His lips quirked upward on one side. Devilment gleamed in his eyes. “I had a lot more than kissing on my mind.”
Her heart fluttered in her chest, making her suck in a sharp breath. In the next moment, her eyes narrowed. “You’re trying to provoke a fight!”
He gave her a look of innocence. “Not I.”
“I don’t like this … at all!” she snapped unhappily. “Am I supposed to be flattered?”
“Some women would be.”
She poked him in the chest with her finger. “Well, I’m not. And I’ll tell you something else, the three of you can slug it out if you want to, butIwill decide who I want to be with.”
“In that case, you’ll need a sample for comparison,” he growled.
Amaryllis was still gaping at him in surprise when he grasped her waist, jerked her up against him, and bent down to cover her mouth in a kiss that was filled with both anger and passion and provoked a nearly instantaneous riot of sensations from her.
Chapter Fourteen
Taken completely off guard, Amaryllis was too stunned to think, much less to act. The heat and urgency of his mouth filtered through her senses first, warming her to an exquisite awareness of the hard body she rested against. The rough caress of his tongue along hers, the invasion of his unique scent and taste, made her heart quicken, stole the breath from her lungs. Waves of heat swept through her, leaving dizziness in its wake. A heaviness settled over her so that she leaned weakly against him, clutching at him for support.
Sensing her reaction, Cain’s arms tightened around her, his kiss becoming an erotically thrilling imitation of the mating dance. Amaryllis’ body reacted as if it he was making love to her in truth, the muscles low in her belly clenching almost painfully. Blackness swirled around her. Her knees went weak.
With obvious reluctance, he broke the kiss. Holding her tightly still, he rested his cheek against her head, struggling to catch his breath. “That didn’t feel like indifference to me,” he growled hoarsely next to her ear.
The comment was enough to penetrate the haze of passion he’d aroused in her and Amaryllis pushed away from him, locking her knees to keep from melting into an ignominious puddle on the floor. She was too stunned to find anger, however, could do nothing more than stare at him speechlessly, listening to her heart thundering in her ears.
Several moments passed before she realized the sound was more than her pounding heartbeat. It was the tramp of booted feet.
Unnerved, she moved away from Cain and peered around the column that blocked her view of the entrance to the rec room. A half dozen cyborgs had filed into the rec room and halted near the entrance.
One stepped forward. “By order of the commander, Reuel VH570, the ship is now open to you. So long as you do not abuse the privilege by straying into unauthorized zones, including the flight deck and launch bay, you may come and go as you please. Hereafter, you will take your meals in the mess with the crew. You will continue to quarter in the barracks.”
When they departed once more, they left the door of the rec room standing wide.
Everyone in the room exchanged questioning glances with the people around them. Abruptly, the silence that had fallen over the room at the entrance of the cyborgs was broken by dozens of people speaking all at once.
Amaryllis exchanged a look with Cain. She saw that he was leaning against the column, his arms crossed over his chest, his lips curled in a rueful smile. “Looks like I might be spending the remainder of the trip in the brig after all.”
Amaryllis frowned, still trying to grasp the implications of the announcement that had just been made. Cain’s comment didn’t even penetrate her mind until she followed the direction of his gaze.
Reese and Dante were advancing purposefully toward them. Four of the cyborgs that had entered the rec room to make the announcement rushed inside once more and intercepted them. Dante and Reese sized them up, exchanged a look and slugged the two men directly in front of them so hard they flew backward several feet, taking out three game tables and a half dozen chairs.
An alarm sounded. Four more cyborgs charged into the room. Around the room, every hunter tensed, as if restraining themselves from entering the fray with an effort. It wasn’t their fight—as yet—but it was clear that the weeks of incarceration had them chafing for action. Amaryllis surged forward without any clear idea of exactly what she intended to do. Cain forestalled her by grasping her around the waist. She turned to glare at him.
“I don’t think you need to get into the middle of that.”
“You complete ass! You’ll all end up in the brig.”
He shrugged. “It was for a good cause.”
Amaryllis looked at him blankly. “What cause?”
“Mine.”
Irritation surged through her. “I hope it was worth it!” she said tightly.
A mixture of desire and amusement gleamed in his eyes. His lips curled up at one corner. “It was. It definitely was,” he murmured huskily, lifting a hand and tracing his thumb lightly along her lower lip.
Amaryllis’ belly clenched reflexively. Resolutely, she ignored the warmth his look and his touch engendered. Uttering a frustrated sound of impatience, she wrestled with the grip he had on her.
