Free Born of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon Page A

"As in the universally famed and acclaimed Commander
    Huwin Quiakides of the Intergalactic League of Peacekeepers?"

    He sighed. "Two, yes."

    "Was he your father?"

    She thought she noticed his teeth clench before he answered, "Three, yes."

    Kiara gave an unladylike snort. "That doesn't count. You should have said that when I
    asked the second question."

    He shrugged in an aggravating manner of disinterest. "Be specific. Anything counts."

    Kiara sat for a minute, thinking over what little information Mira had given her while she
    had been in the OMG's base. "If he was your father, why did you leave the League?"

    This time, she definitely saw the angry tick in his jaw as his features hardened. "How did you know I was in the League?"

    Kiara gulped at the harsh, deadly tone. At that moment, she could easily imagine him
    tearing someone into pieces and she had no desire for that someone to be either her or
    Mira. "I just heard it somewhere. It is true, isn't it? You were a League Assassin?"

    Some of the tenseness left his lips, and she wondered why. "Four, yes."

    Kiara was getting tired of him numbering his answers. "You know, you could try and be
    a little friendlier."

    "I'm not paid to be nice. I'm paid to kill."

    A lump of dread closed her throat at the thought. "Do you like to kill?" she asked, her throat growing tighter by the heartbeat.

    Kiara witnessed the first visible, emotional response from him— he winced as if she had
    struck him. His breathing became labored in anger and he slammed the terminal closed
    with a sharp snap before he tossed it aside. Without a word, he left the room.

    Kiara sat in her chair for several minutes, wondering about his reaction. Since he brought the subject of his killings up so often, why would her question bother him? She went to
    find out.

    He stood in front of the blast shields in her studio, She watched him from the doorway as
    he slid his hand over the plastic panels as if looking for a hole. He appeared calm.

    "You said you would answer my questions," she said softly, wishing she could see inside him for a minute and find out why he was so distant.

    He dropped his hand. "I didn't expect you to ask that one."

    She rubbed the chills from her arms. "Why not?"

    Nykyrian crossed the room to stand before her. His nearness intoxicated her more than a
    thousand cups of larna could ever do. For a moment, she thought he might actually touch
    her, but he remained less than a foot from her—just close enough to warm her with his
    body heat, with an intangible wall so thick around him, she didn't dare reach out and
    touch him the way her heart cried for her to.

    "Why would you care how anything makes me feel?" His soft voice seemed somehow
    humble, searching.

    She swallowed the clump of assorted emotions churning inside her. "I don't know, I just
    do."

    He took a deep breath and turned around. "Do you practice in here?"

    Kiara frowned at the unexpected question, wondering what had prompted it. "Yes."

    He walked over to the mirrors and touched the barre. "Do you enjoy what you do?"

    The question caught her off guard. She frowned again, thinking about the answer. "I
    never really thought about it," she said. "Dancing was all I ever wanted to do, so I guess I must enjoy it."

    His grip tightened on the barre. "Or do you just do it because someone expected you to?"

    A chill crept up her back. "What makes you think that?"

    Nykyrian turned around and faced her. "The pictures you have in the main room. Most of
    them are of you as a child, dressed for dance recitals. You don't look old enough in any of
    them to make a life-shaping decision. I would say you dance because you were told it
    was what you should do with your talents."

    The truth in his words cut through her consciousness. How could he see something about her that she had never even noticed? "Are you always this acute?"

    He shrugged. "In my business, it pays to know and understand people. It keeps me alive."

    Kiara