Laurann Dohner - Fury

“Thank you.”

“I owed you.” He growled the words.

Anger flared over his gruff taunt about their strained relationship. She clenched her teeth to avoid snapping out a rude response. She didn’t need to be reminded of that now. She dressed quickly instead. The boxer briefs were soft cotton, still warm from his body, and hung baggy, low on her hips. I have a fly now. She smirked at that thought while she put on his shirt. It smelled of him, held his warmth, and she was happy to be covered up again.

“You can turn around now.” She finished buttoning the borrowed shirt.

He slowly faced her. He looked sexy with just the vest on with his form-fitting pants. His arms were totally exposed, big, thick muscles showcased by the tight vest that looked too small for his impressive frame. She tore her gaze away from those biceps and rolled up the sleeves of the shirt until they didn’t fall past her hands. Fury stepped forward to help her by brushing away her fingers to do the task. She stared at his vest where NSO had been printed in large letters across it.

“I didn’t know you guys had your own security team.”

He inhaled deeply. “Yeah, well, we can’t trust humans to totally protect us. We’ve been training in secret and none of your people knew until now. Look what an incompetent job they did today. Mercile gave us strength, reflexes, and the ability to take a beating but remain fighting beyond normal endurance. The ones of us with any skills are teaching the others. We’re fast learners.”

“Why do it in secret? It’s your Homeland. You can do whatever you want.”

“Tell that to your people.” He hesitated. “They denied our requests when we asked for a space to train just for such a purpose or to have their instructors train our males in fighting skills. Now we do it ourselves in the men’s dorm out of their sight. We have removed all cameras inside. We tore them out when security refused to comply.”

She frowned. “Mike doesn’t tell on you to the director?”

“The dorm father?” Fury shook his head. “He drinks smelly alcohol every evening. After nine, a bomb could go off inside his apartment and he wouldn’t move. He has no idea what we do at night.”

“I’m sorry you have to do that.” She didn’t know what else to say. “If your women want to train here, I won’t tell on them. They won’t have to hide it from me.”

He shrugged. “We work around the roadblocks they throw in our path but thank you for the offer to the women. I’ll pass it along. One way or another, we’re going to become self-sufficient.”

“I know you will.”

He reached up but then froze midair, his fingers inches from her face.

Ellie couldn’t resist inching closer until the tips of his fingers brushed her check. Fingers curled around the curve of her face, slid into her hair, and she pressed her face against his palm. His touch soothed her. She wouldn’t say it aloud but she’d been happy to see him even under horrific circumstances.

Ellie raised her gaze to his. “Thank you for saving me.”

His dark eyes were beautiful and some unknown emotion flickered inside them for a heartbeat. “I told you I don’t want you dead anymore.” He caressed her face. “I was worried about you.”

She hesitated. “I’ve been told by a few of your women that they’ve seen you outside watching the dorm. Why are you out there?”

His cheeks flushed as if it embarrassed him but then his features blanked. His hand pulled away, dropping to his side. “I like to know where my enemies are. Come,” he growled. “The blood wasn’t yours. You have bruising and some scratches but you will live. I have a job to do. I need to see what is happening.”

It felt as though he’d slapped her with his out-of-the-blue harsh words, letting her know they weren’t even friends. She tore her gaze from his. “I’ll put on my shoes.”

“Don’t. They have blood on them and I just cleaned you. I can’t do that again. I’m not that strong,” he muttered.

What does that mean? Ellie wasn’t sure as she walked toward the bathroom door. Fury stayed at her side but didn’t touch her as he slid his gloves back on as they crossed the room. He opened the bathroom door for her and then walked away, leaving her to follow him. She stared up at the back of his head, wondering what his thoughts were. He had been nice to her up until the enemy comment.

The four NSO officers guarded the damaged entrance. Darren Artino and a dozen of his security guards waited. He glared at Fury.

“Your men wouldn’t allow me to go inside.”

Fury gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He showed sharp canine fangs. “You may enter now.”

Artino uttered a foul curse and waved his men into the dorm. His angry gaze traveled down Ellie’s body and he visibly tensed. His focus zoomed in on the men’s briefs she wore, just an inch or so of them displayed at the bottom of the shirt, and his mouth gaped. He spun to glare at Fury.

Fury shrugged. “She needed clothes. You should put showers and towels inside the bathrooms on the lower floor if you have shitty security. When the people you fail to protect need to clean up the blood that was spilled, they can do it in comfort after they save their own asses. Paper towels weren’t going to cover her modesty afterward but my underclothing was much preferable to walking around naked.”

Ellie put her hand over her mouth to hide the smile. Artino’s face reddened as the words sank in. The head of security could be a real self-righteous prick sometimes and she enjoyed him getting a good verbal kick. She let her hand drop as she watched Fury nod at his men. They walked out of the women’s dorm without a backward glance.

Artino faced her. “Can you believe he said that to me?” He glared at Ellie in outrage.

She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. She wasn’t in a position to tell him his security had failed big time. “You really should put in at least one shower and real towels on the first floor bathroom. It would have come in handy.”

Ellie tore her gaze from his stunned expression to head over to one of the couches. She collapsed onto the soft material. Exhaustion and the need for a good cry set in. Or a stiff drink. Maybe all of the above .

* * * * *

Fury paused outside on the sidewalk to face his men and to stare over their shoulders at Ellie. She sat on the couch looking tired and pale from her traumatic ordeal. It had taken every ounce of his willpower to leave her when he really wanted to wrap his arms around her to give comfort. If she burst into tears he knew he’d go back inside regardless of how stupid it would be to cuddle her until her fear eased.

His phone rang and he snatched it up. “Yes, Justice?”

“What did you do with the human female while you were inside the bathroom? The cameras followed you when you carried her there but there is no footage inside. Are things well?”

“Yes.” Fury tensed.

“You should have sent one of our men with her if she needed assistance. We’ve had long talks about her, my friend. Are you all right?”

He lowered his voice. “They touched her and hurt her but I kept my cool.”

“Good.” Justice paused. “You did a damn good job, Fury. I’m proud of you. The humans are a tad upset that our team saved the woman. They weren’t happy when they realized we have our own security now.”

“It’s our Homeland. We were told by the President of the United States that this is our home and, when we’re able, we can run it ourselves.”

“I know. They feel guilty for funding Mercile Industries without knowing exactly what they paid for. They want to make it right with us and it would be very bad publicity worldwide if we pointed a finger at them. We need to tread lightly still until we’re in a position to govern ourselves. The conversation with Darren Artino appeared unfriendly. What was said?”