Phoenix Tonic (7 page)

~***~

Kallian peeked his head in. Hailey looked up at him, and away again. Moving slowly, he knelt again in front of her. “How are you doing? You don’t seem to be reacting to me the same as before. You’re not gouging holes in your knees from my proximity. So, that’s got to be at least one good thing. Right?” Glancing at her injuries, he realized her knees had already healed. Only blood stained shins remained.

She breathed in and out for a moment before answering. “I’m not normal. But I’m not as bad.”

He gave a quick nod. “That’s probably the best we can expect at this point.” He held out a navy bed sheet and unfolded it. “I know you don’t trust me, but I’m asking you to. I’ll take you out of here on the understanding that you won’t throw another fit until you get back.”

She sadly stared at the floor. “I waited until I got back in my cage last time. But I don’t have it in me right now. I hate you, but I’ll go with you.”

He flashed a quick smile of relief and threw the sheet over her form. Finally, some headway.

Hailey’s muscles tensed as he picked her up, but she didn’t resist. Her warmth radiated through the bed sheet. He moved slowly, listening to her breathing pick up. The tonic still caused her to be affected by him, and that would probably never go away, even with the suppressant in her system. But at least it seemed tolerable for her.

As they made their way down the deserted hall, her body relaxed. Her head rested against his chest and her breathing slowed. He curled her protectively against him further, but he didn’t dare upset her. Instead he hurried to his destination, and kicked the door closed behind them.

She remained silent as he placed her on the couch. He backed away to give her as much room as he could, hoping his faith in her wouldn’t fail them. She waited for a moment before removing the sheet from her head.

Hailey’s face and hair were streaked with black soot. She curled her knees up and looked around in wonderment. The chocolate overstuffed couch swallowed her in its luxuriousness. Dark green drapes framed the windows, with thick mocha carpeting and tan walls. A glass-and-wrought-iron coffee table sat before her, and the light to the bathroom spilled onto the floor.

“This is my private office,” Kallian said, leaning against a small oak desk. “This room is not insulated. The walls and floor are not titanium. If you lose your temper in here, you could kill people.” He didn’t bother to add that the facility had been evacuated. Pulling a high back leather chair out of the desk, he turned it around and settled into it. “I’m trusting you here, Hailey. Use the shower as long as you need. We can talk afterward. I’ll see if I can find something for you to change into.”

Her eyes locked onto him. “Did you set that up earlier? Between my brother and I?”

Her accusing tone held a promise of danger in it. How was he supposed to answer without making her angrier? “No. I didn’t set that up. I’m sorry that happened to you. We had warned him several times that you were dangerous and not ready to receive visitors. And we asked you several times to take the suppressant. If either of you had listened to our direction, this wouldn’t have happened.”

She drew the sheet tighter around her shoulders. He could see she was struggling. She wanted to be angry with him, but the tonic made her want to be docile. “Kira said it worked better than expected. Which meant someone was expecting something.”

His gaze locked onto her. Telling her Kira was behind the situation wouldn’t help matters. Kira was the only female they knew who would keep their secret. “We knew that if you came into contact with a male, no matter the relationship, you would respond negatively. The people that are in charge of you know not to expose you to any men.” He quickly held up a hand, cutting off the comment she was about to make. “I have clarified things with Kira and doubled security. I never want to have something like that happen to you again.”

He waited for her to process the truth. Either way, he could not let this happen again. It would have been pretty disturbing if she’d gone too far. But as it was, the simple reaction of her body had been almost scarring to her psyche. He shook off the thoughts. “Go ahead and get a good shower in.”

“Why are you doing this?” Hailey’s voice whispered, ragged and low. “I thought you just took what you wanted.”

Kallian sighed and stood up. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked to the door. “Because everyone keeps telling me I should have let you die. But I know you, and I know you will prove them wrong.”

Chapter Eleven

“Don’t let him get to you,” Hailey whispered to herself in the mirror.

Kallian Markham had left the room, showing his trust in her. She could have easily burnt down the wooden door and bolted. But she was naked and covered in the ashy remains of her room. And there was nowhere she could go without putting people in danger. She wanted to puke at the thought of how she’d reacted to her brother’s presence. Shame riddled her consciousness.

Regret weighed on her mind over rejecting the suppressant. She could have avoided the whole incident. Poor Brian. He probably didn’t have a clue what had happened. She’d have to email him later and tell him the side effects were real. She decided to leave out which side effects, though.

The mirror began to fog up from the heat of the shower. “Just keep your mind empty.” Her feet stepped into the privacy of the tile and frosted glass shower. She felt like a real person as the water, like ribbons, washed over her. She used Kallian’s expensive shampoo and familiar scented soap. Her senses focused on the smells, heat and surroundings.

This place radiated calm and warmth, like the Kallian she used to know. And she doubted he mounted hidden cameras in his private office. But she needed answers, and it seemed like he might be willing to talk.

Her hand lingered on the shower handle as she turned the water off. When she went out there, in his presence, she wouldn’t be herself anymore. She would succumb to whatever it was they’d done to her. The thoughts wouldn’t leave as she toweled down her hair.

After he left the first time she was literally weakened. When his lips came so close she could feel the warmth of his breath, she’d crumbled. Mentally, though she knew she hated him, she wanted him to take her. The release from her resistance would have been rapture. Physically, she’d trembled until she wept. She’d never wanted to touch someone so arduously. But now, it wasn’t as bad as it was before she took the suppressant. She could keep some semblance of herself, as long as he didn’t touch her.

She took in a huge gulp of air as she wrapped the thick, dark brown towel around her body. She refused to let him drive fear into her. She hated the man. He was the reason she’d swooned over her brother and almost killed her mother. He was the reason she was forced to be separated from all she loved for who-knew-how-long. And he used his stupid beautiful lips to get her to take that medicine.

Although, in hindsight, it was better she’d taken it. But still, he seduced her to do something she didn’t want to. She had to be careful. If not, he could seduce her into assassinating the president, or something worse.

She just needed to go out there, get answers, and get away from him as fast as she could. That was the plan, and she walked out, chin up, until she saw him.

His muscular shoulders and chest filled out his light blue shirt, set off by a gold tie and black slacks. However, she couldn’t help but notice his feet were bare. She stared at his large strong toes until his gaze followed hers.

He blushed a bit. “Yeah, you melted my shoes.”

She drew in a sharp breath at his rumbling voice. “I- I’m sorry.”

Kallian cracked a half-smile. “No you’re not. You hate me. I’m sure when you’re away from me you’ll be quite pleased with yourself.” He motioned to the clothes on the couch. “Go ahead and get dressed. I’ll wait.”

Her arm scooped up the clothes, but she couldn’t move. She didn’t want to leave him. She knew she needed to, but physically she just couldn’t move away from him. Her eyes moved from Kallian to the bathroom and back to him again.

Kallian watched her with interest, his copper colored eyes holding her motionless.

She saw his forehead crease, and he stood.

“No, don’t.” The words escaped her lips, and mournfully, he obeyed. Her feet shuffled slowly to the bathroom and, with great effort, she closed the door. Now cut off from his gaze and scent, her mind found a little clarity.

“Hailey?” His tone came softly through the door. Remorseful. “You are very unhappy. I’m sorry I’ve made you so… miserable.”

There was nothing for her to say. She wasn’t ready to accept his apology. What she did need was answers. “What did you do to me?”

The lilt in his voice changed. “Are you going to talk to me from behind the door the whole time?”

She pushed it open an inch and glanced through the crack. “It’s safer this way.”

He nodded and got comfortable in the leather chair. “My family’s genetics are unusual.” He paused, gazed through the crack, and continued. “But mine are even stranger than the rest of the bloodline. My antibodies have the ability to rewrite a living creatures DNA, helping them overcome any illness. Once the body accepts my genetics their fever rises until…”

“Until we go up in a huge fireball?” Hailey finished for him.

She saw him nod through the crack. “That is the main side effect.”

“Side effect?” She snorted. “That’s a misleading way to say it.”

Kallian continued. “The other effects are a difficulty. It seems we can’t separate or lessen the attraction factor, or the fire. We’ve been working on it for a while. My blood could heal so many people if we could isolate those two little problems.”

“Little?” Her eyes grew wide. “Little? You have no idea what kind of hell you’ve put me in—”

“Stay calm,” his monotone voice broke in. She huffed, but knew he was right. She turned the pewter handles on the sink and splashed her face with cold water.

“We understand how difficult this period is for you. That’s why we made the suppressant. You are not the first person to take the tonic.”

That brought up another question in Hailey’s mind. “Speaking of which, what did you do to Kira? The poor girl is like an emotionless zombie.”

Kallian’s brow pulled together. “Kira has nothing to do with this. We’re talking about you, and your uncontrollable temper.”

The edges of Hailey’s baby tee started to smoke. She quickly doused her arms with water and breathed deeply. “And why do you think that is? You’ve taken me away from my family, my friends, everything—”

“It was the cancer that took those things away,” Kallian broke in. “I was trying to give those things back.”

“All you wanted was a test subject!” She cranked the water back on and splashed herself again. “How did you expect me to act? On top of almost killing my mother and kissing my brother, you keep me locked up like an animal!”

He sighed. “And what do you expect us to do? Let you burn everything in sight?”

Her pitch rose along with her volume. “You forced me to take medicines—”

“If we were going to talk, you needed to—”

“I don’t get any showers—”

“You just got two,” he said steadily.

She splashed more water. “And I have the creepiest, most chauvinistic pig staring at me through a camera every time I burn my clothes off.”

A hand snaked through the door and flung it open. Kallian stood with both hands pressed against either side of the door frame.

Hailey gasped and stumbled back, pressing herself against the towel rack. The steamy room filled with his scent. Her heart raced at the sudden sensations flooding her body. She closed her eyes and turned her head, desperate not to take in his undeniable beauty.

The heat quenched, and her shirt stopped smoking in his presence. The blackened, burnt spots stretched across her shoulders and chest. She crossed her arms over the marks, desperately wanting him to believe she could handle herself.

Sharp and low, Kallian’s voice vibrated through the small room, sending shivers up her spine. “I turned off the visual cameras every time you flared up. I only monitored the heat signature until Kira returned and assured me you were decent. I would never intentionally dishonor you in such a way.”

His grip on the wood tightened and his voice lowered. “And speaking of dishonor, that’s exactly what you are doing to me and my family. They’re furious I’ve given you the tonic without marriage. Your very existence is a threat. And on top of that, you just said you were going to murder over a hundred people if you don’t get your way. How selfish can you be?”

Her eyes opened a slit then squeezed shut again. Kallian closed his mouth at the sight of her shaking fists.

She hated how she trembled in his presence. She hated how her intoxicated mind wanted to submit. And most of all, she hated herself for being so weak.

“I hate you,” she whispered.

His hands dropped from the door frame and undid the buttons on his shirt. “I know.” Rustling fabric filled her ears and she knew his bare, golden skin was within reach. Her muscles locked tight as he moved closer. She couldn’t see him, but she could feel his energy calling to her like the moon to the tide.

The fabric of the shirt slipped around her shoulders and Kallian retreated. “I’m sorry.” Hailey looked up to see him run his hand through his hair. “I can’t fight with you like this.” He sighed and walked out of the bathroom. “Come on, let’s get you back to your room. It should be clean by now.”

Hailey’s body instinctively followed after Kallian. But she forced her eyes down, away from his bare, muscular back. He ushered her back to her shiny, sterile room. A bed sheet over a mattress on the cold slab broke the tin foil surroundings. But nothing else.

“I’ll arrange for new drapes and entertainment to be brought in as soon as possible,” he said quietly.

Hailey sat on the bed, his blue shirt falling from her shoulders. She nodded once.

Kallian’s fingers grabbed the handle and pulled the door behind him. He paused a few inches before it closed. “And Hailey,” his soft voice sounded almost guilty; “you’re not a caged animal here.”

He walked away, leaving the door standing open.