Rational thought fled.
She reached out and grabbed his collar, expensive fabric bunching under her fingers. One hard pull brought him close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his skin.
Their lips met, and the universe narrowed to that single point of contact.
She put everything into the kiss. Days of frustration, the terror of almost dying, the fury at his deception, the grudging respect for his competence. But underneath all of that, the truth she'd been avoiding since he'd first walked onto her ship with his lazy smile and ridiculous requests.
She wanted him.
Had wanted him from the moment he'd charmed his way past her defenses with fresh bread and easy conversation. Before she knew about dragons or treasure maps or any of the insanity that followed.
His lips were softer than she'd expected. He claimed her mouth like he had every right to it, with a confidence that made her toes curl in her boots. When she nipped at his lower lip, he groaned against her mouth, the sound reverberating through her chest and settling low in her belly.
His arms came around her, solid and real and radiating heat.
The warmth of him seeped through her clothes, chasing away the lingering chill of space and fear. Every point where their bodies touched sent sparks racing along her nerves. She pressed closer, trying to erase any space between them despite the awkward angle.
The pilot's chair and safety harness conspired against her, keeping her trapped when all she wanted was to climb into his lap and continue this properly.
She angled her head, deepening the kiss, and was rewarded when his hand fisted in her hair. The slight tug sent shivers down her spine. Her lips parted on a gasp, and he took immediate advantage.
His tongue swept into her mouth, and she got her first real taste of him. Something spiced and exotic, with an underlying heat that made her think of cinnamon and flame.
Dangerous.
Addictive.
She made a sound that might have been his name and felt him shudder in response. The vibration traveled through his chest into hers, and she pressed closer still, desperate to feel more of him.
They broke apart just long enough for her to drag in a shaky breath before he was kissing her again, hungrier this time.
His teeth caught her bottom lip, and she responded by sucking his tongue deeper into her mouth. The wet slide of it against hers was obscene and perfect and made her want to discover what other things he could do with that clever mouth of his.
Her hands found their way to his neck, fingers threading through the hair at his nape. It was softer than it looked, and when she tugged gently, he made a low rumbling sound against her lips. The noise was purely masculine, primal, and it sent heat racing through her veins.
One of his hands found its way under her shirt, calloused palm skating across her ribs before cupping her breast. The first brush of his thumb over her nipple shot electricity straight to her core.
Her back arched involuntarily, pushing herself more firmly into his touch. She moaned into his mouth, wanting more. Needing more. She tugged him closer even as she writhed against the confines of her safety harness. She wanted to touch him everywhere, to map the hard planes of his chest and shoulders with her palms.
She could feel the hard press of his arousal against her hip and nearly whimpered. Knowing that he wanted her just as desperately made her core clench with need. She shifted, trying to create friction, trying to ease the ache building inside her.
It would be graceless and desperate and probably uncomfortable, and she didn't care. She needed …
Zane shifted, trying to get closer, and his elbow slammed into something on the console.
Alarms shrieked through the shuttle. Navigation warnings, collision alerts, a dozen systems protesting whatever he'd accidentally activated. The spell shattered, dropping them back into reality with all the subtlety of a hull breach.
Mercy tore away from him and stared, mouth swollen and wet. Smoke rose from Zane's shoulders in thick plumes now, curling through the recycled air. And his eyes … there was actual fire in them. Not a metaphor, not a trick of light. Real flames dancing in irises, barely contained.
It had to be a dragon thing. Just like the impossible heat of his skin and the way he'd burned through metal and the fact that he'd played her for a fool while she'd served him wine in her doomed galley.
If she said even a single word about wanting more, she knew with absolute certainty that he'd take her right there. Consequences be damned. The hunger in his expression matched her own, magnified by whatever instincts dragons carried in them.
She wanted it so badly she had to bite her tongue to keep the words inside. Wanted his hands on her. Wanted to know what that fire would feel like against bare skin. Wanted to forget about pirates and dead fathers and destroyed ships in the most basic way possible.
But she couldn't. Not now. Not when they were running for their lives in a stolen shuttle with limited supplies and unknown dangers ahead.
She reached over and switched off the alarm with hands that trembled just a bit. The sudden quiet felt too intimate, too heavy with unspoken possibilities.
