woman and assert his dominance, but also to stealthily check the lock on the door. With only a glance, he could tell it was new, meant to open only when the proper fingerprint was scanned. Unfortunately, it was also titanium and held steady.
Unfazed by his outburst, she sauntered closer to him. “Did you see my new talent? Spraying fire? I just acquired it, and already I’m quite good.”
She spoke as though it would have been just as easy to acquire a new shirt.
“But enough about me and my magnificence,” she continued. “Jecis finally took my advice and brought in an attraction the masses will fear. You’re as big as a bear and as fierce as a lion, aren’t you? I am pleased.”
Solo reached through the bars, determined to grab her. Grinning, she jumped out of reach.
“Uh, uh, uh. None of that, or I’ll be forced to punish my tasty new toy.”
He had been called many things in his life, but never that.
“I want her more with every second that passes,” Dr. E said with a dreamy sigh.
X shook his head, saying, “She’s not the woman for you, Solo.”
“Ohhhh, what a shocker. X doesn’t want to throw a party in your pants. Well, guess what? I do! It’s been too long.”
“Silence,” Solo growled, and the female began to sputter with indignation. Dr. E wanted every woman Solo encountered, and X wanted none. But Solo wasn’t a slave to his desires. The handful of times he had taken a lover, he’d walked away feeling dirty and disgusting. Because—shame fought to overtake him—if the females did not leave broken and bloody, they did not leave happy.
He only attracted women with a dark side: those who wanted the monster in their beds rather than the man—those who wanted a slap rather than a kiss, a slice of his claws rather than a caress.
On the job, that was fine. Whatever. He would do anything to anyone, without any remorse. He simply blanked his mind, buried his emotions. That was the only way he could do the terrible things that supposedly needed doing. But to harm the very females he was supposed to protect? The very females he wanted only to please? His parents had taught him better.
The female quieted and glared at him. “You did
“Actually, you are nothing.”
Rather than issuing another insult, she grinned. “I think I’ll take great pleasure in teaching you the proper way of things.”
Enough. “If you hope to survive the carnage I’ll bring to this circus, you’ll free me.”
“Free you?” she asked with a seductive purr. “And what will you give me in return, hmm?”
“Do not bargain with her,” X rushed out.
Solo pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth. As if he would do something so foolish. Other people could bargain, but not Solo. Never Solo. To go back on his word was to suffer painfully. A curse of his race, perhaps.
“I told you,” he said. “I’ll allow you to live.”
“How sweet. But no, I don’t think I’ll let you go. I like you right where you are. And maybe one day you’ll even thank me for my refusal. I promise I’m not a biter and that you’ll find heaven on earth in my arms. But guess what?” she added in a whisper as she leaned toward him. “I
A mouthful of feminine curses echoed behind her. He moved his gaze over the otherworlders. All but the Teran still hid in the shadows of their cages, their expressions frightened. The Teran—Kitten—sat in the same position as before, but she was shaking the bars, her gaze locked on the human.
“Why don’t you come over here and play with me?” Kitten snarled.
The girl paled.
Most likely the pair had tussled, and the girl had lost.
“Free me,” he repeated, snagging her attention. “I promise you. It’s the only way to save yourself.”
A tinkling laugh bubbled from her, her encounter with the Teran already forgotten. “Aren’t you just the most adorable thing? I know I hinted, but now I’m sure: I’m really going to enjoy your taming.”
Very well. By sunset, she would not be able to enjoy anything ever again.
“My name is Audra, by the way. I’m the star of the trapeze, as well as the circus owner’s lover. I’m someone of worth.”
Someone needed to teach her the definition of “worth.”
Gasps of horror erupted behind her.
“He’s coming,” one of the otherworlders said.
“Jecis is coming,” another cried.
Once again, the human paled. Backing away from Solo, she said stiltedly, “Until next time, slave.” Then she turned and raced from the clearing.
Three
X AND DR. E REMAINED silent as a big human male stomped into view. The newcomer stopped in the center of the clearing, bracing meaty fists on his hips and bringing Solo’s attention to the gun sheathed there on one side and the large blade sheathed on the other.
He was armed for war.
Solo studied the rest of him. He had dark hair and sun-weathered flesh, wide shoulders and a large chest, and legs as thick as tree trunks. All of that was normal, if oversize for a human, but there was a paper-thin quality to the skin on his face, and despite his tan, Solo thought he could see his facial bones, as though looking at him through X-ray goggles. Only, the bones were bigger than they should have been, considering the shape of his face, and his teeth sharper than daggers.
“We do not fight the man,” X said soberly, “but the wickedness inside him.”
Solo had no idea what that meant, and at the moment, he didn’t care. He just wanted out of the cage.
The male surveyed the captives with smug pride, before meeting Solo’s gaze. His lips curved into the semblance of a smile, revealing teeth that didn’t match the daggers Solo had seen.
“Good, you’re awake.”
“Free me,” Solo demanded.
A booming laugh scraped against his ears. “A fighter. I’m glad.”
Another refusal. Anger returned, a flash fire in his chest.
The silhouette the man cast on the ground suddenly moved. Frowning, Solo focused in on it. There was no way such a tiny silhouette belonged to such a brute of a man. It had to be—
A female, he realized.
A young woman stepped out from behind the male, and every nerve ending in Solo’s body perked up and took notice. She was absolutely, utterly exquisite. On the small side, with long, curling blond hair and eyes that hovered somewhere between jet-black and deep, rich purple—plum eyes.
She was a fairy-tale princess come to dazzling life.
He could not force himself to look away, could only drink in every detail. A smooth forehead, delicately sloped nose, high cheekbones, and heart-shaped lips created the most luminous face, a canvas of perfection. She was rosily flushed, a flower dusted with morning dew and someone please stab him and put him out of his misery because he sounded like a deranged poet, but he couldn’t help himself. The girl was a taste of heaven, sweetness and light, and he was suddenly starved.
The only flaw to her was the fresh bruise on the right side of her jaw.
He didn’t like that she had been hurt.
As if she sensed his gaze, she glanced his way. Their eyes locked. Her mouth formed a small O. He knew
