Judging by the shocked faces and stares, he knew no one else had seen or felt anything out of the ordinary. Only him. He knew Trap was in trouble immediately. He barely registered anything but the current tying a thread between Pepper and Trap. He reached out and shackled Pepper’s wrist, uncaring of the consequences. He yanked her out of her chair and dragged her out of the room, away from the others.
“What the hell do you think you’re doin’?” he demanded, his voice low and more than a little threatening as he took her down the hall and into his bedroom. He retained possession of her wrist as he kicked the door closed and shoved her hard against it. Stepping close, he trapped her body between the hard wood and his body.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’ play innocent with me, Pepper. Do you think I’m not aware of every single thin’ you’re doin’? Where you are in this house? Who you’re talkin’ to? Every single thin’ you do? Every breath you take in and exhale. Don’ lie and tell me you aren’ aware of the same thin’ with me.”
He pinned both her arms above her head. “Admit it, Pepper. Admit to me you know where I am at all times.”
“Maybe I do, but that doesn’t have anything to do with your behavior.”
He heard the desperation in her voice. The ache. He knew the exact feeling. It was always there for both of them when they got together, especially if emotions were running high. “What the hell are you doin’ throwin’ out a lure to Trap? Do you want to get one of us killed? He came here to help me and he’s my friend. Are you angry with him because he threatened you?”
“I don’t care that he threatened me. Of course I want him to be loyal to you and to make certain you come back alive, but he doesn’t care anything at all about the children. He’s like the men in that laboratory and the ones in France.”
“It shouldn’t matter a damn what he’s like. You don’ use that lure on any other man, do you understand me? You belong to me, not someone else. We’ll sort it out between us. You’re not goin’ to bring anyone else into the mix. It’s too dangerous.”
“What other weapon do I have to protect myself or the children? Unless you want me to kill him, because that’s always a possibility.”
“You trust me. Me, Pepper. To look after you and the children. I wouldn’t have brought Trap here if I thought he’d be a danger to the kids. He’s my friend. He’s different, yes, and he’s analytical and a little obsessive, but he’s loyal to me and my team, which means…” He put his hand over her mouth when she would have protested. “Which means he’s loyal to my family.”
“You’re not being fair, Wyatt. I might know you, but I don’t know him. I trust you with me and the girls – but not him. He wants to put them right back into another lab and dissect them. I don’t know who you’ll choose, us or your friends if it comes down to that.”
Anger ripped through him like a tidal wave. “You know me.” He bit the words out between his teeth. “You’re bein’ a coward and you know it.”
Before she could protest, he took her mouth. He wasn’t the least bit gentle. He didn’t feel gentle, not with adrenaline pouring through his body like a fiery, hot stream. He leaned into her, deliberately imprinting her body on his, all her soft skin and lush curves. In that moment he could care less whether or not her kiss was lethal. His hunger for her was brutal. Coupled with his volcanic anger, there was no way to stop the rising passion, the terrible need that was so primal he almost couldn’t control it.
He poured himself into her, his mouth hot and demanding, forcing her response. The taste of her burst through him like an addicting drug he would never be able to find anywhere else. Never be able to get enough of. Her arms slid around his neck and she melted into him with a small gasping sob.
Her mouth moved under his and he was lost in her sexual web. Drowning. Going under for the last time. The thing was, he didn’t want to come up for air. Not ever. He could kiss her forever and it would never be enough. The ground shifted, and he didn’t know if it was his reaction or hers. Only that the world dropped away until there was only the woman in his arms and her incredible mouth breathing for him.
He dragged her closer, desperate to be skin to skin. She was made for him. She fit. Perfectly. The chemistry just got hotter the more they kissed, inflaming his every sense until he couldn’t think straight. Until there was no way to do without her. She was inside of him, living and breathing, and without her body to sustain his, there was no Wyatt. He knew part of that was the biochemical spilling from her mouth to his, but more, he already knew the taste of her, what it felt like to be inside of her. Once he started kissing her, it was difficult to pull back without having her.
This isn’t going to work, Wyatt. It’s not.