by Laura Kaye
Wait. What happened?
It all came back in one blinding rush. The gallery, the too-hot-to-be-real man. His fist shooting toward her face.
Oh, crap.
Brynn jerked up off the bed. Her first instinct was to panic, but she forced herself to calm down. She’d been through something like this before…and she’d learned from that horrible incident that she was stronger than she looked. That was something the creep who’d dared to take her was about to find out…
She lifted two fingers to touch the spot where the man had hit her but, amazingly, didn’t find even a hint of pain. What the hell? He had hit her, that much she knew. So why didn’t she feel it?
She couldn’t believe that the man had hidden behind his gorgeous exterior and managed to totally catch her off guard. Had knocked her out. And apparently brought her here. To his…to his…palace?
“That asshole.”
The amazing skyline view from the tall windows on one side of the room, as well as the lush décor of the massive space, told her the word palace wasn’t too far off. She was obviously in an exclusive luxury apartment, one on the Upper East Side if she didn’t mistake the view.
What kind of criminal brought his victim to a place like this? He was probably a rapist. Or a serial murderer. Well, it didn’t matter. Whatever his reasons, he might have caught her off guard once, but it wouldn’t happen again. And she wasn’t scared of him. She wouldn’t allow herself to be. Not with what she could do.
“Once I get my hands on you, you’ll regret it,” she muttered. No doubt he’d regret it.
The hollow sound of her heels clacking on the wood floor vibrated in her ear as she stalked over to the door on the far side of the room. She tried the knob. Locked. Great. Just great.
The walls seemed to close in on her, the surrounding space shrinking until she once again felt like she was inside the trunk of that car, fighting off her nausea and wondering what he was going to do to her. She forced herself to shake the feeling off and then pounded on the door. “Is anyone there? Hey, where are you? Let me out.”
When there was no immediate response, she pounded louder. “Come on. Hello? Let me out!”
Brynn was about to lift her fist for a fresh bout of knocking when the doorknob turned with a click. She scampered back as the door swung open.
The hunk from the gallery stood on the other side, sans leather jacket. He wore an impassive expression on his face.
Her fingers clenched into fists at the sight of the man who’d imprisoned her. He was about to pay. “You.”
He opened his mouth. “Let me explain—”
Without further thought, she rushed him, pummeling her fists into his chest. He didn’t flinch, didn’t even budge. He was like a freaking steel beam. But that was okay. She’d get him, anyway.
She lifted her hand to his throat and dug into his bare skin. Giving herself over to her senses, she willed the flow of energy through her body, just as she’d done so many times before. Her arm grew hot with the familiar sensation of energy drawing through her fingers, working its way inside her with an electric sizzle.
But instead of collapsing as she expected, the man merely lifted one perfect brow. “Ow.”
That was it. That was all he said.
“Ow?” Brynn repeated, going numb with shock. She’d felt it! She’d felt the familiar draw of energy. But instead of falling to the ground in an unconscious puddle, he just said, Ow?
Ow?
“Impossible,” she gasped.
He tilted his head to one side. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
This couldn’t be happening. That particular ability had never failed her before.
She brought both hands to the bare skin of his muscular arm, right below the sleeve of his shirt, doing her best to ignore the spicy, masculine scent emanating from his body and the heat of his rigid flesh beneath her palms. Seriously, the man must be running a fever. He was scorching hot.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she once again concentrated on summoning her energy. Again, she felt it flow, but he stood still in front of her. He didn’t even flinch.
She staggered back. “Oh, crap.”
It didn’t work on him.
For the first time in a very long time, a strange sensation stirred in the pit of Brynn’s stomach, churning her insides to a rolling boil.
Pure, unadulterated fear.
She was stuck in a room with a psychopath who’d knocked her out and kidnapped her, and she had no way to defend herself. No way to fight back.
Oh, God, she was totally screwed.
…
Brynn stumbled away from Keegan, appearing scared for the first time since he’d entered the room. An uncomfortable twinge tightened his gut. He didn’t want her to be scared of him. Which was ridiculous. After all, why should he care? She was the heir, that much he knew from the intel given to him by the Council. If there had been any doubt of that, she had confirmed her identity when she’d laid her hands on him and a lightning bolt of energy had shot through her fingers. No mere human would have that sort of ability.
He held his hands in the air, moved forward far enough to kick the door shut, then leaned against it, trying to look as non-menacing as possible. “Listen, I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk to you, okay? My name is Keegan.”
She backed up until she was on the far side of the room, by the large set of windows. She seemed to notice she was wringing her hands and dropped them to her sides. “What do you want with me? If—if it’s money, I don’t have that much, but I’ll give you whatever I have—”
“I don’t want your money, Brynn,” he interrupted, keeping his tone soft and calm. “Right now, I only want to talk to you.”
“You’re not going to—?”
“I’m not going to hurt you.” Keegan tried not to wince at that lie. He might very well have to hurt her. But if he did, it wouldn’t be because he wanted to.
She nodded, but she seemed to doubt the sincerity of his tone because her gaze darted about the room as if checking for possible weapons. It settled for a moment on the bulky lamp by the bed. The lamp probably was heavy enough to bash in a human’s head. But she’d be unpleasantly surprised if she tried using it on him.
“If you’re not going to hurt me, why did you kidnap me?”
Keegan sighed and closed his eyes. The question he’d dreaded. He probably should have allowed Taeg to simply charm her into telling them what they needed to know. She wouldn’t have been afraid that way. And he wouldn’t be stuck coming up with a story she would believe. But as stupid as it might be, the least he owed her was her free will. He didn’t want to take that from her. No, he knew all too well what that felt like.
Finally, he settled on a perverted version of the truth. “It’s sort of a long story. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll tell you?”
Brynn cast a pointed glance around the room and then at the bed, which was the only piece of furniture she could sit on. “I don’t think so,” she said in an icy tone.
Keegan chuckled at her bravado. She was tougher than she looked. “Sorry, I guess not.” Slowly, so as not to alarm her, he drew away from the door. “What do you know about your ancestry?”
She appeared startled, as if that were the last question she’d been expecting. And who could blame her? “My—my what?”
“Your ancestry. Where you come from. Who your ancestors are.”
“I…not much. My parents weren’t exactly into the whole family-tree thing. I can only go as far back as my grandparents.”
Keegan scoffed. “I figured. You humans are so focused on yourselves that you forget about the past.”
“Us…humans?”
Shit. He needed to watch what he said.
He cleared his throat. “I meant humankind in general.”
Confusion gradually replaced the fear on her face. “Listen, uh…Keegan, right? I’m not really sure what you’re getting at here, but—”
“Did you know that your a
ncestry can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians?”
“What? No.” A hint of interest colored her tone. “Really, that far back? I mean, that’s kind of cool, but I still don’t know what it has to do with you kidnapping me. And how the hell do you know that, anyway?”
All right, here it went. Hopefully she’d buy it. “Brynn, one of your ancestors was an Egyptian priest who lived about three thousand years ago. He created something, a book. When he died, he was buried with it. And now there’s someone who’ll stop at nothing to find it.”
All true so far. But here’s where he had to start stretching the truth. “The man who’s searching for the book believes you can lead him to it. He’s not a good…person. If he gets his hands on you, there’s no telling what he’ll do.”
Her confusion morphed into doubt. “But…but that’s ridiculous. I don’t even know anything about my great-grandparents, much less some obscure relative who lived three thousand years ago.”
“Nonetheless, it’s true.” He kept his tone calm and flat. That, more than anything, seemed to sway her into believing him.
“Who keeps track of their ancestry that far back? How could he even think I might lead him to the book?”
“He’s insane.” Which was true. You didn’t get much crazier than Mammon. Keegan knew that all too well.
She crossed her arms over her chest, brows furrowed. “Yeah, well, that still doesn’t tell me how you got involved.”
“I…” Fuck. He took a breath. Time for some quick thinking. He settled on the first half truth that popped into his head. “I work for a secret branch of the government.”
What would the Council members think to hear themselves described that way? They were far more powerful than just one government—than just one world, even.
“We’re trying to stop him,” he added, “and part of that means protecting you.”
Unless it becomes too dangerous. Then we’ll have to kill you.
“A secret government organization, huh?” Brynn’s tone was ripe with suspicion, and who could blame her? “Why did you bring me here? Am I supposed to believe this is some sort of safe house?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
She arched a brow. “Where’s your government ident-ification, then?”
Man, but she was cheeky. And the devil help him, he liked it.
Yeah, well, don’t get too caught up in singing her praises. You still don’t know whether or not she’s playing a game.
“We’re an unofficial branch. We don’t get identification.” Then, before she could question further, he asked, “Brynn, have you been contacted or followed by anyone unusual the past few days?”
“Other than you?” She snorted with a slight shake of her head. “No.”
Keegan straightened and pushed off the door. “I need you to be straight with me. You’re not helping anyone, are you?”
“Who would I be helping?” When he took a step toward her, she lifted her hands in front of her. “Stay back.”
He stopped, curiosity getting the better of him. “What exactly is it that you can do with your hands?” He was willing to bet it was more than just mere emission of electricity.
She glanced down, appearing startled, as if she just realized she’d lifted them. “Hmm? Oh, nothing. It doesn’t seem to be working, anyway,” she murmured, so low that a human wouldn’t have been able to hear it.
Another stirring of sympathy churned in his gut. This couldn’t be easy for her, having to deal with her loss of powers on top of being kidnapped. “Do you want to try it again?”
“What?” She let out an uncertain chuckle. “You expect me to fall for that? I’m not getting anywhere near you.”
“You have nowhere to go,” he pointed out. “I could overpower you at any moment if I wanted to. In fact, I could have hurt you while you were unconscious, if that were my true intent.”
She bit down on her lip, the simple vulnerability of her action making him feel like a total tool.
“I can sit on the bed, if you like,” he offered.
After a moment’s pause, she gave him a jerky nod. “Okay.”
Keeping his movements even, he sat on the bed with his hands in full view at his sides.
Brynn inched forward. “Lift up your shirt.”
Keegan sucked in his breath at the unexpected arousal her words caused. It wasn’t as if she’d asked him to get undressed. She just wanted to make better contact with his skin. But his cock didn’t seem to know that.
Down, boy.
If it kept reacting that way, there’d be no doubt in her mind what he was thinking, and she’d run across the room screaming. He tugged his shirt up to his chest, his movements slow and his breathing steady.
She crept forward, like a curious deer fearing a trap.
“I won’t hurt you,” he said again.
Finally, she stood only a few feet in front of him. With an indrawn breath, she placed her hands on his chest. His eyes closed of their own accord. Her hands were slightly cool to the touch, but softer than anything he’d felt before; a breath of freshness in the otherwise stale, cruel world that made up his entire existence. Once again, the strange sensation of electric current zinged off her fingertips. It tingled to the point of being uncomfortable, but nothing more than that.
“Nothing,” she breathed, seemingly abandoning her fear as she knelt down in front of him and squeezed her palms tighter against his chest.
He opened his eyes to peer down at Brynn, who was clearly so focused on trying to do whatever it was she could normally do that she didn’t realize she was kneeling between his splayed legs. The position put her head level with his stomach, so close her strawberries-and-cream essence practically assaulted his senses.
“Is it me? Or is it you?” She lifted her eyes to his for the first time since touching him, and her breath audibly caught in her throat. “So warm. Why are you so warm?”
Keegan’s pulse raced. He couldn’t help himself. With her looking at him that way, her green eyes clouded over, he didn’t stand a chance.
“I just am,” he whispered, all the while trying to remind himself who—and what—she was.
He wanted to kiss her, to feel those lips on his. To taste her pink little tongue. He longed to surrender to the desire that tightened every muscle in his body, to the instinctive need to know her. Yes, it was wrong, but he had a hard time caring right now.
Mission be damned.
He inched toward her face. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t move away. If he could have one taste, he could forget about it. Get it out of his system. Go on with the mission.
Just one taste…
“Am I interrupting something?” said a voice from the doorway.
Brynn flew up and shuffled away, toward the window, as Keegan aimed his guilt-filled gaze in the direction of the door.
Taeg leaned against the doorjamb. Apparently, he’d managed to open the door without Keegan noticing. And by the look on his face, Taeg hadn’t missed what had almost happened with him and Brynn.
Well, that was just great.
Chapter Three
Brynn retreated to her spot by the large window as another man leaned casually against the doorframe. He resembled Keegan, but he was a little narrower and had a slight cleft in his chin. His carelessly tousled dark brown hair was quite a bit shorter than Keegan’s shaggy cut.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
Keegan stood and smoothed his shirt down. “He’s my brother.”
Brother? Well, that explained the similar build, the resemblance, and the general hotness. Was everyone in his family just as gorgeous as he was?
Then it hit her. A mortified flush crept to her cheeks. Oh, God.
What on earth had she been doing, kneeling on the floor in front of him like that? If she wasn’t mistaken, he’d been about to kiss her. And she’d been about to let him.
Jesus. The guy was her kidnapper. He might be trying to feed her some line of bullshit about being a gov
ernment agent, but she wasn’t buying. And despite that, she’d still allowed him to sway her with his good looks and his hotter-than-molten-steel body. And oh, what a body it was. His rock-hard muscles had pulsed underneath her palms. She wiped her hands on her slacks.
She’d heard of Stockholm Syndrome before, but she’d known this guy for a total of ten minutes, tops.
Lord, I’m such a slut.
“I was just telling Brynn about her ancestry.” Keegan ran a hand through his hair as he addressed his brother. “About the man who’s trying to find her.”
“Yeah, sure you were,” his brother responded, his tone saturated with sarcasm.
Rising up to her full height, Brynn assumed a challenging pose and addressed the brother. “Let me guess—you expect me to believe you’re a government agent, too, right?”
“Agent?” He choked out a laugh, glanced at Keegan, and then laughed again. “Yeah, sure, I’m a regular James Bond.”
“Taeg,” Keegan said in a warning tone.
“I’m Taeg,” he said, ignoring Keegan as he moved toward Brynn with an outstretched hand.
She stared down at his hand, hesitating.
“I won’t bite.” Though the wolfish smile on his face said maybe he’d like to. “Promise.”
Oh, what did she have to lose?
She took his hand. “I’m Brynn. Wish I could say it was nice to meet you. But I’m not feeling too nice right now.”
Taeg snickered as he let go of her hand. “I get it. Believe me.”
Wait a second. He now stood right here in front of her. All she needed to do was reach out and touch him…
Without taking another second to contemplate it, Brynn placed her palms on his chest and concentrated on her powers.
“Ouch!”
He jumped back. But that was it.
“Unbelievable.” Her touch had once leveled a man twice Taeg’s size, and to him and Keegan it was just a minor annoyance. What was going on here?
Taeg gave her an appraising look, tilting his head to the side much as Keegan had earlier. “What were you trying to do?”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. “Nothing.”
