Marie Harte - Hale

“I know.” McKinley stared hard at the large man placing himself at risk, wondering how he knew so much. “Give me a way to contact you.” Hawkins rattled off a number. “Now hurry the fuck up. My beast doesn't like this.” McKinley watched a ripple snake under Hawkin's forearms. “It's going against instinct to wait for an attack.”

“I owe you.”

At the words, Hawkins relaxed slightly, and McKinley struck. As one hundred and thirty-three milliamps of power surged through Hawkins's body, he automatically changed into a beast that nearly rivaled McKinley for sheer size. McKinley kept the stunner glued to Hawkins long enough to kill a normal human being, but just enough to knock the rogue out cold.

“I'll be back when I can,” he murmured and raced toward the stairwell, his mission now more vital than ever. Paige was counting on him. Hawkins was counting on him. And McKinley, dammit, refused to allow any more injustice to continue. The time had finally come. Now, to put the rest of the pieces into play to exact his revenge and complete his mission…

Paige couldn't stop staring at Hale as they drove to wherever it was he'd decided to take her. Never in her life had she felt so content. Even enfolded in Robbie's arms, she'd always been aware of something missing.

Incredible sex, maybe? She flushed and turned away before Hale could see her embarrassment. She didn't need to apologize for her weird sex drive, one that flared every month in bursts that made it hard to think about anything but an orgasm. The stretches of lust would build, hit her hard for a day or so, then leave as quickly. Robbie called them mating heats, but he wouldn't say much more than that it was a normal-enough occurrence for people like them. She hadn't anticipated another mating heat until next month.

It had to be Hale Rogers. She could feel him looking at her but kept her eyes riveted on the rural area outside as they passed several green fields and farms, bathed in the glow of her night vision. The area seemed tranquil, as opposed to the tension in the vehicle's confines. Confusion, desire, and curiosity made her want to lash out with anger. She hadn't been this torn since the one and only time Robbie had gently refused to be more than her friend.

Ironic that Hale Rogers, a man she'd just met, was now way more than a mere “friend.” Paige wanted to make clear to him that she was choosy about her lovers, despite their recent interlude. But a stubborn part of her denied she owed Hale an explanation. Like most of the other men in her life, with the exception of Robbie and that bastard who'd fathered her, Hale was nothing more than a sexual conquest.

Whenever Paige had an “urge,” she sated herself with male companionship that meant nothing. It often took her several orgasms to reach a state of rest, and even then, she still ached for something more.

“When a woman's quiet this long, it means trouble,” Hale rumbled.

God, even his voice was sexy.

“I should apologize for jumping you,” he continued. “But I don't want to. I want to do what we did again. Several times.”

She bit her lip, wanting the same thing. “I couldn't help myself,” she grudgingly admitted. “It doesn't mean anything.” Then why did she care what he thought about what they'd done?

“It does to me,” he growled.

She glanced at him, alarmed to see his eyes a bright, vibrant green, the pupils slitted—inhuman—before he turned back to the road.

“Sweetheart, I've been through a lot of mating heats. What we just did was something a helluva lot more. But if it makes you feel better to treat it like scratching an itch, consider me your permanent scratching post.” Her inner beast thrilled at his challenge, but the sane pragmatist that had survived so many years under Elliot Pearl's indomitable will argued. “What about Robbie?” she taunted, wondering why she did so. Hell, she'd been dreaming about Hale on and off for months. Now she'd finally had him, and he was so much more than she'd expected.

Why couldn't she just shut up and revel in their shared closeness, even if it was just physical?

“McKinley can kiss my ass.” Hale shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. “Why do you call him Robbie?”

“That's his name.”

“Robert McKinley?”

“I guess. I've always called him Robbie. My Robbie.” Her heart beat faster at the thought of him. But Hale's presence aroused her just as much. A puzzle, but one she had no intention of trying to solve at this point. She needed to concentrate on surviving, one day at a time.

“Your Robbie.” He snorted. “He's been working for Elliot Pearl, that pr—” As if remembering to whom he spoke, he broke off midsentence. “Let's just say there's a lot about your boyfriend I don't think you know. Or do you agree with everything your father's ordered done to you and the poor mutants slowly dying from the inside out?” She glared at him. “I hate Elliot Pearl. He's no father of mine in any sense but the biological. I can't help genetics.”

He paused. “You got me there. But you can choose who you spend your time with.

Robbie's a poor choice, if you ask me.”

“I didn't ask you.” She fumed. It figured she'd have the best sex of her life with a man she couldn't stand as soon as he started talking. “Where are we going?” He looked relieved at the change of subject. “Ah, I thought I'd take you to the compound. It's a little over thirty acres of private land. There's a main house, a few smaller homes for the others, a gym, a garage, and a few odds and ends for Circs. You'll like it.” He must have seen the panic on her face because he gentled his voice. “You'll be safe there, Paige. I swear it.”

She didn't know why she should trust him. She didn't like the way he talked about Robbie. But he hadn't hurt her so far. Her beast liked him, and since it had kept her alive this long, she surrendered to instinct. “Fine. But I'm only staying long enough to get the PPA off my tail. An hour or two at most.”

“Well, that should be just enough time to introduce you to Doc.” She started at mention of Doc. Evan Dennis. Her uncle . She'd overheard Elliot mention him once or twice. Not with hostility, but with respect, which she'd found surprising. Her father didn't hold anyone but himself in high esteem. He certainly hadn't seen her as anything more than a means to further his research. No hugs or kisses, no tender words. Cold hard questions, physical tests, and needle upon needle upon needle. Elliot Pearl had never qualified for Father of the Year. She wondered how Evan Dennis compared.

“Paige?” Hale asked quietly.

She sighed. “Just drive.”

They finished the trip in silence, her anxiety growing as they neared the compound. Though she'd spent years avoiding Pearson Labs before her inevitable time there, she kept abreast of her father's doings, unbeknownst to him. She knew Circe's Recruits had no love for her father or Project Dawn. But she didn't know how extreme the group was in regard to managing their own Circs. Robbie wouldn't tell her much.

He thought that by keeping her away from other Circs, he was helping her.

And perhaps he had the right of it, because she hadn't been this unnerved in a long time. Even her brush with the mutants in her house hadn't worried her as much as a meeting with her uncle did.

Yet by the time they pulled into a driveway, Paige could barely keep her eyes open. She knew she should be more anxious, but her body refused to acknowledge the tumult inside her. It was as if she'd simply shut down. She didn't stir when Hale opened the garage, nor did she move when he pulled in and finally stopped the car.

Paige felt his hand on her head, his fingers sliding through her hair, stroking with a gentleness that soothed her.