even edgier than when he’d left, his stare locked on her.
The scent of cooking meat wafted through the cave, thanks to the skewers of dalte roasting over the fire.
She forced herself to ask. “Sh-Sharluff?”
Something soft flickered in his gaze, but it was gone in the next instant. “No sightings of that creature.”
His phrasing was strange, but relief slammed through her nonetheless. Her loyal friend was still alive.
“Come.” He summoned her to him with the crook of a finger. In his other hand, he held up a fingerful of cooked meat. “Leave the blanket.”
Her stomach growled. The urge to flee and simultaneously leap forward and rip the meat from his hand hit all at once.
Her hand gripped the blanket tighter.
“I won’t ask again.”
Stiffening her spine, she rose and glided toward him.
She eyed the restraints as she passed them. The chains that had held her wrists hung loose and still, the manacles ready to be closed around her limbs the moment her captor determined it was time to demand more information.
She was at his mercy. Subject to his whim. At the thought, the shameful heat between her thighs flared higher.
She stopped just in front of him, her thighs less than a finger’s length from his knees, her bound wrists pressed tight to her breasts. The delicious smell of cooked meat filled her lungs—along with the exotic aroma of the male himself.
Before, the scent of him had been alien and frightening, now it brought to mind mindless pleasure and rough, commanding touches.
Something had changed between them since she’d admitted what she was, she just wasn’t sure yet how.
He sprawled in the chair, legs spread and jutting out, taking up space, his position relaxed, though the look in his stare was anything but.
His chest remained bare, but he’d taken the time to wrap a dry cloth around his waist. It hung low on his hips, making it impossible to miss the slabs of muscle that crisscrossed his stomach or the hair that covered the expanse of his massive chest and thighs.
Her heart beat faster.
Even sitting, he was still so big his eyes were even with hers, his shoulders three times the size of her own.
Despite herself, her trembling increased, as did the fire between her legs, a never-ending torment.
She didn’t understand why. She didn’t understand this strange pull toward a male she should hate.
“It’s not just you.” His words were low and intent, his stare boring into her as if he’d once again read her mind.
She sucked down a sharp breath.
“There’s something between us. Won’t matter in the end. I’ll do my job, but there’s no point in pretending it isn’t there. Complicating things.”
Everything inside her stilled. “W-what is it?”
“Lust.” He shrugged as if it didn’t matter. To her it felt like everything. “Honesty. A connection. Few people get to be so real with each other. Our sessions leave you exposed, but you’re not the only one.”
“I-I no understand.”
“I’m coming to see the real you. Your strengths, your vulnerabilities, your desires. But you see me as well. My teammates call me the Boy Scout. Charming, even.” He shifted, the corded muscles in his chest flexing as he sat taller, his dark emerald gaze boring into her. “You could tell them different. You could tell them who I really am and how far I’m willing to go to get what I want.”
His hand landed on her shoulder, a heavy paw that pushed her slowly to her knees. “I know your body’s reaction to touch. You know the monster that lurks inside me.”
His words felt important. A confession to match her earlier one.
Another secret just between the two of them.
She landed between his thighs, kneeling, her mouth inches from the growing bulge beneath his loincloth.
The burning between her thighs sparked hotter.
He held out the piece of meat between his two fingers. “If you use those fangs on me, there will be consequences.”
Was he actually allowing her to eat?
Gaze watchful, she opened her mouth. He tore off a small piece and placed it on her tongue. She moaned aloud. After so long subsisting on scrub brush and crawlies, the taste was delicious. A bit of fat and oil dripped down her chin. She barely resisted the urge to lick that, too.
Scowl deepening, he wiped the droplet with his thumb. Then, he held up another piece. She hadn’t noticed before, but he’d laid out a few pieces on a cloth and put them on the chair next to his thigh. “When was the last time you ate?”
She hesitated.
“That