This was it! Lt. Nella Reyes was about to receive orders for her first solo mission for Alpha Force, the covert military unit to which she was assigned. She leaned forward eagerly, her camouflage fatigues easing the discomfort of the wooden chair.

“This is an especially delicate situation,” said the unit’s commanding officer, General Greg Yarrow. Gray-haired and especially impressive in his dress uniform, he had called Nella and told her to appear this morning at nine hundred hours at his office in the Pentagon.

The room was ordinary compared with the general’s office at Fort Lukman on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where Alpha Force was headquartered. There, he had a whole collection of first edition books on wall shelves behind his mahogany desk. Here, his desk was worn and well used, and the only decoration in the office was the American flag.

“I can handle it, sir,” Nella said confidently. The general had selected her for this assignment. She would do it, whatever it was. “Just give me the particulars.”

General Yarrow’s smile bisected his long face and lifted the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and mouth. “I’m sure you can,” he agreed, then grew somber. “But the assignment’s not without danger, including the potential for the worst kind of exposure. You’re a medical doctor with plenty of important things to do for Alpha Force. I’ll understand if you want to opt out once you hear what it is.”

“That won’t happen.”

He studied her for a long moment with the piercing stare that could make the most self-assured officer wilt. Nella didn’t flinch, although she felt like it. She tried to maintain a confident expression on her face, ignoring the urge to touch her hair, make certain that no strand had escaped the tight bun at the back of her head.

“Okay, then.” The general leaned back in his chair. “Here’s the brief explanation. A journalist, Sherman Jonash, has stolen a computer thumb drive from Congressman Crandall Crowther. It contains highly sensitive information about Alpha Force. Fortunately it’s password protected, and Jonash is unlikely to have been able to get into it. It also has a GPS chip inside, so we know where it is. We need someone with your special abilities to sneak in and get it back. Fast.”

Nella translated silently. She knew who Sherman Jonash was. Who didn’t? He was a sleazy tabloid type who loved to create controversy in the reports he gave on network TV news.

The media giant he worked for, Omnibus International Communications, had been sued more than once for shenanigans Jonash had allegedly pulled. She didn’t know the results of the lawsuits, though. OIC had settled out of court, and one of the conditions had supposedly been absolute confidentiality.

But all that was irrelevant now. What was important was that, apparently, wherever the thumb drive was now hidden, a normal person couldn’t just slip in and retrieve it. But Nella could. Stealthily, in the dead of night. Scaling walls if necessary. Hidden by who and what she was.

“Yes, sir,” she said.

A knock sounded on the office door. “Come in,” the general called, then turned back to Nella. “Glad you agree, since here’s the congressman now. Oh, and instead of one of our usual Alpha Force handlers for backup, you’ll be assisted by the congressman’s chief aide. He’s particularly aware of the location and details about the building, and he knows the sensitivity of the mission.”

Even a solo operative of Alpha Force always had backup, but Nella had never heard of it being someone outside the unit. Yet she was used to following orders, and she had confidence in the general.

As two men entered the office, she turned—and froze.

She recognized them both. Congressman Crandall Crowther was in the news all the time. He was the head of the House of Representatives’ Armed Services Committee, known for his outspoken position on keeping things in the military solid and efficient—with funding of even the most covert ops under strict oversight of appropriate government personnel with highest security clearance. Despite that, he secretly supported Alpha Force and everything it stood for. That meant no official oversight, since government scrutiny would be contradictory to its very special mission.

His grip was firm as he greeted Nella after the general’s introduction. She wasn’t sure what she said in response as she tried to keep her eyes politely on the congressman.

And then she attempted to be cordial and unemotional as she was introduced to the congressman’s aide. The man who was assigned to be her aide as she performed her mission.

The man she had known and loved in college, with whom she had engaged in the hottest and most unforgettable sex ever. She had even dreamed of sharing a future with him.

Until he had seen who she really was and couldn’t handle it.

“Hello, Alec,” she said.

 

Good thing Alec Landerson had taught himself long ago to control his emotions—at least outwardly. It was the only thing good that had come from years of hell as a kid.

There’d been that lapse when he had first left home and been on his own at college, of course. That was when he had met Nella Reyes. His drinking and carousing had felt like a welcome relief from life with his demanding abusive father. But it had blown any chance of a future with the woman he now faced for the first time in nine years.

Losing her had hardened him. Changed how he directed his life. Made certain he was always in control, even as he chose to follow instructions…his way.

“Hi, Nella.” He approached casually and shook her hand as if this was the first time they had met.

He almost grinned at the wryness in her memorable golden eyes. He still recalled, in his rare vulnerable moments, how they had heated in passion when they had kissed and touched and…

Hell, this wasn’t the time to think about that.

But she remained one good-looking woman, even in that sexless light green camouflage uniform and with her soft brown hair pulled back from her face. Her perfect features were a little older but youthful, free of makeup—except for the pink shimmer on those still-kissable full lips.

“You two know each other?” Crandall asked. Alec’s boss, the congressman, was nothing if not observant.

“Back in college.” Nella shrugged slender shoulders. “We didn’t know each other well. Different majors. Different interests. Good to see you again, Alec.”

Half of that was a lie. They’d known each other very well…for a short time. Different majors? Yeah. Different interests, too. But Alec was sure, from the studiedly indifferent expression she assumed, that it was anything but good to see him again.

“Have a seat.” General Yarrow pointed to chairs across from his desk. The guy’s face looked as if he’d been around for a while. He sat, too, and looked at Crandall. “Have you explained to Alec what’s going on?”

“Part of it.” His boss looked toward him, eyebrows raised above narrow glasses. U.S. Congressman Crandall Crowther was a good guy, one who took his responsibilities as a representative of his Wisconsin constituency, and his country, very seriously. But Crandall was also all about appearances. Of course. He was a politician.

Alec had worked for Crandall for six years now, right out of law school and passing the bar. Respected him. Liked him.

Was trusted by him. Crandall assigned him all the jobs he didn’t want to even describe to other aides. Ones where the person executing the orders could soil his hands. Ones that could get the asses of both the congressman and his aide kicked out of the House and into prison if things went wrong.

Some job for a lawyer.

Alec loved it. Excelled at it.

He had gotten to know, from experience, when Crandall kept something to himself. As he’d been doing ever since telling Alec of a special secret assignment that would be a huge favor to Crandall, and to the entire country.

That could mean he was really in trouble if Alec screwed up.

Something was wrong, and Alec was about to learn what it was.

“All I know—” Alec looked at the general while feeling Nella’s and Crandall’s gazes on him “—is that something sensitive was stolen, and I’m to help get it back.”

“Exactly.” The general’s smile crinkled his face even more.

“Crandall, explain to Alec and Lt. Reyes what it is. I’ve given Nella some background, but you give the rest. Then I’ll tell them our plan for them to recover it.”

 

Sitting in the closest chair to the window, Nella couldn’t help cringing inside. Nor could she resist watching Alec’s face as the congressman, who sat between them, began to speak.

Alec hadn’t believed his own eyes before. Would he believe his boss? As if he’d have a choice.

Would he blame that on her? And why, after all this time, should she care?

“I’m very glad to meet you, Nella,” the congressman said. “And I’m especially pleased about your unusual skills. You can help us all out of a very touchy situation.”

“I’ll try, sir.”

“I also want to tell you how proud I am about the progress

Alpha Force has made since its inception, Greg,” the congressman said. The two older men, who obviously knew each other well, engaged in conversation. Nella listened without concentrating—her mind, and gaze, on Alec.

The years had only increased the strong masculine appearance of the man who’d once stolen her heart. His features were angular, his piercing brown eyes unreadable beneath straight heavy brows. He wore his deep-brown hair a lot longer than the military types she worked with.

Under his suit jacket, the breadth of his shoulders was apparent. She wondered if he was as buff as he’d been back when.

Attention, soldier. She made herself tune in again to Congressman Crowther. The man was shorter than his imposing presence in the media suggested. He wore a button-down white shirt that emphasized the darkest shades in his salt-and-pepper hair, and a striped tie, but no jacket.

“As you know,” he was saying to General Yarrow, “I’ve been attempting to obtain additional funding for your pet project—ha, ha—Alpha Force.”

That brought a brief smile to the general’s face, but a look of puzzlement to Alec’s. Obviously he hadn’t heard about Alpha Force. And wouldn’t have believed it, anyway, considering how he’d acted with her so long ago.

“For those with the highest clearance, I’d loaded a lot of information I’d collected about Alpha onto a memory stick with lots of capacity. Didn’t want to leave it on the computer at my office, since even with all our security, I was concerned about hackers. And here that fool tabloid reporter Sherman Jonash. Ah, yes, I can tell from your expression, Nella, that you know who he is.” His grin was wry. “I’ve got some bills up for consideration for appropriating funds to the military, including Alpha Force. Sometimes it spurs other representatives to act if the media start pushing, so I agreed to let him interview me. It was the off-the-wall stuff I anticipated, and I handled it fine. Only…well, he’d come to my office. I didn’t realize until after he’d left that the thumb drive wasn’t where I’d put it, in a drawer under my computer keyboard. I’d been called out for a quick question by an aide?a minute, two tops. Most other stuff the bastard could have grabbed would have been harmless, but…Anyway, he could expose the existence of Alpha Force if he finds a way to get through the passwords and other safeguards on that stick. Bad for you, and bad for me, too, since in public I support strict supervision over military forces and operations, even covert ops. And we all know that’s not how Alpha Force works. We need that memory stick back, Nella. That’s where you come in. And because this is so sensitive for me, I want my most trusted aide, Alec, to work with you. You okay with that?”

All eyes in the room were suddenly on her. She inhaled slowly. Was she okay with it?

She knew she could do the job, but all regular Alpha Force members were to fulfill their missions only with someone else watching their backs.

Congressman Crowther trusted Alec. General Yarrow was going along with it.

She stood and approached Alec. “I’m fine with it,” she said, “if Alec is. We did know each other years ago, General, Congressman. Our brief acquaintance did not end well.” She looked down. Alec’s gaze was emotionless?except for his eyes. They shot fire at her, both anger and…well, she could be imagining it, but a hint of the old attraction seemed to lurk there, too.

She would turn it off immediately with her next words. “I can handle your assisting me, Alec, if you can. I gather that the congressman hasn’t confided in you yet the nature of Alpha Force.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He rose. His turn to look down on her. He apparently still needed to feel in charge. Well, if they worked together now, she’d teach him that wasn’t always possible. “I’m in.”

“Fine,” she said. “Then you can accept that Alpha Force is a covert Special Forces military unit primarily comprising shape-shifters. And that what you saw in the woods all those years ago was true, and not a result of your being drunk. I do, in fact, shift into a lynx, Alec.” She turned away from him. “And, Congressman, I accept your assignment. I can enter any premises while in lynx form and steal back your memory stick.”

“So I could have believed my eyes that night?” Alec’s tone was as neutral as his expression had remained over the past hour. If not for their previous relationship, Nella might have thought he accepted everything without question.

Might have figured that bringing him here, to the hotel room she had booked while on this mission, was a neutral thing, too. She’d needed to come here to pick up items necessary for her part in their operation. He was supposed to accompany her as her backup. They would go after the thumb drive that night.

So here they were. Sitting momentarily on the uncomfortable sofa in a generic hotel room that smelled of cleaning solution. Pretending to be strangers.

Well, hell, they were strangers now. Sure, she used to know him well, or so she’d believed. Now she didn’t know him at all…and that brought back all kinds of old hurt.

Even as the king-size bed across the room brought back memories of another kind…

“Could have believed your eyes?” she responded as offhandedly as she could. “Sure. Would have? Well, I knew you wouldn’t. And didn’t. So that was that.”

“So that became your reason to dump me.”

Nella closed her eyes briefly, then opened them to glare into Alec’s indifferent brown ones. Lord, how she wanted to goad him. Make him drop his ironclad control. Bring back the best of their hot memories.

Grab him, tear off the rest of his clothes—he had already removed his jacket and tie—and make love with him for the rest of the night, instead of carrying out their mission.

As if.

“I didn’t dump you,” she said with a shrug of one shoulder. “Not really.” She picked up the large leather bag from the floor beside her, unzipped it and pulled out a couple of items, including the bottle of very special Alpha Force elixir that she had brought from Fort Lukman. “You made a huge fuss out there in the woods, then ran off.” Not that she’d dared run after him, not when her change had already occurred. “Next day when we got together, you tried to pretend nothing had happened, only you looked at me like some kind of freak. Which, to you, I was. You rationalized it all. You’d hallucinated after getting drunk—again. After promising you’d stop. Really drank too much that time, you kept saying. At least I felt relatively sure you wouldn’t give me away. Not when you didn’t believe it yourself. Even so, I couldn’t live with your attitude and figured you couldn’t accept the truth. So that was that.”

A pat description of the end of a relationship that Nella had thought, for a little while, would go on forever. She had imagined she would find a way to bring up the subject of shape-shifters in a straightforward manner, get Alec to accept the possibility and then let him in on what she was.

Instead, she had kept it to herself.

“That wasn’t that.” The words were spoken so low that Nella almost thought she imagined them. She turned to look at him.

Ah, finally. He was no longer in complete control. He glared at her with fury. And something else. Something that turned her to hot flowing lava everywhere inside.

He wanted her. Still. And did she want him? Hell, yes. But that couldn’t be. Not with what had passed between them.

“If you’d bothered to talk to me after that,” he said, his tone ominously intense, “you’d have found out how angry I was with myself. Yeah, I’d been drinking. Again.” He raised one large hand as if to stave off whatever she was about to say. His eyes glinted, and his handsome features seemed to turn even sharper with anger. “You knew I was always drinking then. It was college. My first time away from hell—I mean, home.”

She knew the slip was intentional. That had been one of the things that had drawn her to him in the first place. Admiration. And caring. Because he had grown up in such a hellish household as a child and had risen beyond it.

“But, yeah, I’d also promised you I’d stop. And meant it.

But that night I slipped. Know why?”

She sat utterly still, the memories of that night washing over her. In premed she had majored in wildlife ecology, an unusual choice, and it had been such a great excuse to tell him each month that she had to go on a camping trip to observe a nocturnal bird that only appeared during the full moon.

“To see the Wisconsin lunar owl?” That was the type of bird she had claimed to be watching—very rare. So rare as to be nearly extinct.

So rare as to be nonexistent.

She looked away from those piercing eyes again, pretending to concentrate on the bag on her lap.

“I was majoring in poly sci before law school,” he said. “Didn’t give a damn about birds, even pretend ones.” She looked up in surprise. “Yeah, I knew it was a ruse. I’d done my homework, knew that kind of owl existed only in your imagination. Or something. I suspected you had a guy on the side you slept with every month. Worked myself up to punch him out and dump you that night. That was why I was drunk. Real drunk. Then when I caught up with you, saw you look up at the full moon and turn into a cat, I figured I was having the d.t.’s.” He stood, fists clenched at his sides as if he again considered punching someone. He closed his eyes, apparently trying to get control. When he opened them again he said, “Since then, I haven’t had another drink. Oh, a beer now and then, but only on special occasions. I remain in control. Period. But you…you avoided me later when I tried to get the truth. Apologize. Whatever. You stopped talking to me for good.”

Tears rose into Nella’s eyes, and she kept her face averted. “I…my family…It’s important that what we are stays secret, especially then, when we weren’t in contact with others like us. I was so afraid you’d tell other people, that word would get out. It was so much easier just to be angry. To agree you were made crazy by the alcohol and hallucinated. Then not to take the chance you’d see me change again. Especially when you made it clear you despised anything you couldn’t understand.”

“But it turns out I wasn’t hallucinating.” He grimaced, obviously not fully accepting it even now. “Hell, I’d no idea woo-woo stuff like werewolves and shape-shifting lynxes could exist. And now I learn that my boss, a guy I really respect, has been secretly making sure that funds are appropriated for your classified military group where everyone supposedly shape-shifts.” He shook his head as if trying to clear it.

She rose. One way or another, she had to make him understand. Of course Congressman Crowther and General Yarrow had pledged Alec to secrecy—and trusted him to comply. He had top-secret security clearance, and this was absolutely confidential.

Plus, they had discussed Alec’s qualifications before leaving the general’s office. Sort of. Without revealing any details. But Nella had understood that nothing would stop Alec from doing his assignment for the congressman. Nothing.

And she? Well, she certainly hoped he could be trusted. And she needed to do all she could to encourage it.

“Not everyone in Alpha Force shape-shifts,” she said softly. “Those who don’t are animal trainers and other backup who help us in exercises and in the field. Each of us has the kind of animal we shift into as a pet, to help with our cover. We’re a last resort, able to sneak into situations that military troops, with their kind of strength, can’t handle.”

For the first time, he smiled. She loved that smile. It lit up his whole face, reminding her of the way he used to smile at her. And his eyes softened. As if he gave a damn about her once more. Still.

Which nearly made her melt—even if she was reading too much into his expression.

“I can see you with a pet cat,” he said softly. “Right from the first, without knowing or even imagining that you were…well, kind of feline yourself, I thought of you as resembling a cat, in the best of ways. Soft and sleek and self-contained, yet lovely. Aloof when you wanted to be, but a sex kitten in bed. With those observant, teasing eyes. Your hair was?is?the sexiest mane I’d ever seen. And…”

Nella wasn’t sure which of them moved first. More likely it was simultaneous. But quite suddenly she found herself in Alec’s strong embrace, held tightly against his chest. Oh, yes, it was still firm. Buff. Sexy as hell, or so it seemed through his clothes. She wanted to pull his shirt off.

But before she could act, his mouth was on hers, kissing her familiarly yet differently. Hotter. Even sexier than ever, if that was possible. His tongue slipped into her mouth, exploring. Tasting. And she sparred back with her own.

“Nella,” he whispered raggedly against her. “I’ve never forgotten you.” His hands ranged down her body to grip her buttocks. Hold her even closer.

As she pressed into her she felt the evidence that he was as aroused as she was. She gasped his name.

She tore at his clothes, not like a kitten or even a lynx, but a lioness readying her prey to eat. At the same time, he undressed her, fast, as if he couldn’t wait, either, to bare what was beneath.

In no time they wound up on that bed Nella had tried so hard to ignore. She indulged herself and stared at Alec’s naked body. It was harder, tougher than he had been as a youthful college student. Why was this lawyer, political aide, so well toned? So gorgeous? So sexy?

She didn’t have more time to study him. Not when his lips regained hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth and teasing hers with thrusts and parries as his body rolled on top of hers, also taunting. His hands were between them, cupping her breasts, thumbing her nipples, then lower, lower, until his fingers dipped into her wetness. “Alec,” she moaned, even as she, too, let her hands explore him.

For barely a moment he moved away, only to return with a condom package in his hand. Good move. She ripped it from him, tore it open, then tormented him by insisting on unfurling it around his large enticing erection. Having so little experience, she moved slowly, carefully, smiling as he groaned.

And then he was inside her, thrusting. This time she screamed his name while meeting his every stroke. Faster. Harder?and then over the top into ecstasy, even as he, too, climaxed.

As he donned his clothes, Alec couldn’t help watching while Nella, standing at the far side of the bed, did the same. Her pale body was slender, sleek and sexy as hell as she pulled on jeans and buttoned on a black shirt. No bra to cover those tempting breasts…

“Here, make yourself useful,” she said. Her camouflage uniform was slung over a chair. She yanked the top sheet off the bed from beneath the coverlet. “Fold this up. We need to take it along.”

He was curious but didn’t ask why. Instead, he did as she requested. She joined him in a minute, and together they finished folding.

Her gaze met his as she took possession of the sheet. For a moment she looked vulnerable. He wanted to pull her back into his arms. But then her golden eyes turned steely. “I guess we needed to get that out of our system before we could work together.” Her tone sounded indifferent, and she turned away and crammed the sheet into the larger of the two bags she’d said they needed to take along.

What the hell was she talking about? The fact they’d had sex? “I’d say it’s anything but out of our system,” he contradicted irritably. “If anything, it’s just whetted my appetite for more.”

“Get over it,” she said. “You’re about to lose interest real fast.”

 

Sitting in Alec’s high-end sedan as he drove to their destination, Nella didn’t feel even an iota of the nonchalance she showed. But glibness hid her sense of longing for what could never be. Sure, they’d just made love?again, after all these years, and it was even more phenomenal than back then.

But his interest in her as a person, let alone a sexual partner, was about to evaporate.

To accomplish their goal, she was about to shift. She knew how he reacted to that. Knew that, even with his boss’s assertions, he couldn’t quite accept it.

Well, he would. Soon.

And what if something went wrong? She could hardly inform him that she was about to drink a shape-shifting elixir that was an earlier formulation than the one currently approved for use by Alpha Force. The newer formulation had made her ill recently, when combined with her human female hormones at the wrong time of the month. That wouldn’t be a factor today, but even so, she didn’t consider the later formulation the best for her. The earlier version, while imperfect, was preferable for now.

The elixir gave Alpha Force members the ability to shift at will. Otherwise, they would only change during the full moon, with no control over it—the way it had been when she was in school. The elixir also enhanced their ability to retain human awareness while changed.

“Tell me anything else you know about the location of the thumb drive,” she said, mostly to make conversation.

“You’ve seen the best information I could get. We have a general fix on Jonash’s office, thanks to the GPS chip. But its layout and furnishings…well, that you’ll have to play by ear.”

Before leaving the hotel room, Alec had booted up his laptop computer and shown her their destination?the headquarters of Jonash’s employer, Omnibus International Communications. Alec had scoped it out as soon as the congressman discovered that the thumb drive was missing and they’d tracked its location. He had obviously leaped in, taking on his mission even before realizing what it really was about, something Nella had seen in him before. And admired.

Because the target building was a historic landmark built in the late nineteenth century, it was featured online on sites devoted to Washington, D.C., architecture. Plus, there were other Internet resources such as Google Earth that allowed people to look at any location from cameras on satellites and even zoom in on structures from multiple angles.

Fortunately it looked like the kind of building Nella should be able to access with ease. Only a few stories high, it had architectural details that made it a lot easier than a sleek modern structure for her to get into. And Alec had already scoped it out in person, too, and seen that windows were often left open on the upper floors. Maybe the old building’s air-conditioning system needed an upgrade. All the better for her to fulfill her mission.

“Then tell me everything else you know about Jonash and OIC,” she said.

Alec glanced at her with another unreadable expression, which changed to irritation. Even so, he complied. He talked about Omnibus, telling Nella mostly things she already knew but that showed he had done his homework here, too—left nothing to chance. For example, OIC, one of the world’s largest media conglomerates, had a megastructure that included everything from cable-television networks to tabloid magazines and newspapers.

Nella shuddered to think what would happen if Alpha Force was revealed in any of them, let alone in all of them. It could no longer function as the ultimate covert military unit.

That couldn’t happen.

They arrived at the OIC headquarters building quickly. Nella couldn’t help feeling nervous. She shook it off. She would succeed.

She had become a medical doctor because she had wanted to learn everything about physiology and the scientific possibilities surrounding beings like her.

She’d joined the very specialized Alpha Force to associate with other shape-shifters and to use her special talents for the good of her country. And of course, to obtain the benefits of its wonderful elixir and participate in studies to improve it.

She might never have another assignment as critical?especially if she failed now.

“It’s your game.” Alec’s growl suggested he wasn’t pleased with that idea. “Where would you like me to park?”

“I saw an alley on the east side when we looked at the layout on the computer, between our target and the office building next door. See if you can pull in there—but watch out for security cameras.”

Fortunately they saw none. The alley was remote and dark and seemed perfect to Nella, especially since it had an area for trash containers beneath an overhang that was currently empty, a good shelter for her to work in. “Let me out here,” she said. “Then go find somewhere to wait.”

“No way.” He glared at her, then pulled the car into the shadows beneath the overhang. “It wasn’t my goal to become your assistant, but since that’s my job now, I’ll stay with you as long as possible. Watch your back. You got any problem with that?”

She did…and she didn’t. “Have it your way,” she said with an indifference she didn’t feel. She grabbed her two bags from the back seat of the car, then got out.

At the front of the car, she pulled the vial of liquid crucial to her operation out of the bigger bag, followed by the other important piece of equipment: the battery-operated light that, when turned on, was close enough to moonlight to allow her to change.

Without another word to Alec, she set up the light right in front of the car, turned it on, and bracing herself for all that was to come, she drank the elixir.

Alec stood between his car and the building, his back against the wall in the darkest gloom of the alley. Watching. Waiting. Preparing himself to scoff at how gullible he’d been to think he was going to see some woo-woo transformation right in front of his eyes.

The same transformation he had seen all those years ago and hadn’t believed because he was drunk—and didn’t want to believe.

Well, he was cold sober now. And he still didn’t want to believe…did he?

The light Nella turned on was focused into a small conic area but very bright. She had unscrewed the lid from a glass jar and drunk the contents. And then…

She glanced at him as she yanked the sheet they had folded out of the larger of the bags she had brought along, shook it open and held it up as if planning to hide behind it. But then, glaring at him defiantly, she instead shoved it back into the bag. And started peeling off her clothes.

His body reacted as he stared at her lovely form once more, quickly nude. He reacted, subduing an urge to grab her. Make love to her again.

But he realized what she was doing: getting ready to morph into a lynx.

Wasn’t she? Was it real? Did he want it to be real?

Hell, yes. It would mean that he hadn’t been crazy or hallucinating then. That his boss, Congressman Crowther, was a crafty SOB who spouted platitudes about the transparency and openness of the U.S. military to the government employees with sufficient security clearances to supervise its ops, while ensuring that it had the finances to use the most bizarre and potentially useful kinds of really covert resources imaginable. Or unimaginable.

And that he, Alec, had made love with one of the world’s most unique women.

That should bother him, shouldn’t it?

Hell—…

He tensed. Nella’s pale body shivered, even as she hunched over. Grew smaller. Smaller?

She had freed her long, light brown hair from its knot behind her head. It appeared to grow shorter—even as fur of the same color appeared on her shrinking body.

In moments Nella was no longer there. In her place stood a feline creature, with dark tufts of fur on its—her—pointed ears. She stood still for an instant as if orienting herself to her surroundings, then turned and ducked so that the strap of the smaller bag Nella had brought draped over her head.

Then she turned and stared straight at Alec with intense golden eyes. Nella’s intense golden eyes, clearly aware of him. Challenging him.

Alec stared back—and to his surprise felt no revulsion but interest. Attraction of a kind he didn’t understand. Didn’t need to understand. Not now.

For suddenly the lynx bolted from their cover beneath the overhang and into the darkness of the alley.

First step of the mission: accomplished.

She was aware of the changes to her body: smaller. More agile. More lithe, elastic. More alert, senses heightened.

All lynx.

She spared a sidelong glance for Alec, her handler and more. Much more, but that did not matter now. Had he accepted what he saw?

She left him far behind as she loped toward the building.

The older-formulation elixir had worked well this time, at least so far. Now she was fully changed, felt fine, was fully cognizant of her surroundings and who and what she was?more so than when, before joining Alpha Force, she changed at the full moon each month and became a cat without as much human awareness.

The cover of darkness was useful. There were street lamps and a small bit of illumination flowed through the building’s windows, where lights were left on inside. She needed neither, not with her keen sense of sight in minimal light.

She reached a rear entry to the low, pale stone building, a closed door. No matter. Despite the empty pouch attached around her neck by a loose strap, she leaped effortlessly from the ground onto the ledge that extended below the windows of the second floor. The architectural detailing on this classic structure was her friend.

In lynx form, she was small enough that a person could mistake her for a large domestic cat. That would help with her cover. Not that people would expect to see a cat scale a commercial building.

Slowly, crouched as she moved, she continued along the ledge around occasional fluted columns, scouting each window. In this form, she could not test to see if any was unlocked. She had to trust that, once again, some careless human had left a window somewhere in this building cracked open enough for her to slither inside.

Not on this floor. Just as well, perhaps, since the office that was her goal was on the top floor of this ornate structure—the third. Reaching a suitable part of this ledge, she leaped onto the floor above.

And soon found the entry she wanted. What human would worry about the lapse in security by leaving an office window open here, on the third floor? Not the occupant of this office. The opening was narrow, but she compacted herself into as small a form as possible, stared into the darkness to make certain that nothing, no one moved in the room. Listened for any noise that heralded the arrival of an intruding human. Hearing none, she slunk inside.

This wasn’t the office she sought, but it wasn’t far away.

She meandered around a short while to find doors that weren’t closed. Soon she was in the empty dark hall.

Carefully, using her enhanced senses to confirm she remained alone on this deserted floor, she traversed the hall. This was the home of a media conglomerate, but no television filming or radio broadcasting emanated from here. This was merely an office building. One that, at this hour, was largely empty.

A minute later she was in Sherman Jonash’s office.

 

Still standing in the shadows by his car, Alec got his mind back under control. He had seen what he had expected to see.

Nella Reyes, the hot sexy woman to whom he was damned attracted, with whom he had made love, was, in fact, a shape-shifter.

And as he watched, she had made what had appeared to be a leap of supernatural height, from the ground onto the decorative projection framing the building. He hadn’t been able to see her easily in the near darkness. And he had soon lost track of her.

He was supposed to wait here, be ready to take off in the car with her as soon as she reappeared with the thumb drive in the bag around her neck. Twiddle his thumbs. Yeah. Sure.

Alec wasn’t a military guy, used to taking orders as Nella was. Sure, as a political aide with aspirations to hold office someday himself, he did as Congressman Crowther directed.

Including using his own ingenuity to take care of things in a way that wouldn’t harm the congressman. That was his real job, why the congressman had hired him. Relied on him. After all, with his background as a lawyer, he knew that directions were always subject to interpretation.

He examined the alleyway around him. Then he started walking in the direction from which he had driven here.

 

One benefit of being a shape-shifted lynx: she had accessed this office so much more easily than if she’d been human. Even if no one was around on this floor, she knew, from Alec’s reconnaissance, that the building’s entry was subject to security.

A benefit of being a shape-shifting human: if she had been solely a lynx, she would have had no idea where to look for the stolen thumb drive. But, with particular thanks to the elixir, she retained her human awareness and intelligence.

Another benefit of being a shape-shifted lynx: no need to turn on lights to see her surroundings and its contents in near darkness. With an easy jump Nella was on the desk.

Only…a drawback of shape-shifting: in this body, with paws, instead of fingers, searching through piles of paper on the desk, boxes of pencils, pens and clips, through desk drawers and behind files, was not easy.

It was, however, possible.

So was quickly scanning documents she pawed through. Some seemed quite interesting. She maneuvered her body around to shove them into the bag around her neck. But she had to focus on her real mission: finding the memory stick.

One obvious place to look: the desktop computer that dominated one side of Jonash’s messy desk. Was it attached there?

Most people generally removed extra memory or backup accessories from their computers. Jonash was apparently one of them.

Plus, he was unlikely to want to call attention to his possession of this particular item, since he had stolen it.

No, more likely he had hidden it. But where?

In plain sight? Nella walked along the desk, feeling her way with all four paws. But all she found in a similar shape to a thumb drive, beneath newspapers and notepads and other things cluttering the surface, were pencil stubs and small staplers.

She had to get into drawers. Not easy with small cunning paws.

Maybe she should have found a way to sneak Alec inside to help. He was supposed to be her aide, after all.

And the idea of his being here, watching her back—

What was happening here? She had shifted. Her human thoughts were not supposed to be emotions. And definitely not sexual.

Head toward the floor, she leaned over the side of the desk, wedged her paw into a drawer handle and pushed outward.

 

Good thing Alec had done his homework—as always. While standing in the shadows across the street from the Omnibus International Communications headquarters, he saw a bright red sports car turn into the driveway of the building’s underground parking. The make and model Sherman Jonash drove. Alec was too far away to see the driver, but he had no doubt.

Jonash would soon head to his office.

Damn! Alec slipped from concealment and crossed the street. Under ordinary circumstances, first thing he’d do was whip out his cell phone and call the person searching that office, warn them to get out. Fast.

Only, Nella wasn’t a person searching that office. And she certainly hadn’t hidden her cell phone on her sleek feline body. Not in the bag she carried, either. No way could she answer it if she had.

Watching Nella’s back was Alec’s reason for being here. Even if it hadn’t been, he wasn’t about to allow that amazing sexy creature to be caught by scheming media thief Jonash.

Alec thought fast. Sneaking in around building security wasn’t an option. If it had been, Congressman Crowther wouldn’t have enlisted anyone from Alpha Force in the first place. That was one of the first things Alec researched for the congressman.

Physically stopping Jonash wasn’t an option, either, despite Alec’s initial inclination to simply render the man incapable of heading for his office. But such an action had too many hitches, and some might reflect badly on Alec’s boss.

He had to use his brain. And his lawyerly and other negotiating skills. Fast.

Before the metal security gate closed behind Jonash’s car, Alec slipped inside and followed the car down the ramp toward the parking area.

 

The drawer was locked. For good reason.

She had a way to deal with it. During maneuvers at Alpha Force, she had honed this skill along with the others that made her, in feline form, unique among her fellows in the unit.

She unsheathed her claws. Still leaning over from above, she inserted the longest claw into the hole in the desk drawer where a key should go. Felt around. Pushed carefully at the protrusions within the mechanism till she felt something release.

She opened the drawer. Looked inside.

There! A memory stick with a key-chain loop attached. On it was a charm depicting a mace with an eagle on top, the symbol of the United States House of Representatives, along with the initials CC: Crandall Crowther. The same as the photo she was shown.

She had to separate it from the bulldog clips and memo sheets covered with handwritten notes. Get it into her bag.

A few words on some of the sheets caught her attention. She curved her paw into a scoop and thrust them out. The thumb drive, too. Fortunately there was a rug below to cushion it and prevent it from making much noise as it landed on the floor.

She pushed the drawer closed, then dropped effortlessly onto the floor, again carefully scooping all she needed into the bag around her neck.

Suddenly a pain shot through her, one so intense that she emitted a shrill feline moan. Oh, no, not now! She felt the pain yet again.

Just as she heard voices outside the office door.

“Look, Jonash, I’m not hearing what I want to.” Alec raised his voice as if in anger. What he really wanted, standing here in the now well-lighted hallway with the sleazy reporter, was to make sure Nella heard him and got out—since choking the guy unconscious still wasn’t an option. Alec had had to sign in with security, too. “Do we have a deal?”

“It’s a definite maybe.” Jonash gave Alec a smile as broad as the Capitol rotunda. That was part of why the guy was so successful. He looked so damned trustworthy. Short dark hair. Big blue eyes that oozed sympathy and reliability. A face as youthful as a choirboy’s.

No wonder people, especially women, all over the country seemed to believe every word he said, despite the ridiculous lies he often told.

But those lies were, in fact, interspersed with truth that he had excavated from politicians and film stars and even ordinary folks by using his charm, sincerity and all the lowest, filthiest contrivances imaginable. Thievery was one of the nicest tricks he engaged in.

“You know how it goes, Alec,” Jonash continued affably. “You’ve been in politics long enough to know that everything you tell me has to be substantiated before I can use it.”

Yeah, sure he substantiated everything. Like meeting aliens from outer space face-to-whatever passed for a face.

But all Alec said was, “I understand. But that computer memory stick that you…well, that’s now in your possession. Doesn’t it substantiate everything?” What Alec really wanted to know was whether Jonash had already gotten beyond the password and into the meat of what was on the drive—such as the existence of Alpha Force. And its shape-shifting members.

“It helps,” said Jonash. “But anything else you can add would be great.”

That sounded vague enough to let Alec hope the contents remained unaccessed.

“Of course.” Alec tried to sound convincingly eager.

“So, to repeat what you said on our way up here, Congressman Crowther somehow blames you for allowing me to…borrow that memory stick, and he fired you. You’re pissed and willing to do what it takes to blow the whistle on the congressman and the military unit that’s his favorite project.”

“You got it.” Alec watched as Jonash reached for the door to his office. Was Nella there, or had she left? Had she found the thumb drive, retrieved it?

Before the door opened, Jonash pivoted to look at Alec. His youthful appearance was supported by his slight physique. He was shorter than Alec. Thin. But strong, or so it had appeared on the news segments he had filmed where he participated in everything from triathlons to benefit offbeat charities, to martial arts, to faked wrestling matches.

“We could make a really good team here, Alec,” he said, “if you’re not pulling my leg. You might even be able to work for me. Act as my political adviser. Help me dig up stuff on the people who run this country so we can make sure the American public isn’t kept in the dark. But if you’re lying…”

“I’m sure we can work together.” It killed Alec to try to sound frantic, as if he really needed to convince this guy.

“We’ll see.” Jonash turned his back and pushed open his office door, flicking on the lights.

At first Alec felt relieved. No indication of a cat anywhere on the desk or furniture. The desktop appeared a mess, though. Had Nella done that, or was Jonash a slob?

But then…he saw a pair of feminine legs on the floor beyond the desk. “What the hell?” Alec shouted.

At the same time Jonash yelled, “Hey!”

Alec pushed by him. Nella, in human form, lay on the floor. Naked. Barely conscious, although her eyes opened slightly.

She looked hazily toward Alec. “What happened?” she asked softly.

And then she looked over Alec’s shoulder, toward where Jonash stood—and screamed.

 

It was the best she could think of to do under the circumstances. She had the feeling, thanks to what she had found here in Jonash’s office, that this impulse would save her. And Alec’s reputation.

And, most of all, Alpha Force.

She quickly curled herself into a ball. She hated being nude, knowing that these men stared at her. Jonash, especially. She knew what he was, and his eyes on her made her shudder.

“What are you doing here?” the reporter demanded.

“I…I’m sorry. I just woke up. The drugs…I know I promised I’d leave before, but what you gave me…”

“What the hell is she talking about?” Jonash demanded. He was looking at Alec, as if he had all the answers.

Alec probably didn’t know what she was up to, but bless him, he’d removed his shirt and quickly draped it over her. He clasped her shoulders briefly in support before standing again and glaring angrily at Sherman Jonash.

“What drugs?” he asked in a calm but furious voice. He was a damned good actor. Or maybe it was his fear that they’d been found out, that his boss, the congressman, could be blamed, that made him so tautly emotional.

“I have no idea what she’s talking about.” Jonash crossed his arms. In anger—or to protect himself—

“Do you have a cell phone?” Nella asked Alec calmly, although her voice shook. She couldn’t believe what she was going to ask him to do, but she did it, anyway, when Alec nodded. “Take some photos here. Of Mr. Jonash, and his office…and me. This way. Although I want to keep your shirt on, if I may.”

“Sure,” Alec said, and quickly started doing as she said.

“Hey. No!” Jonash lunged at Alec and tried to grab his phone, but Alec shot a picture of that, too, and kept the cell away from his attacker.

“No more stealing,” Alec said with a smile as feral as any Nella had seen on her fellow Alpha Force members. He turned to Nella. “Would you like for me to call the police, miss?”

Good. He wasn’t acknowledging that he knew her, at least for now. That might work better in the long run.

“Not yet.” Nella made sure the shirt covered her as well as possible as she stood. “Although it might make sense to call building security. Make sure they let the OIC executives know exactly what happened here.”

She caught the momentary glance of fury on Jonash’s face as he pushed himself off his desk and toward her, hands outstretched as if in attack.

Calling on her military training, she prepared to utilize her most effective self-defense techniques—but Alec, thrusting his cell phone into his pocket, interposed himself between Jonash and her. Hell, he was a lawyer, a politician, nonmilitary. Even so, he maneuvered around till he was behind Jonash, his arm tightly around the journalist’s throat as the man ineffectually tried to beat at Alec with his fists—until Alec tightened his grip.

She couldn’t have done it better herself. She grinned at Alec but saved her questions for later. But damn, his smug smile over Jonash’s shoulder was sexy.

Nella walked around the desk and took a seat in the chair behind it, intending to appear in charge. “Okay, Sherman,” she said, “as you know, I am a member of Alpha Force, and I was sent here to retrieve the computer memory stick you stole.”

“I know no such thing,” he retorted stonily. She’d always thought he looked like such an innocent young man on news broadcasts. Now he looked older. Angrier. Devilish.

“Then you chose to sexually assault a total stranger for the fun of it?”

“I never—” He started to struggle, but Alec’s grip around his neck tightened even more.

“But you did steal the thumb drive, didn’t you?” she asked calmly.

“I…borrowed it. Congressman Crowther wasn’t answering all my questions, and the public has the right to know about the boondoggles he’s trying to get funded.”

“And what did you learn from it?”

“Not a damned thing!” he exploded. “I put it into my computer and the message that came up on the screen said it would not only self-destruct but destroy the computer if the right password wasn’t given. I was going to get one of the company’s best techs involved but haven’t had time. When Alec, here, approached me, I figured he could help. But I take it that you haven’t been fired by Crowther, after all.”

He tried to turn toward Alec, who didn’t let him. “Nope. The congressman and I are on the best of terms.”

He glared next at Nella. “And you found the thumb drive?”

She raised her brows and shrugged. “Could be. One more thing. What did you think you’d find on the drive?”

“I didn’t know. Crowther claimed that his favorite military project, Alpha Force, was just developing some top-secret new technology to combat terrorism. But I’d heard rumors of…well, shape-shifting.”

Nella burst out laughing and was glad when Alec again followed her lead. “Like I told you before, Sherman. I’m a member of Alpha Force. Do I look like some kind of wolfwoman to you?”

“No,” he replied gruffly.

“Good answer.” She stood and walked to the side of the desk, retrieving the sack she had brought to the office from the floor. “In case you’re wondering, I did manage to find some of the paperwork on and in your desk from your employer, warning you not to get into any more trouble or you’d be on your own. Fired. Out of here on your ass. You’ve got those pictures on your cell, Alec?” she asked. No problem now acknowledging that they knew each other.

“Sure do.”

“So Alec and I are leaving with the thumb drive and photos. If we ever hear of your bothering Congressman Crowther or making claims about his pet projects—especially Alpha Force—the classified report I’m about to make about what you did to me, including photos, will become unclassified and sent directly to the OIC powers that be. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” he said angrily.

“Then I think you can let him go now, Alec.”

Alec complied, although he clenched his fists as if eager to use them on the journalist if he made any further threatening gestures. But all Jonash did was gingerly rub his neck.

“See you, Sherman,” Nella said, and headed toward the door.

“Wait,” Jonash said as Nella and Alec were poised to step into the hallway. “One question.”

“Which is?” Nella asked.

“How did you get around building security? How did you get in here?”

“You’re the one who drugged me and brought me in,” Nella said sweetly. “You tell me.”

“Besides, that’s two questions, Jonash,” Alec said, and led Nella out the door.

“Excellent job. Both of you.”

Alec watched, smiling as Congressman Crandall Crowther accepted the thumb drive from Nella, then shook her hand.

“My sentiments exactly,” said General Yarrow. “Alpha Force owes you.”

“Just fulfilling our mission, sir,” Nella said. Her modesty made Alec want to shout out how well she had done under pressure. But he figured the congressman and general already knew.

It was the next morning. They had rallied once more at the general’s office in the Pentagon—after Nella and Alec had spent the rest of the night in her hotel room, celebrating by engaging in the most phenomenal sex of his life. And that was saying something, considering all the lovemaking he and Nella had already done.

The congressman held out his hand to Alec. “I knew I could count on you,” he said. “With your special ingenuity, you’re going to go far in service to our country. Maybe run for office yourself one of these days?as long as you don’t oppose me.”

“Don’t worry about that, sir.”

“Enough chitchat.” General Yarrow waved them toward the seats facing his desk. “I want to hear all about how you pulled this off.”

“Yes, sir!” Nella saluted, even as she pulled the papers she had taken from Jonash’s office out of the small bag. As she sat down, she looked at Alec and smiled so warmly that he wanted to grab her right there. Kiss her again, the way they had so often last night. “It was a great joint effort between Alpha Force and the best of the staff of the U.S. Congress.”

 

After Nella told her part of what had happened, she knew what the general would say. “You changed back into human form that quickly?” he demanded.

“Yes, sir. I used an older formulation of the shape-shifting elixir since I’d had an even worse reaction to the more current one. It’s geared more to those who shift into canine form than feline. I’ll be using my medical background to experiment more with this, along with the others at Alpha Force who are most into the tonics.”

“Like Lt. Drew Connell,” said the general.

“Exactly. Also, we’re planning to enlist those who shift into other kinds of beings, so this should help in that, too.”

“Good. Best of luck with it.” The general stood, clearly a dismissal. “I want to do a little brainstorming with you, Crandall, about how to avoid this kind of situation in the future. We’ll talk to you two further later on.”

Alec rose at the same time as Nella, and they both headed for the door. Before they left the office, though, Alec said, “General, I want to visit Fort Lukman and get a better sense of all that Alpha Force is about.”

As Congressman Crowther watched with obvious amusement, the general grinned, his gaze shifting from Alec to Nella and back again. “I have a feeling there’s more to your visit than that, but we’ll be glad to have you there.”

 

“So…I’ll just drop you back at your hotel,” Alec said when they were again in his car.

Nella looked at him. He was watching the road, and she studied his sexy, masculine, beloved profile, absorbing it, wondering if she would ever see it or him again.

She had dared to hope so, with his last comment in the general’s office. But if he was just going to dump her out now…

“Sure,” she said casually. “That’ll be fine. It’s been fun, Alec. And I really appreciated how you handled yourself in Jonash’s office. You acted as if you were almost reading my mind, you were so great about following my lead. And the way you physically took control of Jonash—how did you do that?”

“I study martial arts to stay in shape, and just for the fun of it.” His sideways glance suggested there was more to it than that. Maybe it was just his attitude, and maybe something more. She’d get it out of him later…she hoped.

“Excellent job,” she said. “And I think the congressman’s right. You’ll make a good politician. And?”

“Hush,” he said. And then he leaned over, grabbed her gently by the back of her head and kissed her soundly. Sexily. With his tongue playing excruciatingly, tantalizingly hot games inside her mouth.

Good thing they had stopped at a red light.

A honk sounded behind them. Alec broke away with a laugh. “Time to go,” he said. “Oh, and by the way, I’m dropping you at your hotel while I go grab a bag of my stuff. You can check out, and then the two of us can take a well-deserved vacation for a couple of days, wherever you say.”

“Oh. I thought you?”

“Were running away from you? No way. And isn’t the night after tomorrow a full moon?”

She drew in her breath. “Yes. And that means?”

“You’ll change whether you want to or not. I got that. And I’ll be there, watching your back. Again. That okay with you?”

He hazarded a grin toward her, then turned back to the road.

“So this time you won’t be drunk. I won’t be able to claim you’re hallucinating.”

“You won’t be able to dump me,” he asserted with a nod. “So we’re clear on that? We’re going to see where this relationship goes, lynx-lady?”

“Fine by me,” she said, and wearing a huge smile, settled into her seat.