Parallel Heat (22 page)

‘‘It was a good question.’’ She wriggled her hand out from underneath his. ‘‘You seem so convinced that we’re doomed, that all the bad images from the other time are true—and equally convinced that we’d go so far as to bond.’’

‘‘Thea, don’t you understand?’’ He bent down until his nose was within an inch of hers. His whole body burned, wildfire darting over his skin, across his senses. He gulped for air, attempting vainly to steady his heart. ‘‘Don’t you get it? Nothing with you could ever be . . . casual for me. Casual?’’ He shook his head, laughing bitterly. ‘‘Every time I hold you, every time I taste of you—or catch your scent—you have the power of the universe over me. And that’s not casual, Thea,’’ he hissed. ‘‘Not for someone like me.’’

She gaped at him, her clear, mysterious blue eyes widening. Slowly, she lifted her fingertips to her lips, touching them as if he’d just brushed a kiss across them.

He continued, ‘‘So you see, that’s why I keep pushing you away. ’Cause it’s the only thing I know to do. My vows exist—they’re the only real thing I’ve ever known—and I’m here to serve our king and queen. Could we have a secret affair? Maybe. Maybe if I were capable of holding back with you.’’ He stood, gazing down at her for one long, naked moment. ‘‘But I can’t hold back, and if we so much as contemplate truly making love, I’ll be utterly soulbound to you in a heartbeat. And I can’t do that to either one of us.’’

Then, he did the hardest thing—but the only thing—he could possibly do. He turned and walked away.

 
Hope Harper walked across the tarmac of Warren Air Force Base. The forceful wind of fighter jets taking off caused her scarf to fly up into her face, which only made seeing all the more difficult. In bright daylight such as this morning, she could make out blurry images overlain by dark floaters. Spots basically, all the way around, but usually better if it were a bright, sunny day such as this one. That was how she still managed to snowboard on the baby slopes. So she was thankful that arriving on base today she could rely on the morning light to orient her somewhat; it took some of the edge off of stepping into such an unknown situation.

Her supervisor, Robbie Chambers, took hold of her arm, urging her along toward what looked to be an entrance. The thing with the fully sighted was that they never realized you didn’t want to be tugged—you simply wanted to
hold on
. Thank God she wasn’t completely blind yet, just legally so, and she let him pull her inside the building.

With a series of turns and welcomes from shadowed military personnel (the greenish overhead light made it much tougher for her to make out their forms), she quickly found herself filing down a long hallway, hearing the distant sounds of shoes clicking on concrete flooring. ‘‘Harper, we’re counting on you to make some headway here.’’

She’d been briefed about the details by the special agent in charge back in Denver, and now her months of work on the Refarian language would finally be put to the test. In the two days since capturing the man they knew as Scott Dillon, they’d been unable to get a single answer out of him. She knew he spoke English; she’d heard him on the intercepts. And the other thing she now knew—since she’d been briefed into this higher clearance, even higher than her regular top secret clearance—was that in all likelihood her suspicions had been correct.

They continued to rely on their flimsy cover story about Dillon belonging to an obscure political cell in eastern Europe: That’s how compartmentalized information worked. Very few people had the full picture, and they would only put small pieces in various individuals’ hands. For her part, they needed her language expertise, nothing more. But that didn’t alter what her training and common sense told her: Scott Dillon belonged to an alien race, one that directly threatened the security and safety of the United States. Possibly Planet Earth.

 
‘‘Any word on Lieutenant Dillon’s release?’’ Jared asked his chief security officer, Lieutenant Nevin Daniels, who was sitting with him on the other side of the meeting room table. The man shook his head, his expression grave.

For three days now they’d been stumped; they now knew where Scott was being held—at Warren Air Force Base—where the US military had kept him for the past almost seventy-two hours. Jared felt nauseated at the thought of his best friend being interrogated, possibly tortured. Humans, he thought with a weary sigh, a people with such capacity for beauty, but also capable of such hateful vengeance.

‘‘Keep the base under surveillance—but be careful. We want to track any movement they might make with the lieutenant, but we don’t want to risk losing anyone else.’’

‘‘They might try to transfer him to another facility,’’ the other man suggested. ‘‘What then?’’

Jared leaned back in his chair and thought about the many engagements they’d had with the Air Force over the years—most recently, he himself had been shot down by a pilot from Warren. Of course the humans believed them their enemies; after all, the USAF pilots came under constant fire from the Antousians, and how could they possibly discern the difference between Refarians and Antousians? Aliens were all perceived as security threats, no matter which species they belonged to. Never mind how many of Jared’s people had been killed by the Antousians since their arrival here on Earth six years ago. And never mind that he and the Refarians were here to protect Earth. None of the human governments ever seemed to understand such subtleties.

‘‘I wonder what Dillon has told them,’’ Jared reflected aloud. ‘‘Perhaps he could arrange a summit; they might be willing to meet with us to discuss military matters and practical solutions.’’

Nevin leaned forward in his chair, his demeanor intense and serious. ‘‘My lord, I think the time for talking is long past—surely you’d agree.’’

Jared stared at the wintry landscape beyond the window. ‘‘Perhaps,’’ he said thoughtfully. ‘‘Or perhaps the time has come at last.’’

‘‘What of our other matter?’’ the man asked him. ‘‘Your wife?’’

Jared’s gaze shifted back to focus on his lieutenant. ‘‘I assume you’re speaking of the mitres data?’’ He didn’t like his officer calling Kelsey ‘‘our other matter.’’ It indicated the overall suspicion that he sensed among so many of his soldiers toward his new wife.

‘‘Sir, we’ve obviously been ineffective so far in retrieving the codes. Surely even you must be concerned by now.’’

‘‘Concerned? Surely even
I
must be
concerned
?’’ Jared felt hot anger boil within himself—even, for a moment, felt the compulsion to Change. It was always there, and provocations such as this one only baited it. ‘‘Yes, Lieutenant, I am concerned about my wife and about the safety of my people!’’ he roared, the furnace of his core self stoking hotter. ‘‘You should be concerned about your
queen
.’’

His officer clearly caught his tone and, visibly chastened, bowed his head. ‘‘I mean no disrespect, sir. I’m merely registering my extreme concern about this security matter.’’

‘‘We have tried numerous methods, so far none successful, in retrieving the mitres data.’’

‘‘What I’m suggesting, sir, is that it’s time for new measures. Time to think of what we haven’t tried.’’

Jared recalled Marco’s offer the night before, his suggestion that he could train them both to use their intuition. He’d acquiesced at the time because he believed Marco was correct; he himself had planted the data within Kelsey, and despite all his previous objections, he was now the one to finally extract it.

Without another word, Jared rose from the table, determined to find his Madjin.

Chapter Sixteen

Kelsey and Jared sat on their living room floor facing one another. Marco knelt beside them both, his large hands resting on their shoulders.

‘‘Close your eyes and take deep breaths,’’ he coached in his sure voice. ‘‘It will begin with your establishing a connection between the two of you.’’

Kelsey glanced at Jared, who smiled at her almost a bit shyly. She knew exactly what he was thinking at that moment, because it was her own thought—did Marco have any idea how powerful their connection could be at times? During the short time of their bonding, it had been magnifying exponentially. Last night, she’d felt him enter her dreams.

‘‘Okay,’’ Jared answered, and Kelsey felt him open their bond; wild heat began welling within her. Quickly, she connected with him, without any of their usual seductive dancing. This was all about accomplishing something via their connection.

Kelsey, sweetheart,
Jared said softly, the minute the flow opened.
Don’t be scared,
he soothed her.

Yes, you are . . . I can feel it. Don’t be. I’m right here,
he promised.

I love you,
he whispered softly.

Their bonding was interrupted by the sound of Marco clearing his throat with a rumbling cough. Kelsey glanced sideways at him, and was surprised to find him staring at her strangely, his mouth slightly open. She sensed that he knew they’d been communicating silently between themselves. But she could also tell he was studying them, trying to decipher something about how their relationship worked.

‘‘Are you connected?’’ he asked, raising his dark brows in amazement. ‘‘Just like that?’’

Kelsey nodded vigorously. ‘‘Yeah, we’re ready, Marco.’’

‘‘You can do that?’’ Marco pressed, his voice full of undisguised wonder. ‘‘Without even touching?’’

‘‘Well, yeah. Can’t everybody?’’ she asked in surprise, but then quickly rushed to elaborate. ‘‘I mean can’t all . . . bonded mates . . . do that?’’ She felt her face flush very deeply, remembering that bonding for the Refarians was a very sexual experience.

‘‘No, Kelsey, everybody
can’t
do that,’’ Marco answered with a faint smile, shaking his head. ‘‘Most need to touch, or make a more determined physical connection. Riley and Anika are the only two I’ve ever known capable of it otherwise.’’

Her bond with Jared had become so second nature to her already, it was easy to forget how intimate a connection was for their kind. She noticed Jared’s own face glowing with obvious embarrassment. She smiled; Jared was so shy and ashamed of certain things about his nature, it almost amused her. Like his mating cycles.

Please, love,
he said seriously,
let’s not focus on our problem.

It’s not a problem!
she snapped, unable to resist feeling frustrated.

He dropped his head, frowning and she was immediately sorry.
You know what I mean.
She felt deep pain radiate from him—and only when he glanced up at her did she realize it was a mirror of her own pain.

Why are we feeling all of this?
she reflected, unsure why such raw emotions were cresting so fast between them.

As if reading her thoughts, Marco announced, ‘‘Practicing your gift of intuition is a vulnerable experience.’’ He glanced between them, something strange in his eyes—something sad. ‘‘
Intensely
vulnerable. Don’t be surprised by what surfaces.’’

Jared nodded seriously. ‘‘Thank you, Marco. We are ready.’’

‘‘So we’ll begin.’’ Marco’s black eyes darted between them, and they both nodded their readiness.

Jared covered her hands gently with his own. She hadn’t even realized that she’d been wringing her hands slightly for the past few moments, and now he stilled them beneath his. He hadn’t missed her jittery gestures.

‘‘I’m going to start you on a kind of exercise,’’ Marco began, placing his hands lightly on both their shoulders.

‘‘Okay,’’ Kelsey answered, her heartbeat quickening as she felt a warmth begin to pervade her shoulder right where Marco was touching it. Jared tightened his grip on her hand, and she knew he’d felt it too. Was Marco releasing some of his power to them?

‘‘I want the two of you to open your minds . . . clear them first, okay?’’ he began. ‘‘Remember, just keep taking deep breaths. Close your eyes . . . allow your connection to build.’’

Kelsey shut her eyes and felt Jared’s warmth surround her, envelop her. She wondered if Marco had any idea what their bond was really like, because if they just sat here like this, drinking one another in, their energy would begin to escalate like crazy. Jared might not even be able to hold back his Change.

Especially with the particular cycle they had recently touched. And lost. Again, the overwhelming sadness overtook her, smothering her.

Deep breaths, baby,
Jared coached softly.

Don’t worry about our mating cycles. We will deal with the problem,
he assured her.
Right now, we have to focus.

He rubbed a palm over the top of his head, staring hard into her eyes.
Why are we talking about it now?

I don’t know,
she told him, feeling anguish well anew.
Maybe because I’ve hardly seen you since you told me you’d stopped cycling.

His black eyes narrowed, filled with pain and concern
. Have I neglected you?

You’re never alone now that you’ve married me,
he reminded her, and she felt warm joy begin inside of her anew.

Glancing up at Marco, she said, ‘‘We’ll focus now—sorry.’’ But something in his expression, a certain way his face had blanched, made her wonder if he’d sensed their thoughts. He cleared his throat, nodded, and drew in several steadying breaths, Kelsey noticed that his hands trembled softly.

‘‘Marco, what’s wrong?’’ she asked, but he stepped quickly apart from them, backing away.