Primal Heat 04 - Forever in Darkness

that her heart broke for him.
"Did you die on me twice? Are you the same woman I met? Are you the woman
I thought I lost twice already? Or am I losing my damn mind?" His grip
tightened on her hair. "Tell me," he said urgently. "I need to
know."
    Alice's heart began to pound at his
desperation. It plunged straight into her heart, because she lived with that
same desperation every minute of every day, or she had ever since that night
five years ago when she'd lost the one person who breached the shields in her
heart and opened her soul.
    Ian lowered his head and pressed
his face in the curve of her neck, a gesture so intimate and personal that she
wanted to cry.
    "You smell right," he
said softly. "You smell like the woman I was born to be with." Then
he lifted his head, and there was such agony in his eyes. "You smell like
the woman who will destroy me."
    "Me?" She laughed softly
then, a release of tension like a gift of fresh life. "Ian, I can't
destroy anyone, trust me. It's logistically impossible."
    Ian ran his hand over her shoulder,
his palm warm against her skin, his dark eyes hunting hers. "Why not? Tell
me, Catherine. I need to know."
    Alice shook her head, her body
trembling from his touch. Dear God, how could he affect her like this? She'd
never responded to a male like this before. It was terrifying how badly she
wanted him, but at the same time, it made her feel more alive than she'd ever been
before…which was sort of ironic, given what she was. "I can't," she
whispered. "I'm bound to secrecy. I couldn’t tell you what I am even if I
wanted to."
    He pulled back then, his eyes so
haunted. He searched her face, and she saw the moment he grasped what she was
saying. That she truly didn't have the ability to tell him.
    To her surprise, he didn't ask why.
He didn't question it. He didn't even seem rattled by it. He simply arched one
brow and offered a challenge. "Do you want to tell me?"
    As she stared into the face of this
powerful warrior who, with a single touch had ignited desire in her that was so
foreign to her that she hadn't even thought it was possible for her to feel it,
this male who already knew things she could never explain, this warrior who was
so powerful that maybe, just maybe, he could help her… And she knew her answer.
"Yes. As God is my witness, I wish I could tell you and then you would
throw me on your gleaming white stallion and save the damned day. I need a
fairy godmother, and she's been completely derelict in her duties, so I'd be
willing to take a knight in shining armor. I'm kind of outmatched right now, to
be honest." She stared at him, afraid to hope, terrified to put her trust
in a man who might be the one to finally do her in. "Can you help
me?"
    "I'm no fairy godmother, and
armor would impede my lightning fast reflexes." Humor twinkled into those
dark eyes, the first flash of lightness she'd seen from him, and it made
something deep inside her want to smile. Smile? Seriously? Now? But she did.
"I have a gleaming black motorcycle," he said. "Will that work?"
    She wrinkled her nose, astounded at
how good it felt to banter with him. She didn't even understand how she could
do it, not with everything she was dealing with, but somehow, this ultra-burdened
warrior eased the weight on her soul just enough for her to feel like she could
breathe again. "I doubt it. There's never anything about motorcycles in
fairytales."
    "Well, damn. They need to be
written then." As Ian spoke, he leaned closer, and in a sudden flash of
panic and a rush of desire, Alice realized he was going to kiss her.
    She slammed her hand against his
chest, a useless gesture against a man so powerful, but he stopped. "Don't
kiss me."
    His eyes darkened with a desire
that made her pulse leap. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he pried her hand off
his chest and raised it above her head. He pressed it against the wall, flattening
her palm against the cool plaster. He bent his head, his lips so close to hers
that she could feel the warmth of his breath.
    Desire rushed through her, and her
body began to tremble with the need to respond to him. "I can't—"
    "I know you can't." He
brushed his lips over the corner of her mouth, and she closed her eyes, stunned
by the tenderness of the touch. By the intimacy.
    "Dear God," she
whispered. "How can you make me feel like that?"
    "Because we're destined for
each other." He kissed the other corner of her mouth, lingering ever so
slightly over the kiss. "You're mine," he said,