with quick metabolisms didn’t live long, a notable difference being parrots, which often outlived their owners.

Their muscles, if not bulky were extremely dense and well developed— more flexible and two to three times stronger than a large, strong human male. But these two diminutive creatures weren’t the largest specimens. A fully matured alpha male, as Mia called them, would be much more dangerous.

Of course there was the question of sex. Obviously, they still had the physical and mental capacity to perform and enjoy, but she didn’t ovulate or menstruate and he shot blanks.

Joe spent hours reviewing the data in his office and wondering about them. Aside from the physiological differences the tests revealed, he observed nothing about their behavior that couldn’t be construed as ordinary human behavior in a confined atmosphere. Both were bored, obviously, agitated by the constant intrusions on their privacy, but only Joe knew how much they missed one another. No one on the staff but Jean or Lydia saw their emotional depth and intelligence, or even seemed to care. They didn’t view them as anything but monsters. Yes, they had killed many times but they obeyed a biological imperative. Somehow they found a way to deal with it and still feel empathy. Yet even Joe wasn’t quite sure if he wasn’t being manipulated to believe so. That’s what made them so dangerous.

He glanced at his watch and saw that it was past four. Jean was off-duty. He had three hours until he had to meet with Mia. Enough time for a quick rendezvous.

Jean’s lithe figure lay on the bed, tanned skin smooth and supple, molten gold hair falling over her straight shoulders. Something of the sun and sea about her, blue and gold and clean, Joe mused as he caressed her.

It ate him that they had to hide their relationship. This wasn’t just some cheesy affair. Jean was more than a mistress. She was his only friend. If things were different he’d get a divorce and marry her, but he couldn’t. His family would turn their backs on him. And what would Rima do? She’d never been on her own and wouldn’t know how to get on without him. It was an unfair mess most Americans wouldn’t comprehend in these days of easy coupling and uncoupling. He had scruples, duty to his family, but he couldn’t live without Jean.

She rolled over to kiss him. “What time are you back on duty?”

“Graveyard shift, I have an appointment with her at seven but I have to stop in to see him first.”

“Oh come on, Joe, all the guys envy you.”

He rolled over onto his back and stretched his arms out over his head. “They’re welcome to the job. What do you think of her?”

Jean frowned thoughtfully, “They’re both pretty creepy. They look at you and you’re naked to them— like they can see inside your head.”

Joe shook his head and rolled over on to his belly, laughing. “They read body and facial cues. Their olfactory sense is superior to ours. They can perceive slight changes in body chemistry by scent.”

She rubbed a knot out of his shoulder with her long, capable hands. “She’s gotten under your skin.”

“She’d like to.”

She rubbed harder at his shoulders. He grunted at the pressure of her fingers. “You’ve met your match.”

He looked up. “Huh?”

“You don’t take well to strong women. This one is beyond your wildest dreams. She has you by the balls.”

“Ridiculous,” he said, getting up from the mattress.

Jean cocked her head to the side and continued to rub it with the towel. “Are you attracted to her?”

“She’s not my type.”

“The guys actually have a pool going to see who’ll have sex with her first, you or Kurt. They’re betting on you, I hear. Bunch of jerks, they’d shrivel if she so much as looked at them. Why do you think Lydia gave you this job?”

“A sick joke?”

“Maybe there’s a certain irony— but who else could stand up to her? She’d eat the others alive. You’re different. Why do you think Mia responds to you? Lydia knew exactly what she was doing.”

“First class castrating bitch… ”

“You make me laugh. Lydia’s barely one hundred pounds, but she has you, too. Maybe women in powerful positions are there for a reason, not just to annoy you. Lydia is the top in her field, and a damned good administrator. She sent you in there because no one else has the forceful personality required for the job.”

Joe grinned. “Jean, you have common sense. You see things