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  “Please come with me, miss,” Thomas said politely as his hand gently closed around her elbow. His accent was a soft burr to otherwise perfect English.

  She relaxed right up until the next thought crossed her mind. “You’re kidnapping me?” Kenna asked the king, not bothering to respond to the man holding her arm.

  “No. I’m providing protection. The terrorists are not in this crowd?” he asked briskly. She thought this was a kidnapping? Little darlin’ had no fuckin’ clue what men like him did when they were about the business of kidnapping. Well good, she shouldn’t. He was about to make damn sure she never learned.

  “No! Hey, wait! How is this different from kidnapping?” Kenna wanted to know as three other equally large males joined the big man, forming a virtual wall of moving muscle that swept her out of the crowd.

  “No one puts a bag over your head and stuffs you in a van,” Lore answered dryly, leaving off the rest of what might happen to pretty little things in that situation.

  The fast-moving men had her around the corner and at a car. “Lore,” she used his name for the first time, obviously too frightened to address him any other way than how she thought of him. “Tell me again why it’s safe for me to get in a car with strange men who are taking me to an unknown location. How this doesn’t make me crazy. Lie to me if you have to.”

  Something dark stirred low in his belly as she disappeared from view. The men with her were professionals doing exactly what he’d directed them to. Aggressive possessiveness, there was no time for that crap.

  “First, I will never, ever lie to you, baby girl. They are taking you to the palace. Don’t be afraid, I promise you’re safe. I will come for you as soon as I can.”

  Kenna latched on to the deep voice and the relief it gave. The jumbled confusion of so many thoughts and emotions bombarding her this week was overwhelming. Three days ago Kenna’s head had pounded with information swamping her in a shocking barrage as she cleared the airport. When Lore’s voice had cut across it, there was relief. Remaining open to his mind acted like climbing aboard a lifeboat in a sea of chaos, allowing her to float through the information instead of being buffeted by it. So that’s exactly what she’d done until somehow he’d charmed her into answering him last night.

  This visit hadn’t been her choice. She’d had misgivings from the moment she’d heard about this place on that dark night filled with unbelievable stories, Grandmother’s stories. The last thing Grandmother asked her to do, even if it was slightly morbid, considering who Grandmother said she was, made it an obligation.

  Not exactly rocket science to pin down the reason she let him manipulate her. He was just so confident about what to do next. After three days of overwhelming physic development followed by hearing people plotting mass destruction, his calm decisiveness was an extreme relief.

  His position had a lot to do with it too. He had to be responsible, didn’t he? King and stuff, it meant he was a good person. He’d been a SEAL too. All of which added up to a lovely public record and absolutely no reason not to just trot along like the good little woman. Except there were those other reasons too.

  The dirt-stupid reasons that she was refusing to think about right now. At this age, developing a crush on someone she’d only seen in photographs had to be a sure sign of being an idiot. That was before she landed and found the man in her head. That voice, richly textured in deep tones, could not be mistaken. Hearing the first sentence of his opening ceremony address was all it took to identify her mental lifeboat captain. It wasn’t right for a guy to be that sexy while tossing about commands interspersed with endearments. Apparently her subconscious had already dressed him in the red tights and cape, convinced he was here to save the day.

  Moving away from his compelling gaze should have decreased the surprising new level of his grip on her. Kenna found the opposite was the case. The car sped away from the crowd, passing the public entrance to the castle and cruising through a much smaller gate. The distance didn’t make a whit of difference. Somehow she could feel him and it was so bone-deep comforting.

  Lore excused himself from the presentation of patents as soon as she was in the vehicle and away from the scene. His ability to remain in contact with her on a low level surprised him, but it was no more unusual than every other damn thing he was faced with at the moment. He needed her safe.

  Rare, talented and supremely unaware of what she wielded added up to major shit-storm potential. He wasn’t going to allow things to get to that point. The bomb business was just another flavor of the extreme danger pretty baby was in.

  “Meet us in the war room,” Lore barked into the radio connecting him to Thomas. “Take Miss MacKelsey there now. See to her needs as you would mine.”

  * * * * *

  Forty minutes later a door opened deep in the castle.

  Kenna jerked to her feet as the door shut behind Lore and his companion. “Seriously? The bomb suit? You can’t do this. You’re the king, surely you can send someone else.”

  Lore strode across the room, paying no attention to her words. His hands grasped her shoulders as he stopped in front of her, his eyes searching her face. “Are you okay?”

  Kenna frowned up at him. “I’m fine! What are you doing in the vest? You have people who can do this. Kings do not disarm bombs.”

  Kenna’s hands naturally rose to his chest, her face turned up in distress. She spoke in jerky statements as she tried to deal with a brand new bit of crazy.

  Seeing that suit on him was a shock, but the panic response confused her. Why? It made no sense since she didn’t really know him.

  “There isn’t anyone else close enough who can,” Lore stated as his thumbs caressed slender shoulders. “The Israelis have a good team. It will take too long for them to get here. The U.S. has one at Ramstein in Germany, but again, we can’t wait several hours. This is what I was trained to do, it’s the job.”

  Lore’s focus on the trembling yet outraged little body between his hands was consuming but suddenly much more comfortable. Touching her added a richer dimension to their communication. He could feel how deeply she objected to his doing the job.

  Her hands rested lightly on his broad chest. Of course she wasn’t really petting him. That would be wrong. Kenna frowned up at the big, confident man who had driven her past polite conversation two days ago. “You act like it’s a simple chore. Lore, this is way dangerous. Do you know where the bomb is already?”

  There was no distance between them, no titles, no class lines, not even the polite detachment of near strangers as he held her, his focus narrowed on her. They were a man and a woman, perhaps even as basic as male and female of the species. Everything else had evaporated in the deeply personal contact of telepathic communication.

  The tiny tremors zipping down her torso and pooling behind her pelvic bone had nothing to do with exhaustion. His hands holding her firmly while thumbs caressed gently were the guilty originators. Or it might be the all the heavy muscle straining toward her. Her body was rolling out the welcome mat in the damp heat between her legs, the tight tingle of her breasts. If it could have there would be sparklers pointing at private flesh, flashing welcome.

  “We have location. I’m the only professional present. Kenna, this is pretty much a third-world country,” he explained. “We don’t have the resources Americans take for granted. If we have one professional for whatever the job is, we’re damn lucky. There are no backup systems, no redundant fail-safe. This time, I’m the only professional with the specialized training and experience. Everyone works in a society this poor. Everyone.”

  He suddenly smiled into her anxious face. His voice rumbled in a purr as his head bent closer to her. “I know what I’m doing, but thanks for the concern, baby girl.”

  Her mouth formed a little O of surprise as his head sank to her in slow motion. She knew what he was doing. Knew exactly what he really wanted to do as a thought flashed across their connection that had nothing to do with bombs. It was so quick
ly ended that she knew he had not meant to send it. His attention to detail in that thought was astonishing, considering he’d never seen her naked. She should be offended or shocked. At the very least embarrassed. Being turned-on was just wrong, and Kenna was very wrong. His thought had included fascinating visual details about himself. She was extremely wrong…yep, wrong.

  Their lips barely touched and Kenna shuddered in anticipation as his moved over her.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said into her mouth.

  “What?” The word slurred a bit. Talking was not what her lips should be doing right now.

  He moved in that liquid-steel way of his, and now one of his hands gripped her low on her hip, almost but not quite cupping her ass, pulling her into his body. His other forearm supported her back as he held her head in his palm. She was plastered against him, her lips under his mouth and he was talking. That wasn’t right. He was supposed to be kissing. She was sure of it.

  “Please don’t try to leave before we can talk privately.” The deep tone of his voice was so tantalizingly male, just like every other seductive inch of him, and her senses swam through the testosterone in lazy bliss. She did notice that he’d commanded her to stay, very nicely but still, the word “try” implied she’d not succeed if she attempted escape.

  “Not going,” Kenna mumbled. Why were they talking? His lips rested on hers and Kenna’s womb clenched. The involuntary reaction forced a moan up her throat. “Should I be trying to find them?”

  His lips lifted fractionally. “You’re the gorgeous woman who’s staying out of harm’s way,” he stated firmly. “Do not attempt any such thing.”

  Kenna’s eyes slid shut. “I’m gorgeous?” Okay, now they were getting somewhere. The kissing would start soon.

  She felt his lips smile on hers. “Yeah.”

  She waited for it, waited… Nothing.

  His mouth was on her very-willing lips. He said she was beautiful, and she knew exactly how he meant that, yet still no kissing. Her eyes opened to stare into that compelling male gaze. Damn man was going to make her argue for it. “Since you’re not going to kiss me and give me an excuse to ignore all the commanding, let me go,” she murmured back.

  “Or what?” he grinned over her lips.

  “I don’t have an ‘or what’, just quit it. I’ve done exactly what you asked and I’m scared. This touching feels…it’s not necessary.” She didn’t know the words. It wasn’t threatening and it sure as shit wasn’t peaceful. It was a complication in the crazy fiction world that she could barely keep up with as it was.

  “You need it,” Lore corrected gently. “I need it. We’ll talk about this when I get back.”

  “Then go,” Kenna directed firmly as she glared up at him. Refusing to be a distraction or a victim was all she could offer to help now. “I’ll be here.”

  Yuri interrupted as Lore scowled down at the woman in his arms. “Sir, the lady has a point.”

  Both Lore and Kenna glanced up sharply at the interruption. The naturalness of their discussion was remarkably unnatural and Yuri’s comment forced them into awareness.

  Lore let her go and stepped away from his intoxicating little witch.

  “All right.” Lore resumed putting on protective gear. “It would be good if you went to the joust with me. It’d give us more time to figure out what’s going on.”

  He turned to Yuri. “Do you think Julianna could find a costume for Kenna while we’re gone?”

  “Of course. I’ll call her after you leave,” Yuri responded.

  “Good.” Lore glanced at Thomas. “Ready?”

  Both men were done except for the helmets tucked under their arms. Thomas nodded.

  Kenna hadn’t moved from where she was standing, so finding herself back in his arms should not have been a surprise. Thick arms pulled her into his body and his mouth landed firmly on hers.

  Those persuasive, mobile lips gave her no options as they moved over her surprised gasp. He was in her, invading with a sensual thrust, sweeping her into his world as if she belonged there. Kenna clutched his shoulders because she felt as if she were falling, but she wasn’t. The hard male holding her would not allow it.

  Lore drank her taste. Christ, he was not done with the discussion or anything else. He certainly wasn’t done with her.

  * * * * *

  Deep in the night on the other side of the planet, a tall figure of a man relaxed in a shadowed doorway, watching the perpetual motion of a soulless downtown street.

  His dark form brought frowning glances and a shiver from cynical eyes normally comfortable in these hours when a city’s business turned to sin.

  There was no discernable movement and yet the figure of a man froze into primordial stillness. The sound he made could not be registered by human ears, but the ally dogs erupted in frenzied barking. Abruptly the place he had occupied became the chilling absence of life. Normal space folded back into the doorway. He was gone.

  Chapter Two

  There hadn’t been time to deal with personal issues when faced with disaster. Being physically involved with handling the situation was anything but relaxing for him, yet he would rather be the guy taking care of things than the one waiting to see if it worked. Waiting was a hell of a lot harder.

  Reaching the location took very little time, it was a fucking small community, barely more than the medieval baronet it had always been. The word “tunnels” had narrowed possible locations. Add to that a site that would be crowded during the festival and it had to be under the cathedral in the ancient burial chambers. A quick sweep and they’d located the device. It wasn’t even hidden, just left in a corridor directly under the cathedral nave.

  Now was when the sweating started. Ignoring everything but the lump of deadly intentions in front of him, Lore finally removed the casing from the timing device. There had been a few safeguards, nothing he hadn’t seen before.

  Strangely easy to deactivate kicked up his shit-storm radar. Carefully moving to the other side of the device, he hunkered down to peek under the simple timing pieces. Yeah, there was more.

  Lore went to verbal communication. There had to be a recording in as many mediums as possible. The radio was on Yuri.

  “It’s not a nuke. It looks like one, smells like one, but it’s mostly radioactive junk. Under that is something else. The casing was a disguise,” Lore continued. “Removing left side panel.”

  A few seconds later he had his answer. One he was not going to broadcast on any wavelength. “I’ve disabled the delivery system. We’re coming out,” he informed them.

  “Lore, I feel your concern. It’s higher now than when you went in,” Kenna said softly in his mind. There was a deadly calm about him, but he was rushing out of the tunnels. Something was very wrong.

  “There are few things worse than a nuclear bomb. This might be one of them,” he answered shortly.

  “Don’t leave that room,” Lore commanded her. Then concern softened his tone. “You’re dead on your feet. You haven’t slept since the night before last. Sit down, Kenna. That’s what I need from you.”

  Kenna was standing by one of the couches. She sank onto it as his words reminded her how tired she was. There was nothing more she could do. Logically she grasped that, but it didn’t take away her connection to Lore. His battle state of mind wouldn’t let her relax.

  It seemed as if it took forever for the door to swing open, Lore and Thomas entered, helmets and vests removed. Yuri was by the door.

  “What is it?” Yuri questioned sharply.

  Lore didn’t pause as he proceeded directly to the conference table and the normal-looking telephone. His eyes had flicked briefly over Kenna, but he was all business. “The bomb’s primary yield looks bio.”

  Yuri didn’t need any more information, but Lore hoped Kenna wouldn’t fully understand what that meant. The global threat of a singular nuclear warhead was unthinkable, but the latest thing in bio cotangents could far surpass it. Those nasty little bio beas
ts could jump around the globe far too fast for anyone to “contain” the epidemic. An idiot who used one would kill himself in the end, but everyone else would be dead too, so no joy there. Hopefully this wasn’t one of those.

  Lore picked up the phone. “Get me General Hillier, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

  As he spoke, his body turned so he could look at Kenna. She was tightly curled into a she-ball of stress, jewel-bright eyes fastened on him.

  His conversation wasn’t as long as she would have thought, spoken in military jargon mostly. The guy on the other end grasped the speed talk apparently. Then Lore said something she did understand.

  “There is a note. They have more of the agent. This was a threat. Supposedly he has an airborne delivery system. The note was in the body of the bomb. He knew I’d be the one opening it. It was addressed to me.” Lore paused. “No, left it there. Could have been a trap.” Another pause as he listened. “Good. One of my men will be there to take the team to the device. Yes, thank you.” Lore hung up.

  Kenna had slowly uncurled and was sitting stiffly with her feet on the floor. “Are we still in danger?”

  “Yes.” Lore put down the phone and came straight to her. “The note mentioned you. Apparently this was an exercise to push you into revealing your talents,” Lore continued as he went down on one knee in front of her. He was physically closer than he could have been sitting beside her. His hands fisted on the cushions beside her as he surrounded her yet carefully didn’t touch her.

  “It threatens to detonate a second device if you do not get on the six forty-five flight to New York.”

  “Oh my God,” Kenna breathed. Her hands clutched tightly in her lap as his calmly delivered news blew up in her mind into jerky fragments of logic. Of course she would get on that plane. Why her? This really was a kidnapping. How would bad guy do it with so many people around? Bad guy had a plan. Look how intricate the beginning of his plan had been. Wait. If she weren’t as talented as bad guy thought, she’d be dead, along with everyone else in this country. Was that the real plan? To kill her? Why?