Mastering Their Human Read online

  At least with her husband watching she’d had a reason to perform. Knowing her antics drove him crazy had filled her with a sense of power. This felt mechanical and shallow. She just wanted it to be over.

  Renn moved faster, stabbing into her core with frantic demand. Despite her emotional indifference, her body responded to their persistent stimulation. The thickness of Renn’s cock combined with Ced’s animalistic intensity, and her core rippled with an impending orgasm.

  Pushing to the back of her mouth, Ced held her head tightly as he spilled down her throat. As soon as the last spasm passed, he withdrew and stepped back, disentangling his fingers from her hair.

  Renn pushed her head down nearly to the floor, giving him a better angle for his thrusting. She braced her knees and embraced each forceful lunge. This was honest, earthy fucking, without pretense or romanticism. If she kept her emotions suppressed and operated within that mindset, this was almost tolerable.

  With one final thrust, Renn buried himself in her pussy and shuddered in release. Her inner muscles echoed the distinct pulses of his climax, leaving them both breathless and sweaty.

  He slapped her ass as he pulled out. The unexpected sting made her shiver.

  “You’ve certainly learned a trick or two since the last time we played these games.” Renn helped her to her feet before he went to the bathroom to wash up.

  What is the Chrysalis?

  She pivoted toward Ced. He had righted his clothes and appeared unaffected by their recent interaction. Still, he’d obviously done a lot more than establish a communication link while he was inside her mind. She could feel his power threaded through her brain. Like the leash on a spirited pet, the mechanism could be tightened or yanked whenever he chose to exert his will.

  “It was the project my husband was working on when he was arrested.” That was true and it was all she intended to tell him.

  Before he could dig deeper into the mystery, Renn returned with a damp cloth. “How do you feel, Ced? Was she able to satisfy you?”

  Renn tossed the cloth to Nehalem but she just held it, resenting his insensitivity. Did he honestly expect her to stand here in the middle of the room and scrub between her legs? He’d made a beeline for the bathroom, yet he stood between her and the door.

  Her energy is rich and her mouth is talented. I have no complaints.

  Well, she had plenty. “I want to learn how to do that without fucking. The whole purpose for this arrangement was so I could get away from this sort of thing.” Renn smirked and her palms itched as she pictured a slap hard enough to jerk his head to the side.

  “How many times did you come during this little scene?”

  “That’s not the point. I want control of my body. You said—”

  You have no idea what it’s like to truly lose control of your life. Ced’s anger stabbed into her mind. She gasped and pressed her hands to her temples, temporarily blinded by the pain. I was kept in a cage for eleven years, naked and in chains. Don’t pretend like you understand degradation! What you did, you chose to do.

  Without another word, Ced stormed through the connecting door and into the adjoining bedroom. Already she doubted the wisdom of their association. She’d thought this time would be different, that Renn would treat her with respect.

  “What was he talking about?” Ignoring the slickness of her inner thighs, she tossed the cloth aside and snatched Renn’s shirt off the floor, quickly covering her nudity.

  Pausing to pull on his jeans, Renn began his explanation. “Rather than firing me outright after your father found out about us, he sold my contract to Chancellor Howyn. I’d already passed extensive background checks before your father hired me, so Howyn was happy to take me off your father’s hands and make me disappear. I was sent to work at an isolated facility up in the mountains. I kept hearing about ‘the subject,’ but I wasn’t allowed near him for the first two years.”

  “Ced was the subject?”

  Renn nodded, moving closer to her. “He’s immune to the lentavirus, so they used his blood to engineer various suppressants and eventually a cure.”

  “Ced is naturally immune to the lentavirus?” Her emotional grumbling stilled and her mind perked up, focusing in on the implications. “He was exposed and he never got sick?”

  “That’s right. And Howyn locked him in a cage and treated him like a lab rat because of his immunity.” Renn’s voice was hushed, his gaze filled with pain. He was obviously distracted by the hurtful memories.

  She tried not to let her excitement show, but her search might finally be over. Howyn had used the humans because their DNA was untainted by the lentavirus. Ced’s immunity would make him an even stronger candidate. Even if the mutant energy spilled over into his system he would be impervious to its effects. Tucking the possibility away in the back of her mind, she listened to the rest of Renn’s sad tale.

  “When I was finally allowed near him, I was physically sickened by what they had done to him.” His hand touched her upper arm then slid down and clasped her hand. “He was chained to the floor like a dog and surrounded by a cage as well. He was naked, as he said, but that’s only where the abuse began. His food was dumped into a dish secured to the floor, so he was forced to eat with his hands or stick his face in the dish like a dog. It was disgusting.”

  Pulling her hand out of his light grasp, she crossed to the neatly made bed and sat down. “If the lives of our entire race depended upon his survival, why would they treat him badly?” She didn’t want to be coldhearted, but Renn’s story was starting to sound rehearsed, carefully constructed to elicit just the right emotions.

  “It didn’t start out that way. Ced refused to cooperate from the beginning. He fought them every step of the way. They explained that the procedures were necessary to save millions of lives, but he had no way of knowing if what they said was true.”

  “Was Padric involved in this mess?”

  He slipped his hand into his pocket and cocked his head. “Your husband is the chancellor’s henchman. You know the answer to that question.”

  She’d sensed the general’s ambition and his corruption the first time she met him. It was one of the reasons she’d begged her father to reconsider the union. It didn’t matter. That part of her life was over. With one last shudder, she consigned General Padric Bryson to the past where he belonged.

  “When Ced continued to defy them,” Renn went on, “they concluded that he was an imbecile, incapable of understanding what was at stake. I was told to stay away from him and not to bother trying to engage him in any way. They convinced themselves his brain barely functioned, that he was little more than an animal.”

  She kept her legs pressed together, unusually aware of how little she wore. “No one tried to communicate with him? Didn’t they realize he’s deaf?”

  “They didn’t care.” He ambled toward her, his gaze locked with hers. “It was easier to justify what they were doing if he was a mindless animal.”

  “Why didn’t Ced send his thoughts to any of them? Why did he allow them to… I know it’s not his fault, but it doesn’t sound like he tried to correct their misconception.”

  He glanced away, obviously annoyed by her observation. “Ced is empathic. He can sense a person’s basic nature and scan their emotions, but specific communication requires a link.”

  “And the link is established through touch.”

  His gaze returned to hers, a bit of the tension easing from his features. “When they first captured him, he was mad with rage and desperate to escape. He attacked anyone who touched him, so they quickly stopped touching him. They discharged pulse weapons from the outside of the cage and knocked him out before the simplest procedure. Even when he was unconscious they used gloves and face guards. They treated him as if he were diseased.”

  “So, by the time he settled down enough to communicate with them, he’d lost the opportunity.”

  “Exactly.” Renn sighed, the cobwebs clearin
g from his expression as he moved closer to the present. “I guarded him for several months, maintaining all safety protocols. But I’d catch him watching me and there was intelligence in his gaze. I began to suspect his handlers were wrong. I tried talking to him, but obviously I got no response. Then one afternoon, I was filling his dish and he reached for my hand. Rather than blast him as I was supposed to do, I took off my glove and waited. His fingers encircled my wrist and I felt a pinch inside my head. Then his voice or his thoughts flowed across the link. He spoke Protarian with a really thick accent, but I was able to understand him. We’ve been able to communicate ever since.”

  “You helped him escape.” It wasn’t really a question. The story’s ending was obvious.

  “I had to catch the lab on fire to do it, but I got him out of there. We disappeared into the black zones and eventually Howyn stopped looking for us.”

  “That’s horrible.” She pushed to her feet and slipped past him, moving instead to the sliding door leading out onto the small balcony. The hotel was on the outskirts of Sanctum, technically elite territory, but few of the elite ever ventured this far from the bustling center of the sprawling city. “Every time I think Howyn couldn’t possibly be any viler, I find out something else he’s done.”

  Tell us about Chrysalis. Ced stood in the doorway connecting the two bedrooms. His stern expression brooked no refusal. It would not remain so prominent in your mind if it was not still a part of your life.

  The threads of compulsion pulsed and she wanted to tell him, needed to explain. “They created nanites capable of storing mutant energy. They can—”

  “Who are ‘they’?” Renn asked.

  Standing so she could see both men, as well as Sanctum’s gleaming skyline, Nehalem had never felt so alone. If she lost control of the Chrysalis nanites, she would be nothing. The nanites were her only hope of exacting vengeance on those who had hurt her and of brokering a future where she would be safe and comfortable.

  Don’t make me compel you. I assure you it’s unpleasant.

  “Cassandra, Howyn’s daughter, was one of the members of the team, but there were others.” She glared at Ced, frustrated by her helplessness.

  “What else can the nanites do? What is the energy used for?”

  “The nanites were injected into a human test subject first. I’m not a scientist, but I know it was important to use someone whose DNA hadn’t been altered by the lentavirus.”

  The men exchanged a secretive glance before Renn told her to continue.

  “They used me to gather energy from as many different mutants as I could. Then they drained the energy from me and stored it in alloy cylinders. Each type of energy—each ability—was stored in a different cylinder.”

  Go on, Ced urged.

  “The nanites allowed the human to charge herself up with several abilities at once. She had to recharge the nanites after she completed each mission, but what these nanites allowed her to do was pretty spectacular.”

  “Where is this human now?” Renn asked.

  “I’m not sure. She was at the party with Padric and Howyn when they were arrested. She’s either in custody or Fane is working to deprogram her.”

  Were all of the nanites seized during the arrest? What happened to the storage cylinders?

  Again she felt an overwhelming need to tell him the truth. The effect was making her nauseous. “Would you please stop doing that? When Renn told me you are immune to the lentavirus, I realized you’re exactly what I’ve been searching for. Well, not exactly. I was hoping to find someone who can gather their own energy, but you’re the best option I’ve found so far.”

  “Get to the point.” Renn crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight restlessly.

  She walked across the room and used her thumbprint to open the safe stashed in the back corner of the closet. Trepidation hampered her movements, but her frantically searching mind provided no viable alternative. She pulled out a locking silver case and set it on the foot of the bed.

  The men drew near as she opened the case. She motioned toward the double row of bentin alloy cylinders and the sealed injectors containing the nanites. “This, gentlemen, is Project Chrysalis.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Sean sat on the edge of Sarah’s bed, torn between anguish and fury. She lay on her side facing the wall, knees drawn up toward her chest. He wanted to shake her, force her to realize this unexpected change could be a wonderful opportunity if she would only allow herself to embrace the unknown. Shame shouldered through his frustration and he sighed. It was easy for him to make judgments and offer advice. He wasn’t the one who had been robbed of their power.

  She hadn’t spoken since he entered her bedroom, and he’d had to slip through the wall to get inside. Fane told him everyone was at their wits’ end. Nothing anyone tried had drawn her out of her depression and it was only getting worse. She had barely eaten anything since Sean left the Underground.

  “Sarah, you can’t go on like this. If I have to hold you down and make you eat, you know damn well I’ll do it.”

  “I had dreams long before I mutated. Most people don’t realize that.” She didn’t bother turning around. Her voice sounded dry and raspy.

  He reached for the pitcher on her nightstand and poured her a glass of water. “I can’t understand you, sprite. You sound like a frog.”

  Propping herself on an elbow, she accepted the glass. “You’re a terrible liar.” She downed the glass and shook her head when he offered her a refill. She sat up and leaned against the wall, her face pale and drawn. “The dreams haven’t stopped. There’re just shadowed now, as if I’m staring through a really dirty window.”

  “Everybody dreams, sweetheart. This is just your mind trying to accept the fact that—”

  “Don’t patronize me.” She threw the glass at his head, but he batted it aside before it did any damage. “I can tell the difference between a dream and a prophetic vision.”

  “If you’re still having visions, this is good news, isn’t it?”

  “My mind is still open, but I can no longer see. I sense the importance, I know I need to process the images, but I no longer have the capability.”

  “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say that wouldn’t sound patronizing.

  “Something horrible is on its way, something dark and dangerous. I’ve sensed the presence growing stronger ever since you left.”

  He started to ask her if anyone had been able to confirm her prediction, but bit back the words. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I’m not sure yet.” She tucked her hair behind her ears and sighed. “No one believes me now. At least you’re pretending that my warnings mean something. I appreciate the effort at least.”

  “I believe you. I just need more information before I can act.”

  She let the subject drop, though he suspected there was a lot more she wanted to say. Neither of them could do anything about it, so why dwell on her limitations.

  “They know why it happened,” she said instead. “Did Fane tell you that?”

  “I only saw Fane briefly. I was anxious to get in here and talk some sense into my stubborn little sister.” She didn’t react to his teasing. She was sitting up and talking. That was progress at least.

  “My deterioration was so severe they didn’t think I’d survive until the new nanites arrived, so they reprogrammed some of Dr. Myers’. That’s why this hasn’t happened to anyone else. I’m the only one with Cassie’s hand-me-downs.”

  “Why did using Cassie’s nanites lead to this result?”

  “One of the functions of her nanites was to keep her healthy and repair any damage her body might sustain. Sort of like an onboard doctor, or more like a team of doctors, continually circulating looking for things to fix. Allen thought the new programming would overwrite the original parameters. Apparently he was wrong. The two programs merged and he ended up with a template for anyone wanting a comp
lete reversal as opposed to stabilization, which was their original goal.”

  “Can’t they… I don’t know, purge this set of nanites from your body and use the other ones?”

  “Sure they could, but I’d have to find the exact strain of the lentavirus I was originally exposed to and go through mutation all over again.”

  Sean stared at her long and hard, searching for any hint of such a rash impulse. “You aren’t even considering that, are you? The onset illness very nearly killed you and your mutation took—”

  “I was there, Sean.” She averted her face. “You don’t have to remind me about what the first go-round was like.”

  “That didn’t answer my question.” He grasped her chin and returned her gaze to his. “Are you thinking about doing it again?”

  “Of course I’ve been thinking about it. That doesn’t mean I’m foolish enough to do it. I’m well aware of the fact I barely escaped with my life the first time and there is no guarantee I’d survive this time.”

  “This time?” His heart lurched out of rhythm as a chill sped down his spine.

  “No matter how much I want my powers back, it’s just not worth the risk.”

  He released her chin, but doubt sat like a rock in the pit of his stomach. She’d said she had disregarded the idea. Her answer wouldn’t change no matter how many times he asked the question. All the browbeating in the world wouldn’t help him now. He had to progress as if he believed her and plan for the worst.

  “If I send in a tray, will you eat something? Or better yet, you could brush out your hair and come meet Brianna. She’s hoping to at least say hello.”

  Her eyebrows arched at the sudden warmth in his voice. “Why is it every time one of our men leave on a rescue mission they come back with a mate?”

  He didn’t bother denying it, nor did he elaborate. Brianna would be enough of a shock for Sarah right now. Once she’d had time to get to know Kellan, Sean would ease her into the true complexities of his relationship. “We can’t resist helpless females, I guess.”