“You’d think I would be,” she murmured. “But I’d have to understand the game first. What do you want, Mr. Reynolds?”
“You aren’t calling me Breed,” he reminded her chidingly, the sound of his voice stroking along the sensitive nerve endings. She actually had chill bumps racing up her spine. “Wasn’t it your father’s opinion that by giving us names we were given the mistaken impression we were of worth? That we could be human.”
Warning tension filled the air. His warning. She chose to ignore it. She had been avoiding this for far too long; she was growing tired of the battle. Tired of avoiding him and making excuses. Tired of the fear, the blood and the death.
“I work for my father, Mr. Reynolds, I don’t live his opinions,” she stated.
His chuckle was low and dangerous. It was so dark here, this far into the gardens, that as she stared up at him she could see nothing but the golden glitter of his eyes. And they too were mesmerizing.
Another chill raced up her spine as his hand lifted, his fingers brushing back her hair. Long, thick, the silken strands brushed across the bare flesh of her shoulders and heightened her awareness of him.
The low cut of her strapless gown was no protection against his fingers as they trailed over her bare shoulder, or when they outlined her collarbone. Warm flesh, slightly rough, touching her, easing her. She could feel it easing her even as it heated her.
Her heart was racing, banging between her br**sts with fear. Or excitement. Fear, she told herself; she wouldn’t allow herself to be excited by something so small as the whisper of his calloused fingertip over her flesh.
“Your father should protect you better,” he said softly. “Blood was shed last month in the attack against Sanctuary. We know the two of you were involved. All we have to do is prove it.”
“And you have no proof,” she reminded him just as softly. “Accosting me in the dark isn’t going to provide that.”
He paused, his nostrils flaring as he watched her, his gaze quizzical. He was dangerous, much more dangerous than the other Breeds, and she knew it.
There was no hiding her arousal from him; she knew he sensed it. She could see it in the ready tension of his body and the glitter of lust in his eyes. Tanner was the Breeds’ answer to a Hollywood playboy. The bad boy. The one that reveled in his sensuality and his sexual hungers.
“Tell me, Scheme.” He bent closer, blocking out the light, his eyes mesmerizing as she stared up at him. “Aren’t you the least bit frightened? I could peel your flesh from your bones and hide your body in such a way that no man or Breed would ever find you. And I could show you pain unlike anything you’ve ever known.”
“It’s not pain you want to show me,” she whispered back. “And it’s not murder you’re considering at the moment. Is it, Tanner?”
“Don’t tempt me.” His dark voice deepened, carrying an unmistakable sexual edge now. “You could never handle what I could give you.”
She forced her lips into a little pout. “But, Tanner, tempting you would be so much fun,” she drawled. “Surely you know it’s my favorite sport? Tempting otherwise good men to be bad boys.”
“I’m already a bad boy,” he growled, suddenly looming nearer. “Of the worse sort. You don’t want a piece of me; you wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“Oh, a dare.” She teased him, actually enjoying the repartee. “If I weren’t on such a tight schedule, I’d be sure to take you up on that.”
“And actually let an animal f**k you?” he asked. “Why, Miss Tallant, your father would have a stroke.”
If only that were true.
“All men are animals, no matter their birthright,” she assured him, fighting to hold back the bitterness. “Don’t worry, I’d never let that affect my decision.”
He leaned closer, his lips suddenly at her ear, caressing the fragile shell as he whispered, “Pretty girl, you’ve never had me. I could show you what being with an animal is really like. I could make you beg for more.”
She had no doubt in her mind. If the state of her body were any indication, begging for him would not take long.
“You’d have to actually get me in a bed first.” She moved her lips until they touched his ear as well, allowing her tongue to peek out, to flick over the tough earlobe. “And I make it a rule to never f**k men who hate me. That counts you out, Mr. Reynolds.”
He held himself perfectly still, his hands at her hips, barely touching them, his body tense, ready, as though scenting danger.
“I never claimed to hate you, Scheme,” he finally whispered, nuzzling her hair aside, his lips suddenly at her neck, his incisors raking a burning path across the vein at her neck. “But one of these days, you will f**k me. Unless I kill you first.”
He nipped her neck, causing her to jerk back in surprise, her hand flying up to the smarting skin as she frowned back at him with a spurt of anger.
“That was uncalled for.” She hardened her voice as she straightened her shoulders and glared back at him. “Don’t you know the rules, Tanner? You don’t bite on a first date, let alone a chance meeting in the dark. The mark of a civilized male is his control.”
“Who said I was civilized?” He was laughing at her now. The flash of a smile, his wicked incisors gleaming in the dark. “That was just a warning, pretty girl. Once I get my dick inside you, you’ll be begging me to bite you.”
Yeah, that was what she was afraid of now. Dangerous. Very dangerous. She was playing with a fire hotter and with a greater potential for destroying her than the one she had been playing with for the past ten years.