“Says the man who has his life force so tightly locked down he appears as barren as a dead man.”
He studied me for a moment, the stars in his eyes fading a little even if the desire remained bright. “Are you scared of me, Hanna Kang?”
“No.”Yes.But I was even more afraid of what lay inside of me.
This man might currently be an island of peace, but would he remain so once we got intimate? Desire and the inner darkness were rarely compliant with each other, especially when the former was so fierce that control slipped. Sex with Owen had been good—he’d always been a generous and giving lover—but I’d never once felt the overwhelming tide of desire that this man raised.
“Do you wish me to leave this bed and not pursue a relationship with you?” he asked softly.
“It’s a relationship now?” I drawled, thankful the inner turmoil wasn’t showing. “Not just a date or two?”
“An attraction this strong deserves full exploration, but it is impolite to answer the question with another question.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “No, I do not want you to leave the bed. Yes, I do want you to kiss me. No, I do not want sex—well, I do, but not until this mission is over, and definitely not on the first date.”
“Second?”
I wavered a hand in a maybe/maybe not manner and, with a laugh, he caught it and kissed it. It was little more than a brush of heat, but it reverberated through me with an intensity that made my breath briefly catch. With the gentlest of tugs, he pulled me closer, then released my hand and slid his over my hip, splaying his fingers against the middle of my back. Desire rippled through me, thick and heady.
“Ensuring I won’t escape?”
“I can remove it if you want.”
“I don’t.”
His smile was that of a man who knew full well the internal havoc he was causing, but he didn’t say anything; he simply leaned forward, his mouth close to mine and yet still so far away, and his gaze intense and hungry. A similar beast was waking deep inside me, and yet fear remained within. I was shielded—fiercelyshielded—but the last time I’d wanted someone this badly, I’d killed them.
His lips brushed mine, and the mess of desire, fear, and curiosity tumbling through me strengthened. I wanted this; I wanted him—lord only knew how desperately I wanted him—but I had to take it slow. If I didn’t...
Again, his lips teased mine. It was almost as if he could sense the wariness in me, and was allowing me the time to get used to the intimacy of this moment.
The third time, he kissed me. Gently at first, but gradually becoming more intense, more demanding. Tongues tangled, tasted, teased, and it was... better than I remembered. Better than I’d imagined. I couldn’t say how long we lay there, doing this simplest of explorations, and didn’t really care. But as a prelude to what lay in the future, this kiss was absolutely everything.
I slid a hand over his hip and pressed against the length of him, until all that separated his chest from mine was the thin layer of my T-shirt. Until all I could feel was the force of his erection, hot and hard. He groaned softly and trailed his hand from the middle of my back to my butt, pressing me closer against him, making me tremble in a way I never had before. But it wasn’t just his touch, wasn’t just the press of his body against mine or the gentle dance of awareness that seemed to grow stronger with every breath. It was as if, in this moment, there was far more than our physical selves involved in this gentle dance of lips.
And that was dangerous. The inner darkness might be contained, but she was stirring, and she wanted. Lord, how she wanted... though I wasn’t entirely sure if the “she” was my darkness or just hormones too long ignored.
Then his lips left mine and trailed down my chin, my neck, and paused on the pulse point at my neck. A gasp escaped, and he chuckled softly, his breath cool against my overheated skin.
“Shall I move on?”
“Yes.No.” I gathered the fragmenting wisps of control. “We can’t.”
“It is decidedly trickier when you lie under the sheet and I lie on top of it, I agree, but I’m sure we can work out the problem.”
I laughed, though it came out far too breathy for my liking. “I’m sure we could, but there is work to be done and bad guys to hunt down. We need to concentrate.”
“Even the Society allows their agents a little downtime, Hanna.”
There was nothing “little” about his intentions. Heat, passion, and hunger radiated from him in a way his life force did not, and it was washing over me in thick waves, threatening to drown me into submission.
I drew in a deeper breath and ignored my aching loins. “The Society rotates partners for this very reason.”
“Well, that’s inconsiderate of them—don’t they know sex is the best recuperative measure out there?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t the studies all say it promotes better sleeping? I think that is the angle they’re coming from. They want alertness, not stupor.”
“Those same studies also say it improves recovery scores.” He removed his hand from my buttocks and cupped my cheek instead. “I really,reallywant you, Hanna Kang, but I respect your desire to take it slow. It is, in fact, a nice change.”
