Gabriel came down on top of her, making her intensely aware of his physical strength and the power of his aura. She sank her fingertips into his broad shoulders and gloried in the shudder that went through him.
His mouth closed over hers again. The hunger in his kiss sent a searing pleasure through her senses. She stroked one hand down his chest, through the crisp curls below his flat belly and lower still. She gripped his heavy erection.
He groaned, framed her head with his arms, and looked down at her. “This is how my dreams were supposed to end.”
“Mine, too.” She tightened her grip on him.
For a few seconds his whole body went taut. She looked up and saw that his eyes were squeezed shut with the effort he was exerting to keep from climaxing. She knew that, given all they had been through in the past several hours, it probably wouldn’t have taken much to push him over the edge tonight, but she didn’t care. She was the one who was in bed with him, the one who had the power to storm the barricades of his self-control.
She found the sensitive place at the base of his erection and pressed firmly.
“Lucy,” he gasped. “Wait.”
She ignored him.
He sucked in a harsh breath. “That does it.”
He rolled slightly to one side and cupped the hot, wet place between her legs. He leaned over. His mouth closed on one nipple. He tugged gently.
She was so sensitive now that she nearly came off the bed. He stroked relentlessly, his fingers finding all the right places. She stopped breathing for a beat as her lower body tightened and tightened again. She clutched his forearms. He responded by easing two fingers inside her and pressing upward against the small muscles of her core.
She gasped. He started to withdraw. She gripped his shoulder with all of her strength.
“No,” she managed. “Don’t.”
“Hold me,” he whispered. “Show me how much you want me.”
She could hardly breathe. Her body clenched around his fingers. Tight. Tighter.
“Don’t let go,” he said.
The waves of her release struck out of nowhere, rippling through her. She was lost in the climax when he shifted position and drove deep into her. The sensual invasion triggered another series of tremors.
She was still flying when he surged into her one last time, his back arching, mouth open on a hoarse roar.
His climax ignited her senses again. For an endless moment an unfamiliar energy charged the atmosphere of the bedroom. She could have sworn that her aura had somehow melded with his. The sensation was indescribably intimate, thrilling, and harrowing. Like walking into a wildly dangerous storm.
Dread sparked through her. She wondered if she was hallucinating or having an out-of-body experience. Perhaps the drugs the kidnappers had used on her had affected her permanently.
What was happening to her?
The unnerving sensation vanished in a few heartbeats. She fell back into the reality of damp sheets and the weight of Gabriel’s sweat-streaked body. She listened to his heavy breathing and knew that in some inexplicable way there was now a bond between the two of them. She did not know whether to be terrified or euphoric. Maybe both.
Gabriel stirred, rolled onto his back, and folded one arm behind his head. He rested one hand on her bare thigh.
“I think there was lightning,” he said.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Pretty sure there was lightning.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Good news, Trenchard,” Tuck said. “The client is pleased with the results of the demonstration. I was on the Strip in the Amber Zone last night. I saw the blackout for myself. Got to admit it was pretty damn impressive.”
He tossed the early editions of the Curtain and the Illusion Town Times onto the workbench.
Preston Trenchard adjusted his glasses and studied the front pages of both papers. A rush of exhilaration slammed through him. The Curtain’s headline was Chaos Reigns on Amber Zone Strip. Alien Energy Released from the Underworld? Predictably, the Times had gone with a more sedate headline—City Officials Investigating Power Failure in Amber Zone.
“What did you expect?” he snorted. He raised his head, scowling. “I told you the prototype worked. But as I warned you, I had to use the entire supply of the liquid crystal. The suppressor won’t work again until you bring me more. To do that you’re going to have to grab a first-rate weather channeler.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll grab Lucy Bell again,” Tuck said.
“I suggest you don’t screw up this time.”
Tuck smiled. “We won’t. By the way, the client wishes to thank you for your service.”