Every head turned toward me.
Shit.
The women froze, their amusement fading like dying embers, but Dalkhan did not waver.A dark fire burned in the depths of his eyes.With a sharp unforgiving motion, he shoved them away.
Fury rolled off him in waves, saturating the air.The temperature rose, and the shadows writhed along the walls, responding to his rage.
He took a single step toward me.
“Leave.”
The word dropped from his lips like a death sentence.
My heart slammed erratically, the full reality of my impulsive actions crashing down on me.
The women smirked.Iznia even dared to scoff, her lips stretching in cruel amusement.
That changed in an instant.
Dalkhan turned toward them, fury simmering just beneath his skin.
“I.Said.Leave.”
Each word was enunciated with perfect, terrifying clarity.The amusement drained from each of their faces, replaced by something close to terror.They scrambled toward the door, stumbling over each other in their haste to escape.The heavy wood slammed shut behind them.
Dalkhan closed the distance between us in a single, commanding stride.His hand shot out, wrapping around my waist in an iron grip and yanking me against the solid wall of his body.“You are playing a dangerous game, Elira.”
Then his mouth crashed into mine.The kiss was fierce.Desperate, as if he’d been fighting this moment and finally lost.His other hand tangled in my hair, angling my head back as he claimed me with pure starvation.
A sharp, ragged sound caught in my throat as I clawed at his arms.His shoulders.Pushing and pulling, unsure if I wanted to escape or drag him closer.
A growl rumbled deep in his chest, sending a tremor straight into me.His teeth caught on my bottom lip, biting hard before soothing the sting with his tongue.Then he wrenched himself back, his face a mask of conflicted fury.
“You walked away from me,” he murmured, stepping back just far enough that I could no longer feel his heat.“Called me a mistake.And now…” His jaw clenched.“You stand before me and what?You expect my mercy?”
“I…” My tongue was thick and useless.I stared at the floor, at the wall, anywhere but at him.
He caught my chin, forcing my face up.“Look at me when I’m speaking to you.”
The fire in his expression burned away my every last defence, leaving me bare and trembling.
“I will give you one chance to walk away.”His thumb brushed my bottom lip, pressing against the tender flesh where his teeth had marked me.“Tell me what you want, Elira.Choose your words carefully, because whatever you say next will seal both our fates.”
My entire body was shaking.Not just from fear or the power curling around us like an unseen force, but from him.From the way he looked at me like he wanted to both worship and destroy me in equal measure.From the knowledge that whatever I said next would obliterate the last barriers between us.
“I wantyou.”
Satisfaction sparked across his features.With a sharp motion, he ripped the fabric of my dress apart, his power surging through his fingertips.The material disintegrated into ash and smoke before it even hit the floor.
I was bare before him.
Dalkhan hissed through his teeth.
“You will never run from me again,” he said, tracing the hollow of my collarbone.His fingers lingering.“Every inch of you belongs to me now.”He leaned in, dragging his lips over my cheek.“Every breath you take.Every sound you make.Every thought that crosses your mind.”
His hand moved lower, skimming down my sternum.
“Mine to touch.”His palm flattened against my ribcage—against the rapid flutter of my heart.“Mine to claim.”His thumb brushed across sensitive skin, drawing a sharp intake of breath from my lips.“Mine to ruin.”
