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fact, she hadn’t gotten to that imaginary point at all, since she’d been so convinced it would never happen that she hadn’t let herself dwell on it. Now the blindfold was off and she began to see her string of mistakes for what they were.
    She’d discovered a new determination to live, and it had spurred her to make Domino bite her any way she could. She’d thought he’d be a gentleman and leave it at that. Had she really been so naïve? Even after he’d warned her, she still hadn’t believed him.
    Apparently Domino didn’t make empty promises.
    Okay, her mistake. Now it was time to fix it. The moment his back was turned, she’d slip out the door and arrange for a bank draft to his account to cover her and Icki’s medical expenses. He’d probably rip it up if she left one on the table on her way out, with or without a note.
    She got out of the tub and dried off, feeling slightly less tender. Once dressed she raised her hairbrush to her hair and froze as the long length tumbled into view. It was turning black.
    Horrified that her genes were mutating her into something hideous, she frantically rubbed the fog off the mirror. Two golden eyes stared back.
     
     
     
    Chapter 16
     
    Domino and Icki broke off their conversation as she burst into Icki’s room.
    "What did you do to me?" she demanded of Domino.
    His eyes traveled slowly over her body, then lingered on her neck. His smile was pure satisfaction. "Looks like I left a love mark. Sorry about that."
    Icki’s lips twitched suspiciously.
    She flushed. He’d left a huge mark on the side of her neck, but he knew that wasn’t what she meant. She pointed two fingers at her eyes. "My eyes! My hair. What did you do to me?"
    He leaned casually on Icki’s footboard. "What did you think the adaptogen would do? It changes our mates to be receptive to our own DNA. It’s a mating adaptation. Every woman experiences it."
    Mortified by his casual reference to intimacy, she turned her eyes on Icki. "You knew."
    He rubbed his ear. "Well, you weren’t exactly quiet earlier. It was hard not to."
    Fury brought heat to her face. "You knew what the adaptogen would do! You knew that..." Shame choked her off.
    His face softened. "Yes, I knew. Just as I knew who I would send you to. Left to yourself, you would have let the mutation kill you." At her silence, he said, "I’m well enough to leave this bed. Let’s go find a lab. I’m sure you’re going to be pleasantly surprised by the changes."
    As a distraction, it was sublime. As a temptation, it was irresistible. Even the thought of leaving Domino behind couldn’t compare. "Fine. We’ll run a check," she said tersely. "Then I’ll kill you."
    It was hard to maintain her ire in the face of Icki’s weakness, though. He insisted on walking to Domino’s private transport, though he leaned against the wall of the elevator on the way down. Once seated in the rear of the anonymous vehicle, he leaned back and closed his eyes, pretending to nap. Domino slid behind the wheel in front of them and eased them out into the light evening traffic.
    Bali eyed him, then looked straight ahead, her lips compressed in a tight line. She was wicked to punish him like this. She could have waited for a diagnosis, or gone to the Draconian doctor who’d worked on them. Icki was the best, however, and he knew her inside and out. If things were changing for the better, she trusted him to see it. If not, she knew he would be honest with her.
    Pensively, she raised her hand, stared broodingly at the spread fingers. The tremor was gone. While she didn’t miss it, the absence was unsettling. She thought she’d known where her life was going: straight into the toilet. Instead, an unknown future had opened before her, a life of promise and obligation.
    She snorted softly to herself and settled back against the plush synth-leather seat. She didn’t recognize Draconian custom or law, except where it meshed with the laws of her own world. She was no