Untamed Hawaiian Heat (Rift Hunters) (4 page)

“What the hell are you doing?”

Kiana pulled back from the temptation the spark had ignited within her and spun to face Mateo.

The anger burning through their link quickly dissipated the sensual fog wrapping itself around her mind. “Ahh…”

Mateo stalked into the room and jerked her into his arms, crushing her against his chest. He captured her mouth in a bruising kiss, thrusting his tongue deep as though staking his claim.

Kiana pushed him back, breaking the kiss. “What is wrong with you, Mateo?” He reached for her arm, but she shrugged him off.

“I could ask the same of you. Ever since this
forastero
showed up, you can’t seem to keep your eyes off him. Now I find you touching the bastardo! I think I have a right to be pissed off.”

Kiana advanced on him and made him back up toward the entrance. “Like hell it gives you the right! I haven’t done anything, Mateo. What was I supposed to do? Leave him there in the forest?” She poked him in the chest. “As to how
I’ve
reacted? You’re one to talk. How about the way
you’ve
behaved? As for what I was doing just now, I found a mark Niki and Ash must have missed in their scan. I was looking at it.”

“Bullshit! I’ve felt it every fucking time you yearn to touch him. I see the way you look at him when you think I’m not watching, Kiana.” He raised his hand when she opened her mouth to respond. “Save it. There’s nothing you can hide from me when it comes to your true feelings. Mark my words, though.” He pulled her into his arms again and gave her a punishing kiss.
“You. Are. Mine!”
He snarled the words through their link and then disappeared through the door.

He left so fast, she hadn’t even been able to confront him about what was bothering him. Suspicion blossomed in her mind, though. The way he’d acted just now, he was definitely hiding something from her.

But what?

Chapter Three

Tiaki came to slowly. He opened his eyes and instantly regretted it as pain shot through his skull at the bright light. Wincing, he closed them again.
What the hell happened?
He allowed himself to drift back into the darkness, though he was still alert enough he could hear everything going on around him.

Somewhere nearby he heard the soft, dulcet tones of a feminine voice and the deep rumble of a masculine one. They washed over his senses, causing his magic to cascade down his spine with each word spoken. They were arguing, but he couldn’t understand what was being said. The voices stopped abruptly just before he finished whispering an omnilingual spell in his mind. It would enable him to understand their language. He turned cautiously to his side. Testing to see if he could move. The motion brought him into close proximity with a warm, enticing floral scent unlike anything he’d ever smelled back on Mākutu. He opened his eyes.

A pair of the loveliest green eyes stared back at him. The woman’s face was sun-kissed, with high cheekbones and a petite nose. Her long, dark brown hair was streaked with gold and made him ache to feel it brush across his skin. His gaze caught on her full lips, and he wondered how they’d taste. He dropped his eyes momentarily. She was dressed in combat fatigues that were a little frayed at the seams. A brown T-shirt, damp with sweat, clung to her skin. It was almost indecent the way it did little to hide the lush curves it was supposed to conceal. Looking back at her face, he paused on the sensual pout of her lower lip.

Mine
, his magic breathed.

He reached up and caressed her cheek. Lightning sparked softly at the contact. The magic in his blood stirred. Curling his hand around her neck, he pulled her to him even as she tried to evade his touch. The first brush of his lips against hers sent tiny lightning bolts dancing on his skin. His other arm snaked around her waist, bringing her into full contact with his chest. Tilting his head, he traced her lips with his tongue. She let out a soft gasp of surprise. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he thrust inside and invaded the moist heat of her mouth.

She tasted sweet and forbidden, like the pavlova he used to steal from the kitchen before dinner as a child. He slid his hand down her back to pull her more fully on top of him when the sharp point of a knife stabbed into his ribs. He pulled back slightly, his magic roiling with annoyance and anticipation as it reached out to the new person.

“Take your hands off my woman—
now
—and I won’t let this slip between your ribs, forastero.” The command came from the opposite side of the narrow bed he lay on.

Tiaki felt his magic vibrate at the sound of the other voice he’d heard earlier. It reached out toward the newcomer. He frowned. What the hell was up with it? When he didn’t move right away, the man pressed the tip of the blade into his ribs.

“Enough, Mateo.”

The command came from behind them.

“Stay out of this, Ash. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Be that as it may, my friend, we still need him alive so he can be questioned.”

Tiaki’s magic pulsed in warning as he listened to the voice of the one called Ash. Drawing on his magic, he sent out as subtle a detection spell as possible toward the man, not wanting to give away his powers without knowing more about the situation.

“I suggest you cease your probing, Hunter.”

Tiaki froze when he heard the warning rumble in his mind.

“Unless you would like me to allow Mateo to carry out his threat? Which he might do anyway if you don’t release Kiana immediately.”

Reluctantly, Tiaki released the woman, and she scrambled away. He was pleased to note her breathlessness. Refusing to be intimidated, Tiaki studied her for a long moment. His gaze wandered lazily over her. His magic continued to thrum in his blood, reaching out to make contact with her again as she and the man, Mateo, moved back a few steps. Tiaki sat up and licked his lower lip; her taste still lingered there. It didn’t escape his notice that her gaze fastened on the motion. Or the way she licked hers in response.

When she snapped her head around to look at the one Ash had called Mateo, Tiaki finally turned his attention to him as well, belatedly realizing he’d said something.

Mateo stood at least six foot two inches, his sleek frame muscled and trim. He was dressed in the same combat fatigues as the others in the room. Although his skin was darkly tanned, Tiaki didn’t miss the tattoo of lightning bolts that began just beneath his ear and ended at the widest part of his bicep.

As Tiaki gazed at it, the bolts seemed to pulse with a sapphire light as though they were alive. He blinked in surprise when his magic reached out to the anomaly. When he focused on the tattoo again, it lay motionless on Mateo’s skin. He glanced up and met deep brown eyes that flashed an unmistakable warning.

Mateo took a step toward him. The sun streaming through the window flashed off the wicked curve of the blade he still held menacingly in his hand.

Kiana stepped between them as two more people entered the room. “No, Mateo.”

“Out of the way, Kiana. This bastardo needs to understand he has crossed a line.”

Kiana stood her ground and folded her arms across her chest. “He may have started the kiss, but I didn’t do anything to stop it.”

Mateo moved to shove past her but was brought up short by one of the men standing behind him.

Kiana turned her attention to the two who’d just entered the room. “Did you have something to report, Monte?”

Monte stepped forward. “No, Lieutenant. Ash sent for Niki when he became aware the patient had regained consciousness. We were talking with Lieutenant Commander Pearce, who ordered me to bring him to headquarters for questioning as soon as Niki and Ash clear him.”

Tiaki watched Mateo shift his gaze to Kiana. The two stared at each other, and he watched as they waged a silent battle of wills. Although Tiaki got the impression they were communicating on a deeper level.

Sensing movement, Tiaki turned his attention to the woman Monte had referred to as Niki. He probed with his magic to learn more about her. When he didn’t immediately encounter the gentle pulse a person’s magic gave off, he started to withdraw, then paused at the feel of something sparking just beneath the surface where the magic should reside.

“Enough, Hunter. I know what you’re trying to discern. I can assure you, none of these people are a threat to you.”

Tiaki snapped his head around to Ash.
“They don’t know, do they?”

“No, they don’t. But I believe the time to reveal it has come.”

“Who are you? And where the hell am I?”

“Submit to the examination, Hunter. Your questions will be answered in due time.”

Tiaki regarded Ash for a moment longer, then turned his attention to Niki as she pulled a machine closer and began unwinding some type of cuff.

“I’m Dr. Niki Banks, the Chief Medical Officer. I’m just going to do a quick check of your vitals before I release you to Monte.”

Tiaki inclined his head. “Go ahead. Although I don’t believe an exam is necessary.”

Niki listened to his chest and made some notes, then picked up another instrument.

“Your heart and lungs sound fine. Just let me check your eyes for signs of a concussion, and you’ll be free to go.”

Tiaki barely heard a word she said, his attention completely focused on Kiana and Mateo. They still seemed to be in heated communication. He blinked a couple of times when Niki shined a bright light in his eyes.

Mateo turned and met his gaze.

Lust flooded his veins, and his magic sparked to life, magnifying the carnal hunger a hundredfold.

“What the hell? Ash, are you sure you didn’t find any cybernetic implants?” Niki asked as she studied his eyes.

The comment sliced through the onslaught of emotions, and Tiaki broke eye contact with Mateo.

“I’m positive he doesn’t have any, Niki. Why?” Ash moved into Tiaki’s line of sight.

Niki handed him the light. “Because I just saw what looked like electrical currents spark in his eyes. Similar to what older implants emit when they burn out.”

Ash took the light and shined it in his eyes.

Shit!
There was only one thing he could think of that Niki could have seen resembling what she described. His magic.

“Relax, Hunter. I’d rather explain this to all of them at once. I have no intention of revealing anything right this minute.”

Tiaki took a deep breath and concentrated on reining in his magic before it broke free and became uncontrollable. He needed to figure out what the hell was causing it to act this way. He hadn’t felt his control of it slip like this since he was a fledgling.

A few moments passed as Ash examined his eyes. “I don’t see anything, Niki. It must have been a trick of the light.” Ash set the instrument on the table and backed away.

Niki glanced back and forth between Ash and Tiaki as though trying to decide if she believed them. She wrote something down. “Okay, then. Monte, he’s all yours.”

“Great. Let’s get going. I don’t want to keep Pearce waiting any longer than necessary.” Monte came forward and motioned for Tiaki to precede him to the door.

Tiaki rose from the bed and followed. An awareness rippled through him when he passed between Kiana and Mateo, who had taken up defensive poses on either side of the door. His magic reached out to both of them as though it were trying to pull them to his side.

Tiaki shook his head and pushed that thought away. He had bigger things to worry about right now.

Like explaining the magic residing within Earth’s core.

* * * *

Tiaki surveyed the lay of the land as they led him to their command center. He wasn’t looking forward to enlightening this planet about the core magic. While he possessed the information needed to explain it, it wasn’t something he’d been trained to go into detail about.

Tiaki shook himself mentally and started scanning the base with his magic, hoping to ascertain where he might be able to send a message to Legatus Cacus, who presided over the Rift Hunter Legion at the Citadel, but when it brushed up against Kiana and Mateo, his magic rushed back to his fingertips.

Before he had a chance to analyze what was happening, he felt a net close around his magic, binding it tightly. Glancing up, he found Ash staring at him.

“You better get a handle on it, Hunter. There are a lot of people who believe you are a soldier for our enemy. It wouldn’t be wise to introduce them to the core magic this way.”

“And just why haven’t you told them about it?”

“Because it is forbidden for me to do so.”

Tiaki started to ask why, but Ash’s next words stopped him.

“Leave it alone, Hunter. I will not explain my reasons to you.”

Tiaki would have pushed further, but right then Monte punched a code into the security panel near the door. He glanced in Ash’s direction again. The man knew more than he was letting on. But how much more? He pushed the questions away for now. What Ash knew or didn’t know was none of his concern. He needed to worry about contacting the Citadel to find out what the hell had happened to the rift he’d been working on.

* * * *

Kiana tried not to stare at the stranger as he was led into the conference room, even though the restless energy within her kept reaching out to him. She glanced at Mateo as he entered the room, and quickly averted her eyes. He was furious with her about the feelings threatening to boil over inside her. Half of which were directed at the man she’d been kissing with as much abandon as she’d ever kissed Mateo.

She noted that Monte seated the man near the head of the table, where Lieutenant Commander Pearce was already sitting with their interrogator, Elias Marinos. She frowned, realizing she didn’t think of him as a prisoner. The only word that came to mind when she thought of him was…mine.

For the first time that morning, she was grateful Mateo had blocked his links with her. The last thing she needed was to get into an argument about this in front of Pearce. Forcing thoughts of something she didn’t know how to fix out of her mind, she clasped her hands in her lap and stared at them while the others filed in and took their seats.