Viper Game

by Christine Feehan

"Look at me, baby. I want to see your eyes. I want you to look into mine." He waited there, cradling her close to his chest. When she finally complied, very reluctantly, he held her gaze captive with his. "I'm not goin' to hurt you, woman."

  She blinked back the tears that were suddenly swimming in her eyes, making the color more purple than black. The sight turned him soft inside.

  "You can't know that, Wyatt," she whispered. "You don't even trust me."

  He carried her through the house back to his bedroom. "I don' know you - yet. But I intend to, after all, you're the mother of my children. I think we owe it to them to get to know one another, don' you? We'll need to know each other so well that we'll be able to read each other's every move. We'll have to be that close. I don' think we have a choice."

  She leaned her head back against his shoulder, her eyes searching his. "Why? Why do you say that?"

  "We'll be the ones protectin' them from men like Whitney and Braden. Who else is goin' to do it? You know how dangerous and determined the men we're dealing with are. It will take both of us. Maybe others as well, but we'll do it." He injected absolute confidence into his voice.

  "Are you really going to help me take care of the children?"

  He deposited her gently back on the bed, carefully laying her down on his grandmother's homespun sheets. "Yes. I believe I'm their father and you're their mother. They trust you. If they see you interactin' with me, they'll accept me more readily. The only person I really worry about is Nonny. She's not so young anymore, and even if I were to manage to develop an antivenom, I would be afraid to use it on her."

  Pepper frowned. "There's something about Nonny I can't explain. It's a feeling I get when I'm close to her. I know Ginger feels it too. It's the same way we both feel when Ezekiel is close."

  Wyatt scowled at her, a dark shadow moving through him. "What the hell does that mean? Exactly how does Ezekiel make you feel?"

  "It isn't how he makes me feel. It's how he feels to both of us. He has this energy of sheer calm. It's very soothing and not a threat or a food source. I can't explain it any better than that." Pepper's gaze searched his face. "You don't have to be jealous, Wyatt. You give off that same soothing energy. Ginger would never have tried to bite you, but she thought you were a threat to me."

  "I am jealous, darlin'," he admitted. He wanted her to know how dangerous it would be with her tempting other men. "You need to get it into your head right now, that there isn' goin' to be any other man for you. You aren' goin' to be usin' your charms to seduce my friends or anyone else to get your way. You look to me if you've got an itch. I'll take care of you."

  "How lovely. How does that make you different from any of the others?"

  He swept back her hair, his hands framing her face. "I am different. I'm offerin' you a family. A man who will work a lifetime to make you happy. To make us work. I'll keep you happy in bed and out of it. But I'm no pushover. You're not goin' to be able to use sex to get your way."

  Her lashes fluttered, a sign, he was coming to know, that her temper was rising. "I do not use sex to get my way. Why do you think they threw me away?"

  Her voice, if anything, had gone softer. It found its way right under his skin and stroked his cock into a very hard demand.

  "I know they created me with the idea of seducing the enemy, getting close to him with seduction, but I didn't cooperate and I've never been remotely interested in a man." Until I came across you.

  He heard the words distinctly in his mind, only they weren't words, he actually caught her thought. She blinked, veiling her expression with long lashes.

  He frowned at her. He didn't know what he wanted from her, but she seemed absolutely guileless in that moment. He usually knew lies when he heard them, and Pepper sounded honest. Puzzled. Confused. Joy had never been honest with him. He'd left his home and gotten himself into a mess because he'd been wrapped up in thinking he loved a woman. That wasn't going to happen again. She wasn't going to run his life, that much he wasn't confused about.

  He stroked a finger down Pepper's face, feeling her soft skin beneath the pads of his finger. Sex with Pepper was bound to be off the charts. He could already taste the passion in his mouth.

  Pepper jerked her head away. "I'm sorry you caught that. It wasn't a green light. You did connect us in some way and I can read you just as easily as you do me. I'm not looking for anyone to be my children's father."

  Her voice sank into him. All heat. "I am their father, little darlin', whether you like it or not."

  "I meant you don't have to do this because you think you can seduce me. I don't want that from you. Just because I don't have a last name, and I'm a failure as a soldier, a seductress and an assassin doesn't mean I have such low self-esteem I'd take a man who loves another woman and thinks of me with such contempt. More than contempt. With suspicion. I have no intentions of seducing you. You're perfectly safe and so are your friends."

  He winced. He deserved every word she said. He wanted her attention centered on him, not looking at any other man, yet he didn't want to feel anything back for her, not real emotion, but it wasn't for the reasons she thought. He told himself it was her enhancements that drew him, that sexual lure she wove - except she didn't seem to be weaving it for him or anyone else. At least she claimed she wasn't and that meant some - or most - of it could be coming from him. She was the kind of woman a man didn't walk away from - ever. She would always have the upper hand whether or not she knew it - if he loved her. And he would love her if he let himself.

  "I'm not in love with her," he denied. "Where did you get that?"

  "No, you just feel you threw your entire life away for her and she got you into this mess. The children aren't your 'mess.' They're human beings, no matter what Braden or anyone else did to them. I don't want them anywhere near someone who feels they're a 'mess,' just a responsibility one has to clean up. They're children and they deserve a happy life."

  Her hot little temper made him want to smile. That wasn't a good idea when he was so close to her. He knew she could be lethal, and he didn't want to test her until he knew exactly what he was dealing with. He hid the grin. "I didn' mean the children."

  She shrugged and turned away from him, subsiding against the pillows. "I'm tired. I need to sleep."

  Dismissing him. "No way, sugar. That doesn' happen. We talk thin's out in my world. Pepper, you're not goin' to run off with these kids because you're angry with me. That would be sheer stupidity, and you're not stupid."

  "Maybe not, but I'd rather they feel loved than be with someone just hanging around because they feel they have to. That's not the way to raise a child."

  "You caught a small glimpse of my thoughts and you're condemin' me. That's not right. When I first came home, that first night, I stood lookin' at this house, Grand-mere's house, my home, and I knew then what a fool I'd been over Joy. And then, long before I knew about the children, I acknowledged I was in a mess. When I joined the program to be enhanced, it was for a psychic enhancement, not a genetic one. I received both. I was goin' to have to go to ma grand-mere and let her see what I was - what I'd become - and I was ashamed of myself for doin' such a stupid thing over a woman who didn' want me and worse, and more importantly - I didn't want her. I was never in love with her, only the childish illusion of rescuing her."

  "You mean like you're rescuing me?"

  Her long lashes fluttered. He could see the sweep of them, feathery and full, sending little shock waves through his stomach straight to his groin. Her profile was beautiful, a work of art, and he realized no man could have produced that even with heavy sculpting. She had a small white scar on her neck just below her ear, but her face was flawless, rose petal skin smoothed over perfect bone structure.

  Revelations were the very devil, and he didn't like where his mind, his brilliant mind, was taking him. All along, from the moment he'd laid eyes on her. Practically from the moment when he'd been aware on some level that the Rougarou in the swamp was really a woman. From t
he time he'd seen those small fingers curled around the hilt of a knife. The parlor floor had trembled under his feet and it had nothing at all to do with his temper and everything to do with this woman's impact on him.

  He wanted to believe Whitney had created her for him. He wanted that excuse. He wanted to blame her for the sexual lure he felt every time he was close to her. He thought about her all the time, and he'd tried to make her less than human so he could believe himself superior to her. He even wanted the excuse she just handed him - that he wanted to rescue her. Even if it were true, there was far more to it than that.

  Wyatt sank down onto the side of the bed, pushing one hand through his thick, wavy hair. He wanted to grab it and pull, to feel the shock of reality. "It's interestin' to me how humans manage to delude themselves into believin' the things they want to believe. You aren't tryin' to seduce me, Pepper. But I'm still bein' seduced. And no, I didn't want that. I wanted to believe I was madly in love with a woman who was heartless. But she's not. She just wanted somethin' different, somethin' that wasn't me. I realized I never loved her. I made up a fantasy and never saw who she was or what she needed."

  Pepper turned over, her dark eyes moving over his face.

  "She wanted out of the bayou, and I love it here. She wanted away from everythin' and everyone I call home. I wanted to blame her for what I'd done, but in the end, I have to face the fact that all along, ever since I saw my brother and the things he could do, I wanted that as well. I'm too much the scientist. My brain likes puzzles and answers. I did this. Not Joy. Me. Just as I'm the one attracted to you. Not the sexual enhancements, that's not the lure for me. It's just you."

  Her eyes changed, going from the deep purple to warm violet. He watched in amazement as the diamond-colored ring surrounding the dark color began to bleed into it, a strange, beautiful starburst that changed her eyes completely.

  "Maybe rescuin' you is part of the attraction, or maybe you're rescuin' me. Did you ever think of that? That you might be my savior?"

  She reached up with her bare, slender arm, her fingers curving around the nape of his neck one by one, and she slowly pulled him down toward her.

  Wyatt's breath rushed out of his lungs, leaving him burning for air. The ground shifted and the bed trembled. He could see every detail of her beautiful, perfect face. The long feathery sweep of her lashes, the strange starburst in her eyes that beckoned a man to fall into paradise. He knew the details of this moment would be branded for all time in his mind.

  Her skin, close up, was soft and flawless, a lure of satin, and her thick hair was luxurious silk. He wanted to pull her braid apart and bury his hands and face in the dark cloud. His gaze dropped to her lips. The soft curve, the formation, the fullness. His heart pounded nearly out of control.

  She brushed a kiss over his lips. A whisper, no more. There was nothing sexual in the gesture at all, yet it was the most intimate, sensual thing he'd ever experienced. His body reacted with a need and hunger bordering on primal. He felt that small whisper slide inside of him and take hold.

  He'd been with women and he'd kissed a lot of them. This was no kiss, yet he felt more than he'd ever felt in his life. A shiver of acute awareness crept down his spine. He wanted to gather her into his arms, strip her naked and spend hours tangled with her, sharing her body, skin to skin.

  Her arm slipped from his neck and she subsided on the pillow, as if the energy it took for the one small movement was too much. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Wyatt. Sometimes our brains are just as needy as the rest of us. Yours is just a little more so, but in the end, it's the intelligence the children got from you that's allowed them to stay alive this long. They understand danger and death. They know they can't bite even when they're teething and it hurts. So thank you. I wouldn't have them without you, and I love them. I want to take care of them. So, again, thank you."

  He sat back, away from her, away from that potent lure he couldn't seem to resist. He still felt her touch, as if the small gesture had been a stamp that had her name and branded her as his. His body hurt. Ached. Demanded. The blood pumped fast through his veins, a hot turbulent rush of pure need. It took great effort not to touch his mouth with his fingertips - or to get up and lock the door.

  "I'm not certain that was the best idea you've ever had," he said.

  Her moody gaze moved over his face. "I got that the moment my mouth touched yours."

  She had lit a match and he was on fire. Clearly she was too.

  "What the hell is going on between us?" Wyatt asked. "Do all men react like me?"

  She shook her head slowly. "I wasn't trying to seduce you. I have to try with the others. It isn't natural, I have to create the feelings in them, feed them. I don't feel anything as a rule. With you... it's different. Real. I don't know why and it's a little scary."

  He didn't trust what he didn't understand and he sure didn't understand the volatile chemistry between them. He would have leapt off the bed and put the distance of the room between them, but it was impossible to move at the moment.

  "I just want you to remember that I wanted to take Ginger and leave. From the beginning, I wanted away from here. You insisted I stay. I'm not part of some big conspiracy and neither are the babies."

  "Don' kid yourself, Pepper, you're definitely part of a conspiracy and so are the babies. The question is, are you a willin' participant?"

  "I'm tired and I hurt. I understand why you might think that way, given the circumstances, but I'm tired of trying to convince you."

  "Well, that's too damn bad, because when I go into that laboratory to get the children out, I won't be alone. Ezekiel and Malichai will be with me as well as a couple of others. I don' want to get my friends killed because you're doin' Whitney's biddin'."

  Pepper let her gaze drift over his face. He was beautiful. Perfectly beautiful. It was hard not to allow herself to be drawn to him. She'd always wanted to feel something for a man, just to know she could. Her body felt as if it was in a constant state of arousal. She'd been programmed that way and she couldn't seem to do much about it, but it was her body's doing, not some man. Until this one.

  She was shot, snake bit and in a terrible situation, but she craved him. If she closed her eyes, she could taste him. Feel him. Why? The question beat at her. She might take the chance if it was just her, but it was the babies as well. She wouldn't risk them. She just couldn't. This man was dangling his family in front of her. He was offering her a home, but he wanted a relationship with her that didn't include anything but a sexual one.

  She didn't want to be wanted for sex. She needed to know she was far more than an object, a body Wyatt wanted. It hurt more than she wanted to admit. Maybe if she wasn't so connected to him, if he hadn't opened some door between them, she could live with just sex for the sake of the children, but she saw into him. She saw what he was capable of giving and she wanted that for herself. If not with him, then with someone else...

  He paced across the floor, a restless, lethal jungle cat, his eyes smoldering with fire. She could actually see the cat in him, his eyes focused on her, angry, possessive.

  "Don'. Don' even think about being with another man. You aren' takin' those children from me. They're mine. I can protect them here. I can raise them here with a family that loves them. You throw another man into this mix, Pepper, and someone is goin' to get seriously hurt. You aren' goin' to win this one, so just accept that this is the best thing for everyone and we'll work out the problems."

  He was truly fascinating when he was angry. He looked powerful. Intimidating. Scary. Yet she didn't feel physically threatened. Wyatt wasn't a man who would ever harm a woman. She would have known that even if she hadn't been inside his mind.

  "You told me to trust you, Wyatt, but you don't trust me. You still think I'm some kind of bait to lure you into the laboratory for whatever reasons you think this Whitney has to get you there. Why do you even believe the other two girls exist? Why believe me at all?"

  His eyes didn't leave h
er face. She should have known better than to bring his entire attention on her when he was already focused on her. He saw too much. She didn't want charming, sexy Wyatt. She wanted the jerk. The man with an edge so she could keep pushing him away. She didn't dare believe in him. She'd never been able to believe in anyone but herself. She detested that she was so drawn to him that she could put aside life's lessons to believe him. He offered a dream. A fantasy. But it was hollow. Who knew what he really wanted? But it wasn't her.

  "Baby," he said softly, and her stomach rolled.

  She shook her head and tried to close her eyes against his allure.

  "I hurt you, didn' I? You misunderstand me. I'm not afraid of what part you might have in all of this. I've been in your head just like you've been in mine. I do believe Whitney is usin' you as bait, but for what, I have no idea. Of course I have to warn you, just in case you're a far better actress than I believe you are, because if you betray us, you'll end up dead, and that's the last thing I want."

  "How did I misunderstand you, Wyatt?" She kept the tears out of her voice with an effort. She wasn't about to show him more weakness than she already had. She could control tears when she wasn't under the influence of painkillers.

  There wasn't any misunderstanding. He still considered she might be part of a larger conspiracy theory. And yes that hurt, right after he said he wouldn't hurt her.

  Wyatt was silent so long she couldn't help but look at him. He took a breath and let it out. Shook his head. Raked his hands through his hair.

  "If we're bein' honest here, Pepper, lovin' you would be too easy. You'd become my world and wrap me around your little finger. You don' know what I'm like, but a woman like you, a man like me lovin' her, that could be paradise or sheer hell. I've got to figure out which before I put us in that position."

  The bottom dropped right out of her stomach. The heat between her legs increased tenfold. Her heart contracted. Wyatt forced himself to his feet and left the room. She didn't say anything at all.

  Chapter 8

  What had possessed him to tell her the truth? To confess his fear? And he hadn't even done a thorough job of it. What man wanted a woman who could become his world? To be tied up in knots? She had the potential to really crush him. Shatter him. Walk the hell all over him. Pepper was that kind of woman.