Her lips quirked in a small smile. “I’ve never met anyone immune before.”
Grady returned the smile. “It only made you more determined. You saw me as a challenge.”
Lark barked out a laugh and something loosened in his chest.
“I bet I did.” Still grinning, she shook her head. “Knowing me, I must have come up with another plan. What was it?”
“A nut-shot to the hippocampus.”
Throwing back her head, she laughed even harder, the sound of it bright and beautiful to his ears.
“Oh, my God,” she gasped. “I can hear myself saying exactly that.”
Her eyes sparkled with merriment and her face was soft with warm amusement when she asked, “And it worked?”
Grady nodded.
“Can I ask what the memory was?”
Grady cleared his throat as the old familiar pain squeezed his heart. “My sister reminded me of my childhood friend who died when we were just teenagers.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lark murmured sincerely. Reaching out, she took his hand in hers and held it.
“It was a long time ago.”
“A pain made fresh again when the memory returned. You had to experience it all over again.”
Undeniable. His thoughts turned inward for a moment, his gaze unfocused as thoughts of Graham floated through his head, so he was taken by surprise when Lark suddenly closed the distance between them and kissed him.
He’d wanted to kiss Lark since the moment he’d first laid eyes on her – he’d come close on the Ohio op, only to be interrupted – he’d imagined it in his head over and over again, but never had he dreamed their first kiss would end up like this. Instead of being able to sink into the embrace and enjoy it, his system registered the unexpected movement as an attack. And like what had happened before, his automatic weapons system engaged.
Chapter Seventeen
LarkthoughtkissingGradymight trigger a memory. But that wasn’t why she’d done it. Not really. She’d wanted to kiss him – badly, the urge nearly overwhelming – and the memory thing was a good excuse to jump on him like a starving woman. Because surely, she must have kissed him before now. The way just looking at him made her body hum with excitement and arousal she couldn’t think of a single reason why she would have held back. Add to that, the way he looked at her; like she was beautiful, like he wanted to eat her up. Major turn on.
He jerked away from her so fast she nearly fell over. Grady’s knees hit the floor and his face… His eyes were peeled wide, and his jaw was clenched so tightly the tendons in his neck were straining.
What the hell was going on?
“Run,” he gritted out as he seemed to struggle with his mechanical arm, gripping it so hard with his flesh and blood hand that his bones stood out in stark relief. His prosthetic was raised, pointed at her, and what looked like some sort of small rocket launcher had emerged from the metal casing on his forearm. His left eye lit up with a vivid green light similar to a laser sight and she didn’t have to look down to know she had a target on her chest.
Lark didn’t run. A sense of de ja vu struck her hard. This had happened before. An inkling of memory pushed to the forefront of her mind. They’d been outside… she’d hugged him.
Instinct took over and she moved, but not to run away. As fast as the cobras that made up a portion of her DNA, she was behind him, wrapping her arms and legs around him in a restraining hold as she pressed her chin into the side of his head, keeping it cocked at an odd angle.
Another flash of memory, this one from a night she’d similarly restrained him. What had she said to him that night? “Control it,” she hissed into his ear as silently she began to count off the seconds. His heavy body strained against hers, pushing them back, pushing her into the unforgiving floor.
That burst of speed had cost her. She wasn’t at full strength. Her muscles felt weak, her response time sluggish, and she was having a hard time keeping him immobile. It felt like he was going to crush her but she gritted her teeth against the pain, held on as tightly as she could, and waited.
She’d hit seven seconds when the door flew open and Kong announced, “I’ve got food!”
That green laser optical swung in that direction quickly followed by the mechanical arm despite both Lark and Grady having a hold on it. Lark let out a gasp as she felt her shoulder wrench painfully in the socket.
“Fuck!” Kong yelled. He threw the bags he was carrying and hit the deck just as Lark released the clamp of her legs around Grady’s waist to kick up at the arm hoping she could throw it off target. Her bare foot connected with solid metal and she nearly screamed with the pain of the impact.
Grady let out a ferocious bellow, his back arched, the movement driving Lark into the floor so hard she knew she’d be bruised later, but then it was done. The weapon retracted back into its casing, and his body loosened, relaxing against her as he panted and wheezed for breath.
Gratefully, she released her hold and Grady immediately rolled off her. Kneeling beside her, he hung his head. “I’m sorry,” he panted brokenly. “God, I’m so sorry.”
