Dating Outside Your DNA (7 page)

Her look dared him to test her physical agility again. She was  almost at the end of her rope, but he wasn't even close to the point  where he was ready to stop pushing her.

Roan let his gaze slide over her, slowly, taking in everything  from the moisture on her face, to the rise and fall of her chest...all the  way down to her toes, before returning to her face.

"I'd thought you'd be in better shape than this. The way Joe  hinted, I figured you were the answer to his idea of a dream agent."

Her back stiffened. "What do you mean --in better shape?"

He shrugged. "Sure, you have speed, and a few other minor  abilities. Like most Nerakians, you're remarkable in a couple of areas.  I'd rather be partnered with a cop who has had a little street  experience. I doubt you can even fight very well. A warrior who's  never been in a war."

"I'm not a warrior."

He opened his mouth, no words came out. Not a warrior? She

was green? Just someone Joe had thought would work on a team

because she had a few extraordinary abilities?

"You okay? You're turning red."

"Joe wouldn't send me someone who didn't have at least some

training."

"I told him you wouldn't be happy."

He dropped the clipboard to the floor. There was no way th is

was only going to take two weeks. More like months. "He lied to me."

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When she started to say something, he glared at her. She snapped her mouth shut. "He lied by omission, same thing as an outright lie."

He reached in his pocket and opened his phone, then punched in a speed-dial number.

"Mr. Beacon's office," Sally said.

"Let me talk to Joe. This is Roan."

"Hello, Roan. Joe is in meetings all day."

"No, he isn't."

Silence.

Roan closed his eyes for a second and silently counted to five.  He'd bet his last dollar Joe was in his office. "Tell him I know Lyraka isn't a warrior, doesn't have any training whatsoever, and that I think he's a crazy son of a bitch!"

"...and that he's a crazy...Do you really want me to tell him all of that, Roan?"

"Yes," he growled then snapped his phone closed.

"I am very good, you know," Lyraka told him.

"Yeah, right. You've lived a sheltered life at an artist colony. I read your file. How good can you be? I thought maybe you'd been trained along the way in combat maneuvers or something." He eyed her. "You haven't been trained in anything, have you?"

She raised her chin. "I learn fast. That is, if someone has the--"  She let her gaze slide down him, stopping just below his waist. "--that is if someone has the
 
skill
 
to train me."

"You can't even fight, for Christ's sake!"

"I can, too."

He snorted. "Come on. Show me what you've got." He watched,

saw the anger building inside her.

"You want me to hit you?" she asked, pursing her lips.

"Yeah, come at me. Give me your best swing. Unless you're

afraid you'll hurt yourself."

She reared back and swung. He stepped out of the way just in

time. Damn, she threw a punch better than he'd thought she would,

but rather than tell her that, he laughed. "Is that all you've got?"

She growled and lunged again. He dodged and she slipped,

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going to the floor. Instinct had him moving toward her to help her up,  but he quickly tamped down the urge.

"Not very good, are you?"

She got to her feet, anger practically oozing from her pores.  She growled and came off the floor, hurling her body at him, but he  was ready for her. He caught her to him, pinning her back against his  body.

Her sensual scent invaded his space, her soft feminine curves pressed against him and for a moment, all he could thin k about was the way she felt.

"Let go of me!" she ground out.

"Here's a lesson for you," he said close to her ear as he forced himself to concentrate on anything other than the way she felt, the sexy way she smelled. Not easy when all he thought about ri ght now was the way she would feel if she were naked, and they were in bed together. "Think with your head and not your emotions."

Her body relaxed against him, the tension leaving her. "Are you going to train me?"

His thoughts warred with what he should do, and what he wanted to do. If he walked away, Joe would only send someone else to train her. Roan knew he was the best. He wouldn't let her get herself killed.

"Yeah, I'll train you," he finally said.

"I screwed up when I came at you, didn't I?" she  asked.

He swallowed, forcing himself to rein in what he felt. Man, she  was so damned addictive and like an addict, he wanted more. He  forced himself to let go of her and step away from temptation.

"Most people do fail in the beginning," he said as she tu rned to  face him. She looked genuinely worried, and for a moment he felt a  little sorry he'd been so rough on her. "Sometimes it's better to walk  away from taunts and jabs that people throw your way. Your goal  shouldn't be to get even, but to get away if you're ever caught  between a rock and a hard place."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You could've agreed with me and diffused the anger, but you

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chose to respond to it."

"You think it's better to wimp out?"

"If your life is threatened, yes. Control the situation to your  advantage, and you still come out the victor.

"Say you're coming out of a mall and it's later than you'd  planned on leaving. You have packages in one hand and your keys in  your other. Imagine a man comes at you. The parking lot is dark and  no one else is around. Are you going to use the keys as a weapon  and charge him like an angry bull? You're better off dropping your  packages and running. He's probably bigger and stronger. All you're  going to do is piss him off if you try to gouge his eyes out or jab him in  the arm."

"You goaded me into fighting back."

"And I overpowered you."

She raised a haughty eyebrow. "This time."

Had she not understood a word he'd said?

"It was a good lesson, though. I'll make sure I think before I act

next  time."

A slow grin curved his lips. "You think you'll get good enough to

beat me?"

"Yes, I do."

He shook his head. "You'll never be strong enough,

sweetheart."

"I won't use muscle, I'll use my brain."

"Think you can ever win?"

"Yes."

Damn, he loved  her defiance. Not that defiance would get her  very far when it came to beating him. He'd been a cop, then an agent,  too long. He knew the ropes. But he liked that she might try.

Damn it, this wasn't a sport to win or lose. He had to remember  that. What was he thinking? Hell, what was Joe thinking? Lyraka  wasn't agent material. She might be able to do more than some, but  when it came down to the wire, her extra abilities might not be

enough to keep her from getting killed. He didn't want her death on

his conscience.

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"This isn't a game of checkers, little girl. Losing might cost you  your life."

She cocked an eyebrow. "I know exactly why Joe recruited me  and the dangers involved. I'm willing to take that risk. And in case you  haven't noticed, I'm not a little girl."

His gaze slid seductively down her body before slowly returning  to her face. "You're right. I have noticed you're not a little girl." Her  cheeks took on a rosy hue. He'd pushed another one of her buttons,  but in a different way. He kind of liked  the idea that he flustered her.

You're wading off in deep water, Roan
. It was a good thing he  knew how to swim.

He glanced at his watch. "Let's take a break and eat." Without waiting for her, he walked out of the training area.

Lyraka had done better than he thought she would, and then some. She must want this pretty badly. But there was no way he could have her ready in a few weeks. She'd never had any training.  Unless Joe only planned to use her where she wouldn't be in any danger. But with her skills, and one-on-one training, why wouldn't Joe expect Lyraka to go straight into field work?

Damn, with her stubbornness, she'd probably get killed the first day, and Roan would be partially responsible. He didn't want to live with that kind of guilt for the rest of his life.

That had happened to his instructor, John Williams. Man, he'd been good. The best of the best. There'd been a kid in John's class who was one cocky bastard. No one cared that much for him. Hell,  Roan hadn't thought he'd make it through  training. He was one of those rich kids who wanted to play at being a cop because he was bored, a real jerk-off.

His money was probably what got him through the training.  John let the powers that be send the boy out too soon, even though  John had argued against it.

The kid had been killed his first day. John had never been the same since. He'd started drinking and ended up taking an early retirement.

Roan stepped into the dining room. The buffet was set up with

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covered serving dishes, plates and silverware at one end.

Lyraka walked in behind him. "It smells good. I'm starved. I

think I'll just wash up first."

He looked at Lyraka, really looked at her. God, she was so

young and innocent. Life hadn't left its mark on her yet. As she

walked out of the room , he knew he couldn't let Joe send her into the

field. Roan wouldn't have her death on his conscience.

It was time to push her training up a few notches, and it was time to take the gloves off. He had to make her see this wasn't the life for her.

If she  could take what he dished out, then she might become an agent someday. He could at least make sure she didn't get herself killed. That is, if she lasted long enough.

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Chapter 6

P
aperwork! Lyraka would rather go back to running on the treadmill than fill out another piece of paperwork. All week it had been paperwork and testing and she was sick of it. She might as well have stayed at the colony. At least she'd have been able to walk in the woods there. She'd been outside the first day she'd arrived for training and that was it. Roan had made sure she was busy the rest of the time.

Enough was enough! She pushed the sheets of paper away from her and scooted her chair back from the desk before coming to her feet.

"Finished?" Roan asked.

"No." She glanced at the clock. "I've been doing paperwork, and  exercising, and tests all week and I'm sick of it. The questions on the  tests are stupid."

"They are."

Was this another game he was playing? She eyed him with  more than a little trepidation. "You're agreeing with me?"

He laid down the book he was reading. She'd seen the cover on  the paperback. It was a suspense novel.
 
He
 
got to enjoy himself while
 
she
 
had to wade through mountains of paperwork. That figured.

"Everyone in the elite force has had to do the same amount of  paperwork, take the same stupid tests, and do all the physical agility  crap that you're having to do. The only difference is you're getting  preferential treatment, one-on-one training. The others, including me,  weren't that lucky. Do you think I wanted to be stuck in here every  day this week?"

That didn't make her feel better. Now she felt like a whiner, and

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she wasn't, not really. At least, not until she'd gotten around Roan.

She sat back down. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "It's just that I  was expecting more. I've been cooped up all my life. I didn't even get  to go to public school. I was home schooled." She shrugged as she  leaned back in the chair. "I was hoping for more."

"You want to go out and kill bad guys?"

It took her a second to realize he was teasing her. A teasing  Roan could be just as dangerous as one who didn't give an inch,  maybe more so because there was just a bit of a twinkle in his eyes,  and a slight upward curve to his lips. She couldn't stop her own smile  from forming.

"No, I don't want to go out and kill bad guys. At least, not in the  next few days. But I hate being cooped up all the time."

"I do, too. Let's hit the obstacle course."

Her shoulders slumped. "More physical agility?"

His grin widened. "I think yo u'll like this."