Deadly Game (GhostWalkers, #5)(54)

He bent down, framing her face, thumbs sliding over her soft skin once before he took possession of her mouth. He had thought—hoped—that that first kiss had been a fluke, but the moment he touched her lips, teasing and tugging with his teeth until she opened for him, he was in instant meltdown. He kissed her over and over, stealing her breath, giving her his own, drowning in need.

She was frying his brain. He couldn’t even think clearly, his head roaring, thunder in his ears, his heart pounding, and his body so hard and rigid, he rubbed his palm over the thick bulge desperate for relief. She had done that—made him come alive, feel like a man again. She’d given him back his life, and if he took what her dark gaze was offering, he might completely destroy hers.

Ken forced himself away from the edge of madness, jerking his hand away from her and stepping back to shove his fingers through his hair in agitation. His breath came in ragged gasps. He wanted her so much that for one moment he couldn’t think coherently, couldn’t think about anything but her soft skin and lush body. He took another step back. “This is crazy. Go back to sleep.”

“I’m thirsty.”

His gaze jumped to her face. “I’m doing my best to look out for you, Mari, and you’re not making it easy.”

“I’ll be good, but I really am thirsty.”

She sat up a little tentatively, and he leaned in to arrange her pillows. His arm brushed her breast, and he bit out a curse between clenched teeth. Ken poured water into a glass and shoved it at her, careful not to let their fingers touch.

She brought the glass to her lips, dragging his attention back to her mouth. He nearly groaned watching her throat work as she swallowed the water. He dragged a chair to the side of the bed and straddled it, leaning his arms on the top of the back and resting his chin on his hands. “You never wince or avert your eyes when you look at me.”

Mari pressed the glass against her temple. “Do people really do that?”

“Of course they do, look at me.”

“I have been looking at you.” Her gaze drifted over his face and dipped lower to follow the scars disappearing into his shirt. There was blatant interest in her eyes. “People are idiots.”

“God, woman, you’re not safe.” He took a breath, let it out, and forced his mind away from her sinful mouth. “Tell me about the compound. How could military personnel and, I’m guessing, lab techs be there and not realize what was going on?” She was too much of a temptation to him sitting there looking vulnerable and drowsy and eyeing him like he might be candy.

She shrugged, hiding her smile at his reaction to her. “The compound is multilayered and they rotate the soldiers coming in fairly often. From the outside, the place looks fairly innocuous. The ground layer has a few buildings, sheds, the airstrip, helicopter landing, that sort of thing, with high fences and a security system. The regular military guards stay aboveground and are housed in aboveground barracks. Most of the regular lab techs have their barracks above ground as well.”

“You live below ground?”

“We always have. Four floors down. There are two laboratories above us. The first one is for show. That’s where he takes men like Senator Freeman, and the techs on that floor sign contracts for six-month rotations. They never go below that level. We train on the fourth level and are airlifted to various outdoor sites, always under the eye of Whitney’s guards. The fourth level has all kinds of workout rooms and training modules and simulators.”

He listened for what she didn’t say, the information between the lines—the stark, cold existence of being raised by a man who thought of using a child only for experimentation. It was no wonder she was so close to the other women. They had only had one another as they grew up.

“And Sean? Where does he fit in?” Because he felt the affection in her mind when she thought of the man, and it made him a little crazy.

“In the last couple of years we trained with several men. Sean is one of them. They’re enhanced both psychically and physically. It was the first time Whitney ever allowed us to be around anyone else for prolonged periods of time. He even rotated our instructors so we wouldn’t get attached to anyone. At least, at first, that’s what I thought.”

“But now?”

She slid down beneath the sheet, unable to sit up straight any longer. “I think he was afraid someone would get attached to us and they’d tell us what was going on or try to help us leave. At the time he brought in the men for us to work with, he also brought in his own guards. They’re pretty aggressive and revved up all the time.” Her fingers plucked at the sheet, the only sign of nervousness she gave.

Ken reached out and covered her hand with his. “And Sean isn’t one of his guards?”

She frowned. “He wasn’t. He was part of our team. We worked well together and went on several assignments. He and a man named Rob Tate were the nicest, as well as being the best at what they did. Brett worked with us for a while.”

The mention of Brett made her wince inwardly. She hid it well, her face never changing expression, but he was touching her and her mind was open to his. She despised Brett.

“He’s the man responsible for those marks on your back.” Ken kept his face entirely expressionless, his tone neutral, but beneath his calm mask, adrenaline surged and ice-cold rage settled in the pit of his stomach.