She smiled back. She did have to admit to herself that running with Caleb tripped a switch in her, like it was natural and they'd always done it.
"Finally, someone else to keep this mongrel busy." The silky voice slid up Corra's nape like a caress.
Darcy jogged along her other side, punctuated by the balanced scent of his aftershave and personal musk.
"Mongrel? Wouldn't that make me a mongrel too?"
"No, just Caleb. You are a lady."
"Does that make you the tramp?"
Darcy laughed, and the rich sound of it tugged her, pulling her in.
They picked up pace as they approached the wall. For the most part, she'd gotten the hang of the obstacle course in the days since their enrollment, but she still struggled with this part of the course.
She sprang forward, reaching. She stalled partway up and seemed locked in place as Caleb hit the ground on the far side and turned to watch her progress.
A moment later, a hand clamped round the back of her thigh just below her left butt, cheek and she was lifted high enough she could have flown over the edge. Dropping to the ground, she rolled from the extra force and came up to see Darcy grinning as he dropped to the balls of his feet.
"Thought I'd give you a hand." He grinned.
Shock from the unexpected contact warred with her pride. "I would have made it. I just needed another second."
Darcy chuckled.
"Come on, you two can flirt over lunch," Caleb said, nudging Corra with his shoulder toward the edge of the field. "Glad you joined us, Corra. Back tomorrow?"
"Who's flirting? I don't flirt," she said with indignation. "I think I might just stick to the yoga."
"You'll need to complete the course at some point."
She sighed. "I stuck to cross-country and avoided track and field in high school for a reason," she muttered.
"I'll train you," Darcy said.
"Uhm, no, I'm fine, thanks."
He shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said and jogged off ahead of the siblings.
"He would help you," Caleb said.
"He has a reputation with the ladies around here."
"Can't argue that. But he's a good guy. Consider cutting him some slack."
She wanted to. She couldn’t let her guard down around someone she found so damned attractive. They were both quiet the rest of the way to the dormitories.
He pulled the door open to let her pass through ahead of him. "Dinner?"
Corra glanced at her watch, "Okay, I'll drag Bree from her books."
He smiled, and they parted ways at the junction of the hall.
Darcy pulled the Ray-Bans from his face as he entered the diner. His eyes landed on his sister's perfectly coiffed head, seated midway along the row of retro booths lining the window side of the establishment.
Katz smiled as he approached and offered her cheek as he bent to kiss her in greeting. He glanced down to see that she already had a cup of Chai next to her discarded laminated menu.
The waitress came around with a wide smile and twinkle in her eye on seeing Darcy. The older lady had once told him how much she enjoyed seeing a well-dressed man in the place, since most customers were on their way to and from labor jobs. It was a nice treat. She took his order and filled his coffee cup, then moved along to refill other cups.
"So…"
"Good evening, Darcy. How are you?" Katz said with a raised eyebrow at his lack of manners.
He sipped his coffee to remind himself of proper Karak etiquette and made another start at familial small talk. Once that was out of the way, he got back to the point of their dinner meeting. "So…"
Katz rolled her eyes. "I adore your direct qualities, of course, though it would be nice if we could just enjoy each other's company."
"I do, you know that." He gave her a pained expression.
"Well yes, but…" She sighed. "I don't know. It would be nice to be able to just have the minor illusion that this is just a family call, you know?"
He nodded, then smiled as the waitress returned with their orders. "Lovely, Sue, thank you."
She grinned back at him and patted his shoulder, her sneakers squeaking as she disappeared again.
He dug into his food. As much as he wanted to know what his sister was going to say, his gut told him he already knew.
"Mummy and Daddy want you to meet with them."
He nodded. "Yes, I think you told me that Friday night. They want me to leave here to run off home and get married."
"Yes, well, I told them you were resisting and wanted to finish out your training. And that you already had a serious relationship."
He looked up. "And?"
"And, well, they were incredibly surprised, given your behavior since… Well, for quite some time now." She sipped her tea, turning her gaze to the street scene out the window.
"Since Travis died?"
She nodded.
"And they still think this is just some phase? Some redemption mission?"
She nodded again. "Because his death wasn't your fault, Darcy."
"It isn't a phase."
"Well, I've been doing my best to convince them to at least let you finish your training."
"Let me." Let being the operative word.
Katz sighed, her eyes pleading for his patience.
"I know; you're just the messenger. We both know how this works." He pushed his plate away, food half-eaten and congealing in his stomach. Katz had barely touched the steak and salad in front of her.
"I told you. I don't want to marry someone they're negotiating for me or work in the company. I'm going to finish my training and work for the agency."
"And live the happy life with Corra Terry."
"Yes." He'd forgotten about that.
"They're looking into her, you know."
Shit.
"Of course they are," he said quickly. "They stalk everyone that enters the periphery of their sphere."
"I like her," Katz said, lifting her mug to her lips, eyes glued to his face.
Warmth bloomed in Darcy's chest. He had no idea why it pleased him so much that Katz liked Corra. He barely knew her, as much as he wanted to. "Good, me too." He smiled.
"Anyway, they're in Orange County and want you to fly in to visit this weekend."
Darcy groaned into his coffee cup. Their parents were not far away—at home—as he’d expected.
"They want to meet Corra."
His mouth full of coffee nearly sprayed back into the mug. He managed to swallow it down.
Oh, this wasn't good.
"They want me to subject her to their grilling?"
"It won't be so bad." She waved a hand. "They're getting milder with age." She winked at him. "Besides, wouldn't it be better if they can fall in love with her the way you have, before their reports start coming in?"
This really wasn't good. He had no way of stopping his parents when they had their eyes on something. If it couldn't outrun them, they'd lock their jaws on whatever it was until it sufficiently submitted.
What the fuck was he supposed to do now?
Deciding she'd done her duty, Katz turned her attention to her experiences in the quaint mountain town since her arrival. "This place is very rustic. I think I might look into real estate here."
"You can't be serious. You? Here?" He laughed.
She shrugged her narrow shoulders. "I like to escape the city now and then too, you know. Maybe find myself an inappropriate local to hide away and have a wild sex vacation with." She leaned over her plate and whispered, "Just to get under Mum’s& Dad's fur a little."
The image of Katz’s eyeballs ogling Zeek’s ass ripped through his mind. He slammed the door shut on that one as soon as it was out again.
Nah.
Darcy laughed at the mischievous glint in her eye. "I really don't need that visual of you. Yes, I know they'd disapprove of that."
Was there anything they did approve of that wasn't directly in line with their wishes?
He
studied his sister as she finally bit into her steak. It seemed the mountain air had been doing her some good in the few days she'd been here. She seemed more at ease, her eyes were bright, and her skin glowed.
What about Katz? What did she want? He could believe that she, too, wanted some kind of escape from their parents. Maybe she thought that was what the Academy was for Darcy, an escape.
It wasn't. It was so much more.
Nor was it a tool for redemption. That was just the trigger. This was his calling. He’d just gotten here through difficult means.
And he had no intention of letting it go. There was no way he was going to give up a career as a FUC agent to join the family corporation.
And as for getting married…That was a whole other issue in and of itself. Would that be the price he'd have to pay to get his parents and their interference off his back?
Guess I'll have to find out.
9
"Good morning, lover."
The velvety voice pulled at Corra, sending a jolt of desire deep into her belly.
At the sound of the low voice, her head tilted up from the book she was reading while she ate breakfast. "I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" She blinked into Darcy's face, honed in on her from across the cafeteria table, his hands firmly planted on the surface.
His smile widened. "Yes, of course."
"Uhm…" She glanced down at the strong, tanned hands splayed in front of her. The flash of an image shot through her brain, jolting her with the desire to find out what those hands would feel like sliding along her skin.
"Well, that's what we are, right? Lovers? As of last weekend, when you announced the status to my sister."
Her face flushed with the memory of the bold, impulsive move she'd convinced herself hadn't really happened. Darcy certainly had acted as though it hadn't in the intervening days.
"What's going on?" She frowned at him, wondering what he was getting at and trying to suppress the images rolling through her head.
Lover.
The tenor of his voice rolled through her, an echo of the preceding moment. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.
He reached into his blazer pocket and extracted his phone. Seconds later, hers buzzed on the table next to her plate.
"What's this?" she asked, opening the link he'd sent. She double blinked, trying to focus on the words. Surely it wasn't what it looked like? "What is this?" she repeated.
"An invitation for this weekend. I booked us a flight into John Wayne Airport in Orange County. We leave Friday after training is done for the day."
"That's tomorrow!" Corra was saturated in confusion. What was happening?
I've got to be dreaming. This is going to roll right into some wild sex dream, and then I'll wake up and get on with life.
Darcy's voice pulled her back from the mind drift, his gold-green eyes still locked on her face, his full lips quirked.
She wondered what those lips tasted like through the buzzing in her head.
"Corra?"
"Hm? What… Yes?"
"Do you like the beach?"
This conversation was getting weirder, "Yes, who doesn't?"
"Okay, good, bring a swimsuit."
The buzzing in her head receded, and the cafeteria chair was still hard under her bottom. Corra reached for her juice and took a sip.
Okay, maybe this isn't a dream, but this is really frikking weird.
"I don't understand, Darcy. Why do you want me to go to California this weekend?"
"My parents want to meet you."
"Oh, hell no!" She jumped to her feet, and the book clutched in her hand dropped to the floor as the chair scraped backward.
"You'll be fine. Don't worry. They just want to meet the woman that rocked my world." He smirked.
"You're joking."
"Nope."
"I can't just go to California with you."
"Why not?" A perfect jet brow arched.
"I've got stuff to do."
"Like?" He settled down on the chair across from her, propping an ankle on his opposite knee, leaning back, waiting for her to resume her seat and their discussion.
Every time she looked at him, he was a figure at ease. She glanced down at her own posture, standing tense, her hands curled into balls. Unclenching her fingers, she rolled her shoulders and retrieved her seat. "Work."
"Bryah said she and Carl can manage at the Hub. Caleb said he'd help, too, so you'll be free."
"You spoke to Bree?"
"I went to your room first. She told me you were here. I'm pretty sure she's already packing for you."
Corra groaned. There was no way she was going to get out of this if Bryah was on board.
What was she thinking? Corra couldn't go to another country with a man she barely knew. Especially this man.
"Well, she'll have to just unpack. I'm not going."
"Of course you are. There's no reason not to."
"Like hell there isn't," she snapped. "I don't know you. I'm not crossing the border with some playboy for the weekend for no reason other than to appease his mommy and daddy. Just tell them you don't want to get married. I don't need to be involved in this. I'm sorry I opened my mouth."
"Well, you did. And I'd much rather us go there and convince them we're a deal than have them come here and mire things up for the Academy. They won't let this go. Katz said they've already started looking into you."
A chill swept through Corra. "What do you mean by that?"
They looked into people? She didn't like the sound of that—all the more reason to stay far, far away.
"Background checks and stuff."
Corra snorted. "They're not going to like what they find, I'll tell you that now. I'm just a common street mutt. Where is your sister? I'll go tell her that I dumped you, or you can tell her you dumped me. Whatever. I don't care."
His expression turned serious. "Please?" He leaned toward her, his voice lowered.
That one word slid through her like silk, leaving behind a subtle rippling shiver.
She couldn't believe her ears.
"Why? No bullshit."
"I'm dedicated to becoming an agent. And this is the easiest way to get them off my back."
"You should just tell them what's what and do it. You're not a child."
"No, I'm not, but they're very meddlesome when they want something."
She snorted. "Sounds familiar. What can they do?"
"They can make things very difficult so that I won't have any choice but to fall in line."
"They sound like terrible folks."
He shrugged. "They're used to doing what they feel is best and ensuring others follow their directives."
"I don't think I want to meet these people."
"You don't need to fear them."
"I'm not afraid," she snapped. "What's in it for me?"
"A weekend in California?"
"Not good enough."
He flinched at that.
She wondered if anyone had ever not jumped at the chance to spend time with him.
He studied her for a long moment. "I know you and Caleb are looking for information on your family. FUC is looking into what they can. They’re just too busy chasing cases to divert resources for private matters. My parents have those resources. I have no doubt they might even find something interesting you can take away. You never know."
"You think they can actually find out what happened? How is that possible?"
"Like I said, they have resources, and when they want something, they're very persuasive."
"That's my price then. I want information about my family. If it's as you say, that they're going to look into my business anyway, I want that information. Not that I like this one bit."
Darcy nodded. "Deal."
"And my own room."
"That would be counter-productive to the purpose. We're going there to convince them we're a couple wildly into each other. Separate rooms wouldn't work."
"Well, I'm not sleeping with
you."
His eyebrows shot up. Then lowered as his lovely mouth widened into a mischievous grin. "Who ever said anything about sleeping?" He rose from the chair with a wink and sauntered out of the cafeteria.
Corra drew in a deep breath. Then another.
What the hell am I getting myself into?
After classes, Corra stopped by Professor Columba's office for a dream status update. They listened to her recordings together. Recollections of random weird dreams that Columba would help her analyze along with snippets from her early life and the recurring nightmare. Descriptions of the same street and alley. The sound of her mother’s voice. The fear of their pursuer.
Even though she still didn’t have the face of the abductor, the frequency and fullness of the dream’s recollections were promising.
"This is good, Corra. Keep it up."
"I will," she said. She was startled by the appearance of Instructor Joe Suricatta standing outside the door when she opened it to go.
"I heard you're traveling with Darcy Karak this weekend."
"Uhm. Yeah?"
"Okay," he said, moving so that she had to back into Columba's office, and he closed the door.
"What's going on?"
"I've been getting some alerts that someone's looking for information about you."
"Oh, yeah, that's probably Darcy's parents." She explained the situation.
Suricatta adjusted his glasses, his face unreadable.
Does this guy ever have expressions?
His eyes dropped to Corra's chest, his finger extended.
She leaned back, not knowing what he was doing.
"That's your pendant, Sylla," he said.
"Yes, she's using it for dream work."
"Take it off, please."
Confused, she did and handed it to him. “What for?”
He pulled a tiny black bit of plastic and metal from his pocket, pried the back of the pendant open to expose the recording device, slipped the extra bit into the small space, and replaced the backing.
“It’s a tracker. Can’t be too careful.” He glanced up at her over the rim of his glasses. “Especially after the Couleuvre incident with you and Bryah Lam recently.”
She slipped it back over her head when he handed it back to her. Right. The Couleuvre incident. She grimaced.
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