So far, she hadn’t dreamed of him again. Not since the dream she’d had right after her arrival at Belladonna. But that just made her hunger for him during the day all the more unbearable.
When a knock sounded on her door, she mentally groaned and stayed silent, hoping her visitor would take the hint and go away. No such luck.
“Ana. It’s Ty. Meet me in the airplane hangar in ten. We’re going to work on your knife-throwing skills.”
She smiled in spite of herself. Yes, her time spent with Ty was as far from romantic as one could get. But it was certainly turning out to be fun.
An hour later, after Ana had thrown knife after knife at dummy targets while Ty stayed by her side, giving her tips on aiming and technique, she accompanied him to Belladonna’s giant lap pool. She scanned the area around it before turning to Ty. “I don’t have a swimsuit.”
To her surprise, he shook his head. “You don’t need one. Just take off your clothes and get in.”
“Excuse me?” Ana stared at Ty as if he’d lost his mind.
More like he thought she’d lost hers.
“You heard me,” he said, his expression blank. Almost cold. Completely the opposite of the subdued yet friendly one he’d been wearing ever since she’d first arrived. “I said take off your clothes and get in the pool.”
Maybe this was some kind of training in itself, she thought. Gamely, she asked, “And why would I do that?”
“Because staying alive on these missions is about doing whatever needs to be done.”
Okay, she was beginning to understand where this was going. Still, that didn’t mean she was just going to prance around nude in front of him simply because he demanded it. “Except I don’t have to strip naked at the moment. If I need to, I will.”
“No, you’ll hesitate, just like you’re doing now. You’ll search for an alternative.”
“I won’t.”
“Prove it.”
He was still looking at her with that cold expression. As if what he was asking was completely reasonable. As if he’d feel absolutely nothing if she stripped naked in front of him right now.
She felt a surge of disappointment at that.
One by one, she stripped off each article of clothing she wore. And even though this wasn’t about him getting his rocks off, even though he didn’t seem to care that she was naked and vulnerable in front of him, that didn’t mean he took any pity on her. He took his time looking at her, making sure he started at the top of her head, stopping and paying particular attention to her key parts—her throat, her breasts, her flat stomach, and the mound between her legs.
As he did, Ana felt his gaze like a caress.
And to her shame, she trembled.
She yearned.
She wanted him naked. She wanted him pressed against her.
She wanted him inside her.
And she wanted to urge him to give her more.
More. More. More.
Until the world disappeared and nothing existed for either of them but the pleasure of being in each other’s arms.
As Ty admired the beauty of Ana’s body, he tried to remain detached. He told himself he was doing this merely as part of her training, which she’d been excelling at. She was smart, hardworking, an eager pupil. He’d admired and respected her before, but those feelings had only grown. He’d pushed her, but he’d also kept things strictly friendly between them. Not just for her peace of mind, but his own. It was hard enough to wrestle with her and gaze into her eyes without losing his shaky grip on control; if he reacted to the desire he saw in her eyes, he was afraid he’d have her stripped and nailed to the floor before either one of them could blink.
But a half hour ago, when he’d been watching her gleefully throw knives at man-shaped targets, he’d realized he wasn’t doing her any favors. By not forcing her to deal with her own insecurities or the possibility of sexually charged situations, he could very well be placing her life in danger when she was in the field.
What he’d said was true—if for whatever reason she needed to strip buck naked at a moment’s notice on a mission—she had to be able to do it without hesitation. Fear, modesty, insecurity—none of it could get in the way.
Now, as he stared at her naked body, detachment and practicality and training were the farthest things from his mind.
He’d seen her like this before, and not just on his surveillance equipment. He’d seen her exactly the way she looked now, down to the mole next to her belly button, when they’d both been naked and touching each other. He’d licked that mole when he’d paused while going down on her to look up at her face. She looked exactly the way she had in the dreams he’d had of the two of them. The damn dreams that he couldn’t get out of his head.
But he had to. And he certainly couldn’t dwell on his suspicion that she might be sharing the sexual dreams with him. So he continued his inspection of her, moving from the best parts of her body to the worst—the burn scars across her thighs.
He knew how she’d gotten them and if her mother wasn’t already dead, he’d kill her himself. And it had nothing to do with his being a vampire. Even if he’d been fully human, he’d have felt the same way.
Maybe he’d spent too much time staring at her scars or maybe she read his mind, because she snapped, “Don’t pity me.”
His gaze locked on hers. “Why would I?” he asked, careful how he chose his words. Because the truth was he did pity her, but no more than he pitied himself. “You’re a survivor. I admire you.” And that was the honest truth. “Now, show me how well you can swim.”
With a muttered curse, she jumped into the pool and proceeded to do one lap after another. Eventually, after what seemed like hours but was probably only twenty minutes, he called out, “That’s it. You can get out and dress.”
Then he took a deep breath, vowing to hang on to his control long enough to do what he had to do next.
Ty had his back turned to her and appeared to be reviewing paperwork. Relieved, Ana climbed out of the pool. Her muscles were shaking with exhaustion and she shivered with cold. Hurrying, she dried off, then started yanking her clothes back on.
She’d just zipped her pants when Ty grabbed her by her arms, held her body against his chest for a brief moment, then backed her up against the wall. Even with their clothes between them, she was acutely aware of his chest sliding against her breasts. And how the sensation made her shiver with pleasure even as she shook with fury.
He pressed his mouth against her ear. “You’re too easy,” he complained. “I told you to never let down your guard around me. Don’t turn your back on your enemy, especially when you’re vulnerable. You have to be aware at every moment or you risk being overtaken.”
“Fuck you.”
He smiled faintly. “You also have to be able to stay calm when someone touches you sexually. You can’t let the past control you. You have to accept it and control it, so you can manage the situation and come out on top. No pun intended.”
Despite his attempt at humor, she struggled in his grip, the harsh brick of the building scratching her hands where he held them against the wall.
“I’m a threat to you. I want to take you down, Ana. What can you do to get away?”
“You’re bigger than me. Stronger. I don’t know what to do,” she snapped out. She twisted, hitching her hips, pulling against Ty’s hold. Nothing.
“I’m not giving you that answer. Figure out how to get away from me on your own.”
She would have kneed him in the nuts, but Ty clearly anticipated that move since his legs were firmly between hers. No way was she going to be able to get a knee between his legs. And his strength overpowered her. She couldn’t pull away.