Taming the Wicked Rogue (Scarlet Legacy Universe)

Curveballs

I had finally gone crazy. I knew it was just a matter of time before I tipped over the edge. My fingers clawed at the man's handsome face. His sword eyebrows crumpled into a frown, expression turning severe. He tossed me to the couch. One hand held both my wrists above my head while he used his weight to pin down my kicking legs.

"What happened?" Olah's voice came from the doorway. She dragged the body of the boy with her. His arms and legs were back to normal. His lips were no longer beneath a layer of skin but appeared pale and bloodless.

Slowly, reason came back to me. My movements stopped, and I was left to stare at the silver-eyed man pressing down on me. The position we are in shouldn't have made me blush, but it did. His eyes were narrowed and guarded.

It felt like eons had passed and the man-made no move to get off me. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"You're crushing me," I whispered. Only then did he stand up. He immediately went to the other side as if he couldn't get farther away from me. That hurt a bit.

My attention shifted to the still unconscious boy in wonder. He was back to normal when clearly just minutes ago he was not!

"What happened?"

"Too long to explain. I'll tell you, but we need to go now. The police are coming."

Right! I remembered I called 911. "What about the woman?"

"Killed her off, of course," Olah said matter-of-factly. My breath hitched. This was the part when I should turn ballistic and panic. My neighbors are all inhuman. But I was calm. The calmest I'd ever been in the two months I worried about the force and what happened that night.

"We need to go." The silver-eyed man spoke in a low voice.

Olah turned to me and jerked her chin towards the door. Panic coursed through my veins. "No, thank you, I'll wait for the police. I will explain to them what happened. Don't worry. Since you've helped me, I wouldn't rat you out. I'll make up a good story." I realized I was rambling, but I couldn't stop. Did they want me to come with them? Not a chance!

In a blink of an eye, the man who was about to step out of the door walked back and slung me over his shoulder. I immediately used all my strength to kick and punch him.

A sharp force landed on my backside. The striking sound almost echoed in the room. My eyes were round with incredulity. Did he just spank me?

"Don't move." He warned. My cheeks burned in anger and shame. He spanked a 25-year-old grown woman! Perhaps the most embarrassing part was that my butt cheeks were tingling, and my thoughts had become green. It was sudden, but I noticed how firm his back muscles were as I smacked his back a few more times. This is bad. Very bad.

Olah followed while still dragging the unconscious boy. "I'll take him with us. After all, you came to rescue him, so he must be a friend?"

My expression became complicated. How do I tell her that the boy was someone I shared food with and nodded to in greeting every day? I didn't even know his name.

"Well, that, I don't really know him."

"We can just leave him then? He stinks." Olah scrunched up her nose.

"Keep him. Toss him into the trunk." The man spoke. His voice was deep and had a natural hoarseness to it that was sexy as hell.

We exited the building through the back door. Up ahead was a black Maserati. The man unceremoniously dumped me on the front seat and strapped the seat belt tightly. His sharp eyes spoke volumes, 'don't run if you don't want to get hurt. I watched Olah toss the boy to the trunk, close it and slide into the back seat. Poor boy.

"Let's go. I could hear the police car approaching."

I strained my ears but couldn't identify the sound. There was only the muffled sound of vehicles passing by.

The car lurched into drive. The silver-eyed man held the car's speed at a steady limit. I glanced at Olah and then back to the silver-eyed man.

"Can anyone please explain to me what happened?"

The silver-eyed man didn't speak, focusing solely on the road, but the speed was no longer steady. A glance at the speedometer showed we were nearing the speed limit.

"Well, that could wait until we get to a safe place," Olah spoke in a clipped tone.

"Safe place? Am I in danger? "

Olah pursed her lips, "I don't want to shock you. It's bad for your health."

A sarcastic laugh spilled from my lips. "Try me. I've been plenty shocked this day. I don't think I can be as tough as I am now for another day."

Olah looked conflicted. Her gaze flickered to the driver's seat. I was about to run out of patience again. "Spill, or I'll puke all over the car." I declared. It wasn't a baseless threat. The nausea was back again.

Olah held up her hands. "I'm not the one who should be telling you."

I turned to the still silent man with narrowed eyes. "Is this because we slept together, and a jealous, crazy girlfriend is out to kill me?"

Olah stifled her laughter, and the man glared at her through the rear view mirror. "Speak up. I have had a very hard month! I thought I was going crazy! Helen was convinced I am, and I am too. Then my neighbors all turned out to be inhuman! What more curveball can you throw at me?"

"You're pregnant."

"Yes, I'm pregnant, what?" My words ended in a shriek. "See, I'm hearing things again. I just heard you say I'm pregnant." I laughed dryly.

The man looked sideways at me with a frown. "You are pregnant with my child."

I gawked at him. Pregnant? Me?

"You're joking, right? How would you know I am pregnant when I don't know I am?" There weren't any signs, right? Nausea kicked in, and I had to take in a deep breath. Yes. No sign of pregnancy at all.

"Your scent had changed."

My scent. Perfect explanation. Olah smiled kindly at me. "We're different."

"I noticed." I spat.

"Well, we're ..." she paused as if searching for the right words. "-shifters."

"shifters." I echoed. Despite the calm expression I had, my thoughts were back in a mess. I'm back at the edge of insanity. Olah bit her lip. "I think you're overwhelmed. It's bad for the baby."

I shook my head and placed a hand over my stomach. "I'm pregnant, you're shifters, and I'm not crazy. Not yet, at least."

Just then, the car swerved sharply to the right. One arm held me in place and prevented me from smacking against the car window. I glanced gratefully at the man who was quick to prevent me from hurting myself. I grabbed the edge of the car seat, my fingers white from the force of exertion. What now? I glanced at him in trepidation.

"We're being followed. Hang on tight." He growled.