Unleashing the Storm (29 page)

“Are
you all right?” Kira was asking, and he realized he’d made it to the LZ, had
parked the car and was just sitting there staring out at the sleek private jet.

“I’m
fine. Let’s go.”

“But
you’ve got this funny look on your face. Like you’re in pain,” she persisted,
and she was touching him again. It wasn’t sexual, but her hand was caressing
the back of his neck, just the same, as if she knew where his pain was.

He
stopped arguing, let his head drop forward, and she shifted in her seat so she
could work the tight muscles in the back of his neck more easily. Her fingers
kneaded his flesh expertly and she was murmuring, “This will help, Tommy,” and
even though it was nowhere near time to have her again, he still had the urge
to lay her down on the seat and have her, deep and hard.

He
put his hand over hers and moved it off of his skin.

“Better?”
she asked, and no, it wasn’t better. And it wasn’t going to be better. Not for
a long while, and maybe never.

“Let’s
go.” He opened his car door, grabbed his bag and started walking toward the
plane, not bothering to make sure she was following behind him.

He
ignored the pilot he knew only as Ben, in favor of shoving his gear into the
open door. He prepared to board, because they were already slightly behind
schedule, when he heard the guy flapping his gums.

“You
did the right thing, agreeing to sign on,” Ben was telling Kira.

“I’m
not sure you understand,” she started, but Ender turned, shot her a look, and
she shut her mouth fast.

“Did
you think I wouldn’t get the job done?” he asked Ben, who smiled and looked
nervously between Ender and Kira.

“Never
doubted it, buddy,” Ben said.

Ender’s
hand shot out, pinning the pilot to the side of the jet by his throat. “I’m not
your fucking buddy.” He let go of Ben and turned to Kira, who’d gone wide-eyed.
“Get in.”

He
helped her board. Ben had already scrambled in and away from Ender, headed to
the cockpit, where he’d no doubt lock the door behind him. If Ben knew what was
good for him, he’d leave the two of them alone for the remainder of the flight.

Ender
could feel the questions radiating off Kira—the slight panic, the need to
escape. But the jet lifted, sleek and solid, and there was no turning back for
either of them.

The
flight had been long, largely silent, and with the exception of one memorable
round of sex in the aisle, in the seats, and against the cockpit door, boring.
Tom had seemed agitated, and no matter how often she asked why, the answer had
always been the same:
It doesn’t matter.

She’d
grown used to his strange hot and cold moods, the ones that made him seem so
caring and gentle, and then in the next instant distant and frosty. But this
was different. He was on edge, snappish, and he’d scared the crap out of her
when he grabbed the pilot by the throat and slammed him against the plane.

Tom
was about as predictable as a pissed-off wolverine. Even now, as they exited
the plane on the tarmac of the agency he called ACRO, he puffed up and bared
his teeth when the driver of the Humvee waiting for them looked at her for a
little too long. Seemed like an odd thing to do, considering the fact that he
was about to hand her off to the Training department, where, apparently,
servicing her needs by someone else had been arranged.

The
thought made her chest hurt as they climbed into the vehicle.

“Tommy…”
Her voice wavered, and she cleared her throat before scooting forward in the
seat to talk to him where he sat in the front. “Are we going there now? Because
you said you’d take care of, uh, things, beforehand.”

“We’re
going to the animal facility.”

“Oh.
Good.” He’d told her all about it, and this had been the one thing she’d looked
forward to seeing at ACRO.

Sitting
back, she took in the compound, the squat gray buildings, the rounded
hangars…an old military base. Given the state of the surroundings, she expected
a cold, lablike facility where the animals were kept—experimented on or some
crap—but when the driver pulled into the parking lot of a beautiful, modern building
complete with cement sculptures of animals, she gasped. Green fields stretched
beyond the structure, and to the right, an equestrian arena and stables that
would make the Budweiser Clydesdales jealous took up a couple of acres. Dozens
of dogs barked and jumped excitedly in the kennels to the left.

As
she stepped out of the SUV, a dark-haired, very tanned man approached, his
black BDUs peppered with animal hair.

“Hi,”
he said, extending his hand. “Kira, right? I’m Zach Taylor. Your supervisor.”

Supervisor?
His supposition was a little premature, but she merely nodded and drew back her
hand before physical contact impacted his libido. It was nearly time to mate
again, and her need had already affected Zach in small ways, if the glazed-over
look in his eyes was any indication.

Tom
donned a pair of sunglasses and relaxed, one hip propped against the vehicle as
she smiled at Zach. “You’ve got a beautiful facility.”

“It’s
yours too.”

“Look,
you should know—”

“Let’s
get on with it,” Tom snapped, pushing away from the Humvee. “She’s supposed to
meet her trainers in an hour.”

Zach
scowled, and for a moment she swore she could see testosterone winging through
the air between them. Babs would have sent Kira the usual sentiment, that males
were dumb.

“I’d
really like to see the animals,” she said quickly, and Zach snapped out of it,
took her by the elbow to guide her toward the building.

He
led them on a tour of the facility, which was more impressive on the inside
than the outside. The back half was dedicated to medical offices, where ACRO
employed a full-time veterinarian and had another on call. A good portion of
the building belonged to kitchens that prepared controlled, healthy diets for
each individual animal’s requirements. And every animal handler possessed
skills similar to hers, though from what Zach told her, she was by far the
strongest animal psychic they’d ever seen or had even believed existed.

“
If
I was to join, would I be able to keep some of my animals here?” she asked, as
they walked through the immaculate barn.

“If?”
Zach shot Tom a confused glance, but Tom’s flat expression discouraged
questions, and Zach shrugged. “I suppose it could be arranged.”

She
stopped to talk with one of the horses, learned that his job was to carry
security forces along the wooded perimeters where vehicles couldn’t go. And he
was very excited to tell her about the time he’d been entered in a European
jumping competition.

“Why
would this horse have been flown overseas?”

“The
animals sometimes provide cover for our operatives. Omar was a world-class
jumper before a minor fetlock injury took him out of the pro circuit. His
participation in a competition allowed one of our agents to get close to a
Spanish diplomat with an interest in equestrian sports.”

“So
you don’t train animals for war or to carry bombs into enemy territory or
anything, right?”

“Never,”
Zach said fiercely. “The animals are trained to work with humans, not for them,
and they always know the risks involved with every mission.”

Interesting.

The
rest of the tour proved just as interesting, and all the animals she talked to
had similar stories. In the kennels, the dogs practically overwhelmed her with
tales of how they’d helped their humans, of how the humans played with them,
took them home, gave them the best treats.

There
had to be a catch.

“You’re
wondering if there’s a catch,” Zach said softly, as he crouched next to her
where she was scratching the ears of a fluffy malamute mix.

“Can
you read people too?”

He
smiled, and her breath caught. The man was devastatingly handsome, in a less
rugged way than Tom, who was a few yards away, tossing a ball for a border
collie.

“I
can only read animals, but I had the same concerns when I came here. ACRO’s
been good to me. To all of us. Dev even promised that if the little bar we have
on the compound ever starts serving food, it’ll be vegetarian.”

She
smiled at that, warmed inside, because suddenly, she was amongst people like
her. With the exception of Marcia, Kira hadn’t ever related well to humans, nor
them to her. And until Tom, she’d never known what it was like to
be
with someone. Someone who knew what she was and didn’t care.

This
place couldn’t be real, and if it was, there had to be a dark side.

“Kira?”
Zach’s hand ran in slow, soothing strokes up and down her spine. “Are you okay?
You seem a little distant.”

“It’s
a lot to take in.” The familiar ache began to throb deep in her pelvis, and she
exhaled slowly. She needed Tommy.

Thigh
muscles quivering as though preparing to squeeze Tom between them, she started
to stand, but Zach’s palm burned into her back, holding her in place. Her gaze
slammed into his, into the blatant lust that burned in his golden brown eyes.
Lynx eyes, like Rafi’s. And damn, she missed her babies.

“It’s
true, isn’t it? Your spring fever.”

She
nodded, because denying it seemed pointless. No doubt Tom had reported
everything to these people. Then again, they’d known a lot about her even
before Tom had sauntered into her life.

“When…”

“Now,”
she croaked, and jerked away, but again, he held her. She trembled beneath the
sensual strokes of his fingers as they worked their way up to her cheek. She
needed Tom.

Except,
he wouldn’t be servicing her now. Maybe she should take someone else. Use this
opportunity to force the separation between her and Tom that would come any
moment anyway. At least this way it would be her choice. Her terms.

“God,
you’re beautiful,” Zach whispered, and she flushed and turned away because she
knew he didn’t mean it. Her pheromones had turned his brain to mush.

Her
own brain was rapidly growing fuzzy, and her body had come alive with a
terrible itch. A burning, gnawing sensation ate at her insides until it felt
like only the tightening of her skin kept it all in.

She
was strung out, and by all rights should pounce on the male touching her, the
one who wanted her even if it was only because her heat had influenced him. But
as desperate as she was for a fix, she craved the attentions of another man,
with a ferocity that hurt.

Suddenly,
she found herself on her feet and hauled up against a hard chest.
Tommy.

Relief
flooded her. The explosion of harsh words between Tom and Zach didn’t register;
she was too busy rubbing her face on Tom’s shoulder, his arm, his chest. She
wanted his scent all over her, wanted her scent on him so he couldn’t easily
walk out of her life.

Her
hands slipped beneath his T-shirt of their own accord, and if he didn’t find
someplace private, she was going to take him right there.

“Please,
Tommy,” she murmured, and he swept her up. She doubted, though, that he knew
what she was begging for. Not for sex.

For
him.

THEY
NEEDED PRIVACY, and fast.

Kira
was rubbing herself against him like one of the big cats she liked so much, and
he didn’t need her to slam him to the ground and take him in front of Zach and
the rest of the crew. Because, Christ, he hadn’t had enough protein and
probably would be pretty damned ineffective trying to fight her off and this
was all embarrassing enough already.

Embarrassing,
but hot.

“Keep
your fucking paws off of her,” he told Zach, who just held up his hands and
backed away slowly.

Ender’s
entire body tensed, with anger and with desire as Kira continued to use her
body to give him one big caress—marking him over and over again, and God, he
could smell her pheromones rising. And even though Zach had backed off, he
could still see the lust for Kira in the man’s eyes. It did not make him happy
at all.

With
a final growl at Zach, he grabbed Kira around the waist and started to walk.
The bathroom was the closest place. She’d already wrapped herself around him,
arms and legs holding her tightly in place, and he wondered what it would be
like to make the first move with her.

Not
that he needed to worry about that anymore.

He
kicked the bathroom door closed behind them, didn’t have time to lock it before
she was tugging frantically at his fly.

“Kira,
it’s all right—I’m here. Hang on.” He sat her on the edge of the sink as he
worked down her BDUs.

They’d
both given up on underwear hours ago.

“Please,
hurry,” she whispered while she slid her shirt off over her head and he
unbuttoned his own BDUs and let them pool around his ankles. Her nipples were
already taut, a deep rose color that made his mouth water, and he put his mouth
on one, then the other, rolling the hard buds in his mouth. She moaned above
him and he sucked harder, knowing they didn’t have the time for this. But he
loved to make her moan.