“I’m not pregnant! And even if I was, you can’t marry someone like me!” Clarissa was now leaning all her weight against the granite behind her and looking like they had told her the world was ending. “I’m a mess! Look at me! The only place I even remotely have control over my life is in a lab. You need somebody you can take to dinner without spilling something. You need a woman who’s beautiful and graceful. You need someone younger, for crying out loud! You need a woman who can talk dirty and not get her hair stuck in your jeans. You need somebody who doesn’t know that you can create a child with any ability you want them to have!”
Ace had no reply for the speech she just gave. A part of him was astounded that she felt they would look so low upon her for being such a unique woman. She was beautiful. She was intelligent. She was adorably naïve. And most important—she made them laugh. And while he was thinking all of those things, Clarissa had to go and throw out that last sentence.
“What did you say?” Kalen said quietly. Ace could only imagine the flow of emotions that were radiating off of Clarissa at this moment. Her brown eyes had widened with panic at the thought that they would want a relationship with her. Now, they were filled with dread over her latest announcement. “Did you or did you not just say that it is scientifically possible for us to choose an ability for our children?”
“Yes,” Clarissa whispered, looking back and forth between the two of them. “I thought I was going to find that you—Nobles—are immune to most diseases or at least have the potential to fight off certain infections. And I truly thought Howell was trying to change my research so that a certain disease could wipe out all Nobles, while maintaining human life. But it hit me today what it actually was, and it has nothing to do with diseases.”
“Wait a second,” Ace said, trying to follow along. “The facility blew up over a year ago. Why would someone target you now? Something is wrong with this entire scenario and we’re missing it.”
“I don’t know,” Clarissa shrugged. “But a couple of weeks ago, somebody broke into my house. They ransacked my office and nothing else.”
“Did you call the police?” Kalen turned his chair back around and sat down, looking like he was still trying to come to terms with Clarissa’s story. His face had lost color, and Ace didn’t like the way he was looking at Clarissa.
“Yes, but the officers said they had no leads and it was unlikely they would find out who did it.” Clarissa suddenly looked like she couldn’t take anymore, so Ace shifted her chair and motioned for her to sit down. Once she was seated, Clarissa continued, “After I called Senator Brock, I packed my things and left. I didn’t feel safe there anymore. Since then, I’ve been pretty much driving around and staying at random hotels until he set up the meeting with you.”
“Do you think Howell completed his research before you took it?” Ace asked, returning to his seat. They were finally getting all the answers they needed. He knew that Kalen was itching to call Jagger. Maybe that’s why he was looking a little off. If what Clarissa was saying was true, which he didn’t doubt, then this was a two-fold situation and not for the better. Any fanatic who wanted to try and create the perfect Noble would only have to have the information on which two powers it would take. And any Noble who wanted to use their ability for their own gain would be able to produce someone stronger.
“No. Like I said before, I copied what they had and deleted everything from the hard drive. But he’s got to know they were close. I just plugged in the last piece and happened to verify that he was right. That it is possible to create a Noble with a certain power—by choosing its parents.” Clarissa was now biting her nails between her sentences, and Ace reached over and grabbed her hands. She immediately went to pull away, but he held them tight. There was something she wasn’t telling them, and whatever it was, it was the reason she felt they shouldn’t want to be with her. Clarissa could throw all the excuses their way that she wanted, but they were empty. They had no real meaning, which could only mean she somehow felt responsible.
“Well, now that we know everything, we’ll place a call to Jagger,” Ace said, stroking the back of her hand, hoping she took comfort in his touch. He looked over to Kalen and found him studying her. What kind of emotions was she generating that had Kalen looking so…mad?
“I’ve been working steadily for months trying to figure out the data that I was able to download and what I might possibly be missing,” Clarissa continued, blatantly ignoring Ace’s declaration. She was no longer trying to pull her hands from his, but she wasn’t looking them in the eye either. “It hit me today that I needed a sample.”
“A sample of what?” Kalen asked in a steely voice. Ace was missing something, and right about now he wished he were able to switch abilities with Kalen. It wasn’t like Kalen to come across as hard. “Why are you feeling guilty, Clarissa? What did you do?”
Clarissa yanked her hands out from underneath Ace’s grasp. Standing up, she started her customary pacing that Ace was coming to know so well. Wringing her hands, she walked back and forth in front of the kitchen counter before she answered. “I needed a woman’s DNA. And not just any woman’s, because mine wasn’t compatible.”
Ace finally got what was going on and why Kalen was feeling Clarissa’s self-reproach. He didn’t need to be a Feeler to know that Kalen was angry. If this weren’t such a serious matter, Ace would have been amused that they were switching roles. Ace was always the one to fly off the handle without knowing the facts, but he was looking at this from the outside. Kalen was getting too caught up in Clarissa’s response of culpability. He was having a hard time separating himself from Clarissa, and Ace knew why. Kalen was falling in love with her. He was having a hard time knowing what he was feeling and what Clarissa was feeling. Their emotions were too intertwined.
“Kalen, back off,” Ace ordered, standing to come around the table. He needed to figure out a way for Kalen to disconnect himself from the situation. “You’re getting too— ”
“Do you realize what she’s saying, Ace?” Kalen stood as well, his face a mask of fury. “She took a sample of DNA from Tavia for her little experiment. What was it, Clarissa? Did you take a piece of her hair? Did you take spit from her coffee cup? Did you use our DNA, too?”
Ace stepped forward and placed a hand on Kalen’s chest. “Kalen, you’re wrapping yourself up in her emotions. Stop.”
“What kind of child will we have if we fuck Tavia?” Kalen shouted, pulling his arms up and knocking off Ace’s touch. “Shit! I just figured it out! It was your research that let them figure this out, wasn’t it?”
Ace turned to see Clarissa shaking and wiping the tears from her eyes. He could see the shame, anger, and fear. He knew she hadn’t meant to cause any harm with her work. And he knew Kalen was aware of that, too, if he could just clear his damn head. What had she originally said? She thought she was hired to study the role DNA played in hereditary diseases. Only her research had led them to this, and she felt it was her fault. Whether her emotions were at an all-time high because she was exhausted or scared, they were strong enough to get Kalen all mixed up and thinking unclearly. This had never happened before, and Ace wasn’t sure how to handle him. Their feelings must be intermingled, because Kalen couldn’t see reality.
“Yes,” Clarissa choked out, openly crying. “T-Tavia said something about Addison Gray having a baby girl, and that’s when I realized exactly what the program was for. S-so I took her coffee cup, which had both Ace’s and Tavia’s DNA. The data supports the theory they were working on. I can tell you what power he or she would have. I-I didn’t mean for this to h-happen! I know h-how dangerous this information could be if it w-was in the wrong hands.”
Ace knew Kalen was about to say something he couldn’t take back, so he shoved him and pointed a finger in his face. “Not one word, Kalen. Just shut the fuck up. Clarissa, go get some sleep, and we’ll talk about this when everyone has had a chance to process things. Everyone is exhausted.”
Ace never
stepped away from Kalen, knowing he needed to be the reasonable one and not sure if Kalen would follow her. He heard Clarissa give a small hiccup and then run from the room. As much as he wanted to go after her, Ace knew it was better that he stay with Kalen. After a minute of Kalen catching his breath and Clarissa not being in the same room, he watched as Kalen’s shoulders finally lost their tension. Ace finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Are you back with me, or do I need to get some rope to tie your ass down?” Ace took a step back.
“Shit,” Kalen said, rubbing his face with both hands, as if trying to wake up. “What the hell was that? The words kept spilling from my mouth no matter that my brain was saying something different. I know she didn’t mean to—”
“I know, Kalen. Trust me, I was here through the entire thing. The more upset she got, the angrier you became. It was like you were feeding off of her emotions.” Kalen went to leave the room and follow Clarissa, but Ace stopped him. “You can’t go after her right now. The minute you get too close, you’re going to get hit with all of her feelings. We need to let her calm down. Why don’t you call Jagger and I’ll go check in on her. Let me explain what happened, and you can tell her yourself that this isn’t how you feel. Afterwards, we’ll all get some sleep.”
“How I feel? I feel all torn up inside, and I don’t know what to do about it, Ace.” Kalen walked out of the kitchen, but instead of following Clarissa to the bedroom, he went into the living room. “I’ve never not been able to distinguish between my feelings and someone else’s. I’ve never felt anything like that in my entire life. Now she thinks that’s how I feel. I have to make it right.”
“We’ll work through it,” Ace said, wanting to go to Clarissa, too. “Right now, though, it’s best you give it a while. The women we usually sleep with are not women we connect with, Kalen. Clarissa’s different. We knew that the minute we laid eyes on her, and making love to her only solidified it. The way you’re affected by her emotions is understandable, especially as time goes on, because—let’s face it, we’re falling for her.”
“She’s so angry at herself,” Kalen whispered, sitting on the edge of the coffee table. Placing his elbows on his knees, he leaned forward as if he didn’t know what to do. “That anger just transferred straight to me, and I—”
“Stop beating yourself up. Take a breather and call Jagger,” Ace instructed, giving Kalen a couple thumps on the back in reassurance. “I’ll go explain things to Clarissa. Once she calms down and you can be near her without being overwhelmed, you can tell her yourself.”
Kalen nodded his acceptance of Ace’s suggestion, but didn’t move. Ace knew he probably needed time to gain his composure before speaking to Jagger, so he left the room and walked down the hallway. Coming up to the door, he heard the pipes rattling and knew Clarissa must have gone straight to the shower. Walking through the bedroom, he opened the door to the bathroom. His chest tightened when he heard her heart-wrenching sobs. Not able to take it and not caring whether his clothes got soaked, Ace opened the shower stall and stepped in. She was huddled on the floor, by the drain, holding her knees to her breasts.
“Aw, Slick. This wasn’t your fault.” Shutting off the water, Ace reached back out to grab a towel. Kneeling, he wrapped the towel around her, picked her up, and walked into the bedroom. He sat down on the bed with Clarissa in his lap. Brushing the wet curls from her face, he palmed her cheek to make her look at him. Her brown eyes were red, swollen, and filled with misery. “You listen to me. None of this is your fault. You are not to blame for what the Fray did. You were a pawn in their game and, unfortunately, became a target because you figured them out.”
“B-but it was m-my research that—”
“They would have found some other way to get the same kind of information. And you know what?” Ace asked, wiping the droplets from her face that were dripping from her hair. “There’s nothing we can do to stop them from running all kinds of experiments. The Nobles are lucky that you got your hands on this information and can give it to us instead of our enemies. We’ll never stop them from their quest to destroy or use our abilities. But we can fight them with everything we have.”
“Kalen—”
“Kalen was reacting to your emotions. Not his.” Ace took the towel away from her and started to dry her off slowly. Instead of being shy like he thought she would, Clarissa just held on to him as he dried her off. She was mentally drained, and all he wanted to do was take care of her. “Kalen wanted to come back here immediately and tell you himself, but I figured you were still too emotional. So listen up, Slick. You. Are. Not. To. Blame.”
“I’m sorry I took your DNA, along with Tavia’s,” Clarissa whispered against his neck. “But then it hit me, when she mentioned pregnancy, that I’d seen some data regarding fetuses. I knew then what they were trying to do and that it had nothing to do with diseases.”
“And you know where we stand on the subject. You did what you had to do and are now handing the information over to Jagger. We trust you, Clarissa. And when Kalen joins us, we need to talk about our relationship. We don’t want anyone else but you.”
“You can’t know that,” Clarissa cried out. “It’s been two days. We really don’t know each other and—”
“Slick, that’s your scientific brain at work. Not your heart. What is time when you’ve met the right person?” Ace finished drying her off, refusing to allow her to argue with him, especially when she was this tired. They would have time to talk about their relationship when everyone had had time to calm down.
It took a while, but eventually Ace towel dried her hair good enough to be able to lay her down. Leaning over, he pulled the covers down and turned her so he could slide her underneath. Before he could stand, Clarissa grabbed a hold of his wrist, causing him to stare down at her. Even with her curls a wild mess, no makeup on, and red eyes from crying, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
“Please don’t leave. Will you lay down with me?”
Chapter Six
Clarissa lay snuggled against Ace’s chest, using her finger to trace the tattoo design. She was pretty sure hours had passed, but she couldn’t sleep and spent the time listening to the storm raging outside. It was finally slowing down, and all that was left was the pitter-patter of a few leftover raindrops. Ace had let her just lie next to him, without saying anything to ruin the mood. She knew their time was coming to an end, no matter what he said.
Clarissa had basically handed over a way for their enemies to use them and their abilities. Even if she hadn’t been part of the reason the Fray now knew they could create any power they wanted, Clarissa wasn’t meant for them. She didn’t know why they couldn’t see what was so obvious. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t take what they were offering right now, though. She was allowed to be selfish, right? Once she handed the information over to Jagger and the threat to her life was no longer a problem, Ace and Kalen would leave. So that meant they had tonight.
“Why am I sensing a boatload of confusion when you should be sleeping?”
Clarissa lifted her head to see Kalen standing in the doorway. He looked like crap, and she immediately felt guilty. She hadn’t meant for him to take the brunt of her emotions, and there was still a sliver of doubt that it wasn’t hers alone. What if he actually felt like that?
“Guilt, too? Didn’t Ace tell you that you have nothing to feel guilty about?” Kalen asked softly as he walked into the room and yanked his T-shirt over his head. His hair was left ruffled, and his whiskers gave him a ragged look.
“She won’t sleep,” Ace spoke up, his chest rumbling from his deep voice. “Are you better? Or should I ask, is she better?”
“Yeah, I have it under control,” Kalen confirmed, walking closer to the bed. Clarissa sat up, no longer caring if they saw her naked. She wanted this last night with them. “If Ace explained everything, why I reacted the way I did, then why are you throwing out signals of confusion and sadness?”
“Wi
ll you make love to me?” Clarissa left Ace’s embrace and crawled to the end of the bed. Standing on her knees, she reached for the button on Kalen’s jeans. “Will you two show me what it’s like to really share a woman?”
Clarissa heard Ace suck in a deep breath, sounding more like a hiss. She didn’t mean to keep throwing them off balance and knew they were probably shocked at her forwardness. But if this was her last chance, she wanted to grab it with both hands. Kalen had taken a step back, bewilderment written all over his face. “Only if you know that this isn’t the last time. Why are you feeling sad about this?”
Clarissa placed one foot on the ground, then the other, until she was standing in front of him. Looking up into his face, Clarissa imagined what it would feel like with both of them inside of her and knew the minute Kalen felt what she did. His eyes closed, and he leaned back his head.
“Damn, woman. What are you doing to me?” Kalen asked, almost desperately. “You are deliberately covering up what you’re feeling. It’s not going to work.”
“We’ve known each other for two days,” Clarissa said quietly. “That’s not enough time for anyone to know anything. But we have now. Please love me tonight.” Clarissa brought her hands up to touch his chest when he grabbed a hold of her wrists and spun her around to face Ace. Kalen trapped her arms between her breasts and held her tight.
“Then we’ll love you our way.” Kalen used his tongue and licked down the side of her neck. Ace moved down toward the end of the bed, until he was sitting in front of her. Leaning back, he let his feet touch the ground while his back was on the bed.
“Come here, Slick. Let’s try something.”
“Try what?” Clarissa asked, breathless with anticipation. His blue eyes practically burned with desire, making her body respond, and suddenly, she couldn’t wait to have him inside of her. Clarissa thought of climbing on top of him, but Kalen wouldn’t let her go.
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