Free Slade by Bianca D'Arc Page A

holding her arm when she would have moved away. “I want the sun down past the peak of the roof for the next part. It’ll only take a minute.”
    Kate was very conscious of time ticking away. They’d used up almost ten minutes already and she didn’t trust the cougars not to come barreling in without checking where Slade and Kate were first. They could really mess things up and get someone hurt—or killed—if they did n’t approach with more caution than she thought they were capable of right now.
    “You’re doing really well for a human,” Slade observed, drawing her attention away from her worrying thoughts.
    “Thanks,” she answered, pleased down to her toes at his compliment. “ To be honest, I always sort of dreamed that at least one of my birth parents was something Other, but they both died when I was a baby and I grew up in foster care, so I guess I’ll never know.”
    Darnit . She was babbling. And this was not the time, nor the place, to be yapping about her sorry origins. What was it about this man that made her want to tell him everything, no matter how personal or embarrassing? He was definitely dangerous to her peace of mind.
    “If I was a betting man, I’d say you were part siren, luring men to their happy deaths.”
    “Oh, that’s nice,” she scoffed, careful to keep her voice low so they wouldn’t be heard over the natural sounds of the desert.
    “I can definitely see you as the helpless seductress of the ocean. It isn’t your fault if sailors toss themselves into the waves and drown trying to get to you. At least they die happy.”
    His teasing was sort of a backhanded compliment, so she went along with it. Was he flirting with her? It felt like flirting. And what kind of daredevil took time to flirt with a girl in the middle of a life-or-death mission?
    Suddenly, she realized what this was all about. He was trying to get her mind off what they were about to do. He was distracting her. Helping her cope.
    Damn. His gentle care of her only made her more attracted to him. He was such a special guy.
    “Thanks,” she whispered. “I know what you’re trying to do and it worked. I’ll be okay now. I’m recharged, thanks to you, and calmer.”
    “Am I that transparent?” One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile that warmed her heart.
    “About as clear as mud, and you know it. But thanks for taking a minute for me to regroup. I’m good to go now.”
    “Oo h-rah. That’s my girl.” His tone was approving and he stroked her hair once before turning to continue their treacherous path. She followed along, a little more in love with him than she’d already been.
    Love? Oh, man.
    Yeah, if she was being honest with herself, she had to admit, she had it bad for the mysterious cat shifter. He fulfilled all her wildest fantasies about what a man could be and then some. Everything she’d seen about him attracted her on every level.
    She was in serious danger of losing her heart to him forever. When he left—not if he left, because his time here had a definite, and short, time span—she could be destroyed. But she’d be damned if she saw any way out of it. Slade was just too attractive for his own good and she was powerless to resist him.
    And they had a job to do. As the fourth set of shields confronted her, she set to work with renewed energy, knowing he’d be there for her if she needed to recharge again. They made a good team and she’d never forget this night, or the man at her side—if she lived through the confrontation to come, that is.

Chapter Five

    The fifth and sixth set of shields went down even easier than the first few had. Now that Slade knew how to help her by feeding her energy, they were working more in tandem and were more powerful than either had been alone. The effect of shared energy was even greater than he’d been led to believe.
    Or maybe it was just the fact that he was sharing energy with Kate. Maybe there was something special about her that affected his