TIA
Tia wonderedwhat the hell Forest was thinking because there was no reason for her to tag along. Unless maybe he was trying to find more time for her and Skye to reconnect? That could be it, but nothing was so cut and dry with Forest.
Vane left her and Lyons and strode off into the night. She turned to head back to the band, but Lyons pulled at her arm.
“I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” he said with a guttural rumble in his throat.
“And why is that?”
“Two reasons,” he said. “Most importantly, Collins is waiting for us.”
“And the other?”
Without another word, he walked away. “Up to you whether you want to keep Collins waiting,” he called over his shoulder.
Hesitation wasn’t normally her thing, but she turned toward the break room, caught between following orders and followingsomething else entirely. In the end, she jogged to Lyons’s side, wondering what the second reason might be.
“Are you going to tell me?”
It was dark outside, no moon. Only stars twinkled down on them, and the entire base had quieted down.
Lyons angled right, heading away from the med center.
“Where are you going?”
Without a word, he headed between stacks of pallets brought in from a recent resupply airdrop, disappearing from view. She followed him into the depths of increasing darkness, wondering what the hell bug had bitten his butt. The pallets formed a maze, and she quickly lost him in the twists and turns.
“Lyons!” she yelled. “What the fu—”
She never heard his footsteps, but her scalp tingled, and electricity skated down her spine. A broad hand covered her mouth while Lyons hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her between rows of pallets. Stacked two high, the pallets formed a place of darkness and privacy. Her boots scuffed against the ground, but he pulled her into darkness and away from prying eyes. Her feet lost purchase at one point, but he continued to drag her back. For a moment, she considered swinging her elbows or kicking out with her feet, except her chest heaved with frightened anticipation of…something. He hauled her deeper and then stopped, spinning her until her back slammed up against one of the pallets.
“What the hell are you doing?” she said in a husky whisper when he removed his hand from her mouth. Why she’d whispered or why her voice had sounded that way wasn’t something she understood. It wasn’t even something she had time to ponder because his eyes were edged with steel.
“Something I should’ve done a long time ago.” A crazed look lingered in the strength of his determined gaze and dipped down where it hardened the line of his lips. He looked wild and unhinged.
Her heart fluttered with the realization of what she saw.
Hunger.
Holy fuck, he was unraveling and had her backed up, cornered with nowhere to go. Her breaths quickened, and her entire body turned rigid because she had no intention of running. This was Lyons. She’d run countless missions with him. She trusted him with her life, and he trusted her with his. They were a team.
Her back pressed hard against the unforgiving pallet, and she placed her palm between them, pushing against his chest. “Lyons…”
“My name is Ryker,” he said with a growl.
“Don’t come any closer,” she warned, except he couldn’t get much closer than he already was. Not to mention, she very much wanted no space between them.
His scent flooded her nostrils, turning her insides to jelly. She swallowed down her fear as something else rose to take its place.
Then, he was on her. His arm snaked around her waist, and he pulled her against the hardness of his body. He grabbed her nape, controlling her head, as he leaned in and claimed her mouth with the fire in his breath, the heat of his lips, and the feral intensity of a man pushed beyond his limits. Nothing but complete and utter devastation could come from what came next, but there was no turning back.
“Ryker!” she cried out, but he swallowed her words with a sweep of his tongue.
Without hesitation, he took her mouth with a bruising intensity. His power, the feel of his tongue striking her lips and teasing her tongue, shot a ripple of warmth through the core of her being. Her skin heated and flushed. Her fear faded, and she met his hunger with ravenous need.
She clutched at his wrist, but he merely moved his hand from her nape to her throat, never once losing control of his dominating grip.A flutter of concern passed through her, but she could still breathe. He hadn’t closed off her airway. He wasn’t hurting her. Instead, deep, ragged pulls of breath rattled into his lungs and raced back into hers.
“Please,” she whispered.
