stretching after a slumber in the sun, he took his time rising to his feet. Damn, I had forgotten how massive this guy was. Meeting him did not diminish the folklore. If anything, he amplified it, intensified everything we heard this man was capable of.
Prickles of panic danced along my shoulders, but I stood my ground. His boots lazily hit the floor as he moved toward me, pounding along with my heartbeat. His arms were so ripped they swung like carved tree branches, his dark hair down around his shoulders, rendering him feral and animalistic. Hunting his prey. A smirk twitched his lips as he moved up to me. The air swirled around, whispering in my ear to run.
The edges of his boots hit mine, halting his approach. Using his towering height, he peered down at me, his arms brushing my skin as he folded them.
I couldn’t help the internal gasp at his touch, though I swallowed it back down, my jaw cinching together.
He smirked, clearly aware of how his power affected others.
Arrogant bastard.
He huffed out of his nose, a slight humored expression twitching his cheek. “How adorable,” he rumbled.
Oh. Holy. Shit. I realized I had never heard him speak. His voice could have been used as a weapon in itself. It was gravelly, deep, seductive, and my body reacted to the timbre. It felt like swimming naked in a barrel of the best whiskey imported from Scotland. Smooth, sexy, stinging, and callused all at the same time. It licked my pussy, carved into my bones, and heated my skin.
Pain and pleasure, pulsing my core.
He had to be fae. No matter how good he was at hiding his aura, no human had this kind of allure. He was confident in tricking everyone, playing everyone for a fool, controlling us like subordinates, which had rage bounding up my shoulders.
He would not control me.
“Thank you.” I cheekily winked back. “Though I can’t say most would consider me adorable. But to each their own.”
A nerve convulsed under his eye. “You think going into the hole for three days makes you tough and ruthless now? Can get lippy with me?” The words were so deep and low they vibrated through my bones.
Gods, please stop talking. I tried to put a barrier around me by wrapping my arms around my chest. I despised the way my body flushed.
“Try two months, then come challenge me.”
Two months? He put up with that torture for two months and came out alive? I barely lasted three days. No doubt I would have found a way to end things if they left me longer.
“Know your place, fish.” He leaned in even closer, his form looming over me. He could drive my blood in two opposing ways with the same intensity.
Exhilaration.
Animosity.
“This is my kingdom.” He slanted his head, rolling his threat into my other ear. “You are allowed to live in it.” He shoved his face into mine, forcing a wheeze of air to whistle up my nose. He then paused. I peered up at him, his eyes boring into mine.
Anger. Hate.
Confusion?
“Move. You’re in my way.” His nose flared, and in a blink, he was moving, his shoulder slamming into mine as he sauntered out of the room. I stumbled back, the bell ringing like he had it cued to his exit.
Gradually, noise and movement stirred in the room as prisoners headed toward their next location.
“Holy goddesses.” Tad’s hobbled up next to me; his curved back bent him far over today. “What is it about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just interesting the two people who have no auras are drawn to each other.”
“We are not drawn to each other,” I retorted, snarling at the gray-haired man.
A smile arched his mouth.
“What?” I huffed.
“I didn’t say if it was a good thing or a bad thing.” His eyes slid to mine. “Lust. Hate. Those two are so hard to tell apart.”
“Shut up, old man.” I rubbed my head. The adrenaline rush that man created in me made me want to flee for higher ground. “Not in the mood for your cryptic Druid shit.”
“Someone came out of the hole in a bad mood.”
I shot a glare at him, and he smiled hugely.
“Glad to have you back in one piece. That you are okay.” He patted my shoulder. “I actually missed you.”
“You missed having someone to talk to.”
“Is there a difference?” He bumped his hip into me, his hand sliding something in mine before he shuffled away.