“You had no right to do that!”
I don’t have words as I stare back at him, eyes wide. I probably should nod, accept his answer, and go home. That’s what any sane person would do. But there’s no hope of that with the sudden sparks snapping through me. This driving need to connect with a stranger who, for some reason, isn’t one. No, he reads me completely. I sensed it in that first look, and now? He’sdeep in my soul. I feel him there. For the first time in my life I feel known.
I touch his hand and gasp at a startling new image: the present.
Never have I experienced the present in a vision, another mystery surrounding this boy I can’t surrender, no matter how much he wants me to—how much he’s practically begged me to. Disaster echoes around us as we stare into each other’s souls on two levels—in reality, in my head—his hypnotic gaze penetrating the very recesses of my existence. It’s the loudest silence I’ve ever experienced. Sensual. Haunting. Living the moment inside and out sends my heart racing, my blood burning hot to every hidden part of my body. He must feel it too as his pulse hammers against my fingers on his wrist. Addicted, I need more of this intoxicating connection, and move in.
Our lips meet in a blistering explosion. One taste feeds my hunger, and I spread my hands through his short, dark hair to lock us together until his kiss consumes me. The longing becomes unbearable, such a basic need I’ve been deprived of for so long.
“Daniel…” I breathe his name, wondering when he’s last heard it said with such reverence. Ever? I climb onto his lap, melting into him. With better access, I’m able to fuel his own desire. He groans when I rock against his hips and instinctively seek to fill a hole he’s also been forced to accept.
I hate the rattle of restraints at his reflexive reach for me.
“Wait. Hold on. You don’t—”
I cut him off, my body taking on a will of its own as it reacts to his. Hard and warm, every angle is a drug I want to sample. “I know it makes no sense, but I don’t care,” I whisper against his skin. “You know what I’m talking about.”
He leans away, eyes closed. “We don’t have that luxury.”
I shake my head. “You want me too. You know there’s some strange magnetism between us.”
“It’s called being a guy.”
I pull back, glaring at him. “You really expect me to believe that?”
“Believe what you want. It doesn’t matter. You can’t even begin to understand what’s happening here.” But he doesn’t look at me when he says it. No, his entire body betrays him, still pleading for mine, even as he braces against a secret only he knows.
“Exactly. Something’s going on here.”
“Yeah, you’re trespassing.”
I straighten to study his face, still dizzy from the intoxication of him. “Fine. You don’t want to talk about it. Just tell me what to do then.”
“You’re not hearing me.” He pulls at the restraints, hard gaze boring into me. “There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing anyone can do. You need to leave, Rebecca.”
“Leave? Are you joking?”
I don’t believe his hostile look, and when I place my hand on his chest, his heart is pounding as intensely as mine. He’s lying. He wanted that kiss as much as I did. Still does from the rigid pressure against my core as I straddle him. I’ve never wanted to touch something so badly in my life. To own.
“Look, I’m sorry for what just happened,” he says, softening into a new approach. “It doesn’t change anything. It was a mistake.”
“Why? You know how I feel. And you didn’t hate it either.” I reach down, and he flinches. “I can tell.”
“Don’t. Just—ah…” His eyes close as my own breath comes in short gasps.
My mouth finds his again, my body launching into a reflexive dance that leaves us both desperate. Gosh, I wish we weresomewhere else, anywhere free where he could touch me back. I want his hands tearing at my clothing and devouring every blistering inch of my skin. But we’re experimenting with heaven in Hell. All we get is a seductive hint of what could have been an explosive encounter.
I’m the one to pull away this time. Take a few steps back. Clench my fists behind my back because I don’t trust myself. “Daniel, I—”
He cuts me off with a bitter shake of his head. “Feelings are useless and dangerous. Don’t say anything else.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“You can’t be here, Rebecca. You need to go.”
“What’s your gift? What are they so afraid of? Tell me and I’ll leave.” My fingers burn to touch him again, and I shove them in my pockets.
His beautiful eyes search mine as he wrestles with an answer. “I know their secrets,” he says finally. “There, now you know. Now go.”
