Spider Game (GhostWalkers, #12)(25)

His hand moved down her spine to the curve of her ass. He had to admit, she had the most beautiful body he’d ever seen. He half lifted her against his heavy erection.


Trap. She murmured his name softly. Intimately. Into his mind. You didn’t come alone, did you?


She would have to be the voice of reason. Even if Pascal and Blaise didn’t remember what had taken place, Wyatt was out there too. He couldn’t very well take her like some crazy animal in the middle of the swamp. She deserved so much more.


He came up for air and rubbed his face in the soft silk of her hair. He wasn’t certain that helped him gain control. Her hair felt sensual moving over his skin.


Baby, we need a bed and hours and hours to be alone.


I agree. She nuzzled his neck. His throat. Blazed a trail of fire from his throat to his chest. Who is with you?


Wyatt. And he isn’t happy about your visits. He’s afraid someone will shoot you accidentally, just the way I am. I’ll be moving in by tomorrow night. As much as I want to be with you, don’t make the mistake of coming to Wyatt’s house again without first meeting everyone.


You take a lot for granted, don’t you?


Her mouth felt so good against his bare skin. Her hands had unbuttoned his shirt, fingers sweeping over the muscles on his chest.


I don’t take you for granted, Cayenne. You’re a f*cking miracle to me. No one has ever made me feel like this. I haven’t had a home or a family of my own, not in a very long while. I never wanted a woman for my own until I laid eyes on you.


He knew it was too much to give her – to admit. It made him vulnerable to her, but she needed to know he was playing this for keeps. He’d thought about it. Weighed it in his mind. Analyzed it from every angle. That was what he did, even when it came to his emotions – especially when it came to his emotions. She was worth it; he would never find another woman to suit his needs.


She hesitated, her ear against his heart. Her hands smoothed over his chest. Don’t say things like that, Trap. You don’t know me. You don’t know what I am. I have no past. I have no future. You can’t tie yourself to me, not even in your mind.


I’m in your mind, baby. I see you. What’s inside of you. The enhanced you matches the enhanced me. Your mind can give mine the challenge I need. You’re going to be wild in bed. I need wild. I need you. You’re in my mind. You tell me you don’t think I suit you. That I don’t belong to you.


He wanted to kiss her again and his hands framed her face, but she didn’t move, pressing herself tightly against his chest, burying her face against him this time. He swore he felt tears on his skin.


Are you crying? His hand came up to the back of her head. He soothed her with gentle caressing strokes down that wild streak of red. I’m taking this too fast for you. You have to be overwhelmed just getting out of that cage. Being free. It takes getting used to, not having that structure, but I swear to you, baby, I’ll teach you all about living free. Doing what you want to do. Living the way you want to live. You aren’t that creature in the cage they were all afraid of. You’re a beautiful woman, and I can give you that. Let me teach you how to live. Let me give you the things you deserve.


Stop, Trap. You have to stop. She sounded desperate.


Her breath caught in her throat, and he felt the bite – painful as the venom went in. He kept his arms around her, still smoothing the caresses over her hair while she held him tight. He analyzed the effects of the poison as it entered his system. Clearly her bite injected neurotoxins that affected the nervous system.


I’m sorry, she whispered intimately into his mind. You have to stay away from me. You have to. I’m terrified of you. Nothing – no one else terrifies me, only you. I can deal with everything else. Everyone is an enemy. I’m on my own and no one can hurt me. But you – you can, and I don’t dare let you close. I’ll protect myself from you. I will, Trap. Please leave me alone.


The toxin was fast acting. He would have gone down hard had she not been supporting his weight. He was a big man and heavy, all muscle and solid. As small as she was, she was strong. She lowered him very gently to the ground.


Wyatt, I’m okay, let her go. His first thought was to save her ass from his friend, who would be tempted to blow her head off, seeing him go down.


Wyatt’s got to be close, she continued. I’ll fade into the swamp and watch over you until he comes for you. Please listen to me this time. You can’t follow me. You can’t tempt me. I know you don’t want to hurt me, but eventually you would. I can’t take that kind of hurt. I just can’t.


She smoothed back his too-long hair. He had a lot of it, thick and unruly. He never took the time for haircuts and right then he was glad. Her fingers tunneled deep, felt good on his scalp as she stroked caresses through his hair, almost as if she were helpless to do anything else.


I wish my voice would work on you, Trap, so you could forget all about me. I’ve never had anything good in my life. Nothing at all. I wouldn’t know the first thing about making you happy, and I refuse to be taken care of. I have to feel like an equal, and I don’t know how to give anything back to you. She bent over him and brushed kisses over his mouth.


His heart stuttered. He might be unable to move, but his brain worked, and she was giving him more of herself than she realized.