Her weight settled lightly onto his ribs as they leaned toward each other. He expected her mouth to match the gentleness of her hands, but her tongue thrust cool and sweet between his lips, demanding as it moved over his.

His heart gave a kick in his chest, his pulse suddenly pounding. He moved without thinking, taking her face in his hands.

Pain blazed through his limbs, and he must have made some kind of sound, because Aria tensed and jerked back.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “Should we stop?”

“No,” he said hoarsely. “We should not.”

Their lips found each other again, every rational thought vanishing from his mind. He couldn’t see or feel anything beyond her. He was focused completely, wholly, on more.

More of her body. Her mouth. Her taste.

Aria held back, careful not to lean against him, when all he wanted was to feel her against him. He ran his hand down her thigh and pulled her leg over his hip, drawing her closer. Aches flared across his legs and arms, but his desire went much deeper. She was all lean muscles and soft curves beneath his hands, skin as soft as her hair. The snug Guardian flight suit covered her from wrist to neck—a brutally unfair barrier. He slipped his hand beneath her shirt, nearly undone by the way she arched into him.

“Perry,” Aria said, her breath warm on his cheek.

He made a sound that he hoped passed for yes.

“Something’s going on between Hess and Sable.”

He froze.

She drew back, concern in her eyes. “Are you all right?”

He let out a breath, struggling to recover the power to think. “Yeah . . . I didn’t, um . . . I didn’t expect you to say that.”

“I wish I didn’t have to, but Loran’s coming back. He’ll be here any moment, and we should talk about this while we can.”

“Right . . . we should.” He pulled the hem of her shirt down and concentrated on Hess. Sable and Hess. “I noticed the same thing earlier. Hess is scared out of his mind. I scented it. Sable has him by the throat.”

Aria bit her bottom lip, her eyes losing their focus. “I thought Hess would have the upper hand, since he has all the resources. All the ships and weapons. Food and medicine, too. It all came from Reverie. It’s all his.”

“None of that matters anymore, Aria. He’s in our territory now. Out here he lives by our rules, and he knows that. Maybe he was different before he came out here—”