“You can’t distract me, my evasion expert. I know exactly what you’re doing, countering my probing. Tell me what you’re doing with Helen, darling.” She arched a teasing eyebrow. “And don’t try to make me jealous. That thing she had enlarged on your anatomy was impressive-looking.”
He tugged harder at the tendril around his finger, bringing her face closer. “What is it you want to know?”
“Her performance.”
“She hasn’t done anything yet.”
“Is she adapting well?”
“She knows her mind better than you.”
“Can she handle the serum?”
“We’ll know very soon, won’t we?”
“Does she get along with you enough to trust you?”
“That remains to be seen.” T. affected a frown. “Hmm. It sounds like you two are getting along famously.”
“How so?”
She ran a light fingernail down the row of buttons on his shirt. “She doesn’t like to talk about herself. Likewise with you. So, with the unexpected twist that your brain wave happens to be compatible with hers…I can imagine the big surprise you two are going to get soon.”
Her answer raised his interest a notch. “And what’s that?” he asked, eyeing her slender fingers teasing his shirtfront.
She smiled. “Darling, you’ll know very soon, won’t you?” She stepped back, her small teeth biting her lower lip.
He released her hair. As usual, it was fun while it lasted. “Don’t probe my mind and I won’t probe yours.” He smiled back at her. They’d both gotten a bit of information about their object of interest. He’d have to read up on the brain wave synchronicity.
“Darling, sometimes you’re much too tempting.”
Helen thought about the Portal as she bobbed lazily in the pool. This was it. Time for action. She had worked her butt off all these months for this moment. This would be the first time to share her experience with someone…if it worked. She frowned. She didn’t even know the man who was her monitor, and already he was sitting heavily in her mind.
What would he think of her if he “saw” the things she did? And what exactly was he there for besides to act as an anchor? There had to be more but Helen couldn’t come up with an answer yet. There hadn’t been enough time to probe his mind. She sensed another agenda, and yeah, it tasted of danger.
He had tested her and freely admitted that there was more to the contract. And what did he mean when he said he needed the trigger code in case things went wrong? How could he interfere with a remote viewer when he wasn’t one?
So many questions, and all about one man, some of which had nothing to do with this contract. They had more to do with her feminine curiosity. He had spiked her interest, this voice in her mind.
It wasn’t even his real voice—she had chosen the Southern twang—yet there was an underlying seduction in it that was all his. She shook her head. She was a GEM operative, trained in mind control and covert tactics. She had to ignore the temptation and the challenge this self-created avatar presented and try to understand the man behind it. The idea of someone watching her doing her job in detail was unnerving. Trust. Could she really trust this man?
A noise disturbed her reverie. She looked up. It was one ofthem.The big silent guy, she called him, because he was big and he hadn’t spoken a word to her ever.
He was built like an ancient warrior, sculpted muscles with a strange pattern tattooed on his chest and back. He had long, black hair and the blackest pair of eyes she’d ever seen. In fact, he looked so exotic that she always half expected him to walk in wearing some kind of armor—chain mail would look perfect on him—with some big sharp weapon by his side. And he enjoyed getting into the pool and racing her, even though he never said it. They’d just race silently, every time. She’d never been able to beat him. She told herself that it was because he always came in after she’d done some strenuous swimming. One day…one day, she would win.
Today wasn’t the day. She had to take it easy. Instead, she lazily swam up and down her lane, ignoring him. But she could feel him swimming alongside, keeping the same slow pace, feel his dark glance on her. Normally, that would challenge her into trying to make him talk to her, but today, it felt strangely comfortable, like he was there to just keep an eye on her.
Keep an eye on her.She snuck a glance at him. His expression didn’t reveal anything.
What if—she looked at the man again—her monitor had dark eyes and dark, dark hair? What if that was why the big guy didn’t speak to her? Maybe he was afraid she would catch some familiar phrasing coming out of that incredibly sensuous mouth.
As if he had an idea where her thoughts were leading, the corner of that very same mouth lifted slightly. And still he continued to swim silently alongside of her.
After another few laps, Helen got out, leaving him in the pool without a backward glance. When she had time, she was so going to sit down and read every one of these commandos’ files. It didn’t take her long to get dressed and she decided she’d head on over to the VR room to look at the Portal before anyone else got there.
“Are you okay?”
Helen looked up. Flyboy stood a few feet away, a watchful expression in his eyes. She had a feeling those eyes didn’t miss much either. Why were these guys “bumping” into her left and right? Either they were keeping an eye on her out of curiosity, or someone was ordering them to.
