He'd never in his life felt so confused about anyone, with the exception of Paige.
Hale settled back onto him but levered himself on his arms to look down. Their gazes caught and held. “For someone so ugly, you make me awfully hard.” Startled at the teasing note he hadn't expected to hear, McKinley grinned back.
“Back at ya, playboy.”
Hale frowned. “How did you know they call me that?” And so the “honeymoon” ended. He groaned. “Maybe you'd better get off me so we can talk. Circ to Circ.” He coughed and reached for his jeans. “And maybe we'd better cover up.” Before I fuck you again.
“Good idea.” Hale flushed and turned away. He reached in a drawer and threw on a pair of shorts.
Once standing and facing one another, McKinley started. “I've been working for Pearson Labs for three years.”
“Yeah, as Pearl's bodyguard.”
“That's what he thought.”
“Oh? Oh… So you're telling me you killed Pearl?” McKinley scowled. “What the hell kind of leap in logic is that? No, I didn't kill Pearl. I wish I knew who did. I'd hang a fucking medal on him.” Or her. He thought of Paige. “I work for someone else interested in what the labs are up to.”
“You're kidding. So you aren't one of Pearl's boys? But you're Circ. How do you explain that?”
“I don't, not yet. Hell, even Paige doesn't know everything about me.” Even I don’t know everything about me. Anytime he tried to remember, the headaches and the attacks started.
“But you tried to kill me and Derrick. You threatened Sabrina.”
“Come on, Hale. If I'd wanted you idiots dead, you wouldn't be sitting here right now. And yes, I threatened Sabrina, because she'll get herself killed if she goes back to the labs. Pearl had ugly plans for her. For all of you, eventually.” Hawkins's gruff request for assistance replayed in his mind's eye. “A lot of people are depending on me to stop Pearson Labs.”
“Hey, I'd like nothing better than to burn that place to the ground. For some reason, they've let us be for years, and Doc's ordered us to leave them alone. I used to think it was because he didn't want to put us in danger. Then I thought it was because of his ties to Elliot. You know they're half brothers.”
“I know. What Doc probably doesn't know is that Pearson Labs wasn't under Elliot's control for the last two years. New management's taken over.”
“Yeah, we figured that out. But we don't know who it is.” McKinley smiled and felt his fangs rip through his gums at the prospect of hunting down and killing Kohl. “I do. And when I'm done with him, he'll wish he'd never laid eyes on me.” Knowing he needed to fill in Doc and the others, and not wanting to go through it twice, McKinley sighed. “You think I could tell you all at once?
And I'd like to see Paige.”
Hale nodded. “Good idea. Why don't we—I mean— you can shower first, if you want.” He blushed again, and McKinley grinned. “Fuck off, you monster.” The insult rolled off his back. From Hale, the word “monster” sounded like an endearment. And Hale's blush contradicted the gruff warrior McKinley knew him to be.
“Monster, huh? You mean my monster cock, don't you? That big shaft that has you aching to suck it whole? You like my cum, don't you, playboy?” He could smell Hale's arousal, and he ached to take him again. “Sure you don't want to share the shower?”
Hale's shorts tented in front of him. “Dammit. Leave my hormones alone. Take your shower and clean up. I'm going to have a helluva time explaining you after bringing Paige home when she and I, ah…”
McKinley froze. “When you what?”
Hale met his gaze. “Damn it. We had sex, okay? We couldn't help it. Just like with you and me,” he muttered and ran a hand through his hair. He faced McKinley as if facing a firing squad. “I'm sorry. I tried to resist her, I did. But then her scent hit me in the SUV. That small, cramped space filled with the sweet scent of cherries. All that Circ need, just the two of us… I lost it.”
The image in McKinley's mind turned him on more than it should have, but he kept his cool. “Did Paige enjoy it?” he asked softly.
Hale swallowed. “Yeah, we both did.”
McKinley nodded, turned on his heel, and entered the bathroom alone. The beast inside him purred again. His mates, together, so close… But the man felt hurt. The woman he loved had been with Hale, another Circ. Somehow, when she'd had sex with human men, he'd been able to disregard it. She needed, and he couldn't give it to her.
But Hale could; he had.
Wishing he could wash away the confusing hurt as easily as he washed away the grime over his body, McKinley took his time in the shower. Rationally, he understood what had happened. If Hale had felt an inkling of what McKinley had for him, then he couldn't have denied himself with Paige. Still, he needed to do something to vent his anger. He took longer than necessary to rid himself of the need to maim Hale. Once washed and dried, he held a large towel around his waist.
When he passed Hale on the way out to wait in his bedroom, Hale stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I'm sorry. I know she loves you, and I get the sense you love her right back. I feel like shit, and it's not my fault,” he said through gritted teeth.
McKinley sensed regret, arousal, and an odd ache. He hurts because I hurt. Amazed, he regarded Hale with less upset and less rage. “You want to make it better?”
“Yeah.” Hale warily stepped back. “I do.”
McKinley dropped his towel and gripped his erection. “Get in the shower.”
“Shit. This is gonna hurt, isn't it?”
“Yes, it will. For one of us.”
Hale looked like he wanted to argue. He clenched his fists, frowned, and blew out a breath. “Dammit. I knew you were going to be trouble. My beast won't answer me.
What the hell did you do?”
“Nothing. Probably your guilty conscience at work.” McKinley couldn't have been more pleased. The rare times a Circ had failed to call forth his beast at Pearson Labs, Elliot had tied the instances to emotional, not physical, wounds. Hale honestly regretted hurting McKinley. The jerk cared.
Hale groaned. “I am so fucked.”
“Yes, you really are.”
Chapter Nine
Simon Dunn stared at the pictures of Paige Masters and Hale Rogers on his desk.
Paige looked as pretty in her photograph as she'd been five years ago when they'd dated. Rogers looked like a wild beast, his eyes glowing, his body inhumanly large and brutally strong. Elliot had hoped to breed the two. Something about Rogers's background appealed to Elliot, but damned if Simon could make heads or tails of his notes.
Punching several numbers into his phone, he called for Dr. Eckles. While waiting, he glanced from Paige's photo to the rest of his spacious office. So far, so good. His plan to climb the ranks in Pearson Labs had finally paid off. With Torrence gone, Pearl dead, and McKinley now missing, he had only two more major hurdles before he could take control of Pearson Labs: Kuntz and Kohl.
Senator Richard Kuntz wouldn't be a problem. The pussy loved the thought of being in charge, but he didn't have the stomach to do what needed to be done. Killing mutants and indoctrinating new Circs took a special hand. Simon considered himself perfect for the job. Though he had a less than stellar track record, he'd still done more to advance Pearl's agenda than any other PPA operative had.
Because of Simon, they'd captured Kelly Malloy. Through his efforts, they'd learned that Sabrina Torrence wasn't who she'd said she was. The bitch had actually sabotaged the initial Project Dawn. Incredible. And this latest piece of news, that McKinley wasn't a star performer, but one of Elliot's pet projects and a traitor at that, had made Simon a star.