Taken by Fire by Sydney Croft

Author:Sydney Croft [Croft, Sydney]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Random House Agency
Published: 2011-06-28T04:00:00+00:00

Mel’s life history nearly broke Stryker’s heart. He knew a lot of the men and women at ACRO had shitty family backgrounds, but watching Mel struggle to talk about her food issues on the plane … that had almost been too much for him.

Hearing that Devlin was like Alek was probably the scariest thing he’d heard in a long time—and in some way, the most comforting. They’d be an even match. But Devlin needed to be better than Alek.

Stryker thought on that while Mel showered and dressed in the jeans and T-shirt Dev had sent over. When she finished, he allowed himself an indulgent, admiring gaze before speaking. “We should go practice now. Devlin wants me to help you try to control your power.”

“I’d like that.”

He collected a few things covertly—including the fire blanket, plus a couple of injections—and they drove over to a spot a few miles from his house.

It was a perfect area—a big field with a small waterfall on one side.

She smiled when she saw it. “It’s so pretty. Is this ACRO property?”

“Yes. We do a lot of impromptu training here.” He looked around—it was early afternoon, which left them plenty of time to work. “It’s quiet today, which is good.”

They got out of the SUV and walked a couple of yards to a spot that was close enough to some trees.

“Do you really think I can gain control of my power?” she asked.

“Yeah, I do. And you get to practice, which is great. With my power, I couldn’t really practice, you know?”

“Ah, that’s true.”

“When I was younger, I had to learn control fast. If I didn’t, I’d kill people. That’s how it was explained to me, and you know, I got it together fast.”

“That’s a lot of guilt to put on a kid.”

“A dangerous kid,” he corrected her. “Let’s try this with you aiming for those trees. They’re used to upstate New York winters. They can take it, if you don’t go full force with the ice.”

“If I do, I’ll be out of my power anyway. But you can help me get it back quickly, right?” she asked, the shy note in her voice matching the pink in her cheeks.

He put his head down and said, “I can’t. I’m under direct orders not to touch you like that.”

“From who?”

“Devlin.”

“Is that why he seemed so angry when he walked in on us kissing?” she asked, and he nodded. “So it’s not about keeping me a secret from your friends?”

“What? No—not at all. I don’t give a shit who knows I like you, that I’m dying to kiss you. That I’d take you right here in the middle of the damned field if I could.”

She inhaled a shaky breath. “It’s because I could be the enemy, isn’t it? No one wants to risk a breach of security.”

“Could be. But I think it’s part punishment for arming you in the first place. Dev’s a strict taskmaster as a boss.” And then there was the sister thing, which Stryker didn’t want to think about.

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