Argeneau Family 12. The Renegade Hunter(7)

She laughed at that. "You hardly know me. How could you know whether it suits me or not?"

"I know," he said solemnly.

She peered at him in silence for a moment, then shook her head and glanced away muttering, "Must have hit my head harder than I thought."

"Why do you say that?" Nicholas asked, eyes narrowing. "Are you having pain? Double vision?"

"No," Jo said quickly, and then grimaced and admitted, "Well, my vision is acting up. I could have sworn that guy had glowing gold eyes and fangs a minute ago, and just now your .eyes kind of looked like they were glowing silver."

Nicholas relaxed. There was nothing wrong with her vision, but while her lack of reaction told him she had no idea who he was, this comment made it obvious she knew nothing about the people in the house she was visiting. She was an uninitiated mortal, completely ignorant of the fact that immortals walked among them.

Recalling that she'd mentioned a party here to night, he asked, "Why are you at this party?"

Jo shrugged and smiled wryly as she admitted, "Because my sister Sam would have skinned me alive if I'd tried to duck out on it."

"Your sister Sam?" he asked. "You said she was Mortimer's friend?"

"His girlfriend," she corrected, and then added, "They're pretty tight. I'm thinking they'll be announcing a wedding date any day now."

"Ah." Nicholas nodded. Mortimer had found a life mate. Good for him. He'd always liked the man. No doubt this Sam was now trying to find life mates for her sisters to prevent having to leave them behind in the future. It wasn't an unusual reaction from a new life mate, and sometimes it even worked, but that was a rare event.

It just figured that fate would play its normal nasty tricks and make her his own. Jo's sister Sam certainly wouldn't be pleased about it if she knew who he was, and Jo's being his life mate would bring neither of them joy since Nicholas couldn't claim her. Well, he could, but he wouldn't. It would mean subjecting her to life on the run as he was; always hunted and always hunting.

"I guess I should thank you for saving me."

Nicholas peered down into her solemn face. Her eyes were wide and a beautiful brown that would probably turn golden were she turned. Her nose was tipped up and adorable and her lips were over full, swollen as if bee stung. They were kissable-type lips, sweet and soft-looking, and without giving himself time to think better of it, he reached out to catch her by the arms and lifted her up slightly even as he bent his head to claim her lips. He'd intended it to be a quick kiss, all he would allow himself. However, the moment their lips met, an explosion went off inside his body. It was as if little fireflies were doing a frenzied dance through his bloodstream… and she wasn't fighting him or pulling away.

Nicholas couldn't resist deepening the kiss. Slip ping his tongue out, he urged her lips apart to taste her fully… and was lost. She was as sweet as he could have wished, her mouth opening for him fully, her breath carrying a hint of lime and tequila. She was a margarita drinker, he thought. Nicholas had tried the drink fifty years ago when he was eating and drinking and never forgot the flavor. He'd enjoyed the sweet tartness of the beverage. He enjoyed it now as well as he kissed Jo.

It was her moan that brought Nicholas back to his senses. He was in the middle of enemy territory with a temporarily disabled rogue just feet away and a party full of enforcers just inside the building behind him… and he was stopping to kiss a life mate he could never claim. Nicholas had never realized he was such a masochist. This was like tasting the frosting of a cake he could never eat, he thought unhappily, and slowly eased and then broke the kiss. When he lifted his head, Jo's eyes were still closed and her lips still slightly parted and damp from his kiss. He was hard-pressed not to kiss her again, but resisted, and when she opened her eyes, he growled, "Consider me thanked."

A small smile curved her lips, and then Jo reached up to caress his cheek, saying, "Surely saving my life is worth more than one little kiss?"

Nicholas's eyes widened at the invitation, and he didn't resist when she drew his head down and pressed her lips to his once more. This time Jo was more than quiescent in his arms, this time she was the aggressor, pressing her body against his even as she urged his lips apart with her tongue. Nicholas managed not to respond for half a second, but then gave in to what he wanted rather than what was smart and unleashed the passion exploding inside him. His hands slid around her, one at her back pressing her closer, the other sliding to her bottom, cupping her there and lifting her slightly.

This time when Jo groaned, he didn't end the kiss, but deepened it further still, trying to devour her with his mouth. She responded in kind, her arms sliding around his shoulders, fingers digging into his skin as she kissed him back.