Shadows (Ultrahumans Book 2) Read Online Free

and she reached up, taking his hands in hers.
    ‘Why not?’ he whispered.
    ‘Let’s leave a little mystery,’ she replied. ‘If you ever need to, you can still say you’ve never seen my face.’
    ‘But…’
    ‘This has to be our secret, Jacob. Cygnus lost Bobby… I don’t want to have to turn up to your funeral.’ She lifted off him, swinging around and sitting on the edge of the bed. Then she reached down to retrieve her bra from where it had fallen.
    He slid up behind her, his knees to either side of her hips, and his arms slid around her waist. The moonlight made her dusky skin paler and turned his dark skin even darker against it.
    ‘So you sneak into my house at night and slip away again before anyone can see you? How do you do that anyway?’
    ‘Yes, and it’s a trade secret. It’s better this way. For now anyway.’
    ‘Better for who?’
    ‘Both of us. You don’t need to lie, and I don’t need to worry about you. It’s really hard to get dressed with you holding me like that. Even if I don’t really want you to let go.’
    He laughed and the tension in her stomach released. He was going to be okay with this, at least for a while. He let her go and settled back onto the pillows, a grin on his face.
    ‘I guess I can live with that. Heather’s going to know, y’know? Soon as she next sees us together, she’ll know. She’s perceptive like that.’
    ‘Is that going to be a problem?’
    Another laugh. ‘Only for me. She’s going to want to know all the intimate details.’
    Andrea chuckled in reply. ‘Going to tell her?’
    ‘I might exaggerate a bit. A man has a reputation to uphold.’
    ‘Four times isn’t enough to hold up your rep? I was impressed.’
    He shrugged, even if he did look pleased with that. ‘So I won’t need to exaggerate much.’
    8 th March.
    The problem with what she had spent Friday night doing was that it made what she had to do on Saturday night harder. She told herself that Twilight had taken Jacob to bed, and Andrea was the one walking into Lena’s rooms. Not even the real Andrea, she added firmly. Andrea was heterosexual, except when playing a prostitute for David Tonaldo’s lesbian daughter. Somehow, though, Friday night had turned the subterfuge into a real lie.
    Then again, the bright smile she got from the top-heavy blonde helped push that aside. Lena was an unwitting source of information about the criminal activities of her father and his organisation, but she lived for the nights when one of her lovers was allowed up to her apartment. Andrea had put a lot of effort into making sure that she was Lena’s favourite, the one she asked for most often. It was hard to be entirely unmoved by the level of devotion Lena had for her.
    ‘I’ve had a bit of a sucky week,’ Lena said. ‘I’m glad you could come tonight.’
    ‘I had to move a couple of appointments,’ Andrea lied, slipping her coat off to reveal the tiny, black mini-dress she was wearing beneath it. ‘But you know I’ll do that for you. I’ll make you forget all about your problems, don’t you worry.’
    ‘It won’t be easy. Poppa’s been in a foul mood since that diamond heist Cygnus and Twilight broke up.’
    ‘Was that one of his?’ Andrea asked, keeping her voice light. She crossed over to the sofa, settling beside her client. None of the intelligence suggested the Tonaldos had been behind the robbery.
    ‘No. That’s what’s bothering him. Some team from out of the city. He doesn’t like competition.’
    Leaning over, Andrea kissed Lena’s neck just under her left ear, eliciting a soft gasp. ‘I think I have a few tricks that’ll take your mind off it,’ Andrea purred.
    9 th March.
    ‘So you didn’t chicken out?’ Cygnus asked, grinning mischievously.
    ‘No,’ Twilight replied, ‘I didn’t. And don’t think you’ll distract me by trying to discuss it.’
    ‘Would I?’ Cygnus threw a feinted punch and Twilight blocked the real attack, a low kick, with apparent