McKinley could only lay there, staring at the ceiling in shock. His arms had moved of their own accord, his beast not willing to let Rogers—
Hale
—escape.
This
was what he'd been missing. This complete and total sense of inner peace. His and Hale's scents had merged, and now a pleasant aroma of vanilla and evergreen lay over the room. The only thing missing from this scenario was Paige.
He stroked Hale's back, surprised and overjoyed that the man didn't try to leave again. If anything, he moved his ear closer to McKinley's heart. A rumbling moved through Hale into him. Dear God, he—they—were
purring
. He'd heard about a few instances of such in the labs, but he hadn't believed it to be true. Circs purred when content, and most of the rogues in Pearson Labs were anything but.
Hale sighed, his breath stirring McKinley's left nipple into a hard nub. Though the desperation to claim Hale had faded, his arousal seemed to be rousing again. Amazed that instead of an aching lust, he felt a sense of pride and tenderness toward Hale, once again smaller than himself. McKinley didn't know what to think.
“We need to talk,” Hale murmured. His palm drifted over McKinley's broad chest, and he toyed with one taut nipple.
Heat streaked through him. “So talk. And move your hand, while you're at it,” he grumbled.
Unless you want another load in that fine ass.
“Sorry.” Hale removed his hand as if burned. On a sigh, he tried to slide away.
“It's okay. Stay.” He hoped Hale wasn't looking at his face, because it felt hot.
Embarrassed that he wanted to maintain contact, McKinley wasn't sure how to act.
He'd never in his life felt so confused about anyone, with the exception of Paige.
Hale settled back onto him but levered himself on his arms to look down. Their gazes caught and held. “For someone so ugly, you make me awfully hard.” Startled at the teasing note he hadn't expected to hear, McKinley grinned back.
“Back at ya, playboy.”
Hale frowned. “How did you know they call me that?” And so the “honeymoon” ended. He groaned. “Maybe you'd better get off me so we can talk. Circ to Circ.” He coughed and reached for his jeans. “And maybe we'd better cover up.”
Before I fuck you again.
“Good idea.” Hale flushed and turned away. He reached in a drawer and threw on a pair of shorts.
Once standing and facing one another, McKinley started. “I've been working for Pearson Labs for three years.”
“Yeah, as Pearl's bodyguard.”
“That's what he thought.”
“Oh?
Oh…
So you're telling me you killed Pearl?” McKinley scowled. “What the hell kind of leap in logic is that? No, I didn't kill Pearl. I wish I knew who did. I'd hang a fucking medal on him.”
Or her
. He thought of Paige. “I work for someone else interested in what the labs are up to.”
“You're kidding. So you aren't one of Pearl's boys? But you're Circ. How do you explain that?”
“I don't, not yet. Hell, even Paige doesn't know everything about me.”
Even I don’t
know everything about me
. Anytime he tried to remember, the headaches and the attacks started.
“But you tried to kill me and Derrick. You threatened Sabrina.”
“Come on, Hale. If I'd wanted you idiots dead, you wouldn't be sitting here right now. And yes, I threatened Sabrina, because she'll get herself killed if she goes back to the labs. Pearl had ugly plans for her. For all of you, eventually.” Hawkins's gruff request for assistance replayed in his mind's eye. “A lot of people are depending on me to stop Pearson Labs.”
“Hey, I'd like nothing better than to burn that place to the ground. For some reason, they've let us be for years, and Doc's ordered us to leave them alone. I used to think it was because he didn't want to put us in danger. Then I thought it was because of his ties to Elliot. You know they're half brothers.”
“I know. What Doc probably doesn't know is that Pearson Labs wasn't under Elliot's control for the last two years. New management's taken over.”
“Yeah, we figured that out. But we don't know who it is.” McKinley smiled and felt his fangs rip through his gums at the prospect of hunting down and killing Kohl. “I do. And when I'm done with him, he'll wish he'd never laid eyes on me.” Knowing he needed to fill in Doc and the others, and not wanting to go through it twice, McKinley sighed. “You think I could tell you all at once?
And I'd like to see Paige.”
Hale nodded. “Good idea. Why don't we—I mean—
you
can shower first, if you want.” He blushed again, and McKinley grinned. “Fuck off, you monster.” The insult rolled off his back. From Hale, the word “monster” sounded like an endearment. And Hale's blush contradicted the gruff warrior McKinley knew him to be.
“Monster, huh? You mean my monster cock, don't you? That big shaft that has you aching to suck it whole? You like my cum, don't you, playboy?” He could smell Hale's arousal, and he ached to take him again. “Sure you don't want to share the shower?”
Hale's shorts tented in front of him. “Dammit. Leave my hormones alone. Take your shower and clean up. I'm going to have a helluva time explaining you after bringing Paige home when she and I, ah…”
McKinley froze. “When you what?”
Hale met his gaze. “Damn it. We had sex, okay? We couldn't help it. Just like with you and me,” he muttered and ran a hand through his hair. He faced McKinley as if facing a firing squad. “I'm sorry. I tried to resist her, I did. But then her scent hit me in the SUV. That small, cramped space filled with the sweet scent of cherries. All that Circ need, just the two of us… I lost it.”
The image in McKinley's mind turned him on more than it should have, but he kept his cool. “Did Paige enjoy it?” he asked softly.
Hale swallowed. “Yeah, we both did.”
McKinley nodded, turned on his heel, and entered the bathroom alone. The beast inside him purred again. His mates, together, so close… But the man felt hurt. The woman he loved had been with Hale, another Circ. Somehow, when she'd had sex with human men, he'd been able to disregard it. She needed, and he couldn't give it to her.
But Hale could; he had.
Wishing he could wash away the confusing hurt as easily as he washed away the grime over his body, McKinley took his time in the shower. Rationally, he understood what had happened. If Hale had felt an inkling of what McKinley had for him, then he couldn't have denied himself with Paige. Still, he needed to do something to vent his anger. He took longer than necessary to rid himself of the need to maim Hale. Once washed and dried, he held a large towel around his waist.
When he passed Hale on the way out to wait in his bedroom, Hale stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I'm sorry. I know she loves you, and I get the sense you love her right back. I feel like shit, and it's not my fault,” he said through gritted teeth.
McKinley sensed regret, arousal, and an odd ache.
He hurts because I hurt
. Amazed, he regarded Hale with less upset and less rage. “You want to make it better?”
“Yeah.” Hale warily stepped back. “I do.”
McKinley dropped his towel and gripped his erection. “Get in the shower.”
“Shit. This is gonna hurt, isn't it?”
“Yes, it will. For one of us.”
Hale looked like he wanted to argue. He clenched his fists, frowned, and blew out a breath. “Dammit. I knew you were going to be trouble. My beast won't answer me.
What the hell did you do?”
“Nothing. Probably your guilty conscience at work.” McKinley couldn't have been more pleased. The rare times a Circ had failed to call forth his beast at Pearson Labs, Elliot had tied the instances to emotional, not physical, wounds. Hale honestly regretted hurting McKinley. The jerk
cared.
Hale groaned. “I am so fucked.”
“Yes, you really are.”
Simon Dunn stared at the pictures of Paige Masters and Hale Rogers on his desk.
Paige looked as pretty in her photograph as she'd been five years ago when they'd dated. Rogers looked like a wild beast, his eyes glowing, his body inhumanly large and brutally strong. Elliot had hoped to breed the two. Something about Rogers's background appealed to Elliot, but damned if Simon could make heads or tails of his notes.
Punching several numbers into his phone, he called for Dr. Eckles. While waiting, he glanced from Paige's photo to the rest of his spacious office. So far, so good. His plan to climb the ranks in Pearson Labs had finally paid off. With Torrence gone, Pearl dead, and McKinley now missing, he had only two more major hurdles before he could take control of Pearson Labs: Kuntz and Kohl.
Senator Richard Kuntz wouldn't be a problem. The pussy loved the thought of being in charge, but he didn't have the stomach to do what needed to be done. Killing mutants and indoctrinating new Circs took a special hand. Simon considered himself perfect for the job. Though he had a less than stellar track record, he'd still done more to advance Pearl's agenda than any other PPA operative had.
Because of Simon, they'd captured Kelly Malloy. Through his efforts, they'd learned that Sabrina Torrence wasn't who she'd said she was. The bitch had actually sabotaged the initial Project Dawn. Incredible. And this latest piece of news, that McKinley wasn't a star performer, but one of Elliot's pet projects and a traitor at that, had made Simon a star.
General Kohl, his toughest obstacle, now treated him like a favored son. Though
Harold
didn't trust anyone, he called on Simon for more and more help. Playing it cool, Simon did whatever Kohl demanded with a keen attention to detail, which the general appreciated. Simon also took the initiative to further his own agenda.
In order to successfully run Pearson Labs once he eliminated Kohl and Kuntz, Simon needed a top science department in his pocket, as well as rogue Circs in his control. The strongest team, led by Hawkins and Hayashi, promised success. Especially since they knew they owed Simon for saving their asses after they'd lost McKinley.
Simon burned at thoughts of that freak on the loose. Though he didn't believe McKinley to be in league with Doc and his men, something about McKinley didn't fit.
More than his abnormal Circ appearance and attributes, McKinley had an ability to look through a person and instill fear that Simon envied. Still, admiration for the male didn't mean McKinley wasn't disposable. If anything, his strength and apparent loyalty to Kuntz would have been a problem, had McKinley still been in the labs. Grateful that Kohl had taken care of that problem, at least, Simon set into motion the next part of his plan.
Dr. Eckles knocked at his open door.
“Come in, come in.” Simon gestured for the man to enter.
Eckles did so, closing and locking the door behind him. He carried a small bag filled with Simon's weekly injection.
Simon tilted his head to the side and waited, pleased at the fear he could now smell wafting from Eckles like a cologne. The serum Eckles had perfected worked nearly as well as Elliot's. Too bad Elliot hadn't approved of Simon taking it without his permission. As if Elliot had any right to caution a willing test subject on the dangers of experimental gene therapy.
Simon waited for the ungodly pain to hit.
Eckles pushed the plunger into his neck, then quickly withdrew it. He leaped back from Simon, cautious after that last belt in the face.
Simon swallowed his pain but couldn't help the tremors that shook him. He wiped the red tears from his eyes and the inevitable nosebleed. For a moment, his vision swam with darkness. And then it vanished, and he felt ten times stronger.
“May I take a few notes?” Eckles asked meekly.
Simon nodded. “Go ahead. And while you're at it, tell me if you've heard anything more about Subject 31.”
Eckles took Simon's temperature, blood pressure, and asked several questions about Simon's state of health. After jotting down his notes, Eckles tucked away his notebook and sat across from Simon's desk. “Subject 31 is still nowhere to be found.
Our mutants haven't traced her scent, nor have our PPA and rogue Circs seen her.
There's been little movement at the compound, but we can't be sure about Circe's Recruits' involvement. From what I've gathered from Elliot's notes, however, I doubt Subject 31 would go there.”
“Why is that?” Simon still got hard remembering Paige's loveliness. He'd been more than willing to have sex with her all those years ago. Elliot had thought she might finally
change
if introduced to enough stress, while Simon had prayed she wouldn't. The thought of fucking not only a beautiful woman, but Elliot's precious daughter, had been too much of a temptation to resist. Elliot had been overjoyed when Paige displayed Circ tendencies. So much so that he'd overlooked Paige's accusations of attempted rape.
Simon had countered that she'd been in heat, and that she'd aggressively tried to challenge him. Elliot had bought the explanation, that or he hadn't wanted to acknowledge how cold he was to offer his daughter to a bastard like Simon.
The sheer genius of Simon's plan sat in his mind, his alone to savor. Oddly enough, Simon found himself missing his old partner and friend, Vincent Hoff, who'd died six months ago. Vincent had had the same appetites as Simon. Unfortunately, he'd been torn apart by a rogue Circ. Ah, well, at least he'd gone out swinging.
“Mr. Dunn?”
“Sorry, Eckles, my mind wanders a bit after the drug. Must be McKinley's rebellious blood at work.” He smiled, pleased at the irony of the situation. The control drug that turned Circs into mutants turned humans into supermen. If Kohl and Kuntz weren't such pussies, they'd have realized the applications and tried the control drug themselves.
“As I was saying, I don't think Subject 31 will attempt to see Dr. Evan Dennis.
While undergoing treatment here, Elliot often spoke of his half brother. He seemed to like the man, and if you consider how much Paige Masters loathed her father, it would only be natural that she hated anyone he particularly liked. To her, Dr. Dennis probably seems like an extension of Elliot.”
“Hmm, good point. But we can't be too sure of anything.” Dreamily, Simon imagined capturing the Circ females he'd once lost. Caitlyn Chase, Sabrina Torrence, and Paige Masters. He envisioned them chained in one of the subbasement cells, waiting on their knees to serve him. God, the things he would do…