Page 32 of Sands of Atonement

His brows twitched as he met my gaze. “No… I…” His eyes lowered to my mouth again, and this time, it elevated my heart rate.

I saw something in his eyes flash, and his hand flexed.

He was so dead. The venom was in his system.

I forced a chuckle through his possessive hold. “Too bad you won’t be like this for long. I might have enjoyed this side of you for a while longer.”

I thought for a moment of what little Eshe would think of this moment, but I squashed it as soon as it popped into my mind.

My hand finally wrapped around my knife.

His hand tightened around my throat faster than I expected him to respond. He was slower, but not that slow. He grabbed my hand, twisting it sideways, and the knife was flung across the rug. I winced from the pull in my elbow.

“What did you do to me?” he snarled and slammed my body against the wall.

I jerked my leg between his, and he doubled over with a grunt. A heartbeat later, Ezra pressed his thigh between mine, separated my legs, and suddenly I was off the floor. I jabbed my good elbow into his face, but he met it with his forearm. He locked my arm against the wall, immobilizing me.

I was trapped, but I pushed forward.

“Nothing that would hurt your pretty face, Qahl,” I sneered.

His lips twitched. “You think I’m pretty?”

My heart pounded against my ribs. “That’s all you got from that?”

“All I hear are the sounds of your breath, pleading for me to touch you.” His head tilted. “And you just called me pretty.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I sneered. I rammed my head forward, but Ezra leaned his neck out of the way.

His low chuckle vibrated along mine.

“I know what’s happening to you, all right? It has nothing to do with me and everything to do with you, Ezra.” I smirked.

“Oh, yeah?” He pressed his forearm into my arm, and I grimaced. “Don’t resist the pain. I can tell you enjoy it.”

My lips parted, and I searched to find my breath. I tried to find leverage with my legs, but it wasn’t helping either of our situations.

I went for the only surprise attack I had. I forced a nervous laugh. “You must have taken a little sip of the gift I left for you.”

There was an eerie silence in the hallway before he muttered, “Lover’s Bite.”

I laughed again because it felt nice knowing he wasn’t going to humiliate me anymore. Better yet, he wasn’t going to breathe anymore. My heart tightened for a brief moment.

His eyes dipped to my chest, and his jaw turned rock hard. With one quick motion, his fingers plunged between my breasts until he found my little bottle. I wriggled in protest, but his weight pressed even harder against me. He chuckled too, to my surprise.

Ezra lifted the bottle to his mouth and, with his teeth, pried the cap open. He lifted the bottle with his mouth and swallowed the rest of its contents, and didn’t tear his eyes from me.

My heart thundered. I was sure he could feel it so close to me.

“You foolish girl. You don’t think I’m prepared for the worst elements from my enemies?” Ezra spat the glass bottle out of his mouth, and the glass shattered on the marble floor. He smiled.

“What does that mean?” I breathed.

“It means that I’m immune to the deadly effects. It means you’ll be dead soon. Don’t worry, though. I’ll make it fun. You have ten seconds before I wrap my hands around your neck, and it’ll be the last thing you feel.”

Ten seconds.

Ten seconds, and my plans fell into ruin.