If Niko hadn’t been battling his caveman urge to strip Angela of her remaining clothes and take her against the fridge, he would have smiled at her baffled expression.
Hell, he didn’t blame her for looking at him like he was out of his mind.
Until he’d encountered this woman he would have bet his left nut he would never utter those words.
“What did you say?”
“You heard me.” He gently brushed a stray curl from her flushed cheek. “For me this isn’t just sex.”
“You don’t have to pretend, Niko.” She unconsciously licked her lips, her expression troubled. “In fact, I would prefer that you didn’t.”
With a low growl he was scooping her off her feet and heading out of the kitchen.
He didn’t know if it was the lip-licking or her refusal to believe that he was sincere that tipped him over the edge, but he knew that one way or another he was going to convince her that this was no longer a matter of duty or revenge or mere lust.
Crossing the living room he carried her up the stairs and into the bedroom loft.
It was a spacious room with an open beamed ceiling and hand-carved furniture scattered across the polished wood floor. At the far end of the room were glass sliding doors that led to a back balcony that offered a view of the pool as the sun slid beyond the horizon.
A beautiful sight, but not nearly as beautiful as the woman in his arms.
Niko moved to gently place Angela on the large brass bed. Then, standing at the edge of the mattress, he simply relished the sight of her stretched across the emerald green comforter.
Man. How many nights had he tortured himself with this precise image?
The dark hair spread in wild abandon. The pale face flushed with need and the midnight eyes smoldering with invitation.
Only this was far better than any fantasy.
A fiercely possessive emotion clutched at his heart as his gaze slid down the delicate curve of her neck and over the soft swell of her naked breasts.
It was raw and primal and shockingly perfect.
With jerky movements that would have made his fellow Sentinels snicker, Niko kicked off his shoes before removing the rest of his clothes. He was acutely aware of Angela’s covert survey of his nude body, her breath catching as she caught sight of his fully erect cock.
For once his vanity didn’t assume she was impressed by his lean muscles or his wide chest sprinkled with dark hair. Or even the imposing size of his erection.
For all of Angela Locke’s impressive intelligence and independent nature, she was still remarkably innocent. Combine that with her mysterious conviction she was somehow undesirable and it was bound to make her skittish.
Moving slow enough it didn’t seem like he was pouncing (pouncing could come next time . . . and there would be a next time) Niko stretched out on the mattress beside her so that they were lying face to face. His only touch was the finger he used to trace the line of her jaw.
“No more pretense,” he murmured. “The truth. Once I take you I’m never letting you go.”
She shivered, her body shifting to press against him even as her eyes held a suspicion she couldn’t entirely disguise.
“If this is a ploy to get me in Valhalla . . .”
“I’ve already given my word I won’t force you to go to the compound,” he said, his voice thick as his cock jerked in reaction to the brush of her hip.
“Isn’t that where you live?”
“For now, but Sentinels aren’t vulnerable like many of the high-bloods, so we have the choice of living among norms,” he assured her, not bothering to mention that she’d eventually have to spend time at Valhalla. The Mave would want to be certain her growing powers couldn’t hurt her or those around her. Yeah, that was a conversation he didn’t mind putting off. Indefinitely. “Once Dylan has been captured we can go wherever you want.”
“I—”
He smiled wryly as her words disappeared and she stared at him with silent wonder.
“Too much, too soon?” he teased.
With a choked groan she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Kiss me.”
He did.
White-hot pleasure seared through Angela as he kissed with a clear intent.
This time there was no teasing, no slow buildup, no tender nibbles.
This was unapologetic hunger that threatened to consume her.
And exactly what she needed.
She didn’t want to think of the past, and the future was something to worry about . . . later.