Dawn Endeavor 1: Fallon's Flame

by Marie Harte

  “No fun, but okay.”

  Two men with guns walked into the clearing. Right behind them followed Kisho and Jules.

  Gunnar smiled, showing large white fangs. “Terrific. Playtime.” Jesse shifted and blocked her view. The sounds of fists meeting flesh sounded, then silence.

  “Two down, fifteen to go,” Jules said. “The lab is gone. The mission's a bust, and we have not only Montaña's men to worry about, but we found rogues working on his security detail. We need to move.”

  “Yeah. Time to get the hell back to the States before Montaña's men get their hands on Olivia,” Jesse agreed.

  “You have my vote.” Kisho sounded calm.

  “Fuck. No offense, Olivia. But you're putting a definite crimp in my style,” Gunnar complained.

  “Sorry. But you can always fight Jesse or some annoying local back home, can't you?” she offered, both relieved yet sorry they had to leave without what they'd come for.

  “I guess I'll have to,” Gunnar muttered.

  Jesse clapped him on the shoulder. “Look on the bright side. I'm sure Ava's just dying to get her hooks into you. You left her a basket of laundry with a snide note.”

  “Snide.” Gunnar snorted. “Dude, do you even know what snide means?” Olivia interrupted when she saw Jesse's hands ball into fists. “Um, Jules? I don't mean to put another crimp in anyone's style, but how are we supposed to go home looking like this?” She blushed and wondered if they could tell under her changed skin.

  “Good point.” Jules cleared his throat. “Ah, Fallon? You and Olivia might want to rinse off before we head out, to dull her scent.”

  “For God's sake,” she muttered, embarrassed at being compared to a breeding animal.

  “It's natural, Olivia. Your beast needs to procreate. Circs are sexual, as you've already seen.” There was no scorn or condemnation in Jules's voice. “It's something you'll get used to.

  Your scent is extremely enticing.”

  She blushed again.

  Kisho added, “And to answer your earlier question, when we scouted the lab, I found a cell phone. I made a few calls to discreet contacts. We'll be out of here, changed back, and dressed before noon. If we hurry.”

  Olivia entered the stream and washed herself. She still had a hard time believing she'd been naked around four men for more than a day and barely flinched anymore. She glanced up, met Jesse's gaze, and shivered at the sensual study he gave her.

  Definitely time to go home before I forget who I am. A woman who not only wears but likes clothes! She just hoped they made it home in one piece.

  Chapter Ten

  The trip home was anticlimactic. Olivia had anticipated danger, problems, more rogue Circs, or even Montaña's men. Instead they rode first-class back into Wilmington, where a rental van awaited them. An hour later she exited the vehicle and stared at the mansion she'd come to think of as home.

  “This all feels like a dream.”

  Gunnar nodded, sympathetic. “A nightmare. I know, honey. But that's why I think you should move into my room for the time being, because—” He oomphed the rest of his reply when Jesse elbowed him in the stomach.

  “Get away from my woman. Dick.” Jesse took her by the arm and gently pulled her with him into the house. “Don't mind Frederik. He talks a mean game, but he and the others know you're mine.”

  That possessive thing didn't irritate her anymore. Now it worried her. Had Gunnar spoken the truth before? Were her feelings for Jesse simply a matter of Circ survival? Was none of it real? “Why do you call him Frederik?” she asked to change the subject.

  Jesse's lips quirked, but he didn't laugh. “Because his name is Frederik Gunnar Tersch.” Gunnar chose that moment to enter and scowled. “You just had to tell her. See if I protect any more of your secrets.” He stomped away, yelling for Ava.

  Mrs. Sharpe hurried down the steps toward them. “I worried when you didn't call.” Jules entered behind them with Kisho in tow. “Sorry, Mrs. Sharpe. The Brazilian authorities tried to hold us up, but Kisho fixed things.”

  “A calm head prevailed,” Kisho added. “I'll tell you about it later.” She nodded and turned her attention to Olivia and Jesse standing hand in hand. “So what's this?”

  “Another long story,” Olivia said with a sigh. She pulled her hand from Jesse's but kissed his cheek to settle him down. Public displays of affection tended to ease her mate— lover—and she liked calming him. Affecting his moods gave her a sense of control she had worried she'd lost. It had nothing to do with making him happy, or so she kept telling herself.

  He grinned like a little kid at Christmas and sauntered away with her bags. “I'll put them in our room.”

  Mrs. Sharpe's eyes widened. “Oh. Like that, is it?”

  “I have no idea what it's like. Apparently I'm a Circ, and Jesse and I have a thing going.

  Yeah, go figure. I'm tired and hungry. We can discuss this later if you like.” After I've had a chance to figure out what all this means.

  “Of course. I'll have Melissa fix supper while you all settle in. We'll debrief after dinner.

  You and I can talk later.”

  Summarily dismissed, Olivia turned and headed up the stairs. She entered her room, not ready to deal with Mr. “Ours,” and fell asleep.

  She awakened to a warm mouth on her naked breast. Lips tugged, and teeth pulled. A thick finger entered her while another slid over her clit with exquisite slowness. The finger inside her became two, scissoring to stretch her. And then they disappeared, replaced by a long, thick cock.

  Mint and lust filled the very air she breathed as Jesse kissed her. A leisurely exploration of tongue and lips and teeth, he worshipped her body as he brought her to orgasmic bliss and continued to make love to her.

  “That's it. Again. Tell me what you want, baby,” he murmured and caged her face between his hands. He stared into her eyes while he fucked her, the emotional sea of sharing and love and pleasure like a drug she couldn't quit.

  “That's it,” he said with satisfaction before ramping her up again.

  He changed the angle of his thrust and grazed her clit as he rode her. The change also forced him to touch a very sensitive spot inside her, one that made her see stars and rainbows as he pounded into her with greater excitement.

  She clenched him tight as he came, cradling him in her arms like the treasure he was turning out to be.

  Finally spent, she sank into her bed and sighed.

  “You like my cum inside you, don't you, Olivia?” Jesse murmured. “So hot in your pussy.

  With as many times as I've shot inside you, won't be long, and we'll be making babies, hmm?”

  “Babies,” she repeated. Little boys with his dark hair and eyes, mischievous toddlers who'd crawl all over him and her and—“Babies?”

  He leaned on an elbow and studied her. “You don't want kids?”

  “Yes, I do. But not now. I'm still young, and I wanted to travel, to do and see things…”

  “Like Brazil?” he asked lazily, his smile wide. He palmed her stomach and rubbed with a tender touch. “Every time I come inside you, I feel like I've gone to heaven. And I can't help thinking about watching you nurse my son, to see your breasts swollen with milk to feed our daughter.”

  She shivered at the intense longing in his voice. “You…ah…you mean that?”

  “Never thought I would, but yeah. I'm an adrenaline junkie. Joined the navy and became a SEAL, then a Circ. But nothing would give me more pleasure than to get you pregnant.” He ran a finger over her nipple, arousing her anew. He leaned down and kissed it, sucking on the nub, which was growing hard, sensitive. “God, Olivia. We don't know each other well enough for this, but I can't help it. I want you. I fucking love you. And I can't explain it.” She froze. “Wh-what?”

  “I know you want to leave and go back to Virginia, but to what? You're tired of your job.

  Why not take a position here, working with us and Mrs. Sharpe? I know Tersch is a pain in the ass, but I'll m
ake him behave. Jules is a great guy. Kisho likes you, and he's pretty particular.” He swallowed hard. “I know it doesn't seem like it, but I'm not really into sharing. It's just that as a Circ, we're sexual creatures. What's normal for other people isn't normal for us.”

  “Like having sex with your team, orgies of orgasms.” She stared at him, wide-eyed, and wanted to see him go at it with his team again. She knew she had a sexual side, but this Circ thing made her feel perpetually horny. Hearing him say “I love you,” even “I fucking love you,” made her want to roll him over and make love to him all over again.

  “Yeah, I guess. What I'm saying is that I'll give you whatever fantasies you can dream up.

  We both know I can satisfy you.”

  Did they ever. “What are you trying to say, Jesse?” He swallowed loudly. “Olivia, will you m—”

  Gunnar burst through the door. “Shit, guys, give it a rest already. Problem. Hayashi's missing. He went to return the van but never turned it in, and he's not answering his phone.” Jesse leaped out of bed and hurriedly dressed while she did the same. That Gunnar didn't leer or make any other comments about her body told her of his distress, even if he hadn't throbbed with worry on the psychic plane.

  “Come on.”

  She followed Gunnar and Jesse out the door, surprised to see the light of day creeping through the house. “What time is it?”

  “You slept through our debrief. It's the next morning,” Jesse informed her.

  They met Mrs. Sharpe, Jules, and Ava in the living room.

  “Kisho is missing. I have several men looking into this as we speak,” Mrs. Sharpe said.

  She looked calm, but Olivia could feel her worry. That the older woman had let it slip alarmed her.

  “When he didn't come home last night, I figured he needed a break. You know he sometimes goes out by himself.” Jules rubbed the back of his neck in agitation. “Never occurred to me he could be in danger.”

  Mrs. Sharpe frowned. “I've heard back from the team that went in to destroy the lab. They found a dozen dead bodies. None of them Montaña's men, just scientists and servants. All traces of the drug were gone. There was no account of proof about anyone's involvement in anything.

  Gatito's notes weren't there.”

  Jules shook his head. “Someone knew we were coming. Who, Mrs. Sharpe?”

  “Admiral London, myself, and a few of his team discussed the mission. But ultimately I accepted it.”

  “We need to do a sweep of the house,” Gunnar stated.

  “I'll have Jack get on it.”

  “The handyman?” Olivia asked.

  “The ex-spook handyman,” Jesse confirmed, and she remembered what Mrs. Sharpe had told her before. “Melissa does a lot of other things besides cook too.” Her mind raced. “We still have no idea who was running the lab, though, right? Just that Colonel Ricardo Montaña runs the security, and that Montaña's men are stateside.”

  “Right. We lost sight of them while you were in Brazil. There's no possible reason for any of them to kidnap one of our Circs, though.” Mrs. Sharpe looked as puzzled as the team felt.

  “Unless they want something we have,” Ava added quietly, her gaze on Olivia.

  “Considering the rogues and mutants you ran into, and the fact that the drug we're after doesn't work on Circs period, it's likely whoever's running the labs has a Circ agenda.” Jules nodded. “That makes sense. Just because Elliot Pearl is dead and Pearson Labs destroyed, that doesn't mean his research is at a standstill. He had plenty of scientists working for him over the years leading up to Project Dawn. How do we know one of them didn't start his or her own private research?”

  “Or that Pearl didn't make some deals no one knew about when he was alive,” Jesse added.

  “He might have a few projects ongoing, even posthumously. And let's not forget Olivia. She's a Circ, but where did she come from?”

  “That confuses me too. I've never had any weirdo treatments in my life. Nothing experimental.”

  “That you knew of,” Gunnar said. “That's how they infected Sabrina Packard. Drugged her and called it a vaccine.”

  “Who?”

  “She's a female Circ, but she worked with Elliot Pearl,” Mrs. Sharpe answered. “Olivia's medical records and the interview we had with her uncle and aunt checked out. She's clean.” Talk about extensive research. Olivia had a hard time understanding how this could be possible, despite knowing the truth. “So, what? I'm a natural Circ? Born this way?”

  “Your father was in the navy,” Jesse said slowly. “What if Pearl's original Circs didn't start at Project Dawn, but earlier?”

  Everyone quieted.

  “A scary thought,” Ava murmured.

  “Yes, and something we need to look into. But right now we need to find Kisho.” Mrs.

  Sharpe took charge. Ava went in search of Melissa and Jack. The men left to go looking for Kisho. Mrs. Sharpe made phone calls.

  Olivia didn't know what to do or what to think.

  “Call Jaime and Belinda. I need to talk to them pronto,” Mrs. Sharpe ordered. She tilted her head to cradle the phone in her ear and tapped her temple with a long-fingered hand. The light-colored polish on her nails flashed in the light, and it just clicked.

  Her familiarity suddenly made incredible, impossible sense.

  “You…you can't be…”

  Mrs. Sharpe smiled. “Can't I? Now make the call, dear. We don't have time to waste.”

  * * *

  Fallon sent out mental calls for Hayashi but heard nothing in return. He, Jules, and Tersch had just checked over every inch of the rental van they'd found parked in the deserted lot of a crumbling textile plant outside of New Bern. Fallon could barely smell Hayashi under the sickeningly sweet smell that covered the vehicle.

  “The fuckers masked it with perfume. I can't tell if his kidnappers are Circ or human.” Fallon clenched his fists, needing answers. “Too bad we don't have more on Montaña, because I guaran-damn-tee he's behind this. He has to be.”

  “I agree,” Jules added. “But why take Hayashi? We've had no ransom demands. I don't see them grabbing him for bizarre experiments.”

  “Why not? Pearl did it.” Tersch paced in front of the van, unable to mask his worry.

  “Yeah, but Pearl's dead. It's been a year and a half since the labs closed down. Don't you think if a hint of his research remained so close, we'd have heard before now?” Fallon asked.

  “Jules, what did Roane's team say when you called them?” He snorted. “Nothing. They haven't heard or seen a hair of anything Circ in months. The rogues we encountered in the jungle were a complete surprise, according to Roane. Hell, they've been working real-world ops for General Shields, non-Circ stuff.”

  Jesse had the feeling they were missing something. But what? He studied the textile plant, measuring the brick building. Broken glass windows around the rooftop, busted metal doors, faded paint on the front of the place. The whole mill was in disrepair. He sighed.

  “We should check over the van again.”

  Tersch entered, cocked his head, and stopped. Then, as if directed by another force, he reached between the driver's seat and the center console.

  “What's that?” Jules asked as he pulled a piece of paper free.

  “I don't know.” Tersch frowned. “It's in Hayashi's handwriting, though. Sunfield.” Jesse's gaze shot to the building. “Like the wording on the mill?” The three of them circled in front of the van and stared at the building.

  “See how the s-u-n is faded, but the f-i-e-l-d is still there.” Jesse felt an itch to explore.

  “He's inside.”

  “I know.” Jules scowled. “But how do I know?”

  “I don't like any of this.” Tersch didn't even pretend. He stripped out of his shirt and shoes and changed, expanding underneath the elastic waistband of his pants. Except he didn't just change, he transformed into the fighting machine that could withstand anything they'd ever come up against—his own psychic cross to
bear.

  Jules said, “We'll follow in the SUV. If he's bad off, he'll need quick transport out of here.

  Go.”

  Fallon joined him in the vehicle, and they raced after Tersch. Inside the building, they followed Tersch's howls of rage up three flights of stairs into a dusty office covered in filth.

  There, on a metal stretcher in the middle of the room, lay Hayashi, naked, bloodied, and mending from what appeared to be multiple breaks in his body. Mottled bruising covered him from head to toe, and he had a defined wound, what looked like teeth marks, around his left nipple.

  “I'll fucking kill whoever did this to him,” Tersch swore as he broke the chains holding Hayashi's wrist and ankle restraints to the table. “Kisho, buddy, you with us?” Nothing.

  “I can hear him breathing. Jules, what does his aura look like?” Fallon asked, wanting to crush whoever had done this. Of the four of them, Hayashi was the most gentle. One wouldn't know it to look at him, but the man had a soft spot around kids and animals. He seemed stoic, almost unfeeling, but only because he felt so much. The rare glimpses into his thoughts had shown Fallon much about the man behind the aloof warrior he called friend and brother.

  “He's not healthy, but there's an odd infusion of light around him I can't understand. He's healing, slowly. Still, we need him checked out. Too bad Sharpe hasn't found us a doctor yet. We need someone on staff.”

  “No shit,” Tersch growled, still monstrously large and thinking about death and dismemberment a little too often for Fallon's peace of mind.

  “Dude, let it go. You're freaking me out.”

  Tersch gradually shrank to his normal changed size. “Better now, Nancy?” Tersch grumbled.

  “Yeah, thanks, Frederik.”

  Tersch curled his lip in a smile.

  Jules punched in a few numbers on his cell phone. “We have him, but we need Doc pronto.” He hung up. “He's already on his way. Mrs. Sharpe called him this morning. Said she had a feeling we'd need him.” Jules carefully lifted Hayashi in his arms. “Okay, Fallon, you drive. Tersch, you're on protection duty on the way home. I'll continue to monitor our boy, here.” They hurried back to the SUV, on edge and prepared to combat any sudden attack. Fallon opened the back and folded back the seats. Jules placed Hayashi inside, then sat next to him.