Chapter Three
Three
“No, wait, stop,” she yelped. She took a step back but came up against the old sofa. She was trapped. “You don’t understand.”
Too late. Luke went very still and gazed into her eyes as if mesmerized.
She held her breath, waiting for what she knew was coming next.
He would experience a flash of primal fear.
He probably wouldn’t panic—he was too strong—but at the very least he would be shocked.
While he might not run, he would definitely want to put some distance between them. So much for his plan to calm her aura.
She straightened her shoulders. She was a Harper. She had her pride. “Don’t say you weren’t warned.”
Luke set the sunglasses on a nearby table. “This,” he said, “is going to be interesting.”
That was when she realized that his own eyes were burning—but not with horror or shock or even mild alarm. The heat was intimate and intense. Part of the energy was sexual but there was something else going on, too, something she was afraid to define.
He took one of her hands in his, pulling her close.
To her amazement, nothing awful happened.
She did not know what she had expected but it wasn’t this incredibly thrilling warmth, this sense of rightness.
He released her fingers to cradle the back of her neck with his palm.
Her frazzled nerves responded instantly, seeking and luxuriating in the heat of his body. The ice fever began to recede.
It wasn’t just the inviting intimacy that was tugging at all her senses. There was a sensuality about the experience that was unique. Fascinating. She had never felt anything like it.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered.
Luke’s mouth kicked up a little at one corner. “Neither do I, but I think you can stop worrying that you’ll traumatize my aura beyond repair.”
She decided not to argue or offer any more warnings. Things were going too well.
She was letting herself sink deeper into his heat when the hurricane of his aura swept over her, threatening to envelope her. Her intuition shot into the red zone. Her instincts took control in a desperate attempt to repel the invasion.
The result was a clash of energy fields that sent shock waves through all of her senses. Disoriented, she lost her balance and grabbed the front of Luke’s leather jacket with both hands to keep from falling. She would have collapsed if he hadn’t tightened his grip to steady her.
But he, too, was swept up in the storm they had ignited.
“Too late,” he said.
He did not sound alarmed. The opposite. Masculine anticipation infused the words. He should have been worried. Why wasn’t he worried? She was worried. Their auras were locked in the most intimate kind of combat. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Enthralling.
What was happening?
She came out of the strange trance with a jarring jolt to her knees.
“Ouch,” she muttered. “That hurt.”
“Yeah, that could have been better managed,” Luke said. “In my own defense, all I can tell you is that I didn’t see it coming. Well, I did, but only in a vague way. No details were provided.”
She realized they were both on their knees on the hard wooden floor, face-to-face, clinging together as if trying to save each other from drowning.
“What are you talking about?” she managed.
Luke did not get a chance to answer because they were collapsing together in slow motion. He ended up on his back. She found herself sprawled on top of him in an undignified tangle of arms and legs. Her mouth was very close to his.
For a moment it was as if a silent treaty had been established between their warring auras, and the currents of their energy fields settled into an exhilarating resonance and a glorious sense of discovery. Where have you been all my life, Luke Wells?
In the next instant the elation gave way to confusion and disbelief.
“You’re okay,” she said, amazed.
“I’m not sure that’s the right word to describe my current condition, but I guess it works,” Luke said. A wicked amusement lit his eyes. “You look shocked.”
“I was expecting a different outcome.”
“You were anticipating disaster, weren’t you?”
“Well, yes, to be honest.”
“Based on prior experience?”
“There have been a couple of failed experiments, you see. I suppose you could say I’m gun-shy about physical contact when I’m coming out of a trance.”
“Can I assume the failed experiments are now exes?”
She flushed. “You could say that.”
“On the plus side, I can’t help but notice that you are no longer shivering.”
“No. I’m not.” She took a breath. “What about my eyes?”
“You have very nice eyes.”
“That’s not what I meant. Do they look weird?”
“Define weird.”
“Never mind.” Bewildered, she pushed herself up off his chest. That proved embarrassing because now she was sitting astride his hips and very aware of his heavy erection.
She lurched upright and grabbed the back of the sofa to steady herself.
She looked down and got another jolt. The front edges of Luke’s leather jacket had fallen open.
For the first time she saw that he had a small case attached to his belt.
It was the kind of case people with severe allergies use to carry emergency auto-injectors filled with epinephrine.
Luke sat up slowly and uncoiled to his feet. The jacket fell back into place, covering the auto-injector case. “I knew it would be hot,” he said. “But not that hot.”