Tempt Me Eternally Read Free Page B

next.” He slapped the hilt of the knife into Aleaha’s free hand, the silver tip gleaming in the moonlight. “Be ready, Lolli. Go for the jugular.”
    She gulped. The blade weighed less than her gun, but somehow felt all the more menacing. “O-okay.”
    Jaxon turned those eerie green eyes on her. “There’s still time to run.”
    Sixteen Rakans remained standing and they continued to close their circle, hopping over fallen agents. There might as well have been a thousand. Not long before she, Devyn, Dallas, and Jaxon—who held the center of that circle—would be reached. But Jaxon was right. There was still time to escape. Not much, but enough.
    â€œNo.” Determined, she shook her head. “I’m staying. We can win this.” If not, if AIR fell, she’d fall, too. For Macy . Aleaha owed the woman that much.
    She kept firing with one hand while gripping the hilt of the serrated knife with the other, trying to prepare herself for what she might have to do. She’d never used a knife on anyone but herself, and the thought of slicing into someone else’s flesh . . . You can do it . A cornered animal did anything necessary to ensure survival.
    Another agent placed a gun to his own temple and fired.
    Yeah, she could do it.
    â€œFor all that’s holy, Lolli,” Devyn snapped. Hishard tone of voice made her blink. Especially since he’d used it twice in one night and that was twice more than ever before. Where was his dry sense of humor? Where were his dirty jokes? “The knife was supposed to scare you, not empower you. Hit the vans so we don’t have to worry about you!”
    â€œStop worrying and do your job!”
    â€œGo.” This from Dallas. “Run.”
    â€œNo!” Even as she spoke, strong fingers of compulsion and agreement stabbed their way into her mind. Do what he says. Don’t argue with him. Run.
    Aleaha was almost into the woods, sidestepping the Rakans as Dallas distracted them, before she realized what she was doing. She stopped short and frowned. What . . . why?
    The answer hit her with the force of pyre-fire. Mind control.
    Which agent was responsible? Devyn, Jaxon or Dallas? Didn’t matter, she supposed, because they were all bastards. Somehow, someway, one of them had controlled her with a thought.
    Scowling, she whipped around. Trees stretched on both sides, so close she had only to reach out to hug their trunks. Their twisted, snow-heavy limbs shuttered her line of vision, so she brushed them aside.
    The sight she next drank in would haunt her for years to come.
    Most of the agents were lying on the ground, some writhing and groaning sounds of impending death. Others were motionless in the blood splattered snow. Dallas, Devyn, and Jaxon were slashes of white in thatviolent nighttime canvas, the tallest of the Rakans stalking the outer edge of the circle. Other Rakans took turns taunting them with punches and kicks, each expertly evading the pyre-fire launched at them.
    What can I do ? What the hell can I do ? “Stop,” she called, hoping the distraction would give her friends some kind of opening to . . . what? Take off? Attack? “Stop!”
    The stalking alien obeyed, stopping in a ray of moonlight, his gaze quickly finding her. Jolting her.
    Aleaha trembled in shock, another honey-scented breeze suddenly enveloping her. Arousing her. Kiss, she thought again. The man was utterly and absolutely breathtaking. A hedonistic god fallen straight to Earth. Sensual, exotic, with kohl-rimmed eyes of gold, a strong nose, a square chin, and chiseled . . . everything.
    He put Devyn to shame.
    What little of his skin was visible glowed like liquid rays of sunlight poured over hot steel. His hair hung to his jawline, the same golden shade as his skin. He was mesmerizing, unimaginable power and dark savagery blanketing his expression. And God, he was a predator, the