Page 141 of The Hunter

With a gasp, Lacey leapt to her feet, chest constricting.

Telok landed upon the platform with a bang punctuated by a slam of the drums. He crouched there with his legs bent, his hands braced on the floor, and his head bowed, his loose hair hanging freely.

Silence fell heavy over the crowd.

And then his head jerked up, and his blazing green eyes met hers.

The music resumed, now with a primal, sultry rhythm.

Telok lifted his torso. That fierce gaze remained locked with Lacey’s as he moved to the beat. Chest undulating, he thrust and pumped his arms and stamped his legs, each motion emphasized by the music. And then he threw his hands toward her, curled his fingers, and pulled them back, his chest and abdomen sensually rolling. Each time he repeated the motion, he drew himself a little closer to her, teasingly advancing foot by foot.

Even though Lacey was seeing this with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe it. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined that Telok would do this, that he would place himself in the spotlight before hundreds of eyes. Her quiet, stoic, grumpy vrix.

And God…he was terrible at it.

Telok danced with none of the grace the winddancers possessed. His timing was off, and his movements were jerky, stiff, and at times awkward, as though he was too focused on remembering the next dance step. She didn’t doubt that he would’ve been far more confident and comfortable fighting savage beasts or hostile vrix than he was right now.

Lacey smiled wide.

None of that mattered…because he was doing this for her.

And he was sexy as fuck.

Lacey’s heart pounded as warmth flooded her, and her eyes stung with tears. Maybe she was reading too much into this, maybe it was silly of her, but seeing him dance like this confirmed that he would truly do anything for her.

It made her feel seen, made her feel like she mattered, like she was worthy.

She’d never felt as treasured as she did in that moment.

Because in front of everyone, he was choosing her.

Vrix shifted and scooted aside to open a path for Telok as his unrelenting advance continued. His dance persisted for a few more beats before it fell away, and he closed the distance remaining between him and Lacey in a few smooth, purposeful strides that brimmed with both confidence and impatience.

Everything and everyone blurred into the background. All she could see was Telok.

He stopped in front of her and held out one large hand. A hand made rough by a lifetime of fighting to survive, a hand with claws that could rend flesh, with strength that could crush bone, a hand that had killed. But it was also a hand that touched her with such gentleness, a hand that held her, soothed her, protected her. A hand that had brought her immense pleasure.

Lacey placed her hand on his.

He curled those long, clawed fingers in a firm grip and tugged her close. His green eyes blazed as he slipped the fingers of another hand into her hair to cradle the back of her head.

“Say you are mine,” he commanded in a low, husky voice.

Rising on the toes of her boots, she caught the back of his neck and pulled him down, pressing her mouth to his in a hard kiss. She closed her eyes and breathed him in, letting the kiss linger. He shuddered, and his lower arms slipped around her waist to draw her against his body.

“I’m yours,” she whispered against his mouth.

With a growl, Telok straightened, lifting his head high. Raising his voice over the music, he declared, “I, Telok tes Nazir’ani Ul’okari, have claimed Lacey Anderson as my mate.” He looked away from her to rake his gaze over the crowd. “And should anyone seek to harm her, I will tear them into so many pieces that even the Weaver himself would not be able to stitch them back together.”

Wow, okay. Violent, but fuck that was hot.

Cheers erupted around them, bolstered by stomping legs.

“Sooo…are we married?” Lacey asked.

He caught her jaw and stared down into her eyes. “We are bound. Even after the Tangle claims our bodies, our spirits will remain entwined. Nothing can part us.”

The pure possessiveness in his voice sent a shiver of delight through Lacey, making her belly flutter and her core clench. An aching, hungry need permeated her. She wanted nothing more than for them to be alone. Wanted nothing more than him.