“You thought wrong, Alice. I don’t want you.”
He turns around and stalks to the door. At the exit, he stumbles, then grabs the doorway and straightens himself. “You may want to wear some clothes, by the way.” He shoots me a gaze over his shoulder. “Whoring yourself out doesn’t suit you, human.”
11
Doc
I shove away from the door so fast that my head spins. Sweat breaks out on my forehead. My chest hurts, and it’s not just the aftereffect of being burned by Boris.
This is something deeper, more complex.
Something that strips away the veneer of civilization I have fought so hard to cultivate all these years. One word from her, and I am ready to shred it all to pieces. The thought of her close to me, within reach, near enough to run my hands over her flesh, squeeze those breasts. Mark that butt, slap her, whip her...and if I show her my true nature it’s only going to make her hate me. Which is the entire point of this charade.
It's why I'd called her a whore and hurt her.
Everything I’d done had been to put distance between us. Physical, emotional. So why am I having second thoughts?
I lurch toward the doorway of the safehouse—in my weakened state, it’s a miracle that I’ve made it even this far. At least I’d managed to track her to the auction in St Petersburg. If I hadn’t gotten there in time… My heart squeezes.
As long as I am alive, nothing can happen to her.
A growl rips out of me. The thought of anyone else touching her, scenting her, marking her… “No!” I growl and the sound echoes in my head. My body trembles, and it’s not from anger. It’s lust, pure lust that squeezes my rib cage, that pushes down on my shoulders until my legs grow heavy.
Admit it…it’s a fucking turn-on that she is untouched, that she’s been saving herself for the right ‘one,’ but can that be me? The boy who killed his father, the man whose warped, depraved sexual tastes have made him turn away from any relationship. To take refuge in pain. Find pleasure in hurt. A chill shudders down my back.
Walking to the door, I fling it open.
I need to get away from her before I do something I will regret. I stumble out to the landing, toward the steps, miss the first one, and go crashing down. Rolling down the next one and the next, I tumble onto my back at the bottom.
The world tilts and sways.
I push my elbows into the ground and try to sit up.
Whatever Boris did to hurt me also burned away all of my resistance. Perhaps its poetic justice that it should happen now, when I am alone with the most beautiful, vulnerable female I have ever met. The only woman I’ve ever felt anything for, whom I should protect.
I dig my fingertips into my hair and pull at it. Pain slides down my neck and my back, coils at the base of my spine. It only heightens that sense of vulnerability that grips me. Me? Vulnerable? And last I checked, I had my balls.
My skin crawls with pinpricks of lust; heat and goosebumps rake over my skin.
I’d had the sense of something shifting, something pulsing inside of me the moment I’d laid eyes on her, and that had convinced me to put distance between us. I’d turned her away, and she’d pursued me, insisted on crawling under my skin.
When she’d been kidnapped, I’d gone after her. I hadn’t hesitated, hadn’t sent any of the other Fae corps soldiers.
No.
No one else gets to be near her.
No one else gets to protect her.
No one else gets to ruin her.
No one else but me.
“Nolan?” A touch on my shoulder makes me shudder. I spring to my feet and reel away from her. “Don't come near me.”
12
Alice
He plants his feet wide apart. His jaw tics and tension radiates from him.
“You’re hurting.” I narrow my gaze.
His back curves, the planes of his wide back ripple. He is in more agony than he's willing to admit.
I sidle closer to him, and he stiffens.
“Stay where you are, Alice. I mean it.”
His voice is harsh, rough, but there is something else. Beneath is pain, and that white noise of hurt, that plea for help that had touched me. That had called to me even as he had left, even as he’d called me a ‘whore.’ I pause. He’d insulted me, said whatever had come into his head. He didn’t mean it. Did he?
“Let me help.” My voice is soft, coaxing.
Physically, Doc’s so much bigger and tougher than me, but that thick exterior doesn’t fool me. Not one bit.
“You can’t.” He wheezes. “No one can.” He takes another step forward, and his big body shudders. He hunches his shoulders, and his head drops forward.
“I can.”
“Oh yeah?” He chuckles and it’s not a nice sound.
He sounds nothing like the Doc I know. Not the closed-off harsh man who's rejected me at every turn.
He’s in pain and unable to hide the true nature of his feelings for me. He's vulnerable and so open. If I lose this opportunity…? No, I can’t. This is it. I have to act now.Now, when it’s just me and him and he’s so close to breaking. Push him. I just have to push him over the edge. Do it. “Yeah.”
My voice comes out firm, despite my anxiety. I swallow, then straighten my shoulders. “Yeah. I am the only one who can help. Admit it. It’s why you are running away from me.”
His body goes rigid. “What did you say?” His voice is soft. Hushed. Dangerous.
I gulp. My stomach trembles. He’s past rage and in that space where just a touch, and he’ll tip over. Don’t say it, don’t say it. “Didn’t take you for a coward, Doc.”
He clenches his fingers at his sides, then straightens his head. “Think very carefully what you say next, Alice. Your opportunities to leave unscathed are decreasing by the second.”
My pulse rate speeds up. Holy hell, why does the threat of hurt that laces his voice turn me on? Why is it that the calmer he gets, the angrier he is? That something inside of him is about to erupt, and when it does, there will be no escape. I don’t want to escape.
I inch closer. My bare feet slip on the pebbles, and the noise seems too loud in the silence that shimmers between us. His shoulders rise and fall, but he doesn’t turn around, doesn’t look at me. I raise my hand, and he jerks his head.
“Touch me and don’t complain then about what happens next.”
I jump. I want to withdraw my hand; I should just turn from here and leave, and then what? Wait for him to come to me? Find clothes for myself and cower under the sheets and pretend nothing happened between us?…which is true. Nothing has taken place, and yet everything has changed. I don’t want to save myself. I want him, only him. He is ‘the one.’ So what if there is no future for us together? So what if we are so different? I am tired of justifying what I am. Tired of always being the weaker one. This once, I am going to take my fate into my own hands. I am going to choose him. I reach out and touch him, and he swivels around.
I gasp.
His pupils snap vertically. So different. So hot. So damned sexy. My toes curl.
“You are Fae, but your eyes, they resemble those of a dragon shifter.”
“Dragon blood.” His voice is hoarse and gravelly. “A throwback to an ancestor who was a dragon. It wasn’t enough to be born Fae. Nature decided to fuck with me by stitching dragon genes into my DNA." The blue swirls in those irises, deepening with flecks of indigo. "You know what that makes me?”
Breathtaking. Gorgeous.
"Fucking dangerous." He peels back his lips, and his canines drop.
Lethal.
"Cruel."
Beautiful.
"A monster. A beast who takes what he wants."
The hair on the back of my nape rises. The sharpness of his teeth…they could hurt me. They could slice right through me. They could rip me to shreds. And I want that. I want him to tear me apart and destroy me, so I can reinvent myself all over again.
I thrust out my chin.
&n
bsp; He flicks back his ears, and I gulp again. Of course, he’s a predator. But just how feral he is sinks in. I half angle my body, poised on the tips of my toes.
The skin around his eyes tightens, “Run away, Red. You still have a chance.”
I should go. I should. I shake my head. “No.”
He flattens his lips. “No, what?”
“No, I am going to stay.”
“You’ll regret it,” his jaw tics.
“I won’t.”
A growl rumbles from within him. He leans forward on the balls of his feet, and the force of his dominance shoves at me with such an impact that I’m literally forced to take a step back. I stumble and almost fall, except he grips my shoulders and rights me.
His touch sears my skin; I am sure every finger of his has left an imprint on me.
“I want.” The words bleed out of me.
Those vertical eyes hone in on me. He holds my gaze, and I can’t look away. Mesmerizing, hypnotizing.
“What?” He bends his knees, then peers into my face.
His face is so close that his hot breath settles on my cheeks. That scent of his, mint and cinnamon now laced with the very faintest of dragon smoke, teases my nostrils.
“What do you want?” His voice curls around me, pulling at me, sinking into my blood.
Awareness skates down my spine. Anticipation tugs at my nerves. All of my brain cells seem to melt together. I can’t think. Can barely form the thoughts that swirl around in my head.
The breath dribbles out of me. “You, I want you.”
13
Doc
Her words sweep over my skin, arrowing straight to my groin. My dick twitches. The tips of my ears tingle. The burning in my chest intensifies. I don’t have much longer before the beast I have hidden all of my life surfaces. “You don’t mean it.”
“Don’t profess to know what I do or do not want.”
She thrusts out her lower lip, and my gaze drops to it. Pink, glistening, succulent. Her mouth, I want her mouth.
I need to taste her, just once. The yearning crawls down my spine. It’s only when my lips almost brush hers, I realize I’ve leaned forward so close there’s barely a millimeter of air separating us.
“I have every right, considering you’ve lost your sense of self-preservation.” My voice whips out, and she winces.
My stomach twists. My dick lengthens. I haven’t even touched her, and I am already hurting her, and hell, if that doesn't turn me on? I drop my hand to my side and take a step back, only she follows me, mirroring my footsteps. I move back farther, and she follows.
“Don’t do this.” I clench my jaw.
When did this little curvy human become a temptress, a seduction which I have no ability to withstand? It should be laughable, really. Me, a grown-ass, lethal alpha Fae trying to put distance between myself and a woman half my size. A beautiful, gorgeous, out-of-this-world, pint-sized bundle of delectation who’s going to be my downfall.
I pause so suddenly that she crashes into me. Her breath bounces against my chest. Through the remnants of my shirt, the softness of her curves burns an imprint.
“I am doing this… I am long past trying to save myself, can’t you see that?” She raises her head, and I clench my jaw.
"I don't do relationships Red."
She blinks, then huffs out a breath. "Tell me something I don't know."
Huh? "I've never had a virgin before."
Her lips form an 'O' of surprise.
Yeah, me too, Red. Didn't mean to share that little piece of information. Didn't mean for my groin to harden right now either, as I ache for the heat of your mouth around my cock.
"Guess we both have firsts here, huh?" She flutters her eyelashes and I stare.
Fucking beautiful. So she knows how to exert her feminine charms, eh? I wipe my hand across my face.
“You are going to regret having anything to do with me.”
"You kidding me?" She waves a hand in my direction. "I mean, I am just an average-looking woman—"
"False modesty doesn't suit you Red."
She pouts, then raises her shoulders and lets them fall. "What I am trying to say is that you are way out of my league. You...you..." She blows out a breath.
"I..?” I frown.
"You are this delectable hunk of masculinity who can have any female he wants."
And I want her.
"I'll ruin you."
“Says who?” The breath hums from her lips. “You have no idea what I want. If you did, you wouldn’t waste time talking.”
“Protecting.” The word wheezes from my mouth. “I am protecting you.” I turn my back on her.
She steps around me, then stabs a finger in my chest. “From what?”
“Me. The man who can bring you to heights of ecstasy but who will make you ache, cause you so much pain, make you experience the highs and lows which will rip you apart, Alice.” I crack my eyes open, and she gasps.
My vertical pupils should scare the hell out of her. I peel back my lips, making sure she gets a load of my canines.
My very sharp teeth, which I want to sink into her neck, graze over her arteries, and draw on her sweet blood. Saliva pools in my mouth. I tilt my head, and the tips of my ears tingle. My scalp tightens. My groin throbs. Every part of me comes alive. And it’s because of this curvy little woman who stands in front of me, looking at me with those big green eyes.
She extends her hand toward my cheek, and I snap my teeth.
She pales but doesn’t flinch.
She lowers her hand slowly, slowly, bringing it down to hover over my mouth. Then, as if soothing a wild beast, she trails her finger over my lips. The fine hairs on the nape of my neck rise.
She stays right there, hand raised and all but plastered to me from toe to thigh to chest. My groin tightens, my cock hardens, lust fills my blood, and what the fuck am I fighting? Everything I have always wanted is right here in front of me, and I am trying to shove it away, and why? Some misplaced sense of doing right? Me? The one who’s spent my life in pursuit of pain is denying myself the pleasure this will bring. Being with her, touching her, taking her, slaking my thirst in her, burying myself balls deep in her. There. I’ve let myself think of what I want. The pleasure it will bring me...something inside of me shatters.
I open my mouth and wrap my tongue around her digit, and a moan slips out of her. She pants. The woman fucking pants, as if she cannot get enough of me, as if she wants more, knowing what I am. Doesn't she understand how I could hurt her? How completely I would consume her, and not just in the way of a normal Fae mating?
I tilt my head, and she drops her hand to her side. She raises heavy-lidded eyes to mine.
I can’t stop the growl that bleeds from my lips. She trembles. Her body shudders. The sugary scent of her arousal wraps around me, and fuck if I can stop myself now.
"Last chance. If you don't leave now, then I won't be responsible for what I do to you next."
"What?" Her breathing goes ragged, then she squares her shoulders, "Tell me what you want to do to me, Doc." She clasps her fingers together in front of her, "Tell me what you want from me.”
Alice
“I want to fuck you.” He fastens his gaze on me.
The breath whistles out of me at his words.
So, I knew it… I mean, it’s not a secret what he wants from me, or what I want him to do to me, but to hear him state his intention in that emotionless voice, the threat of his dominance lacing the tone, his intent writ clearly in every move of his body, sends a primal thrill racing down my spine.
“And?” My voice cracks, and I clear my throat.
His gaze darts to my mouth, and my chin wobbles.
“What else do you want to do to me?”
R-i-g-h-t. What am I trying to do? Trying to unhinge him and send him over the edge?
I flick out my tongue to absorb every last bit of moisture that clings to my lips. His shoulders bunch. His biceps seem to swell. He doesn’t
move, but every part of his body seems to tighten, stiffen… Harden.
I only have to glance down at his crotch to see the kind of effect I have on him.
My nipples tighten.
I am not a seductress. I’ve never known what it is to touch a man, caress his rough skin, run my fingers over his bearded chin and tremble when the whiskers dig into my flesh. Lean in and lick his mouth, his beautiful corded throat, drag my fingers over the crevices of his chest, and worship those hard planes that tremble with tension.
“Tell me.” My breath hitches.
The promise of things to come, the threat of what he is going to do to me has my insides melting. Heat flushes my skin, and on its heels, chills race down my spine. My body is as conflicted as my mind.
“I want to whip your ass.”
“Excuse me?”
I swing my gaze to his face. He meets my stare. His pupils blink vertically. Just once. Enough to hint at the beast that prowls inside of him.
“Is that…uh…a dragon thing?”
“What? The kink I like?” A smirk curls his lips. “I could say that and that would be the easy way out. I could give many excuses to justify my behavior.” He cants his head, and a considering look comes into his eyes. “Is that what you want? To explain away my actions? To find some basis for what I like? Because, really, there is none, except for the fact that it’s how I am built.”
“How…how are you built?” I am echoing his words, mirroring his posture as I shuffle my feet apart and plant my hands on my hips.
“For pain.”
“Huh?” I stare.
“I want to see you hurt, Alice. I need to see you writhe before me, under me. I want you to cry out as I slap the flesh of your curved butt, as I pinch your clit and tweak your nipples, as I whip the backs of your thighs, the soft skin of your inner legs, as I manacle your wrists and tie you to my bed, as I bend you over my whipping post and part the cheeks of your ass and—”
“Stop.” The word trembles from my lips. My thighs clench, my toes curl, and liquid lust pools in my core.
Seduced by the Fae Page 5
