The Bearens' Hope Book Four of the Soul Read online

“His wife,” Ellicia replied.

  “They’re having a party and didn’t invite you?” he asked.

  “Of course they invited me,” Ellicia replied a little defensively. “Jen’s a good friend of mine. I just don’t like parties.”

  “You don’t like parties,” Harlan repeated. “Who doesn’t like parties?”

  “Me,” Ellicia replied as she began packing up her gear. “I don’t like the noise, I don’t like being around people who are inebriated, I don’t like being in crowds and I don’t like making small talk with people I don’t know. I sent Jen a gift, and she knows I love her. She isn’t offended that I don’t attend her party so I’m not sure why you should be.”

  “I’m not offended,” Harlan said. “Just curious is all. You leaving now?”

  “Yes,” Ellicia replied as she finished closing her bag.

  “In that case, how would you like to have dinner with me?” Harlan asked.

  Ellicia froze, her heart skipping a beat in either fear or excitement, she wasn’t sure which. This was not the first time Harlan had asked her out. It wasn’t the second either. It was the ninth. She remembered every single invitation. And she’d turned him down every single time.

  “Don’t you ever give up?” she asked.

  “No, I don’t,” Harlan replied. “Are you going to turn me down again, or do you want to have dinner with me?”

  Ellicia wanted to go out with him. In truth, she hadn’t been out on a date in so long she’d declined the first time out of habit more than anything else. After that, she’d been scared to say yes. Scared of her feelings for this man that was suddenly and unavoidably a big part of her life now. But this time, she wanted to say yes.

  “Um, well, um,” she stuttered, suddenly feeling uncertain of herself. She shut her mouth and swallowed. She sounded like a ninny. Maybe she should just say no again. That would be easiest.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “Wonderful,” Harlan said with a smile. “What kind of food do you like?”

  “Regular food,” Ellicia said. “Nothing weird.”

  “Weird?” Harlan asked as he slung his own bag over his shoulder and opened the door. “What do you mean by weird?”

  “I don’t want to eat anything that ever had more than four legs, or two eyes, or that didn’t grow right here on Earth,” Ellicia replied, stepping out of the training room and into the hall. Harlan pulled the door shut and they walked down the hall together.

  “I guess that leaves out Terien blood fruit and...”

  “Don’t even say it,” Ellicia warned. “I swear if you do, I will lose my appetite altogether.”

  Harlan laughed. “All right then, how about we go down to Eddie’s Place? They have a big menu, the food is good, the atmosphere is relaxed and the music is background only.”

  “That sounds perfect,” Ellicia replied with a smile. She glanced down at her training outfit of jeans, sweater and boots, wishing this were a regular work day. She usually dressed much nicer than this for work, except on training days when she spent a lot of time on the shooting range and in the gym. Training days were jeans, pony tail and no make-up days. She frowned doubtfully at Harlan. “Should I dress up a bit? I don’t have anything nice here, but I could run home.”

  “Nope, you are perfect just as you are,” Harlan replied easily as they stopped in front of the locker room doors. “See you in a few,” he said as he entered the Men’s while Ellicia went into the Women’s.

  Ellicia went straight to her locker where she paused just long enough to cram her practice bag in and slam the door shut on it. Then she hurried to the long line of sinks against one wall, grimacing at her reflection. She yanked open the large tote bag that she used as a purse and dug around for a brush and her make-up bag. She came across a lipstick that she had forgotten she even owned in the bottom of the bag and set that on the counter as she continued searching for the other items. Finally she found a comb, but realized she must have left the make-up bag at home. Well, the comb and lipstick would have to do, she decided.

  She pulled out the elastic band holding her hair back in a pony tail and began yanking the comb through her shoulder length locks, cursing the unruly curls as she tried to force them into some semblance of order. After a few minutes she gave up and put it back in a pony tail. At least it looked a little neater now. She washed her hands and face, then picked up the lipstick and applied it. She grimaced at her reflection again. The color was too bright for her, which explained why it had been loose and forgotten on the bottom of her bag. She grabbed a handful of paper towels and scrubbed the lipstick off. Either the lipstick had stained her lips, or rubbing them so hard had made them red. She scowled at her reflection, then sighed. A lipstick and a comb weren’t going to change anything.

  She picked up her bag, tossed the lipstick into the trash and turned toward the door. If Harlan wanted her to look polished, he was going to have to ask her out a bit more ahead of time.

  She pushed through the locker room door with a little more force than necessary, feeling angry at herself for worrying so much about how she looked because of a man. When she dressed up, she did it for herself, not because she wanted to attract attention. But as soon as she saw Harlan standing in the hall waiting for her, her anger fled. She noticed that he had wet his hair, and then combed it in an effort to tame the little tufts that seemed to stick up all over, and he’d changed his shirt. She no longer felt foolish for wanting to look a little nicer for him. Evidently, it was a mutual feeling, and that seemed to make it okay.

  A couple of hours later after a long, leisurely dinner and a long, comfortable conversation, Ellicia realized she was having the nicest time of her life. She really enjoyed Harlan’s company. He made her laugh, made her think, and somehow, he seemed to understand her in a way nobody else ever did. And he barely knew her.

  “Tell me something about yourself that nobody else knows,” Harlan said as they sat sipping hot coffee spiked with chocolate liqueur after their meal.

  “Like what?” Ellicia asked.

  “Your deepest, darkest secret,” he suggested.

  “No,” Ellicia replied. “I’m not ready to go quite that far yet.”

  “I would never share anything you told me,” Harlan assured her.

  Ellicia smiled. “If I thought you would, I wouldn’t even be here with you. I’m just not ready to reveal my deepest secret yet. But I will tell you a secret if you tell me one first.”

  “All right,” Harlan agreed. “I have a little psychic power myself.”

  “Really?” Ellicia asked, surprised. “What is it?”

  “Watch the candle,” Harlan said. He shifted his gaze to the candle that flickered brightly in a small glass bowl in the center of their table. He stared at it for a few seconds until, for no apparent reason, it went out. Harlan smiled, glanced at Ellicia then back to the candle again. A few seconds later, the candle seemed to relight itself.

  “That’s fantastic,” Ellicia said. “Can you do bigger things? Like put out a house fire?”

  Harlan laughed. “I’m afraid not,” he said. “That would take a lot more power than I have. Lighting a candle is about the extent of it. Although, when I was a kid I used it more than once to give a mysterious case of hot foot to the occasional bully.”

  Ellicia laughed. “I’ll remember that the next time my feet get cold.”

  “Your turn,” Harlan said.

  “Okay,” Ellicia said, suddenly feeling a little nervous. She wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but a deal was a deal. “I am deathly afraid of water.”

  Harlan frowned. “Why is that such a big secret?”

  “I don’t know, it seems sort of childish to me,” Ellicia replied. “I’m an adult. I shouldn’t be afraid of something as natural as water.”

  “I don’t agree,” Harlan said. “Most people are afraid of one thing or another, whether they admit it or not. It’s not childish. Its human nature. And it’s not a big deal. Just don’t go swimming or take an o
cean cruise.”

  “Or go to Marrazo,” Ellicia added with a delicate shudder.

  “Marrazo?”

  “It’s a water planet,” Ellicia explained. “The people there are descended from creatures that greatly resemble our Great White Sharks. My team had to go there a year ago to investigate a murder and theft, and I had to pretend the whole time that I wasn’t on the verge of a panic attack from all the water.”

  “I think it’s amazing that you were able to conquer your fear enough to even step foot on a water planet,” Harlan said. “That took a lot of courage.”

  “Not courage,” Ellicia argued. “Desperation. We believed that the individual responsible for the Marrazo Queen’s murder was the same person who had kidnapped my sister, thinking it was me. I would have done just about anything to track him down before he had a chance to get his filthy hands on one of us again.”

  “You don’t like taking credit for anything, do you?” Harlan asked.

  “I work with a team,” Ellicia replied. “Either we all get credit for what we do, or none of us get any. That’s just the way it is. That’s the way it should be.”

  “I don’t see how your team gets credit for your personal bravery, but I won’t argue with you about it.”

  Ellicia rolled her eyes. “You just did,” she pointed out.

  “Only a little,” Harlan admitted with another grin. Ellicia was beginning to like those grins far more than she thought was sensible.

  “You ready to go?” Harlan asked as Ellicia took a last sip of her drink and set the empty cup back on the table.

  “Yes, I think so,” Ellicia said. “Its getting late and we have an early day tomorrow.

  Ellicia watched Harlan as he paid the bill and thanked the waiter. He was always so polite and gentlemanly, no matter who he was talking to. She’d seen a few scowls on his face, but she’d never seen him lose his temper. At the same time, she knew he was a very dangerous man. She’d watched his sparring sessions with some of the other agents over the past couple of weeks. Nobody had ever landed a single hit on him in hand to hand combat yet. The betting pool on who would be the first to do so was getting huge. Somehow, she didn’t think anyone would be winning it anytime soon.

  A little while later Harlan parked his ground-car in front of her building. “Let me walk you up,” he offered.

  Ellicia’s automatic response was to say no, but she bit it back in time. She wanted to spend another few moments with this man, and though she didn’t think she’d admit that to anyone else, she admitted it to herself.

  “That would be nice,” Ellicia said. It came out sounding a little nervous and a little stiff, but at least she’d gotten it out.

  Harlan nearly leapt out of the ground-car and hurried around to open her door for her. Ellicia couldn’t remember anyone ever doing such a thing for her in her life and it felt strange. She wasn’t really sure she liked it. “Just shut up and go with it for once,” she told herself firmly.

  She stepped out of the car and waited for Harlan to close her door before leading the way into her building. She placed her hand on the door scanner and reached for the handle when the lock clicked open. Harlan took it from her and held it open, following behind her as she led the way to the elevator.

  “Nice building,” Harlan commented as they got into the elevator and Ellicia pressed the button for her floor.

  “Yes, I like it,” Ellicia replied. “We grew up on the other end of town, my sister and I. It’s a nice enough building in a nice neighborhood, but it’s old and very basic. Once Lariah was old enough to be on her own, I moved here and she stayed in the family home. I wanted to know what it felt like to have all the extra goodies, and my job pays enough that I could afford to find out.”

  “Do you ever miss your old neighborhood?” Harlan asked.

  “Sometimes,” Ellicia admitted. “I miss hearing the kids playing outside, the neighborhood intrigues, the feeling of safety that comes with living in a place where you’re surrounded by people you know. But I’m not home that much, and this building has fantastic security.”

  “Does your sister like living there?” Harlan asked.

  “Yes, she did,” Ellicia replied with a smile. “I invited her to come live with me more than once, but she liked the old place. I don’t know why, but it always seemed to suit her more than it did me.” Ellicia shook her head as the elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the hall. “Now, Lari lives on Jasan. She’s married to the Royal Princes and is expecting triplets any day now.”

  “From a residential neighborhood to a palace?” Harlan asked. “Sounds like quite a change.”

  “I know, but she doesn’t live in a palace. She lives on a ranch. I’m not positive what that is, but I know that Lariah is happy, and that’s all that matters to me.” Ellicia put her hand on the door scanner and waited for the lock to disengage before turning to face Harlan.

  “Thank you for dinner,” she said. “I had a good time.”

  “You’re welcome, Ellicia,” Harlan said.

  “Um, would you like to come in?” Ellicia asked uncertainly, pretending that she didn’t know her face was turning red with embarrassment.

  Harlan stepped a little closer to her so that she had to tilt her head back to look up at him. “I would love to come in,” he said softly. “But I think now is not the right time. Would you let me kiss you instead?”

  Ellicia’s face heated even more, but she didn’t look away from the intensity in Harlan’s amber eyes. She knew that if she tried to speak, she’d sound like a frog, so she nodded instead.

  Harlan’s eyes flared as he slowly lowered his mouth to hers. He rubbed his lips gently back and forth across hers, causing little shivers to race up and down her spine. When his tongue reached out to trace her lips, she thought her knees were going to give out completely and land her in a puddle right there in the middle of the hall.

  Harlan’s hands came down on her shoulders and tugged her a bit closer against his body. She willingly moved closer, then lost all thought as his mouth opened over hers and he slipped his hot tongue into her mouth.

  Ellicia had been kissed before, though admittedly it had been a very long time. But she had never in her life been kissed like this. Nor had she ever had such intense sensations running through her body. She hadn’t known it was even possible to feel this way.

  Harlan deepened the kiss, losing himself in the warm sweetness of Ellicia’s taste and scent, his arms pulling her even closer against him. When he finally broke the kiss, he threw his head back, gasping for air. And control. He wanted nothing more, and never wanted anything more than he wanted to take this woman inside and bar the door behind them.

  But now was not the right time. He knew it. He wasn’t sure why, but he had learned to follow his instincts and right now they were telling him to stop. He loosened his arms and reluctantly took a step back before allowing himself to look down into Ellicia’s face. His body tightened almost painfully at the expression of passion on her face, and the heat in her wide blue eyes. He felt her body trembling with need in his arms and that almost pushed him over the edge. He forced himself to release her, dropping his hands to his sides as he took another step back.

  He was trying so hard to control himself that he almost missed the expression of hurt and embarrassment in her eyes.

  “I want you, Ellicia,” he said, his voice deep with his own arousal. “I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone or anything in my life. But this is not the right time. I don’t know why, but something is telling me we need to wait just a bit longer.”

  The hurt fled, much to Harlan’s relief, and she smiled. “I think I’d better go inside now before we both decide to ignore those little voices in our heads.”

  “You too, huh?” Harlan asked.

  “Yes,” Ellicia replied as she reached for the door knob and opened the door to her apartment. “Goodnight, Harlan.”

  “Goodnight, Angel,” Harlan said.

  Ellicia closed
the door gently, then leaned against it. “Angel,” she whispered to herself. “I like that.”

  Chapter 19

  Xantara, Xaqana-Ti’s Hive

  Xaqana-Ti listened to the message from Stalnek Winicke several times while curled up in her private lair. She was quite pleased with Stalnek’s response to her offer of assistance in removing the Brethren from Earth. She realized he had not exactly agreed to the evacuation, but she was confident that he would. She had exaggerated a few facts, that was certainly true, but if it became necessary she had the means to make the facts suit her exaggerations.

  She turned her mind to the other matter Stalnek addressed in his message, running through possible responses, and their possible outcomes. She had spent weeks toying with various plans and ideas for achieving her main objectives, examining, discarding, twisting and turning. It was an exercise she enjoyed for the most part, but she was beginning to worry that time would become an issue. She would not be pleased if, after years of planning, her ultimate goal failed due to poor timing. She had put too much into this, and had risked far more than anyone would ever know.

  Now, with this message from Stalnek, a solution had finally presented itself. She just had to decide the best way to play it.

  She took her time, working out possible approaches and consequences before deciding how to proceed. When she was sure she had thought of everything, she pulled her control board out of its niche and recorded her response. She played it back, listening critically, made a few changes and recorded again. Only when she was completely satisfied with every word and every nuance did she hit the Send button. Smiling inwardly she put her control board away and closed her eyes. She was very satisfied with herself. Perhaps too much so. She would have to remain in solitude for awhile so that no hint of her satisfaction showed on her face or demeanor.

  ***

  Deep Space, Stalnek’s Yacht

  “Sir, we have an incoming message addressed to you,” the pilot announced over the comm speakers in Stalnek’s private quarters.

  “About damn time,” Stalnek grumbled as he stood up and crossed the room to the vid terminal on the desk. He hit the button to accept the message and waited for it to begin.