The Change: Episode one (13 page)

C

Pushing my control, I allowed my thumb to
brush over his shoulder, seeing the next flash through red tints.
His skin was hot, smooth and hard against mine, and I shuddered as
I swept my nail over his neck. Not sure how far I might go, I eased
onto one arm to look at him.

I waited for the next flash before moving
again, letting him see my nearly red eyes. It was only fair to know
when you were playing with fire.

Crack!

The flare of light was short, but I saw his
face fill with as much want as worry, and I leaned down. “Kiss
me?”

I was unprepared for the way he lunged
forward, rolled us. His mouth crushed mine, demanding, and filled
with a need that matched my own. His scent rushed over me again,
musky and sharp, and I moaned against his lips.

D

Her lips parted, and I dipped in to taste
her, body tight. Thanks to the Network, I knew what to do, but I’d
never felt a real attraction to my partner. With Candice, I
couldn’t stop feeling it. Each sensation was intoxicating. Her
tremble, the feel of her nails digging in to make shallow grooves
down my shoulder.

I dipped into her again,
licking. So sweet! Without much thought, I held her hip with my big
hand and thrust against her.
More!

C

I shuddered again, control nearly gone as he
tasted me. His bare chest against my fingers was like fire, and I
groaned as he rocked faster.

Crack!

My eyes flickered in the
light, and at first I thought the
Change
was what I was seeing. Then I
realized it was blood...

Daniel felt me withdraw, tried to hold me in
place. “I’m fine.”

I broke his grip easily and moved out of the
bed to turn on a light. Blood had already stained numerous places
on the sheet, dripping from my nail-grooves in his chest and
shoulders. Two of them were oozing freely, and I shut my eyes. I
hadn’t even known I was hurting him. “Why didn’t you say
something?”

His voice was trembling again, full of
confusion. “I didn’t know you wanted me to.”

My patience snapped a bit, and I glared at
him. “Now you do!”

I saw the nail marks darken with fresh blood
as he stood up. “And tell me before you bleed!”

“
Yes, Candice.”

It was an order received, and I narrowed my
eyes. “Do you need help with it?”

He cringed at the thought of calling a
medic. “I’ve got it.”

I watched him hurry to the washroom. I’d
drawn his blood. That could Never. Happen. Again.

He wore a white shirt when he returned;
trying to blend the bandage in so I didn’t notice it as much, but
that only had my gaze narrowing in on it harder. I was a real
threat to him, even for a lingering kiss. Something would have to
be done.

D

I knew what she was thinking. I had only
been hers for a full day, but I knew. She wasn’t going to get close
to me again, not until she could be sure I wouldn’t be hurt. There
should have been great relief that she didn’t want me harmed, but
all I could feel was a crushing disappointment…like I’d just lost
something special without knowing what it was.

“
I’m sorry,
Daniel.”

It stung her, the Changeling, to say that to
me, and my own concern rushed out amid a stiff jumble of secrets I
didn’t want her to know. “It’s only scratches. Please don’t send me
back. I’ll be more careful.”

C

But he wasn’t being that now, the sound of
his begging was sending flames into my eyes to war with the regret.
There were ways… “I’ll think on it.”

He nodded, headed for the bed, and I allowed
it, telling myself I could do this much without hurting him. I
wasn’t sure I believed it, but later, when he rolled against me in
his sleep, I was able to relax in his embrace by remembering the
way he’d taken control and smothered the fire. It was something
even Baker hadn’t been able to do for me, and I drifted off knowing
the future now held hope.

D

I hadn’t wanted her to stop.

It was a shock to realize, and not even the
storm’s fury broke through the delighted haze. I… I wanted her.
Hidden by the Change, she might be exactly what I’d been hoping
for. The urge to force her into taking me was another surprise,
especially since it wasn’t being used as a defense. I wasn’t trying
to soothe her anger, only her pain. How had I come to care for her
in only one day?

…
I knew her. That explained
it, but I couldn’t place her if that were true. I thought about her
reaction to hurting me. Had I found my loving owner? I’d know for
sure when we mated, but I was also watching for those other things
I would need. Patience, retraining, compassion… It was a lot to ask
and I drifted off hoping my new master was up to that
challenge.

C

Instead of the instant fear when he woke,
Daniel met me with a question I didn’t want to answer.

“
Why are you
waiting?”

There were too many reasons to list them
all, but only one that mattered.

“
Is it because I don’t
remember anything?”

I winced at his accuracy and felt him tense.
“Yes.”

“
You know that it doesn’t
matter?”

“
Yes.”

He wanted to push it and I willed him
to.

“
Please tell
me?”

I sighed. He’d pushed, but much too easily,
and I denied him access to my inner thoughts. “I worry for your
safety.”

So did he, I was sure. The Change would take
over, and I was trying to build immunity first.

“
It’s a risk I’d
take!”

Daniel was tempting me, I realized in
surprise. I’d hoped he might relax a bit without it hanging over
his head, but his tone! It said he feared I didn’t really want him,
that I might cast him out if we weren’t bonded fully. Would he
admit it? Did I need him to? No. I only needed him to be sure it
was what he wanted, and after a single day, there was no way he
could be. It was too soon.

I started to move from the bed, pain
flashing up my spine. And then he tackled me.

We landed with him on top, between my spread
legs, and I slammed my eyes shut. I tried not to let his actions
anger me, or trigger anything, but I was unprepared for how far
he’d chosen to go.

“
There are ways,
Changeling!”

Again, he snapped my control like it had
never existed.

With a fast move, I rolled him under me,
straddling those lean hips until I could feel his hard heat… And
then I rocked. Head buried against his chest, I pleased myself on
his body, groaning and shuddering as he held still and let me have
my way. He would learn that I was no one to push.

My climax tore through me, and I cried out
in release, body shattering in weak pleasure. It would hold me for
a bit and give Daniel time to think.

I could feel his excitement as he stayed
still under me, but I rose indifferently and headed for the
washroom.

“
You’re right. There are
ways.”

I left him lying there; hating the
embarrassment I was causing, but confident in my plans. He had to
obey. Anything else might get him killed.

D

I stayed still until I thought she was busy,
and then took myself in hand. I’d been sure she would follow
through, and my body was on fire for it. Mentally though, I was
relieved, even when I felt her return in time to observe me buck in
my own grip and explode.

I opened my eyes to see those solid red orbs
staring back.

“
That would have done it,”
she stated mildly, turning back toward the washroom.

I stored the information for next time. I
didn’t understand why she hadn’t used a set of cuffs if she was
that worried about my safety, but I wasn’t brave enough to call her
on it. I was, however, now determined to be hers.

The Network wouldn’t take me back if this
didn’t work out; they never gave away the same bachelor twice. I
would be sold to another Changeling, and through the last hours,
I’d made my choice. Candice didn’t want me hurt, I didn’t need
drugs to please her, and she was deadly. There was no one else I’d
be safer with once we were bonded... I just had to survive it.

Chapter Nine

Day 11

C

We were home.

This area hadn’t changed much in the decade
since Daniel had been stripped from my arms. Even the destruction
zones we bordered weren’t different by much, only the roads around
here. The Pruett commitment to the Network, one for which we were
not paid, was a source of pride. We added miles a year, only the
six of us. Now, there would be seven.

Behind our property were the slums. To the
south, the main road that we had cleared with our own hands, alive
with signs of the birthing season. To the east, the
Network-controlled cities and larger populations. And to the
west?

The other side of the
country was a mystery to those here in Network lands. Only the rare
visitor from the Coast Outpost came here, and we never went there.
Even during all my runs in the Borderlands, I’d never seen someone
from that side.
The Network news claimed it
was uninhabitable…

I turned to watch the crate
being unloaded from the Network hauler, seeing tense blue eyes
through the cracks of boards sealed with a welded Network patch
over the top.
Property of Candice Pruett,
winner of a games Challenge.
I hated him
being penned like an animal, but until that box was set on our
lands, I didn’t make the rules - the Network did.

The delivery guards were enormous, former
winners themselves. A rare few would interrupt a cargo transfer
with these big females to face. Only Luck of the Draw survivors
could deliver prizes. Knowing they’d killed at least three other
contestants was a strong deterrent to those without the courage to
enter the Games and win a mate legally. It was a job waiting for me
if I wanted it, but even the thought was revolting.

Still, prizes had come up missing, damaged,
and I was secretly very relieved to see Daniel step unharmed from
the large box. He carried the kit I’d had ready for him, no doubt
neatly repacked. I was curious as to how many of the books he’d
gotten through. Reading was a treat in any world, and I’d been
delighted to find out he knew how. Most males didn’t.

I’d wanted to ride in the same car, but
couldn’t afford the distraction while we were so accessible, and I
hadn’t actually spoken to him in days. It wasn’t a surprise to me
that I’d been miserable the entire time, flashed back to those
terrible years alone.

“
Anything else?”

I shook my head at the guard’s question,
signing the paper with my usual careless scrawl. Daniel was legally
mine now - signed, sealed, and delivered.

D

I waited for patiently instructions,
determined to behave from the very first second of my new life. I
still wasn’t sure why she’d chosen me, but I was finally out here
in the real world with an owner, and it was enough to have me
feeling hopeful.

Candice was still intimidating to me, but
she was also vibrant in a dead world, and I was drawn to her. She
was a lot like the owner I’d envisioned as the Game for my life
began, only better. She didn’t like the Network either, and I
hadn’t even dared to hope for that. I had a home now, one I was
determined to fit into. Where she went, I wanted to be.

I watched her flex a scarred shoulder, still
marveling over her fast recovery. Her feet had been the only area
still bothering her by the time we’d left. I’d tended them right
before we took the train out of New Network City, and the sight of
those charred, sliced heels had reminded me of her sacrifice. It
allowed me to walk to the crate instead of being sedated as most
Bachelors were for transport.

It had also let me relax a bit during the
trip, enough to read a little and consider the future ahead of me.
I now belonged to a bounty hunter who lived in the wild area of
Ohio where the Network didn’t even have a hub. Despite my feelings
about them, the Network complex had been my home for a long time,
and being away from there made me uneasy. Trying to banish the
sudden flare of nerves, I studied Candice.

Unlike the fighting clothes
she’d worn at the complex, she now wore jeans and a button-up black
shirt under a black cloak. It had a high collar that protected her
skin from the sharp winds, and added an exotic flair to her
alabaster skin and ebony spikes. She stepped lightly my way, full
of grace and determination that had me staring.
The feet must be better
, I thought,
swallowing the urge to ask why she seemed so familiar.