Dating Outside Your DNA (17 page)

Heat infused her, she jumped and moved back, touching her lips. "Your lips are hot."

"You can say that again."

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She shook her head. "No, I mean, you're hot- hot."

He touched his finger to his lips. "You're right, I am hot. I think I might have absorbed some of your heat last night."

Her shoulders slumped. "Oh, no, I've cu rsed you."

He laughed, drawing her back against him. "If that was a curse, can you curse me again tonight?"

She drew in a sharp breath as a visual filled her head and a rush of heat coursed through her. "I could curse you right now if you want."

He sighed. "Frances and Cole will be here soon, and I don't want to hurry through making love with you. But it is tempting."

He cupped her breast, squeezing her nipple before the heat began to spread. "I'll meet you downstairs."

"Ass."

He laughed.

She grabbed clean clothes and hurried to the bathroom. She didn't want to spend another moment away from Roan. Maybe this

one-on-one wasn't going to be so bad after all.

She rushed her shower, then dressed, and ran a brush through  her hair. It didn't take her long before she was ready, but she stopped  long enough to study her reflection in the mirror with a critical eye.  Until now, she'd never thought much about her looks. She turned her  head to one side, then the other. Not bad, she guessed.

Make-up hadn't been a top priority for her. Who was going to  notice if she wore any or not? Aasera had never worn make -up so  there hadn't been much of a chance to experiment.

Lipstick might have been nice. If she had any. Roan might think  she was trying to fix herself up for him. He'd be right, but she didn't  want him to think it. Last night might not have meant as much to him  as it had to her.

Ah, last night. Her body trembled just thinking about it. The

incredible heat and the swirling lights. She'd wondered if she would

ever get to see the lights at their strongest. She hugged herself. Roan

had given her so much.

Roan. Darn! He was waiting downstairs for her.

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She rushed out of the bathroom and down the stairs. He was in

the kitchen drinking his coffee. She slowed her steps  as she walked

the rest of the way inside.
 
Keep it casual
. Their gazes locked, then

his gaze swept over her, really slow. Her blood began to heat.

She heard the sound of a car coming up the hill. "Cole and

Frances," she said.

"I don't hear anything."

She shrugged. "I have better than average hearing."

A couple of minutes passed. Roan went to the window while

she poured herself a glass of juice.

"You're right. It was them," he said as their car pulled into the

parking area.

"Of course I was right."

"That must be some hearing."

"It can get bothersome. It's noisy in the city with all the cars and

people. In the country there's crickets and other noises that used to

drive me crazy." She took a drink, then lowered the glass. "What are

we going to do today?"

A smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

Oh, yeah, she'd like to do what he was thinking.

Just as abruptly, his smile dropped. "Classroom."

She grimaced. "I read all the books."

"Sorry. This is part of it."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it." S he finished the rest of her

juice and placed her glass in the sink. She wasn't looking forward to  the classroom. She cast a longing glance out the window. It was  going to be a nice day today. The sun was already coming up. The  perfect day for being outside.

She followed Roan to the classroom, then sat at one of the  smaller desks. There were eight total besides the instructor's larger  desk.

"I want to go over the interview process this morning," Roan  said, flipping open a book and turning to the page he wanted. When  he looked at her, it was as though he was a different person. Gone  was the man who'd made passionate love to her last night, and in his

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place, was the instructor. She would've liked to spend more time with  the man from last night.

The morning moved slowly, they broke for a quick breakfast,  then an even quicker lunch. By early afternoon, she was ready to run  out of the building screaming.

"You're tapping the pencil again," Roan told her.

She looked at the pencil between her fingers. So she was. She  laid it to the side and ran a hand through her hair, then stretched her  arms above her head. "I'm tired of sitting at this desk. Has no one  ever heard about cushions in seats? I want to be outside."

When he didn't say anything, she studied his face.  Could he possibly be thinking it over?

"Okay."

Elation filled her.

"We'll go to the obstacle course."

That wasn't exactly what she meant, but if it would get her out  of the building, she'd agree to just about anything.

"I just need to grab a few things. I'll meet you at the Jeep."

When she went outside, she stood by the Jeep and raised her  arms high above her head. Aasera once told her the Nerakians  worshipped the sun. Maybe that's why part of her longed to be  outside.

There was something about the heat that made her want to feel it on her skin. Let the rays wash over her naked body. There had been times in her life that she'd sneaked away to the woods and removed her clothes. Patches of sun had found its way through the trees and bathed her in warmth .

Roan came out of the building with a backpack. He tossed it in the back of the Jeep. "Ready?"

She nodded and climbed in on the passenger side. What she wouldn't give to walk through the woods with Roan, both of them naked. She drew in a deep breath at  the picture that formed in her mind.

How good would she be at seducing him? Would the instructor

drop his guard and let the man come out?

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Crazy thinking. She wanted to be an agent. She closed her eyes and remembered last night. The sex had been so good.

Powerful, explosive.

"You okay?" Roan asked as he pulled into the parking area.

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" She sat a little straighter in her seat.

"I don't know. You seem quiet." He turned the key and the

engine stopped. "You're not rethinking your decision to become an

agent, are you?"

She shook her head. "No, this is what I want."

"You said you wanted freedom. I'm not sure being on call most

of the time is the freedom you're looking for."

Her gaze moved to the window. "Sometimes I used to wonder

where I belonged. I'm not Nerakian, but yet, I'm not one hundred

percent earthling, either." She looked at him. "Being an agent will give

some definition to who I am. Does that make sense?"

He nodded. "I think I know where you're coming from." He hesitated.

"What?" There was something he wasn't telling her. She was curious to know more about the man he was, and what had shaped his life.

"Nothing." He reached for the door handle.

"Why did you want to become an agent?" she pressed, not

willing to  accept his silence.

"I guess I was a lot like you are now," he finally said. "I don't

have any family. Not left anyway. An aunt raised me. My mother was

killed in a car accident when I was twelve. I never really knew my

dad. I don't think he wanted a kid. Mom never married. The one time I

asked about him, she had such a look of devastation on her face that  I figured whatever it was, it wasn't worth causing her that much pain. I  never asked again. My aunt took over my care after my mother was  killed."

"You never asked your aunt about your father?"

He shook his head. "I doubted she would tell me, or that she

had even known him. But she tried to make up for my lack of not

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having a mother or father around. My aunt never married, and never  quite seemed to know what to do with me so I wasn't sure exactly  where I belonged. Not the situation you're in, but similar."

"I didn't know my father, either. I guess we're alike in more  ways than one."

"I have a theory about mine; I was better off not knowing him."

"Yeah , I came up with the same theory."

"Ready for the obstacle course?" he asked, changing the  subject.

She'd rather walk in the woods, but she had to admit that  gliding through them was pretty fun, too. "I'm ready." She wasn't  looking forward to running the course, though. It had kicked her butt  the last time. Would he still want her if she was sweaty and smelly?  Doubtful.

Twenty minutes later, she forgot about everything as she flew through the trees, then landed on the big air bag. She scooted off the end and unhooked. God, it was so beautiful here. She breathed in the fresh scent of pine. It was a heady fragrance.

She turned when Roan came sliding in. If she squinted her eyes, she could almost pretend he was Tarzan about to scoop her into his arms and take her high into the treetops where he would make wild, passionate love to her.

He landed on the air bag and unhooked. "I thought we'd check out the backside of the course today." He came to his feet.

"There's more?"

"A lot more. We haven't covered half of it yet."

Great.

For the next hour they trudged through the dense woods. They hadn't been this way before. She noticed the trees were getting thicker and she had to wonder if Roan knew where he was going.

"Roan?"

He stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"You do know where you're going, right?"

His grin was slow to form. Butterflies fluttered inside her stomach.

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"Don't you trust me?" he asked.

They were back to the trust issue. "Yes...of course I trust you."

That had to be the lamest response she'd ever given.

He shook his head. "You have to learn to trust me." He faced

her, reaching into his back pocket. "Trust is what it's all about."

"What are you doing?"

He brought a length of silk from his back pocket. Okay, they

were going to do the blindfold again. She could pass this time. She

knew how the game was played.

"I do trust you." She turned around.

"We'll see." He placed the length of black silk over her eyes and

knotted it in the back.

She heard him remove his backpack and drop it to the ground.

Weren't they going to the platform where she would fall backwards onto the big air bag?

He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face him.

"Do you trust me?"

"I said I did," she told him, but she was starting to get a little

worried.

"You don't look as though you trust me. In fact, you look a little

concerned."

"I trust you," she said between gritted teeth.

"Good." He unbuttoned the top button of her shirt.

She took a step back. What exactly did this have to do with

trust?

"Change your mind?" he asked.

Ass. This was another test and she didn't plan to fail. She had

no problem stripping outside. She stepped forward again. "Of course

I haven't changed my mind." Besides, she knew what it would lead to-

-making love. She only hoped he could stand the heat. There wasn't  any ice out here.

He unbuttoned her shirt the rest of the way and slipped it down  her arms. "Black lace. Sexy." He ran his hand across the top of her  breasts. "It barely covers your nipples."

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Heat began to swirl deep inside her. She thrust her chest forward wanting him to touch and caress. His laughter was light.

"Is that an invitation?" he whispered in her ear, his hot breath fanning her cheek.

"What do you think?"

"I think you don't mind getting naked in the woods."

"I told you that I love the woods. They're like a second home to