"One of these days, you'll know the truth," he said heavily. "Are you hungry? I could fix us something to eat."
Grace stared back at him in disbelief. One moment he was talking of death, the next he was willing to cook? She shook her head as she moved, tugging her skirt farther over her thighs, before shrugging her restrictive jacket off.
"What are you going to do with me?" she asked. "You promised not to hurt me." He nodded. "I won't hurt you."
"Even knowing I have every intention of telling the police what I saw?" She couldn't lie to him. He would smell it.
The hurt that flashed in his eyes shouldn't have bothered her, but it did.
"Even knowing that," he answered. "I'm going to spend this week with you. Let you come to know me better. Try to make you understand"
"Why?" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "What does it matter if I understand or not? You murdered a man, Matthias."
"And if you report it, and I'm arrested, then I can't protect you. Other Breeds will come for you, and they will kill you before you ever have the chance to testify. Is that what you want? Do you want to die?"
"The authorities will protect me."
"Don't be so f**king naive, Grace," he snarled, causing her to flinch. "Don't be stupid. You know better than that."
Yes, she did know better. She knew she didn't have a chance at living if she ever breathed a word of what she had seen. Perhaps, in some small way, she could even understand why he had done it. Now that the shock had worn off and her mind had accepted the fact that he had done it. It was her own anger driving her instead.
"Just leave then." She rose to her feet and breathed out roughly. "I'm smart enough to know the rules, Matthias. That doesn't mean I ever want to see you again. Just get out."
"It doesn't work that way." He shook his head, his whiskey gaze remote.
"Why not? You can smell a lie, then fine, you know I'm not lying. Albrecht may have deserved every agony you could have possibly given him, but I can't accept it. We have laws in this country for a reason."
His bark of laughter shocked her. "Do you, now?" He crossed his powerful arms over his chest and watched her, mocking. "Let me tell you about your laws, little girl. Laws that allowed all your fine politicians to stick their dirty little fingers into the Breed pie before the world learned of us. How they sent their special-forces teams after the small pride that was hiding in Kentucky. How they turned a blind eye to the tortures that were inflicted on us. Until the world learned of us and drew a horrified breath. Those same f**king bastards faked their outrage and had no choice but to back us. Back us or be revealed as the lying sons of bitches they were."
Throttled rage filled his voice and glowed in his eyes. Grace had never seen such fury, such banked violence in anyone, in her life.
There were reports of this. News articles and documentaries, but until now, Grace hadn't been certain what was the truth and what were lies told to enhance the popularity of the Breeds' right-to-life laws. She licked her lips, knowing he wasn't lying. Her chest ached for him, ached about the pain he had endured. But he had killed an unarmed man. Without remorse.
She nodded, swallowing tightly as she let his furious gaze capture hers.
"I won't report it," she whispered. "But I won't condone it. Whatever was growing between us, Matthias, if anything other than your need to use me was there, is over. Please, just leave."
"It's not going to happen."
Grace watched his expression harden, his eyes darken in determination.
"What do you mean, 'it's not going to happen?'" She watched him warily. Had he been lying to her? Did he mean to kill her after all?
A tight smile curled his lips. "I already smell your distrust," he growled. "I don't lie, Grace. I'm not going to kill you. And I won't torture you."
"Then why stay?"
"Because you own me now. You're my mate."
CHAPTER FIVE
Grace stared back at the wild man standing in the middle of the cabin's living room. Dressed in black leather and facing her with an arrogant determination that had once appeared sexy. Now it was downright scary.
"What do you mean, I'm your mate?" The tabloid stories were rocking through her head, and she really didn't have time right now for the perversions they had reported.
She should have known better than to read that trash. But, like most Americans, she had been fascinated with the discovery of the Breeds. Fascinated and outraged by their creation and the horrifying abuses they had endured.
But, did he answer her? Hell no. He shook his head slowly, his lips curling at one corner, as he continued to watch her with those dark golden eyes. And he kept inhaling slowly, reminding her that she was still wet. So wet from his earlier play that her panties were literally clinging to her pu**y.
"Matthias, right now is really not a good time to pull the silent Breed act on me," she snapped. "I'm about two minutes from a nervous breakdown. This has not been a good night for me." Instantly his expression altered. From arrogance to sensual delight. His facial features softened as he moved toward her, his arms dropping from his chest, his shoulders flexing as he drew the black leather jacket from them. He tossed it to the couch as he neared her.
Grace took a step back. The sensuality in his gaze made her even more wary than the earlier anger had.
"Don't touch me," she ordered him roughly.
"Poor Grace," he crooned, a hint of a rumble in his voice sending a shiver racing down her spine as he moved behind her. "Yes love, it's been a very hard night for you. Seeing your mate for what he is, for who he is, hasn't been easy." She felt his breath on her hair, then his hand as he smoothed it over her shoulder. "I had hoped to ease you into it."
"Ease me into what?" She tried to jerk away, but the hand that suddenly gripped her hip wasn't allowing that to happen. "Into murder? Not going to happen."
"Into this."
Her knees nearly buckled as his lips brushed across the nape of her neck, a hint of the damp warmth of his tongue stroking along it.
"Stop it, Matthias. You can't seduce me into approving what you've done."
"I don't care if you approve of me, Grace. I only care that you accept me."