Page 95 of Wicked Curses
She had no idea why those words pleased her so much, but they did.
“Fucking berserkers,” Orin muttered. “Asshole should have known better.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s dead.”
“Good.”
A thud sounded from her left as his feet connected with what she assumed was the bottom step. “Found it,” he murmured.
When another resounding bang hammered the wall behind her, Sahira jumped. They couldn’t get in here, but the sound of them banging and scrambling over the surface set her teeth on edge.
“Easy,” Orin murmured as his hand settled on her waist.
She jumped again. She never heard him move before he stood beside her and touched her again.
Like when he first found her out there, she became acutely aware of him as his fingers caressed her hip. Heat spread up from where he touched, crept through her chest, and sent her heart into overdrive.
She attempted to swallow to get some moisture back into her suddenly parched mouth, but it was pointless. Everything in her became hyper-focused on him as her breasts tingled. She yearned for him to ease this constantneedhis touch evoked in her.
The steady, strong beat of his heart didn’t help. Every thump of his pulse reawakened the thirst she’d managed to push aside in her desperation to survive. It was back now with a raging ferocity that left her knees weak.
She should get away from him, but her legs wouldn’t move, and she’d planted her feet on the floor.
Move!
No matter how loudly she shouted the word in her head, she didn’t retreat when his hand settled against her belly and he pulled her back a step.
This is what he wants! This is all part of his game!
She had to admit that him leaving the pub to come after her couldn’t be part of his game. He was determined to win and hell-bent on breaking her, but he wouldn’t risk his ass for a game.
She had no idea why he’d done it. It certainly wasn’t out of the goodness of his black heart, but he had, and she probably would have died without him.
That didn’t mean she owed him anything. He’d chosen to risk his life.
However, her feet remained frozen as he moved closer until her back was firmly against his chest. His body was so unyielding and everything she’d forgotten a man could be.
As prickles of electricity raced up and down her body, she relished their differences. He was hard where she was soft; locked like this and nearly a foot taller than her, he towered over her, but she felt safe and secure instead of intimidated by it—something she’dneverexpected to feel with Orin.
His cinnamon-and-clove scent enveloped her as it dug its way into the fiber of her being. His hand was tender against her, but his touch spoke of confidence and strength.
Then he turned her toward him, and though her mind still screamed to run, she didn’t fight as he brushed back the strands of hair that had fallen free during her flight from the scarogs.
She didn’t know how he could tell where her hair was, considering she couldn’t see him, but his fingers didn’t hesitate as they skimmed her neck and cheek while he brushed her hair aside.
When he leaned closer, her fangs lengthened before she could stop them.Why does he have to be so close? And why does his touch make me feel so… alive?
It was more than her starvation making her desire him. It was the man himself.
She loathed him and everything he represented, but couldn’t deny she wanted him. Lust was a treacherous bitch that had burrowed under her skin, burrowed through her veins, and taken root like an alien species that would forever corrupt her.
CHAPTERSIXTY-NINE
He’s a dark fae!
But the reminder wasn’t the repellent it would have been a few short weeks ago. This realm had stripped so much from them, changed and strengthened them. It had also made them worse.
If she caved to him, he’d never let her forget it. He’d be a constant, thorny, smug asshole afterward.
