She rocked her hips upward just as he withdrew, only to thrust forward again. He rewarded her efforts with more of the same, picking up speed and strength with each surge, until she no longer knew anything except the slide of his skin against hers, his body in hers. Trying to anchor herself in the swirling vortex of pleasure, she dug her fingers into his hips and held on, loving the flex and play of his muscles.

Then she arched up off the bed, calling her lover’s name as she reached the breaking point. In response, Larem growled something in his native language as their bodies crashed together in a final explosion of pulsing heat.

She cried out at the beauty of it all as Larem buried his face against her neck. Then abruptly, he withdrew from more than just her body.

As he disappeared into the bathroom, she had to wonder if the chill in the air had anything at all to do with the air-conditioning.

Chapter 13

Duke sipped his third cup of coffee, needing the jolt of caffeine to stay awake. He’d been parked outside of Sasha Willis’s hotel for over an hour now, and it looked as if he had a long night ahead of him.

He’d received more orders by e-mail, asking him to keep a closer eye on what the new administrator was up to so he could report to the others at their meeting tomorrow. He glanced at his watch. Make that today, since it was now after midnight.

Earlier, he’d followed her to a barbecue at Lacey Sebastian’s place. Most of the local Paladins had shown up for the festivities along with their pet Others. No surprise there since one of the Sebastians—Lacey—was shacked up with one of those freaks.

The Willis woman had taken a cab to the party, so he’d expected her to call another one to take her back to the hotel. Instead, she’d walked out with Lonzo Jones and his Other roommate, Larem. Yeah, that crazy Kalith had even lifted her up into the truck cab. She hadn’t looked happy about having him touch her—it spoke well of her.

Afterward, Duke had hung back to make sure there wasn’t any more to it than the two guys saving her cab fare. But that wasn’t how it played out. Once they reached the hotel, Larem had once again put his hands around her waist and set her back down on the pavement. This time she’d smiled and leaned on his shoulders, where they’d lingered a little too long.

Lonzo had taken off right after that, leaving the two of them standing outside the hotel. Rather than see Sasha heading inside, though, Larem had tugged her around the corner into a pool of shadows. Duke had actually spilled part of his coffee in his lap out of shock at what happened next.

Sasha had not only let the Other kiss her, but Duke wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d let the Kalith fuck her right there up against the wall. How sick was that? He used his cell phone to snap a couple of pictures to forward to his contact.

How could yet another human woman allow herself to be used by one of those crazies? She had to know what he was. Furious, he’d driven by and taken a potshot at Larem with his paint gun, the only weapon he’d had with him. He’d aimed at the back of Larem’s head, but he’d been off by a couple of inches. Still, it was fun watching the lovebirds go diving for the ground.

Knowing the Kalith’s uncanny night vision, Duke had taken off right after to avoid being recognized. He’d driven to the rear of the hotel to park and then slipped into a back corner of the lobby just in time to see Sasha and Larem duck into an elevator.

After hanging around for fifteen minutes with no sign of Larem, Duke had bought a cup of coffee and headed back out into the night. He’d circled the block until a parking spot opened up that would give him an unobstructed view of the hotel’s front entrance. Sure, Larem could go slinking out the back, but that would be the wrong direction if he was heading home.

Duke’s orders had been to watch, and that was what he was doing. Once he knew how long Larem spent in Sasha’s room, he’d go home and report in tomorrow. Although he had little info about the group that had contacted him, he knew enough to know that they’d be outraged by this development. He set his coffee aside and picked up his paint gun, staring down the sights at the bright light pouring out of the hotel entrance.

Too bad it wasn’t a real gun instead of a wannabe weapon. He imagined the satisfaction of watching a bullet hitting the center of Larem’s chest, exploding in a spray of red blood instead of blue paint. Yeah, that would feel damn good. Maybe next time.

Then, as if his imagination had conjured up the alien, Larem walked out of the hotel, stopping long enough to zip his jacket before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking off into the darkness. It was damn well about time the freak left. Duke checked his watch. The bastard had been inside for close to two hours. Plenty of time to get it on with the Willis woman.

Duke turned the key in the ignition. If he hurried, he’d have enough time to get a few hours’ sleep before heading to Whidbey Island in the morning. Maybe he’d come home from the meeting with a new set of orders to follow, ones that involved settling the problem of the Kalith permanently.

Larem skirted the dim light of the sidewalk, preferring to keep to the shadows. It definitely fit his mood better than the warm glow cast by the streetlights overhead. He could’ve flagged down a cab, but he figured he stood a better chance of outdistancing the demons nipping at his heels if he walked home.

What kind of fool leaves the warmth of a willing woman’s bed to hike his ass home through the damp mist of a Seattle night? His kind, evidently. Even now, it was all he could do not to go back and beg Sasha to forgive him for taking off as soon as . . .

As what? As soon as he’d poured everything he had, everything he was, into her? He’d planned to show her how good it could be between them and ended up learning something far more important about himself: he was a fool. And not just an ordinary fool. No, he was the kind who managed to destroy his own honor and hurt the woman he cared about, all at the same time.

He’d promised himself to make it so good for Sasha that she’d never forget him. Fine. He’d accomplished that, because the sex had certainly been spectacular. What he hadn’t counted on was the emotional connection that had been forged between them.

From the instant they got skin-to-skin, he’d been able to sense what pleased her and then what pleased her even more. How she liked to be touched and tasted, how hard and fast she liked to be taken, and how she’d clung to him as they’d both found sweet release.

But he’d also known how much she’d hurt when he’d turned away from her, unable to face what he’d done. Oh, she’d hidden it well, agreeing that it was best he leave so they could both get some rest. She had reports to write, and Larem needed to prepare for that big match Devlin had scheduled on Monday against those young Paladins. Besides, Lonzo might return home and worry about where his roommate was.

Yet none of their reasons would stand up to the light of day, because they were nothing but cowardly excuses. Larem held his face up to the falling mist. What other lies could he tell himself? How this night hadn’t mattered when they both knew it had?

The worst part was that the farther away he got from Sasha, the more he wanted to turn around and go slinking back to her door. He had few illusions that she’d let him in, but the least he could do was apologize.

A vehicle drove past him, going slow despite the lack of traffic. For the first time since leaving the hotel, Larem took notice of his surroundings. Had that car driven by before? He hadn’t really been paying attention, but something about it was familiar. Of course, he wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about such things. Trucks were easy. Cars, too. But the one that had disappeared around the corner ahead was somewhere in between. What were they called? Letters, not a name. “S” something.

He kept walking and waited for the right description to come to mind. Oh, yes, an SUV. Black and shiny. If it went by again, he’d memorize the license plate number. Either D.J. or Cullen could use those mysterious computer skills of theirs to find the owner. If someone was paying too much attention to Larem’s movements, he needed to know who it was.

Rather than take the direct route to the apartment, he backtracked a block, circled up the hill, and went back down a couple of streets over. If the SUV passed him again, he could be pretty certain the driver was taking more than a casual interest in Larem’s business.

He was about to give up and go on home when sure enough, the car rolled into view. He must have done something to alert the driver to his interest because the SUV stopped abruptly. After a second, the driver turned in to an alley. Larem took off running, hoping to get a look at the license plate, but the driver gunned the engine and drove out of sight before Larem got close enough.

Great. First that paintball shot and now this. What was going on? He’d talk to Lonzo about it first chance he got. Alone now, he took the most direct route to the apartment, glad to get out of the danger that lurked on the dark Seattle streets.

The ferry ride across to Whidbey Island did little to calm Duke’s nerves. He was too busy second-guessing his decision to attend the secret meeting at the state park to relax. God, what had he gotten himself into?

He still didn’t know if he was going to be greeted by kindred spirits who were sick of how things were going or if he’d be facing the business end of a Paladin’s sword. Up until last night he’d been on the fence about whether to make the long trek to the park or skip it altogether.

Then he’d seen what he’d seen. How could Sasha Willis have hooked up with an Other? The very idea made Duke sick, not to mention seriously pissed. Maybe he’d feel differently if she was unaware of what Larem was, but she knew full well what she’d invited into her bed.

His fury had carried him through the night and all the way onto the ferry. But once the boat left the dock, near panic set in. Halfway between the mainland and the island, he was safe from the repercussions of his decision. But once he drove off the ferry, there would be no turning back. Hell, there could even be someone watching him now. That idea had his head swiveling like a weather vane in high winds. As far as he could tell, no one was paying any overt attention to him, but it wasn’t much comfort.

The captain blew the horn, warning the passengers it was time to return to their cars on the lower deck. He’d come this far; he’d go the rest of the way.

Duke followed the signs to the park, slowing at the entrance to decide which way to go. Finally, he chose a parking spot at random, picked up the newspaper he’d been instructed to bring, and started toward a cluster of picnic tables. Maybe the guy wouldn’t show at all, and Duke could relax in the sun for a while before heading back.

No such luck, though. As soon as he perched on a table a familiar figure appeared at the edge of the woods. It was that Rusty guy he’d met at the bar. Somehow he wasn’t surprised, but Duke stayed seated, letting the man come to him.

Rusty hovered a few feet away. “Glad you made it. You came alone.”

“Yeah, as requested.” He aimed for casual but wasn’t sure he succeeded.

“Good.” Rusty cocked his head to one side and stared at him. “I have to tell you, I wasn’t sure you’d show.”

“Well, I did.” Duke glanced around. “Where’s everybody else?”

The other man finally joined him at the table. “For now, there’s just us. The fewer people you know are involved, the fewer you can betray.”

Okay, that had Duke seeing red. “Listen, asshole, I didn’t come all the way here to be insulted.”

“It works both ways, Duke. Those who don’t know you’re involved can’t offer up your name to buy a little forgiveness if they get caught either.”