Her eyes flicked up, meeting his. His heart slammed so hard inside his chest that she could probably feel it thundering against her palms. He didn’t think he’d ever had a woman in his arms who was this honest. Oh, she’d lied about a ton of shit, but there was almost more honesty than he could take in the way she looked at him right now, and how her breath hitched.
Knowing he’d started this and needed to follow through, Shade tightened his hold on Tess’s head and hip, drawing her in to him. Their bodies lined up perfectly, and he ate up her little gasp when it feathered across his mouth.
Tension crackled between them like an electrical charge, almost drowning out the sound of the hovercraft turning the corner next to them. Angling his head, Shade both fought and desperately wanted what he was about to do. He had a sense of honor, and right now, he was deliberately kicking it to the curb. He’d also been dying to taste this woman since the moment they’d met.
Shade molded his lips to hers, desire sparking even more powerfully at the contact. She kissed him back without hesitation, and his mind blanked to tactics, to the Dark Watch, and even to his docks. Everything seemed to condense into a tight little ball of him, Tess, and so much heat and pressure that a supernova had nothing on the explosion they could generate.
* * *
Shade kissed me just as the Dark Watch rounded the corner. If I’d had a bomb, I might have tossed it into their loud, showy hovercraft and blown them all to bits just so that Shade Ganavan could keep devouring me in a way that was so hot I turned molten in his arms.
His hold on me tightened, and his breathing changed. I gripped his shoulders and pressed into him, kissing him back with a sweep of my tongue that tangled every part of our mouths. I wanted him, and I couldn’t help myself. I knew this was supposed to be a ruse, to hide my face and allay suspicions, but it felt pretty damn real to me.
So did Shade’s growing hard-on. If the goons hadn’t started barking at us with their megaphones right then, I would have rolled my pelvis against it and gotten a really good feel for his length and size. I was seriously tempted as it was, even with the military right behind us, yammering about rules and regulations and the unseemliness of public displays of affection.
Things like “Bring that inside, you two!” and “No vulgarity in the streets!” rang in my ears, but I hardly even noticed. I was too caught up in Shade, especially since the Dark Watch seemed to have bought our deception.
Shade broke the kiss and turned his head, nodding to acknowledge the goon patrol’s orders. He kept his hand firmly in my hair, pulling my face into the crook of his neck.
The protective tug sent heat spiraling through me. Excitement, danger, and desire all crashed inside me like some fucked-up storm that made me crazy with want. I opened my mouth and licked his neck, tasting the entire length of that tendon I’d seen dripping with sweat. He was clean now, but my imagination supplied the tang of hard work and salt. I sucked, and Shade exhaled in a burst.
He didn’t move until the Dark Watch had gone farther down the avenue and away from us. Then he met my eyes and half carried, half swept me around the corner and out of sight.
With a low groan, he pressed me back up against the wall. “You’re killing me, starshine.”
“Don’t stop.” I grabbed his short hair and pulled his mouth back to mine.
He met my lips with enough dominance to send a kick of exhilaration through me. This was what I’d been missing for so long, and I kissed him like he was the key to all the thrilling, fun things no one was supposed to do anymore. Kissing Shade felt like belting out a song from a rooftop, or splashing fully clothed into a rare public fountain. It felt like freedom, like he wouldn’t judge, like I could do what I wanted.
And that he would like it.
I moaned and kissed him like I was freaking dying for it—which I was. For seven years, I hadn’t had the slightest interest in a man. Not sexually, at least. But then Shade had looked me up and down with his honey-brown eyes, said he was checking me over for weapons, and I’d started falling for him right then and there in his dusty, overstocked shop.
I’d only known him for a few days, but I’d been waiting forever for this kiss. I wanted more than a kiss from Shade; I was so ready. I hooked my leg around his hip and tilted my pelvis up, finally getting a good feel of his hard length. He pressed against me, almost thrusting. Heat sizzled low in my belly and flared between my legs. My head dropped back against the wall, and I gulped down a breath.
Shade trailed scorching, openmouthed kisses along my throat. “Holy shit, you’re like chaos in skin.”
A splash of cold hit the fever inside me. We were taught to like and value order, restraint. I’d thought he was like me, but maybe I was too wild and impulsive for him?
“Too chaotic?” I asked.
“Fucking perfect.” His hands dove into my open vest, and he palmed my breasts. He lifted them, bent his head, and rubbed his face along the twin curves he’d plumped up.
Rub. Kiss. Lick.Holy fuck.
Little-used muscles clenched, and my breath shortened to pants.
Shade’s light stubble scraped my skin. He grunted something I didn’t understand.Freckles, maybe. I had a few. Whatever he said was husky and low and got lost in a haze of lust. My nipples hardened under his hands, and he gently squeezed, his mouth moving along the scooped neckline of my shirt.
I held on to his head, clamping him to me. I never wanted him to stop. I wanted him to touch me higher. Lower. Everywhere.
Shade kissed my chest and collarbone, my throat and the soft underside of my chin. His hands skimmed my ribs, falling to my hips, and then his lips were on mine again, yielding but firm, his tongue in my mouth, and we both made a needy sound that was volcanically hot.
I pulled him closer. He ground against me. It was both torment and relief.
A double pair of footsteps rang out on the avenue close to the intersection, and we sprang apart, both of us breathing hard. If we didn’t stop, someone was sure to report us, and that would send the Dark Watch roaring back. No matter how good it felt, or how much I wanted to continue, a bout of deliciously crazy public indecency could get me into a whole lot of trouble.
I tucked my still-damp hair behind my ears, my voice coming out like a scratch. “I should get off the streets.”
