Connor (7 page)

Then he took his seat again and drank his coffee as if he didn't have a care in the world. Eyeing him nervously, Connor could see no sign of a struggle with his cat. Charles appeared perfectly relaxed.

After a few minutes, the French brother finished his coffee and left. Leaving just enough time so as not to attract attention, Connor left too.

A little way down the street, Charles was standing under a lamppost lighting up a cigarette, the smoke rising lazily in the cold air.

"Well?" Connor asked with no attempt at politeness.

"Appealing, certainly, but I felt no urge to bite her pretty little shoulder. What does this mean?"

Connor shook his head. "That I may be the only one who feels the attraction. Did you scent arousal from her when you were close?"

“Non. Just nervousness. She knew who I was, why I was there, but I think I shocked her the way I leaned in. But it was the only way I could think of to get close enough for the test." Charles seemed apologetic, as if he'd unintentionally trampled on Connor's territory.

"Aye, it was, and I'm glad you took your job seriously. Now we know." And as he walked away he muttered under his breath, "Pity Allie doesn't know, too."

No clear plans had been made for the follow-up, so Connor headed back to the hotel where he was staying with Colt and Alyssa. They needed to be made aware of the situation and he needed to do it face-to-face. Allie wouldn't go back to her B & B until Cameron returned home. Until then he'd have to leave her to do her job, even though his cat wanted to keep his proprietary eye on her.

It was early afternoon before Cameron returned to his home and Allie had the chance to return to her B & B. The exhaustion from a late night and a tension-filled morning had taken its toll. The blocked nose was back and with it had come a dull headache. Obviously the adrenalin rush had masked the symptoms for a while, but not allowed her immune system to kick into overdrive.

Now she knew what she was, the idea of having a super-powered immune system wasn't just a joke. Having panther DNA did have its upside it seemed. She still didn't like or trust this new aspect of herself, which was slowly emerging, especially as it seemed intent on pushing her towards Connor, but she had to admit it
was
kind of cool.

Allie decided to let her video camera continue to take footage of Cam's house while she undressed, showered and slipped into bed. Now the pressure was off to keep tabs on Cam, she could relax a little and let her super-power do its thing. She knew she wouldn't have to face the freezing cold again until he went out to the concert tonight.

How long she was asleep she wasn't sure, but when a light knock at her door woke her, she noted that the sky beyond her window was already dark. What surprised her most, in that moment, was just how well she could see with no lights on.

As she climbed groggily to her feet and padded over to the door, she contemplated the time. It could be anywhere from four in the afternoon to eight the next morning. But she didn't feel as if she'd slept that long. No more than a few hours at most.

"Allie, it's Connor," came the now familiar, sexy voice beyond the door. She'd known it was him before he spoke, and without thought, she opened the door and let him in, still without turning on a light.

"For me?" he asked, taking in her red boxer shorts and singlet top she always slept in.

That's when she noticed the dark dress-suit he was wearing and the clothes-bag over his arm. He scrubbed up pretty good, she decided, if a little too much like one of the guys from
Men in Black.
Would he put on sunglasses and zap her, to make her forget any of this crazy-assed day had ever happened?

Realising she was staring, she reached for a blood-red robe, slipped it on and belted it up tight. Connor's knowing grin was both annoying and sexy as hell.

"What brings you back so soon?" she asked, aiming for impatient but sounding more pleased than snarky.

"You're coming to the ball, Cinderella. Or was that Cindy, to your French suitor?"

She knew he was referring to the bearded Son's outrageous approach. At the time, she hadn't known whether to be embarrassed or amused, he'd been so flirtatious and over-the-top charming. Having watched him sit in the bistro for weeks, she'd expected someone circumspect and quiet. The French lover routine had taken her completely by surprise.

But at least she hadn't found him arousing. The thought of all the Scorpio Sons beating a path to her door was far less appealing than she would have expected. Every girl was supposed to enjoy lots of male attention, right? What was wrong with her that she didn't want it? Connor, with a side-dish of Cam, would do her nicely, thank you very much. Any more was not only a waste but an inconvenience, especially if she had to deal with competitive aggression amongst the Sons. Having guys fight over her would just get in the way of her job. Whatever the hell that was now.

Connor laid the bag on the bed and unzipped it with a flourish. "Alyssa thought it wasn't likely you'd have a suitable evening gown with you, so she's lending you one of hers. I told her you were about her size. Maybe an inch taller."

"What are you talking about Connor? What do I want with a dress like that?" But her eyes had latched onto the emerald green silk confection and she couldn't drag them away again. She'd never seen anything so beautiful. It had a Grecian look to it, with a low-cut V neckline and a jewelled band that gathered in the fabric under the breast. She estimated it would likely fall just below her knees, or maybe on the knee. Her fingers itched to touch it.

"We've decided you should go to our songbird's performance tonight as my date. You can be seen to be doing your job, getting yourself an invite to keep tabs on your target. Randolph Hall will be there. Is he picking up the bill for this gig?"

She frowned, trying to take in the avalanche of information. "I can't be that blatant. I'm supposed to stay in the background, observing and reporting on Cam's activities, not taking part in them."

"Why not? How better to observe him than to attend this function? How have you observed him at other events he's attended with Godzilla?"

"Depends on where it is. Once I used my zoom-lens from a nearby window, another time it was in a hotel, and I hung around the open door looking like I was waiting for someone. The last time I paid a waitress to let me take her place."

"So, a smart PI like you could flirt with some dumb bodyguard and get herself invited to see the famous Alyssa Aimes sing, couldn't she? And if she happened to attract more than her share of attention from her target, that might pave the way for a closer relationship between you and Cameron, mightn't it? Any good PI might take advantage of that sort of interest to gather more intel, wouldn't she?"

"Stop, stop, stop. You're overwhelming me, Connor. Please, what's going on?"

With a sigh, Connor sat down on her bed beside the dress and took her hands. "Sorry. I'm trying to be up-beat about the idea, rather than the jealous idiot I was last time you saw me. But it isn't working, is it?"

"No, it isn’t. You're just confusing me. Now start again. Slowly, this time."

He nodded. "Aye, I can do that. But first, tell me if Hall
is
your client?"

"He is. It took a bit of sweet-talking to get that out of my boss, but I finally managed it."

"With that southern belle accent, how could he have refused?" He grinned up at her.

Blushing and grinning she shook her head. "I forgot about your super-hearing. We started that southern routine when some English idiot working for Harry asked if I was from the south. So I put on the accent and said, 'Of course, honey. Aren't we all?' I fluttered my eyelashes at Harry and he joined in with an even more atrocious southern accent than mine. And the idiot believed us. He thought we used our normal accents as a cover or something. I never fully understood his thinking."

"Your training at the John Wayne School of Drama has served you well. But it's more likely he adopts BBC English to cover his own provincial accent so assumes you do much the same in the U.S."

"Why would anyone want to sound like Cam if they didn't have to? He sounds like he has a Cool Mint rolling around in his mouth."

After chuckling for a moment, Connor brought the conversation back on track. "Sharin' the crack with you, Allie lass, does my heart good. But we have places to be, people to see. So let me try to explain the plan to you more clearly.

"I had another chat with Chase, after reporting on your test with Charles. He wants you taking a more active role, if you're up for it. The more moles we can get into the Guild, the better. You're already working for Hall. Does he know who you are?"

"Yes. Actually, he chose me over three other guys working for Harry. He felt an attractive woman would be less noticeable as a tail. I usually find that to be the case, too. I look kind of harmless."

Again Connor chuckled, squeezing her fingers. "That brain of yours makes you anything but harmless."

"You like my brain? I thought it was my body you wanted under you?" she fluttered her eyelashes. What was she doing encouraging him and his mate delusions? Better to keep it all professional. Unless the threesome was still on offer…

"My cat wants that. I prefer your brain. Intelligent women are sexy as hell."

She let out a little grunting laugh. "Nobody before today has ever been taken with my brain before. You and Cam are good for my ego."

He growled softly and tightened his hold on her hands. There it was again, that jealousy, barely restrained. Why did she keep pressing his buttons?

"I didn't get much education. Skived more than I attended school. So most people think I'm a dumb idjit, not good for much more than beating someone's head in. I thought so, too, until I met the other Sons. We all have the same body and brains. If I'd been the baby given to Cameron's father, I'd be the one with the Oxford education and the plum in my mouth. Instead, I was given to an Irish criminal who wanted me to free Ireland from English tyranny, and I became a cage fighter. Luck of the draw."

The sadness and vulnerability in his voice was unexpected. "I wouldn't envy Cam's lot, if I were you. It sounds like he never got a childhood and has always been at war. And now he has to fuck a woman he hates and play up to people he loathes. I can't see you being able to do that. You're too …"

"Discerning? Blatant? It can't be
honest
you're looking for, 'cause I'm not that."

"No. Too…direct. Diplomacy and double-talk wouldn't come easy to you. Would it have, if you had been raised as Cam was? I don't know. But the way you are seems natural to me. No artifice. You're you. If you'd been in Cam's shoes you would have hated it."

"If we're alike, maybe he hates it too. He just learned early how to be two-faced; and now he does it without thinking." Connor seemed reluctant to consider Cam as having any redeeming qualities. But Allie could tell that she'd started him thinking.

She decided to be the one to get them back on track again. "Anyway, you were saying."

"Aye, I was saying. Chase thinks that Hall would see you as a honey pot if Cameron were to show you even a little passing interest. Either he'd want you to seduce Cameron to break up the engagement, or keep you in play, feeding him information about Cameron's activities. A mistress could do that."

Her mouth dropped open. "You won't mind me becoming Cam's mistress?"

Before she knew what was happening, Connor yanked her onto the bed and landed on top of her. Suddenly it was hard to find air for her lungs, and not because he was pressing down on them. Her excitement had shot from slow burn to explosive flames in less than a second.

With his hard body pressed into all her soft spaces, she felt more feminine than ever before. And looking up into his metallic green cat-eyes only increased that feeling. Something feral and very, very powerful stirred inside her. Something that told her to take what this man offered, now, while she still could.

"Do yer want him more'n me? Is that what yer sayin', lass? Or do yer like gettin' me so turned 'round I don't know which end's up?" His voice was soft, lethal and so very sexy.

How long they stared at each other, their breathing laboured, every sense tingling, she didn't know. But finally that electric stalemate was broken and Connor brought his lips to hers in a surprisingly tender kiss that she felt to the tip of her toes. This wasn't what her cat had expected; but the woman in her revelled in it.

Connor's lips explored hers, deeply but gently, open mouthed but with no invasive tongue to spike desire. She followed his lead, allowing the emotions to swirl between them like waves gently surging around the rocks on a beach. Only when her hands began to stroke his cheeks and ears, did another more primitive emotion begin to surface. Heat burned her palms as he mirrored her movements, but rubbing his fingers into her short hair instead.

"Oh, lass… I want yer more than I ever thought possible…." His tone was almost pained.

Allie gave him her answer by sending her tongue into his mouth to taste him. Connor gave her his, by growling deep in his chest and intensifying the kiss. He fought with her tongue, sucked on it, grazed it with his fangs… until she withdrew and let him take control.

But he didn't. Instead he threw himself off the bed and stalked to the window, gasping in shuddering breaths like he'd been starved for air for hours.

She whimpered, feeling deprived and needy all at once. How could he stop like that? Didn't he really want her? Maybe he wanted her to be Cam's now. He'd said the plan was for her to be Cam's mistress.

"Is that it? Are you saving me for Cam? Have you decided I'm not your mate, after all?" she challenged him angrily.

"Woman, yer have no idea what yer talkin' about. There's no time for what I want to do to yer right now. We have to meet up with Colt and Alyssa in a half hour. Feckin' duty first."

Her breathing starting to come back to normal, Allie climbed off the bed, dismayed to see she'd been laying on the lovely silk dress. Steam would fix it, she knew, so she took it completely out of its bag and headed for the en suite.

"If you put duty before me, boyo, don't be surprised if I'm not there when you find time for me. I might have found another, less committed Son, to scratch my itch." And with that she slammed the bathroom door loud enough to disturb the other guests. If she wasn't careful she'd get herself thrown out of the B & B.

As she stood under the steaming water, going over and over the scene in her mind, she didn't even hear the bathroom door open and close. The first she knew of it was when Connor's naked body slipped silently in behind her and pressed his burning cock against her back so hard she could feel his balls against her ass.

Hard, angry hands slipped around to cup her breasts and tweak her nipples. There was no tenderness now. She'd challenged him and he was all about payback.