Humans didn’t have the senses Species possessed. They couldn’t see in the dark or smell him if he was upwind of them. They also didn’t have his exceptional hearing. Humans didn’t possess their speed or strength, either, unless they were given drugs. Species’ alterations were permanent, but Mercile’s drugs couldn’t maintain the same effects in humans, long-term. Sometimes the drugs killed the human volunteers. They’d accidentally made New Species superior but had treated them as inferior.
Fury shifted Ellie’s unconscious body in his arms and carried her gently as he stalked through the shadows. He had no idea what to do with her once he reached home but his animal seemed content now that he possessed her. The man inside him plotted revenge. She’d offered to make it up to him and possibilities raced through his thoughts. He wouldn’t really harm her, wasn’t capable of that, but she could at least learn a lesson or two about what he’d suffered for her crime. A small part of him hoped some time alone with Ellie would cure him of the obsession she’d become.
* * * * *
Ellie woke confused at first, until memories returned with a rush. Her throat felt a little sore. She reached for it but her arms caught on something. Her eyes opened to stare at a white ceiling inside a dimly lit, unfamiliar room. She lifted her head to peer around.
The large bedroom contained dark furniture and a fire blazed in the hearth inside a corner fireplace, the source of the light. A toilet flushed, startling her. With a few tugs she discovered that her arms were stretched wide apart above her head, tied at the wrist with soft, black material that connected to the sides of the headboard.
After a brief blast of running water sounded, a door opened at the side of the room. Fury stepped out of the bathroom. She glanced at his naked chest and the black sweatpants he wore. Ellie’s fear increased, seeing his half undressed state. She warily studied his muscular build. He flipped the light off behind him, causing the room to darken again, hiding all the tiny details of his body.
“You’re awake.” His tone softened. He sounded deceptively calm under the circumstances. He moved toward the bed. “Good.”
He’d covered Ellie with a thick, soft blanket. She looked down and realized the top portion of her chest was bare and exposed. She moved her leg, feeling sheets against…bare skin. Her stunned gaze returned to Fury.
He stopped at the edge of the bed. “I removed your clothes.” He paused. “All of them.”
“Why?” Her voice came out raspy from her dry throat. Her fear level notched higher. Why would he bring her to his home and tie her naked to his bed? She had a really bad feeling and she didn’t want to know his answer, positive it would terrify her more.
“You know why.” He moved toward the nightstand. “Are you thirsty?”
She nodded. The bed dipped when he sat on the edge, grabbed the bottled water obviously placed there for her, and then twisted to face her. He reached out with one hand to gently slide it under her neck and lift as he brought the mouth of the bottle to her lips. She swallowed as much as she could without choking. He pulled back from her, his touch leaving her as he replaced the water on the nightstand.
“I thought long and hard about what to do to you,” he informed her softly. “I once wanted to kill you outright but that was before I knew you were a spy. I didn’t understand you were inside that hellish place to save my people.” He paused while he adjusted his position to sit sideways to stare at Ellie. “Now I’ve decided you can live.”
Her heart rate slowed and some of the terror eased. “Why am I here? Why did you take me from the park?”
Fury’s eyes narrowed. “You said you’d do anything to make it up to me. I decided you deserve some punishment.” He paused. “I also don’t know if I believe what you say. You are a spy, used to dealing in lies, and telling people what you think they want to hear to avoid danger. You injured my pride, betrayed my trust, and you need to pay for that. Do you know how they made me suffer for killing the technician?”
She gaped at him. “What?” Her mind reeled at his words.
“They were angry that I’d killed that male. They punished me for what you’d done.”
Chapter Four
Ellie saw the truth in his grim expression. She’d hoped they wouldn’t punish Fury for Jacob’s death. The technician had assaulted him, had planned to rape, and would have killed him. Tears filled her eyes and she had to blink them back.
“I didn’t know.” She hated to ask but needed to know. “What did they do to you?”
A soft growl passed his parted lips. “Do you want to hear the details to enjoy the suffering you caused me?”
“No!” It horrified her that he’d accuse her of that. “I didn’t think they’d do anything to really harm you. I swear, Fury. They thought you were too valuable to kill, they put so much money into you, and it honestly never crossed my mind that anyone would care about Jacob’s death after what that son of a bitch tried to do to you.”
“They did.” He leaned forward a little, glaring down at her. “They tortured me in retaliation for his death. They caused me great pain. You had to know that. You were a skilled spy and avoided the penalty of his death.”
“I just wanted to save you. My handler promised it could be a matter of only days before they attempted to rescue you if I could smuggle out those computer files. I risked it all to rush into that room to stop Jacob from killing you. I lied to everyone at the testing facility but I’m not lying to you. I’m not really a spy either. I was a nurse, Fury.” She paused. “I worked at Mercile Industries at their corporate offices handing out aspirins until someone approached me to go undercover. This agent shared the rumors circulating about a secret testing facility with live subjects, human ones, and it outraged me that a company could do that.”
“Why?” His tone roughened.
“It’s one thing for someone to volunteer to allow a research company to test experimental drugs on them. They know what they are signing up for and I figure some people have nothing to lose if they are sick enough to take those risks. It’s entirely something else when people are forced against their will to take whatever is forced upon them. The rumors said they’d locked people up. I worked for them and that meant I had accidentally become a part of what they did. I just wanted to make it right.”
“Why would you care what happened to me or my people? Why would you risk your life to save me?”
Ellie carefully debated her words. “I watched you from an observation room I accidentally discovered days after I started working there. All the doors were so similar that I thought it was a supply room. That mirror in your room was two-way. I sometimes sneaked in there to check on you.” She didn’t mention it had been daily, not wanting him
