Because after just one day Aric Chase had done something no other man had managed before him.
He’d made her feel safe with him.
And that was the most dangerous thing of all.
When he came to stand in front of her, Kaya dodged, stepping down onto the floor. The soft rug was cushiony beneath her bare feet, but that didn’t keep her from wincing with discomfort.
Aric scowled. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” His brow rankled further. “Sit down. Let me see your feet.”
He didn’t give her a choice. Taking her shoulders in his strong hands, he set her back on the edge of the mattress then crouched in front of her on the floor, taking one of her feet tenderly into his hands.
He sucked in a hissed breath as he examined the contused and lacerated soles of her feet. “Jesus Christ.”
“It’s not that bad.”
His gaze flicked up at her, sober, even angry. “You should have said something to me. I wouldn’t have pushed you so hard through those woods, Kaya. For fuck’s sake, I could have carried you--”
“Like hell you could have.” She scowled at the suggestion. “I never would’ve asked you to do that for me.”
“No shit. You’re far too stubborn for that.”
The gentleness in his voice only made her outrage spike hotter. She tried to draw out of his grasp, but he held her ankle firmly in the palm of his hand. His touch was warm, careful. His handsome face grave with concern.
She didn’t want to acknowledge how good his hands felt on her, nor how even his light touch as he continued to inspect the cuts and bruises on her skin made her heart race in her breast, her blood rushing like molten liquid through her veins.
When he glanced up now, she could see some of the same tension and awareness in his taut expression. And in the faint flicker of amber that lit the depths of his bright green irises.
He swallowed as if his tongue had become thick in his mouth. When he finally spoke, there was a rasp in his deep voice that caressed her senses like velvet.
“I’ll ask Rafe to come see you before we leave. He can heal this for you.”
Aric’s touch lingered even after he said it, his thumb idly stroking the fine bones of her ankle. God help her, she could hardly breathe under the friction of his fingers on her skin. She wanted him to touch her everywhere. To kiss her without the pretense of a covert mission.
She wanted these things even though she knew any one of them could be her undoing.
“Aric . . .” she murmured, uncertain what she meant to say.
The sound of their comm units buzzing at the same time saved her from tumbling headlong into another disaster with him today.
Only then did Aric release her. He answered the call, rising to his feet with a grim look on his face as he listened. “Christ. When?” He glanced at Kaya. “I’m actually with her now. All right, I’ll let her know. We’re on the way.”
Kaya stared at him in question as he ended the summons.
“That was Niko. Stephan Mercier’s dead. Someone cut out his tongue about an hour ago.”
CHAPTER 9
Although Mercier’s death was a disturbing development, the interruption couldn’t have come at a more ideal time. If Aric needed to be reminded of his duty--and it seemed damned clear that he did--Niko’s summons had been just the wakeup call he needed.
Not that his body agreed with that argument.
With his veins lit up and hot with desire, he waited for Kaya to slip a pair of shoes onto her injured feet, then followed her out of her quarters.
Touching her had been a mistake. He should have known that, considering how the memory of holding her earlier today--kissing her--had been driving him to distraction for the past several hours. All he’d done now was brush his fingers over her ankle and everything male in him was awake and pulsing with the need for more.
