She let herself float, hoping she had some kind of innate knowledge buried within her and that those instincts would guide her now.

Everywhere his skin touched hers, she grew warm and tingly. Tiny streams of current flowed into her, gathering somewhere deep inside her chest. As they accumulated, they began multiplying, swirling around much like the colors in the luceria did. Soon there were so many of them, they grew almost painful, straining against her skin to be set free.

A new kind of panic surfaced, riling her tiger. What she was doing now was dangerous, and the animal in her wanted to take over and ensure her safety.

Run. Flee. Hide.

Fight.

That was what she needed to do now: fight.

She grabbed onto that need and channeled it, letting it strengthen her resolve.

Joseph couldn’t hear her. He couldn’t see her. He didn’t even know she was here. There was no harm at all in letting herself sink into him just enough to do what had to be done.

She slid inward, folding in on herself until the outside world no longer mattered. There was no wind, no night, no smells or sounds. Only Joseph and the pulse of power flowing from him into her.

Lyka found the source of that power hovering within the luceria. Like a stream of light, it bubbled and churned between them. Some of it splashed into her, but only a few drops of what was available.

There was so much more she could have. So much more she needed.

The current pushed against her, trying to keep her out, but she fought it, snarling as she shoved her way through the pressure and into the source of that precious power. It took nearly all of her strength, but she made her way through until only brilliant stillness surrounded her.

She floated in that pool of light and energy, letting it soak into her cells. In some strange way she recognized every drop, as if it had been marked as hers long before her birth.

She craved it. Needed it. She belonged to it, and it to her.

A giddy sense of completion lifted her and cast her past the ocean of power into a different place. A darker place, but one just as familiar.

She looked around, wondering how she could know a place where she’d never been. Joseph stood nearby, watching her.

He was still, frowning. There was an air of expectation around him, along with a healthy dose of surprise.

“I thought you didn’t want to come here,” he said.

She still felt light and buoyant from basking in that pool of power. She knew there was a reason she was supposed to be afraid, but she couldn’t remember what it was. “Come where?”

One second he was on the other side of the foggy space. The next, he was in front of her, staring down at her with intense satisfaction in his hazel eyes. His fingers curled around her upper arms. Heat shimmered between them, sliding down her body until she was quivering in enjoyment.

“My home,” he said.

She didn’t see a home. In the distance, past the fog, she saw a fleeting glimpse of high walls like those around Dabyr, but that was all. Inside the walls, tall trees rose, blocking out the sky. They looked much like the one inked on Joseph’s chest, but these were filled with so many leaves that not even the sun could filter through.

As she made the comparison, his shirt disappeared, allowing her to see his lifemark.

His jeans hung low on his hips, displaying lean muscles that ridged his abdomen and made a V down toward his groin. The tree marked on his skin had only a trio of leaves, but they swayed in time with the leaves of the trees around them.

The need to touch drew her in, taking over all rational thought. She ran her finger along his lifemark, letting the heat of his skin sink into hers. As her touch strayed down to his stomach, she felt something cold and wet.

She looked down, but saw nothing out of the ordinary except a thin scar bisecting his abdomen.

The sight tickled something deep in her mind, giving her a feeling of helplessness and fear.

“I don’t like it,” she told him.

He grabbed her hands in his and pressed them against his hard chest. “It’s nothing, kitten. Nothing to worry about at all. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”

It wasn’t, but she couldn’t seem to get her mind around what was bothering her.

Joseph tilted her chin up. There was a smile in his eyes, a kind of softness she’d never seen before. “I’m so glad you’re here. Where you belong.”

“I can’t stay,” she said, knowing instantly that her words were true, though she had no idea what had spurred them.

“There’s nothing to fear here. I’ll keep you safe.”

The walls were high. Thick. The air smelled clean and fresh, like right after a spring storm. There were no demons here. No responsibilities.

His thumb stroked her cheek. “I’ve watched you for so long. Wanted you. Every word we shared made me crave more. I would lie in my bed and wonder how your skin would feel under my fingertips.” He trailed his fingers over her shoulder and down her arm. “How your skin would smell if I nuzzled you here.” He lowered his nose to the crook of her neck and breathed her in.

A shiver tingled along Lyka’s spine. Her body began to heat, and a sweet tingle of need stirred in her belly.

“There are so many other things I want to do to you,” he said. “So many dreams I’ve had of you and me together.” As he said the words, her mind was filled with a flurry of images of the two of them entwined in passionate embraces. Some of them were sweet. Others primal and raw. Each one came complete with a set of sensory details that trickled over her like hot water, stealing her breath with their intensity.

She’d spent plenty of time wondering what it would be like to be with a man as powerful as Joseph, but not one of her daydreams even came close to the potent fantasies he’d endured.

She stared at one—an image of her naked, pinned against the wall of his office by his big body. His hips were moving, thrusting himself inside her with hard, powerful strokes. He pulled her shoulders down, driving himself as deep as he could go before retreating and doing it all over again.

“I thought about that nearly every day,” he admitted. “But even that didn’t hold my curiosity as much as this one.” He pointed to another scene.

In this one, they stood outside under the moonlight. Her arms were wrapped around him as if she never wanted to let him go. Her head was tilted up toward his, and they were locked in a kiss so passionate she felt like she was intruding on the most private of moments—far more intimate than sex against his office wall had been.