Time away from Troy turned out to be a more difficult thing to do than I had anticipated. It had only been two hours and I was pacing around my room worrying about him, this was new. It wasn’t that I’d never been anxious about anyone before, but to actually not be able to focus on anything but that person was something I’d never had happen.
Quinton had texted me to say Troy was tense but behaving as they planned and rallied the troops. I didn’t worry any less, just focused on how many troops would give us the best shot for a few minutes.
Glancing at the markings on my arm, I had to wonder how they could take what was a mutual attraction scenario and make him into a domineering ape and me a worry-wart. The next question was did I like it? Feeling vulnerable and slightly lost, no I didn’t like that at all.
My mind kept lingering over the bits and pieces Mitz had mentioned during our talks, how fate wouldn’t put me with someone I didn’t like. My question, well, more of a wondering … were Troy and I compatible enough to be together forever? In this case it was literally forever. Did I even want to live that long? How was that managed, I wondered.
Shaking my head, I decided the details could be asked later. Mitz had said Troy would never want another woman—I looked at the swirls down my arm. How many women on my side would kill for a fidelity insurance policy like that?
I continued pacing, trying to tell myself that I had all the time in the world to figure out what I wanted. Did I want Troy? That was just silly, any woman with a pulse would want him. Whether I could live with him, especially this new territorial version was another thing all together.
Could I live without him though, began to worry my every thought. My chest started to tighten, making me pause in the middle of the room and place my hand on it. Drawing in a deep breath I tried to override the panic that was starting to fill me.
What was wrong? Something wasn’t right.
My arm began to feel hot, I stared at it like the answer to why would appear. This made the tightening in my chest increase. Rubbing my hand up and down my arm, I tried to think of what would cause it to do this without warning. I hadn’t tried to scrub it off since that one time, realizing it was now a permanent part of me. Waves of panic were feeding this whole lost feeling, my heart was beating an entirely different rhythm causing me to lose my breath for a few moments.
Did they have a doctor here? Surely not everyone could just magically heal themselves with one vice or another, someone with medical knowledge had to exist on this side. I knew I couldn’t go to anyone on my side, where would I even begin to explain what was going on.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and forced myself to exhale slowly. It didn’t help, something was really wrong. Opening them, I rushed over to the table to get my phone, I needed Quinton here now.
Before I could even scroll to his number, the door flew open and Troy’s large form filled it.
The burning of my arm intensified as I stood there looking at him. When my heart started to settle down, the tightness in my chest eased. Whether the emotions I had been feeling were his, or caused by being away from him I didn’t know but the lost feeling was fading and I felt like I could think again.
As if synced with each other we both started walking at the same moment. His eyes moved over every inch of me in those few steps, as if he needed to see with his own eyes that I was alright.
The phone I forgot I was holding buzzed, startling me out of the almost trance like state I was in, glancing at it I saw a text from Quinton. Troy on route – quickly! Grinning, I tucked the phone into my pocket and looked up at the man now towering over me.
With a gentle touch, he ran his hand down my arm and the burning lessened.
“I sensed you were upset,” he said in a whisper.
My next words should have been how, but instead they were, “I can’t explain it.”
He gave me a lopsided grin, “I don’t think you need to.” Palming the back of my head, he pulled me closer and began kissing me in a slow, hungry way.
All the panic inside me left and something clicked into place. A new sense of completeness filled me. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kissed him back almost desperately, not wanting these feelings to leave.
That’s all we did, kiss, drinking each other in, quenching a thirst that was never ending. In that moment, I didn’t care about prophecies or fate, all I wanted was this man I was wrapped around to continue to fill my every pore with only him.
Breaking the kiss, he looked down at me, his red eyes filled with hunger. My breath was ragged and legs were weak but in that moment I would have given him anything he asked. As I pulled his head back down, he nestled me tight into his hard body.
Someone cleared their throat from the door. Troy straightened but didn’t turn to see who it was.
“I really hate to break this up, but Victor just got word that we better get our asses to the compound within the hour.”
Both of us looked over at Rafael standing there.
With his hand against my back, Troy pulled me closer to his side and turned us so we faced him. “What’s going on?”
Raf shrugged. “That’s all I was told. Everyone is meeting at the weaponry in fifteen minutes.”
Troy nodded. “We’ll be there.”
Rafael spun on his heel and left.
Serious eyes met mine. There was so much to say to each other, and somehow we silently acknowledged it. Smirking, he took my hand. “We have some ass to kick.” Pulling me toward the door, he sent me a heated look. “Let’s get this done so we can focus on more enjoyable things.”
Ignoring the way my body responded, I shrugged. “I enjoy beating on those deserving.”
His eyes flared, but he didn’t comment.
****
The weaponry to me was like a shoe store to most other women. Weapons in all shapes, sizes and styles, this was heaven.
Chase spotted us before we got two feet in the door and came over carrying my harness for my Sais. I think I had it strapped on before it had left his hand completely. With a grin, he reached over my shoulder and put the weapons in it. Nodding to his twin, he turned and went toward the wall again.
Quinton appeared beside me holding out two knives—a six inch one with a weighted grip and a four-inch throwing knife. I’m sure I was drooling. I held out both hands, wanting all of the pretty toys. He grinned. “I’ll get you the straps.”
Victor came walking over, looking every bit the warrior, all black leather. He held out my little zapper box and then nodded when I clipped it to my waist. “I’m going to the shed with Michael. I’ll see you when you get there.”
I felt like a queen, only instead of jewels they were arming me with well-crafted weapons and accessories. Looking around, I spotted Troy, my heart doing a little flip inside my chest. Gone was his t-shirt and in its place he wore a black leather vest that left most of his upper body bare and visible. My arm tingled and then his head turned and our eyes met. I had to take a deep breath to remember what we were doing, with a small smirk he turned back to Rafael and Tim.
Mitz was suddenly standing in front of me. I must have had a shocked look on my face because she grinned. “No. I’m not going to fight.” She held up a piece of leather. It looked like a restraining device crossed with a corset. “The seamstresses were hoping to have more finished before you’d need them, but with where you were injured before, I took it as an omen that this was the first piece they finished.”
I felt like a little girl when she came at me and shoved it up against me rib cage. Nudging my arms out of the way, she pulled the straps around my back. “It’s lined with a mesh inside, a metal one.” She buckled it at my side, “but fine enough you can still move freely.”
Stepping back, she gave a little nod of approval and then made a serious expression with her lips. “Bring my boys back and be careful.”
With that, she turned and walked quickly through the tall bodies.
Looking down at the chunk of leather, it dawned on me what it was, covering and protecting my rib cage, sides and stomach but stopping high enough on my waist that I could still move I felt excited wearing it. I now had body armor, or at least the start of it.
When I looked up, Troy was walking toward me with a very intent look on his face. My arm tingled and I recognized now what the tingling feeling was, his desire. The rest of me caught up and heat slowly moved through me. I smiled when he was in front of me and held out my arms, waving the knives around. “What do you think?”
Nodding slowly, he stepped close enough I could feel the heat from his bare chest. Lowering his head, he nuzzled my neck. “I think, later, I’d like to see you wearing only that.”
Lava replaced the blood in my veins as he leaned back and looked down at me. “We could do that,” I barely managed to whisper.
“Maybe you two should stay a few feet apart.” Quinton appeared beside Troy, holding out the knife straps.
Troy gave me a long intense look and then stepped back. The look changed when he sent his brother an annoyed glance. “How many of us have gone over?”
I took the first strap from Quinton and secured it to my thigh.
“Arius, Leone and Raf have most of them over there now. We’ll split up and take the remaining ones with us.” He handed me the other strap.
“Good.” Troy motioned to Tim with his head. “Tim stays with Daxx. At all times,” he ordered in his kingly voice.
Nodding, Quinton glanced over his shoulder at the man. “He knows.”
A whistle came from behind me and I didn’t have to turn to see who would be brave enough to do that with Troy standing in front of me. I busied myself securing the other strap to my calf as Chase stepped up beside his brothers.
“My, my, kitten.” He smirked down at me. “Once you get the full leathers you have to get some of those boots.”
I knew what he was referring to, but wasn’t going to play into his game.
Troy cleared his throat as I straightened up. I gave him a hesitant look only to see him smiling at his twin. “Oh, she’ll get boots, but you won’t be seeing her in them.”
Sighing dramatically, Chase held out a small wooden case to him. “I’d ask if I could have the honors, but I think I’d fight better with hands.”
The smile Troy gave him was almost evil. “When did you get brains?” Taking the case from his sibling, he opened it.
I looked in to see a large, heavy chained pendant baring Troy’s symbol of the moon. It was the mate to the sun one Chase wore around his neck. Beside the man’s jewelry was a smaller one like the one pendant of both symbols I’d wore to the dance, just not as fancy.
Troy took it out and leaned over to place it around my neck. The cool metal rested just below my collar bone. Placing a lingering kiss on my cheek, he straightened and then took his own out of the box. Reaching over, I took it out of his hand, noting the surprised look on his face as I did.
Moving so my body was almost touching his, I stretched up and placed the chain over his head. Following the pendant down his chest with my hand, I gave him a serious look. “If you so much as get a scratch, I’m gonna be pissed.”
He grinned down at me, his eyes shining.
Turning, I looked at the other men. “That goes for you guys too.”