Page 222 of Fury

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Seamless stillness.

At one with the one. At one with the one.

“Let go of me, dammit!”

Her voice.

A ripple pushed through me, my pulse tripping over that voice. Meditation had never been better interrupted.

“It’s all right, man. Let her through,” said Catch.

Deep breath in. Breath out. One eye opened. The other. Dull light pressed in on me. The lines of my desk, the burgundy carpet beneath me.

“I need to see him now. Where is he?”

That voice, her voice, splitting everything in two, pulling the breath from me. A smile tugged at my mouth.

I uncrossed my legs and stood up. A single knock on my door, and my shoulders pulled back and released.

“Hey, Prez. Sorry. It’s Lenore from Meager,” came Catch’s voice on the other side of my door. “She wants to see you.”

Slowly rubbing my hands together, I focused on my door knob, re-familiarizing myself with the curves and angles of physical reality and unlocked the door. Flanked by Catch and a prospect, Lenore stood before me, her blue green eyes dark teal and icy. My gaze rode down her long, fitted black blouse, the studded seam of the low V revealing the delicious swells of her body and that mysterious ink. Tight black jeans and high leather boots completed the picture of perfection.

Oh, how I’ve been waiting for you, baby.

I stepped aside and she charged into my office, my world. Catch pulled the door closed.

“What are you doing?” came the voice, smooth as steel and just as hard.

I didn’t answer. I took her in, her spicy sweet scent of flowers of the night settling over me, her jaw taut, those full lips that I could feel on my skin, the grace and adamance of her stance that only she could pull off.

She was here. Finally. She’d stormed into my club the way I’d always imagined. Taking prisoners, demanding. My skin heated. Shit, she turned me on.

“Finger?” The steel wavered.

“You liked the mugs, huh baby?” I asked, my voice low, calm.

Her throat moved as she swallowed hard.

She drilled herself into the floor. “Why? Why did you go there?”

“Why is that place inked on you?” My index finger brushed over that compass on her chest, lingering there. “Why, baby? Why there?” I whispered. “What’s there other than pretty pots and mugs, flowers, watering cans, and great big bags of soil?”

Her breathing got rougher with every trace I made on her flesh. My hand wrapped around her neck, my thumb rubbing down her throat. “You going to tell me or do I got to dig deeper than just chatting with Steve and shopping at his store? He invited me back. Looking forward to meeting his wife.”

Lenore’s eyes widened. The ice was gone, molten swells of precious aquamarine simmered in their place.

Then she did something I never expected.

Her long fingers with the short mint green painted nails cradled my face, her eyes swimming in a turbulent emotion I couldn’t name. She drew me close, her body pressing against mine, clinging to me, and kissed me. Lenore kissed me with a sweet ferocity, lips demanding, tongue searching. My arms whipped around her like chains pulling tight. She consumed us both with her mouth, my hunger blazing, her heat lighting me on fire.

She pulled back slightly, her thumb rubbing over my lips. Taking in a breath, she leveled her eyes with mine. She’d made a decision. “Come with me, and I’ll tell you everything.”

The hairs on the back of my neck lifted at the firm determination in her tone, yet there were sparks of vulnerability moving across her face.

“Lead the way,” I said.

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