Primal Heat by Crystal Jordan Page A

screamed, the sound of a big cat in pain. If anything, his grip on the young soldier tightened.
    Bren focused on this new threat. The one with a gun pointed at her. Oh, God. She knew this man. “Zielinski.”
    His eyes were like shards of ice when he glared at her. “Always going out alone, Preston. Never a real team player. This time, it bit you in the ass.”
    Everything about this man was regulation army, from his high and tight haircut to his perfectly organized utility belt. Zielinski was probably the only soldier in the U.S. Army more anal than Bren. Until yesterday. If she had been Arthur’s right hand, this man was his left. “Don’t do this, Zielinski.”
    He snorted, his gun never wavering. “You’re a traitor and an alien’s whore, Preston. I’m not listening to a word you say. Now, drop your weapon and tell lover boy over there to let the kid go.”
    â€œWhat Arthur is doing is wrong. Think about it. Why haven’t the Sueni attacked us if they’re so dangerous? We shot down a ship full of their people and they didn’t shoot back.” She didn’t know why it was so desperately important to convince this man, to not be the only one out on this limb, but she kept talking anyway. “How many humans have you been ordered to kill lately, Zielinski?” His gaze flickered just a bit, and she knew she was right. Her stomach clenched at how many had already died in this god-awful mess. “If Arthur was so set on helping people on Earth, then why would he need you to exterminate them?”
    â€œShut up. Shut up! I don’t want to hear another fucking word out of you, traitor.” He pointed his gun directly at her but spoke to Farid. “Drop my man, Lord Arjun, or I’ll kill you both. Starting with Preston.”
    Farid’s head whipped around, and the sound he made was pure animal, the deep, rumbling roar of a big cat. The blood drained out of Zielinski’s face, and Bren reacted, aimed the razer at the white noise maker and fried the thing. Farid screamed again, and then there was silence. Everything froze, the people, the forest around them. Not a single bird chirped, no bugs buzzed nearby, even the wind seemed to stop as the starbursts in Farid’s irises turned to solid green light. Bren felt a wave of white-hot power pulse outward, sending her stumbling back a few steps. Both the soldiers shrieked, grabbing their heads. She heard echoes of more human cries not far from where they stood. A chill ran down her skin as the soldiers slumped over. Farid dropped the boy to the ground, and neither human moved.
    The Kith’s chest heaved with every breath, sweat running in rivulets down his face and chest. She stared from him to the unconscious humans and back again. Her heart thudded in slow, unnatural beats in her chest. She didn’t even know how he’d done what he’d done. She didn’t even know what he’d done, but it had taken him less that a second to take out every single man who’d hunted them. “If you could…Why didn’t you do that before?”
    â€œI…” His hands shook, his clawed fingers flexed, and his throat worked for a moment before grating words emerged. “It’s…difficult to cage it…once you let it out.”
    Their eyes met, and the explosion of tangled emotions and needs that broke through her were not all hers. Desire shuddered through her—his and hers. Heat followed in its wake, fisting her sex until she bit her lip to keep from crying out. She could see the evidence of his passion, too. His cock rose in a hard erection, precum dripping down the thick shaft, and she swayed toward him. Wanting.
    Her nipples tightened to points, her pussy slicking with juices. Her body was more than ready, willing, to fuck him. How had he done this to her so fast? She could no longer push it to the back of her mind, couldn’t ignore it. She pressed her