Part 17 (2/2)

Even mentioning how P.I.E. had saved her and made her what she was today didn't get a reaction from him. His grip on her hand simply tightened.

”So there's my life story in a nutsh.e.l.l.” She kicked her legs out and back until the swing swayed in a steady rhythm. ”How do you feel about me now?”

His thumb rubbed over hers in a slow, methodical manner, and hot waves of pleasure tightened her stomach muscles, made her b.r.e.a.s.t.s tingle and aroused the juncture between her thighs.

He needs to stop. Stop right this minute. But I don't want him to stop. I want him to touch- ”I think I want to-”

”Stop! Stop right there. Don't say it.” She jumped to her feet. ”We can't talk nice to each other anymore. We can't tell each other what we want to do. We can't-”

He stood, pulled her into his arms and let his actions speak louder than words. His lips crushed hers. He kissed her with pa.s.sion. With feverish intensity that sent more jolts of pleasure spiraling through her. And she melted into him. Threw her arms around his neck and sank deeper into the kiss.

Their mouths took to each other fast and furiously, and Tess couldn't think straight. She'd been aching for this since their first kiss. Falling asleep at night wet between her legs in antic.i.p.ation of kissing him when he wasn't fighting for his life.

All the times they'd sat a little too close, or accidentally touched, or caught each other staring, had led to this moment. This seamless joining of their mouths.

His hands roamed her back, her sides, brushed the swells of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and settled on her a.s.s. More pleasure rumbled through her.

And then...then his tongue slipped between her lips and she felt the kiss everywhere. He kissed her more thoroughly, more deeply, more deliciously than she'd thought possible.

Everything vanished for her. Nothing existed anywhere else. It was only the two of them. Lost in a time and place where no one could see them or touch them or harm them. The world as she knew it didn't matter. Nothing was as real as the two of them in each other's arms, Hugh kissing her like he might die without her.

And that was when he pulled back.

”I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-”

”Yes, you should have,” she interrupted, the taste of him on her lips. She wanted more. So much more. How dare he stop?

He stepped back. ”I needed to kiss you,” he said, his breath ragged. ”But the rest is up to you.” His eyes flamed with want before he moved around her and headed back into the house.

What? He was walking away from her? Happy to leave her in charge now?

Didn't he realize she had no idea what to do?

She stayed glued to her spot. Tried to get her breathing under control. A need stronger than any she'd encountered before filled her, but she had to remember there was an ocean between them, even though it seemed like a puddle the more time they spent together.

While the thought was unbearable, the best thing for her to do was let him go. Forget that she felt him all around her, yet his physical absence swamped her with loneliness and twisted her insides. Forget that he made her wish for things to be different.

Never before had she wanted anything-or anyone-so badly.

Could she take what she wanted and move forward? Could she make love to him and follow through with her a.s.signment? Did she want any more a.s.signments? Her recent failures told her no. Her heart and head told her no.

Sometime during the past week, doubts about her job and obligation to P.I.E. had escalated. Working with Hugh on something that seemed more legitimate in both its mission and cause had made her think. Not all Veilers were the monsters they were painted to be. Hugh had explained the growing tension between Wolf Seekers and the Night Runners. He'd shared the wrongdoings on both sides, and it reminded her that human history was rich with atrocity. Most Veilers lived in the human world without incident. They blended in and contributed to society. Criminals came in all forms, human and Veiler. Innocence couldn't be measured by one's heritage. And nothing was black and white. Yet prejudice played a huge part in culpability.

Was she prejudiced? She'd accepted the teachings of P.I.E. Followed through on a.s.signments without serious question.

Until now.

A noise in the distance grabbed her attention and she looked toward the mountainside. A rabbit hopped out of the bush, its nose twitching. It was white and fluffy and Tess found herself wis.h.i.+ng she had a carrot to dangle in front of it.

A carrot. To dangle. Hugh had just dangled one in front of her, hadn't he? She'd be an idiot not to grab it.

She ran into the house and found the door at the end of the hall open. An invitation if she wanted it. She slowed her steps so she could take some deep breaths and quiet the rapid beat of her heart.

The idea of being intimate with him filled her with happiness. The kind of happy she thought she'd never feel again. The kind of joy that if she were honest, she hadn't felt since her parents were alive. Unfair she knew, to compare Hugh and Jason, but with only one lover in her past, it was inevitable. The time spent with Hugh had made her realize what she had with Jason didn't go nearly as deep as she'd once thought.

A couple of feet from his bedroom, she stopped and put a hand on the wall to steady herself. The musings over her past as she was about to embark on something new, something that would take away from those memories, gave her second thought.

She'd never reflected so much about anything. Follow your instincts, Tess.

Follow your heart.

She'd never been given that opportunity before.

Her mind had always ruled her actions, not her emotions. Now she felt so mixed-up that making any coherent decision seemed futile.

Time to go with her heart, she reasoned. See where it led her. What did she have to lose?

Everything.

When had that ever stopped her?

She moved to Hugh's doorway and peered inside his room. He'd just stepped out of the bathroom and was pulling his s.h.i.+rt over his head. Tess stood mesmerized by the well-defined planes of his torso.

He was surprisingly void of hair, given his half-s.h.i.+fter birth. In her dreams, he'd looked just like this, but she'd thought the reality might be different. His chest muscles were definitely larger than her palms, and she wanted to splay her fingers across his skin for confirmation. Sliding her gaze to his rock solid abs-the sort with ridges she'd only seen on male models in magazines-she found she really wanted to touch.

His biceps muscles were exceptional too. Defined like a heavy lifter's, and she was struck with the notion that he'd let her win their arm-wrestling match. But the s.e.xiest thing about his bareness, aside from the way his jeans hung low on his hips to reveal a sprinkling of hair leading down past his b.u.t.ton, was the tattoo.

On the smooth skin over his heart was a tattoo-a symbol with thick, beautiful black strokes like two waves curling around each other. It was about the size of her fist, and she found it more appealing than any artwork she'd ever seen before.

Her breath hitched, and if he hadn't known she was there, he did now. He threw his s.h.i.+rt to the side and his eyes met hers. He looked at her with so much hunger that she wobbled, catching herself on the edge of the door. With just a look he had her panting, her nipples hardening, and the spot between her legs throbbing.

Seconds pa.s.sed without a move by either of them, all the while their eyes were fixed on one another. Tess gulped. His gaze was a warm caress she didn't want to end.

”Tell me what you want,” he said, breaking the silence.

She wanted everything, but couldn't find the words.

”Tell me what you want,” he repeated, ”and I'll give it to you.”

Pudding, her legs felt like pudding. ”I want...”

He inched closer, and the throbbing, the hardening of her nipples, the loss of oxygen, amplified. When he stood within reach, she touched the tattoo, the sculpted muscle. His skin sizzled. Heat, strength, animal magnetism poured off him.

”Tell me, Tess.” His voice, husky and thick with desire, made her heart pound.

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