Savor Me Slowly (Alien Huntress #3)(31)
Author: Gena Showalter

“You’ve blown my cover, ass**le.”

Without looking away from her lovely, angry features, he shifted his focus to his periphery and thereby the alien. “Your target isn’t going anywhere. He’s already sent three women away so he can watch you. You’ve snagged his attention. Mission accomplished.”

Her eyes slitted, hiding her irises so that all he could see was blazing black. “My mission was to learn about him. Now he’s wondering who the hell I am, and he won’t tell me a damn thing.”

Unless she seduced him? The implication drifted from the undercurrents of her voice, and Jaxon saw red. “You want to learn about him? Fine. Take me to his table, introduce me as your brother, and then shut the hell up. I’ll get answers. But if you touch him, even one more time…” The haze of red deepened, intensified, and he had to press his lips together before he started howling.

“He won’t believe you’re my brother,” she snapped. “He’s not an idiot.”

“Then tell him I’m your man, I honestly don’t give a f**k.” Jaxon’s sense of reserve was completely gone, leaving no filter for his words. “Let’s just get this shit done.”

She sucked in a breath. Not in anger, but in…what? Arousal? She shivered then, and he knew. Oh, yes. Arousal. That would mean…surely not. That would mean she liked it when he let go, when he stopped pretending to be something he wasn’t. He’d suspected earlier, but having it unequivocally confirmed was as delicious as her kiss.

“I told him I’m single,” she said, all hint of her anger gone.

“Now tell him you lied.”

“No.”

Several minutes ticked by, and the sounds around them began to seep into his awareness. Laughter, chatter, a wild hammer of rock music, bottles clinking together, and footsteps in and out of the building. His healing corneas were still sensitive, so he appreciated the muted light forming a dreamlike haze.

Obviously, Le’Ace didn’t want him near her target. To protect Jaxon? Or her own interests? Hell, the other-worlder was pretty enough to draw a man’s interest. Maybe Le’Ace wanted him all to herself for reasons that had nothing to do with her assignment. He didn’t arouse her, remember?

“You know what?” he said. “I have a better idea.” He stalked around her and toward the alien as best he could. Damn wounds. He’d never been more conscious of infirmity or hated it more.

Deciding to play the enraged boyfriend even though she’d claimed to be single, he scowled down at the Schön. “She’s mine,” he said, and there was enough truth in his tone to fool even himself. She’s mine for the time being, he had to remind himself.

“I realized this,” his opponent said patiently, calmly. There was even an edge of intrigue in his odd, multilayered tone.

Jaxon’s first instinct was to arrest the bastard here and now. He knew the evilness this race was capable of, had seen it firsthand, and had been forced to kill humans because of it. More than that, he liked being in total control of a situation, and having this creature in lockup would give Jaxon at least a little control. Out here, in the open, there were too many variables.

However, he understood the need for reconnaissance before an arrest. He understood that sometimes the only way to gain answers was to watch, wait, and trick.

More important than capturing this man was finding out where the rest of the Schön were hiding, how they operated, what weapons and skills they possessed. The last was the big one. Some aliens could move at hyperspeed. Some could dominate humans with only a thought. Some could even walk through walls.

And, weak as Jaxon still was, he didn’t want to risk losing the battle to subdue the alien or losing a chase, thereby alerting the suspect that A.I.R. was now on his trail, possibly sending the bastard underground.

“You are in pain,” the alien said, and motioned to one of the empty chairs. “Sit. Please.”

So polite, so unconcerned. Not the reaction he’d expected. Jaxon allowed confusion to show on his features. “I came over here to kick your ass.”

The alien smiled, but the expression was not smug. Merely amused. “I guessed,” he said, not stating the obvious: Jaxon didn’t look capable of fighting with his zipper in order to pee, much less the hulking giant. “However, nothing happened between me and your woman. I was in need of conversation and she provided it.”

Your woman. Those two words stroked his sense of possessiveness, easing his anger. “You wanted more from her, though.”

Rather than reply, the alien waved the waitress over and ordered a round of beers. “Last chance to sit. Allow me to buy you a drink. You look as though you could use it.”

If he pushed much more, the Schön might leave. Doing his best to appear weary as well as pacified, he finally sat. Then, he kicked out a chair and motioned for Le’Ace to take it.

She was still standing in the center of the bar, watching him, and she had yet to mask her shock. I’ve tasted her. I’ve held her, pleasured her. The distracting thoughts formed before he could stop them. She was a vision of femininity in her tight black dress and gloves.

“She likes to play hard-to-get,” he told the alien, his voice stiff. “But I am her man.”

“I do not doubt you.” The Schön offered him another smile. “My effect on women is powerful and can sway even the most devoted. She would not have come to me otherwise. I knew that from the beginning.”

He had, had he? How?

Le’Ace joined them in a huff, settling beside Jaxon and crossing her arms over her chest. He supposed she’d opted to play the upset girlfriend who liked to pout. “Nolan, meet Jay. Jay, Nolan. Everyone knows I’m Jane. Now we’re all introduced…”

They should go their separate ways, he finished for her in his mind. Smart move, though, working their names into the conversation so he wouldn’t accidentally blow her cover. Well, more than he already had.

He turned away from her and focused on “Nolan.” A fake name if ever he’d heard one. As fake as Jay and Jane.

“A fight?” the alien asked before he could reply, motioning to his cane.

“Motorbike accident.”

“Ah.”

Jaxon eyed the otherworlder intently, not even trying to hide his curiosity. “What race are you? I can’t place you.” Yes, he knew the answer. He simply wanted to know if Nolan would admit it.

A rude question, but the alien didn’t appear offended. “Your people call me Schön.”