Page 17 of Stealing Mercury (Arena Dogs #1)

Chapter Nine

Mercury crouched on a sturdy tree limb. He had a good view of the clearing where Sam was making camp.

She moved easily—uninjured, healthy, fit and full of life.

He didn’t know how long he’d been watching.

This new world was nothing like the domed city where he’d been created and trained, and his body had not yet learned its rhythms. Lo and Carn were close by, and they would wait as long as necessary.

His ears flicked in concern when Sam’s discussion with the whip-master turned tense.

Even though Mercury had known something would happen, rage burned through him when Drake abandoned her to Resler. The instant Sam’s body broadcast her fear, he exploded off the branch. The jolt of landing battered his body, but that didn’t stop him from launching into a run.

His muscles caught fire as he surged through trees and across the open ground. His surroundings blurred. The scent of Sam, the scent of her terror, filled his head and guided him through the blur.

Then he was there. Sam was trapped face down on the ground.

Resler on top of her. Mercury dug his fingers into Resler’s shoulder and thigh.

Satisfaction soared when he heard the man whimper and scented the stink of the man’s piss as he wet himself.

Mercury chucked him aside, aiming for a large tree—not so near the collision would kill the bastard, but close enough to provide a rewarding smack.

He shook his body in a head to toe shudder to rid himself of the need for further violence and turned his attention to Sam. He dropped to his knees beside her, bent low to shelter her with his strength, and reached for her.

She scrambled with her fingers and toes to get out of his reach.

“No!” She thrashed, forcing Mercury to dodge kicks and elbows until he slipped an arm under her belly and pulled her back against his chest to control her fear-fueled movements.

Fuck, he should have been faster.

He kept his touch unyielding, but careful not to dig into her already bruised flesh, as he growled softly to his courageous little female.

As her movements stilled, he turned her in his arms, one hand cradling her skull. He pressed her face to his chest. Her hot breath puffed warmly against his perspiration-slicked skin, affirming that she was okay, alive and vital to his wellbeing. Nothing had ever felt better.

“Mercury.”

“I’m here, courra . No one will harm you now.”

Her fingernails dug small crescents into his skin as she clung to him. “How?”

He understood the question but wasn’t ready to answer. To risk her withdrawal.

All the times they’d spent with bars between them hadn’t prepared him for the reality of her body pressed to his.

He wanted to comfort her. To provide a safe haven.

He also wanted to claim her. Every instinct screamed that he should bind her to him, punish her for putting herself in such danger. Soothe all her hurts.

He lifted her higher and buried his face against her neck. Pressing his lips low along her throat, he nestled his nose against her jawline. He sucked in a deep breath, taking in her scent. He’d nearly lost her before they’d even begun.

His heart soared as she allowed his touch.

She clung to him until he forced himself to loosen his hold, letting her ease back a few inches.

Hair spilled around her in a riot of color.

Her skin began to fade from gold to pink as he watched.

Her big green eyes studied him in that way she had.

So different from other humans. No greed. No calculation. No hate.

She blinked and looked around. Her gaze lingered over Resler’s unconscious form before coming back to him. “Drake?”

He growled low in the back of his throat. His muscles tightened with annoyance that she would still worry about the enemy. “Carn will have him by now. He’ll live. They both will. I remembered my promise. Even if they deserve worse than death.”

He stood, setting her on her feet.

Mercury signaled to Lo. His brother emerged from the shadows as he made a chuffing noise in the back of his throat.

Sam clutched Mercury’s arm as Lo’s gaze brushed across her before he leaned down and pulled Resler over his shoulder. Sam pressed against Mercury’s side as Lo padded back to the clearing with Resler’s limp body.

Mercury wished he knew what was happening in her mind. Nothing in her scent provided a clue.

Samantha tried to take a step but stumbled.

Mercury caught her, then pulled her back into his arms. “Lo won’t kill him.”

She took the support he offered, letting him hold her. Relief and worry tangled in a ball in his gut.

“Talk to me, courra .”

She stood silent. Her body no longer trembling, but still tense. He didn’t know what to do, so he held her fragile body against him and waited for her spirit to return. Instead, all her heat drained away. The bands of color had turned ivory. He rubbed her arms, trying to chase away the chill.

“You’re alive, courra . Alive and beautiful and strong.”

She gave him a shaky smile, but something dark and lost still lurked in her eyes.

Mercury wrapped his hand around hers and led her back to the clearing. Carn and Lo had tied Drake and Resler, back-to-back. Carn still kneeled next to them, wrapping a length of nylon strapping around Drake’s feet.

Drake glared at Sam, his eyes hard as stone. “Lying bitch.”

Mercury let out a low bark. Carn responded without hesitation, reaching up and backhanding the whip-master. The man’s lip burst, and blood spilled down his shirt in fat drops.

Drake spit blood but didn’t cry out. All the times the man had taunted him, urged him to show no mercy, rushed in and layered across his vision so he saw not only the man but every glare, every threat, every sickening smile of satisfaction the man had ever used to chip away at his soul.

Mercury wanted to hear the whip-master whimper and every way he could make that happen rushed into his thoughts in a black surge of hate that made his muscles twitch and his pulse pound.

Resler had regained consciousness. He whimpered, one arm wrapped around his knee and rocking where he sat. His other arm hung limp. Blood seeped through what remained of his shirtsleeve and white bone glistened through a rip in the material.

Sam held herself still at Mercury’s side. Would she reject him at the evidence of their brutality? This small hint of what he carried inside him?

She cleared her throat, and he held his breath, awaiting her verdict.

“Is everyone okay?”

Mercury stood, spine stiff. “Their injuries will heal. They’ll recover, even on this unfamiliar world.” He’d wanted to tear them apart, but he hadn’t. “I deem them not harmed. I have kept my promise.” He dared her with his eyes to dispute his claim.

She met his gaze squarely. “I was asking about the three of you.”

He sniffed, searching for the scent of deception, but found only lingering fear and beneath that, sweet honey. His throat tightened with the choking grasp of relief. “We’re fine.”

“I’m glad.” She wrapped her free hand around his forearm and brushed her fingertips across the sensitive skin on the inside of his wrist. “You also promised to stay away.”

Her whispered words turned relief into a knot that twisted and shifted low in his gut. “We didn’t breach their perimeter until they threatened you.”

Her fingers continued to stroke him softly. “But you must have been close.”

The part of his brain that had become accustomed to demands and obedience and the never-ending threat of punishment heard censure and accusation in her words, but the reasoning, thinking part caught the thin far-away tone.

His primitive male instincts thought only of the touch of her fingers across his pulse.

It was a touch of submission and soothing—a mate’s touch.

“It was necessary,” he said, jumpy and confused by all the warring parts of himself.

“I knew they couldn’t be trusted to keep you safe.

” He couldn’t think clearly. Not when she was touching him that way.

Not when he needed badly for instinct to be right.

Not when she could turn on him at any moment.

Samantha reached up and cupped his cheek. “I’m glad you choose wisely in how to keep your promises.”

The tight muscles along his jaw relaxed.

The knot in his belly eased. He closed his eyes and reigned in the need to revel in the small victory.

His instincts had been right, or nearly so.

They urged him to give into the need that had been building from the first scent of her.

Instead, he turned into her touch and pressed his lips to her palm.

He wanted to lick, to nip, to taste, but there would be time for that later.

He turned back to the others. “Grab what you think we’ll need but leave them enough to survive. Destroy all their weapons.”

“You’re never getting off this fucking planet,” Resler shouted. “You’re all fucking dead.”

Drake’s voice was cool fire. “If the emergency rations run out, we’ll need weapons to hunt for food.”

Mercury slipped free of Samantha’s hand and strode over to Drake. He squatted down and got in the other man’s face. “This world has plenty of grubs. Be grateful for what you have. Isn’t that what you always told us?”

The stubborn bastard denied Mercury’s need to see fear in his eyes. No, the whip-master wasn’t done causing them trouble, but there was little he could do about that looming threat. Not without turning Sam against them.

It took only a few minutes to gather the things they wanted to carry and to dismantle and destroy the weapons. Mercury watched Sam closely. She moved with heartbreaking deliberateness as she used the med-kit to treat the scrapes and bruises that marred her soft skin.

After she’d finished and packed it away, he led her over to the water supply and urged her to drink.

“You must drink while you can. With all we carry, we can’t carry the water, too.”