There was no way he’d fail to notice how little bumps crept up my arms, or miss the nervous tension seeping into my muscles. I was well-accustomed to him staring at me, but this was different. He hadn’t before looked at me like this. Not so intently. Not with such heat. Not with a predatory focus that was as unwavering as it was dark.
The air changed. Felt heavy. Thick. Crackly.
That fast, butterflies took flight in my belly and my blood went hot. Worse—so much worse—my nipples began to harden. I couldn’t hide that from him, since the breast band wasn’t thick.
His eyes flew back to mine and pinned me with a look that rooted me to the spot. A look of suchwant.Of such unapologetic avarice. At which point a buzzing wave of sexual hunger crashed into me, raw and oppressive.
I stayed still as he began to circle me much as Minos once did. I felt threatened, but not as I had with the Sovereign.Thiswas different. I felt threatenedas a woman.Talon’s assessment wasn’t cold and detached, it was a very male appraisal designed to unnerve me.
And it did.
The tension kept on rising. Kept on tautening. Kept on crackling. Until my nerves. Were. Shot.
There was no keeping my breathing even. No calming the frantic beat of my heart. No forcing my muscles to unclench. No dousing the sexual heat racing through me.
Soon, he stood directly before me, the front of his body mere inches from mine. I should tell him to back up. Or leave. Or stop staring.
But I didn’t. There was something heady about having his gaze—so steady, so bold, so piercing—locked on me this way. It demandedmy complete attention.Hedemanded it.
He lifted his hand, his unrelenting stare still seizing mine, and then I felt warm, calloused fingertips dance over a claw mark that skimmed along the slope of my breast.
My stomach tumbled, and my breath caught. Okay, I hadn’t been expecting that.
It was my own fault. I’d pretty much thrown down a gauntlet by attempting to make him feel uncomfortable. He’d merely picked it up and returned the favor.
It was working.
Without breaking our stare out, he dipped those calloused fingers down to ghost over the score marks on my abdomen. He found each one with unerring accuracy. Like he’d memorized their exact location, shape, and length.
I had to remind myself to breathe, a flustering carnal warmth working its way through my blood. Nervousness scraped at my skin and rode the stiff line of my spine. I was surprised my muscles didn’t ache with how tight they were.
It was dumb to want him. Not only because I’d never have him, but because he was more dangerous than any beast that prowled in Reaper’s Pines. My mind and body weren’t in sync when it came to Talon, though.
His hands cuffed my wrists, causing my pulse to jump. Keeping his grip loose, he skimmed his hands up my arms, smoothing over the prickly goosebumps. He turned my arms this way and that, studying the marks there.
“See, no other bites,” I told him, a little break in my voice. I cleared my throat. “You can report to the Sovereigns that I’m resistant to lamiae venom.”
Talon’s gaze snapped back to mine as he lowered my arms to my sides and let his hands slip away. Disappointment pitched itself in my gut. Not that I’d expected anythinginterestingto happen. I was very aware that he never sexually tangled with candidates. Here and now, he’d simply been teaching me a lesson.
He took the tunic from me and slipped it over my head … just as I heard footfalls approaching.
Jelani strode into the room and skidded to an abrupt halt. “The hell?”
“Uh …” I slipped my arms through the sleeves of my tunic, biting my lip.
I knew how this looked.Talonhad to know how it looked. Did he back up? No. Did he react at all? No. He slowly straightened my tunic, smooth and casual—not giving the first fuck that we had company. He didn’t even acknowledge Jelani’s presence.
His eyes once again meeting mine, Talon took a lazy step back that barely evenscrapedthe edge of my personal space … like he had every right to be in it. He then turned away and strode out of the room, cool and calm.
Jelani stepped aside, giving him room to pass, and resettled his attention on me.
I scratched my forehead. “It wasn’t what it looked like. He just wanted to check that I hadn’t been bitten anywhere else.”
Jelani arched a doubtful brow. “He didn’t check me.”
“You’renot mortal. He won’t have the concern that just maybe a lamiae bite could infect you. He had to be sure that I was no threat to anyone here, and he’d also need to be able to tell the Sovereigns if the venom impacted me.”
“True,” muttered Jelani. “Anyway. Breakfast?”
