Circe's Recruits 3: Derrick (4 page)

Evan and Ace stepped into the elevator and went down one floor. Once there, they traveled down a clean hallway painted a cheerful yellow. Several rooms remained empty, while a few others had been used just hours ago. Evan monitored his Circs daily, always conscious of his responsibilities.

Since the termination of Project Dawn, Evan had used his vast wealth and resources to make a home for the last of Circe’s Recruits, these five men he thought of as his family. In the past few months, they’d added two female Circs to their small group. Evan tended to their medical needs, studied their evolution, and provided them with a mission -- to rout the crazed Circs Elliot continued to manufacture. Once they finally took care of Elliot and his new “Project Dawn,” Evan had an idea of where the Circs might take their future.

But he knew his own future couldn’t exist until he’d dealt with his past.

He only wished he knew what the others would think if they knew the whole truth.

Would they condemn him, or accept him? Would they understand, or would they want nothing more to do with him? He felt a sweat break out at the thought. Roane, Hale, Zack, Ace, and Derrick meant the world to him. He thought of Kelly like a daughter, and he was coming to love Caitlyn as much as Roane did. He didn’t want to lose them, but he didn’t know how much longer he could go on living with this burden.

“Doc, you okay?” Ace asked, concerned.

Doc patted Ace’s arm. His troubles could keep another day. He had an unconscious woman to deal with, one with secrets of her own. “I’m fine, Ace.” For now.

Sabrina’s mouth felt like cotton, her temples throbbed, and her body ached. Groaning, she blinked into awareness. She lay on a bed under a soft, warm comforter. Bright rays of sun shone through a window to the right of the bed, landing on the large feet of the man who wouldn’t leave her thoughts, or apparently, her presence. He sat in a leather chair with a magazine open on his lap.

“Packard?” She sounded more like a frog than a woman and coughed to clear her throat.

“Finally.” He tossed the magazine to the floor, stood, and stretched, calling attention to his superbly conditioned body. Even wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans he looked downright edible. Sexy, dangerous, an inner instinct rumbled, setting off internal alarms.

Packard stilled and stared at her with such intensity, he scared her. For just a minute, a flash of inhuman, slitted pupils looked back at her. Not good. She’d seen firsthand what the savage Circs at Pearson Labs could do, and it wasn’t pretty.

“What are you?” Packard asked as he stepped closer.

She scooted back in the bed, relieved to find herself clothed in a baggy sweatshirt and matching pants. He continued to approach until he was all but on top of her, while she tried to blend in with the headboard. His mouth opened, showing sharp canines, and she froze.

She waited for him to rip into her throat and end her supposed threat to his team.

Instead he sniffed her, and her damned libido kicked into high gear.

Angry at herself for showing fear, but more, at him for screwing with her hormones that couldn’t decided if she was turned on or scared, she went on the offensive. “What the hell are you doing?”

Derrick gripped her shoulders, holding her in place. The heat from his hands traveled through her shoulders directly to her breasts, where her nipples hardened like marbles.

Painful, arousing, and embarrassing, especially when he locked on to her breasts and rumbled with what sounded like satisfaction.

“Get off me.” She squirmed in his hold.

He tightened his grip, not looking very happy himself. “Dammit. I’m trying to see --”

“Derrick, is she awake?” Doc asked as he walked into the bedroom. Conveniently ignoring Packard’s threatening stance, Doc smiled at her. “Good morning, Sabrina. How do you feel?”

Packard muttered under his breath, let her go, and backed away. He stood behind Doc with his arms folded over his chest, looking properly intimidating. Tall, dark, and handsome, but with a twist. This guy wasn’t anyone’s knight in shining armor. Sabrina compared him instead to the dragon terrorizing the townspeople.

“Sabrina?”

She turned to Doc, blushing because she’d been so immersed in Packard that she’d missed what he said. “I’m sorry. What’s that, Dr. Dennis?”

“Call me Doc.”

“Okay, Doc.”

“Why don’t we let you get cleaned up before breakfast? You’re about Caitlyn’s size, so these clothes should fit.” He motioned to a pair of jeans and a sweater sitting on the dresser and fiddled with his glasses. “I’m sorry about the lack of undergarments, but you’ll have to make do until we can go shopping. Derrick is here to help you if you have any problems.”

“Help me? He looks like he wants to eat me.” The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. Think, then talk, Sabrina.

Derrick, damn him, gave her a huge, toothy grin. “Not a bad idea, princess.” His glance lingered over his breasts, making them feel tight and heavy.

“Derrick.” Doc frowned. “If I need to get Roane for this detail, I will.”

“I’ll behave. Go on, Doc. I promise not to eat our prisoner.” He sighed and amended,

“Guest,” at Doc’s glare.

“Circs.” Doc shook his head and left the room.

Leaving Sabrina alone with Packard.

He looked over his shoulder. Apparently seeing Doc gone, he turned around and stepped close again. He seemed to have no appreciation for personal space. “Okay, Torrence. Out with it.”

“Out with what?”

“What are you?”

“Why do you keep asking me that? What do you think I am?” She held her arms out wide, for once using her body as a distraction. Like honey, her breasts attracted his beeline stare.

“A woman, no doubt.” Packard sniffed at her again. To her dismay, a part of her liked his interest, even welcomed it. “And something more. Lie to Doc if you want. But don’t lie to me.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Rising to stand on the bed, she stood a good foot taller than him. Liking her small advantage, she glared down at him. “Stop threatening me. I put myself at real risk to help you people. A thank-you wouldn’t be out of line.” She used her best petty officer voice, one that had worked so well in the Navy to put her sailors in line.

Packard didn’t blink an eye when he yanked her off the bed in a move so fast she had no time to deny him. Caught in his hold, now on the floor and a good bit shorter than the rough giant, she could only watch as he eliminated the slim distance between them.

“Don’t push me, princess. I don’t care what you did, only who you work for. I’m not falling for your bullshit, so stop with the come-ons. How about some truth, for a change?” Come-ons? What the hell is he talking about? “You’re one egotistical ass if you think I want you anywhere near me.” She deliberately ignored the excitement pounding through her veins. “I don’t like bullies, and I sure as hell don’t like Circs. If you think for one minute I’m lying about that, you can go --”

His lips stopped the obscenities from landing on his head. Time stood still as the first taste of Derrick Packard exploded in her system. The kiss was far from gentle. Lust rolled through her body with the force of a hurricane as he demanded a reaction. Unable to resist, she met his fierceness. Pushing harder against his mouth, grinding her nipples against his firm chest, she thought she heard him groan but couldn’t be sure past the pounding of her heart.

He tasted fresh, like toothpaste, and more, like candy. Cinnamon spice that addicted her better than any drug. His teeth were flat and even, his tongue commanding as he plunged into her mouth. He licked and stroked with raw need, easily showing her how masterfully he’d use his body when -- if -- they finally came together.

She didn’t know when she’d put her hands around his neck, but suddenly she was pulling him closer. Pleased with the erection shoving against her belly, she nearly begged him for more when he palmed her ass and ground against her crotch.

He tore his mouth from hers and nipped the column of her throat. “That’s it, princess.

Show me how much you don’t want me.”

“I…don’t…” She could barely breathe, awash in sensation. Never before had she been so aware of her body. How soft she was in contrast to the hard man against her.

“Mmm, show me some more.” Packard ran his hands up her body, along her ribs and higher, cupping her breasts. With a low growl, he closed his hands over her nipples and pinched, and she cried out, astonished at how good it felt. How good he felt, surrounding her with his strength.

He lifted her sweatshirt and swore. Before she could even think about protesting, his mouth closed over one tip. She arched into him, groaning and helpless as he sucked her into a state of oblivion. At that moment, he could have laid her down and fucked her senseless, and she would have encouraged him. Thankfully, he pulled back.

“Take off your clothes,” he said in a thick voice as he pulled his shirt over his head.

The sight of his broad chest confirmed her suspicions about his power. Muscles rippled in the sunlight, the frame of the brown-skinned giant before her apparent in exquisite detail.

He was cut, his biceps like rocks on either side of a chest as hard as steel. His nipples were erect, like hers, but cocoa brown and bitable.

Absorbed by his body, she reluctantly broke her concentration to see his face -- and froze.

His eyes had changed. He was a Circ, much more than a man. Deadly. One of Doc’s men. What the hell am I doing?

Still breathing hard, she stumbled back from him, not questioning that he let her. She blurted the first thing that came to mind. “I need a shower.” Not waiting for his permission, she tore around him in a burst of nervous speed. Two doors down the hallway she spied a bathroom and locked herself inside. Panicked and out of control, she stared at herself in the mirror, wondering what had just happened.

One minute she’d been arguing with the unreasonable man, and the next… The next, she’d been hip deep in lust. And she couldn’t blame the beast inside her. She’d wanted him.

Sabrina Torrence desired a man who considered her his enemy. For all she knew, he’d been playing her to see how far he could take it. God, she’d been easy enough. What was wrong with her?

She blushed and closed her eyes, wishing she had the strength to run very fast, very far away. Sabrina was a scientist first, a woman second. She rarely dated, and her few forays into sexual exploration had left her unsatisfied. Nothing could have prepared her for Derrick Packard. He wasn’t even her type. Too big, too masculine. Too…everything. She shivered, recalling his thick erection pressed against her, and wondered what Anita would have made of him.

At times like these, she really missed her best friend. Anita and Sabrina had entered the Navy at the same time and gone through school together. Anita never took crap from anyone and had a sense of humor that never quit. “Once you go black, you never go back,” she liked to promise. A running joke between them, considering anyone who dated Anita was immediately smitten. An African American more than proud of her heritage, Anita had been adamant that Sabrina date her older brother, hoping to get a sister-in-law she might actually like. Unfortunately, her brother had been less attracted to Sabrina than he was to another classmate, an airhead with more boobs than brains. At the time, Sabrina had been disappointed, but she figured it was for the best. Men didn’t look at Sabrina the way they’d looked at Anita.

The way Derrick had looked at her, or pretended to look at her.

She hurried over to the shower and turned it on. She didn’t wait for the temperature to even out but stripped and jumped in, letting the lukewarm water shock the desire right out of her system. Only an idiot would believe a man like Derrick -- like Packard -- could want her. He was playing with her. When she didn’t back down to his intimidation, he’d tried another tactic. Unfortunately, idiot that she was, she’d played right into his hands.

And no wonder. With her body adjusting to the new hormones coursing through her system, the complete mess her professional life had become, and threats against her safety, was it any wonder she didn’t know up from down? Why else would she even try confronting a man who could snap her in half like a toothpick?

Sabrina groaned and used the shampoo and liquid soap sitting in the shower. The scent of strawberries made her wrinkle her nose, but at least it wiped away that damned smell of cinnamon lingering under her fingers. She cupped her nose with her hand and swore when her entire body tingled. Not gone yet, but soon. Unable to ignore her need, she lowered her hand down her body and reached her pinnacle quickly, all the while her thoughts strayed to the handsome, gruff Circ probably still waiting in her room.

Now, how to get the rest of me gone as well, out of this compound and away from Circ madness? And how to deal with what I’m becoming before I do something crazy, like challenge Derrick Packard for real?

Derrick was hard and aching, and he had only himself to blame. Christ, he’d even left the door open when he’d been all but devouring her. Hale would have had a field day catching them. Irritated and hornier than hell, Derrick shut the door to Sabrina’s room and leaned back against it. He could easily hear the shower running, thanks to his Circ senses.

And the thought of the woman naked and wet was killing him.

He peeled open his jeans and released the pressure on his cock. Damn, he was wet, his slit moist, needing to spill inside a hot pussy. Growling under his breath, he took himself in hand.

Thank God he’d satisfied his lust the day before with Hale. The mating heat usually didn’t last long, a few hours at most. Otherwise, he might have taken Sabrina whether she had wanted it or not, frustrating him all the more, because he needed to come in a Circ. As it was, he’d been hard-pressed to let her go.

The feel of her, the taste of her… He stroked himself faster, marveling at how good she’d felt against him. Sabrina Torrence stood a head and a half shorter than him. She wasn’t as curvy as he normally liked his women to be. But those breasts had given him the hard-on from hell all the same. Cupping them had been bad enough, but sucking on that hard nipple, biting the juicy bud, had nearly brought him to his knees. Her breasts were pale, her nipples rose red and so pretty against the dark brown of his hand.