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In the present, real Rathbone shook her. “Why are you panting, oracle?” he asked as soon as she focused. He swiped out an arm, yanking her out of someone’s path. Did he look ready to laugh?
Eek! Realizing she’d been staring at his lips, relying on him to act as her guide, she snapped, “I’m not panting.You’repanting.”
She forced her gaze straight ahead, ending the conversation. How soon till he kissed her?
Would they have sex?
A mewl of need escaped.
Would he ditch her immediately afterward?
She huffed with indignation. No future, no sex. But she could and should enjoy his seduction, yes? Maybe accept an orgasm or twenty. Otherwise, he’d grow suspicious of her motives.
“We’re lost, aren’t we?” Rathbone asked, frustration beginning to etch his expression.
Oops. She’d been staring at his mouth again. Not her fault. That lip-lock...
“We aren’t lost. We’re getting to know the world before we invade the palace.” The imposing structure topped a steep mountain in the distance. “Trust the process, Rathbone-san.”
“Trusting the process means trusting you.”
“And you don’t?” she asked, as if she was too dense to find the clues even with a miner’s hat and a magnifying glass.
“I trust only myself.”
Smart. “Not the oh, so charming Lore?”
“And Lore,” he confirmed after a slight hesitation.
Oh, oh. What was this? Trouble in paradise? Perhaps splitting up the couple would be an easier chore than anticipated.
“Watch yourself.” Rathbone’s sinewy arm whipped out, snatching Neeka by the waist to thwart her collision with an opening door.
This is it!Her golden opportunity to pounce. Could she tempt the Scarlet Storm without the elixir or not?
Neeka used his shoulder as a prop and jumped up, rotating in the air and flinging her legs around his waist. He halted right there on the sidewalk, his gaze snapping to hers, and gripped her backside. His heat and strength enveloped her, and his enticing scent teased her nose.
Fire flashed in his irises as she molded her curves to his solid frame. Her breath caught. He was hard as steel.
“What are you doing, carrot?” As people darted around them, he kneaded her, making her heart pound in a frenzied rhythm the rest of her yearned to emulate.
Carrot? An endearing nickname just for her? What she wouldn’t give to hear his tone! If it matched the hunger in his expression...
The most delicious aches bloomed. “What do you think I’m doing, Rathboner?”
His pupils dilated, one shade of black overtaking the other. A good sign, yes? She couldn’t think past the incredible need sweeping through her. To move against him. To lick and bite and taste.
“I think you’re playing with fire.” His gaze dipped to her lips. “Do you want to burn?”
She ran her bottom lip between her teeth, tempted todo thingsto this male, and not just for the mission. “Who says I’m not already burning?”
He opened his mouth. Closed it. His eyelids narrowed. “You’re flirting with me. Care to admit why?”
“How dare you,” she said with mock affront, toying with the ends of his hair. “I’m flirtingwell.” She was, wasn’t she? “Youadmit it.”
“Why?” he insisted, ignoring her demand. “I’m not your type. I’m taken.”
“Are you though?” How he held her, his sensuous response, told a different story. Plus, she’d never forgotten the stardust Azar left on the goddess. Rathbone couldn’t be the woman’s mate. For all Neeka knew, he belonged to...someone else.
