your sharp teeth, you’re gorgeous,” she said in a husky voice. The scent of her sweet musk grew stronger.
She finds me attractive? It shouldn’t have mattered, but for some reason it did.
She patted the cushion next to her. “Come here. I want to explore those benefits between us.”
Disbelief locked me in place. Even at the club, I’d never seen my dancer proposition any male this way. But now she wants me? It made no sense.
In a flash of clarity, I realized what was really happening. She’s still under Javier’s compulsion. In priming her to want him, he’d left her receptive to anyone. Even a beast like me.
I wouldn’t take advantage of her and I sure as shit wouldn’t allow him or anyone else to either.
Pushing a heavy amount of compulsion into my words, I said, “Ignore what Javier told you. You don’t need to be touched.”
“But I do…” she said in a breathless voice. She rubbed her hand slowly up her thigh. “Will you touch me?”
Alarm bells went off in my head. My compulsion never failed, except for the one time I tried to use it on a handler. I hadn’t known then that he and the other Titan soldiers were immune to mind control. My mistake had nearly cost me my life.
I tried again, infusing power into every word. “You’re not attracted to Javier.”
She blinked. “But I am attracted to him. He’s so handsome. And his eyes… He has beautiful eyes like yours.”
My confusion gave way to a stunning realization—I couldn’t undo Javier’s compulsion. And that meant…
Javier is more powerful than me.
Impossible! I was the deadliest and most powerful shifter alive.
As my dancer crooked her finger at me, I finally understood why I’d been ordered not to engage Javier.
The military didn’t want to risk me falling under his control.
But Jen could have at least warned me. Unless… this was some kind of test. A fucking diabolical test that pit my mating instincts against my programming.
Of course.
They wanted to know if I would follow orders or go after my mate. They’d even given me the impression that I was unmonitored. I snorted under my breath. I should have known better.
The military would never allow me that kind of freedom.
There was probably an entire team of handlers standing by to haul me away the minute I went AWOL. No doubt I’d join my fallen siblings in their unmarked grave if I failed this test.
A trickle of sweat streamed down my face. Well, I’ll show them. I’d follow their damn orders. I’d get the intel and return to base. Later, when shit hit the fan, I’d find a way to escape and save my mate. Opportunity comes from chaos, right?
My dancer reached out for me. “Sit with me. Touch me.”
The murmur of voices from the room next door saved me from insanity. “I can’t, dirty dancer. Get your stuff and leave this place.” From weeks of stalking her, I knew the old man would take her straight home. She couldn’t get into too much trouble there.
“Stay at your house until I come for you.”
“You’ll see me later?”
No one had ever looked at me with such longing. My chest grew tight, and I fought the urge to drag her into my arms. “Yes. Now close your eyes and forget everything that happened since you left Javier. You can open your eyes in one minute.”
“Okay.”
As she closed her eyes, I did the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life—I walked away from the female I now knew was my mate.
6
Lee
I came to my senses, startled to find myself in one of the VIP rooms. More than a little freaked out, I glanced around the empty walk-in closet-sized space.
What happened? The last thing I remembered was walking away from Javier as fast as I could.
Why make a pit stop here? And why sit on one of the nasty couches even the cleaning crew didn’t dare touch? Ew!
As I peeled myself off the sticky vinyl, the unmistakable sound of leather smacking skin made me jump.
Havana must be working the professor extra hard in the next room.
I was glad it was her and not me pretending to enjoy his company. But, for some strange reason, the moaning from the other room made my stomach tighten.
Maybe I’m missing out on something… something big. Maybe Javier is right. Maybe I want to be touched.
My skin warmed at the thought of the drug lord’s hands on my body. My breathing shallowed as I imagined accepting his offer. Maybe I