Page 131 of Hunted

Instead, his arms strain tighter, muscles pumping beneath his skin as his expression changes.

There is hardness there, yes. Hunger. But also something reverent and intent that makes my breath catch harder than any filthy line could have.

‘Fucking beautiful,’ he growls, low and unhurried. ‘No. More than that. You are…’

His gaze moves over me again, slower this time, silver rimming his eyes like firelight when they settle on the narrow strip of hair guarding my pussy.

‘Exquisite. Every inch of you. Fierce and lush and entirely too lovely for my peace of mind.’

The flush in my face turns molten.

But the shame I expected never lands.

He keeps going, those dangerous, precise words turned towards appreciation instead of intimidation. How my body was made to be worshipped and wreck his restraint. How my mouth was an insult to his control before he ever tasted it. How the sight of me standing bare in his room is enough to make old instincts turn savage.

By the time he’s done, I’m not hiding.

I’m breathing hard. Blushing, yes. But smiling a little against my will.

And when I climb back onto the bed, it is with something closer to confidence than panic.

I settle over him again, straddling his thighs, and his hands remain on the iron bars where he put them.

‘Good girl,’ he says softly, gaze locked to mine. ‘Now show me what all that bravado can do, little hunter. Let us see whether your mouth is as talented as it is insolent.’

I know exactly what he’s doing. And still, I rise to the bait, bend and kiss him first, slow this time, tasting the heat and danger of him while my hands explore without the franticness of before. I stroke his jaw, trace his throat, linger over the pulse point that isn’t really a pulse but somehow feels like one beneath my fingers.

He watches me through half-lowered lashes, body taut beneath me, giving me the illusion of control.

And maybe, for this moment, the reality of it too.

My hand drifts to his chest.

To the mark.

It throbs under my touch, dark and alive, and his breath catches again.

Then I go lower.

27

EIRA

His silver-rimmed eyes flash once, then settle into a mercurial whirl that curls something darker and insanely delicious low in my belly.

The long drapes are drawn, chandelier light casting shadows against the dark walls, shadows that seem to dance at the edge of my vision. I take one breath, then another, knowing backing down now would be a humiliation I’d relive at three in the morning for the rest of my life.

My fingers slip to his waistband, then lower, and when I finally free him, the sight steals the air clean out of my lungs.

For one charged, dangerous second, I can only stare.

At him, his cock… at the dark satisfaction gathering in his eyes as he lies there like a king indulging a reckless, delicious game.

So I do the only thing my pride allows.

I kiss him instead.

Hard. Deep. Thoroughly enough to try to wipe that smug look off his mouth. I feel him smile against my lips anyway, infuriating vampire, and annoyance sparks hot enough to burn through the nerves.