Frozen Desires (Asylums for Magical Threats) (12 page)

Gio resisted a blink and kept his face free of emotion. “He brought a dead rat back to life?”

Chan shook her head. “Not exactly. The rat was mostly alive, although I think you’re missing the bigger

point.”

No, he understood the enormity of the situation completely. “Where is this researcher now?”

“He’s being kept in quarantine, in an observation room down the hall.”

“Right. My clearance should be high enough, so take me to him.”

Chan looked like she wanted to tell him to sod off, but she merely nodded. “This way.”

As he followed the doctor down the hallway, something niggled at the back of his mind about the

healing incident with the rat. It was almost as if he’d heard a story about something similar before, a long time ago.

Chapter Thirteen

When Marco had seen the waitress watching them, he’d quickly realized that he had one of two choices:

either give up coming to this place—
La Noche—
for information, or kiss Cam and deal with her wrath later.

He’d opted for the latter.

After mumbling for her to play along, he tilted his head and touched Cam’s lips with his. Despite her

‘take no shit’ attitude, her lips were soft and undeniably feminine. But she continued to be deliberately stiff and unresponsive, unwilling to play along, so he tightened his grip on the back of her head and nibbled her lower lip. Some of the tension eased from Cam’s body; but it wasn’t enough to convince anyone here that

they were both horny, and desperate to be naked, which was what his reputation required.

He decided to play dirty.

He reached a finger to the west and manipulated the water particles under Cam’s shirt until they froze,

and then swept them across her nipples. As expected, she gasped and Marco took advantage, plunging his

tongue inside of her mouth. As he stroked his tongue against hers, he felt Cam’s claws lightly scrape against his chest through the thin fabric of his shirt. The light sting felt good, and he wanted more.

He hauled her up against him until her heat and scent surrounded him. The taste of Cam was

surprisingly addictive, and it made his cock harder. Not caring that she could feel his desire, and aware that he may never have this chance again, he angled her head and took the kiss deeper.

The tension eased out of Cam’s body, but she still refused to participate. Marco resisted a growl and

tightened his grip on her hip. He wanted her to kiss him back.

But she didn’t. He’d finally found a woman who made him want to act the way his reputation declared,

and she wasn’t interested.

They’d kissed long enough to suit his cover ID, so before he did something stupid, like straddle her

across his cock and rub up against her, Marco reluctantly began to retreat. But then Cam’s tongue, although hesitant, lightly brushed against his. He resisted a groan, afraid he might scare her off. Instead, he flicked his tongue against hers again, and retreated. Her response was stronger this time, and it killed him to

wonder if she were playing along or responding of her own free will.

Her nails dug deeper into his chest and he was about to see if he could make her engage more when

someone said in Spanish, “I was wondering when we’d see you again, Felipe. I’d started to think you’d

found a new hangout.”

Silently cursing Ynez, the waitress, Marco pulled away from Cam and noticed the flush on her cheeks

and the dazed look in her eyes. Clearly, she’d been affected as much as he, although, she was better at

hiding it. He winked at Cam to let her know that this was far from over before he pasted a grin on his face, looked at Ynez, and said, “No, my lovely, it would take a thousand horses to drag me away from the stars

alight in your eyes.” He winked and Ynez giggled. “I had business elsewhere.”

While Marco had never said outright that he was part of a drug cartel, everyone inside of
La Noche

assumed it. The cover ID of Felipe Herrera had saved him a time or two in the past.

Ynez leaned forward and placed a plate of
panuchos
, his usual, down in front of him. With Cam sitting on his lap, and Marco unsure of whether she was watching him or not, he hesitated to keep up his character and have her believe that he was exactly what his reputation proclaimed. He wasn’t exactly sure why it

mattered since his reputation kept anyone from suspecting he was an Elemental Master.

I’m being ridiculous.
Of course he would do what was necessary. At least Cam wouldn’t understand

Spanish. Nevertheless, if she asked him for the truth later, he would give it to her. He had a feeling that if he ever lied to her from this point onward, what tentative trust she’d given him today would vanish

irreparably.

And he still needed to hear about that man who’d frightened her in the street.

Pushing aside his reluctance, Marco deliberately stared down Ynez’s shirt before meeting her eyes again with another smile. Ynez leaned forward and whispered, “If you want better company later, you know

where to find me.”

He gave her a heated look. “I’ll keep that in mind, lovely.”

Ynez gave a slow smile, looked away from his face to something on his right before turning and

walking away, her hips swaying in invitation.

When Marco’s lips had touched hers, Cam had gone still, unsure of what to do. Her instinct to avoid

drawing attention to herself in public had been too strong to simply push him away. Yet she didn’t like

being drawn into a cover ID without her consent, if that was indeed what Marco had been doing.

But then he’d caressed her nipples with ice, and she couldn’t help but gasp. The sensation was oddly

stimulating, not that she would admit it to Marco. Especially since the moment her mouth opened, he’d

thrust his tongue inside.

She’d started thinking of all of the ways to eviscerate him when he started to stroke her tongue and the

action sent a jolt through her body, straight to her core. Her claws lightly scored his chest and the motions of his tongue continued to send heat through her body. The taste of Marco invaded her mouth, making her

body scream for more.

It had been years since a man had kissed her; but even then, she’d never felt as hot and bothered as she

was now.

His tongue started to retreat, and she barely resisted a sound of protest. She didn’t want him to stop. It might be a long time before she was kissed again, and she missed the feeling of a man wanting her. Right

here, right now, she didn’t care if it was all an act. As she’d done with every other aspect of her life, she would take what she wanted.

She stroked her tongue against his. If Marco was going to use her as a prop for his cover ID, then she

would use him too—no strings, no attachment, just an opportunity to appease her desire.

Cam retreated, but Marco tangled his tongue right back with hers, his hand around her waist drawing

her closer until her breasts brushed his chest. She resisted a moan at the contact, her nipples already

hypersensitive from Marco’s icy caress.

Just as she was about to run a hand up Marco’s chest and into his hair, she heard a woman’s voice.

Marco broke the kiss, looked at her face, and smiled. He’d ended the kiss so abruptly that she hadn’t had a chance to regain her composure and banish the emotions from her face. When Marco winked at her, she

knew she was in trouble.

This is a one-time thing. That’s it.
There was no way she was going to complicate her mission by

sleeping with one of her colleagues, no matter how much he turned her on. Especially since Marco liked to

be in control; and she wasn’t about to fight him over who was in charge for the entirety of their Talent-

searching mission.

Thankfully, Marco looked away, relieving her of his scrutiny, and leaned around her to see who had

spoken.

After two deep breaths to regain her composure, Cam turned her head to find a beautiful, curvy woman

in her twenties, the plate in her hand identifying her as a waitress. Even though she and Marco were

speaking in Spanish, their tone and body language screamed some kind of flirty back and forth. When the

woman leaned over more than was necessary, displaying a clear view down her top, Marco’s eyes followed.

Any lingering heat Cam had from their kiss vanished. What was happening right in front of her was exactly

the reason she’d resisted Marco’s charm.

Embarrassment for giving in to him in the first place rushed forth. She’d just have to make sure it didn’t happen again.

The woman’s gaze moved over to Cam, flicking to her scars and simple braid, her eyes telling Cam that she didn’t see what Marco saw in her, and that Cam was nothing more than a one-off whim. She willed

herself to keep her face calm, not wanting to give the slutty bitch the satisfaction of affecting her.

The waitress’s eyes went back to Marco, full of heat, before she walked away, her hips swaying with

sexual promise.

Marco’s eyes followed.

The humiliation of his obvious rejection of her was too much and she pushed against Marco’s arms,

wanting to get away from him. The only men who ever seemed to be interested in her were the ones who

wanted to use her. She thought she’d learned her lesson with her ex, but apparently not.

Marco’s grip remained firm as he whispered, “We’ll leave, but wait until we get outside before you start

acting out.”

His words were cool and even, nothing like his usual lighthearted tone. If she didn’t know better, she’d

say he was angry.

Like he had any reason to be angry with her. She had done everything he’d asked of her since entering

this place. “Then hurry up, because your touch disgusts me.”

Marco clenched his jaw, but he kept quiet as he pushed her up off his lap and drew her against his side.

He gave her one last look she couldn’t read before putting on what she was fast learning was his fake smile.

Unable to do the same, Cam tucked her head against his side to hide her expression, which turned out to be a mistake. Despite how he’d hurt her, and how Marco had used her like the others, his scent was warm and

oddly comforting, reminding her of how he’d tasted when he’d kissed her.

Am I fucked up or what?
He’d just rejected her in plain sight of everyone here, yet she was still attracted to him. Why couldn’t a dependable, strong man like Jaxton or Darius be here with her and smell as good?

As they made their way to the door, Cam decided to fall back on what had worked best for her over the

last four years—she was going to focus solely on her missions and eschew men completely.

Cam’s words about his touch had stung, and only years of practice had allowed Marco to act the part of

Felipe Herrera as he and Cam made their way to the door. He even managed to give Ynez another

deliberately heated look before passing by the bouncer and stepping out into the open air.

Cam, thankfully, played along until he turned them down a side street, where she stiffened and tugged

to get away. But he kept a grip on her shoulders. “Not yet,” he hissed.

Her claws bit into the skin of his ribcage, but he ignored them. She could threaten him all she liked, but he wasn’t letting her run off until she understood the truth of his actions back in
La Noche
.

Cam increased the pressure of her claws and said, “There is nothing to justify you touching me. I was

your prop inside, but there is no one here to impress.” She pressed a little harder. “You’re also violating the rules of DEFEND, to never force an innocent to do your will. Maybe working with DEFEND isn’t

important to you, but it’s sure as hell important to me. Maybe us working together isn’t such a good idea

after all.”

He’d had enough of Cam’s disdain, and he wasn’t going to take her abuse any longer. Gritting his teeth,

Marco tugged her inside an abandoned house and lowered his face to hers. “You’re quick to judge, Camilla,

but it is you who aren’t holding up your promise.” She opened her mouth, but he placed a hand over it.

“No, it’s my turn now.”

He let his restraint go, showing her the anger he’d been trying so hard to contain. If this was the only

way for her to take him seriously, then so be it.

He kept his voice low as he said, “If DEFEND is so important to you, then you’d stop with all your

fucking evasion tactics and simply tell me who that man was and how you’re connected. Part of my mission

is to aid you in looking for Talents, which I will do, but that isn’t all.” He leaned even closer, his nose a

hairbreadth from touching hers. “Every second I spend tracking you down and passing one of your fucking silly little tests, innocent
Feiru
and their families are being murdered by a group who would make even you pause before crossing them.”

He forced Cam to take a step back and he cornered her against the wall. “I do what’s necessary to make

my missions a success, and flirting with someone is the least of it.” He narrowed his eyes. “So stop fucking judging me, because you have no idea what I’m capable of when it comes to stopping the murderers of

children, especially when one of the bastards killed my cousin.”

Cam’s eyes widened at his last statement, and he decided she’d had enough. He removed his hand, but

didn’t step away. Due to Cam’s latent abilities, she was fast, but he would be able to stop her at this distance with his own powers.

She held his gaze, her expression unreadable. When she finally replied, he could barely hear her. “Why

didn’t you just tell me all of this before? I could’ve helped you.”

He growled. She still hadn’t answered his fucking question about the man on the street. He put a hand

against the wall on either side of her head and leaned forward. “When was I supposed to tell you, Camilla?