by Paige Tyler
Shit. Here it comes. “Okay.”
Jayson braced himself, waiting for her to politely kick his ass to the curb, but she just stared down at her half-eaten sandwich.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I know what you’re going to say.”
She lifted her head to look at him, her dark eyes filled with confusion. “You do?”
“Yeah. And I get it.” Man, did he ever. “I knew we were heading here for weeks, and I don’t blame you.”
She frowned. “What the heck are you talking about?”
Now it was his turn to be confused. “You’re here to tell me you’re breaking up with me, right?” he asked.
Her eyes widened, then narrowed in irritation. Now not only was she going to dump him, but she was pissed at him, too. Fucking great.
“Are you stupid?” she demanded. “I’m not here to break up with you! Do you think I would come to your apartment and have a ham and cheese sandwich, then break up with you?”
Apparently, Layla wasn’t here to dump his ass. He had to admit, part of him was relieved. The other part was confused.
“Okay. So if you’re not here to break up with me, why did you drive all the way up here during your lunch break?”
“I came here to tell you something that would get me in a load of trouble if anyone ever found out,” she snapped. “It might even send me to prison.”
“Layla, if this is secret info, you shouldn’t tell me,” he said.
When she didn’t say anything, Jayson suddenly had a horrible vision of her stumbling across deep, dark government secrets that involved assassins, political cover-ups, and unauthorized covert operations.
“I know I shouldn’t be telling you,” she said. “But I spent all morning talking to Ivy and came to realize that we let a secret come close to destroying our relationship. I almost lost my sister over something she refused to share with me, and I don’t want that happening to us. I want to be a part of your life, and that won’t happen if you find out I’ve been lying to you the whole time. And at some point, you’d figure it out.”
“Figure what out?” God, he was so frigging confused. He felt like he needed a translation guide for this conversation.
Layla didn’t seem to notice the fact that he was drowning, though. “That I’m not exactly what you think I am.”
Could she be any more cryptic?
“I don’t really work for the Department of Homeland Security,” she said softly. “I work for an organization called the Department of Covert Operations, or DCO for short. It’s buried so deep inside the bureaucracy of the DHS that they don’t even know we exist.”
Jayson almost laughed. “That’s your big secret? That you work for a secret organization within the U.S. government? If it is, that’s not really a secret. There are probably dozens of organizations in the United States like that. And it certainly isn’t going to come between us.”
“No, that’s not my big secret,” she said. “The secret part is about how the DCO operates. They field teams of trained operatives from military, law enforcement, and covert backgrounds with those who possess…special abilities.”
“Okay,” he said slowly.
“Maybe it would be best if I just show you,” she said. “But you have to promise to not freak out—or hate me.”
He scowled at her. “Now who’s being stupid? You know I could never hate you. And I’m former Special Forces. I don’t freak out.”
Layla gave him a small smile that was a little bit sad but didn’t say anything. After a moment, she shook her head, then picked up their plates and carried them over to the sink.
“This isn’t as easy as I thought.”
Jayson stood and followed after her. Luckily the kitchen was small, so he didn’t have to go far.
He gently put his hand on her arm and turned her to face him. “Hey. Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
Layla didn’t smile this time. “Just remember you said that.”
She took a deep breath, then slowly held up her hands, palms facing her. As he watched, her oval-shaped nails extended and turned into claws that had to be an inch and a half long. If that wasn’t crazy enough, her eyes became a vivid green, and the tips of two really sharp fangs poked over her lower lip.
Jayson tried not to freak, he really did, but he failed. He took a step back so fast he had to grab the counter to keep from falling on his ass. A split second later, the claws, fangs, and green eyes were gone, and he had a hard time believing he hadn’t imagined them.
“What did I just see?” he asked.
Her eyes filled with tears. “I was right. You’re disgusted, aren’t you?”
“No, I’m not!”
Shit. He told her he wouldn’t freak out. Layla looked so scared and vulnerable right then that it made his chest hurt. He pulled her into his arm, hugging her close.
“Layla, you didn’t disgust me. You could never do that—even if you sprouted horns and a tail.” He pressed a kiss to her silky hair. “I’m just not sure of what I saw, that’s all.”
Layla nodded against his chest. Then she told him that she was a shifter—a genetic mutation of a normal human who possessed certain animal traits. It sounded too insane to be real, but he’d seen the claws and fangs, not to mention the brilliant-green eyes, so she wasn’t making it up.
“Are the physical changes I saw the sum total of what you do when you shift, or are there other things that make you different?” he asked.
She didn’t answer right away. “I can run faster and farther, and jump higher than a normal person. My senses are keener, too. I can smell, see, and hear better.”
Wow. “Are there others like you?”
She hesitated. “That’s not something I can talk about because that would lead to secrets that aren’t mine to tell.”
He could understand that.
Layla bit her lip. “I know that finding out that I’m a shifter is a lot to take in, and that it might take a while to wrap your head around it, but I couldn’t keep it from you any longer. I could feel us drifting apart lately, and I know it was because I was hiding things from you. Maybe you don’t even realize you’re doing it, but I can see you tune out sometimes when we talk. I think you were subconsciously picking up on the fact that I was keeping this huge secret from you.” She sighed. “I want you to know the real me, even if that means you walk away from me because of it. That’s better than letting us fall apart slowly—or having you hate me when you stumbled over my secret on your own.”
Damn. He hadn’t realized he’d been tuning out during some of their conversations, but if he had, it sure as hell wasn’t because of anything Layla did. It was because he was a worthless piece of handicapped crap who didn’t deserve her and wasn’t man enough to let her go.
He opened his mouth to tell Layla that when she leaned forward and kissed him…then kissed him some more. He kissed her back, forgetting all about the fangs he’d seen earlier. She was the same Layla he’d been half in love with since they’d met.
Layla pulled away with a rueful smile. “I’m sorry to spring all this on you and then bail, but I really do have to get back to work. I have another session right after lunch. We can talk about this later as much as you want. Or if you decide you don’t want to have anything else to do with me, I get it. Just text me, and I won’t bother you again. I only hope you’ll keep my secret if for no other reason than I’m asking you to.”
She gave him a quick kiss, then picked up her purse from where she’d left it on the couch and practically ran for the door. It took a little work on his part, but he caught up and grabbed her hand. Then he turned her to face him and kissed her again—like he meant it.
He rested his forehead against hers. “Thank you for telling me. I know how hard it was for you. Nobody will ever hear about your secret from me. That’s a promise.”
She nodded, her eyes shimmering with tears. She turned to open the door, but he stopped her again.
“You want to come over tonight? I coul
d order pizza,” he added.
Layla smiled, the tension visibly fading. “I’d like that.”
After she left, Jayson wandered into the living room and collapsed on the couch. Damn, he’d had a hard enough time trying to see how a relationship with Layla could work when he’d thought she was this amazing woman with beautiful eyes, silky hair, and a body that wouldn’t quit. Now that he knew she was some kind of superhero, he didn’t see how they had a chance in hell of making it.
Chapter 10
Angelo cringed as he watched Minka wave the knife she was using to dice the tomatoes for the fajitas. She was going to cut off a finger. She’d been bouncing off the walls since he’d met up with her at Layla’s office a few hours ago; she couldn’t stop talking about how well things had gone with Ivy and Tanner. The only time she’d slowed down was when they’d taken a detour to the grocery store on the way to the apartment, and that was only because she’d never been in a store with so much food before.
“I couldn’t believe it when Tanner showed me how to put the beast behind a door and keep it locked away,” she said excitedly as she reached for another tomato. “I was even more amazed when he showed me how to open the door a little so I could get my claws to come out. I can’t imagine why I’d ever want them to come out, of course, but it was very impressive anyway. Oh, and did I tell you that I’m part cat? That’s why I have curved claws.”
Angelo held one hand above the grill to see how hot it was while stirring the peppers and onions with the other, then gave her a quick look. “Part cat, huh?”
He had to really force himself to pay attention to the vegetables he was sautéing, or he was going to burn them. The secret to good Mexican food was the right blend of peppers, spices, and patience. But right now, Minka was being damn distracting—especially dressed in the long boho-print skirt and tank top Layla had given her to wear. What man could think of cooking when he had such a gorgeous woman in front of him?
“Ivy is a feline shifter, and I have her DNA in me, so that means I am part cat, too,” Minka said.
Angelo already knew that Ivy was a feline shifter but didn’t mention it. Not that Minka gave him the chance anyway. She was telling him again how she’d learned to make her claws extend and retract. She’d already told him at lunch, but he didn’t mind hearing it again. He was thrilled she was learning how to control her hybrid side. He hated the idea of leaving her, but at some point, he’d have to, and he’d feel a lot better doing so knowing she could keep the beast at bay.
But then Minka told him that Tanner and Ivy had encouraged her to use him as an anchor to help her stay in control. It was merely another reminder that no matter how many tricks Minka learned, she still depended on him. She had a much longer road in front of her than she imagined, and he was afraid he’d have to leave before she even got started.
“Did your mother teach you how to cook like this?” Minka asked from beside him, watching him work the grill to get the meat perfectly cooked.
“Nah. My dad grew up in Mexico before moving to Texas and becoming a U.S. citizen. He taught me everything I know about making Mexican food. He still makes it ten times better than I ever will.”
After everything was cooked, he and Minka brought it over to the table; then, Angelo showed her how to put together a fajita.
“Careful,” he warned. “It’s going to be hot. And spicy.”
Minka piled on the ingredients and took a big bite as if he hadn’t spoken. Angelo held his breath, waiting for her to reach for her glass of water. But instead, she groaned. “This is so good. I could eat this every night.”
Angelo chuckled and bit into his own fajita, feeling absurdly happy that she liked the meal he’d made. It was crazy really, especially after spending the past fourteen years becoming an expert at keeping the women he got involved with at arm’s length. But that strategy wasn’t working with Minka. She was slipping her way inside his defenses faster than he would have ever believed possible. He was falling for her—hard.
He’d said as much to Landon when his friend had shown him around the DCO training complex earlier that afternoon. “One second, she’s sweet and innocent. The next, she’s smoking hot and more sensual than any woman I’ve ever met. No matter how many times I tell myself not to fall for her, I keep doing it.”
Landon chuckled. “Man, who ever said you have a say in anything when it comes to who you fall for? Trust me, one day, you wake up, and bam, you’re so in love you can barely remember your own name. And when that happens? You just hang on tight and go with it.”
His former commander made it sound so easy—and maybe it was simple for Landon and Ivy, despite having to hide their relationship. But Angelo had a job to go back to that didn’t leave room for Minka.
“So what did you and Landon do this afternoon?” Minka asked, her soft voice dragging him back to the present.
Angelo looked up to see that Minka had already polished off two fajitas. Damn, the girl could eat. “Landon gave me a tour of the DCO complex. I did some target shooting and blew up a few things. He even let me play with the expensive surveillance toys. I swear, it felt more like a recruiting pitch to get me to work there than anything.”
Minka’s eyes flashed green, her full lips curving slightly. Damn, why the hell had he said it like that? Now she probably thought he was going to come work for the DCO. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t, not after just reenlisting for another five years. The army wasn’t the kind of job where you could walk into the boss’s office and say, “I quit.”
Thinking it would be a good idea to steer the conversation back to safer ground, he reached for another fajita and asked Minka a question instead. “What do you think you’ll work on next with Ivy and Tanner? You going to practice with the claws for a while or move on to something else?”
Angelo felt a little crappy about changing the subject, but if Minka noticed, she didn’t seem to mind. And it wasn’t like he had to fake interest in what she was saying. Anything that involved Minka was important to him. Besides, he didn’t know much about shifters or hybrids, so the whole thing was pretty damn fascinating.
“What do you visualize when you see the beast in your mind?” he asked.
“Before today, I thought of it as a giant, blurry monster. But after learning that the beast is a cat, that’s how I picture it now.” She smiled. “Not a little house cat, of course. They aren’t scary enough. More like a big cat that roams the mountains.”
“Makes sense,” he said.
Minka set the other half of her fourth fajita on her plate and gave him a curious look. “Would you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
His mouth twitched as he prepared another fajita. He wasn’t used to Minka being so reserved. She usually said whatever was on her mind, regardless of whether it was personal or not.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“The first time we met, I had claws, fangs, glowing red eyes, and I tried to kill you. Since then, I’ve spent most of the time telling you about an imaginary creature that lives inside my head and makes me act like a monster. How are you so calm about that? Most people would have run away already.”
Angelo chuckled. Not exactly the personal question he’d expected, but then again Minka rarely did the expected.
“Well, my mom was full-blooded Cherokee, and I grew up around all kinds of Indian folktales and legends. My dad was in the army, and whenever he was deployed, Mom would take my sisters and me back to the reservation where she grew up in Oklahoma. I’d stay up half the night listening to the old men tell stories about shape-shifters, animal spirits, skin-walkers, and trickster spirits.” He grinned. “I’m not saying I necessarily believed in all that stuff back then, but after meeting Ivy, Tanner, and the other shifters at the DCO, it just didn’t faze me that much.”
Minka looked at him with wide eyes. “You’re a real American Indian? Like in the movies? With horses and everything?”
He laughed again. The expression of wonder on her face was
adorable. “First, I’m only half-Indian. My dad is Mexican, so there’s that. And second, Native Americans are almost nothing like you see in the movies. We don’t all live in tepees and ride horses. In fact, I don’t even own a horse.”
Minka was a little disappointed about the no-horse thing, but she was fascinated with what it was like growing up on an Indian reservation and being surrounded by all those legends. She immediately asked him to tell her some Indian stories. It had been a long time since he’d thought about them, but to make her happy, he dug through his head and tried to remember every tale he’d heard as a kid.
He was halfway through a story about a Cherokee man who could turn into a bear when he realized they’d demolished the entire tray of fajitas. He finished telling the tale as they cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. Then, Minka cuddled up close to him on the couch while he told her some more stories. Sometimes, she mentioned a similar myth or legend from her culture, but mostly she listened to him talk. He sure as hell didn’t mind. He hadn’t had so much fun talking to a woman ever.
Angelo didn’t intend for the cuddling to go anywhere, but Minka was sitting there with one leg casually draped across his lap, and his hand found its way onto her thigh. He couldn’t help himself. She’d been wearing a skirt when he’d found her in Tajikistan, but he hadn’t exactly been focusing on her body at the time—he’d been more worried about the claws and fangs. Since then, she’d worn yoga pants. Even though they showed off the fact that Minka had nice legs, they simply didn’t do them the same justice as the skirt she now wore.
Because Minka didn’t just have nice legs—she had amazing legs. Long, toned, and touchable. It didn’t hurt that, with her leg across his lap, the skirt slid up to show off more than half her thigh. He didn’t even realize he was gliding his fingers up and down her leg until he heard her purr in the middle of a story about the redbird. It had to be the sexiest thing he’d ever heard.
He told himself to cool it, that it was crazy to let this go any further, but when Minka reached up and tugged his face down for a kiss, he didn’t try to stop her. And as the kiss deepened and the taste of her lips overpowered his senses, he knew the night wasn’t going to end with a make-out session on the couch.