The Switch, Debra Kayn [best books for 20 year olds .txt] 📗

She couldn't move away if she'd wanted to. Pleasure hit her low and swift. She straightened her spine, trying to get closer.

Trip lifted her head, kissing her deeper. Her eyes closed at the onslaught of desire filling her.

He took his time exploring the kiss. The softness of his lips contrasted with the roughness of his whiskers.

She could see him in her mind, as plain as day. There was no reason to open her eyes.

Her nipples peaked, and a tremor rolled through her. He pulled back without letting her go.

She blinked, gazing up into his eyes. They were stormy and darker, more alive.

His hand slipped from her neck, and he pressed his palm against her chest like he had before. This time, she let him.

After a minute, he picked up her hand and pressed it under his leather vest. His heart pounded against her palm.

She smiled. He'd enjoyed the kiss.

The screen door behind her slammed shut. She jerked her hand off Trip's chest as if caught doing something scandalous.

"Hey, Trip. Do you want to toss the football again?" All Zach's attention was on their guest, thank goodness.

Bonnie's overheated face was surely red. The boys were used to her going out on the occasional date. Having lost their father at such a young age, the boys never viewed another man as a replacement for their dad.

"Five minutes, and then I need to take off." He lifted his chin. "Go out for a long pass."

While her oldest son jogged across the lawn, Trip squeezed her thigh. "Thanks for dinner."

"You could stay," she said.

"Another time." He kissed her again. "What I want to do with you doesn't need an audience."

He stood, jogged across the grass, picked up the football, and threw the ball high and straight in the air.

Her body vibrated. She blew out her breath. When Trip decided to talk, he knew the exact thing to say.

Nothing could peel her off the porch step. She watched Trip toss throw after throw to her boys. The contentment of having her family happy and knowing Trip's presence was why her boys were talking and actively playing after dinner had to do with him.

Having him here seemed right.

She rubbed her thumb against the palm of her hand. It was almost like she could still feel his heartbeat.

She'd never had a man share his heartbeat with her or even be aware of it. Usually, the men she'd dated concentrated on their dick without sharing more about themselves with her.

For some reason, putting her hand on his chest left her tingling. It was more intimate than sex.

Trip got on his motorcycle with her sons taking it all in. She was as smitten by him as they were. The outlook of having another dinner or getting to spend more time alone with him had her looking forward to a new week.

She pressed two fingers to her lips. His kiss wasn't simply a physical interaction shared by two people. Having his mouth on her was the closeness she missed. All those dates and short-term relationships she'd had throughout the years paled to what Trip gave her tonight.

She couldn't explain why. It just felt different with him, and she was ready to see him again. Soon, she hoped.

Chapter Fifteen

The controller instructed the handlers in front of the iron bars to put the new arrival in the cell. Trip stood against the wall of the cave beside Prez and Johnny.

The handler with the shaved head and glasses picked up a shock baton from the table. Beside Trip, Prez flinched before catching himself.

Trip's muscles remained lax. If Prez wasn't more careful about shielding his reaction, the controller would recognize all the training they'd had was failing.

The man, now known as Nine, backed away until he rammed against the hard rock wall. "No. No. No."

"How long ago were the pills taken," asked the controller.

"Forty minutes."

"Go ahead and test him."

"You feel nothing, Nine." The handler unlocked the cell door and stepped inside.

Nine stiffened and held his position. Any fear from seconds ago fled the newest participant's body.

Without any hesitation, the handler brought the shock baton forward and pressed the end to Nine's chest.

The physical impacts of ten million volts charging through a two-hundred-pound man were the only thing making Nine move. The man's muscles involuntarily spasmed as his body quaked.

Nine held his ground, never falling to his knees.

The first exercise a success. Nine had been switched. Trained to shut off his mind with select phrases combined with the special medicine given, Nine would continue to go through the exercises, the manipulations, the pain. Until the program had absolute control over his body.

Like the originals, Nine would become the ultimate machine that could eventually slip unknown into society and become part of the community within Avery Falls.

As of today, there were six originals, including Trip, leading Avery Falls Motorcycle Club. Eighteen by-products of Alpha Bio Project had already merged into the club and lived in society. Five men were in their third phase within the cave. And four new recruits were brought in earlier in the week.

Thirty-three participants and members of the MC, alive and under the CIA's control, out of hundreds that had failed during the process and were destroyed, so the secrets remained contained to the Alpha Bio Project.

It'd been twenty years since he'd gone through the program, wiping any knowledge of his prior life away.

The handler slipped out of the cell. The controller stepped forward and blew a whistle. The high piercing sound rated at 23 kHz had Trip clenching his hands over his ears and curling in on himself.

The agony permeated his head, crippling him.

As soon as the sound started, it stopped. Trip straightened, recognizing the others doing the same.

Each week, they witnessed the training, yet it seemed as if they were continually tested on their behaviors. No human should be able to hear the whistle. It went beyond a dog's hearing.

The controller stood in front of Trip, handing over a week's worth of pills, all separated