Identity

Pret Ops 4: Identity Emma Ray Garrett All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2008 Emma Ray Garrett

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Pret Ops 4: Identity Emma Ray Garrett After thirty years on the job, Lucia Malholland’s retiring. She loves the Corps, but even a Selkie’s biological clock gets to ticking. Lucia’s ready to find the man of her dreams. Problem is, there’s a man stalking her whose dreams are about to put Lucia’s in jeopardy. After building the newest branch of the Corps, Cyber Operations, John and Cole Marshall are ready for a real test of their new unit’s skills. Being called in to track down a stalker turned murderer targeting one of their own sounds right up Cy Ops’ alley. All the danger isn’t from cyberspace, as Cole finds out when he meets Lucia for the first time. He’s torn between eating her and… eating her. Not good. Add to that John’s insistence they renew their prior intimate relationship -- and suddenly finding a homicidal human suitor bent on ripping Lucia’s pelt and magic from her doesn’t seem quite so difficult.

Chapter 1 “Let’s get something to eat, John.” Cole leaned into the Cy Ops director’s office, earning a scowl from the occupant for the intrusion. “Just bring me something back.” John Marshall motioned to the papers scattered across every inch of his desk. “I can’t leave right now.” Cole sighed and shook his head. It looked like he was going to have to do this the hard way. “We’ve been buried here for months. We can take an hour.” Cole snatched the sheaf of papers from his friend and once lover. “I have to get through this list of recruits.” John sat back in his chair and frowned up at Cole. “Otherwise, Rubenesso won’t be able to make the calls and get the last batch here by Monday.” “Bullshit. Stas’ll make sure they’re here on time. Stop fucking worryin’ and let’s go eat.” Cole stepped around the desk and grabbed John’s upper arm, hauling the taller, heavier-muscled man from the chair as if he weighed nothing. One of the benefits of being an Ursudine -- the other man’s superior bulk didn’t mean much. “Ouch!” Cole jerked his scorched hand away, rubbing the sore palm. He shot John a scowl of his own. Okay, so maybe John had a couple of advantages. “I didn’t burn you that bad, wimp.” The big man looked down at the seared remains of the right sleeve of his shirt. He grumbled and pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk, producing a new shirt. Cole moved back so his friend could change his clothes, trying to ignore his dry mouth and stirring cock. John’s effect on his libido hadn’t changed one bit in all the years they’d known each other. From day one, the power and unabashed masculinity of the other man made Cole shift his stance, or cover a rising erection, more often than he cared to admit.

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John caught him looking and grinned, familiar heat warming his dark green eyes. “Don’t give me that look. We definitely don’t have time for that today. Just food.” But John couldn’t resist teasing, as usual. He slowly tugged the olive-colored Tshirt over his head and chest, thick pecs flexing, rock-hard upper arms bunching with each movement. Cole adjusted his tight jeans, allowing his cock to thicken along the inseam. “Hurry up, man! I’m already stiff as a board and I’d like to be able to walk down the hall.” Cole crossed his arms over his chest, resisting the urge to soothe his erection with a few strokes of his palm. John laughed and finally smoothed the shirt over the sexiest set of ripped eight-pack abs in the world. With another shake of his head, Cole turned away and headed for the door. “You might be less antsy if you got laid, bro.” John grabbed his jacket from the peg on the wall. “Yeah, probably. Since I’m stuck with you all the time, though, that makes hooking up a little tough.” “Hey, I’m not the one who decided that people would think we were a freaky incestuous pair.” “We are brothers.” “Dude, brothers in arms. You were my foster brother for two years.” “We have the same last name, John.” “Yeah, ’cause you changed yours when you turned eighteen. Everyone was cool with it. My mom even cried as I recall. But our last name didn’t bother you until that asshole in Dubai. If he’d kept his drunken comments about incestuous brothers to himself, we’d still be together.” His erection quickly deflating, Cole turned away from the other man. “Doesn’t matter, man. I don’t want any flack on the family.” “Please, we Marshalls don’t give two shits about gossip. You should know that by now.” John shook his head. “Look, you know my family knows the score between

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us. It shouldn’t matter about anyone else. When you’re ready, if you’re ready, I’m here, Baloo.” Cole closed his eyes. John made it sound like no big deal, but Cole knew better. Setting aside their old debate, he fake growled, “Don’t call me Baloo.” He tried to remain serious, but the nickname had him laughing. “God, couldn’t you guys have picked a better association?” “I’m not the one who picked it. As I recall, Nat was four or five when you came to live with us. She was on a total Jungle Book kick. Personally, I think it’s ’cause she was in love with Shere Khan even then.” Chuckling, Cole pulled open the door. “Stanislov hated that. Man, we used to get him so riled.” John chuckled as he followed the smaller man out of the office. “Since you bullied me to go out, I get to pick the food.” John smiled softly. “Fine, but no fish.” “I thought bears loved fish. Aren’t they bear necessities, just simple bare necessities?” John started whistling. “Damn it, knock it off.” Cole popped him in the arm and John laughed. The blow thrust him into the wall, but it didn’t stop his good humor. Feeling light hearted, Cole grinned as he and John stepped into the elevator and headed down. A rush of excitement unrelated to the handsome man beside him sang through his veins. On Monday, all the night school, all the cultivated contacts, all the training he and John had pushed each other through would pay off. Cy Ops would be ready to launch. A dream he’d been chasing, finally caught.

Chapter 2 12 months later “I won’t apologize, Father. I’ve been with the Corps for thirty years. It’s long enough.” “Lucia, you know how important I feel it is for you to serve the People.” Lucia Malholland clenched her jaw and fought not to crush the phone in her grip. Keeping her tone level and devoid of emotion, she closed her eyes against the rush of anger and disappointment threatening to overwhelm her. “I have served. Now it’s time for me to do what I want. And what I want is to go home, find a partner, and have a family. You don’t have to like it and I’m not changing my mind.” “Lucia Fiona --” “I have to go. I’ll call you when I land in Dublin.” Lucia didn’t bother to say good-bye before hanging up. She tossed the cell in the large bag she’d check in. Maybe the airline would lose the damn thing. Then she’d have a good excuse to get a new phone number her family didn’t have. “You always let him get to you.” Charlie O’Connor didn’t bother pretending she hadn’t eavesdropped. “He knows all the right buttons to push. Damn it! I don’t know what pisses me off more. The fact that he still thinks he can somehow use me for information on the Corps, or the fact that he can’t stop his machinations, ever.” Lucia zipped the luggage closed before joining Charlie at the small dinette. Charlie grinned knowingly, flashing straight white teeth. She picked up a powdered sugar-dusted croissant and licked her lips. “My dad is just as bad, but after spending time with Brian and his family, I’ve learned some fantastic tricks.”

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“I just bet. His mother is the queen of button-pushing.” The stress ball knotted in her stomach began to ease and Lucia relaxed. She didn’t want to waste what was left of her time with her closest friend pissed at her family. “Lucia, you know I hate to give advice, but honestly, you gotta do something big or your family is never gonna get the picture.” Lucia slumped in her chair and pulled her long, honey-blonde braid over her shoulder to pick at the ends. “You’d think after thirty-plus years, they’d have gotten the hint. What else can I do?” “Maybe get married, have some kids, then lose your mom and dad’s address?” Charlie knew at least part of her suggestion was out of the question, but she really didn’t want to see Lucia off in a bad mood. As expected, her comment garnered an exasperated grin from Lucia. “I couldn’t do the last thing, and I seem to be having serious problems managing the first two. I love my family. I really do. They love me too. I’d be better off if I just joined the club, but gods, the idea of marrying some jerk just to better the family’s position gives me the heebie-jeebies.” Charlie nodded. As the daughter of the President of the United States, she knew all too well about the politicking of the powerful. “Okay, change of subject. Did you tell General Rubenesso about your cyber stalker?” Lucia rolled her eyes. “Jeez, Charlie. It’s no big deal.” “Lucia, it is a big deal. This freak knows you’re a Selkie and he wants your pelt. Hello? He sent you pictures of us shopping last week. He’s a stalker.” “Look, I know you’re worried, but I don’t think there’s any reason to be. It’s probably just some human weirdo. I can handle a human or ten.” Charlie dusted her hands off over her plate before pulling her legs underneath her on the chair. “I’ll make you a deal. If this person doesn’t contact you once you’re on the other side of the pond, I’ll let it go. If he does, I want your word you’ll call the general immediately.”

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Lucia sighed and met her friend’s gaze. Charlie’s expressive eyes filled with worry and determination. She threw up her hands and gave in. “All right, Charlie. I swear.” The worry didn’t completely leave Charlie’s face, but she did smile and so did Lucia. “That’s settled. Now, when does your plane leave?”

Lucia checked her watch. “In about four hours.”

“Fantastic! That means we have time to shop.” The cocky grin on Charlie’s face

left Lucia wanting to roll her eyes again. “You are awful, Charlene O’Connor.”

Chapter 3 “I’ll be fine, Mother.” “Lucia, I insist. You will take Marco with you to your flat, since you refuse to stay at Boudicca with us.” Lucia’s shoulders slumped with defeat. “Fine.” It was easier to give in when it came to her mother, Shannon. Pulling on the last of her reserve energy, she straightened her back and met her mother’s ice blue gaze. “But only while I’m in town. When I go to the lough, no one is coming with me.” Shannon Malholland opened her mouth to object, but Lucia lifted her hand. “No arguing. I don’t go to Lough Ree so silent men in dark suits can follow me around.” Her mother harrumphed. “Aye.” With this argument, at least, behind them, Lucia stepped close to her mother. They hugged warmly and the tension slid away. A car waited for them at the pick up. Lucia slid into the Bentley with a sigh. She was tired, hungry, and ready to crash. Completely oblivious, her mother launched into a blow-by-blow of a recent function she’d attended. “Are you listening to me?” Shannon’s sharp tone snapped Lucia from her gazing. “Yes.” Lucia’s brain struggled to recall the last part of her mother’s monologue. She turned to face Shannon before she replied. “I’m glad you think Chad is such a fine fellow.” Maybe I should have stayed in the Corps. No scheming plots at matchmaking there. As the drive to Boudicca, her family home outside of Roscommon, stretched before them, Lucia fought the urge to sleep.

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“There’s an art exhibit on Tuesday that you’ll need to attend, Lucia. It’s a charity event for the Children’s Hospital. Your father can’t make it, but since you’re here, I’d like you to accompany me.” “All right.” Lucia didn’t care one thing about art, but she’d never skip a gala that would help out children in need. Her mother began a breakdown of the guest list, and Lucia went into autopilot. Long years of training meant some part of her mind would remember the necessary information without actually having to pay attention to what her mother said. “We’re home, love.” The gentle brush of her mother’s hand against her cheek awoke Lucia. “I’m sorry, Mum.” Shannon smiled softly. “It’s nothing. Let’s get inside. Your da is anxious ta see ya.” Lucia grinned at her mother slipping into less cultured tones. Despite their wealth, her family didn’t shun their poor roots. They simply refused to go back to them. Dredging what oomph she could, Lucia exited the vehicle and headed up the grand staircase to the entry of the family estate. Roscommon was one of those spots the Irish knew about and loved, but which didn’t see many tourists. Nestled between the River Shannon and the River Suck (oh, how her American friends giggled at that), it was a fine place for a family of Selkies to settle. With several lovely loughs nearby, there was plenty of water, and if one didn’t mind swimming a bit, access to the sea. All of that and County Roscommon boasted a vast, and preserved, amount of forested land. Roscommon was the place she took with her everywhere. As she stepped through the ornate entrance of Boudicca, a rush of happiness surged through her. It was so good to be home.

*** “Damn, I had no idea we’d be this busy.” John scrubbed a palm over his face.

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“We’re logging anywhere from a hundred to a thousand or more attempts to hack our firewall. It’s a damn good thing we dumped that Ethernet shit. That’s one attack we couldn’t afford to deal with.” “Damn Charlie.” John bit the inside of his cheek to stop from saying more. “You can’t blame her, John. She and Natalie had no idea they’d be put in that position.” “I fuckin’ know that. It doesn’t change the situation.” Cole frowned hard. “No, it doesn’t. We haven’t been outed. Not exactly. For the most part, the world thinks Nat’s a trained medic and that’s how she managed to save the President’s life.” “Yeah, but the extremists aren’t buying it.” John locked his gaze on the clear cerulean of Cole’s, but the other man never caved under his glare. It was one of the things he liked best about Cole. “They never do. It’s not like this is the first time, and it won’t be the last time, we’ve had to deal with partial exposure. In a few months, interest will die down.” “Thank God we transferred everything to independent servers.” “Agreed. Now, can you chill out? Our people have things under control and I want you to take a peek at something.” John nodded and left the heart of the command center with Cole close behind. Instead of going back to his office and the desk therein that was probably bowing under the weight of paperwork, he headed for the break room and a cup of hot coffee. “Hit me. What is it I need to look at?” Cole reached around his back and pulled a tightly rolled sheaf of papers from his pocket. “It’s some chatter from one of those message boards we flagged a couple of months ago. Take a look at the posts by mrsmith.” “Negative two points for creativity.” John shook his head. Cole had highlighted several lines and John read them aloud. “She’s finally here. We’re making our move at sundown. Bidding will start at a hundred million pounds. Who wants to live forever?

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Only serious inquiries.” He tossed the papers onto the counter. “What’s he talking about?” “According to Lt. Mastek, this room is specifically for high-end collectors. Whatever this guy’s selling, it’s big. Mastek says, based on the rest of the chatter, it’s probably of Sidhe origin, but we can’t overlook things like Harpies, Sirens, or Selkies.” John nodded and reached for a clean coffee cup. “Okay, do we have anything else that could tell us what’s for sale and by whom? Moreover, it sounds like they plan to move on someone. Do we know who that is?” He grabbed the closest coffee pot. The coffee was damn near sludge, just the way he liked it. “There’re still a lot of preternaturals hidden throughout eastern Europe. The Corps has a base in the Scottish Highlands. I’ll contact them and get an update on enlisted personnel. The best we can hope for is to narrow it down to a few hundred.” “If we have to cold call them all, then that’s what we’ll do. We can’t let this jackass sell anything. Considering this guy isn’t trying to hide anything, I get the feeling whatever he’s selling could seriously extend a lifespan.” John picked up the paper with the message on it and ran his finger over the part bothering him. “Yeah, who wants to live forever?” “Only every human on earth. Cross-check immortality against the list. We might get lucky and there’ll only be a couple hundred immortal preternaturals on the list.” “Will do. Do you want to call Rubenesso? See if he has any info?” Cole took the chat room conversation from John’s outstretched hand and headed toward the door. “Not yet. At this point, we’re likely to have a better chance of getting the answers ourselves. But keep me updated. Cyber Operations isn’t too proud to ask for help.” He didn’t need to dismiss Cole, as the other man cleared out the minute he had his orders. John sat back in his chair, stifling the urge to yawn. He was starting to remember why he’d wanted to leave fieldwork. He wasn’t as young as he used to be, as his baby sister and mother reminded him often. They nagged because they loved and worried about him, but for a powerful man, admitting to getting old was hard.

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He wasn’t ready for a retirement home, but the breakneck pace of getting Cy Ops up and running, coupled with hours of training and paperwork, had John about to crash. He needed about three days straight to sleep, then maybe he’d feel better. Despite the fatigue dragging down his body and mind, John couldn’t help but feel a zing of energy from the chat transcript. Though not a mission yet, this Mr. Smith and his mystery object was the first thing to cross his desk with substance. A potential threat to the Corps fully uncovered by Cy Ops. It felt damn good.

Chapter 4 “Pull into the garage, Marco. We’ll take the elevator up.” There was no way she could handle walking through the foyer of her building. She was beat, beat, and beat. “Let me help you in, Miss Malholland.” Marco’s deep bass wrapped around her like a warm blanket. Marco had been with the Malhollands since before Lucia’s birth. Oddly enough, despite the tenure of his stay, she didn’t know much about him. He was at least part Sidhe, but he had magic unknown to the Fey. If she’d been more alert, she might have chosen to ask him about himself. By the time the elevator made it to her floor, Marco was nearly carrying Lucia. Despite standing a foot and a half taller than she, he didn’t seem strained. One thickly corded arm wrapped around her back, pulling her close to his side, taking her weight. “Here we are, lass.” “Let me get you the key.” Lucia swung her right arm forward, hoping momentum would slide her small purse from shoulder to elbow. “Not to worry, I have a key.” He grinned sheepishly at her long-suffering sigh. With much smoother movements than she’d shown, Marco opened the door with one hand, swung her into his arms with the other, and carried her over the threshold. She laughed softly, happy to let him lug her straight to bed; it’d save her the energy of moving. The musical sound of Lucia’s giggle became a gasp when Marco released her body with no warning, putting her behind him so fast she didn’t register the change in position until his massive body shielded hers. “Marco, what the --”

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“Shh.” His hiss audible only to Lucia, Marco reached into his coat and removed his weapon from its holster. Someone else is in here. I can feel them. Lucia stifled another gasp. Marco had never spoken telepathically to her. Them? She couldn’t ask anything more complex, as she fought exhaustion not even the kick of adrenaline could dissipate. Yes. Three, male, and human. Lucia, back out into the hall. Quickly. Go! Now! Marco ordered. Her head throbbed in response. She spun, landing hard against the door, her sleep-heavy hands fumbling for the knob. The first sounds of flesh meeting flesh laced Lucia’s blood with panic and her fingers took hold of the latch. Terror budged her supernatural strength up a notch and she pulled the door from its hinges, concerned only with escaping. Thankfully, Lucia fell into the hall. Otherwise, the blast of magic from her flat would have taken her full in the back. The saliva in her mouth evaporated as she watched the power of the spell rip through the wall in front of her, tearing all the parts from each other, unraveling wood from nail, paint from plaster. She couldn’t hold back a horrified scream. “Dear gods, one of them is shooting a Spell of Separation!” A black incantation of enormous power, the charm had one primary use: to strip a shapeshifter of its power and transfer the gift to the spell caster. Specifically, it was used to take a Selkie’s pelt by force. “Get out of there, Marco!” Lucia fought with herself, wanting to go back inside as the sound of gunfire erupted. The idea of Marco dying tore through her, but the pain would double if she returned to the flat and got in the way, possibly causing his death. Instead of fighting, she crawled on hands and knees to the elevator, recalling it to her floor. Her body shook violently as the seconds became hours in her mind, the wait terrifyingly long. The shots stopped suddenly and Marco stumbled from the flat. His eyes locked with hers and she saw fear in the usually calm, inviting depths. His face bloodied, and an ugly, dark stain spread across his chest. He pulled his left leg behind him and another dark patch grew on the surface of his slacks. “Marco, hurry!”

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“Lucia, the spell caster lives.” She understood what he was saying. Her body shivered with a gathering of power. Unable to stop it and like a bystander caught in the terrible path of an inevitable accident, Lucia couldn’t look away as the Spell of Separation hit Marco dead-on. His shout of pain and fear gave her the strength to look away, but the image of those first moments, the sight of his body coming apart from itself, would be scorched on her psyche forever. With a sob, she punched the elevator button again and struggled to her feet. She’d never make it to the stairs in time, and if this spell caster thought to tear her pelt from her, she’d look him in the eyes as he did it. A dark-clad leg emerged from her flat, followed by the tips of fingers gripping the doorjamb. The elevator arrived, the doors chiming softly as they slid open. Lucia hesitated between one heartbeat and the next. Should she wait another moment and see the man who’d stolen a part of her family? Or should she run, live the day, and make him pay later? Logic won over emotion and she jumped into the elevator car, jamming her thumb against the “close doors’’ button hard enough to crack the plastic. The sound of pounding feet rushing for the car launched her heart into her throat, but she swallowed hard and maintained control. She had a bit of magic. She wasn’t about to let some human scum take a part of her soul without a fight. The doors slid shut before her attacker arrived, but she heard the echo of his pounding fists bouncing through the elevator shaft. Lucia curled her own fingers into her palms and swore blood vengeance. The next time she and the mysterious spell caster met, his life was forfeit. Time passed in her flat and the hallway, but it flashed in a blur once the elevator began its descent. She tripped out of the car on the ground floor, running to the front desk. James, the doorman, looked shocked at her disheveled state. “Miss Malholland, are you all right?”

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“James, call the authorities. Tell them you’ve heard gunshots. Then get out of here.” Lucia snatched his cell phone from the desk. “I’ll get this back to you as soon as I can.” She kicked off her heels, and without looking back, ran for the exit. “Miss Malholland! Wait! Miss!” James’ voice followed her out onto the streets of Roscommon, but Lucia didn’t stop. She had to get to a safe place. It appeared she’d retired a few days too early.

Chapter 5 The helicopter landed on the private pad behind Boudicca seven minutes early. Lucia hugged her parents and shouted to be heard over the whirring blades. “I’ll call when we land. General Rubenesso’s protective detail should arrive within the hour. Please, stay at Boudicca until the Corps can track down Marco’s murderer.” “I don’t like it, but we’ll stay. Be safe, Lucia Fiona.” Seamus Malholland stood strong, holding his wife close. Despite his calm demeanor, sadness and a small flicker of fear showed in her father’s seal-gray eyes. “I love you, Da.” The pilot helped her into the chopper. He handed her a headset and shut the door. Though she’d never been a fan of flying, helicopters gave Lucia a real appreciation for airplanes. They cleared the pad, lifting off and up fast enough that her stomach flip-flopped. She swallowed back the extra saliva filling her mouth and pulled the microphone close. “What’s our ETA?” “We’ll be landing on PRC-Morphos in three hours. After refueling, it’ll be another four to Cutterville, ma’am.” “Cutterville? I thought we were going to Scotland.” “Sorry, ma’am. General Rubenesso ordered us to Cy Ops HQ.” Lucia lifted the mike from her mouth. She wanted to ask what Cy Ops was, but didn’t want to look as out of the loop as she felt. An uncomfortable knot formed in her belly. She realized she missed the Corps more than she thought she would.

*** Cole reread the report on his desk and fought the urge to crumple it up and slam his fist through a wall. Despite the fact that the teams had worked through the night, they hadn’t been able to determine who or what “Mr. Smith” spoke of in his chat text.

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No, they’d found out in the wee hours of the morning the target was the newly retired Lucia Malholland. From Stas. “Way to go, Cy Ops. God damn it.” He ground his teeth, frustration and disappointment tightening his fist around the report. The ex-leader of the Metamorphic Class, Major Malholland had been hard to let go, according to Stas. She hadn’t left because she was tired of the Corps, but in order to start a family. As far as Cole understood, she threw herself into her work, taking little time for herself. Cole had never met Malholland, never heard rumors about her, so he had no idea what she had that Smith would want. However, John had worked ops in conjunction with her troops. Since he knew her, Cole didn’t feel right digging through her personnel record to find answers. She was due to arrive any minute, as was John, so Cole chose to greet her and wait for John to fill in the blanks. “I hate not knowing. John better not be late, or I’ll have to ask and then I’ll look like an idiot.” He released the wrinkled paper in his grip and sat back in his chair. He drew his arms up and crossed them over his head. In a different kind of military, it’d be odd for someone so obviously suited for one branch to join another. Despite being a shapeshifter, Cole had joined the Incubic Class under Jeremiah Dean. His animal, a polar bear, was unique even among other Ursudines. It took more than an animal spirit and genetics to bend the laws of physics, and no man matched a polar bear in mass. Cole drew from earth magic to actually shift. His ability qualified him for the Incubic Class. He wanted to be a marine, first into the fight, and that’s exactly what he’d been with the Corps. John had opted for the Orphic Class, the magic wielders, though he could have followed Cole with his tactical skills. “Major Malholland has arrived, Captain Marshall. She’s in the conference room.” A disembodied voice, flowing out of the intercom on his desk, pulled him from his funk. “On my way.”

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He rose, adjusted his pants and shirt, and headed out. But when he stepped into the hallway, every muscle in Cole’s body tightened. Prey of the most delicious kind was near. Hunger chewed through his belly and Cole stumbled, slamming back to the wall, fighting a wave of primal hunting urges. He hadn’t felt so out of control since his first shift and hunt, with his mother along the Arctic ice floes. “I haven’t had breakfast and I didn’t eat supper. That’s all.” He pushed off from the wall and ignored the growing pain in his gut. His hunger explained, Cole took a deep breath. He decided to excuse himself as soon as John arrived to grab a bite from the break room. Someone had to have something full of protein and fat in the fridge. That’d get him straightened out, lickety­ split. With a goal and a clearer head, Cole marched to the conference room and pointedly ignored the growing strength of the delicious aroma. Ignoring it didn’t stop the growling of his stomach, but he was more man than animal. He was in control. Turning the handle to the major’s waiting room, Cole Marshall stepped inside and locked eyes with its only occupant. “Seal.” Salivary glands went into overdrive and Cole licked his lips. The world’s most perfect polar-bear food stood frozen before him, her large, sea-gray eyes wide with terror.

Chapter 6 “Sea bear.” Ursus maritimus. Polar bear. Death incarnate. It didn’t matter what she called the man in front of her; Lucia Malholland was scared shitless on such a basic level, she couldn’t think. Fight or flight exploded through her body. A Selkie stood almost no chance against the world’s best seal hunter. She ignored what human eyes conveyed. Their sizes were nearly identical. She had more magic than her pelt. Stanislov assured her this place would find Marco’s killer. None of that mattered. Lucia had to escape before she died at the hands of her natural enemy. But she couldn’t move. Her gaze clashed with his, and she couldn’t look away. Those eyes, so black now, seemed to speak to her. Don’t run, they begged. I don’t want to hurt you. A hard shiver tore through her, but Lucia held absolutely still, stupidly ignoring good sense because of two eyes. “I’ve finally lost my mind. Just kill me quickly.” Playing the statue proved excruciating. With every muscle and sinew in her body pulled so tight, cramps began to set in. Still, Lucia didn’t even curl her fingers. “You and me both. Just don’t move, not yet. I’ll be all right as long as you hold still.” Cole took short, shallow breaths, trying like hell to avoid pulling more of her provocative scent into his body than was necessary to oxygenate. He eased his fingers off the door’s handle, grimacing at the tautness in his hand and the indentations in the lightweight metal. Careful of his own limitations, he found himself drawing strength from her expressive eyes. Despite her terror, despite the potentially horrific consequences of their meeting, her large, gray eyes were deep pools where her fear, and surprisingly, compassion, moved.

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Once he was clear of the door, Cole forced his body to cooperate, moving forward until a chair was within reach. He gripped the back and nearly threw himself into it, putting the long, solid table firmly between them. His nose twitched and his stomach growled, but Cole closed his eyes and tried to focus on something, anything else about Major Malholland besides her Selkie scent. A dash of clove tickled his olfactory senses and he latched onto it like a fish hitting bait. Pouring his energy into enhancing her feminine, human smells soothed the grinding in his belly faster than a tsunami would put out a beach-party bonfire. The cloves were potent, but beneath them lay the sweetness of vanilla and the fine tang of sweat. “God, you smell delicious.” He didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud until he heard her sharp intake of breath. He snapped open his eyes as heat crept through his cheeks. “Not like food. More like sex.” The latter slipped out before he could stop it, enflaming his face even more. Her head jerked back, eyes widening, brows lifting on her forehead. “Excuse me?” “No, I mean, I don’t want to eat eat you, now.” “You just want to eat me?” Confusion crinkled her nose, though curiosity at his meaning caused one eyebrow to fall and the other to inch a bit higher toward her hairline. Her expression clearly said she couldn’t ignore what his comment might have meant, but she couldn’t really believe he’d meant “eat” in a sexual way, either. Of course, he absolutely wasn’t saying he wanted to eat her. Then Cole drew another breath and wavered. Well, maybe he would eat her, especially if her cream tasted as good as she smelled. Obviously the strain of locking up his bear instincts had cracked his brain. That was the only thing that explained his suddenly one-track mind. Shaking his head, he motioned her to sit. “Just sit down. John will be here in a minute and you can brief us.” Cole choked on an exasperated sigh, and his foot, as the major finally settled into a chair as far from him as possible.

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The life-or-death moment passed, but the tension remained solid and pervasive. And as seconds became minutes, Cole couldn’t help but stare at her. She was beautiful in a way that only beings of the oldest magic can be. Her hair was long, honey-gold, and so smooth it shimmered. Her face was both delicate and bold, those eyes drawing him in. Her mouth was fuller than he expected, especially the bottom lip. While he hadn’t really gotten a good look at her whole body, the sight of her large breasts rid him of any regret. They’d more than fill his hands, by the look of them. And he had big hands. From the top up, she was a wet fucking dream and Cole doubted the bottom was any less lust-worthy. With the first stirring of said emotion, pointedly south of his belt buckle, he realized the craziest situation of his life wasn’t over. As if eating a fellow member of the Corps hadn’t been crazy enough. “Cole, Lucia. Good. You’re both still alive.” John’s voice took him completely by surprise. Cole whirled around in the chair almost fast enough to pitch his ass out of it. “Fuck, John! Can’t you knock or something?” The weird look on John’s face stopped him from saying anything else. “Sorry, did I interrupt something?” Cole looked away and clenched his jaw. “I don’t think so.” Lucia’s voice was soft and smoky, like her eyes. Cole glanced at her and found those orbs staring intently at him. He quickly looked away. “Okay, then.” John shut the door with a quiet snick. If he noticed the ruined handle, he didn’t mention it. A manila folder fell onto the table as the big man moved to Lucia, pulling her from her seat and into a hard hug. “Damn glad to see you in one piece, Lu.” Cole watched her wrap her arms tightly around John. “He took Marco, John. Used the Spell of Separation and took him apart.” “I know, honey. I know. I’m so sorry.” John sounded nearly as emotional as Lucia, who Cole knew was quietly crying.

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“He was family.” The thick sound and uneven tone of her words proved tears fell. “We’ll track this bastard down, I promise you. We promise you.” John eased back from Lucia, keeping his broad back between her face and Cole for a moment. When he stepped aside, redness lined her eyes, but her cheeks showed no moisture. She tried to smile. “Since your friend’s decided not to eat eat me, I’ll hold you to that promise.” John grinned. “Is that right? Then I suppose I should introduce you two. Captain Cole Marshall, Retired Major Lucia Malholland.” He laughed when neither made to shake hands, instead inclining heads at each other without making eye contact. “So, back to the eating. What exactly were you going to do to her?” “Shut up, ass.” Cole fought a grin and lost. He quickly recovered himself, the grin morphing into a frown with lightning speed. “You should have told me she was a Selkie.” Anger swelled in his chest at how utterly insane John had been with this stunt. “I told you she was a Selkie on the phone, right before Stas hung up.” General Rubenesso had called as soon as news of the attack on Lucia reached him. And Cole was certain neither of them had said shit about her seal-ness. “No, you didn’t.” “The hell I didn’t. That would’ve been insane.” John’s eyes narrowed and his fists tightened. “Exactly my point. It was. You didn’t tell me.” Cole rose from his chair, frown darkening, drawing his brow further down and his top lip up. “Yes. I. Did.” John moved toward him, ready to fight. “Boys, boys! Stop it. It’s over now and fighting will get us absolutely nowhere.” Lucia moved between them and looked up at John. “I thought you said he was your lover and not your brother? You sure fight like brothers.” She gave John a soft smile, hoping to dispel the testosterone tension choking the room. “What? Jesus, John!” Torn between taking a swing at the other man and running away to escape the weight of embarrassment, Cole turned his back on his companions.

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Hands digging into his hips, jaw furiously grinding his back teeth, he took slow breaths, counting back from ten, then twenty. “He was my lover. We were foster brothers, briefly. Mom and Dad took Cole in off the streets, after his mother succumbed to drugs and prostitution. He changed his name to Marshall when he turned eighteen.” Cole couldn’t hold back. Without looking, he asked, “Is there anything else you’d like to share?” I haven’t told her you want to fuck her yet. Want me to? Telepathy wasn’t a skill he’d managed to master, but Cole was pissed enough at John to get his message across. Fuck you. “Definitely,” John answered aloud, cleverly choosing a word that would sound reassuring, but which Cole knew was only meant to enflame him. “If you’re done now, let me debrief you.” Lucia’s steps drifted to the back of the room. A chair squeaked softly as she sat down. “I haven’t slept, and after this night, or morning, I think the faster I talk, the better.” Cole swallowed a sigh and rejoined the group, sitting as far away from John and Lucia as he could. She began to speak and both men listened intently to her account, holding any questions until she finished talking. Cole couldn’t help but respect her. She relived every excruciating detail in depth for them with a steady voice and calm body. Her heart raced in her chest. His ears picked the sound up without effort, but she didn’t crack. Anger flushed her cheeks when she told them she couldn’t identify the killer. “The elevator arrived and I hesitated. I wanted to see the murderer who wanted my pelt badly enough to steal it from me, to kill Marco to get it. I should have stayed, but instinct overruled emotion and I got inside. All I saw was a long leg clothed in dark fabric. It was a man’s leg, no doubt, and I’d guess he stands around two meters and probably three to five centimeters.” “So an inch or two shorter than I am.” John scribbled the information on the margin of one of the papers from the file.

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“Yes.” She closed her eyes. “The slacks were expensive, well cut. I’d say he’s around ninety kilos, give or take.” “So, roughly a buck eighty.” John put down his pen and took one of her hands between his much larger ones. “Honey, don’t beat yourself up. You made the right choice. This is good intel.” Her thick lashes fluttered when she opened her eyes. A smile, small but true, turned up the corners of her mouth. “Thank you, John.” “I think that covers the debriefing. Let’s get some food in you and get you to bed.” Cole wanted to eat his tongue. Why couldn’t he have said settled in? She chuckled and he blushed. Damn his fair skin. “Food and sleep sound terrific. Cole, right?” That she remembered his name, considering what else was going on at the time, pleased him more than he’d admit. “Yes, ma’am. Captain Cole Marshall.” “I’m retired now. Please, call me Lucia.” They rose from the table, John leading her out with a hand at the small of her back. Cole fell in behind them. As he took a good look at her rounded, pear-shaped ass, he thought maybe he should call her goddess.

Chapter 7 John led Lucia through the apartment he shared with Cole. It took up most of the top floor of the Cy Ops building, and while glass and metal weren’t his favorites, the simple access to the operation center made it easier to swallow. He showed her to her room, embracing her once more before leaving her to rest. The feel of her body pressed to his, her long, slender arms wrapped around him, left a physical impression he carried back out to the kitchen where Cole waited. John wanted her, despite the bad timing. Hell, he’d always wanted her. But he and Lucia never met up when the timing might have been right. They’d worked ops or met up at intelligence meetings, and occasionally, at a Corps lunch function. Never a place where he might be able to find out if the attraction cut both ways. As he looked at Cole, a bit of jealousy clouded his vision. The last thing he wanted was to fight with his best friend over a girl. He’d much rather share her. “How long you give her?” Cole handed him a cup of coffee and leaned back against the black marble countertop. “Six. More than we’d like, but less than she needs. Any word?” “The LT called up while you were playing Realtor. They have Mr. Smith’s name. Didn’t help much.” “Who is he?” “Graham Andrews. He’s been a player in jewel trafficking up to now, but obviously blood diamonds aren’t paying well enough anymore.” “Connections?” “Only through his business dealings. He started out at some investment firm in Dublin. From there, it looks like he’s done stuff for the Russian mob, Yakuza, but there’s evidence suggesting ties to a few powerful politicians and celebrities. Of course, no one

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can make anything stick. He’s squeaky clean, as far as the law is concerned. Not even a traffic ticket.” John set his cup down. “Of course. How the hell did he find out about Lucia?” Cole smiled without humor. “That’s where it gets interesting. He was a suitor of hers, once, but she refused to give him the time of day. It appears he started stalking her, based on the information our guys retrieved from her laptop.” “And she didn’t say anything?” “Downstairs said she had several communications with Charlie O’Connor. The team is trying to contact her now, see if she knew anything or can help us with more background.” “Okay. Let’s talk tactics. One, we have to make sure the rest of the Malhollands are secure. Two, we need to get taps on this guy.” “That’s gonna be hard. No one knows where he is. Despite his apparent lawabiding status, he’s fucking sneaky. The Corps already sent teams to his homes in Ireland and England. Nada. Wherever his bat cave is, no one has a clue. We got a decent photo of him from Interpol, but this guy is underground.” “Six feet when I’m done with him.” Anger tightened John’s fingers. “We can find anyone, no matter how well they hide.” “Already have a group on that. Once we find him, we have to figure out an approach. He’s probably in plain sight, in the city. But we can’t just airlift a strike force in and bust his ass. We’ll have to draw him out.” “Agreed. What do you suggest?” “I suggest we pose as potential sellers of the item he wants so badly.” “No fucking way, Cole.” John jabbed his index fingers into the other man’s chest. “We aren’t using her as bait.” “She doesn’t strike me as the kind of woman who’d sit this out, John. I’d rather know where she is and what she’s doing than take the chance of her going off on her own. Wouldn’t you?”

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John dropped his hand and Cole rubbed his chest. “Yeah. But if she doesn’t agree, we try something else.” “Like what?” Cole leaned a hip against the counter, waiting for John to answer. “Competitors. We’ll spread the word that Andrews’ first attempt was botched and say we can guarantee a smooth capture of a Selkie. There’s no way Andrews will let our offer ruin his chance at several million dollars. The pressure to produce before we do will bring him out for another attack.” “Fine.” Cole left the kitchen. John knew he was heading downstairs to issue orders. Before Cole left, there was one other thing John wanted to address. “I’m willing to share.” He didn’t raise his voice when he spoke, though by Cole’s reaction one might have thought he’d bellowed. “Share what?” The other man didn’t face him.

“Her. But you can’t have her to yourself.”

Now Cole spun around. “What makes you think I want her to myself? And don’t

we have other things to do?” “Sure do. Considering your reaction to her, I doubt you’ll make it two days before you end your celibacy.” “She’s a Selkie. I eat seals.” “She’s a beautiful woman. You eat them too.” Cole looked away and John chuckled. “She may not be up for sharing. You think about that?” John shook his head. Now wasn’t the best time for a seduction, but with her in the guest bedroom, it was the best opportunity he’d had since he met Lucia. “We’ll see.” Cole huffed and whirled for the door. He left, his shoulders stiff and back ramrod straight. John left the kitchen for the living room. He wasn’t going to leave Lucia alone while she slept, and hell, maybe there’d be some good porn on he could use to ease the growing ache between his legs.

Chapter 8 Lucia put a hand to her pounding heart. Sharing her? Celibacy? She replayed the conversation from the other side of the door, uncaring if eavesdropping was rude, and decided Cole was right. They had much better things to do than discuss sharing her. Really? ’Cause the last time you got laid was when exactly? her inner self chimed. No, she didn’t have a black book. Hell, she barely had a little black dress. Other than a few short-lived flings between trips home and work for the Corps, Lucia didn’t have much in the way of lovers. Or love interests. Not that John had been talking about settling down. No, he’d been talking about sex. Oh, god. Sex. She hadn’t felt the strong, rough hands of a man in quite some time. Her body warmed at the thought. Stripping out of her clothes, she headed toward the large bed. But John Marshall? She’d had no idea he was even interested! And the sea bear’s attraction was even stranger. She thought she’d scented arousal on his skin as they’d sat waiting for John. Still, the thought of a Selkie and a polar bear held a sinfully dark allure. She lowered herself to the bed, pulling thick blankets over her nude form. She couldn’t help it. Her mind began to wonder what it would be like to lay beneath such a powerful creature, taking its long, thick cock into her body and knowing that part of her need grew out of fear. She shivered, her body reacting to her sensual thoughts. She played images of the two men in her mind. John was a tall, thickly muscled, powerful male. Despite his impressive mass, John was quick with a smile or joke, his rich green eyes lit by good humor nearly always. She knew he was a loyal, caring, intelligent man. A warrior with a gentle soul.

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Then there was Cole. Lither, lighter in coloring and form, he moved like the predator he was, every motion efficient, graceful, precise. His eyes, which she’d initially thought obsidian, were actually a blue very much like the deep water she so loved to swim in. Cole had intensity, as if he stayed in a continual state of battle readiness. Lucia wasn’t sure if that was his normal self, or if his edginess had more to do with her. Either way, she was drawn to him unlike any other man. The two were completely opposite, in truth, deliciously so. And knowing they had once been lovers, might still be, was simply too good a fantasy to pass up. She closed her eyes and surrendered to imagination and desire. Would John play the top, taking Cole beneath him, making the smaller man shiver as his body was taken? Or would Cole be more dominant, his clear blue eyes darkening as he listened to John groan while his cock plumbed the sensual haven of the larger man’s body? Did they take turns? Were they soft together, moving slowly, or did they come at each other with animalistic needs and power? Lucia’s nipples drew taut, her body turning hot and wet as she shifted in the bed. She had to stop thinking about sex and get some rest. You might get to sleep faster if you came. The dark voice in her mind wasn’t helping. It drew up images of Cole plunging deep into John, while John filled her aching pussy with his cock. Scenes of the two men feasting on her body, her arms thrown over her head in submission and abandon, flashed behind her closed lids. She moaned, shocked by the loudness of the sound and by the intensity of her thoughts. A rap on the door nearly broke a scream from her throat. “Lucia? Honey, are you all right?” John’s voice was deep and calm from the other side, but it did nothing to quench the need growing inside. She swallowed convulsively and hesitated to answer. God, what did she say? She had to answer him. Otherwise, he’d probably come in to check on her. “I…” Her voice rasped and she tried again. “I’m…” Nothing more than a whisper escaped her lips. “Lucia?” John called out again, and the knob twisted.

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Mortification surged through her body. There was no way she could hide the arousal on her face. Scrambling for something to hide under, she settled for pulling the blanket over her head and praying he couldn’t smell her lust in the air. “I’m coming in.” The door swung open and she imagined his broad shoulders filling the jamb. “I’m fine.” The words erupted a full octave higher than Lucia intended, and she cringed. “Are you sure?” “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for checking in.” Those words sounded less panicked and she could only hope they were enough to send John back out the door. She wasn’t that lucky. The blankets were tugged down, exposing her face and neck. She refused to release her grip, not that it mattered. Evergreen eyes filled with worry searched her face. “You don’t look fine. You’re flushed.” He spoke softly, his eyes ever moving, looking for a reason behind her distress. “You’re breathing heavy.” The fire in her face and neck blazed hotter. “Yes, uh, I…” Lucia’s mouth dried up when his palm neared her forehead. “No fever. Did you have a bad dream, honey?” The bed dipped beneath his weight and she tightened her hands on the blankets. “No. I mean, yes.” She let go of the blankets to cover her face with her palms. When she didn’t say more, he enclosed one of her hands with his own and drew it away. The shock of his touch, so warm, made her gasp. “Lucia?” A touch of fear laced his somewhat angry tone. Great. Now she was scaring him with her reaction. She could lie and confirm a bad dream, but was it worth it? If he tried to give her any more comfort, she’d be moaning her head off. With a sigh, she lifted her gaze to meet his and bit the bullet. “I was fantasizing.” Now her throat worked just fine. “Huh?” “I overheard your conversation. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, I promise.”

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His hand tightened over hers. She watched his face, saw his evergreen eyes grow darker. “I didn’t intend that.” She couldn’t help but smile. “I figured that much, John. The two of you talking, though, got my brain whirring, and…” Shyness overtook her bravado and Lucia looked away. One of his fingers lifted her face back to his. “And?” “John. I don’t want to say it.” “But I want to hear it.” His voice, his strong masculine scent implored her. “I wondered what you two were like together, if he took you or you him. I thought about having you both between my legs, your mouths all over me.” Her voice sounded husky, sexy, even to her own ears. “Mmm. Lucia, do you want me to leave?” She took a shuddering breath, her eyes never leaving his. “No.” “Good.” Without warning, he dropped his hand to her blankets, grabbing the top and flinging them, en masse, to the foot of the bed. “Because I’m going to put my mouth all over you. I’m going to lick the cream from your pussy. Then I’m going to fuck you until our come overflows your body.” Shocked at the graphic words, spoken with enough heat to set the room on fire, she moaned again. Her body had been geared up before, but with her mind now fully engaged, Lucia was ready to come now. “Please.” “Not yet, honey.” John undressed and climbed into the bed, covering her body with his. Everywhere their skin touched, tiny flames danced. She looked into his green eyes, watching them darken as he dipped his head to taste her mouth. The first press of his kiss turned her arousal up from wild to frantic. Lucia opened her lips, asking for his tongue without words. John groaned and gave her what she wanted, the slick warm probe of his body into hers sending a shiver of pure, wanton need cascading through her limbs. She lifted her arms around his neck,

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feathering her fingers into the hair at his nape. Soft and thick, it was warm beneath her skin. The pressure of the kiss changed as John settled between her thighs. The hot, rounded tip of his cock brushed over her damp sex, making Lucia gasp. His teeth captured her lower lip. She opened her eyes and met his gaze, watching passion flare in the green pools when he nipped the damp, plump flesh. The tiny sting brought her nipples to painful hardness, so Lucia slipped her hands over the fullness of her breasts, soothing the aching points. “John, don’t make me wait. Slow later.” He released her lip with a chuckle. “All right.” Moving down her neck, he placed love bites all over her sensitive skin. When his tongue finally swirled around one of her nipples, Lucia wanted to scream hallelujah. Instead, she plunged her fingers deep into his shoulder-length hair and pulled his mouth tight to her. John’s tongue was magic, laving, flicking, teasing first one nipple and then the other. Lucia moaned beneath him, her head tossing from side to side. She sighed and tried to tighten her thighs together, to feed the growing throb of her clit. Instead, her pussy ground against John’s tight abs. Her movements both eased and heightened the mad rush of lust dancing through her body until she couldn’t wait for him to move on any longer. She gave John’s hair a sharp tug, guiding his mouth lower and lower. Her body bowed when he danced his lips and tongue around and inside her belly button, but all breath, all movement stopped when the hot air from his lungs teased the tight curls shielding her clit. “Yes, yes.” Lucia let go of John’s hair to twist her fingers in the bedsheets. She slipped her thighs farther apart, but as soon as his shoulders bumped the insides of her knees, she lifted her legs over his back. John paused a moment to torment her, teasing her labia with a softly drawn finger. When she thrust her hips upward, he murmured something she didn’t

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understand and proceeded to turn her world on a full tilt. He didn’t go slowly. With the first press of his tongue, the first graze of his teeth, John sucked, lapped, and bit at her pussy until Lucia was crying out with every breath. He didn’t limit himself to his mouth, either. As soon as she dug her heels into his back, he gave her first one finger, then two. As his teeth and lips rode her clit, his fingers plunged and swirled in and out of her cunt. Slow and deep, then fast and short, then hard and fast and deep, his agile fingers learned every rhythm she loved, every caress that rushed liquid desire to her core to coat his fingers. He didn’t just play her body, he worshipped it, until Lucia couldn’t do anything but scream. “John, fuck me! Oh, God!” Releasing her hold on the bedsheet, she grabbed a fistful of his hair and raised her shoulders up to look down, into his face. “Right now.” In one fluid motion, John took her thighs in his broad, powerful, wonderfully rough hands and rolled her lower body up. His green eyes never left hers as he shifted on his knees and nudged the opening of her sex with the blunted head of his cock. “Watch me slide deep, Lucia.” She couldn’t have disobeyed if she’d wanted to. Her gaze left his and she held her breath as the heavy, thick shaft of his cock slipped between the fluid-drenched folds of her pussy. It was heaven, a blissful, fiery salvation, John’s invasion of her body, and Lucia felt the tremors begin deep in her belly as he seated his cock as deep as it could go. “Hold on, honey. And scream all you like.” John pulled his hips back and slammed deep. “John!”

Chapter 9 The scream exploded through the apartment seconds after Cole returned. He’d headed back up to ask John something, but after hearing the undeniable tone of Lucia’s cry, Cole couldn’t think of anything but what he knew was happening behind the spare room’s door. Like an animal, he charged the room, barely able to restrain himself from slamming the door open or tearing it off its hinges. The sight before him was both fallto-his-knees erotic and damnably enflaming. His vision swam with jealousy and possessiveness. The tight, solid muscles of John’s ass worked hard as he pistoned his cock in and out of Lucia. Cole couldn’t see her body over John’s broad back, but he heard the luscious, wet sounds of her pussy being fucked. And he heard the gasping, moaning, hoarse cries exploding from her body each time John’s wide, heavy cock bottomed out in her cunt. “She’s gonna come soon.” John hadn’t slowed a bit, his hips, thighs, and ass holding to the same punishing rhythm, but he’d turned his face to Cole. The beast rose through his blood, through his body, and Cole knew his eyes changed from blue to the total blackness of his bear’s. He bared his teeth at John. “Get out of my way.” Needing to be inside Lucia two minutes ago, Cole ripped through his clothes. His hands had begun to shift as well, sharp talons where fingernails had once been. The claws made quick work of everything except his shoes, which Cole kicked off, sending them flying to who knew where. “Yeah, Lucia, that’s it, honey. Ride my cock. You wanna come?” “Yes! Yes!”

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“Not just yet.” John released her thighs and slid from between her legs. He didn’t want to relinquish his place in her body, but he’d sensed how close Cole was to going over the edge. He’d feel her pussy milk his cock, but not this moment. “No! No, come back!” Lucia whimpered on the bed, trapped in a delirium of sex, lust, and pleasure. “I’m right here, baby.” Cole’s voice sounded less than human, but he didn’t care. Her gray eyes flew open, fear mixing with desire, and Cole smiled. When her eyes widened, no doubt at the sharp teeth showing between his lips, his cock bounced between his thighs, the surge of blood rushing down the shaft hard enough to almost hurt. Looking down, Cole took his cockhead between the thumb and forefinger of one hand, pinching slightly to force even more precome from the tip. He dredged his thumb over the slick slit, lifting his hand to Lucia. She shook, but the flush racing over her skin made it clear her fear wasn’t turning her off. Cole wanted to roar, but instead, he launched himself onto the bed, landing lightly atop Lucia. The hard tips of her breasts burned his chest and he closed his eyes, savoring the sensation. Needing to smell her, Cole lowered his face to her throat and breathed deeply. His cock pulsed at her tiny mewl of fear. “Cole.” She whispered his name and the quivery sound stole what was left of his restraint. He wanted to taste her, to lick her, swallow down her cream as she came on his tongue. But the animal inside, and not just the bear, roared with the hunger to sink deep into her body and mark her his. Dragging his face down her neck, Cole lifted her ass into his hands and rose up on his knees. With his lips pressed to one hot, tight nipple, he set his cock at the mouth of her cunt and dove in. “Ah!” Lucia cried out, and he felt her nails dig into his back. Pulling his shoulders up, moving his upper body off of hers, Cole held her ass in an iron grip and fed his entire cock, from its broad head to wide, thickly-veined base, into the tight clutch of her pussy and all the way back out. He repeated the movement,

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sinking deep, feeling his balls bounce off her ass, sticky with her juice, only to pull out and hammer home again. Lucia’s ass, belly, and thighs began to shake. Not softly, not sensually, but with the raw, primal, erotic power of being conquered. He watched as harsh lines marked her face, knowing they weren’t proof of horrific pain, but of the kind of pleasure one rarely finds. His own body shook at the first tightening of her body around his, the first silken ripple of her pussy along the length of his cock. “Open up.” John moved over her chest, putting his cock at her lips. Cole moved one hand to hold Lucia’s hip and lifted the other to John’s shoulder. He wanted to be connected to both of them when she came, when he came. He didn’t see Lucia obey John’s command, but the harsh moan the bigger man released said it all. Cole watched John’s shoulders tighten, saw his ass draw taut, and finally the sounds of Lucia’s moans, cut off by the slick sound of a cock filling her mouth, reached his ears. Cole’s balls drew painfully close to his body and fire started to burn down his spine, then back up into his brain. He dug claw-tipped fingers into both Lucia and John and gave in to the animalistic power overtaking his body. He fucked her pussy deep, deeper than he’d been before, every sensation magnified a hundredfold. Her pussy and thighs were coated with the slick liquid cream of pleasure. Every hoarse moan Lucia uttered sent a hotter, tighter wave of lust crashing through his body. He let go of her hip, dragging his fingers over her thigh to part the swollen lips at the top of her sex. Using his thumb, Cole searched for her clit and began rubbing it as fast as his digit could go. Her calves tightened on his hips, her heels digging into his ass. Lucia’s entire body bowed beneath Cole and John. Cole ground his teeth together to hold on as the first world-rocking spasm possessed her body, trapping his cock in a vise of divine torture. “Aye!” She screamed so loud and so long, Cole thought she might pass out from lack of oxygen.

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John moved off of her chest, turning to watch her body writhe on Cole’s cock. Cole looked at the other man, feeling like his balls would explode any minute. He held his body still and deep inside of Lucia’s contracting pussy, the hot fluid of her come soaking his balls. He watched John stroke his cock, and Cole knew he couldn’t come without one thing. “Fuck my mouth.” Cole wanted John’s cock in his throat as much as he needed to be deep inside Lucia. The bigger man didn’t hesitate. Taking Cole’s head in the palm of one hand, John guided the other man’s lips to his cock. He didn’t wait for Cole to open his mouth, but used his free hand to hold his chin open. John’s cock slid to the back of Cole’s throat and down. Cole swallowed convulsively, working his throat around the thickest cock he’d ever had the pleasure of sucking. John’s hand tightened on his head and his hips started to move in rhythm with Cole’s own motion. So focused was Cole on drawing John’s come from his balls, he didn’t hear the heavy panting, or notice the sudden frantic jerking, coming from Lucia. “Yes, suck his cock.” Her words were barely audible, but they hit Cole like a lightning bolt. The painful tightness in his back and balls went instantly limp as his orgasm exploded. Lucia immediately tightened around him and came again. And as soon as he started to come, his cock jerking and pulsing, shooting hot jet after hot jet of come into Lucia, John fisted his hand in Cole’s hair, thrusting his cock deep into his throat. “Fuck!” John bellowed. Warm balls pulsed against his chin as Cole struggled to swallow every salty, slippery bit of John’s seed. It had been so long, he’d almost forgotten how good the other man tasted. When the last spurts of come stopped, John slowly pulled his softening cock from Cole’s lips, before slipping to the edge of the bed. Lucia’s body shivered beneath him as Cole gently pulled back from her body. He looked down into her face, but she was fast asleep. Despite the pull to fall into sleep

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beside her, he looked over at John and motioned to the other room. They rose from the bed and covered her up, then John led the way back to the living room.

Chapter 10 “What the hell are we doing?” Despite the tremendous orgasm he’d just had, Cole’s cock thickened as he watched John’s nude body move in front of him. “I have no idea. At this point, I’m ecstatic to finally have a long-time question answered. She’s phenomenal.” “She’s being hunted, John.” Cole flopped onto the opposite end of the sofa from his friend. “I know. And we’re going to find Mr. Andrews.” Cole looked at John from the corner of his eye. He knew John wanted to say more. “What?” “I’m ready to settle down. I want a family.” “What?” Jumping up from the couch, Cole threw his arms in the air. “Cyber Operations is only starting out!” “I don’t want to leave this.” John swirled a finger in a circle. “That’s why I pushed to get Cy Ops off the ground last year. Jesus, I can’t go from field combat to homemaker. But I want a family.” Cole crossed his arms over his chest, any remnants of sleepiness gone with John’s crazy revelation. “Fine. Okay, good luck. What the hell does that have to do with this op or her?” He jerked his thumb toward the spare bedroom. “I want a family with you, Cole.” John had to suppress a laugh at the other man’s reaction. Mouth working like a fish, arms lax at his sides, Cole had no reply. In an effort to regain his feet after that bombshell, he huffed and sat back down on the sofa, holding to stunned silence.

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“Look, I’ve given you a lot of time, Cole. I know part of you feels being with me would look bad for Mom and Dad. If you’d talk to them, you’d know it doesn’t matter, but we can work through it. I want to work through it.” “John.” Cole clenched his fists in his hair. He didn’t know what to say, how to react. His heart pounded so hard he felt it echo through his body. “Hell, man, I’ve been in love with you for almost ten years. I love you and that’s no shit.” Those words, said so succinctly, so open and honestly, stole all the bones in Cole’s body. At least, that’s what it seemed like. He turned his head, meeting the green eyes he knew better than his own. “I love you too, John. God knows why some days. Like today. Now, we’ve said it, let’s not do it again soon, okay?” John laughed, before launching himself at Cole. Wrapping the smaller man in his arms, John pulled Cole onto his lap and took his mouth in a conquering, consuming kiss. It had been too long. He thrust past Cole’s lips, tasting himself on the other man’s tongue. Groaning, John shifted his hold on Cole, pushing his ass against the rising force of John’s cock. Cole gave in, much to John’s delight, wrapping his arms around the big man’s shoulders and slowly circling his hips. Despite the desire, the arousal, the powerful pull of being one with Cole again, Lucia’s image came into John’s mind. It wasn’t his thought, but Cole’s, so reluctantly, John let the man pull back from the deep, open-mouthed kiss. “What about Lucia?” Cole’s long fingers moved to frame John’s face. John sat back, settling his hands on Cole’s hips. “I don’t know. I do know that I respect the hell out of her. I’ve been attracted to her since we met. I also know you and I want a woman in our lives.” “It isn’t that you aren’t enough for me --” Cole started to explain, but John stopped him. “I never thought it. But we both need what makes a woman strong and soft at the same time to be complete.” It was Cole’s turn to laugh. “We’re too manly.”

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“Right now, all I want is to find out who tried to kill her and get her home safe. If home becomes somewhere with us, I’m not gonna complain. If not, well, her being here got you on my page, so I’ll be forever grateful.” Leaning forward, John brushed his mouth over Cole’s and sank into a slow, sweet kiss. With Lucia, he and Cole were ridden by a powerful, primitive need to take. John found that now, his need to hurry, to bury his cock deep in Cole’s ass, wasn’t as base a hunger, but it was no less urgent, no less overwhelming. Shifting on the couch, John moved himself and Cole down the seat until he reached the armrest. Without breaking the kiss, he used one hand to find the drawer in the end table and pulled out a chain of condoms and the small tube of lubricant he’d put in the damn thing the minute he and Cole had moved in. Hoping this might happen one day, John wanted to be prepared. Cole growled into John’s mouth. “Me first.” John laughed as he tore a condom from the rest. He fit it over his aching cock and slathered it with lube. Looking up into Cole’s eyes, he put his hands on the other man’s hips and guided his ass downward. Cole hadn’t been taken this way in a long time, but once the head of John’s cock passed the first tight ring of muscle, the moan he gave said he hadn’t forgotten how good it felt to have the big man’s rock-hard cock buried between his cheeks. John let his head fall back and watched through heavy lids as Cole worked his body up and down the granite prick stretching his ass. His heart kicked hard as he watched the naked pleasure radiate through the utterly masculine face of his lover. Regardless of who was getting fucked, Cole was a man through and through, and the rough groans and harsh breathing only served to make him more male in John’s eyes. Cole dug his hands into broad shoulders, flexing his hips and tightening the muscles of his ass. John watched the taut, lithe muscles of Cole’s abdomen flex. He knew the other man’s body would be sensitive from his recent release. It wouldn’t take much more for Cole to come. Needing to feel Cole explode around his cock, John gripped the smaller man’s hips in his hands and took control.

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He kept his cock mostly inside Cole’s body, lifting him a few inches before raising his hips and slamming Cole back down on the thick cock in his ass. Cole’s grip on John’s shoulders grew painful and he opened his eyes to lock gazes with the man fucking him. “Harder.” Blue eyes turned black and John obeyed. He lost his pace within minutes, falling into a hard pounding, thrusting until his balls drew tight and he feared he’d come before Cole. But though they hadn’t been together in years, their bodies still knew each other well. Just when John was sure he’d explode, Cole’s thighs became rock hard alongside John’s and his cock erupted with thick, white cream. “Fuck, yeah.” Cole groaned as his fingers relaxed. The tiny throbs of his prostate against John’s shaft stole the big man’s breath. It felt so good. He was about to give in to the pressure in his balls when Cole jumped from his lap. “My turn.” Cole stroked his cock, making sure it stayed hard, and licked his lips. Reaching for the condoms and lube, he got ready. Then Cole did something that completely took John by surprise. Using his superior strength, he picked John up from the couch and carried him to the nearest wall. Supporting the much larger man’s weight didn’t even make him breathe heavy. “Cole, what are you doing?” John couldn’t deny his arousal had grown exponentially, but he wasn’t sure how this position would work. “Something I’ve always wanted to do.” Cole pressed John’s back to the wall and guided heavily muscled thighs around his hips. Using one hand to hold John in place, Cole found the tight ring protecting John’s ass with his cock and shoved deep. “God!” John gasped, the pain almost too much. At the same time, he wanted to bellow his pleasure. And knowing Cole hadn’t forgotten what he liked in bed moved John more than he’d say.

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“Yeah, baby. I know you like it. Hold on.” Cole’s hands took a tight hold on John’s ass as he slowly withdrew his cock. John did just that, wrapping his palms over Cole’s shoulders. The first few strokes were deep, but not too hard, and John bit his lip in anticipation. Cole didn’t make him wait long. Holding the big man against the wall, Cole dug his fingers deep into the taut flesh of John’s ass and began a brutal, pounding pace. John couldn’t think, couldn’t open his eyes. All he was, everything, was focused on the hard, fat cock burying itself deep into his ass over and over again. He began to grunt with each powerful thrust, tightening his ass around Cole’s cock and hanging on for dear life. He couldn’t remember ever being fucked so good. “Fuck, fuck. Cole,” John growled, barely able to string together enough brain cells for those three words. “Yeah, baby. Come for me. Come all over my belly.” Cole’s mouth closed over one of John’s nipples and his teeth bit deep. John’s ass clamped around Cole’s cock as the pain from the bite sent him over the edge. He grabbed his cock, tearing off the condom as the first thick, hot load of come spurted from the tip. His orgasm painted Cole’s belly and as the waves of release eased, a bit of come wept from John’s cock to coat his shaft. He bit his lip hard enough to bleed, trying to hold back the yell of completion fighting its way out of his throat. When the last shudders left his body, John opened his eyes and looked at Cole. The smaller man grinned broadly. “Damn, I’ve missed you.”

Chapter 11 Lucia awoke feeling utterly relaxed. Releasing so much emotion and energy helped Lucia clear her mind of the illogical hunger for revenge. She wasn’t any less determined to catch the man who’d killed Marco and tried to steal her pelt. But she wasn’t bogged down with overwhelming grief and rage clouding her judgment. She stretched, kicking off the blankets to roll out of bed. She wasn’t surprised at the two missing men. Despite the passionate, unexpected sex, neither Cole nor John was unprofessional. They’d left to give her space. But there was still a job to do and nothing, no matter how enjoyable, could interfere with their goal to catch a killer. Low sounds from beyond the bedroom door piqued her senses. There was no reason to feel unsafe in John and Cole’s home, but Lucia couldn’t help the rising wariness. With a tilt of her head and a wiggle of her ears, she tuned in the low chatter until it flowed clearly through the door. “Fuck, yeah.” Cole’s voice sounded harsh, aroused. Heat blossomed in her belly and between her thighs. She had little doubt as to what the men were doing outside the room. Lucia’s hand lifted of its own accord, turning the knob. No, she couldn’t go out there. It wasn’t a lack of interest holding her back, rather an undeniable knowing that John and Cole were reconnecting. No matter how enticing, how intriguing the prospect, she wouldn’t interrupt. Pulling back from the door, Lucia stopped by the bed to rummage through her bag, then headed to the en suite bathroom. While a shower sounded fabulous, she had a call to make. Moving to the bathroom simply helped block out what the men were doing, and it kept her conversation from being a disruption, as well.

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Shannon Malholland answered on the first ring. Everything was calm on the Roscommon front. It seemed Stanislov himself had gone to Ireland and set up her family’s protection. Shannon asked how she was and Lucia paused a moment too long. “Lucia, what’s happened?” “Nothing, Mother. Really, Cy Ops has been fantastic and I’m perfectly safe.” “I hear it in your voice, daughter mine.” Brain whirring, Lucia said the first thing not related to group sex, yet relevant, and spewed, “They’ve identified the killer. His name is Andrews and he’s a black marketer.” “Andrews, is it? That sounds so familiar.” “It should. He once thought I’d make the ideal wife. I disagreed.” “Hmm, well, I’m impressed this Cy Ops found the bastard so quickly.” Relief rushed through her as her mother’s attention moved to Marco’s killer and away from Lucia. “Yes. These soldiers are very good at their jobs. I’m confident we’ll have a location shortly.” “Keep us apprised, dear.” “I’ll do my best. I love you.” “I love you too, Lucia. And, dear?” “Yes?” “Don’t think I’ve been deterred. I know there’s something else going on and I’ll get it out of you eventually.” Lucia ended the call, imagining the sly smile she knew graced Shannon’s face. She’d worry about her ferreting parent later, after she figured out how to tell Shannon she’d slept with a sea bear. Sliding the cell to the floor, she took up her PDA and logged into the network. While she waited, she tried to recall what she could about the man who’d thrown her life into such disarray. Graham Andrews had flitted around society’s edges. He wasn’t born or married to money, at least not that she could remember. Her nails tapped an irregular rhythm

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against the plastic of her PDA as she dug through her memory, back at least a decade, for anything that could help track the bastard down. “He worked for an investment firm, that’s how he got in.” She snapped her fingers, trying to jog the name of the company, but it was no use. Regardless, Lucia remembered clearly that when he’d set his sights on her, she hadn’t been the slightest bit attracted. Some in her circle fell for Graham’s powerful charm, but Lucia had no trouble seeing through his façade, lust for power and money clear in his cultured tones and feigned interest. Despite her lack of notice, Andrews had been tireless, so Lucia had done her best to avoid the man. Yes, Graham had wanted her on a base level, but his attraction had more to do with his hunger for wealth and stature than with any sensual allure he felt for her. After several attempts at seduction, Lucia flat told him he had zero chance. He’d seemed to take it in stride and she’d forgotten about him. Thinking back, it hadn’t been long after she’d set Graham straight that the unnerving emails, which escalated to odd gifts, calls, and letters, had begun. She knew he was her stalker. It’d be too much of a coincidence if he weren’t. Shaking her head, Lucia felt a moment of intense guilt. Maybe if she’d listened to Charlie, maybe if she’d taken the messages seriously, Marco would still be alive. For almost ten years, she’d been so busy with the Corps, she hadn’t spent time worrying about what she’d thought was a foolish human fixated on her. Since her stalker hadn’t gotten violent, or sent crazy letters, there hadn’t been anything for her to do but be vigilant. Maybe if she hadn’t tried so hard to avoid all the strings that came with the Malholland name, she would have bothered to identify her stalker. Then she might have stopped Graham Andrews before he put a giant target on her back. Wallowing in self-pity wasn’t going to get her or the Cy Ops team anywhere. Shoving aside dark thoughts, she typed in Andrews’ name and waited for the network to pull up information. Interpol and the CIA both had data on him, but it only tracked back two and a half years. She scanned the files, looking for anything, any clue as to where he might be now.

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None of the files had much detail. He’d been caught with certain notorious Irish businessmen and got himself on the attention list of the police. He had been considered small potatoes and drew interest only as a possible means of catching a big fish. Lucia nibbled a corner of her fingernail while she read. His place in the food chain had gotten better, but no one had bothered to follow him to that point. When it became clear that Andrews was a big fish, the police were woefully out-of-date on how he’d gotten there. “Damn it all.” Cy Ops was playing catch-up without backup. She sighed heavily and logged into the Corps’ criminal database. She found the file on Graham with a note stating it was still being compiled. Of course it was; however, what the Corps thought was important about a criminal wasn’t always what humans found vital in a dossier. Which meant the file could be in progress for days. “All right, Malholland, talk it out. What do you know?” Criminals didn’t usually move outside their comfort zone. Since Graham enjoyed moving among the upper class, she knew he’d live in an affluent metropolitan area. And since he hadn’t accomplished his goal, Lucia felt confident he’d still be in Ireland. With these two things in mind, her gut said Graham Andrews remained in Dublin. But where? He wouldn’t be at his last known address. He’d be in the shadows somewhere, hiding like a coward. Or would he? A thought struck Lucia like a hammer between the eyes. She jumped up from her perch and jerked the bathroom door open. She hoped the boys were finished, ’cause she was about to interrupt.

Chapter 12 The door to the spare room flew open, startling Cole to full wakefulness. He’d been catnapping beneath John’s bulk, but the sudden entrance of their houseguest jerked him upright on the sofa. Which tossed John straight off his lap and onto the floor, leaving Cole naked and gaping at a wide-eyed and giggling Lucia. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Um, let me just give you a moment.” She spun around and gave Cole her back. He might have enjoyed the view if it hadn’t been for John’s rough chuckle. “Lucia, you’re absolutely precious.” Uncaring of his nudity, John got up from the floor and walked bold as he pleased to Lucia. He pressed himself against her back, wrapping his arms around her waist, and leaned down to kiss her neck. “We haven’t got anything you haven’t seen.” She laughed huskily and Cole looked down at his stirring cock with a little awe and a lot of irritation. He grunted and pushed off the couch. “I’ll be right back, I’m just gonna grab something to cover my ass with.” John said something under his breath to Lucia. She made a sound somewhere between a hum and a throaty moan, but Cole didn’t turn around to look at her. They’d never get anything accomplished if the three of them kept falling into bed. “You might want to get dressed, John.” Lucia looked up at the big man, her body softening at his naked nearness. “If you insist.” He grinned, a hint of mischief dancing in his eyes. “It’ll be easier to concentrate if you do.” She gave him a teasing pinch on the ass as he sauntered off to what she assumed was his room. Lucia took the moment alone to breathe. The air in the room held the scents of their bodies, carrying their combined musk into her nose and lungs. They smelled like

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heaven and hell, all wrapped into one. The darker undertones of their lust heated her blood and made her heart pound, but it was the lighter, sweeter smell, something she couldn’t quite name, which pulled at her emotions and truly seduced her. “What has you looking so doe-eyed?” Cole touched her arm and Lucia jumped. “Damn sea bear! Don’t sneak up on me.” There was no heat in her words. She smiled softly and resisted the urge to smooth a hand down his chest. Hell, she resisted the need to lean into him and taste his mouth again. “There now, everyone’s covered up. Now, hon, why don’t you tell us what brought you charging out of your room.” John took her hand in his, the large fingers completely encasing her own, and led her to the small kitchen table. “I’ve got a good idea where Andrews is at.” “Where?” Lucia dropped into the closest chair before answering Cole. “Dublin. In fact, I think a call to my mother may give us confirmation.” “Okay, I’ll bite. How would your mother know?” John leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “She won’t, but she’ll certainly be able to find out.” “What makes you so sure?” Cole moved closer to her, his brow crinkling under his light scowl. “Because she’ll be able to get us the guest list for the Children’s Charity Gala benefit tomorrow night. The thing will be packed with movers and shakers. My gut tells me that’s too much power in one room for Andrews to ignore.” “Interpol can’t track this guy down, he’s so well hidden. But you think he’ll show up at a party in the middle of Dublin?” Cole sat back in his chair and made a sound between a cough and a chuckle, his disbelief apparent. John shot a dark look Cole’s way. “It can’t hurt to try. We have three teams working this twenty-four/seven and we haven’t gotten any closer to locating Andrews than anyone else.”

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“There’s one more reason why he’ll show.” Lucia cleared her throat before looking at John. When he quirked his brow, she spit it out. “My mother and I are on the guest list.” “No way. No way in hell!” Cole shoved back from the table and stood up. “Are you out of your mind?” “Not last I checked, Captain.” The cool delivery of his rank, instead of his name, only served to amp Cole higher. “Look, there’s no way we’re using you for bait.” John looked at Cole as if an alien stood where his friend had been. “Well, that’s a one-eighty if I ever saw one.” Lucia jerked her head to the big man. “Excuse me?” Cole crossed his arms over his chest and refused to speak, but the sound of grinding teeth filled the small area. He stared hard at John, warning clear on his face. After a few seconds, he looked away, then stalked from the table to the living room. John arched a brow at Cole’s retreating back before turning to Lucia. “Only a few hours ago, Cole suggested using you as bait to catch Andrews. He was sure you wouldn’t just sit back and let us do all the heavy lifting. It seems he’s changed his mind.” He was right in his initial assessment. Lucia wouldn’t sit back and let the men “handle” this operation. She wasn’t putting her mother in harm’s way without being right there to protect Shannon. She looked over her shoulder at Cole. He sat on the couch, only the back of his head and the tops of his shoulders visible. She was intrigued by his change of mind. Surely he wasn’t harboring any deep, warm feelings for her. Not after one, no matter how phenomenal, roll in the proverbial hay. Yeah, ’cause you aren’t feeling all warm and tingly about him now, either. Right. Her dark side just couldn’t resist pointing out things Lucia didn’t want to think about right then. Ignoring her inner voice, she turned back to John. “Regardless of his position now, I won’t be left out. I believe Andrews will be there tomorrow, though doubtful

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under his own name. It’s more likely he’ll come as someone’s guest. By having my mother send the guest list, we can see if anyone he’s been affiliated with is due to attend.” “Smart. I knew I liked you for more than your body.” A wolfish grin graced lips that had brought her to the edge of sanity not so long ago. Lucia rolled her eyes, smiling at John. “Focus. If he doesn’t show, at least I won’t have my mother complaining I let the bad guys win by hiding away, which I guarantee she will not do. She’ll be there, as planned.” “Sounds like you’ve got a bit of her in you.” John took her hands in his, squeezing gently. “I do, but I’ll never say so to her.” She grinned. “Anyway, I’d feel better being there to watch her back more than anything else. If he’s there, we can take him into custody and both the People and humanity will be safer. If not, I’m out an evening spent with the crusty, moneyed crowd.” John feigned a cold shiver. “Sounds like so much fun. I’m almost sorry I can’t attend at your side.” Lucia chuckled and dipped her head. “John Marshall, I know you’ve seen the inside of a charity ball or two in your day.” “True. But I got myself out of the official Marshall spokesperson job a long time ago. Now, Nat and Stas take care of that.” A snort from the other room assured John and Lucia that Cole had been listening to their conversation. Without turning to look at them, he said, “Nat and Stas make themselves scarcer than you ever did.” “Ah, well, not my problem. Though I gotta say, if Mom ever calls and asks me to escort her, there’s no way I can tell her no.” The love John had for his mother shone in his green eyes. Lucia stifled a sigh, hoping she made it through Andrews’ takedown alive so that perhaps she’d be able to see her own child talk of her with the same vibrant

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emotions filling his or her eyes. “I’m long practiced at avoiding, but when Mum or Da get me cornered, ’tis done. Caught for sure.” The soft squeak of the couch drew her gaze. Cole stood from the couch and made his way back to the table. “Since you’re going to be in this up to your neck, there are a few things we’ll need from you to prepare. A day isn’t much time, but our unit will do it.” Lucia nodded up at Cole, seeking his eyes, but he avoided her gaze. “I’ll have my mother dig up the guest list. She can likely procure the blueprints to the gallery, as well. What else will you need from me?” Fire flashed in Cole’s eyes, embers that had nothing to do with anger and everything to do with sex. A place low in her belly tightened, her body acutely aware of his nearness. Like the proverbial moth to the flame, her sea bear did things to her libido and her mind that Lucia never knew she could experience. Subconsciously, her fingers tightened around John’s, which had continued to hold her hands. She needed to draw strength and calm from the mage. He squeezed back, reassuring. “We can get street maps easy enough. And we’ll run the guest list against Andrews to cross match his potential dates. The only other things we’ll need are to make sure you or your mother can get one of us inside.” “I can try.” “You won’t try, you’ll do it. I won’t send you in there without John or I at your back.” Lucia pulled her hands from John’s grip and shoved back from the table. “Is that right, Captain?” Cole put his hands on his hips and leaned further into her space, his nose but inches from hers. “Yes, it damn well is.” “I think you better check yourself, boyo.” Lucia’s words came out heavily accented and low, a full-on growl. Cole clenched his jaw and stepped into her, his chest bumping hers. “You wouldn’t stand a chance.” He watched her pewter eyes flash and felt magic rush over

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his skin. She drew back her arm and he knew she was going to punch him square in the nose. The whole incident couldn’t have taken more than a few seconds, but it seemed like he was caught in super slow motion. The wall of fire erupted between Lucia and Cole the spark of a second before her hand connected with his face. They both jerked back, Lucia furiously rubbing the light pink patch across her knuckles, while Cole smacked his face with both hands and felt to make sure he still had eyebrows and lashes. “Easy there, you two. Don’t make me get nasty.” John spoke with the slight hint of a chuckle, but when Lucia looked at his face, the ruby red glare in his eyes told her he wasn’t taking the situation lightly. Her temper got the better of her and Lucia jabbed a finger in Cole’s direction, careful to avoid the crackling, fiery wall hovering between them. “He started it. I mean, who does he think he is?” “Me?” Cole shot her an insulted glare. “I think I’m one of the guys trying to keep your fine ass alive.” Inside, Lucia warmed at his words, but on the outside she wasn’t going to soften a bit. “It’s not like I have a death wish, Cole. But this is the best, most proactive way to catch Graham Andrews in the immediate future. Unless you have a better idea?” She punched her hands to her hips and waited for him to respond. When he said nothing, she sniffed in superiority and looked back at John. “Put the damn fire away before I melt.” With a wink, John snuffed out the flames and came around the table to stand between them. “With that settled, let’s head downstairs and brief the team on the plan. We don’t have much time to have this op live.”

Chapter 13 Cole and Lucia were still glaring off and on at each other by the time John had given the unit heads their assignments. Thinking a meal might put everyone in a better mood, he approached the two. “How’s pizza sound?” “With anchovies?” Cole and Lucia spoke at the same time and John nearly bit off his tongue holding back his laughter. “Not so different after all. Fish lovers.” Shaking his head, he walked out of the command center. Lucia got out of her chair, following John’s retreating form. She heard Cole, rather than saw him, fall into step behind her. “Look, can we call a truce?” “I don’t know. Are you going to go all caveman on me again?” “I can’t promise I won’t, but I’ll do my best to hold back.” Lucia stopped walking, turning to face Cole. “Why did you have a change of heart? Surely the sex wasn’t that good.” Her face flamed at the boldness of her words, but she held his gaze unflinchingly. “I don’t know. And the sex was better than ‘that good.’ Tenfold.” His blue eyes turned smoky. “We hardly know each other. And you’re a sea bear.” She licked her dry lips. “And you’re a Selkie.” He advanced toward her. “I’m famished.” The hunger churning in his eyes acted like a fuse to dynamite and her heart thudded, each detonation louder, faster than the last. The predatory set of his mouth and jaw set her feet in motion. She moved backward for several steps, but as she lengthened the distance between them, his eyes darkened to black.

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Lucia gasped and spun, running hell-bent for the stairs up. She bolted for John, maybe because he was safer, maybe because she wanted to feel him holding her, trapped for Cole to consume. Or maybe because she’d lost her bloody mind. “Don’t run, Lucia. It only makes me hungrier.” Cole’s words reached out to her like fingers, trailing over her body, making her shiver hard. She hit the stair access door, fumbling for the knob. The door opened with a whoosh and she charged through, hesitating a moment at the first riser to look back at Cole. He wasn’t chasing her. He stalked her. His lithe body moved with sure, steady grace. He seemed to vibrate with power. A kind of strength, a resolve, Lucia couldn’t ignore. But she wasn’t about to be caught so easily. Though his eyes were black with his animal’s magic, she knew their potency had nothing to do with true hunger and everything to do with taking her body. Problem was, a tiny place inside her realized when he finally caught up with her, it’d be more than her body Cole Marshall took. Breaking eye contact, she fled, fast as her legs would take her. Up the stairs, up and up, to the top floor where she knew John waited. The toe of her shoe stubbed on a step and she tripped up the last few stairs. She heard Cole approaching above the rasping sounds of her own breathing. Shoving open the stairwell door, she hurried to the apartment and burst inside, panting, palms pressed to her racing heart. “What the hell?” John jumped up from the sofa and whirled at her entry. “Cole,” she panted. “Coming.” She didn’t have breath or moisture in her mouth to say more. Spinning on her heels, she leapt for the door, throwing locks as soon as her fingers touched them. “Lucia, what happened?” John’s pulse beat harder at Lucia’s flushed face and harsh breathing. “He’s hungry.” She turned to face John. The blush rising from her chest slowed his heart rate, briefly. She wasn’t terrified, as he’d thought at first. She was aroused. “Do you really think that door will stop him?”

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As if in answer, Cole’s knuckles rapped against the wood. “Little seal, little seal, let me come in.” His adaptation of a favorite children’s-story line almost made her laugh, it was so surreal. She looked into John’s face, trying to read his thoughts, but the big man only grinned. When Cole knocked next, he did so hard enough to rattle the door in its frame and Lucia jumped about a foot. She hurried to John, dashing behind him, putting his massive body between her and the bear outside the door. “I’d rather he didn’t break the door in.” John’s words were filled with good humor and said barely a moment before exactly that happened. The crash of wood against plaster rang in Lucia’s ears, an erotic knell clanging she was trapped. Even if she’d been blind and deaf, the scent of Cole’s arousal rolled into the room on a wave of masculine pheromones and base intent potent enough she doubted John’s nose, were it only human in skill, could miss the aroma.

“Hey, John.” Cole cocked his head at his friend. “Cole. What’s up?” The look in John’s eye said he clearly knew exactly what Cole was up to and he was plenty interested in joining him. Cole’s cock twitched, becoming painfully engorged. He’d been hard as stone before he’d kicked the door down, but with the end of the pursuit at hand, and with the big man obviously ready to play, Cole wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep his cock imprisoned in jeans. “I’m looking for our little Selkie. Have you seen her?” The very unladylike snort emitted from behind John clearly said Lucia wasn’t impressed with their byplay. She stepped around John, hands on hips. “You know I’m here. No doubt you can smell me.” Cole took a long, deep breath. “Oh, yes. Delicious. I’ll just bet you’re creamy from our little chase.” The light humor Cole and John’s banter raised dissipated with the carnal words. Lucia shivered and instinctively started to retreat, despite having no escape, but John’s

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strong hands, then his powerful frame, stopped her. He enveloped her from behind, taking her wrists in his hands and bringing them around her back, between their bodies. He wasn’t hurting her, but there was no escape, either.

Chapter 14 Cole slowly removed his clothing. This time, he was going to try and take it slow. The merry chase had revved his libido to full throttle, but he ignored the throbbing of his cock. He’d at least take off his clothes instead of tearing them to shreds. Once he was naked, Cole moved within touching distance of Lucia. Her gray eyes smoldered with desire and she licked her lips as she took in his body. By the way her breathing sped up, he knew she liked what she saw. “I want you to touch me, Lucia.” She started forward, but John held her back. “Let’s get the rest of the clothes out of the way, first.” Cole shot John a grin and nodded. Curling his fingers into the hem of her shirt, Cole lifted the top up over her full breasts, humming his appreciation at seeing them bare beneath the top. He pulled it over her head and down her arms, tossing it to the floor. John’s big hands tackled her pants, undoing them quickly, then steadying Lucia as she kicked her legs free. She also wore nothing beneath her bottoms. “It looks like she was way ahead of us.” John stroked his fingertips along the sides of her breasts, his touch drawing her nipples taut. “Yeah.” Cole stepped back and took his rigid cock in hand. He nodded at John and the other man gently pressed Lucia to her knees. She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed, her full lips parted. Turning her gaze from his face, she zeroed in on his cock and lifted a hand to him. Her silky soft fingertips trailed over his prick, from the engorged, crimson tip to the heavy sac that hung between his thighs. “You’re beautiful.” She looked straight into his eyes as she spoke.

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“What about me?” While Lucia was busy getting personal with Cole, John had shucked his own clothes. Now, he stood behind her, his cock thrusting proudly from the tight nest of dark curls. She turned her body, kneeling between the two of them and reached out her other hand to encircle John’s hard flesh. With a smile, she copied the dance of fingers over John, then looked up at him. “You’re beautiful too.” “Ain’t got nothin’ on you, honey.” John tunneled the fingers of his left hand through her hair, grinning broadly down at her. Emboldened, Lucia began to caress both men. Her hands smoothed, stroked, and fondled with fantastic expertise. Cole watched her pleasure John, his cock growing harder as the head of the other man’s cock wept a bead of precome. Lucia saw it as well, because she rose up on her knees and touched her tongue to the shimmering droplet. “Oh, damn.” John’s fingers tightened in her hair. Cole almost asked her to forget John -- who’d already felt the hot grasp of her lips -- but she tightened her fist around his cock, pulling from the base to the tip, and he forgot his objections. She continued this for a few minutes before switching. And at the first touch of her tongue, Cole’s knees went weak. He wrapped both of his palms around her head, the pleasure so intense. Lucia’s tongue wound around the head of his cock, then flickered against the sensitive spot under the glans, before undulating down the entire length as she took him deeper inside. He couldn’t stop the hard shiver of need that made him groan and fist his hands in her hair. “Shit, that feels so good.” He croaked the words and was rewarded with her hum of pleasure. Lucia left his cock to take his balls into her mouth, and Cole was lost. He wouldn’t have stopped her until he came if John hadn’t spoken up. “Let’s move somewhere more comfortable.”

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Each man offered her a hand. Lucia stood with the kind of grace most people want but can never learn. Holding her between their bodies, Cole and John led Lucia to John’s bedroom. His custom-made bed was nearly as large as two kings, giving them plenty of room to play.

Lucia took in the room in one look. It was nearly bare except for the biggest fucking bed she’d ever seen. The thing took up three-quarters of the space and sat smack dab in the middle. She suppressed a giggle. “I’m a big man.” John swept her up into his arms and stalked to the bed. “Yes, you are.” Lucia closed her eyes when his head dipped to hers. His kiss was playful, his tongue teasing the seam of her lips. She couldn’t help but smile against his mouth, his pure enjoyment infectious. Feathering her fingers over his hair-shadowed jaw, she opened her mouth and deepened the kiss. Their tongues tangled, heads moving to find the best fit. When the coolness of the sheets touched her back, Lucia didn’t let it interrupt one of the best kisses she’d ever shared. “Quit hoggin’ her.” Cole slid onto the bed and up behind her. Lucia sighed, sinking back against him. She curled her right arm up and over his shoulder, tracing her nails across his neck. Finishing her kiss with John, Lucia tilted her head back and offered her mouth to Cole. As it had that morning, Cole’s kiss was like fuel on a fire. Her desire for John was strong, a pull from the heart, if she was honest. Being around him kept her on a high simmer at all times. The way she responded to Cole was more visceral. It punched her in the gut and made her head spin. When his tongue invaded her mouth, she thrust her own back at him, fighting for control of the kiss. The tweak of her nipple broke Lucia’s focus, making her break the kiss to moan. She looked down, watching John’s teeth scrape the excruciatingly sensitive tip. If she’d needed any more convincing about being part of this group, the feel of John’s mouth on her hard, aching nipple, coupled with the caress of Cole’s hands over her ass, waist, and teasingly between her legs, would have sealed the deal.

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She gave in to their ministrations, knowing they’d take her higher and higher, before cradling her back to earth. Spreading her thighs, she opened herself to Cole’s questing fingers, but kept her eyes on John. She cupped his jaw, sliding her palms against his skin while he feasted at her breasts. The two men took foreplay to a whole new place. Cole dipped his fingers just inside her body, coating them with moisture, before spreading the sticky fluid over the swollen lips of her sex, as well as her thighs. Over and over he repeated this, until her hips rocked with every movement, searching for more. More of his fingers, more of his touch, more of Cole. While Cole was busy with her pussy, John kept himself busy with her breasts, her neck, and her lips. He suckled her nipples until she begged him to stop, then he changed to biting them, each nip harder than the one before it. Lucia had no idea how long they toyed with her, but finally she couldn’t take any more. “Fuck me. Please, fuck me.” Both men growled as they rolled her fully onto her side. Lucia tensed a bit, unsure what they had in mind for the position. “Don’t worry, baby. We won’t do anything you don’t want. Here.” Cole took her right thigh in his hand, pulling it back slightly to rest on his right leg. John moved into the space Cole created, fitting his cock against her slick opening. Cole moved his fingers over her hip and took her clit between his first two fingers. John pressed his hips into the vee of her thighs, his massive cock piercing her with sweet, stretching power. “Oh, oh!” Her entire body shuddered. She was so close to coming, just from the lead up, that the feel of John’s thick, hard cock filling her pussy, while Cole pulled and pinched her clit, was too much. Cole released her clit and she exhaled loudly. But when his hand returned, in the form of a short, sharp smack, Lucia nearly came off the bed. “Fuck!” She yelled the word, unable to stop the orgasm as it thundered through her body.

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John grunted, sweat breaking out on his brow as he struggled to keep his slow, deep pace in rhythm. “Do it again, Cole.” Cole’s cock rode the seam between her thighs, slipping and sliding over her labia and against John’s cock as it pushed in and pulled out of her body. He thrust his hips against her ass and smacked her clitoris once more. The shock of the blow ripped through her body again, and she writhed between the men. It wasn’t that it hurt, because it didn’t. But the explosion of pleasure was so unexpected, so amazingly focused, Lucia couldn’t control her body’s reaction. Come ran from her body with every body-clenching, breath-halting contraction of her pussy around John’s wide, throbbing cock. “Bite her tits, John.” Cole’s voice rasped next to her ear. Lucia opened her mouth, but the only thing that came out was a scream as a third powerful orgasm tore into her. John did as Cole bade and the moment his teeth closed around her left nipple, Cole spanked her clit again. Again and again, he slapped his fingers against the swollen pleasure center. John bit and tugged on her nipples in time with Cole and Lucia lost her mind to the pleasure. The sounds coming from her mouth were guttural, raw. John picked up the pace of his thrusts, slamming his cock into her pussy hard and fast. The sounds of his wet flesh hammering into her cunt were echoed by the faster and faster beat of Cole’s smacks. Finally, she couldn’t take any more. Her body had become one massive overstimulated nerve. She wrapped one hand around Cole’s. “Stop. No more.” John slowed his thrusts. “Yes, more. Let’s move around.” The three of them rolled, John on the bottom with Lucia pressed belly to belly with him, Cole’s rock-hard cock riding the cleft of her ass. The men stroked her sides, kissed her face and neck, soothing her. Despite the calming of her body, the steady pulse of John’s cock deep inside her and Cole’s rampant against her backside only kept her arousal amped.

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Cole slid back from her a bit, each of his palms taking hold of her ass, spreading her for his gaze. Lucia whimpered, unsure how to tell him that anal sex was not her idea of a good time. “Trust me. I’ll stop the second you tell me to.” She shivered against John when Cole left the bed. She wanted to feel both of them inside her, but she wasn’t sure this was how she wanted to do it. Cole returned to the bed in moments, parting her cheeks once more. The first tentative touch of Cole’s fingers on her asshole made Lucia tense up. But John distracted her by slowly moving his hips up and down, reminding her that his beautiful cock hadn’t gone anywhere. As she relaxed on John, she let go of her uncertainty. She trusted them. Cole took his time getting Lucia used to him. She relaxed more as he smoothed the thick anal gel over her ass, pressing gently against the muscle. He repeated this motion, circling, teasing, pressing, until she wanted more. She lifted her ass toward him and heard his harsh groan of response. The initial penetration of his finger wasn’t pleasant at all. It burned and stung, and if she hadn’t wanted to get back to the hot, edgy feelings that had been streaking through her blood when he’d teased her asshole, Lucia might have called it quits. But she did want more of those feelings, so she tried to relax around him, and then, with a strange kind of popping sensation, the whole of his finger slid inside. “Oh, God.” Lucia turned her face into John’s chest, sinking her teeth in. She didn’t bite hard, but the feeling of being filled from front to back was over-the-top good. “I’m going to fuck you again, while Cole gets you ready for his cock. Try not to come.” John whispered the words against the crown of her head. He kept his word, pumping his hips with determination, plowing his cock into her before pulling her completely off his prick. Then the thick head would spear her pussy again. While John’s cock worked her cunt, Cole filled her ass with one finger, then two, and finally, three.

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When the third finger penetrated her ass, Lucia cried out and came. She couldn’t hold it back any longer. It felt so good, especially since both men were pinning her hips in place with at least one hand. Holding her immobile while they fucked her into oblivion. As the last of her body’s shudders faded, Cole pulled his fingers out. The sound of a condom being opened prepared her for what was next. “Relax, baby. I’m not much bigger.” She felt him add more lubricant to her ass a moment before the head of his cock slid against the place his fingers had just left. Lucia moaned, thrusting her ass back at him, forcing the tip of his dick in quickly. She grunted as the fantastic feeling of the two cocks filling her body washed over her. Ever careful of the newness of the act, Cole rode her ass slowly, gently. He moved with medium-length strokes, not going too deep, not staying too shallow. John, on the other hand, set a deep, long rhythm, using the strength of his hips and ass to work his cock into her even tighter pussy. It wasn’t long, though, until Lucia lost all sense of rhythm. She dug her fingers into John’s shoulders, screaming as his cock plunged in, while Cole’s cock slipped out. Her body wasn’t just on fire, it was ablaze, the pleasure becoming so intense it bordered on excruciating. Her men began grunting, low primal shouts of ecstasy. Cole’s hands held her ass cheeks hard enough to bruise, not that Lucia cared. And John fisted his hands in her hair, pistoning his hips, pounding his cock, struggling to reach that glorious explosion they’d given her four times over. “Fuck my ass, Cole!” She had no idea what possessed her to say those words, but Cole bellowed and jammed his cock deep. She felt the powerful spurts of his come as his cock jetted into the condom. Cole’s orgasm set her off, butterfly-soft shockwaves dancing over her skin and through her body. Lucia tightened the muscles of her pussy around John’s cock and lifted her head to look at the man supporting her.

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His green eyes were heavy-lidded, his teeth drawn back in a feral grin of sexual frenzy. Licking her lips, Lucia moved her hips in a careful swirl and said the second dirtiest thing she’d said in her life. “Give me your come, John. I want to feel your hot seed dripping from my pussy.” John’s eyes flashed with primal passion a moment before his cock jerked inside her body. The first hot splashes of his release sent Lucia into her final orgasm, one that was gentle in its intensity, but not in the pleasure it rocketed through her blood. John and Cole seemed to come down from their orgasms simultaneously, easing their softening cocks from Lucia’s body with tender movements. “You have a dirty mouth, Lucia Malholland.” Cole chuckled softly as he snuggled up behind her. “Mmm.” She didn’t have the energy to reply. Besides, what could she say? John curved his back to her front, securing Lucia between his strength and Cole’s embrace. “I like her mouth.” John didn’t laugh, but Lucia was sure a sleepy grin curved his lips. Sighing contentedly and ignoring the growing soreness between her legs and in her ass, Lucia drifted off with visions of polar bears getting warm by a fire dancing in her head.

Chapter 15 Lucia woke first, surprisingly. Considering the intensity of her orgasms, she’d thought for sure she’d be unconscious for days. She grinned. Gods, she could really get used to waking up like this, wrapped in the strong, solid bodies of her men. Her men. The thought both scared and elated her. Lucia wasn’t under the mistaken impression that a couple of terrific orgasms meant love, but she knew in her heart that Cole and John were special. She truly liked them both, respected them both, and perhaps if she survived what was to come, she’d have the time to find out if what she felt would become love. Unsure of the hour, she pushed up onto her elbows and looked around the room for a clock. Seeing none, she turned her head from one side to the other. Cole had one of her legs between his, his left arm wrapped around her waist. John’s right arm was thrown over her back, his large hand enveloping her left breast. His right leg was over both of hers, the calf pressed against Cole’s ass. Lucia was pretty sure there was no way she could get out of the bed without waking them. “Get up, gents. I need to use the bathroom and find out what time it is. And didn’t someone say something about food?” John groaned. “Food, right. Bathroom, okay.” He shifted his bulk, sliding off the bed, more or less. “Thanks.” Lucia started to roll out after him, but Cole’s hold tightened. “Just a minute.” She turned back to face him. He looked at her with sleepy eyes, but his hand slid up her body with purpose. Taking her jaw gently in his palm, he pulled her down to his mouth. Their lips came together slowly, with a passion tempered by tenderness. Lucia opened to Cole, teasing his tongue as it dipped past her lips. They didn’t kiss long,

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pulling apart when the heat between them would have taken it deeper, into something more. “Mmm, I love the way you taste.” He licked his lips and grinned, a broad, teasing smile. “Aye.” She leaned in for a brief peck, then slid out of bed. “Hey, where’s my kiss?” John returned to the bed and pouted at her from his spot. “I really have to use the bathroom, but I promise to give you one as soon as I’m out.” She laughed at his scowl and hurried into the bathroom. The sound of running water started almost immediately. “I’ll kiss you right now.” Cole rolled onto his back and wiggled his brows at John. “Well, I guess.” John grinned and lowered his head, taking Cole’s mouth in a quick, deep kiss. “We better get our asses moving. I wonder if the pizza made it up here, or if whoever brought it up turned around and took it back downstairs?” Cole laughed, a belly-shaking chortle, shoving John from the bed. “You go find the food and I’ll see what the team has gotten accomplished. I’m damn glad for Lucia’s connections, otherwise we’d still be trying to dig up that guest list and blueprints.” John stopped at the door and looked back at Cole. “That kind of power comes with a price and I’ll bet that’s one of the reasons she left the Corps.” “You’d be right.” Lucia stood in the bathroom doorway, drying her long hair with a towel. She’d pulled on a Corps uniform too. “You’re done?” John’s eyes widened with pure shock. “We weren’t --” Cole spoke at the same time as John, starting to apologize, but Lucia shook her head and tossed the damp towel at him. “Thirty years in the Corps, John. Five in the head is all I need in a hurry.” Lucia grinned at John’s slight bow. She shifted her gaze from the big man to Cole. “I didn’t think you two were gossiping about me. I was simply confirming John’s suspicion. Yes, I quit the Corps because I want to settle down, but my decision had a lot to do with

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being tired of playing politics for and with my family. As a regular citizen, I won’t have the same access I once did.” “Your family never asked you to feed them information, did they?” Cole sat up and swung his legs over the bedside. “Not pointedly. And I never gave them any, either. They wouldn’t ask that of me. The Malhollands are fiercely loyal to the People. But it wasn’t beyond them to hear of a meeting I had with someone they wanted an introduction to, and in those cases, they’d want me to mention the family. To get the ball rolling, so to speak. In truth, it was my family’s connections that got me in most doors for the Corps, which is something I doubt they’d ever thought might happen.” “Oh, that you’d use the family name to help the Corps and not vice versa?” Cole stood up, stretching largely. Lucia thoroughly appreciated the view. “Exactly. I’m going to call my mother and find out what time she wants me at Boudicca. According to my PDA, it’s about ten hours until the gala begins, which means we’ll have to leave here no later than 1600 hours. Ya know we have a landing strip and a chopper pad at the estate, right?” “Yeah.” John stepped out of the doorway so she could pass. She paused to look up at him, before grabbing his neck and pulling him down for her kiss. She lingered with John, loving the richness of his taste and the sweet burn of his shadowy beard. She traced his full lower lip with her tongue, moaning softly when he parted his lips and let her inside. Stepping closer, she drew her arms over his shoulders, her fingertips toying with the longish strands of his thick, brown hair. John’s tongue moved deeper into her mouth and his hands cupped her ass. The prod of his growing erection made Lucia tingle. With a sigh, she pulled her face away from his, while pressing her belly tighter to John’s thickening cock. “Yer a temptation, John Marshall.” A bit of her brogue rolled her tongue and Lucia giggled. “We best leave off afore we lose this opportunity.”

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“Yeah.” His mouth turned up slightly. Brushing a smudge across her forehead, he let her go. “I’m gonna jump in the shower. If the pizza ain’t in the kitchen, call downstairs to the LT. He’ll know where it went.” “All right.” She drew her palms over his broad, bare chest as she left the room. John watched her go. “Damn, I think I’m truly smitten.” Cole chuckled. “You aren’t the only one, bro. Ursudines don’t take after our fourlegged family, and I can tell you, the sea bear wants to make her his, for good.” “Which begs the question, how the hell a bear will mate with a seal.” John loved to tease Cole. Cole’s eyebrows went up so fast, John thought he’d be dizzy. “That’s just wrong! I never have sex with humans or animals, shifted. Have you seen a bear cock? It’s not all that impressive considering the bear’s size.” He shrugged. “Mine’s only about eight inches. Then again, both seals and Ursus maritimus have baculum, so we’d probably get along just fine. God, what am I saying? I am not going zoo-sexual, or whatever the hell you’d call cross-species fucking!” John tripped on his way to the bathroom, the guffaws shaking his body making him clumsy. “Whoa, whoa! I was only teasing.” “Not funny, John. You’re sick.” Cole stalked into the bathroom before John and shut the door in his face. The locking mechanism clicked. Trying to ease his chortling, John leaned against the door. “C’mon, let me in. We have things to do. You shower while I shave, man. Cole, shit, let me in.” The sound of grumbling reached John’s ears, then the lock released. “Move your ass. I’m fucking hungry.” Cole pulled the shower curtain back and jumped in, keeping his back to the other man. Shaking his head, mirth still tickling his tongue, John went to the sink and started to shave.

Chapter 16 One final run-through with Mrs. Malholland’s guard detail still didn’t make Cole feel any better about the evening ahead. He knew Stas sent only the best, and the group spanned the Corps. An earth mage, a werewolf, a vampire, and an Endoskine, a supernatural strongman with a hidden weakness -- like Achilles, stood ready to protect both Shannon and Lucia should things turn ugly. But after hearing Lucia repeat exactly what the spell Andrews was using could do to a body, preternatural or not, he couldn’t shake the queasiness in his belly. No one thought Andrews would use the spell inside the gallery, but they had no idea what he might do to get what he wanted. God knew the idea of watching Lucia’s pelt being ripped from inside her body, tearing her magic from her soul, terrified Cole. She said she’d probably survive the spell itself, but she’d be half of herself, a shell, which would slowly fade away. Day by painfilled day. “You look like you’re ready to take someone’s head off.” John’s voice came from close to his ear. His tone was reassuring, as was the slight brush of his long fingers over one of Cole’s shoulders. “I am. I have a really bad feeling. We already know there’s an excellent chance Andrews will be there. What if we miss him? We don’t have the most recent picture of him, and you know he has to have changed his appearance. He knows Lucia will be there.” “So will we. He won’t be stupid enough to try the spell in a room full of Dublin’s elite. As long as we keep her in our sights, she’ll be fine.” “You better fucking hope so.”

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“Holy Christ, here she comes.” John nodded toward the end of the long hall leading to the foyer where he and the men stood waiting. Lucia was a vision in heather gray and diamonds. Her thick, honey blonde hair was pulled up and curled, tendrils dripping from her crown, tumbling to brush the tops of her shoulders and frame her face. The gown was floor-length, cut to emphasize her beautiful breasts and fall away from the rest of her form. Despite its design, with every step her lush hips teased the fabric, giving flirtatious shape to the flesh hidden beneath. As she neared them, John took note of the teardrop diamonds in her ears and the matching pendant around her neck. She wasn’t dressed flashily, but she was the epitome of elegance. Lucia stopped before him, her beauty overwhelming his senses. She smiled a bit shyly and looked up at him from beneath her lashes. “Don’t stare. You’ll make me nervous.” “Then I’ll apologize now. You’re amazing.” Cole nudged John with his shoulder, trying to make the bigger man move so he could get closer to the woman who would haunt his thoughts for a long time. Lucia gave Cole a brighter smile, a soft blush warming the exposed skin of her chest and up, over her neck and into her cheeks. “Thank you.” Realizing they really were staring, both men turned to Shannon Malholland. There was no doubt she was the elder, but she remained a gorgeous, desirable woman nonetheless. “Mrs. Malholland, if I may?” John held out his arm. Charmed, Shannon slipped her hand around his elbow. “Oh, you’re a smooth one, Mr. Marshall.” “I’m wounded.” John gave her a look of feigned hurt. “Your daughter is breathtaking, but don’t for a minute think you’ve lost your loveliness.” Shannon laughed merrily before turning to look at her daughter. “He’s a keeper, love.”

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Lucia smiled up at Cole as she took his arm. “I agree.” She looked straight into his eyes, feeling her heart skip a beat at the warmth that blossomed in Cole’s cerulean eyes. The group made their way from the main hall of Boudicca to the cars. The ride to the gallery took very little time, most of which the group spent discussing final details and information. “The fire escape is through the back offices, as I said.” Shannon pointed to a mark on the blueprint John held. “There’s a secondary exit just off this room. It’s actually an access to the apartment above the gallery, but there’s a door to the back alley as well.” “We’ll have a team on both exits and the entrance. And the men I introduced you to will be in the gallery with you and Lucia all night. They’ll never be far away. All you have to do is give them the signal. You remember what it is, right?” John folded up the blueprint and shoved it into the inside pocket of his jacket. “I need some fresh air.” Lucia gave the appropriate reply, pinning her mother with a stern look. “I mean it, Mother. Do not do anything remotely dangerous. If you think you’re in trouble, or that something is wrong, you say those words and let the men get you out of there.” “And you as well, lass.” The arch of her mother’s brow brooked no argument, so Lucia gave a tiny nod. She couldn’t lie outright to her mother, but she wasn’t going to run away from Graham Andrews, either, unless she had no choice. She’d done it once, and that was enough. “We’ve arrived, sirs.” The driver slowed the car in front of the gallery. “Damn, it looks smaller than I imagined.” Cole fidgeted with his tie. The gallery was bedecked and besparkled with all kinds of lights and decorations. There was a small crowd at the door, all elegantly dressed. Their attire and attitudes screamed wealth and privilege.

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The valet opened the door as soon as the driver stopped. Both women were helped out, followed by Cole and John. The car behind them held the security detail, so the foursome waited for the other men to join them before heading for the door. The host of the gala greeted Lucia and her mother warmly. As with most parties, Lucia kept a smile on her face and made the appropriate gestures. She followed her mother around the gallery for nearly an hour, all the while searching the crowd for a face she hadn’t seen in nearly ten years. When it was polite to do so, Lucia excused herself from her mother’s side. She didn’t know if Andrews would come for her or not, but she needed a drink and some time away from people trying to kiss a Malholland ass. After fetching a drink from the small bar, Lucia wandered around the gallery, taking in some of the pieces. One in particular drew her. It was a painting, in oil, if she knew her mediums. The scene depicted a strawberry-blonde-haired girl, kneeling at a lough’s edge. Her hand outstretched, caressing the head of a seal that had just broken through the water’s surface. “I thought this would draw you. Rather biographical, isn’t it?” Hard fingers wrapped around her elbow. Lucia didn’t bother playing dumb. “I suppose so, Graham.” “Ah, so you finally remember me. I can’t tell you how delighted that makes me. I was beginning to think you had no idea who I was. After all, you never even bothered to acknowledge me all these years. Or my gifts.” Lucia tensed, trying to find Cole or John, but Andrews’ grip tightened painfully. “I wouldn’t if I were you.” A sharp sting punctured her side. “You know, I should thank you for ignoring my attentions. If you hadn’t, I might not have tried so hard to impress you, and I’d never have found out your secret.” Lucia held in a whimper as her guilt grew. Instead of allowing the undercutting emotion to get the better of her, she glared at Graham from the corner of her eye. “You are not welcome.”

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Andrews had the gall to laugh. “Ah, well. You know, after your slick getaway last time, I decided the spell wasn’t the best way to get your pelt.” He pushed harder against her side and the sting intensified. “So, I’m trying something I had made years ago.” “I won’t let you take my pelt.” “You won’t have a choice. See, if I use this syringe, you’ll be incapacitated. You won’t be able to run away from my spell this time.” “You’re crazy.” Fear began to choke Lucia’s throat. She knew that to anyone nearby, it looked like she was having a pleasant conversation, but she couldn’t think of a way to get any of the Corps men’s attention without putting a roomful of humans in danger. “That’s your opinion. But… I don’t suppose you remember a man by the name of Igborski, do you? He was quite the scientist.” Fear paralyzed Lucia. How could she possibly forget the name of the man who led the horrific Veil? The maniac bent on creating a world of chimeras, a world where preternaturals were the norm and humans an endangered species. The man who’d nearly killed Stanislov Rubenesso, who’d killed Stas’ mother, Igborski’s own daughter, when she got in the way of his psychotic plans. “I’ll take your silence as a yes, you do remember the name. Well, what’s in the needle at your side is part of his final batch of chimeric genomes. Guess what animal is in the tube, Lucia.” Her mind struggled to process Graham’s words, but terror began choking any thought more complex than escape. Natalie and Stas had destroyed Igborski, the Veil; there shouldn’t be any more danger from the madman. Andrews laughed, a horrible, ugly sound. “Ursus maritimus, my dear. And I doubt very much that the seal would survive its introduction into your DNA. In fact, the pair might just spit out the seal pelt without any fuss at all on my part.” Lucia found her voice, shaky though it was. “That’s impossible. Sea bear shifters aren’t like most. It’s magic that gives them their gifts. Science can’t bottle magic.”

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“Ah, see, there you’re wrong. This isn’t some shapeshifter’s DNA, but the animal’s. And since sea bears, as you call them, aren’t much different than Selkies, Igborski was certain this would work most effectively on you. After all, it’s magic that makes your seal half live.” “How did you get it?” Lucia didn’t know if she’d ever be able to tell anyone what she knew, but keeping him talking was the best way to stall. “Well, while the good doctor was alive, I worked for him. After a fashion. You see, he often had need of guinea pigs, and it was my job to acquire them. In return, he gave me the grimoire containing the Spell of Separation. And he introduced me to a unique kind of market, one where people will pay a lot of money to be superhuman.” “Did you sell Igborski’s serums?” Oh, God, the implications were unthinkable. “All that I had, save for this injection. This I had him make especially for you, in case you decided not to cooperate. After all, your pelt is all I’m after, Lucia.” She didn’t really hear Andrews past the words “make especially for you.” It didn’t make sense, the idea that Igborski thought injecting polar bear DNA into her body would somehow affect her Selkie-ness. And yet… Surely, the two species weren’t as closely linked as Andrews suggested? Lucia struggled to recall what he’d said, to shove the fear aside and remember exactly his explanation. She shapeshifted, yes, but her body didn’t truly mutate. Her pelt enveloped her human form, and when she was ready to be human again, she merely stepped out of the sealskin. Contrary to most of the mythology, her skin wasn’t genuinely a separate thing. When she removed her pelt, she didn’t pack it away in a box or secret place. She held it between her hands, pressed to her body, and the pelt was absorbed into her skin. Her sealskin stayed locked away somewhere inside. She’d never thought about the hows of being a Selkie, but now, she had to fight not to shudder. Ungodly as it seemed, her Selkie magic could very likely give life to the genetic material in the syringe. If Andrews was right, then just as Cole’s magic had bound him with the white bear, so might hers. If the magic worked like that… Lucia

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shook with terror. She felt certain her Selkie would die beneath the power of the sea bear. Tension tightened Graham’s body. Lucia didn’t know if he realized how long they’d been standing there, in front of the arctic painting, or if something else set off his alarm, but his fingers dug into her arm, biting into the flesh deep enough to truly hurt. “How about we go someplace more private?” Andrews jerked her arm and pushed his body into hers, moving her toward the back exit. Lucia scanned the room, wanting to scream out or struggle, but knowing that was the worst thing she could do. There, by a strange sculpture of birds and flowers, stood the Endoskine she’d met at Boudicca. She locked eyes with him, hoping her expression was clear. He got the message and started to move toward her, but she shook her head. The movement was slight, but the Endoskine nodded in acknowledgement. He turned his face away and down, but Lucia clearly saw his lips and throat working. Relief flooded through her, and she stumbled slightly. “Don’t go doing anything stupid. I’ll use this if I have to, but I’d much rather get what I came for.” Graham Andrews bruised her flesh with a punishing grip and Lucia struggled to remain passive in his hold. They were almost to the door. She nearly choked on her heart. Whatever might happen next, Lucia drew some strength from the knowledge that her mother would be fine. Cole and John wouldn’t let Andrews get away from the gallery, no matter what. The door opened magnificently slowly. Whether fear made time pause and hold its breath, or the hydraulic bar at the top was overly tight, Lucia didn’t know. But she counted her heartbeats as she and Andrews passed out of the gallery and into the narrow hallway leading to the upstairs apartment or the alley exit. Forty-three times the pump in her chest beat hard, sending forty-three tiny tremors through her body. The soft click of the door behind them sounded unnaturally loud in the tiny walkway. So loud, she nearly missed the sharp intake of breath from behind her.

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Almost. Graham never hesitated in his motion, his fingers digging tightly into her elbow as he shoved her before him. Lucia knew the soft growl was not his. The roar was deafening. It scared both Lucia and Graham, the latter startling so badly he depressed the plunger before breaking away from her. The attack happened so quickly that even with preternatural senses, Lucia couldn’t honestly recall exactly how it progressed afterward. Andrews tore away from her after the bellowed call of rage. He stumbled in his haste to escape from the sound, all bravado gone from him, as if fight or flight kicked in and he knew there was little chance of survival should he attempt to fight. His feet tangled together, his right shoulder striking the wall. That was as far as he got, the murderer of Lucia’s trusted friend, her stalker, a greedy human pig using magic darkly. The gaping maw of a sea bear took the man’s head into its clutches, crushing his weak human skull with two separate chomps. Graham didn’t even have time to scream, his breath and life cut expediently short by the devastating damage the bear’s teeth leveled on his brain. Warm blood and other things must have spattered Lucia, as close as she was, but she didn’t remember that. Mostly because the slight sting from the syringe burst to life with a fiery intensity. Her head swam, her vision blurred, and she collapsed to the ground. Magic tore through the hall with the power of a hurricane, washing over and through her as Cole assumed his human form. Through glazed eyes, Lucia watched in awe as magic danced like the Northern Lights around his body, drawing back the coat of hollow hair to black skin, calling down the massive Ursudine shape and asserting strong masculine arms, broad shoulders, and long, thick legs. Cole dropped to her side, a few tendrils of magic weaving clothing onto his body. “Lucia, can you hear me?” She wanted to answer him so badly, but the inferno raging beneath her skin prevented her from doing anything more than gasping for air. Cole took her shoulders into his grasp, yanking his hands away immediately.

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“Christ, you’re on fire!” He stood up and grabbed the doorknob, stepping back when another person shoved inside the hall. “The party didn’t even notice. Thank God there was a vampire on the detail. Oh, shit, what’s happened?” Lucia’s vision narrowed to a pinpoint, but she would recognize John’s voice, his touch, anywhere. He wrapped both arms around her body, lifting her off the floor. “She’s going into shock. We have to get her out of here.” “Can’t you do anything? If it’s hyperthermia, can’t you slow it down?” Cole’s voice strained, ready to break. “Not here, God damn it.” John didn’t say anything more; he simply ran down the hall to the alley exit, bursting into the cool night with Lucia cradled in his big arms. She turned her head toward his powerful chest, fighting to see his face, but her eyesight was gone. She wanted to tell him Graham had injected something into her, but the blackness took her, giving her relief from the flames wrenching her body apart.

Chapter 17 Unsure what had happened to Lucia, John burst through the door and into the alley. He held her limp form with one arm and pressed the communication bud in his ear. “Get that fucking car into the alley. Lucia’s hurt.” He didn’t wait for the driver’s answer, wrapping his arm once more around her. His mind raced, trying to figure out what the hell Andrews had done to his woman. “I found this in the hall.” Cole held a small syringe between his thumb and forefinger. The look on his face said he believed it wasn’t a coincidence that Lucia was fighting for her life. The needle was broken off at the end of the plastic tube, so John looked over Lucia’s body. The small dot of blood on her beautiful dress confirmed Cole’s suspicions. “Watch for the car. I’m going in.” John pressed his lips to Lucia’s forehead, calling his power. Fire, bright and lovely, flickered behind his closed lids. Breathing slowly, forcing his heart to calm, John let his magic find the fire in Lucia. He wasn’t a healer, not like his sister, but his gifts granted him a certain amount of control over temperature, even of a body. Using every bit of energy he had, his mind and his magic flowed into Lucia, through his lips on her skin. John couldn’t make heads or tails of the body, but the raging inferno in her blood shone like a beacon. John expanded his presence, using his power to push back the fire, to corral it, to hold it tight near its source. He wasn’t a healer, but the needle in her side was clearly the heart, the dark, red ember of the fever’s source.

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He felt Cole’s touch, light and cool on his back, as his partner guided him to the car. Putting all his faith in Cole took no questioning. He knew the other man would get them into the car and home. John only peripherally knew the car moved. He had to continually fight the invading power, pouring his magic and soul into keeping it at bay. He felt weakness, exhaustion bearing down, but John refused to give in. Cole touched him again, and though he wasn’t a powerful telepath, he conveyed to John that they’d arrived at Boudicca. They both knew Lucia would never make it to the States. Cole lifted both of his companions from the car and carried them up the steps. The front door opened and Natalie Marshall stood backlit by the house lights. John heard her soft voice, but didn’t respond, needing all of his focus. Cole hefted his load into the grand foyer, finally setting John back on his feet. “Give her to me.” Stanislov’s voice broke into John’s mind. He tried to tell the other man no, but his seemingly endless strength was gone. Stas lifted Lucia from his arms and John collapsed onto the floor. Cole dropped down to one knee, taking John into his embrace. “How the hell did you get here, Stas?” Cole sounded calm, composed, but John knew he wasn’t. “Through some magic even I don’t understand. Shannon Malholland called Stas at the hotel, and next thing I knew, we were here. What happened to Lucia?” Nat searched her foster brother’s face, hoping Cole had answers. “We don’t know, but I found this near her body.” Cole handed the syringe to Nat. “I’ll get it analyzed immediately.” “Shouldn’t you be with her?” John croaked the words, his throat dry and tight. “I am, sort of. Stas can tap into my healing power. He felt I should talk to you two, support you two.” Both men glared at her and Natalie kneeled down in front of them. “I swear he’s doing everything I would do.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “He’s getting her stabilized, but I think we may have to put her into stasis for a while.”

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“Natalie.” John growled the word. “I know it can be dangerous. But it’s the only way, big brother. I have to have time to figure out what was in this thing.” She twisted the syringe in her fingers. “Trust me. She’s family now. I won’t let her go without a fight.” Neither man responded to her comment, not that Natalie expected them to. She kissed them both on the forehead before getting back to her feet and heading up the stairs after Stanislov. Cole lifted John from the floor and followed. “I want to be with her.” John spoke into the crook of Cole’s neck. “So do I, but we have to get you back up to snuff first. Stas and Nat will protect her. She’ll be safe.” “Not as safe as if we were with her.” Cole opened the door nearest the room he felt Lucia in. Luckily, it proved to be a bedroom. He laid John down on the bed, quickly removing the big man’s clothes, before shedding his own and climbing in next to him. “She wasn’t safe with me. It’s my fault this happened.” Tears leaked from Cole’s eyes, though he made no effort to wipe them away, made no acknowledgement of their wet trek down his cheeks. “How could you have known Andrews had that thing? It’s not your God damn fault any more than it is mine for being unable to force the fire out of her.” Cole heard John’s words, but he didn’t listen. “I’ve been afraid I’d kill her since we met and I managed to do it.” “Shut the fuck up.” John’s hand wrapped around Cole’s neck and he pulled the smaller man down into his embrace. “It’s not your fault or mine. All we can do now is try to sleep and pray she’ll still be here when we wake up.”

Chapter 18 “Natalie.” Cole moved into Lucia’s room and took his foster sister into his arms. He held his tears in check, but barely. Nat’s arms tightened around him. “Don’t give up. We’re doing everything we can to save her. Stas and I have her in a kind of stasis. It’s not stopping what’s happening, but it’s slowing it down. Giving us time.” She reluctantly let him go when he pulled away and moved to the bedside. “Have you found out what he gave her yet?” “Yes and no. It’s one of Igborski’s serums. We matched elemental compositions in the broken syringe to the samples we took from his lab. What we don’t know is what’s in it. The genome isn’t preternatural, not in and of itself. Cy Ops is running the profile through every database on the planet. We’ll find it.” John came in and Nat left the bed to give her big brother a hug as well. Cole sat down and took one of Lucia’s cool, lifeless hands between his. He wished he could pour his power into her, give her the strength she needed to fight. He and John hadn’t slept more than three hours. As he looked up from Lucia to John, he knew the dark circles and haunted eyes mirrored his own. “It won’t be much longer before we identify at least part of the genetic material.” Natalie left the room, probably going to find Stas. “Did any of the tape show what happened between them?” Cole tightened his hold on Lucia, thinking if he didn’t let her go, she wouldn’t leave. “He kept his face away from the cameras. The team retrieved footage showing him sticking her with the needle, but there’s no way to get a clear look at his face. We won’t know what he said to her until she can tell us.”

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Cole wasn’t about to suggest that she wouldn’t wake up and do exactly that. The sound of footsteps, running, pounding up the stairwell, turned his head and John’s toward the door. It burst open, a panting Natalie flying in with Stas hot on her heels. “They found it. It’s a polar bear. He injected her with polar bear DNA.” “What?” Cole shot a confused look at John, who shook his head and frowned. “Polar bear. Only, it isn’t preternatural in origin. And as far as we can tell by the trace in the syringe, it’s the complete Ursus maritimus genome.” Stas pushed Natalie further into the room, closing the door behind them. “Then I don’t understand what’s going on. Shouldn’t her magic have destroyed it the minute it entered her body?” John’s frown deepened. “No.” Cole dropped his chin to his chest. “Her magic is probably exactly why this is happening.” “That’s what I thought too, Cole. Your magic binds you to the bear’s spirit, right?” He looked up at Nat. “Yeah, but it happens when we’re young. Babies. There’s a whole ritual that we go through. It doesn’t happen like this.” “No, it wouldn’t. But Igborski used viral packets to carry the genetic material throughout the host body. It works as well as any magic incantation.” Pain flashed in Stanislov’s eyes. Cole knew he felt responsible for what was happening, though nothing could have been farther from the truth. “This is not your fault. Don’t even try to take it on your shoulders.” Stas started to say something, but John cut him off. “Look, we can argue blame later. Right now, what the hell do we do? Cole, not everyone who undergoes the ritual becomes polar bear shifters, right?” “No. The bear rejects some of the children, or vice versa, and some are chosen by another type of bear spirit. Everyone like me is spirit-bound, but there are other Ursudine who weren’t born shifters.” “Okay.” Natalie thrummed her fingers against the footboard. “I talked with Shannon and she explained Selkies in a similar fashion. The difference being that Lucia

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here was born in her pelt. She was born a seal, on the outside. If she hadn’t slipped her skin shortly after birth, Shannon said the old ways dictated she be left with the closest pod, and she’d have lived her life out as a seal.” Cole looked at John, waiting until the other man took Lucia’s free hand. Then he reluctantly let her go and stood. “I don’t know how that helps us. She’s getting worse by the second, for fuck’s sake.” He didn’t yell, but Natalie jerked as if he had. Stanislov growled, instinctively warning off any aggression toward his mate, and Cole groaned with frustration. He shoved both hands through his hair, before throwing them up in the air and lifting his face to the ceiling. After counting to five, he sighed loudly and looked back at Nat. “I’m sorry, I’m trying to be patient.” “I understand how hard this is. I do. But what you told me and what Shannon told me gives me an idea. The only way I can be sure of what’s going on is to go inside Lucia. Deep inside. I didn’t want to chance it before we knew something about what Andrews injected into her.” “And now that you know?” John’s words were tight. “Now, I think one of two things is happening. First, there could be a battle going on inside her soul. Bear and seal fighting for control of the magic. If that’s the case, the prognosis isn’t good. We saw it in nearly all of Igborski’s chimera test subjects. The animals lock in mortal combat and the host dies.” “Fuck, Nat, please tell me idea two is more hopeful.” “Because both Selkies and polar bear shifters are made through magical binding, it could be that the two are trying to share the body. But because Lucia doesn’t, can’t, know that in the state she’s in, she’s blocking that from happening.” “I don’t understand a damn thing you just said, Nat.” “Let me try, Natalya.” Stas pressed a kiss to her cheek before stepping around her. “Polar bear and Selkie shifters are two sides of the same coin. But Lucia doesn’t know this. She’s fighting the chimeric change her magic, her power, is pushing toward. The fever is probably the only way her body can attempt to do what the magic wants. Make her delirious and shut down her instinctive fear of the bear.”

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Cole crossed his ankles and leaned against the end of the bed. “If she’s fighting it, there’s no way the bear will stay. In fact, it should be gone by now.” “Not if the bear finds her worthy. Won’t it fight to stay?” Cole didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know. I’ve never heard of it happening.” “Things are different with chimeras.” Stanislov’s words lacked emotion, but his eyes spoke volumes. He knew firsthand how different things could be for chimeric shapeshifters. The four stood quietly for a few minutes, letting the information sink in. Cole left the footboard, reclaiming his place opposite John at Lucia’s side. “I know you have a plan, Nat. Spit it out.” “I want you two to go in with me. If it’s a war in there, at least I can give you both a few moments with Lucia to say good-bye. If it’s not, I’m going to need you two to help her through the transition. John, to hold back the fever so it doesn’t fry her brain and Cole, to help her join with the bear.” “Natalie.” John looked at his sister with a frown. “I know, three is a stretch, even for me. It’ll be a challenge to keep you two linked with me so you don’t get lost in her mind. But Stas will be here with me, feeding me magic and strength. It’s our best shot.” John shook his head. He cared about Lucia. But if Natalie got lost, God, how could he live with himself? She was his baby sister. He looked at Cole and saw the same thoughts reflected in his blue eyes. Those eyes filled with tears before Cole could hide them. There was no way either of them could sacrifice Natalie. No matter how much they cared for Lucia. “Don’t even go there, boys. I’m doing this with or without you. I’m a healer. I can’t stand by and do nothing.” Both men looked at her, knowing by her tone they couldn’t change her mind. Nat cleared her throat and held the tears in her own eyes in check. “I love you both. Besides, what kind of sister would I be if I didn’t do everything I could to save the woman you love? Even if you aren’t ready to admit it yet.”

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Stanislov wrapped his arms around Natalie, pulling her close. He whispered something Cole and John purposefully ignored and she laughed. The sounds of their kissing soon followed and John looked at Cole with a silly half grin. “Make a little room. I need to sit beneath her head.” John shifted out of the way to make room for Nat. She climbed into the bed, waiting for Cole to lift Lucia up so she could slide underneath her. When Lucia was exactly where Natalie wanted her, she motioned both men to take Lucia’s hands. “Don’t let go.” Natalie placed her hands on Lucia’s temples and breathed deeply. John had seen her heal many times, had been in awe of her gifts. He sent up a silent prayer that everyone would come out of this in one piece, then closed his own eyes. He searched out Cole’s mind with his own, connecting to the other man. In his mind’s eye, he and Cole stood waiting for Nat’s command, hands tightly clasped with Lucia’s and each other’s.

Chapter 19 The journey into Lucia’s soul began with a long walk down a tunnel made of fire and ice. White spears of frozen water jutted up from the floor, thrusting into a ceiling of flickering, amber tongues. Cole and John shared a glance, unsure what to do. A gentle push of magic slid up from behind to surround them. Despite the fact she was without a body, Natalie’s power was unmistakable. She guided the men through the strange hall, noting that even as the tips of the ice spikes melted, the flames would pull back, allowing them to refreeze. Once solid again, the fire grew, consuming the tops once more. The circular rhythm of the hot and cold gave Nat a good deal of insight into Lucia’s state of mind. Somewhere, the woman had an idea about what was happening to her, but it was buried so far in her subconscious the knowledge couldn’t break free. Either that or even in stasis, her thoughts and heart were tuned to John and Cole. “Where are we going, Nat?” Cole whispered and Nat’s power shivered like laughter slipping past tightly closed lips. “We’ll know when we get there. Just keep going. And for God’s sake, don’t touch anything unless I tell you to. You have no way of knowing what the things you see here actually represent in Lucia.” John looked down, tightening his grip on Cole’s hand, before stuffing his free hand into his pocket. He ignored the ridiculousness of his actions; after all, he wasn’t physically inside of Lucia, he didn’t actually have pants on or a hand to shove in them. “Damn, Nat, how do you do this? It’s totally weird.” Again her power shimmered in response. They walked and walked and just when John was about to suggest they weren’t getting anywhere, the entire tunnel disappeared around him. Fear shot through him as

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blackness took over everything he saw, heard, felt. But when he would have succumbed to the dread, a light sparked. It seemed far away and dim, but as Natalie’s magic guided them forward, the light transformed into a seascape, complete with rough sand underfoot, the smell of salt in the air, and the sound of surf pounding rock in the distance. “Where are we?” Cole didn’t direct his question at John or Nat. He more thought out loud. John shrugged, shivering as Natalie’s magic pulled back, coalescing with sparkling glints of color, into her body. “In Lucia’s safe place. Now, to find her.” She looked around them but the scene was empty of anyone else. Cole closed his eyes, breathing deeply, as he pulled Lucia’s face into his thoughts. Her full lips, large eyes, and the thick, blonde hair she so often tamed with a braid. And as if imagining her somehow made her real, he heard his name called on the wind. “No! You can’t have her!” Each word came more panicked than the last. Cole opened his eyes. He changed his grip on John’s hand, lacing their fingers, and together, he and the big man took off in the direction of Lucia’s cries. Natalie followed quickly behind, saying nothing. Down around a cove they ran, John jerking Cole to an abrupt stop when he spotted Lucia. “There she is.” “What’s she doing?” Cole couldn’t make much sense of the scene. Lucia stood half bent at the waist, grabbing rocks from the wet sand at her feet. Behind her quivered a seal. She drew back an arm, lobbing a stone at something Cole couldn’t see. Nat moved around John’s bulk. She lifted her hand. “There. It’s the polar bear.” As Cole moved forward, the bear came into view. The massive animal wasn’t acting aggressively, but the way it paced spoke volumes about its patience. They were running out of time.

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“Come on. We need to let her know we’re here.” Natalie led the way with John and Cole close behind. She stopped them about ten feet from Lucia. “Lucia? Lucia Malholland?” Nat’s voice echoed loudly and a startled Lucia spun to face the other woman. “Natalie? Is that you?” Moving slowly forward, Nat nodded. “Yeah, it’s me. What’s going on, hon? I heard you yelling.” Lucia frowned, her forehead and mouth pinching in confusion. “Um, there’s a sea bear over there. It shouldn’t be here.” Lucia looked over at the seal. “No one should be here but the seal and me.” “Lucia.” John called her name softly. “John? John, I’m scared. What’s happening to me?” John didn’t reply immediately, looking first to Natalie for instruction. Nat shrugged. “Do whatever you feel is right. It probably is.” John started for Lucia and Cole fell into step beside him. They closed the distance faster than they could have in reality. Between one heartbeat and the next, Lucia was within the range of his hands. John curled his fingers against his palms to keep from yanking the woman into his hold. “Lucia, honey, we’re inside you. This isn’t real. It’s a projection of your mind.” John kept his voice soft and gentle. Thankfully, Lucia didn’t panic. She frowned harder and looked around for a few moments. “I… know. I’m sick. Andrews injected me with something awful.” “That’s right.” Cole reached out to her, his fingers trailing over the crown of her head. “Cole, I’m so glad you’re here.” Lucia threw herself into his arms. She hadn’t realized he was next to her until he spoke. Here, in her secret place, nothing existed until she acknowledged it.

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“I’m glad I’m here too. Listen, babe, we know what’s going on.” Cole looked over his shoulder at Natalie. “The fact that the bear isn’t attacking confirms the more hopeful diagnosis, fellas.” Nat motioned to the now still white bear. “I tried to use magic, but I didn’t have any power.” Lucia sounded so small. Cole tightened his arm around her. “No, you wouldn’t. You can’t use offensive magic on yourself. Not purposefully.” “What do you mean? I’m not a sea bear.” Lucia lifted her head from his chest. “I can’t be. My Selkie will die.” “No, honey, it won’t. We don’t have the time to explain. Accept the bear. It’s chosen you.” John turned into Cole and Lucia, closing his big arm around them. “I don’t understand.” “I know. We’ll explain it all to you when you wake up. For now, do you trust Cole and John?” Natalie moved to stand in front of her brothers and their woman. “Yes, of course I do.” Lucia gave each man a warm smile. “Then let them help you. John, I’ll need you to help me control the flow of power. Cole, the bear is all yours.” For the first time since they’d begun this journey, John and Cole let go of each other. John moved away to stand next to Natalie, who positioned herself between the bear and the seal. “What do you think’s gonna happen?” He didn’t look at Nat when he asked the question. His eyes were glued to Cole and Lucia, making their way to the waiting bear. “I don’t know. But the first time any of us shift, there’s always a little blow of power. This is different from anything I’ve handled, but Stas has some experience. He said things may get wild when she binds with the bear.” John grunted. Things were already wild.

Chapter 20 “Okay, Lucia. There she is, waiting for you.” Cole stopped close to the bear, but not too close. “I’m terrified, Cole. What if you’re wrong? Can’t you just chase it away? Kill it?” “Baby, I don’t have that kind of power here. Even if I did, there’s just as good a chance she’d kill me.” He nudged her chin with his knuckles, raising her face to his. “I’ll be right here. I’m not leaving you.”

Lucia squared her shoulders and stepped free from the protection of Cole’s arms. Her mind was fuzzy. She couldn’t remember what had happened at the gallery beyond Andrews having something bad in a needle. He’d stuck her with it. She was more scared now than she remembered being with Andrews. The massive white bear’s black eyes bored into her, and with every panted breath, its huge, sharp teeth flashed. She swallowed hard. She couldn’t do this. Looking back at Cole, she saw his belief in her reflected in his ocean blue eyes. Drawing on his strength, Lucia stepped forward and put her hand out to the bear. “Do you bind with me willingly?” The bear didn’t speak, but the question came from it. Hand shaking, heart pounding, Lucia nodded her head. “Yes, I do.” “As do I.” The bear looked past Lucia to the seal. “We will share this place in peace, for you are worthy of us both.” Without any prelude, the bear reared up onto its back legs. Lucia had time to gasp before the white beast wrapped its body around hers. She felt her body dissolve,

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sliding into the bear, past its fur, past its skin, until their two hearts touched, then merged. The power didn’t rise in Lucia. It detonated. From within the bear, fire tore through her limbs, wrenching their shape. She opened her mouth to scream, knowing no one would hear the sound. They’d been wrong. The bear was going to consume her.

“Holy fuck!” John and Natalie struggled to contain the magic spewing from the bear. The bear then appeared to absorb Lucia into its flesh. When she’d disappeared, the world she created turned upside down. The oncecalm sea raged against the beach and lightning rent the sky. What had been a calm haven turned into a treacherous hell instantly. Needle-sharp raindrops tore at his body, but John ignored all of it, using all of his will to contain the growing ball of power surrounding the white bear. “Just a few more seconds, John! We have to hold out until Lucia gives in!” John had no idea how Natalie knew Lucia hadn’t submitted to the bear. And he was too busy to ask, pouring all his focus and energy into containing the fire the melding of two spirits ignited. “Cole! It’s time to go!” Natalie bellowed the command at the top of her lungs. Cole turned around and shook his head. “I’m not leaving her!” “If you don’t leave now, you never will! Let’s go!” Nat spun around to face the seal. John couldn’t see what she was doing, but he felt her magic grow. He assumed she was building a protective bubble around the seal. She didn’t think the other animal spirit was in danger, but Nat always played better safe than sorry. “Once we’re outside, John, you’ll need to continue to draw magic from her. This melding generates a lot of heat and we didn’t come this far to have her brain melt.” Gritting his teeth, John opened his mind to the fireball shimmering around Lucia, the bear. He held it back without chants or spells, but with sheer strength of will. He felt Natalie return to his side and yell for Cole again.

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“You stubborn son of a bitch! I’ll tear you out of here if I have to!” Natalie wasn’t about to let anything stand in the way of her plan to save Lucia. Especially not a love­ struck fool. “You better hope this works,” Cole growled low in his throat. It was a warning Nat didn’t sound like she was worried about. “You better hope I don’t kick your ass for fucking around.” John maintained his concentration, even when he felt Nat place one of her hands on his shoulder. “Hold on.” In a blinding flash of light, with dizzying speed, John found himself once again in his own body. His stomach rebelled, turning over in his belly. His head throbbed and spun so fast he fell against the bed. He heard Cole gagging and wanted to smile. At least he wasn’t suffering alone. “Fuck, that was rough.” Nat coughed and hacked. Sounded like she wasn’t feeling much better than John was. Unable to open his eyes yet, John made his lips work as soon as he didn’t think parting them would make a mess. “What now?” “Now, we wait. Well, Cole and Stas and I wait. You do your thing.” Groaning with every movement, John hauled his ass onto the bed and next to Lucia. He pressed as much of his body to her as he could. Then he called to the fire in himself, using his magic to seek out like power in her.

Lucia tried not to struggle, but she was so hot, she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t really want to die trapped inside a sea bear. “You must stop fighting. You came willingly.” “You ate me!” Fear clogged her mind. “We are merging. You must submit to me, otherwise all three of us will die.” Three of them? The bear made no sense. A flash of an image bloomed in Lucia’s mind. The Selkie waited for her, protected by a bubble of magic. Oh, God, the three of

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them. Finally understanding what she had to do, Lucia fought down her fear and anxiety, calming her mind and her heart. The fire changed as soon as she let go of her panic. Its heat turned from burning to soothing, rising through her with power and light. Lucia fell into that light, dove toward it with joy and embraced the sea bear. She woke gasping for breath, body shaking. The first thing awareness brought was the feel of John next to her side and the touch of Cole’s hand on her head. Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking against the light. “Turn off the lamp.” “Oh, shit, yeah.” Natalie slapped the wall switch, dousing the light. “Lucia? Thank God!” Cole fell across her body, his head buried in her belly. She lifted a hand to stroke his head. “I’m fine, Cole. Thanks to you and John.” She swallowed, her parched throat aching. “And Nat.” John’s lips brushed her temple. “And Natalie.” No one said anything for a long time, though the sound of soft sniffling was hard to miss. Lucia felt the moisture from Cole’s eyes against her tummy, and she knew John had left a few droplets in her hair. Their emotional reactions to her waking swelled her heart. She cared for them deeply and knowing they reciprocated her feelings pushed her within a hairsbreadth of falling for them both. “Should we tell her now, or wait?” Stanislov’s voice broke the silence. “Tell me what?” Lucia blinked and tried to focus on the third man, but she was exhausted. “Well, you’re not blonde anymore.” Cole lifted his head to speak, brushing his lips over her knuckles. “I’m not?” “No. But I don’t care. Right now, you’re going to sleep. We’ll deal with the rest tomorrow.” Cole lifted her into his arms and carried her from the room.

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John followed at their heels. He readied the bed in their room, and then helped the other man lay her against a pillow. There was no question who would sleep with Lucia. Each man took a side and climbed in next to her.

Chapter 21 “I’m black.”

“You’re what?” Charlie’s incredulous question burst from the phone.

“I’m black. Not human black. Goblin black. And my hair is clear, but it looks

white. At least my eyes stayed the same color.” “Oh, my God! I can’t even imagine what you look like now! When are you coming back to the States?” “In a few days.” “Brian says hi. He wants to know if Cy Ops has uncovered anything new about Andrews and Igborski?” “They’ve found four definite buyers of Igborski serums, but we have no idea how much Andrews actually had access to. The unit is working their asses off to find out, but only time will tell.” Charlie sighed. “Okay, I’ll let him know. So, how’s the recovery going?”

“Cole’s been working with me. Teaching me how to handle my new gifts.”

“Just Cole? What about John?”

Lucia looked out the window of her house on Lough Ree. “Well, my new

situation is pretty beneficial for him too. Whenever I take on the bear form, I pump him full of all kinds of fire magic.” “You gotta be kidding me. How fucking lucky can one woman be? Are you keeping them?” Lucia smiled broadly. “Oh, yeah. I’m keeping them.” As if they’d heard her, both men turned from the lough shore, and spied her at the window. They reciprocated her smile and waved. She waved back and blew them

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kisses. Cole looked at John, then back at the window, and the two men started to reel in their lines. “Charlie, I have to go. I’ll call you later.” “You’re gonna get laid, aren’t you?” “No. I’m gonna get loved.” Lucia closed the cell phone and headed for the bedroom.

Emma Ray Garrett “…and I -- I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” -- The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost

The last line from award-winning author Emma Ray’s favorite poem pretty much sums up her life. Her tendency to do her own thing is what her friends and family love best, and least, about her. Chaos is a constant in the Garrett home, which currently houses three intelligent, energetic children, a devoted husband, and a very large, very lazy, white tom-cat. No matter how busy, Emma Ray writes every day. If she didn’t, she says they’d put

her

in

a

white

coat

with

buckles.

Fans

can

contact

her

at

[email protected] or visit her website at http://www.romancethe-night.com.