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"You are free to be with whom you wish that day only," he amended. "Do you agree to the terms?"
I hesitated, not wanting to seems overly eager. Not that I was. But he was a means to an end, and besides, whether I liked him personally or not, he was usually a good lover. "What if I do fall pregnant? What then?"
"Then I will support you and the child, and do everything in my power to protect you."
"There's a major flaw in that thinking. You could be dead in five years." So could I, but I wasn't about to point that out.
His smile was hard, his eyes icy. "Believe me, I have ways of ensuring you're protected."
I didn't think I was ready to know just what he meant by that.
"Do you agree?" he asked again.
I would have agreed to just about anything, but he wasn't to know that. So I let the silence stretch between us, letting him think I was mulling over the terms when all I wanted to do was make the down payment and get the first lot of information.
"Yes, I agree."
"And my payment?"
He got it. Then I got my starting point.
The man who didn't exist.
Kade Williams. ely had time to scream a warning before they were flowing through the cut glass and racing toward me. I backpedalled fast, blocking blows with my forearms. My skin crawled every time I touched the slick, cold flesh of the creatures. They smelled of rotting flesh even though none of them looked to be in decay, and my stomach rolled, threatening to rebel. I swallowed, and tried to breathe through my mouth as I punched one of the blue things in the face and sent him flying back across the room.
My neck prickled a warning. I spun. A fine line of silver arced toward me. This time, it wasn't an arrowhead laced with enough elephant juice to knock me out, but a goddamn laser. I dove out of the way, hitting the floor with a grunt that sent air whooshing from my lungs. The smell of burnt leather touched the air as the beam punched through the back of the sofa.
"Here," Rhoan said sharply.
Something silver spun through the semidarkness. Not another laser beam, but a laser. I caught it left-handed and twisted around as something grabbed my ankles. A stinking blue thing had my toes in his clammy little grip and was attempting to hold me still as he raised the laser. Stupid, that's what he was. Even I knew you didn't give an opponent an even chance to fire.
I pressed the laser's trigger and fired without bothering to sight. Right now, any hit was a good hit. Light that was red and somehow angry leapt across the distance between us, slicing into flesh and bone. The creature's arm plopped to the floor beside me, the stump black and smoldering rather than bloody. The smell of burnt flesh rent the air, and I almost lost my coffee right there and then.
Fighting the tide, trying not to breathe too deeply, I kicked with my free foot, sending him flying backward. Another beam of red bit across the darkness, finishing what I'd started.
I scrambled to my feet. Another of the creatures came at me, all arms and ugly flesh. I ducked several blows, then threw one of my own. My punch landed mid-gut, but it was like hitting Jell-O. Wet, slimy Jell-O that just wobbled under the impact, absorbing without consequence.
Well, shit... The thought got no further as his fist hit my chin and the force of the blow sent me flying backward. I hit a wall with a grunt, and slid down the paintwork, briefly seeing a double of everything.
Including a flying blue thing, its teeth bared and gleaming wickedly in the darkness.
I closed my eyes, tasting the air, judging his whereabouts and closeness by scent alone, then raised the laser and fired.
There was a thud, and the smell of burned flesh rent the air, making my stomach curl. I opened my eyes. Two headless blue things wavered in and out of focus near my feet.
"Riley," Rhoan said, suddenly coming into vision. A second later his hand grabbed mine. "You all right?"
He helped me rise, and I gave a shaky nod. "Just a little dazed by a punch to the chin."
He touched the right side of my face gently. "You're going to have a bit of a bruise there."
"So kissing is out for a day or so?"
"I'd say so."
"Bugger."
He grinned. "You don't need to kiss to have a good time."
