Page 38 of On a Rogue Planet
Mal froze for a second, then forced a flirty smile. “Hi there, big boy.”
He ground against her. “Maybe I’ll have a little sample before I sweat and bleed for you.”
Yuck. “Well?—”
She got no more words out before hands ripped the man away from her. Her feet hit the floor, and she staggered before she caught herself.
She looked up. Xander’s face was ice-cold.
But his eyes were burning, consumed with fury.
CHAPTER NINE
Xander had never before felt the hot edge tearing through him. He shoved the man against the wall, an unforgiving arm pressed to the bastard’s throat.
“You do not touch what’s mine,” Xander growled.
The man’s eyes bulged. “Just…wanted a…taste.”
He put more weight behind his arm and the man made a harsh sound. Xander lowered his voice to an icy whisper. “She is not yours to touch.”
“Xander.”
Malin’s voice pulled him back from the red-hazed brink. Realizing that all his filters were on the verge of collapse, he shoved the man away. As the fighter slid to the floor cradling his throat, Xander let none of his savage satisfaction show.
Spinning, he grabbed Malin’s arm and dragged her behind him.
“Xander—”
“Don’t speak.” He stormed toward the low couches grouped not far from the closest pit. The crowd in his way scattered. The people seated on the couches stared up at him with wide eyes. “Go. Now.”
At his bark, they sprang up and disappeared.
He dropped onto one couch, legs sprawled out in front of him, and yanked Malin down on his lap.
She stiffened.
“Relax.” He forced her back, her head pressed to his shoulder. “You need to look like mine.”
“Kind of hard to relax right now.” She shifted. “You’re angry.”
How could she know what he was feeling? He let none of it show. “I am perfectly in control.”
“Liar.” She sniffed. “All the women are staring at you. Like they’re starving and you’re the only meal in the room.”
He tilted his head. Pondered the sharp edge in her voice. “Do I detect…jealousy?”
“No.No. You’re just supposed to be intome.”
He stroked a palm down her slim leg. “I am…into you.”
“You smiled at them.”
Her words were so quiet he wouldn’t have heard them without his enhanced senses. “I moved my lips, what I thought the situation demanded. Their garish smiles and cloying scents are not to my liking. I felt no amusement or interest.”
Her pretty face was in profile, but he saw her staring intently into space.
“Really?” she asked.
