Authors: Lynda Aicher
It was her own dumb fault that she was in the situation to begin with and she would get herself out. Hopefully before her family found out.
“Would you stop it?” the angry stranger demanded as he brought his arm around her back and held her in a vise grip to his hard chest. His deep blue eyes were ablaze with emotion. What exactly, she didn’t want to contemplate.
Before she could respond, he stepped back and waved a hand around in a circle over his head.
Damn
. She could feel the energy field going up as he cast the circle around them. Now, she was truly trapped.
“There,” he said shoving her away from him, dropping the hold on her wrists. He set his hands on his hips and looked down at the ground for a brief second, his lips compressed into a tight line. When he lifted his head, his face was blank and emotionless, giving no hint to what was going on inside his head. “You can’t escape and you know it, so stop fighting. Give me the answers I want and maybe I won’t kill you.”
Her fists tightened and clenched. It galled her that he was right and he knew it. Once a circle was cast, the only energy that could enter or exit was defined by the one who created the circle. And since people were made of energy that meant she was trapped until he decided she could leave.
That, coupled with the energy collar around her neck that prevented her from accessing her own energy or using the energy around her, left her completely screwed.
How in the hell had she let herself get captured? She forced herself to relax and absently rubbed her hands over the spot where he’d held her wrists as she took a second to get her bearings. By the looks of it, they were in an abandoned farm silo. The circular structure was at least four stories tall and capped with a cone shaped roof. The metal walls were rusted around the rivets and sported holes in some places around the top. Traces of grain were scattered across the floor and mingled with mouse droppings that left a stale, barn odor to the space.
“Obviously, you’re a Shifter spy. What were you looking for outside our compound?” The question rang sharp and angry through the metal tower.
Airiana gave him her best sneer. “Like I’d tell you.”
He looked her up and down, then started to move in a slow, taunting pace, following the perimeter of the building. His boots clumped against the cement floor, his hands still tightly clenched against his narrow hips.
He was stalking her. Trying to intimidate her. It wouldn’t work.
She stood in the middle and moved in time with him, keeping her body facing his. He would not catch her unprepared again. She used the opportunity to size him up. It was time she found his weakness and used it.
His blond hair was windblown and tousled in a careless but completely male way that left longer pieces draped across his forehead and the ends curled up in a manner that begged for a female to tame them. As if he was tamable.
His height at an easy six and a half feet was probably intimidating to humans, but was the norm for his race and didn’t cause her concern. At six feet herself, she knew she could stand her own against him in a fight or anything thing else he attempted.
He had a hard, chiseled face that showed hints of laughter in the small creases she’d seen up close and personal at the corner of his eyes. She licked her lips at the memory of how close he’d been. At how nice his lean, hard body had felt pressed against hers. The black jeans he wore had done nothing to hide his desire as he’d rubbed it between her thighs. Just the thought of it had her nipples tightening in traitorous arousal.
Damn him.
The wind gusted and howled against the building, causing the metal to shake and rattle in a valiant attempt to stay upright. The sound thundered around them and gave her the feeling of being trapped inside a tin can.
Airiana shoved her hands in her coat pockets, but kept her knees loose and body prepared as he continued to circle around her. Waiting. Playing. Taunting.
“It would be in your best interest to cooperate,” he said once the wind quieted down.
“It would be in your best interest to let me go,” she tossed right back.
“Why?” He arched a brow in question. “It’s clear that I have the advantage.”
“Do you? I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
His mouth turned up at the corner in a confident smirk. “I’m very sure of that.”
Her hand was out of her pocket, a throwing star exiting her fingers and whizzing across the space before he’d finished his sentence. He roared when he failed to duck fast enough, and the sharp device clipped his ear, effectively wiping the damn smirk off his face.
“First rule of engagement—always make sure your opponent is disarmed before you set them free.” She couldn’t resist adding in the jibe even as she spun, crouched and let loose with another star.
The second one spun like a tiny, deadly saw blade straight for his forehead. Not waiting to see if hit its mark, Airiana dove to the side in a well-practiced diversion move and was just regaining her footing when she was jerked violently into the air by invisible fingers. Her body was tossed across the cylinder until her back slammed into the metal wall with enough force to leave a dent.
She sucked in a breath against the pain that radiated down her spine and up across the back of her head. She withheld a moan by clamping down on her tongue until it bled, the tangy, metallic taste sprang to life in her mouth. The hidden force tightened the hold around her neck, arms and legs and kept her suspended against the building, her feet dangling a good three feet from the floor. Her arms were spread wide and pinned to the wall where she hung like a sacrificial lamb strung-up for slaughter. Cursing silently, she closed her eyes and refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her distress.
“Not so cocky now, huh?”
His voice was low, close. She could hear him moving around her where he held her pinned to the rusted wall.
Pulling deep, she mustered her bravado and quirked the corner of the mouth up. “Second rule of engagement—force your opponent to show their power as early as possible.”
He growled again, the low rumble stoked her confidence.
“Check.” The soft click of her tongue emphasized the taunt.
The pressure tightened around her neck, squeezing the metal collar into her skin and forcing her to lift her chin up higher in an unsuccessful attempt to get more air to her lungs. With her eyes still shut, every sound was amplified as her senses strained to pinpoint his location. The wind picked that moment to hammer at the poor excuse for a building, rocking the interior with the hollow echo of diffused air.
“Thanks for reminding me, sweet cheeks.” The soft puff of hot breath against her ear made her flinch in surprise. She tried to jerk away, but couldn’t. The words vibrated down her ear canal and sent unwanted shivers down her spin.
She felt a hand run up the inside of her leg and her eyes flew open. “What are you doing?”
“Checking for weapons, of course.” Again, his deep voice rumbled against her ear, his hair stoking against her cheek. He smelled of the outdoors—fresh, clean with a hint of danger. “I wouldn’t want to miss any, especially after you showed just how lax I’ve been.”
The hand moved over her knee and continued up toward the center of her body. Heat bloomed on her cheeks while fire began to rage in her core. The dragon popped his head up and spun in a quick dance of excitement. But even worse than that, the energy sang. It pumped through her despite the collar and enticed her to enjoy. To give in and accept the pleasure. It pulled at her, begged her to succumb. Why? How was he doing that to her? Why this man? This
Energen
?
Resisting, she bit her lip and clenched her teeth against the need as his hand glanced over her sex and headed back down the inside of her other leg.
“Nope, nothing there,” he teased right before he nipped at her earlobe.
“Uncle,” she cried.
“What?” His hand stopped high on her inner thigh, the heat burning through her jeans to singe the tender skin beneath.
“Uncle, damn you,” She whispered, giving in, unable to withstand the temptation he offered and afraid of what might happen if she let the game persist. His low chuckle grated against her nerves even as he removed his hand and stepped back. An inch.
“And just when things were getting fun.” The challenge glared in his eyes, but she wasn’t taking the bait. She gritted her teeth and told him where her weapons were hidden. Her breath held deep in her chest as he slowly retrieved each one, making every brush against her body a deliberate and taunting caress. It wasn’t until the last weapon cleared her body that she slowly released the held air and let herself breath.
He assessed her from head to toe, a clear look of victory crowing in his gaze. “Now, your name.”
She glared, then looked away. He stepped closer, lifted his hand and moved it straight for her breast.
“Airiana,” she spit out quickly, all thought of lying forgotten in her haste to halt his intent. Truly, it wasn’t him she feared, but her own body. Her nipples were already tight little pebbles of irritation after the contact during the weapon removal process.
“Airiana,” he repeated like he was testing the sound as it rolled languidly off his tongue. His lips curled up in apparent approval. “Soft, exotic, tempting…a lot like you. Well, except the soft part.” He chuckled at his own joke.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she gritted out. “Now, will you let me down? You’ve more than shown off your impressive mastery of the element of air, and my arms are starting to go numb.”
In truth, she would rather hang there all day than ask him for anything, but there was no way to defend herself in her current position. The complete vulnerability, total exposure to him, left her feeling weak and she couldn’t handle that. She’d rather grovel for leniency than be at his mercy for a second longer than necessary.
“So you like my powers, do you?” He took another step back. “And I haven’t even shown you the really good stuff. You must be easy to impress. I’ll have to remember that.”
“Easy?” she scoffed. “Not hardly. I was just trying to stroke your oh-so-fragile Energen ego in an attempt to get my way.”
“Not very effective if you tell me what you’re doing.”
She clamped her lips shut and held her tongue despite every urge she had to respond. Surprisingly, she felt the hold on her arms, legs and throat loosen and with unexpected gentleness, her body was slowly lowered to the ground. Her legs gave out briefly as the blood rushed through the limbs, but she held her weight, refusing to fall. She braced a hand against the cold metal wall while the blood pumped back through her numbed appendages.
Airiana looked him over and made an attempt to even the playing field. “So who are you?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Your captor.”
She straightened and pushed away from the wall. “Your name?”
His arms crossed over his chest and he narrowed his eyes in contemplation. “Rule of engagement number three—always keep the odds in your favor. So, why would I want to balance the odds when I clearly don’t need to?”
She clenched her jaw, his arrogance grating on her nerves. The fact that he knew what she was trying to do and threw her own taunting word game back at her only irritated her more. Whatever game he was playing, she would best him. Her pride wouldn’t let her lose.
Even if some hidden part of her wanted to.
Chapter Four
Louk held his arms crossed tightly over his chest and resisted the urge to rub at his aching ear. Bloody hell, the insufferable woman actually clipped him with a throwing star. For some damn reason, he was almost proud of her.
Which was just damn insane. He certainly couldn’t be attracted to a Shifter. Shouldn’t even be thinking like that. He was only playing her to get what he wanted.
Giving himself a hard mental shake, Louk focused on the lethal beauty and thought of dog shit. Anything to get back to thinking with his mind instead of his dick. He had brought her there to get information on his brother. He needed to do the job and be done.
A trail of sweat made its way down his back, his body heated despite the coldness around them. The abandon silo had been the first place he’d thought of when he’d grabbed her. It served its purpose, but wasn’t exactly oozing with warmth.
He took a slow, measured step toward her. “This verbal sparring game is really quite interesting, but it’s getting us nowhere.” He took another step and relaxed his arms to his sides. “Maybe we should go back to the other approach that got you talking so quickly.”
He took another step closer. Her shoulders pulled back.
Another step. Her chin came up.
Another step. Her eyes narrowed.
One more would put him within arm’s reach. Already, he could feel the energy pushing at him. Like a giant shove to his back, urging him on. Almost goading him into it. What was the deal?
He smiled and gave her another suggestive once over. He made sure his voice was low and husky when he finally spoke to her. “Are you going to talk? Or do I need to help you with that?”
“Touch me and I’ll break every finger that does.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Sounds like a challenge, sweet cheeks.” Her lips clenched together at his endearing insult. He held up his pointer finger, taunting her with the digit. “You only need to answer a few questions. Is that really so hard?”
Her chest puffed up and down as her irritation mounted. The movement only serving to pull his attention to her nicely rounded breasts displayed beneath the thin T-shirt her open jacket exposed. Truly, she had the body of a goddess. Tall, slim, toned. Exactly what he liked—if it wasn’t stacked around the soul of a Shifter.
At her silence, he took the last step forward and stretched the finger toward her, stopping just a fraction from the tip of her pert little nose. To her credit, she kept her gaze focused on him, not his finger. Her hot breath caressed his hand and warmed his fingers.
“What’s it going to be?” He waved the finger back and forth in front of her nose.
“Try it.”
It was a quiet dare. Her eyes flashed dark excitement, the anticipation virtually jumping from them.