Free Tempt Me Eternally by Gena Showalter Page A

said. The clothes were a bit too short for her now, though they bagged over her smaller chest and leaner waist, but, oh, did the sight of her like this please him.
    A tremor slid the length of her spine, brushing her shoulder against his chest. “Thank you.”
    Renewed desire pounded through him, hot, readying his body for her. If he wasn’t careful, his resolve to wait until she begged would snap and he’d try to seduce her. Here and now. No matter who watched. Even now that honey scent was wafting from him. . . .
    â€œWhat are you going to do to me?” she asked, her voice raspy. Did she smell it? Yearn for him? “What are you going to do to the other agents?”
    The doorway to the underground tunnel was thrown open, Talon climbing the makeshift steps, a metal box in his hands, barking orders in the Rakan language to the others, who were carrying large boxes of their own.
    Aleaha gasped at the wide, dark pit now revealed. “Is the cell down there?” she asked, her previous questions forgotten. Then, she must have realized that someone else was seeing her true form, because the black locks began to lighten.
    â€œDon’t change. Please. I did not expect him toappear so soon, but hiding now will do no good. Besides, he will not betray you.”
    A moment passed, but then her hair returned to its full, dark glory. He offered her a grateful smile and was rewarded with a hesitant twitch of her lips. One day he would make her laugh. One day he would—
    Forget his purpose if he didn’t look away. “Do you need more men?” he asked Talon in Rakan. There was no reason for Aleaha to have this information, and every reason for her not to have it. “I want us out of here as quickly as possible.”
    Talon’s golden braids slapped his temples as he faced Breean. “No,” he said. “Cain and Syler just arrived. Said they couldn’t listen to the AIR agents any longer. I’ve got them carrying the last of the weapons.”
    â€œWere the agents still demanding their release?”
    â€œYes. But they also want to know what we did with their dead.” Disgust dripped from Talon’s voice when he uttered the word dead .
    â€œWhen Cain and Syler return, they may explain that we buried them.” It was the truth. But Breean was as disgusted as his friend that humans had died. Killing the agents so viciously and so violently had been unnecessary. They’d had things under control—a few of their own men had been stunned, yes, but no one had been injured—so there’d been no need to resort to bloodshed.
    Because of that bloodshed, he’d had to command everyone to burn their clothes and bathe the momentthey’d reached this dilapidated, forgotten house. No exceptions. Not even for the prisoners.
    â€œSpeaking of AIR,” Talon said, “neither Cain nor Syler saw any sign of them, here or there, during their journey. You were right. There is no better time to finish our switch.”
    â€œGood.”
    â€œWhat shall I do with Marleon? Leave him,” which meant, kill him here, “or take him with me?” Which meant, kill him there . “I didn’t know what to do with him, so I kept him locked up here.”
    Marleon was the warrior, the traitor, who’d whisked inside several of the agents, taking over their bodies and forcing them to shoot themselves. He’d been sequestered this entire week while Breean considered his punishment. A punishment he didn’t want to deliver, for he loved Marleon like a brother. But there was no way around this. He’d merely been putting off the inevitable.
    â€œTake him. It’s past time I made an example of him.”
    â€œConsider it done.” Talon’s gaze shifted momentarily to Aleaha. “I know that you wanted no reminder of her while she was locked away, so I didn’t ask what I’ve been dying to ask. Now that you have