The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) (14 page)

A rumble came from his chest. I lifted my eyes to
look up into his. Need etched deep in his pupils, mirroring my own.
His hand slipped farther into my hair, tilting my head. The heat
between our mouths increased as we moved in closer. I shut my eyes,
anticipating the feel of his lips, when an image of Amara calling
out for Ryker slammed into my head. Pain in her eyes as she reached
for him.

What were we doing? He had a girlfriend. He was in
love with someone else. Fear and guilt washed over me. Air whizzed
through my hair and across my skin, making me lightheaded.

Dammit. Not again.

I opened my eyes. I was back in the ladies’ room. A
girl was drying her hands and squeaked, doing a double take when
she saw me standing next to her. She tossed the paper away, keeping
a wary gaze on me before rushing out of the room. I leaned my hands
on either side of the sink, taking in a gulp of air.

“What the fuck are you thinking, Zoey?” I addressed
the image in the mirror. Nothing good can come of us crossing the
line. It would only lead to more heartbreak for me. Something I
couldn’t handle anymore. He had Amara. It was better if we simply
stayed “business partners” until this mess was over. He would
return to her and go back to his life free of humans the moment he
could. Having his powers within me was like having him on a leash.
Once I let him off, he would be gone. Discarded. No. I would not do
it to myself again.

Something tickled my upper lip, and I turned to the
image in the mirror. A trickle of blood dripped from my nose.
Reality. It always came and bit you in the ass.

I wiped away the blood and let the cool water from
the faucet wash over my hands and through my fingers, splashing a
little on my chest and face. The red-stained water trailed down the
drain. With a tissue I patted my face dry and shut down my mind to
what it meant.

I felt him behind me before I even looked up, his
presence hovered heavy in the air. My lashes lifted, and I saw his
reflection in the glass. He watched me with no expression on his
face. Somehow I knew he’d been there long enough to see my
nosebleed.

A toilet flushed, and a blonde woman in her early
thirties came out of the stall. Her gaze darted between the two of
us. Her eyes widened, and she scurried for the door, mumbling
something in English. She squeezed past Ryker without touching him
and glanced once more over her shoulder before dashing out. There
was no door on the main bathroom, only an opening. The music and
voices seemed distant. All I saw and felt was him.

He continued to stare at me, and his eyes held
emotion. Want. Need. I couldn’t move, my eyes fastened on his
reflection.

You just had another reminder you could die
tomorrow, Zoey. Regret what you didn’t do... not what you did.

All my fears followed the discolored water down the
drain. I wanted him. I longed for him to touch me so much it ached.
I could pretend my jumping was because of Amara, but it was a lie.
It was fear. I had fought my feelings since the night he saved me
from the freezing water in Seattle. I think we both did, but we
could no longer ignore it. The elephant in the room was stomping
its feet and demanding we take notice.

I watched his eyes move up my figure. My skin tingled
every place they went. Then his eyes landed back on mine. Desire
charged his expression. The dam we’d tried to build between us
splintered. We moved at the same time.

I whirled around as his hands gripped my hips,
picking me up and pitching me on the countertop. He spread my legs
with his body, pushing up to me. His fingers curled over my jaw and
drew my mouth to his. The moment our lips met, the barrier
combusted, fracturing everywhere, sending white-hot energy into my
chest and limbs. His mouth was desperate. His full lips demanding.
Heat traveled down my spine and between my legs. My fingers glided
over the braids on the side of his head, pulling him closer to me.
His tongue slipped past my lips and an embarrassing moan broke from
my throat. His reaction was immediate. His fingers dug into my
scalp, drawing me in. Our kisses went from needy to frantic. He
tugged at my bottom lip, driving my desire for him into a fury. My
legs clamped around his waist. He lifted me and walked us over to a
wall, my arms wrapping around his head, pulling me higher on his
torso and closer to his mouth. He pushed against me as he flattened
me back against the wall, our lips never breaking apart. Through
his jeans I could feel him hard and ready. My body responded. I
knew he could sense my reaction because he gave a low growl.

Sex. I wanted sex now.

“
Heilige Scheiße
,” a voice cried out in
German.

Holy shit was right. We both froze and then slowly
turned our heads toward the doorway. The group of ladies courting
Ryker when I first walked in stood at the entrance. Their eyes wide
and their mouths open.

Ryker stepped back, letting me slide down the wall,
my feet touching the ground. It felt surreal, like he had taken me
to a completely different place and time and now we were jarred
back into the present. The women merely gaped at us.

“Leaving.” Ryker laced his fingers through mine,
tugging me away from the wall, and advanced to the door. I clasped
my hand over my mouth, trying to hide the enormous smile on my
lips.

As Ryker pushed us past the group of women, one
nudged my arm. “Go. Girl.” She spoke in broken English, looking him
up and down. “He. Is.
Hot
.”

I gave her a conspiring smile and nodded.

Ryker weaved us through the throng of dancing couples
and groups, out the doors. I stepped outside, expecting to feel the
cool air crawl over my skin, refreshing me. Bodies were everywhere,
taking up every available space. It was like going from one sauna
to another.

Crowds of people lined the street and danced. Floats
and groups of costumed dancers paraded down the narrow strip of
road. Christmas tree lights and colored lanterns hung from the
trees and across wires strung between telephone poles and lamp
posts.

The air was heavy with excitement and energy. The
late night was turning people’s energy sexual and carnal. Bodies
pressed together, moving in either dance or trying to get through
the crowds. The hot, humid night covered our skin in sweat, sex
thick in the air.

Between that, the alcohol, and the fact I was a
walking hormone, my mind was on one thing.

And I didn’t seem to be the only one. Ryker slithered
us through the crowd and then stopped, turning back to me. His eyes
hungrily consumed my face, centering in on my mouth. The dense
crowd pushed our bodies together. Aligning us. He bent down, his
hands cupping my cheeks. I pushed up on my toes. Our lips found
each other. It was like I could breathe again. The moment my mouth
was on his, the world disappeared.

A body slammed into us, pushing us apart. I didn’t
want to stop kissing him. I had been kissed a lot in my past, but
this was different. It went beyond earth shattering or any other
stupid platitude I could think of. I had never felt completely safe
before. Always on edge and waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Security was always an obscure idea. Something I dreamed about
having but never really understood.

I knew instantly what the difference was.
He was
home.
It terrified me.

It was worse than any drug I ever tried or heard
about. Even if someone had made an ultimatum between my life and
kissing him, I wouldn’t be able to stop touching or kissing him. I
needed him worse than I needed air.

This feeling was unlike me. Daniel never even came
close to this. I loved Daniel. He was my bridge to another world.
Another life, another me.
I’m not in love with Ryker... so why
does he make me feel this way?

Ryker stripped away all the pretense. This was me:
vulnerable, scared, strong, wanting, sad, lonely, crazy, mean, and
flawed. A fighter, an experiment, a human, a fae, a Collector, and
now one of the hunted.

We were trained to hate each other, but still through
it all, we found solace in each other. And I never wanted a man
more in my life.

Guilt wiggled deep under the layers of alcohol and
desire floating at the top. The thought of betraying Daniel arose,
but the whiskey pushed his image away, giving me courage to act on
what I wanted right then.

I withdrew from Ryker and grabbed his hand, ignoring
the exclamations from the crowd as I pushed through the mob. I
shoulder checked a few people before I tugged him past the horde
and into an alleyway.

“Ever thought about playing football?” Ryker
smirked.

I turned to face him. “Shut up.”

“Yes, human.” He grinned. He picked me up, my legs
wrapped around his waist, and we fell against the brick wall. The
smell of garbage and urine was strong, but I ignored it. His hand
moved under my skirt, cupping my ass. His fingers nudged under the
fabric of my underwear.

My hands ran over his lips and face. “What are we
doing?” I whispered.

“I don’t know.” He nipped at my ear.

“We should probably stop,” I said as I continued to
explore his skin.

“Yeah. We probably should.” He nuzzled into the crook
of my neck, his beard tickling it. “Be the smart thing to do.”

The thought of him actually stopping charged fear
into my lungs. I placed my hands on either side of his face and
dipped my head, covering his lips. The kiss started off slow,
exploring and thorough. Then it turned, surging with desire. It was
so strong and powerful I didn’t even realize I was unbuttoning his
pants. I slipped past his boxers, my hand finding the length of
him. He groaned.

Holy shit
. The Viking rumor was correct about
their “size,” if not a little understated.

Touching him made my entire body more than ready for
his. We were in a dirty alley, but I didn’t care. I wanted him
inside me so badly I couldn’t think. My hand explored him. He
tipped his head back, taking in staggered breaths. I wiggled down,
pushing my underwear to the side. I drew the tip of him to me.

“Zoey. Stop.” His voice was thick.

“Why?” Embarrassment and rejection flooded my cheeks.
I didn’t want to stop. I moved farther down, taking a little more
of him to me. I was hot and ready, and he could feel it.

“Oh, gods.” He placed a hand on the wall beside my
head, leaning against it. He took in a shaky breath. “You are
not
playing fair.”

“What? You don’t want
this
?” Anger crept into
my words, and I released him from my grip.

A burst of laughter came from him, only incinerating
my wrath and humiliation.

He tucked himself back into his pants and adjusted me
higher on his waist.

“Let me down.” I struggled against his hold.

He only smiled, pressing me harder against the brick
wall. His face growing serious. “I want this more than you can
possibly know. And we will be doing
this
.” His voice was
confident and it froze me in place. “Just not here.” He glanced
around. I finally took in the area. I could see vomit in the
corner, spoiled food in and outside of the trash cans, and rats
scurried in the far dark corners.

Okay, not the most desirable place to have sex, but
sadly I’d had worse.

He grabbed my chin. “Zoey, when I’m inside you, I
don’t want it to be a quickie in the alley. I want to spread you
out and take my time.”

Air caught in my chest.

“You got it?”

I nodded.

He put me back on my feet.

“Now, let’s try and find the fastest way home or I
might forgo that idea.”

“Yeah.” I was still nodding like a fool.
Oh, I can
get us home really fast
. I grabbed his hand, closing my eyes I
tried to think of the room we were staying in. I peeked from under
my lashes. We still stood in the passage.

“Yeah. Not usually happy about you using them, but
right now it would be nice.”

“Why doesn’t it work when I really want it to?”

“They still haven’t fully adapted to you, and it only
works when your emotions are extremely heightened.”

“My emotions aren’t heightened enough for them right
now?”

“Obviously not. They seem to come out when you are
scared... really scared.” He took my face in his hands. “Not
horny.”

“You should fear me now.” I poked at my chest,
talking to the powers.

“Good try. Doesn’t quite work like that.” He turned
me toward the entrance of the lane.