She heard the squeal of the brakes as the driver tried to recover and stop. There was a burst of male voices swearing, but she had already landed, camouflaged by the thick foliage, smashing through a bush, the branches tearing up her hands and arms, as she rolled, trying to protect her leg.
CHAPTER 7
Fury swept through Ken. She had done it deliberately, exposing her breasts to every man there. Damn her to hell for that. Ken didn't wait for Neil to get the Escalade under control; he dove out after her, breaking his fall the same way, rolling over leaves and fallen branches along the wet ground to lie still, staring up at the night sky. They were in a heavily wooded area. He could hear a stream running off to his left.
Now you've really pissed me off. I could strangle you for that. You didn't need to give them all a show.
He was afraid for her. She had a broken hand and leg. She had no weapons and no clothes. And he just might be angrier over the gripping fear for her than for her exposing herself to all the men. What if she had hit one of the trees and broken her neck? It could easily have happened. He couldn't imagine finding her dead body. Answer me, damn you.
Was that him? That near panic when he was always so cool under fire. He didn't mind dying, he never had, so it made it easy to run the covert missions all over the world, but this was something altogether different. She had gotten under his skin. He tried to tell himself it was simply Whitney's experiment and that once she was gone, Jack and Briony would be safe and things would be back to normal, but that didn't stop the panic inside of him. Fear had blossomed into full-blown terror for her. She couldn't be dead.
The ground shifted slightly beneath his feet, trees and bushes trembling. He rose to his feet and tried to breathe normally. Mari. I need to know you're alive. He should have been humiliated and ashamed that there was pleading in his voice, but he wasn't. He was telling a simple truth. He needed. It was that simple and it made no sense. If it was simply physical attraction between them--as powerful and as potent as it was--why would he be feeling such terror that she might be dead?
Of course she wouldn't answer him. He was the enemy. He had to be logical, get past the fear and use his brain. He was far more experienced than she was. He had to go on the premise she was alive. He could track her. Every person shed skin cells, and his sense of smell was phenomenal, thanks to Whitney's genetic enhancing, but there were other, far easier ways than walking around in the dark sniffing the ground. It mattered little if she had been trained since birth; he had years of hard battles beneath his belt, but most of all, Jack and Ken had been using their psychic abilities long before Whitney's experiments, and both were strong talents. With the enrichments, they were able to do things Whitney would kill to know about.
He sank down onto the leaf-covered floor, sinking into the cool, damp earth, drawing his legs tailor fashion and resting his hands on his knees. He let his mind expand to take in the world around him, soaring free, becoming powerful. Mari, come to me. You have no choice. Come to me. You feel me. I'm inside of you. All around you. Come to me. You need me. You have to be with me. There isn't a choice for us. Come to me. It became a litany, a mantra, broadcasting the command over and over, oblivious to the men who came and went as they searched for their lost prisoner.
Ken concentrated on Marigold, building the picture of her in his mind. He knew the feel of her satin skin, the lush curves and sexy body. He knew every detail: the injuries on her body, the way her mouth was full and promising, the heavy lashes that curled and framed her large eyes. Come to me now. Hurry, Mari. You need to come to me. You can find me. We're one, in the same skin; we need to be together. Most of all, he'd been inside her mind, knew it on a more intimate level. She couldn't shield herself from him, or ignore him.
His mind shifted, drawing her, calling repeatedly. Her skin would be shades of green and black and tan, blending in with the leaves and bushes around them. She wouldn't be able to stand with her broken leg, so she would crawl, a sensuous slide through the cover, her bare breasts swaying gently, invitingly. He imagined sweeping his hand down the curve of her bare bottom as she moved toward him like a jungle cat, creeping through the foliage to make her way to him.
There was no sound, but he opened his eyes, knowing she was there. The first sight of her took his breath away. He'd never seen anything more sensual. She crawled toward him, her body perfect in the night, flowing muscle and curves begging for attention. His body flared into life, a savage, painful reaction, his cock near bursting, pulsing with urgency. He had a primitive urge to yank down his jeans and mount her like an animal, rough and dominant, branding her his.
She lifted her face, and he could see tears tracking down her cheeks. There were several scratches on her shoulders and across her left breast. His heart turned over, the sensation strange and very shocking. She kept coming to him, a mixture of defiance and submission in her eyes. She dragged her leg behind her, but managed to crawl almost into his lap.
"Is this what you want? Someone mindlessly obeying you? Is that what you need to get you off?" Her arms circled his neck before he could stop her, and her mouth found his almost desperately.
He wanted her submissive, but not due to his mind control. His fantasies were sexual domination, not taking away her identity or her free will. If she was submissive, he needed her to want to give herself to him, to trust him that much, but the moment her mouth found his, the volcano inside him nearly exploded.
It had been so long since he'd been able to feel pleasure. He had thought sex lost to him. His arms came up around her body to bring her in close to him, so he could feel her breasts pressing into his chest. He took command of the kiss, one fist in her thick blond hair, forcing her head back while he explored her mouth, his tongue dueling with hers, taking possession, not giving her a chance to do anything but respond.
He swore an electric current ran through his body and sent fire racing through his bloodstream. For a moment he couldn't think one coherent thought, only feel his raging hard-on, the shock of his body more alive than it had ever been. Her body moved against his like hot silk, her mouth warm and moist and perfect, her lips sensual. His teeth tugged at her full bottom lip, fingers biting into her skin. He wanted her, right there, right then. Nothing could come between them. He needed this more than he needed to breathe.
Her tears registered; a soft sob cut through the heat of hot lust and brought him up short. He felt her face, the tracks of her tears, felt the drops on his neck. Abruptly he jerked away from her, breathing heavily, trying to regain his sanity. "What the fuck have I done?" he asked softly. "I'm sorry, Mari." He knew he was a bastard, but not this--never this--and not with her.
When had his commanding call turned sexual, and why? Why would he do something like that, knowing how powerful the chemistry between them already was? He couldn't remember changing the command, forcing sexual compliance. Had he done that? What kind of a man was he? "I swear to you, I didn't mean for this to happen."
He wiped the tears from her face. "It will never happen again. I was calling you to me, bringing you back, not trying to make you accept me sexually." He pulled his shirt over his head and tugged it over hers, settling the warmth around her, giving her protection and him a measure of relief. She was so beautiful, and he was destroying any chance that she could ever think well of him.
"You were punishing me." Another sob escaped, although she struggled to hold it back. "Because the other men saw me naked. You were punishing me."
Had he done that? He shook his head. "No. I was calling you to me." Could he really be that despicable? He didn't trust himself with her anymore. He couldn't be around her. She wasn't safe and never would be again. Damn his father. Damn Whitney. Mostly just damn Ken Norton to hell.
Jack! It was a sharp command, something he rarely did with his brother, always allowing Jack to take the lead, but this time was different. This time, Mari was involved, and he wasn't going to take any more chances with her. What if I hadn't stopped? His body still shud
dered with need. His hands wouldn't let her go, needing to keep contact with her. If there was a hell, he was already in it.
Jack burst through the brush, gun in hand. He took in Mari's tear-streaked face, her sobs, and Ken's horrified mask. "What the hell happened here?"
"Find her a pair of jeans. If they're too big, they'll slide over that lightweight thing the doc put on her leg." Ken tried to distance himself from what he'd done. There was no taking it back, no changing it. The monster lived and breathed, was alive and well and clawing for supremacy. I nearly raped her, Jack.
She looks willing enough to me.
Shut the fuck up and take care of this. We had a deal. We made a pact. It was all well and good when you thought it was you. You made me promise to put a fuckin' bullet in your head, but now that it's me, you threaten her instead of taking care of me.
Jack gave him a hard look and stepped forward, deliberately close, so close Mari's body was up against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her as if he might lift her away from Ken, all the while watching his brother carefully. When nothing happened, he buried his face in her neck and inhaled deeply.
Ken went very still, his silver eyes never leaving his brother's face.
"Does my sister know you're a pervert? Get the hell off of me. You're not sharing me." Mari's outrage lessened the stream of tears.
"If you're such a jealous bastard, why aren't you tearing my head off, Ken?" Jack demanded, ignoring Mari's comment as he stepped away from her. "The old man would have pulled his gun and shot us both."
"Get her the jeans and then get her the hell out of here."
Mari held her breath. He was leaving her with the others. She should be happy, thrilled, but instead she was terrified. "No." She shook her head, said it softly, a plea she couldn't stop. "No, you have to stay with me."
He framed her face with both hands. "I can't. You have to understand. I don't trust myself with you."
"It's all right. It is. I threw myself at you. I feel the connection the same as you do. It wasn't just you."
His thumbs brushed at the tearstains almost tenderly. "You didn't throw yourself at me and you know it. Mari, I'm not going to take a chance on hurting you. I'm not a good man."
"Like hell you aren't, Ken," Jack interrupted. "I don't know what's going on, but you've never treated a woman with disrespect in your life."
Ken flashed his brother a warning look, and muttering a curse, Jack swung around to call in the others and to find a pair of jeans for Mari.
Careful of Mari's leg, Ken lifted her into his lap, holding her close to comfort her, rocking her gently back and forth. "I'm sorry, honey, I really am. I drew you to me, but it wasn't supposed to be about sex." He didn't know what happened, couldn't remember changing the command. He rested his forehead against hers, breathing deep to try to quiet the storm of need and the roar of self-hatred.
Her leg was bleeding again, and there was a trickle of blood near her ear. Another at the corner of her mouth. Ken wiped it away with his thumb, a warning going off in his mind. The thin trickle returned.
"I can move things, and I can even make suggestions, have a guard look away, that sort of thing, but I've never seen anyone else with the power to control another person's movements. I didn't want to come to you, but I couldn't stop myself," Mari admitted. She shook her head and wiped at the blood staining her mouth. "Whitney can never find out. Never, Ken, not even accidentally. You can't do that in front of anyone who might report it to him." She lifted her head, the color draining from her face. "You didn't report it, did you? It isn't written in a file somewhere?"
"You're really upset. No, there's no file. Jack and I try using various talents on our own. If we have them, we practice until we get good at them. We live quietly and we just try different things."
"If Whitney knew you could control other human beings, take over their minds like that, he'd never rest until he had you. And he'd definitely want your baby, or . . ." She broke off. "Can Jack do that? Is Briony really pregnant? Is Whitney after her because she's going to have a baby? That's it, isn't it? That's why he sent Brett and was so determined I get pregnant. He knows already. You were telling me the truth."
"Calm down. You're trembling, Mari. Whitney is a jackass. Of course he'd want our children. He's a nutcase and he thinks he can have a superbaby. He doesn't know what I can or can't do, other than what he deliberately enhanced." He used the corner of the shirt she was wearing to wipe at blood dripping steadily from her leg.
Hurry up, Jack!
"When he targeted certain psychic talents, he strengthened other ones too, didn't he?" Mari asked. "That's what happened to all of us. We don't tell him everything either, but Ken, this is a major talent. He would want it more than anything else. He'd want a child to have it. He can shape and mold children where he has more trouble with the adults. Adults don't have as many negative side effects, but he can't control them so easily. He can't find out about what you do."
Ken was silent a moment, listening to the sound of his own heartbeat. "If he knew, if it came out, say he had access to a file of mine it was recorded in, he'd make a grab for me, wouldn't he?"
"He'd move heaven and earth to get to you. He'd pull every string he had in the military and with every official who owes him favors to have access to you." She shook her head. "Don't even think about it. I've seen him take apart people to see if their brain is different. You'd spend the rest of your life hooked up to machines so he could study your brain activity."
Ken didn't reply. He knew he was a sick son of a bitch to do the things to Mari that he'd done. In spite of what Mari and Jack believed, Ken was certain Whitney had psychic ability and had already discovered the hidden monster in him. His fingers tunneled into Mari's hair, and he leaned his head to brush a kiss along the top of her head. "You have to stop trying to escape. You could have been killed, you know. You dove out of a moving car without even knowing where you were going to land. You could have hit a tree. As it is, you're bleeding again."
"I didn't. And you would have done the same thing."
"It's different."
"Because I'm a woman?" She snorted. "I'm a soldier first. It's my duty to escape."
He closed his eyes briefly and then opened them to meet her steady gaze. He had to tell the truth, just once. He owed her that much. "Because you're my woman. I might not be able to have you, but I don't want you dead." His fingers moved over her injured hand and dropped to her leg. "Or hurt."
Mari looked up at him. "I can't be your woman if you're planning on running away from me. Ken, he's destroying everyone's life. He has to be stopped. It isn't just me. There are others, both men and women, he's got locked up for his stupid breeding program. We can come up with a plan to make this all right."
"I'm not a product of his breeding program, Mari; I wish I was. I wish I had that excuse for my behavior, but I don't. People are born with things wrong with them--little glitches most people ignore or can't ever see. Mine is dangerous. I may be attracted to you physically because Whitney paired us, but it's more than that, and whatever it is, it's growing stronger."
"With me too. The more I'm near you, the more I seem to care about you. The sex and the emotion are all woven together. Whitney's never been able to make me do what I don't want to do. He can't control my mind--or emotions--so he isn't doing this. He tied us together chemically and sexually, but he couldn't make me want to make everything better for you."
"There's no making it better for me, Mari. The sooner we both accept that, the better off we'll be. The only thing I can give you is the certainty there will be no other woman. Whatever happens in your life, and I swear, I can't think about you with another man because it makes me crazy, but whatever happens, wherever you are, you'll always know there's no one else for me."
"There has to be a way to make this right."
"Mari." His voice was low and compelling, washing through her body like the touch of fingers on skin. "You're afraid of me, and you have good rea
son to be. I don't trust myself and I'm not going to fuck up your life any more than Whitney's already done. The last thing you need is to be tied to a man who could fly into a jealous rage and do you physical harm."
"I'm capable of protecting myself, Ken, and I don't think you're the type of man to be beating women."
"No, just losing my mind and nearly raping one because another man looked at her." He shoved a hand through his hair, leaving it more disheveled then ever.
"I wanted you. I didn't care the circumstances, or the excuse. I wanted you."
"There are things you don't know about me, none of them good. You've been through enough with Whitney and his program. We're taking you to Lily. She'll make certain you're healthy and she'll help you start a new life."
"Lily Whitney, the doc's daughter?"
"Don't say her name like that. She's as much a victim--maybe more--than any of the rest of us."
"You really trust her? I've worked with Whitney on and off for years and I sure don't trust him--or his friends. They know what he's doing; they don't approve, but they don't stop him or even tell someone higher up what's going on."
"Tell us where the compound is, Mari. We'll get the women out."
She shook her head. "You know there'd be a fight. The men would protect the laboratories. Hell. They're under orders. They have to protect the base."
"Then we'll have the admiral shut it down."
"The minute the orders came down, Whitney would move everyone. He's got places all over, and he'd never willingly allow anyone to shut him down. He's protected, Ken. You can't just walk in and get him."
"But you thought Senator Freeman might be able to help you."
"We hoped. His father has a lot of influence with Whitney. We thought if I talked to him and explained what was really going on, he would intercede for us. We know his father is already upset by the experiment. Whitney wants babies. He's certain he can produce the perfect weapons, psychically and physically, so that no one would ever suspect a child of being brought into a country and doing whatever needed to be done."