He didn’t acknowledge that I’d spoken. Just me hauled to, oh shit,histent. He shepherded me inside and then enteredbehind me. It was bigger than mine—probably so that he could fit the Laelaps in here. A few blankets with dog hairs on them were off to the side, so they clearly had a bed of their own.
Well, the big, strong bastard could carry a bigger tent without breaking his back—unlike the rest of us.
And apparently he was going to guard me for the rest of the night so that no one else could try to kill me. I’d be grateful if anger wasn’t still a flame in my belly, leaving me no room to feel much else.
A hand nudged me toward his bedding. With a sigh, I plopped my butt down on it and then looked at him. He loomed over me, tension in the set of his jaw, pinning me with an intense glare.
I frowned, bewildered. “I don’t know why you’re looking at me like that. It isn’tmyfault someone tried to kill me.”
He kept glaring, not moving a single muscle.
“You can’t really be holding me responsible for this.”
More glaring. More silence. More stillness.
Unbelievable.“Fine. You want to be irrational? Have at it. But I haven’t done a single thing wrong.” Huffing, I laid back. “There’s no reason for you to be mad at me. I might have stabbed the cowardly little prick, but he deserved it.”
He didn’t look as though he whatsoever disagreed, so … I was lost. I had no idea what could possibly have him all worked up.
I raised my head. “Hey, look, I get that it isn’t convenient for you to have to watch over me. But if you don’t want me in here, you should have left me with Jelani.”
His eyes went slitted and … did he justgrowl? I was pretty sure he did, but it was hard to be certain when the wind was still howling loud enough to wake the dead. Either way, it was clear that he didn’t like the idea of me staying with Jelani.
Realization dawning on me, I gave him a tight smile. “Oh, I get it.”
A mockingDo you?grunt slipped out of him.
“Yes. You don’t want Jelani fucking more candidates in case it leads to more fights.” Understandable. But it rankled that the person before me would try tocontrolwho I slept with. Like he had any right to do such a thing. Plus … “You’re automatically assuming I’d have let him have me. What, you figure I’m one of those humans who’s all godkin-struck?”
He raised a challengingAren’t you?brow.
I felt my jaw tighten. No, I wasn’t. But, outside of Xalbia issues, I didn’t need to prove anything to Talon. “You could be right,” I lied. “After all, I’m totally obsessing over Jelani. This cock-blocking attempt is pointless, you know. If I want to fuck him, I will.”
Something dark and menacing swallowed Talon’s pupils. He dropped to his knees near my feet, snapped his fingers around my calf, and dragged me toward him.
What the—
He seized my wrist, yanked me upright, and fisted a clump of my curls. He brought his mouth crashing down on mine, hot and hard and … oh fuck, he was kissing me.
And it was good. Rough and aggressive. All sharp nips of his teeth and wicked strokes of his velvet tongue.
I kissed him back. Couldn’t help it. The anger buzzing in my veins ebbed and swirled as it became something else. Something carnal, thrilling, and as wild as the wind that roared outside.
Talon briskly yanked off my tunic and tossed it aside. He then whipped off his own, and my attention got snagged on all those hard, roped muscles. I’d seen them bunch and flex beneath his clothes many—
His mouth again took mine with not one tiny bit of restraint. He impatiently pushed me down to the woolen sheet as he lowered his body over mine. His hand curved around my throat, big and warm and strong.
Damn, this man did not need words to assert himself—he did it with his body. With the demands of his mouth. With the dominance and entitlement in his touch. With the way he used his lower body to pin mine to the floor beneath me, letting me know that I was going nowhere.
I dug my fingers into his sides as I arched as much as his weight would allow, grinding over the hard bulge that settled over my clit. I was lost in the untamed air of the moment. It dragged me along for the ride.
All sense of time disappeared as he feasted, nipped, teased, and grinded. Until an unbearable tension coiled and twisted in my belly. “Fuck me,” I said against his lips, unable to take any more.
The flare of predatory promise in his gaze told me that it was exactly what he planned. He pulled at my breeches, dragging and twisting … and somehow they ended up pooled around one of my legs, along with the garment I wore underneath.
I gasped as his hand cupped me, clamping tight.Oh, yes.He plunged a thick finger inside me, the move so abrupt that it made my body jolt in surprise. Then he sharply tugged down my breast band, cupped one globe hard, and closed his mouth around a nipple.
Gods, I didn’t know what felt better. The way he suckled and bit on the taut bud like it was a treat, or how expertly he pumped his finger in and out of me.
