Someone seriously needed to instruct Merinus on the value of keeping Breed secrets secret.
"I don't think it works quite that way," he groaned, torn between amusement and frustration. Damn, where had his ice princess gone? The mischievous imp staring back at him now was going to make him crazy.
"Ah well, too bad. That barb thing sounds rather intimidating to me." Straightening her skirt, she licked her lips, her expression shifting as though some taste there pleased her.
Damn, if he actually had the chance to taste her, he would do more than relish it. His tongue would be buried so deep inside her pu**y that she wouldn't know where she ended and he began.
As for the "barb thing," as she called it, he had to admit he was looking forward to it. The whispers he'd heard of the pleasure it induced made it sound like a sexual nirvana. A pleasure that radiated to every cell of the body and left a Breed shaking and begging for more.
Blowing out another hard breath, he narrowed his eyes and watched as Rachel licked her lips again. Her ni**les were still hard and the sweet scent of her pu**y still infused the air, just as the darker, richer sent of her arousal tormented his already starving senses.
She was his buffet, and he was starving for her.
Pulling the electronic pad free of its case, Rachel frowned as she used the stylus to pull something up on the pad's face.
Her forehead tightened as she began to read.
"I need to skip this party tonight," she murmured as though it didn't matter to her either way. "We have information coming in from China concerning several companies there that Brandenmore and Ingalls have contacted. They suspect they've sent in genetic information to those companies. I want to follow the trail."
"Forget it. Put Brim on the trail; his contacts there are more extensive and he has the time for it. You don't."
He could almost feel her frustration now. He knew exactly why she was trying so desperately to get out of that party. She had obviously brought one of her toys with her and intended to use it.
That wasn't going to happen. He smiled at her, one of those slow, easy smiles that he knew her response to. It came instantly. Suspicion darkened her green eyes as they narrowed and her lips thinned in irritation.
Jonas leaned forward slowly. "Do you really think I'm going to allow you the chance to achieve release without me? Consider me your personal shadow."
Her lips parted as pearly teeth tightened in a charming little grimace.
"That's not fair, Jonas. You can find release without making a sound," she pouted.
"Can I?" He leaned back, wondering why Merinus hadn't apprised Rachel of this particular drawback of mating heat. "It does a male in heat no good to attempt to masturbate, sweetheart. It only makes the need worse."
She blinked back at him. "You're lying."
"Call Merinus and ask her about it." He snorted. "She hasn't been able to keep her mouth shut about anything else."
She crossed her legs, drawing his gaze to her slender thighs silhouetted beneath the short skirt she wore. "Merinus really didn't say much. She simply didn't answer specific questions."
She was lying through her teeth.
Jonas shook his head slowly. "Don't try that lie with any other Breed," he advised her. "As sweet as your lies smell, they're still lies."
And that cute little smile peeked through once again. It was impish, filled with warmth, and it threatened to drown him in his own f**king need. Damn, he needed her.
"We're here." The driver's voice came through the intercom between the two sections.
"Pull into the main entrance," Jonas ordered as he pressed the button to activate the speaker beside him. "Mordecai and Rule should be waiting for us."
"I see them at the entrance now," he was told.
The limo drew to a stop in front of the two-story brick town house. The building had been donated to the Breeds by an eccentric older couple who had lost their son when he was killed by Council soldiers in the Breed rescues.
"I assume you've had a room reserved for me at the nearest hotel?" she asked sweetly, though the chill underlying her tone was readily apparent.
"I guess I didn't," he assured her as Mordecai opened the door and stepped to the side. "Let's go, Rachel. We have little time before the party tonight. Your things are in the guest room waiting for you."
"As is the hairdresser the Prima ordered," Mordecai informed them as he glanced inside. "She called me herself to verify the arrival."