Free Even Villains Go To The Movies by Liana Brooks

confection meant for him alone.
    With a little gasp she pushed away. Her eyes were wide, her breath coming rapidly, cheeks flushed as if they’d done more than kiss. She shook her head to clear it, then came back to him.
    Her kiss was desperate and raw, as though she could steal his soul and all the secrets of the universe with a touch of her lips.
    Arktos leaned against the hot bricks behind him and lifted her, needing to feel the weight of her. Their tongues met again and this time he felt her control slip. It started as a strange warmth on his arms where skin touched skin, gliding over him until he was caught in a torrent of emotions. He felt her hunger for more, loneliness mixed with lust, desire warring with fear.
    He pulled her tight against his chest in an attempt to comfort her. The need to protect her and drive away those fears was almost stronger than the need to know every inch of her. Almost.
    But not here. They had to go somewhere quiet. Somewhere private. Not home, he thought as she bit his lip and slipped out of his hands.
    Cold surrounded him as she withdrew. “Rage?” He held out a hand, inviting her back.
    She stepped back, shaking her head. “No. No. It ends here.”
    “Ends?” He pushed away from the wall and pursued her. “What do you mean it ends here? We’ve only just started.”
    “This... Us? We are a bad idea. This can’t happen.” She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. “We can’t be together.”
    “I don’t understand. Why not?”
    She licked her lips, eyes drowning him with regret. “You can’t give me what I want.”
    All the air left his lungs. You aren’t what I want. His mother had used those words again, and again, and again. Go away. I don’t want you. A rhythm as familiar as his own heartbeat. “What do you want?”
    “A family. A husband, some kids, maybe not the white picket fence or a farm, but I want a family and you work for The Company. I can’t be with you for the same reason I can’t sign with them. I’d have to give up all I ever wanted, and I won’t.” She tugged at the edges of her trench coat, wrapping it around herself. “I’m sorry.”
    Arktos stared, trying to bring his defenses back up. “Kids? Isn’t...” He took a deep breath, feeling his muscles mend and his heart break. “You know you can’t, don’t you? That’s why it’s part of The Company contracts. All superheroes are sterile. The same mutation that allows me to fly makes it so I can’t father children.”
    She rolled her eyes. “What utter bunk.”
    “Bunk?”
    “Southern Ladies don’t swear.” She took a tentative step toward him, hand reaching out to caress his arm. “Superheroes can have babies.”
    He caught her hand and brought it to his mouth for a kiss. “I wish we could, but every one who’s tried has died or been unable to conceive.”
    “That’s not true.”
    “Do you have proof?” Every nerve was alive with the need to remove the space between them and kiss her again.
    “I have proof.”
    Rage kissed him, and he tasted the salt of her tears. He let her go.
    “My name is Angela. I’m the oldest of five children, and my daddy is a super villain.”

Chapter Ten
    Dear Mom,
    What did Maria do? I’ve read your email twice and I think you let Gideon encrypt it because there’s no way Maria has given up being the evil overlord of South America to work for the U.S. Forestry Service. Things like that don’t happen in the rational world. Granted, my world has been less than rational lately, but that’s because I gave up all pretense of having a brain and moved to California to work in Hollywood!
    That came out wrong.
    I’m happy here, really. Everyone is very friendly and the job isn’t bad. There are worse jobs. I miss teaching. I miss feeling like I contributed something good to society. But I pay my rent and, for some reason, I have fans. I hope they’re normal people and not...well...never mind. Least said soonest mended.
    Your daughter who