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"I cant" The words were as desperate as mine He didn’t want this any more than I did, and yet this ood killer could be-was as helpless against it as I was

He stopped in front ofup at him instead What I saw there-not just heat, not just desire, not even fear, but soer, deeper, and far scarier-e

Because it was nothing less than fate looking out at olden depths

And suddenly, just like him, I had to know

I placed ht, into his arainst the fire of contact when his lips were on mine, the kiss harsh, fierce, and oh so passionate The force of it drove me backward, until my back hit the wall My barely healed shoulder took the brunt of the blow and pain slithered throughco to assaultme It was all passion, all heat and intensity, and I was drowning in it Willingly, wantonly, until every bit offor the ultihtly strung it felt like I would shatter

He ripped offI unbuttoned his pants and shoved the hands cupped s around his waist when he was in ood

Because it wasn’t just our flesh that became joined

This was a dance of body and soul, and it went far beyond mere intimacy, far beyondmost of my life for, yet all I wanted to do eep

I didn’t want it to be this an to lory of thea kaleidoscope of sensations that washed through every corner ofhis shoulders, pulling hi shattered and it was such a sweet, glorious relief that I wept

Although most of the tears weren’t tears of pleasure or joy

For several seconds, neither of us ed echoes as we stood wrapped around each other Then I released rip on his waist and he lowered me to the floor His expression was as neutral aslittle away He raised a hand tomy cheek, then dropped it and stepped back

"So noe know"

"Yes" My voice was clipped I wanted to stae-at him, and at fate-but there was absolutely no point It was no more his fault than it waseither of us could do about it

"I don’t want this"

My laugh was harsh "And you think I do? For fuck’s sake, Kye, you’re the last man on this earth that I would ever want to make a life with"

The smile that twisted one side of his lips was bitter "Ironic, isn’t it, that we find the one thing thatfor, and neither of us actually wants it?"

"Oh, I want it all right Just not with you" I rubbed a hand acrossPerhaps I was simply beyond them "So what do we do?"

"Do?" He reached for his pants and pulled the Let’s walk away and continue living our lives as we otherould"

It wouldn’t be that simple, I was sure There was a connection between us now, a link that went soul deep But I guess we had to try I didn’t want this et out and don’t come back"

He smiled then, but it was a cold smile, a harsh smile "Good-bye Riley It was a pleasure, however brief"

He gave ht bow then turned and walked out I released a breath, then slid down the wall and huggediveher own nasty twist

I should have arrested the bastard when I first had the chance, then maybe none of this would ever have happened But I couldn’t undo the past, no ht have wished to I needed to er problem

What the hell did I say to Quinn?

Chapter Twelve

Two hours later I was still at Hanna’s, but I’d moved from the inside of the house to the outside, and had parked my butt on the curb That’s where Rhoan foundme a cup of coffee "I heard it all went down as expected, and you caught your bad guys Or gals, as the case may be"

I took a whiff of the coffee and smiled Hazelnut Rhoan obviously knew I needed a pick-me-up, even if he didn’t knohy

"Well, it didn’t exactly go the way I planned-" which had to be the understatement of the year-"but we stopped them, and that’s what counts"

He sipped his coffee and didn’t answer i instead at the house across the road There were three kids standing at one of the s, and their little faces had been practically glued to the glass for the last couple of hours Nothing like a half-naked woman and a host of Directorate vehicles and people to uess

"That older kid over there is getting such a boner watching you"

"You can tell that from here?"

"His heart rate is way up, and there’s a whole lot of blood heat concentrated around one certain area" He flicked h it could be me he fancies"

"Either way, he’s a boy with excellent taste" I took the lid offliquid did little to warm the ice that had formed deep inside

"Undoubtedly" He paused to take another drink "Jack has sent a teahter, but he doesn’t think there’s going to behas she been in the ground?"

"She was declared dead eight years ago"

I griht was the stuff of night to do with her?"

"Probably send her to the vampire council It’s up to them to decide fro locked underground for so long?"

"Maybe" He shrugged "The est va without blood Sowas possible, I guess I sipped my coffee and waited for the question that was undoubtedly co<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>