Now sated, still trembling, she had to fight Mia Snow. If she didn’t, the agent would continue to badmouth her to Jaxon. Had she already told him what Le’Ace had done to Elise? Probably.

And yet, here he was, standing proudly beside her. Defending her honor. Against his friends! The knowledge delighted her because it meant a man actually believed in her. A good man. Smart, sensual, and strong.

“Going to stand there all night?” Mia taunted.

Jaxon wound his fingers around her wrist, his touch warm, electrifying. “I don’t want you to fight.”

Rising to her tiptoes, she kissed him softly on his scarred cheek. “I want you, and this is the only way to have you. She’s your friend, so I won’t hurt her. Too badly,” she added smugly.

Always quick on the anger trigger, Mia lost her grin. “Bitch, you are so going down.”

Stiffening, Jaxon ran his tongue over his teeth. “Okay, sweetheart. Just make sure she can walk afterward. Despite everything, I do still love her like a sister.” With that, he released Mishka’s wrist. “You interfere,” he told the others with a menacing undertone to the words, “and I will not hesitate to hurt you.”

All but Eden held up their hands, palms out. They were confident in Mia’s strength and cunning, but then, they hadn’t seen Le’Ace in action yet, poor bastards.

“I wish there were another way,” Jaxon said to her, conflict and regret in the undertones.

“I know,” she told him softly. “I’ll make it fast.” Then, “Mia, let’s do this.” She moved forward.

Mia did, as well. They met in the middle of the alley. Getting Mia off her back was necessary, but deep down Le’Ace knew she was also doing this to impress Jaxon. Over and over, he had proven himself worthy of admiration. Over and over, she had not. She’d knocked him out twice; she’d run from him. She’d avoided him.

Now she would fight for what she wanted. And she wanted Jaxon, for what little time she could have him.

“Anyone else aroused by this?” the one called Devyn asked with a laugh.

“You need to shut it, you pervert,” Eden grumbled, but there was affection in her tone.

“This is a long time in coming,” Mia said.

They stood toe to toe, boots touching. Neither lashed out. Yet.

“Yes,” she said, looking down, one brow arched. “I had forgotten how short you are.”

“I’ve dreamed of killing you.” The agent’s eyes flickered with sapphire anticipation.

“I’m sure you have.”

“Final words?”

“Yeah. You talk too much.”

A pause as her words registered.

With a roar, Mia attacked, arm sweeping in a wide arch toward Le’Ace’s neck. Le’Ace bowed her back and the blade whooshed a single inch from contact. Infuriated by her failure, Mia didn’t realize she’d left herself wide open until Le’Ace slammed her metal hand into the agent’s temple, knocking her sideways.

Kyrin, the Arcadian lover, scowled and stepped forward, but Jaxon withdrew a pyre-gun and shot him with a bright blue stun beam, freezing the alien in place. It didn’t hurt him, just immobilized him.

“Thanks,” Le’Ace threw over her shoulder.

“Welcome.”

Mia had righted herself, had growled at Kyrin’s condition, and was already launching forward for another attack. While Mia was dressed for combat in pants and military boots, Le’Ace was not. Her fashionable boots with mile-high heels left her with a distinct disadvantage, so when Mia’s shoulder plowed into her stomach, she lost her balance.

She did manage to grab hold of Mia’s arm, however, and they toppled to the dirty ground. Mia was on top and seemingly in control. For a moment. Le’Ace twisted, smashing Mia into the concrete. The agent lost her breath and bashed her skull. Probably saw stars.

Even winded as the agent was, Le’Ace had to grip Mia’s hand to stop her blade from cutting something important. While she could have applied enough pressure to break Mia’s wrist, she didn’t. She simply squeezed veins, tendons, and muscles until they spasmed and the knife dropped involuntarily. Clank.

With her free hand, Le’Ace punched Mia in the lung. Cough. As Mia tried to regain her oxygen levels, Le’Ace straddled her, pinning her shoulders. One punch to the face, two.

Contain force, she told the chip. No bone breakage.

Another punch.

This time, she felt her muscles loosen so that, upon impact, the blow was softer.

Arching her back, Mia managed to work a foot between them and kick Le’Ace off. They were both on their feet a moment later, glaring at each other. Blood poured from Mia’s nose and mouth.

“Want more?” Le’Ace asked, hiding her need to pant.

“Fuck you.” Mia launched forward.

Le’Ace feigned left then attacked right, twirling her blade so that the hilt hit Mia rather than the tip. She’d been aiming for the temple, but Mia twisted, causing Le’Ace’s strike to land in the upper shoulder.

“Turn faster next time,” Dallas called helpfully.

“Finish up, sweetheart,” Jaxon said. “I need to talk to you. Alone.”

Alone time with Jaxon. Best motivation ever. “Two minutes and I’ll be ready.”

Mia was grinding her teeth, growling low in her throat. A patent stillness of a predator came over her, eyes narrowed, jaw clenched. Then, suddenly, she was gone. No longer in front of Le’Ace, no longer in sight.

Le’Ace blinked in confusion. Looked left, looked right. Nothing.

Something slammed into her head from behind. Gasping, she saw stars. They winked brightly behind her lids as she swung around, ready to engage. But…no Mia.

Where the hell was she?

Another fist connected with the back of her skull. She stumbled to the side, heels causing her to slide. She blinked rapidly to halt the blaze of lights behind her lids. What’s going on?

The alien has engaged hyperspeed.

Alien? Mia was alien?

Another fist.

This time Le’Ace couldn’t catch herself and landed on her ass, head swimming dizzily. Slow her down!

Can’t. Speeding you up…

Gradually the world around her screeched to a halt. Le’Ace no longer heard the incessant chatter of the people on the nearby streets. Insects stopped singing. Cars stopped humming.

What she did see was Mia in front of her, arm swinging toward her face. Reaching up, Le’Ace caught the agent’s fist in her hand. Stood in a single, fluid motion. Their gazes clashed together.

Mia’s eyes widened in shock. “You can see me?”

While everything else seemed to be at a standstill, Jaxon and the agents included, she saw and heard Mia perfectly. “Yeah, I can.” And then she shot her arm forward—crack the bone this time, just a little—and slammed her metal knuckles into Mia’s sternum.

The agent flew backward with a pained gasp. She hit the ground, propelling into the pretty red wall. Paint chips crumbled and dust formed a plume in the air. Her shoulders slumped, dark hair tumbling in every direction. Her eyes closed as she fought to breathe.

She did not get up.

Return to normal.

Ceasing hyperspeed.

Like that, the world around her kicked back into motion. The chatter was restored, a car honked. Le’Ace inhaled deeply, sucking in the sweet scent of victory.

“I’m ready.” Satisfied, she brushed her hands together and strode to a shocked Jaxon.

CHAPTER 20

Thirty minutes later, they were alone in a hotel room. A king-size bed with bright white covers dominated the small enclosure, but they didn’t fall onto it as Le’Ace had thought they would. Well, had hoped they would.

She sat nervously on the edge and Jaxon leaned against the far wall, much as he’d done when she’d found him outside of Nolan’s apartment.

Apparently “talk” was not code for “have sex” in Jaxon’s world. More was the pity.

“What are your friends doing?” she asked just to break the silence.

He shrugged. “Kyrin is, hopefully, out of stun and caring for Mia. Watch out for him, by the way. Mia’s the love of his life, and I could see murder in his eyes when you managed to knock her down. The others are either monitoring Nolan from afar or sneaking inside his apartment.”

“And you have the night off?”

“I’ve taken it off, yes.”

“So what’s on your mind?” Her hands dug into her thighs as she tried to hide her nervousness.

Silent, he studied her for a long while. Not a single hint of his emotions played over his face. “Are you wearing a camera, Mishka? A mic? Are you recording this for Nolan?”

Her mouth fell open. A moment passed before she had the presence of mind to snap it closed. “No! I can’t believe you’d ask me that. Not just because it’s highly insulting but because you had your hands all over me earlier.”

“Prove your innocence. Take off your clothes.” A commander expecting his orders to be obeyed, he crossed his arms over his chest.

She blinked over at him. “Excuse me?”

“Take off the coat, then take off the dress.”

Who the hell did he think he was? How dare he accuse her of such a thing? She should leave. But she couldn’t force her body to obey, so she remained on the bed, glaring up at him, chin raised. “You can go to hell.”

“You came, I didn’t,” he replied wryly. “Believe me, I’m already there. Now take off the coat and dress and prove you’re clean.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you wearing a camera? After all, Mia Snow, spawn of the devil, is your sidekick. She could have convinced you to betray me.”

Now his eyes narrowed. Didn’t like turnabout, did he?

“Take off your clothes,” she told him. “Prove you’re clean.”

Gaze never leaving her, he reached behind his head and gripped his shirt. The material swooshed off with a single jerk, leaving his muscled chest bare except for the straps holding his weapons in place. Such a splendid sight, all that muscle and steel mixed together.

He dropped the shirt and motioned to her with a nod of his chin. “Your turn.”

She pushed to her feet, unsteady though they were. Irritated as she was with him, she also experienced hot thrums of renewed desire. With a shrug of her shoulders, the coat slid onto the mattress. Her fingers hooked around the top straps of her dress, unlatching front from back, and gave a sharp tug.

Off fell the dress, leaving Le’Ace in a bright blue bra-and-panty set. She’d worn it, just in case Jaxon showed up.

“The boots,” he said. His voice broke a little.

She licked her lips. “First take off your pants. No telling what you’re hiding under there.” The words escaped on a wispy catch of breath. Her nipples hardened, abrading the cerulean lace.

Pupils dilating, he kicked off his shoes. Slowly his hands moved to his waist. Twist. The button opened, the pants crumpled to the floor. Black briefs hugged low on his hips and stopped mid-thigh. He stepped out of them. Several more blades were strapped to his lower limbs.

Bending down, he drew several silver squares from the pockets of the pants and tossed them onto the bed. “Condoms, because I know you like them,” he said, then looked pointedly to her boots.

Soon he would be inside her. “I don’t need them. Not with you.”

As her blood continued to heat, she showed her profile and extended one nearly bare leg onto the edge of the mattress, dislodging the coat and causing it to tumble. Jaxon hissed, and the sound of it was pained.

“So pretty,” he said with undercurrents of so mine.

Feminine power raced through her, an aphrodisiac to her starved senses. She unzipped one boot, tossed it aside, and gave the other the same treatment. A shiver cascaded down her spine as she turned back to him.

No longer emotionless, he wore desire like a cloak. It enveloped him, tightening the lines of his face, hardening the cock straining under the briefs, which happened to be peeking well above the elastic band, the tip glistening.

Moist heat pooled between her legs.

“Gloves,” he said raspily.

Usually she hid the metal with a fervency that boarded on certifiable obsession, since it served as a reminder that she was not fully human. Jaxon, however, seemed to delight in everything about her. Even that. As if her differences made her special. Something to cherish.

She peeled the gloves from her arms and dropped them. “A-as you can see, I’m not wearing a camera or a mic.” Had that truly been her voice? All shaky and needy and wispy?

He shook his head. “You could be hiding something under the lace.”

“I’m not.”

“I’ll need to do a body search to be sure.” His eyes gleamed brightly.

Her knees almost gave out. In that moment, she knew he had never suspected her of recording him or trying to trap him. He’d been playing. Teasing. Two things that had been absent from her life.

Her lips edged into a slow, genuine smile.

Desire darkened his eyes, the silver melting into liquid. “C’mere.”

She shook her head, only then realizing she still wore the short, dark wig. That just wouldn’t do. Le’Ace wanted to be with Jaxon as herself, not a part she had to sometimes play. Ripping the wig, pins, and netting from her scalp stung, but she did it, and soon her own strawberry-blonde tresses were flowing down her back. She finger-combed until most of the tangles were gone.

Jaxon groaned. “You’re killing me.”

“Then come here.”

He was in front of her a second later, his body heat coiling around her sensitive skin. His breath fanned her face as he reached up and traced his thumbs over her jaw, her cheeks. “I missed the hell out of you.” He drew her metal arm to his mouth and placed a soft kiss on her wrist. “Can you feel that?”