A knock at the door startled her.
“Sorry, it's just me.” Ava entered and stuffed her hands in her pockets.
“Oh, hello, Ava. How are you?”
Ava had been scarce lately, and even the others had commented on it. “I wondered if you could take a look at a friend of mine and see what's wrong with him.”
“Sure, if you'd like me to.”
Ava stared at her with those beautiful hazel eyes. Her coloring was so exotic.
She made Sheridan feel like a pale frump and a half. Even
changed
, Sheridan retained a softer aspect to her. Why would Jules not go for someone like Ava or Olivia? Both women were sexy and smart. Jules had looks, strength, and a commanding presence everyone respected. So why the hell was he interested in
her?
“Can I ask you something?” Ava asked.
“What?”
Ava shuffled her feet. Somehow, though she stood at the same height as Sheridan, Ava managed to look much taller. A self-confident woman who knew her worth.
“What can you tell about a person when you touch them?” Ava looked sincerely curious.
Sheridan turned on her stool to fully face her. “My hands get an itch when I'm around someone who's hurt. Not emotionally wounded, but physically pained. Even if the person isn't aware of it, I sense it. Like buried cancer cells or blood disease or that something in Circs that makes them turn rogue.”
“Hmm. Touch me.” Ava stepped forward and held out her hand to Sheridan.
“What do you sense?”
Sheridan took Ava's hand. To her surprise, she felt a kindred spirit. “You're like the others. You can heal yourself.”
Ava didn't blink. “What else?”
“I… Wait.” Sheridan held tight, then slowly ran her hands over Ava's arms. Up and over her shoulders to her neck. The curious tingling in her palms continued.
“Fascinating. May I?” she asked.
“Go ahead.”
Sheridan stroked Ava from top to bottom. From her head to her face to her chest, knees, and feet. Everywhere, the woman tingled. Jolts of energy pulsed likes sparks. “You're healthy, no physical injuries of any kind. But you're hot.”
“How so?”
Sheridan couldn't put her finger on it. “I don't know. You feel like Jules did when I first touched him. His Circ energy is intense, like yours,” she said slowly.
Like mine
. Sheridan looked into Ava's eyes and watched as Ava's pupils slowly narrowed and lengthened.
“Wow,” she said on a breath, still holding on to Ava's hands.
“Yeah. That's me. Miss Wow,” Ava muttered. She pulled back from Ava and stepped aside. “You felt that, all that heat? I'm healthy, right?”
Confused, Sheridan nodded.
“So how does my brother feel to you?” She turned to the door and yelled, “Come on in.”
Sheridan watched in horror as Grayson entered and shut the door behind him.
“Hello, Sheridan. It's been a while.”
* * *
In the Amazon jungle
Jules glared at Tersch as the big Circ dropped a dead rogue to the ground on top of the other bodies they'd amassed. “I thought I told you to cut that shit out. I had him. I didn't need you darting in front of me to deflect a bullet.” At such a distance, the fired round had bounced off Tersch's
changed
skin, as it would have bounced off Jules's.
“Sorry.”
Tersch didn't sound sorry. Before Jules could lay into him again, Morgan, Hayashi, and Fallon rejoined them while a Force Recon platoon secured the compound where they hoped to find Montaña. Fallon held a bloodied mercenary by the back of his neck in one clawed hand, and Hayashi held another in a white lab coat.
“This one says he doesn't speak English,” Fallon growled.
The silence in the jungle, but for the spatter of gunfire and swearing, felt as thick as the humidity drenching Jules in sweat. To his grim satisfaction, being here restored his memory. The hated tests, the sticky aboveground caves, the fucking rogues patrolling as security.
He and his team kept to the outskirts of the jungle, watching the operation go down. Though the US Marines had worked with them before,
changed
Circs still tended to distract warriors who didn't need to focus on anything but the mission. So for the most part, Jules and his team kept out of sight.
The intelligence Morgan had gathered finally led them to this place, where already a million dollars in drug money had been confiscated by discreet members of the United States's “nonexistent” black ops contingent.
“Surprised they used the jarheads on this,” Tersch muttered.
“Admiral London pulled some strings. Apparently they were already down here on some other business.” Jules stared at the man in the white coat and slowly smiled.
Hel-lo, payback
. “Hey, I know you.
Manoel
. Good to see you again.” Dr. Manoel Silva sputtered with fear. The mercenary in Fallon's hands tried to launch himself at Jules, but Fallon stopped him. The clash of Fallon's fist and the man's face proved fatal.
As Fallon withdrew his claws, he apologized. “Sorry, Jules. Wasn't paying enough attention.” He dropped the man to the ground and stepped closer to Dr.
Silva, now cowering in Hayashi's firm grip. “So how do you know this guy?” Jules flashed his fangs, pleased with the scent of terror wafting off the doctor.
“Manoel likes needles. He's Montaña's best friend. Used me like a pincushion last time I was here.”
Morgan smeared the camouflage on his face when he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Fucker.” He glared at Silva before turning back to his mate. “You know, I missed being home, but now that I'm back, I miss our air conditioner more.” Hayashi grinned. “Suck it up, princess.” He ignored the finger Morgan gave him and turned back to Jules. “So if Manoel is Montaña's best friend, maybe he can tell us where his buddy is. The perimeter is surrounded, but no one's seen a hint of Montaña in days.”
Jules had a bad feeling in the pit of his belly. He glared down at Silva. “Where is he?”
Silva whined and cried, pleading ignorance.
Hayashi opened his mouth to speak and froze instead.
The entire team waited for the psychic spoor of energy to settle. Tiny shards of power sparked around the Asian, and whenever Jules stood too close, the uncomfortable zaps of energy made his hair stand on end.
“Ah, I see,” Hayashi murmured. He handed Silva over to Morgan. “Let's get this guy into safekeeping. I'm sure between Fallon and Olivia, we'll get tons of shit out of him. Now it's time to go home. Scarface is coming for you, Jules. For you and Sheridan. You're going to have to give him what he wants this time, or Sheridan's going to die.”
Two hours later, after everyone had been taken into custody and the laboratory shut down, the Dawn Endeavor team left South America. “
Sheridan’s
going to die
” replayed in Jules's mind over and over as the flight dragged on. Jules couldn't wait to see his mate again, to touch her and stroke her hair, kiss her lips, brand her as his. Though Hayashi promised she'd be there waiting, Jules didn't trust his good fortune. He'd been so lost after he'd come back from that hell in the jungle the first time. And now that he finally had Sheridan back, he didn't want to lose her again.
Ever.
Nine hours later, after flying into the New River Air Station, Jules and the others headed home. This time, they had to pass not only the electronic gate and secured lock, but two psychic guards, courtesy of Admiral London.
“Great. Strange men at the house,” he muttered.
“Can't be any stranger than you bastards,” Morgan added under his breath. He sucked in a breath when Tersch's fist made contact with his arm. “Asshole.”
Fallon laughed.
Tersch grunted. “I'm telling you, Hayashi. You scraped the bottom of the barrel with this one. You should have gotten a better dude. Someone hotter maybe,” Tersch said with a critical frown. “And one with less mouth.” Hayashi answered in a calm voice, “I like his mouth just fine.” Which had Morgan snickering and Jules loosening up. He hadn't realized how tense he'd been, waiting to see Sheridan again.
“And speaking of mouths…” Tersch continued. “Jules, what's with this new female? She's kind of snarky, which I like. But she's connected to Montaña, which can't be good. So you keeping her or what? Because after what I saw her doing to you, I have to wonder. Your scent is all over her. And I don't know if I like that.” The others exchanged glances.
“
You
don't know if you like that?” What the hell did it matter what Tersch thought? Granted, he loved the guy like family, but Jules led the team.
“Oh boy,” Fallon murmured. “Here we go.”
“She might not be good for you, is all.” Tersch clenched his jaw tight and didn't look away when Jules glared at him.
The SUV finally pulled into the large stone circular drive. “We're going to continue this later. First I have to go see my
mate
,” Jules said with a low growl of promise and hurried to the front door.
“Mate?” Morgan shouted. “No shit.”
Jules heard the others talking excitedly behind him as he moved through the front door, past the guard inside who sized him up and nodded in welcome. None of the team should have been surprised by his admission. Though Jules hadn't openly stated his claim, his scent marked Sheridan better than words. But it still wasn't enough. He needed to solidify his position with his mate, so that she couldn't question where she belonged.
He hadn't been lying when he'd told her he wanted them to get to know each other. Unfortunately, he'd spent most of his time during the past few days out of the country. He lifted his head and tried to scent her.
Immediately, the sweet floral beacon drew him downstairs. He passed the few psychics Olivia, Fallon, and Mrs. Sharpe had okayed to be in the house while the team had been gone. Jules nodded to them, and they kept well out of his way.
“She's downstairs,” one of the braver telekinetics mentioned.
“Thanks.” Apparently everyone else knew he'd staked his claim. His beast growled in approval at the thought.
In the downstairs corridor, he nearly ran into Ava and a large male.
Ava smiled. “Welcome back, Jules. She's in the lab.” The big guy next to Ava didn't say much. He kept his gaze averted and nodded a hello.
Probably as attuned to Jules's alpha tendencies as the others. The psychic team reacted oddly to the Circs. Most of them kept a wary distance, which satisfied Jules. Because being around the fuckers made him want to beat on his chest and prove his dominance to the unfamiliar men. Strangely, his beast sensed like warriors in the dozen or so men attached to the security force. But the one with Ava had to be new. Jules hadn't seen him before.
Something about the male tugged at him, but before he could investigate, the scent of Sheridan hit him hard.
Ignoring Ava and the male, Jules picked up his pace and found his mate in the larger office she'd turned into her personal lab. She sat on her stool staring at the wall. Baffled, cute, and so sexy, he wanted to take her hard up against the wall she watched. No foreplay, just a hard, deep fuck. His beast snarled its agreement, and Jules took a long, deep breath to calm himself.
“Hey, baby.”
She squealed in fright and nearly fell off the stool.
He caught her, expecting a sarcastic setdown.
“God, you scared me.” Instead of yelling at him, she plastered her mouth to his.
He couldn't catch his breath as the whirlwind in his arms gave him the hard-on from hell.
“Oh, man, going at it already.” Tersch groaned from the doorway. “Come on, lovebirds. Mrs. Sharpe wants everyone upstairs. Emergency meeting, right now.” Jules didn't want to stop, but he managed to tear his mouth from Sheridan's and panted, “Fuck. Right now?”
“Sorry. You and your
mate
will have to take up after.” The mean look Tersch directed at Sheridan snapped the hold Jules had on his control.
He gently set Sheridan down, turned, and flew at Tersch. Slamming the stupid berserker against the wall, Jules pulled back his fist, ready to remind Tersch about the current hierarchy in leadership. Mates ranked right up there with team leaders.
“Jules! What are you doing?”
“Teaching Tersch when to learn to shut his fucking mouth,” Jules growled, sensing the frustration and the hurt in his Circ. Since his friend responded best to pain, Jules though he'd use it to enforce his point.
“Don't hit him.” Sheridan sounded worried.
“I don't need you to fight my battles for me, red,” Tersch sneered.
She nudged Jules aside and poked Tersch in the chest. “My name is Sheridan, you big jerk.”
Her aggression startled both men into silence.
“And it's my lab, so I'll say whatever the hell I want to say. You two want to fight, take it upstairs. Now,” she added in a mean voice when neither Jules nor Tersch moved.
Tersch must have seen something in Sheridan's eyes, because he stopped bracing himself for Jules and leaned closer. “Tell me I did not just see that.” He licked his lips, and to Jules's unease, Sheridan stared at his mouth.
“See what?” she growled in a tone much rougher than the one she normally used.
Jules glanced at her hand and saw the shimmer of her sharpening claws.
“Have you shifted at all since we've been gone?” he asked quietly.
She blinked and pulled back from Tersch. “Ah, shifted?”
“Yeah,
changed
into your beast? That sexy creature that took me so lovingly just a few night ago?” He wanted her again, right now. He wanted Tersch to watch, so that the male would know exactly who Sheridan belonged to.
“Jules, shush.” Sheridan's face heated, and he turned her head to plant a kiss on her lips.
Tersch's eyes were huge. “The mating heat is strong. She's Circ? When were you going to tell us?”
“Asshole, I told you I mated her.”
“I'm not Circ.” Sheridan shook her head.
“No?” Tersch sniffed. “Smells like Circ to me. Nice, flowery, wild. But you smell like him too. And I don't know, but…”
Sheridan frowned. “But what?” Before Tersch could answer, she swore under her breath. “I don't belong to anyone. I'm a woman, unattached, who's thinking about having a civilized relationship with Julian Hawkins. I've been thinking, Jules.”