Which did not bode well for the day after tomorrow.
Then she shifted again. With her hand in his, he could feel the bones rippling beneath the skin as they reformed, and then she stood before him, a human-appearing woman.
“Why did you change back?” Her demiforma state had fascinated him. He could have gazed at her all day—not that looking at a gorgeous woman afforded any hardship.
“So I could do this.” She kissed him, sweetness and spice, and a little bit of bite.
She clung to his neck, her body melding against him. He devoured her mouth, crushing her lips with a hunger deeper than desire. His cock ached, and he’d swear his blood had turned molten in his veins. He cupped her breast, stroking his thumb over the hard nipple poking through the fabric of her gown.
He kissed his way from her mouth to her jaw and then her throat, where a pulse beat a percussive rhythm. She arched her neck, granting him greater access. He tasted her with a flick of his tongue and nibbled. His teeth ached, and an unfamiliar, strong urge shot through him.
Bite her. Bite her. Bite her. Where the hell had that come from? He’d never felt an urge to chomp on a partner before. Nibble, sure. To draw blood? Never. He dragged his mouth away from the disturbing temptation.
She returned his hard kisses, moaning against his mouth, the sexy sound vibrating through muscle and bone. She snaked her hands under his shirt to caress his back and chest. The light scrape of fingernails reminded him of her talons and sent another furnace blast coursing through him.
How had a few kisses gotten so hot so fast?
He wanted to strip off her gown, tear off his own clothes, sink to the floor, and make love to her while the ship careened among the stars. He grabbed her caressing hand and brought it to his mouth. He kissed her fingers and then her palm before gently closing her hand into a fist. Under the starlight, her golden eyes were bemused, unguarded, passionate, the combination almost unraveling his good intentions.
“I want you. So much. But we have to stop. I promised you. If we take this further, I’ll never be able to leave you alone.”
Resignation replaced passion on her face, and she disengaged from his embrace. “You’re right.”
A conscience could be a real buzz kill. Some wild, impossible hope had him wishing she would say he didn’t need to leave her, that they could continue to see each other after the ship got to Elementa. Apparently, he hadn’t learned his lesson on Draco because how did one expect to date a dragon priestess? Wasn’t she supposed to be celibate?
Their kisses had been far from chaste.
He felt as confused as she looked.
“I lost my head for a while,” she said.
They stared at each other across the distance of a few feet, but it might well have been a chasm. Need and want, desire and despair shuddered through him. He sniffed as a tinge of rain touched his nostrils. Rain?
“I was foolish to initiate…” She shook her head. “I have no right to involve you, get involved with you at all.”
The sting of rejection lanced through him. He closed his eyes for a moment and drew in a long breath. “So, you wish to end it now.” He’d pushed her too far.
“Wish? Oh, I wish so many things, most of which I can never have. I don’t wish to end it now, but I am not being fair to you. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. I already have.” She clasped her hands and bowed her head. When she raised her chin, her eyes seemed lit by fire. “It will be at your expense if I claim the full two days.”
“Not if it’s what I want, too.” Hope rose like a phoenix from the ashes.
“You will hate me afterward.”
“I could never hate you.”
“You should. It will be easier for you to forget me.”
“I could never forget you.”
“This is how you convince me we’re doing the right thing?” Her lips quirked.
His heart contracted at the attempt at humor, at the bittersweet joy of being with her and the realization he was doomed. He’d already fallen for her the instant he’d set eyes on her.
“Maybe not the right thing,” he conceded. “The only thing. Let me hold you.” He led her to a massive chair and pulled her onto his lap.
It took some jostling to settle into a comfortable position, giving him the impression she’d never sat on anyone’s lap before, but she relaxed against him, her body going pliant, her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her.
Serenaded by their beating hearts, they held each other in silence and watched the stars.
Chapter Nine
Lights whizzed by in a streak as the mining car shot through the lava tube. So many subterranean tunnels crisscrossed the planet, one could get lost, so every vehicle and hazmat suit was tagged with a locator. The tracking devices had the added benefit of enabling Biggs to keep tabs on his workers if he wanted to. On the downside, the control room staff could track him. It went against the grain to put himself on anyone’s radar screen, and he itched to peel the locator off the suit and disable the device on the vehicle. However, concern over getting lost and dying trumped the discomfort of exposure.
He was, by nature, a cautious, methodical man. He hadn’t amassed his power by making impetuous moves but through small incremental steps that went unnoticed
