Page 23 of Stars in Umbra
RINA
Mo’s hand shot out, his lean, sinewed fingers hot and firm as they closed around her cuff.
The touch scorched her skin, a brand of possession that left her breathless.
‘With me,’ he murmured, the words a rumble that stroked her spine like velvet.
As he held her, her gaze dropped to his sinewed hand, dusted with dark hair.
His wrist bore a band of aged gold and weathered leather, a detail that stood out against his polished style.
The piece felt like a secret, a glimpse into a past he kept hidden, and she wondered about the sentiment it held.
He shifted, guiding her toward the lounge, his hand settling at the small of her back, a claim, not an invitation.
It was protective, unhurried, and unnerving in its quiet confidence. They moved as one, their steps an unspoken rhythm, his towering form a long shadow beside her.
As they neared the counter, the lanterns caught the bronze shimmer of her dress, gilding her skin like firelight on fine metal.
Inside, her stomach was a live wire.
She was Colonel Rina Mendi, Chief of Defense, a veteran diplomat and an iron-tongued negotiator. She could talk down a bloodthirsty regime over a cup of bitterchai.
However, Mo had a way of gazing at her that short-circuited her considerable defenses. He didn’t leer, and there was no smirk on his lips.
His eyes held no predatory hunger or dismissive arrogance.
Instead, it was as if he perceived the depths of her soul, and somehow, that was far worse.
In his steady gaze, she felt stripped bare, her vulnerability laid open for him to witness.
His eyes were so soulful that she imagined they pierced through her barriers, her military rank and smiling façade, to the woman beneath, and the intensity of that unflinching perception was unnerving.
At the bar, he nudged a stool out for her, then signaled the bartender, a Sartixian mixologist with mirrored cuffs and a soft blush mohawk.
‘A Moon Devil’s Delight. For the lady,’ Mo rasped. ‘Make it light. Crisp. Peach over stone. Finish it with a hit of star lime.’
Rina arched a brow. ‘Ordering drinks for me now?’
Mo leaned in, his lips just inches from her ear. ‘I’m keeping you fueled, beautiful. So you can dance all night long.’
‘Sir, yes, sir,’ she teased, but the steel in her voice softened.
She slid onto the stool, legs crossing to reveal a flash of thigh through the slit of her dress.
The breeze caught the fabric, and she experienced the sensation of more than one gaze.
Still, Mo’s eyes never left her. They were hot. Focused.
Unrelenting, getting under her skin.
Rina smirked, a challenge in her eyes. ‘You staring because you’re impressed, or deciding where to bite first?’
Mo’s timbred chuckle vibrated through the air. ‘Trying to figure out how a woman like you is still walking around free.’
She lifted her glass when it arrived, clinking it against his tumbler of whiskey. ‘Because no one’s ever had the balls to try and keep me.’
A crooked smile played on his lips, his eyes gleaming like polished onyx. ‘Maybe they just didn’t know how.’
