find a solution?" she said after almost a minute.
"Not a drug one." He shook his head. "You full-bloods are appallingly weak."
"And you half-bloods can't even telepath a foot."
A nip at her lower lip. "But, he did figure out a way to alleviate pain through the use of pressure points during massage."
"Did your ancestors pass the knowledge on to those in the PsyNet?"
"What do you think?"
Sighing, she placed her forehead against his chest, realizing the pain was already starting to fade. "The Council wouldn't have wanted any such close-contact healing when Silence was so young, so easily broken."
His fingers went down her neck, to her shoulders, then back up. "Yes. And then later, the touching would've gone against the conditioning."
"Sounds about right." Her arms were around his waist, the heat of him a familiar stroke. I'll miss you so. Dev trusted her enough to let her roam the house and grounds alone now. He'd never expect her to run. But she had to. Because if she didn't, she was terrified she'd lose herself to Ming's control, try to spill Dev's blood.
And once she was gone, Dev would have to drop his idea of going after Ming - no plan would work without her active participation. He'd be safe.
"Come to bed," he murmured against her ear. "I'm in a good mood - I'll give you a full-body massage."
"How generous," she teased, headache less than a dull throb now. "This has nothing to do with getting your hands on my naked body?"
Kisses brushed along the shell of her ear. "Of course it does - I don't massage for free."
She let him tug her into the bedroom, let him shut the door, strip off their jackets. Just once more, she told herself. Afterward. . .after he was asleep, she'd sneak out. He hadn't reset the house alarm, and that would have been the biggest hurdle. It would take an hour to reach the main road on foot, perhaps longer, but she had time. All the time in the world. Because she had no destination. . . aside from getting away from Dev.
But right this moment, she wanted simply to breathe in the scent of him, until it was imprinted into her very cells. When he pressed her back against the door, his hands on either side of her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled in welcome. "Do I get a kiss before my massage?"
"Since you asked so nice." His lips were smiling when they touched hers, and she'd never guessed until this moment what it was to kiss a man you could laugh with. They smiled through the entire kiss, as he sipped at her, before slicking his tongue over her lips.
She danced her own tongue playfully over his, flirting but never delivering. He nipped at her in sensual punishment before taking her mouth with a dominance that was as natural to him as breathing. And through it all, he kept her pinned to the door, his heavier body a delicious source of pressure.
Smoothing her hands over his shoulders, she slipped her fingers under the sleeves of his T-shirt, glorying in the quint-essentially male strength of him. "Take off your T-shirt."
"I'm starting to think the headache was a ploy so you could have your wicked way with me."
A teasing Dev, Katya found, was a devastatingly sexy Dev. "You look hot - I thought it would cool you down."
That got her another laughter-filled kiss. He backed off only for the moments it took to strip off his T-shirt and throw it to the floor. She couldn't help but spread her fingers over the silky-rough surface of his chest as he returned to claim her mouth, his own hand closing possessively over her hip.
A single squeeze and she trembled. Feeling him smile at her response, she scratched her nails lightly down his back. "Again," he ordered, his voice husky.
When she did, she had the pleasure of feeling his big body shudder before he raised one hand to the back of her neck, kneading the tense muscles in a firm yet gentle sequence that made her moan as the last vestige of pain was replaced by pleasure, her body softening even further for him.
"Good?" An intimate murmur as she nuzzled against him.
"Mmm."
He continued to use those strong fingers on her, his head dipping to kiss the sensitive skin of her neck. Stroking her hands down his sides, she undid the top button of his jeans. He stilled but didn't stop her. And when she