Dating Outside Your DNA (9 page)

"Ready?"

She nodded and grabbed hold of the sides of the harness.  "Geronimo," she said as she raised her feet.

Roan gave her a little shove and off she went with a squeal. He  knew exactly what she felt--the exhilaration, the adrenaline rush, and  the thrill.

He undid his spikes and let them drop to the ground, then strapped in and pushed off. There was a little bounce, then he was gliding through the trees, feeling the rush of air on his face. This was living.

When he got to the end, Lyraka was sitting in the middle of the

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inflated mattress. Now that was temptat ion. The cable dipped lower  and lower. He landed with the ease of a hawk honing in on its prey.  Careful not to ram his legs into her, he spread his, coming to a stop  against her backside.

"Oh, I guess I should have unhooked and moved out of the

way."

"I  don't know. This is kind of nice." He reached around her waist

and pulled her back against him. God, she felt good snuggled next to

him. Her curves melted against his harder muscles.

He turned her just a bit so he had easy access to her mouth.

When he lowered his lips to hers, he couldn't stop the groan that

escaped. The dreams he'd had of her all week, her naked body

pressed against his, her breasts crushed against his chest, her

nipples hard little nubs--all of it came back to him in a flood of

memories  and created a burning ache deep inside him.

And she was kissing him back, pulling his head closer. He

tasted her need for more.

"No," she said, suddenly pulling away.

Roan immediately let go. She was breathing hard as she lay in  his arms. Her eyes were  wide as she fought her own battle to control  her natural instincts to lie back and let nature run its course.

He should apologize, but the words wouldn't come. Instead, he said, "I want you. I think you want me, too."

"No, I don't. I'm here to...to..."

"Become an agent?"

She frowned. "I know exactly what I'm here for and it isn't to have sex with you."

She was killing him. "We'd both enjoy it."

She visibly swallowed, her pupils dilating.

"I want to remove each article of your clothing until you're

completely naked in front of me, then I'll stroke you, run my finger

down your clit and slip a finger inside the moist heat of your body."

Damn it, he was being a jerk, but there was something about her that

pushed him past rational thought.

"I'm...Oh, God. ..I can't."

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He looked around. "There's no one here to stop us."

"I just...can't. It wouldn't be safe."

"I have protection."

She grimaced. "Not that kind of safe."

Roan had no idea what the hell she was talking about. Maybe she was afraid someone would stumble on them while they were making love. It wouldn't happen. At least, he didn't think so.

He sighed when she unhooked from the cable and scrambled to her feet. It had been nice while it lasted.

"I don't want to even talk about it. What's next?"

A  dip in the lake to cool him off? Clothes optional. He really needed to get control of his thoughts. He unhooked and came to his feet.

"Please," she said.

How could he resist when she put it that way?

"Okay, we'll see if you have what it takes to become  an agent."

He'd let the matter drop, for now. But he was definitely curious to

know exactly what she'd meant about it not being safe.

She squared her shoulders. "Bring it on. I can take everything

you want to dish out."

They would soon see.

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Chapter 7

T
he only thing fun about the obstacle course had been when she'd glided through the trees. It had gone downhill from there.

Had Roan really held her in his arms, kissed her? Awakened desires that she'd been trying desperately to keep under control?  Lyraka glanced his way, then had to bite back a moan. Oh, yeah, he'd awakened
 
everything
 
inside her.

All her adult life, she'd tried to control that side of her emotions.  She knew that Nerakians could be consumed by their need for sex.  But with her,  the need was stronger because of her mixed blood. She didn't know why, it just was. She felt everything more intensely than earthlings or Nerakians. She was cursed.

Rick, her one and only experience, had given her sexual side a little nudge. She would've  gladly continued to meet him in the woods if he hadn't been frightened and run away before they'd finished what he'd started.

He'd said she'd burned him. It wasn't as if he'd been on fire, or even smoking, for that matter. As far as she could tell, he had n't been scarred.

All the excuses in the world wouldn't change the fact that
something
 
had happened. If they had finished the act, poor Rick might have disintegrated. Now, she was afraid to have sex. She gave new meaning to the phrase "hot babe."

If they'd continued, would he have incinerated? She wasn't sure. The only thing she knew for certain was that her frustratingly

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short experience with a man had only made her want more. And now  Roan was fueling the fire of her passion.

The sex would be good
, a little voice inside her head told her.

No, she wouldn't give in to temptation. She was here to learn,  and learn she would. She wouldn't disintegrate the teacher.

Maybe there was more to his advances than met the eye.  Maybe this was Roan's way of breaking her. She already knew he  didn't want to train her. If she quit, he'd be off the hook. That had to  be why he was toying with her, setting the trap for the unsuspecting  mouse. She could almost feel the snap of the metal bar crushing her  neck if she got too  close. There was more to her than that. She  wouldn't give up. She wouldn't give Roan the satisfaction.

"This obstacle is about balance," Roan said, breaking into her  thoughts as they approached the next torture device, which was what  she'd begun to think  of each obstacle. She focused on what he was  telling her, determined to conquer this one, too.

"Balance and strength," he said.

They stood in front of an oversized net. She looked up. It was  only as tall as a single story house. The cargo net didn't look that  difficult to master. In fact, Lyraka had a feeling she'd surprised Roan  with her abilities. She hadn't mastered anything, but she hadn't let  any of the obstacles beat her. She'd finished each and every one of  them.

She grabbed the rope and put her foot into one of the slots, then began pulling herself up, one rung at a time. They were farther apart than they looked so she had to stretch out her body to move up.

"Keep your body close to the ropes. If you lean out, you'll lose your balance."

"Easier  said than done," she muttered as she reached for another cross rope. It didn't help that the ropes were as big around as her wrist and hard to grip. By the time she got to the top, she was sweating. There were more wet patches on her shirt than there were dry ones. But this obstacle hadn't beaten her, either. She straddled the top bar and smiled triumphantly down at him.

Roan smiled back as if he knew something she didn't, then he

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flipped a switch. There was a deep, throbbing noise as a motor  started up.

What the hell was he up to? She looked around.

"Hold on tight, princess."

He flipped another switch. The frame began to move.

"I don't think that's the safest place for you right now," he said.  "How fast can you get down before it collapses?"

He was going to kill her! That had been his plan all along. Kill  her, then Joe would let him go back on active duty. Everyone would  think she hadn't been cut out to be an agent, but they wouldn't dream  of blaming him.

"Are you sure you want to stay up there? The whole structure is  about to collapse."

He was right. The frame was teetering back and forth. She

flung her leg over the side, grasping the top rail. It shifted and she  was left grabbing air. Panic squeezed her chest.

"Grab the rope!"

She blindly obeyed and caught one of the rungs, clinging to it.

"The whole thing is going to come down, Lyraka. You have to  get off now!"

There was no taking her time this go- round. She blindly found  her footing, falling and grabbing as she went. The ropes burned her

arms,  chafing her skin until she finally felt solid ground beneath her  feet. She untangled from the ropes and scrambled back, out of  harm's way, plopping down hard on the ground when she stumbled  over a branch, her chest barely expanding as she gasped for air.

She watched as Roan calmly hit the switch. The A-frame  stopped moving. She looked from him, back to the A-frame, then  back to him.

"Good job," he said and calmly began to walk away.

She came to her feet and hurried after him. When she caught  up to him, she grabbed his arm, and forced him to stop and look at  her.

"It wasn't going to fall, was it?"

"No."

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She shoved against his chest as hard as she could. It frustrated her when he didn't move. His feet stayed firmly planted on the ground.

"I hate you!"

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do! You can't tell me that I don't hate you when I do," she ground out.

He pulled her against him and lowered his mouth to hers. For a second, she resisted, but the heat of his mouth, the way his tongue stabbed hers, then lightly  stroked, sent flames licking over her body.  She returned his kiss with all the pain and anger she felt and all the terror that had gone through her when she thought the A-frame was falling. She kissed him back with all the pent- up sexual deprivation she was feeling right now.

But he pulled away, leaving her wanting more, needing more, her body aching for more.

"See, I told you that you didn't hate me. You wouldn't kiss me like that if you hated me."

"Ugh!" She stomped her foot and pursed her lips.

"You  had to think the frame would fall. Sure, you made it up with little effort. No biggie. Sometimes when we go on what looks like an easy mission things will happen and all of a sudden, what should've been easy becomes difficult without notice. You have to beprepared for the unexpected."

Okay, he'd made a point, and it was a valid one. "You still didn't have to kiss me."

"You're sexy as hell when you're angry. I couldn't resist."

"Well make an effort next time."

"Ready for another obstacle?"

"I'm hungry. " And sweaty, and tired, and she probably smelled

to high heaven and had no idea why any man would think she was

sexy right now.

"One more, and then we'll eat."

Her stomach rumbled and she knew she was heading toward a

foul mood. She could do one more even if it was to prove she could.

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He hadn't beaten her yet. "One more then."

He reached into his pocket and brought out a piece of black silk. She warily eyed the scrap of material.

"What are you going to do with that?"

"Blindfold you." He walked behind  her.

"I'm not so sure about this."

"You have to learn to trust everyone on the elite force."

"Do I have to kiss them, too?"

He laughed lightly as he placed the blindfold over her eyes.

"No. Just trust them. It's a two way street. They'll be trusting yo u with

their lives as well."

As the light went out and she was in the dark, uneasiness trickled down her spine. She wasn't so sure this was a good idea.  "What are we going to do?" She felt Roan knot the scarf at the back of her head.

"You'll just have to trust me."

She didn't want to trust him. She'd never trusted in anyone

except herself. She'd known coming into this that she would have to

work with a team, at the very least, a partner. There was always a

certain amount of trust that went along with that, but Roan wanted her

to give one hundred percent and for the first time since coming here,

she wasn't sure she could complete the training. Asking her to give

one hundred percent was asking too much.