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Thane was standing right in her face which made it easy to see when the color drained from his. The moment Dahlia said the word "rape," Thane got just a little too still and much too quiet. That was when she realized he'd never considered what could've happened. All he'd known was that he'd been defeated, and as a warrior, he wasn't used to that.
This? It hit him even harder.
"Look," she said, reaching out to clasp his hand, "I made sure that succubus knows to stay the hell away from you. When Roarke told me what happened, I went to her place and put my foot down."
His reaction, however, was not what she expected. Thane jerked his hand away from hers and turned, pushing his way out of the kitchen. Their shoulders collided, and he twisted to keep from hitting her too hard, but he refused to stop. Unwilling to just ignore this, Dahlia grabbed his arm - higher, this time - and yanked him back around to face her.
"Don't you dare start acting like having a dick means you can't get scared!" she snapped.
Once again, he pushed into her face. "You know what, I am scared. I'm scared someone's going to find out what I'm doing and kill my brother. I'm scared Laird is going to fuck this up himself by pushing too hard for this stupid promotion so he can learn a little more. I'm scared Brice is going to fuck up and say the wrong thing. I'm fuckingterrified,Dahlia, that you're going to get bored of me and leave the three of us on our own." Then he leaned back. "But that?" He shook his head. "That's normal for me."
"Oh, so dying doesn't bother you, huh?" She flung an arm in his direction, all but dismissing the stupidity of that. "Has it ever crossed your mind that I might be scared ofyoudying? That maybe I'm worried this is all my fault? I brought you here, Thane. I'm supposed to keep you safe!"
"No, I'm supposed to keepyousafe," he shot back. "Fuck, Dahlia. Do you have any idea how hard you make it for me to be a decent man? Your idea of dinner is picking someone up at a club. A date? That's planning how to take down the Church. I can't buy you jewelry, because you'd just lose it the next time you jump out of a fucking window! And the moment I get in a little bit of shit, you're right there, handling that mess for me too, right? What the fuck am I supposed to do? I thought this was a partnership, but you're doing nothing but making me feel like your bitch."
"So what do you want from me?" she asked, aware that her voice was a little too loud. "How exactly should I act? Would you prefer I just don't care what happens to you? Or is the problem that I'm notyourbitch?"
Flapping her arm at him again, deciding she was done with this conversation, Dahlia turned to storm back towards the bedroom. She didn't make it. This time, Thane grabbed her arm, spinning her back to face him - but Dahlia pushed.
"You are alive!" she snapped before he could get a word out, storming towards him to close the distance she'd just created. When he tried to grab her upper arms, she pushed again. "You are what we hunt, and we're fucking good at it. The only reason you could actually fight back was because of that bracelet."
He tried to grab her arm, but missed. "And I came here because I want to fight back! I intended to fight the Church, but it's not like I haven't faced down a demon scarier than that bimbo!"
"You can'tfighther." She nudged him again. This time his back collided with the fridge, making something inside clank as it fell over, and her next words came out as a yell. "Succubi seduce, you idiot. They drug you with their power, making you give in, and then they fuck you until you can't get back up. They kill, Thane, and they make sure you're begging for more the whole time. So sue me for being worried. Be pissed at me for making sure that bitch knows you're off limits. Isabella is over five hundred years old, and the only one she's going to listen to? That's me. Not some man with a dick and enough vitality to make her drool!"
He tried to step forward, but Dahlia refused to give in now. He'd started this, so she would finish it. If he wanted to have this fight, she would give it to him. All of it, even the ugly parts he didn't want to hear.
"I won't let her have you - " she tried.
He broke in. "You don't own me, Dahlia. Believe it or not, I'm not a pet. Just because you're stronger than me - "
"I'm not fucking stronger than you!" she screamed, gesturing wildly with her hands. "I can't beat you. Every time I've tried, it's been a draw. Stop thinking that, Thane! I brought you here because you are a warrior, and one of the few that I can't defeat. Just because you don't always win doesn't mean you became my bitch. Or do you think that every time I give in to you that I'm little more than some pathetic, helpless woman? When you hold me down or press me against the wall, does it mean I'm suddenly fragile? Or maybe it just means that I think you might be my equal, and I was fucking hoping you'd trust me enough to do the same."
She tried to push at him one more time, thinking she'd just made her closing argument and would actually manage to leave - but he was ready. Thane knocked one of her arms away and stepped in. His hand landed in the hair at the back of her head and he pulled. His other arm wrapped around her back.
"Stop fucking shoving me around, woman," he growled.
But they were so close, and neither had wasted time with getting dressed before starting this fight. Her breasts were crushed against his chest. His dick was pressing into her hip, and getting harder quickly. Both of them were breathing just a little too fast, and the moment he forced her face up to his, Dahlia had no more interest in fighting.
Thane's jaw was clenched and anger was written all over his face. Still, his eyes dropped to her lips and something changed. She felt it, and she was pretty sure that he realized it at the same moment. With their bodies tensed for yet another round, Dahlia realized that she'd already lost.
"I'm fine," he said again, the rumble of his anger so close to a growl, "and I don't think that giving in is the same as being helpless." Then he leaned in, his eyes still watching her mouth. "I also just realized that I like it a little too much when you fight back."
She stretched just as he dipped, and their mouths met in the middle. His hand didn't leave her hair, but Dahlia didn't care. They kissed with the intensity of an explosion, tongues dueling for control and fingers dimpling each other's skin. Dahlia gasped, sucking air against his lips, and Thane murmured his approval, stepping her backwards.
She let him, too focused on sliding her hands down his back. This man was made of so many muscles, and he was never afraid to use them on her. Every concern she'd had about him feeling worn out had vanished in that fight, merely because he didn't look weary. He didn't seem to be moving slow. Thane burned hot and fought hard, and it was one of the things she liked most about him.
Her ass hit the counter by the sink, but Thane refused to stop kissing her. She grabbed a handful of his ass, felt his lips curl, and then his hands vanished. A split-second later, they were back, cupping her ass, and he lifted. Dahlia squeaked in surprise, feeling her feet leave the ground, and then Thane dumped her on the countertop.
"Woman," he warned as he pulled her knees open and settled between them, "you make me crazy."
She hooked a leg over his hip, using her calf against his ass to pull him closer. "The good kind, right?"
"The hard kind," he conceded, pressing that hardness against her inner thigh. "So here's how we're going to compromise. If you don't want to feed on me because you're worried, then fine. But you need to figure out real fast if that's the same as not fucking me, because you are one hell of a tease."
She spread her legs a little more. "Well, I think you're a little more recovered than I thought, so fine. Sex, no vitality. Think you can agree to that?"
His answer was to grab her hair again with one hand, her hip with the other, and thrust. Dahlia arched her back as he filled her, stretching her in the best way, but Thane paused once he was inside her. It wasn't to let her adjust, though. He merely leaned in until his mouth was beside her ear.
