My heart vaults into my throat, cheeks heating.
He called them pretty …
His deep voice cradled the word in such a beautiful way, I tuck the trinket beneath my ribs where I can love it forever.
I think of the cave a short sprint away—the one I passed during my dash through the jungle.
“Then I guess we find somewhere to hide together,” I whisper, a smile kicking up the corner of my mouth at the ebony flame in his eyes.
I spin andrun—faster than I ever have. So fast, the half-glassed trees smudge in my peripheral as I dodge and dip and leap.
It’s no longer silent behind me.
It’sthunderous.
Ifeel him nipping at my heels, breathing down the back of my neck. I can hear his pounding footsteps rattling the ground.
My frantic heart almost punches free of my ribs.
Rounding the small hill smothered in vines that have made this glassy wonderland their own, I find the sheltered cave tucked behind a large, glass-veined boulder.
I dash into the somewhat shadowed interior that’s no bigger than my room in Stony Stem, clothed with a crunchy layer of dried leaves that must have blown in over the years. Jagged blades of sunshine cut through a handful of thin, translucent seams stretched across the ceiling, scribbling light across the ground.
I sweep my gaze around, spinning as darkness fills the entrance, like a broad shadow eclipsing the sun.
The moon.
Eclipsing my view ofanythingelse.
The cavern packs full of his robust scent, almost bringing me to my knees, the hunger in his starkly shadowed eyes making my heart pound harder.
My needy arousal is a wet smear between my thighs, still high on the thrill of thechase.Feeding off the restless energy thumping through my veins despite the empty ache of my core.
He drops to a crouch, setting my necklace, our clothes, and my sheath on the ground. Holding my stare, he pushes to stand.
I raise a brow in a silenthow did I do?
He begins to circle me in slow, stalking strides. “Perfect, Milaje.”
Pride fills my chest, but I don’t move. Don’t spin to keep his eye contact. Instead, Irelishthe way his gaze hungers over every inch of my naked body, smelting my bones.
“But we need to have a chat about giving your back to circling monsters.”
“But you’remymonster.” I smile as he crosses before me, and I swear his breath stills. “You don’t count.”
He’s behind me again, his attention dragging across the small of my back, and a tingle climbs my spine. “You wouldn’t think that if you could see inside my head.”
I think he’d be surprised.
He told me he’d rip the world apart if I tip my throat again, but I’d tip it tohimin a heartbeat. Beg to be the sole benefactor of all that static energy rolling off him in waves.
Because I want to be caught.
Hungered over.
I want to be devoured so completely we’re tangled for eternity.
I want to do the same to him.
