He closed his eyes and leaned into her palm, turning his head slightly to kiss the soft flesh. She smiled and when he opened his eyes, he delicately took her chin in his hand and brought her lips to his again. The passion and the heat was there again, this time a slow burn infusing both of them instead of an explosion. Chloe found her fingers going to the bottom of his shirt, slipping under the soft fabric and skimming along his perfectly sculpted abs.
The shirt was almost up to his shoulders when a knock on the door made them pause. They both froze, hoping it was just the maid or someone with the wrong room. The knock came again louder.
"Will one of you two please let me in?" Quent's voice called through the door.
"We should probably get that," Jackson whispered into Chloe's ear and she nodded but made no effort to remove her hands. He kissed the top of her forehead along her hairline and disentangled himself from her grasp. She pouted as he stepped away and he grinned at her.
Chapter 18
"I have news!" Quent burst through the door as soon as Jackson had it open. He shook his head and carefully glanced about outside before closing it again. Chloe hoped the blush on her face and the thumping of her heart wasn't too noticeable to the older Were.
"I spoke with the council," Quent began as he shrugged out of his light fleece jacket, tossing it onto the single chair. Chloe still couldn't get over the fact that neither Jackson nor Quent ever seemed cold. In this weather, she was wearing a ski parka, not some flimsy little fuzzy thing. "Jackson, you are to present yourself at the next full moon."
"What's going to happen?" Trepidation made his voice quaver at the end of his question.
"Nothing bad," Quent assured him. "The alpha of our pack is interested in meeting you. You will need to take a lesson with one of the older Weres to learn the ins and outs of being a full wolf, but since you seem to be able to control yourself currently, it shouldn't be bad."
"And if I don't go?" Jackson's question hung in the air for a moment. Quent turned slowly to face him, his face serious.
"You are not of our pack. You are a lone wolf. You can do what you please as long as you are not in our territory. In our territory, you conform to the council and the alpha. The consequences are severe if you do not." Quent frowned until Jackson nodded.
"I guess I have no choice. I'll go."
"Excellent." Quent smiled and spun to face Chloe. His eyes were bright. "On your side of wolf business, I asked some questions around. There have been rumors of a rogue Were scientist at the base."
"Rumors?" Jackson looked skeptical. "You're excited over rumors?"
Quent gave him a withering look before turning back to Chloe. "There have always been rumors of genetic testing going on at Fort Baskerville, but what if they were true? What if they were experimenting with the Lycan gene?"
"Would something like that even be possible at that base?" Chloe asked Jackson. He thought for a moment, leaning back against the wall. She had to focus not to stare at his broad shoulders tapering down to his hips.
"It's possible... there are some pretty serious looking science station buildings set up across the compound from me." Jackson shrugged. "I guess I could see the appeal of a werewolf super soldier."
"But my brother's not a werewolf. Why bother with his inactive gene at all?" She looked back and forth at the two men. "Why not just find full Weres? I'm sure there are more than just our captain here in the military."
Quent looked thoughtful for a moment and then shook his head. "If you wanted straight Weres then, yes, a full active Lycan gene would be best. But, if you wanted to improve upon nature and were doing genetic modifications..." he paused and frowned. "The dormant Lycan gene would be much better. A full Were's genetic structure is already stable. The Lycan gene isn't. If you wanted to have genetic material that is primed to be modified, the Lycan gene is it."
"So they would be doing experiments on him then. Modifying him." Chloe paled and sat down on the bed. Jackson went over and put his hand on her shoulder, his warmth spilling into her and giving her strength. She reached up and held his hand, trying to keep the screaming voice of panic inside her head quiet. Her brother would be fine.
"Do you really think the orders are fake? I think I'd prefer him in Afghanistan now," Chloe asked, looking up at Jackson. He shook his head sadly.
"I figured. That would be too easy." Chloe sagged slightly then straightened. "Can you get us on base?"
Jackson stepped back, dropping his hand and looking surprised. "What?"
"Can you get us on base?" Chloe repeated. "We'll break him out."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you nuts?" Jackson knelt in front of her on the floor, putting both his hands on her shoulders. The warmth was amazing. "First of all, we don't even know that he's on base. Second of all, that is a military base. Secured by men with guns who will look for any excuse to use them. Third, it's dangerous. You might have snuck on once, but they've fixed that portion of the fence and have upped security."
Chloe just raised her eyebrows and shrugged like he had simply read a grocery list.
"No," he growled. "Too dangerous."
"But he's my brother!" she cried, her eyes filling with tears. "We have to do something! We can't just let them experiment on him!"
Quent moved to stand behind Jackson, the two of them frowning. "He's right, Chloe. It's too dangerous."