Leaving Earth by Loribelle Hunt Page B

council room where the explosion had taken place. It was only a matter of minutes before he realized he was being followed. Britt. That primitive part of his soul snarled. Mine . He smiled grimly. He didn't know what she was up to, but she didn't have a fucking clue who or what she was dealing with. He considered stopping, confronting her and sending her back to her quarters, but dismissed the idea. Like Laney and Kendall Marks, so to be Torfa, it would be damned near impossible to make this woman follow orders. His heart rate kicked up. He wanted to be the one she obeyed, the one who could control that mile wide independent streak. Not that Alrik or Daggar seemed to be having much luck in that department. Earth women. He couldn't figure them out. Why couldn't they be nice and normal and biddable like Delroi women? Why couldn't they see their men were only trying to protect them the best way they knew how?
    Refusing to acknowledge, even to himself, that not all Delroi women were so obedient, he entered the rubble-strewn room. On feet so quiet he didn't hear her, Britt followed him in. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, listened. She was good. He felt no surge of psychic energy this time, as if she knew he could feel it even though he didn't share her gifts. If he weren't connected to her, if he didn't sense her when she was close, he would have missed her presence. Did 86
    Leaving Earth
    by Loribelle Hunt
    she distract him so much he lost focus or was she that good?
    Neither scenario was acceptable.
    Opening his eyes, he turned his head to watch her, drinking in the sight of her compact curvy body wandering the room, the quiet cat-like glide as she moved. Perfect profile, striking eyes. His cock had been hard since he'd seen her yesterday and demanded attention. He struggled against his instincts and knew he was screwed. He wouldn't be able to stay near her and resist claiming her for very long. He promised himself he'd only stay in the Palace, in the city long enough to deal with this explosion. Then he'd leave. His chest restricted painfully at the thought, but he knew it was for the best. His past would catch up with him. It was too dangerous to keep her. The knowledge completely pissed him off.
    "Why are you here?" he snapped. She shrugged, nonchalant, as unaffected by his presence as he was distracted by hers. It made him even angrier. She was his der'lan . How could she ignore him? How could she not feel what he felt?
    "I know a thing or two about bombs," she said. "Maybe I can help."
    Eyes narrowed, he watched her walk around the room, kneel and shift through rubble before standing and walking to the wall behind Daggar's chair. Most of it was gone, exposing a large hole.
    "Point of origin," she said, turning from it to study what was left of the layout of the room. "Daggar sat here?" Barak clenched his jaw, part of him refusing to believe she could have anything to do with this. But the other part was a 87
    Leaving Earth
    by Loribelle Hunt
    suspicious son of a bitch, and she was Earth's best spy. One of her best assassins, too.
    She chuckled, met his gaze across the room. "You don't trust me. I don't blame you. I wouldn't trust me either, General Trace. Or should I call you Spymaster?" Laney must have told her. Another thing to add to the list of things pissing him off today. Did he say something or could she read him that well? Britt shook her head.
    "Not Laney. Did you really think I wouldn't find out you'd accessed my file?" She shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I would have done the same if I had the contacts." She took a deep breath before frowning and kneeling down, shifting rubble at her feet. "I'm not here to spy on you." Gods, he wanted to believe that, but she was too damned good. He almost missed seeing her slip something into her pocket. Standing, she faced him again and spoke before he could call her on it.
    "And I don't plan to be here long either. I did my own research before I came, heard some pretty