She wanted him. She wanted him until it was all she could do not to throw herself back into his arms. But as he stood there staring at her, his expression dominant, full of arrogance, she just wanted to kick him instead.
Jerking her shirt from the bed, she pulled it over her head furiously.
“‘Our tomorrows mean too much to me,’” she mocked him, her hands moving to her hips as she cocked one hip and faced him with such a surge of antagonism that she could barely breathe for it. “For God’s sake, Stygian, if tomorrow meant so damned much to you, then you would have kept your mouth shut and just f**ked me while you had the chance.”
“Like any other man would have done?” His arms crossed over his chest, and for just a second, she hated him for the fact that he wasn’t holding her. That he was blocking the heat she swore she was going to freeze without.
“Well, yeah, pretty much,” she snapped back at him. “What do you want from me? Do I have to make you a few promises first? I thought that was your job? Come, Stygian, give me the empty promises, get me off, then leave me the hell alone.”
Her father had always warned her that her smart mouth was going to end up costing her something she didn’t want to lose.
It was her temper, she’d reminded him. A temper she’d gotten from him, so he really couldn’t blame her.
But at the moment, she had a feeling it was going to end up costing her the night she’d really wanted to spend in this Breed’s bed. Just one night to go crazy in his arms, maybe sleep there for a bit, go crazy with him again, then face the reality she wanted only to hide from tonight.
“Do you believe that’s all this means to me?” he asked, his expression savage as he watched her, his gaze beginning to glitter with anger. “A one-night stand with a woman that means nothing? Is that all it is to you, Liza? A few hours you can forget when reality returns and a man that will be content to just disappear from your life?”
“Can I get that lucky?” God no, that wasn’t what she wanted, but still, the words burst from her lips before she could control them.
“After that kiss?” The hard, triumphant smile that curled his lips had her heart stopping in her chest.
It was a reminder. She’d wanted the truth of mating before he kissed her, right? So what had she been doing accosting him?
Breathing rough, the need for oxygen suddenly slamming inside her, Liza stared up at him, the temper that had always been her downfall exploding at the satisfaction she glimpsed in his eyes.
“After that kiss?” she exclaimed furiously. “Sorry, Breed, but maybe it’s not as damned powerful as you were hoping it was. I guess I have my answer. Those tabloids are full of shit.”
Swinging around, she made for the bathroom with the intent of locking herself in and taking the coldest shower possible.
She had taken maybe two steps—counting them wasn’t high on her list of priorities—when in the next breath, she was back flat against the wall and staring up at him as the first tear slid slowly from the corner of one eye.
Oh God, she hated crying. She never cried in front of anyone, and crying in front of him was just humiliating.
He was so strong, so dominant and determined. She wanted to be strong in his eyes as well.
Tears were not a sign of strength, thank you very much.
“Just let me go.” Rough, those damnable tears rasping at her throat, Liza tried to look away and hold back that pain.
Meeting his gaze was the hardest thing she had done in recent memory, but she forced herself to anyway. She met his gaze and swore if she saw pity there, she was going to slam her knee straight into his balls.
His lips quirked. “The scent of your sweet pu**y weeping for me only just slightly overshadows your hunger to do me harm, Liza.”
Forcing the sneer to curl her lip and fight back her tears took everything she had. “Why not just call me ‘mate.’ That’s what Malachi calls Isabelle. And we both know that’s why my mouth is watering for your kiss almost as bad as my pu**y is creaming for your dick.”
Vulgar, meant to be insulting. It might have been just that if it weren’t for the husky, phone-sex tone of her voice. And she might have felt just a smidgen of shame if his eyes hadn’t suddenly dilated in pure, undiluted lust as a primitive, animalistic growl rumbled in his chest.
If they had been close before, a second later it wouldn’t be possible for a breath of air to slide between their hips as his hands clamped on her rear, lifted her, and in one smooth move had her thighs spread, her knees clamping on his hips as he ground his erection, hard, into the vee of her thighs.
Suddenly, there wasn’t enough air in the room again.
Breathing had never been so difficult. Her ni**les pressed hard into his chest with each breath she took, and her clit was so swollen, so sensitive that the feel of her silk panties grinding into it was torturous.
“When I bury my dick up that tight pu**y, Liza, you’re going to wish you’d given more heed to whatever it is you think you know,” he warned her, his voice harsh. “Mate.” He nipped her lips, then licked the little wound.
Liza gasped, her lips parting, and as they opened, Stygian was there.
His kiss was incredibly hot. So hungry she could only give in to it as pleasure tore through her in a wave of sensation so intense she swore she nearly orgasmed from it. She could feel it building, pulsing, riding the edge of release with such sharp intensity that she shuddered with its need.
Just as quickly, he released her.
Liza swayed as she found herself alone, the wall the only thing between her and losing her balance completely.
Staring back at Stygian as he paced away from her, his hands tunneling through his hair in frustration, she wondered exactly how he managed it.
She couldn’t have walked away from him if her life had depended on it. Evidently the hunger was affecting her far more deeply than it was him.
Turning back to her, the blue glints in his eyes seemed to glow while his expression tightened with such savagery it sent an involuntary shudder up her spine.
“Mate.” His lips pulled back from his teeth in a grimace of pure lust. “My mate.”
Confidence and power filled him. Where was the fairness in that when she suddenly felt so…female. So much weaker than he, and for some unfathomable reason, ready to beg to submit to him.
Instead, she forced herself to lift her chin willfully.