Deadly Lover (32 page)

He pressed his eye against the needler’s sights, paying little attention to the people still shouting on his right or Lily approaching on his left.

Lily didn’t draw her pistol. Not a good place to start a firefight. Instead she wrapped her fist around the pulser in her pocket. Thank God she’d carried both.

Pea-bag-suit guy shifted his hand, resting his finger on the trigger.

Out of time.

“Hey, peapod!” She shouted to be heard over the noise and she was ready when the barrel swung her way. She lifted her hands in the air in a classic don’t-shoot-me gesture.

By the time he registered the pulser in her fist she was close enough to knock the needler’s barrel downward with her left arm while stepping in to discharge the pulser. The charge, set to stun, tightened his body in an instant then dissipated. His muscles went limp in a wave that left him on the pavement like a wax figure left too long in the sun.

The noise of the crowd surging toward her from behind registered seconds before a blunt impact thudded through her shoulder and down her spine, spinning her around. The man toting an aluminum baseball bat was late fifties and paunchy, but he knew how to swing like a pinch hitter. She dodged the second swing, but a shove from behind sent her to the pavement in a grinding thump. She gave thanks for her dad’s leather coat. She pushed through, turning the fall into a roll and coming up in a crouch.

“Lily, the gun!” Brian’s shouted warning jerked Lily’s attention to where he stood in front of the clinic then back to the crowd. A skinny teenager was scrambling for the boom-needler that pea-bag guy had lost in his fall.

Lily scrambled to her feet with thoughts of trying to kick the damn thing clear. No way was she reaching for it and leaving herself open for a more debilitating hit in the process. Even if she managed to grab it, that would just tie up her hands. Where in the hell was Metro?

Before the teen could close his hand around the needler, Jolaj
slipped
into
sync
next to him.

The boy went flying as Jolaj lifted and tossed him in a show of strength that left Lily grateful and a little breathless. The crowd scattered, clearing enough space for Lily, Brian, and Jolaj to close ranks and cover each other’s backs.

“You were supposed to stay in the clinic,” Lily scolded, as she rubbed shoulders with Brian.

“Lil, you were getting blindsided,” grumbled Brian. “Besides, damn it, I’m a foot taller than you and outweigh you by fifty pounds. I can watch your back.”

Luckily, the mood of the mob had already turned from angry to afraid. The grating wail of Metro sirens sapped the remaining will from them and they skittered away like strays headed for the alleys.

Lily faced Jolaj. “Everyone inside okay?”

He looked big and strong and invincible. Calm and steady. Studying her with soulful eyes. “The store owner has a broken arm, but she will recover. And you?”

“I’m fine.”

He reached out to squeeze her shoulder. Expecting it, she didn’t flinch or pull away, either from the pain or from any kind of fear of the claws that pressed into the leather of her coat.

“Lily—”

“Go,” said Lily. They both knew his presence would make things overly complicated.

He squeezed her hand then released her. “I won’t be far.” Electricity prickled her skin and then he was gone. But not far, as he’d said. She’d bet he was within shouting distance and he probably could see her, wherever he was hiding.

That sense of his presence carried her through Metro’s questions. She was standing alone outside the open back delivery bay of the Corner Grocery when he reappeared.

He reached out to wrap her hand in his. “I’ve convinced the Council to allow those of us with human companions to bring them into The Zone for their protection.”

“That’s probably a good idea, though it might cause more problems in the long term.”

“We’re getting them into The Zone as quietly as we can, using many different routes to draw less attention.”

“Smart,” she acknowledged, “but people will still notice.”

He squeezed her hand and pressed his forehead to hers. “I want you to stay with me in The Zone tonight.”

The heat of him, his breath against her skin and the low rumble of his voice drew her. Made her want to wrap herself around him. But it wasn’t the time or the place.

“I can’t. Besides, I’m not... I mean, I—”

“You should go, Lil.” Brian’s words rang out clearly from the doorway. “You’ll be safer there.”

She held tightly to Jolaj’s hand as Brian walked out to join them. She wasn’t certain how much he understood of her relationship with Jolaj, but he hadn’t balked so far. “Mother—”

“I’ll deal with Mom. I need you to be safe.” He rested his hands lightly on her shoulders. “Just for tonight. Please, Lily.”

Voices from inside grew closer and Jolaj leaned in to rumble in her ear. “We should go now.”

“He’s right,” said Brian. “There’s nothing else we can do tonight. Let Snow go through the vid and I’ll go through the data. We can start fresh tomorrow.”

 Lily tugged her hand free of Jolaj’s grip and stepped closer to her brother. She lifted her hand to cup his cheek. “I’ll go, but you have to promise me you won’t do any poking around on your own. You’ll call. You’ll wait for me.”

“Yeah. I’ll call if I find anything we need to act on fast and I’ll wait for you.”

“No matter what?”

“No matter what.”

“Okay, then.”

Brian smiled and his green eyes lit. “Okay.”

The gate in The Mixer would have been the closest route into The Zone, but Jolaj insisted they use the glide-rail line. Taking the train would allow them to get into The Zone without having to walk through one of the big, too-conspicuous gates. Lily walked onto the crowded train and stepped close to the safety glass window. Her thoughts raced over the data, the details. There was a killer out there. Her sister’s killer.

Anger and guilt twisted together in her gut like the braids of a hangman’s rope. Anger that the bastard dared to play God, passing judgment and dealing out death for perceived wrongs. Anger that the public would buy into his madness, uncaring of who got hurt. Guilt that she’d gotten involved and her sister had paid the ultimate price.

Lily jumped when Jolaj settled a hand at the small of her back. He’d been standing between her and the other passengers, but keeping a respectable distance. His touch was light through the barrier of her coat.

“Time to go,” he said.

The train had been crowded when they got on, but no more than a handful of people remained by the time they rolled into the final stop on the line, The Zone’s single glide-rail station. Lily was the only human left in the crowd that walked onto the rail platform.

She and Jolaj were last off the train and she hesitated at the top of the ramp leading down to street level, reluctant to leave the shelter of the covered platform. The storm had worsened, darkening the sky. Giving the illusion of night when it was only late afternoon. The wind smacked them in the face in rain soaked gusts.

The downpour seemed no obstacle to the Ormney. To a one, they stepped away from the shelter with their tilted back as if savoring the fat, wet drops that drenched them to the skin in seconds. No one hurried. No one ran.

The press of Jolaj’s body behind her, urged her into the wet. She shivered at the warm caress of his breath against her ear as he bent close to speak above the noise of the rain.

“All but the young still remember the confinement of the final days of our home-world. We treasure all your world has to offer.”

He moved around her, then. She stood alone under the shelter, as he stepped into the rain and lifted his face to the sky. His chest expanded visibly as he took in several deep breaths. He turned back to face her and held out his hand, waiting.

The rain kissed the broad angles of his face and darkened the cotton of his tunic as the soaked material clung to the curves and planes of his body. The huge expanse of The Zone stretched out behind him. A sea of green-and-white, like jungle topped dunes, lit in flashes by distant lightning strikes that arced across the sky. The wildness of the storm suited him, a stark contrast to the quiet strength of his indomitable will.

He waited there, claw-tipped hand stretched out, asking for her trust, her acceptance. Lily reached out, laying her hand in his and stepped into the storm.

The warmth of palm against palm zinged pleasure through her. His hand tightened and he tugged. She stepped close enough to press against his body. For a moment she was content just to be there in the storm with him.

Together they moved down the ramp and into the wide lane. Despite the waterproof finish on her coat, by the time they reached their destination, the rain had soaked her almost as thoroughly as it had him. She could see little of his home as he led her through the darkened ground floor but she got a sense of open space. The stairs to the second floor spiraled up through the ceiling.

When she stepped onto the second floor landing she could see it was his sleeping area. A large platform bed took up most of the near end of the room. The other end had been left open, leading out onto a rooftop garden. Something in the design of the building ensured no rain licked in through the opening.

Jolaj walked straight through the room and back into the rain. In a move that was purely male and surprisingly intimate, he tugged his tunic off over his head and tossed it across a chair. The wind licked at the length of his auburn braid, wrapping it around his torso, drawing her eye to the way his muscles bunched and lengthened with his movements. Her hands tingled and her belly tightened at the sensual memories of exploring those muscles as they’d made love.

He looked over his shoulder, pinning her with a stare that had her speculating on whether he could somehow read her mind. God, she certainly hoped not.

Lily tugged off her own jacket and holster, hanging them on a hook she found on one wall. The single large bed dominating the space left little doubt he intended she sleep with him. Lost and unsure, she faced him but found his attention had returned to the storm-streaked sky.

His distraction only made it impossible for her to look away. It gave her tacit permission to stare. Just looking at him made her ache inside or rather forced her to acknowledge the empty ache that had become a part of her. She’d learned to ignore it but it never truly left.

A mirthless laugh bubbled up and escaped. The ache had become a more constant and faithful companion than any man had ever been. Jolaj wasn’t like other men she’d known. His character. His make-up. He would be devoted to the mother of his children. But she could never be that. Even if she might be able to give him a child, the Council had forbidden it. And so even though he was different it would all work out the same in the end. His heart belonged to his people. He would serve them with devotion. Follow their laws and The Way and none of that included her.

She stared at him and wanted. Wanted him body and soul. If she couldn’t have his soul she decided she would damn well have his body.

Lily strode into the rain, letting it soak into all the places she’d kept safe and dry. She shivered in the chill of the wind and pressed her breasts against his back. She slipped her arms around his waist and laid her cheek against the warm, smooth skin stretched across the heavy muscles of his shoulder.

He turned in her arms and, framing her face with his hands, brought her mouth up to his. He pressed cool, wet lips to hers in a kiss that burned hot. Hungry. Out of control.

She slipped her hands up his rain-slick torso to clutch at his shoulders. His kisses were drugging deep and tasted of the same terrible hunger he’d shown her the first time they’d made love. Need pounded through her body, demanding she give him more, take more. Refusing to be rushed, even by her own need, she forced her body to stillness, keeping distance between them when climbing him like a weedy vine seemed a finer idea.

Together they gasped for breath when he finally broke the kiss. His fingers slipped into her hair freeing it from the tangled twist. He dragged it down her back, clutching it in his hand, pulling her head back as he leaned over, sheltering her face from the worst of the downpour.

He held her gaze as he spoke. “You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.”

He leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers then adjusted to trail kisses across her cheeks, dipping beneath her ear and along her throat. He worked his way down as if she were a feast he needed to devour until the edge of her SafeSkin tunic stopped his progress. He growled in the back of his throat.

“Take it off.” The words rumbled, hoarse and full of need.

The SafeSkin was designed to stop a knife, slice or stab, the tunic was nearly indestructible. The thought of giving up that protection, terrified her. “No.”

Her flat refusal drew another sound from him. This one more roar than growl. His hands dipped down to wrap around her hips, drawing her into the heat and solidity of his body. He lifted her. Positioned her against the emphatic length of his cock.

She thought he meant only to demonstrate the extent of his desire, but all thoughts of his intention evaporated as he pressed that hard length right where she needed it. He guided her legs around his hips, cupped her bottom, holding her in place as he worked her against him in a rhythm that sent need pulsing through her body as sharp as lightning, as expansive as thunder, as wild as the storm.

She clutched at his shoulders and pressed her face against his throat as the sensations ripped through her. Long before she had any chance of getting her bearings enough to participate in the urgent exchange of pleasure her climax crashed over her. Her heart stalled in her chest as her lungs fought to take air into her too tight body. She rode the waves until the pounding pleasure eased and she became aware of the storm still swirling around them.

He carried her inside where the rain and wind stopped beating at them and the noise of the storm dimmed. She landed on his bed, boneless and too wrung out to move when he pulled her free of him and dropped her there.