“With relish,” he said. “Slowly and painfully.”
“Good.” Very good.
“The point is, only a few people—very few people, at that—are allowed into Jonathan’s life. We can capture him, but he won’t talk under torture. His brother didn’t. That means we have to gain his trust, get into his inner circle.”
The catch in his tone warned me of impending ire on my part. I would have missed it, but I was extremely focused on everything about this man. “By we, you mean—”
“Me. I’m already in.”
Of course. Every muscle in my body clenched.
“He knows me as Hunter Leonn,” Lucius said, “the wealthy, pampered son of a dead Onadyn smuggler.”
“Hunter,” I said, playing the name across my tongue. “Cute. Nice irony. I also like the pampered part. You make a lovely spoiled little prince.” I jerked a hand down my ponytail. “So you want me to sit back and watch you do the job, I guess.”
“No.” Moving his head left and right, he popped in the bones in his neck. When he spoke again, he broke down the situation like I was a child. “I go in as Hunter. You’ll go in after me as bait.”
“Okay. So…who am I to become?”
“Yourself. You’re a Raka, a rarity. Your people have been hunted for their skin and are now nearly extinct. We can’t change your identity. More than that, Michael is high-profile. Most believe he’s a wealthy weapons dealer, and too many people know you as his daughter.”
“I’m with you.” Michael purposefully cultivated his image as a weapons dealer. After taking a job with the government, he’d needed a good cover, something that offered mass appeal to criminals and distanced him from his true identity. “Wait,” I said after a moment’s thought. “EenLi used to work for Michael. If I go in as myself, he’ll suspect I’m an agent. He’ll know Michael is protecting me.”
“He won’t know about me, however, and that’s the important thing. From everything I’ve read on him, I think he’ll find it amusing to steal an agent.”
“All right. I’m on board.”
“Good. We’re going to spread the word that Eden Black is moving to New Dallas. You’re getting old, anyway, so you need a place of your own.”
I sucked in a breath, the scent of sun, pine, and blooming flowers taunting me with their vibrant freshness. I glared up at him. A good motivation, yes, but not something I wanted to hear.
“Actually, we’ll tell people you’re moving out to escape a stalker. Does that suit your vanity?”
I punched his arm.
“You’ve acted as an other-worlder interpreter for Michael in the past,” he said, rubbing the bruised muscle. “We’ll find out which high-powered humans are in need of an other-worlder interpreter. As their employee, you’ll have to attend parties and political functions, and that will put you in contact with Parker. And me. Your stalker.” He eyed me up and down, lingering on my br**sts. “Think you can handle it?”
A wave of awareness battled with a flood of irritation. I ignored his stupid question, already making a mental list of the things I needed to do. Rent an apartment here. Obtain a new wardrobe. Recondition my feet to high heels.
“I’ll work my way back into Jonathan’s circle,” he said, “and mention that I met you, learned you were moving here, and followed. I’ll let him know that I wanted you, pursued you, but you turned me down.”
“That won’t be difficult, since it’s the truth.”
“Shut up and listen.” He glared at me. “You’ll begin attending all the parties, and I’ll play the lovesick fool.”
I opened my mouth to offer another little gem: it was always best to stick to the truth, so we didn’t get caught in a lie. He cut me off with, “You’ll continue to rebuff me. Hard. I’ll grow more desperate.”
“I see where this is leading,” I said. “After I turn you down, you’ll place an order for me.”
“That’s right. Other men will probably want you too, if not Jonathan himself. Either way therewill be an order placed for you, and you’ll be taken. All you have to do is let them take you.”
I nodded my head in approval. “I like it. How are we going to proceed after that?”
“I’ll buy you, whatever the cost, then purchase us passage to another planet, where I will claim that I can keep you without worrying about legalities.”
“And once we know how they’re planet-hopping, we strike.”
“Exactly. You’re going to need new clothes,” he said, giving me another intense perusal, a perusal that stripped away my clothes and devoured the naked body underneath. When his eyes reached my br**sts, my ni**les hardened. When they reached my stomach, my belly quivered. When they reached the apex of my thighs, a flood of warmth pooled there.
“I’d already thought of that,” I said, my voice hoarse, dry. “I’m still known as Michael’s spoiled, reclusive daughter. I know how to dress the part.”
“Good. Because a sophisticated interpreter would not wear”—he gestured to my scuffed leather pants and hiking boots—“whatever it is you’re wearing.”
“Thank you for the fashion advice, Sparkie. I’ve always wanted a pierced, tattooed, bleached-out muscle boy to tell me how inept my fashion sense is.”
His lips twitched. “Go to Michael. Tell him—”
“I know what to do.” I arched a brow. “Can you say the same?”
“Yes. Smart-ass. Like I said, I’m going to renew my acquaintance with Jonathan. Give me three weeks before you show up. But no later, you hear me? Three weeks.”
I batted my lashes at him and walked my fingers across his chest. “Why, Lucius Adaire, aka Hunter Leonn and Bastard Extraordinaire. I do believe you’re going to miss me.”
“No, baby doll, but you’re going to miss me.”
With no more warning than that, he jerked me into the hardness of his body, his lips instantly slanting over mine. His tongue thrust into my mouth, deep and probing. I moaned at the pleasure of it, at the heady flavor of him, and sank deeper into his embrace. I didn’t protest, though I knew I should have. No, I tangled my tongue with his. My teeth banged into his. I gripped his head and held him to me. I think I had wanted this since the first time I saw him.