Love, Encoded (Selected Evolution Series Book 1)

by Sandra Harris

  A cappuccino appeared on the table and she glanced up at the waitress.

  “Thanks, Charleze, you’re a life saver.”

  The pretty woman smiled. “You’re welcome. But I think you’ve only got about ten minutes to drink that. Otherwise your usual date will be waiting.”

  What? She glanced at her watch. “Oh, bugger! I’d better get cracking, thanks, Charleze.”

  “No problem, catch you later.”

  Sarah gulped her coffee, made cooler than usual by a thoughtful Charleze, then hurried back home. She let herself in, threw a quick glance at the security panel and noted it was not active. Presumably her brother was still home.

  “It’s only me,” she called out.

  Silence replied.

  Probably listening to music with his headphones.

  She shut the door, ensured the lock engaged and walked through the light and airy open plan lounge/kitchen towards her bedroom. A noise like that of a body hitting hard against a wall filtered through the quiet apartment. She halted by the kitchen island bench and listened. A grunt, as of someone straining to move an immovable object, sent a ripple of alarm along her nerves. She hurried forward.

  “Paul?”

  She peered down the short corridor leading to her brother’s room. A big man restrained Paul by the shoulders, forcing his back into the hallway wall. Shock and fright exploded in a sickening wave through her stomach and chest. Paul’s biceps bulged as he pushed against the man’s hold, but he couldn’t seem to break it. Her alarm blazed into violent hostility. She grabbed the stone David and advanced on her brother’s attacker.

  “Let him go, you bastard.”

  Chapter 2

  The unexpected voice penetrated Paul’s carnal absorption. His gaze flicked from eyeballing his lover to the source. His lust-drugged brain barely identified his sister. Her approach exhibited every indication of committing aggravated assault on the man he held—and doing it in multiples. Alarm bells clanged. The sensual fog wrapping his brain vanished.

  “No!” He flung up a hand, palm towards his sister. “Sarah, honey, it’s okay.” The murderous glaze in her eyes faltered. “Everything’s alright. Grant is a friend.”

  The statue lowered a bare inch. Humbled that her concern for his safety gave her the strength to lift the damn thing—and one-handed into the bargain—he kept his gaze locked with hers. Grant’s beautiful head, so close to his own, turned, and he looked over his shoulder. No doubt the sight of a small, homicidal-looking woman whose stance radiated protective, angry aggression came as something of a surprise. Grant released him, kept his back towards Sarah and raised both hands in surrender.

  “See,” Paul said with as much calm as he could project. “No problem.”

  Sarah blinked as her brother’s words filtered to her reasoning.

  No threat . . . Paul okay . . . right. She gathered her wits. Right.

  Relief eased her fear and her intent focus broadened. Vast amounts of tan, muscled bulk—and complete male nudity became apparent. Her eyes widened, heat bloomed in her cheeks and her chest felt like it might implode with utter embarrassment.

  “Oh struth! Oh, Paul, I’m so sorry.”

  She spun, stared blankly at the statue weighing heavily in one hand, then replaced David on the counter top. Mortification glued her gaze to the floor and she bolted for the refuge of her room.

  Hell and damnation, what a flaming idiot!

  She perched on the edge of her dark blue, sun-sprinkled doona and hugged her knees to her chest. Self-recrimination coiled through her stomach and she lowered her chin to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut.

  Damn! Damn! Damn!

  “Thank you.”

  She looked up. Clad in navy blue shorts, her brother stood before her.

  “For what? Making a fool of myself in front of your date. He must think you’ve got a lunatic for a sister.”

  A gentle smile lightened her brother’s strong features. He sat by her side on the soft mattress, his weight tipping her towards him, and a warm, strong arm wrapped around her shoulders.

  “No. Thank you for caring enough to take a blunt instrument to my defence.”

  She forced a weak smile around the humiliation still cringing within her. “I told you I’d do anything for you.” His arm tightened and pulled her closer, comfort from his hug spread through her, then his chin rested on the crown of her head. “I hope I haven’t ruined things with your friend.”

  Movement in her doorway dragged her attention to the man she’d almost brained.

  “On the contrary,” he said, “you make me wish I had a sister.”

  He almost seemed less threatening in old, cut-off jeans and a loose tee, but something about his stance, the touch of hardness in his sapphire eyes, still radiated menace.

  “Sarah,” her brother’s voice rumbled from his chest into her ear. “This is Grant. Grant, my sister Sarah.”

  She took the hand the man proffered and frowned as a memory jumped for attention. “Grant as in Grant Cole?”

  “Guilty as charged,” he confessed. “You want to get your statue?”

  Paul had once revealed that years ago he and this man had been very close until both their careers had intervened. She suspected some deeper reason had pulled them apart, but she’d never asked.

  Are they involved again? Was this a love that couldn’t be denied?

  “Paul, your sister’s getting that combative look again. Perhaps I should go.”

  “What? No! Sorry, I was just thinking.” She scrambled from her brother’s embrace and stood. “And to that end I’d guess I’d better make myself scarce.”

  “Don’t go on my account,” Grant said.

  She arched an eyebrow at him. “I’m not. I’ve got a date.”

  “With whom?” Paul demanded.

  She turned to him. “A twelve-year-old who wants to fly my Swift.”

  “Mate,” Grant said, “if I had a sister and she said that to me I’d be checking out this ambitious Don Juan.”

  Paul grinned and shook his head. “No need. I know this particular Lothario. He’s had a crush on Sarah since he first laid eyes on her. He’s harmless.”

  Sarah opened her cupboard and carefully collected the miniature model helicopter and its radio control. “Well, gentlemen, I apologize for the interruption. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way.” She pressed a kiss to her brother’s cheek, straightened and laid a welcoming hand on Grant’s forearm. A connection, like meeting her own private guardian angel, rushed through her. “Nice to meet you.” At the doorway she turned and winked. “Don’t have too much fun.”

  Grant turned his attention from the little female scamp to her brother.

  “Why the morose look, you lucky bastard? I’d kill to have family like that.” He dropped onto the bed beside Paul and flopped back on the soft cover. “Have you any idea how lucky you are?”

  His lover’s nod held a wealth of sobriety. “Did I tell you we only found each other recently?”

  He ran a hand over Paul’s back, greedy for the contact, having been starved of it for so long. “No.”

  “It wasn’t until after Dad’s funeral when I discovered she even existed. She never knew him. Her mother raised her as a sole parent and did a damn fine job. She died about three months before Dad. Sarah is smart, generous, caring and as trusting as a child.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “The problem is I don’t know how to tell her about us.”

  Grant’s eyes snapped from a lazy inspection of the ceiling to Paul’s back. “Us?” He sat up and smoothed a hand over the tense muscles of Paul’s shoulder.

  “Are you staying?”

  He knew, gut deep, his lover did not refer to the immediate future, but the entire fu
ture. “You’ve already proven you can’t throw me out,” he challenged.

  Paul’s firm kissable lips parted and need dug deep into his belly.

  “What I’ve proven is that I don’t want to throw you out.”

  “Well there you have it, neither of us want me to leave. I’m staying.”

  The beatific smile Paul graced him with warmed every part of his soul. I’m finally home.

  “Left rudder, left rudder,” Sarah murmured as the little Swift under Kyle’s control edged towards the dangling leaves and unforgiving branches a huge river gum.

  He adjusted the model’s flight path, brought it to a moderately gentle landing near the base of the tree then dashed off across the grass to retrieve it. A moment later he returned and handed her the craft and its control unit with all the decorum of a practiced courtier.

  “Thank you for letting me fly your helicopter, Sarah. I appreciate it very much.”

  She knew his formal tones and proper manner were meant to impress her, but she would never wound his dignity by admitting that much.

  “You’re welcome, Kyle. Perhaps we can do this again sometime?”

  A wide, delighted grin stretched his lips. “That’d be great!”

  “Okay, I’ll let you know when I’m free.” She turned and looked towards the street. “Your mum’s waiting.”

  She watched his safe exit from the park, waved to his mother then turned back to collect her things.

  “Hello.”

  The unfamiliar low-pitched voice pricked her like honey-covered nails. An unpleasant shiver ran across her shoulders. She spun and encountered a spectacular, bare, male chest framed by an unbuttoned shirt.

  “I apologize if I startled you,” he said.

  Her gaze flew to a face moulded by a master. Heat from his partially exposed, six-pack, bronzed body invaded her personal space with uncomfortable awareness. She took a step back. He followed. His gaze drilled into her as though studying a priceless ornament for flaws. He clasped his hands behind his back, drawing his shirt back and exposing more of his intensely masculine torso. His scent washed over her in a confusing assault that both enticed and repelled.

  Another shiver skittered through her. Intuition screamed there was something extremely dangerous about this man. That she was vulnerable to him. That he had at his disposal, methods of persuasion she didn’t even want to think about.

  “Sarah, isn’t it?”

  A flush of dread brushed her heart and the sun seemed suddenly cold. He knows my name? Was he listening to Kyle?

  She drew in a deep breath and his eyes dropped to her chest. The need to look around, to seek help, stormed through her, but the thought of taking her eyes from this predator daunted her. He held out a hand while charm dripped from his smile.

  Hell, am I being fanciful again? First the koala park, now this? Surely it wouldn’t hurt to be civil?

  Her body seemed not to agree. Unreasoning alarm battled her rational mind and her arm trembled as she put her hand into his. A sharp gasp hissed from him and an avaricious gleam burned in his eyes. He looked at her as though he wanted to own her.

  “Back off, mate.”

  She barely distinguished the deep growl as Adam’s voice. Relief burned in an icy fire through her chest. She cut her wide-eyed gaze to him as he marched towards her. The lethal intent with which he and Nick regarded the other man shocked her.

  Adam’s arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her towards him with almost ferocious strength. Her hand tugged in the other man’s hold then he released her. Adam tucked her into the solid strength of his side and turned her away. Nick stepped in front of her and blocked her view of the other man.

  “Never fear, lovely Sarah,” his voice drifted to her ears, “our time together will come.”

  To her heart it sounded like a threat.

  As he walked away through the park, Theron Barclese rubbed his hand where he’d touched the hybrid-human woman. The strength of the buzz that lingered indicated her virginity. That meant the bond between her and one of her protectors had not been sealed and a chance existed for him to capitalize on the situation. He doubted she even knew her DNA strands were not fully human let alone half Anaconian, a race from another spiral arm of the Galaxy.

  He twisted his mouth in displeasure. The aggression of her protectors would be a hindrance, but she would be worth it. Her brilliance at adapting the Anaconian knowledge she unknowingly possessed into the technology of today would translate into unparalleled wealth for him. Controlling her would bring the Anaconians to their knees before him. The thought of vengeance within his grasp bubbled in almost orgasmic triumph. All he had to do was claim her. No hard task, she was such a sweet little thing he could almost taste her.

  Scaring her in the koala park had been a mistake, one he couldn’t afford to make. It had given the protectors a chance to go to her rescue, usurping the role he had been creating for himself. A bloom of anticipatory exultation spread across his skin. He looked forward to Monday and the chance of cementing the opportunity of binding her to his will.

  Adam glared at the back of the retreating man, every cell in his body roared that he follow and deliver a brutal, physical warning about approaching Sarah. He’d never known he’d be capable of such violence at so little provocation. His entire body shook with adrenaline and fury, as though the other man had tried to take something rare and precious from him and Nick.

  They never mentioned this as a by-product of the enhancements.

  What was the man’s intent towards Sarah? He glanced down at the woman still held securely in his arms; the golden highlights in her long, brown hair glinted in the sunlight. Nick’s muscled body still looked pumped enough to take on the new generation of Abrams tank and radiated hostile, possessive warning.

  Sarah’s warmth and the way her arms wrapped around him like a lifeline, tugged on his protective instincts. Her torso moulded to him, the swell of her T-shirt covered breasts pushed against his upper abdomen. His muscles clenched and heated with desire. The intensity of his need to comfort her engulfed him. Warning bells clanged. He needed to back off, let her go, confirm with the Foundation that they’d found a subject and have them remove her from their lives.

  The thought wrapped icy fingers round his heart. Those same cells that wanted to assault another man for leering at her flinched at the suggestion of being parted from her.

  Fuck! We’re getting in too deep, getting too close to her. We have to get out now.

  He tried to release her, but her attraction had the inexorable pull of gravity. His instincts to protect her, comfort her, would not be denied. He smothered a growl of frustration. Giving in to this need would damn them, yet he had a nasty feeling they would forever regret rejecting her temptation.

  He crooked a finger under her chin, tilted her head up and drowned in the blue-ringed green of her remarkable eyes. Anger boiled afresh at the distress lingering on her features.

  “Are you alright? You look rattled.”

  Sarah gazed into the safety of Adam’s denim-blue eyes and blinked slowly. The touch of harshness that normally hardened his classic features looked amplified. Was she rattled? Yes. Irrationally so. The unknown man had simply spoken to her, shaken her hand, yet the feeling of being hunted persisted. She shuddered at the memory of her horrified fascination with him, like staring down the mouth of a Great White Shark—without the benefit of the protection of a cage.

  Revulsion crawled through her stomach and she tightened her hold on Adam. Nick’s hand brushed aside her hair and his gentle fingers massaged the nape of her neck.

  “Let us take care of you,” he urged.

  Unadulterated excitement spiked through her chest, her stomach and heart performed a little jig around each other.

  Great Scott, woman! Get a grip.


  She suppressed her giddy emotions and a deep wariness rose to question their interest in her. Were they genuinely concerned for her or did some less attractive motive drive their actions?

  Adam released her waist with one hand and caressed the side of her face with the back of his fingers. “You’ve had a fright, let us take you home.”

  The icy cold of residual fear still claimed her insides. She did crave support, but—a shudder rippled through her at the thought of disturbing Paul and Grant again—she couldn’t go home. Tammy was on her first date in months. Her friend would not hesitate to rush to her side if she was in need. But she wasn’t, not really.

  She shook her head. “Thank you, no.”

  “Then come to our place.”

  Again her heart took a headlong rush into delight. And again she reigned in her enthusiasm. Yes, they both attracted her—that didn’t mean the reciprocal held true.

  And what if it did? Did their actions imply a desire for intimacy?

  Good Lord, I don’t know what to do with one man, let alone two!—

  —You’re overreacting, again, dweeb. They’re offering support, possibly even friendship, not eternal love.—

  —Right.

  “Er, thank you, I appreciate that. Where are we going?”

  Adam gave her their address and she pulled her cell phone from a pocket and sent a quick text to her brother. Nick reached for her hand and his warm smile shot to pieces any chance she had of controlling her immediate thought processes. He threaded her arm through the crook of his elbow and drew her close. Her side luxuriated in the warmth emanating from his body and the occasional brush of solid male as he walked her from the park.