That’s its nature.
Fear can be a catastrophic deterrent of our desires. Behind that fear I see warring within her is something fierce—want. Heady, unadulteratedneed. She craves something desperately. Maybe even bad enough to rival my own maddening pursuit.
She tips her head back farther, baring the enticing column of her throat, and my pulse riots. “No safewords,” she whispers, eyes locked with mine. “I trust you.”
Goddamn.That trust sings in her eyes, golden striations blazing like coronal flares despite the trembling waves of fear cresting over her—and that might be what finally wrecks me.
Whatever twisted entanglement responsible for our collision, it no longer matters. Whether it was my doing or hers that brought us to this point of no return.
There’s no escape—for either of us.
And yet, maybe it’s possible that here, with her melody infusing my head, in the one place where I maintain some sliver of control, I can test the boundary.
The thought burns to ash as she arches her hips. All it takes is the slightest brush of her body against my erection, and my restraint snaps.
“Fuck it.” I lower myself over her and lock my forearm around the small of her back, hauling her off the ladder. She instinctively locks her legs around my hips, annihilating the last of my control. “Let’s test the fuck out of your therapeutic approach, Dr. Holbrook.”
There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres. Each celestial body, in fact each and every atom, produces a particular sound on account of its movement, its rhythm or vibration. All these sounds and vibrations form a universal harmony. The stars in the heavens sing a music, if only we had ears to hear.
—PYTHAGORAS
13
Music of the Spheres
Third contact (C3): The instant when the sun’s bright disk reappears from behind the moon, marking the end of totality and the sudden return of daylight.
ORION
Aline array system is tucked into a secluded section of the observatory. Kept out of sight, out of mind. When I transitioned to Stonehurst, I stacked the PA speakers and subwoofers upright along a wall, leaving them to collect dust.
This is where I carry Collins, to this hidden sector of myself, planting her back against the mesh grille of the speakers. A coarse groan escapes my clenched teeth on impact. The abrasive feel of her pressed hard against me damn near flays my sternum.
Her broken breath coasts across my mouth as she stares into me, a trickle of fear leaking into her glassy eyes. “What are we doing.”
“This.” My composure all but stripped, I greedily grind between the seam of her thighs, working another groan free as I savorthe breathy moan she offers in return. Releasing her thigh, I bring my hand to her face and cup her jaw. My gloved thumb drags down the center of her lips to part them open. “Fuck, Collins.”
She about killed me when she spread her legs on the desk. Now I’m one breath away from begging her to finish me off. An infuriating hunger burns through me, torching any remaining fight as I crave to know the taste of her on my tongue. Past the lust-fueled haze, the questioning doubt banked behind her eyes spears me through.
I release a harsh curse. “You have no goddamn idea how you torture me when you look at me like that.”
She presses her cheek more firmly into my palm, as if she can tear through the barrier between us. “I want to feel you.”
My eyes seal shut, neck corded and jaw locked against the need to unleash every ounce of agony racking my muscles. When I dare to look at her again, my gaze falls heavy on the black tie still draped around her neck. I drop my hand and touch the silk blade, my mind tunneling to base thoughts.
I push in close to her ear, voice strained. “And I want you fucking desperate, your thighs shaking, as you break for me, Collins.”
Her faint whimper sends a hot pulse to my groin. “You can have my body however you want, Orion,” she says, “but only if you remove your gloves.”
Releasing a searing breath, I stroke the contour of her cheek tenderly, pulling back a measure to let her bare feet lower to the concrete floor. With a growl, I seize her waist and spin her, pinning her chest to the speaker. I trap her wrists, bringing her hands up on either side of her head, where I brace them.
“Answer me one thing,” I say, collecting her hair in a loose grasp. As I guide the layers over her shoulder, my finger hooks the neck of the tie. I bring it around, letting the silk blades drape down the center of her back. “Is this request based on my exposure therapy, or because my gloves frighten you?”
Her pause hangs heavy in the air. “What would be your response if I said the latter?”
An amused smile curls my mouth. “That I want to make you come so fucking hard, you forget even your own name, angel.”
Her thighs squeeze together, and my groin throbs in response. “Quite the ego,” she says on a shaky breath.
