Ecstasy in Darkness (Alien Huntress 5)

McKell propped his head against the back of the couch and peered up at the ceiling. “If you must know, I followed Agent Deschanel. Johnny, you probably like to call him. Or John. Or Love Bunny.”

Noelle had been right. “Three things, vampire. He’s still in training, so he isn’t technically an agent yet.” There was no way she would let anyone, especially McKell, grant Johnny Deschanel a title he didn’t yet deserve. “Next, he isn’t my Love Bunny. And finally, did you follow him because you were jealous of his association with me?” Please, please, please.

McKell snorted. “Hardly. I followed him because he was a suspicious character.”

Finally they were getting somewhere. She gripped the edge of the chair and leaned forward. “Suspicious of wanting to get my clothes off?”

“Of foul play.”

“Foul play with my body?”

Now he leaned forward, blazing gaze locked on her. “I wasn’t jealous, damn you.”

Liar. “So did you cut off his penis or cut out his heart?” Fingers crossed he said heart. Noelle would owe her ten whole dollars, and she already knew what she would buy. Butterscotch-flavored lipgloss to replace the one McKell had stolen.

“What?” He shook his head in astonishment. “Neither.”

“Oh.” Her shoulders sagged. So close to victory, yet so far away.

“You are … disappointed by this? Because I can return to him and remove his penis, no problem.”

At “return to him,” hope had sprouted wings. At “penis,” those wings had withered. Foiled again. Her shoulders sagged a little more. “So you would have gone for the penis? Because a man loves with his heart, and isn’t loving a woman worse than boinking her?”

Another shake of his head. “Yes, the penis, and no, loving isn’t worse. Boinking is. But again, you sound disappointed.”

McKell had just said “boinking.” She snickered. Then she remembered that she’d just lost her bet with Noelle and wouldn’t be getting that lipgloss. “I am,” she said on a sigh. “There goes ten hard-earned dollars.” Sure, he hadn’t actually performed a c**k removal, but intent was just the same. “And now that we’ve got that settled, let’s backtrack a bit. Do you want to hurt him because you were jealous of him?”

“I told you. I wasn’t—I’m not jealous. Of anyone!” Pause, grumbling. “But I called dibs on you. Which means you belong to me. And he was looking at you. At my property.”

Fight the urge to cheer. “Jealous, jealous, jealous,” she tsked.

“Am not!” He snapped the middle of the whip taut, his knuckles white over the leather.

Maybe fight the urge to taunt him, too. “I was with Johnny before I met you, so the dibs system doesn’t really apply.”

More grumbling, but she couldn’t make out the words, only the frustration behind them. “Why were you with him, anyway? He’s a sad excuse for a man. Even a human man.”

“If you must know, I thought I was with his brother Jeremy.” She ignored the “even a human” part, too busy trying to eradicate the growing heat in her cheeks.

First, renewed astonishment fell over McKell’s face. Then, relief. Then, anger. She did a double take, certain she was misreading him. But, no. The anger was real.

“Why did you want to be with him?” he demanded. “I mean, I thought it would be better if you were uncaring about appearances. But damn it, this is worse.”

Worse, how? “Hello. Did you see his muscles?”

“Well, mine are bigger.” He gave another snap of that whip.

He spoke only the truth. His muscles were bigger, which meant, so was his sex appeal. And not just to Ava, strength aficionado. One glance from those wicked violet eyes, and a woman knew what she would be getting from him: pleasure in its purest form.

Hands, kneading. Legs, twining. Shaft, pumping. Nothing taboo. No inhibitions.

Raw need curled through her.

Why hadn’t he kissed her yet? He’d promised to do so, right?

“I can’t talk about this anymore,” he said, tossing the whip aside and rubbing at his eyes. “I’m too close to storming out of here and decapitating both brothers.”

Her desire faded. “So you think less of me?” Like, say, trash. “For sleeping with someone before you?”

“Of course not.” The sudden sincerity in his tone relaxed her. “You’re a woman with needs, and believe me, I’m grateful for those needs. I simply cannot tolerate the thought of another man touching …” His jaw clenched. In and out he breathed, the air rasping, harsh. “We have to change the subject. Now.”

She understood. He didn’t begrudge her past, just as she didn’t begrudge his. But the thought of him with someone else, even before he’d met her, was far from pleasant.

Which was odd, now that she thought about it. They hadn’t slept together, and she’d told herself—several times—that she wouldn’t venture down that path with him. Yet she couldn’t deny that every bone in her body screamed mine.

He was right. They needed to change the subject.

“What do you want to talk about?” she asked.

A moment passed. He shrugged, the action like a neon sign pointing to the wide width of his shoulders. “I think I ran into the Schön queen.”

So casually offered, with just a hint of expectation. She could only stare at him and try to process. “Okay. Wait, wait, wait. What did you just say?”

“She had dark hair, but this woman was definitely diseased.” He waited now, as if he expected something from her.

Yet again, his tone was so casual he could have been discussing the weather, rather than the case that could change the fate of the world. “Tell me everything.”

He did, from the way the brunette had appeared out of nowhere, to her proposition to Johnny, to the exquisite mask she’d worn, to the guards standing silently behind her the entire time.

“Why didn’t you apprehend her?”

“And risk carrying the disease to your door? No.”

Argh! Ava dug out her cell phone and dialed Mia. The conversation was short but not very sweet, McKell leaning forward, watching her expression the entire time. His expectation had swelled. Maybe because Mia quickly informed her that McKell had already called and that she was taking care of things.

“You should have incapacitated her in some way,” Ava growled as she dropped her phone on the table beside her. He was strong enough, wily enough. And damn it, his concern for Ava was panty-melting. “AIR would have forgiven you for everything and stopped harassing you.”