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she could do nothing but accept him, surrender to the passion of his kiss, and moan at the rightness of it. He kissed her until she could not breathe, and then he lifted his head to stare at her, shock plain on his face.
She began to pull back, suddenly shy, still dazed from the intense hunger sweeping through her merely from the feel of his mouth on hers. But he shook his head and, releasing her hands, caught her around the waist and pulled her to him until not even a breath of air could have found passage in the space between them.
“Oh, no,” he said, voice husky. “Let’s try that again on our own, okay?”
She had a fraction of a heartbeat to realize that the Goddess had gone—the healing was complete—and then he caught her lips with his own again.
This time the fire was generated solely between the two of them, and she could not blame any of it on the healing warmth. Ethan kissed her as if she were a feast and he a starving man. He kissed her as though she were the prey and he a stalking predator. She succumbed, surrendered, clutching at his shoulders, wondering who was making that whimpering noise and then finally realizing it came from her own throat.
He left her mouth and pressed hot kisses to her throat, exactly on the now-healed spot where the knife blade had cut into her skin. “Never again, ocean girl,” he murmured so softly she almost didn’t catch the words. “Never again will anyone harm you. I swear this on my oath as alpha.”
He lifted his head and stared into her eyes, and something of enormous importance passed between them, but she could not decipher it.
Refused to decipher it.
Fear of drowning, of entangling herself in the depths of a passion so far beyond any that she had known, shivered a sheet of ice through her, and she pulled away from him. “Ethan. No, Ethan, stop.”
He instantly pulled back from her, his breathing harsh in the quiet room. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Marie. I’m so sorry. Damn, I’m no better than…Please forgive me.”
She lifted a hand, wanting to touch him, then clasped her hands together to resist the urge. “No, stop. You have nothing for which to apologize. We were both present and willing in that kiss.”
As the heat stained her cheeks, she forced herself to continue, cloaking herself in the protection of knowledge. “It is a normal response to the release of adrenaline in the body. Similar to the fight or flight mechanism. Attraction…magnifies in the face of danger.”
Ethan lifted one of her long curls into his hand and brought it to his lips, then let it fall back against her breast. “Trust me, beautiful,” he said, voice husky, “there is nothing normal about my reaction to you. And it started way before we faced any danger.”
He stood up and stared down at her, then shook his head. “Attraction. Now there’s a tame word. My insides are going to explode if I don’t lay you down right here and fuck you until you scream my name.”
Heat shot through her and pooled between her thighs as her body responded to the sheer hunger in his words. “I…I…”
“No. Don’t say anything. I’m sorry to be so crude. Pack up your stuff. You’re coming with me to my place until we can get you back to Atlantis and out of the way of Travis and his blood feud.”
“But—”
He sliced a hand through the air. “You’re going. I command you to leave my territories while there is danger to you.”
Anger shot through her, but she silently stood to comply with his command. As a visiting Atlantean, she could not jeopardize the treaty between their people by defying a command from the alpha.
He started to turn away, then whirled around and yanked her to him, controlled violence in his movement. “But hear me well, ocean girl. When this is over, you’re coming back, and we’re going to explore this thing between us.”
She lifted her head and gave him her iciest glare. “Hear me well, shape-shifter. You do not command the First Maiden of the Nereids. I am not one of your little kittens to be ordered about. You should consider that when you are issuing your various arrogant demands.”
“No, you’re definitely not a little kitten. But either you come back, or I’m coming after you, even if I have to swim the whole damned way. You should consider that.”
With that, he kissed her again, a fierce, claiming kiss that left her senses whirling and her resolve splintered. Then he pulled away from her and strode over to the door, pulling his phone from his pocket as he walked. “The sooner you’re packed, the sooner you can get away from my arrogant demands, Marie,” he said, and then began snarling orders into the phone.
She stood there, wanting nothing more than to slap his egotistical, superior face.
Wanting nothing more than to kiss his egotistical, superior face.
She did neither but simply turned to retrieve her bag as ordered, accepting the truth behind his words. There was certainly something between them that needed to be explored.
If she had the courage to do so.
EIGHT
Ethan led Marie through the throng of silent, wary shape-shifters clustered around the entryway to his headquarters and home. He nodded to William, his second-in-command. “My office in ten minutes. Try to reach Kat. Her cell was turned off when I tried. If it’s still off, track her down.”
Marie lifted her head, the strain of the afternoon evident in her pale and drawn face. “She’s with her…boss, if that helps, planning a meeting for tomorrow.”
