Primal Law (Alpha Pack #1)(66)

"I'm not so sure."

"Trust me."

Oddly, he did. After Beryl, he thought he'd never willingly trust anything out of a woman's mouth again, but Kira was not Beryl. The two women couldn't be more different. "I do trust you."

That made her smile, and his groin tightened. Damn, he couldn't get enough of her.

"When do we leave?" she asked, interrupting his lustful thoughts.

"Three hours. We're supposed to meet the team at the hangar." That awful, strange emotion rose up again to nearly strangle him. He wanted to order her to stay here, but knew how well that would go over. "I wish you weren't going tonight, baby. Please reconsider."

"And miss the chance to give my old boss the finger?" When he didn't laugh, she sobered. "Seriously, if there's the slightest possibility that I might be able to help, I have to go. But I promise to try and stay out of the action."

"I don't like it, but I guess I have no choice," he said, taking her hand. The odd feeling in his chest persisted. Was this love? He'd never been in love before, only thought he had been. Whatever he was feeling, he now understood that what he'd known was a pale imitation of the real deal.

For some reason, he wanted to tell her all of it. The whole sordid truth about his relationship with Beryl and what it had cost him. What it had cost the entire team.

Just then, a low growl of warning stalled his confession. Chup was awake, eyeing their linked hands and leaning out to sniff him in suspicion. Recalling his last tango with the imp a few days before Kira came to the compound, he kept still and let the creature check him out.

Sitting up carefully, Kira took the gremlin and set him on the grass between them. "Chup-Chup, Jax is a friend. He won't hurt you." Gently, she stroked the fur between his batlike ears. "See? Friend."

Chup wasn't convinced. On his hind legs, he toddled closer to Jax, nose working, still not getting too close. The growling stopped, but neither did he make the content chupping noise Jax wanted to hear.

Letting go of Kira's hand, Jax held his out to the creature, hoping he didn't lose a chunk of flesh for his trouble. "Good boy," he crooned. "Aren't you cute? Remember me? I'm not so scary, honest. I only eat bad little gremlins who bite, and only when I'm really hungry. Friends?"

Chup looked back at Kira as though seeking reassurance, so she made encouraging noises, urging him forward without pushing too much. Emboldened, the small critter turned his attention back to Jax and closed the remaining distance, sniffing all over his hand. The stubby whiskers tickled but he didn't dare jerk away.

Then, to his amazement, Chup began to rub his head against Jax's fingers like a cat wanting a good scratch. He complied, lavishing attention on both ears, the broad face, under the chin. And there it was-the noise of happy contentment. Chup crawled right up into his lap and closed his big brown eyes in obvious ecstasy as Jax continued to scratch.

"Well! Looks like you've got a new friend," Kira declared with a grin. "He won't let you out of his sight now."

"That might make it hard to leave for the op. Think I can use 'I have to babysit the gremlin' as an excuse not to go?" he joked.

"Hmm, somehow I doubt Nick will accept that." Reaching out, she stroked Chup's fur. "I'll have to ask Mac if she'll watch him while we're gone. I hate the thought of putting him back in that cell."

"Me, too. It could undermine the trust you've worked to gain, especially since he hates being locked in there." He paused. "What about Belial? Have you made any headway with him?"

"I'm not sure," she said thoughtfully. "He's really hard to read, so full of bullshit I don't know if even he is capable of separating the truth from the lies. It just seems to be his nature to deflect questions and kindness with blatant attempts at seduction, but things aren't always what they appear."

"True. So what's your gut feeling as an Empath-can he be trusted? Will he be able to fit in here?"

She bit her lip, uncertainty clouding her blue eyes. "Eventually, yes, I believe he'll get there. I sense a basic goodness in him that's well hidden underneath the layers of self-hatred and anger, and I don't buy his 'Look at me-I'm such a manwhore' act for a second."

He nodded. "Okay. I trust your judgment. But whether it's an act or not, I don't pretend not to hate the hell out of knowing he puts the moves on you every time you get close. It makes me want to rip his heart out. Just so you know."

"I'll keep that in mind." Eyes twinkling again, she leaned over and kissed him on the lips. "You're so sexy when you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous! Well, I am, but you'll have to admit I'm handling it. I'm here, for example, rather than busting down the snake's cell door and chopping off his smarmy head."

She wrinkled her nose. "Good thing, or you'd never even make it to first base with me, buddy. I don't do homicidal lovers."

"Duly noted." He couldn't resist the opening. "What kinds of lovers have you had in the past?"

"None who were violent! I did date one guy who was really pushy. Wanted me to do as he said, monitored how much time I spent with friends as opposed to him, had to comment on everything I bought for myself. Always found something wrong with what I cooked for dinner. Stuff like that."