For two beats her brain failed to connect. Then reality crashed harder than a sledgehammer. “Wait a minute.” Her voice emerged husky. “The brain. You stimulated my brain. You planted desire.”
“You can’t plant desire.” He settled himself on his elbows. “I just stimulated the amygdala and nucleus accumbens in your brain—one regulates emotion and the other controls the release of dopamine.”
Desire flashed to anger. “You bastard.” She’d known him only a day and had already used words she never spoke. “You manipulated me.”
“No.” His frown matched the slow burn in his eyes. The flash of anger combined with a heat of lust in his rapidly darkening irises. “First, I wanted to show you how else demons could mess with your brain. Then . . . well . . . things got out of control.”
Okay. While he was giving his lame explanation, he really shouldn’t be pressing the strong line of his erection against her aching clit. Worse yet, she was two seconds away from ripping his pants off. “Get off me. Now.”
“No.” The grip on her ass tightened. “Not until you at least consider how good we could be.”
“From a logical perspective, I can’t stand you. In fact, I’d probably kill you in your sleep.” She released his hair and shoved both hands against his hard chest. The damn man didn’t move.
“Some pacifist.”
“See? See what a few hours with you does to me? No way will I mate you.”
“Famous last words, gorgeous.” He rolled off her, smoothly pressing his shoulders against the floor and leaping to his feet without using his hands.
What a show-off. But . . . well . . . the move was impressive. Balance, coordination, and strength. If she went crazy and actually wanted a vampire mate for all eternity, he’d make a good choice. Lucky for her she wasn’t going crazy. She grabbed the chair and heaved to her feet. “You’re a manipulative jerk.”
“That’s nothing compared to what the demons will do if they get a hold of you.” Kane shrugged. “Well, without the kissing part, usually.”
His face was flushed, his eyes burning, his body tense.
Oh yeah. She hadn’t been the only one affected by the kiss. Slowly, she dropped her fingers to the buttons of her shirt to refasten, pleasure filling her when his gaze followed. Take that, buddy.
Then her shoulders started to itch. She glanced down at the old rug still wearing her butt print. “Tell me that’s not from a real animal.”
Kane sighed. “I don’t own this place, for goodness’ sake. However, once you get to Realm headquarters, you should be pleased. We have allies who are shifters. To the best of my knowledge, most animal-type fabric, rug, and coverings in every house we own are synthetic.”
“Most?”
“I’ll make it ‘all’ as soon as possible.”
She smiled. “You’re not as much of a jackass as I thought.”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.” He dropped back into his chair.
She nodded, fighting to keep from shivering. Whether from the cold or Kane’s kiss, she wasn’t sure. Man, she wished they were still rolling around on the floor. She’d never felt such need. While she wasn’t going to mate him, they still had this night. A tremor racked her shoulders.
Kane sighed. “You’re not warming up.”
“Yes . . . I . . . am . . .” She shivered again.
He turned to eye her.
“You mess with my brain, and I’ll kick your ass.” The time had ended for nicety. “Don’t even think of warming me up by manipulating some weird cortex in my brain-stem.”
“Okay.” He tore off his shirt. Defined muscles showed in his broad chest that tapered into an intriguing six-pack. The scientist worked out. He’d healed from the bullet wound completely. His pants followed suit, leaving him in dark briefs. His legs were as sexy as the rest of him. He lifted her and sat on the sofa.
“Hey,” she protested as he sat back down with her on his lap. “Why are you getting naked?”
“I have briefs on—and my clothes were wet.” He yanked the blanket free before pressing her skin against his and rewrapping the blanket.
His heat slammed right through to muscles and bone. She bit her lip to keep from groaning in pure pleasure. “Stop manhandling me.” Her voice came out weak and not nearly as angry as she’d like.
“I like handling you.” That deep voice turned thoughtful and a bit rough.
The storm raged outside, the fire crackled inside, and she was sitting on the hottest guy she’d ever seen. “Okay. This is not some big, sexy seduction, we’re lost in the storm, let’s get it on situation.” Her mouth formed the words, but deep down, her body howled in protest.
He chuckled, turning her to straddle him. “Let’s warm your back.”
Heat from the fire licked down her spine . . . not nearly as hot as the warmth from the hard body heating her front. His thighs warmed the inside of hers. “Kane, stop it.” Again, her body ignored the very simple words by her hands pressing against his hard chest, feeling the very, very nice muscles there.
“Stop what? “ Dark amusement lifted his lip while those eyes swirled a deep violet.
“Playing with me,” she coughed out.
“Darlin’, I’m not playing. If I were playing, I’d do this.” He leaned in, his tongue flicking along her jugular. His mouth was hotter than possible. “And this.” Clever fingers wandered across her rib cage to sweep under her breast.
She pressed toward him, her breath catching.
“And this,” he murmured against her neck, tweaking her nipple through the cotton.
With a sigh, she pressed against his sudden erection. “I’m not sure I even like you.”
“Most people aren’t sure if they like me,” he said, lifting away and flashing a grin.
Disarming and charming, the grin heated her insides.
Vulnerability gentled her hands as she framed his face.
“What are you really like?” She frowned, her body on fire, her mind curious, her instincts whispering she should run.
He tilted his head. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“I think you do.” She settled against his erection, enjoying the instant flare of lust in his dark eyes. “I’m not easy, and I’m not simple, Kane. I want you. But even though we’re fleeting, I don’t want a rational, this-is-a-reasonable-way-to-calm-down-and-ride-out-the-storm lay.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Did you just say lay?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Darlin’, I’m all brain, no heart. That should make you happy considering the pleasure centers are in the brain.”
“No.” She shoved against his chest, the movement rubbing her suddenly aching sex against a hardened cock too impressive to easily ignore. “This isn’t about thinking. This is about feeling.” Staring him right in the eyes, she tried to penetrate to his hard brain. “We both know you can feel, whether you like that fact or not.”
Irritation flashed bright in those eyes to be quickly blanketed with humor. “That was a secret.”
Her hands dropped along with her gaze. “Whatever.”
He sighed. Running both hands through her hair, he gently tugged her head back until her eyes met his. “Amber, I like you. Against all rational thought, I like the way you think, the way you move, even the way you feel everything too strongly. And I want to have one night with you—not to relieve some stress, although it would—not to cement your help, although it might—and not to further any of my rather pressing goals. I just want to get inside you and drive you crazy until you scream my name.”
She opened her mouth but no words formed.
His hold tightened. “But you should be very careful what you ask for.” The predator he’d been hiding rose to the surface.