Ava's lips thinned, pinkness creeping into her cheeks. "I haven't given the idea a great deal of thought, I'll admit, but... in my brief experience with men, I've found one type of lust precludes the other."
"And what is your brief experience?"
She stared at him.
And suddenly he knew exactly what she was thinking about. That night in the Garden of Eden lingered between them. His breath exploded out of him. "Me. You were thinking of me, and what happened that night."
"Nothing did happen."
Kincaid ground his teeth together and crossed his arms over his chest. "Deny it all you want. There was a moment that night when I was tempted to kiss you, a moment where you touched me, and you were thinking about it too. And let's be honest. Ever since then you've not been shy in staring at me when you think I'm not looking. Pretend all you like, kitten. I know you shiver when I touch you. I know you blush every time I look at you. I know you think wicked thoughts whenever I flirt with you. It's written all over your face, in the catch of your breath, the way your cheeks flush with heat." He reached out and caressed said cheek. "The way they've pinkened now."
Ava broke free from beneath his touch, taking several paces away from him with her arms wrapped around her middle as she sucked in an enormous breath. It wasn't a rejection. He turned to watch her, and she suddenly spun around, looking like a startled doe. Her eyes were black, a sure sign she felt the press of the hunger rise within her. Animal passions, she'd called it once. Bloodlust. Or just plain lust. He'd slowly learned the difference.
Do not do it.
Do not say it.
"If you want to lose your virginity," Kincaid snarled, his cock giving a tempting stir behind the flap of his trousers as he took a step closer to her, the distance between them evaporating into a heated space. "Then you don't need a stranger. I'm right here."
Ava's eyes widened. "What?"
"I'll give you time to think about it," he snapped, despite the thought this was a terrible idea. Kincaid waved the list of questions at her, feeling both utterly furious and aroused. "If you want passion, then I can give you passion, and you won't have to worry about what a stranger might do to you. It's a perfectly logical, rational decision, therefore it should appeal perfectly."
Then he turned and stormed out before he saw the answer on her face.
* * *
"If you want to lose your virginity, then you don't need a stranger. I'm right here."
Oh, God. What had she done? What had she said? Ava slammed Dr. Erasmus Cremorne's diaries closed, unable to concentrate on them or the task at hand. She'd used them to research the transformation from blue blood to dhampir when Byrnes's life hung in the balance, and only her ability to create the elixir vitae herself and give him the next doses had been able to save him. She'd wanted to find if there was any mention of something that might affect the dhampir in a Black Vein way, but Kincaid's words kept ringing in her ears.
A perfectly logical, rational decision? Ha! What was logical about this incessant ache? She could barely think. She'd read the same page several times over, until the words all blended into each other.
Who did he think he was?
Ava pressed her fingers to her temples. He'd given her time to think about it, and so that was what she was going to do. She wanted Kincaid. He was correct in that assumption. She'd wanted him in some sort of physical way ever since he'd looked at her that night and told her to touch him. But what about... all the problems that might arise if she let him be her lover?
They were working a case together.
She'd see him every day, regardless of how this ended.
What if there was some argument? Some unpleasantness? She could not escape him if there was, and she liked her new job working for Malloryn. It gave her purpose, and a sense of excitement.
And speaking of Malloryn, he certainly wouldn't approve.
Ava sighed, going to make herself another pot of tea. She needed to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of the situation.
Lust was not always enough.
Though it was a very, very convincing argument.
* * *
"Here's something," Kincaid said, striding into the laboratory at Malloryn's safe house and finding Ava curled up in an armchair, asleep, with a cold cup of tea sitting beside her. He'd spent six hours questioning Mr. Thomas's neighbors, though he had to admit he'd been distracted.
Who wouldn't be when the one woman who got under his skin professed a sudden desire to lose her virginity?
He paused as he stared down at her.