Desire bloomed to life within her, pure, primal need roaring along her nerve endings. "Kincaid," she whispered, arching her throat as he kissed her chin, then bit her gently.
"Liam," he told her, and she lost herself in that moment. Surrendered completely.
"Liam."
The steel of his erection was defiantly insistent. And the rest of the art in the gallery sprang to mind; a woman's hand curled around a tumescent purple erection, her lips lowering to wrap around that bulbous head.
Is it...? Ava slid her hand lower, drawing back from the kiss to stare into his eyes as her palm brushed over a firm, heated length.
Kincaid's eyes grew glazed, his mouth parting. "Jaysus." He captured her hand, shaking his head. "As much as I'd love to let you finish that thought... this isn't the place. Or the time."
"Sorry," she said.
And he smiled his slightly crooked smile, the one that stole her breath. "Don't be sorry, Ava. I'm postponing the gesture. Not rebuffing it. Later."
"Later." She kissed him as he set her down, and then groaned when he captured her face and gently pushed away from her. "We have to stop doing this," she said breathlessly, licking her lips as she staggered a little without his body to support her.
Kincaid reared back as if she'd struck him.
"No... I mean... not the kissing. The kissing is wonderful. But you dragging me into alleys? Kissing me in art galleries?" She flushed with heat. "What if somebody sees us?"
"Nobody here knows us. Your reputation is safe." He splayed his hand on the brick wall beside her. "Ava." Pure heat spilled through his eyes. He wanted her. She could see it.
"When?" she whispered.
"When your mind's not full of vaccines and rare mushrooms, and dhampir, and you can pay me some thought-"
This time, she put her finger to his lips. "You have no idea how distracting you are. Dr. Gibson asked me several times whether I was all right when I was helping him. It's not the case distracting me, Kincaid. It's you distracting me from the case."
Kincaid bit her finger, and a wave of pleasure swept through her, a soft gasp escaping her lips. Then he smiled. "Well, now. That's what a man wants to hear."
Pushing away from her, he captured her hand and tucked it in the crook of his arm. There was a cocky strut to his step, as if he'd staked his claim and been reassured.
She'd never have suspected he hid so much doubt. Ava brushed hair out of her face. "I've never wanted a man as much as I want you."
Kincaid paused. "Never?"
There was a question there, one that hinted at the issue between them. Byrnes. His wedding. And all the left-behind feelings she'd dealt with.
Had he been speaking of Winthrop when Kincaid told her she was his? Or was it someone else he pictured?
Ava forced herself to deliberately think of Byrnes. And for the first time, she realized it had been days since she'd given him thought. And perhaps she'd been too innocent, but the thoughts she had given Byrnes in past years had been different to those she felt now. He smiled at me. He touched my hand.
"Never," she admitted, and the word was as much concession for herself as it was for him.
For it was all Kincaid. And if she was quite honest, it had been ever since that interlude in the Garden of Eden when she stole his coat. She still had the bloody thing. She might have even sniffed at it once or twice, drinking in his scent in the privacy of her rooms where she couldn't be caught. Ava groaned. "You frustrate me intensely. But you're always interested in what I have to say. You never treat me with kid gloves. It's.... I feel freer with you than I've ever felt in my life. I don't quite know what to make of it. Of any of this." She gestured at the brick walls. "I just kissed you in an alley where anyone could see us!"
"You're in lust," he said, giving her that wicked smile.
"In lust," she repeated.
She wasn't entirely convinced of the idea. Her mind kept flashing to the orchid he'd tucked behind her ear. The way he'd draped his coat over her shoulders in the Garden of Eden, to keep her warm and make her feel safe.
I like him. A lot. Very much so.
I trust him.
And there was something else there, something she couldn't quite identify.
"What a fearsome frown," Kincaid said. "One would think you're not happy with the idea of being in lust?"
An omnibus blared past, and they broke apart with a start. The world started intruding. Ava caught a glimpse of a little boy glancing at her from the street, his hand in his governess's as they strolled past.