Page 107 of Born Savage

She’d soon learn there was no way she could best me. Not a chance.

I wrapped one hand around her wrists while raking the other down her face to her chest. “I have news for you, princess. You will follow my command. As far as respect, that is earned.”

Her face pinched once again, the evil look she was offering entirely playful. The tides had turned between us, the connection from before strengthening. Soon we would act as one.

That would make us very dangerous to all those who opposed us.

That would also make us vulnerable as hell.

But in the end, I would keep my promise and die to protect her.

CHAPTER 23

Rage

Nothing good ever came from being awakened by force in the middle of the night.

I’d learned to sleep lightly, needing very little. Perhaps that was based on my updated genetics more than anything else. While I was awake just before the pounding on the door, the fact one of my men had gotten so close without my knowledge meant I’d gotten far too comfortable around Star.

Yes, we’d been exhausted from the trip and after sharing more than one round of heated passion, but that was no excuse.

“What’s wrong?” Star grabbed my arm even before I swung my legs off the bed.

I should have anticipated Vicious wouldn’t wait to open the door. There’d been no need for common decency up until now.

She gasped, yanking the sheet over her.

Vicious stiffened. “Incoming Dwellers. Lots of them. Maybe a hundred. By the time we noticed the heat seekers, they were already here.”

“What the fuck?” I jumped out of bed, walking across the room to grab my pants.

“Are we safe?” she asked. “The walls?”

“We’ll see, but with the opening and the way we closed it off, they could climb over. From what we could tell, they are moving quickly, more so than normal.”

“Damn it.” I yanked on my pants before turning to face her. “You need to find a location to hide with Wren and Jake. I don’t have time to babysit.”

“You don’t need to babysit me.” She jerked the sheet with her as she climbed off the bed. At least Vicious had the decency to look away.

“Don’t argue with me,” I snapped.

“What do you want us to do? We have maybe fifteen minutes.” Vicious was insistent, glaring at me as he spat out the question.

“Get all the weapons. We need to hold the perimeter. Have Ghost and Wizard plan on turning on lights near the house. All at one time.”

“That will draw others to us. Those damn thunderbirds.” She lost her fight with the sheet when she tried to jump into clothes.

“We need to risk it,” I told her. “Vicious. Go. I’ll be right there.”

“Yes, sir.”

As he left the room, I finished dressing, grabbing my weapons instantly. In feeling closer to her, I had a sense of what she was thinking. I also could tell she was both tired of facing enemies and frightened of what was to come.

With long strides, I moved in front of her, gripping her arms. “We’ve been through this before.”

“A hundred of them at the same time?”

“Almost as many. We’ll be fine.”