Grady's Awakening (14 page)

That idea sank in for a moment while Jim thought about the implications. This could be big—if the Patriarch was someone they could work with.

“You’ve lived with these
Zxerah
since then? You’ve spent decades with them, right? Can you tell me why nobody ages anymore?”

“Oh, yeah. That was a surprise even to the Patriarch,” Gina said. “He discovered well after the fact that one of the lead Alvian scientists discovered lost Alvian DNA in certain humans she was studying. It turns out all human survivors have some amount of Alvian DNA and it was a simple matter for their geneticists to design a treatment that would turn on the Alvian aging gene that was dormant in us all. The scientists figured it would give them more time to study us, so they disseminated the treatment planet-wide. It was an airborne thing that eventually infected us all. That’s why our aging slowed. We age like Alvians now, and they live several hundred years.”

“If that don’t beat all,” Max murmured.

“Your Patriarch sent you here for something.” Jim brought the conversation back on track. “What did you hope to accomplish?”

“I’ve been sent out from time to time over the past decades. Always in secret and always to advance the Patriarch’s own secret agenda. Most often, I’ve gone out to rescue human women who were being mistreated by their males. I’ve also been used to find other human martial artists and bring them into the
Zxerah
fold. Seems more than a few remember my face from the Olympics and the ad campaigns that came after. We have a small cadre of human fighters that had some training in martial arts before the cataclysm and have since been taught
Zxerah
fighting styles. We train hard every day. We’re as good as the Alvian
Zxerah
and in some notable instances, even better. When the Patriarch realized the difference that made humans better at the ancient
Zxerah
arts than his own people, he decided on his current course of action.”

“What was the difference? And what’s his course of action?”

“The difference is heart.” Her gaze held his as she made her revelation. “Emotion makes the difference. Too much emotion is not good in a fighter, but the Patriarch believes that too little emotion is just as detrimental to his brethren. His current course of action is to do everything he can to return emotion to his people. Like I said before, some Alvian scientists are already experimenting with such things. It’s the Patriarch’s plan to help those experiments along as best he can from the shadows. More than that, he’s vowed to help protect humanity because he sees no future for his own people without humans too. He believes a blending of our races is what will save them both—eventually.”

“Then why come here? We’re one small enclave, and we don’t get too involved in what goes on outside our complex.”

“Your group is one of many, Jim. There are other strongholds, like this one, scattered around the world. A large number of them are on the North American continent. The Patriarch sent me to try to put you in touch with the others. I’m hoping yours will be the first to reach out to another encampment of humans—if you’re willing to take the chance. Eventually, all the different groups of humans could be organized into a real resistance working in concert with each other, if and when necessary.”

Jim sat back, regarding her steadily. “That’s a mighty tall order, sweetheart. Many of our folk don’t want anything to do with the outside world. A lot of them barely made it here and this place represents safety. Opening it up to others puts them at risk, and I’d hazard to say many of them won’t want to take that risk.”

Gina sighed deeply as she seemed to consider his words. “I see your difficulty. There’s got to be some way to bring you together—at least into communication with each other—without jeopardizing everyone’s safety.”

“We can’t decide something this big in a matter of hours. Maybe not even in a couple of days.” Jim stood and his men followed suit. “I hope you planned on staying a while. We have some guest quarters nearby where you can sleep. There’ll be a guard. Sorry for that, but by your own admission, you’ve been consorting with Alvians. To us they’re still the enemy.”

“I understand.” Gina stood and followed the men out the door and down the hall. Max, Larry and Pierre said their farewells and stayed in the hallway, but Jim followed her right into the guest quarters.

 
“So what now?”

Gina turned to face Jim—a man she had secretly admired when she was a teenager. Heck, if she were being honest with herself, she would admit to the huge crush she’d had on him. He’d been a hottie then and things had only improved with time. He was tall, muscular and lean in the way martial artists often were, only he carried himself with more assurance than any man she’d ever known outside her own family.

Jim had that indefinable something that made him nearly irresistible. She stacked him up in her mind against her dad and brothers and knew he could have held his own with the men she admired most—both intellectually and physically. He’d been a talented fighter when she’d first seen him in the gym training with her dad. After only a few months of her father’s instruction, he was a force to be reckoned with.

She’d watched him from afar, even though she’d known better. Her dad was the specialist the CIA had sent certain people to when they needed extra training. Only the most gifted athletes and operatives were sent and more failed at the rigorous training program her father subjected them to than passed. Jim was one of the latter. He’d not only passed the months of training, but he’d earned
Sensei
Hanson’s respect.

The object of her thoughts closed the door firmly behind them and leaned back against it. His expression was guarded. She thought she sensed regret mixed with something indefinable that almost felt like attraction as he watched her from half-closed eyes.

“Now you’d better strip.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Jim sighed and pushed himself away from his leaning position against the door.

“You heard me. I’m taking your clothes and your bag for safekeeping. There’s a jumpsuit in the bathroom for you to wear.”

“You’re kidding right?”

“I’m afraid not, Gina.” His deep voice growled across her skin, raising goose bumps. “Take off your clothes.”

“Taking your security measures a little far aren’t you?”

His sensuous lips firmed into an unrelenting line. “Never far enough, sweetheart. I’ve learned the hard way that I can never be too careful when it comes to my people’s safety.”

She recognized the determination in his jaw and the bitter truth of memory in his eyes. He wouldn’t relent on this point, and she realized she should have expected something like this.

“Oh, all right. Turn around.”

“Can’t do it. If you’re hiding anything on your person, I need to see it. And if you’re hiding anything
in
your person, I’m going to do my best to find it.”

She gasped. “This is a body cavity search? You’ve got to be kidding.” She felt shaky when she realized what such a search would entail.

Jim moved toward a small bathroom on one side of the guest quarters. He opened a small medicine chest and took out a couple of things—among the most daunting was a jar of something that looked like petroleum jelly.

“Afraid not. Look, I had medical training back in the day. I know what I’m doing and I promise not to hurt you, but this has to be done. I won’t allow you to smuggle anything that could be dangerous to the safety of my people any farther into this facility than you already have.”

“I’m not smuggling anything!”

“I’ve trusted you this far on instinct alone, but I have to be certain. Now strip. I won’t say it again.”

The edge of steel in his voice made her shiver, but it wasn’t all in fear. No, something started to stir in the pit of her stomach at his dominant tone.

“Isn’t there any other way?” She shifted her weight from foot to foot, agitated at the idea of what he was asking.

“If you don’t agree voluntarily, I’ll call in the troops and after what I suspect will be a painful fight, we’ll restrain you and do it by force. You can’t be allowed to leave now that you know about us. You’ll be a prisoner.”

“Some choice.” Gina held his eyes as she began to unfasten her top with rough motions. She was angry and not shy about showing it. He looked relieved, but his expression also held a hint of anticipation she found hard to ignore.

“Throw everything onto the chair by the door.” He nodded toward it as her top came undone, but his eyes followed her movements closely.

The dark, alien fabric shrugged off her shoulders, and she threw it over the chair with deadly accuracy. She removed her pants next and his gaze flicked over her skin like flame, making her hot in an inexplicable way. The pants dropped to her ankles, and she kicked them upward toward the chair. Her soft shoes and socks followed, leaving her in her underwear. There she hesitated.

“Everything, Gina.”

She felt a flush steal up her cheeks, lighting her face bright red, she was certain, as she debated her next move. Before Grady, Gina hadn’t been intimate with a man in more years than she could count on one hand. Her few liaisons hadn’t ever involved this kind of thing. She couldn’t recall ever being totally naked in front of a man who wasn’t also bare-assed. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and now Jim—this man she’d lusted after as a teen—was ordering her to not only get naked, but allow him to…to…stick his fingers in places she’d never had anybody’s fingers.

Why did that thought turn her on? Especially since her stolen night with Grady. She must be depraved for the idea of this invasion to be even remotely exciting. But she couldn’t help the little gasp that caught in her throat when Jim walked closer to her.

“I won’t hurt you, Gina, but I have to be sure. Turn around and keep your hands where I can see them.” His voice was pitched low, coaxing and demanding all at the same time.

Gina did as he asked, feeling her body quake with fear, excitement and…was that yearning? She gasped out loud this time when Jim’s warm fingers undid the clasp on her bra. He pushed the straps down her arms and moved closer, his tall body warm against her shivering back as he pushed the garment all the way down her arms and off. He threw it behind them to the chair before stepping back.

Gina knew he could see her breasts, tall as he was, looking over her shoulder, but he moved away, restoring the illusion of privacy. She breathed easier until his hands returned to her body, this time skimming her panties down over her hips, dragging them slowly to the floor.

“Up,” he commanded, leaving himself vulnerable to a kick as he crouched behind her legs. He trusted her not to take advantage and try to hurt him. It was a significant gesture that made it somewhat easier to do as he said. She lifted one foot, then the other as he flung the panties to the growing pile on the chair.

Jim took her hand and led her into the small bathroom. She felt his eyes on her. She was too mortified by the situation and her body’s response to this compelling man to meet his gaze.

He positioned her in front of the countertop and used a cotton swab and a pointed light to look into her ears first. That done, he did the same for her nose and then instructed her to open her mouth. She did, finally meeting his eyes, unable to ignore his handsome face close to hers as he poked around inside her mouth with a small mirror and the light. Apparently satisfied, Jim laid the instruments down on the counter, then ran his fingers into her hair, stroking all over her scalp and down her neck.

“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

“I’m feeling for any synthetic patches on your epidermis. You look clean, but touch is a better way to tell for sure.”

“This is insane.” A shiver raced down her spine as his warm hands followed the same path. He touched every inch of her back and sides, his palms skating over her arms and even under them. Then he returned to her shoulders and began his journey down her front.

Gina had to look away when he cupped her breasts. Her nipples hardened in his palms and he paused, giving them a tweak that made her jump.

“Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.” His grin made her want to smack him.

“You’re not supposed to enjoy this,” she ground out, accusing.

“Who says?” Jim countered, his big hands still cradling her breasts, kneading them now with gentle motions that caused her stomach to flip.

She sputtered for a smart reply but came up short. “B-b-because!”

Jim laughed, finally releasing her breasts only to continue his examination of her body, stroking each leg as he knelt before her. Again there was that trust he gave, putting himself in the vulnerable position that would leave him open to attack if she chose to launch one. The gesture calmed her as much as his roving hands stirred her.

When he moved closer as his fingers worked their way up the insides of her thighs, she was hard pressed not to moan. It should have felt wrong or awkward. This wasn’t about mutual pleasure, as her night with Grady had been. This was something else entirely, but it sure felt like the real thing. Having Jim’s hands on her felt like the most natural thing in the world. The thought scared her.

Who was she? What was she becoming? Gina didn’t even recognize herself anymore. Had Grady’s lovemaking flipped some hidden
on
switch inside her and now she was ripe for any man? She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t think so. She hadn’t had this reaction to any of Jim’s men. But all Jim had to do was touch her—even in the most clinical way, and this touch was far from clinical—and she melted. She didn’t understand herself at all.