Page 24

“Bullshit. Ain’t no cure.”

“You’re outnumbered, Amos. And your guard dogs are dead.” Jesse gestured at the battlefield and thickened his drawl. “Come on down from there, and we’ll talk like civilized folk.”

Silence. I peered around Jesse’s arm just as Amos and his rifle disappeared from view. A few moments later, he walked, barrel raised, from behind the building. A blue flannel shirt and grimy work pants hung from his wiry frame. His mocha complexion was wrinkle-free, but silver peppered his unkempt hair.

“Lemme see what ya hiding.” He jerked his gun toward Jesse from ten feet away. “I wanna see its face.”

Jesse tensed, his arms holding mine against his stomach. My cheek rested against his back, and I had an errant thought about how well our bodies fit together. The curve of his spine cradled my breasts. His muscular ass fit perfectly against the dip of my pelvis. He was hard where I was soft, and if I stood on tip-toes, I could— Focus, Evie.

I tried to untangle my arms from his hold. “He’s not going to shoot me. I’ll go slowly.” I waited for him to release me and stepped around, hands up.

Amos wet his gaping lips. “What is this?”

“See? We have our own girl.” Jesse’s voice was calm, charming even, but his fingers wrapped around my wrist in a death grip. “We’re not here to steal yours. We just want to help her.”

Amos wobbled the rifle’s aim at my face. “This…this is a trick.”

It was in moments like this when I desperately missed Darwin, his loyal protection, and his ability to sense a person’s intentions. I would’ve looked to him now for signs of distrust or indifference toward this man.

“She carries the cure.” Michio clutched my other hand, his frame moving in to block half of mine. “She can cure your nymph.”

“No.” Amos shook his head and angled his neck to look at me. “Ain’t no woman survived. It’s one o’ dem sex-changers.”

Wow. I’d been called everything from Satan’s whore to an undeveloped nymph, but sex-changer was a new one.

A few feet away, Roark’s hand moved to the pommel of his sword. Evidently, he was as offended as I was.

“A transvestite?” Michio’s jaw tightened, and the cords in his neck strained. “Not possible. They lacked the testosterone needed to survive the virus.”

“So did women.” Amos pointed at me, and spit flew from his mouth. “It’s a nymph then. Explains how it moved like those damned bugs.”

My molars ground together. “Call me an it one more time and you’ll find out just how well I move like the damned bugs.”

Michio’s arm slipped around my shoulders, his voice low. “You’re not helping.”

Like I cared. What did Amos need to see? Anatomic proof? No way was I stripping.

“Where are your friends?” Michio nodded at the buildings.

“It’s just me.” Amos seemed distracted, his eyes wild and locked on me.

Curling my finger, I gave him a come-hither gesture. “Look for yourself.” I opened my mouth and stuck out my tongue. It felt childish, and I wanted to retract it immediately. But how else could I prove I wasn’t a nymph?

Michio held up his hand at the other man. “Not another step until you get that gun out of her face.”

Amos lowered the rifle, the stock rattling in his clutch as he crept forward like an injured aphid. When he stopped an arm’s length away, I fought a squirm under his scrutiny and kept my tongue out. Around me, my guardians shifted with the same unease.

Finally, he stepped back and rubbed his head. “I don’t know. Can’t see nothing, but I ain’t no doctor.”

“C’mere, Evie.” Michio gripped the back of my thighs, lifting me up his body until our lips were the same height.

I glimpsed a mischievous spark in his eyes right before his mouth fell over mine. I tilted my head and opened for him, giving him what he wanted. My fingers dug into his shoulders as our tongues slid together, licking and swirling. He was proving a point, but his kiss wasn’t softened or moderated. He attacked my mouth, grazing my lips with some really sharp teeth.

Ow. Was that a bite? Jesus, I tasted blood.

He jerked back, eyes widening, but his shock didn’t last long. His hands clenched on my thighs, and he dove back for my mouth, his breaths quickening and his tongue plunging deeper, hungrier, tingling every cell in my body.

When he broke the kiss, my head reeled. Sweet mother. I licked my wet, throbbing lips.

He set me down, holding me upright against his side. “You kiss your nymph like that?”

“No, sir.” Amos gaped, his voice awe-struck. “How’s this possible?”

I touched my mouth and pulled my hand away to find a smear of red on my finger. Crazy.

Michio tightened his hold. “She’s special, Amos. You won’t harm her.”

Amos shook his head and continued his cagey perusal over my thighs, my chest, my face, back to my chest.