She approached the conduit that connected them the same way she would have a rabid animal. She really didn’t want to touch it, but she had no choice. It was the only way to find out what she needed to know.

Instincts guided her. She didn’t know what she was doing, but as soon as she thought about touching his mind, she was doing so.

The luceria heated around her throat, warning her to be cautious. She could sense some thin barrier bulging between them. She could almost see through it, like frosted glass. On the other side was the information she wanted. Needed. All she had to do was find a way to break it.

The instant she thought about doing so, it exploded, letting a flood of emotions wash over her. She wasn’t ready for the onslaught. It hit her hard, knocking the breath from her body.

Lyka struggled to withstand the sudden rush. She imagined herself like a tree, letting floodwaters rush by her. She stayed planted firmly where she was, feeling little splashes of his emotions as they passed.

Anger was on the surface—anger caused by a soul-deep fear of loss. He’d grieved for so many people he’d loved. No one was safe from the Synestryn. Neither was she. It was the worry that plagued him most, wearing away at his sense of calm until he was constantly fighting the urge to chain her up in a cell below Dabyr.

Below that anger was a sense of gratitude and hope. She was the focus of it, shining so bright in his thoughts that she couldn’t even stand to stare at herself through his eyes. He was pinning a lot on her—on them as a team, a powerful fighting force. She knew that if she looked at that line of thought too closely, she’d freak out, developing some odd kind of stage fright that would lock her up cold.

She passed by that quickly, moving deeper. With every layer she passed, she felt more at home, as if this were a space carved out just for her.

She was warm here. Safe. Spying inside his head wasn’t at all like she would have expected. Instead, she found herself lingering, practically basking inside his emotions.

Something large loomed up ahead. It was darker than everything around it, pulsing with a kind of frenetic power that dwarfed all else. As she neared, it seemed to grow in anticipation, like it had been waiting for her arrival for a long, long time.

“You’re not ready for that,” she heard Joseph say. The words sounded strange. Distant. Her body was so far away from her now that she barely even felt like it belonged to her anymore.

Her curiosity grew. He wouldn’t try to keep her out unless he had something to hide. Whatever it was, she was going to figure it out and expose his dark secrets before they could hurt her.

He must have sensed her resolve, because she felt a growing pressure shoving her away from that pulsing, powerful secret.

She tried to tell him to back off and let her pass, but she couldn’t figure out how to speak though a mouth that was light years away. Instead she settled for showing him that she wasn’t going to be deterred.

Lyka shoved forward, ignoring the resistance clinging to her, trying to hold her at bay. She pushed past the pulsing edge of the dark fog and stepped inside. It all hit her at once.

Lust. Desire. Need.

She was surrounded by it, consumed by it. This was the part of him that craved her. It wanted to possess her body and stake a claim so deep, no other man would ever be able to rid her of his mark. This part of him wanted to restrain her—not for her safety, but for her pleasure. And his. This part was pure animal instinct and raging hunger.

The fog seeped into her, becoming a part of her. It made her want, too. Made her need.

Through the faint thread that connected her to her body, she heard herself moan, felt herself shiver.

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” he said.

But she had. And now it was part of her, too.

She tried to back out of the dark fog, but it didn’t want to let her go. It swirled around her, caressing her and whispering for her to stay. Give in. Let go.

Lyka wanted to listen. It felt so good to be here. But there was something important she was supposed to do. Something vital.

“Let me go,” she begged. Even to her, the plea sounded halfhearted.

The fog tightened around her, hugging her, holding her. There was a sense of possession sliding through each pulsating swirl of power. It was careful not to hurt her, but she could sense its intent to never let her go.

With each sinuous stroke of the fog across her consciousness, the need pouring out of Joseph seemed to strengthen. She could feel his hands on her body somewhere in the distance. His fingers were on her skin, hot and strong.

She wanted to feel that touch up close—not separated and distant like she was from her body now.

Again she fought against the all-consuming need that clung to her. As much as she wanted to stay and bask in the dark power that surrounded her, she wanted to be back in her body more, feeling Joseph’s touch.

By the time she clawed her way back out of his mind, she was shaking with fatigue. When she opened her eyes, she saw him hovering over her, his eyes nearly black with hunger. He’d stopped the truck and all but crawled into her seat. He had both of her wrists held in one of his big hands. His other hand had slipped beneath the collar of her shirt to splay across her chest, pinning her in the seat.

Hot waves of power tumbled out of him, sinking into her flesh wherever he touched. He was trembling with barely held control. There was a deep flush across his neck, disappearing down beneath his shirt. Thick veins throbbed under his skin, pulsing fast.

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” he told her.

The low, sexy sound of his voice stroked across her senses. The curve of his lips caught her attention and held on tight. Had her hands been free, she would have reached up and traced that line with her fingertip.

But her hands weren’t free, and he showed no sign of letting her go anytime soon. Oddly, that gave her a feeling of safety so intense, she wasn’t in any hurry for him to let go.

“I thought you were keeping secrets.”

His gaze dipped to her mouth. “I was. But for good reason.”

“What reason is that?”

“I really didn’t want you to know just how much I’m dying to fuck you, kitten. At least not yet.”

His rough words should have offended her, but instead they made her toes curl in her shoes. “So there was a time you wanted me to know?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“When I’m buried balls-deep inside that sweet pussy of yours. That’s the appropriate time for you to know exactly how much I need you.”