soon-to-be man, he still looked young. Unlike others his age, he wasn’t gangly and uncoordinated, but quick and agile. A natural born athlete. He reminded her of Alex and the other guys.
Garrett was telling the truth. He wasn’t trying to kill her, but others were. Others who wouldn’t care about her heart. Others who would do the job assigned. Until Cassie and the team neutralized the threat, none of them could live free. They were back in prison. Much better accommodations than their last prison, but a prison none the less.
The images flickered again, and heat pooled between her thighs. Garrett’s mind had shifted to her living room couch. Even though the ocular response was imagined, she still smelled cinnamon and saffron. That’s what she smelled like to him. Heat and need flooded her body as she swayed towards him. Eager to feel his hands on her once again.
His voice was low and husky when he spoke. “So now you believe me?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but her vocal cords wouldn’t cooperate, so she nodded. Trying to tug her hands free of his, she wanted to put distance between them, before she ended up on her back underneath him again. She might believe him, but that didn’t change anything. What was happening to them was purely thanks to Peter’s experiments and what he did to them. It wasn’t real.
But Garrett wouldn’t let go. His thumb traced a circular pattern on the back of her hand. “Do you feel that? The buzz flowing through my body?”
Drunkenly she nodded, lulled into a stupor by his voice.
“That’s what it feels like when you touch me. It doesn’t hurt. It’s more of a surprise. But when I stop fighting it, it’s like a high. Like the best kind of foreplay.”
Garrett’s strong hand pulled her to him. When she didn’t meet his gaze, he tucked a finger under her chin and lifted her face so she had no choice but to look at him.
“Now do you trust me? I’m not here to hurt you. I’m openly here to help.”
“I need you to answer a question for me. I saw you swing into my place, but how did you actually do it and avoid my security?”
“I repelled with a rope I tied to the antennae on your roof, then swung over to your open window. Couldn’t risk a booby-trapped fire escape.”
“How was I supposed to know you weren’t a deranged serial killer?”
“Simple. You would have been dead by the time I got into your place.”
That pricked her ire. “You’re the one who’s lucky to be alive. I’ve toppled bigger than you.”
He chuckled, the sound flowing over her like hot fudge over ice-cream. Nervously, she licked her lips. She knew she had to let go, but the slow circles with his thumb put her under a spell. “So what now?”
The timber of his voice changed growing huskier. “I want to see if you taste as good as I remember.”
Symone sucked in a breath as Garrett pulled her to him and his head lowered. His eyelids fluttered closed again, and she gave into the sensation. Unlike their first kiss, his lips were soft against hers, barely brushing. When she finally relaxed and exhaled, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her flush against his body. They stood toe-to-toe, thigh-to-thigh, hip-to-hip, and lips-to-lips.
On a sigh, she parted her lips, and his tongue sought entrance, teasing her bottom lip ever so slightly. A shiver skipped down her spine. Tingles danced to the tips of every strand of hair on her body, making her ache and yearn for more of his touch. Her arms shaking, she looped them around his neck, her ungloved hand hesitating before it caressed the back of his neck.
He lifted his lips from hers. “What’s the matter?”
Still amazed by how little her powers affected him, she let a small smile peek out of hiding. “I’m not used to touching anybody.”
His smile was slow. “Then you have a lot of catching up to do.” His lips met hers again, but gone was the gentle brush and explorative caressing. He took and demanded a response from her. Devouring her lips, he urged a response from her she couldn’t have hidden.
Heat sizzled through her veins, she tried to get as close to him as their position would allow, like he lit a match to her gas canister. She wanted to do nothing else but rub her whole body against his.
Growling, he bent his knees and scooped her up