I turned it in my free hand curiously. “What is it?”
“This is a magical beacon. If you get into water hot enough you need out, crack the glass with a thumbnail or even your teeth and I’ll show up to help. All of the M and C people have one. Actually,” he said with a smile, “probably a dozen operatives will show up if you break that particular one. It’s keyed to my personal magic. I have more than one employee who will drop everything to save the guy who signs their paychecks.”
That made me laugh as I tucked it into a pant pocket. I wanted that one close to me. In fact, it might wind up inside my bra, which is seldom searched, even by the bad guys. And if I was being strip-searched, I wanted it where someone might break it by accident.
I squared my shoulders and looked once more into those flame-licked hazel eyes. “Thanks, Creede. Really. For everything.” I meant it and it came through in my voice.
He growled and frowned, because I’d just broken the rules. Tough-guy bodyguards don’t thank each other. It’s considered gauche and …
The things the touch of his body did to mine were beyond description. Even the vest, stuffed with Kevlar and “toys,” couldn’t stop his magic from bringing my skin alive. Every nerve stood at attention, and goose bumps crawled across every inch of me. The scariest thing was that I absolutely knew he wasn’t just reacting to my siren abilities. He had a charm to prevent himself from being magically influenced by me. A grunt from him told me the reaction wasn’t one-sided. I started to pull away, but he would have none of it. His arms snaked around my body and held me tight against him, while his mouth moved to my ear and stopped just before making contact. I could feel his warm breath on my earlobe.
Now panic tore through me, because all my body wanted was for him to tear off my clothes and throw me to the floor. Bruno had made me feel like that sometimes, but this was different. It was superficial, lust without emotional depth. But that didn’t make it any less real or wanted. I hadn’t had sex in a long time and my body knew what it needed. “I have to go, Creede.”
He didn’t respond except to move his hands up my back, which made my stomach tighten and my fingers dig into his muscular shoulders. “I know.” The words pushed into my ear softly, a mixed message. What did he know? That I had to get to the job or that I wanted to feel his fingers on my skin, his lips close over mine? Then I remembered he was a skilled telepath. Crap. While I hoped he was using discretion, he could easily know what I was thinking before I’d even processed the thoughts.
His lips began to move against my neck and his hands slid down to grip my hips possessively. My heart was thudding in my throat. Interesting that I was less afraid to hunt the demon than to have this man touch me.
“Yes, it is. Very interesting.” My eyes widened at his words and at the feeling of his lips against my cheek. Delicate but powerful, the sensation strong enough to weaken my knees. His lips lingered there for what felt like an eternity while my brain swam, unable to think.
“You have to let me go, Creede.” My voice was a whisper and I could hear the fear in it. Who exactly was I afraid of?
He returned the whisper, and while the words made me think he was amused, his tone was low and serious: “I’m not the one who has somewhere to be. This is yours, Celia. You can pull away if you want to. I won’t stop you.”
I couldn’t see my watch because my fingers were gliding through his so-soft hair, pulling his lips closer so they were once more moving against my neck. Bad. I knew I was being bad. Kevin needed me. He could be dying while I was letting a handsome mage tease me breathless. Creede’s hands were cupping my butt now. It felt so good. Then the hands paused and the whisper grew chiding. “Come on, Celia. Concentrate. I know you can get past this like you can get past your fears. There’s a time and place.”
The tone startled me, brought me out of my fog. My pulse slowed to near normal and I could think again. Now I knew what this was all about. Creede was a business first, pleasure second sort of guy. Just like me.
“And this isn’t the time. Right? I’m too busy avoiding the job to do the job well.” He’d been teasing me on purpose. Getting my mind shifted away from old worries and fears, onto a path toward new things. Including the task at hand. I took a deep breath and let it out slow. “Thanks, Creede.” Another thanks earned me another growl in my ear. I kissed him lightly on the cheek and pulled back. “I think I’ve got it out of my system.” Not the sex part, but the worry and fear. I felt calmer and he let a smile reach his eyes.
“Of course, you realize this isn’t over. As you can see, I was enjoying myself.”
I refused to look below his belt line. I had felt exactly how much he was enjoying himself. “Another time, in the far distant future.”
“Maybe. Or sooner than you think.” Now the old Creede was back, the ladies’ man who was a consummate flirt. Damn, he was good. He turned on his heel and headed toward the door. “Make sure you give that a good tryout. I’ll expect a written report when you get back from your job.”
I rolled my eyes and crossed suddenly solid arms over my vest. “Like I have time in my day to write reports? Pfft. I’ll call you.” I was feeling back to my old self and I was grateful. I hadn’t realized how much my nerves and memories had been getting to me.
He was in the doorway now and his eyes were sparkling merrily. “And I’ll take your call, provided you agree to have dinner with me to give me the details.” Was he asking me on a
His low chuckle made things inside me tighten again, but it made me smile, too. I’d been hurt a lot lately and Creede was a breath of fresh air—not too serious and not demanding. And there was respect there, both ways. Maybe that was exactly what I needed right now.
4
The fly worked just as well as it had in my office.
Unfortunately.
The camera revealed sights that sickened me. Sedated humans crammed into cages lining the dungeonlike basement of the “treatment center.” Cages. They seemed to be about the size for a Great Dane, made from steel bars as thick around as my wrist. There was no furniture, no toilet facilities. Just row upon row of cages filled with naked, comatose people curled into fetal positions. Even a Super Max prison had more amenities than this. “This is disgusting. We have to get them out of there.”
Edgar lowered the night-vision goggles he was using. “You can’t be serious.” His whisper sounded equally amazed and horrified.
“Keep your mind on the mission, Graves.” Jones’s voice was an annoyed hiss in my ear. “I wouldn’t have brought you if I’d thought this sort of thing would bother you.”
“Well, it does,” I snapped back quietly. “I wouldn’t put a dog in a cage where it couldn’t even sit up straight. What kind of life is that?”
He responded by pulling the fly’s case out of my hand. “Give me that joystick.” He started to move the fly and pushed my hand away when I tried to get it back.
“Damn it, Jones.”
Jones stared at me, his eyes blazing with internal fire. “Look at the screen, Graves.”
He was hovering the fly inside one of the cages. I didn’t want to look. It made my stomach hurt to think of that person’s life, or lack thereof. Jones made a disgusted sound, then repeated, tensely, “Look at the screen. Really look. No sores, no fleas, no dirt on this guy’s skin. He’s had a shower or bath sometime today. His underwear and shirt are snow-white. They look better than the ones in my dresser.”
Okay. Now I was forcing myself to look and Jones was right. There was no urine or feces, and if the guy had been caged for very long, there would be. “Oh. But…”
“Now look at the electrodes on his forehead,” Jones continued. “They’re inducing dreams. See the smile? Part of the treatment here is to provide normalcy, to keep the person remembering interactions that aren’t tainted with violence. Yes, he’s in a cage. Get over it. These are superhuman creatures who are very likely insane. If they had
