Authors: Lawna Mackie
* * * *
Meeka
couldn’t
breathe;
nothing
had
ever
consu
m
ed
her
s
o
ful
l
y
.
His
breath
on
her
neck
m
ade
her
te
m
p
erature
rise.
Her
body
was
getting
hotter
and
hotter,
aching
for
m
ore.
His
e
y
es were
liquid
pools
of
desire,
intoxic
a
ting,
and
she
wanted
to
keep
drinking
m
ore.
Meeka
didn’t think
she
could
survive
this
feeling.
Her
sto
m
ach
did
flips.
The
ache
for
m
ore
of
his
touch
was unbearable.
Her
bo
d
y
quivered.
The
m
oist,
s
w
ollen
folds
between
her
legs
begged
for
s
o
m
e unkn
o
wn
satisfaction.
Struggling
for
a
breath
of
air,
she
broke
the
kiss
and
opened
her
dazed,
passion-filled e
y
es. Her
m
outh
dropped
open.
They
were
engulfed
in
blue
fl
a
m
es!
Her
bo
d
y
stiffened
and
froze.
Fear
cou
r
sed
through
her.
Meeka
looked
d
o
wn
at
her
wet, naked
bo
d
y
,
sudden
l
y
d
e
sperate
to
hide.
Kerrigan
held
her
tight
as
s
he
tried
to
scra
m
b
le
out
of
his
ar
m
s.
Careful
l
y
,
he
set
her
on
her feet,
and
with
his
ar
m
s still
around
her,
whispered,
“
Eas
y
, precious,
it’s
ok
a
y
.
”
Meeka
s
hoved
at
his locked
ar
m
s. “Let
me go!”
she
s
houted,
and
suddenly
red
balls
of
fl
a
m
e erupted
from
her
pal
m
s.
Kerrigan
flew
off
his
feet
and
landed
hard,
up
against
the
far wall
of
the bathroo
m
.
She
grabbed
the
large
bathroom
towel
and
covered
her
naked
bod
y
.
Kerrigan
rubbed
his
head.
“
O
k
a
y
,
I
get
the
picture.
You’re
scared.
You’re
also
probably angr
y
. I’m
sor
r
y
. I
shouldn’t
have
kissed
y
o
u like
that.”
Meeka
watched
him
stare
at
her.
It
wasn’t
a
look
s
he
w
a
s
famil
i
ar
with,
but
s
he’d
s
wear
he w
a
s
gawking.
F
ollowing
his
stare,
s
he
gaped
in
disbelief
at
the
blue
and
red
fla
m
es
flicking
over her
bo
d
y
.
Her
chest
heaved.
“I
got
the
point,
Meeka.
You
need
to
calm
d
o
wn
now.
Close
y
o
u
r
e
y
e
s
and
take
a
few
deep breaths.
I
won’t
m
ove, I
pro
m
ise.”
Her
m
uscles
clenched in
anger,
but
s
he
knew
s
he
should
listen. “Don’t
m
ove,”
she
co
m
man
d
ed.
“
O
r
else.”
He
rubbed
his
head
again.
“
Str
y
ker
couldn’t
even
throw
m
e
off
my
feet.
I
got
the
m
essage. I’m
not
m
o
v
ing
a
m
usc
l
e.”
She
closed her
e
y
e
s and took so
m
e deep, ca
l
m
ing breaths. The fl
a
m
es were slowly disappearing
when
s
he
looked.
He
pointed
to
the
vanit
y
.
“I
figured
y
o
u
m
ig
h
t
need
s
ome
n
e
w
clothing.
I’ll
wait
for
y
ou
in the
kitchen.”
Catz
strolled
through
the
door
with
a
quizzical
look
on
her
face,
her
tail
s
witching
back
and forth
rapid
l
y
.
“
S
hould
I
ask
what
happened
?
”
Meeka
hung
her
head,
asha
m
ed.
S
he
took
a
deep
breath
and
sat
down
on
the
bench
in
the bathroo
m
.
What
had
just
happened?
Catz
m
ade
her
w
a
y
acro
s
s
the
m
arb
l
ed
floor
and
j
u
m
ped
up
onto
the
bench
beside
her.
“Did he
hurt
y
ou
?
”
She
cleared
her
throat.
“
N
o.
No,
Catz,
he
didn’t
hurt
m
e. Might
have
been
easier
if
he
had.” “Well,
what
was
it
?
”
Meeka
looked
over
at
the
shower.
“Actual
l
y
,
it
started
because
of
the
sh
o
wer
br
u
sh.
It w
a
shes
y
o
u
r
back.
I
didn’t
reali
z
e
it
at
first,
and
freaked
out,
and…”
“Oh,
no.”
“That’s
kinda
what
I
thought.”
“So
that’s
what
m
ade
y
ou deposit
the
brute
on
his
butt
?
”
Catz
asked
in
a
m
ocking tone.
Meeka
knew
she
w
as
fishing
for
the
whole
stor
y
.
“
N
o,
that
wasn’t
it.
The
br
u
sh
scared
m
e
s
o
bad
l
y
, I
screamed.
When
I
tried
to
get
out
of
the
shower,
I
tripped.
Kerrigan
caught
m
e.”