Free Dating Outside Your DNA by Karen Kelley Page A

that I don't hate you when I do," she ground out.
    He pulled her against him and lowered his mouth to hers. For a second, she resisted, but the heat of his mouth, the way his tongue stabbed hers, then lightly  stroked, sent flames licking over her body.  She returned his kiss with all the pain and anger she felt and all the terror that had gone through her when she thought the A-frame was falling. She kissed him back with all the pent- up sexual deprivation she was feeling right now.
    But he pulled away, leaving her wanting more, needing more, her body aching for more.
    "See, I told you that you didn't hate me. You wouldn't kiss me like that if you hated me."
    "Ugh!" She stomped her foot and pursed her lips.
    "You  had to think the frame would fall. Sure, you made it up with little effort. No biggie. Sometimes when we go on what looks like an easy mission things will happen and all of a sudden, what should've been easy becomes difficult without notice. You have to beprepared for the unexpected."
    Okay, he'd made a point, and it was a valid one. "You still didn't have to kiss me."
    "You're sexy as hell when you're angry. I couldn't resist."
    "Well make an effort next time."
    "Ready for another obstacle?"
    "I'm hungry. " And sweaty, and tired, and she probably smelled
    to high heaven and had no idea why any man would think she was
    sexy right now.
    "One more, and then we'll eat."
    Her stomach rumbled and she knew she was heading toward a
    foul mood. She could do one more even if it was to prove she could.

    64

    Karen Kelley

    He hadn't beaten her yet. "One more then."
    He reached into his pocket and brought out a piece of black silk. She warily eyed the scrap of material.
    "What are you going to do with that?"
    "Blindfold you." He walked behind  her.
    "I'm not so sure about this."
    "You have to learn to trust everyone on the elite force."
    "Do I have to kiss them, too?"
    He laughed lightly as he placed the blindfold over her eyes.
    "No. Just trust them. It's a two way street. They'll be trusting yo u with
    their lives as well."
    As the light went out and she was in the dark, uneasiness trickled down her spine. She wasn't so sure this was a good idea.  "What are we going to do?" She felt Roan knot the scarf at the back of her head.
    "You'll just have to trust me."
    She didn't want to trust him. She'd never trusted in anyone
    except herself. She'd known coming into this that she would have to
    work with a team, at the very least, a partner. There was always a
    certain amount of trust that went along with that, but Roan wanted her
    to give one hundred percent and for the first time since coming here,
    she wasn't sure she could complete the training. Asking her to give
    one hundred percent was asking too much.
    "Ready?"
    The other alternative would be to go back to her mother's artist
    colony and help Anna run it. Anna was a friend of her mother's. A
    little scatter-brained at times, but nice enough and her mother had
    known her a long time. Was she ready to go back to being alone
    even though she was surrounded by people? She'd hated being
    alone.
    "Lyraka?"
    "I'm ready," she said, quickly making up her mind.
    "Trust me to be your eyes."
    He took her hand in his. Maybe it was because she had the
    blindfold on, but she was more aware of how his hand felt, the

    65

    Karen Kelley

    calluses, but also the strength. And the heat. The heat was good.
    They walked for what seemed forever. She could feel the trees  getting denser, the breeze not as strong. She began to worry. Really,  what did she know about Roan. She only had Joe's word that he was
    a good man, an excellent trainer.
    For that matter, how well did she really know Joe? He'd come  to the artist colony a few times a year. He'd lied about why he was  there. He wasn't artistic. He'd only wanted to observe Aasera. Roan  could be a mass murderer for all she knew.
    Her heart began to pound. She drew in a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. If it came down