The Catalyst: (Book One)

by Devi Mara

  “Why?”

  Addar looked back at the computer. “Why does it matter?”

  Robin frowned at him. Because it went against everything he had done so far. She sighed.

  “I just didn’t expect—”

  “What?” he cut her off. “Me to be capable of kindness?”

  His eyes were on her, silver and glittering.

  Robin started to respond when a firm knock came at the door. The two of them glanced toward it. She gave Addar a quick look and moved across the room to open the door. When she saw Ken’s smiling face, she almost closed it again.

  “Good evening,” she said.

  “Hello. May I come in?” Ken gave her what he no doubt thought was a charming smile. It had not worked on her in months.

  “I’m a little busy at the moment. What did you need?”

  “Just to talk. About work, of course.”

  Of course. Robin raised an eyebrow when his hand found its way to the door. Bracing it open.

  “Could I come in? For just a moment?”

  She kept a firm hold on the door to keep it from swinging open.

  “I’m sorry, but I really am otherwise engaged.”

  Ken took a step forward, pressed right up against the threshold.

  “Do you have company?”

  Robin watched him lean further into her apartment, struggling to see past the door. She stepped forward to block his view.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh. Oh, I see.” He gave her a small smile. “Moved on already?”

  She started to argue with him and stopped. She did not owe him a thing.

  “Alright. That’s alright, then. I’ll talk with you at work.”

  Ken took a step back.

  She could see the curiosity in his eyes. He would not stop until he figured out who was in her apartment. He had always been the competitive type.

  “Goodnight, Dr. Vine.”

  Ken’s eyes widened at her use of his title. He sent another furtive glance toward her apartment.

  “Good night, Dr. Kay.”

  Robin watched him walk away until the elevator doors had closed behind him. She shut the door and locked it.

  “Your most recent sexual partner,” Addar said bluntly.

  Robin turned her head to frown at him.

  “That is not the way it is said.” She took in his crossed arms and heavy scowl. “Why are you over here?”

  “He seemed most insistent,” Addar said, instead of answering. He raised an eyebrow. “He wished to continue the relationship.”

  “That is never going to happen.”

  “I see.”

  Robin was not sure what his narrowed eyed perusal meant. She stepped away from the door and walked into the living room.

  “I understand it is custom to inquire about your partner’s day.”

  Robin froze and slowly turned to look at him.

  “We are not partners. We are roommates. Temporarily.”

  She thought she saw Addar’s eyes flash, before they slowly began to darken to their usual gray.

  “Of course. Nonetheless. How was your day?”

  Robin sank onto the couch, but kept Addar in sight. “Fine.”

  “Anything interesting happen?” He asked.

  For one crazy moment, she thought he knew about the zygote. About the impossibility of his DNA reproducing twice. Then, she regained her rationality. She sighed and gave him a barely there smile.

  “No.”

  Again, she saw a flash of something in his gaze.

  “Pity,” he said. “Perhaps the coming weeks will be more eventful.”

  “Hopefully.”

  “You know,” Addar said, moving around the corner of the couch to sit a few feet from her. “I don’t believe you told me what you are working on?”

  He cocked his head to the side. “Care to indulge me?”

  His tone went deep and smoky, as he leaned toward her.

  Robin cleared her throat. “No. Company privacy policy. Sorry.”

  She started to say more when his eyes fell closed and he inhaled deeply. Scenting her. Again. Robin stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen, telling herself she was not fleeing. She pulled open the refrigerator and quickly popped the top off of a bottle of water. When she turned, Addar was standing in the doorway. He braced his hands on the door header.

  Her eyes naturally took in his biceps, bulging slightly from his position, before she looked away. She lifted the bottle to her lips to take another gulp. Her throat suddenly felt extremely dry. When she had drained nearly half the bottle, she chanced another look. Addar was in the same position, his eyes locked on her.

  Robin’s gaze wandered down his body. The top three buttons on his shirt were undone showing a tempting glimpse of his throat and collarbones. She followed the line of buttons down over his chest and finally his jean clad legs.

  “Do you find me sexually appealing, Robin?” he asked, voice deeper than usual.

  She jerked her eyes up to meet his. “I…” She licked her lips. “That’s not an appropriate question.”

  “Isn’t it?” He dropped his arms and took a step into the kitchen.

  The room suddenly felt far smaller.

  “No. We have a working relationship and—”

  She broke off when he moved faster than expected, placing himself a hairsbreadth from her.

  “And?” he urged.

  She drew in a shaky breath. “And it would be best to keep it as that.”

  He leaned in until she could feel his breath on her neck.

  “Best for whom?” he murmured in her ear.

  …

  He had pushed too hard he realized, as he watched Robin close her bedroom door behind her. The appearance of her ex-lover, the clear scent of sexual interest he gave off, it had driven him to push Robin too hard. She clearly had no interest in the other male. It was obvious, both from her scent and her tone. But when she had shown interest in him…

  Addar flopped down on the couch and crossed his arms behind his head. Robin was attracted to him. He was not sure how he felt about it. It was clear he felt something very strong for her, but to have her return the feeling was disorienting. He had been content to simply observe her, aware she would never give off the pheromones of interest. But tonight, she had. And he wanted her.

  Robin was more than an intelligent, attractive female. She was strong, daring, kind to strangers. Were he to choose a mate, among his own kind or humanity, he would choose someone exactly like her. He doubted he could have done better had he set out to do so.

  Addar sighed and stood, walking to his usual place in front of the computer. As he sat, his eyes were drawn to the family photo on Robin’s desk. He recognized the attractive dark-skinned woman to Robin’s left as her mother. Vivian Kay. On Robin’s right, a distinguished looking Caucasian man smiled at the camera. Robin clearly got her cheekbones from her father, Herman.

  She had lied to him, again. Addar scowled at the thought. Robin was working on cloning another like him. He doubted she knew about the other dig site. If she had, would she have been so quick to take part in her current project? He sent a dark glare toward her bedroom door. He doubted it. In his early research into Robin’s field of science, he had stumbled upon something the humans called “The Budding Principle”.

  But what Robin was working on at her lab was not his DNA. They were using the DNA from Site A, not Site B. She was cloning someone other than him. He had his suspicions who it was, but until Robin completed her work it was useless to speculate. Addar waited for the computer to turn on. When the screen lightened from black to a pleasant blue, he froze.

  The feeling came, again. A tingle at the base of his skull. Like an unseen pair of eyes on him. He grit his teeth and pushed at it with his own power. It stretched away from him only to snap back like a rubber band. He growled low in his throat. No. He would not feed the creature. It, or rather he, could feed from the scientists just as Addar had fed from Amber.

>   Sensing his sentiments, the consciousness of his fellow warrior slunk away. Addar sat perfectly still for over an hour, waiting to see if the feeling would return. It did not.

  The tension slowly bled out of him, until he could turn his focus back to his original intentions. He opened the internet search box and typed his query. In less than a second, he received a list of over twenty-seven million results. It seemed a large part of the male population had ideas on how to court a woman. After a moment of thought, Addar selected the top five results and slowly read each one.

  Some of the ideas were idiotic. He discounted the rose idea, Robin was allergic. He would not be offering mindless flattery, either. She had enough admirable qualities without resorting to complementing her on the color of her eyes. Though they were beautiful. Addar scowled at the tenth idea on the list. He was not buying Robin shoes. Or a purse.

  It was not until he heard the birds outside the window that he realized he had been reading all night. He glanced at the closed blinds, the weak sunlight just beginning to slide between the slats. Robin would be awake in about half an hour. Addar turned back to the computer and set about deleting his internet history as he had been doing since he began to use the computer. Then, he stood and walked to the kitchen.

  He would make Robin breakfast. She had seemed to be pleased the first time. Surprised, but pleased. Addar walked across the room to retrieve the cookbook from the cabinet above the stove. He set it on the table and flipped to the table of contents. Robin preferred bread and fruit in the morning. The days she had been home, she ate a small breakfast and a large lunch. Her dinner was often light, consisting of salad or soup. So, he would make bread.

  Addar flipped through the recipes, looking for something he could make in less than an hour. He started to flip another page and paused. Crepes. A French dish, if he remembered correctly. It was light and thin, perfect with fruit. He smirked and scanned the ingredients.

  A quick search in the cabinet located the flour and sugar and Addar mixed the crepe batter. He had just finished chopping the strawberries and mixing the crepe filling when he heard Robin stir. He paused to listen to her stretch and let out a quiet yawn. Once her footsteps entered the bathroom and the door closed, he went back to work.

  He heated a large skillet until a splash of water made it sizzle. Then he poured in the batter. Cooking it until it was golden, he flipped the crepe over to brown the other side. Robin exited her bathroom and the rustle of cloth made him pause. She was drying her hair. Standing unclothed in her room with only a towel around her. In his distraction, his hand strayed too close to the hot skillet.

  He hissed in pain and slid the crepe onto a waiting sheet of wax paper. Still gritting his teeth, Addar spooned the filling and chopped strawberries into the crepe and folded it neatly. He had just set the plate on the table when Robin’s bedroom door opened. Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor, announcing her presence before she appeared around the corner.

  “Good morning.”

  He took a moment to take in Robin’s appearance as she gaped at him. She wore a pantsuit almost identical to the one she had worn the day before. Only a small variation in color, charcoal gray instead of black, differentiated the two. His gaze rose up her body to meet hers.

  “Hello,” she murmured.

  He watched her come further into the room. She set her cell phone on the edge of the table and stared down at the crepe.

  “Is this-Did you make this for me?”

  He nodded, carefully cataloguing her reactions. Her confused expression flickered to pleased for a moment, before she squashed it.

  “Thank you,” she said and sat.

  Robin’s face stayed blank as she ate, only the way she savored each bite showing her opinion of her breakfast. When she was done, she looked up at him.

  “Thank you. That was…good.”

  She had wanted to say something different, probably more complementary, but she had stopped herself. Addar fought the urge to frown. She was a complicated creature. His gaze followed her from the kitchen to the front door, where she took her time putting on her jacket.

  “Why?” she suddenly asked, turning to face him.

  He raised his eyebrows.

  “Why did you make me breakfast?”

  Because I want you.

  “Do you not eat breakfast?” he said instead.

  Robin frowned at him, as if she could hear his thoughts. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Finally, she sighed and turned to leave.

  “I will walk you out,” Addar said, the words escaping before he could bite them back.

  She gave him an odd look, clearly confused by his behavior.

  “Alright.”

  They walked in silence to the elevator, but when the doors opened it was already carrying a passenger. Addar immediately hated the way the human looked at Robin. He had seen the man before, on the first night he came home with Robin. The man was one of her neighbors. He had stared at her the same way then. Addar scowled.

  “Good morning, Dr. Kay,” the man said.

  Once the elevator door closed Addar and Robin inside the small space, the man moved closer to Robin.

  “You look well today, Robin.”

  Addar watched Robin twitch away from the man, a movement so small no one else would have noticed it. But he noticed and it made him want to place himself between Robin and the man.

  “Good morning, Marty,” Robin returned, completely ignoring the complement.

  “Hey. You work at the university, right?”

  Addar watched Robin slant the man a look.

  “Yes…”

  “My brother in law is the Dean. We play golf with Dr. Scott every Sunday afternoon.” The man, Marty, paused. “Do you play golf?”

  “No.”

  The man blinked at Robin’s quick answer, but a slow smile soon curved his lips.

  “Do you eat brunch?”

  Robin glanced at the man without moving her head. “Sometimes.”

  The man’s smile turned into a smirk and he gave Addar a quick look.

  “The country club has an extensive brunch menu. How would you like to join me for bunch on Sunday? I could invite Dr. Scott along.”

  Robin pursed her lips for a moment, before giving the man an apologetic smile.

  “I’m sorry, I have plans.”

  “How about drinks tonight, then?”

  The man edged closer to Robin and Addar ground his teeth. If he so much as breathed on her, Addar would kill him.

  “No, thank you. I don’t drink.”

  “Oh, fair enough.”

  The man stepped back and the doors slid open a moment later. Addar stepped off the elevator and watched until the doorman helped Robin into the back of a taxi.

  “She’s a nice lady,” a voice spoke from behind him.

  Addar looked over his shoulder to see Marty standing behind him, watching Robin’s taxi drive away.

  “Yes,” Addar said.

  “I’m sorry if I stepped on your toes.”

  Addar gave him a bland look. “I am not in a romantic relationship with Dr. Kay.”

  “Oh. Good to know.” The man shifted. “Do you know if she’s seeing anyone?”

  “No.”

  “Good, good.” The man wiped his hands on his pant legs. “That’s good. Well, see you around.”

  Addar watched the man walk past him with a frown. There was something off about the man. He could not put his finger on it, but he knew one thing. Addar did not want Marty alone with Robin.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Robin sat at the polished wooden table in an overly posh breakroom and picked at her lunch. The sandwich, purchased from the vending machine in the corner, gave off a stale, almost medicinal scent as she pulled the crust off to arrange it on her napkin. The other members of her project team, two gossiping interns, an older biologist from France, and Ken seemed to be giving her space.

  She chanced a bite of her sandwich. It tasted the way it smelled. She dump
ed it into the trash bin behind her. At the sharp clang of the metal lid, the team glanced at her. Robin gave them a small, forced smile and turned her attention back to the table top. It had been a difficult day and she still had four hours of work. She rubbed her temples.

  It was far more difficult than she thought it would be. Lying. When she had taken the job, she assumed she would just have to act surprised by the organism’s rate of growth. It was so much more than that. Knowing information and being unable to share it, being forced to act as if she was as in the dark as the others, was grating on her nerves. On top of the stress was the problem with Addar.

  His morning behavior had been disturbing. Pleasant, but disturbing. Just as his visit to the neighbors had been. Robin sighed. She doubted he was acting without ulterior motives. From observing him over the past few days, it quickly became obvious that his IQ tests did not do him justice. He was almost frighteningly intelligent, adaptable in the extreme. His rate of learning alone was staggering.

  Yes. He most certainly had an ulterior motive. Perhaps, he had noticed her attention. Robin chewed on her bottom lip and turned her head to look out over the rolling lawn. If he knew of her budding attraction, she would lose what little power she had over the situation. His very presence was overwhelming. It was impossible to know what he would do if he gained the upper hand.

  She shivered. No. She would be a professional. Attractive or not, he was not like her. He was…something else. And if when he looked at her with that look in his eyes and she felt a little breathless, that was just something she was going to have to ignore. The shifting of chairs behind her drew her gaze back to the breakroom. The team was shuffling toward the door one at a time.

  Robin rose to follow them, avoiding Ken as she had been all day. He had tried to speak with her twice, always with that look on his face. The smirk he thought was sexy, but only reminded her of how he had stolen her work and her job. By the time she reached the lab, a scowl had taken over her face. She moved to her work station and shuffled through some paperwork.

  “Hey, Robin.”

  She paused for a fraction of a second, before muttering a quick, “Dr. Vine.”