Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51404 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 257(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 171(@300wpm)
A bloody red curtain of Rage dropped over his vision and Greer’s fangs grew long and sharp. His woman was in trouble—the bastard was trying to take advantage of her! He’d drugged her and now he was going to rape her.
No, he’s fucking not! She’s MINE!
And he would kill if he had to, to get her back.
16
SUNNY
The ground tilted under Sunny’s feet, the torches along the edge of the meeting area smearing into golden streaks. Somewhere she had lost her shoes. She tried to plant her bare toes in the packed earth, to resist the big, three-eyed Chief tugging her toward the far edge of the gathering, but her knees didn’t seem to want to lock anymore.
“Come,” Chief Lowhung rumbled, his massive hand clamped around her upper arm. “We will talk… alone.”
“I don’t think tha’s…tha’s a good idea—” Her words slurred together and stumbled over each other. Her tongue felt thick, her lips slow. The sweet-spicy Mating Drink she’d sipped was still warm in her stomach, and every beat of her heart sent a strange, liquid heat rolling through her. She should never have touched it—she knew she was a lightweight. But she’d never gotten so drunk so fast from such a small amount of alcohol.
There must be something else in it, she thought dizzily.
But what?
“I insist. You will come with me.” The Chief’s grin was all teeth and his third eye was looking at her hungrily. The scent of him—strong, male, and far too close—made her head spin harder. She dug her heels in again, but it was like trying to stop a freight train with a feather—he only yanked harder on her arm and she was powerless to resist.
“Lemme go,” she mumbled, her vision blurring around the edges. “Can’t…not gonna go with you.”
“You will enjoy my company,” he assured her, leaning close. “You are already warm for me. I will pleasure you until dawn, lovely one. Then you will be mine.”
“No! Nononono…” The protest caught in her throat as her knees buckled. The Chief’s hand tightened, dragging her toward a shadowed hut at the far end of the clearing.
Panic sparked, cutting through the haze. Her Think-me was hidden under her hair, but she didn’t have the strength to focus on it now. She twisted in his grip, heart pounding—
“Greer…Greer please, I need you!”
And then the night split with a low, lethal growl.
“Let her go, you fucker!”
The voice—deep, cold, and furious—hit her like a blast of fresh air. Sunny lifted her head and saw Greer, stalking out of the shadows. Her Protector looked like an avenging god, bare-chested, his pale eyes burning red.
Rage, she thought dizzily. Oh my God, he’s going into Rage for me!
Rage was a state of berserker fury that Kindred warriors only went into when they thought the woman they loved was threatened. But Greer didn’t love her…did he? Sunny was too dizzy to figure it out.
Chief Lowhung didn’t release her.
“This female is mine for the night,” he said smoothly, smiling at Greer. “She came to me willingly—of her own volition.”
“You’re a fucking liar,” Greer snarled.
The Chief drew himself up, looked deeply offended.
“How dare you call your host a liar?”
“How dare you try to rape Sunny?” Greer shot back. “She is under my protection. And no one—no one—touches what’s mine.”
Sunny’s heart gave a weak thump at the possessive growl in his deep voice. She shook her head, trying to tell the Chief herself, but her words came out slurred. “I don’ wan… you. I wan…want… to go home. With Greer.”
That earned her a scowl from Lowhung, his three eyes narrowing. But after a tense beat, he appeared to back down.
“Oh, very well…” The Chief took his hand off Sunny’s arm and took a step back. “Take her then, if you object to our customs.”
“If your custom is to drug your women and rape them, then yes, I fucking object!” Greer growled.
Sunny swayed.
“Greer, I feel so…so strange,” she moaned.
And then she fell.
17
GREER
Greer caught her before she hit the ground. He gathered Sunny into his arms and cradled her small, curvy body against his chest. Thank the Goddess, he’d gotten to her in time!
Or had he? Because even though his prize had been taken away, the Thropp’ian Chieftain was smiling—a knowing smirk that curled the corners of his mouth.
“The little scientist drank deeply of the Mating Drink, Protector,” he said, laughing unpleasantly. “I only hope you can help her. She will need to be satisfied…if you wish her to live.”
“What? What does that mean?” Greer demanded. “What the fuck is in this ‘Mating Drink’ of yours, anyway?”
But the Chief only shook his head, laughing. Greer wanted to go punch him—to make him answer. But just then, a low moan broke his concentration.
Looking down, he saw that Sunny’s cheeks were flushed and her eyes looked desperate and glazed at the same time.