The m r james megapack, p.10
Making Waves, page 10
Teddy came over and shifted. “I have to get back to my mate and make sure he’s okay. I will make sure someone drives one of the boats out to meet you.”
Rus nodded. “Thanks. Get there fast. I think the humans are winning.”
Hari gasped when he heard that. “How can you make me shift?” he asked far more bravely than he probably felt.
Even prouder of this amazing man, Rus shifted back to his shark. Staying on the surface, he looked right at Hari, who was being held up by Arthur since he was still having difficulty staying afloat.
Growling for his animal mate to appear, Rus prayed this was going to work. Seeing Hari’s internal fight keeping his turtle from coming out, Rus growled again in a demand of submission.
He could feel Hari’s Olive Ridley Sea Turtle desperately trying to surface but the human half was too afraid to give up his control. Rus had known this wouldn’t be easy on Hari, but it was the only way.
Growling once more, this time he left no room for disobeying his much stronger animal. Hating the fear that flashed in those green eyes just as the shift started to take place, Rus wanted to wrap his mate up and beg for forgiveness.
Before he’d even finished that thought a breathtaking Olive Ridley Sea Turtle appeared, clearly frightened. Gliding forward the few feet that separated them, Rus rubbed his head against the turtle’s head and shell.
Calm flowed from Hari, mostly. Oh, his turtle was still scared but having his mate with him helped to alleviate most of his fears. Or, at least, Rus hoped his presence did that.
As if to prove what he was thinking was true, the turtle did a little spin in front of Rus, showing off for his mate. Giving Hari an appreciative sound, Rus swam under Hari before rising.
Hari seemed to understand that Rus wanted Hari’s fins to grip his shark body. Thrusting his tail, Rus headed for the barrier. Since the others hadn’t returned, he assumed someone was still in the control room to lower it.
Sure enough, as they approached, he felt the swish of water moving when it lowered. As they crossed it, Hari rested his head on the top of Rus’s as if he were snuggling against his mate.
Reassured that Hari would be all right, Rus headed for the point where he hoped a boat was waiting for him. If not, he’d have to shift and swim the old-fashioned way to the dock. It would take more time, but being a sea animal he swam faster than a typical human.
Either way, he was going to reach Salvation Island to help defend his fellow shifters. Too much of their blood had already been shed in the humans’ selfish desire to own them. It was time to make certain all the governments in the world understood, they would defend themselves. No matter what.
CHAPTER 19
When Rus had admitted to feeling Hari’s turtle, there was a push from deep within Hari to believe his mate. It hadn’t been the first time he’d felt that nudge. He used to assume it was just knots in his stomach, or hope for a future with Rus.
Now? Now he wondered if it could have been his animal trying to talk to him. Trying to let Hari know he’d been there the whole time, hiding from those who had tried to hurt them.
The hurt of being abandoned and the fear of having to face it caused Hari to fight the urge to give in to whatever was trying to emerge from inside of him when Rus had growled. He wasn’t afraid of his mate, for the sound wasn’t menacing. But he was terrified that if he found out his turtle had left him alone all those years, he might never recover.
Yet Rus kept pushing until Hari couldn’t hold out any longer. The moment he felt the rush of his turtle taking over, there was a mix of emotions that went through him. Anger, disappointment and… joy.
Uncertain how to handle it all, Hari stayed in the background experiencing life through the eye of his Olive Ridley. But more importantly, he got to experience his animal’s emotions. The anguish of not only what happened to him, but to Hari. The sorrow of not being able to handle any of it. The guilt of not helping Hari.
Yet, there was something else. The memories that came from his other half. How he’d gone into hiding to lick his wounds for a time, but he had tried to eventually come out only to stop because of Hari.
Between the beatings and eventually many times he’d been raped, the only way Hari could survive was to go into a place in his head where he didn’t feel anything. No. That wasn’t true. He always felt it, but he became more… removed by dreaming of a different world. One that didn’t involve dark, dank tunnels, constantly digging for some stupid rock the humans wanted, nor would anyone try to hurt him.
His turtle kept feeling Hari removing his mind from his body and feared trying to surface. It still caused his heart to ache knowing the one person he depended on wasn’t there for him, but Hari was beginning to understand why.
Completely lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t even realized they’d arrived at the boat. Nor had he noticed his Olive Ridley had been pulled into the boat. It wasn’t until Rus ordered him to shift that Hari had even realized his own mate had already shifted and they were currently speeding toward the island.
“Shift,” Rus commanded once again.
His turtle hadn’t wanted to give up its freedom, but he initiated the shift anyway. Before Hari even realized what was happening, he was curled up against his mate. “I’ve got you, my heart. I promise, we’ll get through this.”
Oddly enough, Hari knew Rus was right. He hadn’t exactly forgiven his turtle yet, but he also understood why he’d stayed hidden. That was progress.
“Come on, Hari,” Rus pushed him upright. “I need you to put these shorts on. We’re about to enter the cavern and I need to get you to the bunker before I head out to help defend the island.”
All of that sounded rational, but Hari was shaking his head even as he slid on the shorts Rus had given him. “I’m not going to the bunker. I’m going with you.”
“Absolutely not,” Rus stated without any hint of give in his hard tone. “Not only do you not know how to fight, but I would be constantly looking out for you and might end up getting us hurt or killed.”
That was harder for Hari to swallow than he would have thought. Just weeks ago, he never would have considered trying to stand up to the humans, much less going into battle against them. Yet, the thought of not being with Rus, especially since he was still wincing each time he moved, didn’t sit well with Hari.
Still, the last thing he wanted to be was a distraction. “Fine. Then I’ll go to the communications room. I’m not about to sit in some bunker waiting to find out if you live or die out there.”
Dark blue eyes stared hard at him as part of the rock formation before them opened to let the boat drive into the cavern. When it shut and they’d reached the dock, Rus jumped onto the wood planking and held out his hand to Hari. “If I agree to take you there, will you promise me you won’t leave?”
Hari was already nodding before he’d even finished.
But instead of moving, Rus pulled Hari close and kissed him hard. “I mean it,” his deep voice rumbled with warning. “Not even if you think I need your help. You are to stay put.”
That was a harder promise to make. Then again, without Rus by his side, Hari wasn’t entirely certain he would make it outside the front door of the manor without being gunned down. “I promise,” he vowed.
Rus gave him another hard kiss, before dragging Hari with him as they ran to the stairs. By the time they’d made it to the communications room, Hari was certain he was going to have a heart attack from all those damn steps. As he sank against the wall, hand on the stitch in his side, slightly bent over as he tried to catch his breath, Rus punched in a code that opened the door.
Despite having a difficult time breathing, Hari put all the love he was feeling back into the kiss Rus gave him. “Stay safe,” Rus growled out.
“I will.” This was probably bad timing but after almost losing Rus once that day, Hari needed to tell him the truth. “And Rus, this isn’t how I wanted to tell you, but I love you.”
Strong arms yanked him against a hard body as those firm lips once more took his in a searing kiss that stole whatever breath he’d had left in his body. Crying out in dismay when the kiss ended, Hari felt his heart soar when Rus said, “I love you too, my heart.”
Without another word, Rus hit the button that shut the door before racing to the stairs that would take him up to the main floor of the manor. Closing his eyes, Hari prayed to anyone listening that Rus return to him alive.
***
“Has no one found the idiot who keeps bombing us?” Yosi sounded as if he were ready to go out into the fray and find the culprit himself.
“You know, considering you are in charge of the satellites as well as the thousands of cameras all over this island, maybe you should yell at yourself instead of those who are getting shot at?” Chadwick said sarcastically.
Not that Hari could blame him. Every screen was showing different angles of the island, while the big screen was split into four different satellite views. Realistically, someone in the room should have seen something.
Hari looked around. Well, maybe not since there were only about eight people still inside.
“I want cameras twenty, thirty-two, eighty-one, and satellite one up on the big screen,” Iniko told one of the women who was sitting in front of all those buttons and keyboards.
When she glanced over at Yosi for confirmation, Iniko snapped his fingers. “I said do it.”
Thankfully, Yosi nodded his consent. When the images appeared, Iniko grabbed a laser pointer and circled three areas of disturbed ground. “They’ve planted IEDs.” Then he moved to the satellite images. “These three men have been staying out of the fight but circling the island.”
“Fuck,” Yosi yelled.
“Rus, section forty-three.” As soon as Yosi said the words, Hari could see Rus, who was on the same satellite image, pivot and head in the direction of the three men who had suddenly stopped. Two took out small shovels and started digging, while a third was watching out for trouble.
“Three men. They are planting bombs around the island. We need to stop them.” Then Yosi said, “Saber, Chadwick, the bombs are IEDs. We need to contain humans quickly or more of us are going to die.”
“Yeah, cause we’re not already trying to do that.” How Chadwick could joke at a time like that, Hari had no clue, nor did he care as he watched his mate race headlong into danger.
Breath caught in his throat, heart unable to beat, he stared at the screen in horror as Rus didn’t even slow down as he approached the three men. The man watching didn’t even see Rus before he was lying in a pool of his own blood. The other two barely had reacted to the sound of the gun before they also slumped backward.
A hole that shouldn’t have been there was between their eyes, which were staring sightlessly at the sky. Without any wasted movement, Rus gathered up the two bags the three men had been carrying.
“Throw them in the ocean. Arthur and a few others are still out there monitoring for more zodiacs in case they try to breach the barrier,” Yosi told him. “I’ll send whoever is closest to retrieve them.”
Then Yosi turned to Iniko. “Can you and Risa go through whatever footage you need and find the rest of those IEDs?”
Iniko nodded and sat down next to the woman.
Once Rus had thrown the bags into the ocean, Yosi told him where the two IEDs Iniko had already spotted were. It didn’t take Rus long to disarm them before sprinting toward one of the nearest firefights happening.
Why had Hari asked to see this? Hadn’t it been bad enough to have watched Rus nearly die once that day? The man had no self-preservation as far as Hari could tell. Even as he approached what had to have been ten humans firing on fifteen shifters that were taking shelter amongst the trees, Rus rolled out of the tree line, and started firing his gun.
It had taken everything within Hari not to squeeze his eyes shut. Admittedly, less than a minute later, all the humans were dead, with a hole in the forehead, while Rus was already running toward another battle.
“That’s why I hired him,” Yosi said from beside him.
Hari hadn’t even noticed that Yosi had moved, much less was right there next to him until he’d said something. “How did he do that?”
“He wasn’t just special forces for the American government, he was in a unit of only shifters.” Yosi’s announcement wasn’t news to Hari. Rus had already told him during one of the many times he’d been sitting outside Hari’s door talking. “They were trained to kill with minimal expenditure of manpower, or ammunition. One man, one bullet, anything else was considered a failure.”
That Rus hadn’t told him, although Hari hadn’t exactly asked any questions, either.
“I’m not saying this is over, but if I had to guess, especially with you on this island, it won’t be long before the humans are dead.” Yosi had been right. It hadn’t taken longer than an hour for the fighting to cease. Another two and they hoped all the IEDs had been accounted for.
Obviously, that would take time to be certain, but for now, Salvation Island was once again safe.
Through the entire conflict, Hari had been debating back and forth if he could find a way to truly be Rus’s mate. After nearly losing him, it was all Hari wanted. He just wasn’t positive it was possible after all he’d been through at the humans’ hands.
In the end, he’d come to the conclusion that he needed to trust his mate. To tell Rus what he wanted and see if there was a way to make it happen. It wouldn’t be easy to get over his past, but Hari needed to feel the connection all the mates around him felt whenever they were with each other.
Even Iniko, who had been in the communication center with Hari, knew without a doubt his mate, Grey, wasn’t injured because he claimed he would have felt it. That was what Hari desired more than anything. To have that deep bond all mates had.
The moment Rus strode into the communications room, Hari ran to him and leapt into his arms. “Please take me home. I want to find a way to become your mate.”
Rus captured his lips in a searing kiss even as he strode from the room carrying Hari. It wasn’t until they reached the elevator that his mate broke the kiss. “Are you certain, my heart?”
Hari nodded and gave him a wobbly smile. “I know it’s what I want. What I don’t know is if I can. I don’t want what they did to me to come between us, but I also cringe thinking about being penetrated again.”
Rus smiled at him. “That, my love, is easy to solve. You will be the one who will be inside of me.”
Was it possible to swallow your own tongue?
CHAPTER 20
Conflicted between wanting to bend over the nearest surface, take Hari up to his suite, or go to the bungalow, Rus nearly stripped right there in the elevator. Only his need to make Hari as comfortable as possible stopped him. Still, as a big guy, Rus had always topped. They were going to need lube and he doubted Hari had any.
He hit the button for his floor. When the elevator arrived, Rus headed down the hall without ever taking his lips off Hari’s. He couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. Between nearly dying and Hari’s announcement that he was ready to mate, lust was driving Rus insane with need.
Opening the door, he wanted nothing more than to spread out on his bed and worship his mate’s body. If he did that, Rus feared he wouldn’t be able to stop long enough to get them to the bungalow.
Striding to the bedside table he yanked open the drawer, nearly pulling it out. Reaching inside he tried to find the lube, but there was so much crap inside he was having trouble finding it blind. Stuck between a rock and a hard place as he needed that lube, yet he wasn’t about to stop kissing Hari, Rus wanted to cry that he wasn’t going to be able to bond with his mate.
Hari must have sensed he was somewhat distracted because he pulled back with a frown. “Mind telling me what you’re doing?”
“Lube.” It was all Rus could manage.
Hari’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “I’m sorry. What?”
“Lube,” Rus repeated, shifting his gaze to the drawer. “I’ve never had anyone inside of me before and as much as I’m craving to feel you deep within me, I’m going to need lube.”
“For what?” Hari’s question took him by surprise.
When he looked over at his mate, he saw thick brows pulled together with a confused look on his face. Rus closed his eyes as he hadn’t wanted Hari to see the rage that was building within him. If Hari didn’t know what lube was, that could only mean…
Please don’t let it mean that.
Gently setting Hari onto the edge of the bed, Rus sat down next to him. Turning to face his mate, Rus tried to come up with the right way to ask, but he realized there was no such thing. Taking one of Hari’s hands in his, Rus asked, “When the guards had sex with you, didn’t they coat your channel with a slick liquid to ease the pain?”
Hari frowned. “Liquid?”
The bewilderment in those pretty green eyes when Rus opened the lube he’d found and poured a small amount onto Hari’s fingers, told him all he needed to know. It was a good thing all the humans who’d attacked them were dead or Rus would have gone out and shredded them until they were unrecognizable. They may not have been the ones to hurt his mate, but they would have been a good substitute.
Crinkling his nose as he rubbed the lube between his fingers, Hari said, “What is this for?”
Holding back his chuckle of amusement, Rus was brought back to the here and now instead of what had been. He needed to stay focused on teaching his mate what lovemaking was all about and not worry about anything else.
Leaning in, he captured his mate’s lips in a soft kiss that melted his heart. “That is something I will gladly teach you.” Then he stood up and held out a hand. “Are you ready to head to the bungalow?”
The shy smile he received was well worth putting aside the anger that had boiled within him at how his mate had been treated in the past. Their mating deserved none of those kinds of thoughts.
