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Her gaze became distant, hollow, and a slight tremor moved through her. I fucking hated it. I wanted her fire, not her fear. But I wasn’t human, I was a fucking animal, and I didn’t play by human rules.
I waited to see what she’d do. That blade in her hand was no ordinary blade, she could wound me badly, maybe even kill me if she moved fast enough after she threw it.
“I don’t want to hurt you, dove. That’s the last thing I want.”
She studied me for long seconds. “There were more bodies found with Jane’s…at the location she was found, a lot of them. Did you and your brothers put them there? Are you responsible for all those deaths?”
I stared at her as every muscle in me tightened. Did she truly think I was some stone-cold fucking killer? That I’d murder innocent humans for a bit of fun? “Jag found them.” I tapped my nose. “Hard to miss that much death. He buried Jane there, and I tracked the fucker responsible for the other bodies—it wasn’t hard, the scent of his victims, their fear, it saturated his home, then I ended him so he couldn’t hurt anyone else. It seemed the best solution. They will assume she was one of his kills, and like Jane’s mother, those people had family looking for them.”
She blinked. “You killed a serial killer?”
“Yes.”
“Human?”
“Yes.”
“Have you done something like that before?”
“Yes.”
Her chest expanded, and then…she moved to the bike, paused for a moment, eyeing me, then finally climbed on behind me.
Thank fuck.
Her arms came around my waist, but the dagger stayed in her tight grip, the point of the blade pressed to my stomach. I let her, if it made her feel safer. Still, helplessness pulsed through me because I didn’t know how to make her understand. I couldn’t make her see that every part of me wanted to protect her, not hurt her.
Why did she keep refusing me? Why did she keep denying us both, when it was obvious she wanted me just as fiercely?
The ride to her family’s house was torture. Her pussy snugged up against my ass, her tits, hot and soft against my back. The way her thighs tensed against mine with every corner we took.
I wanted to take her to my den, my room, my bed, not here to this house. She didn’t belong here, not anymore.
Rolling to a stop, I waited for her to climb off, then did the same. I should stay back, keep my hands to myself, but that was impossible right then. I advanced on her, and when she retreated, I gritted my teeth. “Stop.”
“No, you stop,” she bit out, her face flushed.
I didn’t stop. I closed the space between us, ignoring the dagger in her hand because she would either stab me or she wouldn’t. I was positive she didn’t want to kill me, and another taste of her lips was worth a second slice to the gut.
Hooking my hand around the back of her neck, I stilled her, but instead of claiming her mouth like I’d planned, I locked eyes with her. Confusingly, something stronger than lust, something I couldn’t name, gripped me in that moment. “Tell me you’re not afraid of me, dove.” I couldn’t bear that she might truly be frightened of me.
She licked her lips. “My dagger’s telling me you’re a threat, Warrick. I think fear is healthy for me where you’re concerned.”
I gritted my teeth as the strange pain in my chest intensified at her words.
Didn’t she know? Didn’t she understand—I would lay waste to this entire city to keep her safe.
* * *
Willow
The vibration of my blade was low. The beast, not the man, could hurt me, but he didn’t want to. I knew that deep down, I did. But the threat was there all the same, and I’d be an idiot to ignore it.
“I would never purposely harm you, but I want you, dove, and when I’m this close to the edge, one push and I would take you like an animal, rough and driven by need.”
A shudder moved through me. The things he just said should repulse me, scare me, but they didn’t. No, what I felt was the opposite. He wanted me and he’d made no secret of that, and he was warning me not to push him when he was like this. “You’ve been in your animal form around me before, you had control.”
“The form I take makes no difference, the beast is in here.” He thumped his fist against his chest. “And in here.” He tapped the side of his head. “We are one at all times.”
