Soulless The Girl in the Box - By Robert J. Crane Page 0,53

beneath it, and I was suddenly very uncomfortable. I became even moreso when he walked around the bed, rested his hands on my cheeks and gently pulled me in for a kiss.

I returned it, but without the heat, the passion that had consumed us earlier. This one was slow, methodical – enjoyable, sure, but without the possibility of going anywhere. He increased the pressure of the kiss, and I felt the heat from his side, the desire, and broke away, turning from him, groaning as I did so. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I have a job to do. I have responsibilities, commitments.” I was breathing much harder than I would have thought I would be after one kiss. “I have to go.” I looked back at him, and he seemed so solitary, standing naked in the middle of my room. “When I get done with this, I’ll call you, I promise. I’m...” I searched for the words. “...I...want this. I wish I could stay right now, but I just can’t.”

He was silent for a moment, then turned and stooped to pick up his pants. I watched. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“I...can’t really get into it. Secrecy and all that.”

“I could help, maybe.” He stared at me as he put his pants on, then zipped them up. I felt a tremor of regret. Trying to be a responsible adult and do my job really sucked right now.

I sighed. “I don’t think so.”

“I’m pretty strong,” he said with a teasing smile. “You probably know something about that.”

“I do know something about that.” I tossed the clothes I’d left out into my bag, then pulled my syringe and a vial with my daily dose of psycho-suppressant out.

James’s eyes caught the syringe as I injected the vial into my arm. “What’s that?”

“That,” I said, tossing the empty vial in the trash, “is how I curb the voices in my head.” I felt the familiar rush of sleepiness that followed an injection, and shook it off. It barely affected me anymore. “How do you do it?”

“Not like that,” he said with some disapproval. “You do it with your mind, not with drugs. If you’ve got a strong will, you barely feel it with most people, and it gets easier as you learn to control it.”

“Ah,” I said, slightly sarcastic. “That’s where I went wrong. See, when I first absorbed someone, it was a crazed psycho beast who was bent on killing me. I shoulda picked a weaker target I guess, worked my way up to the monstrous, but I didn’t really have an option at the time.”

“You absorbed Wolfe?” He shook his head and let out a small gasp of amazement. “Wow. I did not know that. I heard you beat him but I assumed you did it some other way.” He cringed. “That’s a rough way to start out.” His face slackened and was overcome with genuine curiosity. “How old were you when that happened?”

“Seventeen,” I said. I thought I caught a flash of surprise from him, and I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m eighteen now. Don’t sweat it, okay?”

“Eighteen and headed into trouble,” he said. “You sure I can’t help?”

“I think my bosses at the Directorate are going to be upset enough with the people I’ve already dragged into this,” I said with a short laugh as I closed my bag and hefted it onto my shoulder. While I did that, I felt his arms wrap around me at my waist, slipping under my untucked blouse and touching my skin, giving me a thrill that ran up my spine.

He kissed my neck again, then whispered, “Surely one more won’t matter to them; but I might make all the difference for you if you get in a tight spot.”

I pulled away. “Pretty sure it would matter to them.” I smoothed the wrinkles in my pants and pulled down my shirt to cover my midriff. I hesitated, staring at him, his muscled chest catching my attention. “I could certainly use some more help, but I can’t...” I sighed again. “You seem pretty resourceful, so I’ll tell you this much. I’m going east. If you show up, I won’t be upset to see you there.”

He smiled, a growing, widening one that made me feel a warm flutter. “You might just see me there, then.”

I walked toward the door and opened it, casting one last look back. “I kinda hope so.”

Chapter 16

I suspected Reed was stealing a car for Kat to use since there wasn’t