and lowered his unrelenting stare to my lips. Something hard brushed my upper thigh, and I froze.
His eyes widened and crimson flooded his cheeks. He leapt off me, his wings flapping like mad until he slammed into the wall on the opposite side of the room.
I jolted up as soon as my body processed the absence of his massive weight and sucked in a ragged breath. Did that really just happen?
Talon huddled in the far corner, wings, tail, and claws gone and his face buried in his hands. He rocked back and forth, ever so slightly, muttering something under his breath.
Slowly, I stood and crept over. “You okay?”
“Fine,” he hissed.
“Do you need a minute or something?”
“What I need is not to be chained to you every damn second!” he roared.
I blanched and staggered back. Hot tears pricked my eyes, but I blinked them back. There was no way I’d let this jerkwad see me cry. I pivoted toward the door, ready to take on Delacroix or any of his crew than spend another minute with someone who hated me so ruthlessly.
My hand closed around the doorknob before thick fingers encircled my bicep and halted me on the spot. Talon spun me toward him and pinned me to his glistening chest. My skin prickled everywhere our flesh touched. “Don’t go…” he muttered.
I pierced him with my steeliest glare, hoping a tear didn’t betray me. “Wouldn’t your life be easier if Delacroix just got me already? Then you wouldn’t have to endure the torture of being near me.”
“You don’t understand anything.” He closed the distance between us, his lips crashing into mine with the force of a battering ram. He shoved me against the wall, his strong arms caging me in once again.
My palms smacked into the hard wall of his chest as I tried to jerk away. His kisses only intensified with my struggles. “What are you doing?” I rasped out, my breathy voice betraying me. He continued his fiery assault, and I snagged his lower lip between my teeth and bit down.
He growled against my mouth, but it only seemed to encourage him. My head told me to push him off, to fight him, to do anything, but my body refused to obey its commands. His lusty groan melted all the building anger, replacing it with an insatiable hunger. My traitorous form leaned into him, relishing his touch, every maddening swipe of his tongue. My blood sang as his hand closed around my neck and angled my mouth to fit his.
Heat blossomed in my core, a need like I’ve never felt before unfurling in my lower half. I pressed my thighs together to extinguish the burning desire and focused on his full lips worshipping mine.
A sizzling second later, he lurched back.
My body went limp, and I thanked the gods for the sturdy wall behind me. As I caught my breath, I swept the sweat from my brow and attempted to steady my racing heart. Gods, now that was a kiss.
Talon paced the length of the room, his long strides eating up the distance in a few steps. He dragged his fingers through his mussed-up hair and loosed a breath. When he finally approached me, the lusty haze in his eyes had receded, the typically cool man back in control. “Come on, we gotta get back.” His hand closed over mine for a second before he released me as if thinking better of it.
Ouch.
We walked back in silence, about a million questions racing through my mind—all of which I was too chicken to voice. What the hell was that kiss?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Talon’s heated lips ghosted over mine, and my heart smacked against my ribs. My eyes snapped open, and I jolted up in bed. Panting, I wiped the sweat from my brow and shoved the dingy blanket back. I scraped my hands over my face and loosed a ragged breath as the familiar black walls of my cell coalesced around me.
Damn, another completely inappropriate dream.
“What’s got you all hot and bothered over there, pumpkin?” Hayden lifted his head, pausing from his morning push-up routine.
“Nothing,” I hissed. Pushing myself out of bed, I strutted over to the small sink and turned the faucet. A tiny trickle of water leaked out. Muttering a curse, I splashed it over my burning cheeks.
Talon had been MIA for the past two days—ever since that scorching kiss. It had left me hot and bothered—not to mention confused AF ever since. The guy went from hating me with a