Page 111 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

Instead, with his eyes locked on mine, he removes his borrowed sweater and allows it to drop to the floor. Without giving me the attention I crave, he undoes his belt next. My eyes drift to his strong fingers. The veins in his hands bulge as he slides the belt from the loops.

By the time his fingers are on his buttons, I’m swatting them away, my impatience taking over.

“Let me,” I mutter, unbuttoning his pants.

He chuckles, holding my wrists, his brows lifting. “What’s gotten into you, princess?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes, you do.” With his hands still on my wrists, he steps closer, backing me against a wall.

His chest presses against mine, his lips a breath away. In a fluid motion, he lifts my wrists above my head. Despite my strength, it’s too easy for him to restrain me. Jun uses only one hand to keep me in place.

“You’ve drunk from me before, but you’ve never looked so starved. What is it you want, princess?” His free hand moves to my thigh, slipping under the dark fabric of my dress.

I swallow thickly. “And if I want you? That feels like a dangerous thing to say.”

It gives him too much power, considering how long we’ve danced around each other, throwing sharp words like daggers.But it no longer feels dangerous, not really. His gaze softens, and his thumb strokes the inside of my thigh.

“You’re safe with me,” he says. “You know that, don’t you?”

I nod, my insides melting as his heat radiates onto me. “And what if I need you? That’s more dangerous, don’t you think?”

At first, the answer doesn’t come in words, but with a soft kiss pressed to the corner of my mouth.

“You don’t have to need me,” he says. “I’m here. You have me. I’ll give you what you want. I want it too, baby.”

It’s the assurance I need to close the space, searching for his lips. Before I can capture him, he’s letting go, smirking and backing away.

My hands drop to my sides, and I’m left watching him with parted lips.

“If you want me so badly,” he says, “come and get me.”

I enjoy the way he poses the suggestion. It reminds me of the years we spent rising to one another, poking and prodding each other into honing our craft. It feels like a challenge, and he knows he’ll lose—he has strength, but I have speed he can only dream of.

My eyes narrow, and, in a flash, I’m at his side. I reach for his wrists before he can realize I’ve moved at all, using my strength to pin him to the wall.

He’s laughing—a joyful sound—even as I glare.

“Fuck,” he says. “You’re cute.”

“You aren’t taking this seriously.” I have to stop myself from pouting.

“I am! I am.” He remains still under my grasp, letting me pin his hands to the wall the same way he did to me. “Now that you have me, what will you do?”

“Oh… I don’t know.” I lean in, trailing my fangs across his skin. “I could take what I want.”

His pulse jumps under my lips. “You can.”

His voice carries a gruffness I’ve come to covet.

I let go of one wrist, my hand moving lower, trailing over the bulge in his pants. “But this is what I want.”

His breath catches. “Then take it.”

Letting go of his other wrist, I trail my fingers along his crimson horn. “I don’t want to give it to you so easily.”

He pushes his hips into mine, searching for friction. “Yes, you do. You want it as much as I do.”