Page 110 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

Her heart flipped.

“Mikhail?”

He faced her. A dark beard covered his gaunt cheeks. His eyes were golden, filled with a gleam Amelia had only seen in her visions of him – a fierceness that sent chills through her.

The joy left her as quickly as it had appeared. The man before her wasn’t the Mikhail she admired for his achievements. Nor the Mikhail she’d longed to see just one more time. It was his animal half – the one capable of killing. She’d hoped never to witness this dark side of him again.

Had he lost control over his animal spirit while in prison?

Her throat went dry. If he was dominated by the beast and sensed she was here searching for something of his…

She rose on shaky legs. “Hello…”

Mikhail closed in on her, his gaze travelling over her, leaving a burning trail wherever his eyes lingered. Yet that savage glint never left his irises, not for a second. Before Amelia could decide what to do, he was in front of her. His hands gripped her shoulders and pressed her against the wall.

She inhaled his familiar masculine scent, and her heartbeat racked up some more. “Mikhail…” she whispered, unsure what to say after so much time.

Mikhail stared at her as if he wasn’t really seeing her. He leaned in towards her neck and sniffed. The slight brush of his rough jaw against her skin sent shivers down her spine.

She had often imagined what it would feel like to have him this close again. She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and hold him, but in this state, he wasn’t truly the Mikhail she desired.

One of his hands slid down and gripped her backside while his nose continued to explore the curve of her neck, sending wavesof awareness through her entire body. His hand crawled down the back of her thigh, grasping her knee.

“Mikhail, wait…”

He lifted her leg and hooked it around his hip. Amelia stumbled backwards, but Mikhail placed his other hand on her back and dragged her into him before she could fall against the wall. The movement brought her in full contact with his hardness, and her body pulsed at the sensation.

“I missed you, Amelia,” he said in her ear. The sound of his voice, as deep as she remembered, did impossible things to her stomach. She had started to believe she’d never hear it again.

Amelia couldn’t resist wrapping her arms around his neck any longer. “It really is you.”

In response, Mikhail found her lips with his own. She melted into the kiss, torn between relief and longing. She was not prepared for the sensation his tongue sliding across her lips evoked. It was both tender and erotic, sending her soaring and grounding her in the only reality possible for her.

A reality with him.

Mikhail’s fingers trailed down her thigh, erasing the pain that scorched her skin after the lash of the whip. When she kissed him, the Creator’s punishment faded. She was ready to lie again – for Mikhail.

She buried her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer. His body was so solid, so real against her. His kisses gradually softened until he released her mouth and helped her find her balance on the floor.

Mikhail’s eyes still sparkled with golden hues, but the animal savagery was gone. “Amelia,” he said with the faintest smile.

Only now did she realise how much she liked the sound of her name when spoken in his deep voice.

“You… You’re here?” she mumbled, still breathless from the kiss, from nerves, and relief. “For a moment, I thought you…weren’t yourself.”

He brushed a strand from her forehead. “Did I scare you?”

“I got scared that you’d lost yourself in Prokaliya.”

“And fallen into Vaka Hara?” Mikhail shook his head. “I’d never let that happen. Not when I know what I’ve left behind at home.”

The intensity of his gaze made it clearshewas what he was referring to. When Mikhail looked at her like that, it was hard to remember all the reasons she should be cautious around him.

Worry flickered across his eyes. “How are you?”

“I’m fine…”

“Amelia, what were you doing on the floor?”