Conspiracy Game (GhostWalkers #4)(51)
Author: Christine Feehan

“Breathe.” Jack’s hand came up, fingers curling around the nape of her neck, massaging gently.

“I can’t.” She took a step after her brother.

“Sure you can; you’re just having a little panic attack. Let out your air and draw it back into your lungs.” Deliberately he turned her around to face him, to keep her from staring at the spot where her brother had disappeared. Placing her hand on his chest, he took a deep breath, willing her to follow his lead, capturing her gaze with his own. “That’s it. You’re fine. They won’t take our baby from us, Briony. I may not be the best man in the world, or the easiest to live with, but I take care of my own.”

Briony stared up at him, looking more vulnerable and forlorn than she could possibly know. Jack wrapped his arms around her and held her, offering the only comfort he knew how to give. He wasn’t a man of words; he never had been. Everything he said to her seemed to come out wrong.

She leaned her forehead against his chest. “I’m afraid. I don’t think I’ve ever been this afraid before-not even in the Congo.”

“Of me or of Whitney?” His fingers tunneled into her hair because he couldn’t help himself. Her scent was impossibly feminine, a mixture of flowers and rain and the outdoors. She was made for candlelit dinners and satin sheets, not for the end of the world out in the middle of the Montana wilderness.

“I don’t know,” Briony said honestly.

“I’ll get you through this,” he said. “I give you my word.” She wouldn’t know that he’d never quit once he gave his word, or that he’d die to protect his unborn child and its mother. He didn’t want to examine his reaction to Briony too closely. It didn’t feel right thinking she was part of an experiment and they were both no more than puppets on a stage, but he couldn’t stop his tremendous physical attraction to her, or even the way he responded emotionally.

The trembling in her body slowed and she lifted her head, determination on her face. “I hesitated to come here, not only because of what happened between us, but because I knew I’d be putting you in danger. I can only apologize for that, but I knew that as the baby grew, I wouldn’t be able to defend myself. If you don’t want to do this, now’s the time to say so. I can still catch my brother and you’ll be out of it, free and clear.”

A faint smile touched his mouth, but didn’t reach his eyes. “I warned you I wasn’t going to give you up twice. You’re here. We’ll work things out.”

“I’m here so you can protect us. So I can learn survival skills, no other reason. You made it very clear to me that you weren’t a man who wanted a woman or a kid around-that I was a liability. Now that we both know the attraction was forced on us for breeding purposes… ”

“What?”

“Didn’t I tell you that part? Whitney apparently wants a supersoldier, our baby. He’s been trying to manipulate us to be in the same place at the same time. I was supposed to go to Colombia when you were there, but didn’t, so he paid the music festival a great deal of money to arrange for us to be there. Once we met, whatever he did to make us attracted physically was supposed to do the rest.”

“Son of a bitch.”

“Luther said they wanted the baby and they wanted me for their continuing breeding program. He was willing to be the donor, so you may very well be expendable.”

“I thought you were on birth control pills.”

“So did I. Whitney supplied all of my medical care, and it was Dr. Sparks who gave me the birth control pills. They were mailed to me like clockwork. The file said they were placebos. I’m sorry, but I didn’t know, and now we’re in this situation, we both just are going to have to deal with it. Now that I know it’s just sex, we both can guard against any entanglements.”

For one brief moment, amusement flared in his eyes. “We can?”

“Yes.” Briony drew away from him, suddenly aware of being na**d beneath his shirt-and he was aware of it too. She could see the knowledge in his eyes. She shivered. “I don’t have any clothes.”

“I have some things you can wear, and tomorrow I’ll go into town and get you a few things to tide you over until you can make me a list.”

“Make you a list?” she echoed. “I’m capable of shopping for myself. I have money.”

“I don’t want you seen in town unless we have to go for the baby. And are you talking credit cards, or cash?”

“I brought plenty of cash. It’s in my purse.” She spun around, taking two steps toward the forest, before he caught her arm to stop her. “Call Jeb back. I gave it to him.”

“We don’t need your money.”

“There isn’t a bug in my purse,” she protested. “I checked it. I’m not stupid, just pregnant.” On the other hand, she felt stupid for getting pregnant. Jack had been virtually a stranger, and birth control or not, she should have been more careful. She didn’t dare allow her body to overrule her brain again. She was part of an experiment. Nothing between Jack Norton and Briony Jenkins was real-or would ever be. “I need that money.”

“No, you don’t.” There was finality in his voice.

“Look, I’m not going to be stranded here with no clothes, no money, and no vehicle. I’m not a prisoner. I have to have a way to get out if it doesn’t work.”

Jack sighed, his expression bleak. “I’m not a man who argues. That’s the second time I’ve told you and I’m not going to keep reminding you.”

One minute she stood looking at him, the next she turned to run, opening her mouth to call out to her brother. Jack caught her in his arms, one hand covering her mouth hard, his arm biting deep into her body just beneath her br**sts. That fast, the heat flared, enveloping them both, the need so strong, so primitive it was all she could do to stay on her feet; her body, of its own accord, melted into his. She tried to bite his hand, self-preservation stronger than her fear of retaliation.

“Stop it,” he hissed, his mouth so close to her ear she felt his lips moving against her earlobe. “You’re going to get someone killed.”

She stopped struggling, and he removed his hand from her mouth, but didn’t let her go, pressing his body closer into hers. He was rock hard, his body without any give to it, no soft spots, and his erection seemed merciless, a thick, long bulge pressed tightly into her flesh.