“Ire? Is that some kind of joke? I have Ire in my dreams? That’s not ironic at all.”
He looks around the shadows again with contemplation. “Is that what this is? You’re dreaming?”
“Well, I was. Now I don’t know what this is,” I admit. I do know that this isn’t a figment of my imagination, though. He’s too real. Too...present. I also know that this is different from my dream memories. I don’t know how I know this, but I do. “Just go away,” I tell him, suddenly feeling vulnerable. The darkness is for me, and it feels intimate for him to be here inside of it with me. Inside of this protective, pulsing part of me.
He narrows those bright blues on me. “We’ve been over this, again and again, Snarls. You keep calling to me. Do you know how forward that is? You keep throwing yourself at me. It’s a little much.”
My mouth drops open, and I glare at him, batting away the fumes of arrogance wafting off of him in heady waves. “News flash, Ire, this is not what it looks like when a girl throws herself at you. Clearly, you have little experience on the subject, so I’ll forgive your confusion...just this once,” I snark, and a spark of challenge alights in his eyes.
“You have no shame. Clearly, you also have no interest in personal hygiene, so really, I shouldn’t be surprised. Just know that your tricks simply aren’t going to work on me,” he informs me with a sneer that I really shouldn’t find attractive.
Heat warms my cheeks at his words, but when he looks me over again, it isn’t disgust I see in his eyes, it’s interest. Warmth pools in my cheeks, but it’s not embarrassment that I’m feeling. No, this is something else entirely. It’s equally unwelcome, but what can I do? I can’t control my reactions.
I blink at the implication of his words. “Tricks?”
“Mmmmm,” he hums, rubbing his thumb over his bottom lip. “I see the game you’re playing,” he announces, gesturing to me. “The whole save me routine is intriguing, I won’t deny it, but you’ll have to work harder than that if you want to hook me.”
I stare at him, incredulity raking through me as I war with the overwhelming desire to punch him in his gorgeous but entirely too smug face.
I shake my head at the nerve of him. “Maybe the unadulterated conceit you’re drowning in has clouded your good sense, or maybe you’re just an idiot, but what on earth, or Hell, or wherever we are right now, would make you think that this is just some game?” I demand, striding forward and closing the distance between us.
I stop right in front of him. Unlike the other dream people, Ire is as real as me, solid and cognizant. “The caliber of lady that you’re used to must not be very high if you honestly think this is some ruse for attention. Either that or you’re the most arrogant idiot I’ve ever come across—and that’s saying a lot, because I’ve met plenty of diagnosed narcissists.”
I look up into Ire’s face, and even though the arrogant smirk never leaves his lips, I see a spark of doubt in his gaze.
“I sure as shit wouldn’t have gotten myself kidnapped and tortured by Morax and all his crazy just to hook your ass,” I snap at him. “Whatever you think is going on here,” I say, gesturing between us, “isn’t at all what you think.”
He stiffens. “What did you say?” Ire abruptly demands, grabbing my arm out of nowhere and jerking me closer.
Huh. Guess we can touch each other in this darkness.
The cocky smirk is gone from his face now as he looks at me with new anger. He straightens up, his countenance and tone immediately taking on a no-nonsense quality.
“Which part? The you’re an arrogant prick part, or—”
He presses against me, interrupting me as foreboding suddenly drips off his large frame. I try to pull my arm from his grip, but his hold is too strong.
“Who did you say kidnapped you?” he asks, bearing down with those eyes that I can’t look away from.
Even though he grips my arm firmly, I can feel the restraint, like he wants to shake the answer out of me, but he holds himself back.
My gray eyes flit back and forth between the serious look in his eyes, and I can’t help the defeat that sneaks into my gaze despite my best efforts not to allow it.