by Dee, Bonnie
She snapped her magazine closed. “Look, I know you hate me. You have every reason to. But we’re stuck working together so let’s clear the air. I think the best way to do that is to let you do what you’ve been dying to do ever since you saw me in the airport.”
Justin shot her a sideways look, one eyebrow raised.
“Pound the hell out of me. There’s a workout room in the basement for Brody’s bodyguards to keep in shape.”
“Very appropriate for a religious headquarters,” he mocked.
“Raymond Brody is a very important man. Important men have enemies and need good security.” Elyse shrugged. “Anyway, let’s spar for a while. I’m sure smacking each other around will make both of us feel a lot better.”
He removed his big black boots from his bag and sat up straight. “You know what? You’re on. There’s nothing I’d rather do right now than beat the crap out of you.”
Fifteen minutes later they were clothed in sportswear and stretching before entering the ring. Both of them were barefoot.
Elyse wore shorts and T-shirt. Her auburn hair was drawn back into a ponytail. Justin had on a loose pair of running shorts and a wifebeater. She kept sneaking looks at his impressive biceps and shoulder width. Damn, she’d forgotten how stunning his muscles were.
“Boxing gloves or bare knuckle?” she asked.
He straightened from touching his forehead to his knees. His bangs fell over his eyes, the disheveled look making him appear somehow young and vulnerable. Elyse longed to push the hair back from his forehead.
“Your call.”
“I always prefer skin on skin myself,” she purred.
Her heart pounded. What the hell had she gotten herself into? Sure she was strong, fit and able to hold her own against most of Brody’s bodyguards. She worked out whenever she was in Reno and had a couple of regular sparring partners among the staff. But Foster was built like a mountain. And the molten lava of hate simmering under the surface could turn that mountain into a volcano. This was like handing him a sack of dynamite to set it off.
They climbed into the ring, raised their fists and slowly circled one another. Elyse knew her only hope was in being quick on her feet. She darted in and jabbed at his jaw.
He lifted a hand and blocked her punch.
Jab. Parry. Jab. Parry.
She swept her leg up and kicked at his face. He knocked her leg down.
Elyse fell back, considering her next move.
Justin kept slowly circling and holding his hands on guard. His gaze never left her face. He was going to let her wear herself out, then take advantage and subdue her with his superior strength. She needed to draw him out, get him mad enough to punch wildly then duck like hell. Shouldn’t be hard to piss him off.
“I didn’t know Brody was going to take Trina, you know. I like the kid. I wouldn’t have put her in danger on purpose.”
Justin’s hand darted out with lightning speed and clipped the side of her jaw.
She tasted blood. Her hands shot up, ready to protect her face from another blow, but Justin held back.
Feinting left then right, she shot out a fist as though to strike, but pulled the punch and kicked with her foot instead.
His hands lifted to counter her strike, leaving his stomach open and her foot plowed into solid muscle.
Elyse regained her balance and danced backward. “It was a great assignment for me,” she panted. “The sex was fantastic. So hot! But you know that. And it was ridiculously easy to get you to trust me. You’d have told me anything I ask—Whoa!” She twisted to the side, evading his punch by inches.
That seemed to break through his reserve. He besieged her with a flurry of punches. Elyse countered most of them although he landed a few head-ringing blows.
She slipped a few of her own through the barrage, stinging her knuckles against his hard jaw when she snapped his head to the side. It made her wish she’d opted for gloves instead of bare fists.
Sweeping a leg up, she kicked his ribs, hard. Justin grunted from the blow. But when she tried it again, he caught her leg and spun her around, sending her crashing to the mat.
Elyse arched her back and sprang to her feet again. She whirled out of his reach, then bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, waiting to see what he would do next. Unfortunately, she’d forgotten how much longer his legs were than hers. With the same sweeping motion she’d used, he took her legs out from under her and laid her flat on the floor again.
The breath was knocked out of her, leaving her gasping for air.
Justin straddled her and punched her face, knocking her head sideways. Her ears rang with the force of the blow. Elyse feared for her teeth. The idea of thousands of dollars worth of dental work possibly ruined pissed her off. She twisted beneath his hard body, pushing up against his rock-hard chest with both hands and flipping him onto his back.
He landed with a grunt, and she straddled him. She unleashed a series of punches to his face, driving a good solid one into his nose. Blood gushed from his nostrils down either side of his mouth.
Justin intercepted her next blow, then grabbed her wrists in each hand. His grip was like a pair of manacles. He rolled so he was on top. Elyse wasn’t going to be able to slip away this time. His weight pinned her body to the mat and his hands held her wrists to the floor above her head. All she could do was squirm beneath him.
Both of them panted for breath, hot and sweating from exertion. Justin’s erection pressed into her crotch. Instead of struggling to get away, she arched her hips and rubbed against him. She stared into his eyes and smiled.
A drop of blood rolled down his lip and landed on her face near the edge of her mouth. Elyse ran her tongue out and lapped it up.
Justin’s chest rose and fell. His gaze stayed steadily on hers, pupils dilated, making his changeable eyes a dark navy blue. He gripped her wrists even harder, grinding her bones together.
“Go ahead. Hit me. I’ve been very, very bad,” Elyse whispered, lifting her face toward him. “Punish me. What are you waiting for?”
He released her wrists and moved his iron grip to her throat, then Justin leaned closer, his eyes penetrating hers so deeply Elyse felt as if he were fucking her with them. Another droplet of blood splashed from his face to hers. “No. I won’t hit you. You like it too much.” His voice growled like the low throb of an engine.
He started to climb off her, but the moment he freed her legs Elyse used them to grapple him to her, wrapping them around his hips. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him hard, tasting the blood on his lips and thrusting her tongue between them. She swept her tongue over the hot, wet, familiar territory of his mouth and curled her fingers into his hair.
Justin was stiff and resistant, but didn’t fight to get away. He suffered her kiss for a few seconds, then gave away beneath her insistent, probing tongue. He kissed her back, desperate and deep, pressing her head hard to the floor. A low groan reverberated in his chest and Elyse knew she’d won.
The full length of his body lay on her like a bearskin rug. The bulge of his erection pressed through layers of fabric and into her crotch. He shifted, rubbing against her and sending sparkles of desire radiating out from her clit.
Elyse moaned and thrust her hips up. She hugged his sweaty body to hers, relishing the heat and weight of it. Her fingers pushed into his hair and cradled the back of his skull, keeping his mouth firmly fixed to hers, tasting the copper of his blood. She felt the growing awareness of two becoming one, a sensation she’d never felt with any man in her long life except Justin. It was a strange and terrifying connection—beyond her understanding. But Elyse was a creature of gut reaction and instinct so she accepted whatever it was and enjoyed it.
A rising tide of lust surged through her. Elyse held Justin’s body to hers with every fiber of her being—arms, legs, hands, mouth and spirit—binding him to her like earth clinging to the roots of a tree and holding it in place. She hadn’t realized how much sh
e’d missed him until she had him back in her embrace.
When Justin finally pulled free, scrambling away from her and then clear across the mats, it was too late for him to deny what had happened between them.
“Bitch! You black-hearted bitch.” He smeared blood from his mouth across his cheek when he wiped it on the back of his hand.
“Ain’t I though?” Elyse lay with her arms above her head where he’d pinned them and her legs sprawled apart. She swept her tongue across her lips to clean the blood from them. “It’s what you missed about me, isn’t it?”
He stood up, towering above her and gazing down at her with loathing. “You’re wrong. We—Terran and Destroyers—aren’t alike. I may have done things that were wrong, but I’d never betray a person I cared about. That’s the difference between us.”
“Who said I cared about you?” Elyse drawled even as her stomach lurched. She sat up, staring at him speculatively. “I gave you the opportunity to pay me back here—to give me a good thrashing. But you don’t want to punish me, because what you really want is for me to punish you.” She rose to her feet, yet still had to look up to meet his eyes. The height disadvantage pissed her off. “Isn’t that right, Justin? You feel guilty and dirty and want to be hurt to alleviate your guilt.” She lowered her voice. “And I’m the only one who knows how to give you exactly what you need.”
“Fuck. Off.” His eyes had narrowed to slits as he enunciated each word distinctly before he turned and walked away.
Elyse folded her arms and smiled as she watched him go, but her stomach still ached and it wasn’t from the fight. Funny, baiting Justin didn’t give her the satisfaction it should have. She felt empty and dissatisfied.
Maybe she’d feel better when she got him back in her bed again.
Chapter Four
Justin wondered if he were having an anxiety attack. It wasn’t something Terrans suffered from, but his symptoms seemed to fit the description of one. A paranoid, panicky feeling flowed through him. He was short of breath, his pulse raced, and he felt close to tears.
The woman knew how to tie him up in knots, both figuratively and literally. He couldn’t believe Elyse Greenwood aroused such powerful sexual and emotional feelings in him even after what she’d done to him and Trina. From the moment he’d seen her across the terminal, he’d been wired taut as a bowstring. He wanted to kill her and fuck her with equal intensity. He should’ve known that, with Elyse, fist fighting would only end in them on the verge of banging each other’s brains out.
Justin shook off his emotions and quickly dressed in street clothes for the meeting with Brody. He couldn’t allow himself to lose control. There was too much at stake—Trina to rescue and information to steal. Elyse was simply a tool to achieve those goals. He had to keep his actions insulated from his emotions. Next time Elyse threw herself at him, he must take advantage of it, fuck her, let her think she’d regained his trust—then fuck her over as she’d done to him.
He met Elyse outside of the gym locker room. They exchanged a look, but both were silent as she ushered him to the elevator and up to Brody’s office. It was as opulent as the man’s L.A. office where Justin had delivered the box over a month ago.
A bodyguard led them through the outer office to Brody’s private suite of rooms just beyond. A white-clothed dining table was set with fine china. Gleaming silver chafing dishes from which fragrant steam rose graced the table.
Movement by the tall window caught Justin’s attention. Brody turned from the view and faced Justin and Elyse. “Please, sit.” He motioned them to the table, smiling at Justin as if they were old friends. “I hope your flight went well.”
Justin didn’t answer, but took his seat. Elyse sat across from him.
Brody presided at the head of the table. He unfolded his napkin with a snap of linen and laid it on his lap. “You must be hungry after your flight.”
“Not really.” Justin’s stomach rumbled, belying his words.
A server materialized and began removing covers from dishes. A small roast, steamed vegetables, redskin potatoes and fragrant bread soon filled their plates. Despite his desire to refuse Brody’s hospitality, Justin was hungry and began eating.
Brody poured wine for each of them.
As Elyse lifted her glass, her eyes met Justin’s across the table and she winked. Her makeup was impeccable, black liner enhancing her hazel eyes, scarlet lipstick drawing attention to lush lips. Her glossy auburn hair was swept into a neat chignon. In contrast, her cheek was red and swollen from Justin’s punches and it looked like she might have a black eye by tomorrow.
Justin’s nose throbbed painfully, and he was glad to see Elyse bore the effects of their sparring, too.
“Shall we get straight to business?” Brody trimmed a tiny ribbon of fat from his meat and moved it to the edge of his plate with a grimace. “I want to thank you again for your excellent work last time I called on you for help.” He looked up and smiled showing too many teeth. “It seems I had you go to a lot of trouble for nothing. The contents of the box turned out to be … less valuable than expected.”
Less valuable. What did that mean? Keeping his expression neutral, Justin speared a forkful of vegetables. His mind raced and his heart swelled with hope. Perhaps he hadn’t yet done anything irredeemable.
“My new project involves some field research and will require you to travel to several locations. It’s not going to be a problem for you working with Ms. Greenwood is it?”
“No,” Justin said succinctly.
“Mr. Foster, believe me I’m not comfortable keeping your foster child imprisoned in order to secure your aid. By making you a vital part of my current project, I’m demonstrating my trust in you. When I’m certain your allegiance is with me, even without the leverage of a hostage, I’ll release the girl.”
“Then release her now. I’ll swear loyalty to you.”
“In time, Mr. Foster.” Brody gestured with his fork. “It’s all about trust. At some point I’d like to take you into my confidence completely. You could be an invaluable asset to my organization.”
When hell freezes over. “May I talk to Trina, see her, ensure her safety? Give me that as a sign of good faith and I’ll work on your project.”
“See her? That won’t be possible, but you can speak with her. As soon as we’re finished with dinner, I’ll arrange a call.”
“How about a live cam? I just want to see her face.”
“I’m afraid not, Mr. Foster. Just a phone call for now.” With the tines of his fork, Brody carefully extracted zucchini slices from his vegetable medley. Justin watched as the man created a small, neat pile at the edge of his plate.
Brody glanced up and smiled, shaking his head. “New chef. He doesn’t know all my likes and dislikes yet.”
Justin guessed there were a lot of them. In his previous dealings with Brody he’d been too upset to catalogue Raymond Brody’s personal habits. Now, he filed away the detail that the man was fussy, anal retentive, and possibly obsessive compulsive. There could be some use in that information.
“Anyway, back to the project. Elyse will fill you in on the details on a need to know basis, but suffice it to say the device my scientists have invented will shake things up.” Brody laughed.
Justin still didn’t understand Brody’s reasons in calling on him, but figured they’d become clear as it unfolded. “A doomsday machine?” His tone was sarcastic, but he wasn’t really kidding.
Brody laughed as he lifted his wine glass. “Nothing that drastic, I assure you. Just a little something to frighten the natives and renew their respect for the old gods.”
Justin frowned at the cryptic statement.
Abruptly changing the subject, Brody said, “By the way, I wanted to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed speaking with your ward. Trina is quite intelligent for a human. Her understanding of the deeper levels of the world around her is complex and a testament to your parenting.”
Justin clenched his napkin beneath the
table. The idea of this monster carrying on conversations with Trina sent a stab of rage through him. “Trina is an exceptional girl,” he agreed. It was time he stopped acting so hostile and pretended to be won over by Brody’s charm. Such a megalomaniac should be easy to fool.
“I think Trina has enjoyed our chats, too. I’d like to keep in contact with her after she’s been returned to your care.” Brody smiled. “Who knows? You and I may become friends some day.”
“Anything’s possible,” he lied with a tight smile, adding new information to his mental file on Brody. The man was unstable, delusional and very lonely if he imagined he could make a pal from a man he’d coerced into obedience. Also, Brody was deathly afraid of displeasing his father. All these weaknesses could possibly be exploited and used against him.
Justin glanced at Elyse again, who’d been quiet throughout the meal. Her plate was empty. She sipped her wine and gazed back at him. He wondered if being in her boss’s presence always silenced her like this. What did she really think of Raymond Brody? Did she admire or fear him? Was she sexually involved with him? Did she simply want to achieve more power in his organization? Or, maybe, all of the above?
After the meal, Brody led them back to his office and set up the call with Trina on speakerphone, giving no opportunity for any kind of secret communication.
“Hello?” Trina’s voice was quiet, but then she was always quiet. Even when she’d lost her temper as a teenager, she rarely yelled or stormed around slamming doors.
“Are you all right?” Justin felt a surge of relief at hearing her voice, mingled with a desire to leap across Brody’s desk and break his neck.