his hand skimmed beneath the warm silk of her hair, massaging the tense muscles of her nape.

"i know that you're beautiful, frighteningly intelligent, and that you dislike being the center of attention," he promptly informed her. they were beyond him pretending he hadn't spent the past six weeks spying on her like some creepy stalker. "i also know that you rarely allow people close to you, but you're fiercely loyal to the few friends that you trust. and that you're lonely and you've never felt like you belong."

she stiffened, clearly disturbed by the realization of just how much she'd unconsciously revealed.

"you can't know that," she breathed.

"i can because i felt the same."

her eyes narrowed in disbelief. "you?"

"sentinels aren't always recognized until they hit puberty," he explained, revealing the sort of information only shared among high-bloods. she would soon be a part of his world. whether she liked it or not. "when i was a child i went to public school, but even at a very young age i knew that there was something different about me. i could run faster, jump higher, see better, and hear things no one else could."

she frowned. "and that was a bad thing?"

his jaw clenched at the memory of the hateful taunts and brutal ambushes that had dogged his early years.

"boys can be extremely competitive and no one wants to play with the kid who always wins."

her expression softened with sympathy. "ah."

"and that was before my super strength kicked in."

her fingers spread across his chest. "what happened?"

"i nearly killed a neighborhood boy when he threw a rock and hit me in the head." he grimaced. the memory of the boy lying on the ground with his face beaten bloody was one that had haunted him for years. "that's when my mom called valhalla."

"did they come and take you away?"

"yes."

her hand lifted to cup his face, her heart far too tender for her own good.

"were you unhappy?"

"at first," he admitted. "my mother came to visit when she could, but i'd become too wary to make friends." his lips twisted. he'd been a surly, arrogant kid with a chip on his shoulder the size of mount rushmore. in no way did he want to admit he was one of the mutants. "especially when they were all freaks."

her thumb absently stroked his lower lip, sending a blast of heat through him.

oh . . . yeah.

he was definitely locking her in his rooms. their rooms. at least for the next month or so.

"what happened?"

"wolfe, a boy a few years older than me, walked up and punched me so hard he broke my jaw."

"that's terrible," she growled in outrage. "what did you do?"

his lips parted into a wide smile. "exactly what you'd expect me to do. i picked myself off the floor and did my best to kill the son of a bitch."

her frown deepened. "why are you smiling?"

"because i discovered that i'd finally encountered someone who could not only match me in strength, but could kick my ass."

"i don't understand."

of course she didn't.

only two males could appreciate the nuanced diplomacy of a knock-down-drag-out fight.

"for the first time ever i didn't have to hold back. i didn't have to pretend i was 'less' than what i was." he deliberately caught and held her gaze. "i found the place where i belonged."

"and wolfe?"

"he's the current leader of the sentinels and my closest friend."

she lightly ran her fingers up and down the line of his jaw, seemingly fascinated by the feel of his five o'clock shadow.

"you never mentioned your father."

he lifted his hand to press her palm against his cheek. "he died when i was just a baby."

"oh, i'm sorry."

"what about your parents?"

her lashes instantly lowered to hide her eyes.

"i was the product of a one-night stand," she said, her voice stripped of emotion. "i never knew my father, not even his name. i doubt he ever knew i existed."

he swallowed a sigh as he felt the barriers rising between them.

one bout of sex, no matter how life-altering, wasn't going to be enough to convince her to lower the barriers surrounding her heart.

"and your mother?" he asked.

"she died a year ago."

he pulled her hand to his lips, planting a kiss in the middle of her palm.

"that must have been tough."

she trembled in response to his caress, but her eyes remained stubbornly hidden behind her lashes. she'd share her body, but not her wounds.

"yes, but we weren't close." she struggled to swallow, as if she had a lump in her throat. "she never understood my lack of social skills and she was disappointed that i spent more time in the library than with the other kids."

"disappointed in you?" he didn't have to pretend his angry astonishment. "impossible."

"she didn't want a valedictorian, she wanted a prom queen." a humorless smile curved her lips. "or at the very least a cheerleader."

he swore beneath his breath, wishing her mother was still alive so he could teach her just how special her daughter truly was.

and more importantly, what he did to people who would dare to hurt this female.

"her loss," he rasped.

"i suppose."

he hesitated, wondering if there'd been more to her mother's disapproval than a shallow desire for glitz rather than gold.

"did she ever sense you were special?"

she tugged her hand from his grasp, pressing it against his chest in instant denial.

"i don't know what you're talking about."

"angel-"

"no," she muttered. "i won't discuss it."

"denying your powers won't make them go away."

she gave another shove against his chest. "i'm hungry."

he swallowed a sigh. at some point he was going to have to make her accept the truth of who and what she was.

but not now.

now he had her naked in his bed, and there were far more pleasurable ways to spend the next few hours.

"me too," he murmured, pressing his lips to her forehead, his hand trailing up the curve of her waist to halt just below her breast.

her breath caught and she instinctively arched toward his hardening cock.

"niko?"

"i swear i'll feed you," he promised, nipping the lobe of her ear as he rolled her flat on her back and covered her with the hard weight of his body. "anything you want." his hand closed over her breast, his heart coming to a complete halt as he gazed down at her wide, velvet eyes. his. his woman. "later."

her hands lifted to wrap around his neck, her eyes smoldering with a matching desire.

"much later."

it was, in fact, much, much later when niko at last headed for the shower and angela made her way down to the kitchen wearing nothing more than an oversized t-shirt.

she'd discovered once she opened her bag that it was never wise to try and pack when in a blind panic. her hasty lack of attention had made certain she had a plethora of things she didn't need-like mismatched socks and dirty towels-and very little that she did need.

typical.

her luck had never been good. and lately it'd been downright crappy.

well, except for niko, she admitted, a precious warmth settled in the center of her heart. he was, hands down, the finest thing that had ever happened to her.

still, it would have been nice to have her own nightshirt and a toothbrush.

tossing a handful of dried cranberries into the large salad she'd chopped in a bowl, she was debating whether or not to make a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches when a male voice whispered directly in her ear.

"ah, so this is where little red riding hood hides from the big bad wolf."

nearly leaping out of her skin, angela whirled around to discover a stranger standing far too close for comfort.

a part of her recognized the intruder was mouthwateringly handsome with pale brown hair that was highlighted with strands of honey and eyes that were a rich gold. but a larger part was far more concerned with the lean, muscular body casually dressed in jeans and a black tee that moved with the same fluid grace as niko.

this was no harmless trespasser.

"shit." she pressed a hand to her thumping heart. "who are you?"

"i'm arel. a friend of niko's." the golden gaze skimmed down her slender body. not so much ogling her barely covered limbs, but searching for potential defects. "he asked me to meet him here."

yeah. like she was going to take his word for it.

people who were invited knocked on the front door and waited to be let in. they didn't creep into the kitchen and terrify half-dressed scientists.