Binding Ties The Sentinel Wars - Shannon K. Butcher Page 0,49

side of the foggy space. The next, he was in front of her, staring down at her with intense satisfaction in his hazel eyes. His fingers curled around her upper arms. Heat shimmered between them, sliding down her body until she was quivering in enjoyment.

“My home,” he said.

She didn’t see a home. In the distance, past the fog, she saw a fleeting glimpse of high walls like those around Dabyr, but that was all. Inside the walls, tall trees rose, blocking out the sky. They looked much like the one inked on Joseph’s chest, but these were filled with so many leaves that not even the sun could filter through.

As she made the comparison, his shirt disappeared, allowing her to see his lifemark.

His jeans hung low on his hips, displaying lean muscles that ridged his abdomen and made a V down toward his groin. The tree marked on his skin had only a trio of leaves, but they swayed in time with the leaves of the trees around them.

The need to touch drew her in, taking over all rational thought. She ran her finger along his lifemark, letting the heat of his skin sink into hers. As her touch strayed down to his stomach, she felt something cold and wet.

She looked down, but saw nothing out of the ordinary except a thin scar bisecting his abdomen.

The sight tickled something deep in her mind, giving her a feeling of helplessness and fear.

“I don’t like it,” she told him.

He grabbed her hands in his and pressed them against his hard chest. “It’s nothing, kitten. Nothing to worry about at all. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”

It wasn’t, but she couldn’t seem to get her mind around what was bothering her.

Joseph tilted her chin up. There was a smile in his eyes, a kind of softness she’d never seen before. “I’m so glad you’re here. Where you belong.”

“I can’t stay,” she said, knowing instantly that her words were true, though she had no idea what had spurred them.

“There’s nothing to fear here. I’ll keep you safe.”

The walls were high. Thick. The air smelled clean and fresh, like right after a spring storm. There were no demons here. No responsibilities.

His thumb stroked her cheek. “I’ve watched you for so long. Wanted you. Every word we shared made me crave more. I would lie in my bed and wonder how your skin would feel under my fingertips.” He trailed his fingers over her shoulder and down her arm. “How your skin would smell if I nuzzled you here.” He lowered his nose to the crook of her neck and breathed her in.

A shiver tingled along Lyka’s spine. Her body began to heat, and a sweet tingle of need stirred in her belly.

“There are so many other things I want to do to you,” he said. “So many dreams I’ve had of you and me together.” As he said the words, her mind was filled with a flurry of images of the two of them entwined in passionate embraces. Some of them were sweet. Others primal and raw. Each one came complete with a set of sensory details that trickled over her like hot water, stealing her breath with their intensity.

She’d spent plenty of time wondering what it would be like to be with a man as powerful as Joseph, but not one of her daydreams even came close to the potent fantasies he’d endured.

She stared at one—an image of her naked, pinned against the wall of his office by his big body. His hips were moving, thrusting himself inside her with hard, powerful strokes. He pulled her shoulders down, driving himself as deep as he could go before retreating and doing it all over again.

“I thought about that nearly every day,” he admitted. “But even that didn’t hold my curiosity as much as this one.” He pointed to another scene.

In this one, they stood outside under the moonlight. Her arms were wrapped around him as if she never wanted to let him go. Her head was tilted up toward his, and they were locked in a kiss so passionate she felt like she was intruding on the most private of moments—far more intimate than sex against his office wall had been.

He stood beside her. The back of his hand slid up and down her bare arm. “I’ve always wondered what it might be like to kiss you like that. To have you kiss me back like you would die if I let go