Mercury Striking (The Scorpius Syndrome #1)(92)

A tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek. He kissed it away, murmuring her name.

Her breath caught and she held it in, fighting to reach the pinnacle, so much emotion bombarding her that she closed her eyes.

He altered his thrust, pounding her clit, and she detonated.

Whispering his name, she held on to his hands, her thighs gripping his hips hard enough to hurt. Passion took her over in powerful waves, crashing into her, destroying any protective walls she’d tried to keep up. He ground against her as he came. His body vibrated against hers, and his lips settled over her shoulder, his teeth digging in.

The bite shot pain through her, and she climbed again, orgasming so hard her eyelids flew back open. She gasped, taken over, and finally slumped to the floor.

He stayed inside her and leaned back, his gaze on her pounding wound. “I bit you.” Not an ounce of doubt or surprise filled his face. Only pure, definite, male satisfaction. He met her gaze. “Mine.”





Chapter Thirty-One





Human nature will triumph—we must believe it to be so.

—Dr. Franklin Xavier Harmony




They’d waited until dawn to take back roads to headquarters, and the tension in Jax’s shoulders still formed knots as he finished giving orders for his crew to unpack the two trucks. After dawn had arrived, he and Lynne had searched the entire neighborhood, finding some canned goods, bathroom necessities, and even medicine folks had left behind before fleeing or dying.

Now Lynne tried to keep a stoic face, but the woman nearly hopped around with joy at all the lab equipment they’d taken from Myriad. Even though most of it wouldn’t work unless they used a generator, she was almost giddy.

He’d gone and fallen for a complete geek. A sexy one, but nerdy nonetheless.

“Why are you smiling?” Raze asked, rubbing an impressive black eye.

“I’m not.” Jax heaved out a breath, turning toward the war room. “Let’s go update, and you can fill me in on that face of yours.”

“It’s from my mama’s side. They were the good-looking ones.”

Jax almost stumbled. “Did you just tell a joke?” he asked over his shoulder.

“I’m funny,” Raze said. Even walking through the rec room, in the midst of allies, the guy didn’t make a sound.

“Most special ops guys are hilarious,” Jax returned, striding into the war room.

Tace frowned. “What happened to your face?”

“Bat wielded by a member of Twenty. Well, a former member. Had to kill three of them,” Raze said easily. “Did we miss anything here?”

Tace shook his head, his eyes unfocused. “Vice President Greg Lake called on the ham, and when Jax wasn’t here, he got pissed. Said for Jax to call him if he was serious about meeting the president.”

Jax lifted an eyebrow. “I’d rather wait and call once we know what we have with the Myriad research. Lake and the president can wait a few hours. Anything else?”

“Yeah. Sami’s a shitty shot. Did you know that?” Tace took the chair next to Jax. “We tried out a couple of the guns stolen from Twenty to make sure they worked, and she couldn’t hit shit.”

Jax frowned. “No. I’ve seen her shoot, but not in practice, so I haven’t watched. She was LAPD, right?”

“A rookie,” Raze said. “Maybe she just sucked at shooting.”

Sami stormed into the room. “I heard that.”

Jax kicked a chair her way. “Were you or were you not with the LAPD?”

“I was.” Pink rose over her high cheekbones as she sat. “You’ve seen me grapple.”

He had. The woman was tough as Justice in hand-to-hand. Better than some soldiers he’d served with. Apparently she hadn’t had the time to get good at shooting, although it was surprising she’d become a rookie. “You start practicing target shooting every day until Tace says you’re perfect.”

“We can’t spare the bullets,” Sami returned.

Shit. Good point. “Figure something else out, then.” Jax rubbed his chin. “You’re one of my top soldiers, and you need to be able to shoot.” Just how well did he know the woman, anyway? Lynne was right that he needed to get to know his people better. “Tace? You crazy yet?”

Tace blew out air. “Well, maybe? I’m not feeling much, including concern over whether or not I’m becoming a Ripper. That’s probably not a good sign.” His white-knuckle hold on his weapon belied the casual nature of his statement.

“I saw a Ripper bark like a dog yesterday, so I’m thinking you’re all right so far.” Jax waited until Tace relaxed his hold. “Seriously. Talk.”

Tace set his gun on the table and sat back. “I just feel different. Not better and not worse but different.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek. “I miss Wyatt, and I’m cut up that he’s gone, but it’s more fury than sadness, you know?”

“That’s normal,” Raze said. “I’m always pissed.”

Tace lifted an eyebrow, and Sami swung toward him. “You never look mad,” Sami said slowly.

“If they see your emotions, they win,” Raze said. He jerked his chin at Tace. “Maybe you just got stronger. It’s possible.”