Bound by Shadow by Anna Windsor Page A

she’d look like Wonder Woman in disguise. The image of Riana spinning in circles as lightning flashed and her clothes fell away to reveal a form-fitting leotard—with gold cups to hold her breasts high—almost made Creed sit down on the stone floor.
    “I’m running about six procedures right now.” Riana pointed to a pad and pencil on the nearest countertop. “Some are related to the Latch case, like determining the origins of that salt sample and a more detailed exploration of the skin sample—and the one I’m planning to start next is about you, though it might take a while.”
    Creed felt his eyebrow arch before he could gain control of his reaction. Shit. Is that why she had locked him up? Did she intend to cut off body parts and stir them up with chemicals to see what reacted?
    He ground his teeth, then forced himself to relax his jaw. “What are you testing about me?”
    She came closer. Four feet. Three feet. Two. Creed knew he could reach through the bars and touch her if he wanted to, and he thought about it.
    “I took a mouth swab when we had you handcuffed earlier.” Riana leaned toward him, so close he could smell that rain-and-lavender scent that made him want to groan. “I’m starting your advanced genetic profile—Sibyl-style. It takes much longer than the tests you use, but it’s far more detailed and specific than what you’re used to requesting to solve crimes. We can compare it to all the genetic databases in the world, as well as information we’ve collected on all known supernatural species.” Her eyes flashed. “I want to see what you’re made of, Creed Lowell.”
    The beast stirred in Creed’s depths, a snarl amid the pounding of blood in his ears. He smashed it down, hard and fast. Not now. This woman was his, only his, and all his. No sharing. He felt irritated, intrigued, and aroused all at the same time. Invaded—yet oddly hopeful that this woman might actually be able to find some answers about his true nature.
    “Don’t tease me, honey,” he said, only half jesting. Did she know what she was doing to him? His body, his mind?
    Her gaze didn’t waver. “I never tease.”
    Creed let go the blanket, then grabbed it again when it threatened to unwrap. “Do you really think you can map my insides under a microscope?”
    “It’s a start.” Riana’s eyes blazed at him. “With the kind of analysis we do, your genes will show me things you can’t imagine.”
    Bullshit you never tease. Bullshit!
    She liked torturing him.
    Not that he minded.
    He pushed aside thoughts of learning more about his heritage and winked at her. “If I show you mine, will you show me yours?”
    Riana’s smile made every muscle in Creed’s body tense. “We can discuss that later. Much later, perhaps.”
    “I want to discuss it now.” He could barely rasp out the words. “Come another step closer. Let me touch you again.”
    Her smile shifted to a look of shock, then heavy-lidded desire. Her hand trembled, and she tried to hide her reaction by straightening her lab coat.
    Too late, beautiful. I saw that.
    “Come here,” he demanded. He let go of his blanket and gripped the bars with both hands. The blanket unwrapped, and he crushed it between his gut and the bars, keeping it up, though barely. He felt a tingling from the elemental lock, but in his human form, it was mild. The space between the bars was just wide enough for his face, and narrower than his head.
    Riana didn’t say anything, and she didn’t move, but she stared at the blanket. She seemed to be thinking about taking him up on his offer.
    “You have me trapped.” He leaned forward, pressing his chest into the bars. “I can’t do anything you don’t want me to do, can I?”
    “This needs to wait,” she murmured, but the throaty whisper gave away her desire.
    Creed’s hands tightened on cold bars, doubling the humming sensation until it felt like a gentle current across his palms. He felt it through the blanket on his