Dorky’s laugh tinkled quietly, a well-modulated and simple sound both pleasant and reassuring. “Who says we always have to be wise? I’ve made a few strange choices in the name of love.”
“L-love?” The word came out on a croak, and Synna coughed and reached for her tumbler of water. After a long sip, she cleared her throat. “What has that got to do with this situation?”
“I’ve probably said way too much, but what the hell? Ian is wildly attracted to you. Anyone can see that. If I’m not mistaken, the feeling is mutual.”
Synna rubbed her cold fingers over her forehead. “I don’t think it’s mutual.”
Dorky’s little noise of contempt for Synna’s statement came through loud and clear. “Have it your way. I’ll let you go so you can take care of that headache. Just give what I said some consideration. It may seem highly unorthodox, but it may save your life to…uh…have sex with Ian.”
The touch of embarrassment in Dorky’s voice made Synna grin. “All right. I’ll think about it.”
When Synna hung up the phone, she realized that somehow Dorky knew about her headache. She’d either seen her on a camera, or the woman must be psychic.
Conflicting emotions bounced around inside Synna. Ian was a major-league hottie, and she admired him so much. But having unprotected sex with him was irresponsible.
Two alternatives stared her in the face and she didn’t like either one of them.
Maybe get dead. Maybe get pregnant.
Her periods were so totally irregular that she could get pregnant at any time. Taking birth control pills wasn’t an option because of side effects she’d experienced in the past.
Okay, correction. Three alternatives.
Maybe find her heart broken.
Her headache flared. What was she going to do?
She was screwed…literally and figuratively.
Chapter Six
Synna jerked straight out of her half doze as the doorbell rang that evening. Wiping sleep from her fuzzy brain, she sat up on the burgundy leather couch and stared at the front door. The television played digital music, a soothing New Age piece that had lulled her to sleep. Dazed by the low-intensity headache still plaguing her skull, she stared at the door like an idiot. The doorbell clanged again and trepidation made all her muscles clench. She had a feeling Ian stood outside the door. After all, she hadn’t called him and said nonchalantly that she would have sex with him.
She’d decided before she fell asleep that she couldn’t have sex with him this way, under pressure, under the threat of a theory on what may happen with Tyler.
Forcing her way to her feet, Synna crossed to the door and turned on the porch light. A quick look through the peephole confirmed Ian stood on the porch of her tiny Victorian home, those telltale frown lines between his eyebrows.
Anxiety, exasperation and most scary of all, excitement filtered through her emotions. He looked delicious, as he always did, and her heart did a dance of happiness.
After she unlocked the door and opened it, his expression didn’t brighten one iota.
“Are you okay?” He stepped closer, anger and worry mixing in his voice. “You aren’t answering the phone, and your answering machine isn’t on.”
“I turned the phone off.”
“Are you all right?” He glanced into the room behind her, as if he expected to see a wild man standing behind her holding her hostage.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She stepped back. “Come in.”
As he entered and closed the door against the chill, his gaze slipped over her ruby flannel pajamas and matching fleece robe. “Having an early night?”
Heat pinked her cheeks. “Y-you’ve caught me in my frumpy pajamas.”
He still didn’t appear amused. “We all have crap pajamas somewhere in the closet.”
His reassurance brought an uneasy grin to her lips. “Thanks.”
Ian closed his eyes and a muscle moved in his jaw. “I didn’t mean to imply—”
“It’s okay. I know what you meant.”
When he opened his eyes, Synna perused him as thoroughly as he had surveyed her. His hair tumbled in mild disarray over his shoulders, and the two-day stubble on his jaw gave him a hard, dangerous edge she found undeniably thrilling. A beat-up brown bomber jacket graced his broad shoulders, various macho military patches dotting the surface. Hs faded jeans curved over firm thighs. As usual, the man looked good enough to eat.
“I crashed on the couch and fell asleep,” she said.
“How’s your headache?” His gentle tone, matched with his caressing gaze, melted her from the inside out.
“It’s getting a little better.”
A rueful grin erased a little of the intensity in his eyes. “And I woke you up? I’m sorry. I was worried when you didn’t answer the phone.”
She couldn’t deny his anxiety over her satisfied her in a wholly female way. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“We need to talk.”
“I’ll take your jacket.”
As he handed the jacket to her, the scent of man and leather added to her already humming arousal. God, it didn’t take much for him to turn her on. Toss a glance in her direction, smile, and damn it she was a Grade-A goner.
She shuffled down the hall to the closet. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, thank you.”
Once she deposited his garment and returned, she found him still standing, taking in the small, traditionally furnished living room. His reflection showed in the large mirror above the fireplace mantel.
“Some people don’t like it,” she said.
He glanced her way. “What?”
“The furniture. They say it’s too dark and heavy. Too Victorian. Since this is a Victorian, I think it’s perfect. Besides, I inherited most of it from my grandmother after she died. It’s a good thing, too. No one else in my family wanted it.”
She almost said, No one else gave a shit, but she modulated her word choice.
“As long as you like it, what does it matter what anyone else thinks?” he asked.
She smiled, appreciating his statement. “Are you always so perceptive?”
“Usually. I’m very good a figuring out what is going on in someone’s head, sometimes even before they know it themselves.”
“You’re telepathic?”
“I don’t have paranormal abilities. Many of the soldiers in my unit did, but not me. There’s this buddy of mine from the unit, T.J., who can do some pretty incredible things.”
“Such as?”
“I can’t talk about the particulars.”
“Uh-huh. Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Well, she wasn’t that interested in other men at the moment. Curiosity about this virile, intriguing male superseded other concerns for this small space in time. “Have a seat.”
He settled on the couch, his forearms propped on his thighs and hands clasped together as he leaned forward. When she sat next to him, she detected tension flowing off him in waves. She sensed he wanted to discuss sex, but she needed more. As overwhelmingly attractive as she found him, she hungered to know the man inside who intrigued her from the first day she saw him.
“Tell me about your time with Alpha Unit.” She shrugged. “Unless it’s all classified.”
Surprise entered his eyes. “There’s a lot I can tell you, but I’m not sure you’d want to hear it. Besides, that isn’t what I came here—”
“I know why you came here.”
He paused, his gaze steady and unperturbed. “Do you?”
“Yes.” She shifted on the couch and leaned a little closer to him. He inhaled deeply, and a wild thrill dashed through her that maybe she did affect him strongly. She wondered if he could smell the soft rose scent in her body wash. “You want to talk about the conversation I had with Dorky earlier today.”
“We need to get this cleared up now.”
“I’ve got conditions before this conversation can go any further.”
Skepticism hardened
his features. “Conditions?”
“Right now, I want to know more about Ian Frasier, the soldier and the man.”
He sat back against the couch, his big hands on top of his thighs in a gesture imperial and abounding with male animal. An emerald green ribbed turtleneck caressed his athletic torso and showed off his fine muscles without being too tight. Her pulse picked up speed as his thighs sprawled open in typical male ease. Shamelessly, her glance darted over the large bulge between his legs and the carved muscle in his thighs. Damn, if he didn’t look delicious and undeniably masculine. She almost licked her lips. She realized she’d been staring, and her gaze snapped up to his.
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
“What makes it necessary to have Alpha Unit go in and take care of bad guys when the SIA is there to do the same thing?”
A smile eased over his lips, as if he couldn’t help relax. “You know how it is, the spook agencies always need military backup.”
She nodded. “That makes sense. What are your talents, if you don’t have any paranormal abilities?”
He pushed up the sleeves on his sweater and exposed the darker hair on his forearms that matched his growing beard. A big black watch graced his left wrist, one of those all-purpose, waterproof to the deepest depths gadgets. “I’m a good logistics man, and before I got into Alpha Unit I was in a regular Army Special Forces unit. I’m a weapons expert, and I know several languages fluently. I attended several courses on international relations, and I’ve been in just about every country on earth.”
“Whoa,” she said softly. “Several languages?”
“Russian, Arabic, German, French, Italian, Serbo-Croatian, all three Goidelic Gaelic languages and all four Brythonic Gaelic languages.”
“Holy mustard,” she whispered. “I’m impressed.”
He shrugged. “A few of the guys spoke more languages than me.”
Doubly awed by his modesty, she asked, “Why on earth would you need to learn Gaelic languages?”
“You’d be surprised how many unearthly creatures from the Shadow Realm are of Celtic origin.”
“Manx is a dead language. Cornish and Gaulish aren’t used any longer.”
His body seemed to relax, as if her segue away from his real reason for being here helped ease his tension. “Few people know that.”
“You’d be surprised what I know about Gaelic. I know that Manx, Scottish and Irish are Goidelic and Welsh, Cornish, Breton and Gaulish are Brythonic.”
“How did you learn so much about it?”
“Dorky. It’s amazing what that woman knows,” she said.
He nodded. “In the Shadow Realm many old things are still practiced, including languages dead in our world.”
“The more I learn about this Shadow Realm, the more I want to know.”
“You’ll probably discover more than you want at the Halloween party.”
“Are you trying to discourage me from asking questions?”
A laugh rumbled up from his broad chest and made her long to reach out and touch him. She wanted to lead him away from talking about sex, but suddenly she couldn’t think of anything else.
He winked. “Yeah, maybe I am. In this case, innocence is bliss.”
Maybe he wouldn’t relinquish more information tonight, and perhaps she didn’t want to know. Any additional information and maybe she wouldn’t be interested in helping the SIA with Tyler anymore.
She switched gears. “Dorky is a fascinating woman.”
Humor danced in his eyes. “She sure is.”
The pure admiration in his tone made Synna just the tiniest bit green. Yes, Ian was attracted to Synna on a sexual level, but she longed for a connection more enduring and meaningful. Doing him, as Heidi suggested, wouldn’t be enough.
“Learning Gaelic isn’t an easy thing, and neither is Russian. I’ll bet your IQ is pretty high, too,” she said.
“Above average, yes.” He said it without boasting, a certainty like the sky being blue and the earth being round.
“I’m intrigued that you went from a job in Alpha Unit to the SIA. The military wasn’t exciting enough for you?”
With a laconic grin he said, “Actually, it was a different kind of excitement. I’m fascinated by the paranormal. Always have been. Short of quitting the Army and forming my own ghost hunters group, joining SIA was the best way to get a piece of the action.”
“You did more than join, you run it. Somehow, I think a ghost hunter group would be too sedate for you. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t apply for an agent position where you would be on assignment. As the head of SIA you’re stuck at the desk most of the time.”
She sensed rather than saw a change in him. His eyes saddened. “I like the action, but my body and mind are weary of the constant physical and emotional work. As head of SIA I’m still a part of the team, still making key decisions.”
“Wait a minute. You’re fully involved in this assignment against Tyler.”
A sensual smile curved his mouth in a delicious way she absorbed into her memory forever. When she left the SIA for good, she probably wouldn’t see him again. The idea saddened her more than she wanted to think about.
“I’m involved because I don’t want anything to happen to you, Synna, and I’m going to make damned sure nothing does.”
His gaze caressed her, drinking her in with hot appreciation.
Silence washed over them and it made her nervous. She stood abruptly. “I-I think I need a brandy. I’ve got some up in the cabinet.”
She retreated to the kitchen, thankful for the breather. The man was so tempting, so consuming she wanted to kiss him, lick him, devour him from end to end. She had to master her runaway feelings.
He followed her. “Why do I get the feeling that what I said made you nervous?”
She stopped in the middle of the kitchen, and he almost ran into her. Without answering him, she veered toward the pantry and opened the highest cabinet for the squat brandy bottle she’d used for cooking.
As she gathered two brandy glasses and then poured a measure in each glass, he continued. “Synna? Answer me.”
She handed him a brandy. “Have a taste. It’s really good.”
He put the glass down on the counter and took a step forward. She eased back against the counter and he planted his hands on either side of her.
When he spoke, his voice came out low and non-threatening, his sensual tone caressing her nerve endings. “I could say I’m your boss, and you’re required to answer me, but that’s not why I’m asking. Talk to me.”
“T-this whole situation with Tyler is making me apprehensive.”
“I’m not going to let him hurt you.”
She shook her head. “I know. I honestly believe if anyone could protect me, you could.” She smirked and gave a little laugh. “You’d confound him long enough with all the languages you speak, then take him down with a karate chop.”
“I don’t want it to come to that.”
“So what are you going to do when you catch him?”
“Bag ‘em with an electrical converter sword.”
“I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never seen one.”
“They’re wicked enough to deal with most of the creatures from the Shadow Realm, with a few exceptions. You’d be amazed at how effective they are on weredemons. Freaks them out long enough to tranquilize them.”
“What happens then?”
“We put him in a special chamber designed for demons. They’re carted off to the Shadow Realm and locked out of our world.”
She shook her head, fascinated. “That’s amazing. God, all this time I worked for the SIA and didn’t know we dealt with the supernatural on this complex a level. Now I’m going to get up close and personal with it.”
“Not that close if I can help it. Now tell me what else is wrong. It isn’t just the assignment making you skittish as a cat.”
Go ahead, Synna. Blurt it out. “I’m not changing my mind about havin
g sex with you, but I know that’s why you came here tonight.”
“I was worried about you. As far as the sex situation, you could be hurt or killed by Tyler if things go wrong.”
She ignored the fact he stood so close, his arms caging her up against the counter. “So you’re saying if I have sex with you or someone else, neither of those things can happen?”
His eyes narrowed. “Of course not, but if he kisses you again, you could be hurt. Is that what you want?”
“No.” The one syllable sounded whispery and desperate.
“Your system was already compromised by that damned kiss Tyler gave you. Did medical tell you that’s why you have the headache?”
Startled, she stared at him. “No.”
“That’s why you aren’t feeling too well. It can act on your system like a low-grade infection.” He reached up and placed his big palm against her forehead. “Damn, you’re a little warm.”
She did feel hot, but she figured his proximity had more to do with it than weredemon bugs.
Without waiting for her to reply, he said, “Sex with a full human is the only way to be somewhat certain he can’t mate with you.” He reached down and took her hands in his palms. More warmth raced from where he touched her into all corners of her body. “You’re driving me crazy, Synna.”
She felt cheeky and took a chance. “Because I’m not doing what you want?”
“Yeah.” His mouth quirked in amusement. “You’re a little stubborn.”
She sniffed and eased away from his grip on her hands and the closeness of his body. “Really? And you’re not? How much respect would you have for me if I’d buckled under to this sex-on-demand idea?”
He groaned in apparent frustration. “It’s not sex-on-demand, it’s sex because we both want it and because—”
“It’s a solution to a major problem.”
Ian planted his hands on his hips. “Yeah, to put it bluntly.”
Dissatisfaction mingled with scorching hunger in his eyes. Synna thrilled as she put him on the edge, and she stepped into clearly dangerous territory. Excitement climbed inside her.
“Ian, it isn’t just the sex and you know it.”
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