Page 39 of Rupture

She broke the kiss, her breath sawing in and out, her pupils dark and blown wide. “That was… unexpected.”

Finn struggled to form a coherent thought, his body screaming at him to claim her lips again. “You seemed a little out of control there.” He was breathless. “Just trying to calm you down.”

“Just doing your job?” There was a challenge in her tone.

He ran his thumb across the fullness of her lower lip, mesmerized by its softness. The urge to bite that plump curve, to mark her as his was overwhelming. A growl threatened deep inside him. “Something like that.”

Her hands dropped from his body.

But the taste of her imprinted itself on him.Fuck. He flexed fists as he fought for control and jetted air between his clenched teeth.

The way she had responded to his kiss, the fire in her eyes—it fed a dangerous hope in his chest. Rose was smart, hell, the smartest woman he’d ever met. Could someone likeher see past his mistakes? He wanted nothing more than to pull her close again, to lose himself in her warmth and forget the weight of his past.

He ran his hands down her arms, sensing the quiver in her muscles. “Rose?—”

A breath shuddered out of her. “Finn?—”

The lights winked out, and the hum of the lab vanished. Silence swamped his ears, broken only by the rasp of his own breathing.

“Finn. The containment light on the specimen jars.” Rose stiffened under his hands. “It’s out.”

22

“What the fuck?”Finn whispered, straining for a hint of light in the absolute darkness. His handgun was already in his hand, training taking over where vision failed. Rose was right. All the power in the room was down. But, those things in the jar. They were dead, right?

“Finn?” A thread of fear disturbed her voice.

Rose.His primary priority.

“I’m right here.”

Her hand latched onto his with surprising strength, a faint tremble her only giveaway.

Night vision goggles. Where were the damn night vision goggles when you needed them?

He blinked hard, but it made no difference. Buried this deep inside the Earth, the dark was absolute.

His mind scrambled through the possibilities. A simple power failure? Or something far worse?

Focus. Prioritize. Solve the immediate problem.

“Stay calm.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m going to let go now to grab my flashlight.” He released herhand, his fingers seeking the contours of the tactical light clipped to his vest.

Glass shattered.

“Finn—”

Her sudden lunge caught him off guard. The flashlight slipped from his grasp and hit the floor with a clatter.

“Shit.” He dropped to a crouch and with his hand, swept a searching arc on the floor, trying not to think about what might now be on the floor with him.

A dull scrape sounded from the far side of the room, like metal claws dragging across stone. His hand stilled on the flashlight.

Rose dropped beside him.

Her vise-like grip moved to his bicep.

He palmed her hand for a second, then flicked on his flashlight, the beam slicing through the darkness.

---