Awaken Me Darkly (Alien Huntress #1)(48)
Author: Gena Showalter

“I’m willing to do that, you’re not. If you won’t answer my questions, you’re not interested in working with me.”

“There is so much you don’t know.”

“So tell me.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I just—can’t. Come. I will escort you back to the room.”

“I meant what I said. You’ll have to fight me.”

“If that is your wish. You will merely end up tied to the bed again.”

“Think it will be that easy, do you?” I laughed, the sound completely devoid of humor. “If you come near me right now, I’ll drain your blood into a bowl and let you die here.” I said it so calmly, so assuredly, my words left a cold pallor in the room.

He pursed his lips, looking as casual and at ease as if he were selecting which pastry to consume for breakfast, the cocky bastard. “You’ll understand if I defend myself?”

“Of course. I’d be disappointed if you didn’t. Will your servants interfere?”

“Absolutely not. They will not disturb us”—his eyes shimmered with depraved anticipation—“no matter what sounds you make.”

“Very well, then. One ass-kicking, coming up.”

I moved around the table with deliberate slowness, heading straight for him. He stepped in the opposite direction. We circled each other, and impatience thrummed through me. I stopped and cocked a finger at him. “Come here. If you have the courage.”

He smiled. “I happen to like where I stand.”

He was going to use his lightning-quick abilities. I could see it in his eyes, and I couldn’t allow him that advantage. Before he could take his next breath, I grabbed the bowl of rosemary vinaigrette and tossed the contents in his face, porcelain and all. The liquid splashed into his eyes and mouth as the bowl thumped against his forehead.

He grunted, then he howled. I guess vinaigrette burns. Ha! I controlled the urge to grin. I leaped atop the dark, glossy table surface—and almost toppled to the floor when my foot caught the hem of my skirt. My amusement faded as I righted myself. I pitched three more platters at him in quick succession. As he rubbed his eyes, he tried to dodge each missile. He only managed to bump into his chair and trip on the edge of the carpet.

While he lay there, unable to see, I paused to admire my handiwork. Noodles and vegetables dripped from his saturated clothing. My alien salad, I thought smugly.

But it wasn’t enough. He’d abducted me, held me captive, stripped me, and forced me to wear this flimsy  p**n  costume. He deserved more. He refused to give me all of the answers I needed, and thought perhaps he might help Dallas. Well, that wasn’t good enough. I’d originally hoped to force him to my will by imprisoning him, and that plan hadn’t changed. He’d just changed the location of his capture.

Determined, I jumped onto the carpet and punched him with every ounce of strength I possessed. His chin swung to the side, and he rolled onto the expensive rug I’d just ruined with food. He tried to stabilize himself, tried to work his way to his knees, but I kicked his stomach. His breath jolted from his lungs. I shoved his shoulder, spinning him to his back. Then I jumped on him, straddled his waist, and pinned him where he lay.

“Abduct me, will you?” I ground my fist into his left eye.

“Tie me to a bed, will you?” I smashed my fist into his right eye.

“Refuse to answer me, will—”

My words sliced to a halt when his hands grabbed my h*ps and jerked me down to his chest. Hardness to softness. One of his sticky palms twisted in my hair and yanked me close, until only a breath of air separated us. He smelled of rosemary.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he warned. “Not the sweet, lingering kisses of your earth men, not like last time, but the hard, thorough kiss of the Arcadians.”

“Do it, and I’ll bite your tongue off,” I told him heatedly, but I made no move to pull away. No, I sank more snugly into him, and my nerve endings burst with sensation. “I’m not done kicking your ass,” I said, this time without any ire at all in my tone, but breathless.

I shouldn’t want him like this.

I know I’d told myself that before, and I’d probably have to give myself the reminder a thousand times more. The man was forbidden to me. Perhaps that was his allure. Like the time my mother told me not to eat that box of cookies. The moment she’d spoken the words, those damn cookies had suddenly become more delicious looking. I’d had to have them.

I’d eaten them, of course, and earned myself a roaring stomachache.

The hand on my hip traveled down, cupping my ass. Fire simmered underneath my skin, the flames licking over me, deep and dark. My growing hunger for him was nearly as seductive as the man himself.

“If you can’t be honest with me,” he said, “at least be honest with yourself. You want me. We’ve kissed before, you know how good it can be.”

“Yes.” The word held a wealth of meaning.

He jerked me closer until nothing separated us. My lips parted, ready. And then he ravaged my mouth there on his dining room floor. Over and over he teased his tongue past my teeth, stroking inside, taking. Demanding.

Devouring.

My hands glided under his shirt. My fingertips kneaded his muscles, pinched his ni**les, and he groaned. Such strength. Such heat. His energy hummed inside me, a potent vibrancy that ignited my blood and made every inch of me sing. I uttered a low, needy moan of my own.

“Mia,” he said harshly.

The sound slammed into me, fueling my passion. His ragged breath fanned my nose and cheek as our tongues danced and sparred. The sheer desperation in his kiss filled my head, invaded and consumed my senses.

“You taste so good,” I breathed. “Better than chocolate.”

“I’ve been desperate to taste you again,” he whispered hotly. He tried to tell me something else, but switched to a language I didn’t understand.

He gripped my ass more tightly, fitting me snugly against the thickness of his erection. I ground into him, mimicking the motions of sex, all the while loathing our clothing. My tongue moved against his in sync with the movements of our bodies. I shook with the force of my need, oh, how I shook. My control teetered on the brink of elimination. I’d never experienced anything like this, never experienced anything so intense, as if I needed him to survive.

What the hell was wrong with me? I couldn’t allow this. I had to regain command of myself.