Hard Habit To Break

This document was generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter program

Praise for the writing of Melissa Schroeder

Voices Carry

I found myself literally glued to every page of this futuristic romance, enthralled by the very engaging characters and an interesting and quick paced plot…Voices Carryis a wonderful addition to my library and Ms. Schroeder's name now belongs in my author autobuy list.

Mireya Orsini,Just Erotic Romance Reviews

Take one very yummy alpha male and one spirited spunky woman, throw in some intrigue, a creepy bad guy and some hot fantasies and you have got the recipe for a very enjoyable book. I will be looking for this authors backlist, fast.

Pam L.,A Romance Review

Voices Carryis an exceptionally well-written story. Melissa Schroeder has created a whole new world that begs to have more stories set in it… Shana and Marcus sizzle with passion. I highly recommendVoices Carry and hope that there will be a sequel or two.

Nicole,Romance Junkies

Lost in Emotion

I was hooked intoLost in Emotion from the beginning, and couldn't put it down until I was done... I had a good time reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone that likes a little bit of science fiction and the paranormal thrown into their romances.

Julia,The Romance Studio

Lost in Emotionis an excellent choice for those of you looking for a quick-moving sexy story. I look forward to Ms. Schroeder's upcoming books.

Mireya Orsini,Just Erotic Romance Reviews

Voices CarryandLost in Emotion are now available from Loose Id.

Hard Habit to Break

Melissa Schroeder

www.loose-id.com

Warning

This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

*****

This book is rated:

For explicit sexual content and graphic language.

Hard Habit to Break

Melissa Schroeder

This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Published by

Loose Id LLC

1802 N Carson Street, Suite 212-29

Carson City NV 89701-1215

www.loose-id.com

Copyright © January 2005 by Melissa Schroeder

All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared in any form, including, but not limited to printing, photocopying, faxing, or emailing without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC.

ISBN 1-59632-046-X

Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader

Printed in the United States of America

Editor: Linda Kusiolek

Cover Artist: Bryan Keller

Publisher’s Note

Hard Habit to Breakis the standalone sequel to two other don’t-miss Federation CTD titles:Voices Carry, Marcus and Shana’s story, andLost in Emotion, David and Genoa’s story.

Prologue

Nolete swallowed the fear that tightened her throat and closed her eyes. The metal lab table was cold against her bare back. She lay, strapped and naked, but it was nothing new. Without looking, she was positive goose bumps rose on her skin. Since she’d been detained several weeks earlier, she’d lost count of the number of times she had been in this position.

She shifted her weight, trying to ease the numbness in her ass.How long had she lain here? Lord only knew. Flexing her fingers and wiggling her toes, she tried to keep the blood pumping into her hands and feet. The wrist and ankle straps constricted blood flow. She had to do something to keep her mind busy, so she counted back trying to figure out what time it was. The windowless lab had no clock, just a sink, some antibacterial cream and a closet.

She shivered and opened her eyes. Damn. She didn’t know if she could take another round of their “experiments.” The skills she’d tried to hide for so many years had been tested and prodded, pushed to the limit. When they first arrested her and brought her here, she’d fought the scientists, and any experiments. But after several weeks of very little food, and more and more time in the lab, she’d broken down. She was past the point of caring. She realized she would never make it out alive; they couldn’t have that. If the public at large found out about the experiments, there would be investigations. And, if that happened, the Center would lose their Federation funding. If they knew about the electroshock or the drugs, the public outcry would ruin their pampered life here.

As she tried to move her mind away from those memories, she thought of her life before her arrest. Before Drake had turned on her and handed her over to some of the sickest people on the planet. Sharp pain twisted in her stomach and her heart ached. Her eyes filled with tears. She’d never believed he’d been the one to do it, but she’d learned the hard way. If she ever made it out of quarantine alive, which she doubted, she would never trust another human being again.

She licked dry lips and tried to swallow. Concentrating on the doorknob, Nolete tried using her mind to move it. Nothing. Sighing with frustration, she closed her eyes again. There was something missing in her. Panic clawed at her throat. Even as a child she’d had those other senses, but now, now she was like a blind woman, feeling around in an unfamiliar room.

The door slid open and then closed.

“Well, Ms. Ashford.” Dr. Killigan’s smooth oily voice sent a chill down her spine. “I see that you are ready for another round.”

She didn’t respond, didn’t open her eyes. Killigan liked it when she fought him. Nolete was convinced the jackass got off on it.

“Telling Edwards you lost your ability to move things. Did you think that would help?” He tsked, his voice mocking her, but Nolete refused to give in. If there was one thing she had left, it was her resistance to his baiting. They would do what they wanted, but she didn’t have to make it easier for them.

The door to the closet opened and closed and she fought the urge to open her eyes to see what he had chosen for today.

“I have never understood why you paras think this is a bad thing. If we can figure out everything there is to know about you, there could be something that could make you stronger.”

She listened intently, waiting for the hum of the electromachine to kick in. It was Killigan’s favorite. The only sound she heard was metal against metal. Fear slithered through her at what was coming next. A moment later, the prick of a needle bit into her arm.

He massaged her arm, helping the drug to spread. “Now, let’s see what happens with this one.”

Chapter One

Nolete walked through the halls of what ten years ago had been her nightmare. She shivered as she

fought the memories of those days, weeks, months -- she had no idea how long she’d been imprisoned.

She could still hear the screams and the crying. It haunted her to this day. If she hadn’t lost her abilities, she might still be there. Once Killigan realized she hadn’t been lying, he’d ordered her dumped out instead of killed. She reached the door to the Killigan’s favorite lab. The same sickening panic curled in her stomach.

“Agent Ashford?”

She turned to find Marcus Carlyle standing at the end of the hallway with an understanding smile curving his lips. Dressed in his customary expensive suit, silk shirt and tie, Marcus intimidated a lot of people. She’d always felt comfortable around him.

“Do you know what happened to Killigan, Mr. Carlyle?”

He shook his head. “No. Killigan disappeared with a lot of files and drugs right before the arrests.”

“He’s the one you want.” He nodded in understanding. “I just don’t know why it was allowed to go on for so long.”

“People were afraid. Johnson scared them.”

“So, let’s punish the ones left behind. And their children.” She couldn’t hide the bitterness in her voice. Tears gathered in her eyes, and she turned away. Her parents had died before she’d turned a year old, and the pain of being alone, of having no one to go to when she finally was released, still throbbed. She didn’t want her supervisor to see her weakness, to know that it still affected her.

“Agent Ashford -- Nolete -- I know that this will be hard for you, but I feel, as does Shana, you’re the best person for the job. You can ferret out the culprit.”

The considerate tone in his voice embarrassed her and got under her skin. She couldn’t handle kindness.

Not anymore. “I know who the head of this mess is.”

“Johnson.”

She glanced back at him, knowing that Ripley Johnson had been implicated in the two terrorist attacks that year, both of which had affected Marcus’s new wife and her brother.

“Yes. He’s behind it, but this trash on the street, Killigan’s in charge.”

“Are you sure?”

The worst of the memories washed over her. Her stomach roiled. She drew in a deep breath and swallowed the bile clogging her throat. The drug tests were far worse than any of the other experiments.

“Positive. The tests he was doing here were leading somewhere. Part of it was because he was a sadistic bastard, but the other half of it was because he was striving to develop a drug to be used on paras. I’m sure of it. That being said, Killigan might be working for Johnson. Now that we know he’s still alive, it might be something to look for.”

“We are. And, we want to bring in a scientist to help you.”

Immediately every muscle in her body stiffened. “Why?”

“You need help with the compounds that make up the drug. If you know what they need to make it, you can narrow your search.”

She nodded, knowing that there was no argument -- no rational argument -- against it. It didn’t stop the chill that slithered down her spine. Working with whomever they found to help would be far better than dragging out the investigation. She knew that. No matter how many times she told herself she was over the memories, the mind numbing fear still crept into her dreams at night. She shuddered, willing away the memories, the panic that always sickened her.

With the help of Carlyle and a few others, the public opinion about paras was changing. If news got out about the drug now hitting the streets, all could be lost. It was time the Federation faced the past. They needed to know what went on in the name of security. But she damn sure wouldn’t trust another scientist.

“We need to head back so I can arrange meetings with a few of the candidates.”

She nodded. “Not anyone ...”

“No. No one who ever worked here. In fact, several of them have been off-Earth researching for the last ten to fifteen years. All of them specialize in chemistry.”

Carlyle began to walk back down the hallway, and Nolete turned to follow him. Something kept her from completing the action. She returned her gaze to the lab door. A chill sank into her bones, but she ignored it. If she didn’t get past this irrational fear, she would never catch Killigan. She had to face the demons, particularly the one who slipped into her dreams, disturbing her sleep, her psyche. With determination, she stepped forward and opened the door.

*****

Drake Conners watched with amusement as David Adams ran from the room, in search of a bathroom. He bit back the laughter because kicking another male while he was down just wasn’t right. Genoa, David’s wife, wasn’t helping though. She was laughing hysterically.

“Genoa, that’s not very nice.” He crossed his arms and gave her a stern look.

She laughed harder. “Oh, please. He deserves it. It’s his fault I’m in this condition. And here I thought all he could feel was my emotions, not sympathy morning sickness.” She rubbed her rounded belly. “I should’ve listened to you when you told me that I could get pregnant.”

“You shouldn’t laugh at him.”

She wrinkled her nose and wandered around his living area, her full, purple skirts swishing with every step. He knew she was trying to pretend they had just popped back to Earth for a visit, when she was seven months pregnant, just to say hello to him.

“Genoa, tell me what you want.” He couldn’t help the irritation threading his voice.

She turned and stared at him, her eyes widened innocently. “What do you mean?”

“He means he’s not an idiot,” David said, as he returned from the bathroom, his face washed of most of its color. “Go ahead. It’s your idea.”

She hmphed and crossed her arms, staring daggers at her husband. “Why don’t we sit down?” Then she turned to Drake, her lips curving into a smile. Most men melted at the sight, but Drake knew her too well. That sensuous look and her quick mind had made her one of the Federation’s best spies up until her marriage to David. She was a master manipulator. “Genoa, just spit it out.”

Her eyes narrowed and she placed a hand on each hip. “Marcus wants you to help with an investigation.”

Irritation turned into confusion. “An investigation? I have no skills that would help with that.”

“Yes you do.”

“Genoa --”

“Hold on a minute here.” David stepped in between them, shaking his head. “Let me give you some

background into what is going on. All of this is classified, of course.”

Drake nodded. “Of course.”

“Seems there’s a new drug on the street.”

“Nothing new in that. There is always something new to entice the drug addicts.”

“This one is worse, Drake.” The smile faded from Genoa’s face and voice.

“Worse? How?”

David sighed. “It’s aimed toward paras.”

“Go on.”

“Well, from what Marcus tells me, it increases their abilities and their strength while they’re high. It’s very addictive.”

His mind jumped from one thing to the next, trying to take in everything they were telling him. “Do they know what the basic components are?”

“Not sure. And that’s where you come in. The lead investigator and Marcus both believe that if we can figure out what it’s made of, they can narrow their search. It apparently is very much like PCP from the twentieth.”

“The media doesn’t know?”

David shook his head. “No. If the public knew, it would be disastrous. Especially for my family.”

The implications were horrifying. Drake knew that David and his sister Shana were paras. He also knew that Shana and Marcus’s little girl and David and Genoa’s baby would be affected. Thanks to some hard work within the Federation, the public perception was turning. The labs had been shut down, and paras were gaining new acceptance. They still had a long way to go, even with the government reversing their position. If this information was leaked, it might destroy everything they had worked to overcome. Something like this could set them back years.

He looked at Genoa, his best friend and confidant. Her eyes pleaded with him for help. Even though he knew what she was doing, he was helpless to deny her. He sighed. “What do you want me to do?”

“You won’t regret this.” Genoa avoided making eye contact with him when she said it.

Drake knew she was up to something else, but he ignored the feeling and decided to concentrate on his mission. God help him if he failed.

*****

Nolete looked back over the report covering the growing number of overdoses from Dream Weaver. That’s what they were calling Denoral, the name the Federation had given the drug. The tension gathered in her forehead. She massaged her temples trying to ease it.

A cold chill settled in her belly. They weren’t making progress. Worse, there had been rumors in the press about a new drug. The particulars hadn’t hit the programs yet. If it did ...

She sighed and moved away from those thoughts. Keeping positive, working her ass off, that was important. She picked up the report and read over it, hoping something would jump out at her. If they could figure where it was coming from, they could close in on Killigan.

The hair at the nape of her neck stirred, and a flash of thought, not her own, streaked through her mind. Something sexual, hot, smoldering. Her body reacted immediately as a flush of heat spiraled through her. It had happened only once since her release from quarantine.

She looked up and her pulse skipped a beat. Drake Conners leaned against the doorjamb. He wore his usual khaki pants, scuffed shoes and a blue shirt. His shaggy hair needed a good trim, and his clothes needed a good pressing. He looked as beautiful as he had several months ago. Damn him.

“Hello, Letty.”

Chapter Two

“Don’t call me by that name,” Letty said. A thread of anger deepened her voice. It skimmed along Drake’s nerve endings and sank under his skin. Years ago, he’d loved to tease her until she’d gotten so mad at him that her voice took on that icy edge, with a hint of heat beneath it. It usually signaled the beginning of the end of their fight. The end of it always worked itself out in bed. But ... there was something different, something that struck him as odd. It took him a moment to realize there was a hint of vulnerability beneath the steel. The color had seeped from her face; her hands fisted on her desk.

Drake stared at her and wondered why the name had slipped out. Well, he knew why. He’d been standing here watching her for a few minutes, her head bent over her desk, the weak winter sun light filtering through her dark hair, bringing out the golden highlights. So many memories, memories he had told himself he had to ignore, blazed across his mind, across his heart. And with those thoughts, with those feelings burning a hole in his chest, it was the only name he could think of. She had always beenhis Letty. From the moment he met her he’d known she would be his. The memory of sinking into her as both of them lost their virginity was as vivid as if it had just happened the day before. The familiar hum of desire he felt whenever she was near, rushed through him.

“Okay. What you working on there,Nolete ?” The name was foreign to him. Just as the woman before him was. Cold and distant, this woman was a stranger, nothing like Letty had been at seventeen -- open and so sure of her love for him.

“Just an investigation.” She studied him as if he were an experiment gone wrong. “What do you want?”

“Would it have to do with Dream Weaver?”

He sensed her muscles tensing. Her green eyes darkened with distrust and she swallowed. “What do you know about that?”

He stepped into her office and nodded to the door. “Nolete Ashford, authorize lockdown.”

The door slid closed behind him and he realized that the office was smaller than he first thought. As he walked to her desk, she stood, her chin tilted up defiantly. The black uniform fit snugly over her breasts and hugged her hips. The familiar zing heated his blood and he cursed inwardly for still reacting to her in this way. But he had known that it would be like this. She would always slip beneath his skin.

“Now, tell me.” Her voice was sharp.

What the hell had happened to the woman he knew? This creature before him was not Letty. She’d been so full of life, and love, so sensuous she’d knocked his socks off. Just the thought of the way she used to glide her hands across his bare skin, her lips following the same path, sent blood rushing to his groin.

Her face colored and she cleared her throat. “What do you know?”

“Marcus asked me to help you with your investigation.”

Although the asshole, along with Genoa, had never told him Nolete was heading it up. And Genoa, damn her hide, knew his history with Nolete. It was one of the reasons she’d convinced him to stay on Earth these last few months. But, of course, he’d not done one damn thing about it. He’d avoided her because he had been a coward. Her betrayal still hurt all these years later.

Drake knew they had only two options. They either ended up at opposite ends of the room, both mad as hell, or they ended up in bed, sated to their toes, but with everything else left unresolved. Staying away from her had saved his heart and his sanity. Because being around her hurt too much if he couldn’t touch her. And if he touched her, they would both regret it ... eventually.

When he’d found her sitting in the office of the Federation Drug Enforcement Agency all the memories had come flowing back, twisting his gut. Damn. Why the hell did it have to be her?

*****

This had to be some kind of sick joke. There was one person in the world beside Killigan she could never forgive and he stood in front of her, telling her they had to work together.

“Help me?”

“Marcus said you wanted a scientist to help. Genoa suggested me.”

She tried to think clearly. But it was getting harder by the minute. During their conversation, she’d caught glimpses of his thoughts. And the things he was thinking ...

Not good. Not good at all. Because as he was thinking them, she was hearing them. And it should irritate her that he was thinking of doing those things to her. In reality, it only made her hot to think about his hands on her body. Hell, her nipples tightened against her suit and there was that familiar tug in her stomach. And all of the sudden, she felt like they were seventeen and meeting for the first time. Embarrassingly, her hands shook, though she wasn’t sure if it were from anger or nerves.

The last time she’d heard thoughts was in Carlyle’s office several months earlier. The first time she’d seen Drake in years. “Genoa ... David Adams’s new wife.” Her mind added up all the facts and realized that she’d be sunk if she turned him down. Shit. Adams’s was Carlyle’s brother-in-law. And she really didn’t want to buck Marcus Carlyle. It was thanks to him she had this job, even with her “reconditioned” status. “I thought I sensed you knew Genoa that day in Carlyle’s office.”

“Yes. We’re old friends.”

She licked her lips. His gaze followed the movement.

Taste ... so good.

Her breath caught in her throat. Damn, it wasn’t happening. She prayed in vain that it wasn’t. She didn’t need this. Not now, not when her career was set, and she was happy with her life. Well, sort of happy.

She cleared her throat and walked away, needing some distance from him.

I’d loved to run my hands over that ass.

She tripped over her feet and grabbed hold of the desk to steady herself. The fabric of her uniform rasped against her nipples; her body heated at the memory of what his hands could do to her, sliding over her skin, dipping into her core.

“Are you all right?”

She looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes. It was hard, but she had to bite back the anger. He had no idea her abilities had returned. Letting him know how he affected her wasn’t going to help in this situation.

“I’m fine.” She turned from his questioning eyes, wandered to the window, and gathered her wits. “What do you know about Dream Weaver?”

“David said it was something like the PCP that was popular in the twentieth.”

“Yes.” This she could handle. She knew this subject well. Thinking about what wonderful things he could do with his tongue wasn’t going to get them anywhere. “From what Intel can discern, the drug appeared about a year and a half ago.”

“Here in the US.”

She shook her head. “If it had shown up here to begin with, Vice would have caught it. The way to get a drug into the mainstream is to start off the beaten path.” She picked up the microfile and handed it to him. “As you can see, they first distributed it in out of the way places.”

“Hmmm. I can see where they could get away with it in some of these countries. The Chechen Republic, Columbia, and some of these smaller countries have little or no resistance to the drug lords.”

“They’re poor. The money to be made selling or testing the drug is too good to pass up. There have been some incidents of people showing superhuman strength, or thinking they are invincible. There is also a thin line between being high and being dead. We still don’t understand what it does to people. They die all different ways. Heart attacks, strokes, even asphyxiation.”

“Strange. The tests don’t reveal anything?”

“No. All the victims show different scenarios of what killed them. We have some blood work, so you can have a look at it. The interesting thing is that this drug seems to have no effect on regular humans.”

His head shot up. “None at all?”

“No, and that’s the thing that scares the hell out of me. The person who developed it had to have access to paras, or maybe is one himself.”

He studied her for a moment, his gaze searching hers. She felt her heart beating in her chest so hard, she was sure he could hear it. Every hormone in her body bounced in rhythm, screaming for her to pay attention. She ignored them and shifted from one foot to the other. But that just made her aware of the

dampness between her legs. Her suit rubbed against her clit and she suppressed a groan.

“Testing?” His deep voice cut through her thoughts.

“What?”

He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet. “What ... kind of tests did they do, or have they done?”

Does her skin still taste like sugared sin?

Oh, lord. That had been one of his favorite things to say about her. She could feel herself melting, just as she used to. She had to get out of there. His thoughts were rolling around in her head making it hard for her to think. And she couldn’t deal with this. Dammit, she had come to terms with losing her abilities. She didn’t want them back. They made her different, someone to ridicule, hurt, and abandon.

“It’s in the microfile. I’m sure you will find what you need in there. If not, we do have a few scientists who have been looking it over, but most of it has been kept hush-hush.”

“Are you worried about it because of yoursituation? ”

Her situation. Hewould refer to it that way. She swallowed the bitterness that had welled up in her throat. Drawing in a deep breath, she forced a smile.

“I have no situation, Drake.”

“I meant --”

“I know what you meant.” She hoped her voice was nonchalant. Nervous energy had her moving behind her desk. “You don’t have to worry about that. I lost my abilities a few years ago.”

He crossed his arms and studied her. His intense gaze caused unease to settle in her stomach. Drake had a really good bullshit detector. “Just like that. You no longer have them. You can’t hear what I am thinking now?”

No, not at the moment.“No.”

“What happened?”

She shrugged and told him part of the truth. “I woke up one day, and they were gone.”

*****

Drake took a drink of the guava beer he’d ordered and winced. The fruity fizz slid down his throat. These new drafts sucked. Somewhere, someone decided they needed to make beer healthier. Taking out carbs and adding fruit flavors and vitamins had been the trend for the last hundred years. They served good old beer on Langilia, where he usually worked. But for the past six months he had been here, languishing away, trying to prove to himself that he didn’t feel anything for Letty anymore.

Well, you proved that wrong, Conners. Damn, how could that woman twist him up in knots so easily within seconds of being in her company? Working with her wasn’t going to be easy. Just being in her presence for less than thirty minutes had him rock hard and ready to jump her bones.

“Looks like you could use a friend,” a sultry voice whispered in his ear.

He turned and found a statuesque woman standing behind him. Her waist length hair was a brilliant blue. It matched her eyes. Sculpted cheekbones, a delicate nose, and mahogany skin made her eyes brighter and made her appear more exotic. She also seemed to have lost most of her clothing along the way. His gaze traveled down her body, and it was a long trip. A scrap of green material stretched across her full

breasts, and a skirt, if one could call it that, clung to her rounded hips. Male interest lit through him, but nothing more than just normal admiration.Not a good sign.

“I saw you sitting here, looking all sad and lonely. I can’t stand to see a man lonely.” Her voice was throaty, just a murmur above the music blasting from the digital DJ.

He nodded to the stool next to him. “Have a seat.”

When she was settled next to him, he ordered her a drink.

“So, how does a fine man like you find yourself alone, drinking your sorrows away?”

“Who says I’m sad?”

She sipped her drink. “I do, sweetie. You look like the saddest man I’ve ever seen.”

When he raised his glass to take a drink, he noticed she watched his hands. Her heated gaze caught his and her smile widened.

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could another not so sultry female voice stopped her.

“Drake.”

Immediately his body jumped to attention. His pulse accelerated, his blood heated, his dick twitched.

He looked over his shoulder. Letty stood behind him. Her eyes were narrowed as she looked at his new companion and him. And, for just a second, well longer than a second, he felt a certain male triumph that she might be jealous.

“I need to talk to you.”

He swiveled his stool around to face her. At once, the low sensual hum of arousal coursed through him. “What do you need?”

She glanced at his companion and then back to him. “I can’t talk about it in mixed company.”

“Now, listen here, sweetie. I was here first. But, I’m willing to share him with you.”

Letty settled her hands on her hips and let loose an aggravated sigh. “Listen, for all I care you two could have hot monkey sex on the bar, but I need him for work. And right now, work is more important than a quick fuck.”

She turned on her heel and marched toward the exit. He realized she was wearing the same uniform she had that afternoon and admired her ass as she walked away. Desire rolled through him as he thought about sliding into her hot wet pussy from behind, having his hands on her rounded ass. Then, he noticed several of the bar patrons turned to watch her too. Dammit. He didn’t like men leering at her anymore than he liked the possessiveness he was feeling.

“Well, that answered my earlier question.”

Oh, shit, he forgot about his drinking companion. His face heated and he began to explain, but she stopped him.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. Averil can always find herself a man. I don’t mind sharing, but from the look of your woman she ain’t into sharing.”

“She ain’t into me.” She raised one pierced eyebrow. “Okay, not anymore.”

“Darlin’, there was enough heat between the two of you to set off the fire sensors. She may be telling you no at the moment, but the feeling is reciprocated. And, I have a feeling that you’re a one woman kind of man. ”

He nodded and slid his debit card through the payputer to pay for her drink. “Thank you. You know where to find me if you need to, sweetie.”

Without another word, he double-timed it out the door trying to catch up with Letty.

By the time he reached her, she was half way down the street. Irritation fairly rolled off her in waves.

“Letty!” She kept walking. “Nolete.”

She stopped and waited for him to catch up. The moment he did, she shot him a dirty look, then looked away.

“Listen, Drake, this investigation is extremely important. Now, if you can’t take it seriously, I can get anotherscientist who will.”

Irritation lit through him. “I can handle the job. I just stopped for a drink.” A drink and to forget the way her skin would feel against his, about how he’d loved to have her go down on him and suck him dry.

Her face flushed. “Fine. But we had some breakthroughs tonight and I didn’t know where to find you.” She looked down the street and sighed. “I don’t care if you fuck every blue-haired Amazon you meet, but this job has to be a priority. It has to come before your wants, even your needs. I know it may not be important to you, but --”

“Hold on one second there.” His agitation quickly turned to anger. He stepped closer and she took a step back, coming in contact with the wall of an apartment building. “I take my job very seriously. And I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but just because I grab a drink doesn’t mean I’m not professional. How professional is it to show up while I am off duty and make insinuations? Tell me,Nolete , do you do this to all your partners?”

He couldn’t help his harsh tone. Letty walked into a room and every nerve in his body went on alert. Along with his cock, which stood at attention just from talking to her. And the fact she was looking up at him, her face flushed in anger, her eyes narrowed and sparking with fire, sent a wave of heat rushing through him. Dammit, why did she always have to do this? Just the thought of her, the scent of her skin, anything sent all available blood rushing to his groin.

The urge to kiss her until she softened almost had him reaching for her. She must have seen the intent in his eyes because she slipped past him and out of his reach.

“I understand I stepped over the line, Drake. Won’t happen again.”

Without another word, she turned and walked down the sidewalk trying to shut him out again. In two strides he caught up with her. “So, what happened tonight?”

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. The street light cast an eerie glow about her face, leaving half of it in the shadows. “They have a bit of what one of the lab workers called ‘pure samples.’ Hell if I know what that means.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from grabbing her hand to pull her closer. What the hell was wrong with him? He had to have been out of his fucking mind to say he would do this.

“Pure samples, or PS, is the drug in its normal state. After the 2010s, many drug pushers began mixing drugs, putting in additives to throw off police dogs.”

“Hmm, so this stuff could tell you more?”

“Not only that, tell you faster. Without all the junk to throw us off, it will be easier to figure out how it is manufactured.”

She stopped at the intersection and waited for the light to turn. Agitation -- no something akin to

excitement -- vibrated from her. “That’s why they were all bunged up about it. No wonder. It’s the first time Vice was able to make a bust before it hit the streets.”

The light changed and they continued to the headquarters. After going through security, which was ten times faster when he went with Letty than on his own, they headed to the lab.

“Have you been in yet?”

“I stopped by after talking to you, but there weren’t a lot of people around.”

Her lips quirked, and just for a moment the old Letty was there. “They probably thought Marcus sent you.”

Before he could question her, they reached the outer changing room of the lab. They both dressed in the mandatory white lab jackets and pants that fit over their clothes. She handed him a cap to cover his hair and glasses.

As he stuffed his hair into the cap, her comment came back to him. “What do you mean, ‘they thought Marcus sent me’? He did.”

“Of course he did, but not to inspect. Marcus likes order, and he is always sending in inspectors. Nolete Ashford, authorize.”

The door slid open and he waited until she passed by to follow. “Inspections?”

She looked around, as if to make sure no one was listening. “Yeah, you know. Can’t trust scientists and lab workers.”

“What do you mean?” He’d lowered his voice and leaned closer. The musky sent of her drifted toward him and he did everything in his power not to lean closer and sniff.

“I mean that a lot of our workers get the habit, so be careful, Dr. Drake. I wouldn’t want to arrest you for shooting up.”

With that she turned on her heel and strode away. As he hurried to follow, he cursed. He must have spent all of tonight following her around like a puppy. Why?

She bent over to pick up a piece of paper on the floor and the fabric of the lab pants stretched tight across her ass. A hot curl of lust filled his stomach.

Okay, but still he didn’t like it.

*****

As Nolete led the way through the myriad of lab tables, she silently berated herself. Walking into that bar and acting like a jealous lover wasn’t going to help the situation. She smiled at a lab worker as she passed and ignored his suspicious look. Venturing into the lab wasn’t something she normally did, but she wanted to make sure that Drake got the help he needed. Scientists were a strange lot, especially those who worked for the government. They worried about losing their jobs to budget cuts. Those who made brilliant discoveries ended up with higher grade jobs and had more of a chance of holding onto that job. It resulted in many of them being overly secretive about their work. They guarded their discoveries in hopes of more money or lucrative private sector jobs. Drake didn’t have to worry about that with his family’s money. It was probably one of the reasons he had been chosen. The Federation didn’t pay that well, until you worked into a higher grade. Many lower grade scientists were tempted by the money offered by drug Cartel agents. They wouldn’t have that worry with Drake.

Even thinking his name sent her pulse racing. This wasn’t the way she operated. She needed stability. Everything worked better with a well thought out plan. Unfortunately, right now, she wanted all the delicious things that Drake had thought about doing to her. Each one had slid through her, heating her blood, driving her almost insane. Because she had to be insane to even think about touching him. But she had thought about it and so much more.

She shoved those thoughts aside as Frank Zarak stepped into her path. Late forties and balding, he was the epitome of old school science. He didn’t think she or any other para should work for the Federation. There had been many who protested the Federation’s more stringent policies, but most scientists had turned a blind eye.

“Slumming today, Ashford?” That sarcastic tone of his always grated on her nerves so she smiled and resisted the usual urge to kick him in the balls.

“Yeah, I decided to see how the lower half lived.”

His lips curled in disgust and he stepped closer. Before she could do anything, the heat of Drake warmed her back and thoughts of hurting Zarak filled her mind.

Irritation with Drake fought with her disgust for Zarak. She’d handled discrimination of this kind for years on her own, and she could take care of herself. Nolete decided to put an end to it before Drake could act on any of his alpha male idiocy and compromise the investigation.

“Zarak, this is the hot shot scientist Carlyle brought in. Drake, this is Dr. Frank Zarak. He’s in charge of the testing area for Vice.”

Zarak’s dark gaze shifted from her to Drake. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Conners.”

For just a moment, the only sounds were the murmurs of other workers in the background.

A lash of anger swept through her so strong she almost lost her breath. As she tried her best to ignore the feeling her mind raced. Never before had she ever had empathic tendencies.

“Zarak.” Although Drake’s voice held a civil tone, an underlying hint of malice laced his words. “I understand that you have a pure sample of Dream Weaver?”

Zarak’s eyes narrowed. Nolete knew he was debating whether or not to question why Drake had been

brought in. Apparently, he decided to err on the better side of his career.

“Yes. We’ve have it in the lab being tested right now.”

For a moment, she felt irritation flare, but it wasn’t her own. It shook her to her core. Where had it come from?

She glanced at Drake and saw it there plain on his face. He was agitated they had messed with the drug.

While trying to ignore Drake’s feelings, she decided to let them fight it out themselves. “Drake, I have some work I need to catch up on. Zarak, make sure that he gets full cooperation from you and your staff.” His face flushed and he opened his mouth, but she stopped the argument. “This comes from Carlyle. You want to fuck your career, go ahead.” With a nod to Drake, she turned on her heel and headed back to her office.

Once there, she massaged her temples trying to will away the tension that had erupted the moment Drake had appeared at her door that morning. Who was she fooling? She’d been preoccupied with him since she had seen him in Carlyle’s office months ago.

And now, she was dealing with things she never thought would bother her again. Feelings? From her childhood, she had been able to hear thoughts and move objects. She’d been shunned by her foster families and taught to hide the gifts. When she’d been tossed out of the lab, she’d cursed the horrible experience, but rejoiced in her newfound freedom. But now, her powers were returning and at times they were sharper and scarier. She didn’t need this shit right now.

She shook her head to clear it of morbid thoughts and decided to get back to work. If she could make it through this investigation without falling apart, she’d take a break from work, sort out this mess.

The memory of Drake’s thoughts sparked across her mind and she shivered. As long as she could resist the lure that Drake represented, she’d survive.

*****

With his body aching from hours spent bent over the lab table, Drake leaned against the wall of the elevator. He wasn’t looking forward to meeting face to face with Nolete, but he didn’t want to take the chance someone would hear him talking on his phone with her. The doors slid open and he slowly walked down the hall to Nolete’s apartment. The unsettled feelings that had plagued him since his return to Earth churned in his stomach. He’d kept his contact with her to a minimum. He rubbed his belly knowing that no matter how much he avoided her, he had the same reaction: sweaty palms and a rock hard erection.

Just to get her home address, Drake had fought a lot of red tape and then finally broke down and called Genoa. The satisfied tone in her voice had made him wince, but he couldn’t very well bully anyone at the Counter Terrorism Department to get him the information. Most of them didn’t know who he was and even if they did, it wouldn’t get him anywhere.

He pressed the ringer, his heart thumping in his chest. A minute or two later, her voice sounded on the intercom.

“What the hell are you doing here, Drake?”

He glanced up at the miniature camera used for viewing.

“I need to talk to you about something.” He sensed her hesitation and he couldn’t fight the ball of irritation that swelled and burned in his gut. “It’s work, Nolete.”

The locks sounded and a moment later her door slid open. The moment he saw her every thought he had in his mind disappeared.

She wore a one-piece catsuit thing that clung to every curve, accentuating her full hips, her tiny waist. His blood heated, searing his veins.

“This better be good.” She turned to walk away and he figured she expected him to follow, but getting his brain to work with no blood in it whatsoever was pretty hard. Especially with the wonderful view of her ass.

She looked over her shoulder at him. “What the hell are you doing? Aren’t you coming in?”

Feeling like a fool, he followed her.

“Ashford, secure.” The door closed and locked behind him, but he barely noticed it. That’s the way it had always been with Letty. He’d have all kinds of things to talk about that he, the science geek, had planned out, but he would get within ten feet of her, and be harder than a steel pike, ready to jump her bones.

She led him down a hall to what he figured was the living room. Probably the opposite side of the house from her bedroom. Not that it had mattered ten years ago. They’d made love just about everywhere. He remembered one particular instance in her dorm bathroom. She’d been sitting on the sink, her legs wrapped around his waist, and both of them had gotten off on the fact someone could have walked in on them at any moment.

When she faced him, her skin was flushed, and she seemed to look everywhere but at him.

“So, what do you need?”

What did he need? What he needed was to strip her bare and sink his cock into her, but he had a feeling she would object. Her face turned brighter.

He cleared his throat and ordered his hormones to take a rest. “I wanted to talk to you about the testing and I really didn’t want to do it over the phone.”

She finally looked at him, her green eyes filled with interest. Damn, he had missed that look from her.

“What?”

“First thing. You have to do something about Zarak.”

She sighed and nodded. “He has been difficult since I got my job. He has a problem with paras.”

“A problem?”

“Don’t worry about. There are still some scientists who want nothing to do with people like me.”

Anger shot through him and he opened his mouth to condemn the bastard, but from the look on her face, she wouldn’t be happy to have any interference from him. He’d seen that look enough in the past to know that Letty wanted to be the one to take care of it.

“Okay, but you also have another problem.”

One eyebrow rose and she crossed her arms.

“You have a leak in the lab.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“You know?”

“Well, it’s a government agency, of course there’s a leak.” She shrugged. “Not much I can do about it.”

“You know that if this got out --”

She uncrossed her arms and placed her hand on her hips. “You don’t have to tell me how important this investigation is. But, even though we’re considered one of the most secure departments, there’s always a leak.”

“I’m not talking about going to the papers here with some useless information. I’m talking about someone tapping into the computers. On top of it, someone was messing with the sample before I could get to it. There are people in that office who don’t want you to find where this comes from.”

Anger vibrated between the two of them. The only problem with that was he remembered every time they had fought ten years ago, they had ended up in bed. Well, not always the bed. “Drake, I don’t need some virgin investigator telling me how to do my job.” Her voice had turned sharp, but he could also feel a hum of something else. Something he hadn’t heard from her in years, had thought never to hear from her again. “I know there are leaks. I know they’re fucking with the samples. I know someone is leaking things to the press. But, at the moment, there isn’t much I can do about it, now is there?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I launch a full investigation into the leaks, the information we’ve been trying to keep to ourselves will hit the fucking news in less than an hour.” Her hands dropped from her waist and her shoulders sagged. “The pay for working in government isn’t great so there have always been people ready to sell secrets.”

He hated the defeated tone in her voice. Knowing there was nothing she could do about it didn’t matter.His Letty hadn’t been a woman to make compromises. She didn’t follow the safe path.

Before he knew what he was doing, he stepped forward and grabbed her by her shoulders. He should give her a shake, hoping to knock some good sense loose. But instead, he found himself pulling her closer, and before she could say a word, he crushed his mouth down on hers.

Chapter Three

Fear, anger, lust rushed through Nolete. Never in her life had such a jumble of emotions coursed through her, sent from one person. She tried to fight it. She needed to push Drake away in her mind so she could do it physically. Unfortunately, the emotions tumbling through her at the moment kept her from saying no. She couldn’t ignore the heat that had flared the moment they had seen each other again.

His tongue traced the seam of her lips. Without thought, she opened her mouth and allowed him to steal inside. As the taste of him, warm and spicy, filled her, the emotions tumbling through him lanced her to the core.

She slid her arms up to his shoulders and stepped closer. Her breasts brushed against his chest, and they both moaned when her hardened nipples teased him. His hands moved down her back to her ass. Fingers she remembered so well traced the cleft between her buttocks before cupping each cheek and pulling her against him.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she rubbed her pussy against his hardened cock. His emotions ran through her, twisting and turning her own to a higher level until she could barely breath.

Hot, juicy ... so damn good.

As she tried to control her own reaction, his thoughts invaded her mind, pulling her further away from reason. At first they had been slowly sensual, of what he wanted to do to her with his hand, with his mouth. But soon, they were stumbling over each other, and she couldn’t grasp onto one concrete thought.

Her body reacted as if they were her own thoughts. It was just like before, but this time it was sharper, darker. His need coursed through her, pulsing in her veins.

He stumbled over to the couch and toppled them both onto it. The weight of his body made her all the more aware of every lean, muscled inch of him. He ground his groin against her. More juice wet her pussy as he increased the pace. The fabric of her suit clung to her clit, heightening the friction.

His own arousal was pulsing in her, deepening, changing, pulling her further away from sanity. He shifted his weight and slid his hand to her breast. At the same time, he left her lips and kissed a trail down her neck to her ear. As his fingers pinched her nipples, his teeth grazed her earlobe. Those two little actions shot through her and she moaned his name. His head shot up, his hand stilled on her breast.

“Say my name again.” His voice was rough with arousal. The sound of it washed over her, and sent another wave of heat straight to her sex. She could feel her muscles clench at his authoritative tone.

“Drake.” Her voice was just above a whisper, but she knew he heard her responding desire. He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.

“You have no idea what that does to me, Letty.”

The use of the old nickname should’ve irritated her and brought her to her senses. Unfortunately, she had the same reaction when he had used it years ago. Every fiber of her being wanted him. She wanted his cock deep within her as she came.

He drew back and pulled her clothes off her, and before she could think, he was on top of her. Urgency threaded through his arousal, and for some reason she felt a sense of panic edging both.

She wanted his clothes off. Feeling his skin next to hers ... It had been the one thing she craved. But, as she reached for his shirt, he was undoing his pants, and had his cock in hand. Looking into his eyes, she could feel his intent, but she wanted something more.

With not much more than a half-hearted push, she got him to move to a sitting position. She stood and pulled him up, then helped him discard his shoes and pants. A second later, she was on the floor between his knees. As she trailed her hand up the inside of his thigh, he moaned and clawed at his shirt. It joined the rest of their clothes on the floor.

She slid a finger up one side of his shaft, then the other. He rewarded her with a groan. The sound shifted through her, tangling with his emotions and his out of control thoughts. Wet, damp, her pussy clenched at the thought of hearing him groan, of making him lose control.

As she cupped his balls, she shifted forward and touched her tongue to the tip of his penis. A drop of pre-cum had leaked out. She licked it, then savored the salty-sweet taste of him. There had been other men since Drake, but none of them had affected her this way. She had never been ready to get on her knees and suck them until they came. Thinking of doing just that sent a dizzying wave of heat through her.

She took his cock in her mouth. As she sucked, she twirled her tongue around the blunt head. He slid his fingers through her hair and molded them to her head. She moved her hand to the base, as she continued to torture him, reveling in his moans and groans.

Her muscles tightened and she felt another gush of liquid fill her cunt. She knew she was close, that just a little more and she would come. As she edged closer, her moans grew, and the thought that he could feel them, that they pulsed around his dick almost sent her over.

But Drake had other plans. He grabbed her by her forearms, and pulled her up onto his lap.

“That’s enough, Letty.” The tendons in his neck were tight, his face strained and flushed, and a feeling of pure exhilaration swept through her. She still had the power to make him lose control.

She positioned herself over his cock and slowly took him in. She was wet, but he was large, and her muscles quivered then readjusted. They groaned together as she gyrated her hips. He bent his head and took her nipple in his mouth, sucking and grazing the tip with his tongue. Slowly, she lifted herself, and then sank back down. Soon, they built a rhythm together. Her excitement grew, heightened by his. His intense emotions almost superseded her own. She gained control, hoping that somewhere in this she would not be lost in the tidal wave of his wants, of his needs. It was hard because as she fought his feelings, she had to deal with his thoughts. They sparked through her, but all she got were bits and pieces of his thoughts. And with each passing minute, they grew more incoherent.

With the dual assault on her senses, she was easily losing control. She quickened her movements, feeling that she was close, that her body was ready to burst free. He had moved to her other breast. Each time his tongue swept over her nipple she felt it all the way to her sex.

He slid his hand to her clit and massaged the hardened nub. She took his face into her hands and pulled it level with hers. She crushed her mouth against his, as the first tremors of her orgasm shook her core. As she spasmed, he grabbed her hips, his fingers biting into her skin.

Holding her still, he thrust into her once ... twice ...

He pulled back from their kiss, groaning as he spurted his seed into her. She collapsed on top of him with a groan.

Long moments later, he stirred.

“Letty.” The gentleness in his voice curled in her chest, and sank into her bones. He tightened his hold. “Hmmm.”

The warmth that had filled her during their lovemaking was now replaced by cold panic. She couldn’t handle this feeling. She’d allowed someone close once, someone who ripped her heart out.

“Drake --”

“Don’t, Letty.” His hand ran the length of her spine. “Don’t say let’s forget this happened. There is no way in five hells I can forget it.”

She shifted her weight, then drew back from him. As she looked down into his eyes, she saw the tenderness that almost threatened to swamp her, to send her running for cover. But she also saw something else. Something that had her rethinking her denial. Vulnerability. She wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes. But, both of them were raw with emotions and she knew he couldn’t control his anymore than she could hers.

“You have to admit that this isn’t a good idea.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Hard to tell that when you moan my name so prettily.”

His arrogance should have angered her, but she couldn’t fight the laughter that bubbled to the surface.

“Drake, this is really important. If we fuck up this investigation because of our personal relationship, I could never forgive myself. You would never forgive yourself.”

His eyes narrowed as he studied her. “So, we pretend this never happened.”

“Pretending would be hard. We just work around it.”

“Listen. I think we can do this. We can’t work day in and day out without touching each other. Damn, we didn’t even last a day.”

“But --”

He placed his fingers on her lips and the heat of them warmed her. “No. Can you imagine working as tightly wound as we have been? Jesus, we’d be fighting within three hours. And, think about it. It’s been ten years. Now that we have this, these memories, do you think we will be able to keep our hands off each other?”

She knew he was right. Shouldn’t she be repulsed that she’d screwed him like there was no tomorrow, even knowing what he had done to her? Why did she keep setting herself up for this? But he was looking up at her, honest intent showing clearly in his eyes. She couldn’t allow the fact that he had controlled her life before. His rejection had been the hardest thing for her to survive, but she had.

“I’ll agree with you on a couple of conditions.” She waited for his nod and continued. “First, no discussion of the past. I don’t want to rehash it. It’s over with and there’s nothing we can do about it now.” He nodded again. “And, there is no future. After this assignment is over and we catch the bad guys, we have nothing.”

A defiant light gleamed in his eyes, but his lips thinned and he nodded one more time.

“Are you hungry?” He looked a little confused by the change in topic and she felt her lips curving. “I need something to eat and you need to tell me what you think about this drug.”

*****

Drake bit into his sandwich and lounged back to watch Letty putter around her kitchen. It was a very domestic scene, he thought. As she cut into her own sandwich he glanced around and realized he would have never picked this apartment for her. It was mostly stainless steel and black polyleather. It was so ... not Letty. But she wasn’t Letty anymore, according to her. Ten years ago, he couldn’t see her being the cold, distant woman she was today -- that was until they’d made love.

The memories washed over him, sending another wave of heat to his blood. They’d always been good in bed together, but they’d both been virgins when they met. Exploring their sensuality had not only been amazing, it had been one of their favorite pastimes. But this mating had been so ... intense. He’d never felt anything like it in his life. He shifted in the chair to help loosen his pants a tad.

She slid into the seat across the gleaming steel table and bit into her sandwich with gusto. After she swallowed her food, she asked, “Did you get anything useful done?”

His sipped his water. “Yeah, a little bit. This drug is a synthetic, but I think the thing that makes it so powerful could be that it isn’t only manmade.”

“Explain.”

Until that moment he hadn’t realized just how much he missed having her hang onto every word. The cocky young man he had been had loved to have her follow him around, those heavy-lidded, sparkling green eyes filled with admiration.

“It’s mixed with synthetics, manmade drugs, but the base is an opiate.”

“Opiate ... like opium?”

“Yes. It enhances the synthetic that acts much like PCP, with delusions of super strength.”

She worried her lip and her brow furrowed. “So, this would take a scientific mind, would it not? I mean, this isn’t just some jack someone put together on the street? It would take some research, some extensive research on paras in a controlled environment.” She shivered. “Like quarantine.”

She stood and walked to the small round window he assumed looked out over the street.

“Yes. I don’t think this would have come about with two guys in their garage playing with a chem set. But I’m not sure scientists who work for the government would be subject to speculation.”

Her head whipped around and she studied him. This time, there was no admiration in her gaze. “Why? Because they’re scientists?”

“No, not that. I know it took a scientific mind to work on this drug. I can tell from the way it is affecting people, from the damage it has done. But what I have a problem with is thinking that the government would be party to something like that.”

She snorted. “Oh. A government who interns a whole group of people because of their abilities would stop at using them as guinea pigs? They don’t mind rounding up whole families and transporting them to camps, breaking them up, making sure they have no contact, but they have a conscience about testing drugs on them?”

Her voice dripped with sarcasm and he paused before answering. No matter how sweet their lovemaking had been, this wasn’t Letty. This was Nolete. And she had a chip on her shoulder that he doubted he would be able to shove off.

“Fine, even if they did, wouldn’t we have records of it since they started dismantling the camps?”

She shook her head and the look on her face made him believe she thought him very naïve. “No. Even if they kept records, they could have gotten rid of them. The Federation took too long to move on the labs, and many of the worst of them got away. We have firsthand accounts about the drugs, the tests, everything. So I wouldn’t doubt that is where the idea was formulated. The government probably saw a way to use them, turn them into super warriors or something like that. Damn them to hell if they died from the drugs.”

The information she was telling him was beyond his comprehension. He hadn’t agreed with the labs, with locking people up because of their abilities -- but Drake thought most conspiracies were bullshit.

Even with all of that, he knew Letty knew something she wasn’t telling him. He would let her keep her secrets ... for now. It went against every instinct he had, but he would let it go right now. But, they would discuss it at some point.

“Okay, if there is someone who did it, who would it be? Who would have the ability to hide the information, have access to the lab, where no one would question him or her about what they were doing?”

Her rigid stance relaxed and he felt he had won a battle. Not the war, mind you, but a small victory. “I would look at every person who ran a lab. The lab directors in those places had unprecedented authority. I guess I need to talk to Marcus.”

“I already took care of that.”

“Listen, Conners, you may be big shit in the lab, but I run my department.”

“Hey, I was talking to David and Genoa to find out your address, and David said he would take care of it. I’m sure Marcus will come to the same conclusions.”

“Next time, don’t go over my head.”

He stood and walked over to her. “Letty, I would never do anything to question your place in the department, really. I’ll go through you from now on.”

Her face flushed with what he assumed to be embarrassment. “I’m sorry. Working with a bunch of men who don’t want a reformed para as the supervisor makes me paranoid. They question everything I say or do.”

Her shoulders slumped and the urge to pull her close, to tell her everything would be all right almost overwhelmed him. She was so strong, but at the same time, if he looked close enough, he saw the vulnerable woman beneath the steel exterior. This case was putting stress on her, and he just couldn’t stand it.

“Now that we have that out of the way.” He stepped forward and easily lifted her in his arms. “Which way to the bedroom?”

She crossed her arms. “And just why are you assuming you’ve been granted those privileges?”

“Because I know you, Letty. You can dress up in your uniform, you can even cast me those “freeze your balls off” looks, but I know you. I know what you sound like when you moan, I know all the places you liked to be touched, and I know how it feels to sink into you.” Her spine softened and she uncrossed her arms. “And I know those little sounds you make when you come.”

She shivered in reaction to his words. The familiar slow roll of lust invaded his stomach, warming him from the inside out. “Now, where is your bedroom? I swear to God, if you don’t tell me, I will take you right here in the kitchen.

Chapter Four

Seconds later Drake dropped her on the bed. He’d practically run down the hall. He reached for her clothes and she shook her head. If she thought she was going to get away with teasing him like this, she had another think coming.

Her lips curved into a distinctively feline smile and her eyes sparkled with humor. Every male hormone stood up at attention, along with various body parts. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to make her smile. If he could hear her laugh, really laugh, he would feel like he’d developed a cure for cancer. She knew just how his mind worked, knew just what he was thinking.

That thought stopped him cold. Suspicion clouded his mind.Had she told the truth about her abilities? She smiled up at him innocently. The joy in her expression sent another wave of heat shooting through him, warming his blood, which was making a direct path to his cock. Memories of their life before, when they were both young and green washed over him. Their first time, both virgins, and the way she had always told the truth. She hadn’t been upfront about her abilities, but she hadn’t lied outright. And she never would. Even with everything that had happened between them, Letty had been solid. He knew that to his core.

She got up on her knees and trailed her hand up his shirt. Grabbing the collar she pulled him closer. “This time I want you naked, too.”

The warmth shining in her eyes left him speechless. She was finally the Letty he remembered. Warm, loving, fun. Anticipation skated along his nerves, tingled along his skin. She unbuttoned his shirt, and helped him out of it.

“My, my, my. You’ve been working out, Drake.”

He shrugged, equally embarrassed and thrilled with her admiration of his body. Her fingers skimmed over his chest, up over his shoulders and down his arms. Even as hot as he was, a rush of goose bumps followed her touch.

“No, you have. You have to remember that ten years have passed. You were always a piece of art, all rangy bones and lean muscles, but we were both so young, inexperienced.”

He chuckled. “We gained experience pretty fast.”

Her head shot up and her smile was now a full-fledged grin. “We definitely did at that.”

She grabbed his waistband, unfastened his pants and pulled them off. Her gaze focused on his cock, which grew, amazingly enough, under her attention. Letty grazed her thumb over the head, spreading the pre-cum around and he felt the brush all the way to his toes.

He grabbed her hand. “Not so fast, honey. I want to play. You keep doing that and it’ll be over too soon.”

As fast as he could, he helped her out of her clothes and laid her back on the bed. All that white skin against the black comforter stopped him in his tracks. Damn, but she was gorgeous.

She had been right. A lot of years had come and gone. Letty had changed, but only for the better. Ten years ago, Letty had been a tad on the thin side. She’d been an athlete and her time in training had left her lean. But now, her hips and ass were rounder, more feminine, and her breasts! Still smaller than average, but just as pert, as round, as damn tasty as before.

He collapsed beside her and bent over her to take a nipple in his mouth. The taste of her exploded through him. Sweet, tart, and everything he remembered. While licking and sucking, he slid his hand down to her pussy. He skimmed his fingers over her slit and drew in a deep breath when he felt the dampness there. Even though she was like this every time he touched her, her response always amazed him. He inserted one finger. She moaned and her hands threaded through his hair.

As he worked his finger in and out, he moved to her other breast, giving it the same treatment. God, he would never get enough of this woman. She was hotter than anyone he had ever touched. The musky scent of her filled his senses as her juice wet his hand. He added another finger and brushed his thumb against her clit, once, twice, and then she exploded.

He rose from her breast to watch her come. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as he continued moving his fingers. This was good, this was wonderful, but he wanted to shove her over the edge. The moment the last of her vibrations stilled, he moved over her, brushing his cock against her bare pussy. He closed his eyes and willed himself to wait. Shoving his dick in her and riding the wave would be good, but

having her mindless with anticipation would be better.

He slid down her body, and dropped on the floor between her legs. Before she could react, he grabbed her legs at the knees and jerked her to the edge of the bed. She rose and rested her weight on her elbows, looking down at him with a completely satisfied smile.

Chuckling, he draped her legs over his shoulders, and leaned forward. He inhaled her scent, and excitement crawled down his spine. God, she smelled like a four-course gourmet meal topped off with his favorite dessert. He kissed her thigh and then focused his attention on her pussy, already glistening with juice.

As he licked and nipped, he inserted a finger. Hot, wet, sin. That is what she tasted like. Her moans increased and became more incoherent as he continued. He added another finger, not stopping in the assault. Cream flowed from her into his mouth, onto his hand as she moved her legs restlessly against his head. Her muscles tightened on his fingers as he took her hardened clit into his mouth.

A second later she exploded, her body convulsing again. Every muscle in his body screamed for release. He eased up her body, keeping her legs over his shoulders, and pushed into her in one swift thrust.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the way her muscles clamped tightly around his cock. They fit together so perfectly. Pulling out slowly, he opened his eyes and felt a shock lance through him when he found her watching him. As he built the rhythm from slow and easy into frenzied and fast, she went along with him.

Her body trembled and he knew she was close again. He never broke eye contact. The connection was too fragile, too intense to ignore and he wanted her to know that he wouldn’t let it go. Her eyes closed and her head thrashed from side to side. At the moment, he knew she was trying to deny him the right to see her pleasure.

“Letty.” His voice came out in a low growl.

She bit her lip but still didn’t open her eyes. She was refusing him, but he wasn’t going to let her get away from it. He was close, so damn close, and the need to come was almost too much, but he stilled his actions.

“Dammit. Don’t you ignore me, Letty.”

She moved her pelvis, or at least tried to, but the position he had her in made it hard. The small movement almost had him losing control. He gritted his teeth.

Finally, she opened her eyes. They were clouded with frustration and lust and before she could fight him, he pulled out and thrust into her as deep as he could.

The action sent both of them shooting over the edge. Her eyes slid shut, but this time, nothing but bone-deep satisfaction swept through him.

Moments later he released her legs. Both of them moved under the covers. She rolled into his arms, as if she knew she belonged there. No words were said as she snuggled against him, and he knew that their lovemaking had been too raw to talk about. It had stripped some of the barriers that had kept them apart.

After she had fallen asleep, he lay away thinking. There was something that had been damaged in her. Not by their breakup. Although he knew that was part of it, he was a big enough man to know that Letty would have moved on. He didn’t know what it was, but he was definitely going to find out.

As he drifted off to sleep, he decided that at some point, if she didn’t confide in him willingly, he would just have to make her tell him.

*****

A blood chilling scream woke Drake out of a deep sleep. Immediately he jumped out of bed looking for the culprit, almost falling on his face when his feet got tangled in the sheets.

He blinked, looking around the room and not recognizing anything for a moment. Then the memories of the night with Letty came back to him. Immediately, he looked for Letty and found her still in the grips of a nightmare. She thrashed about on the bed, her hands twisted in the sheets. The moan of pain was so sorrowful, a streak of ice slithered down his spine.

He climbed back on the bed. “Letty?”

“Noooooo.” Torture dripped from the cry.

Panic gripped him. “Letty, wake up.”

He grabbed her by her shoulders and not so gently shook her. Her head moved from side to side and she released the sheet to try to push him away. “I mean it, Nolete. Wake up.” He was trying to keep his voice calm, but even he heard the fear. She came awake with a start and her eyes widened.

“What the hell is going on, Drake?” She tried to shake herself free of his hold, but he wasn’t ready to let go.

“You were having a nightmare.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. Let me go.”

He finally released her, but he wasn’t letting it go. Truthfully, he’d thought she didn’t remember the dream, but when she sat up, and shoved her hair out of her face, he noticed her hand shook.

“Letty.” She stilled. “You can tell me about it.”

She sighed. “I can’t remember the dream, Drake. Really, I can’t. I do know that it scared the living hell out of me.”

He couldn’t stand the loneliness he heard in that statement, mainly because, since he lost Letty, he’d been there more times than not, himself. There would be the occasional lover, friend, someone to hold onto, but they had never been Letty.

Before either of them could think about it, he was reaching for her. He drew her into his arms, and was going to make damn sure the woman knew she could count on him.

*****

Letty shivered as Drake’s hand slid down her back to the cleft between her cheeks.

She lay on her stomach in the middle of her bed, her legs spread, Drake sitting between them.

“One of the things I have always dreamed of doing to you was to take you from behind.” Drake’s voice was whisper soft, but she didn’t miss the arousal darkening it. His fingers slipped between her cheeks. “I had a feeling that both of us would like that.”

She shivered as his finger brushed against her opening. She’d had anal sex before. She’d tried so much after being released from quarantine, trying to forget Drake. The idea of having it with Drake sent a wave of heat rushing through her.

His fingers slid away, and he leaned forward. Hard and ready, his cock lay against her ass. “What do you say, Letty?” He slid his finger beneath her stomach, and cupped her pussy. He chuckled and she knew he felt her liquid dripping from her slit. His dick twitched against her and a race or emotions, -excitement, tenderness, and downright possessiveness -- seeped from him. His thoughts were growing scattered again, but she knew he anticipated fucking her ass.

“Do you have anything?”

She didn’t have to ask what he referred to. “Top drawer,” she said, her voice almost as incoherent as her thoughts. She pointed to the bedside table. Drake moved away and a rush of air cooled her back. Oh, God, she was so wet. She moved restlessly trying to ease a little bit of the ache.

“Don’t move.” The tone in his voice brooked for no argument. “Stay perfectly still.”

She knew the game he was playing. It was one they had played so many times before. Drake knew exactly what it did to her.

Her body vibrated. She needed to come so badly. Before turning her over on her stomach, Drake had loved her body with his hands, his mouth. The feel of his teeth against her nipple had almost had her coming. But, damn him, he had stopped just short of giving her an orgasm. Only minutes later, he had started on her pussy in earnest. That had almost sent her over the edge, but Drake had made sure to take her just to the edge and then backed off. Damn him. And all the while, his own restrained attitude hid the arousal that he was feeling. But she could feel it flowing through her. Mixed with his thoughts of wanting to fuck her ass, and she was amazed she wasn’t coming just from that.

She felt the bed sag behind her. A moment later, Drake worked his lubed finger up her hole. Her body tensed as a small throb of pleasure/pain shot through her. Slowly, much too slowly for her liking, he began to move his finger in and out of her ass. Her heartbeat sped up, her body flushed hotter.

“Drake.” There was no way of denying the frustration in her voice. Every nerve ending in her body screamed with the need for release.

“What, Letty?” He added another finger. The sensation increased, sending another roll of heat rolling through her. “Tell me exactly what you want.”

“Fuck me.”

He chuckled at her bluntness but didn’t move to accommodate her. “You have to tell me what you want.Exactly .”

She knew what he was doing. He wanted her to relinquish power to him, to allow him the one thing they had never done together. This side of Drake had always been arousing but given what they were talking about, another gush of liquid filled her cunt.

“Fuck me in the ass, Drake.”

A wave of satisfaction filled her, stemming from him. It should piss the hell out of her, but it didn’t. She couldn’t. Pleasure held her captive.

He moved his fingers away and she sensed he was getting more lube. “On your knees.” His arousal at saying those words spiked. She felt a shot of it all the way to her toes. He situated himself behind her. The broad head of his penis brushed against her opening. Slowly, almost tenderly, he began to push his way into her. A shaft of pleasure/pain shot through her. But, she had done this before. She waited until he pushed pass the first ring of muscles and then pulled back out.

A rush of satisfaction burst through her as he worked himself into a slow rhythm. She tried to force him to speed up, but he smacked her ass hard. The sting on her skin shot to her pussy. She shivered.

“My way.” It was all that he said, but a spark of arousal lanced through her. She knew that slapping her had not only had her body reacting, it was causing his to react, too.

She tried the same move, and he slapped her ass again, twice. The third slap zinged right to her sex.

Blinding, white-hot pleasure ripped through her as she orgasmed. Blood flushed her face and spread to her breasts. As she continued to convulse, Drake shouted her name as he came, holding her hips steady as he pulsed his seed into her.

Later, he gently pulled out of her and both of them collapsed on the bed. He brushed his lips against her temple. A dual wave of contentment threaded through her as he gathered her close. Neither of them probably had any idea where this was leading them, but both of them were apparently happy enough to ignore their problems for a grab at pleasure.

She just hoped to God they wouldn’t come to regret it.

Chapter Five

Nolete looked over another report of another drug overdose and sighed. She just didn’t know what they were missing, but she knew there was some connection to the labs.

Leaning back in her chair, she closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She’d had problems lately and she knew the reason: Drake.

Each day her abilities strengthened. Oh, she seemed to be able to hear and feel only him, but she wondered if she was just blocking the others. He’d slipped beneath her defenses.

Who the hell was she kidding? She’d never had any protection against him. It had been that way since she met him all those years ago. One smile, one heated look, and she was a puddle of lust on the ground. And just what the hell was wrong with her? What kind of self-destructive behavior was it when she lusted after a man who betrayed her?

And, even now, with all the evidence pointing to that, she questioned her reasoning there. Yes, Drake had disappeared, but he seemed to have as much revulsion for the labs as she did. And there was no mistaking the way he felt about her. Even if she couldn’t feel it, couldn’t hear his thoughts, she would’ve been able to see it in the way he looked at her, touched her.

Just like many times before, she pushed Drake aside, and tried thinking about the case. It was important that she figure this out. Already there had been comments from a reporter that had made both her and Carlyle twitchy. Someone was leaking enough info to entice questions, but not all of it.

So, back to basics. There were paras involved, no doubt about that. She looked at the report again.

Friends of the deceased said he’d been getting the drug free for months. Yes, drug pushers might give a drug free in the beginning, or at least really cheap, and then get you hooked on it. They knew once you were there, captured by the high, you would do anything to capture it again.

But, as with many reports, the drug had been free. He hadn’t had money to keep himself hooked. And the name ... Edward Childress ... was familiar. Childress ...

The memory of her first days at the lab burst through her, and she knew where she had heard the name. Childress had been one of Killigan’s lackeys. Although a para, his abilities were slight, but he would do anything to please the doctor.

So, there was the connection to the labs she had wanted to find. She’d already figured that, but what were they planning if not to make money? They wanted to control the addict, but to what purpose?

A drug that increased their abilities, and the maker wasn’t making money. The user became an addict after only a couple times, completely and absolutely concentrating on getting the next high. They would do anything.

Anything ... including following the pusher. But having a horde of paras hopped up, their abilities increased, would be used for what?

Rebellion. Ripley Johnson hadn’t been found. And he would be crazy enough to do this. He would want to make sure that no one turned on him like last time. Several members of his command had given information to the Federation. This time, if they were addicted, in the grip of need for the drug, they wouldn’t question any of his decisions.

Moments later, she was trying not to run as she hurried to Drake’s office with her revelation. She didn’t question why he was the first one she wanted to tell.

She arrived at his door and pushed the ringer. A moment later she rushed into his office. He was sitting behind his desk, his brow furrowed in concern, and warmth stole into her heart. Since he’d left, she hadn’t had anyone to worry about her, and she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it. Even as she tried to deny it, her second revelation came to her in one knock against her chest.

Dammit, she still loved him.

*****

All the color drained out of Letty’s face and Drake jumped out of his chair.

“Letty? Are you all right?”

She swallowed and drew in a deep breath. The doors slid shut behind her as he reached her and pulled her into his arms.

“I’m fine. Really, Drake.” She was trying to sound brave, but her voice shook. He hugged her tighter, and she calmed her breathing. Seconds later, she shoved at him, and he looked down at her. A quirk of her lips told him she would be fine.

“Just too much excitement. That’s all. ”

Although he didn’t believe that for a minute, he decided to play along for the moment. “Whatcha got?”

She stepped away from him and he fought the protest lodged in his throat.

“I think I figured out where ... why someone is manufacturing Dream Weaver.”

That wasn’t what she was planning to tell him, but he let it go. “Why?”

“For an overthrow of the Federation.”

*****

They worked tirelessly for weeks trying to find more of the drug. The problem, was, and had been from the beginning, that this wasn’t really a street drug. Oh, they got it there, but it wasn’t sold, so therefore there wasn’t competition. No gangs were associated with it and any pusher or drug lord they brought in told them he or she had no idea what the hell was going on with them. As addicted as the paras became to the drug, Nolete knew some of that scum would have killed their own mother to get it. But none of them had the sources.

“So you are sure it is for an overthrow?” Drake asked. He was lounging on the sofa reading over another report as she lay on the floor going over her notes.

“What else?”

He shrugged. “I understand where you’re coming from, but why a rebellion? And why paras?”

She sighed. His confused thoughts jumbled in her brain. He wasn’t saying he didn’t believe her, he just couldn’t understand anyone wanting to take on the Federation.

“Both of us agree that if my theory is correct, then there’s a good chance it is Johnson. There is one thing he would love to show the universe, and that is his triumph. You read the report from Genoa. She said he was crazed. More so than reported in the past.”

“Okay, I’m not sure I agree at the moment, but there’s still something nagging me. This whole idea of the drugs being developed ... it had to happen somewhere secret. Maybe off planet. And to get these things, it would take years of testing.”

She swallowed the guilt every time he mentioned this. Nolete had decided not to tell Drake about her thoughts on the labs being connected. Maybe there was a bit of her that didn’t trust him still, understandably, but there was something else.

Shame. She didn’t understand why she should feel it because of what was done to her against her will, but just the fact she hadn’t fought harder to get out of there and away from those bastards was still a lead weight in her stomach.

And, it was still hard to think of Drake as her friend, her lover, instead of the asshole who turned her in. There were moments that she thought that maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t done it. She still wasn’t sure that wasn’t her heart fucking with her brain.

“When do you want to go to Marcus with this?”

She thought about the reports, their proof. “Tomorrow?”

He nodded, set aside the report and then motioned for her to join him on the couch. Once there, he pulled her against his chest and draped his arm over her shoulders. He brushed his fingers down her arm; a rush of goose bumps followed the same path. She waited for him to do something else, but all he did was tangle his fingers in hers and brush his lips against her hair.

A sense of warm contentment filled her. At the moment, she had no idea if it was his feelings or her own, but somehow they had gotten intertwined. The feeling had been growing since the first time they made love.

So beautiful.

He’d called her beautiful before, but she had never thought he’d meant it. With his every thought, he wedged himself deeper into her heart, and the panic that resulted every time she thought about it almost choked her.

She didn’t need this. She had a career and friends. Well, okay she had coworkers, not friends, but her

life was full ... dammit.

She tilted her head back so she could see his face. His eyes were closed and a smile curved his lips.

Oh, God she loved him. She was going to be so lonely when he left. She’d thought she’d gotten used to late nights at work, weekends at home, an occasional tumble, but nothing was like being with Drake.

Before she said something she regretted, she rose to her knees. She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his and felt a shaft of sheer delight spin through her. Not caring who it was from, whether it was him or her, she deepened the kiss. She slid her arms around his neck needing to touch him, knowing that she would go crazy if she didn’t.

His tongue pushed past her lips and tangled with hers. One moment she was on her knees and the next she was sitting in his lap.

“Slowly.” If she hadn’t heard the heat in his voice, she would have thought he wasn’t hurting like she was. She settled into the kiss and decided for once she would do what he suggested.

Chapter Six

As he recorded the level of opiates in the new batch of Dream Weaver they’d busted off two thugs, Drake reflected that Letty and he were no closer to finding the culprit in the six weeks they’d been working on the case than they were at the start. No closer to figuring out what the hell was going on with the two of them, either. The woman was driving him insane with lust during the day and making all his dreams come true at night. His one irritation came from the way she expected him to act at work. No touching. He sighed. She’d insisted that no one know they wereinvolved . The word left a bad taste in his mouth. They weren’t involved. They were ...

Hell, he didn’t know what the fuck was going on between them. Oh, they were screwing around like a couple of rabbits, that was for sure. But in the intensity, in the wonderful pleasure they’d experienced, Letty still held back. Except at that moment when she came. Then he knew she was being totally honest with him, that she hid no secrets from him.

He shifted on his stool trying to ease the tightness of his pants as his cock hardened. They’d never had a problem with that. Not now, not ten years ago. It had never been so ... intense. But, the intimacy wasn’t there. And dammit, he wanted it.

Since her nightmare their first night together, there hadn’t been any more. But he had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with their time apart. Something had happened when she disappeared ten years ago. Something that had to do with those marks on the backs of her legs he’d seen a few weeks ago which she had refused to discuss. Something that maybe he didn’t want to know about.

“Do you always wear such a fierce look when you’re working?”

He glanced up and found Marcus Carlyle leaning against the doorjamb of his office. Since Drake had returned to Earth, he’d formed a friendly rapport with the head of the CTD.

“No, not normally. But I’m not thinking about work.” He set aside the microrecorder. “What’s up, Marcus?”

Marcus stepped inside the room and ordered the door shut. “I just wanted to know if you have any more ideas about who might be leaking information.”

Irritation crept up Drake’s spine. “No. The leaks have stopped, I think. And thank God for that. I worried that to make the Federation look incompetent, they might get something in the press.”

“Hmm.” He settled in a chair in front of Drake’s desk and looked thoughtful. “But that would also hurt whoever is producing it with public interest. Operating in the background is advantageous.”

“I’ve thought about that. Why would someone want something like Dream Weaver?”

“Money.”

“No, it’s more that than. A lot of work went into this drug. Opiates mixed in the right amount with some substance I can’t discern. This mixture is not only highly addictive, the user is so totally in the grip of the drug, they have no idea what they are doing. They hallucinate. And, the fact that it enhances their powers should cause concern, too.”

“Of course it causes concern.” Apparently agitated, Marcus stood and began to pace. “Months of work within the Federation could be torn apart.”

“That isn’t what I was talking about.”

Marcus stopped pacing and turned to look at him.

“Letty has a theory. She thinks that it might be someone planning another uprising. But this time, he or she wants to make sure the paras they have are not only invincible, but also will follow without question.”

“Johnson.” Marcus spat the word with enough venom for Drake to feel it to his bones.

“That or one of his followers. We never did find him in that mess.”

His monitor chimed that someone was waiting. “Conners, authorize.” Letty’s image materialized on the miniature screen. Instantly, his blood heated, his body hardened.

“Is that Ashford? I sent for her before I came here. ”

So that explained the frown. “Conners, authorize open.”

Letty came through the door, her lips still turned down, her expression telling him she wasnot happy about being there. She looked like she’d swallowed a lemon. And it just made him want her more.

“Ashford,” Marcus said easily. She nodded in his direction but shot daggers at Drake. And damn if that didn’t make his cock harden and the ache in his balls intensify.

“I thought it would be better to meet in Conners’s office. There are too many LTs who would like to get a break on this case. They get hold of the information we have, they could go investigating on their own. Cause all kinds of problems.”

She straightened her spine so tight, Drake was afraid she might snap it in two.

“I have no problems with leaks at my end.” He laughed; he couldn’t help it. She was so cute when she tried to get all professional. The look she shot him told him she wouldn’t appreciate his thoughts. Drake looked at Marcus and saw his lips quirk.

“Ashford, relax. If I show up in your area, they know I’m there about this.”

“But not here?’

“Are you questioning my actions, Ashford?” Her face flushed and she opened her mouth, but Marcus held up his hand. “I’m only kidding. Don’t take it seriously. People wouldn’t think twice about a visit to another man that I’m friendly with. But, a woman ... they know I wouldn’t be there for a personal visit. Have a seat.” Letty hesitated and then chose the same chair that Marcus had occupied. He rested his hip on Drake’s desk. “Now, Drake here was telling me that you came up with a theory.”

She licked her lips, and Drake wanted to groan. Walking around with a boner most of the day was downright uncomfortable, but a boner in a meeting with Marcus and Letty could end up being downright embarrassing.

“The only thing I can think of is another rebellion. Any idiot can come up with a new drug, something that takes you higher. But someone spent a lot of time in development on this one. And, most of the paras we know are getting it for free, or so they report. They aren’t making any money on it.”

“That’s the way they always start it. X started out like that in the late twentieth, handed out for free at clubs.”

“Yes, and that’s what I thought at first.” She leaned forward her face intense. “But, there’s a reason behind this one. No one is making money, the usual reason for manufacturing a drug. There can only be one other reason.”

“Fuck.” Marcus sighed. “So what do you recommend?”

“I want the records from the labs.” Letty’s voice was filled with conviction. Drake was taken a bit by surprise because she hadn’t said a word to him about this.

“That’s going to be tough. The Federation is going to fight it.”

“They don’t have to know.”

The air in the office filled with tension immediately. Drake glanced at Marcus, whose complete concentration was on Letty.

“That would break the rules, and I am not sure it’s worth it. Not sure if your theory is right.”

“Come on, Mr. Carlyle. You know damn well that it took years of research that would have cost a fortune. The only one with that kind of money to throw around is the Federation. And there is one element that no other scientist would have had outside the labs.”

“What?’ Drake asked. She glanced at him, her eyes cold, her manner distant. It pissed him off, but he ignored the irritation curling in his belly. He’d deal with that later.

“Access to paras. No one else would have had them to test on. No para was going to trust a scientist. And ... we haven’t seen anything before this on the streets. It was kept hidden behind the walls of the labs. That is, until the Federation investigated a few months ago.”

“And that’s when it showed up on the streets.” Marcus added that bit of info, as if he hadn’t figured it out. “Okay, I’ll get you those files.”

After saying his goodbyes, Marcus left them alone. Tension filled the office. “So, were you going to tell me about the rest of your theory?”

“Y-yes, I was.”

“I don’t believe you.”

She stood and walked to the window. “A lot of it I just figured out.”

He wished he could believe that, but he had known she was keeping something from him. He’d thought it more personal, something about her. But it was the fucking investigation. When had she become such a hard hearted bitch?

“Letty, you can pull that crap with other people, but it doesn’t work with me.” He couldn’t hide his anger.

She didn’t even look at him. “What crap would that be?” Her voice was as cold as the north wind on Langilia. It pushed him over the edge because it twisted something deep inside him. Something he didn’t want to identify but knew too well. The woman he had loved ...

Fuck that. Loves. He was still in love with the woman and she was acting as if he didn’t matter. And dammit, it hurt. He didn’t like admitting it because he was a man, but it hurt like hell.

Swiftly, he stood, and grabbed her by the arms and turned her to face him. “Letty, you didn’t just come up with that.”

She held his gaze for a moment, then looked away over his shoulder. The pain knifed through him. “Why?”

“I didn’t figure out everything until this morning, but still ... I don’t share that much.”

“You used to. You used to be so open with every thought it --”

“Showed on my face,” she finished for him, disgust intermingling with anger in her voice. She wrenched away from him. “I’m not Letty. I don’t know how many times I have to say it to get you to understand.”

She turned her back to him. Her spine was once again rigid. He stepped forward to argue further, but something in her voice, in her body language, stopped him. It wasn’t so much anger or distrust that held her apart from him.

In one blinding moment it hit him. She was afraid. Of him? No, he brushed that thought aside. She couldn’t give herself to him every night if she had been frightened. No, this was something else. Something that caused her to invent a hard shell to protect her soft, vulnerable self. What was it that she wouldn’t share with him? The thought bothered him more now that he knew she worried about it. It had to be something she thought would threaten the investigation. And ... maybe she was worried about the threat to him. The thought warmed him.

He stepped closer, the heat of her body warming him. When she didn’t move way, he pulled her into his arms.

“Sorry I complained, Letty. But there’s something that tells me that you don’t trust me.”

She was silent for a second, then leaned into his body, resting her head against his chest. The fresh herbal scent of her wrapped around him and both of them relaxed. Her sigh was full of regret. “I’m sorry,

Drake. I just don’t trust easily.”

He nodded, knowing that in those ten years they had spent apart, a lifetime of events had passed for both of them. Changing them. For the better, but he knew that hers were something she wasn’t ready to share. He hugged her tighter and prayed to God that she would find a way to tell him, because, in his heart, he knew the truth.

Loving her had never been an option he could choose. They had been predestined, and without her, he just wasn’t complete.

*****

Nolete parked her hover cycle in the garage and dismounted. Once she pulled off her helmet, she looked around the area. She was following up a lead she had gotten from a narc. He’d told her that she needed to check out an operation running out of a warehouse in a beaten down Baltimore neighborhood. She’d paged Drake and Carlyle. After cooling her heels for about an hour, she gave up. She was worried if word got out she knew about the place, it would disappear.

The garage was deserted, but she heard the scurrying in the corners. Dampness hung in the air and intermingled with the scent of something rotten; whether it was food or not, Nolete wasn’t really sure. She walked to the entrance and shivered as a gust of wind carried a few drops of rain against her face. There were a few unsavories hanging out around the corner and she decided to head in that direction, armed with her stun gun and pistol just in case. As she approached the men, none of them looked at her. They were all dressed for the chilly weather, but most of their clothes looked second or third hand. Ratty edges on their shirts, dirt staining their pants.

When she was within a few feet of them, one of them turned and the others caught his movement. But none of them looked at her. They looked over her shoulder and the joy she saw in their eyes bordered on hysteria. She glanced over her shoulder. Cold, mind-numbing fear held her frozen as her worst nightmare materialized before her eyes.

“So nice to see you again, Nolete,” Killigan said.

Chapter Seven

Drake shifted in the chair and watched Carlyle pour them both a beer. He placed the glass in front of Drake and then took the chair opposite of him. As he reached for the beer, Drake tried to push away his unsettled feelings. Social settings were lost on him most of the time, and seeking out Carlyle at home on a Saturday wasn’t normal for him.

“So, what do you want, Drake?”

He took a sip of beer for fortification and was surprised when the rich, yeasty taste filled his mouth. Real beer! Carlyle chuckled.

“I have some connections.”

“I came to you because I wanted to know about Letty.”

As Marcus’s dark eyes studied him, Drake fought the urge to shift in his seat. “I was under the impression that you two already knew each other before this.”

Genoa. “Yes, but we had ... problems.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Why does she know so much about the labs?” Drake thought he knew, but he wasn’t sure. Or he wasn’t ready to face the possibility without proof.

“You know about her abilities, or the ones she used to have. Someone turned her in.”

Turned her into what?And then it hit him.

“She was in one of the labs?”

“Yes. And she was in one of the worst, just outside of DC. But she was lucky where others were not.”

Agitation and impotency had him up out of his chair and pacing. “She was lucky to be experimented on?” Sarcasm and disbelief dripped from his voice. “Of course, you would think that. Everyone knows how you felt about them until ...”

“Until I met Shana. Yes. But what I mean is that she survived. Many of them didn’t. If the testing didn’t kill them, the personnel had a way of getting rid of paras who were of no use to them.”

Drake stared blindly out the window. Oh, God, he should have looked for her when she disappeared ten years ago. She’d had no one but him and he had let her down. Pain for what they had lost, for what he could have saved her from, twisted in his chest. It was so sharp it almost took his breath away.

“Has she told you anything about her time there?” Marcus asked.

“No. She had a nightmare one night, and there are marks on the backs of her legs. The only thing she has mentioned is that she lost her abilities.”

Silence filled the air and Drake sensed Marcus studying him. When he turned around, he was surprised to find the director smiling.

“She might have. But, for some reason, she might have gained some of her abilities back.”

Drake crossed his arms. “And why do you think that?”

Marcus’s smile spread into a grin. “Personal experience.”

“I don’t think she’d lie about that. Letty has always been truthful.”

“I’m not saying that she wasn’t telling the truth. What I’m saying is that her situation may have changed when her feelings changed for you.”

“Not to sound like a jackass, but I wouldn’t think that you were the type to get all touchy feely.”

Exasperation showed on his face. “I know her. She has had men in her bed.” Drake’s eyes narrowed and Marcus chuckled. “Don’t like hearing that, do you? Well, I can’t blame you. She always kept them away from work, and none of them lasted more than a few days.”

“Do you always take such a personal interest in your employees?”

Marcus’s smiled faded. “I do now. Especially when handing them a project. I made a mistake before that almost cost Shana her life. I doubt I would make that mistake twice.”

Before Drake could question him, Shana hurried into the room. Her hazel eyes showed a bit of strain and her face was pale as she approached them.

“Marcus, we just got a transmission from the office. Seems Nolete got a lead on where the drug was being sold. She left you several messages, so I tried to get ahold of her. I can’t find her.”

Cold seeped into Drake’s stomach and the icy fingers of fear grabbed his spine. “What do you mean?”

Marcus shot him a warning look at his sharp tone. “Tell us everything.”

She gave the address and Marcus cussed. “What the fuck is she going down there by herself for?”

“Her job?” The iciness in her voice took Drake by surprise. He’d never seen anything but warm looks and kind words between the two.

“She’s a woman --”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Marcus, she’s an agent.”

Drake had a feeling this was an old argument.

“What’s wrong with where she went?”

Shane turned to him. “I forget you haven’t been on Earth for awhile. That part of Baltimore isn’t safe during the daytime.” Her gaze wandered to the window and the setting sun.

Marcus was already out of his chair and moving. Drake followed him. “Letty wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the investigation.”

“I don’t think so, but let’s just say I’m not sure that sometimes it is easy for her to separate the issues.”

Marcus kissed Shana goodbye, and within minutes, both Drake and he were riding the elevator down, Drake holding a borrowed weapon.

“What has you all freaked out, Marcus? It’s more than it is just a bad neighborhood.”

The doors slid open and he followed Marcus to his vehicle. “No, it’s just not just a bad neighborhood. It’s about five miles from where Nolete was locked up.”

*****

Nolete swallowed the scream that had gathered in her throat as her former nemesis approached her. She took a calming breath. He’d aged three years for every one that had passed. His hair was thinning on top, he’d gained at least fifty pounds, and his face appeared bloated, his skin waxy.

“I told them you got away. That you were out there fucking around with this drug.”

A smile that had nothing to do with humor stretched his thin lips. “You always thought you were so clever. So superior to everyone in the lab.” The menace in his voice sent another jolt of fear racing through her, but she ignored it. She had to keep a level head in order to get away from him. He was weak and she was sure she could overtake him before the dope heads behind her could react.

“I wouldn’t think about it if I were you,” said a gravelly voice from behind Killigan. “Those dope heads are trained to kill.”

A figure stepped from behind Killigan, and she knew she was looking at the face of evil. A premonition raced down her spine and chilled her to the bone. He looked unnaturally young, his green eyes sparkled with insanity, and his skin was missing any markings of his age. A tiny secret smile curved his lips. She shivered.

“Good afternoon, my dear,” Johnson said. “I would hate to have my associates intervene on my behalf.”

His voice was almost melodious, coaxing, luring and she could see how he gained followers.

“And here I thought they were here for just that reason. Henchmen are usually around to bully ... beat ... kill.”

His smile turned into a grin full of perfectly straight, white teeth.

“Now, what kind of person would I be if I had my men kill one of my own?”

“I ... I don’t have those abilities anymore.”

“Even if you did, that isn’t what I am talking about.” He paused, she was sure for effect. “You are very precious to me ... daughter.”

Chapter Eight

Drake’s pulse still pounded as both he and Marcus got out of the vehicle. Letty’s cycle was parked next to them. He looked around the deserted garage and tried to ignore the unease forming a knot in his stomach. From what they could figure out, Letty had been missing at least four hours since she last tried to contact either one of them.

Damp, musty and smelling of urine, it wasn’t a place he liked to think of Letty being. He knew it was her job. It didn’t make it any easier to accept the fact that his woman had been in this situation. Alone.

His gut twisted. She was alone.

“Let’s have a look around and see if we can spot anything,” Marcus said.

Drake nodded. Both of them knew what he meant.

They searched the entire floor of the garage and found nothing. Drake swallowed. Unease was quickly turning to panic. Marcus suggested they look outside, see if they could find anything. The street was deserted, save for trash and a few stray dogs.

Marcus placed his hands on his hips and sighed. “One thing that keeps coming to mind is that lab just up the street.”

“But what would that have to do with her getting called here?”

He walked forward and Drake followed. “I think that this call had more to do with her than the investigation.”

As they continued down the street, Drake drew beside him. “Why?”

“Because they called her specifically.”

“But she is the head of the investigation. Makes sense, don’t you think?”

Without breaking his stride, Marcus shook his head. “No. I think that she focused on that one person who could have been connected to this -- Killigan. He was the headresearcher at her lab. She’s convinced that he had something to do with the development of Dream Weaver. Ashford was convinced that the lab was the perfect place to experiment without anyone knowing about it.”

“Do you think ...” Drake trailed off when he found he couldn’t even voice his own fears.

“Yeah, they experimented on her. She lost her abilities because of it.”

Drake shut his eyes for a second and then opened them. A wave of despair washed over him. Letty had been through so much, at the hands of men in his profession. How the hell was he going to get her to trust him again?

“I was right.” The satisfaction in Marcus’s voice brought Drake out of his morbid thoughts.

“What?”

Marcus stopped in his tracks, nodding to a facility that had once been gated, surrounded by a fence, but most of the fence was either missing, or lying on the ground. What looked like a former security guard station was barely standing against the light north wind.

“There’s a light on inside. No one should be there. How the hell they got the power on, I have no idea”

“What now?”

“Now, we figure out a way to get in there, save your woman, and end it once and for all.”

*****

Nolete looked around the room and shivered. It had been Killigan’s favorite exam room and she had spent too many days and nights in here as it was. Cooped up with him and Johnson, who was still convinced he was her father, was a little too surreal.

Killigan lounged in a decrepit chair with his feet propped up on a desk that had seen better days. His eyes were closed and Nolete was sure he was sleeping.

Meanwhile, Johnson continued to pace, ranting about his plans. They’d taken away her weapons, foolishly thinking that would help them.

“So, you see, Nolete, it was important I find you.”

“What makes you think I am your daughter?”

Johnson stopped in front her, a gleeful expression on his face. “I know because I was there when they created you.”

“What he means is you were an experiment.” This came from Killigan.

“What do you mean?”

Johnson’s lips turned down in a pout that would’ve have been funny if she wasn’t sure he was insane. “This is my story. Shut the fuck up, Killigan.” Then his lips curved. “Now, my dear, we used some of my sperm, did the invitro, and voila. You were born.”

Her stomach roiled. “You’re wrong. My parents are Fredrick and Barbara Ashford, who died when I was one.”

Even to her own ears her voice sounded weak. Some of the things he was saying were starting to make sense. She’d known no one in her parents’ families wanted to have a thing to do with her so she had been handed over to the state.

“Yes. I hated to kill them. But they defied me. I wanted to take you with me, and they refused. But then,

thanks to the jackass I hired, I lost track of you.”

Her head spun with the secrets he was revealing. She swallowed against the bile that rose in her throat at the thought of this man as her father.

“It wasn’t until you were eighteen that I found you again. Getting you into the lab, well, that had been a stroke of genius on my part.”

Oh, God. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together now. She’d confided in Drake about her abilities, and she’d been picked up days later. Damn rotten timing, but the man she had condemned for years had nothing to do with her pain.

“That was my idea.”

“Shut the fuck up, Killigan. It was also your idea to experiment on her, and you knew better. So many mistakes before she was created. She was perfection. Bioengineered to be an extraordinary para. And you are, aren’t you?” He spun away and practically danced around the room.

“I lost my abilities.”

He stopped his dancing and turned to her with an evil glint. “No, you didn’t have them, but they are back, aren’t they?” She opened her mouth, but he stopped her with a comment. “I know. I can feel it about you. And you are just the start of my plan. Soon, with my militia, I will take over Carlyle and the Federation loyalists.”

Something on the edge of her mind shifted. At first, she thought it might be dear old Dad trying to get into her mind, to read her thoughts, but this was something else. This wasn’t a probe; this was a desperate plea for her to pay attention.

Marcus and I are in the building.

She tried not to show the relief she was feeling. Drake was there. He had come to help her escape.

We are coming to the lab room you and Marcus were in a few months ago.

Abruptly the thoughts stopped. She threw out a probe, but heard nothing.

Frantically she tried to come up with something, anything to cause a distraction so she could get out of there. Get to Drake.

Anger at the situation boiled inside her. Damn Johnson for doing this to her. His sick sadistic mind was what made her the freak she was. As her hatred exploded within her, a chair slid across the room and hit Johnson. He howled in pain as he fell to the floor. With Killigan’s attention focused on Johnson lying on the floor, Nolete knew this might be her only chance.

She bolted out of her chair and ran for the door. Once in the hallway, the staccato sound of gunfire erupted to her left. She knew Drake and Marcus were in the thick of it and she hurried down the hall, glancing back every now and then to make sure Johnson had not followed her.

The gunfire stopped and she turned a corner and ran into a solid wall of muscle. She struggled as arms as strong as steel surrounded her.

“Letty,” Drake said, his deep voice vibrating against her body. Every muscle relaxed.

“Drake.” She tilted her head back and gasped. “What the hell happened to you?”

He was a mess. Blood seeped from his forehead and there were smudges of dirt all over his face.

“We wanted to find you and some of the men here disagreed.” His cocky attitude irritated her.

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but he didn’t get the chance.

“I can’t agree with my daughter more.”

The anger and hatred flowing over her came from Drake. He tried to shove her behind him, as if to protect her, but she was the one cut out for this job. Adrenaline pumped through her. Drake’s own emotions and hers mingled, helping her to gain the courage to do what she needed to do.

She peeked around Drake, saw Marcus slowly making his way down the hall in the shadows. Catching his eye, and getting his consent for what she had planned, she grabbed the extra weapon that Drake had strapped to his hip. In one motion, she pulled it free, broke away from Drake’s hold, spun around and fired. At the same time, Marcus came up beside Drake and both men had guns out firing.

Ripley Johnson fell to his knees, a hole dead center in his chest seeping blood. His eyes, that peculiar shade of green that they shared, were wide in astonishment, his mouth hung open in surprise.

“But ... you’re my daughter.”

He collapsed, falling face-forward on the cold cement floor.

Letty looked beyond and found Killigan and another man lying behind Johnson. Both were stone cold dead.

As her heart rate finally slowed, her body chilled, and Letty began to shake.

“Hey, baby, it’s okay.” Drake stepped up behind her, pulled the weapon out of her hand, and then pulled her into his arms. She couldn’t feel anything from him. Not a thing. Snuggling deeper into the embrace, she tried to hold onto the warmth, the tenderness of his touch. Because, when everything came to light, there would be no them, she was sure of it. Despair, weariness, and pain flowed through her and

she couldn’t hold back the sobs. He pulled her closer. Oh, God, she was going to lose him again, and she didn’t want to live like that.

“Ashford.” Marcus’s deep voice cut through her crying. She reminded herself that she was a professional. Slowly, she pulled away from Drake, her heart breaking and looked at Marcus.

“What was Johnson talking about?”

She swallowed, took a deep breath and told both of them. As she retold the story, the scream of sirens drew near and by the time she was done, a group of agents were hurrying into the lab.

“So, you’re telling me that you’re his daughter, although you were born to the Ashfords?” asked Marcus.

Without breaking eye contact, she nodded. She had told the story, completely focused on Marcus, and not once looking at Drake. She’d been too afraid. Never one to be a coward for long, she looked at Drake and the horror she saw in his eyes slashed her heart and left it bleeding. Needing to get away, from him, from the pain, she stepped back, then turned and swiftly walked away.

*****

Drake watched Letty walk away from him and the lead weight in his chest hardened and cracked in two. Dammit, he’d finally found her again, found the one woman who had grabbed hold of his heart and never let go and she was leaving him again. And the sad part was he didn’t blame her.

Jesus. Her father was not only a crackpot, but he had put her in the lab. Frustrated, he shoved a hand through his hair.

“You’re not going to let her get away are you?”

He turned and looked at Marcus. The neutral expression on his face hid any of his emotions, and he wished right now to be an empath like David Adams.

“What do you mean? She’s walking away. And I don’t blame her.”

“Hmm.”

As the work went on around them he watched Letty talk to a few agents, discussing details, helping them with their reports.

“You know,” Marcus said in an annoyingly friendly voice, “I almost lost Shana because I was too stubborn. And she had a real problem accepting that her abilities didn’t make me sick.”

“Look at what my profession did to her.”

“Not your profession, man. Her father. All of her troubles begin and end with that bastard. And if you think you can use something as stupid as that to run away like a little boy and not have her hate you, be my guest.”

“I’m not acting like a little boy.” Okay, he did sound like one.

Letty finished talking to an agent, nodded to Marcus, and turned to walk away. Drake watched her, his heart pounding, his hands shaking while he tried to figure out what to do.

And in one blinding bright light, he threw away any thoughts of being a better man. He had to have her, needed her by his side, and he’d be damned if he was going to let her get away a second time.

Without another thought, he took off after her. He dodged agents, bodies, and mortuary workers, not

apologizing when he clipped a few as he ran past. Panic and determination entwined and pushed his adrenaline up.

Letty was already descending the steps that led to the street and a dose of anger splashed into his blood stream.

“Nolete Ashford.” He voice boomed so loud he almost thought about covering his own ears. She turned around, her eyes wide, astonished, her mouth hung open.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She looked at him and shook her head. “I’m going home to clean up.”

He ran down the steps and without breaking his stride, grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

She dug in her heels, but he refused to slow down. “Just what the hell do you thinkyou’re doing?”

“I’m going home with you.” Silence. “I figured I would take the job that Marcus has talked about offering me, help with investigating. Going to take some adjustment, although I expect you to at least come with me to Langilia several times a year. I can leave the research there. Now, I’m not really thrilled with that apartment, and when we have kids, we’ll need some more room. But, hell, I can take it for awhile.”

He heard a suspicious sniffle and turned. Unshed tears filled her eyes and a moment of pure joy filled him.

“You want to have kids? With a freak like me?”

Slowly, he pulled her closer and wrapped her in his arms. “Honey, I want the whole nine yards. Marriage, kids, all of it.” The tears she had valiantly been holding onto spilled over onto her cheeks. He cupped her jaw and wiped them away with his thumbs. “I’ve loved you since we were kids, and I will

love you until I die. I can’t go through losing you again.”

She drew in a deep breath, and her breasts brushed against his chest. Inevitably a rush of blood shot to his cock. “I don’t give a damn who your father was because I know you are good. What do you say? Don’t make me beg. There are a bunch of agents watching along with Marcus and they would never let me live it down.”

She glanced over her shoulder. Her watery chuckle gave him more hope.

She looked up at him, her lips curved into a smile and his blood heated to boiling. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

His heart lifted and elation shifted through him. He pulled him closer and pressed his lips against hers. Heat shot through his blood, and the sound of cheers and whistles finally broke through.

Ignoring the catcalls from a few of the agents, he draped his arm over Letty’s shoulders.

“We better take this show home.”

She laughed, broke free of his hold and began running. The flirty look she shot over her shoulder told him the chase was on, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Melissa Schroeder

Melissa Schroeder was born at an Army hospital to an Air Force family. She's been a little screwy ever since. When she was almost five, her father was assigned to Germany. Over the next four and a half years, her parents dragged Melissa and her sister from castle to castle, and museum to museum all over Western Europe. She saw the house where Anne Frank lived, visited the Berlin Wall, and saw the Eiffel Tower at night. Her love of history was born and flourished through their many travels. And, although she loved the travel, she swore she would never marry a man in the military (see info. below for a good laugh).

Melissa has always loved to read. She is convinced the love was developed because her mother read to her even before Melissa knew what she was saying. In the seventh grade, Melissa readTo Kill a Mockingbird . This book convinced her she wanted to be a writer. It wasn't until she was in college working on her double degree in history and English, though, and enrolled in creative writing with Professor James Hoggard, where she began to explore her writing. It was there she discovered she had a gift for comedic writing but refused to accept that she wasn't the next James Joyce. She blindly ignored the fact that she was a woman, not Irish, and basically a happy person. She slaved away, ignoring the comments from her instructor who told her she was good at comedy, trying to write full of angst. She didn't fully explore comedy until she began writing romance several years ago.

She cites Jayne Ann Krentz, Lori Foster, Susan Andersen, Rachel Gibson Stephanie Laurens, Julia Quinn, and Jennifer Crusie as influences in her romance writing. Melissa has been married happily for many years to a man who, after they were married, decided to enter the AF. Since she was already in love with him, she decided to put up with the military. They have two daughters, an adopted dog daughter, and live wherever the military sticks them. Which, Melissa is sure, is somewhere with hot summers, and lots of bugs you would normally see on The Animal Discovery channel…

Now that she has signed her first e-book contract, she has two dreams: to sign one of her single titles to

a print contract and to live somewhere the bugs die.

Visit Melissa on the Internet at http://www.authormelissaschroeder.com/

*****

Read on for a tantalizing glimpse of

Mine

by Jill Noelle

Available Now from Loose Id

Mine

“Lovely,” Michel whispered. “Come here.”

Gabriella tentatively placed her hand in his outstretched palm, and then gasped as he jerked her forward, bringing her up flush against his chest. She tipped her head back, searching his face for some clue as to how she should react. She met his steely gaze and shivered as he lowered his head and brushed her lips

with the softest of kisses.

“Tonight, you are mine,” he told her, his breath hot against her cheek. “All mine.”

“Yes,” she replied on a sigh, wrapping her arms around his neck. She arched forward and rubbed her breasts against his chest.

With a low growl, he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed, gently depositing her in the middle of the soft mattress. Gabriella scooted back, resting against the mound of down-filled pillows. Through lowered lashes, she watched him remove his shirt. She devoured him with her eyes, her breath catching just like it always did when faced with his finely toned beauty.

Unashamed, she let her gaze roam down over his firm abdomen, biting her lip to stifle a sigh of pleasure when he slipped his thumbs into the waistband of his pants and slid them down over his hips.

“Gabriella.”

His voice seemed to come from far away.

“Yes?”

“Look at me.”

“I am looking at you,” she said. Hell, she couldn't stop looking at him. He was magnificent. From his broad, tanned shoulders to his well-shaped calves, he appeared more god-like than human. Her fingers itched to touch him, to explore the texture of his skin and gauge his response.

“Gabriella.”

With a sigh, she raised her gaze and met his eyes. “Yes, Michel?”

“Roll over.”

She frowned. “Roll over? Why?”

He sprang forward, looming over her, bracing his weight with his arms on either side of her shoulders, his face just inches from her own. Gabriella shrank back, heart pounding.

“You said you wanted this. You said you were mine, correct?”

She nodded.

“Then, when I tell you to do something,” he said, his tone low and harsh, “you will obey me immediately or suffer the consequences. Is that understood?”

Swallowing hard, Gabriella nodded again. “Yes, Michel, of course.”

“Now. Roll. Over.”

He pulled back just enough to give her room to comply, and she immediately flipped onto her stomach. A shiver raced down her spine as she realized her disadvantage. Unable to see him, unable to anticipate his next move, she felt strangely vulnerable and suddenly uncertain.

“Michel.”

“Be quiet. Do not speak unless I give you permission to do so.”

“I --”

Thwack. A sharp sting blossomed across her backside and she flinched, even as a tremor of excitement made her wriggle her ass in a purposely provocative gesture.

“Ah, Brie, my sweet little slut, you liked that, did you?”

God, yes. She turned her face into the pillow and moaned. She more than liked it. Everything within her seemed to come alive at his touch. Even his words -- “my sweet little slut” -- brought a rush of joy. She frowned, wondering at her response. Was she? A slut, a whore to want this, to need this, like other people needed food or air to survive?

Michel's hand rested lightly on her ass, and she lifted against it, wordlessly answering his question.

He chuckled softly, and then she felt him move away and the bed lift as he stood up. She did not turn her head, but she couldn't stop herself from straining her ears, listening intently for any clue to his intentions. As the moments ticked past, her tension increased, heightened even more by the knowledge that she was so exposed.

“Lights off.”

The room fell into darkness, lit only by a bank of candles strategically placed on the bedside table.

“Music on.”

A sultry jazz tune filled the air.

“Fog.”

Gabriella smiled, her heart lifting, her uncertainty gone. Yes, she may have an unusual longing to be dominated, to be used in any way that might please him, but she also needed to know she was cherished. In pulling out all the stops to add romance and ambiance to the moment, Michel had told her more about his feelings for her than any words could convey.

Finally, he rejoined her on the bed, straddling her upper thighs. The heat of his skin made her squirm, but she stilled quickly when she felt him, long and hard, pressed against her buttocks. The thought of his cock resting there, in the crack of her ass, made her mouth go dry, and she closed her eyes, once again battling a rush of desire.

Images of him taking her, thrusting into her from behind, his hands gripping her hips as he pounded against her, filled her mind. Lost in an erotic dream, she lifted her hips off the bed, shifting until his cock slid lower, brushing against her pussy.

Michel met her movements and pushed forward. The head of his cock slipped inside, and Gabriella gasped and went still.

For a moment, time hung suspended, and Gabriella twisted her fingers into the pillowcase, screwing her eyes shut as she listened to the sound of his harsh breathing coming from above and behind her.

Again, he moved; only this time, he drew back, and cool air caressed her heated flesh as he climbed off of her and knelt on the bed.

“Get up on your knees, Gabriella.”

She struggled to make her quivering muscles obey his command and scrambled upward, drawing her legs up underneath her as she came into a sitting position.

“Now lean forward and hold on to the bars of the headboard.”

She reached out, wrapping her fingers around the cool metal bars, shifting her lower body forward until her ass rose in the air. Her breasts swung slowly, her nipples grazing the pillows. She bit her lip and

closed her eyes, breathlessly waiting for his next move.

He ran a hand down her back, slowly caressing her from her shoulders to her ass. Then he lifted his hand and brought it down, hard. Gabriella uttered a startled cry, but did not jerk away.

“You are perfection personified,” he said, caressing her tenderly once more. “It's rare to find a woman who is both intelligent and beautiful, and yet holds within her the soul of a slut.”

He cupped her breast, rolling her hard nipple between his thumb and finger. Gabriella pressed into his touch, her entire body vibrating with need.

“I recognize your intelligence, Brie, but it's your soul I'm interested in tonight.”

He pinched her nipple, and Gabriella opened her mouth, gasping for breath.

“Will you give me your soul, Brie?”

“Yes,” she said, arching her back and throwing back her head. “Yes, Michel.”

He grasped her hair, pulling her to face him. His features were hard, softened only by the candles' warm glow.

“Are you certain? Do you know what I'll ask of you?”

She licked her lips. “Ask anything of me. I will do anything, be anything you wish. I belong to you, body and soul.”

Still maintaining his grip on her hair, Michel rose to his knees, bringing his long, thick cock within a breath of her face. He took the shaft in his fist and brought the head to her mouth. “Suck me.”

Gabriella parted her lips, and he pressed forward. She took him in, caressing him with her tongue, moaning against him as she rocked her hips in motion with her bobbing head.

“Ah, yes, baby.” Michel moved deeper with each new thrust. “Suck my cock, my lovely little slut. Suck it hard.”

Gabriella struggled to draw air in through her nose as she frantically worked her mouth up and down his shaft. The head of his cock brushed the back of her throat and she gagged reflexively, her eyes tearing.

“Slow down,” Michel told her, withdrawing and brushing her hair back, his touch now light and soothing. “Take your time, and breathe.”

Resting her cheek against his thigh, Gabriella drew in a few ragged breaths. She could feel him trembling, sensed his careful control and the power she held over him, despite their positions. Slowly, she explored his cock with her lips and mouth, focusing on his reaction to every flick of tongue or scrape of teeth. She grew bolder, picking up the pace and drawing him deeper. His labored breathing echoed in her ears, and she moaned against his hard flesh as his trembling increased.

“No.” Michel suddenly pulled back.

Gabriella reluctantly released him and looked up, frowning her confusion. She licked her lips and shook her hair out of her face.

“I don't want to come in your mouth,” Michel said, moving around behind her until she felt him brush against her ass and thighs. “At least, not this time.

“Spread your legs for me, Brie. Let me see your sweet, wet pussy.”

A hand thrust between her thighs as she widened her stance, moving her knees farther apart. A long finger stroked her swollen folds, and sparks of desire shot through her like flashes of lightning portending

a storm. Gabriella circled her hips and moaned.

“You're so wet,” he said, “so hot and ready for my cock. Do you want me, Brie? Would you like me to fuck your hot little snatch?”

Gabriella wanted to scream, but when she opened her mouth to reply, she barely managed a small groan.

Michel removed his hand, and then she felt the head of his cock poised at the opening of her pussy.

“Tell me,” he said. “Tell me what you want.”

*****

What people are saying about

Mine

Ms. Noelle has done a wonderful job creating a sprawling story in so few words. Indeed, the undercurrents of passion and mystery will cause a slight tingle down your spine. Additionally, Michel’s friend Beau will leave you breathless. This reviewer hopes to see his story soon.

Shannon,Fallen Angel Reviews

Mineis a sexy, scrumptious tale, replete with action, sex, and interesting characters. Michel is an enticing man, experienced and knowledgeable. Gabriella comes to him with little experience, and the set-up provides for lots of hot moments… At fewer than 100 pages, this is a fast-paced story, ideal for reading

in a single sitting.

Barb Chan,Just Erotic Romance Reviews