Darkness (New Species #12)(33)

She was baiting him to seduce her again and he wanted to. “Only if you give me the name.”
A blush rose to her cheeks. “So now you’re withholding sex for information?”
“Think of it as a reward. I won’t ever touch you again if you don’t tell me, Kat. That’s how it’s going to be. You know how good the sex is between us and won’t risk losing that. I’ve been studying you.”
“What does that mean?”
He hesitated. “There are cameras inside your cottage. I’ve been watching your every move since you arrived at Homeland. It’s time to stop avoiding my questions. You don’t like your boss and you have already betrayed his trust. Give me the name, Kat. Otherwise you will be escorted beyond our gates.”
Her expression shut down. “I’ll go pack.” She tried to step around him to leave the bedroom.
He grabbed hold of her upper arm. “That’s it? You’ll just leave?”
He almost wished she hadn’t looked up at him—pure pain showed in her eyes.
“You had me under surveillance as though I’m some criminal. I get what that means. I’m your assignment. I’m tired of this game, Darkness. I thought there was something between us but it was all chess moves to you. You win.”
She jerked hard and he let her go. He hesitated then followed her down the hallway. “Kat?”
She stopped and turned. “What now? Do you want your towels?” She tore the one off her head and threw it at him. It hit him in the chest. “Don’t ever say I took anything from you. God forbid you give anything to anyone.”
“I warned you that I wasn’t mate material.”
“You did. I just thought you had issues. Instead you’re ice cold inside.”
“What does that mean?” He didn’t understand.
“You’re an excellent judge of people. You were trained to be. Was I that easy to read? Did you enjoy watching me when I wasn’t aware of it? Did you profile me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit. Do I scream ‘lonely’ to you? I thought you wanted me because you were attracted to me. Instead this was just some mind game to you. No one can shut it down that fast if it’s real. It wasn’t though, was it? You played me.”
He shook his head.
“Right. Spare me the token denial. I was just a job, right? Seduce the lonely chick and use sex to get her to open up to you. Great job. You did it. Now you can fry my ass for being stupid enough to fall for it. Go for it.” She spun and stormed toward the slider. “Don’t forget to add that phone call to your report. It’ll end my career. Thanks for screwing me over in every way possible.”He moved before he thought, grabbed Kat around her waist and jerked her off her feet. He held her against his chest and refused to let her go when she struggled. He grunted when she elbowed him in the side and slammed her heel into his calf. Her head came back and nearly caught him in the jaw. Only his lightning-quick reflexes prevented the hit. He spun and stomped toward the couch. He twisted her in his arms and fell, landing on the cushions with her under him.
She threw a punch that bounced off his cheekbone. It hurt but he snagged her wrist and shoved it above her head. She tried to slam her other palm into his throat but he managed to capture it before she could make contact. He used his weight to pin her tightly under him until they were nose to nose.
“Shut up,” he snarled.
“Fuck you.”
She was breathing rapidly and her towel had come loose, revealing one breast. He lifted off her a little and stared at it. “You think I don’t really want you?”
“Stop it. Game over.”
He growled and glared into her eyes. She was furious too. “I didn’t seduce you because anyone asked me to.”
“Ah. You did that on your own. I’d pat you on the back but you are too strong.” She tried to break his hold on her wrists but he just squeezed a little tighter. She stopped and he eased his hold enough not to hurt her.
“Calm down, Kat.”
“Get the hell off me.”
“I don’t want you to leave believing I lied to you.”
“We’re dressed…well, I have a towel on at least. It’s what we do, remember?”
“I could fix that.”
“Don’t you dare. I’m done being screwed by you.” She glanced around the living room. “Are there cameras in here? Is your security team watching?”
She really believed he’d only bedded her to gain an advantage. He lowered his face and buried it against her wet hair. She smelled like him after using his shampoo and conditioner. It turned him on but he refused to give in to desire. She’d made it clear she didn’t want sex any longer.
“No, Kat,” he rasped. “It’s just you and me here. No one is watching. Pretend no clothing is between us.”
“Let’s not. Get off me.”
“I never wanted to get this close to a female again but I couldn’t resist you. The smart thing was to never touch you at all.”
“Whatever. I have packing to do, remember?”
She refused to listen. He should just leave it at that but he couldn’t. Kat didn’t deserve to hurt the way he’d seen in his bedroom. He’d been used before and it still hurt. He didn’t want her to go through life believing he’d done the same to her. She’d given him her trust when she’d warned him about those agents. He wasn’t certain why she’d done it but it couldn’t be beneficial to her in any way. She’d said trust went both ways. He couldn’t tell her NSO secrets but he could share one of his own with her. It would at least make them somewhat even. 
“You asked about the female I mentioned while you were in interrogation and how I had to pretend you were someone else. Do you remember?”
She took a few breaths. “Yes.”
“Darwin Havings was her boss. She told me he forced her to work for him and she was only there because she wasn’t given a choice. They used her family as leverage. She was brought in because someone thought sex would be a good incentive to make us easier to control. She later admitted that her job was to teach me how to seduce females into obtaining information. She said she was a prostitute with the experience to train me to be a skilled lover but that was supposed to be kept secret.”
Kat grew lax under him and he released her wrists, lifting up enough to see her face. She stared up at him, frowning. It beat the anger and hurt he’d seen before. He shifted his weight but kept her under him.
“They brought her in every few days to spend time with me and we would plot how to escape with my brothers.” He swallowed. “I thought I could save them and her.”
Kat lowered her hands and curled them around his shoulders. She didn’t fight or hit him so he decided to tell her the rest of it.
“I believed she really loved me. I trusted her without question. We talked about everything. I told her about what they were making us do and all my fears. I found out afterward that nothing she said was truthful. She betrayed me from the start and it cost my brothers their lives.”
Kat’s lips parted but she said nothing.
“No one forced her to be there. She was paid a lot of money to gain my trust. I was the one who told her we had a weakness for females and children. That’s why they sent us into that camp. The information she gained from me put us there so they could see how far we could be pushed to discover our limits. I got my brothers killed because I trusted the wrong person. I have to live with that.”
“Darkness.” Tears shone in her eyes.
He shook his head. “Don’t. I don’t want your pity. I’m telling you this because I swore to never allow another female to get close to me. I refused to mount any females they brought to my cell after I was taken back to Mercile. I’d think of my brothers and couldn’t even get hard. My weakness for sex with the female got them killed. Mercile believed I was emotionally damaged so they stopped bringing females to me for breeding experiments. I’ve turned down every female who offered to share sex since we were freed. Don’t ever accuse me of not wanting you, Kat. You’re the first temptation I couldn’t refuse.”
Her hands slid down his arms, caressing him. “I’m so sorry.”
“I am damaged. You’re leaving Homeland today but go knowing that truth. I didn’t touch you as a way to gain your trust or use what we’ve shared as a tool to deceive you. I did it because I couldn’t fight the attraction I feel. I took control of the camera feeds because I didn’t want anyone else watching you. You fascinate me.”
“You just expect me to leave after that?” She shook her head. “No way.”
He clenched his teeth. “Darwin Havings believed the female was a loose end. You know what those are. No one associated with that mess wanted her walking free to tell anyone about what had gone on in that camp. Never let it be said that cruel humans don’t have a twisted sense of justice. They thought it was fitting to let me be the one to kill her after giving her the impression that she’d been brought to me so she could watch me die. She took real pleasure in telling me how stupid I’d been to ever trust her and how disappointing it had been that she hadn’t gotten to watch my brothers die as well. She said she should get an award for acting since fucking me had been revolting. You should have seen her face when the guards left her there alone with me. I killed her, Kat.”“I probably would have done the same in your place.”