Dating Outside Your DNA (3 page)

"Sorry."

"I'll be preparing all the meals," Frances said. "I've been told I'm  a good cook, and I do the housecleaning, too."

Lyraka thought the woman was a little abrupt. She had a feeling  Frances might have a military background.

"Your rooms are across from each other," Frances continued as  she started back inside.

Everyone followed.

"Second floor," she continued. "Roan's is the first room on the

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left, and Lyraka, I put you in the one across from him. I serve meals

at nine, one and six. If you'd like the times changed, just let me know,  otherwise we'll stay out of your way. We leave at seven in the  evening, and return at eight the next morning. If you require  something, you can leave a note here," she pointed to a desk in the  hallway where there was a pad and pen.

"She runs a tight ship," Cole said with a twinkle in his eye.

Frances frowned. "I'm organized."

"The times to eat are fine," Roan said with little warmth.

Was he always this abrupt? He was going to be a lot of fun to  be around. Yeah, right.

"If there's nothing you require, we'll leave you to get acquainted  with your new home." They disappeared around a corner when Roan  didn't say anything.

It wasn't exactly a homey atmosphere. There was nothing  personal. Not even a picture on the wall. Lyraka had to remind herself  that she'd wanted something different from what she'd known her  whole life. It would just take a little adjusting on her part. She started  up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Roan asked.

"I thought I'd check out my room." He sounded awfully bossy,  much like Frances, and she was getting a little tired of people telling  her what to do.

"Wait."

"Why?"

"Your first lesson: treat everything as hostile."

She raised an eyebrow. "Like almost blowing away the help?"

His expression wasn't happy. "You can't be too cautious."

"I can take care of myself."

His gaze slowly roamed over her in a way that made her body  go from hot to hotter. He really, really shouldn't look at her like that.

"That's my job from now on. Joe said your...abilities were  different. That you needed more control and discipline."

"My abilities?"

"Joe told me your skills weren't the same as other Nerakians."

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His gaze moved over her again. "I can't see where you could be a national threat or anything. Most pure bred Nerakians don't have much power, if you ask me."

So Mr. Beacon hadn't mentioned that instead of lessening her abilities because she was half earthling, her skills were greater than anyone could imagine. It would be interesting to see his reaction.

She sauntered closer to him. "I think it goes deeper than you not wanting to be stuck training me. You really don't like me very much, do you?"

His gaze dropped to her lips  and she could almost feel the warmth of his brushing across hers, but then he frowned again. He did that a lot.

"I don't have any feelings for you one way or another, lady."

She could actually accept him not liking her. She wasn't that

crazy about him --o nly his body. It was time she got a little even,

though.

"He was right you know," she told him.

"Who was right?"

"Mr. Beacon. My abilities are different."

"Whatever. I'll check the upstairs. Don't come up until I give the

all clear."

"I don't take orders well."

"It's time you learned." He walked to the steps, stopping

halfway and looking back at her. "I'm the boss while you're here." He

turned and continued up the stairs.

Roan felt a brush of air and looked over his shoulder, his hand

automatically reaching inside his jacket, resting on his gun, but the

breeze hadn't come from an opened door. He turned back around

and saw Lyraka at the top of the stairs. His gaze jerked back to where

she'd been standing, then back to the top of the stairs.

"Like I said," Lyraka began, "I don't take orders very well." She

sauntered toward her room.

How the hell had she made it past him! No one could move that

fast. No one!

Crap! He should've made Joe explain more about Lyraka. Roan

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had assumed she'd be like all the others. He ran a hand through his  hair. He had a feeling this assignment had just gotten a whole lot  harder.

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Chapter 3

"W
hat the hell was that?" Roan asked as he burst inside

Lyraka's room.

"What was what?" She stood at the window, looki ng at the

dense trees.

"You know damn well what I mean."

Yeah, she did. She was stalling. He'd pissed her off, and she'd wanted to get even with him, with Mr. Beacon, with the fact she was being isolated again.

She turned, and for just a second, forgot  what she was going to say. It wasn't fair that one man should look this devastatingly attractive, nor should her over active hormones be raging this much.

But he was, and they were.

"That was one of my abilities," she said. "I can move really fast.

Want  me to show you again?" She raised her eyebrows in question.  "Maybe you didn't see it the first time."

Before he could answer, she moved to stand behind him. Now she was showing off and she knew it, but for a very long time she'd hidden most of her skills, not wanting to draw attention to herself.  There was a sense of freedom that came with showing Roan exactly what she was capable of doing, and that she wasn't like every other  Nerakian he'd trained.

"Did you see me that time?" she whispered, smirking, and not

caring that she did.

He whirled around, grasping her shoulders so she couldn't

move. Oops, she hadn't been expecting that.

"If you think you're being funny, you're not."

Even with him holding her, feeling the heat of his hands on her

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shoulders, she still couldn't help goading him just a little more. "But

you're impressed, aren't you?"

It was rather interesting taunting him. She'd never felt this

energy running through her before. She'd always been quiet and

obedient and stayed in the background, as her mother had warned

her to do. No one could discover they weren't quite normal.

But now, for the first time in her life, she felt alive. "Maybe

you're thinking that you judged me too quickly? That I might be more

than you bargained for?"

He let go of  her as if to say he didn't give a damn if she left the

room or not.

"You're fast."

He pulled his gun from under his jacket and held it up before she could think to move out of harm's way, not that he was actually pointing it at her.

"But I'd wager even  you can't stop a bullet," he said.

Anger boiled inside her. He'd turned the tables on her, and she didn't like it. "Are you sure?" No, she couldn't stop a bullet but he didn't have to be so damned cocky about it.

His expression darkened. "Someone else mi ght have been tempted to find out. This might be a game to you, but it isn't to me. If you're going to be on the elite force, you have to learn to follow the rules."

"We don't officially start until tomorrow, right?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Then if you don't mind, leave." She stepped out of his way so  he could walk past her and out the door.

He holstered his gun. "Anything you say, sweetheart."

He went around her, leaving her door open. She walked over,  tempted to slam it. Instead, she very calmly closed it and reached  inside her purse for her cell phone, then punched in Mr. Beacon's  private number.

"Please tell me you haven't killed Roan," Mr. Beacon said  before she could say a word.

She flopped down on the side of the bed. "If you knew what

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kind of a man he was, why did you pick him as my instructor?"

Silence.

She frowned.

"You didn't kill him, did you?"

"Why? Would he be such a great loss?" Mr. Beacon didn't know

all her skills, but she couldn't just kill someone. What'd he think, that

she'd vaporize people with one look? It was a tempting thought.

Silence.

"No, Mr. Beacon, I didn't kill Roan--yet."

His sigh of relief was audible. "I picked Roan because he's the

best. He'll be able to train you in all areas of covert operations. And

call me Joe. We're not so formal here."

She leaned back against the pillow and stared at the dull white ceiling. "Okay, Joe. Now tell me how Roan is going to complete my training in a few weeks?"

"It'll probably take longer," he hedged.

"But he thinks he'll be going  back to field work pretty soon.

Does he even know I'm not a warrior?"

"Not exactly."

She rolled her eyes. "He's not going to be happy."

"I don't think he'll mind too much once he witnesses some of

your extraordinary abilities."

"Yeah, but I might."

"J ust give it a little time. Roan has a tendency to grow on

people."

"My mother once told me there's a species that grows on

people. I'm not sure I want Roan to grow on me."

Joe chuckled. "That's what I like about you, Lyraka. You have a

great sense of humor."

"Oh, yeah, I'm a regular comedian."

They talked a few more minutes and then said good -bye. She

didn't feel the least bit reassured. Her gaze moved to the window.

She didn't want to stay cooped up inside. Not when she was

surrounded by woods just waiting for her to explore.

She opened the closet. Her clothes had been neatly put away.

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She changed out of her dark slacks and pulled on a pair of jeans and a dark green T-shirt. She traded her heels for socks and heavy, lace-up, hiking boots.

Lyraka made  sure the coast was clear before she slipped out of her room and down the stairs. She needed space--air she could breathe without sharing it with another person. She needed the safety of the woods where she could feel at peace with the world, with herself.  Roan had made her jittery and out of sync. It wasn't a feeling she liked.

Once outside, she began to calm down and breathe easier. The air was crisp with a hint of fall as summer began to fade away. The trees became thicker the farther she went. This was  where she felt

the most serenity. Deep in the woods where there was only the sound

of animals and...

Her forehead puckered.

And the sound of someone following her. She stopped and listened. Not an animal, unless it was a bear. No, whoever it was walked too carefully to be a big, lumbering bear. But the tread was heavy. It had to be human. She hated that someone had taken it upon himself to disturb her tranquility, and she was pretty sure she knew who it was.

She moved past a tree, then stopped, leaning against it. For a moment, she stood still, eyes closed as she became one with the tree. She was getting faster at blending in. Like a chameleon, her body and her clothing transformed until she actually became part of the tree.

If someone had asked how she  did this, she wouldn't know what to tell them, except that it just happened--when she had total concentration. It was the same with her speed and her hearing. She didn't know why she was so fast, or why she was sensitive to sound, she just was.

Whoever followed was getting closer. There was just the slightest noise of rustling in the fallen leaves. It really helped to have better than average hearing. She opened her eyes just enough to see who followed her.

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Roan, of course. She'd already guessed as much.

He covertly crept past her.

"I'm sure you're not out for a nightly stroll. I'll just assume you're following me," she said.

Roan whirled around. His gaze quickly scanned the area.

"Come out from whatever tree you're hiding behind."