Eternally Bound: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (7 page)

“It’s nice. Lots to do, plenty to see. You’ll love the house. Most of my upcoming assignments are on the East Coast, so I’ll be staying here for a while.”

“Will our stuff get there in time for Christmas break?”

“Yep. And I can either set up your rooms before you get here, or wait until you arrive so you can pick which rooms you want.”

“It doesn’t matter to us. Can’t wait to see you. The next two months are going to feel like forever, Mom,” Michael’s deep voice filled the line.

“I look forward to seeing you too, sweetie.”

“We’ve gotta run,” Tanna said, always the diligent one. Shooing her brother off the phone she said, “We’ll call you next week, Mom.”

Delaine felt a tug along the bond. “Oh, Sapa says hello to you both. She misses you as much as I do.”

“Hi, Sapa!” they chimed in unison. “Love you, Mom! Bye.”

“Love you too.”

Even as tired as she was, she was so jazzed at hearing from her children she couldn’t possibly go back to sleep now. With that, Delaine was out of bed and headed to the shower.

While she lathered up in the oversized stall, thoughts of her children filled her mind along with a nagging guilt she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Tanna and Michael still had no idea she was a spy. Front companies like Aegis understood that agents, especially those with families, needed to maintain as normal a life as possible. Since she had kids, and used to have a husband, most of her traveling had been limited to short take-downs where they were pretty sure who was up to no good. All she had to do was go in, get the evidence and get out. It usually amounted to a few days here and there with the pretense that she was away training pharmaceutical manufacturers how to use her company’s software or help them map their production processes. Perfect cover for her high-tech persona.

She used to question why she couldn’t share her profession with her family. After all, she was providing a valuable service by taking scum off the streets by infiltrating their organizations and taking them down. But after so many years of firsthand experience with the kind of ruthlessness these criminals possessed, she was glad neither her ex-husband nor children knew what she did for a living. Ignorance was the best form of protection. And Aegis protected them well. After all, Delaine Jeris wasn’t even her real name.

The steam felt good, but her conscience nagged. She’d just met a fabulous guy whom she wouldn’t mind seeing again, but it had been forever since she’d had to do the “hide my identity” thing with a potential lover. She cringed at the memory of how she’d almost slipped and told him her real name last night. With Gary, she’d had years to adjust until keeping her job secret was second nature. But what face should she wear with this new Justin guy? And why did she wish she could wear none at all?

‘Come to me, Sapa,’ she whispered to her best friend and guide.

*
I am here, Suta, but I will not get into that water with you.
*

Delaine laughed at Sapa’s dry humor. She’d learned as a little girl that the lioness despised playing in water. One summer while visiting her grandma on the reservation, her cousins tossed a non-swimming Delaine into the lake. Floundering to stay afloat, she’d screeched for Sapa to help her. Her cousins thought she’d suddenly perfected her dog-paddling technique. What they hadn’t seen was Sapa’s big black back holding her head above water, trying to get her to shore with all haste. Delaine’s threats to tell her grandma sent her cousins fleeing, while a very angry Sapa wished she could sink her fangs into their backsides. Never mind the fact Delaine only had to put her feet down to touch bottom. Sapa had growled, hissed and, to Delaine’s surprise, cursed a blue streak until her supernatural fur dried out.

Delaine pressed her lips together as the lioness’ corporeal form stalked around the large bathroom. A giggle bubbled out of her throat just as Sapa chose a nice cool spot on the tile floor near the sunken bathtub, flopped down and regarded her charge. Delaine laughed outright at the sound of Sapa’s droll voice.

*
It is a dreadful memory
.*

‘I’m sorry, Sapa, but it’s funny. Now. At the time I was terrified. But that’s not why I called you to this plane.’ With that, Delaine stuck her face under the shower of water and groaned. God that felt good. Too bad her mind couldn’t enjoy it.

‘Sapa, what’s going on with me? I feel so…unsteady.’

*
There is nothing wrong with you, Suta. Your name, Suta Winyan, means Strong Woman. You are, and have always been, a strong woman. Even now when you feel unsure.
*

‘But why do I feel this way? I’ve never had a problem doing my job before.’

*
Performing your duties is not the issue. Deceiving our mate is the issue
.*

‘He is NOT our mate,’ Delaine protested hotly, not sure why.

*
And you know this how?
*

Delaine scrunched up her face and regarded Sapa like the stubborn little girl she’d been when they’d met. She rolled her eyes instead. The great hunter lay on her side yawning, not paying the least bit of attention to Delaine’s face. But then, she didn’t need to.

‘God, what is it about this guy? I don’t even know him and I want to tell him everything. What makes me want to…hell, I don’t know. I’ve never been affected by anyone like this. Not even my ex-husband, and I was married to him forever.’

*
Do you have to mention the puny Gary man? It makes my stomach upset and gives me the urge to eat grass
.*

“Sapa, you only eat grass when you feel sick or nauseous.”

*
Precisely
.*

Delaine snorted at her spirit guide’s matter-of-fact tone, then Sapa said something that rocked her back on her heels.

*
You do realize the puny Gary man hid more from you than you did from him, yes?
*

Delaine hopped out of the shower, sputtering like a drowned rat in a shower cap. Yeah, she’d known all right. She was, after all, an undercover agent. If there was anything she was good at, it was ferreting out the truth, even about her own husband. The cheating bastard.

‘Enough said. Sometimes I wish I weren’t the only one who could see and touch you. It would have been nice for a chunk of his ass to disappear and he’d have no idea what bit him.’

*
I would not have dared bite such a vile creature. Just the thought
…* Delaine’s eyes went wide as the lioness actually shuddered and made a nasty gagging sound! *I must depart in search of some grass to eat. I am feeling somewhat unsettled.*

Delaine laughed as she grabbed her favorite aromatic oil and worked it into her damp skin. With genuine thanks, she responded, ‘I’m fine now, Sapa. Thanks for keeping me company.’

*
Anytime, Suta, but do not fool yourself. Justin is for us. It is expected that you would want to keep no secrets from our mate
.*

“Uh, sure,” she drawled, not giving in on the mate business. Not yet.

With that, her spirit guide faded into the back of her mind, leaving Delaine with more to think about than she’d had on her mind before summoning the big cat. Shower cap tossed aside, she strode to the closet to dress. The phone rang again and the tactical gear she’d selected from the sparsely occupied shelves landed on the closet floor. Thinking her kids must have forgotten something had her flying back into the bedroom. Her towel hit the floor as she dove across the bed for the phone like a third baseman for the Colorado Rockies.

“Tanna? What’d you forget, honey?” She tensed when a deep, sexy voice greeted her enthusiastic hello.

* * * * *

“Good morning, beautiful.”

Justin? Oh my god. She wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. What to do? What to do? Okay, now just calm down. The man wasn’t standing here looking down at her completely naked butt, he was on the phone. But on the phone or not, her body responded to the smooth tone sliding over the phone line. Her breasts pressed into the soft jacquard comforter, which felt unusually abrasive against the sensitive tips. Delaine wondered if the small droplets of water on her back were starting to steam. She cleared her throat, bent her knees and allowed her feet to kick back and forth in the air.

“Well hello, handsome. How are you?”

“I’m great, but I’d be doing better if you were having breakfast with me.”

“Breakfast? I…uh…” She had to what? Come on, girl, think of something!

“Have you eaten already? I know it’s a bit late.”

Whew! He’d just bailed her out. She guessed she should be thankful considering the state of her frozen brain. Wait, what did he mean by a bit late? Her first glance at the nightstand clock convinced her that the cheap plastic thing was lying. She couldn’t wait until her things arrived from Denver so she could have a clock that was reliable. There was just no way she’d slept the morning away until eleven o’clock! Time to get moving if she was going to be on time for her appointment at Pam’s. Damn, she hated rushing.

“I can’t do breakfast today. I have a hair appointment in an hour, then I’m going to work.”

“Where’s your hair appointment?”

“Arboretum Mall. My friend Pam has a salon there.”

“Well, why don’t you meet me at Le Peep restaurant? It’s at Arboretum, right?”

“Yes, but by the time I’m ready and get over there, we wouldn’t have much time to eat.”

“You’re not just blowing me off, are you?” Justin asked directly but playfully.

“Oh please!” Delaine laughed. “I might have taken the time back when I was twenty, but now, handsome, I wouldn’t bother to blow you off. I’d just tell you to go suck wind.” Her tone was good-natured, but she wasn’t kidding.

“I’ve never met a woman more subtle,” he chided in return. “How ’bout a rain check?”

“You’ve got it. Next weekend?”

After two hours of sitting in Pam’s beauty chair getting her hair done while spilling the details on the great time she’d had at Duke Mansion, Delaine finally made it to work.

She flashed her badge at the front door and stopped to speak amicably to the security guard before making her way to the elevators. From the numerous monitors on his desk the plant looked all but deserted, thank goodness. Nothing like surveillance on a Saturday afternoon. Humph, it reminded her of a bad song title. Surveillance was her favorite part of every assignment. So why didn’t she feel exhilarated?

*
Because you would rather spend the afternoon with our mate
.*

‘Hush, Sapa, nobody asked you. At least not this time,’ Delaine whispered in her head, unable to keep the grin out of her voice. She received an answering chuckle. God, how weird people would think her if they knew she had a chuckling black mountain lion in her head. And the lioness seemed to understand her heart better than she understood herself. But there was no way between here and hell she’d admit it to the big, arrogant fur ball.

She put her game face on, stepped into the elevator and froze to the spot.

* * * * *

“Hello, Ms. Jeris.”

Eewww! Baker’s voice slid over her like oil. Black, thick, crude oil. The last person in the universe she wanted to see occupied her elevator. Sapa sprang to the forefront of her mind with a snarl, ready to lend her speed and strength should there be a need.

‘It’s all right, Sapa. I’ve got it under control. Go scout the building and see who’s down in The Vault.’ As soon as the thought was completed, Delaine felt the great hunter’s presence dim in her mind as she took off to perform her task.

“Hello, Mr. Baker,” Delaine said brightly behind a perfect smile. “How are you?”

“Fabulous, thank you. What floor are you going to?” His eyes practically glowed when his hand brushed against her as he reached for the control panel.

“Headed to my office. There are a couple of pieces of the process that are eluding me. I just can’t seem to wrap my mind around them,” she said in the most confused voice she could muster. “Thought I’d work on them while it’s nice and quiet around here.”

Both their offices were on the ninth floor, and that button was already lit. Damn it! The man’s timing sucked. She’d been on her way to Research and Development one floor below. Since R&D took up the entire eighth floor and none of those people were in the building, technically she didn’t have any business on that floor. She’d have to snoop later. And what the hell was he doing here on a Saturday afternoon anyway? From what she knew of him, probably the same thing she was.

The elevator doors slid closed and Delaine busied herself looking for something in her purse when the first image from Sapa flew into her head.

The Vault was empty, all of the tunnels that led to the labs were dark with the exception of two of the fifteen. Images streamed into her head of what looked like janitors or interns cleaning the floors and such. Excellent.

As Delaine continued to fumble in her purse, the cool handle of the gun on the bottom of the large bag teased her fingers. When Baker’s jade green eyes traveled from her face down to her breasts and then lingered, she wished she could just put a slug in him. God, the man made her skin crawl. Okay, she needed a distraction. She tried to engage in polite conversation, but it turned out to be a true test of her patience. He said very few words and kept his eyes plastered on her chest until he had the gall to let them stray to the vee at her crotch. Nasty bastard.

Almost to the haven of her office, he sprung a doozey on her. “Why don’t you come to my office? Perhaps I can assist you with the piece of the process that’s, ah, eluding you?” Oh joy, an offer she couldn’t refuse.

They stopped at her office, grabbed her documents then headed down the hall to his. She’d been inside before but not while he was in it. This was the most help he’d been since the day she met him, and god knows she’d been more than content without his aid.

Okay, time to do the process analysis dazzle. Spitting out everything she knew about the manufacturing process for Zalactin, minus a couple of key parameters and components, she sat back and let him take the lead.

The bland expression on his face screamed bored, loud and clear, but his eyes flashed green fire. The man was either turned on or pissed off, she couldn’t tell which.