I can’t,” she murmured, but even as she said the words, her other hand grabbed the bracelet, wrenched it off her wrist, and dropped it to the counter.
Kaderil snatched her hand before she gathered her wits, and continued his assault on her mind. I don’t want Kade to leave. I want him to touch me. As long as he could keep hold of her, he could get her to lead him to Larsen Vale.
With her free hand, she rubbed at her wrist where the holly had been, her gaze fixed on her task. Kaderil brushed her fingers aside and stroked the soft skin for her. “Is that better?”
“Yes.” The word was full of confusion, a lost sound that resonated uncomfortably in the hollows of his heart, pricking his conscience.
He pushed the feeling aside. He needed to learn what he could from her, anything that might help him find that draggon stone and destroy the Sitheen. Using the link formed by the press of skin on skin, he reached into her mind and absorbed the wealth of knowledge he found there, an amazing array of facts about archaeology and artifacts, folklore and past human civilizations. And, as often happened when he eavesdropped on a human’s mind, he got little in the way of concrete memories, mostly impressions and opinions.
Beneath his fingers, her pulse began to quicken. He was frightening her again. A poor way to earn her trust. He released her arm and was about to step back, when her gaze lifted to his, stopping him.
There was no fear in her expression. No uncertainty at all. And he realized, suddenly, that it wasn’t fear driving her speeding pulse. Sweet Esria, it was desire. Her eyes fairly blazed with it.
Before he could fully grasp this sudden change in her, she reached for him, pulled his face down, and pressed her mouth hard to his.
Need surged through his body. Shock flooded his brain at the sudden closeness. At the feel of a woman pressed against him, not in fear, but in desire.
His body rose even as his mind rebelled. Too close. He was the Punisher. He kept others at bay for a reason. Just as he never wanted his own people to learn of his great lack of power, he couldn’t let the humans know he was more than human.
He grabbed her shoulders, his mind insisting he push her away. But her tongue swept into his mouth and all thought fled. His arms went around her, pulling her tight against him. He reveled in the feel of her soft breasts pressed against his chest, her thighs pushing against his.
He fell into the chaos, sliding and twining his tongue with hers, tracing the contours of her teeth and mouth, drinking the passion she’d suddenly, miraculously, given in to. Her hands roamed his back with growing need. He basked in her heat.
Her hands curved around the back of his neck, pulling him closer, telling him in no uncertain terms that she wanted him. The knowledge rocked him. Never had a woman desired him like this, without fear. Without question.
Her hands lowered and she tugged at his arms, pulling them away from her. Confused, he started to retreat from her kiss, but her mouth followed his, drawing him to her as she shoved his hands beneath the hem of her shirt, sliding his palms over her abdomen. The shock of that warm hidden skin sent hot desire rushing through his veins.
She was his. For this moment, for this hour, his mission was forgotten. His reason for being with her was forgotten in the explosion of pure feeling that had become his body. He slid his palms up to cover the silk-draped mounds of her breasts, eliciting a low moan from her throat. The sound of her pleasure, the feel of the soft mounds beneath his palms, nearly sent him over the edge.
His mouth dipped to her neck, tasting her freckles, drawing a delicious shudder from her ripe, ready body. He wanted her. With everything he had, everything he was, he wished he could bury himself deep inside this woman’s heat. Most heady of all was the certainty that she lusted after him every bit as much. Beneath his fingers, her body trembled, begging for release. Her spicy fragrance was a song to his senses, her moans of pleasure driving him to madness. She was made for mating, made for him.
“Touch me,” she begged, then pulled back and yanked her soft shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor.
He watched with wondrous anticipation as her hands went to her back to release her bra. But then his gaze flicked to her face, to her eyes, and he froze.
Tears slipped down her cheeks, her eyes filled not with lust, but with frantic need…and panic.
“I need you to touch me,” she whispered brokenly.
His own words came back to him, the words he’d thrust into her head. Somehow he’d done this to her with his careless command. It didn’t make sense. He shouldn’t have this much control over her, but clearly she was not acting on her own.
His body screamed for him to continue. To touch her as she demanded.
But as her bra came loose in her hands, he grabbed her shoulders and thrust new thoughts into her head. I need to put my bra on. Beneath his touch, she stilled and pulled the undergarment tight once more, allowing him only a glimpse of the tantalizing flesh hidden beneath. The moment her bra was secure, her arms went around him.
“Touch me, Kade. I need you to touch me.”
Need quaked through him as he held her, a war raging inside him. He’d forced this on her.
Kaderil’s hands tightened on her back and he kissed her hard, punishing her for his confusion. She met the kiss with equal passion, swamping his senses. He wanted her. He wanted her.
But the fingers she raked through his hair reminded him too well of the way she’d sought to save him from the injury she’d inflicted. In his mind’s eye, he saw again the gentleness of her eyes as she’d sought assurance she hadn’t hurt him.
Kaderil wrenched away from her, breaking the kiss.
“Kade.” Autumn reached for him, try to pull his face back to hers. “I need you.”
He grabbed her band of holly and shoved it into her hand before temptation got the better of him. Slowly, confusion clouded her face, wiping the look of desperation from her eyes.
As he turned and stalked to the window, anger and frustration fueled his steps. In returning her sanity, he’d stripped himself of his own.
He didn’t need her! He only desired her in the most base of ways. And he refused to care that he’d driven to tears the first person to show him true kindness in centuries. He was the Punisher. He demanded fear. Exulted in tears.
Behind him, he heard the brush of cloth, then the soft creak of the sofa. He tried to ignore her, but his body had a will of its own all of a sudden, and he found himself turning back.
Autumn sat, her face buried in her hands, her shoulders shaking.
Foreign emotions raked him. Regret. Pity.
But to his amazement, the sound that broke from her throat was laughter. She lifted her flushed face and clasped her hand to her mouth. “I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life.” Her eyes, miraculously, brimmed with as much humor as chagrin. “I’ve seriously got to date more.”
He stared at her, bemused, as something about her tugged at him, drawing his admiration. There was no doubt he’d distressed her. The tears he’d seen in her eyes told him that clearly. Yet she laughed at herself and met his gaze with strength despite
