Right Through Me (The Obsidian Files #1)(73)

“Well,” Caro replied, after several seconds. “In spite of all this, you have a wonderful life. I don’t know how you pull it off. I’m huddled under a rock, eating ramen, and you’re making gazillions helping humanity with visionary biotech. You live in a lakefront mansion with art by Delaunay and Bosch on your wall, you drive a Porsche, you eat filet mignon for dinner and hand-peeled grapes for dessert. I am in awe.”

“I’ve been at it longer,” Noah said. “You learn some tricks.”

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Is that so. Tell me more about these modifications. Are you, like, Superman?”

An ironic smile flashed across his face. “Hardly,” he said. “We have implants. We had to undergo brain stimulation and intense biofeedback, plus experimental gene splicing. Muscle fiber mods, intensive combat training, ultra-heightened reflexes. They wanted supersoldiers. Each of us has a specialty, according to our dominant abilities.”

“What’s yours?”

“Eyes,” he said simply.

She sighed. “Of course. Can you see in the dark?”

“Yes. I have hardware in my eyes, for far vision and night vision, and AVP uploaded into my brain. Augmented visual processing. I see a wider spectrum of frequencies, and I process visual information extremely fast. And react the same way.”

“Kill first, think second?” The question just came out.

“It’s happened,” he said, unfazed by the question. “Not lately. Took me years to learn to calm down the stress response.”

Caro got up from her chair and grabbed her coat from the back of the couch where Hannah had draped it. She shrugged it on. “That is just an amazing story, Noah, but I don’t want to hear any more. It’s time for me to go now.”

“No.” Noah moved between her and the door, blocking her. His huge body was a wall between her and and escape.

Her throat constricted. “You can’t force me to stay.”

“I don’t want to force you to do anything. But I can’t let an angry person with a grudge who knows my family’s secrets just go walking out my door.”

“Oh,” she said. “So, you’re a super-assassin, right? You don’t even need to outsource a hit. Shall I say my prayers? Is this my big moment?”

“I already told you.” His voice was stiff. “I would never hurt you.”

“You already did,” she said. “You’ve hurt me more in the past half hour than I ever have been hurt by anyone. Including Mark. Open the goddamn door, Noah. There’s no danger in letting me walk away. I won’t say anything about you. No one in their right mind would believe me if I did. You’re perfectly safe from me.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Caro,” he said. “Not happening.”

The look on his face made her want to scream. He felt completely justified in what he was doing, no matter how supposedly sorry he was to do it. It made her feel so alone.

A thought crept into the back of her mind, which was right where she had to keep it. It had to stay small, huddled up. If it got any larger, he would sense it. The way he sensed f*cking everything. Always.

Sexual energy buzzed between them. She couldn’t stop it if she wanted to. Her body responded to him without her consent. That heat in his eyes did something to her that was light-years outside her conscious control. It made her frantic. Furious that he had so much power over her. Besides all the other powers, all his crushing advantages as an adversary, he had this, too.

Sex was the only weapon she had to turn back upon him, as alert as he was. If she could keep her thoughts small, and cold, and secret.

Sex might distract him for a crucial moment. If she could manage not to get totally swept away by it herself. A very big if.

She took a step closer. Shrugged the coat open. Shoulders back. Tits out.

“So what’s the plan for me, then?” She made her voice go low and husky. “A golden cage? A collar and leash? Is this going to be my life now? Will you keep me naked in your bedroom, ready to fulfil your every sexual whim?”

His eyes narrowed. “That’s a fast change of subject.”

She shrugged. “I suppose. You make me so angry. And even so, we always find ourselves . . . right here.” Another step brought her close enough to reach out and stroke the thickened bulge at the front of his jeans with her fingertip. “Every damn time.”

He shuddered but stood tall, a hot flush on his cheekbones. “Oh f*ck.”

“Screwing me over really turns you on,” she said. “Look at that.”

“You too,” he shot back.

“You think?” Caro grabbed the hems of her layered Tshirts and pulled them up, baring her breasts and tight nipples. “Well, would you look at that. You’re so right.”

His eyes had that hot amber glow that made her crazy, but she controlled herself, sliding her hand into her deep coat pocket as she sidled closer. “If you’re not going to let me go, what do you propose to do with me? I’d love to hear the details.”

Noah’s body heat made sent a shivering ripple of excitement through her body, making her nipples tingle wildly.

“No,” he said unsteadily. “We’re not doing that now. You’re too angry at me.”

“That’s not going to change,” she told him. “But I’m in a crazy mood.”