Taming the Fire by Sydney Croft Page A

were in.
    He wasn't the one with an explosive device around his neck.
    She didn't know what range the bomb's signal had, but she did know the shock would turn her into a beast within a ten-mile radius. If the agent back at the club had the remote, he could turn her into a monster right now, and she'd rip Trance apart there in the vehicle.
    “Where are we going?” he asked, as he approached a multilane roundabout.
    She hesitated. Instinct made her want to keep her lair secret, but then, if Itor was here, it wouldn't stay secret for long. “My place. I need to grab some things. After that…”
    “We'll figure something out.”
    “Take the first right, then.” She eased around in her seat, making sure no one turned with them, and breathed a sigh of relief. “Nice car. What do you do for a living?”
    “I'm an accountant for a law firm.”
    She snorted. “You're not an accountant.”
    “I'm not?”
    “You're too… hard.”
    His mouth tightened, and she swore she heard the grind of teeth. “Maybe I wasn't always an accountant.” He shot her a sideways glance. “Were you always a dominatrix?”
    No. I was an assassin .
    “Touché.” She brushed some invisible dirt off her boots. “So what did you do before? Take the second left.”
    He shifted gears smoothly, his legs working the pedals with the same easy motions, like he was one with the vehicle, a pilot who knew his aircraft. A stir of feminine appreciation warmed her insides, because a man who could make a machine purr could definitely do the same to a woman.
    And she really needed to get her mind out of bed. “So? You going to answer?”
    “No.”
    “Then you can pull over and drop me off.”
    “Rik…”
    Anger sparked, anger that she was rapidly losing control of this situation. She needed to get it back, and fast, before her inner animal decided it could do better to protect them both. “This is my fucking life, boy , and I need to know something about you if I'm going to spend time with you outside the club.” Still, he said nothing. She leaned over, palmed his crotch.
    “What the hell?”
    “You came to me for a reason,” she said. “You need to learn restraint. Which means you need to learn to obey. Tell me what I want to know.” She rubbed a little, smiled when she felt him begin to harden. “Tell me, and I'll reward you. Or you can drop me off. Your choice.”
    She felt as much as saw the battle that raged within him. He slowed the car, and she held her breath, waiting for him to pull over and kick her out. He'd nearly come to a stop, when he cursed, hit the gas and shot back into traffic.
    “I was a cop,” he muttered. “In the States.”
    Now, that was more like it. Accountant, her ass. “Why aren't you a cop now?”
    “I don't want to do this, Rik—”
    “Mistress,” she said softly. “And you will answer.” She gave his cock a squeeze, and he sucked air between his teeth.
    “I hurt someone,” he ground out. “Robbery suspect. I didn't mean to, but…”
    “Your strength.”
    “Yeah.”
    “And that's why you're playing the sub instead of the natural Dom you are.”
    He gave a sharp nod and glanced out the rearview mirror.
    “Left at the roundabout and then straight for two kilometers.” She removed her hand—reluctantly—from his crotch, and settled back in the seat, though she didn't relax. That Trance had been a cop made her feel a little better; he could obviously take care of himself. But no matter how much training he'd had, he couldn't stand up to a trained operative. She had to prepare him. Protect him.
    Which was a joke, because she couldn't protect herself, let alone someone else.
    “I need to know what's going on,” he said quietly. “What's an excedo… sapien? Isn't that what you called me?”
    Closing her eyes, she dropped her head against the headrest. This was going to sound so incredibly insane, and she wasn't sure how much to say. “It's a term for humans with exaggerated natural abilities. Like