For a second, he really thought she was going to retreat like he'd intended her to do.
But then she strode right over the threshold and into his room.
You're not going anywhere tonight, she said, soft but resolute. There was apprehension in her expression, but damn if she didn't close the door behind her and keep coming toward him. Tonight we need to talk. I need to know where things stand. Where we stand, Tegan.
He glared. You think it's wise to shut yourself in here with me? It won't take long for Reichen and the rest of this house to figure out where you are and think the worst. He may be discreet when needed, but the others who live here--
I don't care what anyone else thinks. I just need to know what you think.
He scoffed, a grating sound that held more mockery than he'd intended. I think you're out of your fucking head.
She glanced down, gave a little nod. I'm confused, I'll give you that. I don't know if you...I don't know what to make of you, Tegan. Not from day one. I don't know how to play this game that we seem to be playing together.
I don't play games, he said, deadly serious. I don't have the interest or the time--
Bullshit!
He arched a brow at her unexpected blurt of profanity. He was ready to push again--seething with the compulsion to shove her away hard, before she got any closer to the truth of what he was feeling. But the glint of anger in her eyes gave him pause.
She crossed her arms over her breasts and took a couple of paces nearer to him, making it clear that if he pushed now, she was sure as hell going to push back.
What do you call it when you're tender with me one moment, then cold as ice the next? You kiss me, only to push me away a minute later. She drew a breath, letting it out on a frustrated- sounding sigh. Sometimes you look at me as if you might really feel something for me, but then...then you blink and it's like the feeling was never there in the first place. What is that, if not your twisted idea of fun?
Since she wasn't about to stand down, he pivoted away from her on a snarl and went for the duffel bag that held more of his gear and weapons, ignoring her attempt to goad him. He reached in and blindly grabbed for a cache of combat supplies. He pulled out a sheathed blade, then a clip of titanium rounds for his 9mm--anything to keep his hands moving and his focus trained on something other than the maddening awareness of the woman who was slowly walking up behind him.
Incredibly, his fingers were shaking as he put his gear down on the settee's velvet cushions. His vision was going sharp, his field of sight taking on a hard edge as his pupils narrowed and a flood of amber fire bathed everything in a hunter's light. His gums ached with the emergence of his fangs, his mouth watering with the hunger he'd barely been able to stave off before Elise arrived in his room.
Now that she was here, provoking him with her mere presence, he didn't know how long he could hold the beast at bay. It had been snapping at its leash since the moment he first laid eyes on her.
Behind him, he heard the thick Persian rug crush with the subtle movement of her feet. He closed his eyes, his senses flooded with awareness of her.
With the keen, aching want of her.
You say you don't play games, but you're a master at it, Tegan. In fact, I think you've been playing at them for so long you can't remember how to be real anymore.
He was hardly aware of his own movements as he whirled back on her with a furious roar. Distance closed in fractional seconds--a blink of time between the moment he'd been turned away from Elise and the next, when he was bearing down on her like a train in motion, pushing her with both the force of his will and his body until they both slammed up against the closed door.
He pinned her there, between the hard, unyielding length of him and the thick plank of oak at her back.
Is this real enough for you, sweetheart?
He hissed the words at her, his lips curled back from his fangs. Desire had him livid, fully transformed into the savage side of his nature. With a growl, he bent his head and took her mouth in a hot, demanding kiss.
She cried out, startled, her hands coming up to brace defensively against his shoulders. He only kissed her harder, thrusting his tongue past her teeth as she gasped to take a breath.
Christ, she was sweet. So warm and lush against his mouth.
So soft against the scorching rigidity of his body.
He didn't want to feel this arousal. Wanted like hell to reject this consuming need. But he was burning up with it, and there would be no denying it now.
No stopping the pound of his blood as everything Breed in him--everything elementally male--awakened to the delicious taste of Elise.
When he broke their kiss, she was panting. He was too. His whole body heaved with the force of his hunger, his every pulse point pounding with a beat he felt echoing in Elise as well.
Last night in the boathouse, I felt your fear, he whispered fiercely, holding her wide gaze, pressing the front of his body deeper into hers. His cock was rigid, growing harder just at the feel of her. I let you go instead of taking what I wanted. I'm not going to be forgiving this time. So, fear me if you will, Elise, but don't expect me to fucking care--
I went back last night. A breathless little sound curled up from her throat, but when she spoke her voice was steady. I wasn't afraid of you, Tegan. I went back for you.