Page 40 of Witches Be Damned

Yes, we were.

He snapped his hips, his cock hitting the right spot, sailing me closer to a different kind of orgasm, one more powerful when we did it together. I loved the feeling of his body crashing into mine, the weight of him, heat of his body, his cock sinking deeper, his mouth plundering mine. His motions sped up as he chased our pleasure, sinking his teeth into my throat one last time, making me shatter on his length, squeezing him, and he roared, coming inside me in long, hot bursts.

When he finished, he rolled off and lay next to me, brushing my sides and letting me catch my breath. We kissed for some moments in our afterglow, his leg draped over mine, my arms around his waist, my hands on his back, nails scratching him. He tried to push his cum inside me three times, and I smacked him away each time, wary that he wanted me pregnant. Wrong time of the month, but I had to put my foot down.

He ran a finger over my sweaty belly. “Are you hungry, my mate?”

“For food, yes.” I needed a breather and to get feeling back into my numb body, which went into a little shock from all the pleasure.

He smiled, nudged me back on my stomach, and spanked my ass. “Just kidding.” Laughing, he pulled me back and helped me to sit up.

My wolf removed the three types of meat from the skewer, sliding off strips of food onto the plastic plate and feeding me until I was full. He didn’t take one bite until his wolf was assured I was satisfied. This was what a life with Raze would be about—pleasure, nurturing, protection, and love, and I couldn’t wait until my men and I were out of the Guardians forever.

CHAPTER 14 - KNOXE

The day had finally come. It only took almost three years to catch the vamp responsible for taking the life of my best friend. For what? Nothing? Once, we had an end in sight, our goal clear—catching Styx and cashing in on the bounty points set to get us out of the Guardians. Points that meant jack shit when the warden put our release on hold because he needed all hands on deck to retrieve fugitives who escaped.

The tight band that became a permanent fixture around my chest tightened to the breaking point. I didn’t know how much longer my team or I could take serving the Guardians. We lost Jaz, and narrowly avoided losing Pascal, Astra, and Raze. Serena got caught in the crossfire. Styx broke Tor’s spine. Who next? Me? Loco?

Vampires hissed behind me as the iron-based cuffs weakened them and burned their skin when Loco and I jerked them forward through the metal detectors. All gantii were allergic to it and gin and tonic, hence our weapons were forged with both these materials. Up this close with the vampires, the back of my throat cloyed with their heavy copper scent.

Loco did all the grunt work, preparing the paperwork for the vamps’ transfer. Guardian policy dictated he take more soldiers to transport the gantii to their home planet for his protection. Hence why Serena and I tagged along after her discharge from hospital.

The three of us dumped our weapons in containers on the security racks in the Terra Room and were forced to walk through the scanner with our vampire captives. The computer beeped its confirmation that we didn’t carry any unregistered munitions, and Sentry Ford waved us through.

“You sure you want to come?” I checked in with Serena, securing the vamps’ chains to a six-inch column, allowing me to remove my weapons from the container and fit them to my body.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she cracked back, stuffing the formal paperwork down the front of her zipper to enable her to gear up. “This is the biggest contract the Guardians has ever had, and I want to be part of it.”

Everybody dreamed of the glory of this contract, or one of the top five on offer. Glory that once belonged to me, but I relinquished for my team to share.

Her eyes slid to Loco, then the Ford, back to me, and she smiled.

“All right.” I clipped my gin and tonic bomb belt over my hips. “Let me know if you need to take a breather.”

“Sure thing.” There came that uneasy smile again. “Thanks for looking out for me, Knoxe.”

Looking out for those in my team used to be my job and it was ingrained in me. “No problem.”

I no longer felt the stab of insecurity at her assuming my position. In fact, I felt an enormous weight lifted off my back at not having to shoulder the burden of making critical decisions. For once, I could cruise along and enjoy the ride. That didn’t mean I didn’t worry about my team. Kicking that habit was a lot harder, and maybe I’d never shake it when it was part of my makeup.

Loco clapped me on the shoulder. “Good on you, son.”

The praise from my girlfriend’s father felt strange when my own rarely gave me any. I nodded at him and unhooked the vampires’ chains and clutched them tightly.

Having Loco accompany us made me think of Sunset, the bright blue eyes they shared, and whether she’d return. One part of me wanted her to remain free to stay with Raze and live her best life. The selfish part of me wanted her with us, which was unfair to him when he didn’t have anyone and needed her more than ever. Both sides warred with the other and hadn’t given me any peace since she accompanied him to his sanctuary. Whatever she chose to do, I hoped she was happy and safe. I certainly wouldn’t forget my fiery sunset that set my world ablaze. I just hoped that Raze’s shifter community were able to secret her away from the Guardian hunters Vancor might deploy to find her… not that the warden seemed to give a shit about her welfare.

Our end goal of freedom became a blur when the Guardians were left with significantly lower numbers of soldiers to perform missions, courtesy of the mass exit of fugitives. We got a vague promise of freedom if we apprehended them. Then what? More missions? How many more years of service and imprisonment? In the event we rounded up every last traitor and brought them back here, it was unlikely they’d ever be trusted to perform missions, and that left my team and me on lockdown for the foreseeable future. My ribcage ached like never before, and I doubted we’d ever see freedom. Maybe it was for the best Sunset stayed with Raze.

On the other side of the machine, Serena held her sides and winced. Her wounds still gave her grief, and that gave me reason for pause, especially if one of the vamps tried to make a break for it. She wasn’t fit enough to apprehend or tackle one in her condition when the doctor advised her to stay in the prison for another twenty-four hours. Hell, she had to twist his arm to get clearance for release and to accompany Loco and me to the vampire planet.

Stubbornness and hating being idle were something else we shared. I just hoped she knew what she was doing. We couldn’t afford another injury.

For that reason, Tor and Pascal stayed behind. Pascal hadn’t been cleared medically and wouldn’t argue against the doctor’s directive when he was a rule follower. Tor remained under medical observation since he returned with the broken exoskeleton.

Cole came in daily to test the repairs and the device’s response until the warden was satisfied and approved Tor for missions. Not that he minded when he got the jump on the information the thief avatar supplied, fulfilling his superhero complex, sharing information with Cole for their mission, in the hopes we might get additional clarity on our goals.

“Activating the portal.” Ford’s order and him flicking a switch, snapped me out of my thoughts.

---