Chapter One
“When I get you, Paxton, you son-of-a—”
I fell forward, the rusted metal floor rushing up to meet me. I hit it and what little air there was whooshed from my lungs. Lying there, I couldn't move. I'd fallen from a body-tube, a cryogenic storage device. The familiar rank odour of flash-warmed skin swept though me, and I choked, my aching chest heaving as I pulled in new breaths for the first time in too long.
My milky vision cleared, and I found a row of the bulky, black body-tubes disappearing into the shrouding darkness. The single shot of light from high above stung my face and dried the gel to my skin. I shivered. Damp material sucked to my limbs and my shiver deepened.
I drew in an easier breath of stale air and coughed. Where the hell was I?
“Falling at my feet.” A man's smooth voice eased over me. “Really, what have I done to deserve this?”
Turning my head, my chin rested on the cold metal floor, and I stared at polished shoes. They swam into focus, black, real leather shoes with neat hand stitching. The rich scent warmed through me, and I let my face rest back against the uneven metal. Tiredness sat on my cold muscles and bones.
His words rolled through my brain. Something about them triggered a flare of heat under my skin. Yes, I recognised my fight-reflex... but my body was rubber. Smacking him could wait.
The stranger squatted down beside me and stroked back my damp hair. Unexpectedly, my heartbeat slowed, and I breathed easier at his slow, rhythmic touch. Which was odd, since I'd been ready to punch him only a moment before for being supremely oily. I blamed the fog clouding my brain.
“I've been looking a long time for you. A long, long time.” The soothing press of his palm, his fingers over my hair continued. I lay there and a knot in my chest eased. A knot I didn't know I had until it was gone. Who was this man? Or was it simply the warm touch of another human being after the cold grip of the body-tube?
“Tell me your name.”
The soft words fell. It was an easy enough question to answer.
Yes, it was...
“My name?” I pushed hard, scrabbled about in my mind, but the thought was slippery, elusive. What was my name? I didn't know it. My own name, it was gone. Ease vanished and panic fired through my blood. I whipped up, finding my feet and landing in a natural half-crouch.
“Nice reflexes.”
I blinked. I was fast; I knew that. I also knew that my abilities weren't natural, they were... grown. What the hell...? Another burst of fear lashed words. “Who the hell are you?”
He straightened and stood watching me, his arms loosely folded across his chest. He was beautiful. Tall, with a lean athleticism only accentuated by his smooth, black suit and an easy perfection to his features that made it difficult to look away from him...
The most deadly smile lit his face. I swallowed, my mouth dry, and my heart thudded out an uneven beat. My stomach twisted as more panic surged. Did I know a lot about wickedly attractive men? This stranger had me completely thrown and that wasn't...me. Who was he?
“My name is James Kinsare.” He lifted a dark eyebrow and there was a hard glitter to his eyes that I couldn't read. “Sound familiar?”
“Should it?”
James sighed, and he gave me a simpler, less threatening smile. “I always live in hope.”
Straightening, and ignoring the protest of unused muscles, I stayed wary. I was in the dark...about everything. I didn't know who this man was. His name, his pretty face meant nothing. And I would never believe someone who could smile the way he had. “You said you knew me?”
He winced. “I was looking for you. Well, the frozen woman. I only knew you as Katya.”
Katya.