Her scent filled the air before I even realized I was inhaling. Subtle. Familiar. Laced with heat.
And just like that, the proximity slammed into me.
My mind betrayed me, flashing back to earlier—her body pinned beneath mine, the unguarded look in her eyes, filled with lust.
Motherfucker.
My body was next to betray me.
The heat rolling off her skin, the intoxicating mix of adrenaline and the memory of her soft curves in my hands, coursed through me like a drug I couldn’t fight. My pulse thundered, my throat went dry, and every nerve in my body screamed at me to get a grip.
But the desire surged anyway—dark, hungry, and unrelenting. It pressed against the edges of my restraint, daring me to move, to touch, to close that final inch. Daring me to cross a line I knew damn well I shouldn't even be thinking about.
I shifted slightly, desperate for space that didn’t exist.
Don’t get hard, Colt. Don’t you fucking dare.
My jaw flexed as her head tilted, her breath ghosting along my collarbone like she knew exactly what it would do to me. Light, teasing—but devastating. She was smaller, sure—but there was strength in her stillness, in the way she leaned into me without fear. And fuck, it only made something sharper twist in my gut. Something possessive. Primal.
Her gaze lifted, catching mine in the dark—wide, unguarded, shining with something I couldn’t name. Fear, maybe, or something deeper, more dangerous, something that threatened to pull me under.
“Caden,” she whispered, soft but steady, threading straight through me like heat. “What are we going to do?”
The way she said my name, the trust in her voice—it was almost enough to break me. I clenched my fists at my sides, holding myself together with sheer willpower, but the hunger for her roared louder.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to focus. “We stay quiet and wait for an opportunity. We need to figure out where they’re keeping the Amplifier, figure out what their Layer is, what their movements are, and how to get out of this fucking fort without alerting them.”
Emma gave a curt nod, her resolve evident even in the dim light. There was no room for fear now—only action.
I closed my lids briefly and tried to push the attraction to the back of my mind.
I failed.
FORTY-ONE
EMMA
“How long do you think we’ll have to stay here?” I whispered, glancing around at the tight confines of our hiding spot.
Caden’s voice came through as a low, urgent murmur. “I’m gonna need you to be quiet.”
“Why?” I shot back, already wincing at how loud that word came out.
“Because we can’t portal out yet, and when you speak, you’re too loud. If you keep this up, you’ll give away our location to the Radicals.”
“I’m not loud,” I insisted, the sound betraying me by rising a notch.
“Could’ve fooled me,” he mumbled, sounding amused and exasperated at the same time.
I tilted my head back, just enough to catch his gaze. “I’m only loud in bed. Unless you see us having sex in here, we’ll be just fine,” I hissed.
His face lit up like a Christmas tree, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “That might actually be worth getting caught for.”
“Oh, fuck off.” I flipped him off, and he chuckled, clearly enjoying himself far too much.
“You are all about sex tonight. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re trying to get me to snap.” His tone took on a colder edge, a sharp reminder of the man who’d once tortured me to the point of permanent mutilation. The instant flash of fear made me swallow hard, and I had to force myself to calm down, to remember this was different.Hewas different.
“You know, I—” I started, but the words barely left my mouth before he moved.
