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.His expression warned her that either his head was about to explode, or she had better brace herself for the kind of language that would have sent her mother reaching for the soap.Bracing herself, she prepared to have her hair blown back and her eyebrows singed.When Mac drew in a deep breath, she made sure to keep her knees soft.Just in case.Danice watched, fascinated, as he opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again.Still no sound emerged.The muscle in the side of his jaw, though, was working overtime, and she thought she could probably choreograph a dance number to the pulsing of the vein in his temple.What was he waiting for?Always an adherent of the philosophy that the best defense is a good offense, Danice opened her mouth to goad him into getting whatever he intended to say off his chest.That way it would be out in the open, and she could pick apart his nonsensical arguments and go back to ignoring his protests.She had it down to a science.Except that her open mouth turned out to be the opportunity he’d been waiting for.He descended on her like an invading army, the Visigoths at gates of Rome.Before she could even register the sight of his head swooping down to her, she felt the hard pressure of his mouth on hers and instinctively gasped her surprise.Mac took advantage with ruthless skill, sweeping into her mouth and claiming every inch for himself.In a heartbeat, Danice felt again all the wary excitement he’d stirred in her when he’d had her pinned to that bed in the Addisons’ deserted vacation house.This time, though, she couldn’t blame any of the adrenaline that coursed through her on fear.She knew Mac now, at least well enough to know he wouldn’t hurt her, so she couldn’t pretend he scared her.The shivers he incited beneath her skin stemmed from an entirely different sort of reaction.The noise of the city faded around them.All Danice could hear was the ragged sound of her breathing, the low rumble of satisfaction that seemed to be issuing from Mac’s throat, and the rushing pulse of blood in her ears.All she could taste was the sweet, dark fire that was McIntyre Callahan, and all she could smell was the exotic spicy scent of his skin.He could have transported her to another dimension for all she knew, for all the notice any one of her senses paid to the people moving past them on the busy sidewalks.The nonchalant glances and amused curiosity of the average New Yorker didn’t pack nearly a big enough punch to shatter her absorption in Mac’s unexpected (and unexpectedly thrilling) embrace.Frankly, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and Iron Man probably didn’t pack enough punch.The man was a seriously good kisser, even when the kiss spoke as much of frustration and anger as it did of passion.It took the flash of a camera and the laughter of a group of teenage juvenile delinquents to end the embrace.Or assault.Or earth-shattering revelation, depending on how you wanted to look at it.When Mac finally lifted his head, his eyes had darkened to a thunderous shade of gray and his ragged breathing sounded as if he’d just completed the marathon in under thirty seconds.Danice figured her heart thought it must have attempted the same feat, because she could feel it beating all the way down to the soles of her feet.She looked into those stormy eyes and scrambled for a quip, a smart-alecky retort that would let him know that she wasn’t some swooning virgin in a regency novel to be manipulated with something as casual as a kiss.The only problem was that she needed to catch her breath first to keep herself from swooning.“This is not something I’m going to argue with you about,” he growled, which made her frown.She didn’t like it that he could recover his powers of speech before she could.She didn’t want him to have that kind of advantage in the battle between them.She didn’t want him to have any kind of advantage.“I know Faerie, and you don’t.Therefore, you’re going to have to trust me on this one.You aren’t coming with me.”“Ngh—” Cursing to herself, Danice cleared her throat and tried again.“You can give all the orders you like, Callahan, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to listen to them.”Somehow, that retort didn’t do anything to smooth the wrinkles of fury that marred his arrogant brow.“You’re going to have to listen, whether you like it or not.Or have you forgotten that of the two of us, I’m the only one who knows how to get to Faerie?”Her eyes narrowed.“You are not the only one, however, with connections, or the ability to ask well-placed questions.You might want to keep that in mind.”“I’ve got plenty of things on my mind already, pretty little Niecie.Would you like me to demonstrate for you?”If his purr hadn’t given away his game, the way he pinned her back against the rough brick building and angled his hips until the erection behind his jeans rode against her hip would have clued her in.Did he really think she was stupid?“The only thing you need to demonstrate for me, Callahan, is that you can think with a part of your anatomy that doesn’t get distracted every time a nice pair of tits walks by.” Danice kept her gaze level and steady on his, which required a concerted effort to ignore the heat curling in her belly and shooting seductive tendrils down between her thighs.She refused to allow herself to be manipulated with sex.“You aren’t responsible for me and you don’t get a vote in my decision-making process.If Faerie is where I need to go to help my client, then that’s where I’m going.End of story.”He stared down at her for a long tense moment, the heat between them banked but far from extinguished.She could feel it settling down in her gut like embers just waiting for the application of the correct kindling.Behind her hip, she crossed the fingers of her left hand that Mac would realize a busy city street wasn’t the right place to apply that kindling.When he levered himself away from her, putting a much-appreciated foot or so between their bodies, Danice couldn’t quite stifle her sigh of relief.His eyes narrowed at the sound.Then the corner of his mouth quirked upward and he took another step back.“Oh, our story isn’t even close to ending, pretty Niecie,” he said, eyes gleaming in the reflected light of neon and headlamps.“We have pages and pages still to go.”On that taunting note, he turned away from her and began to stride gracefully down the sidewalk.Scowling, Danice shot out her hand and caught him before he’d gotten far.“I expect you to tell me when you’re leaving, Callahan,” she told him, giving him her sternest face.“I intend to go whether or not you approve.”“Save tomorrow’s troubles for tomorrow,” he told her, his shrug casual, the look in his eyes anything but.“We’ve plenty of others to deal with first.”“Like what?”“Why, before we decide who’ll be making the trip, fair Danice, we’ll need to make plans to take us there.”She eyed him skeptically.She wouldn’t put it past him to use some lame trick to keep her from going.“You mean you don’t already have it all mapped out?”He shook his head and glanced down at where her fingers still gripped his arm.She colored and released him.“It’s not the sort of place you’ll find on a map,” he said, his eyes once again locking with hers.“Just as it’s not the sort of place a human should be going.”Danice rolled her eyes.And there it was.One more shot aimed at making her change her attitude.She let it sail past and folded her arms in a decidedly belligerent posture.She couldn’t help it.The man made her feel belligerent.When he wasn’t making her feel like she needed to change her pan ties [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]