Dark Swan

by Gena Showalter

  Lilica swallowed. "If . . . if it's true, you would be one of twenty-eight parents. Twenty-three otherworlders and five humans."

  "When I was at the lab," Devyn said, "I found no paperwork, no computer files."

  "We hid them." She rattled off the coordinates to where he needed to look. No reason to keep the data secret, even though she would have enjoyed torturing him; she'd never be able to hide the information from Dallas.

  Devyn nodded in what might have been thanks. "I'll have answers by morning, pet."

  Needing a distraction, Lilica grabbed a handful of the hors d'oeuvres.

  The bite-size cakes smelled like . . . she couldn't identify the scent, only knew she liked it, her mouth watering.

  "Crab," Dallas muttered.

  She scoured her mind, but came up blank. "I'm unfamiliar with the term."

  "Seafood."

  Her brow furrowed with confusion. "Sea creatures were killed during the war, when the oceans were contaminated." She might not have lived in the world, but she had studied its turbulent history.

  "Some people," Dallas said, hiking his thumb at Devyn, "have private stashes."

  Lilica nibbled on the edge of a cake and moaned with delight. Amazing! "I've decided I'm keeping your friends when we divorce."

  Dallas stole one of her cakes, popping it into his mouth before she could kill him. Mine! She watched his mouth as he chewed, suddenly mesmerized. When he swallowed, their gazes met and locked, awareness crackling between them. The air thickened, making it harder for her to breathe. Which was probably a good thing. His scent had blended with hers, creating a fragrance so potent, so arousing, she nearly leaped into his arms to rip at his clothes.

  If she didn't put her hands on him soon . . . if he didn't put his hands on her . . . his fingers inside her . . .

  I'll die.

  His fingers were so different from hers. Thicker, and rougher. When they brought her to orgasm, she would know it beyond a doubt.

  "Yes. You will." His pupils flared, black spilling over those arctic irises, as if he wanted to throw her down, strip her, and penetrate her with a single stroke, just as he'd promised in the bathroom. As if he wanted to fill her up, possess her, brand her. Own her. As if he wanted to take and take and take, but only after she'd begged would he give and give and give.

  "I'll never beg for you," she whispered.

  "Oh, sweetheart. I think we'll both beg."

  Her tremors returned. To hear this man beg for her . . .

  The soothing balm to every rejection she'd ever faced.

  No. No! She would not surrender to her desires, would not give in to her animal urges. Not again. She'd thought sex with him was the answer to her problems. Bound forever, he would choose to save Trinity. But there had to be another way. A way she would actually survive.

  As a muscle jumped under his eye, he backed away from her.

  As cold reality chilled her desire, one of his thoughts filled her head. --Such a naughty girl, my Lily.--

  His Lily. His.

  Her heart sped into a dangerous rhythm.

  "Wow. Anyone else hot?" Bride asked with a shaky little laugh. "I feel like I just watched a live and in-person porno. And however you're changing colors to blend into the room, Lilica, it's freaking awesome. The best defense against an enemy."

  A blessing rather than a curse.

  Dallas ignored her, grating to Lilica, "You can have all the crab cakes you want . . . if you tell us where to find Trinity."

  Anger flickered deep inside her chest. Every interaction always came back to her sister, didn't it. "I don't know where she is, and that's the truth. And if John tries to force Jade to find her again, I'll--"

  "John wouldn't. He doesn't want Jade near Trinity again, and he won't let us near Jade."

  Well. --Some protectors know how to do their job right.--

  Dallas glared at her.

  She glared right back. What a nightmare this had become! She had to keep AIR away from Trinity, but doing so would prevent Lilica from digging past her sister's uncaring facade to reach her heart.

  "She's a parasite." Disgust dripped from his voice. "She isn't the girl you knew."

  Trinity had said the same. "She is still my sister." She pushed the memory of Trinity willing to take a beating for her through the bond.

  He stiffened, then pried the remaining crab cakes from her hand and picked up the tray. "There are lobster and salmon cakes on here too, and they're better than crab."

  "I've never had lobster or salmon." But her mouth watered for them. Must have! "Give them to me. Now."

  "Sorry. You'll have to put them on your bucket list." He stomped into the kitchen and dumped the contents of the tray into the garbage can.

  He . . . no! He was worse than Devyn.

  "Fine. You win. I'll help you find her, but not because of your stupid cakes. You can stuff those up your ass! I plan on saving her before you can contain her."

  "Too bad, sweetheart. I plan on containing her before you can save her."

  Of course he did.

  She batted her lashes at him, all sugary sweetness, so angry for wanting a man who was so determined to hurt her flesh and blood. A man who was unwilling to give her a chance. Just one chance.

  "Then we'll have to wait and see who wins," she told him. "Won't we?"

  10

  Dallas tossed and turned on the couch.

  He'd actually made up the couch for Lilica. No reason to be a gentleman for his mission's competition.

  Meanwhile, Lilica had made herself right at home in his bed, crawling under his covers and eating a bag of chips while she watched him work through the open door. She'd looked so comfortable, so adorable . . . so sexy with her dark hair spread over his pillows. He hadn't had the balls to eject her. Or the desire. She'd had few comforts in her young life. How could he take one away?

  Now he couldn't sleep. Hunger for her plagued him. Again and again he'd contemplated sliding in beside her and picking up where they'd left off in the shower. But he knew better now. If he touched her, he wouldn't stop touching her until he got inside her. Screw good intentions--the solidification of the bond wouldn't matter to him.

  He considered slaking his sexual need with another woman . . . but the idea left a foul taste in his mouth. He'd never been a cheater.

  I'm not committed to Lilica. Not really.

  Wasn't he?

  He pinched the bridge of his nose. Committed or not, his body craved hers, only hers. She'd become an addiction, his drug of choice, and everyone else paled in comparison.

  He banged his fists into the cushions. Lilica was now as determined to resist him as he was determined to resist her. Foolish woman! Did she not realize her attitude only made him want to change her mind, seducing her until she begged for his touch?

  I'm so messed up.

  He forced his mind to blank and at last drifted to sleep . . . only to be plagued by dreams of Lilica pleasuring herself in the shower, not quite satisfying herself, because she wanted--needed--him.

  By the time morning arrived, he was wide-awake and hardwired for aggression. He stomped into the bedroom, not even trying to be quiet, and grabbed clothes from the closet. He slammed the bathroom door as he felt her prick at the edge of his subconscious. Trying to deduce his new plan for her sister?

  --Good luck, sweetheart.--

  He showered, purposely replaying his dream of her on a loop.

  --Bastard!-- Her sensual voice filled his head.

  As he toweled off and dressed in a white button-down and a pair of black slacks--standard AIR attire--he smiled.

  He focused on an image of Lilica on her knees, sucking him off, as he hid his pyre-guns under a jacket and the Schon Slayer in his boot. Her curses echoed from the bedroom.

  In the back of his mind, he heard whispering female voices and frowned. He concentrated, doing his best to discern their words, but a soft vibration in his temples signaled a call was coming in, and it distracted him. With a sigh, he ta
pped his ear against his shoulder.

  "What?"

  "Wow. Is that any way to greet your boss?" Mia asked.

  "Sorry. Let me try again." As he exited the bathroom, he said, "Hello, Madame Terror. What the hell do you want?"

  Her soft laughter crackled over the line. "Better. So. Based on the description Jade gave John and John gave Devyn and Devyn gave me--try saying that three times fast--we've found Trinity's latest victim. We've got him in custody at our facility in No Man's Land. We don't want him around civilians."

  His bedroom was empty, his sheets wrinkled, the covers askew. Lilica's scent--freshly cut roses and aged wood--saturated the air, revving his engine all over again. When would this wanting end?

  "--listening to me?" Mia said.

  "Not really. But I'll meet you in No Man's Land."

  "Fine. What about your girl?"

  Your girl. The words were kindling on his arousal. "I'll . . ." What? He refused to bring Lilica with him, wouldn't put her in danger of infection.

  But she would be in danger regardless, because he would be in danger.

  Still. He also didn't want her around other AIR agents. If anyone threatened her, he would willingly leap off the deep end, no doubt about it. He would probably lose a boatload of friends too.

  Yesterday he'd had to fight an overwhelming urge to kill Devyn, a man he loved like a brother, just because the guy had simply thought about restraining her. A thought Devyn had entertained because he'd suspected Lilica planned to harm Dallas.

  "Don't worry about her," he finally said. "She's my responsibility."

  "Dallas--"

  He tapped his ear, disconnecting the call, and strode into the living room, spotting Lilica in the kitchen. She sat on a barstool, her dark hair piled in a sloppy knot on the crown of her head; she leaned across the counter to snag another bag of chips. A clean T-shirt covered her. One of the shirts Devyn had given him. It read "Targon: Tastes So Good."

  Dallas had always loved that shirt. Man crush! Today, he hated it. On Lilica, the hem reached midthigh, revealing mile-long legs he would give anything to have wrapped around his waist . . . or his head.

  Anything? His hands fisted.

  She drained a can of soda. "This stuff is amazing!"

  She was amazing.

  She gasped. Glaring at him, she crunched the can and tossed it at him. "Don't you dare compliment me!"

  The metal pinged against his chest and fell to the floor. "I'll compliment you if I want, and you can't stop me."

  "Well. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. You, Agent Gutierrez, are a bastard."

  "In every sense of the word." His beloved mother had never married his father because she'd never known which of her johns had shared his baby batter. "But you only think so because you find me harder to resist when I'm charming."

  As she floundered for a response, Dallas swiped the chips from her grip and stuffed the bag in the trash. "You need to start eating nutritious foods. I'm watching my girlish figure, and I don't want your fat grams clogging my arteries through the bond."

  "Are crab cakes nutritious?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

  Still pissed about that, was she? "Maybe," he said, "but you're only getting vegetables until you start cooperating with me."

  "You're the one who bought all this junk food, and I'm willing to bet you don't own a single vegetable." Leaning over the counter, giving him a peek at her panties--making him groan--she swiped up a prepackaged brownie, ripped into it, and stuffed the entire thing in her mouth.

  As she chewed, crumbs falling out, he fought a laugh.

  When finally she swallowed, she growled, "Enjoy your saddlebags, bitch!"

  This time, he barked like a freaking robodog.

  Robodog . . .

  The word sparked one of Lilica's memories. The doctors at IOT had run different experiments on her, but the time they'd given her a robodog was the worst. For weeks, she'd played with, loved on, and laughed with the adorable hunk of metal. Then, when she'd formed an attachment to the faux animal, it was taken away from her--and smashed in front of her.

  She'd been ripped apart inside, but not by word or deed had she betrayed her sorrow. She'd refused to give the doctors the satisfaction.

  Suddenly Dallas felt ripped apart inside. He wanted to soothe the brave, strong girl she'd been, but needed to comfort the prickly, determined woman she'd become. When she'd permitted a bond to grow with him, she'd had to override every protective instinct she'd ever honed.

  Why? Why had she done it?

  And why did he want to bang his chest? Why were his shoulders rolling back with pride?

  She picked me!

  Now she feared losing the ones she loved . . . the very reason she was so determined to save Trinity, despite the hopelessness of the situation.

  Night sky eyes beseeched him. --Help me save her, Dallas.--

  He shook his head to dislodge her voice. He had to get out of here. "I'm going to work."

  "Yeah, yeah. You've got one of Trinity's victims to interrogate."

  "An innocent man your sister sentenced to death."

  She bristled. "How do you know he's innocent? Perhaps she chose a criminal."

  "His record--"

  "Means nothing, even if it's clean. People aren't always what they seem, and you know it."

  Gaze dead serious, he said, "Yes, but people can change. The sweet kid you knew has grown into a violent adult."

  She flipped him off.

  He blew her a kiss. Why had he ever tried to convince himself that sweet women with sweet smiles were right for him? Fact was, those sweet women with sweet smiles had never fully satisfied him. He'd never wanted one for more than a single night, because none had ever meant anything to him. But this woman with her carnal smile and quick wit utterly fascinated him.

  He couldn't get enough of her.

  A blush stained her cheeks, and he reached out, desperate to know just how hot her skin burned, but he dropped his arm to his side just before contact, his hand fisting.

  She gulped, and rasped out, "You had better be careful while you're out there. Not because I care about you, of course, but because I care about myself."

  Not even close to the truth. He felt her concern for him, and it eased some of the tension he'd battled all night. "I'd like you to stay here and--"

  "No way! I spoke with Jade a few minutes ago. We're meeting at ten."

  He crossed his arms over his chest. "When did you speak with Jade? How did you speak with Jade?" Wait. He already knew the answer. The conversation he'd heard/not heard in the shower.

  "We've always had the ability to communicate telepathically," she said. "Except the day you drugged me. After your best friend tortured me. If we were in a movie, you and Devyn would be cast as villains. You know that, right?"

  The day he'd drugged her . . . only two days ago, he realized. Kind of felt like years. "Our introduction is what's called a meet cute. And I would be cast as the antihero. There's a difference."

  "I, of course, would be the star everyone roots for." Pure elegance and grace, she stood.

  He reached out a second time, moving without thought, wrapping his fingers around her wrists. The silk of her skin derailed whatever good intentions he'd had. He yanked her against him, hard, and she gasped. He lowered his head for a kiss--must taste--but caught himself just in time. He jumped back, severing contact as if she were toxic waste. In a way, she was.

  I will not be a slave to my desires.

  Her irritation slithered around him, nearly choking him as he said, "Don't kill anyone today."

  "I'll do my best."

  "If you do, you'll be labeled predatory. I'll have to lock you away. Forever. I'll even throw away the key for good measure."

  "Like that would be a hardship for you."

  It would. It so would, and that was part of the reason he needed to escape her for a few hours.

  He stalked to the bag of goodies Devyn had brought with him yesterday. A cell
phone, a packet of sedatives disguised as peanut butter candies, and--Dallas refused to let himself think about the third and final item, lest he alert Lilica to his nefarious intentions.

  "My number is already programmed into the phone. Call me every hour, on the hour." He tossed the device in her direction, his aim perfect, but she watched it sail over her shoulder without even trying to catch it. He gnashed his teeth, picked it up, and slapped it into her palm. "I mean it. If you fail to call me, I'll come gunning for you."

  "Tsk, tsk. Threatening your wife?"

  "You are my temporary inconvenience."

  "Tears. Sadness." She ran a fingertip down her cheek. "I have a sinking suspicion you are going to be a permanent ass pain."

  Can't smile.

  Stop stalling. He struck, shoving a syringe into her bicep and emptying the contents.

  She didn't flinch or hiss, as he'd expected and dreaded; she simply frowned up at him. His stomach knotted as the reason for her lack of reaction crystallized. She'd been poked and prodded since birth, needles a part of her daily life.

  The urge to hug her returned, stronger than before. "Power negation?" she asked, calm. Too calm.

  "No. An isotope tracker." Now, even when they were apart, he would be able to monitor her every move with a few clicks of a computer keyboard. He wouldn't have to rely on the bond.

  "Congrats. You've mastered hiding your actions from me. Now it's my turn." With no more warning than that, she slammed her knee between his legs.

  He hunched over, gasping for breath, stars winking through his vision.

  She smiled at him. "Sorry there's not a tracker to help you find your balls."

  Dallas hobbled into the AIR warehouse located in No Man's Land. Once he'd been sprayed with decontamination mist, he removed the full-body protective suit that had shielded him from the acidic air. Mia, who'd beaten him there, snickered at him. "Your problems with your little bit o' honey are fun. For me!"

  Apparently, after Lilica had unmanned and taunted him, he'd shouted in pain--pain she'd then experienced for herself, her bellows blending with his--and his cell phone had activated on its own. A safety setting. He'd only managed to grunt an explanation to Mia, but she'd gotten the gist and had called him a dozen times during the half-hour drive out here, just to laugh at him.