Conversation? Ah, the combination of her needy cells plus the rumble of his voice must be clouding her thoughts. He was not here to mate. He was probably here to speak to her about the laboratory and her work. She refused to turn around. She knew the moment the receptors in her eyes detected his male shape, her hormones would elevate to the next level. In her worsening condition, he could be the ugliest male on the planet and if she stayed in his presence long enough, her will to resist wouldn't matter -she'd still find him handsome and her interest would flare into a kaleidoscope of basic need.

She spoke through gritted teeth. "Make an appointment with my secretary."

"I don't have time to delay. Neither do you."

"Exactly. We agree. I don't have time." Totally irritated by her reaction to him and how badly she wanted to climb into the flitter's cozy back seat and rip off his clothes, she practically growled, "Go away."

"Are you always so friendly?"

"Are you always so annoying?" she countered and took in a breath. Clean, musky male scent wafted to her nostrils, downshifted into her lungs and revved her olfactory nerves into third gear. By the mother lode. Why did his aroma have to remind her of sweet gra.s.ses and summer rain? Surely no other Endekian male had ever smelled so incredibly delicious.

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She tried not to savor his wondrous scent and to distract herself with a.n.a.lysis.

There was something odd about him. Something strange. Her mind tumbled and then settled. He smell like an Endekian because... he wasn't an Endekian.

"Who are yon?" Forgetting caution, she turned around. He was one giant of a man, one fantastic male specimen.

At the sight of bronze male skin molded over a powerful physique, her mouth, watered. With his black hair clipped short to reveal a very male neck that was supported by cords of muscle, her gaze skimmed from his bold nose to lush mouth to his dazzling cheekbones. But it was his compelling violet eyes, the color of precious nebula flame gemstones, that sought her out with male curiosity and which almost did in her rioting nerves.

Except his harsh expression stopped any inclination to move closer. He wasn't gloating with the usual I-know-you can't-resist-me arrogance that she hated from the men of her world. Actually as be retuned her stare, he appeared to attempting to conceal distaste, but be couldn't hide his reaction in those grim eyes.

He held still, not crowding her. "Let me introduce myself. I am Xander from Mystique."

"You're a Rystani warrior," she accused him, still managing to keep her tone antagonistic, but barely.

Oh- Krek. He was one gorgeous hunk of a man. Even if she hadn't been entering the early stage of Boktai, he would still have been dazzling. Dealing with him now when s as in such a vulnerable condition was frustrating.

He spoke as if he had no inkling of what his presence was doing to her. "After Endekians invaded our homeworld, those of us who survived emigrated to Mystique."

His tone was cold, his eyes direct. Despite the clamouring-for-attention need that she couldn't subdue, she shivered under his austere expression. But perhaps she was reading more into his demeanor than was there, coloring it with her past.

She couldn't imagine any Rystani warrior had any love for Endekians. Her people had invaded his world fourteen Federation years ago and the rightness of their actions, the political reasons for war, had no bearing on the suffering they'd caused. Many Rystani had died in the invasion as had countless Endekian males. Her own brother had not come back from the war. When one lest loved ones-no reason was good enough to fill the emptiness, stop the pain, ease the sleepless nights. She ignored the sympathy and compa.s.sion that urged her to touch him and give comfort. Doing so would set her on an irrevocable path. It was bad enough mate with an Endekian when neither partic.i.p.ant had feelings for one another, but to mate with a man who had every reason on to hate her people would be abhorrent.

She turned of the flitter, opened the door and exited her vehicle, hoping the fresh air would blow his scent away. But course the weather didn't cooperate. When Xander unfolded his big frame from the vehicle, he revealed he was larger than she'd realized.

Inside the flitter, she'd only viewed his upper half, but his flat stomach, narrow hips 255.

and long legs with muscular thighs made him seem more intimidating, more domineering, more male. If the battle for his world had come down to hand-to-hand fighting, if all the Rystani men were this large, his people would never have lost.

Luckily for Endeki, they'd had superior technology and fire power.

Too bad there was nothing superior about her situation right now. As his scent swirled and eddied around her, her irritation with his determination to force her into a conversation warred with bubbling desire.

Even through her growing need she understood that he wouldn't leave until he'd said what he'd come to say. Rystani warriors had a fierce reputation. Known for their stubborn traits, she should have felt fear. She didn't. She should have felt relief that he wasn't here to shut down her facility. She didn't. She couldn't relax the tension that gathered inside her like thunderclouds before a storm, especially as she realized that the sooner they had their conversation the sooner she could depart. He wouldn't allow anything less.

"So why are you here?" she asked, deepening her voice to compensate for the breathy teasing tone that her biology so urged her to emit instead.

"I need your help."

The only way she wanted to help was to find a private place. She imagined shadowy lighting, mellow music, hot s.e.x and his mouth and hands roaming over her flesh. With determination she shut down the fantasy thoughts.

"What kind of help?"

"Could we go somewhere more-"

"I'm not going anywhere with you.'' No matter how strong her hormones, no matter how badly her cells wept for satiation, she could not even have s.e.x with an offworlder. She was already at odds with her government. Taking a Rystani into her bed would be seen as a betrayal by her people.

He chuckled, his tone so warm and inviting that she barely restrained a gasp of delight. At the change in his demeanor, she forced herself to listen while she tried not to stare at his full mouth, tried not to wander what it would feel like to have his lips skim past her ear, down her neck.

As if he could read her thoughts, he frowned. "Is it true that you need merely look at a person to read his DNA?"

She shrugged and folded her arms beneath her aching b.r.e.a.s.t.s, hoping the light was too dim for him to see her hardening nipples. Why was he interested in her peculiar ability, albeit one she had found useful, though her skill mattered little to the non- scientific community? "So what if I don't need a microscope to read DNA?"

He ignored her sarcasm. "It is said you can spot a flaw in the double helix chain at thirty paces."

She'd be willing to bet her last batch of test samples that Xander had never seen the inside of a lab, never mind looked through a microscope. He appeared to have spent his 256.

entire life outdoors, exercising and eating and growing muscles over his well-shaped bones. Ah, what she wouldn't give to spend more time with him. His intensity intrigued her and although she put her impression down to Boktai, she suspected under other circ.u.mstances, he might still fascinate her. She'd noted a keen intelligence in his eyes, a glimmer of humor in their depths even as his voice carried overtones of compa.s.sion. Yet despite the intensity of her attraction to him, the offworlder's interest in her skill made her wary.

The war between his Rystani people and hers hadn't been over for very long.

Although the Rystani had left their homeworld and emigrated to Mystique, Endeki still ruled Rystan. The peace between their people remained uneasy, and she suspected only the most dire of circ.u.mstances could have caused him to come here.

She eyed him, wishing the light was better so she could read his DNA. While chromosome combinations wouldn't reveal his motivation or his purpose for seeking her out, she had never before had the opportunity to examine Rystani DNA in a living male. Science would do her no good. She'd have to rely on her instincts and her chaotic senses.

"Why are you curious about my work?"

"I have no interest in your work. My interest is... in you."

b.l.o.o.d.y Stars. Endekian men didn't speak with such directness. Then again, they didn't have to. They simply waited for a woman to choose and took their pleasure.

Conversation was rarely part of the arrangement, so Alara found his bold declaration of interest in her odd, yet exciting.

Reminding herself that her brain couldn't possibly be functioning on all neurons, she eyed the big warrior with renewed caution. "What do you want?"

"I'd like for you to join me on a mission."

Before she told him that she was not about to give up her work to join him, or leave her friends and her home, she freed her curiosity and asked, "What mission?"

He shot her a charming, come-to-me smile that almost stole her breath. "I'm seeking the Perceptive Ores."

Despite his charisma, she snorted "The Perceptive, Ones haven't inhabited this galaxy in eons. They are legends. We aren't certain they ever existed, never mind that they still live."

"Have you no faith, Doctor? You wear a suit that was manufactured by machines the Perceptive Ones left behind." His voice turned earnest, youthful, and she suspected he was younger than she'd first thought. "They existed, all right. And according to ancient records, out near the rim is a system named Lapau, colonized by a humanoid race called the Lapautee. Not much is known about them. However, legend suggests their planet may be an outpost for a protector, a Perceptive One. I'm hoping that since their machines lasted through the millennia, perhaps they did as well."

She didn't know if he was insane or on a grand quest Either way, she couldn't help him. "I'm sorry. I must decline. I have my own work."

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"This is important."

"And my work is not?" She arched a brow, daring him to put her down because she was female and her purpose inconsequential.

But he didn't. Instead he tried another tactic. "My mission to find the Perceptive Ones is necessary to saving the lives of billions."

She narrowed her brows, unswayed by has earnestness. "Then I wish good fortune to be on your side." She turned to dismiss him.

He clamped a hand on her shoulder and electricity shot straight to her core. She barely restrained a gasp. The Rystani warrior's hand was gentle, strong and warm- warm enough to fire her flesh. Ruthlessly, she clenched her jaw and tamped down on her need.

His voice hardened in demand. "You will at least do me the courtesy of hearing me out."

Like she had a choice with his big hand on her? She forced herself to shrug it off, and no doubt sensing she would listen, he allowed her to free herself. He couldn't know that his touch had set off a storm of need so great that her ears roared. He was speaking, but at first she couldn't think beyond the rushing sensation that threatened her composure. But finally she regrouped.

"The Perceptive Ones are believed to have been responsible for seeding life in our galaxy with DNA."

"That's legend. It may not be true." She took deep breaths and as her chest raised and fell, she gave him credit, his gaze didn't once drop below her neck.

"My goal is go to Lapau in search of the Perceptive Ones and a pure strain of DNA."

"A pure strain?"

"For Terrans. They-"

"Terrans?" She felt the blood leave her face. She'd thought he was trying to help his own people, not the despicable race that had killed everyone she held close to her heart.

He continued as if he did not know of her hatred. "Terrans have polluted their planet and their DNA is damaged. Soon they will be dying by the millions. To save them, I'm looking for a pure strain of Terran DNA, without it... they will die."

Groaning, she leaned against the flitter, raised her hands her pounding temples. She had to think past the river of pa.s.sion bubbling through her veins. Just mentioning Terrans to her had likely set off her fervor. Anger could trigger l.u.s.t, the strong emotion set off signals, one emotion, feeding the other.

She'd had no intention of helping this Rystani before. She certainly wasn't going to help him save cursed Terrans. She hoped they all died, and she would dance a celebration to the G.o.ddess if she could rid the Universe of every last one of them.

258.

Terrans had launched the bomb that killed her family, several friends and a coworker. Terrans had destroyed her life. She wouldn't lift one finger to save such a savage race. But she kept her reasons locked down tight.

"You don't need me," she argued. "Any scientist with a microscope can do what I do."

He shook his head "We may not have the opportunity to examine each species in a laboratory. You can walk on their worlds and merely look-"

"That is where you are wrong. Even if I wanted to help, and I don't, Endekian females are not permitted to leave our homeworld."

Clearly stunned, he dropped his lower jaw and a muscle tightened in his neck.

"Why not?"

She would not reveal her shame. She refused to tell him that their men didn't want their women to approach offworlders for life-giving s.e.x. Selfish to the core, their men kept that pleasure for themselves. Still, she didn't lie, either. It's the law."

Anger flickered in his eyes, whether it was for her inability to leave her homeworld or frustration that she couldn't accompany him, she couldn't discern. But all that male heat spiked her hormones another notch, flaying her with endorphins. Krek. Forget the scientific explanations. She was ready to pounce. On him.

She had to get away before she did something really stupid, like leaning into his chest, wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling his lips down to meet hers in a kiss. Like rubbing her skin against his. Like grinding her pelvis against his s.e.xy hips.

Reminding herself he was a stranger, a Rystani warrior and forbidden to her, reminding herself that contact with him would ruin everything she'd dedicated her life to, would only keep her at bay for so long. Her starving cells demanded regeneration.

She needed s.e.x so badly she shook.

And d.a.m.n him, she needed him to be out of sight so her gaze couldn't dwell on what he concealed beneath his plain black suit that molded to his frame with a precision that seared the image into her brain, branding her with a flaming heat. Moisture beaded on her upper lip and seeped between her thighs.

But she would not yield to her need.

She could not have an offworlder-especially one who was a friend to her worst enemy.

She world not succ.u.mb.

She'd remain strong.

Opening the flitter door, she eased inside, sensing he would not pursue her. Even as she escaped his presence, his words rang in her ears like a whispered promise. "Laws can be changed. We are not done, you and I."

Moon's Web.

by Cathy L. Clamp & C.T. Adams.

Sue came out of the kitchen, favoring the leg that the little were-brat had bitten. I wanted to reach for her and bury my face in her shoulder-length auburn hair. She used to have honey-blonde curls, but we'd both made a change to match our new ident.i.ties.

It's odd. I can't seem to remember my life before I met her, but we've only known each otter four months.

Sue isn't gorgeous, but she's pretty. Her heart-shaped face compliments a well curved body. She'd dropped some weight after a recent coma, when we could only feed her through tubes. She was looking d.a.m.n good anyway, and I let my eyes reflect the thought. She caught me watching and blushed. I still think it's cute when she does that.

I breathed in her scent as she walked toward me. Rain-kissed plants and warm rich earth from a forest in summer mingled with the baked cinnamon smell of love. I would never get enough of her scent. It coursed through me like a drug, nearly shutting out coherent thought.

"Sue, let me see your leg." The words cut through the cloud of her scent. Bobby's voice was the sharp command of a cop. Of course, Bobby is a cop. He's part of Wolven, the law enforcement branch of the Sazi-call him double-o python. They're the nastiest of the nasty of each of the Sazi species. It's their duty to permanently remove from the gene pool any were-animal who breaks felony human laws or any of the big Sazi laws.

Can't have a shape shifter locked up in jail during a full moon. The humans would find out we exist.

That is the ultimate rule of the Sazi: Keep our existence secret from the humans.

... coming in August 2005 from Tor Romance.

Revenge Gifts.

by Cindy Cruciger.

"You ready?" He looked directly into my eyes, and I definitely got the feeling that Howard was all business now.

h.e.l.l no. I'm not ready, but I'm not about to tell him that. Even though the big secret is out that I haven't had s.e.x in ten years-maybe more now that I think about it-I've never fessed up to anyone about how bad the s.e.x was when I was actually getting it.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was a college kid. s.e.x was everywhere, so there's no excuse for not finding the big "O" with someone, or even by myself-but trust me, had I known the dry spell after college was going to be this long, I would have strapped a mattress to my back and gone to cla.s.s naked until the goal was reached. Maybe.