Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh Read Free Book Online

tiny little pieces.
    Clay lifted his beer and took a long pull. “Should’ve thought of that before you punched out his real waitress, Rina. You’re Opal as long as it takes for her nose to heal.”
    Rina stamped her foot. “There’s nothing wrong with Opal’s nose! I only tapped her!”
    â€œYou’re a DarkRiver soldier. You don’t get to throw your temper around.”
    Rina’s scowl turned into a sensual pout. “Clay, please.”
    â€œDon’t even think about it, kitty cat,” he said, a spark of amusement in his eyes that hit Talin with the nausea-inducing strength of a punch to the solar plexus. “Where’s my burger?”
    Rina actually hissed, all flirtatiousness leaving her face and body. “You know what your problem is? You need to get laid!”
    Talin tensed, waiting for the explosion of Clay’s sleeping volcano of a temper, but all he did was put down his beer and crook a finger at the blonde. When the scowling woman leaned down, he whispered something in her ear that made her blush bright red. Rising back up, she went straight to the kitchen.
    â€œWhat did you say to her?” Talin was shocked by the sharp claws of jealousy dragging their way through her body.
    â€œRina’s young. She just needed a little gentling.” His eyes watched her play with her food with disconcerting intensity. “Eat.”
    She couldn’t, stomach churning with thoughts of how he had “gentled” the sensual young woman. But she took a bite in an effort to keep her mouth shut.
    Clay’s meal arrived seconds later, delivered by a still-blushing Rina. The young woman hesitated, then leaned down to peck him on the cheek before walking away, all feminine heat and long blonde hair.
    Talin had to force herself to swallow the bite she’d taken. That kiss—it had been familiar, affectionate. It didn’t fit with the image she’d formed of Clay over the past hour. “She’s very pretty.” Damn it! She stuffed the burger into her mouth.
    Clay raised an eyebrow. “I don’t fuck little girls.”
    She almost choked, had to take a long drink of water to get the food down her throat. “That’s not what I meant.”
    â€œYou always were a possessive little thing.” He took a bite of his own burger and washed it down with beer. “So, who have you talked to about these kills?”
    The abrupt change in subject threw her, but only for a moment. “Enforcement when Mickey disappeared. They didn’t take it seriously.” She put down her half-eaten burger.
    â€œAfter the bodies were found?”
    â€œThey launched an investigation,” she said. “One of the detectives—Max Shannon—he actually seems to care. He’s the one who told me about the other disappearances around the country.”
    â€œBut?”
    â€œBut I don’t think it’s anything as simple as a killer targeting runaways. This feels wrong, Clay.”
    â€œStill getting your feelings, huh?”
    She shrugged, uncomfortable with the topic. “They’re worth nothing. Just this feeling of ‘wrongness.’ Women’s intuition. What good is that to anyone?”
    She’d had the same feelings about Orrin, the man who had been supposed to be an exemplary foster father. She’d made the mistake of sharing those feelings with her old social worker and had gotten her face slapped.
    You should count yourself lucky he and his wife are happy to take in a piece of trash like you. If it was me, I’d leave you to rot in the state orphanage.
    As an adult, she knew that that social worker had been way out of line, a being who should have never been allowed near his charges. But as a child five weeks from her third birthday, she had believed him. She’d had nowhere else to go, no one to turn to. So she had learned to keep silent about her feelings…and everything that came