He stared back at her in disbelief. "You're comparing me to cheesecake?" Offended male fury and outrage glittered in his eyes.
She huffed, "Well, the same principle applies."
It wasn't like it was offensive or anything. She loved cheesecake. Especially chocolate cheesecake.
"The hell it does."
There was no chance to avoid him. No way to evade the arms that jerked her into his embrace, or the lips that suddenly covered hers.
But, oh man, could he kiss.
His lips on hers were like rough velvet, his tongue rasping over lips, pushing against them, seeking entrance as she whimpered beneath the onslaught. His hands moved from her back to her rear, cupping the curves there and lifting her to him, pulling her to her tiptoes as her hands clenched his shoulders to steady herself.
She was overwhelmed. That was all there was to it. A hungry little whimper broke from her throat as her lips parted for him, then his tongue was twining with hers, licking at her, sending erratic, erotic pulses of sensation straight between her thighs.
Now, this was a kiss. Until this, she had never been kissed. He ate at her mouth, consumed her, nipped at her, growled when her lips closed around his tongue and she suckled at it, allowing him to mimick the controlled thrusts of his hips against hers.
His c**k was thick and hard, pressing into the juncture of her thighs as he bent to her, rolling his hips to press the heated length against her swollen clit as she fought to rein in her sudden, uncontrolled need.
His kiss, his touch made her ache. From her br**sts to her sex, she ached with a need so imperative it was all she could do to keep from tearing at his clothes, demanding that he throw her over the table and take her now. Hard. Fast.
"Hey guys, pizza's here. Are you going to share?"
Just as quickly as he had jerked her to him, Mercury was pushing her back, almost throwing her into the relative safety of the kitchen as he swung around, his gun clearing the holster at his powerful thigh.
"Whoa! Hold up there, big guy." Lawe raised his hands, pizza box included, his ice blue eyes filled with amusement as he stared back at Mercury. "You didn't answer the door for the pizza guy, so I did the honors and paid for it. I should at least get a taste, doncha think?"
Mercury cursed as Ria felt heat flame in her face. Great. Just great. Another Breed and another damned sensitive nose.
"Rule's hungry too," Lawe offered when no one spoke.
"Didn't you two bring food?" Mercury snapped.
"You'd make us eat cold sandwiches while you eat pizza?" Lawe's expression seemed to fall. "Man, that's just cruel. What happened to camaraderie? Friendship? To share and share alike?" He wagged his brows toward Ria as she glared at him in return. "Do you have beer? I swear I smell beer."
Mercury jammed the gun back into its holster as a growl vibrated from his chest and he turned back to Ria.
"This isn't over," he muttered. "Not by a long shot."
The hell it wasn't. As far as she was concerned, it was definitely over. It was over, or she was going to end up with more than a broken heart. And if she ended up with a broken heart, well, now that would just suck.
* * *
The beast crouched, snarling in frustration, torn between its hunger and its certainty that patience was needed. It couldn't risk discovery yet. The man wasn't ready to accept that the beast still lurked, that it hungered and raged.
But the beast could wait. The chains of drugs no longer bound it. It no longer slept that nightmare sleep where there was no waking. Soon, the man would hunger, and he would need, and the beast knew that then it would be free.
* * *
Mercury paced the living room after Ria had retired to her bedroom. He could see the light beneath the door and knew she was up working. Though what a glorified clerk could be doing that took so much damned computer time, he wasn't certain.
Clerk, his ass. She was nobody's clerk. Exactly what she was he wasn't certain, but she was more than a paper pusher.
She was too smart. Too quick. And too damned sexy.
He flexed his shoulders, fighting to relax the tension tearing through him. It was an uncomfortable sensation, prickles of awareness that tightened his muscles and left his flesh with an odd sensitivity.
He wanted her touch.