She did as he instructed, feeling the sluggishness of the Earth she now resided on. Working magick here was akin to living on the moon her whole life and then having to get used to gravity. Focusing her power, she eased it to Adam's chest, hesitated for a moment, and then pushed it in.

His breath caught and his hand tightened on hers. "Yeah," he breathed. "You're in."

Her mouth twitched a little at the desire in his voice. It was arousing to feel another's power rub against yours that way. Nice to know he felt it, too. Now if she could excite him to the point of insanity and then walk away, they'd be even.

She would if she could.

Inching a little closer to him, so she just brushed his chest, she allowed her magick free rein in his body, touching the fiery heat that dwelt within his seat. It was dangerous, playing with power like his. You could get burned if you went too far. So she resided just on the edges of it, licking at it with her own magick, rubbing up against it like a cat.

He pulled her against his body with a groan and his hard cock pressed against her stomach. His hands slipped to her waist, sought the hem of her shirt and her skin beneath it.

"Claire, fuck—" he bit off. His hands went to the button and zipper of her jeans, lingered there. The heat of his fingers warmed her abdomen.

Finally, some reaction from him. Maybe she wasn't just chopped liver after all.

The problem was that she was reacting, too; her body was responding to his interest in her. The game she played with him might cost her considerably. She stroked his magick anyway, calling it to hers to pet.

Suddenly, his hands tightened around her and his magick flashed white-hot. She gasped, snapping her power back into herself as he pushed her away. She sat down hard on the couch behind her.

Then he was there, with his hands on her knees. "Are you okay, Claire?"

"I-I'm fine. What was that?"

"You," his voice sounded ragged. "It was you. It was hard for me to hold myself back. Eventually, I couldn't." He paused. "The draw between us should have evened out by now, but I'm still really attracted to you. Too much."

Her head snapped up. "I thought you couldn't feel it."

"Oh, hell, Claire, I feel it every second you're near me."

That was great, but it still didn't explain why he hadn't been touching her. By all rights, if he was feeling even a fraction of what she was feeling, he should have been all over her. "It should have faded by now."

"I know." His voice came out a low growl. "Goddamn it, I know."

She swallowed hard at the heated look in his eyes. At the moment he looked ready to push her back onto the couch and strip her clothes off right then and there. Not even Ty had looked at her that way—like she was a four-course meal and he hadn't eaten in days.