Pepper turned over, her dark eyes moving over his face.
“She wanted out of the bayou, and I love it here. She wanted away from everythin’ and everyone I call home. I wanted to blame her for what I’d done, but in the end, I have to face the fact that all along, ever since I saw my brother and the things he could do, I wanted that as well. I’m too much the scientist. My brain likes puzzles and answers. I did this. Not Joy. Me. Just as I’m the one attracted to you. Not the sexual enhancements, that’s not the lure for me. It’s just you.”
Her eyes changed, going from the deep purple to warm violet. He watched in amazement as the diamond-colored ring surrounding the dark color began to bleed into it, a strange, beautiful starburst that changed her eyes completely.
“Maybe rescuin’ you is part of the attraction, or maybe you’re rescuin’ me. Did you ever think of that? That you might be my savior?”
She reached up with her bare, slender arm, her fingers curving around the nape of his neck one by one, and she slowly pulled him down toward her.
Wyatt’s breath rushed out of his lungs, leaving him burning for air. The ground shifted and the bed trembled. He could see every detail of her beautiful, perfect face. The long feathery sweep of her lashes, the strange starburst in her eyes that beckoned a man to fall into paradise. He knew the details of this moment would be branded for all time in his mind.
Her skin, close up, was soft and flawless, a lure of satin, and her thick hair was luxurious silk. He wanted to pull her braid apart and bury his hands and face in the dark cloud. His gaze dropped to her lips. The soft curve, the formation, the fullness. His heart pounded nearly out of control.
She brushed a kiss over his lips. A whisper, no more. There was nothing sexual in the gesture at all, yet it was the most intimate, sensual thing he’d ever experienced. His body reacted with a need and hunger bordering on primal. He felt that small whisper slide inside of him and take hold.
He’d been with women and he’d kissed a lot of them. This was no kiss, yet he felt more than he’d ever felt in his life. A shiver of acute awareness crept down his spine. He wanted to gather her into his arms, strip her naked and spend hours tangled with her, sharing her body, skin to skin.
Her arm slipped from his neck and she subsided on the pillow, as if the energy it took for the one small movement was too much. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Wyatt. Sometimes our brains are just as needy as the rest of us. Yours is just a little more so, but in the end, it’s the intelligence the children got from you that’s allowed them to stay alive this long. They understand danger and death. They know they can’t bite even when they’re teething and it hurts. So thank you. I wouldn’t have them without you, and I love them. I want to take care of them. So, again, thank you.”
He sat back, away from her, away from that potent lure he couldn’t seem to resist. He still felt her touch, as if the small gesture had been a stamp that had her name and branded her as his. His body hurt. Ached. Demanded. The blood pumped fast through his veins, a hot turbulent rush of pure need. It took great effort not to touch his mouth with his fingertips – or to get up and lock the door.
“I’m not certain that was the best idea you’ve ever had,” he said.
Her moody gaze moved over his face. “I got that the moment my mouth touched yours.”
She had lit a match and he was on fire. Clearly she was too.
“What the hell is going on between us?” Wyatt asked. “Do all men react like me?”
She shook her head slowly. “I wasn’t trying to seduce you. I have to try with the others. It isn’t natural, I have to create the feelings in them, feed them. I don’t feel anything as a rule. With you… it’s different. Real. I don’t know why and it’s a little scary.”
He didn’t trust what he didn’t understand and he sure didn’t understand the volatile chemistry between them. He would have leapt off the bed and put the distance of the room between them, but it was impossible to move at the moment.
“I just want you to remember that I wanted to take Ginger and leave. From the beginning, I wanted away from here. You insisted I stay. I’m not part of some big conspiracy and neither are the babies.”
“Don’ kid yourself, Pepper, you’re definitely part of a conspiracy and so are the babies. The question is, are you a willin’ participant?”
“I’m tired and I hurt. I understand why you might think that way, given the circumstances, but I’m tired of trying to convince you.”