He nearly devoured her.
In all of Mina’s twenty-eight years, she’d never been kissed quite that way. With a passion that burned through her whole body. With a need that made her ache. He wasn’t careful or gentle. Luke was rough and domineering and the guy could just use his tongue so, so well.
Her fingers curled around his shoulders. The plan had been to distract him but…surely, kissing him just a little longer wouldn’t hurt.
Just a little…longer…
He knew how to kiss. How to use his tongue. How to lick. How to make her body ignite. He pulled her closer and she barely felt it when his fingers trailed down to the hem of her shirt. She was just—lost to that kiss. Enjoying him, letting herself go when she shouldn’t.
Then she felt the quick touch of air on her skin. He’d lifted up her shirt. His fingers—warm and slightly callused at the tips—were on her bare skin and she—she liked his touch. She wanted his fingers to keep rising. She wanted his fingers on her breasts, wanted her whole body naked while he touched her and—
Naked.
She pushed against his chest. Stared into his eyes. In that gleaming stare, she saw her own desire staring back at her, and Mina wondered just what sort of powers Luke truly possessed. Because he was certainly making her lose her reason.
All for a kiss.
She had to stop him. No, she had to stop herself. “Strip,” she said, and there was more than seduction and power in her voice. There was desperation because she was losing herself. So very fast. “Strip for me, Luke.”
He smiled. Oh, that smile was trouble. Slow and seductive, it stretched his lips. Then he said, “Only if you promise to do the same for me.”
The same words he’d given her before. She didn’t speak, mostly because she didn’t trust herself to lie right then. She did manage a stumbling nod.
He moved away from her, circling around her body, putting himself in just the position that she’d wanted.
Now she stood between him and the cell door. So close…
His hands went to the buttons on his shirt. Staring at her, he slowly began to unbutton them.
She took a step back.
More golden skin was revealed. Strong muscles. That definite twelve pack she’d suspected. Her mouth got very, very dry.
The shirt hit the floor.
And his hands went to his pants.
“Keep going.” The order was for him and for herself. Because this was her chance. His head tilted down as he started to unhook his belt.
She bolted for the cell door.
“Mina?” Her name was a question.
She slammed the door shut. The key was still in the lock—she’d seen that when she first walked into the cell. A shiny new key and lock on a cell that shouldn’t have even been there. But it was—it was a prison in a modern-day paradise and she was going to use that cell to her advantage. Cell. Cage. Same thing right now.
“Mina!” Now her name was a roar—an infuriated bellow. He ran for the door.
She yanked the key to the side, locking the cell and she jerked that key back, tumbling away even as his hand shot through the bars. He came inches away from grabbing her shirt-front. She fell, landing hard on her ass as she stared up at him.
Rage poured from his eyes. Hot and scorching. “Unlock the cell.”
She shook her head, honestly too terrified to speak in that moment. Power seemed to crackle in the air around him.
His hand slid back through the bars. He stared at her, his rage just deepening.
“Sweetheart,” the word was a growl, not an endearment. “You don’t want me for an enemy.”
Too late, she was pretty sure he already was her enemy. She backed away from him, moving like a crab until she hit the wall. Then she started hauling herself up, hoping her trembling knees would straighten up. Her hand slammed into some kind of—of button on the wall. A button she hadn’t even seen but she felt the depression beneath her fingers.
A slow stream of gas spread into the cell that caged Luke. He looked up at the gas. “Fucking hell.”
Uh, oh. She started to choke on the gas. It was burning her eyes, her mouth, her—
“Get out, sweetheart. Get the fuck out now,” he ordered her. His eyes still gleamed. “When I wake up…I’m coming for you.”
She stumbled toward the heavy door, that gas was still burning her, and when she looked back at him—
Luke had sunk to his knees in that cell. “Get out,” he gritted at her.
She frowned. He was…protecting her? No, no, that didn’t make any sense. She covered her mouth and ran to the doorway. She entered that little tunnel and felt the rush of cool air around her body. Air was being pumped into the tunnel—she could feel it. Not stale air, not any longer. Fresh and clear. She gulped it greedily.
Then she thought about Luke.
And she wondered just what she’d done to him. Careful now, Mina tip-toed back into the area that held all of those cells. She didn’t hear the hiss of the gas any longer. But her eyes started to burn and…
Luke was in his cell. On the floor. Not moving.