Darkness(73)

She only realized that she was gripping his hand so hard that her nails were digging into his palm when his thumb stroked soothingly over the back of her hand. The gentle caress caused her fingers to relax a little.

“Gina,” he prompted. His eyes held hers. “Tell me.”

The steadiness of his gaze steadied her in turn. Bare bones, she thought, I can do. Wetting her lips, taking a breath, she kept her eyes fastened to his as if they were a lifeline.

“I was the only one who survived.” She did her best to speak normally, but still the words emerged as scarcely more than a croak. “My husband. My father. My sister. All died.”

His face tightened. “Ah, Jesus,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

She nodded, unable to say anything more because her throat had closed up. Pain welled inside her as the memories ripped free of their moorings and she saw it again, all of it, in a terrifying flash that lasted no longer than a split second. She held on to his hand like she never meant to let go as the fear and grief and horror washed over her in a giant wave and then receded, leaving her cold and shaking in its wake.

He glanced down at their joined hands, then raised them to his mouth and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. His lips on her skin felt warm. Possessive. As if they belonged there.

Heat surged through her as his mouth shifted to kiss each one of her fingers in turn. Glorious, life-giving heat.

He’s a gorgeous guy, she thought with a surprising degree of detachment as she watched his black head bent over her hand while he pressed his lips to each of her fingers. The feel of his mouth on her skin made her body tighten with awareness. Hard-eyed, hard-bodied, handsome, aggressively male: what woman wouldn’t want a man like that?

More than that, he was someone she’d learned she could count on. Someone who’d become surprisingly important to her.

“It’s okay,” he said, lowering their hands to look at her. “That’s all I needed to know. You don’t have to tell me any more.”

She nodded and exhaled. He didn’t let go of her hand. She didn’t try to pull away. Instead, she entwined her fingers with his and held on.

“I can’t really—talk about it.” Her voice was ragged. “But I’m glad you know.”

“Yeah, me too.”

She smiled at him a little unsteadily. Her heartbeat accelerated as she met his eyes. They flamed at her. Other than that, his face was impossible to read.

But she could see the tension in the set of his broad shoulders and the hardness of his jaw. She could read it, just like she could read what was in his eyes.

He wanted her. She had no doubt about that whatsoever. But she’d told him no before, and it was clear that he wouldn’t cross that line.

In her book, whatever else he’d done, that made him a good guy.

The chemistry between them was off the charts. She could feel it sizzling in the air. It was there in the heat of their linked hands, in the intensity of their locked gazes. The blistering kisses they’d shared were permanently branded in her memory. Her body was aware of his like a flower is aware of the sun.

Here, she realized with a blinding flash of insight, was the key to the prison she’d been locked in. She might die tomorrow. Was she really going to let the poor maimed thing her life had become be the last chapter of her existence? He wanted her. Well, she wanted him, too—badly. There was no logical reason why she shouldn’t take what she wanted. She didn’t have to worry about getting pregnant: she had long-term protection from that. And if they weren’t together permanently, so what? There was nothing wrong with being together for right now. She could have a relationship with a man with forever potential later. Forget getting involved with him: that didn’t have to happen. To put it in his terms, they could simply get it on. This thing with Cal would be her very own red-hot love affair, an icebreaker to catapult her back into the sexual arena. When this nightmare was over, if they survived and parted, maybe she’d be on her way to being free to live her life again.

The prospect intrigued her.

The thought of sleeping with Cal dazzled her. It made her heart start to pound.

Tightening her grip on his hand, she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his. She kissed him softly, provocatively, sliding a hand behind his head, her lips molding to the warm firmness of his as if she would memorize the shape and taste of them. Her pulse began to race. Her body began to quicken. She touched her tongue to the crease between his lips, slid it that first little bit into his mouth, found the tip of his tongue. His mouth was scalding hot. The wave of heat that swept over her made her stomach quiver.

He made a slight, harsh sound against her lips. Then his tongue was in her mouth and he was kissing her fiercely, taking control, his mouth slanting across hers, his lips hard and demanding. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, wanting him so much that she was on fire with it. Her pulse hammered and her body burned and her toes curled in her boots.

His arm came around her waist and he stood up, pulling her up with him, pulling her tight against his body. When they were both on their feet he stopped kissing her and lifted his head. Dizzy with wanting him, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. She was plastered against him, her arms around his neck, her head thrown back so that she had a perfect view of his hard, handsome face. His arms were locked around her waist and he looked down at her with passion blazing from his eyes, but she thought she detected a hint of wariness in the set of his mouth.