Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
This was no man. Not even close. She could see into his depths. See him. He might be smarter and stronger than any human, but his predatory nature had fused with that intelligence, creating a cunning animal he barely managed to mask.
The thought occurred to her that he was reading her as deeply as she was reading him. Vulnerability had her levering up on her elbows to keep a modicum of control. “What do you see?” she murmured.
“You.” His intense gaze poured into her, and she could almost feel him stripping away her defenses with a mere thought. A barely tamed storm hinted in his tone, and she knew on a basic, instinctive level what that sound meant.
He wanted her. Now.
A rapid pulse throbbed at the base of her throat and ticked down her body to her clit. “I see you too.” And she did. In this moment, finally, she could see the wounds from betrayal he held deep. Of a life spent being harmed and of his decision to ally with his biological brother. To give loyalty to someone he didn’t know but with whom he shared blood.
“You can see all of me,” he said softly, his hands spreading across her upper back and sliding down to the base of her spine.
“We’re temporary,” she breathed, belatedly realizing her too-feminine need to heal him. To somehow provide a safe haven for him—one he didn’t want.
He caressed back up to her shoulders, his hands heavy and sure. “I’m well aware that we only have three months,” he murmured, his voice husky, a deep rumble that sank into her flesh and made her heart hitch. “I think you were correct.”
She tried to follow his train of thought, and instead gave in and tunneled her fingers through his thick and surprisingly silky hair. “Correct about what?”
“Consent. Between us, it only needs to be given once.” Without seeming to move, he captured her mouth.
There was no hesitation, no gentleness—just raw hunger and need, a collision of sensations that set her senses ablaze. He kissed her like he needed her, like she was the only thing tethering him to this world.
She closed her eyes and let herself fall into the storm.
Using his elbow as a fulcrum, he rolled them over, covering her completely. She kept a grip on his hair, holding tight, pure instinct trying to anchor them both.
The kiss deepened, and his body pressed hers into the mattress, his form hot and so alive she moaned at the force of it. Of him.
He broke the kiss to let her draw in a shaky breath, his mouth trailing down her jaw, over the sensitive skin of her neck, to her fragile collarbone. His hot, wicked tongue left a trail of fire as he explored her. The nick of a fang in the delicate skin where her neck met her shoulder had her arching up against him in reaction.
His tongue flattened over the small wound, and the masculine hum of satisfaction that resonated from his chest stole her breath. Both from warning and from need.
He’d taken her blood. The primal thought uncoiled live wires through her abdomen.
His head lifted, the look in his eyes feral. Dark and full of a possessive hunger. “Lyrica.” The three syllables rolled around in a guttural sound. “While we’re together, it’s absolute. Complete.”
What did that mean? She couldn’t catch a thought. But if he was asking for exclusivity, she agreed. “I’m scared.” The words shocked her. The honesty of them—she didn’t mean to give him that much.
“I won’t hurt you.” The barest flicker of sadness cut into his eyes and quickly disappeared. “I’ll protect you with my life.”
She didn’t think he’d hurt her. Never had. It was her heart that posed the biggest risk. For all his strength and natural, instinctive dominance, he was a soldier who never let anybody in. But he’d shown her, or perhaps she’d just been lucky enough to catch him in a rare, unguarded moment, a glimpse of the hurt he carried. The deep, ragged scars of trust and betrayal that formed him.
“I won’t hurt you, either.” She gave him the words he didn’t seek, her chest aching as the fierce need to protect her heart warred with the equally strong need to comfort him. Before she could make sense of the whirlwind of emotions, his hand tangled in her hair and his lips descended on hers in a desperate, soul-stealing kiss.
She couldn’t fight her own need. The last of her resistance crumbled, and she kissed him back, lost in the tempest of his touch, in the wild, passionate chaos that sprang from a hidden part of him.
Still kissing her, he shifted his weight to the side and off her, reaching for the hem of her shirt. She released his hair and assisted him, ducking her head for him to pull the shirt free. Even then, he was careful not to harm her.