Slick (The Grayverse #1)

CHAPTER FOUR

I frown at the menace in my alpha’s voice. Didn’t he hear me say I love Dex? Threatening to hurt him and leave him at the mercy of nasty birds is not going to make it easier for us to all get along.

“He’s joking,” I tell Dex as he steps up between my knees. “No one is going to hurt you.”

My alpha’s grunt isn’t very encouraging, but his eyes are warm as I squirm to the edge of the table. It’s hard not to preen when he watches me like that, and I return his regard, taking in his broad frame and wild mane of hair. It hangs lankly from being shoved under the hood, but I know it will be thick and lush when we wash it out. There are scars on his bronze skin, and his nose is a little crooked, but these imperfections just make him more ruggedly handsome in my eyes. As much as I love Dex’s healing hands, there’s something about my alpha’s brutal strength that sends a delicious shiver down my spine.

I thought I’d been squeezed dry on the table, but it’s impossible not to get wet as I hold my alpha’s stare. Dex has my jumpsuit in his hands, and as he tucks my feet through the leg holes, he doesn’t say anything about the precious slick running down my thighs, or the puddle forming around my ruined suit. He’s always been so meticulous with his aftercare, and as he pats my messy bun back into place, my fingers twitch to brush the frown from between his eyes. Instead, I lean in and nuzzle the skin next to his ear. “Thank you for being here with me, Dex. You don’t know how happy I am right now.”

He shivers, his eyes dropping to my lips as I pull away with a smile. There’s so much more I want to tell him, but my alpha makes an impatient sound, and I lean quietly against Dex as he zips up my jumpsuit. My paper slippers are full of glass shards, so Dex scoops me into his arms as my alpha leads us to the door. He’s through it in a flash, striding confidently down the hallway despite his naked state. My eyes are glued to the slabs of muscle in his thighs and butt, so I miss the first neck he snaps, a guard going down like a puppet with its strings cut. My alpha strides on and I gaze up at Dex with an awed smile. “He’s so strong.”

“That’s one word for it,” he mutters, stepping around the guard’s body with a frown. “I doubt he can stop bullets, though.”

I cringe at the thought, but my alpha shoots a sneer at him over his shoulder. “You think I came in here without an exit plan?” He bends down and plucks a plastic keycard from the sole of his foot. It looks like it was glued there, which is confusing, but I like the dark look of satisfaction in his eyes as he runs it over the door scanner and the light turns green.

I’m impressed, but Dex is still frowning at my alpha. “How long have you been walking around on that for?”

“When the guards dragged me in here, I was given a thorough strip but a half-assed search.” My alpha’s voice is dripping with contempt. “Not that any of those fuckers thought I had the brains to pull this off.”

I don’t know what any of that means, but I feel offended on my alpha’s behalf. I have complete faith in his abilities, especially when two more guards rush him from the next corner. A bark brings them down, and he snaps their necks for good measure. When he scoops up one of their guns, I can feel the tension in Dex’s muscles. “You could just… knock them out, you know,” he says with a flash of angry eyes. “Do you have to kill them like that?”

My alpha stops so abruptly we almost walk straight into his back. When he turns, his glare makes my nipples as hard as pebbles, but it also drains the last color from Dex’s face. “You’re lucky I don’t chain the doors shut and burn this whole place down.” My alpha prods Dex in the chest with the barrel of his gun. “Choose a side, Beta, or I’ll do a lot worse than knock you out.”

“ Hers ,” Dex scowls, but when my alpha takes a menacing step towards him, he curls me protectively against his chest. “Fuck. Yours too, okay? Now can we get the hell out of here?”

My alpha grunts, but he must be satisfied with Dex’s answer because he turns and swipes us through another door. The alarm is still blaring overhead, but it’s muffled in this next room, and I look around curiously. There’s none of the cold plastic or white walls I’m used to, and I stop to stare at the floor under Dex’s boots. I squirm, intrigued. “Can you put me down, please?”

He places me carefully on my feet, but as soon as I make contact with the floor, I drop to my knees.

“What is it, Omega?” When I gaze up at my alpha, he looks like a fierce, primal god with his wild hair and hard eyes, but his voice is gentle beneath its deep rasp. “Did you cut yourself on the glass?”

“It’s so soft! Is it…?” As I run my hands over the floor covering, I struggle to find the right word. It’s thicker than any of my blankets, and almost as soft as the skin on Dex’s wrists. “Is it carpet? ”

My alpha’s mouth turns down. “That’s a big deal to you?”

I shrink a little, but Dex crouches down and wraps a reassuring arm around my shoulder. “Are you really surprised she’s surprised? There isn’t any carpet in the facility. Is this the Director’s floor?”

“Not anymore,” my alpha mutters, striding past chairs wrapped in dark leather , and tables made of glass and chrome . The words come back to me slowly, and I think I must have seen them before. Not in books, but in the real world, out where my alpha lives.

As I watch him march towards another door, I scramble back to my feet. Is he taking me to some place like this, with carpet and chandeliers , or is his house more simply furnished? I don’t care if it’s a cave, as long as there’s a nest we can curl up in, and the walls are drenched with his scent.

“Where are we going?” Dex asks as my alpha strides into the next room. We hurry to follow, and I find it’s even more extravagant than the last, with gold-framed portraits on the wall and a fireplace that gleams like polished bone. There’s a big desk made from dark wood, and chairs scattered about, hard leather with metal studs. The air smells like sour meat and sweet smoke, and I wrap my arms around myself. Dex must notice, because he cuddles me close and shoots my alpha an impatient look. “Why are we here?”

“Just grabbing a couple of things.”

I watch curiously as my alpha approaches the desk and starts opening drawers. He drops a set of keys beside a letter opener, then takes something out of a small wooden box. A flame flares, throwing a warm glow on his face, and sweet smoke fills the air around his head.

“You're fucking kidding me,” Dex huffs. “We came all this way for a cigar ?”

I don’t know what that is, but my alpha gives a happy rumble as he puffs a smoke ring out of his mouth. I giggle and he shoots me a wink, then grabs a long leather coat from a rack behind the desk. Moisture floods my mouth as he pulls it on, the fabric straining over his muscles. He puffs again and looks me over slowly, from my parted lips to my curling toes. When he waves the cigar at me, I leap forward, almost squealing with delight when he hooks an arm around my back. His tangy-sweet scent is now spicy from the smoke leaking from his nostrils, and when he smiles, I think I might have died and floated straight up to heaven.

“You like this, Omega?”

By this , does he mean every inch of him? I nod and brush my hands down the smooth leather, my fingertips inching along the open seams. I’m desperate to curl my hands inside, to cup the heartbeat buried in all that muscle, but alphas aren’t to be touched without invitation. “I love it.”

“I’ve got a whole closet full of leather at home, and a nice big Fat Boy to go with it.” He squints at me through a veil of smoke, and the heat in that sliver of eye makes my thighs clench. “You ever take a raw ride on a V-twin Softail under a full moon, Omega?”

His words are too exotic for my poor brain to sort into images, so I shake my head. “I’d remember something as magical as that.”

“Yeah, I’m getting the sense your memories aren’t what they should be.” The look he shoots over my head is as unforgiving as the surface of a collection bed. “Guess we’ll have to make some new ones, won’t we?”

I think he’s talking to Dex, but I hope he means he’s going to take me for a raw ride on his Softail, whatever that is. “I’d like that. I haven’t seen the moon in… I’m not sure. We don’t go outside very often, in case the unfiltered air affects our slick quality.”

“Hmm. Well, that’s another fucked up thing we’re definitely gonna fix,” he says as he picks up the letter opener and fits it under my wristband. One slash and the plastic bracelet I’ve worn every day in the center falls to the ground. He does the same to Dex’s wristband, then props his cigar on the edge of a filing cabinet, wafting the smoke towards an alarm in the ceiling. Finally, he fills his pockets with the loot on the desk and gives me a wink. “And just so you know, Omega, your slick smells goddamn perfect.”

I’m tempted to perch on the edge of the desk and part my thighs for him right then and there, but I don’t get a chance to offer, because he’s off again, this time leading us to a pair of polished doors. “Where does it go?” Dex asks.

“All the way to the parking garage.”

Half-formed images flit through my mind before settling on a rusty car with a cracked windshield . Someone is sitting in the driver’s seat, while I curl up in the back. My heart is thumping and the man in the front is swearing, long fingers strangling the steering wheel . I can smell my slick in the air, but it’s faint and bruised, like crushed flowers. The man – jittery, angry, his eyes slicing me through the mirror like twin knives – reeks of despair, but he keeps shaking his head and muttering two words: Fuck it. Fuck it. Fuck it. Fuck it…

“You mean the basement?” Dex’s terse voice cuts through the strange daydream. “You go back down there, and they’ll throw us all in cages.”

“I mean what I said.” My alpha swipes his card over a panel and the two shiny doors part with a soft chime. This one – elevator - I know from watching the guards move around the facility, but I don’t ever remember being in one myself. I look around curiously as I step inside, my fingers clinging to Dex’s arm as my alpha punches a button and the doors slide closed. It’s a metal box, but it’s moving , and I wish I could see through the walls to find out how it works.

Both Dex and my alpha are watching our reflections in the mirrored doors. I can feel the tension building in the air, and I’m certain that whatever waits for us in the parking garage is going to be a surprise. More guards, probably, which I’m starting to realize aren’t just trying to stop my alpha from breaking their necks. They’re after me , and maybe even Dex, for aiding my alpha’s escape.

Well, too bad. I don’t care how many deposits they still want to squeeze out of me. I’ve found my alpha, and not even the Director himself could stop me from leaving with him.

A moment before the doors slide open, my alpha steps in front of me, the guard’s gun pointed through the gap. I know he’s just trying to protect me, but it’s frustrating. I like the view of his back a lot – especially when it’s covered in tight, black leather – but nothing scary ever became less so by closing your eyes.

As we step out into the parking garage, the silence is eerie. The guards have to be watching us on the cameras that dot every corner, so they must know we’re down here. I’m certain my alpha fills their screens, his huge muscles and steely gaze just as dangerous as the gun in his hand. So, why aren’t they swarming over us like angry ants?

“Fuck. That gate is reinforced steel,” Dex says, pointing to a metal grill across the parking garage exit. “There’s no way we can get past that.”

“You can if you’re a paranoid psychopath,” my alpha sneers, grabbing my arm and steering us past rows of flashy cars. He doesn’t stop until we’re standing next to a massive black vehicle that conjures up one word from my addled brain: tank.

“Are you crazy? That’s Donny Carrillo’s vehicle. He put a guy through a woodchipper for spilling coffee on the hood of his Hummer.”

“He what?” I blink up at Dex, and his mouth tightens into a thin line. “Who’s Donny Carrillo?”

“A dead man,” my alpha grunts, pulling the keys from his pocket and making them chirp. Lights flash all over the massive vehicle and then he tosses them at Dex. “You drive, I’ll shoot.”

Dex scowls but does as he’s told, and I’m climbing into the back seat when rough fingers pinch the top of my arm. My alpha pushes me hard, and I fall across the seat, my arm stinging as it collapses under my weight. I try to twist around to look at him, but he thrusts me down and roars for Dex to drive.

“Jesus!” When I lift my head from where it’s jammed into the seat, Dex’s face is a white mask. But he’s not looking at me – he’s gaping at my alpha. “You’re shot!”

“Just drive!” My alpha snarls, lowering his window to shoot at the guards pouring out of every door. Why did I think they would look like ants? They’re all dressed in black armor and it’s like the devil’s army is pounding towards us. “There’s another gate on the perimeter. You’ll need to ram that one, too.”

“You call this an exit plan?”

Dex might not be fully on board with our escape, but he doesn’t flinch as he drives the car straight through the grill. There’s a horrible screaming sound of metal chewing metal, and then the car is bumping and lurching forward. My alpha has braced his arms around me, and he presses down so hard I can feel his heart hammering in his chest. It’s what I wanted – to cup his heartbeat – but not like this. Not when there is blood oozing around the edges of his leather coat and soaking into my jumpsuit.

“You’re shot,” I whisper faintly, at the same moment the car bucks again, and rocks pound against its sides. Not rocks, I realize, but bullets . The car heaves and growls like a wounded bear, but we slam through another partition and the tires squeal in victory. I tilt my head to see trees flash past, soaring and green, and realize we’re in a forest.

How did I not know that?

When my alpha grunts in pain, I feel it in my own ribcage. “Dex, he’s bleeding! You have to stop the car and help him!”

“Not until we’re pulling into the Governor’s mansion,” my alpha growls, grabbing a blanket off the floor and pressing it to his wounded side. But when he studies the blood on the seat, his face darkens, and he gently touches my upper arm. “Omega?” As much as I want his touch, I flinch away from the press of his fingers, and something hot and fierce burns in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d been hit?”

“What the fuck?” Dex is twisting in his seat, the big car veering off course and chewing through the gravel shoulder. His wild gaze meets mine as he corrects his path. “Diana! Let me see the wound.”

I stare numbly down at the red splotch on the arm of my jumpsuit. It stings, but not as badly as seeing the matching bloodstain on my alpha. “I’m okay,” I murmur, even as my head starts to spin. “Just take care of my alpha, Dex.”

“Fuck!” The acrid edge to Dex’s scent makes me whimper, and he punches the steering wheel. “I’m taking you both straight to St. Luke’s!”

I hate the fear in his voice. I want to crawl into the front with him, but as I grip the headrest to slide forward, a bolt of white-hot agony dances down my arm. I cry out and my vision wavers, but my alpha’s face is suddenly close to mine, his dark eyes burning with resolve. “I will fix this, mate. You will take my seed, and I will take your pain.”

I lean my spinning head against the warm bulk of his shoulder. “Seed?”

Is that like my slick? I’ve been told it has magical powers, but only by the guards, and when I asked the counselors about it, they looked at me like I’d said something wrong.

“Your pain will ease when you take my knot,” my alpha says, cupping my face in his large, calloused hands. They smell like musk and strength, and it’s so addicting, I almost can’t feel the fire licking down my arm. “Let me do this for you, Omega. Let me take it away.”

I could live a thousand lifetimes in the depths of his stare, but Dex makes a strangled sound and punches the steering wheel again. “Hold up! You are not fucking her in the back seat of our getaway car!”

“She’s my mate!” my alpha growls, but his thumbs are gentle where they stroke my cheeks. “This will help her.”

“So will bandages and sutures!”

“A knot is more effective.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Dex narrows his eyes at my alpha until all I can see are shiny green slits. “I’m a critical care nurse who has seen more bullet holes than breakfasts, and I’m taking her to the goddamn hospital.”

My alpha leans forward, a pillar of creaking leather and sweet cigar smoke. “Drive to the governor’s mansion, Beta, or I will snap your neck and take us there anyway.”

This time, the command in my alpha’s voice fans the flames licking over my skin, and I shoot Dex a sympathetic look in the mirror. Like always, he is trying to care for me, but he should listen to our alpha. “Please Dex, don’t fight this. I want to do what our alpha says.”

“But he’s talking about a mating knot, Diana. There’s more to this than you realize…”

“Of course, there is.” I grip my alpha’s hand, and though it sends bolts of agony up my arm, I take comfort from his strength. How much better will I feel when I take his knot? “I want everything he has to give me. And we were made to take care of each other, Dex. Not in the same way you care for me, but I trust him. He won’t hurt me.”

Isn’t that what they always tell us at the center? That one day I’d match with the perfect alpha, and he would claim me to be his forever mate? Every time I asked the counselors what retirement would be like, they told me my health and happiness would be in his hands, and I would know a sense of belonging unlike any other. “It’s what I want, Dex. Be happy for me, because even if I die on this backseat, I’ve already found my home sweet home.”