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How is that possible?
Two beings detected, yet only one body is visible.
Shit. Two? He was actually two beings inside of one body? Again, how was that possible?
“Sit,” he said again.
“Bitch! Fucking whore!” The human had since stood. She was panting and eying Le’Ace through narrowed lids.
One hundred percent chance of attack.
No shit. She set her beer on the table.
With a shriek, the woman leapt at her. Not wanting to reveal the depth of her skill, Le’Ace allowed her opponent to grab her hair and scratch her neck. She even gave a startled cry, as though she were not used to such pains. But as she was propelled backward, she retained a firm grip on the girl and stealthily opened one of her rings. As they hit the floor, she jabbed the girl in the stomach.
A shriek rumbled in her left ear.
For several seconds, they rolled around in a bid for dominance. Le’Ace played her role of inexperienced cat fighter to perfection, only ripping hair and scratching. But then, suddenly, the girl froze.
“Oh my God. ” Horror blanketed that pretty face and she jackknifed to her feet, hand covering her mouth as she raced for the bathroom.
Le’Ace stood and pretended to sway. The Schön reached out and latched onto her arm to steady her. She had to force herself to remain still, every instinct in her body screaming for her to rip from his too hot, too tight hold.
“Sit,” he said again.
This time, she obeyed, settling beside him. She waited for him to begin a conversation, but several minutes ticked by and he remained silent. Other women would fawn over him, she supposed, desperate to know more about him.
“What’s your name?” she asked, doing her best to sound breathless and aroused.
“You may call me Nolan. ”
Nolan. A human name. Old English. No real significant meaning. “I’m Jane. ” As she spoke, the cell phone strapped to her ankle vibrated. Breath caught in her throat but she hid it with a cough. Oh, no. No, no, no.
Jaxon had just left the compound.
She’d programmed the phone to alert her if any of the doors or windows to the outside were opened and a body passed through them.
“Something wrong, Jane?” the Schön asked.
She wanted to leap from the table and hunt Jaxon down. In that wheelchair, he wouldn’t get far. And she’d find him, wherever he went, because she’d placed a tracking wire inside one of the wheels. Plus, she’d taken the only car and disabled the motorbike. There was a mile-long trek from the compound through the surrounding woods. He didn’t know the code to the gate, so he couldn’t make it to the public road.
Did that lessen her concern? No. He could be hurt or tracked by the wild wolves and deer being raised in the area to repopulate the animal community. He knows how to take care of himself.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she finally said, then rubbed at the scratches the human had given her. “My neck hurts. That was a pretty gruesome fight. I hope I didn’t hurt her. ” She was babbling, trying to mask her fear for Jaxon.
Nolan’s fingers pressed gently against her chin and lifted her head, giving him a view of her injuries. The lights in his eyes glowed brighter, illuminating the table with eerie green.
“You fought for me,” he said, no hint of his emotions seeping through that freaky double voice.
“Yes. ” Good or bad in his opinion?
“I liked that. ”
Thank God. “I’m glad. ”
He released her and frowned. He even leaned back in his seat and studied her.
Had she done or said something wrong? Did he suspect the truth? I need to blush like I’m pleased with his perusal.
Heating cheeks now.
Even as the chip informed her of the increased blood flow, her face warmed. She didn’t need a mirror to know twin spots of color now dotted her cheekbones.
Nolan’s head tilted sideways. “You blush as though you are reacting to me, yet your pulse did not quicken at my touch. Your pupils did not dilate. ”
That observant, was he? Time to step up her game. Cringing inside, she reached out and traced a fingertip along his jawline. His skin was like fire, burning like flames crackled just below the surface. “Maybe you didn’t touch me the way I wanted,” she said. Shit. Do I sound seductive or terrified?
Both.
One of his brows rose. He had a small bump in the middle of his nose, she noticed. The only imperfection he possessed. Well, that and his lips were not as lush as Jaxon’s.
Jaxon.
His parting words played through her mind. Do not let them kiss or penetrate you. The Schön’s saliva and ejaculate must pass the virus to humans. Le’Ace had never been sick, had never even come down with a cold. She’d been told the scientists had placed some sort of particles in her bloodstream that constantly renewed, always keeping her healthy.
For a moment, she wondered if those particles were strong enough to fight whatever disease Nolan possessed. Probably. But that didn’t lessen the fear, the what-if. Jaxon would probably tell her not to risk finding out.
Thinking about that virus made her nervous and thinking about Jaxon made her excited, both of which quickened her pulse the way the alien had wanted.
He sniffed the air, as if he could smell her sudden change. “And how did you want to be touched?” he asked huskily.
She licked her lips. “Lower. ”
For a moment, she thought his pupils dilated like he’d expected hers to do. Then she realized he didn’t have pupils, only those strange lights. The lights had fused, darkened, forming pupil-like circles.
“I am not used to aggressive women,” he said.
Le’Ace read between the lines. Humans usually fell at his feet, taking whatever he offered. Now he desired a challenge. “Does that mean I make you nervous? Poor baby. Why don’t I order you a drink and help relax you a bit?”
He chuckled softly. “Amusing, too. ” He signaled for the waitress, who rushed to his side as if she’d been waiting for just such a summons. “Vodka. A bottle and a glass. ”
Excellent. Le’Ace planned to steal his glass so that his saliva could be analyzed.
The waitress began to pant, sweating, practically on the verge of orgasm as she asked, “Iced?”
“No. That is all. ”
Gasping with increasing fervency, the waitress clomped off. She had to stop at a nearby table and clutch the edge as she reached her climax.
Le’Ace could only shake her head in wonder.
The bottle and glass arrived a few minutes later, and the waitress was all smiles. She tried to massage Nolan’s shoulders, but he shooed her away. She pouted the entire trek away from him. Le’Ace would have sworn there were tears in her eyes.
Nolan filled the glass halfway and scooted it to her. While he looked too sophisticated to drink straight from the bottle, that’s exactly what he did, draining the contents in seconds. He set the empty bottle on the table and slid it to the edge, out of their way.
If the waitress tried to take it, Le’Ace might trip her. A bottle would be harder to steal than a glass, but she wasn’t leaving without it.
Nolan studied Le’Ace intently as she sipped. “Are you human?” he asked.
“Are you?”
He uttered another of those soft chuckles. His breath was laced with the vodka, warm and intoxicating. “I will take that as a no. I sensed not. The people of this world are not very forgiving of others, are they?”
“No, they aren’t. ” She didn’t try to hide her bitterness. “Does that make you angry?” Might explain why he was here, killing innocent women.
“No. I understand their fear of the unknown. ”
Truth?
No lie detected.
Interesting. He wasn’t pissed at humans and their sometime intolerance for those who were different.
&
nbsp; He leaned toward her, whispering, “What are you looking for tonight, hmm?”
“A man. Pleasure. ” Is he aroused by that thought?
Yes.
“What are you looking for tonight?” As she stroked her fingertips over her glass, she closed the rest of the distance between them and kissed his cheek.
“I think I’ve found what I was looking for,” he said. He reached up and his fingers curled around the back of her neck. His other hand settled on top of her thigh. Hot, so hot.
She swallowed back bile and pasted a serene smile on her face. “I’m glad. ”
“Not as glad as you will be. ” He moved in to kiss her mouth, but then, suddenly, he stilled. Sniffed. His gaze lifted from her to just over her shoulder, and he frowned. His head tilted to the side in that strange way of his.
“Do you have a man?” he asked.
“No. ”
“He does not seem to feel the same way. ”
“He? I don’t—” She stiffened, only then feeling the sizzling gaze boring into her back. Not possible. Not fucking possible. Slowly she turned in her seat, dread flooding her. Sure enough.
Jaxon stood in the doorway, scowling. His gaze was locked on her like the barrel of a gun. He radiated undisciplined fury as his gaze lowered to Nolan’s hand on her neck.
Le’Ace’s eyes widened and her blood instantly heated, searing her inside and out. She was on her feet a second later, Nolan’s hands falling away. She should have cared that Jaxon had just ruined her night’s objective. She should have cared that the situation couldn’t end well. Not for anyone involved. She didn’t.
All she cared about was the fact that Jaxon was here.
He limped toward her, determination in every step.
CHAPTER 8
Dallas eyed the people he’d invited to his home and could only shake his head in trepidation. More than I bargained for, that’s for sure. Damn, this was messed up. His fatal vision had already begun to play out. The knowledge burned in his bones, prodded at his soul.
And he was the cause.
He’d called Mia Snow and she’d returned, just as he’d known she would. The woman didn’t have many friends, and those she had she protected ferociously. But she’d brought an arsenal (good) and her alien lover (not so good).
Dallas had Kyrin’s Arcadian blood flowing inside him, and every time he neared the otherworlder he wanted to fall on his goddamn knees and obey the motherfucker. How screwed up was that?
Right now, the couple was sitting on the couch. Petite, dark-haired Mia lounged on tall, white-haired Kyrin. They were glaring at the other agents Dallas had invited, as well as freaking snuggling. Dallas had to swallow back a little bile at that.
Eden Black sat across from them. She was an alien, a Rakan, and an assassin all rolled into one. She looked like an angel. Was utterly stunning. Golden from head to toe: golden hair, golden eyes, golden skin, with features so perfect they rivaled Dallas’s.
Hey, it wasn’t bragging if it was true.
Though he’d never met the Rakan before, Dallas had seen her holding a bucking Jaxon down, and he had been screaming at her. He’d assumed she was the enemy
Now he was forced to reevaluate the vision. Maybe she’d been holding the man down to save his life.
Jack trusted Eden. More than that, Dallas had made some. inquiries about her. Supposedly, she was the pampered daughter of an arms dealer. A cover, he knew. She worked in the shadows as a killer and a tracker. Those who’d worked with her swore to her dedication and her honor.
Eden, too, had brought a man to this meeting—another person Dallas had never met but had seen in his mind. Lucius Adaire, Eden’s partner and fellow assassin. Unlike Eden, the man was not stunning. He was ferocious. Seriously, the dude looked like he ate full-grown adults for snacks and weapons for meals. Multicolored, violent tattoos decorated his neck and sleeved both his arms. His eyebrows were pierced and his eyes were so black they blended with his pupils. But again, Dallas had heard good things about him.
With the assassins was a man Dallas hadn’t seen, in person or in his mind. Devyn. A self-professed king of some sort, though no one would say of what or where. Devyn was as tall and muscled as Lucius, with brown hair, amber eyes, and very pale skin. No, not pale, he thought next. Just shimmery, as if he’d been dipped in fairy glitter. Women probably loved the look, but Dallas could only grimace and be glad it wasn’t him.
While Lucius looked capable of murder, Devyn glowed with irreverence and dry amusement, as if everything around him were a private joke meant only for him.
Dallas could feel some kind of supernatural power radiating from the man. What power, though, he didn’t know. All he knew was that he was going to have to trust these people.
“We done sizing each other up?” Mia asked in her usual kiss-my-ass tone.
“I’m not,” Eden told her flippantly.
Two alpha females, both determined to lead. Normally, Dallas would have enjoyed the battle. Today, he wanted everything nice and orderly, so he could stop the bad part of his vision from happening.
“Mmm, catfight,” Devyn said, his grin widening. He leaned back in the cushioned recliner and twined his fingers behind his neck.
Dallas scrubbed a hand over his face, his temples already beginning to ache. “Look. This is about Jaxon. Have your pissing contest later, okay?”
Silence.
He’d take that for agreement.
He settled more deeply into his stiff, uncomfortable foldout chair and kicked his legs onto the coffee table. All eyes were on him. For once, he’d acted like a polite host and given his comfortable furniture to his guests. Fine, they’d beaten him to them. “I’ll play the message again. ” He reached out and pressed the series of buttons needed to start his voice mail.
“I only have a minute. ” Jaxon’s deep voice echoed through the room. “She’s in the shower. I’m fine. Recovering. My abductors are dead. Something more is going down, though. Until I find out what, I’m staying put. If any human females are captured and placed in lockup, do not allow agents inside their cells. ” Pause. “Spray’s off. Shit. Talk again soon. ”