Read His Human Hellion (Ultimate Passage Book 2) for Free Online

color to a soft tangerine.
    Marissa bit back the smile at getting under his skin.
    “You must want to be handcuffed again.”
    “Why? So you have a reason to put your hands on me? I doubt you rate too highly with Asazi women, what with that lizard skin and bad attitude.”
    His color darkened to a deep orange. He stepped away from the tree. Took a few paces in her direction.
    “Oh, what? Is the big, bad lizard-soldier going to threaten the little, pathetic human? Oooohh, color me scared. Oh wait, you’re the one that changes colors, right? Not me? I’m the normal one.”
    With a bellow of pure rage and skin that had deepened to an orange red, he lunged.
    Marissa slammed the car door shut, and slid to the driver’s side. She locked the doors.
    He looked at her as if she’d gone crazy, dug in his pocket and took the keys out, swinging them like a slow pendulum.
    She read his lips more than she heard the words, “Stupid human.”
    He clicked the remote, with a beep the car doors unlocked.
    Marissa slapped the lock button again. He pulled on the handle. Nothing. He clicked it again, and this time he pulled on the door at the same time.
    “Not as smart as you thought you were, are you?” He reached in for her.
    O pening the other door, she climbed half-out. He extracted his upper body, stood up, and looked at her over the top of the car, as if daring her to do something.
    Marissa didn’t move. He stepped back, made like he was going to come around the back of the car. Marissa slipped back, closed the door. Reached across, closed the other door, and slapped the lock button again.
    He roared his frustration. Clicked the remote and opened the door right away. As quickly as he did this she jumped out and ran toward the tree while he was getting out of the car. She clutched the knife, tugging twice, pulling it free of the bark, then ran behind the next tree.
    His heavy footsteps crunching pine needles and undergrowth, his breathing loud behind her. She kept the knife in front of her tight to her body so he couldn’t see it.
    She knew he was going to catch her. She wasn’t in the kind of shape that could get away from a trained soldier. But she had to hope for the element of surprise.
    When he grabbed her arm, she screamed the loudest, most shrill war cry she could and aimed the knife for his neck. She closed her eyes, and slashed.
    A grunt made her eyes fly open. Surely she missed. He was going to kill her.
    Except he wasn’t. He was bleeding from the neck, a stunned look on his face.
    She was certain her own face had the same stunned look, so surprised she was at the blood pouring out of his body, and making a trail of red down the front of his uniform.
    Dear God, what had she done? She killed a man.
    Okay not a man, not exactly. But, she . . . she who had never so much as harmed a mouse, who couldn’t even imagine using mouse traps that weren’t humane had just slashed a man’s throat.
    His eyes glowed with accusation and hatred.
    “I’m sorry. Really.”
    What could she do? He wanted to take her to Kormia, she had no choice.
    No. What she had was no time to waste. If he was waiting for his partner, she had to get the hell out of here.
    And go where? Who knows, but the hell out of here.
    Keys. She needed the keys. She looked at his hands. One had the keys in them, she saw the jagged key teeth peeking out from this clenched fist.
    “Give me the keys.” She softened her tone. “Please. I’m sorry this happened. I didn’t have a choice.” She hoped he didn’t have a family, a wife and children. “I’m sorry.”
    His eyes were open, unfocused and glazing. He was gone. She reached to close them. He jerked, opened them. She jumped back, unsure if that was a post-mortem thing or what. She didn’t want to find out. She threw the knife down next to him, jerked his hand open, grabbed the keys and ran to the car.
    Starting it, she headed down the unpaved road, swerving and skidding on loose rocks. She slowe d her