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"So," Cort said as he waved his hand toward Boone's face, "what
does that have to do with you ignoring me?"
"Christ, Cort," Boone swore, "I'm not trying to ignore you. I'm
trying not to nail your ass to the nearest flat surface. I've waited too
many years for you. Now that you've given me the go-ahead, it's just
about all I can do not to rip your clothes off and sink my dick into
your ass. I'm trying to be "
Cort leaned over and slapped his hand over Boone's mouth.
Boone's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Drive the fucking truck,"
Cort growled. "We'll get there faster."
Cort yanked his hand away from Boone's mouth when he felt the
man's tongue stroke across the palm. He went to say something, but
Boone just winked at him and started driving down the driveway
again.
Glancing down at the young man still sleeping between them,
Cort hoped they got everything at the house dealt with quickly. He
wanted to get Boone and Nix alone and find out just how much
trouble they could get into together.
Boone pulled the truck up in front of the lodge and turned it off.
He sat there silently for just a moment. Cort wasn't sure if the man
was thinking or watching the people in the house. "Boone?" he
whispered. "You okay?"
Boone smiled over at him. "Yeah, I'm just fine, babe. Just trying
to figure out how quickly we can get away from Dane."
Cort stared, stunned to hear Boone call him babe. He never
thought to hear a word like that come out of Boone's mouth, not when
aimed at him. "You called me babe."
Boone frowned. "Yeah, you have a problem with that? I don't
have to call you babe if you don't want me to."
Mating Heat 117
Cort shook his head and chuckled. "No, it's fine. I just never
thought I'd hear you call me something like that."
Boone shrugged and opened his door to step out. He glanced back
over his shoulder and winked at Cort. "Get used to it. I plan on calling
you a lot of things. Nix, too."
Cort still sat there in a daze when Boone walked around to his side
of the truck and opened the door. He held out a hand. "Coming?"
Cort unbuckled the unconscious man next to him and climbed out
of the truck. Together, Cort and Boone carried the man up the front
steps and into the house. They laid him on the couch, then turned to
look at the curious face staring at them.
Nix had an eyebrow arched as she glanced quickly between Cort
and Boone. Cort gave her a slight nod. He was pretty sure she
understood his silent message when she smiled and leaned back in her
chair.
Dane stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. He, unlike
Nix, did not look happy. In fact, he looked downright pissed, and all
of his anger seemed to be aimed at Boone. Cort felt his protective
instincts rush through him. He took a slight step in front of Boone.
"Careful," he growled in warning.
Dane's eyes instantly dropped to Cort's neck. He felt like reaching
up and covering the small bite mark in his throat, but he didn't. He
wasn't ashamed of the mark. Hell, he'd shout it from the rooftops. It
just felt too intimate at the moment.
"Christ!" Dane exclaimed. He pushed his hand through his hair
and turned away to stalk over to the window, staring out of it for
several moments. He finally turned to glare at Nix, wagging his finger
at her.
"This is all your damn fault," he snapped.
"I beg your pardon?" Nix replied angrily, jumping to her feet.
"How is this my fault?"
"Cort and Boone were just fine until you wiggled your butt in
their faces," Dane said. "They did what they were told, and they didn't
118 Stormy Glenn
cause any problems." Dane waved his hand back to where Dane and
Boone stood, their mouths hanging open in shock. "Now look at them.
They're so busy trying to fuck everything that walks that they can't
even listen to simple commands."
Cort knew things were about to explode when Nix's hair began to
blow around and not a single window or door was open to let in a
breeze. He quickly crossed the room to put himself between Nix and
Dane.
"Okay, let's stop right there," Cort said quickly. "We're all on the
same side here, and we need to work together." He glanced from Nix
to Dane. "Don't you think we should be more interested in why we
found another Other at the research facility rather than nipping at each
other's throats?"
Nix's hair slowly fell back into place, and she nodded, taking a
step back. Cort let out a long, relieved breath and looked across the
room to Boone. The man still seemed a little stunned, but Cort could
see a twinkle of pride in his pale green eyes as well.
"All right," Dane said as he turned to face Boone. He crossed his
arms over his chest. "Tell us what happened, Boone."
Boone shrugged. "It was kind of like I said on the phone," he said.
"I saw a delivery van arrive. I went to investigate. I saw three men get
out. They opened the back and pulled out a man that was clearly tied
up and unconscious. All three men went into the building, leaving
another man unconscious in the van."
"And that's when you grabbed him?" Dane asked as he pointed to
the man sleeping on the couch.
Boone nodded. "The doors to the van were left slightly ajar. It
wasn't until I got back to the truck that I realized it all happened too
easily. When I searched him, I found a bug. That's when I called you.
I think it was a trap."
"That much is obvious," Dane snorted, "but why?"
"Clearly they are trying to find out who is watching them," Nix
said. "And I'd suspect they know we're Other as well. They might
Mating Heat 119
have even planted that bug on purpose so that one of us would find
it."
Dane's head swung over to Nix. "What do you know about this?"
"I know enough," Nix snapped. "I've been telling you from the
very beginning that Vasile is bad news. What do I have to do to get
you to believe me? Deliver him on a silver platter with a damn apple
shoved in his mouth?"
"That would be nice, yes," Dane replied.
Cort's mouth dropped open again. He burst out laughing. He
couldn't help it. Dane and Nix had been going at each other's throats
since the moment they met. Cort was starting to think that they did it
because they enjoyed it so much rather than true disdain.
Nix giggled. "I'll see what I can do."
Apparently, Dane saw the humor of the situation as well. He
didn't outright laugh like the rest of them, but he did chuckle and
shake his head. "Okay, look, it's obvious that someone knows we're
up to something. The question remains, do they know who, and what,
we are, or do they just think we're investigating them?"
"We can't exactly call them on the phone, but "
"We could go visit them," Nix piped in.
Dane opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue but then suddenly
snapped it shut. He stared at Nix for several moments, then began
pacing. He'd pause every few steps and stare at Nix again, then start
pacing. Finally, he stopped, his hands settling on his hips.
"That's actually not a bad idea," Dane said. "They know we're
watching them, but they may not expect us to break into their facility,
especially if they don't know we're Other."
"Not all of us are, remember?" Cort asked.
"And that just might be the edge we need. Chase and Sal can
watch the building and make sure they are seen watching the building.
The rest of us can break into the building while they are watching
Chase and Sal."
Cort arched an eyebrow. "That actually is not a bad idea." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]