She nudged her head back, and his hand fell away. “I don’t know you.”
“No.” He stepped into her and cupped her face, tilting her head back. “But you have excellent instincts. I can see from your eyes, and I’ve watched you in the field surrounded by guns and fire. Look into my eyes. Did I kill Duck?”
Her nostrils flared, and her chest moved under his shirt in a sharp inhale. Her stare delved deep; impressively so. Finally, her facial muscles relaxed. “I don’t think you’d waste your time killing Duck.”
An unerringly true statement. More heat speared through him. The woman was intriguing with a side of deliciousness, and just being near her tingled awareness in his nerves. “You’re right.”
She held his stare, a brave woman half his size. “But you’ve killed.”
His head lifted. He’d been a warrior for more than three centuries and lived through two immortal wars. Plus, he was an enforcer for the Coven Nine. “Aye. I’ve killed.”
She frowned. “You’re a soldier.”
“Aye.” He didn’t have to tell her with whom.
“With whom?” she asked.
He smiled, his fingers extending around to knead her neck. “Not your people, darlin’.”
“Why are you here, Kellach?” she breathed, her gaze dropping to his mouth.
He could give her that much. “I’m on assignment to find out about the drugs.”
“Why?” she asked.
Regret tightened his hold slightly. “I can no’ tell you that, but I can promise we’re working to end the drug’s production. To take it completely out of existence once I find the source.”
“That’s not good enough.”
Facing him, so brave, she provided a temptation he hadn’t felt in decades. Maybe longer than decades.
“It has to be.” He gave in to temptation and lowered his head, brushing his mouth across hers. Sweet. So damn fucking sweet. Knowing better, he began to move back, when she grabbed his chest and hauled him closer, her mouth working under his.
A roaring echoed through his head, and he was lost.
Chapter 12
The second his lips touched hers, Lex forgot the case. Hell, she forgot everything.
His mouth overtook hers, firm and hot. He kissed her deep, his large hands holding her head in place, all fire and passion. She moaned deep in her throat, and his chest vibrated against her as if he fought to hold himself back.
He’d saved her life, and that meant something to her. She was so damn tired of fighting and of being alone. For once, she just wanted to feel.
One broad hand released her head and caressed down her spine to pull her into that hard body. Flush against him, she could feel every defined ridge, every powerful muscle. Her abdomen flared awake, and her sex softened. Even being held so tightly, she levered up on her wounded toes to kiss him deeper, to rub against him. Her nipples hardened to sharp points, and she rubbed them against his chest.
A growl lumbered up from him.
Heat somehow cascaded off him, hotter than normal.
He angled an arm around her waist and lifted her, his mouth releasing hers to nip along the side of her jaw to her ear. He bit gently, and a mini-explosion rocketed through her, pinpointed right at her sex. She slid her hands through that silky hair and wrapped her legs around his waist.
The hand at her nape turned, cupped her scalp, and drew back her head, firm and controlling in a way that dampened her panties.
His eyes had turned darker than midnight, and desire flushed deep under his cut cheekbones. “Alexandra.”
She panted out air. “What?”
“Are you sure?”
She liked that. A lot. Liked that he’d asked the question, when her body was on fire, and it’d be easy to get lost in passion. Unreal, combustible passion. “This is such a mistake.” She half-laughed and half-moaned the statement.
“Aye.” His eyes glittered, and he held them both still. “If you’re gonna make a mistake, make it a good one.”
A motto she’d always lived by, actually. She released his hair to slide her hands down over his chest, her fingers digging in. She purred, enjoying the perfection that was Kellach Dunne. “How are you even real?” she murmured.
His gaze softened. “I’ve lived lifetimes, Alexandra, and I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a woman this much.”
Lifetimes? Yeah. Definitely a soldier who’d seen too much—enough to feel old in his thirties.
She smiled. He wasn’t exactly wounded, but definitely seasoned. Maybe even cynical, and that feminine part of her, deep down that didn’t make much sense, wanted to ease him. To provide a soft place to land and show him wonder. How long ago had he lost that?