Seduce the Darkness (Alien Huntress #4)(39)
Author: Gena Showalter

"Anything you say, darling." He dropped her flat on her ass. "You know I live only to please you."

Air whooshed from her lungs, and when she caught her breath she glared up at him. "You’re such an ass."

He clutched his chest, just above his heart. "Oh, how you wound me. I gave you what you wanted, didn’t I?"

"A dramatic ass, at that." Biting the inside of her cheek, Bride popped to her feet. She could have misted—though she needed open space to leave a room—and could have hurriedly stripped and camouflaged her skin, but she didn’t. Not only because his reminder that he held Aleaha still rang through her, but also because curiosity and something else, something she refused to name, flooded her. "If you brought me in here to rape me …"

One of his brows arched, and there was a definite sparkle in his eyes. "It wouldn’t be rape, and we both know it. Last night you were all over me, practically dripping in my hand."

Her teeth clenched. "You’re an exaggerator, too."

He shrugged. "You don’t have to worry about giving in to my wicked advances. Not yet. Right now you’re going to strip and shower, and then we’re going to talk."

She raised her chin. "Like hell."

"You will. I’ll force you if necessary. And Bride," he said, his voice dipping huskily, "I hope it’s necessary."

Of course he did. He was the only person on the planet who could see through a threat like that successfully. The only person who could possibly make her enjoy the fact that her will had been ignored. "I don’t need to be clean to talk to you."

"Yes, you do. Right now the sight of you upsets me."

She’d been in the process of reaching behind her, feeling her dresser for a weapon. She had them stashed everywhere, just in case. But his words enraged her, and she ended up grabbing the first thing she encountered. A book. A paperback, at that. She hurled it at him, anyway, and the spine slapped against his cheek.

He blinked in surprise, rubbed his cheek, and glanced down at the book. "That was childish.”

“Well, your perfect face was upsetting me."

"Finally. You admit how perfect I am." Gently he toed the book aside. "First rule of thievery, sweetheart. You shouldn’t abuse items you work hard to steal."

"I didn’t steal it." Why she told him the truth, she didn’t know. His opinion didn’t matter. "I saved it."

Once again he arched a brow, his gaze sharpening. "You were able to save it because you’re human, and humans live for hundreds of years without aging?"

"You know I’m not human," she grumbled. Misting in front of him had pretty much ruined her "I’m human" argument. "Now stop distracting me."

"I can’t help myself. I’m perfect, remember?"

Argh! Infuriating man. "I will shower, but only because I really need one." The grumble had become churlish. "But I’ll do it with my clothes on." So there. Oh, God. I really am a child.

"Clothes off," he said.

"On. And that’s that."

"I recommend that you strip." He sounded almost pleasant now, a sure sign his patience was at an end. The sweeter he seemed, she was coming to understand, the more violent he was feeling. Exhibit A: he’d been smiling when he’d taken Tom’s head.

"Fine. I’ll strip. But you and your stupid T-shirt have to leave." She pointed to the door. Not for a second did she think he’d actually do it. It was worth a shot, though.

"Hell, no," he said. Big shocker. "I plan to enjoy the show. And my T-shirt isn’t stupid. It’s a public service."

"Size Dental Appliances Here" with an arrow to his cock, meaning women could feel free to suck him. "Devyn."

"Bride. Last chance to act on your own."

She stared over at him, taking in his determined expression, the hard line of his body. If she pushed, he really would force her to do as he wanted, and she would lose control of her own actions. If she gave in, she could dictate what angle to show him—and how badly to tantalize him with what he would never have.

"Fine," she said, and sighed. "You want a show, I’ll give you a show." He would watch, and he could want, but she would not give. The last was a reminder to herself.

He gave another of those surprised blinks.

Expected her to continue to balk, had he? Chin lifting in challenge, she slowly shimmied out of her clothing. First the boots. She chucked them at him, and he easily sidestepped. Second, she removed her pants. Third, her shirt. His pupils dilated as she unsnapped her bra and let the syn-cotton float to the ground. The matching panties quickly followed, leaving her completely bare. Well, except for Aleaha’s necklace, but that didn’t count.

"I was afraid I’d imagined them, those blood red ni**les. My new favorite color, by the way."

"Thank you," she replied, pleased, though she was sure she wasn’t the first to hear such a compliment.

That gave him pause. "Not embarrassed by my scrutiny?" The question was almost… hesitant.

"No." Despite what she’d told him while he’d forced her to strip that first time, nudity didn’t bother her. How could it, when she had to traipse the streets of New Chicago naked but camouflaged while she hunted? Besides, she liked her body. "No reason to be. Of the two of us, I’m the closer to perfection."

His lips twitched. "The only way to know for sure, of course, is to study you."

She stood there, in the silence, in the cool air, allowing him to examine every inch of her. And examine he did. His ocher gaze leisurely pursued her, lingering on her small but firm br**sts and those bright red pearling ni**les, the tiny patch of black hair between her slender thighs, a startling contrast.

"Now for the rest," she said, and slowly turned in a circle. "Am I still hurting your eyes?”

“No," he rasped. When she faced him again, his expression was strained. He even reached out.

Got you, she thought. Fighting a grin, she backed away, shaking her head. "No, no, no. You don’t get to manhandle these perfect goods."

At first, he acted as though he hadn’t heard her, and stepped closer. Then a muscle ticked in his jaw, he stopped, and his arm fell to his side. "First, it’s rude to brag about your beauty, and second, it’s rude to deny a man the right to touch that beauty."

"How cute. Etiquette lessons from a man who told me I would want to slay all the women he slept with after me."

"It’s true."

She had to fight yet another grin. "I want you," he said, the words guttural. "Uttered to thousands, I’m sure."