Chapter Nineteen #3
He sat up, one hand absently unbuttoning his loose shirt.
“I talked to Dr. Kirkland about Armando. After he’d admitted to taking the serum without permission, Armando answered some questions during tests.
The serum did help to block the migraines, but they have side effects.
” He shrugged out of the shirt. “He claimed to hear voices sometimes. Dr. Kirkland is wondering whether our newest commando isn’t just bipolar and needs other medication.
But the main thing remains that he had used the serum on the side enough times.
He was able to finish his assignments, in spite of his hearing and seeing things. ”
Helen tried hard not to be distracted as he continued to take off his clothes. He was beautiful to look at and she really would prefer to do other things than talk. She pushed the featherbed lower. It was getting warmer under the comfortable downy material.
“Did Dr. K. consult the scientists who gave me those lectures about the serum?”
“You really want to hear scientists getting ecstatic about quantum entanglement and Bell’s theorem?”
“Say what?”
Jed’s lips quirked. “Let’s just say that half an hour of listening about the existence of the physical world according to quantum theory and how you and I are two particles bouncing airwaves at each other didn’t explain a thing about why the serum causes headaches.
I can give you the boring science or just simply make the excuse that our Number Six is bipolar. ”
Nuh-uh. She wasn’t going to suffer a pounding headache and a lecture about quantum tango, or whatever.
“Armando isn’t bipolar,” she said. “The serum works because it’s a pain blocker.
We already know it works when a fatigued pilot takes it.
Prolonged pain can fatigue a person too, so that’s why the serum works.
No need for a medical background to explain that, Jed. ”
He shook his head. “You forget. This is a bio-synthetic serum that has been altered not just as a neuro-blocker, but also as an enhancer. I’ve already seen the way your body chemistry was messed up, Elena, when your mind and body were fatigued.
Simply put, it helped enhanced what your body chemistry believed it lacked.
I’ve been thinking about Armando and his interest in illusions.
I wonder whether he started getting more into it from the serum’s usage.
This is the part about the drug that I don’t like. ”
Helen arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying that I’m going to start performing magic tricks with Armando? Can I borrow the bustier for my costume?”
His lips quirked. “You’re just determined to make fun of everything serious, aren’t you?”
She shrugged. “It’s hard not to when everyone around me is always throwing scientific and military stuff at me.
Quantum physics? Hypothalamus gone bonkers?
Particles tangoing in space? Go on, explain it to yourself.
I just do it, thank you very much.” Frankly, Jed’s slow smile of amusement at her techy talk was a more interesting subject.
The man was damn sexy when he was relaxed and smiling, which wasn’t often, from what she’d observed.
She sighed, adding, “I know it’s serious, but that’s how I deal with it.
You have your own little defensive mechanism, and I have mine. ”
She swallowed as she watched him step out of his tailored pants. What was she saying again? Defensive mechanism? She had none, none whatsoever, against this man.
“What’s my defensive mechanism?” he asked curiously.
Helen rearranged the pillows under her head so she could have a better view of him. She hadn’t thought he was going to actually stay with her, especially since he’d been sleeping in his own room since their arrival from Lake Matka.
“You hide everything, even from those you care about.” She tilted her head. “But I’m getting better at reading you.”
“Is that so?”
“Yup. Like, for instance, I know what you have to do next.”
He didn’t answer her as he walked into the bathroom.
She enjoyed the back view. She lay there, waiting, thinking about his decision.
He didn’t like to see her hurting, she realized that now, even though he did a great job at not showing it.
He’d left her alone last night because she’d taken sleeping pills as a final resort.
When he finally joined her in bed, she was almost feverish with anticipation. He was walking around her room as if they had been sleeping together for fifty years. The lurking amusement in his eyes finally told her that he was teasing her with his usual deliberate, calm manner.
“Heath told me he gave you a vial of the serum.”
She glared at him. “So? You think I used it?”
“Did you?”
“I still have a headache,” she pointed out.
“That could mean that it didn’t work without remote viewing. It affects each tester differently.”
She glared at him harder, trying to ignore the hardness of his thighs against hers. “It’s right there on the bedside table. You’ll see that I haven’t used it. You should be pissed off at Heath for giving it to me.”
He shook his head. His free hand lifted stray strands of her hair from her face. “Why didn’t you use the serum?”
“I...” Helen shrugged and grumpily batted his caressing hand away. She closed her eyes, not wanting to acknowledge the reason. She had wanted to; the temptation to ease the headache that ebbed and flowed was strong. But she hadn’t been able to do it. She sniffed. “Damn.”
“Admit it. You knew it would be against my wishes.”
Her eyes flew open. “Do you know what tact is? There are other ways to say things. This isn’t a dictatorship.
You’re making my headache worse, thank you very much.
And if everyone’s so damn obedient, why the hell did Heath disobey you and give me the vial?
I don’t see you telling him it was against your wishes. ”
His lips tightened a fraction. “Heath was being Heath. It’s his job to offer temptation, look for weaknesses. He likes to think he can offer alternatives to a problem.”
Helen rolled her eyes. “Are any of you guys ever going to stop testing me? Is everyone trying to own me?”
He tugged at her tightly crossed arms till they loosened. “Just me.” He snuggled up against her, his breath hot against her ear.
Something about his tone of voice caught her attention. “Are we going to do it now?” she asked softly.
“If you want to.”
She put a hand on her chest in pretended shock. “The great Number Nine asking permission to activate a trigger?”
His hand snaked behind her neck and he pulled her in for a leisurely kiss. He tasted of mouthwash and male heat, totally addictive. She wanted more from him and let him know with her hands.
When he lifted his head, his silver eyes searched hers.
“I won’t have you remote viewing free form without being aware of me.
Quantum entanglement theory be damned, if you took off spontaneously without me around, I want to be able to call you back, Elena.
And the only way I know how is to activate the trigger between us. ”
“I know. I was thinking the same thing too.” She grinned, and added, “But I don’t mind bouncing particles and creating my own physical reality with you while you do it.”
Actually, she was a little awed at how far ahead he’d planned this.
He’d embedded that trigger inside her anticipating this problem, and as much as she personally loathed the idea of using her attraction for him against her, she had to admit it was the perfect way to anchor her.
He was asking her permission. She leaned into his hand as he caressed her.
“I’m ready.”
Besides, maybe she could actually catch the trigger phrase this time. Her expression must have betrayed her thoughts, or he read her mind. In the soft glow of the room, his smile turned devilish.
“Want to take a pill first?” he asked wickedly, his caress turning into a vise.
She realized, much later, how difficult it was to pay careful attention to words when a master seducer was carefully giving her all his attention.