A thick black brow arched questioningly. “An interesting analogy. Would you like me to contact the Council and return you?”
She flinched. He would, she thought, and likely do so gladly. But which was really worse?
“How did you find me? Did you find the Winged Breeds as well?” she finally bit out when she couldn’t answer her own question. The pain in her womb only fed her anger, fed her sense of desperation. His expression darkened. “We found them. Do you remember the attack at all?Your escape from the Labs?”
Escape? There had been no rescue? She forced herself to shake her head negatively. “What happened?” Not that she cared at this point. She was free of them, and she would die before going back.
“You somehow managed to escape just before the explosion brought the mountain down. We had already rescued Keegan and the others, but had been unable to get to you. I found you afterwards, nearly unconscious in the jungle. ” He watched her closely. The look was so intent she dropped her own gaze.
“How did you find me?” Shards of memory flashed through her mind, making more sense as the seconds passed.
“Keegan led me to you. ” His voice was calm, holding little, if any, emotion. The very fact that he appeared so emotionless was more frightening than his anger could have been.
“He should have left me to die,” she grunted sarcastically. “It would have been far kinder. ”
“Not to mention less complicated. ” Aiden surged to his feet, causing her to flinch in dizzied reaction.
“Our doctor has examined you and found no lasting injuries. You’ve been washed, disinfected and stitched. You should be well soon. ”
Disinfected. Morbid amusement filled her. As though she had somehow been contagious. She closed her eyes, fighting the overwhelming futility of fighting further. Unfortunately, something inside her refused to allow her to give in. A spark of rage, of anger. Not just at the Council, but at Aiden as well. Had it not been for him and his determination to die too soon, she wouldn’t be in this mess right now.
“Thank you for the update,” she gritted out as she closed her eyes, fighting to breathe through the surging contractions in her abdomen. If he would just go the hell away then she could be miserable in peace. She heard him sigh roughly. “I can smell the scent of your arousal. You’re horny, Charity. ” His voice was edged with frustration.
“Poor me,” she sniped as she gritted her teeth against the pain.
“The scent offends me. ” He sounded angry, as though she expected him to relieve the pain.
“Poor you. ”She wasn’t about to ask him for anything, even if it was his damned fault. “If it offends you so damned bad then get the hell away from me!” She shot him a look that she hoped showed her rising fury. Like she needed a damned update concerning the state of her own body. She tensed then as a particularly agonizing bolt of pain tore through her womb. It was getting worse. She fought to control the scream building in her throat, but couldn’t stop the whimper that escaped her lips. Before she could do more than gasp, Aiden flipped her to her back, holding her down, increasing the pain that radiated like a cascade of fireworks through her body.
“Stop,” she wheezed, desperate to curl back into the fetal position she had assumed when the pain first started.
She could feel the cold sweat breaking out on her face, the screams building in her throat. She hated being this weak in front of him, in such pain she was helpless against whatever cruelty he would inflict.
“Do you think you can go on hurting like this?” His question was a hard, rough growl. “The pain is killing you, Charity. ”
“Saves you the trouble,” she cried out furiously, fighting her need to arch to him, to rub against him. God, he was heavy and hard against her, and she needed him so desperately. Alternately, fury whipped at the edges of her mind. He was being less than considerate of a condition that was basically his fault. His next words exploded through her, though, searing past the arousal to an anger bordering on rage.
“Beg me and I’ll ease you. ” She glimpsed the cold smile on his face, the flash of his canines. Finally, mercifully, the pain eased again until she could breathe normally and felt less like vomiting in his face. Bastard, he would have deserved it.
“Fuck you, Aiden,” she snarled.
She brought her knee up fast, not overly hard as the pain left her weak and dazed, but hard enough. His eyes widened as he paled before falling to his side with a groan of pain, his hands going instinctively to his offended cock.
Knowing retaliation would be quick, she tried to roll from the bed, to crawl from him. She couldn’t believe she had struck out. Couldn’t believe she had actually done it. Amusement flashed through her for a second as she remembered the look of horror on his face before a growl of animal fury sounded behind her.
Chapter Five
Pain was pain, she thought, as he gripped her shoulders and jerked her back to the bed. The constant flashes of fire through her body were worse than anything he could inflict on her, short of broken bones. He came over her, his knees a vice about her legs as he stared down at her with dark, icy calm. She knew she was supposed to be frightened of his anger; she could see it in his eyes, feel it in the waves of fury emanating from him. His assurance that she would cower beneath his rage was there in his self-satisfied expression.
“I won’t beg you, and I won’t cower before you,” she bit out, her teeth gritting as her muscles tightened again in defense of the pain that struck her womb.
She was shaking, perspiration coating her skin as she fought her tears. And Aiden was only making it worse. The touch of his body, his weight holding her down, his hands warm and calloused as he held her wrists above her head, combined to increase her arousal and in return the fiery waves of hunger that swept over her. The pain was brutal, like a fist punch to the gut as her womb spasmed in need.
“You’re so desperate to be fucked that your whole body screams out for it,” he sneered. “You’ll beg soon. ”
“Not to you,” she snarled back. “I’d rather fuck a mongrel Coyote than ask you for anything, Aiden. Bastard that you are,you’d leave me hurting anyway. ”
He narrowed his eyes as the corner of his upper lip lifted, showing the sharp canine in deadly relief. As though the sight of it frightened her. She would have snorted if she could find the breath to push that much air through her body at one time.