed. “In fact, my whole life sounds like science fiction lately.”

“You think so?”
Merrick
raised an eyebrow at her.

“Well sure—just think about it. Girl on a vacation is kidnapped by bad aliens. Girl gets taken away and…” Elise swallowed hard and shook her head. “Anyway, she manages to escape, only to trap herself in a stasis tube. Which she’s rescued from by the good guy and—”

“The
good
guy?”
Merrick
interrupted.
“Me?”

“Sure.” Elise nodded. “You found me. You saved me. You protected me, comforted me…of
course
you’re the good guy.”

“Okay, sure. I guess.” He shrugged and laughed uneasily. “Just to let you know, that’s not a name I’ve ever been called. Not with a past like mine.”

“I don’t care about the past,” Elise burst out, surprising him with her sudden passion. “I only care about the future.
Merrick
…” She leaned toward him, her brown eyes earnest. “I…I don’t want to go back. Not if it means leaving you.”

“Elise…baby…” His heart knotted in his chest.

“I mean I know that sounds stupid,” she rushed on. “We haven’t even known each other that long. I don’t know your last name or where you come from or even what kind of Kindred you are…”

“Hybrid,” he said hoarsely. “I’m a hybrid. Half Blood, half Beast. And I was raised on Tranq Prime but I got outta that fucking hell hole as fast as I could.”

She gave him a trembling smile. “I feel the same way about
Portland
.
Portland
,
Oregon
—that’s where I was raised. That’s why I moved way across the country to Florida. I like it a lot better there.”

“But not enough to go back to it?”
Merrick
raised an eyebrow at her. He was trying to stay calm, to keep things in perspective. But damn if his stomach wasn’t clenched like a fist and his heart pumping overtime as Elise confessed how she felt.

“Not…not without you.” She shook her head. “I know I sound stupid and desperate and believe me, this is
not
like me. I’m tough—I’m the one they bring in on the worst trials to scare the defense, to make those slime ball child molesters and abusers confess or run for cover.”

Merrick
smiled. “You’re so tiny. I can’t imagine you being very scary.”

She lifted her chin. “Just because I don’t look scary on the outside doesn’t mean I’m not frightening as hell on the inside, you know.”

“I bet.” He nodded, admiring her spirit. She was really going out on a limb here, admitting how she felt about him. Telling him she didn’t want them to be parted.

“But when I’m around you…” Elise shook her head. “I can’t explain it. I can’t even
understand
it. But I…I need you,
Merrick
. I feel like there’s something between us.” She looked down at their clasped hands, his large fingers entwined with her much smaller ones. “I feel like such a fool telling you this—”

“Don’t.” He scooped her out of bed suddenly and held her close to his chest. “I feel it too, baby. I don’t know what it is but it’s
there
.”

“Oh, thank God.” She put her arms around his neck and pressed her face to the hollow of his throat. “I’m so glad. I thought you didn’t feel the same.”

“I shouldn’t,”
Merrick
said roughly. “But Goddess damn it, I can’t seem to help it. I don’t know why.”

“I don’t either.” She nuzzled against him, breathing deeply. “
God
, you smell good.”

“You smell pretty damn delicious yourself,”
Merrick
murmured. Her scent was fresh and delicate and devastatingly feminine. It filled his senses and went straight to the throbbing shaft between his thighs. Gods, but he wanted this little female. Wanted to possess her and never let her go. If he hadn’t been a hybrid he almost would have thought he was forming some sort of a bond with her. Of course, that was impossible. And they weren’t dream sharing or anything. So why—

“Elise? Oh, excuse me.” Olivia started to back out of the room but
Merrick
stopped her with a shake of his head.

“It’s okay. Is there a problem?”

“No, it’s just…there’s a call in the viewing room for Elise.”

“A call?” Elise sat up frowning. “From who? My boss? Is he upset?”

Olivia shook her head. “No, we contacted your employers soon after we brought you aboard and found out who you were. They know that you’ll be out for awhile. But this man…well…” She bit her lip uncertainly.

“
What
man?”
Merrick
felt the short hairs on the back of his neck rise and a low, possessive growl built in his throat.

“He says…” Olivia looked at Elise, her gray eyes troubled. “Well, he says he’s your fiancée.”
                                                       
THE END

Draven made himself comfortable on the lush,
Strovian
mink lined couch, enjoying the feel of its soft fur tickling his skin. He took pleasure in sensual comforts and wasn’t ashamed to admit it. The couch, for instance, had come from a planet his people had despoiled over a thousand years ago—yet it was still soft and supple. Still perfectly delightful to sit on and he should know—he’d spent the last half millennium here, gathering strength. Trying to heal from the nearly fatal wounds that Kindred bastard, Kall had given him. He’d only recently awakened from his healing sleep and he was
not
happy.

The hand stroking the couch curled into a fist but there was no change in his expression. His odd silver eyes, like two blank coins, stared straight ahead as though he was deep in thought…or lost in madness.

Suddenly there was a timid rapping at his outer sanctum door.

“Come,”
Draven said, using the
pain speech
which inflicted agony on anyone who heard it. He didn’t know who was on the other side of the door and he didn’t care. It was his pleasure to give pain to whomever he wished. And it had been a long time since he had taken that pleasure.