Her anger fueled his own. “No. I don’t want you to warn your accomplices.”
Her eyes widened, then she laughed. There was no joy or humor in it, though. “You’re a jackass.”
“I want to watch your every move. So from now on, you stay here.”
She crossed her arms and pinned him with a glare. “If you think for one moment I will share your bed with you, you’re not only a jackass, you’re insane.”
“No. No, you can stay in one of my guestrooms. I want to think about what you’ve told me.”
She looked him up and down. “Is there a lock on the door? One you can’t open?”
He gritted his teeth. “Yes.”
“Fine. I’m going to bed. If you have a breakthrough during the night, keep it to yourself.”
She turned on her heel and walked down the hall. He had a lot of things to think over, so he didn’t pay attention to what room she chose. Truthfully, it was better not to think about where she was, because the idiot in him wanted to follow her down the hall and beg her forgiveness. And he couldn’t do that. He told himself it was because he couldn’t trust her. The sad truth was, he couldn’t trust himself.
He went to his office, pulling up the microfile with the information for the days of each breach. There was some kind of connection with each one. He wouldn’t rest until he found it.
* * * *
Shana rolled over and almost screamed when she saw Marcus sitting in the chair beside her bed.
She sat up and ignored the pounding of her heart. Fear. Not excitement. Just because she yearned to skim her hands across the stubble on his cheek, or kiss away all the pain in his eyes, didn’t mean she was excited to see him. Dressed in gray dress pants and an ivory shirt, he looked good enough to eat.
Her nipples tightened at the thought of dropping in front of him, unzipping those pants, and taking his cock into her mouth. She sighed and glanced around the room, ignoring the wet, liquid heat filling her sex. The hazy December sun filtered through the shades, casting shadows about the room.
“You said you couldn’t get in here.”
“No. I didn’t. You assumed it was this room.”
She rubbed her temple. Too early. It was way too damn early for his little head games.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I’ve thought over some of your arguments, and I think you might be right.”
“Hmm.” She tried her best to quell the warmth stealing into her heart.
“I went back through the records.”
All the warmth chilled. “And what did you find?”
“Every time the records were accessed, John was in charge. I was out of the office those days. I don’t know why I didn’t see it earlier.”
He stood and walked to the window. She wanted so desperately to offer support, to reach out to him. To love him.
“So, what do you want from me?”
“I want your help in setting John up. I want to get him to admit what’s going on.”
“That’s it?” Her traitorous heart wanted more.
His back straightened, but he didn’t turn around. “No, one thing more. When this is over, you’ll resign.”
“You’re not going to turn me in?”
“No.”
She should be ecstatic. He wasn’t going to doom her to a life in the lab, but he wanted nothing to do with her. The ache in her chest intensified. Why? Why do I have to love him?
He turned, and she noted the dark circles beneath his eyes, the sadness resting on his face.
“Why don’t you gather your things and meet me in the library? We’ll go over the plan.”
Not one thought came from him. It was as if his brain activity had died. And it had, where she was concerned. He no longer wanted her.
She sighed again and nodded. She waited until he was gone to bury her face in her hands and cry.
* * * *
Marcus drew in a deep breath as he reached the library. He closed the door with a voice command. Every muscle in his body was drawn tight. He rubbed his head, his mind exhausted from fighting his tendency to fantasize about Shana.
Jesus, what the hell was he supposed to do? He’d sat there like a fool, watching her sleep for over an hour. She looked so warm and cozy. Every hormone in his body had urged him to join her under the covers. The way she’d looked at him, licking her lips as if she wanted to eat him up…
It had gone beyond that. He’d wanted much more than just her body. The desire to slip into bed beside her, hold her, tell her everything would be all right, almost overwhelmed his better judgment.
He shifted his feet, trying to relieve the ache in his balls. Damn. Having her stay here last night was a mistake, but hell, he’d panicked. It wasn’t very masculine to admit, but he’d panicked like a little boy being denied his favorite treat. And to what end? He was making her resign at the end of this mess. He had to. For her safety, and because it was against regulations. Shana was a para. She couldn’t work for a Federation agency. Marcus, being who he was, couldn’t go against regs.
He hoped she’d go along with the plan to trap John. Anger balled in his stomach. He couldn’t believe he’d never seen John’s menace. In all the years together, he never saw it, not until Shana slapped him in the face with it. There was an ache for the loss of friendship, but really, there had probably never been one. Used. For a man who prided himself on his street intel, he’d been pretty gullible. His best friend was aiding terrorists, and he was sleeping with a telepath.
Was being the operative word.
The door slid open, and Shana walked into the room. Instantly, his cock hardened. She’d dressed casually in a set of workout clothes. He wanted to rip them off and see if she was as warm beneath them as she looked. He pushed all thoughts of pulling her into his arms and kissing his way down her body into the back of his mind. He concentrated on his plan, and ignored the pull she had on him.
“Well, what do you want me to do?” she asked.
* * * *
Shana sipped her water and waited for John Marrow to place his order. The noisy diner was perfect for their plan. Marcus suggested it, saying a public place would be safer for her. After discussing the plans, Shana agreed. John Marrow smiled at the waitress and she returned it. Shana shivered as she watched him charm the young woman. She swallowed past the bile rising in her throat.
When they were finally alone, he smiled at her. “So, Shana, what is it you want from me?”
“Easy, Shana,” her brother’s voice whispered in her ear. The miniscule earpiece/transmitter linked her with her brother. Marcus needed someone they could trust, and the one person she trusted at the moment was David. “Don’t blow your cover, sis.”
“I’ve been looking over the information on the security breaches. I discovered something very interesting.”
His eyes narrowed. “Cut to the chase, Shana. I know you’re after something.”
“I want a part of what they are paying you.”
She felt a cerebral tug. While he tried to probe with his own mental fingers, she mentally shut down.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you do, Mr. Marrow. You know who is invading next week. You know what they are after. You set Mr. Carlyle up. When the dust clears, he’ll be charged with treason.”
The probing stopped immediately. “Well, you are a crafty little bitch. I’d never guess Marcus’ prized employee would turn on him.”
She fought the pain piercing her heart. Marcus truly believed she’d done something wrong by not telling him of her gift. He took the information on Marrow, used it, but he would never forgive her.
“Get him to tell you he took money,” David said in her ear.
“Mr. Marrow, I have enough information on you to put you away for a very long time. You have heard of the penalty for treason against the Federation, haven’t you? Isolated imprisonment drives even the strongest man insane.”
His charming veneer dro
pped completely. “Listen to me, you scheming little whore. I’ll see you dead before I let that happen to me.”
Apparently so angry he forgot the other diners, he reached across the table to grab her arm. The moment his hand touched her skin, an explosion of images and thoughts lanced across her mind. Depraved and violent, the images overwhelmed her. She tried her best to shut them out, to perform her exercises to block them, but they wouldn’t stop.
She wrenched her arm free, and the images faded but still simmered. “Are you saying that the friends who have been paying you for agents’ names would gladly help you kill me?”
“What I’m saying is that they would take great pleasure in killing you. But not before they had a taste of that sweet little body.”
“Gotcha,” David said in her ear.
“That’s certainly an interesting threat,” Marcus said as he rose from the booth behind Marrow. There was no mistaking the menace in his voice.
Chapter 12
Rage flashed through Marcus. He’d never wanted to kill another living creature with his bare hands until this moment. Marcus had actually handled Marrow’s comments until he’d threatened Shana. At that moment, he was fighting the urge to rip the bastard’s heart out.
“Marcus,” John said, his usual charming smile in place. Marcus wanted to wrap his hands around the bastard’s neck. “You got here just in time. You’ll never believe what Ms. Adams was proposing.”
“Oh, that you pay her part of the money you got for selling out our agents?”
John’s smile faded. “Do you mean you set me up?”
“Now isn’t that funny? Set you up.”
He looked over John’s shoulder at Shana. “Did David get it all?”
She nodded, her face still pale. At the moment, he was worried she was going to pass out. Marcus nodded at the agents who’d been located around them. They stood, and took John into custody. As they were reading John his rights, David burst through the front door of the diner. He looked around until he spotted them and then charged over, heading straight for John.
Marcus stepped into his path. “David, don’t do it.”
“Let me go so I can kill the bastard.”
“I know how you feel, but you have to let him go. If you assault him, you could ruin our chances at prosecution.”
The fight drained out of David. All three of them watched the agents lead John out of the diner. Patrons watched, completely glued to the show put on in front of them.
Marcus released David, who immediately went to Shana, pulling her into his arms. Envy tightened his gut as the ice surrounding his heart grew colder. Marcus wanted to be the one to comfort her, reassure her that everything would be all right. He knew she wouldn’t welcome his affections. Hell, it was his own fault. It was the right decision. She was a telepath, completely wrong for their type of work. Besides, she put herself at risk every day she worked at the department.
“I think I’ll take Shana home,” David said, his arm draped over her shoulder.
“Marcus, you need to be careful,” Shana said, her voice shaky. “He loathes you. You heard that part I threw in there about setting you up. He wanted the money, probably needed it, but he wanted to hurt you just as much.”
Her concern eased the ache in his chest. He wanted to reach out and cup her cheek. He yearned to pull her in his arms, take her home, and take her to bed. Instead he curled his fingers into a fist.
“Don’t worry. I’m on the ball.”
She nodded, her eyes filled with worry, and sadness. So much sadness.
Marcus watched David guide her out of the diner, wondering. He rubbed his chest, the pain intensifying with each step she took.
* * * *
Two days later, Shana gathered the rest of her personal items from her desk. She’d gone three days without much sleep, worried about her family, the invasion, Marcus.
She was an idiot. No doubt about it. She was worried about him. He’d been betrayed and used by a man he thought of as a brother, and now he insisted on going to the fight. Shana knew he could handle the battle, but she didn’t want him to. In less than forty-eight hours, several Federation agencies would be on hand at the meeting Marrow had set up. Marrow claimed not to know who the head of the attack was, but Gorgon mercs were involved, which meant it would be bloody.
She wanted Marcus safe at home, preferably naked. She was going to try one more time to convince him not to go, and then she was finished. Everything she owned had been packed and moved out of her cubicle. David had booked a trip for her to the Regalilion Province for a few weeks.
Determined, she stalked down the hall to Marcus’ office.
“Shana Adams, authorize.”
The door slid open. “Marcus, I think…”
The moment she stepped into the office, her jaw hit the ground. Marcus stood with his back to her, his body outlined by the fading sun. He was gorgeous in a business suit, but he was dressed for battle. The black microfabric clung to his body, emphasizing his lean, muscular build. The outfit resembled her brother’s LEO uniform, clinging to his skin, outlining every move he made. Marcus turned to face her. Her gaze traveled down the length of him, her heart thumping and her nipples aching. Does he have to look so good?
When she reached his groin, his obvious erection caused her to swallow, then lick her lips. She glanced up. His emerald eyes shimmered with heat. Without a word, he walked around his desk and pulled her into his arms. His body heat warmed her. Before she could take a breath, his mouth was on hers, devouring her. Instantly, her blood heated, her mind whirled with images of his hands, his mouth on her. Her mouth on his cock.
The images, his words in thought, overwhelmed her senses. His hands cupped her ass. Lifting her, he ground his cock against her drenched sex. She wanted to feel his skin. He turned and dropped her on the desk, breaking the kiss. He stepped between her legs. His hands immediately went to her jacket. She looked up at his face. The hard line of his jaw, the desperate gleam in his eyes, chilled the rising heat.
How could I have been that stupid? He only wanted sex to relieve the stress he’d been under. He really didn’t give a damn about her. Again. No contact. No relationship. Except when he was desperate and needed comfort. Because Marcus needed it. When she sat in her apartment with her heart cracked and her eyes filled with tears, he hadn’t been there.
She placed a hand on each of his shoulders and pushed him. His eyes widened, then narrowed.
“What the hell is the matter?”
“What the hell happened to ‘no relationship’?”
He had the good grace to flush. “I thought—”
“What you thought was that you could take advantage of the situation.”
He stepped away, his eyes narrowing further. “I never thought you a cock tease, Shana.”
Cold fingers of pain wrapped around her heart. The man was lethal with words.
“I’m not, and if you think that’s what this is about, then you aren’t the man I thought you were.”
She snapped her legs shut, jumped down from the desk, and, without looking at him, walked to the door. Tears gathered in her eyes. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
“Why did you come here then?”
“I wanted to try to talk you out of going tonight. Now I know that would be useless. You would never listen to me.”
“Shana.” She stopped in front of the door, waiting, desperately hoping he would tell her that he needed her. That everything that happened, the things he’d said, they didn’t count.
“I… I hope you have a safe trip.”
All those hopes fizzled and were ground in the dirt. She nodded. “Shana Adams, authorize.”
She stepped out of his office and the door closed behind her. She blinked back tears, thinking it was the last time she’d see Marcus. She was a fool. Because after everything, she still loved him.
* * * *
Sweat dribbled down Marcus’ back as they loaded the group of terro
rists into a police hovervehicle. The fight had been relatively easy, but he knew they hadn’t done anything but scratch the surface. There were a few hired Gorgon mercs and several other misfits, but the mastermind was still out there. Still plotting against them.
“Good job out there, Director.”
Marcus turned to look at Shana’s brother. David volunteered, then insisted he be included in the fight, and Marcus had been impressed with his skills.
“Same to you. If you ever want to work for me, you’re hired.”
David smiled wryly. “Sorry. I have a problem similar to Shana’s.”
Before he could say anything, an officer interrupted them.
“Mr. Carlyle, Prisoner Marrow is making some claims about one of your employees and we need clarification.”
He nodded and followed him in. When he saw John sitting in the interrogation room, Marcus had to fight the urge to rip his head from his body. The man had dared to threaten Shana. And Marcus protected what was his.
His mind stuttered to a stop at the thought. His heart pounded against his chest. Shana was his. God help him, she owned him. There would never be another woman who could make his knees go weak and his dick go hard like she did with just one glance. Even knowing what she was, who she was, he still wanted her. Not wanted—needed.
During the heat of the battle, when it had gotten a little rough, the only thing he’d thought of was Shana. At the end of the day, he wanted to go home to her, fight with her, laugh with her, make love to her. Especially make love to her.
“So, I see the great Marcus Carlyle made it through unscathed.” John sneered. Marcus pulled back from his thoughts and looked at his former best friend. The urbane veneer he’d worn so well had disappeared, replaced by desperation. Marrow was a man on the edge of a life of living hell.
“Sir.” A tall, young agent stepped forward. “I’m Officer Brecken. Mr. Marrow is claiming that Ms. Adams is a known telepath. That you had knowledge of it and didn’t turn her in.”
Panic swelled. He had to swallow to keep from reaching across the table and killing John Marrow. How had he ever thought John honorable? His blue eyes glittered with hatred so cold and so deep, Marcus could feel it to his soul.
Telepathic Cravings Page 8
