Tangled Redemption (12 page)

Sydney woke with a start. She sat up, careful not to disturb
the large body sleeping beside her. Miguel lay on his back mostly dressed, his
eyes closed. He was breathing deeply, but he did not look as if he were having
a peaceful rest. Part of her wanted to reach out and caress him. She was amazed
that he had allowed himself to be vulnerable in her presence, but for once she
managed to keep a clear head.

She leaned over without taking her eyes off him. He didn’t
move.

With gentle fingers she lifted the corner of his jacket and
a few quick checks confirmed his comp was in the pocket. Glancing between his
face and the pocket, she managed to withdraw the comp without waking him.

Sydney sank back onto her knees, worried about waking him.
Her fingers raced across the screen. She’d try reaching Duncan first. If she couldn’t
get through to him, she’d contact Malachy. There was little she could say about
where she was, but she could share what she knew.

She typed the command for a StarNet connection three times
but couldn’t get through. With a muttered curse she used every trick she knew
to circumvent the barricade he’d put up.

Nothing worked.

For a moment she didn’t see her hands and the comp but
herself, kneeling on the bed glaring at the screen as if that could make it
work.

He was awake.

Sydney looked up and met his gaze. His black eye held her
captive.

“I have added a type three aura lock,” said Miguel.

“Onto your comp?” She couldn’t believe he would go to that
much effort. The type three meant the comp had internally shut down as soon as
her Naema DNA touched the case. She’d never stood a chance.

“I am aware how skilled you are. I couldn’t risk you getting
through.”

Her shoulders slumped and the comp slid out of her hands.
She had been so sure she would get at least some of her data through. In a fit
of anger she picked up the comp and hurled it across the room. It slammed into
the wall and dropped to the floor.

Miguel raised his brows.

“How are you planning to punish me?” she asked.

He studied her for a moment. Her inability to remain in her
body meant she caught glimpses of how he saw her. She had always thought of
herself as average, but the sensations coming from him put her in a very
different category. The connection wasn’t stable enough for her to identify
very much, but he thought of her as beautiful and strong.

And worthy.

“I don’t.” His words dropped into the silence of the room
like stones.

Sydney gaped at him. “But I tried to circumvent your
security. I went against your orders.”

He rolled onto his side and came up on his elbow. “You are a
warrior. There is no way you’d pass up an opportunity like this and it would be
hypocritical of me to punish you for being who you are.”

Deep inside her something cracked. Her whole life she’d felt
like there was something wrong with her. She loved her parents and her three
older brothers, but they had never quite known what to do with her when she
wandered off and disappeared into her world of numbers. Her relationships
tended to be on the short side and usually broke once she stopped holding back
and allowed her gift to color her daily life. Marius hadn’t seemed to mind, had
appeared as if he found it cute and loveable.

Yeah, that hadn’t worked out as she had planned or hoped
for.

But Miguel’s admiration and calm acceptance filled parts of
her that had always been hollow and brittle. She had no idea how he could
believe in her or why his belief filled her like it did. But something inside
her didn’t care and pulled her away from her worries and concerns about what
she was doing. Chances were she would die very soon. She wanted no regrets.

Miguel sat up, his eyes never letting go of her, his
expression fierce and predatory.

Her core heated and her nipples hardened. He pulled her
close. His lips covered hers in a kiss that devastated her senses and turned
her world upside down. They came up for breath intermittently but continued to
sink deeper and deeper into their exchange.

He covered her, pushing her back onto the bed, the thin
sheet and his clothes between them. Sydney needed to feel him. She pushed and
tugged at his shirt until he shrugged out of it, barely halting their kiss.
They rolled until she was on top, the sheet tangled between them.

With a curse she tore it away and straddled him. He grabbed
her hips. The sensations of his touch ripped through her senses. Her hands
shook as she undid his trousers and freed him from his confinement.

He cupped her breasts, his thumbs drawing circles around her
nipples. Sensations raced through her. She tightened her grip around his cock.
They both moaned. He pulled her forward, forcing her to release him, and sucked
one nipple into the blazing heat of his mouth. He rolled his tongue over her
nipple, pushing her higher and higher.

Miguel moved over to her other breast. The cool air in the
room teased her wet nipple as he sucked and licked her other tip. Her center
had turned into a supernova and she didn’t have much time. With a groan she
pushed back from him and yanked his trousers down. He lifted his hips, giving
her the room she needed to free his dick completely.

Their gazes met. For a second she thought she captured an
agony so deep it took her breath away, but then it was gone. He lifted her
hips. She took the hint and clasped the base of his member and lined them up.

The whole time his deep black eyes held her captive.

Then he thrust up.

Part of her wanted to laugh with delight. She might be in
the more dominant position, but he had no plans to allow her to control their
encounter. He held her hips and plunged deep and hard, hitting her clit with
every move. Her pussy squeezed him in a tight grip, forcing him to put more
strength into his thrusts.

But Sydney didn’t laugh, because his lovemaking—and that was
what it was, no matter what she tried to tell herself—was no laughing matter.
The darkness, the shadows that lived inside him and always surrounded him now
extended to her. But she wasn’t afraid. Instead she savored this part he shared
with her, no matter what it was.

Miguel clasped her butt and rolled over, putting her beneath
him. He didn’t miss a beat, but continued his slow deep plunges. She wrapped
her legs around his waist. Pleasure coursed through every part of her body,
starting at the tips of her toes all the way to the ends of her fingers and
everything in between.

She wanted him to speed up, to catapult them into the abyss,
but he would have none of it.

The fire inside her reached another plateau. Breathing
became difficult and all that held her together were the black eyes that never
let go.

He leaned down and captured her breast. His tongue circled
the oversensitive peak, driving her higher and higher. He kissed his way up her
chest to her neck. Just when she thought she couldn’t stand it any longer he
bit the base of her neck. No fangs, but the sharp pain, unexpected, but oh so
powerful, launched her into her orgasm.

She clung to him, hung on so she wouldn’t break apart.
Moments later he followed her with a roar. He kissed her and for one insane,
ridiculous moment she closed her eyes, pushed everything aside and poured
herself into the kiss. Everything she was and everything she felt.

And he responded in kind. At least until he began to rebuild
his walls.

She kept her eyes closed, not wanting her stupid tears to
escape.

He nuzzled her chin, her neck, her ear, but bit by bit the
shining link between them dimmed again as he closed the door and shut her out.
She loosened her grip. Her arms and legs slid away. He turned to his back and
lay beside her. The few inches of space between them might as well have been
the galaxy.

Sydney gathered her composure and opened her eyes. The white
ceiling above her had fourteen individual spotlights. Each of them made up of
millions and millions of barillium spheres, bouncing off each other and
creating light. If she could get close enough she could—

She pinched herself. The pain helped her to come back to the
here and now. It wasn’t one she wanted to be in, but fate had not given her any
say in the matter. She cleared her throat. “What are we going to do?”

She kept her gaze trained on the spotlight, but even without
visual confirmation she felt him pull back. She knew his answer before he gave
it. “Nothing.”

Anguish roared through her and she mentally kicked herself.
So much for thinking he believed in and wanted her. “You sure that is the road
you want to go down, fine. Jayden mentioned that a lifemate is pretty special,
but obviously not for you.”

He climbed out of the bed and did up his trousers. “If we
both agree and allow the bond to manifest fully we will be connected. We would
not have any secrets from each other. You would see and know everything I have
done and I would do the same to you. Do you really want me in your head?”

She studied him. Would she want him to see all of her?
Unvarnished, with no way to hide?

“There is also the fact that if we take the bond and one of
us dies the other will follow.”

Her brows shot up.

He nodded. “Exactly.” He handed her another black uniform.
“Get dressed. I need to work and you could use a walk.”

The drastic change of subject, Jade, the subject itself made
her feel a little dizzy, so she took the clothes and hurried into the bathroom
to clean up and get dressed. In front of the mirror she touched the mark he had
left on her neck. Torn between agony and ecstasy she just stood there until he
called her name. She finished getting ready.

She overheard him contacting Jayden and telling him to meet
them in his office. Sydney slipped into her shoes and stood at attention.

This would be her first opportunity to see more of the compound,
to discover more about the layout. See if there was a way out. Not every comp
in the Jade-forsaken place would have a type three lock.

Miguel studied her and she knew he’d caught her last
thought, but he didn’t say anything.

She followed him out of the room and down the long corridor.
Everything looked the same. The walls, the floorboards, the ceiling tiles, the
doors. Nothing stood out to be used as landmarks. Windows were only very
intermittent and all showed the same lush and thick forest she already knew.
She’d counted her steps as she walked and converted that to distance to orient
herself. They walked up four flights of stairs.

Sydney was glad she was as fit as she was. He didn’t slow
down and never used the lift. She kept up with him. Finally they stopped in
front of yet another nondescript door.

Miguel swiped his fingers over a DNA scanner and leaned
forward for an iris scanner. “Miguel Calatrave,” he said.

“Voice print confirmed. Access granted,” the computer
replied.

That’s a lot of security,
she thought as they stepped
into the room.
What the Jade does he have in here?

I have access to a lot of confidential and highly
classified information.

A shiver went down her back as his deep voice shimmered
through her head. It was like a touch. She coughed and rubbed slightly moist
palms on her legs. “Then why would you bring me here?”

“Who are you going to tell?”

She pinched her lips at the reminder and worked on
strengthening her shields. As exciting as his voice in her head was she didn’t
want to give him unlimited access to her thoughts.

Anger flashed in his black eyes.

That was the second time she caught him having an emotional
reaction. Either she had gotten better at reading him or he had gotten worse at
controlling his feelings. She wasn’t certain which option she preferred.

She looked around the room. It had the same Spartan décor as
his bedroom, but his electronics were a comp geek’s wet dream. In the center of
the room the ceiling curved into a dome shape.

Before she could ask why, a three-tone chime sounded.

Miguel checked a screen showing Jayden and flipped a switch.
The door slid open and Jayden strode into the room followed by a tray filled
with food. A smile lit up his face as he met Sydney’s gaze. He blew her a kiss
and kicked the wall with the tip of his foot. It formed the shape of a table.
He set down the tray and pulled her into his arms. “Hello, gorgeous. Did you
sleep well?” His eyes heated when he noticed the mark Miguel had left on her
neck. “Or should I ask if you had fun?”

Something inside her relaxed at his response. She saw no
anger or disappointment in his eyes, only genuine interest. She laid her
concerns completely to rest when he kissed her. She sank into his touch and
allowed it to fill her up. Heat spread through her. He pulled back and smiled
at her. “This is a welcome I can get used to.”

She couldn’t stop herself from returning his smile. She
cupped his cheek and pressed a quick kiss against his lips. “Thank you for the
food. I just realized how starved I am.”

He tapped the wall again until it created a chair to go with
the table. She sat and lifted the lids off the plates. Steam and delicious
scents of spices filled the air. She hummed with delight and picked up the
utensils.

Jayden leaned down and kissed the top of her head before
turning to Miguel, who’d watched their exchange without comment. “What’s the
plan?”

The other Vampire flicked another switch and the light in
the room dimmed. A holographic projection of a star system appeared in the
domed part of the ceiling.

That explains it,
she thought.

Sydney worked through the constellations and searched for
identifiers. She only recognized one planet at the edge of the holo image and
extrapolated from there. The small moon at the center of the image belonged to
a system halfway between the core planets and the outer planets. But was that
the planet she was on?