briefly allowed herself to become lost in his gaze, revealing far more of her vulnerable need than she realized. Then, obviously remembering why he was in her bedroom, oh, and the fact she currently hated him, she gave a sharp shake of her head.
“Liar. This is some new trick to try and—”
He kissed her again.
Okay, maybe he was a Neanderthal. At least where Angela Locke was concerned.
He wanted to brand her. With his touch, his kiss, his passion . . .
He swallowed her choked groan, his hands shifting to tenderly cup her face. Slowly he savored the taste of cherries and delectable woman, his thumbs stroking over the fluttering pulse just below her jaw.
It wasn’t until she was arching toward him in silent need that he lifted his head to meet her unfocused gaze.
“You were right,” he murmured.
She blinked. “I was?”
“I could have watched you from the shadows.”
Another blink. “Then why didn’t you?”
He peered deep into her wide eyes. “You know why.”
“Niko—”
“We need to leave,” he interrupted, forcing himself to drop his hands.
He’d been a Sentinel for a very, very long time. And never had he lost sight of his goal.
But with this woman . . . dammit.
He was in real danger of allowing himself to be distracted.
Which was a perfect way to get them both killed.
She frowned, struggling to follow his words. “Leave?”
“Dylan hasn’t given up her obsession of becoming normal.”
“Oh.” She pushed back her hair with an unsteady hand. “I don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Why is she so anxious to become normal? There’s a lot of people like you, isn’t there?”
“Like us,” he corrected, knowing at some point she was going to have to accept that she was special. “And yes, there are high-bloods all over the world. But most are able to pass as common norms with a little effort.”
She ignored his reminder she wasn’t one of the norms. Typical. In the past six weeks he’d realized that Angela was capable of ignoring any number of things. Including her less than “normal” ability to manipulate cells.
“Is her physical appearance all that’s different about her?”
“No.” He held her gaze. “She’s a Sentinel. Like me.”
Her expression hardened at the reminder of his position. She might melt at his touch, but she wasn’t going to forgive anytime soon.
“A better Sentinel than you?” she taunted.
“No, not better than me.”
“Then why didn’t you catch her?”
A hell of a question.
When he’d followed Dylan through the window he’d fully intended to hunt her down and put an end to her bloody rampage. A fine plan, but Dylan wasn’t without her own skills and she managed to disguise her trail only a few blocks away.
Given time, Niko could have unraveled the various ruses that she’d used to hide her presence. He hadn’t been boasting when he assured Angela that he was the better Sentinel.
But even as his duty demanded he carry on his hunt no matter how long it took, the man in him was urging him back to Angela’s apartment.
He’d told himself that it only made sense. Dylan wasn’t going to leave without Angela. She was convinced the young scientist was her one hope of living a normal life. But in the depths of his heart he knew that wasn’t the reason he’d rushed back to the apartment.
“I couldn’t be sure that she wouldn’t circle back,” he admitted with a reluctant honesty.
“And you were concerned for my safety?” She rolled her eyes, not able to hide her lingering sense of betrayal. “I’m touched.”
“Dammit.”
He’d royally screwed up. Fine, he got it. But now wasn’t the time to soothe ruffled feathers. He could defeat Dylan in a fair battle, but the Sentinel was no longer playing by the rules. Who knew what nasty surprises she might have up her sleeve? Hell, he didn’t even know for sure that she was working alone. He needed to get Angela somewhere safe.
With a grimace at the knowledge he was about to give this woman yet another reason to be pissed off, he grabbed her around the waist and with one smooth motion had her tossed over his shoulder.
“Hey,” she cried out, swinging her legs in an effort to hit the part of him that was as vulnerable as any man’s. “Put me down, you . . . you bully.”
Wrapping an arm around her knees, he locked her into place before reaching down to grab her bag from the floor.
Who knew that rescuing a damsel in distress could be such a pain in the ass?