Michel/Striker Read Free Page B

cock that was hard and aching with a need that truly pissed him off.
    “I don’t share chitchat with my enemies,” he drawled.
    Her chin angled to the side, the gesture designed to reveal her displeasure at the same time that she kept her scars hidden by her glorious hair.
    Which only pissed him off more.
    Did she think the scars distracted from her beauty? If she did, then she was a fool.
    “I’m not your enemy,” she muttered.
    “No?” His lips twisted into a humorless smile. “You didn’t experiment on Pantera like they were slabs of meat instead of living, breathing people who suffered unimaginable agony in your labs?”
    She paled, as if he’d struck her. “I deeply regret my part in harming your people, as well as the humans who were abused.” She turned her head to glance out the window. “I have no excuse.”
    “Vanity,” Michel accused, even as he felt like a total tool.
    He didn’t know why. Okay, he was being harsh with the female. But she’d helped her cohorts kidnap innocent Pantera as well as humans, including children. Then, without the least amount of mercy, they’d experimented and tormented their victims.
    Why should he feel bad because he didn’t trust her?
    “Yes, it was vanity,” she said in low tones, her hands clenched in her lap. “On the other hand, I’ve tried to do what I can to atone for my mistakes.”
    His gaze took in the pure lines of her profile before lowering to the slender body that was currently attired in a tight cashmere sweater and jeans that did oh-my-god things to her ass.
    He’d almost swallowed his tongue when she’d joined him at the communal garage at the edge of the Wildlands. She was so rarely out of her loose scrubs, he hadn’t fully appreciated her sweet curves.
    Now he grimly forced his gaze back to her face. Shit. His cock was pressed so tight against his zipper he feared an injury.
    “So you claim.”
    She turned to meet his narrowed gaze. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    He shrugged. “It seems convenient that you would have a change of heart just when we managed to discover the Haymore Center and Locke’s sick experiments.”
    Her hands clenched in her lap. “There was nothing convenient about it,” she snapped. “I’d been held captive until Locke was forced to cut his losses and leave New Orleans.”
    Michel jerked in surprise. He knew that Chelsea had arrived unexpectedly at the Wildlands, and that Raphael and Parish had originally kept her separated from the Pantera. They weren’t going to take any chances with a female who admitted she’d been an employee of their greatest enemy.
    After she’d been allowed to join the community, Michel had assumed she’d come straight from one of the labs to the Wildlands. After all, she hadn’t been very forthcoming with her past.
    “You were a prisoner?” he demanded.
    She gave a jerky nod. “Yes.”
    “And they just let you go?”
    Her features tightened with pain before she was giving a hesitant nod. “Yes.
    Something perilously close to sympathy threatened to undermine the righteous anger he used to keep her at a distance.
    No. He couldn’t let down his guard. His duty was to protect his people, not protect this female’s feelings.
    “You see?” he sneered. “Convenient.”
    Her brows snapped together. “Exactly what are you accusing me of?”
    “I think you’re a spy,” he said without hesitation.
    She gave a sharp, disbelieving laugh. “You can’t be serious?”
    He studied her pale face. Even in the thickening shadows he could make out the delicate lines of her features and the plush temptation of her mouth. Her reaction seemed genuine, but…
    “Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked.
    She snorted. “Because I would make the worst spy in history, that’s why.”
    “That’s what you would say, of course.”
    She heaved a rough sigh. The sort of sigh that women perfected to sound as if they were being tortured beyond bearing.
    “If you don’t trust me, then why did