The objectives of the assignment would include speed and suitability. The Society needed other places to work, sites that were isolated, secure, and calibrated for their work. And they needed them now.
When Mr. O fell silent, Mr. X delegated the new center's erection to him and Mr. U and then ordered the men out to the streets for the evening.
Mr. O lingered.
"Do we have some business?" Mr. X asked. "Did something else go wrong?"
Those brown eyes flared, but Mr. O didn't snap. More proof of improvement.
"I want to build some storage units in the new facility."
"For what? Our purpose is not to keep the vampires as pets."
"I expect to have more than one subject at a time, and I want to keep them for as long as I can. But I need something they can't dematerialize out of, and it has to shield them from sunshine."
"What do you have in mind?"
The solution Mr. O detailed was not only feasible, but cost-effective.
"Do it," Mr. X said, smiling.
Chapter Eighteen
When Rhage pulled into the Excel parking lot, he drove right past the car attendants. Even if the GTO didn't have a finicky clutch, he wasn't about to leave his keys with someone else. Not with the kind of weapons and ammo he had in the trunk.
He picked a spot around back, one that was right next to the side door. When he flipped off the ignition, he reached for his seat belt and...
And did nothing with it. He just sat there, hand on the clip.
"Hal?"
He closed his eyes. God, he'd give anything just to hear her say his real name once. And he wanted... damn, he wanted her naked in his bed, her head on his pillow, her body between his sheets. He wanted to take her in private, just the two of them. No witnesses, no half-assed shield of his trench coat. Nothing public, no quickie hallway/bathroom action.
He wanted her nails in his back and her tongue in his mouth and her hips rocking under his until he came so hard he saw stars. Then he wanted to sleep with her in his arms afterward. And wake up and eat and make love again. And talk in the dark about things both stupid and serious -
Oh, God. He was bonding with her. The bonding thing was happening.
He'd heard with males that it could be like this. Fast. Intense. Nothing logical. Just powerful, primordial instincts taking over, one of the strongest being the urge to physically possess her and mark her in the process so that other males would know she had a mate. And would stay the f**k away from her.
He glanced over at her body. And realized he would kill any member of his sex who tried to touch her, be with her, love her.
Rhage rubbed his eyes. Yup, that whole marking urge was definitely at work.
And it wasn't his only problem. The odd hum was back in his body, egged on by the explicit images of her flashing through his head and the smell of her scent and the soft sound of her breathing.
And the rush of her blood.
He wanted to taste her... drink from her.
Mary turned toward him. "Hal, are you - "
His voice was like sandpaper. "I need to tell you something."
I'm a vampire. I'm a warrior. I'm a dangerous beast.
At the end of this evening, you aren't going to remember you ever met me.
And the idea of not even being a memory of yours makes me feel like I've been stabbed in the chest.
"Hal? What is it?"
Tohr's words echoed in his head. It's safer. For her.
"Nothing," he said, releasing the belt and getting out of the car. "It's nothing."
He went around and opened her door, holding out his hand to help her up. As she put her palm against his, he lowered his lids. Seeing her arms and legs uncoil made his muscles twitch and a soft growl come up into his throat.
And damn him, instead of stepping out of her way, he let her come up close so their bodies were almost touching. The vibration under his skin grew tighter and stronger along with his roaring lust for her. He knew he should look away because surely his irises were glowing a little. But he couldn't.
"Hal?" she said thinly. "Your eyes..."
He closed his lids. "Sorry. Let's go inside - "
She pulled her hand from his. "I don't think I want to have dinner."
His first impulse was to argue, but he didn't want to bully her. Besides, the less time they spent together, the less there was to erase.
Hell, he should have just scrubbed her the moment he drove up to her house.
"I'll take you home."
"No, I mean, will you walk with me a little? Through the park over there? I just don't feel like getting stuck at a table. I'm too... restless."
Rhage shoved the car keys into his pocket. "I'd love to."
As they meandered out onto the grass and walked beneath a canopy of colored leaves, he scanned the environs. There was nothing dangerous around, no threats he could sense. He glanced upward. A half-moon dangled in the sky.
She laughed a little. "I would never do this normally. You know, go out into the park at night. But with you? I don't worry about getting mugged."
"Good. You shouldn't." Because he would slice up anything that tried to harm her, human or vampire or undead.
"It seems wrong," she murmured. "Being outdoors in the dark, I mean. It feels a little illicit and a little scary. My mother always warned me about going places at night."
She stopped, tilted her head back, and stared upward. Slowly she extended her arm to the sky with her hand out flat. She closed one eye.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Holding the moon in my palm."
He bent down and followed the length of her arm with his gaze. "Yeah, you are."
As he straightened, he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her back against his body. After a moment's stiffness, she relaxed and dropped her hand.
God, he loved her scent. So clean and fresh, with that slight hint of citrus.
"You were at the doctor's when I called today," he said.
"Yes, I was."
"What are they going to do for you?"
She broke away and started walking again. He fell into step with her, allowing her to pick the pace.
"What did they tell you, Mary?"
"We don't have to talk about all that."
"Why not?"
"You're going against type," she said lightly. "Playboys aren't supposed to handle the unattractive parts of life well."
He thought of his beast. "I'm used to unattractive, trust me."
Mary stopped again, shaking her head. "You know, something isn't right about all this."
"Good point. I should be holding your hand while we walk."
He reached out, only to have her pull away. "I'm serious, Hal. Why are you doing this? Being with me?"
"You're going to give me a complex. What's wrong with wanting to spend a little time with you?"
"You need me to spell it out? I'm an average-looking woman who's got a below-average life span. You're beautiful. Healthy. Strong - "
Telling himself he was ten kinds of stupid, he stepped in front of her and put his hands on the base of her neck. He was going to kiss her again, even though he shouldn't. And it wasn't going to be the kind he'd laid on her in front of her house.
As he lowered his head, the strange vibration in his body intensified, but he didn't stop. The hell he was going to let his body dictate to him tonight. Clamping down on the hum, he muscled the feeling around by force of will. When he managed to suppress it some, he was relieved.
And determined to get inside her, even if it was only his tongue in her mouth.
Mary stared up into Rhage's electric blue eyes. She could swear they were blazing in the darkness, that teal light was actually coming out of them. She'd sensed a similar thing back in the parking lot.
The hair on the nape of her neck stood up.
"Don't worry about the glow," he said softly, as if he'd read her mind. "It's nothing."
"I don't understand you," she whispered.
"Don't try to."
He closed the distance between them, dipping low. His lips were soft as suede against hers, lingering, clinging. His tongue came out and stroked over her mouth.
"Open for me, Mary. Let me in."
He licked at her until she parted for him. As his tongue slid into her, the velvet thrust hit her right between the thighs, and she eased into his body, heat spearing her as her br**sts met his chest. She grabbed onto his shoulders, trying to get closer to all that muscle and warmth.
She succeeded for only a moment. Abruptly, he put a space between their bodies, though he kept in contact with her lips. She wondered whether he still kissed her to hide the fact that he'd retreated. Or maybe he was just trying to cool her out a little, like she was too aggressive or something?