A light breeze blew open the white cotton shirt he wore, revealing his tawny chest to her. Her stomach lurched with desire, and she wanted to run her fingers over his washboard abs and know what it felt like to have him buried deep within her. Why he thought he was the last man on earth she’d want was beyond her. He was the only man she wanted.
A tingling sensation moved over her lips, then her neck and chest. Something inside her was different; it wanted out, to be free, and most importantly, it wanted to be fucked by Roi. “I need to go home.”
“Missy doll, you can’t. You’ve no idea what it is you’re dealing with here and—”
She cast him an angry look. “No, you have no idea what you’re dealing with here.” She stood quickly. “Now take me home or I’ll walk.”
Roi laughed, looking out at the lake. “You aren’t going to walk home, Missy. We’re over a hundred miles from your house.”
Missy’s eyes widened. “A hundred miles away from my house? How? Why? When?”
He laughed again.
Missy smacked him in the back of the head.
“Ouch,” he said, rubbing his head for effect. “Geesh, woman, do you think I’d keep you around an area where men were trying to rape you? What the hell kind of man do you think I am?”
“Rape me?” Suddenly, she felt faint. To date, the enemy had only wanted to kill her. “That’s why they yelled at the guy who punched me in the face. They told him not to kill me.”
Roi growled. “Someone punched you in the face?”
Missy snickered. If he only knew the half of what she’d gone through in the fourteen years she’d been an agent with PSI, he’d have a stroke. “Umm, yeah. I’d have ducked or something but I couldn’t really see at the time.” She cast him a tiny smile.
From the look on his face, he didn’t take the joke as intended. Instead, he took her hand and pulled it to his lips. The warm sensation that moved up and through her arm as his full lips touched her skin made her shiver with delight. “Sugar, I didn’t mean to set that off. I didn’t know that the handle was pressure sensitive.”
Bending down next to him, Missy adjusted the long shirt and leaned in to Roi as he kept hold of her hand. “I’m fine. We’re both fine. Were any of the I-Ops hurt?”
“No,” he said softly. His brow furrowed. “How did you know about the I-Ops before you became an agent? And why do you talk about us like there’s more than one team?”
She balked. “There is more than one team, Roi. As far as I know, there are two official teams. I suspect they’re trying to train more. But from what I gather, the second team wasn’t created, they were pulled in as is.” Needing a question answered that she didn’t really want to ask, Missy moved to sit down, only to find Roi pulling her onto his lap. “Hey.”
“Hey what?” The shit-ass grin on his face made her smile. “I didn’t want that sexy little backside of yours to get any splinters.”
“Mmmhmm, I’m sure that’s the only reason.” Staring into his blue eyes, Missy wanted to surrender herself to him and not look back, but she couldn’t. Not until she knew if he was who she thought he was.
“Do you want to tell me about how you knew about us?” Roi wrapped his arms around her.
“Are you a good deal older than you look?”
Biting his lower lip, Roi nodded as he looked her in the eyes. “Yeah, baby, I am.”
Melissa’s insides twisted with the hope that Roi was the man she’d spent her life looking for. “Roi, why don’t any of you seem to have a scent? The I-Ops had scents—distinctive. Umm, I mean, at least I think they did—er, do.”
The odd look Roi gave her made her laugh slightly. “You really know how to make a guy wonder what’s going on.”
“Sorry, it’s an honest question. You’re a shifter but you have no scent. For all I know, you could be a weregoose.”
“I know a wererat. Does that come close?”
Missy smiled. “No.”
He caressed her back softly. “We began to mask our scents about twenty years ago. It took some practice but we sort of do it naturally now. And to answer the question you’ve got on your mind, I’m a lycan or a werewolf. You pick what you call it.”
Missy burst into laughter and clung to Roi to keep from falling out of his arms and into the lake.
“I see that my being a werewolf is funny to you,” he said, smiling as he pulled her close to his lips. “Care to tell me why?”
“I have issues with dogs. In fact, they seem to be the ones with the issues. They don’t seem to care for me too much. I don’t know why.”
Roi chuckled as his lips drew even closer. “Hmm, I have no idea why that would be.”
She wanted to give in to the desire to take him, kiss him, love him, but she couldn’t and she couldn’t seem to find the words she needed to ask him about his past. Part of it was fear he wouldn’t be the man she’d been searching for and the other was that he would be. Closing her eyes momentarily, Missy sighed. “Roi, I need to go home. It’s important.”
He held her tight. “Melissa, the colonel wants you brought in for questioning. I highly doubt he’ll do it himself. My guess is that another source wants to know what’s going on. I can help. I can keep you here for now until Lukian gets a hold of the Director of PSI.”
“No.” Reaching up, she stroked stray strands of his hair back from his rugged face. “You can’t help me. The fact that you told me they want me brought in tells me that you’re too close to be objective in this, Roi. I’m assuming the I-Ops have been ordered to detain me. Lukian won’t because he’s Peren’s husband and your brother. If he believes what you believe, that I’m your mate, then he wouldn’t risk your chance at a family and happiness. The others will follow his lead. That puts you all at risk. I can get to who I need to and be safe. Eadan will know where to find me.”
Roi closed his eyes and turned his head. “Baby, just tell me that we can release who you are and who you work for. Tell me and Lukian and I will go before the people we need to and sort this out.”
Her heart rate sped. “No! Too many people’s lives would be at risk on both sides. Many people who have risked their lives to help me. I won’t put them in jeopardy.” Cupping his face in her hands, Missy gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. “Don’t put your neck on the line for me. You’ll end up dead.”
The look on his face made her want to kiss away his worries. “Are you trying to tell me that they have a right to be worried about you? About how you’ve come to know all that you know? Why in the hell would the enemy inject you with something right in front of our faces if you were working for them?”
Smiling softly, Missy nodded. “You refuse to see it objectively, Roi. Others don’t. It’s safe to assume they believe it was done to throw your team off, make them stop looking in my direction. That the hormone was introduced by them in a manner that allowed me to not only keep your trust but to bed you as well. They’ll also see how close to Peren I am and assume that I was planted to keep tabs on her from day one. They’ll also read through the files and reports you all had to fill out two weeks ago when Parker killed … umm … when Parker killed Lance. They’ll wonder why I didn’t fight you when you took Melanie and me from the bar. They’ll look at the fact that I said nothing during the events at the safe house, events that more than led me to believe Lance was a shifter, and they’ll combine that with my knowledge of your existence, and it will not bode well for me. You know that. Plus, other less known facts may surface, only serving to support their theory. By all outward appearances, Roi, I work for the enemy.”
Roi turned to her a bit. “And why didn’t you fight me, Melissa?”
Laughing softly, she looked downward. “This sounds ridiculous and I think we both know they won’t believe me, but from the moment I laid eyes on you, Geoffroi Majors, I knew without a doubt that you would never hurt me. I knew that none of you would hurt us. That’s the reason I let Lukian go after Peren when she ran off. I’ve spent my life protecting her.” M
issy put her head on Roi’s shoulder and chuckled. “I knew something was going on that wasn’t good but I couldn’t sense exactly what it was. I couldn’t concentrate to save my life or Peren’s. Having you close to me sent every natural-born instinct I have into a state of mass confusion. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to go with you or kill you.”
Roi laughed and put his head against hers. “I should say thanks for picking option one. I was a bit concerned with the way you would react to me having basically abducted you two times in two weeks.”
“You didn’t abduct me. I went with you the first time, and last night you took me away because your gut told you I wouldn’t be safe there. Your instincts are why I’m not already being subjected to their interrogators. And you are the reason I’m not in the hands of the enemy now.” Vaguely, she could remember bits and pieces of Roi’s conversation with Green while she was in her “need to be fucked now” phase. He’d mentioned then about the men wanting to inject her with sperm and then her mouth dropped open as she pulled away from him. “You offered to impregnate me when you were on the phone with Green!”
He nodded sheepishly. “I didn’t think you’d want them doing it. That’s the only reason. I know it would have been a close toss-up but I thought you’d prefer me in that situation.”
That’s the only reason. The phrase stuck in her head. It hurt to hear it aloud, but at least he was willing to do that much for her. She meant nothing to him.
Rising to her feet, Missy directed her gaze anywhere but at Roi. “Gee, that was very noble of you,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm. “I mean, to step up to the plate and be more than willing to take one for the team shows amazing character.”
In a flash, Roi was standing next to her, glaring at her. “You wait one minute, woman. I could have fucked you but I didn’t. Hell, you were clawing and sucking on me. I had to fight you off, so don’t get all bitchy with me when you were begging me to fuck you! And it was pretty damn noble of me to not take advantage of you when you more than wanted it. If you’d prefer to be their whore, by all means, let me know. I’ll drop your ass at their front door. Something tells me that you not only know where it is, but you’ve walked through it many times. Hey, I know you’ve fucked Eadan countless times, but what I’m wondering now is how many of them you’ve laid under, begging them to take you.”
Outraged, Missy smacked Roi across the face hard. His head twisted to the side and when he looked back at her, his eyes bore into her. “How dare you!”
“Does the truth hurt?”
“The truth?” Her mouth dropped. “What? You really believe I’ve slept with the enemy, Roi?”
“Did you?”
Melissa had to take a deep breath to keep the tears that wanted to fall tucked safely away. “You aren’t the man I thought you were. It’s good to know that now. How I ever thought you could be him is beyond me.”
“Gee, so sorry that I’m not,” he said sarcastically. “I do love how you skated around the issue of you and Eadan.”
Furious, Missy glared at him. “I don’t owe you an explanation. I owe my mate one. You are not him! If or when I find him, I’ll need to try to explain my life and my choices to him. You’re just a man I mistakenly began to believe was him.” She didn’t bother to hide the anger in her voice. “So, almighty chaste Roi, you’re my friggin’ savior. Oh my, I’ll always regret not getting to be another notch on your bedpost. According to you my bedpost has no room left for marks so it’s best we didn’t venture into that territory. I’m so sorry that I ‘begged’ you to fuck me, Roi. At least we’re sure the injection works. It’s not like I would fuck you without the aid of it.”
Roi snatched hold of her wrists and jerked her to him. Their bodies pressed against one another and the air was thick with tension. The look on his face screamed rage. Quickly, his mouth slammed down onto hers, covering it completely as he thrust his tongue in. She cried out, both shocked and excited.
Her body ached for release and her senses seemed to be heightened to a completely new level. Feverishly, she returned his kisses, shoving her tongue into his mouth with as much fury as he, maybe more. She bit at his lower lip as he tried to pull away, causing him to growl.
Chapter Nineteen
Picking Missy up, Roi thrust his tongue deeper into her mouth, wishing that his cock was doing the same thing to her pussy. The fact she wore nothing beneath his gray button-up shirt only added to his madness. He could have her if he wanted her, and boy did he want her.
Suddenly, Missy broke the kiss and stared into his eyes. “Put me down.”
Confused, Roi held her tight. A second ago, she was all over him, now she was cold as ice. “Missy?”
“I’m not doing this with you, Roi. I was fine with being accused of playing for the other team. I’ve lived my life that way from the moment I started with PSI. But I have never been accused of being the enemy’s whore. If you had any idea what they’ve put me through you would have never opened your fucking mouth.”
“Shit.” He raked a hand through his hair and tried to pull her closer to him. “Missy, I’m sorry I said that. I don’t think you’re sleeping with the enemy.”
She snorted. “You said what you meant, Roi. It’s clear what you think I am. Thanks for offering to knock me up instead of them, but I won’t be a pity fuck. Now either take me in for questioning or turn your back so I can find my things and go. At this point, I’m fine with being subjected to whatever they have in store for me. It would be a hell of a lot better than hearing you spew accusations at me.”
Pity fuck? Why did she think that? She was all he wanted in the world, his mate, his everything. How could she not only deny who he was to her but also think that he’d fuck her out of pity?
Roi concentrated on her thoughts, trying to pick up anything that might help him to understand. He found nothing specific, only that she was hurt, confused, and not joking about being fine with an interrogation.
He held her tight, bouncing her up and down a bit. “Missy, never call yourself a pity fuck, ever. You mean more to me than all the women I’ve been with, and trust me, I’ve been with plenty.” As soon as he said it, he regretted it. Trust him to put his foot in his mouth at a moment like this.
Missy pushed hard on his chest and dropped her legs down. He didn’t want to let go, but she wasn’t leaving him much of a choice. “I really don’t want to hear about all your conquests.”
“Come on, Melissa, you know damn well that was not what I was trying to do.”
“Oh really, Geoffroi, could have fooled me.” She put her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. Damn she was even more beautiful when she was pissed off. Considering that he suffered from chronic foot-n-mouth syndrome, she was downright stunning all of the time.
“Come on, baby, it’s not that bad and it’s no big deal, really. Just a slip of the—”
“Would you like to hear about how many men I’ve been with? Oh, how would you like to hear about the last guy I fucked? Huh? If you can look me in the eyes and tell me that it doesn’t bother you to hear about him or how recently we were together then fine, I’ll concede and go with your opinion that it’s not a big deal and it’s not that bad.”
Jealousy ripped through Roi. Grabbing hold of her arm, he yanked her toward him and took her chin in his other hand. He knew that his eyes were swirling but he didn’t care. As mad as he was, it was all he could do to avoid a full-out shift. “Who the hell have you been sleeping with? Eadan? It’s Eadan who you’ve been with. Isn’t it?”
“Does it bother you to have it tossed in your face, Roi?”
He noticed how she dodged the Eadan subject yet again. “Do not mention fucking other men again, especially not that man. From this point on, you are mine.”
“Pfftt,” she snorted. “I don’t know a thing about you, Roi, and you obviously don’t know shit about me if you think that statement’s going to fly one bit. You can take your scary lycan eye trick and try it on one of your other, what was
it that Lukian called them… oh right, bimbos. I am not your anything, Roi. I belong to someone else. Someone who isn’t a pig’s asshole.”
“You are mine, Melissa. Be sure of that.”
She gave him a good shove and headed for the cabin. He twisted a bit and almost lost his balance. She was a hellcat. That much was for sure. The breeze caught the shirt she was wearing and lifted it enough for Roi to get a glimpse of her rounded ass cheek. His cock immediately sprang to life, wanting desperately to find solace deep in her.
The woman is going to be the death of me. That or flat out kill me.
Chapter Twenty
Missy stormed around the bedroom in search of her clothing. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave or seek Roi out and murder him. He was quite possibly the most infuriating male she’d ever met in her life. Dropping down on all fours, she looked under the bed, hoping to find her clothing there.
“Fuck!” Roi shouted, scaring the hell out of her.
She sat up fast and glanced back at him. His jaw was taut and the muscles in his neck appeared to be straining. “Roi?”
Closing his eyes slightly, he took a deep breath in. “Sorry, finding your sweet little naked ass in the air when I walk into a room isn’t what I expected. Not that I’m complaining any.”
Was he for real?
She already knew the answer. Yes. That was a total Roi thing to say.
She huffed. “I can assure you it won’t happen again. I’m leaving.”
“No, you’re not,” he said flatly.
He had to be joking.
There was no way she was about to obey any man, let alone him. She gave him a hard look. “Yes I am. I have to go home. I need to get something.”
“What are you planning on doing—hitchhiking while wearing nothing but my shirt?” He licked his lips. “You’re at my mercy, sweetheart.”
Anger tore through her. She was sick of his macho attitude and frankly sick of him. From the moment he’d stepped into her life, he’d flipped it upside down and she’d had enough. Had he not shown up at Melanie’s family bar last night, none of this would have happened. She’d have killed any would-be attackers and gone on with her life. He was a complication she didn’t need.
Critical Intelligence Page 12
