Mercury Striking (The Scorpius Syndrome #1)(29)

She studied him, her eyes clearing. “You also don’t go around spanking people, now do you?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “No.”

“You wear dominance like most guys wear boots.” She rubbed her reddened chin. “Were you all into that BDSM stuff before Scorpius hit?”

He barked out a laugh. Damn. He’d smiled more in the last day than he had in months. “No, I wasn’t into that BDSM shit. Labels have never worked for me. Although if I was with a woman, and she needed her ass reddened, I took care of it.”

She sputtered.

Yeah, he liked that expression. A lot. With a brain like Lynne’s, probably not many people had the ability to catch her off guard.

She shook her head. “You’re unbelievable.”

He shrugged. “Probably. Again, the decision on whether or not to continue this is yours.”

She swept a bare arm around the small apartment. “Right. But I’m pretty much a prisoner here.”

He grabbed a shirt from the counter and yanked it over his head. “Stay here for an hour or so while I talk to my lieutenants before announcing your arrival to the group at large.” Too many people already knew about Lynne, and he needed to get out in front of the story. “You can look at research afterward.”

She blanched. “They’ll riot and want me kicked out.”

“You stay.” He softened his voice as he slipped into his boots and buttoned his jeans. “If they want to leave, they may do so. Period.”

Her chin lifted. “What if I want to leave?”

“No.” Keeping her against her will went against all the standards he was trying to establish, but she was valuable, and she was vulnerable. So she stayed put. “Sorry.”

“You don’t look sorry.”

He gave a half nod in acknowledgment. With her knowledge, he finally had a chance of deciphering all the confiscated research, and with her in his bed, he had a chance to stay human. Maybe. She brought out dueling parts of him, but maybe she could help him remain sane. “We made a deal, Lynne.” Although she still hadn’t told him who his target was.

She pulled the sheet up closer to her neck. “I’ve escaped meaner guys than you, Jax Mercury.”

Man, she was cute. Naked and fragile, spitting fire at him. He grinned. “Fair enough, and since we’re being so honest here, feel free to make a break for it.” He opened the door and tossed over his shoulder, “Only one of us is gonna like the result of that decision.” The door closed on the echoes of her hiss.





Chapter Ten





Peace rarely comes about peacefully.

—Dr. Franklin Xavier Harmony




She had to get to those records, and now. After pacing all morning and trying to figure out a way to escape from Jax’s room, Lynne tried to do yoga and create a plan. What in the hell had she been thinking sleeping with the man? Even as her mind rebelled, her body finally felt human again. There were health benefits to good sex, and she needed all the help she could get.

But time was working against her, and she had to find Myriad, even if it meant escaping Vanguard first. There was always an armed soldier in the hallway, so that route was out. The window, on the other hand . . .

She finished the Downward Dog pose just as the locks disengaged on the door. She had to fight to stay still. Man, she was a klutz.

Jax stepped inside and paused. Stress cut harsh lines into the sides of his mouth. “Yoga?”

“Yes.” Heat flushed into her face, and she stood, trying to keep her balance. “Helps with brain activity, heart health, and general well-being.” She sounded like a damn commercial. “Shut up.”

He held out both hands. “I didn’t say anything.”

She tugged down the T-shirt over the yoga pants that had been left outside the door earlier. “Thank you for the clothes.”

“Weren’t mine.” He glanced down at her ragged tennis shoes. “We’ll go shoe shopping tomorrow.”

Funny. She looked up to his face, and was swamped again by vulnerability, wanting the focus off her. She glanced at the picture on the wall and edged closer to the door. “Your brother?”

Jax rocked back on his heels. “Marcus. Four years younger than me.” Pain. Definite pain echoed in his low tones.

“He’s gone?” Lynne asked softly.

“Yeah.” Jax’s expression smoothed out into . . . nothing. “We called him ‘Slam’ because he was an amazing baseball player.”

“He looks like you.” Handsome and already strong at a young age.

“We had the same mom. Different dads and no clue who they might’ve been.” Jax rubbed his chin. “When I went into the service, I wrote when I could and promised to come back for him. I failed to protect him.”

Lynne shivered. “Nobody saw Scorpius coming.”

“Marcus didn’t die from Scorpius.” Jax eyed her, the hard set of his jaw not inviting questions. “Want to get out of here?”

Yes. God, yes. Her body stilled. “And go where?”

“I thought I would take you to the nearest lab to meet Tace so you can start going through documents, after a slight detour.”

She studied his veiled expression. “What detour?”