Enslave Me Sweetly (17 page)

“I'm sorry for that.” He didn't sound sorry. In fact, he leered at me. “I was…overcome, seeing you again. But I didn't hurt you, you have to admit.”

I pressed my lips together, admitting nothing.

“We're all civilized adults,” Jonathan said. “And I assure you, Hunter has learned his lesson.”

“I want to believe you.” I forced my eyes to fill with tears. “I really do, but do you see the way he's looking at me? He isn't sorry. Not really.” I couldn't accept Hunter's apology or Jonathan's assurances because the stage had to be set for my abduction. It had to appear Hunter couldn't win my affections through conventional means. Later, when I left, he would be able to speak to Jonathan about “buying” me. Jonathan would then speak with EenLi. And EenLi would then come after me. Once I discovered what magnetic device EenLi used to transport his “cattle,” I'd have the pleasure of killing him.

Ah, life suddenly seemed so good.

“I think…I think I need a moment alone,” I said. I placed a shaky hand over my heart. I'm sure Lucius already searched the house, but I wanted to do my own search. He might have missed something. If there was any information about EenLi, the abducted, about the portals or solar flares, I wanted to know it. “Will you excuse me?”

“If you want fresh air, there's a veranda down the hall. Just off to your right,” Jonathan said.

“I won't be gone long.” I knew Lucius would distract them if I didn't come back in a timely fashion.

This was going to be fun.

O
f course, I didn't go to the veranda.

For privacy, the guards had been sent away and were no longer inside. Remaining alert, I strode to the first room I came to. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked. I stepped inside. The scent of bleach and lemon permeated the small, dim space. A cleaning closet, I realized happily. They were often overlooked as inconsequential. I ran my fingertips over several bottles of cleaner as I looked for a trash receptacle.

There, in the back. Grinning, I bent over it and riffled through the contents. Dirty napkins, an old pair of shoes. I sighed. People used computers and digital notepads, so paper—rare as it was—was hardly used anymore. Still…a girl could hope.

Next, I found a bathroom. It, too, was open. Blue-and-white marble flooring, an antique porcelain tub. Fake plants in every corner. But nothing of importance.

The only other room in this hallway was a laundry. Large and wide, the area overflowed with clothes and servants, poles for the material, and dry-spray hoses that ejected the cleaning enzymes. I stood in the doorway, watching the women work for a moment, hoping to catch sight of something of Jonathan's. Maybe he'd left something in a pocket.

Suddenly a thick, hairy male arm reached from behind me and clamped over my mouth. I was pulled into a hard body, and it wasn't Lucius's. The scent was different, not as clean. The feel was different, not as muscled and hot.

The man kicked my knees, and I buckled to the floor. I winced, but I didn't fight. Not yet. Not until I knew what was going on. Had Jonathan already contacted EenLi? Was this my abduction?

“I've got her,” a deep male voice whispered.

“Hurry,” another man said, his voice frantic. “Before someone sees us.”

They dragged me outside, and I glanced up, squinting past the intense light. My abductors were human and dressed entirely in black, guns strapped to their sides. Jonathan's guards, I realized. In fact, the one holding me was the man I'd seen positioned at the front door when I first arrived. Excitement at last sparked in my veins. This had to be it! I hadn't expected him to act so quickly.

“Be careful with her. Don't damage her skin. Don't pull her hair too hard.”

“Will you shut up? I'm doing the best I can. We've got to hurry, or we'll be seen.”

The man who held me by the hair cast me an evil, greedy smile. “We're gonna sell your skin and hair for a fortune, pretty girl.” He jolted into motion, hefting me up by the waist and carting me away from the house. The other man followed quickly behind us, tossing nervous glances over his shoulder.

They weren't here to abduct me. They were here to de-skin me!

Cold, haunting fury replaced my excitement. The bastards wanted to flay the gold skin right off my body. Sell it. Hurt me unmercifully. My fury intensified with every step my tormentor made, but I didn't utter a sound of protest. Alien voice was as incriminating as human DNA or fingerprints. That was why A.I.R. had strategically placed high-frequency recorders and satellites all across the globe. If an alien was ever implicated in a crime, his voice was logged into a database, then used to trace his whereabouts.

I doubted my name was located in any of the databases—Michael would have seen to that—but I couldn't risk it.

I didn't want to be linked to the slaughter about to happen.

My captor squeezed me even tighter, almost cutting off my air. Once we reached a cluster of thick bushes that hid us from view of the house, I tangled my feet in his legs, tripping him. As we fell, I twisted toward him and slammed my palm into his nose. He hit the ground, collapsing on top of me and howling in pain.

Gasping for breath, I rolled out from under him, already jumping into position to attack the second man. I crouched and lashed out with one leg, sweeping both of his feet off the ground. He flailed midair, then landed with such a loud thud, I wouldn't have been surprised if he cracked his skull. As he lay there moaning, I sprang up, whipped the knife from his waist-band—the very knife he'd planned to use to peel away my skin—and slit his throat.

He gurgled, became silent.

Everything happened so quickly, the first man only now realized what had transpired. Blood poured from his broken nose as he stared, wide-eyed, at his friend. A roar of rage and horror erupted from him, and he leapt at me, hands raised to choke the life from me.

I held the dripping knife steady, waiting, waiting until he reached striking distance. Only then did I swoop low and gut him, sharp silver sinking into human flesh. His own momentum sent the blade deep.

He gasped as his knees buckled, and in the next instant he was dead, collapsed at my feet. I sucked in a breath of satisfaction. Simple. Easy. They deserved what they'd gotten.

I didn't feel an ounce of remorse.

I couldn't leave them like this, however, because I didn't want anyone to realize I was responsible for this carnage. If they knew, they might begin to wonder how a delicate other-worlder interpreter, a peaceful Raka, had bested two burly human males.

Though I didn't possess any fingerprints, I cleaned the knife with the men's clothing to remove any evidence I might leave behind and placed the hilt in one of their hands. The other guy needed a weapon, too, so I performed a thorough search and found one strapped to his ankle. I dipped the tip in the other's blood before wrapping his fingers around it. There. Done. They looked like they'd fought with each other, and both emerged the loser.

Satisfied with my work, I cleaned my hands in the grass as best I could and strolled back to the house. I whistled along the way.

“Where were you?” Claudia asked the moment she spied me. She stood on the porch steps, staring down at me in concern.

“I went for a walk,” I said, all innocence.

“But…” Her eyes grew wide, concerned. “There's blood on your shirt.”

I glanced down and spotted the crimson splotches. Jonathan and Lucius joined her in the doorway, avidly watching and listening to our conversation. I felt Lucius's questioning stare all the way to the marrow of my bones.

“Jonathan,” I said, forcing myself to tremble, “two of your men are knife fighting just over the north hill. I was coming to tell you.”

Lucius's eye flared.

Jonathan frowned.

Claudia raced to my side. She wrapped her arm around my waist. “Knife fighting? Dear God. Let's get out of here.”

I had to contain my smile as she ushered me to the limo.

 

That night, I waited for Lucius to come to me.

I stayed crouched under the window, in the shadows, practically glued to the wall. It wasn't a comfortable fit, but I didn't mind the pain. Anything to best Lucius.

I'd reinforced the balcony lock with steel pins, which would force him to crawl into my room through the highest, smallest window above me. I grinned because I knew he'd have to climb down from the roof to fit. Would he make the effort?

Oh, yes. He would.

I heard the gentle slide of glass, which meant he'd already disabled the security box. A moment later, I saw his booted feet peek through. Silently I jolted up, grabbed his ankles, and jerked him inside. Not expecting the action, he propelled to the ground, crashed hard and grunted. The wire he'd used to rappel from the roof snapped his feet back up.

I was on top of him in the next instant, my knife at his throat.

He wore all black, but no face mask shielded his face from view. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple. He remained where he was, silhouetted by shadows and moonlight, staring up at me.

“Think you're funny?” he bit out on a quiet breath.

Like Lucius, I wore black pants and a black shirt. I'd hoped, by wearing these clothes, I'd ensure we wouldn't become sidetracked.

“Well?” he said.

“Yes, I do.” I tapped the silver blade against his cheek. “Think I'm funny, that is.”

His gaze slitted. “Where's your dog?”

“In the bathroom.” I'd locked her in and petted her to sleep on a fluffy pallet. I hadn't wanted her to worry if Lucius and I tussled. “Sneak in on me once, and that's my bad. Sneak in on me twice, and it's yours.” I cut the wire to his feet.

His legs dropped to the ground with a thump, and Lucius sighed. He tangled a hand through his hair. “You're turning out to be more than I ever expected. I've told you that, haven't I?”

“Yes and I still take it as a compliment.” I inched off him and sat down, remaining in a crouch.

He pulled himself up and met my stare. “That's how it was meant. Now, tell me what happened at Jonathan's. Why was there blood on your shirt? Why were those two guards dead?”

“I did a little exploring, and those men followed me. They dragged me outside, behind some bushes, hoping to steal my skin and hair.”

His ice-blue eyes became hard, steely. “For the gold?”

“Yes.”

“And?” he prompted when I said no more.

“And I killed them.”

“Were you hurt?” Once again his muscles tensed as he waited for my answer. He reached out and gripped my arm with vise-like strength.

“Not even bruised,” I assured him. I tossed the blade aside.

Instantly he relaxed. I told him what I'd learned about the solar flares, and he nodded. “That's good stuff. There's more there, I know it. Keep digging.”

“You do realize I'm winning, right? I'm truly kicking your ass.”

He grinned. “Yes, I realize you're winning. You want to hear what happened after you left Jonathan's or not?”

I tried not to let my eagerness show. “Tell me.”

First, he surprised me by tugging me to his side. I didn't protest, but all the while I told myself I wasn't going to have sex with him again. We'd been there, done that. Didn't need the added complication. Again. One of his hands gently caressed my back, the other clasped my palm. “The men were found, but Jonathan assumed they'd simply killed each other. After we cleaned up the mess, Jonathan pulled me inside his study for a chat. He wouldn't say EenLi's name, but he offered to put me in touch with a man who could help me ‘obtain' you.”

Excitement pounded through me. This was it. We were so close. Without removing my hand from his, I leaned back and rested my weight on one of my elbows. My hair spilled over my shoulder and onto his stomach, gold against our black clothing. “It won't be long now.”

“No. It won't be long.”

I nodded as satisfaction blended with my excitement. “I'm glad.” EenLi would soon send someone to abduct me. God, I couldn't wait!

With his free hand Lucius wound long strands of my hair around his palm and tugged my face close to his. “I know having you taken is the plan, but I expect you to be armed. From this moment on, wear your weapons twenty-four/seven.”

“I do, anyway.”

“You'll also inject the isotope I brought. It bonds to your cells and helps us track you.”

I frowned. “For how long?”

“Three months.”

“And if the mission is completed in two days?”

“Don't argue.” His expression turned hard, unbending. “You understand the reason for it.”

“I don't like the fact that anyone who knows about isotopes and computers will have access to my location.”

“We're setting you up to become some bastard's slave, Eden. Hopefully mine, but maybe not. You want to risk being captured and no one knowing where to find you?”

Damn it. I hated it when someone had a good point—a point that annihilated
my
point. He was right. There was a chance I'd be taken underground, hidden away by a stranger. “You're right.” I sighed. “I'll inject it.”

“Good girl.”

“I'll inject it,” I added, “on one condition.”

“What condition is that?”

“Tell me your real name.”

He shook his head. “You still have two guesses, and I'm not telling you a damn thing.”

“At least tell me what your first name starts with.”

“Why do you even care?” he asked, an edge to his voice, layered by a forced casualness.

“I don't like calling out a fake name during sex, okay?”

“We having sex again?” His lips twitched, and I felt my heart skip a beat. He looked so relaxed just then, so sexy. I loved it when he lost his reserve and simply enjoyed the moment. I don't think he allowed himself to do that very often. Neither did I.

“No?” I said, more a question than a statement. Damn it.

“Liar. Tell me what the F stands for in your name.”

Oh, oh, oh. What was this? “I thought you didn't care.”

“Maybe, like you, I was lying.”

“I'm not telling,” I said in a singsong voice. I liked, really liked, that he wanted to know.