Except, it wasn"t cruelty she had seen in the eyes of the mother and father in the pic- ture with their child.
It had been agony.
Megan stared at the door, her senses penet- rating it, following the young woman as she made her way to the elevator with Stygian.
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She closed her eyes slowly, let her senses ease gently into Liza Johnson"s emotions and searched for any hint of Honor Roberts, Fawn Corrigan, a Bengal named Judd or one named Gideon.
The only hint she found of them was a deep compa.s.sion and a sense of unease and disbelief that Honor Roberts"s parents had left their child with monsters.
There was no sense of the girl, Honor, though, nor of Fawn.
As Liza entered the elevator with Stygian, Megan quickly retreated from the girl"s senses, a flush stealing up her face as the sudden images that flashed through Liza"s mind began to enflame her senses.
Some things were just invasive, and re- maining with the girl"s mind at that moment was just that.
Opening her eyes to find everyone watch- ing her only increased the color in her cheeks. Clearing her throat, she glanced at 110/862.
her mate with a suggestive look. "Perhaps we do have things to learn." She laughed, think- ing of the mental images that had raced through Liza"s mind the second she and Sty- gian were alone.
And Stygian"s reaction was so strong Megan had sensed it as well.
Braden gave her one of those slow, drowsy-eyed looks that never failed to make her body heat and her p.u.s.s.y tingle.
He just had that way about him.
"You two can get a bedroom after this meeting is over," Jonas growled, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring back at them.
He had a right to glower.
Megan sobered instantly, the knowledge that time was running out for his mate"s child was at the top of his mind.
"She doesn"t know anything about them."
She sighed, shaking her head. "She doesn"t know of them, or have any of their memor- ies. It"s another dead end."
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"That"s impossible." Diane Broen stepped forward.
Diane was an enforcer, a lethal weapon, just as her mate was. And just as Megan and her mate were, Diane was an enforcer des- perate to save the child they all loved.
"There"s no way she could have hidden it from me, Diane," Megan told the other wo- man gently. "Her mind and emotions weren"t closed at all. She was an open book all the way to her l.u.s.t for Stygian, who is her mate by the way. You can"t hide only certain parts of yourself psychically like that. An empath can either read all of you, or none of you."
"An empath can only read what is a part of you," Jonas stated cryptically, immediately sending warning flares through her empathic senses. "Not what has perhaps been misplaced."
CHAPTER 3.
The elevator door slid closed with a soft swish of air, leaving Liza enclosed in a s.p.a.ce that seemed far too small with Stygian beside her.
"These women you"re looking for have nothing to do with me," she stated as a wave of heated arousal swept through her.
No sooner had she experienced that sensa- tion of flooding warmth, than Liza found herself lifted, pressed against the elevator wall and the iron-hot length of Stygian"s erection lodged between her thighs, torment- ing her through the layers of their clothing.
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The tight running pants and thin exercise bra were little protection against the burning heat of his body-and his hunger.
"What-?" Lips parting, for breath or for his kiss?
Liza wasn"t certain, but she knew she needed both-ached for both to the point that it took several heartbeats to realize she was holding her breath.
And that her hands were gripping the hard width of his shoulders.
"What?" he growled. "What are you ques- tioning, Liza? My hunger-or yours?"
Her stomach tightened, rippling in re- sponse to the hunger in his voice as a growl rumbled beneath the word.
"Let me go." The demand was undermined by the whimpering need in her body.
h.e.l.l, she may as well be begging him to continue for all the denial that wasn"t in her voice.
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"Let you go?" He pressed tighter into the cradle of her thighs as his hands parted them further. "Are you sure that"s what you want?"
The black in his eyes flickered with blue, fascinating her with the sparkle of color.
Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s trembled against the hard width of his chest as her breathing acceler- ated. Heat flushed her face, spreading through her body as she fought to keep her lashes from drifting closed.
As she stared up at him, she felt one hand move from her hips a second before his palm slapped against the elevator control panel.
The cubicle came to a stop, lights flashing before they dimmed and remained steady.
The electronic voice warned: "Please be pa- tient, we are working to reset operation."
Liza"s eyes widened.
"Don"t leave the hotel." He lowered his head and the rasp of the day-old beard against the sensitive sh.e.l.l of her ear had her eyes closing in desperate need.
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"I can"t stay here. Why would I want to?"
"To stay with me?" he suggested, his lips touching just beneath her ear, sending tingles of incredible sensation rushing along her nerve endings.
To stay with him?
G.o.d, she wanted to stay with him.
She didn"t know him, she only knew of him. She"d watched him for weeks as he moved about the periphery of her life, always surprised when she saw him though always expecting his presence.
"This won"t work."
"Won"t it?" As he nuzzled against her ear, heat and searing need flashed through her senses. "Then why are you holding on to me as though you"ll never let go?"
Her nails were biting into the fabric of his shirt as though desperate to reach his flesh.
The sensual side of her was desperate to get to bare skin, to feel him against her, the 116/862 warmth of him, the pleasure of him stroking her.
"Why did you manhandle me against the wall?" she accused back, but once again there was no anger to her tone, nothing to really impress him with the fact that she meant it.
If she did mean it.
"I want you, Liza," he rasped at her ear then. "From the moment I saw you the night your friend approached Malachi, I"ve wanted you. I"ve wanted you bad."
The words affected her more for the sheer simplicity of the statement than the rough- ness of his tone.
"You want to draw me in." That was her fear, her certainty. "Whatever Wyatt thinks he can use me for, you want to convince me to allow."
The knowledge of that hurt.
It ached deep inside her but did nothing to change the power of the arousal building between her thighs.
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"Is that what you really think?" Anger colored his tone as his head lifted, the blue in his eyes brighter, nearly overtaking the black as he glared down at her.
The anger couldn"t overshadow the hunger in his gaze. It was there: clear, bright and unapologetic.
"Don"t do this to me, Stygian," she whispered rather than answering the ques- tion. "Don"t destroy my life."
"I could complete it."
But something warned her that completing it could also destroy it, and that destruction terrified a dark, hidden core of her that she rarely allowed herself to dwell upon.
She was certain she would have had an ar- gument, that she could have come up with one if the elevator hadn"t given a small jerk and resumed its journey downward.
Her feet were settling on the floor and Sty- gian stepping back from her as the doors slid 118/862.
open to the hotel lobby. A half dozen Breeds were waiting to step inside.
They moved back, their expressions in- scrutable, gazes shuttered as they flicked between her and Stygian.
"Excuse me." Ducking her head, Liza rushed from the elevator and headed for the exit.
"Slow down," Stygian murmured as he came to her side, keeping pace with her as he placed his palm at the middle of her bare back.
"Why?" Pushing through the doors and striding to the side of the entrance patio, she turned in frustration as she planted her hands on her hips and confronted him. "Why should I? They all knew," she bit out between clenched teeth. "They all knew we were-"
Her lips clamped shut.
Stygian"s lips quirked into a half smile of pure male appreciation as he stared down at her.
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"That we wanted each other? Honey, it wouldn"t take Breed senses to figure that out when those doors opened. Anyone with a knowledge of l.u.s.t would have known it in a microsecond."
Just what she needed. A reaction to a man that anyone could see in a microsecond.
"Take me home, now." She had to get away from him.
Oh G.o.d, had the link been active?
She hadn"t heard it disconnect after it had reactivated in the suite, seconds after the ma.s.s of Breeds had moved away from her.
She didn"t need this.
Raking the fringes of hair that had fallen forward across her face, she turned and stared around the entrance to the hotel.
"Do you have a ride here, or am I walk- ing?" Turning back to him, she swore she could feel the caress of his gaze as it touched her b.r.e.a.s.t.s before sliding slowly back to her face.
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"We have a ride." He shrugged before lift- ing his hand, never taking his eyes off her, and giving a quick backward wave of his fingers.
She couldn"t tear her gaze from his.
She didn"t want to.
As his hand lowered, Liza realized there was something unsettling, yet something so secure in the depths of those black-and-blue eyes.
She was all too aware of the vehicle mov- ing up beside them though and coming to a slow stop.
"Our ride." Opening the back pa.s.senger door, he watched her expectantly.
The SUV was all luxury: black, pure leath- er seats and a gentle rush of cool air.
Taking the hand he extended her, Liza stepped into the vehicle, settled into the seat and gave a small flinch as the door closed gently.
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