Chosen Prey Read online

  She held still for a moment, unable to move. Oh. My. God. She closed her eyes for a moment as he filled her hard and deep. He stretched her so big and she felt the bite of soreness again. Yet she could come just from the feel of him inside her.

  “Lyra,” he said in a husky tone.

  She opened her eyes, arched her back, and started riding him. The sensations were wild as she moved up and down, trying to keep a slow and even pace. He reached up and pinched her nipples, and she gasped as the thrill of his touch went straight to where they were connected.

  Lyra rose up and down at a faster pace. She was taking him so deep. He had a tight hold on her hips and he began bucking to meet her movements. Her eyes met his again and he had a fierce expression, his jaw taut as he slammed up into her.

  Her orgasm began to swirl within her like a tornado. She braced her hands against his hard chest, her arms and legs quivering, as she continued to ride him. That tornado raged, swept her up, and threw her into the storm. She cried out as her body felt the thunder and she saw the lightning.

  With a sob she collapsed against his chest. “God, that was wonderful.”

  Her core continued to throb around his cock as he brushed her hair from her face. “I’m not done yet.”

  She raised her head and managed a smile. “Bring it on.”

  Lyra cried out as he flipped her over onto her back.

  Dare had never felt such an intensity to come in his life. The woman had taken him to an incredible orgasm already, and yet she’d made him want her more than ever.

  With a slow rocking motion he began to thrust into her. He was driving himself crazy by taking his time. He slipped his arms under her knees, widening her thighs so that he could bury himself deep.

  Tears streamed from her eyes and he paused. “Are you all right?”

  “Don’t stop.” She gripped his hips. “This just feels so good.”

  Dare thrust into her. He ground his teeth and drove into her harder and harder.

  Lyra’s body shook and she bucked beneath him as she cried out with another orgasm. The spasms of her core around him were too much. It tossed him over the edge, throwing him into her so deeply, he felt as if he was a part of her, as if they were one.

  This time when he rolled them both onto their sides, she murmured, “You rode me hard, cowboy, and I’m saddle sore.” She snuggled against him. “The other condoms can wait. For now.”

  14

  When Lyra woke in the morning, she definitely felt sore. Her back was to Dare now, her body spooned against his and his arm gripping her tightly around the waist. Beneath a thin sheet, his thigh rested on hers. She loved waking up with him like this. She’d never felt so wanted, so protected.

  And content. She didn’t want to move from his arms, didn’t want to face what the day held for them.

  “Morning.” His low rumble sent a thrill through her as he kissed the top of her head.

  “A very good one—with you,” Lyra said softly, and snuggled against him. She would have loved to turn around and have him kiss her thoroughly, but she probably had morning breath and had to brush her teeth. And after all that wild sex, she also needed a nice hot shower.

  “Time to get up.” He slipped his hand from her waist to cup her breast. “Unless you have a better reason to stay in bed.”

  She held back a moan and gave a small laugh instead. “I think the shower is where I need to be.”

  Dare nuzzled her neck. “Shower sex. Works for me.”

  Lyra grinned and slapped at his hand. “I need to get my stuff out of the other bedroom.” She drew away from his warmth, slipped off the bed, turned, and took in the sight of him. He had propped himself up in bed with his head in one hand. He was so good-looking with rumpled hair, dark stubble on his face, and the sheet draped over his hips. And the way he was looking at her—it made her feel sexy and beautiful.

  She forced herself to head into the bathroom to grab a towel. When she had wrapped herself in a nice thick, fluffy one, she glanced at the mirror and groaned. Talk about bedhead. She did her best to finger-comb the short red mop so that it didn’t look quite so wild.

  Lyra returned to the bedroom, shook her head, and grinned when she saw their clothing scattered all over the place, the bedclothes rumpled, and the quilt on the floor. The towel was snug around her body as she unlocked the door.

  “Nick would have a cow at this mess,” she said just as she opened the door and almost stumbled right into the man himself.

  Her face immediately turned so hot that she knew she was bright red. “Um, good morning,” she said.

  Nick propped his hand against the doorway and glanced over her shoulder at the room. He raised one of his eyebrows as he moved his gaze down Lyra from head to toe before looking at her flaming face again. “It appears to be,” he said in a deep bass rumble.

  Dare’s voice held amusement as he said from behind her, “Out of the lady’s way, Donovan.”

  Nick stepped back. Lyra ducked around him and practically ran to the bedroom next to Dare’s. Her towel slipped as she opened the door and she panicked as she grasped the cloth tightly in one hand while hurrying into the room. She couldn’t shut the door fast enough behind her.

  She threw herself face-first on the bed. Again. Damn, damn, damn.

  * * *

  “Looks like she’s a wild one,” Nick said as he propped his shoulder against the doorway and looked at Dare with a glint in his eyes.

  Dare ran his fingers through his hair and held back a grin. “Stop scaring the crap out of Lyra.”

  “What’s the fun in that?” Nick shrugged. “Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes.” He closed the door behind him.

  Dare swung his legs over the side of the bed, got to his feet, and stretched. He felt like he could take on the world after his night with Lyra. Even though he’d suspected it, the fact that she’d been a virgin still floored him. But when he thought about her life, it made sense. She hadn’t been able to trust men. He almost couldn’t believe she’d given that trust to him, along with her virginity.

  He grabbed a towel out of the bathroom and draped it around his hips before heading to the adjoining room. When he opened the door, he heard the shower running and steam escaped the bathroom in a light fog. He closed the door, dropped the towel, and made his way into the bathroom.

  When he opened the shower stall door and stepped inside with her, Lyra yelped in surprise, swung around, and punched him in the arm. “Don’t scare me like that.”

  Dare caught her by her shoulders and captured her mouth with his. Lyra sighed when he raised his head. “You win,” she whispered as her big green eyes looked up at him and water from the shower rolled down her cheeks. “You can scare me like this anytime.”

  “We’ve been summoned for breakfast.” Dare grabbed a bar of soap and began lathering his hands as water beat down on both of them. “We don’t have time for what I’d really like to do right now.”

  “Too bad,” Lyra said with a moan as he soaped her breasts and tweaked her nipples.

  He grinned and pressed his lips to her wet hair. “I’ll give you time to rest up for tonight.”

  * * *

  After a filling breakfast of eggs with chorizo, along with flour tortillas, Dare and Nick headed downstairs to Nick’s high-tech hidden room.

  “I need to make some calls,” Lyra said as they reached the bedroom where she’d left her pack. There was no way she could go into that surveillance room again. “I’ve got to check on Mrs. Y and get some things taken care of.”

  Dare caught her hand. “Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

  “As if I could.” Lyra snorted. “I don’t even know where I am.”

  Nick gave her a look that said he remembered her “weird, paranoid neat freak” comment and she bit the inside of her cheek. He gestured to the cordless phone on a nightstand beside the bed. “Use one of my secure lines.”

  When they left, Lyra unplugged her charger from the wall and stuffed i
t in her pack. She intended to use Nick’s line to make any calls, but she turned the cell phone on to see if it gave her a message-waiting notice. In a few moments the phone chirped and displayed a note that she did have a message.

  When she dialed the number from Nick’s line to check her messages, she found out the call was from Becca.

  “Everything okay?” Becca asked in the message, her voice filled with concern. “On my answering machine you sounded like something was wrong. Call me ASAP.”

  Lyra deleted the message, then hurried to return Becca’s call. Relief flowed through her when Becca answered, “Bisbee Market.”

  “It’s me, Linda,” Lyra said.

  Tinkling bells sounded in the background, and Lyra knew someone must be coming in or leaving Becca’s small hometown marketplace. “How are you?” Becca asked Lyra.

  “I’m fine.” Lyra gripped the phone tight. “I need you to do me a favor. Mrs. Yosko needs someone to check in on her and buy her groceries. I won’t be able to for a while.”

  Becca paused. “Sure, no problem.”

  “Thanks.” Lyra let out a big sigh of relief. “You know pretty much what I buy at the market for her, and she always pays for her groceries. I can even give you some money for helping her out for me.”

  Becca gave a snort. “I can’t believe you’d think I’d charge you for assisting that poor old lady.” A rustling sound and Becca sounded distant as she said, “Salsa’s on aisle two.” Her voice was clear again when she returned. “I’ll check on her when I close up shop and take some groceries while I’m at it.”

  “Thank you so much.” The sense of relief uncoiled some of the tension in Lyra’s muscles. “I know you need to get back to work.”

  “Where are you?” The sound of Becca’s voice returned to concerned.

  Lyra clenched the phone tighter. “I’m at a friend’s house.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Parker, I’ll be right with you,” Becca said, sounding distant again until she replied to Lyra, “Gotta go, sweetie. Don’t worry about Mrs. Yosko.”

  “Thank you.” Lyra relaxed her hold on the phone. “Bye.”

  When she punched the off button, Lyra closed her eyes for a moment. Thank goodness Becca could check in on Mrs. Y.

  Lyra sat on the edge of the bed and stared into space for a moment. She should be there. She should be the one taking care of Mrs. Yosko. She’d come to care for the older lady so much.

  Lyra’s life in Bisbee had been so comfortable, and she’d even grown happy there. Now that was gone. Forever gone.

  Damn Neal. Damn him, damn him, damn him.

  She buried her face in her hands. She was so tired. So tired of being on the run. So tired of always wondering if The People were going to find her.

  It was never going to end. No matter what she did, Neal would be there, somewhere. Even if she escaped this time, she would continue to live her life looking over her shoulder. She didn’t know if she’d ever find any kind of peace, especially with Neal forming satellite compounds all over the United States.

  Lyra startled when her cell phone played its musical tune.

  She eased off the bed and went to it. When she checked the caller ID, it simply said, “Unknown.” Not unusual—that’s what it usually said when her landlord called her. But Nick had said to use his secure line, so she let the call go to voice mail. A good minute later the display said she had a message, so she dialed her voicemail box again.

  The moment she heard the voice in the message she felt blood drain away from her face to her toes. Her legs trembled so badly she had to sit on the bed to keep from falling.

  “Lyra,” came Neal’s voice. “It’s time to come back to the fold.” His tone had an almost hypnotic effect on some people. So smooth, calming, and masculine.

  But it had the opposite effect on Lyra. It caused her stomach to clench so hard it hurt.

  “Come home and meet your destiny, Lyra.” His voice grew more intense. “Come and save your mother.”

  A strangled sound came from Lyra’s throat. Save her mother?

  Neal added, “You will call me, too, if you want to see the old lady again.” He clearly enunciated a phone number as Lyra’s body went ice-cold.

  Old lady? He couldn’t be talking about her mother. She was only forty-five.

  “Not long now. Soon my semen will be in your body and you’ll conceive our special child.”

  Lyra slapped her hand over her mouth. The phone bounced off the bed and clattered on the floor when she dropped it. She bolted into the bathroom.

  She fell to her knees in front of the toilet and threw up.

  OhGodohGodohGod.

  Her head spun as the taste of acid filled her mouth. She couldn’t get his words or the sound of his voice out of her head and she heaved until nothing else would come up.

  * * *

  The sound of sobbing tore at Dare’s heart when he started to pass by the bedroom Lyra was using.

  He strode through the doorway. In one sweep of his gaze he saw the phone receiver lying on the hardwood floor, but he ignored it. Lyra’s sobs came from the bathroom and he hurried to her.

  Dare found her on her knees with her hands braced on the toilet seat. Her arms trembled and her body shook with the force of her tears.

  “Lyra. Honey.” He went to her and saw she’d lost her breakfast in the toilet. He gently took her by the shoulders and she jerked as if startled by his touch.

  “No,” she said as he drew her to her feet. She kept her gaze off of him. “I don’t want you to see me like this.” When she was standing, he guided her to the sink. “I’m here for you and I’m not leaving.”

  Her shoulders continued to tremble as he turned on the cold water that would be bracing and help her regain some control. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she cupped her hands beneath the running water and splashed her face with it.

  “Give me a minute.” Lyra couldn’t keep the shakiness or embarrassment out of her voice. “Just wait for me in the bedroom.”

  “Are you sure?” He sounded so concerned she cried a little harder.

  “Yes. Go. Please.”

  Dare gave her shoulders another squeeze, released her, and walked out of the bathroom. She raised her head and shut the door behind him. Why did he have to find her like this, so out of control, and having puked her guts up?

  She rinsed out her mouth, splashed more water on her face, and flushed the toilet, trying not to look at the contents. The acidic smell was still strong, and she had a few more dry heaves before she calmed down long enough to wash her hands and face and rinse her mouth out again. It was all she could do to force thoughts of Neal and his voice from her mind, to keep from bursting into more tears, and to focus on the important parts of the message.

  Her mother. He’d made threats against her mother. But what did he mean by “old lady”?

  Mrs. Yosko. Oh, God. He couldn’t have.

  When Lyra could finally raise her head, she looked into the mirror. Her face was white, but her eyelids and the skin around her eyes were red and swollen. After a few more splashes of cold water on her cheeks and eyelids, she dried off with a hand towel, took a deep breath, and pushed her short hair behind her ears.

  Her movements were slow and deliberate. She needed a few more moments before facing Dare and what Neal had said, along with the fact that she had to call him. She’d left her toiletry items in the bathroom, so she brushed her teeth, the mint paste taking away the acidic taste that had been in her mouth.

  When she was ready, she took a deep breath, straightened her spine, and pushed the bathroom door open.

  Dare was sitting on the bed, the phone receiver gripped tightly in one fist. His look of fury would have scared her to death if she hadn’t gotten to know him, and if she thought it was directed toward her.

  Slowly he lifted his gaze and met hers. “He called you,” Dare stated.

  Lyra took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “You listened to the message.”

  He nodded.


  She shoved her hand into her hair and clenched it in her fist so tightly it hurt. Welcome pain.

  The lines around his mouth softened and she could tell he was attempting to calm himself for her benefit. She bit her lower lip and tried to take a step forward but couldn’t.

  He got to his feet in a lithe, smooth movement. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her close so that her cheek rested against his chest. She slid her own arms around his waist and held on as tightly as she could. His embrace and his masculine scent were so comforting that she couldn’t help but relax and sink into him, never wanting to let him go.

  For a long time Dare simply held her and rocked her. “It’ll be all right,” he said against her hair. “I’ll make sure it is.”

  “How can you?” she whispered. “He threatened my mother. And I think he has Mrs. Yosko.”

  Dare did his best to control his emotions as he held Lyra. He breathed deeply and forced himself to calm down the best he could. That bastard had left a message that had Dare boiling with rage. “We’ll figure something out.”

  She raised her head and looked at him. Her voice sounded rusty and unused as she said, “I’ve got to call Neal now.”

  “I don’t want to ever see you hurting so badly again.” Dare gently stroked her hair that sifted through his fingers like strands of silk. “I’ll kill that sonofabitch before he ever gets near you.”

  Lyra gave a long, shuddering breath. “You’re not going to kill him.” Her expression hardened. “I am.”

  Dare couldn’t help a brief smile. “That’s my girl.” She was so complex. Vulnerable yet strong. She’d been through so much. She was a survivor. He continued to stroke her hair. “Although I’m not going to give you the chance.”

  “This is my fight, Dare.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’m so tired of running. So tired of looking over my shoulder. Somehow this has got to end. I just don’t know how.” A flicker of wry humor twisted her mouth. “I could always cut Neal’s dick off.”