Fangs of Fate (Untish #1)

Chapter 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

CHANCE

I appreciated the sponge bath, even if it was quick and not the long soak I wished for. Thank blood the circuit had a latrine with a bathing station. It had been purely practical to get most of the grit off, easier to focus. No, I wasn’t trying to rid myself of the anxiety that plagued me from the last attack. I certainly wasn’t trying to cleanse myself, there was no cleansing one’s soul of that type of grime.

Holland and I had been reviewing our case files for hours. We’d gone over the personnel at the Southern Outpost until the roster practically bled. We’d run a crosscheck on any family ties to other vamps from the personnel along with any behavior indicating discontent or lack of allegiance. Each soldier was a good man. Each one had a long history within the Glenn.

A few had infractions, there were of course those who were forced to enlist, but none had a glaringly obvious reason to defect; to betray. The mere thought of it made my stomach turn. I was mentally accusing males and females, my men, of the worst crime possible. Each time I ruled one out as an obvious candidate I felt relief and dread. I still wasn’t any closer to ousting our mole and our resources were fairly limited by remaining afar.

The report from the Outpost concerning the attack was short. It listed the eight casualties along with the details of the damage. I recognized two soldiers: O’Conner and Leiner. I’d worked with them closely last year. Their deaths were a true tragedy.

I searched the database for images of the corpses, but they weren’t there. So incredibly frustrating. Apparently, no one followed protocol anymore.

“I recognized one of them you know,” I spoke for the first time in an hour. We’d been in this tin can all day poring over everything available to us while the circuit carried on toward the next settlement.

“One of who?” Holland’s voice was fragile. Fatigued.

“The creatures.”

She didn’t respond. She just stared at me, waiting for me to offer more.

“He was a good male. His name was Shultz. I worked with him briefly last spring in the Eastern Outpost before I moved over to train the Southern Outpost. He had a bright future. I don’t even recognize what he’s become.”

“Dark magic can do that,” she spoke softly. “Did he ever give any inclination of dabbling or breaking nature’s laws? Sometimes it just starts out as a curiosity, and it can just go so wrong so fast.”

“No, he never struck me as the magic wielding type. He had no giftings that I knew of.”

“Do you think he’s involved with our mole?”

I hated that she voiced the question I’d been avoiding asking myself. The creatures were enemy-made, that we had taken for granted. No one could get away with creating dozens of those things in the Glenn without oversight noticing. Arche Shultz was a creature. Did that make him a traitor?

“I don’t know. People change. The male I knew would have never betrayed his country. But like I said, people change. Metamorphosis and all that shit.”

She placed a delicate hand on my shoulder, each finger far too fragile to be capable of violence. And yet, she held her own. More than that really, she’d single-handedly shot and destroyed at least two dozen creatures. She was remarkable.

I reached up and cupped her hand with mine. The warmth from her creamy skin seeped into my calloused fingers. Her nails were filed to a short square, feminine and yet practical. So much like this female.

I looked up over my shoulder and found her staring at our hands. I didn’t think as I wrapped my hands around her waist and pulled her onto my lap. She smelled of lavender even after being stuck in a sweat box pouring over papers. Astounding. She looked straight into my eyes with her brown ones, piercing me with a stare. I cupped her jaw with my left hand and tilted her head up further to mine, meeting her in the middle with my lips. I swallowed her tiny features with my obtuse ones. My right hand found its way to her formidable hip. Her curves were glorious?—

She pulled back and placed a hand on my chest.

“What are you doing, Dale?” I could feel magic beginning to prickle at my skin.

“Oh no, this is an even playing field, Holland. No magic.”

“But—”

I placed a finger to her lips, at which she arched an eyebrow. She was getting ready to pounce with a response no doubt.

“I think you’re remarkable, Holland. Exquisite.”

She studied me for a moment before adjusting on my lap and straddling me. One hand ran through my loose wavy curls, scattered across my shoulders, as her other hand drew circles across my chest.

“Exquisite, huh?”

“Absolutely delicious.”

“You’ve barely tasted.” She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on my jaw. “How do you know I’m exquisite with a mere sample?” She kissed my cheekbone. “I mean, I appreciate the flattery, but it feels a bit half-hearted seeing as you’ve barely seen me as more than a soldier. Seems you’ve formed an opinion with very little research.” She kissed my chin, then my jaw all the way up to my ear where she leaned in and whispered, “Not very protocol of you.”

“Research, huh?”

“Yes. I appreciate a soldier who is more…thorough.”

The last word sent shivers down my spine as her breath was hot on my neck. Desire was already burning, and I was hard. I was ready to more than taste.

“Let me be very, very thorough. Trust me, I never disappoint.” I pulled her closer to my chest, practically crushing her with my embrace, and claimed her mouth with my own. She met me stroke for stroke with her tongue, she too was tasting. What a saucy little thing.

I cupped her ass with my hands and then dug one into her hair as the other climbed up her shirt. She let out a breathy moan and I released her mouth and began to kiss her neck, starting at her ear and working my way down her delicate spine. I found her collarbone with my mouth and grazed it with my fangs, teasing. Testing.

She moaned again, but this time it was demanding as she began to grind on my lap. My cock got even harder. I wanted her, right here right now in this tin car as hot and stuffy as it was. No, I didn’t just want her, I needed her.

I reached her bra in the back and unclipped it, gently massaging her skin in tiny circles with my thumb. Her hair was soft in my hands as I moved her head back so I could continue my pursuit. She arched backwards into my hand as my mouth returned to her collarbone. I extended my tongue and licked the column of her chest down to her shirt. I unbuttoned the top one with my mouth, then licked the skin underneath.

She began to tremble underneath me. She’d see how thorough I could be.

My hand lowered on her back to her low spine and stopped, stroking lazy circles. Her breaths sped up and she lurched even further back into my touch.

“Holland, you sure you’re okay with this?” I asked, hating every moment my lips spent apart from her flesh.

“Yes,” her answer was breathless.

That was all I needed. I lowered her to the floor and straddled her. Slowly I moved my mouth to the next button and undid it, then made my way to the next, tasting her all the way.

“Thank Blood, because I intend to taste every part of you.” I slid my hand up to cup her breast. Her nipples were peaked, ready. Practically as hard as I was.

“Oh blood, this is…”

“Exquisite?” I finished for her as I intended to do in her as soon as I could get my pants off. I reached the last button just below her belly button and took my time with it. I licked the inside of it, around it, and then, finally popped the last button open. Now for the pants. She reached up stopping me, hands on my shoulders, before she yanked at my shirt and pulled it off.

“Couldn’t let you have all the fun, could I?” She pulled her hands over my chest slowly as she kissed each of my pecs before lowering herself backwards and yanking off her bra. She lay there half-naked, the most beautiful sight I’d seen all day. Her breaths were coming in short pants as she grabbed my arm and pulled me on her. Her pink nipples were hard even as she lowered to her back.

“I thought you wanted a taste?” She turned her head at me as she opened her legs. Blood, I loved a challenge.

“You have no idea.” I leaned over and yanked her pants zipper all the way down. Then with my hands I slowly, teasingly, pulled it off getting a good grip of her ass as I did so. I pulled the last of her material off revealing a hot red, lacy thong. Who would’ve thought this practical soldier wore something so frivolous? I leaned over and grabbed her panties with my teeth, scraping her inner thigh with my fangs. She let out a moan and I repeated the movement as my right hand traveled up and grabbed her breast. I circled her nipple with my thumb before yanking again on her panties. Her moans escalated.

The train car jostled, we’d soon be at our destination, and I had no intention of leaving this business unfinished. I pulled her red panties all the way down to her knees before dragging them off the rest of the way with my hand. I put my tongue to her thigh and licked all the way up to her apex before dragging my tongue down her center.

Delicious.

She shivered as I repeated the motion, beginning to explore the inside as I teased the sensitive bud with my hand. She moaned as I pulled back and found the bud with my mouth and pulled. I slid one finger in, then two, and began to pump until I was knuckles deep in her juices. I pulled out and resituated, getting ready to explore more with my tongue, when she pulled back.

“Ut-uh,” she wagged a finger, “just a taste this time.”

“You have to be fucking kidding me; this is my best stuff.” The beast inside me roared.

The car jostled again as overhead beeping began signaling our approach.

“I’d like to try out the merchandise before this tin can stops, if you know what I mean.” She pointedly looked to my engorged cock. I was nearly bursting from my pants with a massive erection. I smiled—I most certainly could oblige. I reached down to unzip my pants, but she stopped me with her hand.

“Allow me.” She pulled at the zipper with her delicate fingers and paused, cupping me. Her face reddened as she did so, nearly to the shade of her panties now strewn on the floor. She yanked down on them and they dropped to my ankles. I stepped out of them as she slid her hand down the back of my underwear, cupping my ass.

“Not bad.”

Was she kidding me? My ass was rock hard, nearly as firm as my manhood. I sat back down on the chair and pulled her with me. She straddled me.

“Well, since you wanted to test the ‘merchandise’ out, why don’t you take point?”

“Don’t mind if I do.” She wasn’t fazed in the slightest as she lowered herself onto me. Slowly, so painfully slowly, her core enveloped me until she reached the base of my shaft. Heaven, that’s what this was. Pure warm, wet bliss. Satisfaction filled me.

She moved up and down, the friction was too much—I moaned as I dug one hand into her hair and the other to her butt. She continued moving, her scent was all I could think of—she was all I could see.

Lavender, she smelled of lavender. Hell, she tasted of lavender.

The friction from her motion was glorious. She picked up the pace as she dug her hands into my shoulders, scratching with the most pleasant pain I’d ever felt. I moved my hips to meet her move for move, thrusting and tightening my grip on her as I did so. She claimed my mouth with hers and yanked on my tongue as she came slamming down on me.

Too much, this was too much. I sucked her tongue back as I thrusted, once twice, three times, and then with all-consuming pleasure I came. She moaned and sunk deeper into my chest, grazing her fangs against my collarbone and then my neck, doubling the sensation I was feeling.

It was a release of power.

My vision filled with stars and for a moment every nerve was hyperaware as endorphins flooded my system. Blood, I loved a good orgasm.

She panted as I held her there, our bodies slick with sweat. Slowly our breaths leveled off as we sat there holding each other, swaying with the motion from the train.

“I approve,” she said before lowering her head to my shoulder and snuggling in. A smile pulled at the left side of my mouth; she truly was remarkable.

“Exquisite.”