Protector: The Elect, Book 1 (5 page)

She almost flinched in the face of his scorn. “Something different. Something new.”
 

“That’s cra—” He snapped his teeth together when Brax growled at him.
 

“Listen, sweetheart.” His voice turned soothing.
That’s right, calm down the crazy girl.
She was ready to slap him herself. Stubborn man. “If this was true, it would be all over the news. People who look human but aren’t? It would be the biggest story ever. Not even the Army could cover this up.”
 

“That can never be allowed to happen, Carter,” she said firmly. “You know what they would do to us. And I’m not talking about padded cells.”
 

“And you two buy into this too?” He looked at Brax first then Zach, who nodded. “Who the hell are you?”
 

“That is Dr. Zach Littman. I’m Braxton Lee.”
 

Carter narrowed his eyes, his gaze tracking the room as he took in the high-tech, very expensive equipment. “Lee Enterprises’s Braxton Lee?”
 

“That’s the one.”
 

He was entirely too smug, egging her brother on. She jabbed him with her elbow and hissed at him to shut up. It didn’t faze him at all. He just brought her into the circle of his arms and rubbed his chin on the top of her head. It felt entirely too good for her peace of mind. She could lose herself in him and she knew it.
Dangerous ground. Snap out of it, Esme.
 

Carter rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and she felt his weariness as if it was her own. The last few weeks had been a hell of an adjustment for him, and the strain showed. Fine lines etched the corners of his eyes and mouth. His gaze wasn’t as bright as usual.
 

“You should rest. We can discuss this tomorrow,” she said softly.
 

She left the lab and walked up the stairs with him, Brax a few paces behind. Carter opened the door and glared at the shadow behind her. “I’ll take the couch. You can bunk with Kaden. He doesn’t take up much room.”
 

Brax snorted. “She has a bed, Owens. Don’t stick your nose in it.”
 

“I’m not leaving my sister alone with some delusional nutcase!”

Esme barely got between them in time. She poked her brother in the chest until he stopped snarling and glared down at her.
 

“First of all, no one is crazy here. Second, in case you missed it,” she said snidely, “I’m a grown woman. I’ll make my own choices about where I sleep, little brother.”
 

She gave them both a disgusted look and stalked off, fuming under her breath. Obstinate, obnoxious, bossy men. She could hear the low argument continue behind her. She wouldn’t sleep with Brax because he ordered it, anymore than she’d stay away from him because Carter ordered her to. And if there was bloodshed over it, she had a few things to say to both of them.
 

She returned to the lab. She needed to focus on something pure and calm. This was why she’d kept her distance from people for so many years. Emotions were messy.
 

Zach was bent over a computer reading some of her notes when she walked in.
 

“Find anything of interest?”
 

He leaned back and gave her a sympathetic smile. The cold, reserved scientist who’d met her when she arrived in the compound was gone, replaced by the guy she remembered from years ago. He looked like that rumpled-if-brilliant grad student. “How are you doing, sweetie?”
 

She shrugged one shoulder, choosing to ignore the annoying endearment. He’d always called her that just to get a rise out of her. Funny, she didn’t mind it from Brax. “Ask me tomorrow.”
 

She glanced at the screen. It was the information she had on Kaden. She nodded at it. “Do you know what’s wrong?”

He sighed. “Not yet, but I’d guess it’s some kind of infection.”
 

“That can’t be right. Every test imaginable has been run on this kid. An infection this severe would have shown up.”

“But he does get sick a lot, right? Pneumonia, bronchitis, whatever. Stuff you treat with antibiotics, he’s fine a couple weeks, and then there’s something new.”

“Yes, but the underlying problem can’t be an infection. We’d have killed it by now.”
 

“I knew you’d say that. Come look at this. We see it in some of our kids, but I don’t think this is Kaden’s problem.” He led the way to a microscope, pulled a slide from his coat pocket and inserted it under the lens.
 

She looked. “I don’t see anything. This is a normal blood sample.”
 

“Right.” He reached over and turned a spotlight on. She sucked in a breath as the squiggly bacteria showed up.
 

“Why have I never heard of this?”
 

“As near as I can determine, humans are immune to it.”
 

“You think something else is wrong with Kaden? Why?”

Zach looked grim. “The kids that get this start experiencing organ failure after a few months.”

Okay, Kaden wasn’t that bad, but… “He’s been sick off and on since he was born.”
 

Carter announced his presence with a knock on the door frame. “What’s wrong with him?”
 

She turned to meet her brother’s worried gaze. “We don’t know yet.”

“His white cell count is higher than I’d like, so I want to start him on antibiotics tonight. In the meantime, we’ll be testing his blood sample against diseases that are specific to the Elect. Anything else should have shown up with his other tests.”

Carter huffed. “Y’all really believe you aren’t human. I’ve landed in the Twilight Zone.”
 

Zach moved to a wall cabinet and pulled out supplies for taking blood. “We know it. I need a blood sample from you and your sister.”
 

Esme didn’t protest when he took two vials from her, but Carter looked suspicious when Zach approached him.
 

“Why do you need my blood? I’m not sick. And I’m human.”
 

“Are you sure about that? Your son and your sister are Elect. What makes you think you’re different?”
 

Her brother’s jaw clenched, but he submitted to the needle. Two vials later, he left with Zach to give Kaden the first antibiotic injection. She checked the time on her cell phone and trudged up the stairs after them. It was after midnight. No wonder she was tired.
 

She stopped outside Brax’s room. He’d pointed it out earlier when he showed Carter where he was staying, but she hesitated entering. She knew he expected her there. She’d made the deal. But she wasn’t sure if she was up for it tonight. Nerves knotted her stomach, and she squeezed her eyes shut. If she found another bed to sleep in, he’d probably come looking for her. Besides, she didn’t want to sleep alone. Gathering her courage, she twisted the doorknob and stepped inside.

Chapter Three
 

There was no mistaking this was Brax’s space. His scent, his psychic energy, enveloped her when she stepped inside and shut the door behind her. Her hand convulsed on the handle. Could she do this? Could she go through with it? She’d made the offer. She’d made the promise. Carter didn’t know the details, but he suspected, and was more furious with her than she’d ever seen him before. She couldn’t make a scene here. She couldn’t fuck it up.
 

Brax was sitting on a couch, staring intently at a laptop screen. He looked up and offered her a distracted smile before going back to work. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed and, deciding on amused, headed through the living area into the bedroom. This suite appeared to be setup like Carter’s. She should find a bathroom. She wanted a fast, hot shower and cool, cotton sheets, and she wanted them before she passed out from exhaustion and overload.
 

The shower was quick, and she found a large men’s T-shirt waiting for her on the counter when she exited She smiled at his consideration for her inexperience and wondered how long she’d get to wear it. She rubbed her hair, but it was nowhere near dry. It would be wild and curly in the morning, but she didn’t care.
 

A sigh of pleasure and relief escaped her lips when she slid between the sheets and fluffed the pillow. She wanted to sleep for a day and a night, at least, but that wasn’t happening. Just when she got comfortable, the bedroom door opened. There were no lights, but she didn’t need them. She saw the shadow slip into the room. Saw him stop by the side of the bed and strip his clothes off. Butterflies took flight in her belly, a mix of nerves and excitement.
 

He got into the bed and spooned up behind her, but he made no move other than embracing her. His cock was hard against her ass. His hands rested under her breasts. But he made no move to take her, to seduce her. His breathing was even and measured, as if he slipped into his bed with an almost naked woman all the time. She didn’t have any sense a woman had been there, but it still pissed her off.
 

She felt her body grow tenser. Heat and anger and a vague sense of hurt combined. Didn’t really want her after all, did he? He just wanted her information.
 

He moaned, and his teeth nipped her under her ear. “Stop that, baby. You know I want you. You know you’re mine.”
 

She was suddenly on the verge of tears and she hadn’t cried in years. She shook her head. She couldn’t handle this. He overloaded her senses. But when she struggled to get up, he wouldn’t let her go. His hands were gentle but insistent. Tender but firm and demanding. One cupped her breast, the other her pelvis, right above her sex. Her body responded with sudden, shocking need.
 

“Shh, angel. Everything is going to be fine.”
 

She wasn’t so sure about that. She’d exposed her brother and nephew. Herself. She was afraid if she took Brax into her body she’d never be able to walk away, no matter how he might betray her or her family. Because of her mental abilities, sex wouldn’t just be about physical intimacy. She’d be opening her heart and mind also. Her body didn’t care about those fears, though, and as his thumb started to lightly stroke over her nipple, she wasn’t sure if she did either. She rolled to her back. There was just enough light coming in the windows to see his face, the arousal glittering in his eyes.
 

“This is crazy,” she whispered. “How can I be afraid I’m trusting the wrong man and still feel like this?”
 

He leaned over her, every line of his long, hard body searing her skin, and kissed her forehead. “The Elect are different, baby, you know that. Trust your intuition, your empathy. You’d know if we were deceiving you.”
 

Was that true? She’d been suppressing the ability for years. She bit her lip, almost groaned as his heated gaze followed the movement.
 

“And the rest?” The lust. Surging, powerful. She’d never felt anything like it.
 

“Hmm,” he hummed, a second before his tongue darted out to trace the small bite mark she’d left on her lip.
 

She groaned, her hips jerking against his as her pussy grew wetter, hotter. His hand was still on her lower stomach, and he held her down easily. That just made her want him more.
 

“Open for me, baby. Let me kiss you.”
 

She couldn’t resist. The draw between them was too strong. It was as exhilarating as it was scary. Her lips parted, and his tongue slipped inside. He kissed her with ease, slow and seductive. She tasted dark, male desire with a hint of the whiskey they’d had earlier. She stroked her tongue over his, trying to consume more of his scent and taste. Her body tingled in pleasure. So much pleasure from a simple kiss. And though she could feel his desire, it didn’t swamp her. His thoughts didn’t invade her mind. She broke away and stared at him in wonder.
 

“What’s wrong?” he asked softly. His hand moved to stroke the side of her face. “I can feel how much you enjoy my kiss.”

She lifted her hands to his biceps, tentative at first, smiling when she realized she could touch him without mental overload. “I’ve never been able to touch anyone like this. Without hearing their thoughts. Feeling emotions.”
 

She realized she’d confessed to something he wasn’t prepared for when he froze. “Never?”
 

He didn’t sound pleased. He sounded angry and frustrated, but he wouldn’t release her when she tried to squirm away.
 

“You’re a virgin?” His voice held disbelief and surprise.
 

“Yes.” She rolled her eyes. “I just told you I’d never been able to touch anyone before.”
 

He glared at her, and this time he was disapproving. “You should be able to shield better than that.”
 

“I didn’t have anyone to teach me how, remember? Which doesn’t explain why it’s not happening with you,” she pointed out. “I can feel your emotions, but it’s like they’re muted. They don’t hurt. Why is that?”
 

His mood changed in an instant, and he smiled. “My mind is shielded. We'll teach you to do the same so I can’t enter your mind unless you let me and my emotions won’t overwhelm you.”