She knew he would. He also had taken the precaution to protect his body from her. His throat was covered with a thick wrap and his hands were gloved. She went to him because she had no choice.
"I ought to put a bullet in your fucking head just for killing Harvey. He would have died from your venom even if they hadn't shot him."
She didn't respond, what was there to say?
Glenn caught her arm and dragged her to him before she was on her feet. He gripped his gun tightly. "Start walking."
For some reason, now, even with the adrenaline rushing through her veins, she felt the excruciating pain of setting her feet down on the uneven surface. Her breath hitched in her throat.
"Zara, stay very still."
At the sound of Gino's voice, the soldier froze, trying to keep her in front of him. "I'll kill her."
Gino stared at Whitney's soldier. The man had dared to put his hands on Gino's woman. She looked scared. He didn't tell her there was no need. He wasn't a man prone to bragging, and this dumb fuck was about to die. The soldier didn't have a finger on the trigger, but he was turning the weapon toward Zara's head. Gino fired, putting a bullet through the man's gun hand. Dead center. The soldier gasped and dropped the weapon.
"Down," Gino said.
She dropped. His woman. She was a soldier whether she wanted to think she was or not. He shot the bastard through the throat. A kill shot. He didn't want to kill him so easily, not with Zara looking so scared, not with the knowledge that this man and his friends had taken her feeling of safety from her. He would have liked to have spent a little time showing the fucker what happened to men who made war on his woman, but haste was a necessity.
He shoved the gun into his waistband and reached for her. It was easier to run with her over his shoulder, so he put her there. "We're going to go over the rules again, baby," he said, his voice a little grimmer than he intended, but hell, his heart had been in his throat when he saw her on that pier with that shotgun, facing the soldier coming out of the water. He'd nearly had a heart attack when he saw that soldier grip her ankle and drag her underwater.
She didn't answer, but she bunched the back of his shirt in her fists as he took her into the swamp and out of harm's way. The rest of the team had mopped up most of the men Whitney had sent to reacquire Zara. An explosion rocked the ground. Birds took to the air. An alligator bellowed. Bellisia had blown the submersible to kingdom come and anyone still in it was gone. Once the all clear was given, Gino took her back to the house.
Joe stood just to the right of the porch, his eyes like twin silver flames. His eyes only changed color like that when his energy went south. He was definitely in a shit mood and there was not going to be any putting off his questions. Gino took Zara right past him into the house, but Joe followed.
"Give me a minute," Gino said. "Got to get these wet clothes off her and get her clean." She had blood all over her. He could see that she tried not to see it in her hair or on her clothes as he reached into the shower and turned it on. Joe backed out of the room and closed the door.
Gino stripped the clothes from her shivering body and then from his. He took her into the stall and let the water pour over both of them. He was familiar with her body, the curves and valleys, the way she felt when he washed the muddy water from her. He kept his arm locked around her rib cage, taking most of her weight off the soles of her feet, all the while washing her clean and trying not to react.
He knew he wasn't a saint, and there was no controlling his body around her even when the circumstances weren't conducive for seduction. She had to feel the hard length of him, but she didn't say anything, nor did she object to him rinsing her hair and then his own, all one-handed. She didn't say a single word. He took her out of there, set her on the sink and wrapped a towel around her. He should have wrapped one around himself, but instead, he crouched down to examine the bottoms of her feet.
"Baby, what part of 'don't walk' do you not get?"
"They would have taken her. Nonny. They were coming for her."
"They were coming for you. They might have tried to use Nonny to get to you, Zara, but you were their goal, not Nonny." His fingers slid over her ankles. She would have more bruises on her ankles and around her neck, just as they were fading. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I'm sorry. I couldn't let them take her, or worse, kill her, Gino."
Her voice was soft, appeasing, not remorseful, and he knew she would make the same decision again.
"Cayenne and Bellisia are fast, princess." Abruptly he yanked a medical kit out from under the sink and prepared an injectable painkiller. Her feet had to be hurting.
"Not as fast as I am. I got there. They didn't. I had the shotgun, they didn't."
He wanted to shake her. He was damned proud of her, but he never wanted her to do anything like that again. "You put yourself in danger. How is letting Whitney get you back going to help anyone?" He injected the medicine into her thigh and stood up. It was fast acting and would take effect soon.
"I'm so fuckin' pissed at you right now, Zara," he warned. He shoved both hands through his hair, trying to get his breathing under control. Trying to get himself under control. He could have lost her. Like his mother. His father. His grandparents. All of them. He could have lost her. He saw the exact moment when the drug hit and her breathing calmed. Her eyes went a little hazy. At least he could do that, take away pain, even if he couldn't keep her safe.
"If they pulled a woman in her eighties into that water and held her there, she would have drowned, Gino."
"Stop arguing with me. Let me just have this one, Zara. You took ten years off my life."
He looked up at her and her eyes met his. She seemed shocked at the level of anxiety he had, but he was a little shocked as well. He couldn't find his calm no matter how much he tried to breathe the fear for her away. He stood up abruptly and nabbed a towel, refusing to turn away from her. Let her look. Let her see what she did to him no matter the circumstances. Yeah. He wanted her. He wanted her no matter what kind of shit was happening around them. He wanted her every time he heard the sound of her voice, let alone looked at her when she was naked.
Her gaze dropped from his eyes to his chest and then lower. He heard the little hitch in her voice. Yeah. That was better. She wanted him too. He caught the front of her towel, so that his fingers curled between her breasts as he yanked her close to him. He pushed her thighs apart to allow his body to be even closer. When she tilted her head to look, he took her mouth.
She gave herself to him. There was no holding back. Her mouth moved under his, lips parting and then he was taking every damn thing he wanted. Her mouth was pure flame. Sheer paradise. He devoured her, taking control the way he wanted, showing her who he was and what she could expect when she scared the crap out of him and he was pissed as hell.
Maybe it wasn't her fault and she'd done the only thing she could, but all that adrenaline and rage swirling in him had to go somewhere. Her arms slid around his neck and he yanked down the towel. She kept kissing him, not acknowledging that the towel was gone.
He was aware the moment there was nothing between him and her body. He was always aware of her skin. Her breasts. That tucked-in waist. The flare of her hips. That really nice ass and the way her curls were tight and silky over her mound. He kissed his way over her chin and down her throat to the curve of her left breast. His hand cupped her right one, thumb and fingers working her nipple while his mouth closed over the left.
She gasped, but she didn't pull away. If anything, she arched her body to give him better access. He took his time, making sure that she knew who she belonged to. He was gentle at first, judging her reactions. He suckled harder. His fingers got rougher. Her hips bucked a little, and he used the edge of his teeth. A sound escaped, a soft moan that she tried to suppress but failed.
He lifted his head, his eyes moving over her face. "Don't do it again."
"I can't promise you that," she said softly.
He retaliated, his mouth on her again, using his teeth and tongue on her breasts, the undersides, down her belly, his shoulder pushing into her until she had no choice but to lean back, hands gripping the edge of the sink behind her. He bit the inside of her thigh and then licked up her leg. "Don't do it again."
"Gino." Her breath came in ragged gasps. "I want to promise you, but you know I can't."
One hand to her belly, he pushed until she was lying on her back, only elbows supporting her. He put his mouth between her legs and lifted her to him. She tasted like she always smelled, that hint of citrus and vanilla. He had no idea where the scent came from, it wasn't in the soap he'd used on her, but the hot honey spilling from her had just a faint hint. Enough that he wanted more of that elusive taste. He loved the way she tasted, and twice that day, while he was supposed to be working with the others on solutions, he thought about that taste and craved her like a drug.
He gave her no mercy. She hadn't given him any. He'd watched her nearly be taken from him. He'd watched her leave the safety of the porch and run barefoot on her damaged feet straight into hell. In those few moments, he'd known, without a single doubt, he wasn't just making some decision that could be taken back, making her his choice because he was physically attracted to her. She was wrapped up inside him, tight. Wound around his heart. How the hell she'd gotten there when he'd protected himself for so long, he didn't know, but she was there and she wasn't going anywhere.
His heart had nearly stopped. His world had tunneled. He saw that run in slow motion. Wyatt, Ezekiel, Trap and he had sprinted for the pier, all four shoving guns in their jeans as they came out of the laboratory. Looking back, he had no idea what had warned them, but they opened the door to see Zara running toward the dock, Bellisia close behind her. Pepper had raced to get the triplets to the safe room, and Cayenne had stayed on the porch to protect the children.
Gunfire had erupted from the swamp, with return fire from other team members. The attack came from water, road and swamp. Nothing mattered to Gino but getting to Zara. They weren't going to take his woman.
Gino wouldn't have been surprised, when he looked in the mirror behind her, to see his hair gray. He used his tongue and teeth ruthlessly on her, driving her up. She gasped. Writhed. He didn't let her go over. He lifted his head.
"Baby, don't do it again."
"Gino."
Just his name. Breathless. Almost a sob. A little panic-stricken. He took her there again. And then a third time. Each time he punctuated his action with the same thing. "Don't do it again."
Her fists curled tightly in his hair. "I didn't know I was going to do it. It just happened. I didn't think first."
He closed his eyes. Of course she hadn't. She'd acted. And she'd do it again. It wouldn't matter if it was Nonny or one of their children. She'd go flying to the rescue because that was who Zara was. He rubbed the darker bristles along his jaw over her thighs.
"Coward my ass. You're going to make me old before my time, woman."
"I'm sorry."
"Not as sorry as I'm going to be over the years," he said, meaning it. She might not like pain. She might not like to go out into the world, traveling everywhere. She might think of herself as a coward, but she would never hesitate to protect the people she loved--including him. That was in her nature. The truth was, he'd known it all along. He knew it the moment he saw what Zhu had done to her, especially her feet, and he'd found out she hadn't given up any information. That knowledge had been reinforced when she'd revealed she had a lethal venom.
"What does that mean?"
Her breasts were heaving with every ragged breath she drew in. He had to cover her up because he wasn't such a dick that he'd take her in the bathroom with Joe right outside the door.
"We need clothes." He raised his voice, because Joe was still out there. He knew it because the man had always been as stubborn as hell and he wasn't going to go away without answers.
Gino pulled the towel around her again, just in case Joe decided to walk in. "It means, Zara, that you're no coward and I'd better not everhear you say you are again."
She opened her mouth to protest, thought better of it and closed it. "Over the years," she echoed.
He sent her look. "You're my fucking woman, Zara. What the hell do you think it means? And we're getting married as soon as I can arrange it."
She pressed her lips together and then swallowed. "You don't have to sound angry."
"I amangry. They nearly took you from me. I'm going hunting the minute I have you safe. It isn't going to happen again."
"Do I have a choice in this?"
"In what? Marrying me immediately? Or me going hunting?"
"Both."
"No to both." Abruptly he turned away from her when Joe knocked on the door. Stalking across the room, he glanced over his shoulder to make certain she was covered up and to see how she took that particular bit of news.
"Okay then. But are you really angry with me?"
A few of the knots in his gut relaxed a little. He took the clothes from Joe, shut the door and turned back to regard her. She looked beautiful sitting there on the sink, holding the towel to her. It wasn't difficult to see his marks on the upper curves of her breasts, and he liked seeing them a hell of a lot more than he liked seeing the faint whip marks still marring her skin. Most were closed, leaving only long red marks. Nonny's concoctions and the antibiotics had helped tremendously, along with the fact that most GhostWalkers healed injuries fast.
"Are you, Gino?"
She sounded and looked upset at the idea that he would be angry with her. He was across the room again, this time to cup her face gently in his hands. "Baby, I'm angry at anyone who puts their hands on you. Anyone who hurts you. Anything that hurts you. Not you. You might get into trouble, Zara, but I'm not going to be angry."
He bent down so he could brush his mouth across hers. She'd been through enough and he didn't want her to be upset. Certainly not because he wanted to go hunting. The more he was with her, the more he saw who she really was, the tighter those ties were around his heart. He didn't even care that she'd wrapped him up like that. He hadn't expected it. He'd been an idiot thinking he could claim her and then she would fall like a ton of brick for him, not the other way around.
"What does getting in trouble entail?"
He dragged a T-shirt over her head. "Don't think that cute tone is going to get you off the hook, princess."
She licked her bottom lip, her eyes on him as he pulled up a pair of jeans. It wasn't the easiest adjusting his cock when she was looking at him, and that particular part of him refused to stand down even when he told it to.
He pulled on his tee and reached for her. "I need to see to your feet, and we can talk to Joe at the same time."
"Joe? As in the head of your team Joe?"
"The one you've avoided since you've been here," Gino said. He pulled open the door and jerked his chin toward his room where his medical supplies were so Joe would follow them there and not think Gino was avoiding him.
"Whitney is still after her, Gino. You want to tell me what's going on? You, Trap, Wyatt and Zeke are all up to something. I let it go, but once it affects the team and the women here, you don't get to keep your secrets."
"It's not my secret, Joe, or you would have been the first to know." Gino put Zara on the bed and reached for his medical bag, pulling it to him while he sat, dragging her feet into his lap.
Joe switched his gaze to Zara's face. She was looking at the sheets. "You're on my home turf, Zara. I want to know exactly why Whitney wants you back so much that he's made two tries for you. He lost a hell of a lot of men he can't afford to lose. My guess is he's got another wave of them coming at us soon. Spill it now."
Zara looked up at Gino, searching his face for a sign. He wanted to tell her that Joe was his brother, and trustworthy as hell, but it had to be her decision. She'd given him her secret and then allowed him to tell Trap and Wyatt. Bellisia had told Zeke. She was very scared that
if they couldn't get the information out of her head, she would be taken forcibly from the team by someone Whitney was friends with. The worst of it was, her fear very well could turn into a reality. Gino would have no choice but to go AWOL and get her back if that happened.
"Don't look at him, Zara," Joe said. "Look at me. I'm the head of this GhostWalker team, not Gino."
"I'm not under your orders," Zara said.
That shocked the hell out of Gino. She was usually very passive. She would state her point, but then she refused to argue. She was shutting down Joe's authority over her. Gino stroked ointment on the soles of her feet and then over the bruised muscles.
"No, you're not, but Whitney just made a grab for you. I've got women and children to protect here. If you aren't willing to tell me why he keeps coming after you, then you aren't staying here."
Gino very slowly put Zara's feet back on the mattress. He stood up, feeling the familiar surge of adrenaline flooding his body. Heat coiled. "Joe. Just so you know, she leaves, I leave."