Page 36 of Sublime Target

And decided he didn’t care.

It was her laughter that undid him. He’d never made anybody laugh before—not like this, anyway.

There was a lightness to her just now, a spontaneity and freedom he’d never seen before.

He was so used to people being terrified of him.

Fuck it. Let it go.

He uttered a soft command.

His suit activated, and the respirator retracted.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of the city: the remnants of chemical smoke from the protest, the faint saltiness from the ocean.

But all of that was insignificant compared to her.

It came upon him slowly at first. A hint of the unusual: warm, fragrant, vibrant—alien.

Then, all of a sudden, it floored him.

He was drowning.

His vision blurred. A hammer blow of agony hit him in his left temple.

His nostrils flared. Her scent was like a dangerous drug—one that could destroy him if he wasn’t careful.

He lost control of his body. His knees buckled. He was this far from hitting the pavement, but he caught himself just in time.

Kaiin’s Hells.

Arousal slammed into him like an asteroid. Suddenly, he was hard, and he had to fight the urge to sweep her into his arms and take her away—as his prize.

Indecent thoughts entered his mind, but he restrained them. He was not going to give in to these savage urges. He was better than that.

Is this what it was like? Is this what his battle-brothers had endured?

This exquisite pain?

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

She was staring at him—more specifically, at his mouth.

Her focused attention drove him a little wild.

He was in trouble.

Definitely in trouble, but he exulted in the unpredictability of it all, in the fact that he’d gone and done something so impulsive.

The severed bases of his horn-buds throbbed. He felt like he was being stabbed in the temple with an ice-pick, but he welcomed the pain because it was just enough of a distraction to keep him somewhat sane.

What was she looking at? Why was she so focused on him all of a sudden?

“Are you all right, Jerik?” And then she spoke, and her voice was filled with concern—for him?

Who in the Nine Hells had ever worried so much about him?

“I’m fine,” he said gruffly. “What’s wrong?”