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“Sneaky werewolf,” she growled. “Making me think you couldn’t catch me.”
He lowered his face, barely a scant inch separating their noses. “I’ll always catch you, Cort.”
And even though he’d spoken his peace and he should have let her up, he didn’t move. Riaz remained hovering over her, letting intensity build between them. The thumping in his heartbeat mirrored hers, a shiver raking over his skin.
The tangy scent of raspberries licked over his nose, and he inhaled deeply to savor her fragrance. He’d never been immune to her charms, but it seemed his realization yesterday had proven itself accurate.
The vampire below him was his mate.
Chapter Eleven
Cortana couldn’t move. Though Riaz had pinned her to the mat, he made sure she could have easily escaped his hold. Something else was holding her there, and she was endlessly spiraling into the intense heat of his eyes. His woodsy cedar scent curled around her like a lover’s embrace, and desire plumed in her blood. Never before had she felt such primal attraction to another.
Looking at him, she knew remaining aloof would be impossible.
The tips of her fangs tingled, lengthening in anticipation and need. She squirmed beneath him, knowing instinctually that it was imperative to distance herself from him.
Connection broken, Riaz retreated at her first prompt, offering her a hand as the crowd dispersed and bets were made even.
“I’m impressed, Cort. Daddy Vamp teach you those moves?”
“Among others. You’re not too shabby yourself.”
They shared a loaded look that contained everything left unsaid: the building chemistry between them, the instantaneous connection, the sarcastic exchanges that egged the other on.
And then, he ruined the moment.
When his hand connected with her rear in a congratulatory butt slap, she flipped her lid. Wheeling on him with a vengeance, she cocked back her arm and let it sail directly into his nose.
Though he barely flinched under her assault, the confusion that bloomed in the wake of her anger only made her more desperate to turn and run away.
So she did. The realization, when it came, shook her to the foundations of her being. She didn’t flee because she craved her usual solitude and self-control, but because it would be so easy to accept him as the axis around which her entire constitution might revolve.
Cortana’s feet peddled against the wooden flooring; the noise was so faint it was barely audible. Panting breaths echoed in her ears as her pulse pounded and her nerves tingled. Stopping, she curled in on herself, closing her eyes and leaning a shoulder against the plain white walls in a back hallway she’d never seen before.
And then the devil himself made his presence known. “Cort?”
If she knew Riaz was following her, she wouldn’t have stopped moving. But now that he’d caught her, she couldn’t seem to start again.
Shuddering against the wall, she opened her eyes to find him a safe distance away. He had stopped long enough to pull on a shirt at some point, and the charcoal grey emphasized the confusion and regret in his features.
“What do you want, Riaz? I thought I’d made my stance on that little show clear.”
“It wasn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable, or to infuriate you." The sincere apology sounded in his deep voice. “Forgive me, Pet—”
“I’m not your ‘Pet’,” she spat, moving towards him to underscore her words. “I’m not your ‘Mistress’ or your ‘Queen’ or your ‘Cort’. Knock it off with the cutesy names, wolf.”
As her mouth twisted into a sneer, she couldn’t help but look at his. His full lips were slightly parted, the tickle of his breath fawning over her sensitized skin. In that moment, her raging emotions focused into one: desire.
Inching forward, she titled up her chin in invitation, her eyes locking with his a moment before he closed the distance between them.
Riaz slanted his lips over hers, a desperation of his own seeming to draw him in. For a moment, all she could do was let his mouth worship hers, enjoy the taste of him as he demonstrated where his heart lay.
The alpha werewolf was passion, addictive and sweet, everything she wasn’t. She drunk him in like she was starved. For the first time in a long time, she purely lived in the moment. Cortana’s hand fisted in his shirt, dragging him toward her.
Riaz instantly gripped the back of her neck to deepen their kiss. Another hand came around her back, dragging her into his core as he devoured her mouth. She clutched at him, her nails sinking into his flesh with a need she knew could only end poorly.
But Riaz was desire and heat and attraction all wrapped up in one tempting, delicious package. And for the moment, it was all Cortana could do to tame the escalating need in her gut for more. When her fangs tingled in anticipation of his blood, she pulled back, leaving them both panting.
