Page 71 of The Hero Within
Eden moved through the dancers,trying to ignore the press of bodies against hers as she tried to get some air.
She'd had a generous mouthful of kaga before realizing it didn't just affect wargs.Her heart was racing in time to the drums, and her head felt like it was ready to explode. Her fingers curled around the pewter amulet he'd given her for safekeeping.
CJ’s injury. Lily’s illness. Time ticking down like a bomb about to go off in her face. Johnny Colton slamming back into her life. Finding her own goddamned letters in his pocket.
Seeing the momentary glint of vulnerability in his eyes when she touched the scars on his back before he looked away.
The feel of his mouth on hers.
All of it formed a volatile mix, fusing into a pressure cooker inside her, until Eden thought she was going to scream.
She needed to get out of here.
Before she did something stupid.
Something she could never take back.
The drumbeat throbbed through her veins until her heart was racing as she pushed through the crowd. Or maybe it wasn’t the drum at all, but the pulse between her thighs.
She caught a glimpse of Colton tracking her, moving like a shark in her wake. All tanned, oiled skin, those handprints standing out starkly, as if to show her where to put her own. Hungry dark eyes.
Eden stared back, and once again she could feel her lips tingling. Colton's lashes shadowed his eyes as he started pushing through the crowd toward her.
Hell. She ducked into the passage that led to their room, finally free of the cloying heat of bodies. A glimpse back showed wargs flinging their heads back and stomping the ground in time to the music. Nnedi had pushed Arik back into the shadows of the cavern, where they were having a heated argument, and someone threw an entire jug of water over the crowd from the lip of the dais.
And there....
Colton himself, finally slipping free of the mass of heaving bodies. He stood out against the torchlight behind him, a dark shadow carved from pure stone. Eden rubbed her mouth, her nipples hardening as she turned and darted down the passage, shooting glances over her shoulder to see if he was following.
He came for her, as if drawn by the look in her eyes.
Maybe he could sense it—or maybe that same echoing throb rang through his body, and he needed the release too.
Eden couldn't breathe. Need fisted like a tight knot inside her. Her skin ached, as if she could almostfeelhis hands upon her.
And then she was.
A hand locked around her wrist, spinning her around. Her back hit the smooth slope of the wall, and suddenly Colton was in her space, barely touching her, just looking. "Where are you going, angel? The party's back there."
An inch separated them. It wasn't enough. "Here's your amulet." She shoved it toward him. "I think... I need some air."
"Put it on me," he breathed, bowing his head toward her, and letting her wrist go.
Eden froze. Lifting the chain, she draped it over his head, letting the snarling wolf's head fall into place in the center of his chest.
All she could breathe was the heated scent of the oil on his body. Her hand fluttered between them as if to fend him off, but she wasn't sure if that was what she truly intended. Hands had swiped through the palm prints on his chest, and white paint dragged across his abdomen.
"Are you sure that's what you need right now?" he whispered, resting one palm flat against the wall on the side of her head.
Eden glanced up from beneath her lashes and as he leaned closer, her fingertips brushed against the hard flex of his abdominals. Every inch of her skin seemed to ache, as if it was begging for his touch.
She turned her face to the side, trying to escape the intensity, but there was no avoiding the truth.
She didn't want him to go.
"Eden?" he murmured, fingertips resting against her chin. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
She took a deep breath. Another. What was she doing?
