Authors: Cyndi Friberg
“Return us to your dwelling,” he ground out.
“Am I free to go once I do?”
“No. I might have need of you.”
Images erupted in her mind, naked skin and long strands of silky black hair. Heat pulsed through her apprehension. “Look. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“I’m not embarrassed.”
“I didn’t mean to make you angry.” She tried again.
Without warning, he pounced on her. His hands found her upper arms and dragged her across the console and back into his lap. She yelped as her hip hit the molded plastic, but she landed safely, her legs draped over her own seat.
“I haven’t been with a woman for a very long time,” he said, his voice rough and urgent. “Holding you, feeling your soft body pressed against me, stimulates my senses. I have been trying to keep my hands off you, to stop myself from doing this.” His mouth claimed hers. He shoved his fingers into her hair, guiding her head to a more comfortable angle. The initial aggression gave way to persuasion and—seduction. He teased the seam of her lips with slow sweeps of his tongue. She groaned and opened for him, inviting a deeper exploration.
She raised her arms to circle his neck and felt his hair curl around her fingers. She tugged off her other glove. Strands of his silky hair encircled those fingers too and she shivered. The subtle clicking of her coat’s zipper warned of his intent, but she couldn’t stop kissing him.
Did she really want to stop him?
His warm fingers played against her ribs, hovering there, waiting to see if she would protest. When she didn’t, he cupped her breast. Charlotte moaned into his mouth and he returned the sound with his spicy breath.
The heat of his palm sank right through the lacy material of her bra. It wasn’t enough. She wanted to be naked. She wanted to feel his hands and his mouth and his hair all over her tingling skin. Squirming against his palm, she felt her nipple tighten and ache.
Oh, she wanted his mouth there, suckling, firm and hot.
A distinct throb erupted deep in her body. She pressed her thighs together, wishing they had more room. Was that spicy scent an aphrodisiac? Some sort of alien pheromone?
He pushed her sweater up and captured her nipple through the fabric of her bra. It still wasn’t enough!
Impatiently, she snapped open the clasp with one hand and he gladly did the rest. His fingers stroked her breast while his mouth feasted upon its sensitive crest.
Her head bumped against the window. They needed a bed—badly. He continued to suckle while his hand danced down across her tummy to cup her sex through her jeans. Charlotte cried out. Why hadn’t he started this while they were still in the backseat?
He drew firmly on her nipple. She arched her back, pressing him against her, lost in the urgency consuming both of them.
Suddenly his head snapped up, his eyes wide, his features contorted with pain.
“Tal,” she cried.
He shook, his head falling back against the seat.
“He—is—here.” He forced each word out with great effort.
She framed his face with her hands, fear clawing through the remains of her passion. “Who? Joon?
What should we do?”
For several terrifying moments, he just shook, his jaw clenched, his eyes squeezed shut. “He’s not trying to mask his presence,” he finally said, his voice hoarse and strained. “He’s either very weak or he thinks I am.”
She waited until he relaxed and opened his eyes before she crawled back into her seat. Reaching under her sweater to fasten her bra, she tugged her clothing back into place. “What just happened? Is it always so painful to sense him?”
“No. He often goes to great lengths to change his energy pattern, making it difficult to detect him.” He released a deep, shaky breath. “I felt as if his pattern slammed into me. I don’t think he did it intentionally.”
“What would cause his signal to intensify like that?” Turning the car around, she headed back toward her cabin. Okay, so there really was a Joon.
That didn’t mean his presence here had anything to do with her.
She continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye. The experience had clearly left him shaken. Well, she felt a little shaken too. Was lust a valid reason for getting involved in an interplanetary manhunt?
“Any number of things can cause a mage to lose control.” He offered her a smile and a sidelong glance.
Now that their desire had cooled, she felt foolish.
She was nearly thirty years old and she’d been making out in the front seat of a car. Adults didn’t do things like that. Certainly not rational adults with law degrees!
“So why are
you
chasing Dez dar Joon? Are you a law enforcement officer?”
“I am a Master-level Mage.”
“I know that.” She rephrased the question. “What gives you the authority to apprehend him? Or is this personal?”
“Code regulator,” he said offhandedly.
“What?”
“I believe the Ontarian equivalent of law enforcement officer is code regulator.”
Even the sudden shock of Joon’s signal hadn’t dispersed Tal’s desire completely. If she’d pull this infernal contraption over, he’d be willing to rut with her in the snow. It didn’t make sense. Why did he respond to her so powerfully?
“I’m not a code regulator,” he went on, forcing himself to think about something other than her lush, responsive breasts. “Trey has that authority, but only a shape-shifter can sense another shape-shifter. I’m assisting my brother.” The situation was far more complicated than that. Still everything he said was true.
“Ontarian. Is that the name of your planet?”
“I have not told you the name of my homeworld?” She laughed. “You haven’t told me much of anything.”
“That is clearly an exaggeration.” He smiled.
“Ontariese is the name of my homeworld. I am Ontarian.”
“But you are not a code regulator. Your brother Trey is and he also commands the ship you were concerned about. So how do Master-level Mages spend their time when they’re not helping code regulators sense shape-shifters?”
“That depends on the mage.”
She made a growling sound and hit the navigation wheel with her open palm. “You are the most exasperating man on this—or any—planet. Can you ever just give a straight answer to a simple question?” His smile broadened. Why did he find her frustration charming? “Yours are not simple questions.”
“What do you do when you’re not chasing Joon all over the galaxy? Simple enough?”
“Many Ontarians have abilities Earthlings would find extraordinary. When these abilities first manifest, it is reported to the Conservatory. It is my responsibility to visit the homes of these children and assess their potential. The ones I deem worthy are invited to the Choosing.”
“You’re like a football scout, a recruiter,” she said.
He didn’t understand the reference, but she seemed pleased with the comparison.
“What happens at the Choosing?”
“The mages who are available and willing choose an apprentice.”
“Do you have an apprentice?”
His body tensed and he looked beyond the transparent plate in front of him. “My search for Joon has kept me from many things.”
“You said you didn’t know why this guy is looking for me. Why do you believe I’m his target?” They had arrived at her dwelling. Tal pivoted to face her as she tucked the keys into the small pouch concealed in the front of her coat.
“That is definitely not a simple question.”
“I’m capable of comprehending fairly complicated concepts, but you have to start answering my questions. I’m really very smart—for an Earthling.” He chuckled. “Shall we enter your dwelling before I begin?”
“And have you change your mind between here and the door? No way.” She reached beneath her and pulled on something that allowed her to move the seat back away from the navigation wheel. “Do you know why he’s searching for me—
if
I am this woman?”
“We are unsure of his motivation.”
“Who is
we
?”
“Vee and I. Vee is my mentor.”
She nodded. “And he is the one suffering from energy deprivation. What is his role in the search for Dez dar Joon?”
“Vee oversees the entire Conservatory. He is also a member of the Symposium.”
“The Symposium,” she murmured.
Tal sighed. “My world is complicated.”
“The Conservatory is the training facility for people with paranormal abilities. You haven’t actually said so, but it sounds like Master-level Mage is the highest level of training attainable. Dez dar Joon must have dropped out of the training program somewhere along the line because you said he hasn’t earned the title. If Vee is head master, I presume he is a Master-level Mage and more. You’ve never mentioned Trey as having any paranormal abilities. Is he a plain-Jane Ontarian?”
She displayed her ability to comprehend Ontarian complexities
quite
skillfully.
Tal
nodded,
acknowledging her accuracy. “Trey has no Mystic abilities, but he is the first son of the Royal House of Aune.”
“
Royal
House of Aune?” The words burst from her and she made a soft, nervous sound. “You never mentioned the royal part before. Are you an Ontarian prince?”
“Prince is an Earth term and my family is only acknowledged as royal by one of the two sects.” He sighed. “I suppose the simple answer is yes.”
“Kiss a toad and find yourself…” She dissolved into laughter.
He watched her regain composure, annoyed by her amusement.
“I’m freezing. Let’s go inside and you can tell me about the two sects and the Symposium.”
Tal couldn’t help but feel she was amusing herself at his expense. She would explain about kissing toads before he offered any more information.
He reached the elevated platform spanning the front of her dwelling before he realized she had lagged behind. He heard the mechanical growl of a conveyance. It sounded like Charlotte’s vehicle only deeper.
She stood beside her vehicle, clutching her shoulder bag to her chest with both hands. Her gaze was fixed on the transport making its way up the narrow roadway. Tal shifted back into his Earth form, uncertain what she would do. Surely she wouldn’t attempt escape after all he had told her.
Her head turned toward him and their gazes locked. Tal slowly shook his head. He saw her decision in her eyes an instant before she set her body in motion.
Revealing his presence would endanger his mission. It was a risk he would not take—and she knew it.
I’m sorry
. She mouthed the words then got in the vehicle with the intruder.
Sunlight gleamed off Rod Sanders’ wavy blond hair and his wide blue eyes stared back at her curiously. He looked like the all-American boy next door but Charlotte was far too anxious to fully appreciate his virile appeal.
“Hi there,” she said with an overly friendly smile while she climbed into the truck. “Get me the hell away from him!”
Rod glanced in Tal’s direction, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Who is he? What has he done?”
“Just drive!”
Slamming the truck into reverse, Rod backed down the driveway without another word.
Her heart thudded wildly. Wasn’t Tal going to make any attempt to stop her?
He couldn’t risk further exposure to Earthlings.
She answered her own question. He had no choice but to let her go.
“Has he harmed you?”
Why did Rod suddenly sound so formal? She looked at him but his eyes were fixed on the road ahead.
Hanging around with an alien is making you paranoid.
She took a deep breath and tried to ease the tension coiling in her belly but she couldn’t make herself relax.
What was she going to do? Would Tal just watch her until she was alone and then transport her back to the cabin? Could she really get away from someone with his power? She would just have to make sure she was never alone.
“Do you need medical treatment?” Rod asked.
There was that formality again. “Who was that man?”
“No medical treatment is necessary,” she teased, exaggerating his tense tone, but he didn’t respond to her humor. “He’s an ex-boyfriend. He heard about the fire and drove up to make sure I was okay. Then he proceeded to remind me why he is my
ex
-
boyfriend.” Plausible, shouldn’t lead to too many more questions.
“Are your parents still alive?”
Her head snapped toward him.
What?
She certainly hadn’t expected that one. “Why would you care?”
He still didn’t look at her and fear knotted Charlotte’s abdomen. “What were you doing at my cabin just now? I’m thankful for the ride, mind you, but what brought you by?”
“I was looking for you.”
The corner of his mouth quirked and Charlotte went cold. It couldn’t be… But she’d seen Tal take on someone else’s form. This wasn’t Rod!
“Do your parents yet live?”
“What difference could that possibly make to you?” Could he sense her fear? How long would it take him to realize she knew? “Look, Rod, just drop me at Sardy Field. I’m not in the mood for anyone’s games.”
“I must verify my information,” he said tersely.
“Just answer a few questions and you will come to no harm.”
They came to a fork in the road and he slowed the truck to a stop. She released her seat belt and frantically pulled on the door handle. Nothing happened. With a little yelp, she tried the window button. Useless!
“I have disabled the controls,” he said casually.
Rubbing her sweaty palms against her jeans, Charlotte tried to think.
Don’t panic. You have to remain
calm.
He turned off Highway 82 and drove deeper into the mountains.
“What do you want with me?” Everything Tal told her surged through her memory, mocking her and terrifying her.
“Answer my question.”
“No, my parents aren’t alive.” She offered no more information.
“When did they die? How did they die?”
How should she answer? What did he want to hear? What did he intend to do to her? Fear choked her. She could hardly breathe much less speak.
“I’ll make this even easier. Were they your natural parents or were you adopted?”