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With shrewd eyes, Trevor studied her face, and she wondered what he saw.

“Intelligence,” he answered with a tilt of his lips. “And loveliness.”

She pressed her palm to her thudding chest. “Stop doing that. Thoughts should be private,” she scolded.

“I agree, and we’ll figure out a way to cut the cord of our connection once we return home.” He covered her hand with his. “But until then, we’re going to be one unit. Share one mind. We’re going to work together to get off this fucking island and get you to safety. Got it?”

She nodded and cast a quick glance over his shoulder toward their host. “I don’t want you to believe me completely foolish. I’ve heard the rumors about him.”

“Then why did you come here?”

“The Wood’s Cycad. It’s worth the risk.”

Their gazes locked, and after a few telling heartbeats, his dropped to her mouth. The pounding in her chest was harder and louder than a Lambeg drum, and she was positive he felt it despite her hand as a buffer.

“Mm. Some things are, I suppose,” he said in agreement. After a long moment, he dropped his arm and stepped back. “We’ve been invited to dinner, but first, we’re to be shown to our room to freshen up.”

“Room? Don’t you mean rooms?”

The eyes he focused on her were blazing hot, and she could swear she heard her skin sizzle from the contact.

“No, Soleil. I meanroom.” He smirked, and she had the burning desire to smack the superior look off his face.

“This place is palatial. I’m sure there are plenty of beds for you to choose from.”

“Except I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“I’m in no danger from Gene. He’s always been nice to me in the past. I’d fear you before him,” she retorted.

Trevor stepped into her space, and she shifted backward, her butt coming in contact with the greenhouse worktable. Still, he pressed into her. The full contact of his hard body against hers scattered her brain cells to the wind. Or it would’ve, had there been a breeze. As it was, those useless cells dropped to her big toe, along with her stomach.

“You’re afraid of me?” He sounded intrigued by the prospect, and the intensity in his probing look made Soleil swallow hard.

“A little,” she admitted with some reservation.

He brushed the tip of his nose along the column of her throat, pausing below her earlobe to inhale deeply. His lips grazed the shell of her ear, and a shiver of pleasure raced through her.

“Why?” he asked huskily.

Soleil had the presence of mind to press her hands to his chest, but it seemed her fingers had a mind of their own and roamed over the hard, sculpted muscles of his pecs. “What?”

“Why are you afraid of me, Soleil?” His voice was hypnotic, drugging her and dragging out a response she’d have preferred to keep to herself.

“I’ve never felt with anyone the way I do with you,” she confessed. “And you’re a Death Dealer. You’ve the ability to destroy me in multiple ways.”

Soleil’s answerwas equivalent to a bucket of icy water over Trevor’s head, and he stiffened.

She wasn’t wrong. Trevor avoided long-term for a reason. Primarily because his touch brought death. Or prolonged exposure would, anyway. For the safety of others, he kept affairs to a limited time frame.

He straightened away from her and resolved to do better. From now on, he had to remember to keep his thoughts hidden and his hands to himself. It wouldn’t do to lead her on when there could be no future for them.

“Is that what you’re doing?” She asked softly, concern in her wondrous eyes. “Leading me on?”

“Fuck.”Pasting on a cool smile, he softened his next words. “Please try to stay out of my head, and I’ll do the same.”

Her nod was slow, as if she was mulling over what he’d said. “You told me you could teach me how to block you. Will you do that?”

“Yeah. But it’s late, and ourhostis champing at the bit to get inside, I think.”