Page 33 of Pride
“Call me that again—”
“Animal?”
A low growl. Teeth elongating. Alice lowered the sword and scratched under his jaw. “There you go, little fella. How’s that feel?”
Sharp fangs snapped at her face and she laughed, but then quickly sobered as the truth hit her. He was pissed. He was furious. And she’d been right. The words had come out of her mouth, but the insult slapped her in the face all the same because they were true. She was his enemy. She was… what did he say before?Not worth holding on to.
Alice dropped her hand to her side. All humor gone, she bowed her head and tried to come up with what to do next.
“Three times,” he said, bringing her attention back to him.
“What?”
“That’s how many times you’ve bested me in two months. You’re not useless, Alice. Far from it. Now, put the sword away and we can talk about this like decent human beings.”
His alluring scent wrapped around her body, tightening her tingling skin, urging her closer to him. It whispered into her ear,Do what he says and he will reward you.The image of him bending her over the table suddenly didn’t seem so bad.Her eyes became stuck on the thick column of his neck, the shadow of new scruff beneath the longer, older growth on his jaw. The single red streak of blood trickling down from where she’d cut him unawares. It curved around his Adam’s apple and dribbled down to his white collar, staining it.
“You will put the sword away, Alice.” His smooth, honeyed voice sank into her bones. “You will untie me. You will forget about the Sisterhood, and you will remain with me and my family here, at Lazarus House. As my mate.”
Every cell in her body wanted to do what he said. Pistons firing in her mind and heart pushed her forward, taunting her with something all orphans wanted. A family, but at the expense of the one that had raised her. She snarled and snapped out of his mental hold. “I don’t think so.”
His eyes narrowed. “How did you…?”
“I’ve been battling my attraction to you for years,” she confessed, her heart breaking. “You took me by surprise that first time at your office, but you’ve reminded me tonight what my real worth is to you.”
“And what’s that?”
“I may have bested you, Parker, but I can see it in your eyes. You still think I’m not worth holding on to.” She secured her wakizashi in her holster before turning her back on him. “So I will give you some time to think about this alliance and tell you something, perhaps, that I haven’t made clear. It’s not just me you’ll be getting, but the entire force of the Sisterhood—some thirty strong Sinners. You and your family are powerful, but you’re not invincible. You’re not the only ones with tech and offensive battle skills. We have strong women, our own worth, and we want an alliance with your family—not just you.”
“I will see Daisy returned to us, and Iwilldestroy the Syndicate. I will not, however, go on a wild goose chase hunting down some sort of nonexistent opening to another dimension.”
“A Hell dimension,” she reminded him.
“Whatever you believe about the replicates, my mission hasn’t changed.”
“If there’s nothing else you believe about me, Parker, believe this. We want the Syndicate destroyed, not only because of the threat our psychic has foretold, but because they have one of ours. A Sinner has failed to contact us for months. We want her back. We may be worthless to you, but we’re not to each other.”
“Alice,” he called, halting her as she left. She glanced over her shoulder and found pain in his eyes as he spoke. “I wasn’t angry at you.”
“What?”
“When I picked you up earlier tonight, and you accused me of being pissed off… I was angry at myself.” He licked his lips and took a breath. “You’re beautiful, and I never noticed. I should have noticed.”
Alice’s heart beat loudly in her chest, taunting her with all the things she would never have, but she knew the ending to this story. She’d lived it for years as she’d worked by his side, silently pleading for him to see through her disguise to the woman beneath. Hopelessly fantasizing about a life beyond her reality—a stupid, broken dream. She’d never have the full, undivided attention of Parker Lazarus. He’d never be her baby because, whether Hell was real, the truth remained; Alice was a Sinner, like the rest of them. And the Deadly Seven’s sole reason for existence was to hunt down sin.
“You should talk the alliance over with your family,” she suggested. “And you should do it before your pride gets the better of you again.”
14
Still bound to the chair,Parker wished he didn’t ache with longing after Alice departed. Since the moment he’d seen her earlier tonight on the street, hugging herself against the brisk wind, he’d struggled with himself. His instincts, his control, his emotions.
Her beauty had taken him off guard. The street light did no justice to her flawless profile and blushing skin. Holding down the mating pheromones had taken all of his concentration. Even talking had been difficult. Then there was her attitude—the quietly confident woman who didn’t give a rat’s ass who he was, or how much money he had in the bank. She never had.
And then when she’d synced her cell phone to play her music as though she belonged in his car, he’d gone hard. Instant turn on.
Someone who’s not worth holding on to.
He winced. Those were the words he’d thrown at her. He was a fool. That woman was incredible, if a little nuts, but he blamed the Sisterhood for that. He just needed to get her away from them, to get her head back down from the clouds. She didn’t belong with the Sisterhood. She belonged with him.
