Jaguars' Reward [Impulse 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read Online Free PDF Page A

wondering at first who’d spoken with such desperation. Then she realized the voice was inside her head. She really was a candidate for the funny farm. The man walked toward her, frowning.
    “Is something wrong? Did you just remember something about how you came to be in the ocean?”
    Kill him! Now’s your chance. Catch him while he’s off guard.
    No, he saved me.
    A debilitating pain ripped through Talia’s insides, causing her to gasp and double over. The man now looked downright concerned.
    “What is it?” He reached for her arm. “Why don’t you sit down until it passes?”
    Talia fought the impulse to attack but couldn’t overcome it—it was simply too strong. The more she resisted, the more searing the pain became.
    Do it!
    Her head cleared and Talia knew precisely what she had to do. All doubts eradicated, she leapt clear of his hand and went straight for his stomach with a hammer fist, following with a middle knuckle behind the hollow part of his ear. She’d taken him by surprise, and before he could recover, she delivered a roundhouse kick to his side.
    “What the fuck!”
    The man’s reflexes were lightning quick. He blocked Talia’s attack by parrying it with an open palm and at the same time moved his body forty-five degrees, away from her center line and her kick. She had no idea where she’d learned to fight like this, what sort of fighting it actually was, or even why she felt the overwhelming need to attack the man. But she couldn’t seem to stop. He was clearly trying to subdue her because whatever martial art she was performing, he knew it, too, and could have easily used his superior weight and strength to finish it then and there. He probably would if she didn’t quit right now.
    But Talia’s blood was up and she didn’t stop to think about the wisdom of her actions. Instinct overcame reason and she butterflied her legs into another kick aimed at his groin. Fighting fair was obviously an alien concept to her, at least at that moment. All that mattered was winning, and if attacking his most vulnerable places was what it would take to make the voice in her head go away, so be it.
    “Stop it right now before you get hurt!” the man yelled.
    Vadim? Yes, that was what he’d introduced himself as, and he was clearly out of patience with her. Talia didn’t blame him. She would be dead if it weren’t for him, but whatever mental force had persuaded her to attack her rescuer still drove her on.
    “Okay, babe, if that’s the way you want it.”
    He smiled at her, beckoning her forward, as though inviting her to take her best shot. Another brief flashback told her he wasn’t the first man to underestimate her fighting skills. This time, though, she sensed she’d met her match, but that didn’t hold her back. The desire to kill him had strengthened, smothering her feeble conscience. Worse, she was almost enjoying it. What did that say about her?
    He’d probably expect her to try another kick. But she now knew how fast he was and suspected that if she did that he’d simply grab her ankle and bring her down on her ass. So it would be safer to go for a pressure point. She lunged forward on her toes and slammed her forearm one inch below his elbow. Except, by the time she’d executed the move his elbow was no longer there. Damn, he was good! He caught her arm and tried to twist it up her back, but this time she anticipated him and sprang away before he could get a proper hold on her.
    “You’ve done this before,” he said, not even out of breath.
    “So it would seem,” she countered, trying to disguise the fact that, unlike him, she was breathing heavily.
    They circled one another, their gazes locked.
    “You don’t really want to do this,” Vadim said in a persuasive drawl.
    She lunged and he countered. “I have to.”
    “Why? Who’s controlling you?”
    Just for a moment her determination faltered, but the searing pain that ripped through her caused her to refocus. “I wish I