Her cheeks heated at the memory even as a familiar ache started up again between her legs. The mans scent brushed her senses, the scent of sleep-warmed male combined with the hint of wildness that had stirred her so thoroughly last night. And stirred her still.
God, what was the matter with her? Just lying beside him like this had her libido leaping all over again.
She gave a silent groan, forcing herself to tear her thoughts away from the man at her back and focus outward. If there were others in the place, the sooner she knew it, the better. But she heard nothing except the even breathing of her captor.
Apparently her plan to make him think she wanted him had worked well enough since she was still alive. Too bad it hadnt been an act.
He was a killer.
Or the twin of one. Could he possibly have been telling the truth when he told her he wasnt the man whod attacked her? It was certainly a possibility. After all, she was still alive.
Then again, how did he know shed been attacked if he wasnt the one whod attacked her? How did he know who she was? Her involvement had never hit the news.
Whether or not he was the killer, he was clearly involved up to his sunglasses-covered eyeballs. And there was no denying hed committed criminal acts. Hed broken into the apartment of a federal agent, overpowered her, and kidnapped her. For that alone, he was looking at jail time.
Either way, he had information they needed. Either way, he was going down.
She remembered how fast hed moved last night and the lightning speed with which shed been attacked in the laundry room. If she wanted to get him, she was going to have to move fast, without mercy. Because once he woke, her chance to take him down would be over.
Her gaze caught the gleam of the bedside lamp. Brass. Perfect. All she had to do was crack him over the skull with it and run for the nearest phone. Piece of cake. Assuming she managed to get out from under his arm without waking him. His warm breath stirred her hair on a soft rumble of a snore. He was definitely asleep. But would he stay that way?
Her pulse rose another notch as she prepared to find out.
Sending a quick prayer heavenward for luck, and keeping her body loose, as if she were still asleep, she rolled onto her stomach on the soft, cool cotton sheets, away from the man.
His arm slid away from her without protest.
Swallowing a surge of triumph, Delaney lay still as death, willing her hearts pounding to settle down as she waited for her captors breathing to even out again. When shed waited as long as she could stand, she eased the blanket off her, inch by inch, and swung her legs over the side, her bare toes settling on a soft, worn rug.
In a light, careful move, she rose from the bed and knelt by the bedside table to follow the lamps cord to the outlet. When she found it, she gave a quick, silent tug and rose to her feet.
Her heart began to pound. This was it. If she hit him too hard, shed kill him. At one point, before hed planted the doubt in her mind that he was the man she sought, all shed wanted was to kill him. Now she wasnt so sure.
Legally, she needed to not kill him. But if she didnt hit him hard enough, she was as good as dead. And she had a feeling it would take a direct hit by a cruise missile to incapacitate the guy.
She grabbed the lamp at its neck, her fingers closing around the cool metal as she took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. In a single move, she flipped the heavy lamp upside down and swung the base of it at the sleeping mans head as hard as she could.
The lamp collided not with skull, but with moving flesh as her captors hand shot out, stopping the deadly arc cold. He wrenched the lamp from her hands and flung it across the room to crash against the wall.
Delaneys mouth dropped open. Her heart went to her throat, and she leaped back from the bed, her pulse pounding as she readied for hand-to-hand combat.
He was little more than a blur in the shadows as he grabbed her. The room spun as he flung her facedown on the bed. She dug her face out of the sheets, trying to flip over, but he pinned her with a jeans-clad knee in the small of her back. Her pulse thudded in her throat as she watched him over her shoulder, tensing for his retribution.
You tried to kill me. His voice was flat as he loomed over her, staring down at her through those dark sunglasses she was beginning to suspect were permanently attached to his face. Who in their right mind slept in sunglasses?
She hated him for making her feel so blasted helpless. Fear slithered down her spine. With his strength, he could kill her with his bare hands without ever breaking a sweat.
Her breath caught, her body tensing, as she waited for him to do just that. But to her surprise, he climbed on top of her, straddling her hips.
She tried to push him off, tried to get to her knees, but she might as well have tried to lift a bus. He was playing with her. Toying with her.
Im not going to hurt you, he said softly, brushing the hair back from her ear. In her peripheral vision, she saw his face lower, felt his lips on her ear, his tongue tracing the cartilage, then delving into the cavern, drawing a shiver from her.
Her heart thudded as his hand slid beneath her until his fingers found her nipple through her shirt and squeezed just hard enough to send fire shooting straight to her loins.
His tongue stroked her ear, his lips grazed her cheek. Gently, so gently. Toying with her before he struck.
His fingers moved under her, tugging at her shirt, pulling at her bra until his fingers were against her bare flesh, his palm warm against her breast. Her breathing turned ragged.
She felt his hand move again, releasing her breast. As the press of his thighs moved lower, to frame her own, he sat up and slipped his hand inside the waist of her sweatpants, his fingers sliding inside her panties to cup her butt cheek as he had her breast moments before. Then he leaned over her, his fingers kneading the flesh, his breath in her ear becoming as ragged as her own.
You set me on fire. His voice was low, pained, as his fingers dug into her, letting her feel his need, sending hers into an upward spiral.
He was half over her, half beside her when his palm flattened, his finger sliding into the crease of her buttocks and down, to stroke her swelling lips. His teeth grazed her earlobe, sending a shaft of wet heat straight to her core. His finger slid inside her, meeting that rush of heat.
Delaney gasped, trying to arch into his touch, but with him still half-straddling her, she had nowhere to move, nowhere to go. He stroked her, playing with her until she was soft and hot and wild with need. Then he released her and rose, only to straddle her calves.
She tried to rise, her arms shaking, but he dug his fingers into her waistband and yanked downward, pulling her pants and panties down to her thighs in a single jerk of a move, baring her to the cool air. To his gaze. Stealing her last scrap of protection.
Heat turned to fear on the certainty that he meant to take his revenge upon her body. Panic flared, and she tried to roll away, but his palm fanned across the small of her back, slamming her to the mattress.
Her heart thudded. Her mouth went dry.
His free hand dug into her butt cheek. Im not going to hurt you. But the thread of anger in his voice did nothing to reassure her.
Tears burned the backs of her eyes. Fear knotted in her gut. If she was ready for him, it shouldnt hurt, but if he wanted to hurt her, there were other ways. She knew too well the cruelty men could visit on women before they killed them. While they killed them. She had the crime photos hanging all over the walls of her living room to prove it.
She already knew this guy had a sick mind. God knew what he might
Dont be afraid of me!
She froze. Im not. Her words sounded calm, soothing, despite the tears closing her throat. Long ago, shed learned to keep her emotions out of her voice and expression, and she desperately called on that trick now.
His hand squeezed her rear to the point of pain as the tension in the air thickened. Slowly, his hand relaxed, and she began to breathe again.
Im not going to hurt you.
But she didnt believe him for a minute. As she struggled against his impossible hold, his hand released her aching flesh to slide between her legs. She tried to clamp her thighs together, desperate to escape his touch, fear spiraling out of her control.
He was going to hurt her. He wanted to hurt her, to punish her for attacking him.
Dammit! In a sudden move, he released her and flung himself off the bed.
Delaney shot to her knees, yanking her pants up and straightening her shirt and bra, then turned to find him pacing the room like a caged animal, his tight, coiled tension filling the room.
Definitely bipolar. With violent tendencies.
Her heart raced in her chest as she edged toward the side of the bed closest to the door. But as she sat and swung her legs over the side, he whirled on her, his finger pointing directly at her face.
Stay!
Delaney froze, her mind scrabbling, fighting down the instinct to flee. He was too fast. Shed never get away.
Deep breaths. He hadnt attacked her. Other than squeezing her butt too hard, he hadnt hurt her at all.
She watched him pace, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides like a man struggling to contain his temper. He was trying to get control. The realization slammed into her. The last thing she needed to do was make things worse by running again.
She forced herself to wait as she watched him warily. The streetlight filtering in through the sheer curtains played over his broad, bare chest, tripping in and out of the shadows created by the muscular definition. Scars, like claw marks, tore across his right nipple while a gold armband snaked around one thick upper arm. Even in the dim light, the man was a walking wet dream.
If she werent so wary of him, she might have enjoyed watching him. With his long legs, trim waist, and sculpted upper body, he was truly a feast for the eyes.
Minutes passed as he paced, the tension slowly leaching from the air.
Do you follow football? he asked, at last.
Delaney blinked. No.
Whats your favorite television show?
Her brows puckered with disbelief. Why?
An animalistic growl rumbled deep in his throat. Your fear sets me off, and I want your mind off it.
Delaney scowled. Im not afraid. She didnt show it. She knew she didnt show it.
Like a cat about to spring, he swung to face her, his body rigid. Dont lie to me! I can taste it. No one else would know, but I know. You cant hide it from me.
He couldnt possibly taste her fear. That was ridiculous. But it was hardly a leap for him to guess that she was afraid. Any sane woman would be under the circumstances.
He returned to his pacing. Whats your favorite television show?
Were they really going to play this game? The news.
He scowled at her. Lame.
His response inexplicably pricked her pride. I dont have time to waste on mindless shows.
He stopped pacing and turned to her. Your work is your life to the exclusion of everything else, isnt it? You dont even own a reading chair.
Excuse me, she huffed. What I do is important. I perform a valuable service to society by getting the monsters off the streets.
The man snorted. Youll never get the monsters. You dont even know what they look like, little girl.
Delaney ground her teeth together, clamping her mouth shut before she said something she shouldnt. Something that would make him even madder, turning a bad situation so much worse.
The man stopped his pacing and started toward her. Youre pathetic, you know that? You got your life back, but you dont even know how to live it, do you? There was an ugly taunting quality to his voice that infuriated her. Youre so hung up on your mothers death you arent even living. Do you think this is what shed want? You spending your entire life searching for her killer?
She stared at him, shock vibrating through her body. It wasnt true. It wasnt true. Oh God, of course it was true. How?
I heard you talking to the cat. It wasnt much of a leap. Youre living an excuse for a life. You dont even own a sofa or a picture that isnt a crime-scene photo! Your lifes a joke.
She felt as if her chest were caving in and at the same time exploding from the force of her fury. Damn him. Damn him.
She lunged to her feet and rounded on him. You son of a bitch. How dare you judge me. How dare you? She struck at his knee, a move that should have knocked even a man his size off his feet.
Yet faster than she could blink, she found herself flat on her back on the bed. Again. Blast it. She fought him, struggling with every ounce of strength she possessed. This was too much. Too much.
She reached for his sunglasses, intending to dig her fingers into his eyes and blind him, but he reared back out of her reach before she touched them. He grabbed her wrists and pulled them over her head, pinning them. Then he landed on the bed beside her, rolled onto his side, and pinned her legs to the mattress with one hard thigh.
Let me go!
So you can claw my eyes out? I dont think so.
He grabbed her jaw with his free hand and kissed her.
She bit him. The taste of his blood ripped her back to her senses. Stupid, Delaney. Stupid, stupid move to risk setting him off again.
But to her amazement, he laughed, the sound rich and warm. Disturbingly nice. Then he bent his head and placed a kiss on her temple as gentle as a raindrop and lifted his head to look down at her, licking the blood from his lip.
She stared at him. I dont understand you.
A half smile lifted his lips. Im not surprised. Fortunately, I do understand you.
She grunted with disdain. Hardly.
I know just how to make you mad, dont I? And anger is so much more pleasant than fear, isnt it, brown eyes?
He leaned down to kiss her cheek as she stared at the darkened ceiling, speechless.
You meant to make me mad?
It worked. She heard the shrug in his voice, then shivered as his tongue stroked her ear.
But her anger only spiked all over again. At him for saying the things that had cut her to the quick. And at herself for letting them bother her so much shed lost control and tried to attack him again.
I hate you.
Im aware of that. With the hand not holding her wrists, he pushed the lace cup of her bra down over her nipple, freeing her breast to his warm touch, then took the bare flesh into his mouth.
She gasped at the feel as desire sparked and flared, feeding her anger. She hated this control he had over her body. With his superior strength, all he had to do was lift an arm, and she was flat on her back. All he had to do was touch her, and she melted like butter in the sun. He made her sick. He made her want to
She arched off the bed in pure pleasure as his tongue twirled slowly around her nipple.
Oh, God, dont stop.
With a last, soft suckle, he released her breast and blew, chilling the wet peak before he turned to its mate, freed it, and pulled the aching, needy flesh into his mouth. She felt his fingers slide once more down the plane of her stomach and into her pants. Though her mind rebelled, her body wanted this. Desperately.
The weight of his thigh lifted, his leg curling around hers and giving a gentle tug, spreading her thighs for his seeking finger. She jerked as the pad of his finger stroked her clit, then gasped as it slid farther, deep into her heat. With a groan of pure need, she bucked, swallowing him deeper into the liquid fire hed set ablaze inside her.
How could he do this to her? What was it about him that the simple feel of his mouth on her breasts nearly brought her to climax? Never had she gone so over the top with a man. Any man. Shed only had sex three times in her life, with two different partners, because it was so damned boring.
Even sex with this guys finger was enough to turn her into a panting, raving, lunatic. If he ever pushed his cock inside her
Just the thought of it nearly made her come.
Look at me, brown eyes.
She opened her eyes, not remembering having closed them, and looked at the dark line of his sunglasses.
A rush of warmth flooded her mind, a hot wind on a roaring flame, turning her body into a superheated bonfire. Her hips rocked against his hand, desperate for more. She neededshe needed
The orgasm broke over her in an explosion of light and pleasure so sharp it was like nothing shed ever felt, hurtling her into a rainbow of colors and ecstasy. As she rode the explosion, her body bucked wildly, forcing that finger deeper, deeper.
Her eyes started to roll back in her head.
Look at me, Delaney. Look at me!
She did, somehow knowing she met his gaze through those sunglasses. Something happened. A hot pressure gripped her head, a sharp pain that was gone almost before it registered, disappearing in the clenching spasms of release.
Slowly, the pleasure eased, and her body floated downward. Her hips ceased their rocking, and she lay beside the man, trying to catch her breath even as his finger continued to play with her wetness.
As the roaring pleasure eased, she became aware of a strange sensation inside her head, like the soft brush of angels wings against the inner walls of her skull whispering impressions into her mind. He wasnt the killer. He didnt kill needlessly. He was honorable. Fine. And very, very dangerous.
Honorable, the wings whispered. Trust him.
She looked up at him, exhausted and confused. I dont even know your name.
Im Tighe.
What have you done to me?
Nothing for you to be worried about. Now go to sleep, Delaney.
And just like that, she did.
CHAPTER 7
Its about damned time, Tighe muttered as he slowly withdrew his finger from the womans hot depths. Sweet nature, what she did to him. He was shaking with the need to finish what hed started with her, to push inside her with the part of his anatomy made for the purpose. A part of him that was more than up for the task.
But he was not a man who took advantage of women. At least not more than he absolutely had to.
Not even human women. Especially not human women.
He sucked the honey from his finger, groaning at the perfection of her taste. What was it about her that turned him inside out? Was it this odd connection theyd formed through his clone? Or was it the excitement of the unknown? An unknown he hadnt experienced in a good long while?
The only women he allowed himself to have sex with were Therians, and hed known most of them for centuries. Delaney Randall was new to him. Young and exciting. And human, dammit. Completely and totally off-limits. He hadnt gotten involved with a human since Gretchen. And he never would again.
But, goddess, Delaney Randall was a beauty. He gazed down at her face, at her slender nose and full, ripe mouth as his thumb brushed the silken skin covering one high cheekbone. The longing to taste her again almost overpowered him.
What was she doing to him?
He needed to get her out of his life, fast, before he lost what little control he still possessed and pushed inside her, becoming a slave to this need for her until he destroyed them both.
Now that hed finally, finally, captured control of her mind, it should only be a short while before he was through with her. Hed felt the catch, though not in the usual way. He hadnt been certain he really did have her mind until hed ordered her to go to sleep, and she had. The connection lingered inside his head, like a pleasurable warmth fanning the insides of his skull. Odd. But nothing with this woman had been normal.
All that mattered was she was his, finally. He should be able to root around in her mind and figure out how to free her of those visions. Once hed disconnected her from the clone, it should be a simple matter to steal her memories of him as well. Meanwhile, the Delaney Randall whod turned him inside out was gone. For the moment.
For him.
Ridiculous to feel regret at the thought.
No, this was the way it had to be. Hed keep her calm and semicomatose until one of them got another vision, then hed take it from there.
But as he stroked her finely shaped brow with his thumb, he couldnt help the feeling of inexplicable loss. He was going to miss her fire and strength, her cunning and intelligence, and even the shadows in her eyes that spoke of loss and called to something deep inside him.
She would still be pretty to look at, but it was the fire that burned within her that made her truly beautiful. A fire gone cold, until he released her mind again. He was sorry for that. But there was neither reason nor time to delay the inevitable. With a sigh, he lifted a lock of her hair, the soft, dark wave sliding between his fingers.
Wake up, Delaney.
Instantly, her dark lashes swept up, revealing eyes filled with confusion.
You dont remember anything that happened after the cat ran into your apartment last night, he said softly.
Her head turned to him, her eyes narrowing. O-kay.
His hand froze on her hair as he stared at her, blinking. Shit. Shit. He hadnt gotten control of her mind at all. Yet he had connected with it. Staring into her eyes he could almost see the gossamer thread, running between them, fanning the warmth in his head.
Outrage barreled through him. Every time he tried to control her, something else went wrong. He flung himself off the bed and strode to the wall, barely keeping himself from slamming his fist through the plasterboard. He not only had to seize control of her mind, but now he had to break this unholy connection.
He whirled to find her sitting up.
How could he not have her mind? Shed gone to sleep and wakened on cue. Unless
Lie down, he barked. And she did. Instantly. Sit up. She jerked upright as if pulled by an unseen cord.
Stop it! she cried. How are you doing this?
He seemed to have gotten control of her body and not her mind. How in the hell had that happened? And what good did it do? He needed to keep her from remembering him!
Lie down.
She fell back, mouth wide with disbelief, eyes filled with terror as she struggled to move, but hed told her to lie down, and that was all she could do.
What have you done to me?
He smiled bitterly. It seems Ive got you under my control, Agent Randall. Just not the way I wanted, dammit.
He saw the realization in her eyes, the understanding of just how vulnerable she really was. Raw, icy fear rolled across his tongue, hurling him back to another time. In his mind, he saw Gretchen, his beloved Gretchen, her eyes wide with terror.
She should have known. She should have known.
At the hated taste on his tongue, fury ripped through him, tearing him loose from his control. He felt the burn of his claws unsheathing, the ache of his fangs getting ready to drop.
Not now. Not now.
He longed to hurt her, to punish her for her fear. For her betrayal. Shed destroyed him. Taken everything from him, everything that had ever mattered.
For a second, his mind cleared. He was staring at Delaney, not Gretchen. Delaney.
Desperately, he tried to wrench back control. But it was too late. Too late.
Close your eyes and stay there! He whirled away from her as the chaos swept him into that place of fury and violence, a place where he was neither man nor beast, yet utterly inhuman. As he lifted the chest of drawers and slammed it against the wall, shattering the mirror, the chaos swept him away.
The sound of shattering glass tore through Delaneys eardrums as she lay, stuck to the bed, unable to open her eyes. Unable to move.
This is not happening. It is not happening!
Pieces of furniture crashed against one another, wood splintering, glass shattering. And she couldnt move to get out of the way.
She struggled to sit up, grinding her elbows into the mattress as she pushed with all her strength, but it was as if an invisible hand held her down.
Her mouth went dry. Good God, she had to get out of there.
What has he done to me?
He had to be using some kind of mind-control drug on her. Twice now, hed knocked her out. And just before hed put her to sleep the second time, shed had this strange urge to trust him. Mind control. With a sudden certainty, she knew he was no run-of-the-mill psychopath. There was more going on here. Much more.
But why experiment on a federal agent? Unless
The answer, so obvious, chilled her to the marrow of her bones. She had access to information, to places, to people, most never would. He could turn her into the ultimate terrorists weapon. Until her fellow agents killed her. Then hed simply kidnap another.
The ramifications reverberated through her head. The lives that would be lost. The lives hed force her to take.
I have to get out of here.
If she could escape before the drug fully wore off, while it was still in her blood, the lab might be able to identify it. They might be able to create an antidote. Or even find a way to duplicate it.
Except she couldnt escape. She couldnt even move!
Hed lost it. Completely. Even before hed turned into Olaf the Berserker, shed felt it, as if the storm swirling inside him were visible.
Had he, too, been experimenting with the drug? Was that to be her destiny?
A new sound burst into the room. Tighe! a man shouted as, closer by, strong arms lifted her.
Lets get you out of here, a deeply masculine voice said.
Im all for that.
The man carried her from the destruction zone to lay her on what felt like a sofa in another room. Are you injured?
No. He did something to me before he turned crazy. I cant move. I cant even open my eyes.
Interesting. Stay here.
Thats what they all say, Delaney muttered, then lay there listening to the sound of fighting like nothing shed ever heard. Thudding, snarling, slashing. Like theyd turned into animals or something. She wasnt sure if she was relieved or dismayed to learn there were more of them.
Get off me. Tighes deep growl carried to where she lay. The woman?
Is on the sofa.
Delaney blinked. She froze as her eyes went wide. She could open her eyes again. Halleluiah. As her gaze took in the small, unoccupied living room, she tried to sit up. Grunting and straining against the invisible hand, she managed to prop her elbows under her. Elation swam through her as she panted with exertion.
The drug was wearing off.
Is she sleeping? Or dead? Tighes voice carried from the bedroom.
Unharmed as far as I can tell, but she cant move. What did you do to her?
I got control of her, just not her mind.
Eliminate her, a third, hard voice chimed in. Not the voice of the man whod carried her to safety. Not the voice of anyone she wanted to come face-to-face with without her Glock.
Again, she struggled to sit up, and like magic, was free. The drug had worn off!
No ones harming her. Tighes voice. Yeah, Tighe. Leave. Ill see to her.
No, Delaney muttered under her breath as she swung off the sofa and crept to the door. Ill leave. Ill see to her.
Were staying, said the man whod carried her out of the room.
No youre not. Tighes voice was too close. No longer in the bedroom. Hell.
Hed spotted her.
Pulse racing, blood pounding in her ears, Delaney lunged for the door. Her hand closed around the knob, twisted and jerked hard, but the door opened only a couple of inches before slamming shut again. Tighes overwhelming presence loomed over her from behind.
She tried to whirl around, but he pressed her, face-first, against the door, his breath harsh in her ear.
Dont fear me.
Let me go, Tighe. Please.
Cant do that. He eased back a fraction, not so much that she could turn around, but enough that he was no longer laying his full weight against her. Im not going to hurt you.
Could have fooled me.
He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, his expression grim as he appeared to stare down at her through the shades. Where? Where did I hurt you?
She gasped as she got a good look at him despite the shadows. He was a mess. Good grief. His face and body were streaked with blood, his shirt nearly shredded. Yet she couldnt make out any injuries. No open, bleeding flesh. Not even any scratches to account for the blood.
Did that mean it wasnt his? Yet how could he not be harmed with his clothing in tatters? The soft fluttering in her head intensified, as if the angel wings were agitated by the sight of him. The sensation echoed in her chest. As if she were worried about him. As if whatever hed done to her made her think she cared.