Dating Outside Your DNA (30 page)

"You make me forget where I am."

He grinned. "Yeah, well you do the same thing to me."

They went up again, but not as high as he'd  taken her. She  snuggled into the crook of his arm when he pulled her closer. It felt so  right sitting next to him. She couldn't imagine ever not being with  Roan. He made her feel complete, that she'd only been going through  the motions of living until he'd come into her life. It was more than  Roan being her instructor. It was as though he were the other half of  who she was.

She'd fallen in love with him. Giddiness washed over her, until

she realized he might not feel the same way. Roan had been with

many women and she probably wasn't nearly as experienced. Just

the thought of their not being together made her feel sick. The cotton

candy she'd had earlier only added to the nausea.

They came to a stop at the bottom. She wished the ride

could've gone on forever, but there always had to be an end. The

operator unlatched the bar and they got off.

201

Karen Kelley

She realized that no one ever mentioned the downside to loving someone. She wasn't sure she liked the queasy feeling that went along with it.

"Having fun?"

She looked up at him. He still had his arm across her shoulders. Maybe people were just supposed to enjoy the moment and not worry about what would happen tomorrow.

She smiled. "It's the best day of my life." Maybe Roan would fall in love with her, too.

Banyon  kept his distance, but followed the couple. Anger burned inside him as he watched the way the earthling held Lyraka close. He had no right to touch what belonged to Banyon. And Lyraka
would
 
belong to him.

Soon.

Maybe he would kill the man with her. He thought he might enjoy it even though he'd never killed anyone. He could always have it done and just watch. That might be exciting. Yes, that would be good. It looked as though she cared for this man. It would be exhilarating to see her suffer. To make her afraid.

He continued to follow them, watching the way the man would brush his lips against Lyraka's hair. He didn't blame the man for being fascinated with her. Lyraka was even more beautiful than the picture  Anna had shown him. Her skin fairly glowed wi th a golden tan. He would have preferred her hair longer, not cropped short like a warrior.

He might keep Lyraka for a while. Dress her in gossamer gowns and keep her in a golden cage so that he might look upon her.  She would fight him at first, but before he killed her, she would be begging him to take her.

Revenge would be sweet.

202

Karen Kelley

Chapter 24

R
oan couldn't get enough of watching the different expressions cross Lyraka's face. He would say she reminded him of a child, but she was snuggled against hi m and her curves told him that she was anything but a little girl. No, she was all woman.

"Want to try the shooting gallery?" He pointed toward a booth where stuffed dogs and bears hung from the ceiling.

"I want a stuffed dog. My aunt has four of the cutest puppies."

She looked up at him. "Did you have a dog growing up?"

He shook his head. "A cat."

"A cat?"

"Yeah, I liked to hear her purr."

She frowned, then punched him on the arm. "That was bad.

You didn't really have a cat, did you?"

He laughed. "It was my aunt's cat and the darn animal hated

me. Every time I came close, she would hiss and spit. I never

touched a hair on that cat. I think my aunt secretly thought I might be

torturing the poor beast. I'd swear the animal was just damned

unsociable,  though."

"That's okay, you can make me purr later and I promise not to

bite or scratch."

Everything around them stopped. It was all he could do to keep from flinging her over his shoulder and carrying her off to the nearest motel. Had she really said what he'd thought she'd said? He might have imagined it because he'd been thinking how later he wanted to make love with her. Wishful thinking, maybe?

He trailed behind her like a zombie. The only thoughts going through his mind were of him slowly stripping  off her clothes, peeling

203

Karen Kelley

off the lacy wisp of material that covered her luscious breasts.

The pop of an air gun drew him out of his fantasy. When he  looked up, Roan noticed a man dressed all in black. Just as quickly,  the man ducked around the side of another booth and was out of his

line of vision. Intentional? Maybe. He could work for the carnival.

There had been something odd about him, though. He'd

reminded Roan of a Rovert, but what would a Rovert be doing on

Earth? He mentally shook his head. Joe had him seeing aliens

around every corner.

There was another pop, drawing his attention back to Lyraka,

then another.

"And the pretty little lady wins!" The operator of the booth

sounded happy, but his expression was grim. "And which stuffed

animal would she like? How about a parrot?"

"The dog. The big brown and white one." Lyraka pointed to the

one she wanted.

He faked a sad face. "Oh, sorry sweetheart. You'll have to hit three more bulls-eyes to win the big animal."

"But that's not what your sign says." She glared at the man.

"She's right," Roan said. When the operator looked as if he would argue, Roan eased back the jacket he wore so the man would see his gun.

The man paled. "And right she is! The big brown and white dog it is!" He hurried and brought it down, then handed it to Lyraka.

She hugged the dog as they walked away. "I guess I told him. I was not leaving without my dog."

"The look you gave the guy probably scared the hell out of him."

"That and when you pulled back your coat just enough to show him your gun."

"You saw that, huh?"

"You taught me to see stuff like that." She smiled, but just as suddenly, her expression turned serious. "Kind of like the man in black who's been following us all evening. Who is he?"

He hadn't spotted him until a few minutes ago. Once again,  Lyraka had surprised him. He didn't know why the fact she'd picked

204

Karen Kelley

up on the man in black should surprise him. Lyraka was a fast

learner, and he'd trained her well.

"Roan? Do you think he is following us? I only spotted hi m a

couple of times." She looked up at him.

"I'm not sure who he is." He aimed her toward a table at a small

outside cafe within the carnival. "What about that guy you said stayed

at the colony? Rick?"

She shook her head. "Not him, besides Rick was scared of his

own shadow."

He pulled out a chair and she sat, then he took the one across

from her.

"What about you? Any enemies?" she asked.

"More than I want to count, but none that would stalk me. Let's

just hang out here for a little while and see if we  can spot him."

"Sounds good."

A gum-smacking waitress came to take their order, then quickly

left to get the sodas.

"I'm sorry this man has ruined your first time at a carnival."

When Roan caught him, he would make sure the man apologized

properly.

By  the time they'd finished their drinks and still hadn't spotted

the guy, he had to wonder if the man actually was a part of the

carnival. He'd run across his fair share of crooked carnies.

"Maybe we were wrong." She glanced around as they stood.

"Maybe."

She swung her gaze back to him. "But you don't think so."

"Let's just say, I'm not completely satisfied." He frowned. "Have  I gotten that easy to read?"

"No, but I know you well enough that you don't trust many  people."

She was right, he didn't. "There's a small group moving toward  the parking lot. We'll go out with them. If there is someone following  us, he won't make a move when there are witnesses around."

They followed close behind the group of laughing, talking  people, but had to separate from the crowd when they got to the

205

Karen Kelley

parking lot. He didn't relax until he was standing beside the Jeep,

unlocking the door.

He heard the sound of footsteps pounding the pavement.

Lyraka screamed.

He jerked his head up. Her mouth was quickly clamped to quiet

her. She struggled against the beefy arms that easily held her,  dropping the stuffed dog.

Roan reached for his gun. Something slammed against his  head. He tried to stay conscious, but darkness quickly enveloped  him.

"Lyraka, I've waited a long time to meet  you." The man's high- pitched laugh was the last thing Roan heard.

Fear swept over Lyraka. Was Roan dead? She bit down on the  hand that covered her mouth. He moved it, muttering something she  didn't understand.

Before she could scream, the hand she'd bitten was securely in place again, but tighter, practically cutting off her air supply. She could only glare helplessly at the man in black.

"I can see by your expression that you don't want me to hurt him." He sighed nodding toward Roan. "There's not a thing you could do if I killed him right now." His eyes narrowed. "My words cause a fire of hatred to flare in your eyes. I like that. You'll be very entertaining. I would expect nothing less from Aasera's daughter."

She stilled. Aasera? He knew her mother.

He fingered the scar above his eyebrow. "All these years I didn't know she was alive, but she's on Nerak, safe and sound and I can't get to her." His smile was evil. "You'll do, though."

She breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother was okay.

"Take them both . He might prove useful. And I don't want her trying to scream again. If she bites, choke her just until she passes out."

Lyraka kicked the man holding her. She had the satisfaction of hearing him grunt in pain, but then he squeezed his hand over her mouth. She couldn't breathe!

The last thing she thought about was that she wasn't a very

206

Karen Kelley

good agent if she couldn't even escape from this brute's hold.

207

Karen Kelley

Chapter 25

M
an, he must've really tied one on last night. Roan reached up and touched the back of his head, then winced. Memory came flooding back, followed by a cold chill of dread. Where was Lyraka?

He slowly sat up, blinking several times until his eyes adjusted to the dim light. As soon as the pounding inside his head eased, he glanced  around. At first, he thought he was in the middle of some kind of void. It took him only a moment to realize he was in a room with glass walls. Beyond that, shadows. He stood and walked the perimeter. Eight by eight.

An eerie feeling crept over him. Now he knew how a bug felt when it was kept inside a jar. Only one difference. He wasn't a bug.

How to escape?

His captors left him dressed, but had taken his gun. He checked his pockets. Empty. But he still wore his ring. They must've thought it was worthless. Good thing for him. Did they not know a diamond could cut glass? He ran his hands over the wall. How thick was it?

"I see you're awake," someone spoke from beyond his cage.

Roan whirled around. The room beyond filled with light. He

could see he was in a larger room with solid walls. A man walked

toward him. Roan squinted. It looked like the same man from last

night. He was still dressed all in black.

"Where is she? What have you done to her? If you hurt her, I'll

make sure you die a slow and painful death."

The man laughed. "And how do you propose to do that?" He

waved his hand as he stopped in front of Roan. "There is no escape."

Roan's glass prison was the only thing between them. He

208

Karen Kelley

slammed his hand against the glass and drew a small measure of

satisfaction seeing the man jump back, but then anger flared in the

other man's eyes.

"That wasn't smart," he snarled.

Roan at least knew more about him. The man might swagger,