by Lora Leigh
l beginning to undermine her strength.
She nodded tightly before she sighed in agreement and looked around the room again, searching for Seth. She was furious with him. He had not only lied to her about being hit, but once dressed and armed he had joined the team to search for the shooter. And he had ignored her objections, only staring at her with those cold, steel gray eyes before turning away and doing as he pleased.
“Civilian authorities are flying in,” Moira reported through the comm link. “We have two official helis with six heat contacts inside.”
“Direct them to the private heli-pads,” Dash ordered through the link. “Sanctuary is due in approximately eight hours. Contain and secure until reinforcements arrive.”
“Contained and secured.” Noble came through. “We have visual, four points. No other air traffic, and all water traffic is being redirected for the next three hours only.”
Dash blew out a hard breath and stared back at Dawn. “Time to dance, Cougar. Let me do the talking; you smile and be pretty.”
She stared at him in surprise. “Excuse me?”
“Civilian forces are fascinated with the female Breeds. Hopefully, these will be too. Let’s not show how slick our women are if we can get by with it.”
Dawn’s lips almost twitched in amusement. Even the Council had never known what they had created when they stepped into creating the female Breeds. The females’ delicate builds, at times preternatural beauty, and air of delicacy had been a disappointment in the labs. The females were naturally cunning though, in ways the males weren’t. Instinct had perfected that ability.
So few of the females had survived though. The males numbered in the hundreds, the females only a few dozen. But those who had survived were more dangerous than even the male Breeds wanted to admit. And were filled with such fury, such hatred, that even Sanctuary worried about their survival.
Like Dawn, the torture the females had endured had scarred them psychologically in ways the males hadn’t been. It had created killers that even the Breed Cabinet didn’t understand, in ways that the females never shared with any but their own kind.
Like the Lionesses Dawn had commanded at Sanctuary. They had formed groups. They hunted in groups and they killed with deadly efficiency.
Women were supposed to be the gentler sex, but the Council had ensured that all the gentleness was raped, maimed and tortured out of their females before they ever reached maturity.
It was another secret the Breed community kept closely guarded. They kept their females as tightly within the compound as possible, protected them when they no longer needed protection, and fought to preserve the belief in the civilian population that their females were no more dangerous than any civilian-trained female.
There were times it was laughable. Because the females that had come from those labs were more feral than any human woman Dawn had ever encountered.
She played her role. She stood back, watched the men and few women investigating and used shy looks and a soft voice. She fooled the men, but she knew the women suspected. Instinct to instinct, she felt that connection and let it pass.
Her demeanor and unthreatening air allowed her and Dash to negotiate for information and concessions. What they wouldn’t give Dash, they were more willing to agree to with her.
As she worked, she was aware of Seth watching her, his eyes narrowed on her and the scent of his arousal and his jealousy flowing around her. He didn’t like seeing her in the midst of these men, working their ignorance and their superiority. And that was too damned bad. Because this was his life. If it wasn’t, she would have left Dash to deal with the species-superior bastards who stank of their prejudice and their hatred.
They didn’t care why Breyer had been murdered. As one of the detectives stated, “Play with fire and someone will try to burn you.”
Seth was playing with the Breeds, and evidently that was reason enough to die in the eyes of these men.
By the time the body had been bagged, the evidence collected and the statements taken, the sun was rising over the island and the guests were wandering slowly to their beds.
Dawn stood beneath the shelter just past the heli-pad the authorities had used to land, and she watched their heli-jets lift slowly into the air, bank and head back to the mainland with the body and Breyer’s family.
“They’ve been corrupted by the Council.” Mercury stepped from the darker shadows of the small radar and control room used to bring the jets in.
Dawn nodded slowly. She had sensed it more strongly in the head investigator. Whoever had planned this already had their cards in place and was waiting for that winning hand.
Mercury leaned against the doorway of the electronic room, his gaze narrowed on the rising sun, the savagely hewn, lionlike features tight with disgust. “Makes a Breed want to go hunting.”
Dawn watched him carefully, seeing the glitter of death in his dark eyes. “You’ve been around Jonas too long.” She sighed.
And he grinned with a flash of savage, sharp canines. “Maybe Jonas has been around me too long.”
Shaking her head, Dawn moved from the heli-pad and strode across the cement walk that led back to the main estate grounds. She was careful to stay in the shadows or within the lush patches of vegetation that afforded cool comfort beneath the heated rays of the sun.
She watched the area closely, her senses reaching out—sight, smell, instinct. She sensed something, but couldn’t put her finger on it, couldn’t get a scent or hear anything to place with it.
She paused next to one of the low-branched sheltering trees and watched closely, cautiously. Was it the heat making her feel off balance? Making her feel as though she were too easy to see and someone or something was curious? Perhaps dangerous?
She narrowed her gaze and swept it over the areas where an assassin or sharpshooter could be hiding with a line of sight. She couldn’t sense anything, couldn’t feel anything moving but the breeze.
But she could feel the heat. She could feel the swollen folds between her thighs, her clit throbbing, her juices building once again around the sensitive little bud.
Her nipples were so tight and hard they were painful beneath the soft cotton of her tank top. They rasped against her bra and sent a shiver racing over her flesh at the remembered feel of Seth’s mouth devouring them.
She shook her head and moved quickly back to the house, keeping low and within shelter, watching her back even though she wasn’t certain there was anything there. And all the while her flesh ached for Seth’s touch, for the man she was certain didn’t really want her, despite the lust tearing through him.
He had never loved her, she thought sadly. Otherwise, the heat wouldn’t have receded from him, and he could have never taken another woman.
She shook her head at another pang of betrayal and couldn’t manage even to work up the anger against it. But as she stepped into the house, she couldn’t help the sense of complete and total isolation that swept through her. Her mate wasn’t really her mate, and the brother she had loved so dearly had betrayed her in ways she couldn’t comprehend.
She could understand Seth’s reaction to the renewed heat, and even his inability to love her. But Callan—she couldn’t accept what Callan and Jonas had done. And accepting that Seth had seen that disc and walked away had been one of the hardest things she had ever done.
He had walked away when he should have fought for her. She would have fought for him. Through hell or high water, Coyotes or a brigade of Council soldiers, she would have fought for him. Just as she was fighting for him now.
She was unaware of the fragile, broken sound of pain that left her lips at that thought. But there was someone that heard the sound as it drifted along the breeze. Eyes narrowed, lips tightened.
As she moved into the house, he lowered the gun sight and blew out a silent breath, too soft for even the earth itself to feel.
If he wasn’t watching, waiting, if he wasn’t the shadow drifting around the Lawrence
Estate, he would have shaken his head at the sound of the broken child. It was a sound he had heard many times, and it still had the power to effect him.
As he watched, a lone figure stepped out from an upper room. Dressed in snug jeans, her cropped shirt conforming to full young breasts, her flat belly glistening in the morning light as long, pitch black curls whipped in the wind.
Her scent carried to him, and his eyes narrowed. She was and yet she wasn’t. The fabled half-breed, sought after by every Council scientist in existence and rumored to be psychic. The bounty on her head was horrifically high. A man could live three lifetimes on the money to be had in securing this one, tiny young woman.
And she was tiny. Fragile in appearance, but he sensed the strength in her, the steel core of determination and stubborn resolve that filled her.
And he felt something more. He felt the dark sensual side of his nature as it gave a curious, heated stretch.
And she was staring right at him. Dark brows were creased into a frown, her lips parting as something akin to fear flashed across her expression.
And a muted cry slipped past her lips. One of fear.
A second later, Dash Sinclair whipped past the doorway, his large body blocking sight of her as he swept her against his chest, sheltered her and rushed her back into the house.
He tilted his head and watched curiously. There were many players here, many targets with bounties on their heads higher than the income of some nations. All in one place.
He smiled, a tight, hard smile that kept his canines hidden, kept the sun from flashing against them. He sniffed the breeze and closed his eyes at the smell of sweetness, of innocence only subtly marred by feminine fear.
That girl had every right to feel fear. She was marked as no other Breed in existence was marked. Sought after, searched for, the bounty paid only if she was delivered alive and with her virginity intact.
She was a weakness he was surprised other Breeds hadn’t already disposed of. Of course it was said her father, Dash Sinclair, protected her ruthlessly.
Interesting. Very interesting, he thought. And intriguing.
He couldn’t afford to be intrigued at the moment.
He placed his eye against the site of his weapon once again and resumed his scan. His target was here; he just had to find him.
Dawn stepped back into the house and tried to shake off the vague, discomfited feeling she couldn’t make sense of. Only to have it return tenfold as the refrigerator door closed and Jason Phelps grinned at her from across the room.
“Things are getting bloody around here.” He snapped open the top of a beer. “Uncle Brian, one of Seth’s board members, is having an aneurysm over old man Breyer’s death. Can’t figure out what the hell he was doing in Lawrence’s suite.”
Dawn’s eyes narrowed at the certainty that he was fishing for information from the dumb little female Breed. Her hand rested on the grip of her weapon within its holster.
“I’m sure we’ll find out,” she told him. “If you’ll excuse me.”
“Why don’t you like me?” He lifted the beer and took a long drink.
Dawn watched his throat convulse as he swallowed, and she had to shake away the need to see blood there. The heat was affecting her mind, there was no doubt. She had never felt so bloodthirsty, so close to violence.
“I don’t dislike you, Mr. Phelps.” She disliked most men. It was a part of her, as natural now as the color of her hair and eyes. It couldn’t be changed, only temporarily hidden.
“I wish you liked me.” He shook his head as a charming male pout crossed his lips. But it was his eyes she watched, not that there was anything different about his eyes. A little bloodshot, a little amused.
He stank of too much drink, and little else.
“I don’t know you.” She smiled tightly. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to return upstairs. I still have things to do today.”
“Yeah, none of us got much sleep last night.” The tentative friendliness in his voice and demeanor didn’t sway her in the least.
“Hopefully we will this morning.” She nodded again and left the room before he could delay her any longer. But her hand stayed on her weapon, and her senses stayed alert. Until she hit the upper floor and scented Seth’s lust.
CHAPTER 10
Cassie stared at Seth Lawrence as he stood talking to her father, her senses gathering the information she needed, processing it as she tried not to watch the pitiful shadow of the child hiding in the corner of the room. That ghost of what was dying inside Dawn. If the child was lost then Dawn would be lost as well.
She was still shaking from whatever she had sensed outside, just before Seth’s arrival. She had been drawn to the balcony, some sense, some awareness pulling her outside though she knew better than to go there. She wasn’t a stupid little girl, and she wasn’t ignorant of the danger to her life at every moment.
But something had been out there. Something she was certain she couldn’t miss. But she had felt…scared. Not in danger, but frightened on a level she didn’t understand. So frightened a cry had come unbidden from her lips and drawn her father’s attention.
She gave herself a mental shake and focused on Seth again. He hadn’t taken Dawn. She had marked him. The mark was prominently displayed at the bottom of his neck, the little wound clearly Breed-made. The scent of the marking filled the room, the scent of Seth and Dawn, though the two hadn’t mingled yet to form that unique smell that combined the two mates and changed them forever.
She frowned at that knowledge. Dawn would start remembering soon. Cassie wasn’t certain why the memories would start emerging here, or why it was so important that Seth made love to her before it began, but she knew it was imperative.
The child whimpered again from the corner of the room. A sound of loneliness and pain that had Cassie whimpering. She glanced to the corner. The fragile image was huddled in on itself, weak, lost. Terrifying in the complete isolation that surrounded it.
When the memories began returning, if Dawn didn’t wake up and accept the child she had forgotten, then she would never heal. And she would never be able to save Seth.
“Too bad no one will be there when Dawn wakes up.” She looked at Seth, angry at him now, knowing the risk he was taking. But if she told him, if she explained, then it wouldn’t be Seth’s choice. And she couldn’t do that to Dawn. Callan had betrayed her in showing Seth those discs; she had heard Dawn’s rage and pain when Dash told her of it. She wouldn’t betray Dawn further by guilting Seth into the other woman’s arms.
She had warned him; there was nothing more she could do.
“What do you mean, Cassie?” he asked her then, his eyes narrowing on her.
She frowned back at him. “I can’t tell you everything, Seth. I’m only eighteen and I’m not a damned seer.” The uncharacteristic anger shocked Seth as well as her father. It shocked her. “But it’s too damned bad, if you ask me, that you can’t see what’s right in front of your face. And if you’re not man enough to see it, then I wouldn’t point it out to you even if I did know.”
She turned away from them and moved quickly to her own bedroom, aware of her mother following her, those maternal instincts reaching out to her daughter. But she didn’t want her mother, she didn’t want her father. For some strange reason, she wanted to return to the balcony.
Seth watched her flounce back into her room as Elizabeth followed, and he turned to Dash. Dash was staring back at the door, his jaw clenched as a growl rumbled in his throat. Seth could see the frustration brewing in the Wolf Breed and felt a flare of male sympathy. Cassie was a gorgeous young woman and her unique Breed traits made her both an asset and a weakness to the Breed community.
“What’s going on?” he asked the other man.
Dash shook his head, his expression concerned. “She went out on the balcony earlier after I warned her not to. She never ignores those warnings, until now. I heard her cry out and jerked her inside. She’s been acting strange ever since.”
Strange with Cassie could be terrifying to others, Seth thought. The girl was strange in and of herself.
He pushed his fingers through his hair and shook his head. Hell, he could barely think right now. Exhaustion and arousal were weighing down on him, and his control was shaky as hell.
“My suite should be clean by now.” He sighed. “I’m going to catch a few hours’ sleep. We’ve delayed meetings until tomorrow, but tonight’s party is still scheduled and I’ll need some rest to face the questions there from the board members.”
“I’ve taken Dawn off the protective detail.” Dash surprised him with the announcement.
Seth tightened his jaw. “She’s leaving?” It would be for the best, for both of them.
“No, she’s not. She won’t be on detail, she’ll be on your ass. She sleeps in your room, eats where you eat, goes where you go. She’s your shadow.”
Every cell in Seth’s body screamed hallelujah, while his mind seemed blank in shock. His shadow? There wasn’t a chance in hell he could keep his hands off her if he allowed that.
Dawn, at his beck and call? At his back every second? In his bed and close enough to touch anytime he needed to touch her, anytime he wanted to pull her against him?
“No,” he snapped.
He’d spend every moment of his time buried inside her and begging her to let him touch her just a little bit more. Hell, he’d kill them both with his lust if he had a chance. And God help his soul if he managed to trigger the memories inside her.
That was his nightmare. That was the demon that rode his back even when he had her in his arms.
“Fine.” Dash shrugged, his gaze hard, determined. “But you can be the one to throw her out of the room. She has her orders, and besides that, she’s your mate. She’s a danger to herself if she’s anywhere but at your side. Don’t underestimate that part of her that’s claimed you, Seth. The woman might be hesitant, but trust me, the animal that shares her soul won’t let her do anything else. Hurting the woman won’t change it, but you could end up destroying someone that so far has managed to survive despite others’ attempts to destroy her. Tread warily, my friend. I’d hate to see you fuck up here.”
“And I’m getting damned tired of these riddles and half warnings,” Seth growled. “There’s not a damned one of you facing what I have to face. Do you have any fucking idea how much that woman means to me, Dash? Do you think I walked away because it was what I wanted to do? That I left her alone because I didn’t crave her with everything in my soul and not just with my body?”
“I don’t know,” Dash said quietly, glancing to the door that opened into the hall. “Maybe it’s something she needed to know though.”
Seth swung around to the doorway, and something in his chest, his heart, melted, burned. She was staring at him, her lips parted, innocent, so fucking innocent her eyes were shining with it as she stared back at him. She looked like a woman in love, filled with hope, terrified to believe that anything could be hers, let alone the man she was staring at.
He knew that look, he knew it, because sometimes he felt it within himself. The hope that she could be his, one day, someday in the future, the prayer that the woman inside her could fill those parts of his life that were so empty.
He snapped his teeth together, furious at being manipulated as he had been. Dash would have known she was on her way up, known she would be there to hear every word. And there he stood, his soul bared to her, and every measure he had taken to protect her lying at his feet in the dust.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered.
He was too damned tired for this. Breed mating heat and the symptoms of age delay served him well during board meetings and all-night negotiations against younger, up-and-coming tycoons, but it wasn’t doing a damned thing to aid his control and his strength where one tiny Breed female was concerned.
As he watched, the look slowly eased from her face and it became smooth, her expression curiously bland. Shaking his head at the look, he strode to the door, gripped her arm and pulled her with him.
“At least I’ll know you’re not out there hip deep in fucking bullets and looking for blood to spill,” he snarled.
As she had been for ten years. Oh yeah, he’d kept up with her, and the resulting nightmares had left his guts cramped with terror.
“But I dodge bullets and spill blood so well,” she pointed out with wide-eyed, obviously false innocence and a flash of bitterness.
“No doubt.” His mouth thinned with displeasure. “And I guess you think that’s going to work for me if I take you to my bed?” He pushed her into the sitting room, dragged her past the newly cleaned carpet and into the bedroom, where he secured the doors and turned to face her. “Do you think for one damned minute I’ll tolerate you running around the world being shot at? Risking your life and mine?”
“You act like I enjoy it.” Where had the bitterness in her eyes come from? He had never seen that. He had seen mocking amusement, anger, but never regret and bitterness like this.
“Don’t you? Dammit, Dawn, every Breed in Sanctuary is terrified of you.”
“Of course they are.” She rolled her eyes mockingly then. “I practice on them. They never know when a roof will fall in on them or when they’ll get caught in a trap I laid for them.” She shrugged. “I’m sneaky like that. It comes from being so short.”
Short his ass.
“You’re like fucking dynamite. A little bit goes a long way.”
Amusement replaced the bitterness. For a second, just a second, her eyes sparkled with it, before they dimmed and she became solemn once again.
“Look, I get that you’re not all about this mating thing with me.” Desperate levity filled her expression. The smart-ass was making a comeback because the woman couldn’t bear to be hurt again. “And I can handle it, really. But I’d at least like to see you keep breathing. Even if you do have a habit of fucking other women when I’m not around.”
“Dammit, it wasn’t like that.” He reached out for her, then jerked his hands back, clenching them. “I didn’t think there was a chance for us, Dawn. If I had, for even a second, things would have been different.”
“And of course you didn’t think to ask me.” She lifted her shoulders as though it didn’t matter, when he knew it did. “Just as you never ask me now. You just keep playing the martyred male, Seth. It hangs so well on you.”
He was hurting her and he knew it. She could feel and smell his regret, his hesitancy in taking her. They were going to have to talk, he knew it, and he hated it. Because he knew it was the last barrier to accepting all of it. Hell, he’d already accepted it; he just needed her to know, to understand. It hadn’t been a lack of love—it had been an excess of love.
“Tell you what.” She cocked that shapely hip again, propped her hand on it and arched a brow. “You just contemplate this to hell and back, and I’ll go shower. I smell like blood and sweat, and frankly, I don’t sleep so well when I stink.”
Oh yes, the smart-ass was back. Dawn was pissed off and she didn’t hide it really well. His lips almost twitched. He would never have to worry about whether or not she was angry with him—he would know it by her flippant speech and total disregard for his male pride. Or what pride he would have left, because once he had her, he knew he would be on her ass 24/7, eager for more.
He watched, slowly shaking his head as she turned and stalked to the bathroom, the door slamming behind her.
No one will be there when Dawn wakes up. Cassie had said those words, and now Seth knew why the need to refute them had risen in his head. Because he intended to be right there, beside her, holding her, no matter what she awoke to.