Danger That Is Damion Read Free Page A

she tried to turn, testing her strength against the GTECH’s, careful not to give away her own GTECH strength, to keep surprise as her weapon.
    “You aren’t going anywhere until we talk,” came the low command, as he narrowed the V of his legs around her hips.
    Male GTECH strength apparently trumped female GTECH strength, because Lara was immobile, and it was frustrating beyond comprehension. For the first time since joining Serenity, she questioned Powell’s claims that in a world of male GTECHs, women were the unexpected weapon that would win this war. In fact, she just plain wanted to scream at the injustice of the physical differences. That left her with outsmarting him and getting to her weapon, and she would.
    “What’s the ETA on Lev and family being back in their room?” her captor said in a hushed tone, clearly speaking into a mike. He wasn’t alone, and she was. The odds had just gotten worse. A second passed—not enough time for her to calculate her plan—and he cursed beneath his breath, before he replied, “We’ve gone mission ignite. Situation is hot. Get them inside now or take them into custody.”
    Lara cringed at what his command implied, at the idea the GTECHs would have nuclear expertise because she’d failed her mission. “Let me go,” she demanded, “before I scream.” It was a threat used to seem weak, to convince him to underestimate her, to let down his guard.
    “And when help comes,” he said, calling her bluff, “I’ll show them your gun.”
    Her gun was the last thing she wanted him thinking about right now. He leaned in closer to her, his breath warm near her ear, his tone a primal rasp of demand. “Now why don’t you tell me who you were trying to kill, Lev or Phillips?”
    He was trying to figure out who she worked for, whether she wanted to capture Lev or kill him. She wasn’t telling him anything or showing him one iota of weakness. No more damsel. Never let them see you sweat. Someone used to say that to her, though she couldn’t remember who.
    “Let me go, and I’ll demonstrate,” she said flippantly. It was all she could do not to shove him backward, not to fight her way out of this, but she couldn’t wind-walk, and that changed everything. She had to be patient, wait for her moment, her opportunity to escape.
    “What’s the rush, darlin’?” he asked. “If you aren’t careful, you’re going to hurt my feelings. And you won’t get another shot at Lev. My men are too good to let that happen.”
    “If I were facing forward, I’d hurt a lot more than your feelings,” she promised with sticky sweetness, still not letting on that she could turn around if she wanted to, still hoping he believed her nothing more than human.
    “You’d like that, now wouldn’t you?” he mused, laughing, a sensual sound that ran up and down her nerve endings with female awareness, belying how much she hated this man and all those like him.
    “You betcha, darlin’ ,” she said, repeating his mockery of an endearment. She hated GTECHs, even ones that managed to smell all sexy and male. No— especially ones that managed to smell all sexy and male, because it proved he could somehow work seductive magic on her. She didn’t like being manipulated. But then, two could play that game. She taunted him, went after his male ego. “Unless you’re afraid you can’t handle me.” She softened her voice to a seductive rasp, “Don’t worry, honey. I promise to be gentle.”
    His hands slid around her waist, his palms scorching her skin beneath the thin material of her dress. “The gun in your purse doesn’t say gentle to me.”
    “You might be surprised,” she challenged, setting aside the unexpected, uncomfortable, drugging effect of this man’s deep baritone voice. “Try me.” The fingers of her one hand curled around the steel of the fence, the other held her purse where her weapon rested. Oh yes, indeed, he had some unique gift of seduction. He possessed numerous