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How long had he been here? she wondered as guilt torched her insides She should have fought Strider harder

Should have escaped and found Micah before he’d been beaten He suffered now because of her

She’d never be able to make it up to hi his beautiful, savaged face, she scooted even closer to him She placed their twined hands on his waist as she leaned in…closer stil …and softly, gently, pressed their lips together "I’ that was done to you"

At first, he gave no reaction Not to her words and not to her kiss He stil didn’t reply Didn’t flinch froe her to deepen the contact, either Then he stiffened, his fingers squeezing at hers Then he inhaled deeply, as if he couldn’t get enough of her scent Then he canted his head and opened his , she slipped her tongue past his lips, past his teeth, and jerked at the sudden bolt of arousal that speared her His taste was , te a response A response she couldn’t deny Her breath grew shal ow, her nipples pearled and every cel in her body sht

His tongue met hers, rol ed and coiled, danced and sparred, the heat spreading, intensifying And then he was ue as if theirsex

She’d kissed him a few times before and had been disappointed in each of the experiences This ti exciteersin his hair Soft, silky hair, the strands baby fine

More, he said this tirowl inside her head

"Oh, yes" More She never wanted this to end She had a mind fil ed with bad memories, yet as she sed his exotic flavor, she ept away by hiotten, the present a thril and the future soood "I don’t want to hurt you Don’t letthat wil hurt me The kiss , because the next thing she knew, he had enough strength to heft her up, forcing her to straddle his lap

His erection pressed against her needy core, hard and thick, and she gasped Good? No longer an adequate word The earth freakingforward and back Each tiroan of need Nerve endings did the sizzling thing, pleasure rushing through her in heated waves

More

"Please" Her voice was little more than a needy whimper

One of his hands dove past the waist of her pants and cupped her ass Skin-to-skin, a white-hot brand of possession His other hand rode up her spine and latched onto the back of her neck In the next instant, he spun her, basical y tossing her on top of theinto her