Drawing her closer with his grasp still locked on her wrist, he brought her clenched, glowing fist up near his face. “Do it, Phaedra. God knows, I’ve given you enough reason.”
She made a small noise in her throat, one part protest, one part foolish, desperate hope.
Hope that he would let her go.
Hope that he wouldn’t.
His gaze seared her. A low growl built in his chest when she refused to give him what he demanded. He ground out her name like a curse. Then he hauled her against him and his mouth closed over hers in a hot, unforgiving kiss.
The shock of his lips on hers sent liquid fire rushing through her. The crush of his muscled body against her curves ignited every nerve ending, spreading like an electric current into her breasts, her limbs, her core. He was hard against her, his arousal an unmistakable ridge against her hip. She moaned and it was a hungry, shameless sound, one she couldn’t have held back if her life depended on it.
Micah tore his mouth away from hers on a snarl. “You shouldn’t have saved me, Phaedra. Not in that alley tonight. Not back in those Deadlands.” He scowled, his blazing eyes scorching her with rage and desire. “You’re the reason I survived that blast. I think I knew it then. After tonight, I’m fucking certain of it.”
Had she saved him from the detonation that killed his team?
Was that why fate had put her in the Deadlands with him—because the power of the crystals would never harm her, and his proximity to her had somehow shielded him from the worst of the blast as well?
He wanted to believe their destiny was a mistake. She had struggled to accept it could be true, too, but not anymore. Not when the thought of him dying ripped open an ache inside her that she felt all the way to her soul.
“I was so scared tonight, Micah.” The whispered admission gusted out of her. “After it was over, all I wanted to do was run to you and never let go.”
She knew he had little use for tenderness or soft emotions, but she couldn’t hold the words back. His expression hardened as he studied her, but his hand on her wrist and the one now cupping her nape remained.
“And now?” he rasped. “What is it you want now, Phaedra?”
“This. You.” She swallowed, already gone too far and unwilling to retreat. “I want you.”
His wordless reply rumbled against her like thunder. It was all the warning he gave her before he lowered his head and took her mouth once more.
There was fire in this kiss too.
There was demand.
His tongue invaded her parted lips, the fevered strokes stirring a wild need inside her. She knew where this kiss was heading. It had been a lifetime since she’d been with a man, but never had her desire erupted so swiftly into raw, urgent need.
On a moan, she melted against him, pulling her hand free of his loose hold so she could bring her arms up around his broad shoulders and hold him closer while he claimed her mouth in a blistering, soul-shattering kiss.
The hand that released hers skimmed beneath the hem of her shirt. The first brush of his fingertips against the bare skin of her belly made her shudder with desire. When he moved higher, palming the sensitive mound of her breast, all of the heated need coiling inside her spiraled into her core.
Micah broke their kiss, but only for a moment, drawing back to look at her. The molten glow of his transformed irises felt as hot as a caress on her face.
“I told you that you shouldn’t have come in here with me,” he murmured. “If you have second thoughts, you’d better voice them now.”
Her breath was racing, shallow pants that matched the speeding rate of her pulse. She couldn’t find her voice, but she had no need for words. Spearing her fingers into his short hair, she pulled his head down to meet hers and let her hungered kiss tell him everything he needed to know.
“Ah, fuck,” he snarled into her mouth.
His hips bucked forward, driving the rigid length of his erection against her. His free hand went between her legs, caressing her sex over her clothing. She wanted to feel his touch on her skin. Faith, she wanted that and more.
As if he knew what she craved, Micah deftly unbuttoned her dark jeans and tugged the zipper down. His fingers dipped into her cleft, and he let out a jagged breath when he found her wetness.
“Christ, you’re soft. So silky and hot.”
She whimpered a response, but it was lost as soon as he began to stroke her tender flesh. When he teased the tight bud of her clit, she cried out, aching for the release his touch promised.
Micah kissed her deeper now, using those skillful fingers to bring her to the brink of shattering. Beside her, she heard the door of the windowless target range close and lock on his mental command. Then cool air hit her backside as her jeans and panties fell to the floor beneath her. A moment later, her feet lifted off the floor and all her weight was held aloft on Micah’s powerful hands.
She didn’t know how he’d managed to free himself from his own pants, but the thick shaft of his cock now replaced his fingers as he stroked against the slick folds of her sex. Pressing her back to the wall, he rolled his pelvis into hers in a hard grind, his eyes smoldering.
