I chuckle, my body relaxing. “We need to talk. Sylveria is infected in a different way than you are, and not frommyvirus.”
His eyes darken. “Are you sure it isn’t the same one that’s in me?”
“Yes. I was in the TimeGem servers for a while and memorized the code. I can send it to Kaz and he can check. I think there’s a slight variation, to be honest.”
He nods. “Yeah, that makes sense with the attacks against us all.” He reaches out, grabs the shampoo, and starts lathering my hair. His fingers work strong and slow, and I fight the urge to lean into him. I really don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how good this feels. Tingles spark across my scalp and wander down my body, loosening muscles that have been tight for hours. I close my eyes, surrendering despite myself.
“Just because this feels good doesn’t mean I like you,” I mumble as warm water glides over me.
“I don’t like you either. Yet.”
His hands are gentle now, working through my hair with a patience I didn’t know he had. When he’s done, he rinses me clean, then scrubs his own hair and face while the spray slides down both of our bodies. Heat from the water mixes with the warmth between us until I can’t tell the difference. My chest tightens as I step into him, drawn against every ounce of better judgment I have left.
He grabs my hair rougher this time, yanking my head back to take my mouth in a kiss. The contact is brutal, devouring. Heat surrounds me, fills me, consumes me. God, the man can kiss. His mouth takes control, and his body presses powerful and sure, all around me, demanding I yield.
“Hey, Justice,” a voice calls out, muffled through the door.
Justice freezes. “What the fuck?”
“Sorry. Sorry.” The voice—Irish sounding, I think—rushes out the words. “We have police detectives here. They’re threatening to call in the SWAT team if they don’t speak with Ella Rendale.”
My eyelids fly open.
Justice growls low in his throat. “Fine,” he calls out. “We’ll be out in a minute. Keep them in the living room.”
“Gotcha.”
I step back, skin still humming. “Detectives?”
“Who knows. I can’t imagine Sylveria called anybody, but she has to be scared of what I’ll do to her for kidnapping you. She’s not stupid.” He shuts off the water, ushers me out, and grabs a towel. Then he attacks me with the fabric, drying me thoroughly, every swipe more possessive than the last. By the time he’s finished, I’m panting, my legs shaky under me. His smile is wicked, dangerous,and he bends low, sliding the towel down to my feet. He dries them, slow and deliberate, before pressing a kiss high between my thighs, on my clit, on his way back up.
“Hey,” I gasp, shoving at his shoulders.
“Hey, yourself.” His grin softens into something almost playful, and for a second, I want to jump him all over again.
Something in my gaze catches him, because he tackles me onto the soft bathroom mat, cushioning my fall with his strong arms.
I gasp. “What are you doing?”
“You.” He presses against me, slowly penetrating me.
I gulp, trying to concentrate. “The police are here.”
He keeps powering inside me, so big and strong above me. “So?”
So? Seriously? “It’s the police.” I try to push him away but instead widen my thighs to take more of him. He feels so good against me.
“I figure I should tell you that I’m keeping you.” With one final thrust, he shoves all the way inside me, balls deep.
I arch against him, my nails scraping down his chest. Panic takes hold inside me, but my body is already quaking around him. “This is temporary, remember?” I gasp out.
“Not anymore. I’m done fighting this.” He pulls out and then powers back inside me.
I can’t think. Not when he’s taking me like this, his eyes a deep brown with those intriguing flashes of copper. “You’re just caught up.”
“Hmm.” He kisses me, his mouth hot as he continues to thrust.
I let him take me over, my mind going quiet.
