Noble Sensations

by Peyton Elizabeth

  Clarissa was glad they finally shut up. When Ace and Kalen didn’t say anything for a few seconds, worry started to wiggle its way in. They were looking at her funny, and Ace started a string of curse words she’d only ever heard from a security guard at the old facility she used to work at. Kalen still hadn’t said anything, but at least he moved. Slowly, he reached out to take the phone from her.

  “Clarissa, how long have you had this?” Kalen asked quietly, holding her cellphone like it was a snake about to strike. Turning it over, he started to take the battery cover off. Clarissa went to grab it from his hands when Kalen pulled it away. “Didn’t Senator Brock tell you to only contact him by a payphone?”

  “Yes, but I thought that was because he was worried about my number showing up on his phone,” Clarissa answered, getting very upset that he was trying to dismantle her phone. “What are you doing? Why are you—”

  Glass shattered at the same time that the lights went out. Darkness descended, and before Clarissa could scream, Ace was behind her with his hand over her mouth. Somewhere in the back of her mind, it registered that he smelled like cedar, her favorite wood. Not able to take the time and enjoy the scent, Ace picked her up around the waist and carried her into the corner of the room, where long burgundy curtains fell to the floor covering a window that was still intact. Falling to his knees, Ace brought her to the floor and tucked her behind the covering. By the time he was finished arranging her, she was sitting on her butt with her arms wrapped around her knees. Ace whispered, “Not a word. Be as quiet as you can. Your cell phone has a GPS. It led them straight to us.”

  “But—”

  “Ace, I’m taking the back,” Kalen whispered, his voice fading as he left the room. “Try not to kill anyone this time, huh?”

  “I’m sorry to have to do this to you, but it’s for your own good,” Ace said, before dropping the drapery and leaving her in a shaky huddle.

  Instinct kicked in, and Clarissa went to reach for the material to see what was happening, when it hit her what he said. And exactly what he meant. She couldn’t move. Her arms were locked around her legs, and no matter what signal she sent to her brain, nothing moved. Why, that no-good tattooed swine, she thought. He had used his power to make sure she couldn’t leave this spot. Anger suffused her body, and she tried with all her might to move her muscles. Nothing happened.

  Clarissa could only concentrate on the sounds around her and realized Ace must have followed after Kalen, leaving her alone in the dark. Not being able to move was a horrifying feeling. At least she was able to move her eyes, and she wondered exactly how his power worked. She could breathe, so that meant her lungs weren’t affected. Clarissa made a mental note to ask why certain muscles could work and others couldn’t. She would ask after she calmed down, because she didn’t think she’d ever been as angry as she was now.

  Ace had no right to immobilize her when there was a chance someone could find her. Letting her sit here, hearing every little sound, was not good for someone with her anxiety. Granted, it was her fault she had led the killers straight to their safe house, but it never occurred to her that that was how they were tracking her. Clarissa wondered if her battery dying for a few days had shut off the GPS, because those were the only days when she had been able to stay in one hotel. So it would stand to reason that when her phone was off, she had been safe from being found. And the minute she had recharged her phone, she made herself a sitting duck.

  A light swish filled her ears, and if Clarissa could have tensed her body, she would have. She moved her eyes to where she heard the noise, but the curtain prevented her from seeing anything. The sound was inching closer, and Clarissa tried to move her hands again. Nothing happened. She felt, more than heard, the person on the other side of the fabric. Clarissa squeezed her eyes tight, but immediately opened them, unable to prevent herself from seeing what was about to happen. In a flash, the material was yanked away.

  Without thinking about it, Clarissa kicked out and her sneaker connected with her attacker’s knee. She could move! Scrambling, she got up on her knees and would have crawled away had the hand on her sweatshirt not thwarted her escape.

  “Son of a bitch,” Ace muttered, jerking her up to her feet. “What did you do that for?”

  Clarissa only comprehended she was able to move because Ace had released her from…whatever it was he had done to her. Not really distinguishing the fact that it was Ace speaking, her adrenaline kicked in. Hauling her fist back, Clarissa sent it flying and instantly felt pain when her knuckles connected with a jaw.

  Holy crap! She had just punched Ace.

  “Jagger is sending in another team for cleanup. We need to head out now,” Kalen announced, walking into the living room with his shirt torn. “What the hell is going on here?”

  Clarissa knew he saw Ace holding his jaw and her holding her hand, but she couldn’t tear her eyes off of his body. The moon gave off enough light for Clarissa to see Kalen’s chest, taking her mind away from the agony in her hand. The buttons had popped on his shirt, leaving it open and nothing to the imagination. She had no idea men could actually look like that without being photoshopped.

  “She hit me!” Ace thundered, rubbing his jaw. “Jesus Christ, woman! We’re here to protect you, and if I need to make sure your ass stays put, I will.”

  “I don’t think she’s mad anymore,” Kalen informed Ace, his smirk snapping her to attention. Her face flushed. She kept forgetting that he was a Feeler. Kalen could sense whatever emotion she was feeling, and with the dribble of cream coating her…vagina, arousal turned to humiliation in an instant. Clarissa couldn’t bring herself to say the P word, even though she knew that’s what men said, at least according to the magazines. She made another mental note to look up “immediate stimulation” on the Internet to see if this was normal.

  “Stop that!” Clarissa admonished him, her anger bubbling over at both of them. Turning to Ace, she let her annoyance out. “You immobilized me! Don’t ever do that again, do you hear me? What if you two had been killed and I was sitting there like a duck in open water, huh? It would have been a disaster if they had gotten their hands on—”

  Clarissa stopped her tirade. She almost told them what she had on the memory disk. The reminder made her look around for her red bag. Even though the moonlight streamed in from the windows, it wasn’t enough light to see into the kitchen. She had left it on the counter. Leaving Ace rubbing his jaw and Kalen still smirking, Clarissa pushed past both of them and almost ran to the kitchen.

  “It is safe in here, right?” Clarissa asked as she frantically searched the counters. She couldn’t find it anywhere.

  “Yes, there was only one and he’s dead.”

  Turning around, Clarissa smacked her face directly into Kalen’s chest. His arms came around to steady her, and her hands came up to lay flat against his skin. He was so warm and smooth, Clarissa ran her hands over his tanned flesh to see if he was that soft everywhere. Did he just say dead?

  “Dead? As in, you killed him?” Clarissa looked up, seeking an answer. Even after having lived the last few weeks knowing someone was trying to kill her, it never seemed real. Now he was telling her someone had died. Her stomach sank, and she was glad she was leaning against Kalen. His warmth kept the cold from seeping in.

  “I had no choice. Your safety comes first, and Ace didn’t have time to use his ability.”

  Clarissa should have asked why, but she really didn’t want to know the answer. Kalen pulled her closer, giving her comfort. Of course, he would know she needed it. For some reason, knowing that he felt her emotions didn’t freak her out like she imagined it would. Well, except for when her body got excited by their touches. And being this close to him, having her cheek resting against his warm skin, seemed to be doing just that.

  “I thought you told Ace not to kill anyone,” Clarissa whispered, not sure how to react to this intimacy.

  “He’s usually the one to overreact in these types of situations. I try
to avert any violence, if I can.”

  “Oh.” Clarissa was still struggling not to get closer to him, fighting the urge to have his skin next to hers.

  “As much as I would love to continue this, sweetheart, we really need to leave,” Kalen drawled, a little bit of his Pacific Northwestern accent coming through. Or maybe it was a Midwestern accent. Clarissa peeked up at him and wondered if he kissed as good as Ace. She slid her hands up and around his neck. Wait. She had kissed Ace. She couldn’t kiss Kalen. She needed to find her purse.

  Giving Kalen a shove, Clarissa wagged a finger in his face. “I want to go on record that I do not kiss random men. Generally, I don’t kiss any man, and Ace kissed me. Not the other way around. Now, help me find my purse. We can’t leave without it.”

  Clarissa spun around and went around the other side of the kitchen island, only to find Ace standing there holding her bag. “This is the second time in three hours that someone has tried to kill you. Whatever you have in here,” Ace said, lifting her bag in gesture, “cannot be more important than your life. So, as soon as we get to a secure location, without a GPS shadowing our every move, you’re going to sit down and tell us exactly what information you have. I’ve had it with your evading our questions.”

  “Jagger’s convinced it’s someone with connections to the old facility upstate that used to keep Nobles captive,” Kalen informed, walking up behind her. “They were used to do scientific research regarding our abilities. He’s pulling your work records now to see if anyone is linked to you. Maybe you used to work with someone who was associated with the Fray. Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.”

  Clarissa hoped they didn’t notice her face loose color at the mention of the government compound she used to work at. If either one of them knew she was one of those scientists they mentioned, Clarissa feared they would leave her unprotected. There couldn’t be a worse time for Jagger Malone to make the connection.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Clarissa offered, taking her purse from Ace’s hands. “You set up my equipment, wherever we’re going, and give me twenty-four uninterrupted hours. Then, I will tell you everything you want to know.”

  One day was all she needed to see if what she had in her custody was really a true discovery. It would change the way Nobles lived. Once she verified the data, Clarissa would hand over the information to Jagger and wash her hands of a brilliant finding. She just hoped that Ace and Kalen would forgive her when they found out who she really was.

  Chapter Three

  “Why a hotel room?” Clarissa asked, nervously glancing at the two beds that occupied the space. The blue comforters and white sheets looked slightly comfortable, but Clarissa was relatively sure she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight anyway. And that had nothing to do with the mattresses. It wasn’t too bad, by hotel standards, but couldn’t they have gone to another safe house? She had been the first one to enter the room and had originally thought it was rather spacious. Then Ace and Kalen entered, making the room shrink by a fair margin.

  Clarissa addressed her question to Ace, who was already sitting down at the small table by the window, glancing at the room service menu. Kalen was over by the door, talking in a hushed tone on the phone to who she guessed was Jagger. Clarissa hoped Jagger hadn’t gotten back any information on her quite yet. She really needed those twenty-four hours first before they felt she was a traitor to the Noble race. Seeing how Kalen wasn’t looking as if he wanted to kill her yet, Clarissa focused her attention back to Ace.

  “Seriously, why couldn’t we have gone to another house? I don’t have a cell phone anymore, and my car is still at the bar. Well, at least I hope it is,” Clarissa said to herself, as well as Ace.

  “We need to drive at least five hours to the next place,” Ace informed, reaching for the hotel phone. “With everything you’ve gone through today, we thought it best to rest up here tonight. We’ll start out first thing in the morning. I bet you haven’t had much sleep, considering the dark circles under your eyes. Now, is there anything particular you would like to eat? I know Kalen always gets steak and potatoes.”

  “I’m really not that hungry,” Clarissa said, tentatively sitting on the edge of the bed. “But I would love a Diet Coke.”

  “You have to eat something,” Ace urged, putting the phone back in the cradle. Picking up the menu, he tried to hand it to her. When she shook her head, he dropped it back down on the table. “What about a pizza? Everyone likes pizza. You can share some of mine.”

  Clarissa watched as Ace reached down to untie his black boots. Finally unknotting the laces, he kicked them off. Nudging them out of the way, he pushed them underneath the table. Such a mundane act shouldn’t have her thinking of sex, but she couldn’t help let her mind wander. Clarissa wracked her brain for statistics that listed parts of a man that appealed to a woman most. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember if feet were on the list. Granted, he had socks on, but the outline of his foot was beautiful. He wiggled his toes, which made her look up at his face. One of his eyebrows was raised in question, but she ignored him.

  “Do I have a hole in my sock or something?” Ace asked, looking down at his feet.

  “No, I was just wondering what brand of boot that was,” Clarissa fibbed, reaching back to make sure her clip was secure to give her hands something to do. “My dad likes to wear boots.”

  “Really? Where are your parents? Here in Montana?” Ace asked, crossing his feet at his ankles. It took all Clarissa’s strength not to look down at his toes.

  “No, they moved to Florida when I finished my doctorate.” Clarissa looked down at her fingernails. “My mom is taking care of my lab rats. I had them flown down there when—”

  Clarissa stopped herself from finishing that sentence. She almost said when she stopped working for the Fray. She didn’t want to keep that secret from them, but knew they wouldn’t give her time to really explain herself.

  “Have you spoken with them recently? To let them know you are in danger?” Ace raised a hand to capture Kalen’s attention, making her wonder what she said that he had to tell Kalen. Pushing the menu out of the way, Ace leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. He was obviously waiting on her answer, and his worried look was making her anxiety return.

  “No,” Clarissa answered, watching Kalen pull the phone away from his ear and give Ace a questioning look. “I didn’t want them to worry. You don’t think these people would go after my parents, do you?”

  “It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Ace advised. “Kalen, have Jagger check out—what are your parents’ names?”

  “Steven and Margaret Worthing.” Clarissa also rattled off the address and then proceeded to nibble on her nail. It never crossed her mind that her parents might be in danger. Maybe she should call and warn them. This entire situation was spiraling out of control.

  “Clarissa, we have a friend who lives a couple hours away from your parents. Her name is Lauren Suval, and she’ll make sure they are safe until we can get someone down there to take over their protection detail,” Kalen reassured her. That comfort went right out the window with his next words. “Jagger wants to speak with you.”

  Kalen held out his cell phone to her, but Clarissa couldn’t make herself reach for the device. Jagger Malone was going to ask her what information she had in her possession, and Clarissa couldn’t tell him—not now, at least. Clarissa looked up to see Kalen’s dark-green eyes deepen with compassion. She must be putting out some major distress vibes for him to feel bad for her. Unfortunately, he didn’t make her feel any better.

  Slowly, Clarissa reached for the phone. Staring at it for a few seconds to give herself more time, Clarissa finally managed to place the cell up to her ear. Standing, Kalen moved out of her way so she could pace. “Hello?”

  “Ms. Worthing?” Jagger’s voice boomed over the speaker, causing Clarissa to jerk in surprise. His voice was deeper than she thought it would be. She managed to squeak out an affirmation. “My name is Jagger M
alone. Senator Brock seems to be really worried about your safety. He’s paying us rather handsomely to make sure you are protected. I have no problem providing you with a security detail while we investigate who wants to harm you, but it would help us tremendously if you tell us what you have that these people want. Kalen is saying you aren’t too forthcoming.”

  Clarissa didn’t say anything for a minute, walking to the door and back to where Kalen stood three times before she answered. “Mr. Malone, I truly appreciate your help. As I’ve said to Kalen and Ace, I will tell you everything once I’ve been given twenty-four hours with the equipment I’ve requested. Senator Brock arranged to have what I need to be delivered.” Taking a deep breath, Clarissa forged on. “I know you don’t know me. But I’m asking you to trust me. I need time to verify that what I have is accurate before handing you this information.”

  Clarissa made it back to the door before Jagger replied. “Kalen informed me that your research involves Nobles. You’re asking me to trust you when you could potentially be a threat to the Noble race. You do realize that my wife is a Noble, correct?” Before Clarissa could answer him, Jagger continued. “My answer is no. I’m not willing to trust you. I know that you worked for the Fray, Ms. Worthing.”

  Clarissa gasped and spun around, watching as Kalen informed Ace what Jagger was evidently discussing. He had known the entire time he spoke with Jagger. While Kalen didn’t seem too upset as she would have thought, it was Ace whose blue eyes seemed to explode with fury. Kalen put a hand on Ace’s shoulder, clearly suggesting he stay put. Kalen leaned down to whisper something in his ear. “Mr. Malone, it’s not what you think. Please hear me out,” Clarissa pleaded, suddenly afraid they would leave her to her own devices.

  “There’s no need, Ms. Worthing. I knew who you were before Senator Brock even called me. There are Sympathizers everywhere who are willing to go above and beyond,” Jagger explained. “I know every person who was ever associated with the Fray.”