Dropping her hand to dress himself in the weapons, he didn’t bother to respond. "Coat," he said to the man in front of him.
Sasha received a quick assessing glance before the guy went back where he came from, returning with a coat in hand. Sasha started to smile and thank him, but Kane got in the way, taking the coat and putting the soft, wooly thing on her as if she were a child who couldn't do it for herself.
He manipulated her arms, pulled it over her shoulders, then turned her to tie the three big bows on the front over her chest. When he finished, he scooped up her hand in his massive paw and pulled her through the doorway.
A transport waited outside for them with a man on each side, one obligingly holding the door open. Kane followed her in.
The interior was dark, as fine and fancy as everything she’d seen so far of this man and his home. From the layers of scent in the air, it smelled to her like Kane used it all the time.
It was the first transport Sasha had ever been in, reserved as they were for the rich and powerful. It was comfortable enough that a family of four would find it a nice living space where she came from.
At least it would if none of them were as big as Constantine Kane. He took up all the room, spreading out, filling the cab with his very presence. Though the seat they were on was clearly divided into sections, his arm touched her shoulder and his leg invaded her space to lean against hers.
Sasha pressed herself against the opposite side to get away from him, looking for a way to lower the window and let some air in so she could breathe. He was suffocating her in his scent.
"Can you open the windows?"
"Are you over-warm?"
"Just want some air on my face."
"Then no."
She breathed through her mouth. His smell rolled over her tongue, making her mouth water and her gums hurt. Pain surged in her head, sliding down her spine and spreading through her bones.
A wave of heat poured over her, hot and thick like boiled honey. Sasha didn't move, waiting for the unexplained sickness to go away.
"Sasha."
"What?"
"Look at me."
He had his closed, full self-control face on. No expression. No feeling. But now she knew he could feel. He had a whole range of feelings: impatience, anger, curiosity, pleasure.
She let her eyes pour over him, his hair, his face, his neck and shoulders—to pick out details to savor later. He was a remarkably masculine and handsome male.
As she looked at him full on and fearlessly for the first time, she saw another one of those expressions of anger start in his eyes and spread to his lips and cheeks. His nostrils flared, and he inhaled deeply. He leaned closer, sniffing.
She wanted to lean closer too.
"Fuck. Fuck no. I am going to kill Terasa. If you hadn't been in that fucking room…"
She flopped back away from him, fingers working at the bows he'd tied on the coat. She had no idea why he was cursing and making death threats. She wanted the coat off. Suddenly it was much too hot. She couldn't breathe. Her skin hurt. Her blood was boiling and her bones ached. She wanted the coat off, now.
Her hair was everywhere, sticking to her cheeks, tangled in her fingers, a maddening irritation. A feral growl escaped when the pretty blue bows became ugly knots that she couldn’t undo to save her life.
Gently nudging her fingers away, Kane said, "Stop, Beauty. Just relax. You're okay."
"I'm not okay. I can't breathe. I'm trapped in a net made of too much damn hair. This freaking torture-chamber coat you made me wear won't come off."
Kane rumbled.
"Don't laugh!"
"Let me help, then."
She huffed, her whole body jerking in frustration before she surrendered dramatically.
