As if sensing her need, Niko’s kiss became even more demanding, his tongue dipping into her mouth with an intimate sweep. In concert, his hand cupped her breast, his thumb rubbing over the tight peak.
Angela squirmed against him as the electric sensations jolted through her.
“Niko.”
He pulled back, studying with a hint of concern.
“Am I frightening you?” he whispered.
Her heart squeezed with a dangerous emotion. God, he was so beautiful. A sexy, lethally beautiful male who had enchanted her the minute he’d strolled into her lab.
But it was his instinctive urge to care and protect her that threatened to destroy the barriers she’d built around her heart.
No one had ever, ever treated her as if she . . . mattered.
As if she was the most important thing in his life.
The knowledge was more erotic than any amount of hard muscles and male beauty.
His brows drew together. “Angel?”
In answer, she plunged her fingers into the heavy thickness of his hair.
“I have wanted you from the moment I saw you in the doorway of my lab,” she confessed in soft tones. “I didn’t know what hit me.”
His soft chuckle brushed over her cheeks, his eyes darkened to indigo.
“Trust me, the feeling was entirely mutual.” Holding her gaze he slid his hand down the flat plane of her stomach until he could unfasten her jeans. “I tried to convince myself that you were just a part of the job, but I knew from the beginning I was lying to myself.”
Her body felt as if it was on fire as he expertly rid her of her remaining clothes. Then, still holding her gaze, he slid slowly downward. The rub of skin against skin made her shiver with excitement.
His lips touched the base of her throat before moving to her collarbone, tracing the delicate line with the tip of his tongue. Only when she was clutching at his broad shoulders did he allow the teasing kisses to travel down the curve of her breast.
“You’re so warm,” she whispered.
“All Sentinels run hot.” He shifted just enough to capture the tip of her nipple between his lips.
“Oh.”
She nearly came off the bed at the avalanche of sensations rushing through her body.
He was good at this.
Really, really good.
While his tongue and even his teeth pleasured her nipple, his hand slid down the curve of her hip. Angela squeezed her eyes shut, allowing herself the pleasure of exploring the broad width of his back, relishing the feel of silken skin over hard muscle.
She was growing lost in the surge of building sensations when his fingers encircled the back of her thigh and tugged her leg over his hip.
Her eyes widened as she felt the hard thrust of his arousal press against her most sensitive spot. She’d expected him to roll her onto her back, not to remain on their sides.
“Like this?”
He smiled at her hint of surprise. “We can do it anyway you want, but I’ve wanted you for a very long time. This seems . . . safer.”
“Safer?”
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m several sizes larger than you.”
Her own lips twitched. “Yeah, I’d noticed.”
His smile faded as he studied her with an oddly somber expression even as his fingers drifted up and down the back of her thigh, the light touch sending shocks of excitement through her.
“I’m also a Sentinel, which means my strength can be hazardous if I’m not careful.”
She held his gaze. “I trust you.”
His eyes briefly closed, as if her soft words had touched something deep inside him. Then, lifting the indecently long lashes, he met her gaze with a stark need that pierced straight to her heart.
“I’ve never wanted a woman like I want you, angel,” he said, his voice husky. “I can’t be entirely certain of my control.”
That newly discovered thrill of power flared through her. She didn’t know how she’d ever managed to capture the interest of this astonishing, sexy, compelling man. But for once she wasn’t going to allow her self-doubts to ruin the moment.
Angela leaned forward, nuzzling the corner of his sensuous lips.
“I’m certain.” She kissed a path along his knotted jaw and then the strong column of his neck, addicted to his intoxicating taste. “You would never hurt me. Not intentionally.”
He sucked in a deep breath.
“No, I would never intentionally hurt you.”
She slowly kissed a path back to his lips, her hips rubbing against him in blatant invitation.
“No more talking.”
Framing her face in his hands, he claimed her lips in a kiss that she felt to the