Dating Outside Your DNA (4 page)

She smiled. He was standing right in front of her. "You mean this one?" She stepped forward. There was barely a foot between them.

"Christ! How the hell did you do that?" "Do what?" she innocently asked. "Camouflage yourself with the tree." "Practice."

"That's a good way to get yourself killed."

"I'm not scared of termites if that's what you're implying."

He closed the space between them. So close she could see  flecks of gold in his green eyes. His presence dominated the space. It  was all she could do not to step back.

"It's not termites I'm talking about. When I'm startled,

sometimes I shoot first, and ask questions later."

"I doubt Joe would like it if you shot me."

"Don't come out here again. Not alone."

She raised her chin. "Like I said, I can take care of myself."

"Can you?" His eyes half closed and before she could stop him,  his mouth lowered to hers.

At first, he only brushed his lips across hers. The chill she'd felt earlier quickly left her body as Roan ignited a fire inside her.

His hand moved to the back of her neck and began to massage. She couldn't stop the moan as she leaned in closer, wanting more, needing more. The familiar heat swelled inside her.

He didn't disappoint her as he deepened the kiss, moving his hand from the back of her neck to slide beneath her T-shirt and under

her bra as he cupped her breast.

Shocked by his unexpected touch, she stepped back, but he

followed her. The tree that had once meant safety now became her

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prison, but one she wasn't sure she wanted to escape as Roan  rubbed his thumb over her hard nipple. Her body began to ache. She  could feel the light, the colors.

Did he know what he was doing? Oh, God, yes, he knew  exactly what he was doing, and he did it very well.

Rick had said she'd burned him. He had even cried out in  pain.  What if she did the same thing to Roan? Could she scar a man for  life? Would she have an orgasm only to open her eyes afterwards  and find a pile of ashes where a man had once been?

Bleh!

But she didn't want him to stop causing the sensations of

pleasure that swarmed over her, and she couldn't think straight. Her

arms automatically went around his neck.

He pressed closer, his erection pushing against the front of her

pants. He nudged against her sex. Roan was making it difficult for her

to breathe as the ache inside her grew.

Even Rick had never made her feel anything like this. Not this

sudden burst of fire rushing through her. There was no awkward

fumbling this time.

No, this wasn't Roan's first time, and she found herself wanting

more, even though she wasn't sure she liked him. If this was what it

felt like to be slutty, she didn't care, because it felt so damn good.

He abruptly pulled away from her. She grabbed his arms to

keep from falling. Her breathing was ragged and filled the air around

them.

"There's more than one kind of danger, and you just proved you  can't protect yourself." Roan spoke softly, his words caressing her as  much as his hands had a moment ago. That was probably why it took  longer for the meaning of his words to sink in.

Lyraka shoved away from him, her back bumping the tree. He'd  only been using her.

"Like I said," he continued. "Don't go into the woods alone  again. And take a couple of aspirins, your skin felt hot. You might be  coming down with something. Sick or not, we  start your training  tomorrow."

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She used her speed to move away from him, and didn't stop until she was nearly back at the building. Before stepping from the trees, she dropped down to the ground.

He'd ruined the one place where she'd always been able to  find solace. What was worse, he'd used her weakness against her. Of course he would know Nerakians were a passionate race. She hated him!

When she heard his heavier steps, she blended with her surroundings and glared at him. He stopped and looked around as if he sensed she watched him. She held her breath.

"As long as I'm your instructor, you'll follow my orders. If you  don't, I'll tell Joe you're not working out. He might like you, but he'll go  along with my recommendation. I guess it all comes down to how bad  do you want this." He stepped from the woods and walked back  toward the building.

She picked up a fistful of leaves and crumbled them in her  hands. Roan was an ass. He probably wanted her to quit so he could  be released to go back to active duty.

When Joe had told her about the elite force, she'd jumped at  the chance. This was an opportunity to use her gifts. She didn't want  to hide who she was any longer. She'd been doing that all her life.  Growing up had been like living in a closed room where th ere was no  light, no windows, but now the door was open, and she actually had  the opportunity to do something she could be proud of.

At least, Lyraka hoped she could. Joe had already told her the  training would be intense and that she would have a lot to  learn in a  short period of time. Only the best made it through his boot camp,  and then there was more training. Maybe she wouldn't be good  enough.

One thing she knew for sure, she wouldn't give Roan the  satisfaction of knowing he'd made her quit.

Roan  stomped back inside the building, but before he could close the door a breeze swept past him. He caught just a glimpse of short dark hair and the light fragrance Lyraka wore.

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He'd had a feeling she was going to be some kind of pissed off at him for kissing her, then leaving her wanting more. He'd been right.

This wasn't the way to start off her training. Damn it, he shouldn't have kissed her. Now he'd be thinking about how she'd tasted, how her breast had felt cupped in his hand, the way her nipple had hardened when he'd brushed his thumb over it.

He stopped just inside and took a deep breath. He didn't need that image in his head, not when he was stuck in the middle of nowhere, with a woman he knew would join him in his bed with very little encouragement on his part. At least, in that respect, she was like all the other Nerakians he'd ever met. But he'd never taken one to his

bed. None had ever tempted him, at least, until now.

He started up to his room, but changed his mind and went in  the opposite direction. The building they were staying in was small  and industrial looking. There certainly wasn't a feeling of home and  hearth. But then, he had a job to do and he needed to make sure he  remembered that. Getting cozy was not on his agenda, no matter  how te mpting Lyraka was. Better to get the lay of the building than to  lay her.

The kitchen was to his right so he went to the left. There was a  living room of sorts with a big fireplace, a couple of chairs, a coffee  table, and a sofa just off the main entry. This room came closer to  being comfortable.

The living room opened into the training area. It was about half  the size of a gym and was equipped with treadmills and weights-- all  the equipment anyone would need to stay in shape. He walked  closer, then frowned. There were also machines to gauge one's  performance. Joe could've forewarned him about Lyraka's abilities.  His boss had a sick sense of humor.

Just off the gym was a classroom where he'd teach Lyraka the

fundamentals of the force--bookwork. The one thi ng that every

trainee detested, including the Nerakians.

Most of them were more like psychics. They could sense things

others couldn't. There were a couple of warriors in the bunch--which

was a joke. Their planet was at peace.

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Warriors without a war. But they were trained, and some of them were pretty good fighters. He figured Lyraka was in that group since Joe said it should only take a few weeks to train her. It didn't mean he had to like doing it though.

Every last Nerakian was a female. Not a man among them.

That wasn't right. Not right at all.

The Nerakians knew about the universe and some of the other

species that inhabited neighboring planets so the agency used the  knowledge of the ones who'd left Nerak looking for something more.

Not that the Nerakians were getting much action on Earth. So  far, the force hadn't had any trouble keeping the peace in the third  zone, but it always paid to stay on one's toes. He didn't trust any  aliens.

Especially Lyraka, now that he knew her skills went beyond the norm. No wonder Joe had practically been salivating when he talked about her. Her speed was phenomenal. But this camouflage thing she had was something else.

Excitement coursed through his veins at the thought of training someone like her. What other abilities did she have? His gaze moved upward, toward her room. He looked forward to finding out.

Except for the fact that she was probably put off by him right now. Not that he could really blame her. He hadn't acted like Mr.  Charm.

He ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't even that irritated with her. Joe was the one who'd pissed him off. Roan could only take so much when it came to training people. He wanted to get back to actually working, rather than talking about it.

As long as the third zone was quiet, agents only had to make a couple of flybys to let other inhabitants know they were watching. The rest of the time he could do investigative work, maybe some undercover. With his clearance code, the possibilities were endless.

He walked out of the train ing area, glanced toward the stairs once more, and knew deep down inside himself that this assignment wasn't going to be as dreary as he'd first thought. His pulse sped up at the thought of working with Lyraka. He didn't think it was all

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because of her ski lls, either.

He'd pushed a button in her this afternoon, and she'd shown  him what she could do. He wondered how many buttons he would  need to push to find out all her secrets.

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Chapter 4

D
inner that night was quiet. Lyraka sat at one end  of a long table and Roan at the other. Frances had silently served them. As soon as they finished the meal, Lyraka moved to what she supposed could be called a living room.

The only thing that kept it from being cold and stark was the furniture and the fireplace. There were no pictures on the wall, no throws or pillows on the sofa or chair.

Shivers ran down her spine. There was a chill in the evening air that the crackling fire didn't quite remove, but she had a feeling that came more from Roan than the  actual temperature. He'd spoken barely two words to her, but that was okay. After the incident in the woods, she wasn't sure she wanted to make idle conversation with him.

She walked closer to the fire and held out her hands in front of

it, absorbing some of its warmth. She supposed Cole had started it.  She had caught glimpses of him, but otherwise he and Frances had  done exactly what they said they would do--stay in the background. It  was nice to know she and Roan weren't the only two in the building.

Even at the colony, she hadn't felt this isolated from the outside  world. She suddenly had a deep longing for home, and the  comfortable silence that existed between her and her mother.

Sometimes Aasera would read poetry, or they would walk beneath the night  sky. As an explorer, her mother had told her all about the

stars.

But Aasera was back on Nerak. She'd returned only once to  Earth to make sure Lyraka was all right. Her mother had fairly glowed with happiness. Jealousy had flittered through Lyraka because her

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mother was training other Nerakians to explore. Once again, Aasera's  world was exciting. Lyraka had never seen her mother so full of life.

It hurt, and she felt even more lonely, she wouldn't deny it. On  the other hand, she couldn't take away her mother's joy. Not when

the longing to return to Nerak had burned in Aasera's eyes the few  times she'd mentioned her home planet. Lyraka was glad for her.

Although Lyraka missed her mother more than she thought she  ever could, she'd told her everything was fi ne and that Mr. Beacon  would take good care of her. He would, too. She wasn't so sure about  Roan, though.

She glanced toward him and hoped she hadn't lied to her  mother, albeit unknowingly. Lyraka wasn't so sure Roan would look  out for her best interest.  She glanced in his direction as he sat in one  of the chairs in front of the fireplace, legs stretched out in front of him.

What was he thinking about? Was he remembering when he'd  kissed her? Not likely. Roan had probably known many women, had  made love to most of them. She was certain sharing one kiss with her  wouldn't affect him one way or the other.