Harmony's eyes widened as his narrowed, a small frown creasing his brow as he glanced at their joined hands. Did he feel it? That exchange of heat, of awareness?
"Well, that was odd enough." His smile was still lazy, but his gaze had sharpened with sensual awareness.
"Wasn't it?" Harmony cleared her throat as she brushed the long strands of her newly colored hair back from her face. She liked the soft dark russet tone of the color. It gave an added emphasis to her pale green eyes and dark brows.
The camouflage was a nice addition. Her naturally streaked hair was a dead giveaway to her Breed genetics. The mix of black, browns and golden ambers would have been instantly noticed.
"I haven't seen you around. Are you visiting relatives?" he asked.
"Not really." She shook her head as she turned back to him. "I'm just passing through." She wished. Yet somehow she had a feeling it would not serve her purposes to allow this man to know she would be here for long.
"That's too bad." The regret shimmered in the air between them.
"Yes, it is." Harmony inhaled deeply, certain she could become addicted to his scent if she weren't extremely careful.
"So you're just here for the night?" He picked up the chilled bottle of beer as he voiced the question, his gaze darkening, his intent to seduce clear.
"Just for the night." Harmony nodded slowly.
"Alone?"
She hesitated as she met his gaze.
"I was."
She watched as he set the beer back on the bar, his eyes never leaving hers, holding her captive with a deep blue fire.
"I could be dangerous," he murmured then, his voice lowering to a near whisper as his eyes flirted with her shamelessly. "A stalker. An axe murderer. Once you left here with me, you would be in my clutches."
"Or you could be in mine," she whispered back, just as playfully.
"I would count myself lucky."
Harmony stilled the laughter rising in her throat at the outrageous comment. Laughter wasn't something she was used to, yet this man seemed to inspire it within moments of meeting him.
Ducking her head, Harmony fought to hide the smile trembling on her lips as she lifted her glass once again and took a fortifying sip of her drink.
"Second thoughts?" he asked.
Harmony lifted her head, swallowing tightly as she considered fighting the attraction. Perhaps for a second.
"I never have second thoughts," she finally assured him. "You?"
"Never." Male confidence surged through his expression. "Would you like to dance?"
"I would love to." She finished her drink before gathering her courage and laying her hand in his.
_________
Lance took the young woman's hand, once again feeling the surge of sensation that traveled from his palm to hers. He'd had no intention of coming into the bar tonight. Tomorrow's meeting with Jonas Wyatt, the head of the Bureau of Breed Affairs, would require all the patience he could muster. Which meant all the rest he could steal tonight. Instead, the closer he had come to Stan's Last Rest, the bar at the edge of town, the more imperative the whispered warnings in the air around him had become. They hadn't screamed or moaned, and in them he hadn't heard secrets, as his grandfather often did. But he heard the demand. Just as he heard the feminine call resounding through his soul.
The moment he walked in the door he had known he was there for her. Their eyes touched and the whispering demand had eased.
Steering her to the dance floor, Lance drew her into his arms, feeling her hands settle against his shoulders as she kept just enough distance between them that the engorged length of his c**k ached in disappointment.
He wanted to feel her flush against him. But not so much on the dance floor as in his bed. Naked, sweating, arching to his body as he led her to orgasm.
"Just passing through, huh?" he finally asked her as his fingers moved over her hips, growing closer to the small strip of bare flesh between her pants and her top. If he hadn't been mistaken, he had glimpsed a small belly ring when she rose from the bar stool.