a Touch of Intrigue by L. j. Charles Read Free Book Online Page A

his normal defensive, protective reaction was way off. And it pushed my impatience button. “Okay. I like watching you, too, but that isn’t what’s going on here.”
    “Coffee.”
    I sifted through his expressions: the twitch at the corner of his mouth, the laughter behind his eyes, the relaxed tone of his words. “You’re saying that whoever has made coffee isn’t a threat to us?”
    He rolled off the bed, stood and pried my hand open, letting the sheet drop to the floor. “It has to be either Millie or Aukele, and I’m not in a sociable mood.”
    I shivered, and every feminine body part—plus a plethora of hormones—stood at attention. “Aukele doesn’t do coffee. Has to be Millie. She’ll be hurt—”
    Tynan skimmed his hand along my arm, clasping my hand. “No, she won’t. There’s a natural pool.” He led me away from the porch, and along a mostly hidden path until we reached a rocky outcropping. Turning me into him, he brushed my lips with a soft kiss. “Sex now. Coffee klatch later. Did I get it right?”
    I relaxed into his kiss. “You sounded just like me,” I mumbled. Next thing I knew he’d grabbed my waist, and propelled both of us over the rocks and into the warmest pool of clear water I’d ever seen. Or felt. “It’s—”
    He grinned, dunking us both under the surface. I came up sputtering. “What the hell, Pierce? Millie’s in our kitchen, and we’re out here playing around. Naked. As in without weapons as well as without clothes. What if it isn’t Millie?”
    He held out his hands, then turned them palms-up. “We have weapons, Belisama. And you know I would never put you at risk. Aukele’s barriers are unbreakable. It’s safe here.”
    I stared at him, not believing those words had just come out of my man. “You don’t trust anyone, not like this. And I can’t just shift between sex energy, fighting energy, and ordinary life. It short-circuits my brain cells and leaves me…”
    “Let’s take care of the sex first, and skip over the fight until after we’ve had coffee and diffused the kitchen issue.” He drew me into his arms, his arousal pressing tight against my abdomen.
    There was nothing for it. I wrapped my arms around his neck, anchored my legs around his waist, and opened for him. Coffee could wait until we were damn good and ready for it.
    Somewhere in the back of my mind, between smelling the coffee and our dip in the pool, I’d decided Pierce must have seen Millie enter the house, otherwise he would have been all over the situation like chocolate in hundred degree heat. It had to be Millie, because seriously who else could it be? But while I was struggling into yesterday’s clothes, I realized it wasn’t. A faint wafting of strange energy had drifted from the great room onto the screened porch. It abraded my aura, not threatening, but a long way from comfortable, and definitely probing for something. I must have slipped into stealth mode, because Pierce was eyeing me, all senses alert.
    He jabbed his finger at the floor, a silent command for me to stay. Like that was an option. I pointed at his ankle holster, then wiggled my fingers in a gimmee motion.
    A silent sigh later, he freed the Kimber, and handed it to me.

FIVE

    WE MADE OUR WAY ACROSS the living room, weapons tucked in tight to our bodies, spidey senses on high alert. Pierce took the lead with me spooned behind him. He inched along the wall separating the living room from the kitchen, body angled to reduce the size of his body-target. Intense calm flowed through his aura, a well-seasoned warrior hanging on the edge of the danger zone. I did my best to emulate him, but only succeeded in keeping the Kimber steady. The rest of me? Frantically sifting through a series of training scenarios, and praying I could hold my own as backup.
    Pierce inhaled, grabbed a quick glance into the kitchen. “Well, fuck.”
    What the hell? I nudged him with my foot. “Who?” I asked, my voice hitting a raspy high