“Yeah.” Dom exhaled heavily. “Everything about her vibrates on your level, Eric. Physically, mentally. Even herguer, as untrained as it is, suits you.”
A Ravager’sguer, or fighting spirit, was all to their kind. The wilder theguer, the stronger the Ravager. Animal instincts went hand in hand with resilience. Coming from a world where only the fittest survived, Ravagers had to choose the best to carry on their lines.
With a slim ratio of female to male Ravagers, they’d had to make a decision. The king before Eric, like all the rest, had refused to allow Ravagers to procreate with others outside their species. The stress of life in this world, and his cruelty, turned his into a short-lived reign and fractured the Ravagers into two clans. One followed Eric—the Savages. The other followed Nev Lawless—the Lawless clan.
Nev was a sick bastard, one who reveled in brutality over his Ravagers and the humans unfortunate enough to come into contact with him. The Salinas couldn’t contain him, but Eric and his warriors did. Though mostly banished to the fields skirting the Boundary, and smaller in number than the Savages, the Lawless clan posed a constant threat. If he could have, Eric would have killed every last one of them. But he couldn’t rule his kind and push for their future while engaging in a clan war. His Ravagers needed the promise of family, of tomorrow, not more death over territory disputes and the validity of Ravager mating practices.
“Prime?” Dom frowned.
Eric shook off his worries about tomorrow. Did he really want to dwell on Nev Lawless when he had a nearly-marked female waiting at home for him? “Drive faster, Logan. I’ve got things to do at home.” Things involving a naked Vicki.
Logan nodded. “Can’t argue with that. Don’t hit me again, Dom.” He shot Dom a dark look. “It’s a figure of speech. I wouldn’t really argue with Prime. Hell, I’m having a hard time thinking about anything besides sinking into Vicki. This is the first time Prime’s ever marked a female. I didn’t think it would be so… The need has never been this intense before.” He sounded confused.
Join the club.
“So how long are you going to keep her, anyway?”
Eric started. He didn’t know. It wasn’t as if he could take her to mate, to claim her. Marking her for sex was one thing, but a permanent joining? And why was he even thinking about forever with a virtual stranger?
Dom licked his lips. “I’m thinking Prime is going to need some time to break this one in.”
Vicki wouldn’t give in easily. He knew she wouldn’t. It wasn’t in her nature, just as he knew sex with her would be incredible.
“She’ll need a firm hand, Prime. Guidance. Others to show her what you like, what you need.”
“Damn it, Dom.” Logan shifted in his seat. “I’m trying to drive and this hard-on isn’t helping.”
“No shit.” Eric glared. “Shut up already, or consider yourself last in tonight’s lineup.”
Dom turned to stare at Eric in surprise. He met Eric’s displeasure for several heartbeats before he slowly looked away. “Touchy bastard,” he muttered.
“What’s that?” Eric forced himself not to smile. Trust Dom never to give an inch.
“Sorry.” Dom sounded as if he wanted to shove that sorry down Eric’s throat, and Eric knew, had Logan not been present, he probably would have tried.
Logan coughed but didn’t quite hide his laughter. When Dom snarled, Logan quickly changed the subject to Kate and Diana. While Logan and Dom discussed Sean Morely and what the girls might really want with him, Eric envisioned Vicki and the brewing battle he’d have winning her over.
How long would he keep her? Hisguerdidn’t like the question.As long as I need to,he told himself.Or longer.
Chapter Eight
Vicki’s head pounded, waking her from a deep rest. Memories of Ravagers and her cousin returned, and she wondered what mess she’d landed in now. The last thing she recalled, Jesse had tossed her over his shoulder.
“Why am I in a bed? Where is this place?” After sitting up, she edged off the gigantic bed and stumbled to the window to gather her bearings. She took a deep, cleansing breath and looked out at a forest under the breaking dawn. No Salinas, no criminals or crowded streets. Jesse must have taken her somewhere outside the city limits, because the picturesque background seemed far from the overcrowded city that was Cross Step.
A perimeter of green grass surrounded the house, some of it covered in orange and red leaves that tumbled from the massive trees in the wood line. Beyond the grass she saw a blanket of forest. From out of the woods, several Ravagers appeared in their beast-like forms. Most likely she stood inside their headquarters, a safehouse, or something like it. She’d have a devil of a time escaping, even if she managed her way out of this house unmolested.
As her mind whirred with options, she investigated and found a bathroom. Making good use of it, she felt like herself once more and left the bathroom with purpose—to ignore the pulsing, sexual need thrumming through her body, find and rescue her cousin, and get the hell out of Dodge.
Before she could accomplish any of those, the door to the bedroom opened, revealing a tall, dark stranger. Oddly enough, he vibrated with the same intense power Eric and Dom did. His sexual energy revved her own.
Not good.
“Ah. No wonder they wanted you closeted in here.” The guy smiled, and she wasn’t surprised to see sharp white teeth in that handsome face. “I’m Malcolm. Do you need anything, Ms. Fox?”
“Actually, I do.” Vicki lunged at him and hugged him tight. As she did, she inhaled his energy, filling the reserve she’d tapped before she’d blacked out. Drawing more than she needed, she put Malcolm on his ass. He dropped into a heap, and she winced when his head struck the wooden floor.
“Sorry, buddy.” Skirting around him, she cautiously left the bedroom and shut the door behind her. She closed her eyes, let out a tendril of energy, and encountered more bodies in the house.
