After he released my hand, he retrieved a bag I hadn’t even noticed him carrying. He had to bend for it, and let me just add, the view going was almost as good as the view of him returning.
Almost.
He dragged a dark shirt on and then pulled on some pants.
Pity.
His boots were gone, as was his belt. Didn’t do a damn thing to turn me off, though. Honestly. He looked even better all disheveled, hair askew and shirt hanging open. He slung the bag over his shoulder, and it lay crosswise over his torso.
Yeah, how had I not noticed that?
“Coming?” He gave me an expectant look, and it was my turn to smirk.
“Until I was so rudely blocked?” I let that suggestion hang out there for a minute before I slapped his chest on my way past. “Not even.”
His rough chuckle chased after me as we moved in tandem toward the door. “Grip the strap,” he ordered before pushing the metal door outward. It gave him some minor resistance, but the door buckled under the force he exerted.
Yep, that just set all kinds of things fluttering. Though brute strength wasn’t a turn on by itself. Fuck, I was hungry.
Once in the hall though, all thoughts of eating took a sharp right turn. A dozen guards swarmed toward us.
“Stay with me,” Maddox snarled as he waded in.
Yeah. Sure. No problem.
He moved hella fast, and the first jerk forward nearly pulled my arm out of the socket. Yeah, that wasn’t working for me. The first guard who tried to drag me away, however, ate my elbow in his teeth. They were mostly shifters. Not that it slowed Maddox down. I was pretty sure these were wolves. They had that eau de wet dog going on for them.
It was all fun and games until one of the bastards bit me. To be honest, when asked about it later, I had no idea what I did so much as I whirled. Letting go of Maddox, I landed on the bastard, all teeth and claws. The first drag of hot blood on my tongue, and I latched. I consumed every drop, the lust for blood he’d been simmering in along with the blood in his veins.
When this prey was ripped away from me, I whirled, intent on clawing out eyes, only to come face to face with a pair of nearly pitch-black eyes with the barest ring of gray around them, dark hair, and a face like an angel.
“Bad for the digestion, Beautiful.”
Oh, I knew that voice.
“That’s it. Focus on me.”
I was focused on him.
“You about done there, Maddox? This is a lot of fighting for the sweet baby.”
Then Maddox was there, he had a hold of my arm and turned me slightly. “Fucker tore right through her shoulder.”
Oh. Yeah. Someone bit me. I turned to go after said fucker, when Fin caught my free arm.
“Nope, he’s very dead, Beautiful. I promise. Time to go though.” Everything but the two of them seemed to be coming from a great distance.
“You’re overdoing it,” Maddox snarled.
“I can’t help it if she’s more naturally drawn to me,” Fin said smoothly, giving me a charming smile. My heart gave a distinct double-thump. He really was gorgeous, and his voice was buttery soft. I gave into the impulse to lean toward him, but Maddox’s grip on my arm kept me from going too far.
Pain lit up along my shoulder and raced across my skin.
“None of that,” Fin murmured, pressing a kiss to my wrist. “Nothing hurts. We’re going to get out of here, okay?”
I exhaled a long breath. “Okay.” That really did sound like a great idea.
“Let’s go, straight up,” Fin ordered. “Ten levels.” He swept me up into his arms, and it made Maddox release me. The poor Mad-Dragon let out a very disgruntled sound. “You first, we need to move fast. I doubt she can keep up with either of us, so let’s go.”
The world blurred past. The throb in my shoulder returned, and bit-by-bit, the foggy cloud muffling the sounds of combat around me faded. The sheer volume of bodies lying around us should have made my gorge rise, but as it was, I could barely muster the interest.
When had we gotten up here?
I vaguely remembered getting to the stairwell and the fight there. The man holding me, swung around and stared. That was it—just stared at the guy rushing us. The guard switched