Free Born of Silence (Immortal Guardians) by Katalyn Sage

from the exertion, but refused to let even one hand go. Dani was so beautiful in the throes of passion. He’d never guessed that being with someone and yet separated from them would be so devastatingly seductive.
    He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Her skin had begun to shimmer during their exchange, growing in intensity as she neared her climax. And when she had … she’d been breathtaking. Every part of her glowed and shimmered and writhed. Her long eyelashes fanned her cheeks even as she cried out … a cry he’d been desperate to hear.
    The shimmer of her skin was starting to fade, her eyes opening once more. Their gazes locked and he saw, for the first time, a true smile curve her luscious pink lips. Not a guarded one , not a pained one.
    A sated one.
    She was a fucking knockout.
    Slowly, she inched one hand away from the glass, and then the other. Already Garrick grieved for the loss. The connection between them had been a strong one. He hadn’t even been sure that a healing could work between them, and he’d never even heard about what they’d experienced not once, but twice now.
    Dani lay back on the hard floor, her breath heaving in and out of her as that smile still spread across her face. Her eyes were bright with passion, an expression he’d seen more than a few times when he’d taken women to bed.
    The ache in his groin doubled at the sight of her in this state, but he kept focusing on her, ignoring his erection and taking in the beauty that was Dani. Never before had he wanted to reach a female more than he did her, and never before had he had an obstacle like the one he was facing now.
    ****
    Danielle woke, arching her back and stretching her limbs as far as they’d allow.
    “Good morning, beautiful.”
    Her eyes flashed open and she sat up nimbly , seeing that Pyro was in her cell, leaning against the wall near the door .
    “You look content as a kitten. I’ve never seen that side of you.” His gaze grew heated even as he slowly stepped toward her.
    “What are you doing in here?” she asked.
    “I wanted to check on you. And … to find out if you’ve considered my offer.”
    She hadn’t, actually . The last time Pyro had spoken to her, he’d blatantly told her what he’d only been hinting at all these years . He’d wanted to take their relationship—since apparently he thought they had one—to a new level. He knew full well that she was a virgin and had crudely told her that he’d like to be the one to rectify that situation. She couldn’t even think about letting him touch her. Not since she’d met Garrick. “No, I haven’t.”
    “Oh,” he said, a little deflated. “Well, I’m sure you’ll have time to think about it today. I don’t think I need to remind you of the benefits that would come with my offer.” Then, changing topics, he said, “So, how are you feeling from your … excursions last night?”
    Heat flamed her cheeks. “ What ?”
    “Your training exercise. How are you feeling? I mean, it looks like you’ve already healed, so that’s good. That means that we can start to train you more often.”
    Danielle blinked, trying to hide her initial reaction. She’d thought Pyro was referring to what she and Garrick had done. Instead, he was asking about the other thing. The thing that she was trying desperately to forget. And his asking about it just proved that it really had happened. “Umm,” she said weakly. “Can you just leave me alone, Pyro? I don’t feel like talking right now.”
    His gaze darkened. “Danielle, I’m running out of patience. You need to make your decision, and you need to make it quick.”
    H is words snapped something inside her and she jumped angrily to her feet. She didn’t know where the anger came from. Didn’t know why she couldn’t trample it down. But right now , she didn’t care. “Did you ever stop to think that my repeated rejections are, in fact, rejections?”
    His eyes swirled with black and red, the blending