Page 19 of In a Dangerous Orbit
She tilted her head, watching him like he was a bug that had done something interesting.
He felt the pulse of energy in the air around them. It raised the hairs on his arms. He stepped closer, until only a wisp of space separated them.
“Relda?”
“Names really matter so little.” Her voice was melodious and smoky. “We are all just energy.”
“Time to come back to me, beautiful.”
“Back to a world that wants to kill me? Where I have to hide what I am?”
“You never have to hide from me.” He cupped her cheeks and kissed her.
At first, he just touched his lips to hers. He expected her to feel scorching hot, but all he felt was a warm tingle.
She hung motionless, her hair still waving around her head.
But he felt a growing tension in her body that hadn’t been there before.
Hunt wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body flush against him. He opened his mouth and poured everything into the kiss.
It happened slowly at first, but centimeter by centimeter, she started to respond. Her lips moved under his, and when her lips parted, he took advantage, sweeping his tongue inside.
He dragged her closer, lifting her up. Suddenly she came to brilliant life, her legs wrapping around his hips. She moaned against his mouth, kissing him back like her life depended on it.
And maybe it did.
He tangled a hand in her hair and pulled her head back, tearing his mouth off hers. “You back?”
She undulated against him, driving a spear of undiluted lust to his already hard cock. Her eyes were brilliant green.
“Definitely.”
He flexed his hands on the lush swell of her bottom. Damn, she was soft and curvy. “We need to talk.”
She sighed, her head falling forward onto his shoulder. “I suspected you were going to say that. Your energy field is just so damned righteous.”
“My energy field?”
She raised her head. “You wanted to talk.”
He sighed. “It isn’t safe to stay here. I’m going to take you somewhere else.” He set her on her feet. “We can talk?—”
She collapsed.
He caught her, her head falling back over his arm. Her pupils were enormous, taking over her eyes. “Relda!”
“I forgot…after I use my abilities…” Her voice was breathy. “My body shuts down…for a while.”
Her eyes closed, her body turning to dead weight in his arms.
Hunt hauled her up to his chest, panic an unfamiliar pressure inside him. But as he held her close, he felt the steady brush of her breath on his cheek, and his muscles relaxed.
She needed a safe place to rest, and then he’d get the answers he needed.
He took her to his place. He hadn’t done much to turn the top floor apartment the Marshal’s Office had arranged for him into his. There was a small kitchen he barely used, a good-sized living area with a large holo-screen for watching the odd VelocityBall game, a bedroom large enough for a big bed, and a tidy bathroom.
He headed straight to his bedroom and set her down on the covers. This wasn’t quite how he’d imagined getting Relda into his bed but damned if the sight of her dark curls spread over his pillow didn’t make his chest tighten.
